Category: Press Releases

Gaza Olive harvest begins in the Beit Hanoun buffer zone while strawberry picker in Beit Lahiya is shot by Israeli Snipers

“This tree is blessed for us and our grandfathers and ancestors have taken care of this tree for generations.  I grew up with an olive tree in our back yard and it represents the peaceful life we had always lived on these lands. Now our olive groves are bulldozed and farm workers are shot at so we are here in solidarity with farmers whose lives are made impossible by the Israeli siege and occupation.”

This is how much it meant to Mohammed el Massry, a 20 year old student in Al Azhar University to enter a high risk area to help farmers begin the olive harvest and help maintain land that used to be the breadbasket of the Palestinian economy. In what turned out to be a beautiful day’s climbing, picking and bagging of black and green olives, Mohammed joined other members of the Beit Hanoun ‘Local Initiative’ group accompanied by 4 International Solidarity Movement activists to help farmer Abzel Al Baseony begin the Olive harvest 300 metres from the Erez border wall with Israel.

Beginning early on Tuesday morning, farm workers, Palestinian and international activists marched with flags, buckets, step ladders and hessian bags ready for a morning’s work picking olives, accompanied by the cameras of Arabic and international media. Around the unilaterally imposed Israeli buffer zone – a 300 metre wide belt of land along the Israeli border, farm workers have been picked off by snipers and shelling as a matter of course, often over a kilometer beyond the designated area. A month ago near to where we were picking the olives Grandfather Ibrahim Abu Sayed, his 17 year-old grandson and friend were mutilated and killed by Israeli tank shelling despite being twice as far from the border as we were.

Khalil Nasir, coordinator of the Local Initiative group sees farmers as the first line of resistance:  “We’re here today to offer some support for the farmers who have continued the resistance to the occupation everyday of their lives, not letting go of these lands so near to the Israeli wall. Last month three farm-workers were directly shelled, when all they were doing were tending to their sheep and animals. We thank them for the life they left behind and we want to give farmers along the border whatever support we can.”

Shootings of farmers and destruction of their land are not exceptions – the dangers of farming in the bufferzone were comprehensively documented in the recent United Nations and World Food Programme report: “Between the Fence and a Hard Place”. It concluded that the violence used to restrict Palestinians from accessing their land covers areas up to 1500m from the border fence, meaning that over 35% of Gaza’s most agricultural land is in a high risk area causing severe losses of food production and livelihoods.

This does not stop farmers and their families from continuing to plant and harvest there, their livelihoods and resistance far too important to prevent them from working their own land.  Nor are the regular demonstrations ceasing despite being confronted by frequent live gunfire and many of the demonstrators were pleased to show direct solidarity by picking the olives.

“We have been shot at near here before on peaceful demonstrations”, said 22 year old student Anwar Alaaneen. “I’m here in solidarity with the farmers in Beit Hanoun who are always under threat from shooting and shelling when their land is so close to the Israeli fence. The international community should allow us the right to farm our own land, instead of allowing Israel to continue to commit these crimes.” she added.

Unbeknown to the olive pickers, nearby in the North of Gaza in Beit Lahiya a farm worker in the Siafa area 27 year old Zeyad Mohammed Tambora now and then worked for a farmer in Siafa area, had just finished picking strawberries when suddenly with no warning his right foot was hit by a bullet. He was carried back by his 2 cousins from the farmland at about 300 meter from the fence and they escorted him to a waiting car on a donkey cart. Arriving at hospital Tuesday at about 10.00 AM Zeyad then underwent surgery to stop the bleeding. The bones in his foot are smashed and according to doctors he might have problems to walk for the rest of his life and he is not expected to be walking for a few months.
Whether its for strawberry picking, olive picking or wheat gathering, incidents like this happen on a daily basis in this region. Two days before and last week, two more workers were slightly injured by firing from the border.

