International convoy to Gaza

English – Italian

Let’s go to Gaza!

On the 21st April, a meeting regarding the discussions and reflections on the murder of Vittorio Arrigoni was held in Rome amongst different activists. From the gathering, the need to organize a convoy to Gaza through Egypt was decided.

Let’s start this process by sharing those points:

– We want to go to Gaza through Rafah Border Crossing with all in the world that need to say aloud what Vittorio used to say: Stay human! We want to do it from Egypt because, in the post Mubarak era, that border must be opened to break the siege imposed for too long on the people in Gaza.
– We want to be in Gaza on the 15th May which is the 1 month anniversary of Vittorio’s death. It will be also Nakba day, when thousands of young Palestinians, as already announced, will go back to the street all over the world to ask for the end of the occupation and also, a new unity and the end of the internal division within the Palestinian authorities.

We want to go to Gaza for different reasons:

– Although Vittorio was killed, it has to be clear that they can not stop the international support for the Palestinian people. Also thanks to him now the international support is much stronger and united against the occupation both of Gaza and of the West Bank.
– We want to give voice and continuity to the work that Vittorio, together with palestinian men and wemen was bringing forward. Partucularly the independent information that he managed to pass to the world from the besieged gaza strip. For this reason, we will bring materials, tools and all we need to give life to a Media Center dedicated to Vittorio.
– The Freedom Flotilla will soon sail towards Gaza. Even though the two initiatives are organised separately, the two journeys, both via land and via sea, could reinforce each other to break the siege of Gaza.

Further info:
– The convoy will last six/seven days in order to give the possibility to participate for as many people as possible.
– It will take place between the 11th and 19th May.The exact dates will be agreed in few days with the people in Gaza that will host us.

So, lets start to get ready!
– It will cost around 450/500 Euros all included. And depending on the number of participants, it might be cheaper.
– For any question and to join the caravan please contact us using this e-mail vik2gaza@autistici.org or this phone number
+39-3333666713.These contacts will be running from monday 25th of April.
– We are opening a website called ‘vik2gaza’ to publicise information.
– We will activate a bank account where we will start to collect feas for accommodation and transport costs and the visas from Egypt.
– We will need some personal preparation to engage in this trip.

CO.R.UM.- Convoglio Restiamo Umani – Stay Human Convoy

……………………………………………………………………………………………………….

ANDIAMO A GAZA!

A Roma il 21 Aprile si è svolta una assemblea cittadina frutto delle discussioni e delle riflessioni scaturite dopo l’assassinio di Vittorio Arrigoni. Dall’assemblea è uscito un largo consenso e una ferma convinzione della necessità di andare a Gaza adesso, passando dall’Egitto.

Iniziamo questo processo condividendo i seguenti punti:

– Vogliamo andare a Gaza passando dal valico di Rafah con tutti e tutte coloro che nel mondo condividono l’urgenza di gridare forte e chiaro quello che la voce di Vittorio ci ha detto tante volte: Restiamo Umani! Lo vogliamo fare dal confine egiziano perché reputiamo nell’era post Mubarak che quel valico deve aprirsi per rompere un assedio a cui la Striscia di Gaza è ormai da troppo tempo costretta.

– Vogliamo stare a Gaza il 15 maggio, ad un mese dall’uccisione di Vittorio, il giorno della nakba, quando migliaia di giovani palestinesi hanno annunciato che torneranno in piazza in tutto il mondo per chiedere la fine dell’occupazione ma anche una nuova unità e la fine delle divisioni interne all’Autorità Palestinese.

Vogliamo entrare per diversi motivi:
– Perchè anche se hanno ucciso Vittorio deve essere chiaro che non possono fermare la solidarietà internazionale verso la popolazione palestinese e che grazie a lui è ancora più forte e unita control’ occupazione di Gaza e della West Bank.

– Perchè vogliamo continuare a dare voce ai percorsi che Vittorio, insieme agli uomini e alle donne palestinesi, stava portando avanti, soprattutto quel lavoro di informazione indipendente che Vittorio aveva saputo trasmettere da una Gaza continuamente assediata. Per questo porteremo giù le nostre attrezzature per dar vita ad un Media Center dedicato proprio a lui.

– A breve partirà anche una Flottilla internazionale alla volta di Gaza e le due iniziative via terra e via mare, anche se diverse e organizzate separatamente, si possono rafforzare a vicenda per rompere l’assedio.

