Category: Photo Story - Page 39 - International Solidarity Movement

In Photos: Burin withstands settler violence

by Amal

9 November 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

In the past three years Burin has faced increased settler violence. This small village of approximately 3,000 people deal with a constant threat of settler attacks or Israeli army harassment. Three settlements surround Burin: Yitzhar, Bracha, and Givt Arousa. The residents of these illegal settlements make it clear that they will do whatever it takes to force the Palestinians out of their homes. Their criminal acts range from burning olive trees, stoning farmers, and shooting live ammunition at Palestinians.

Burin surviving the olive harvest – Click here for more information

The Burin people have already lost over 2,000 olive trees since April by settler fires. In order to ensure that the trees are ruined the settlers alter their attack by the time of day to make their violent crimes less visible. The burning of trees is usually done during the day, while the cutting down of trees is usually done at night. During the warmer months, the settlers mostly burn down trees because they know the fire will spread quickly due to the heat. The people of Burin are always watching and waiting for the next inevitable hate crime to occur.

There has not been a single settler attack on Burin in over a month, which is really unusual. The last period without any attacks lasted for 60 days. This “peaceful” period was broken with a day full of settler violence. The people are anticipating the next attack. They do not know when, but that it will happen. In addition to waiting on the next attack, they are still waiting on the Israeli court ruling of whether a mosque in Burin should be demolished for disturbing the peace in the settlements during the call for prayer. The air in Burin is filled with anxiety for what is to come in the near future.

Burin today is still standing tall and strong despite the many obstacles that suffocate daily life in the village.

Amal is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement (name changed).

In Photos: Palestinians gather support for #FreedomWaves and ending blockade of Gaza

by Alistair George and Ben Lorber

Canadian and Irish ships sailing with Freedom Waves to Gaza were illegally boarded by the Israeli military in international waters yesterday afternoon.

The Israeli military stated that “Upon arrival of the vessels at the Ashdod port, the activists will be transferred to the custody of the Israel Police and immigration authorities in the Ministry of Interior”.

At present, it has been confirmed that two of the passengers have been released by the Israeli authorities without charge. The fate of the remaining passengers is unknown.

Palestinians gather support for Freedom Waves- Click here for more images

Huwaida Arraf, spokesperson from Freedom Waves to Gaza, said “It’s clear that 27 civilians on two small boats, carrying only medicine, constituted no security threat to the Israeli state, and that the determination to keep them out is only a furtherance of Israel’s policy of collective punishment, a crime against humanity. Despite this Israeli aggression, we will keep coming, wave after wave, by air, sea, and land, to challenge Israel’s illegal policies towards Gaza and all of Palestine. Our movement will not stop or be stopped until Palestine is free.”

The two ships, carrying a total of 27 passengers and $30,000 worth of medicine and supplies, set off from Turkey on November 2. The Freedom Waves to Gaza initiative is a non-violent, civil society movement to challenge the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza.

Freedom Waves to Gaza organizers had been unable to communicate with the ships soon after the vessels were approached by Israeli warships earlier yesterday afternoon.

The Canadian boat ‘Tahrir’ (Liberation) confirmed that the Israeli navy had contacted them asking for their destination at around 13:00 (Gaza time) to which Ehab Lotayef, an activist on board the ship, replied “The conscience of humanity”. When the Israelis again demanded to know the destination of the ship Lotayef replied; “The betterment of mankind”.

When the Israeli navy made contact, both ships were around 51 nautical miles from the coast of Gaza, well into international waters. ‘

However, the Israeli military reported that the navy has been ordered by IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz to board the ships after “attempts to contact them failed.”

Anatolia News Agency, Turkey, has reported that the boats were offered the choice to go to Egypt or return.

A spontaneous gathering took place yesterday in Gaza’s seaport in anticipation of the arrival of the boats turning quickly into a protest, as the news of the assault became known. Protesters are calling for UN sanctions against Israel for its persistent violations of international law. Protests took place yesterday evening in Ramallah in solidarity with the flotilla, and in Haifa and Gaza the previous days. Rally goers demanded UN accountability for Gaza’s current siege, as Israel continues its tight grip on the suffocating Gaza Strip.

Israeli commandos boarded a previous Gaza Freedom Flotilla on 31 May 2010, killing nine Turkish activists and wounding many more.

Ben Lorber is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement and writes for Alternative Information Center. Alistair George is a volunteer for ISM (name changed).

In Photos: The survival of olives

16 October 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

The olive harvest started in theWest Bankin early October and will continue in some villages until mid-November. Olives have been cultivated in Palestinian land for thousands of years. Around 95% of the harvest is used to make olive oil, with the remainder for pickles, table olives, and soap. The harvest is worth around 364m shekels (£64m) a year to the fragile Palestinian economy, struggling under the burden of occupation. Up to 100,000 families depend upon the olive harvest for their livelihoods to some extent, according to the UN.