The farmer whose olives we were picking laments the history behind the continuous attacks on their land and the destruction of their life before. “There used to be many trees in this area, they bulldozed them and although we have lost so much we have continued to farm it”, said Abzel Al Baseony the farmer whose olives we were picking. “Everyone is afraid coming here to farm. They take photos of us from the control towers so they know who we are yet they still just shoot whenever they want at whatever they want. I’ve been here since 1984 and my father farmed this land before me. We will keep farming.”

Israeli soldiers to testify behind screen in Corrie Case

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

5 October 2010 | Rachel Corrie Foundation

Extraordinary state secrecy motion is granted

Haifa, Israel – The Haifa District Court on Thursday granted a government request to allow soldiers to testify behind a screen in the lawsuit filed by Rachel Corrie’s family against the State of Israel for her unlawful killing in Rafah, Gaza.

The order includes the driver of the bulldozer that killed Rachel, who is slated to testify later this month. However, Judge Oded Gershon ruled that both the commander of the unit and the second soldier in the bulldozer that hit Rachel would testify in plain view, because their faces were already publicly known.

Rachel Corrie, an American human rights defender from Olympia, Washington, was crushed to death on March 16, 2003, by a Caterpillar D9R bulldozer while nonviolently protesting the demolition of Palestinian homes.

In asking for the highly unusual protective measures, state attorneys argued that they were necessary to protect the soldiers’ safety and prevent their images from being circulated. They based the request on an overbroad security certificate issued by Defense Minister Ehud Barak in 2008, but did not provide concrete evidence to substantiate their concerns for the soldiers’ safety or security.

Corrie attorneys opposed the motion, arguing that allowing the soldiers to testify behind a screen infringes upon the right to an open, fair and transparent trial. They asked to dismiss the request, filed just 48 hours before the first soldier’s testimony. Alternatively, the lawyers asked the court to allow the family to see the witnesses even if the public could not, but their request was denied. Lawyers for the Corrie family plan to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court of Israel.

“While Rachel stood in front of a wall to protect the two families huddled behind it, the state is now making the soldiers hide behind a wall that denies us the opportunity to see them,” said Cindy Corrie, Rachel’s mother. “The State of Israel has been hiding for over seven years. Where is the justice?”

Rachel Corrie / Courtesy Rachel Corrie Foundation

The first soldier to testify under the extraordinary new measures was the commander of the second bulldozer. Known to the court only as A.S., with voice muffled behind the screen, he told the court he did not see the other bulldozer strike Rachel and did not remember much about that day.

Contrary to the detailed affidavit he signed less than eight weeks ago, A.S. said he did not know how Rachel had been hurt; did not know the distance from which the bulldozer had approached Rachel; and did not know the height and width of the mound of earth the bulldozer was pushing.

Also testifying on Thursday was the head of the Military Police Special Investigative Unit, Shalom Michaeli, who oversaw the investigation into Rachel’s killing. He told the court that he stood by his 2003 investigation and saw no reason that anyone should have been prosecuted.

Michaeli was also in charge of the investigation into the killing of Iman al Hams, a 13-year-old Gaza school girl who was shot and killed by an Israeli soldier in Rafah as she lay injured on the ground in October 2004. A military police internal investigation subsequently found major failures in Michaeli’s investigation, saying it was conducted unprofessionally and with negligence. The solider who killed al Hams was court-martialed but subsequently acquitted – in part because of this flawed investigation.

Michaeli’s cross-examination revealed similar flaws in the Corrie investigation. These flaws support the family’s claim of government negligence, for allowing soldiers and their commanders to act recklessly using armored military bulldozers without due regard for the presence of civilians.

* Michaeli said that he ordered only a partial transcript of radio transmissions because he did not think it important to transcribe the full audio.

* He said he did not go to the site of Rachel’s killing because it was dangerous, the terrain had already been altered, and the vehicles removed by the Israeli military. He acknowledged that he could have gone to the scene in an armored vehicle, but chose not to.

