16 February 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Nabi Saleh, Occupied Palestine
Political prisoner and member of the Popular Committee in Nabi Saleh, Bassem Tamimi, was released on Sunday 10th February after spending almost four months inside Israeli military prisons.
Bassem was arrested in the first BDS action in an illegal Israeli colony – a non-violent protest against a branch of the Rami Levy supermarket. At the time, Israeli occupation forces violently detained Bassem, breaking three of his ribs in the process. He was subsequently interrogated for participating in an unauthorized demonstration and the suspected assault of a police officer.
Bassem has previously spent a year in prison for his non-violent leadership of the popular resistance in Nabi Saleh, he was released in March 2012. During his previous imprisonment he was recognised as a human rights defender by the European Union and a Prisoner of Conscience by Amnesty International.
Bassems home coming was not the usual celebration one might expect for someone freed from detention. The first thing Bassem did when he was released was visit the grave yard to pay respect to his brother in law, Rushdi Tamimi, who was killed while Bassem was in prison. Rushdi was shot and then beaten during protests against the most recent Gaza massacre, in Nabi Saleh, he died two days later in hospital.
Bassem now has to live with horrendous bail conditions which deny him his basic human rights. He has had the rights of association and the right to assemble stripped away from him. If he is caught in group of more than 50 people in the next 3 years he will have to face an 8 month prison term in Israeli Jails.
15 February 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Ofer Prison, Occupied Palestine
A demonstration was held outside Ofer prison in Ramallah as part of a week of action in solidarity with Palestinian political prisoners, and in particular to protest the continued detention of Samer Assawi who is on his 207th day of hunger strike whilst being held without charge.
Several hundred attended traditional Friday prayers which were held outside the prison gates in an act of nonviolent resistance.
Prayers outside Ofer prison
Clashes ensued between protesters, including stone-throwing youth, and the Israeli army which responded by firing tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets and, later on, live ammunition. During the clashes, which continued for around three hours, two Palestinians from Ramallah were hit by live ammunition in the shoulder and the leg. Dozens of Palestinians, including journalists, were taken away in ambulances to be treated for injuries caused by rubber-coated steel bullets as well as teargas inhalation. There are also reports of ambulances being deliberately targeted with rubber-coated steel bullets as injured protesters were being carried inside. This demonstration coincided with dozens of others across the West Bank.
Person being taken away in a stretcher after being shot with live ammunitionPerson being carried away in stretcher after tear gas inhalation
Vociferous local campaign by the No2 Veolia Action Group leads Occupation profiteer Veolia to withdraw from colossal waste management contracts. No 2 Veolia Action Group (No2VAG) are celebrating a huge victory with the withdrawal of Veolia, a multinational company complicit in Israeli violations of international law, from the final stage of the North London procurement process.
In a statement on 21st December the North London Waste Authority, which represents the seven London boroughs covered by the £4.7bn contracts, made the dramatic announcement that it had “received notification from Veolia Environmental Services that they will not be submitting final tenders for either NLWA’s waste services or fuel use contracts.” For two years the No2VAG has vigorously campaigned for Veolia to be removed from the list of bidders due to its grave misconduct in providing infrastructure to illegal Israeli settlements. Despite this involvement, Veolia was shortlisted for the final bids in February 2012.
This extraordinary withdrawal of Veolia comes after an intensification of the campaign against the company. The No2VAG staged twelve protests over the last two months at each council contributing £600m to the £4.7bn contracts.
The procurement process was shrouded in secrecy and campaigners faced a wall of denial when it came to Veolia’s unethical practices, environmental and technical shortcomings and financial instability. Engineer Rob Langlands and secretary of No2VAG said, “North London residents want an environmentally responsible and cost effective solution to waste disposal. The Veolia technical proposals were not on track to provide this. I am especially delighted because of the ongoing Veolia involvement in the illegal Israeli settlements that the Veolia bids have now been consigned to the rubbish bin.”
Yael Kahn, chair of No2VAG said, “Our strategy to force councillors to seriously consider and publicly debate the issues at stake and the further actions planned No2VAG played a critical role in achieving our aim of eliminating Veolia from the NLWA procurement process.”
On 21st November, No2VAG spokeswoman Caroline Day was surprised to discover that her deputation regarding Veolia to Hackney Council, which had been approved by the council lawyers, was prevented by a procedural motion supported by the Mayor of Hackney.
It was reported in the Jewish Chronicle that the motion had been drafted by UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI). David Lewis from UKLFI then told the Hackney Gazette newspaper that an “instrumental” role had been played by Hackney Councillor Luke Akehurst, the director of campaigns at ‘We Believe in Israel’, an advocacy network created by the Britain Israel Communications Research Centre (BICOM). On hearing the news that Veolia had withdrawn Caroline said, “This is a huge victory for local democracy. Powerful lobbies representing unethical interests in the illegal settlements may have won a short-term victory in silencing me, but in standing up for their right to see their money invested ethically, local people have achieved a victory for justice.”
On 13th December the arbitrary nature of Hackney Council’s political censorship was exposed and a symbolic victory was achieved when Irfan Akhtar of Waltham Forest Council of Mosques and the No2VAG gave a powerful speech at a Waltham Forest Council meeting detailing why Veolia was an unsuitable choice for an important public service. Irfan was delighted with the news and said, “This massive victory is the result of serious campaigning by people who possess the common and moral sense to stand up against injustice. No2VAG working tirelessly across all seven boroughs over nearly two years has paid dividends. The WF Council of Mosques is proud to be part of this campaign and we know all victory is from God and we dedicate this victory to the people of Palestine.”
