Salfit District Week of Non-violent Resistance

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Where: Salfit District, West Bank
When: Saturday, July 16 – Thursday, July 21, 2005

Residents of the Salfit District join with international and Israeli peace activists to hold a week of non-violent resistance actions from Saturday, July 16 through Thursday, July 21. These actions are organized by the Popular Committee Against the Wall and supported by the International Solidarity Movement and International Womens Peace Service.

Activists will march along the route of the Apartheid Wall to see first-hand the ongoing construction of the Wall and meet with residents who have been severely impacted by the confiscation of land for the Wall. They will also learn about the growing non-violent movement in the region, which has held more than 50 non-violent protests against the Wall during the last year.

The section of the Wall around the illegal Ariel settlement is located approximately 20 km inside the Green Line. It’s slated to confiscate approximately 6,243 acres (24,972 dunums) from the villages of Hares, Kifl Hares, Marda, Iskaka and Salfit Many other villages in the Salfit district, including Mas-ha, Az-Zawiya, Rafat, and Deir Ballut have also lost land due to the construction of the Wall.

  • Sat, July 16 Marchers will gather at Marda at 9:00 a.m. to meet with village residents, then march from Iskaka to Salfit along the route of the Wall
  • Sun, July 17 March from Salfit to Kifl Haris, Deir Istia, Wadi Qana, and Haris
  • Mon, July 18 Visits to villages of Sarta, Biddya, and Mas-ha
  • Tues, July 19 Visit Hani Aamer’s home which has been enclosed by the Wall in Mas’ha, visits to Az Zawiya and Rafat, meet with families who have land confiscated due to Wall construction
  • Wed, July 20 Meeting with the village council, participants in the summer camp, and Women for Life in Az Zawiya, 10-2 p.m.
  • Thurs, July 21 Deir Ballut, march to nearly completed school where construction has been frozen by the Israeli army; visits to Kafr ad Dik and Bruqin.

46 killed, 462 injured, 1249 arrested in three months

Saed Bannoura, IMEMC & Agencies

The Palestinian Ministry of Interior issued a new report on the continuous military violations carried out by the Israeli army in the occupied territories between March 1 and June 30, 2005. In dozens of military invasions and operations carried out by the army in the Palestinian territories, 46 Palestinian residents were killed and 462 were injured. Additionally, the report said, 1,249 Palestinians were arrested during army raids on Palestinian cities, towns, villages and refugee camps.

Israel has also released 900 prisoners after the Sharm Al-Sheikh cease-fire agreement.

Israeli military orders annexed around 33,803 Dumans (approximately 10,000 acres) of farmlands for the Wall, settlements, settlement roads, and military usage. The Israeli army repeatedly invaded Palestinian areas and carried out military operations, especially in the West Bank cities of Hebron, Nablus, Tulkarem and Jenin. Military roadblocks and checkpoints remained closed in most cases, barring the residents from leaving their areas. Dozens of residents, including children, were injured in separate attacks carried out by
extremist settlers in the West Bank.

The most recent attack was carried out by an extremist settler group of the Ramat Yeshai illegal outpost in Hebron. One child and two residents were injured. Also on July 13, settlers attacked and burned a home in Aseera al-Qibliyya village near the West Bank city of Nablus.

The Interior Ministry report also noted that Palestinian resistance fighters fired 434 homemade shells since the Sharm al-Sheikh understanding was reached on March 8, 2005. 197 of the shells landed and exploded in Palestinian areas. Eight residents were killed, 71 injured and 5 homes were damaged.

All Eyes On Gaza Disengagement

What May Come After the Evacuation of Jewish Settlers from the Gaza Strip?
A Warning from Israel

By Uri Davis, Ilan Pappe, and Tamar Yaron

We feel that it is urgent and necessary to raise the alarm regarding what may come during and after evacuation of Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip occupied by Israel in 1967, in the event that the evacuation is implemented.

We held back on getting this statement published and circulated, seeking additional feedback from our peers. The publication in Ha’aretz (22 June 2005) quoting statements by General (Reserves) Eival Giladi, the head of the Coordination and Strategy team of the Prime Minister’s Office, motivated us not to delay publication and circulation any further. Confirming our worst fears, General (Res.) Eival Giladi went on record in print and on television to the effect that “Israel will act in a very resolute manner in order to prevent terror attacks and [militant] fire while the disengagement is being implemented” and that “If pinpoint response proves insufficient, we may have to use weaponry that causes major collateral damage, including helicopters and planes, with mounting danger to surrounding people.”