* Michaeli testified in his written affidavit that when he inspected the bulldozer he did not find any signs of blood or other evidence that the vehicle had injured anyone. However, in court testimony he said the bulldozer could have been washed “or even painted” before he inspected it.

* Michaeli said he knew, prior to opening the investigation, there was a video camera recording the area around the clock. But he failed to obtain the tape until March 23, a week after the incident, because it had been previously taken by senior commanders. When questioned about his failure to interrogate the camera operator, who panned away from the scene only minutes before Rachel was killed, he said he did not think it was relevant.

* When asked whether he questioned the bulldozer crews about an Israeli military manual for low intensity conflict that states bulldozers should not be operated near people, Michaeli said the manuals were not relevant. He added that bulldozer operators could not be expected to follow such procedures in this zone. He went on to say that he believed the Israeli army was “at war” with everyone in the area, including the ISM peace activists.

Michaeli still heads the Military Police Special Investigative Unit, but has since been promoted from Sergeant Major to Warrant Officer.

“Today I was struck by the lead investigator’s failures – his failure to look for evidence, to secure evidence, to resolve conflicting evidence, and to turn evidence over to this court,” said Craig Corrie, Rachel’s father. “This is not what we and the U.S. government were promised by the government of Israel when Rachel was killed and it is not what we will accept now.”

The proceedings on Thursday were attended by representatives of the US Embassy, who have closely followed the hearings throughout the trial.

Subsequent hearings are scheduled for October 17,18 and 21 between the hours of 9:00-16:00 before Judge Oded Gershon at the Haifa, District Court, 12 Palyam St., Haifa, Israel.

Trial in killing of American activist Rachel Corrie resumes in Israeli court

5 October 2010 | Rachel Corrie Foundation

Haifa, Israel – The Haifa District Court will resume hearings on Thursday, October 7 in the civil lawsuit filed by Rachel Corrie’s family against the State of Israel for her unlawful killing in Rafah, Gaza.

Rachel Corrie, an American student activist and human rights defender from Olympia, Washington, was crushed to death on March 16, 2003, by a Caterpillar D9R bulldozer while nonviolently protesting Palestinian home demolitions with fellow members of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM).

The first phase of the trail began in March 2010, when the Corrie family presented its witnesses, including several of Rachel’s colleagues from ISM who witnessed her killing. During the second phase of the trial, which began in September, the government will present several witnesses, including the Israeli military police investigator who headed the investigation into Rachel’s death, and the bulldozer operators who struck and killed her.

“When our daughter was killed, the Israeli government promised a thorough, credible and transparent investigation into her death, and neither our family nor our government believes that standard has been met,” said Cindy Corrie. “After seven years, we hope the government witnesses will be compelled by this trial to provide some of the answers that have so long been denied us.”

The lawsuit charges that Rachel’s killing was intentional. Alternately, it charges that the Israeli government was negligent for allowing Israeli soldiers and military commanders to act recklessly using an armored military bulldozer without due regard to the presence of unarmed, nonviolent civilians in Rafah. It also alleges that the Israeli military failed
to take appropriate and necessary measures to protect Rachel’s life, in violation of obligations under Israeli and international law.

The government of Israel argues that Rachel’s killing took place in the course of armed conflict in a closed military zone and should be considered an “Act of War,” or “War Operation,” and that its soldiers are therefore not liable for her death under Israeli law. It also argued that the case should be dismissed based on controversial legal theory that actions of the Israeli army in Rafah, Gaza, should be considered “Acts of State.” Finally, the government argues that Rachel acted in reckless disregard of her life and was responsible for her own death.

The proceedings have been attended by representatives of the US embassy, Lawyers without Borders, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), the Arab Association for Human Rights, Al Haq, Adalah, and Human Rights Watch.

“We pursue this case not just for our daughter,” said Craig Corrie, “but for the many civilians killed in Gaza, still remembered, still loved, still awaiting justice.”

Hearings are scheduled for October 7, 17,18 and 21 between the hours of 9:00-16:00 before Judge Oded Gershon at the Haifa, District Court, 12 Palyam St., Haifa, Israel.

