19th August 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Ramallah Team | East Jerusalem, Occupied Palestine
Update 22nd August:
The lawyer of the Totah and Totanji families has been in touch with Israeli Authorities, and has found out, that there is no demolition order on the Wadi Joz neighborhood. There has only been given a cleaning order on Wadi Joz, so the wave of home demolitions is illeagal according to Israeli law. The lawyer will now take the case to court, and hopefully there will be no more demolitions in Wadi Joz.
*******
Wave of home demolition worsens in Wadi Joz
Nureddin Amro sitting on the rubble of his home, which was demolished on March 31st this year (photo credit The Washington Post)
On Wednesday August 19, at 5:30 AM, Israeli occupation forces began demolishing a three-story home of the Totah and Totanji families in the Wadi Joz neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem.
“A large number soldiers and policemen are blocking main road in Wadi Joz right now. There is no electricity because they demolished the neighbor’s house and the power network. They kicked the families and people into the street, in the middle of this hot weather, showing no humanity. Stated Nureddin Amro, a resident of the Wadi Joz, “They want to confiscate the entire neighborhood”.
On March 31, 2015 Israeli forces demolished most of Nureddin Amro’s house and that of his brother, Sharif Amro, both of whom are blind and live with their families, including 7 children under 14 years of age and their mother who is 79 years old. There was no demolition order against the houses and no prior notice. Israeli forces barely waited for the family to leave the rooms that were going to be demolished and physically attacked the family. Some property belonging to the Totah family was also destroyed that day. Since then, the Amros and Totahs have lived in constant fear of further demolitions. Other homes in the neighborhood are also slated for demolition.
Today’s demolition comes just after the largest-scale destruction of Palestinian dwellings in nearly three years.
Wadi al-Joz is located directly outside the Old City of Jerusalem in a vulnerable area with three demolitions in the last two-and-one-half weeks. Land near this neighborhood was already annexed by the Israeli authorities to create a national park encompassing an illegal Israeli settlement.
22nd July, 2015 | Popular Struggle Coordination Committee | Ramallah, Occupied Palestine New Standards for US Foreign Policy on Israel?
U.S. State Department Urges Israel to refrain from demolishing Palestinian village, Susiya in the West Bank. Fears a deterioration in standard of policy of indigenous displacement.
In a US State Department press briefing, last week, John Kirby specifically referred to Israel’s intent to demolish over half the indigenous Palestinian village, Susiya, in the West Bank. “We strongly urge the Israeli authorities to refrain from carrying out any demolitions in the village.” Kirby said, warning that “Demolition of this Palestinian village or of parts of it, and evictions of Palestinians from their homes, would be harmful and provocative.”
“Our continuous battle to support the struggle of the people of the village of Susiya has been going on for years accompanied with local and international campaigns under the slogan “Save Susiya from Demolition and Eviction.” Says Yasser Saleh of the Popular Struggle Coordination committee (PSCC), “we invite everybody to stand with us in this campaign either by attending the village of Susiya and to resist the demolition with it’s people, who are under the threat of eviction at any given moment,or by protesting at Israeli embassies in your countries and raising awareness about Susiya and Palestine.”
Susiya, which has been fighting a 20-year legal battle of survival with the state of Israel, is not the only Palestinian village under Israeli military control. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that there are Over 11,000 outstanding demolition orders against Palestinian structures in Area C of the West Bank, which covers over 60 percent of the West Bank. The lives of approximately 300,000 indigenous Palestinians are impacted. These orders target the most impoverished and vulnerable populations, who are also exposed to daily attacks by Israeli settlers and the army itself, with very little possibility of redress.
Signalling new US approach to the facts on the ground, Kirby added that “Such actions have an impact beyond those individuals and families who are evicted” and stated that the US State department is “concerned that the demolition of this village may worsen the atmosphere for a peaceful resolution and would set a damaging standard for displacement and land confiscation particularly given settlement-related activity in the area.”
The European Union foreign ministers have added their voice to the growing concern over Israel’s policy in the occupied West Bank, yesterday, in its latest statement on “The Middle East Peace Process”, stating that “ The EU will continue to closely monitor developments on the ground and their broader implications”, specifically calling for a “halt [to] plans for forced transfer of population and demolition of Palestinian housing and infrastructure in the Susiya and Abu Nwar communities.”