We believe that one primary, unstated motive for the determination of the government of the State of Israel to get the Jewish settlers of the Qatif (Katif) settlement block out of the Gaza Strip may be to keep them out of harm’s way when the Israeli government and military possibly trigger an intensified mass attack on the approximately one and a half million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, of whom about half are 1948 Palestine refugees.

The scenario could be similar to what has already happened in the past – a tactic that Ariel Sharon has used many times in his military career – i.e., utilizing provocation in order to launch massive attacks.

Following this pattern, we believe that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz are considering to utilize provocation for vicious attacks in the near future on the approximately one and a half million Palestinian inhabitants of the Gaza Strip: a possible combination of intensified state terror and mass killing. The Israeli army is not likely to risk the kind of casualties to its soldiers that would be involved in employing ground troops on a large scale in the Gaza Strip. With General Dan Halutz as Chief of Staff they don’t need to. It was General Dan Halutz, in his capacity as Commander of the Israeli Air Force, who authorized the bombing of a civilian Gaza City quarter with a bomb weighing one ton, and then went on record as saying that he sleeps well and that the only thing he feels when dropping a bomb is a slight bump of the aircraft.

The initiators of this alarm have been active for many decades in the defense of human rights inside the State of Israel and beyond. We do not have the academic evidence to support our feeling, but given past behavior, ideological leanings and current media spin initiated by the Israeli government and military, we believe that the designs of the State of Israel are clear, and we submit that our educated intuition with matters pertaining to the defense of human rights has been more often correct than otherwise.

We urge all those who share the concern above to add their names to ours and urgently give this alarm as wide a circulation as possible.

Circulating and publishing this text may constitute a significant factor in deterring the Israeli government, thus protecting the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip from this very possible catastrophe and contributing to prevent yet more war crimes from occurring.

Please sign, circulate, and publish this alarm without delay! call for action from peace and human rights organizations now:

Please send notification of your signature to Tamar Yaron: tiyaron@hazorea.org.il

Abdallah Abu Rahme, The Palestinian Gandhi Arrested in Bili’n

During today’s non-violent demonstration in Bil’in, two members of the popular committee against the wall, AbedAllah abu Rachme, The Palestinian Gahndi and Akram AlKhateeb were arrested. In addition, two Israeli peace activists, Einat Pudnacharni and Michal Greenberg were arrested. Initially, Israelis and four internationals were also detained, but they were later released. 10 demonstrators were wounded; 2 by rubber bullets, and 2 Israelis were beaten during their arrest.

Israeli Army Continues Night-time Invasions of Hares

by International Women’s Peace Services

At approximately 12:30 a.m. two army jeeps entered the village of Hares and three army jeeps stationed themselves at the western entrance into the village. At approximately 1:30 a.m. soldiers entered the home of Yasser. They were able to open the door without breaking it. They proceeded to the roof, looking briefly into the room where Yasser’s wife and four young children were cowering. After searching the roof, they came down and asked for her husband. She responded that he was not there. The soldiers proceeded towards the door, opened the refrigerator that was located near it, then searched the guest room, an area underneath the house and then finally left. They were there approximately 30 minutes.

At approximately 1:30 a.m. soldiers knocked on the door of another house. They were let in. They started to proceed to the roof but were told by the husband to take another path because his wife and children were in that room. After searching the roof, they left. They were there approximately 15 minutes.

At approximately 1:45 a.m. soldiers rang the buzzer of the home of Abdul Rahim. They banged the door but the family did not answer. After about 15 minutes, the soldiers went around to the back of the house and knocked on the adjacent unit where Abdul Rahim’s brother lives with his family. The wife opened the door and the soldiers told her to tell the family of Abdul Rahim that if they did not answer the door the army would blow up the house. The soldiers came back around to the front and banged loudly on the door. Finally, it was opened and the soldiers proceeded inside. The family consists of twenty members including 9 children, 6 women and 5 men. Most of the family was cowering in one room while the husband and father asked the army why they were there. The two men received no answer. The soldiers cursed at the two men, told them to stay downstairs with the rest of the family and then proceeded to the roof of the house. They stayed there approximately 20 minutes and then left.

Report by: Wendy, Ingrid and Laura.
Date report written on: Thursday, July 13, 2005