See any changes to the schedule and register to receive further press releases at www.rachelcorriefoundation.org.

Four men arrested in a night raid in Ni’lin

5 October 2010 | ISM Media

Tonight, around 2 am, the Israeli army entered the West Bank village of Ni`lin and arrested four Palestinians: Muhammed Ahmed Younis Amireh, Othman Risiqe Rasheed Amireh, Tarik Hassan Tawfeeq Mesleh and Asad Muhammed Abdulfattah Nafi.

Israeli soldiers on foot arrived from the gate in the illegal apartheid wall and from the fields around Ni’lin. As they do very often, they surrounded the village and snipers from different positions made sure that nobody could leave their houses.

About 50 soldiers went to arrest Muhammed Ahmed Amireh, 17 years old. In 2008 his brother Yousuf got shot with 3 rubber bullets in his head during a demonstration against the apartheid wall and died after 4 days. Yesterday night the soldiers entered forcefully Muhammed’s house, destroying furniture and everything they could reach and took him outside. After that he was handcuffed and tied up, the Israeli soldiers started beating and kicking him very hard while his mother was screaming and trying in vain to stop them. He was bleeding when they took him to the fields, where they had parked their military jeeps.

After that, about 30 soldiers brutally arrested Othman Risiqe Rasheed Amireh, 45 years old. They cuffed and blindfolded him in front of his wife. She is suffering from a late stage cancer and Othman was the only one that could take care of her. The Israeli army already went to visit their house about six weeks ago, destroying furniture and objects and taking pictures in order to intimidate Othman.

After a bit, seven military jeeps entered the village and the soldiers went to arrest two University students: Asad Muhammed Abdulfattah Nafi, 20 years old, and Tarik Hassan Tawfeeq Mesleh, 18. Tarik regularly takes part in the anti-wall demos as a volunteer of the Red Crescent.

Background

Israel began construction of the Wall on Ni’lin’s land in 2004, but stopped after an injunction order issued by the Israeli Supreme Court (ISC). Despite the previous order and a 2004 ruling from the International Court of Justice declaring the Wall illegal, construction of the Wall began again in May 2008. Following the return of Israeli bulldozers to their lands, residents of Ni’lin have launched a grassroots campaign to protest the massive land theft, including demonstrations and direct actions.

The original route of the Wall, which Israel began constructing in 2004, was ruled illegal by the ISC, as was a second, marginally less obtrusive proposed route. The most recent path, now completed, still cuts deep into Ni’lin’s land. The Wall has been built to include plans, not yet approved by the Army’s planning authority, for a cemetery and an industrial zone for the illegal settlement Modi’in Ilit.

Since the Wall was built to annex more land to the nearby settlements rather than in a militarily strategic manner, demonstrators have been able to repeatedly dismantle parts of the electronic fence and razor-wire surrounding it. Consequently, the army has erected a 15-25 feet tall concrete wall, in addition to the electronic fence. The section of the Wall in Ni’lin is the only part of the route where a concrete wall has been erected in response to civilian, unarmed protest.

As a result of the Wall construction, Ni’lin has lost 3,920 dunams, roughly 30% of its remaining lands. Originally, Ni’lin consisted of 15,898 dunams (3928 acres). Post 1948, Ni’lin was left with 14,794 dunams (3656 acres). After the occupation of the West Bank in 1967, the illegal settlements and infrastructure of Modi’in Ilit, Mattityahu and Hashmonaim were built on village lands, and Ni’lin lost another 1,973 dunams. With the completion of the Wall, Ni’lin has a remaining 8911 dunams (2201 acres), 56% of it’s original size.

