*At 10am this morning, the Cyprus team of the Free Gaza Movement was able to briefly speak with our people on board the SS Free Gaza and SS Liberty. They are all fine, and they asked us to release the following statement:
“The electronic systems which guarantee our safety aboard the SS Free Gaza and SS Liberty have been jammed and scrambled. Both ships are flying Greek flags, and are in international waters. We are the victims of electronic piracy. We are currently in GMS P area A2 and we are relying on our satellite communications equipment to make a distress call, if needed.
We are civilians from 17 nations and are on this project to break the siege of Gaza. We are not experienced sailors. As a result, there is concern about the health and safety of the people on board such an emergency develop.
We are currently experiencing rough sea conditions, and we call on the Greek government and the international community to meet their responsibilities and protect the civilians on board our two ships in international waters.”
A 20 year old resident of Ni’lin is currently in Ramallah hospital with a a fractured skull after being beaten by Israeli soldiers at a demonstration in the village against the construction of the annexation wall on the 21st August.
Haitham Mousa, 20, was standing by his Grandfathers house when 5 Israeli soldiers grabbed him and proceeded to beat him, hitting him in the head with the butts of their rifles. Witnesses say that Haitham briefly managed to get free from the soldiers, but as he attempted to run off soldiers fired a rubber-coated steel bullet at him from close range. Haitham immediately collapsed, though whether his fractured skull is due to the beating or from the rubber-coated stell bullet is, as of now, unclear.
Haitham was immediately taken to Ramallah hospital where an X-ray determined that he had indeed had his skull fractured. His condition is currently stable, though he is in a lot of pain with sever wounds to his face and mouth.
A 13 year old boy, Said Nafa, was also shot in the side of the head by a rubber-coated steel bullet at the same demonstration. He was taken to hospital in Ramallah where he received medical care and should be discharged later this afternoon. 3 other demonstrators were injured at the protest.
These serious injuries come at a time where extreme violence from Israeli forces in Ni’lin saw the killings of Ahmed Mousa, 10 years old, and Yousef Amira, 17 years old, three weeksa ago.
To date, fifteen Palestinians, ten of them minors, were killed while
protesting the wall.
Muhammad Fadel Hashem Rian, age 25
Zakaria Mahmoud ‘Eid Salem, age 28
Shot dead during a demonstration against the wall in Biddu on February
26th, 2004.
Abdal Rahman Abu ‘Eid, age 62
Died of a heart attack after teargas projectiles were shot into his home
during a demonstration against the wall in Biddu on February 26th, 2004.
Muhammad Da’ud Saleh Badwan, age 21
Shot during a demonstration against the wall in Biddu on February 26th,
2004, and died of his wounds March 3rd.
Hussein Mahmoud ‘Awad ‘Alian, age 17
Shot dead during a demonstration against the wall in Betunya on April
16th, 2004
Diaa’ A-Din ‘Abd al-Karim Ibrahim Abu ‘Eid, age 23
Shot dead during a demonstration against the wall in Biddu on April
18th, 2004.
Islam Hashem Rizik Zhahran, age 14
Shot during a demonstration against the wall in Deir Abu Mash’al on
April 18th, 2004, and died of his wounds April 28th.
‘Alaa’ Muhammad ‘Abd a-Rahman Khalil, age 14
Shot dead while throwing stones at an Israeli vehicle driven by private
security guards near the wall in Betunya on February 15th, 2005.
Jamal Jaber Ibrahim ‘Asi, age 15
U’dai Mufid Mahmoud ‘Asi, age 14
Shot dead during a demonstration against the wall in Beit Liqya on May
4th, 2005
Taha Muhammad Subhi al-Quljawi, age 16
Shot dead when he and two friends tried to cut the razor wire portion of
the wall in the Qalandiya Refugee Camp on February 2nd, 2007. He was
wounded in the thigh and died from loss of blood after remaining a long
time in the field without being treated.