Alcune informazioni pratiche per iniziare:

– la durata del convoglio sarà di circa 6/7 giorni per poter dare modo a tante persone di organizzarsi con cosi poco anticipo.
-il periodo sarà incluso tra l’11 e il 19 maggio, le date saranno definite in maniera più dettagliata entro pochi giorni. Intanto
cominciate a tenervi liberi e libere!
– il costo di tutto il periodo sarà di circa 450/500 euro, sperando di abbassare la cifra con il crescere delle persone.
– stiamo aprendo un sito internet per raccogliere tutte le informazioni necessarie si chiamerà vik2gaza
– abbiamo attivato una e-mail (vik2gaza@autistici.org) e un numero di telefono (+39-3333666713) per raccogliere le adesioni.
– stiamo attivando un conto presso il quale sarà possibile versare una quota di partecipazione per organizzare gli spostamenti e i
pernottamenti.
– saranno necessari dei momenti di preparazione per poter affrontare nel migliore dei modi questo viaggio.

Settlers attack villager in Burin

20 April 2011 | International Solidarity Movement

Press attacked by settlers

On Tuesday 19 April in Burin a small village in the West Bank of Palestine, Aby Rusli-Eid, 36 year old Palestinian was savagely attacked by an armed gang of Israeli settlers from the nearby illegal settlement of Arusi.

Aby Rusli-Eid is a policeman for the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and was attacked at around 6 pm. His house is the closest in the village to the illegal settlement. Aby Rusli-Eid was sat in the living room with his wife and his five children when he heard loud shouting from outside the house, he went outside sure in the knowledge that there were armed settlers nearby but bravely choosing to keep the violence as far away from his home and his family as he could, he closed the door behind him to try and protect them.

There were around 20 heavily armed settlers outside, carrying both semi automatic rifles and handguns. Aby was shot twice almost immediately, once in the arm and once in the stomach. He is currently stable and recovering in hospital but whether he will regain the mobility of all of the fingers on his right hand is currently unsure.

Settlers descending on Burin

According to Aby Rusli-Eid this is not the first time; over the last two years his house has been attacked more than five times, both with bullets and with petrol bombs. Two other men were also shot but were in a much better condition and had already left the hospital when the interview was conducted. The other men were shot trying to get to Aby Rusli-Eid’s house to try and help his family. The settlers who attacked apparently wore no face masks and walked around brazenly within the village.

Settlers from the same illegal settlement apparently last attacked the village no more than two days ago, coming to the top of the hill overlooking the houses and shooting live rounds sporadically into the village, luckily no one was injured.

This time the Israeli army turned up an hour later, long after the settlers had returned to their illegal houses. Much too late to do anything other than fire tear gas at the Palestinians from the village who had gathered at the home which had been attacked to try and support the family living there. According to witnesses on the scene two men were also taken to hospital suffering from inhaling too much of the gas. When the ISM team got there at least two shots were fired by the soldiers in the direction of the village, but to what end it wasn’t clear.

Aby Rusli-Eid has had his family moved to a safer house so they will be protected for now, but when asked if he thought it likely the settlers would return his reply was unequivocal “yes they will return.”

Hundreds celebrate popular struggle at the opening of the 6th Bil’in conference

20 April 2011 | Popular Struggle Coordination Committee

Dozens of diplomats and senior figures from across the Palestinian political spectrum joined hundreds of activists in the opening of the 6th International Bil’in Conference on Popular Resistance. Palestinian PM, Salam Fayyad, called for the international community to promote Palestinian self determination.

The 6th International Bil’in Conference on Popular Resistance opened today in a festive opening session participated by Palestinian Prime Minister, Salam Fayyad, the recently released protest organizer, Abdallah Abu Rahmah, Abbas Zackie of behalf of the PLO, and former Vice President of the European Parliament, Luisa Morgantini.

During the opening session, Palestinian Prime Minister Fayyad called on the international community to promote Palestinian self determination, saying that “The international community must be committed to promoting a Palestinian state withing the 1967 borders and supporting the planned deceleration of independence coming September”. He also called on the international community to protect and safeguard the Palestinian nonviolent resistance and specifically referred to the recent arrests of Bassem and Naji Tamimi of the Nabi Saleh popular committee.