Ni’lin is effectively split into 2 parts (upper and lower) by Road 446, which was built directly through the village. According to the publicized plan of the Israeli government, a tunnel will be built under road 446 to connect the upper and lower parts of Ni’lin, allowing Israel to turn Road 446 into a segregated-setter only road. Subsequently, access for Palestinian vehicles to this road and to the main entrances of upper and lower Ni’lin will be closed. Additionally, since the tunnel will be the only entryway to Ni’lin, Israel will have control over the movement of Palestinian residents.

Israel commonly uses tear-gas projectiles, rubber coated steel bullets and live ammunition against demonstrators.

Since May, 2008, five of Ni’lin’s residents were killed and one American solidarity activist was critically injured from Israeli fire during grassroots demonstrations in Ni’lin.

  • 5 June 2009: Yousef Akil Srour (36) was shot in the chest with 0.22 caliber live ammunition and pronounced dead upon arrival at a Ramallah hospital.
  • 13 March 2009: Tristan Anderson (37), an American citizen, was shot in the head with a high velocity tear gas projectile. He is currently at Tel Hashomer hospital near Tel Aviv with uncertain prospects for his recovery.
  • 28 December 2008: Mohammed Khawaje (20) was shot in the head with 5.56mm caliber live ammunition. He died in a Ramallah hospital 3 days later on 31 December 2008.
  • 28 December 2008: Arafat Rateb Khawaje (22) was shot in the back with 5.56mm caliber live ammunition and pronounced dead upon arrival at a Ramallah hospital.
  • 30 July 2008: Yousef Amira (17) was shot in the head with two rubber coated steel bullets. He died in a Ramallah hospital 5 days later on 4 August 2008.
  • 29 July 2008: Ahmed Mousa (10) was shot in the forehead with 5.56mm caliber live ammunition and pronounced dead upon arrival at a Ramallah hospital.

In total, 20 people have been killed during demonstrations against the Wall.

Israeli armed forces have shot 40 demonstrators with live ammunition in Ni’lin. Of them, 11 were shot with 5.56mm caliber live ammunition and 29 were shot with 0.22 caliber live ammunition.

Since May 2008, over 112 arrests of Ni’lin residents have been made in relation to anti-Wall protest in the village. The protesters arrested by the army constitute roughly 9% of the village’s male residents aged between 12 and 55. The arrests are part of a broad politically motivated Israeli campaign to suppress grassroots resistance to the Occupation.

Action Alert: We stand with Abdallah Abu Rahmah

Jewish Voice for Peace

4 October 2010

Seized in the night. Tortured. Held without trial, then tried in a military court where you have no rights; convicted on the coerced confessions of minors, you are facing a sentence of years in prison. All for organizing peaceful protests against the theft of your land and asserting your democratic rights.

Most of us who believe in human rights and democracy can never imagine being treated in such a way. Yet that is exactly what befell Abdallah Abu Rahmah, a democracy advocate from Bil’in in the Occupied West Bank. His town is known around the world for the determination of its residents – joined by Israelis and internationals in solidarity – to protest weekly against the theft of their land by Israeli authorities.

In Abdallah’s case, the charges were as bogus as the consequences were grave. He had collected spent tear gas canisters (see picture) to represent the harshness of the Israeli soldiers’ continuing violent response to unarmed demonstrators, and which had caused the death of Bassem Abu Rahme, Mr. Abu Rahmah’s cousin.

Israel charged, that Abdallah intended to use the no longer viable canisters as weapons. They arrested him, charging him as a security risk! This illustrates that the Israeli Defense Forces are far more afraid of unarmed protest than of armed resistance, and showing that they view Palestinians asserting their democratic rights as a crime. He was convicted on the ridiculous charges of “organizing illegal marches” and “incitement” after a unfair trial, and is now facing years in prison.

We who draw inspiration from his actions cannot let this happen. Now is the time to raise our voices and ensure Abdallah Abu Rahmah is free to organize and advocate for the rights of his community. We stand with Abdallah.

Israel needs to realize that leaders like Abdallah offer the best hope for a just peace for Israelis and Palestinains alike. We need to tell our governments to use their influence with Israel to free Abdallah Abu Rahmah.