Muhammad Elias Mahmoud ‘Aweideh, age 15
Shot dead during a demonstration against the wall in Um a-Sharayet –
Samiramis on March 28th, 2007.
Mahmoud Muhammad Ahmad Masalmeh, age 15
Shot when trying to cut the razor wire portion of the wall in Beit Awwa
on March 2nd, 2008.
Ahmed Husan Youssef Mousa, age 10
Killed during a demonstration against the wall in Ni’ilin on July 29th,
2008
Youssef Ahmed Younes Amireh, age 17
Shot in the head with rubber coated bullets during a demonstration
against the wall in Ni’ilin on July 30th, 2008 and died of his wounds
August 4th.
Three others, all minors or mentally disabled, were killed just for
being in the proximity of the wall:
Du’aa Naser Saleh ‘Abd al-Qader, age 14
Killed in Far’un when she approached the wall with her friend on
December 19th, 2006.
Fatah a-Deen Muhammad ‘Ali al-Khuli, age 20
Killed near Habla when he approached the wall on January 22nd, 2001. He
was mentally disabled.
Mahyoub Ahmad Nemer ‘Asi, age 15
Killed by a private security guard while he was in his family’s plot,
about 200 meters away from the path of the wall, on July 8th, 2005
From the original 58,000 dunums of Ni’lin land (580 hectares) more than 69% was taken by Israel in 1948, while in 1967 44% of the remaining land was used for construction of the nearby settlements. The annexation wall, illegal under international law, will take a further 25% of the farming land that the village relies on for its income, and will make the once commercial capital of the area isolated from the surrounding villages. This will leave Nil’in, when the wall is finished, with only 10% of its original land (less than 15,000 dunums).
Forty-six international human rights workers are now sailing to Gaza through international waters with one overriding goal: to break the Israeli siege that Israel has imposed on the civilian population of Gaza.
Any action designed to harm civilians constitutes collective punishment (in the Palestinians’ case, for voting the “wrong” way) and is both illegal under international law and profoundly immoral. Our mission is to expose the illegality of Israel’s actions, and to break through the siege in order to express our solidarity with the suffering people of Gaza (and of the occupied Palestinian territory as a whole) and to create a free and regular channel between Gaza and the outside world.
Israel claims that since the “disengagement” in 2005 it no longer occupies Gaza. However, the International Committee of the Red Cross and other international human rights organizations reject this claim since Israel still exerts effective control over Gaza. As an Occupying Power, Israel has a responsibility for the well-being of the people of Gaza under the provisions of the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention. Israel has abused its control and responsibilities by wrongfully obstructing vital supplies and humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza.
As Israel’s 41-year occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip defies international consensus, and because Israel has grossly violated its obligations, we do not recognize Israel’s right to stop us outside its own territorial waters, which we will not be approaching. To remove any “security” pretense that Israel may raise, we have had our boats inspected and certified by Cypriot authorities that they carry no arms or contraband of any kind. We have invited Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni to join us on our voyage and, in fact, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs has itself told us the Israeli government “assume[s] that your intentions are good.”
We are human rights activists, invited to visit Gaza by our Palestinian partners, and each of us has vowed to do no violence, in either word or deed. If Israel chooses to forcibly stop and search our ships, we will not forcibly resist. Such a search will be under duress and with our formal protest. After such a search, we fully expect the Israeli navy to stand aside, as we continue peacefully to Gaza. If we are arrested and brought to Israel, we will protest and prosecute our kidnapping in the appropriate forums. It is our purpose to show the power that ordinary citizens of the world have when they organize together to stand against injustice. Let there be no doubt: the policies of repression against the civilian population of Gaza represent gross violations of human rights, international humanitarian law, and constitute war crimes. The goal of our voyage is to break the illegal siege on the people of Gaza as a step toward ending the Israeli occupation of Palestine.