More than 20 diplomats from around the world attended the opening, including Christian Berger, representative of the European commission and the Consul Generals of Britain, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Romania, Poland and Austria. The US, France, Sweden, Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Ireland have also sent lower level diplomatic representation.

In a live video feed from the Gaza Port, Jaber Wishah of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights in Gaza, announced the launching of a naval peace team that will accompany Gazan fishermen and report on human rights violations as part of the Civil Peace Service Mission – Gaza. The project is supported by more than 50 international and local organizations, including the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee.

The opening was followed by a panel on the needs and strategies of the Palestinian popular struggle, including the role of women and the influences of the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions.

Protesters in Hebron mark Prisoners Day

17 April 2011 | International Solidarity Movement

Remembering Palestinian prisoners in Hebron
Remembering Palestinian prisoners in Hebron

Today, approximately 1,000 protesters in Hebron marked Palestinian Prisoners day with a demonstration calling for Israel to release Palestinian prisoners. At the same time thousands of prisoners joined in a one-day hunger strike to protest their treatment and their legal rights as prisoners.

Protesters in Hebron began by gathering at the Eben Roshd school in Hebron City. Amongst the participants were families of prisoners, members of the Palestinian Authority and international activists. After speeches by family members and local authorities, the demonstration continued with a peaceful march from the school to the Manara square. Protesters carried pictures of imprisoned family members and banners calling for Israel to release prisoners and uphold international laws.

Prisoners Day commemorates the release of Palestinian prisoner Mahmoud Hijazi in the first prisoner exchange between Palestine and Israeli in 1974. According to a report released today by former Palestinian detainee Abdul Nasser Farwana, just about every Palestinian household has had members jailed. According to the report Israel has arrested around 750,000 Palestinians since the six day war in 1967, including nearly 12,000 women and tens of thousands of children

Today over 6,800 Palestinians, from the West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem, and 1948 Palestine, are currently imprisoned by the Israeli state according to ADDAMEER. Of those, over 300 are children, 34 are women, 18 are elected Palestinian representatives and almost 300 are ‘administrative detainees’ – that means that they have been detained without trial not having been charged with any crime or seeing the evidence against them.

Teenage girl released from prison: Awarta

15 April 2011 | International Solidarity Movement

Late on Thursday afternoon sixteen year old Julia Manzen Awwad arrived back to the village of Awarta, following her release from Israeli military prison. She had been detained for five days after being arrested by force during an army raid on her family home in the early hours of Sunday morning. Upon arrest Julia was taken blindfolded and bound by her wrists and ankles to the military base at Huwwara, where she was detained for a night. She was then transferred to a military prison.

During her detention Julia was denied basic human rights and prevented from contacting either her family or a lawyer. Instead she was confined to a dark room and intensively interrogated about the murders of the Fogel family at Itamar, the nearby illegal settlement. Julia described being woken at regular intervals and asked the same questions repeatedly. Confused and frightened she answered that she knew nothing, only to be met with aggressive retorts accusing her of lying.

Ill treatment and abuses included the refusal of her request for a doctor when experiencing stomach pains, being fed food she described as fit for animals, and being handcuffed and marched to the toilet furthest from her cell. At times she was not even allowed to use the toilet. Prior to her release Julia was coerced into signing a document she could not understand and had wires attached to various parts of her body during a lie detector test.

Whilst Julia was welcomed by her mother, Noaf, and extended family members, she spoke of the sorrow she felt returning to her house as her brothers, George (20) and Hakim (17), along with their father, Mazen, still remain in custody. Her mother, who was also detained in the raid last weekend, was released on Monday.

Earlier in the day a demonstration organized by a local Palestinian womens group marched through Awarta in protest at the barbaric treatment of the community at the hands of the Israeli army over the last month. In a show of solidarity it finished outside the homes of other members of the Awwad family, which were ransacked and destroyed by soldiers in a raid last Monday night.

Since the brutal murder of five family members in Itamar settlement at the beginning of March the villagers of Awarta have been subjected to near continuous incursions by the Israeli army. Men and women, some in their 80s, and children, some as young and 14, have been arrested. Whilst many have been released after a few days, others, mainly men, remain in detention. On these early morning raids, the army fire sound grenades through windows prior to forcing their way into homes and brutalizing the occupants – regardless of age.