Saleh welcomes the US State Department and EU statements, but maintains that words are not enough and hopes to see action being taken. “The PSCC appreciates the statements made by the US state department and the European Union. We invite them to take concrete steps to put pressure on the occupying regime to prevent applying it’s policies and procedures against the Palestinians in general, and against the eviction and demolition of the village of Susiya in particular.”
For more information:
pscc.media@gmail.com
052- 5339054
Please send the following 2 letters (below). One to EU trade officials (addresses below the letter) and one for Israeli embassies (please make sure to change the name according to location).
Pledge your tweet on our Thunderclap campaign https://goo.gl/xqVOjU and join the Twitter storm on July 19, Sunday, 21:00 GMT (00:00 Palestine, 17:00 NYC).
Share this post.
EMAIL TO EU TRADE OFFICIALS
Dear _________
I am writing to you with an urgent appeal concerning a Palestinian village in the Israeli occupied West Bank. This village is called Susiya and it is had already been displaced once to make room for an Israeli settlement. Now it is under imminent threat of being destroyed again. The Israeli military has just informed the residents of Susiya that they will start demolishing buildings after the end of Ramadan in a few days.
For more on the continued harassment of the people of Susya by Israeli settlers and military see http://rhr.org.il/eng/save-susya/ http://972mag.com/idf-maps-village-of-susya-as-forced-displacement-looms/106584/
1) Do not let Israeli settlements gain from plunder and restrict the sale of all Israeli settlement products in Europe. In particular bar the importation of Carmel Wines to Europe.
2) Contact the Israeli embassy and demand that the Israeli government cancel its plans to destroy Susiya for the second time.
I am writing to you with an urgent appeal concerning a Palestinian village in the West Bank. This village is called Susiya and it is had already been displaced once to make room for an Israeli settlement. Now it is under imminent threat of being destroyed again. The Israeli military has just informed the residents of Susiya that they will start demolishing buildings after the end of Ramadan, in a few days.
To forcefully evict an entire village is a cruel and illegal act that is about to be repeated by the Israeli military. One cannot escape the conclusion that this policy is a form of systematic discrimination directed at the Palestinians living under Israeli military control. Such an act is so offensive that it implicated those who take part in it as well as those who only let it happen. We urge you to not let this happen and stop the planned demolition of Susiya.
Sincerely ______________
—
-Africa
Angola Raphael Singer consular@luanda.mfa.gov.il
Cameroon info@yaounde.mfa.gov.il
Ethiopia Belaynesh Zevadia embassy@addisababa.mfa.gov.il
Nigeria Uriel Palti info@abuja.mfa.gov.il
Sengal Eli Ben Tura info@dakar.mfa.gov.il
Pretoria Arthur Lank consular@pretoria.mfa.gov.il
Kenya Yahel Vilan info@nairobi.mfa.gov.il
Ghana Sharon Bor-li
amb-sec@accra.mfa.gov.il
-Asia
-China
• Beijing Matan Vilnai info@beijing.mfa.gov.il
• Shanghai Jackie Eldan consulgen-assist@shanghai.mfa.gov.il
• Hong Kong Sagi Karni info@hongkong.mfa.gov.il
• Guangzhou Yaacov Avrahamy info@guangzhou.mfa.gov.il
-India
New Delhi Daniel Carmon consular2@newdelhi.mfa.gov.il
Mumbai David Akov info@mumbai.mfa.gov.il
Tokyo Ruth Kahanoff information@tokyo.mfa.gov.il
Amman cons-sec@amman.mfa.gov.il
Myanmar Daniel Zohar Zonshine info@yangon.mfa.gov.il
Nepal Yaron Mayer info@kathmandu.mfa.gov.il
Philippines Effie Ben Matityau info@manila.mfa.gov.il
Singapore Yael Rubinstein info@singapore.mfa.gov.il