Satellite phone numbers available on the boats will be: a) 00 870 773 160 151; b) 00 870 773 160 156 c) 00 881 651 442 553; d) 00 881 651 427 948.
With rapidly escalating levels of settler violence in the West Bank, the International Solidarity Movement is issuing an urgent call for volunteers to participate in its 2008 Olive Harvest Campaign.
The olive tree is a national symbol for Palestinians. As thousands of olive trees have been bulldozed, uprooted and burned by the Israeli military and settlers, harvesting has become more than a source of livelihood; it has become a form of resistance. The olive harvest is an annual affirmation of Palestinians’ historical, spiritual and economic connection to their land, and a rejection of Israeli efforts to seize it.
Palestinian communities are inviting internationals to support and show solidarity with this resistance by working in the olive groves with them. By doing so, activists can reduce the risk of extreme violence from Israeli settlers or army through non-violent intervention and documentation.
The campaign will begin on the 15th October and run for approximately 6-8 weeks, depending on the size of the harvest.
Training:
The ISM will be holding 2 day training sessions every Wednesday and Thursday. Training is mandatory for all internationals wishing to participate in the campaign. Please contact palreports@gmail.com for further information.
Ongoing campaigns:
In addition to the olive harvest, there will also be other opportunities to participate in grass-roots, non-violent resistance in Palestine.
For example, the ISM has been active with the village of Ni’lin, supporting its non-violent resistance to the construction of the Apartheid Wall that will annex much of its land. Demonstrations have been continuing for several months now and Israeli attempts to crush this popular resistance have proved murderous. Two boys, aged 10 and 17, were killed by the Israeli army while they were protesting construction of the Apartheid Wall.
With the recent Israeli orders to use live ammunition against demonstrations close to the apartheid wall, unless there are internationals or Israelis present, an international presence is vital to help protect the basic rights of Palestinians to non-violent protest.
There are also regular non-violent demonstrations, such as in Bil’in, al-Ma’sara and al-Khader.
Come! Bear witness to the suffering, courage and generosity of the Palestinian people under Israeli occupation.
Experiencing the situation for yourself is vital to adequately convey the reality of life in Palestine to your home communities and to re-frame the conflict in a way that will expose Israel’s apartheid policies; creeping ethnic cleansing in the West Bank as well as collective punishment and genocidal practices in Gaza.
NICOSIA, CYPRUS (18 Aug. 2008) – In a letter today to the Free Gaza Movement, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs acknowledged that the group of international human rights activists attempting to break the siege of Gaza were “humanitarian,” and stated that the Israeli government “assume[s] that your intentions are good.”
Greta Berlin, one of the organizers of the Free Gaza Movement stated that, “Since the Foreign Minister’s office responded to our invitation to join us, and said that we have good intentions, we now fully expect to reach Gaza.”
According to recent reports in the Israeli media however, the Israeli military is preparing to use force to stop the nonviolent campaigners from reaching Gaza. It’s not clear if the letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs signals a change of policy, or is simply an attempt to open up an official dialogue between the state of Israel and the Free Gaza Movement regarding the current blockade.
The Free Gaza Movement is preparing to sail two ships into Gaza carrying 40 human rights workers from 17 different countries. They will also deliver hearing aids for children who have lost some or all of their hearing due to Israeli sound bombs and sonic booms.
The ships have been named the SS Free Gaza, and the SS Liberty – in recognition of the USS Liberty, a U.S. Navy ship, carrying 340 that was attacked by Israeli fighter planes and torpedo boats on 8 June 1967, assassinating 34 American sailors and wounding 170.
The Free Gaza Movement hopes to draw attention to the devastating consequences of the Israeli blockade by actively demonstrating the power of non-violent direct action to change inhumane governmental policies.
For more information, please contact:
Greta Berlin, Cyprus
+357 99 081 767
Iristulip (at) gmail.com
Angela Godfry-Goldstein, Israel
+972 547 366 393
Angela (at) icahd.org