Olives are also symbol of Palestinian culture and a connection to the land. Olive picking contains a strong political dimension; particularly in villages which are vulnerable to settler attacks and interference from the Israeli military.

Olive Harvest 2011 - Click here for more images

Settler attacks on olive groves have escalated in recent years. In previous harvests settlers have fired live ammunition at olive farmers and have burnt and uprooted thousands of trees. Israeli security forces are often unwilling to intervene during settler attacks and they regularly interfere with olive harvests, forcing farmers to seek permission to pick olives on their own land and only granting short periods to complete picking over large areas. Even when permission is granted, the Israeli military may still arbitrarily force olive farmers to cease picking; often offering no reason or falsely declaring ‘closed military zones’.

The presence of international volunteers to document and use non-violent action to intervene can reduce the threat of violence from settlers and the Israeli military. It is also a vital expression of solidarity with beleaguered Palestinian farmers.

Whilst the heavily armed settlers often attack olive farmers with impunity, the Palestinian farmers have limited means to protect themselves. As Ibrahim El-Buriny, a 27 year old olive farmer from Burin, says “We don’t have anything to protect ourselves except a rock, our heart and God.” El-Buriny remains defiant in spite of the mounting pressure he faces, “The land is like our mother and father. We can’t leave our land and who would?”

In Photos: Palestinians unite to support prisoner hunger strike

12 October 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank and Gaza

On Tuesday the 27^th of September, an open-ended hunger strike was initiated until the fulfillment of 9 demands by Palestinian prisoners, which include the right to family visits, end to the use of isolation as a punishment against detainees, and profiteering of Israeli prisons from financial penalties charged against prisoners.

Approximately 3000 prisoners are taking part in the strike including all the different political fractions from eight different prisons.

Hebron (click here for more on the story):

On the sixth day of the hunger strike of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, major political factions joined in Hebron and united in support for human rights for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons, victims of Israeli collective punishment tactics.

Hebron Solidarity with Prisoner Strike – Click here for more images

Gaza (click here for more on the story):

Over a thousand Palestinians converged on the International Committee of the Red Cross building in Gaza, Palestine, continuing a tent protest that began outside the walled compound on October 2nd, bolstering a weekly sit-in by the families of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons.

Prisoner Solidarity in Gaza – Click here for more images

Beit Ummar (click here for more on the story):

On the tenth day of the hunger strike of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, a crowd of around a hundred people took to the streets for a planned demonstration in the village of Beit Ummar, Hebron.

Beit Ummar Demonstration in Solidarity with Prisoners – Click here for more images

Ramallah (click here for more on the story):

Over 100 students from Bir Zeit University marched to the gates of Ofer Prison, near Ramallah on October 5th, to demonstrate solidarity with Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike in Israeli jails. It is thought that there are between 9 to 10 prisoners in Ofer prison on hunger strike.

Students march to Ofer Prison in solidarity with hunger strike – Click here for more images

Nablus (click here for more on the story):

Protesters converged outside the Red Crescent building in Nablus at 11:30 AM on October 3rd where several speakers, including the Mayor of Nablus and the Chairman of the Popular Committee to Support Palestinian Rights, spoke from a makeshift stage mounted on the back of a truck to call for Israeli to recognise the Geneva Conventions and respect prisoner rights in accordance with international law. They also called on the international community and Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki Moon, to pressure Israel to end the illegal occupation of Palestinian territory.

Nablus joins West Bank and Gaza in support of prisoner strike – Click here for more images

In Photos: Ad Dhahariya and Shuwika plant resistance

11 October 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

At 1 PM a demonstration went from the solidarity tent assembled for the prisoners strike in Ad Dhahariya to the nearby village of Shuwika to plant trees. The demonstration was a solidarity action with the prisoners and also a protest against recent settler assaults in Shuweika where 120 olive trees were cut down.

While the demonstrators were planting olive and eucalyptus trees, soldiers and settlers came down from the nearby outpost of Shima’a and threw sound bombs, firing tear gas at the demonstrators.

A few demonstrators went to the valley dividing Shuwika from the outpost to try to remove stones placed by settlers which formed a star of David as a symbol of conquering Palestinian land. They were shot at directly withtear gas from the Israeli Occupation Forces.

Two soldiers descended from the hill and stole the Palestinian flags placed in the valley, burning one flag while confiscating the other.

After an hour of protesting suddenly the soldiers ran towards the demonstrators, pointing their guns while running and chasing the them for one kilometer back to the Shuweika village.

While leaving the protest, a demonstrator said, “This was the first time in Shuweika [where we had] a protest like this, but hopefully it will be an ongoing event like Ni’lin and Nabi Saleh.”

In the past month there has been an increase of settler violence towards the Shuweika villagers. Not only did the settlers from the Shima’a outpost destroy olive trees from the village, but they also threatened and harassed shepherds herding sheep near the valley.