Seoul Uri Gutman info@seoul.mfa.gov.il
Taipei Simona Halperin press@taipei.org.il
Bangkok Simon Roded info@bangkok.mfa.gov.il
Vietnam Meirav Eilon Shahar info@hanoi.mfa.gov.il
-Central America
Costa Rica Abraham Haddad consular1@sanjose.mfa.gov.il
Dominican Republic Bahij Mansour Info@santodomingo.mfa.gov.il
El Salvador Oren Bar El info@sansalvador.mfa.gov.il
Guatemala Moshe Bachar sec-ambassador@guatemala.mfa.gov.il
Mexico Rodica Radian Gordon info@mexico.mfa.gov.il
Panama Alexander Galilee info@panama.mfa.gov.il
-Euro-Asia
Azerbaijan Rafael Harpaz info@baku.mfa.gov.il
Croatia Zina Kalay Kleitman info@zagreb.mfa.gov.il
Georgia Yuval Fuchs press@tbilisi.mfa.gov.il
Kazakhstan Eliyahu Tasman info@astana.mfa.gov.il
-Russia
Moscow Olga Words info@tehila.gov.il
St. Petersberg Michael Lotem info@spb.mfa.gov.il
Serbia Yossef Levy info@belgrade.mfa.gov.il
Ukraine Eliab Byelotserkovski info@kiev.mfa.gov.il
Uzbekistan Carmela Shamir operator@tashkent.mfa.gov.il
-Europe
Mission to UN, Geneva, Eviatar Manor mission-israel@geneva.mfa.gov.il
Mission to European Union, Brussels David Walzer
Austria Zvi Heifetz info-sec@vienna.mfa.gov.il
Bulgaria Shaul Kamisa Raz info@sofia.mfa.gov.il
Cyprus Maria Hadjigeorgiou ambass-sec@nicosia.mfa.gov.il
Prague Gary Koren info@prague.mfa.gov.il
Copenhagen Barukh Binah info@copenhagen.mfa.gov.il
London Daniel Taub info@london.mfa.gov.il
Finland Dan Ashbel info@helsinki.mfa.gov.il
-France
Paris Yossi Gal consul-sec@paris.mfa.gov.il
Marseille Barnea Hassid consulgeneral-sec@marseille.mfa.gov.il
-Germany
Berlin Yakov Hadas-Handelsman botschaft@israel.de
Munich Dan Shaham consul-sec@munich.mfa.gov.il
Greece Irit Ben-Abba pr@athens.mfa.gov.il
Hungary Izrael Allam info@budapest.mfa.gov.il
Ireland Boaz Modai info@dublin.mfa.gov.il
Italy Naor Gilon cons4@roma.mfa.gov.il
Latvia Hagit Ben-Yaakov press@riga.mfa.gov.il
Netherlands Haim Divon consular@hague.mfa.gov.il
Norway Raphael Schutz consular@oslo.mfa.gov.il
Poland, Anna Azari, publicaffairs@warsaw.mfa.gov.il
Portugal Tzipora Rimon israelmb@lisbon.mfa.gov.il
Romania Dan Ben-Eliezer info@bucharest.mfa.gov.il
Slovakia Alexander Ben-Zvi cao-sec@bratislava.mfa.gov.il
Spain Alon Bar info@madrid.mfa.gov.il
Sweden Isaac Bachman info@stockholm.mfa.gov.il
Switzerland Yigal B. Caspi press@bern.mfa.gov.il
Vatican Zion Evrony info@holysee@.mfa.gov.il
-Turkey
Ankara Amira Oron info@ankara.mfa.gov.il
Istanbul Shai Cohen info@istanbul.mfa.gov.il
-North America
-Canada
Ottawa Rafael Barak info@ottawa.mfa.gov.il
Toronto DJ Schneeweiss consular1@toronto.mfa.gov.il
Montreal Ziv Nevo Kulman info@montreal.mfa.gov.il
-USA
Washington D.C. Ron Dermer info@washington.mfa.gov.il
Pacific Northwest San Francisco Andy David Consulardep@SanFrancisco.mfa.gov.il
Los Angeles David Siegel consular-assist@losangeles.mfa.gov.il
Florida and Puerto Rico in Miami Chaim Shacham concal.sec@miami.mfa.gov.il
Atlanta Ofer Aviran info@atlanta.mfa.gov.il
Mid-Atlantic Region Yaron Sideman information@philadelphia.mfa.gov.il
New York Ido Aharoni info@newyork.mfa.gov.il
New England Yehuda Yaakov info@boston.mfa.gov.il
Midwest Roey Gilad contactus@chicago.mfa.gov.il
Houston Eitan Levon concal.sec@houston.mfa.gov.il
-Oceania
Australia Shmuel Ben-Shmuel info@canberra.mfa.gov.i
New Zealand Yosef Livne info@wellington.mfa.gov.il
-South America
Argentina Dorit Shavit info@buenosaires.mfa.gov.il
-Brazil
Sau Paulo Yoel Barnea info@saopaulo.mfa.gov.il
Brasilia Dr. Reda Mansour info@brasilia.mfa.gov.il
Chile Rafael Eldad info@santiago.mfa.gov.il
Colombia Marco Sermoneta info@bogota.mfa.gov.il
Ecuador Eliyahu Yerusalmi info@quito.mfa.gov.il
Peru Ehud Moshe Eitam info@lima.mfa.gov.il
Uruguay Nina Ben-Ami info@montevideo.mfa.gov.il