Following the NLWA announcement, Israeli-born Yael Kahn responded by saying, “I was determined to block Veolia and the only question was how to achieve that. The NLWA appeared equally determined to select Veolia in spite of the evidence against the company. It was the toughest campaign of my life but I was haunted by the thought of Veolia which has been instrumental in Palestinians being driven out of their homes in occupied east Jerusalem and the West Bank, getting a £4.7bn handout from us in north London.”
Multinational companies like Veolia are finding that around the world complicity with Israeli war crimes is increasingly bad business. Just yesterday, on 20th December, the St Louis City Board shelved a Veolia contract pending an investigation into the company’s association with human rights abuses, corruption and violations of law. This is the latest setback for the beleaguered multinational occupation profiteer, which has been denied contracts in several European cities in the wake of campaigns by human rights activists.
The No2VAG would like to thank all the people who actively contributed to the intensive lobbying of our elected representatives, collected many thousands of signatures against Veolia and made their voices heard at protests and in the local media and special thanks to the WF Council of Mosques for their pivotal role in this campaign.
12 February 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Urif, Nablus, Occupied Palestine
UPDATE: All of those detained today have been released and the Brit who was pepper sprayed has been let out of hospital
At around 11am this morning, a group of internationals including three volunteers from the Michigan Peace Team travelled to Urif in Nablus. They were attempting to assist in planting olive trees at the top of the village near the school, an area which has been the scene of much of the recent troubles in Urif.
Despite being nowhere near the illegal Israeli settlement, Yizhar, Israel forces have a constant presence on the hilltop. One local resident said, “we always know when we are about to be attacked by settlers, because the army leave their position at the top of the hill“.
On arrival activists were immediately approached by the Israeli Occupation Force who were asking for internationals’ passports, the army then tried to arrest a Palestinian farmer.
The internationals tried to intervene but 6 including three from the Michigan Peace Team and 3 volunteers from the ISM were arrested. The three ISM activist currently in detention at the Ariel settlement are from America, Denmark and Finland; no Palestinians were arrested.
Two ISM volunteers were pepper sprayed which hospitalised one British volunteer.
29 January 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus, Occupied Palestine
The Israeli army and illegal settlers have been, on almost daily basis for the past two months, invading and attacking the village of Urif in the West Bank. A local doctor reports that these actions have inflicted 17 miscarriages only in the month of December, numerous injuries, sleep deprivation and significant disruption to life. The attacks occur day and night. Tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets as well as live ammunition are routinely used by the army. The village has been the site of regular attacks over many years, but from early December 2012 there has been a significant increase.
A video published shows soldiers entering a silent Urif around 1 am on the 29th December. The soldiers explode sound bombs, use an air raid siren and boast through a loud-speaker “good morning Urif, get up all the village, get up” (4:15) and then repeatedly use the horn on an army vehicle (6:28). These night incursions have become a frequent occurrence in Urif and continue up till now.
Large amounts of tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets are being used against the villagers, continually inflicting a high number of casualties. A local doctor – a primary healthcare worker, reports that there have been 17 miscarriages in the past month as a direct result of this gas. The doctor describes how his wife lost her unborn child: “After the gas entered my home, my wife started to have a discharge of blood. We went to the hospital for an ultrasound scan and we saw there was no longer a heartbeat.” He gives an account of another case: “My neighbour was pregnant for 8 months but after a gas attack they also lost their baby.” In a village of barely 3000 people, this is a huge anomaly in miscarriages.
Jim, an international solidarity activist present in Urif, observed that “the gas is very strong, it has a potent effect even from a great distance and we have seen the army firing this gas directly at people’s homes. Sometimes the whole village is in a cloud of this chemical gas”. One of the villagers describes the gas further: “My face burns and I cannot breathe, it is not like the normal gas. With this gas, my sight is affected, everything is blurred and I feel dizzy”. According to other villagers, the gas also affects animals. Eight sheep have died from its inhalation, one pregnant cow miscarried and then died shortly after a still birth. The gas seems to have inflicted death to many new born puppies, too.
Settlers from Yitzhar, the nearby illegal settlement, regularly throw stones at the local school and shout abuse at children inside. Recently, the army fired tear gas into the school while the children were sitting their end of year exams. On New Year’s Day a wedding was attacked with gas and a mentally ill man was shot with a rubber-coated steel bullet, as the villagers reported to the international activists. The bullet lodged in his leg, as he was shot at such close range. On 10th January settlers were shooting live bullets, throwing stones, uprooting olive trees and attacked two houses. A similar scenario occurred in the village of Qusra, with settlers from the Esh Kodesh and Qida illegal settlements attacking at the same time when the attack in Urif was underway, thus raising the possibility that these were coordinated attacks.
Further attacks on the local population of Urif might lead to even more miscarriages and other health issues. “The army must stop immediately all attacks on the village, including the heavy usage of tear gas and night rides, and prevent all settler attacks,” international solidarity activists monitoring the area near to Nablus conclude.
Tamimi, was released on Sunday 10th February after spending almost four months inside Israeli military prisons.