2 July 2015, in honor of the first anniversary of the murder of Muhammad Abu Khdeir, Palestinian activists with international supporters blocked a settlers-only road leading to the illegal Adam settlement. Demonstrators cited this road as the road that the murderers took in their search for a Palestinian victim. Journalists, Palestinian and international activists, suffered from pepper spray burns and several were hospitalized.
“This is the first in a week of demonstrations for Muhammad Abu Khdeir. One of the murderers, Yosef Haim Ben-David, is from the Adam settlement. This is why the demonstration was held at this settlers-only entrance,” said Abdullah Abu Rahmah, the coordinator of Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements in Bil’in.
Demonstrators blocked the road to settler traffic in both directions until the Israeli Army and Border Police dispersed the non-violent demonstrators and journalists by pepper-spraying indiscriminately. Three Palestinian activists, four journalists, and two International ISM volunteers were pepper sprayed in the eyes and mouth by a masked Army officer. An ISM co-founder as well as journalists from Roya TV Channel, Reuters, and Palestine TV were severely pepper sprayed in the eyes requiring hospitalization.
The soldiers threw sound percussion grenades at demonstrators and chased people. In addition to the pepper spray, they shoved journalists and Palestinian activists to the ground.
After the soldiers and border police chased the demonstrators off the road and down a hill, they continued to throw percussion grenades even as the demonstrators stood at a distance waiting to find fellow demonstrators.
29th June 2015 | Freedom Flotilla Coalition | International Waters, off the coast of Occupied Palestine
At 02:06AM today (Gaza time) the “Marianne” contacted Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) and informed us that three boats of the Israeli navy had surrounded her in international waters, while sailing approximately 100NM from Gaza coast. After that we lost contact with the “Marianne” and at 05:11AM (Gaza time) the IDF announced that they had “visited and searched” Marianne. They had captured the boat and detained all on board “in international waters” as they admitted themselves. The only positive content in the IDF announcement was that they still recognize that there is a naval blockade of Gaza, despite Netanyahu’s government recent denial that one exists.
We have no reason to believe that Marianne’s capture was “uneventful”, because the last time the IDF said something like that, in 2012, the people on board the “Estelle” were badly tasered and beaten with clubs. Back in 2010, ten passengers of Mavi Marmara were murdered by the IDF during a similar operation in international waters.
It is disappointing that the Israeli government chose to continue the absolutely fruitless policy of “no tolerance”, meaning it will continue to enforce an inhumane and illegal collective punishment against 1.8 million Palestinians in Gaza. Israel’s repeated acts of state piracy in international waters are worrying signs that the occupation and blockade policy extends to the entire eastern Mediterranean. We demand that the Israeli government cease and desist the illegal detainment of peaceful civilians travelling in international waters in support of humanitarian aid.
We call on our governments to ensure that all passengers and crew from the “Marianne” are safe, and to strongly protest against the violation of international maritime law by the Israeli state. We call on all civil society organizations to condemn the actions of Israel. People all over the world will continue to respond and react to this injustice, as will we, until the port of Gaza is open and the siege and occupation is ended.
