Palestinian human rights activist Wa’el Al-Faqeeh has been sentenced to one year in Israeli military prison, on the charge of aiding an illegal organization. Al-Faqeeh was arrested by the Israeli military on 9 December 2009, thus due to be released in December of this year.
The sentence was handed down in Salem military prrison, in which Al-Faqeeh was found guilty by a military judge of aiding an illegal organization. The charge has served as a useful and thinly veiled pretext in the arrest of hundreds of Palestinian activists. Al-Faqeeh was also ordered to pay a fine of 2000 shekels.
Al-Faqeeh will serve his sentence in Megiddo prison in northern Israel. The act of imprisoning inmates from an occupied territory inside the occupying country is illegal under international law. Megiddo prison is notorious for its harsh treatment of inmates, where prisoners sleep in tents in crowded pens, providing little shelter from the extremities of weather in winter and summer.
Al-Faqeeh was arrested during an Israeli military night raid operation in Nablus on 9 December 2009. He and 8 others, including 3 other prominent grassroots activists were arrested during the operation, including Myasser Itiani, Nasser Itiani and Mussa Salama. Nasser Itiani is now serving his second term of administrative detention and is due to be released in August. Salama, well-known in the Nablus region for his work with the Labour Committee of Medical Relief Workers has been sentenced to one year on identical charges to Al-Faqeeh and is due to be released in December.
The arrests marked a significant surge in Israel’s crackdown on the popular struggle, evidenced by the subsequent arrests of Bil’in popular committee leader Abdullah Abu-Rahmah, Stop the Wall campaign leader Jamal Juma’ and Ibrahim Amirah and several other members of the Ni’lin popular committee.
Israeli border police demolished a rainwater cistern and removed irrigation pipes from several Palestinian fields in Al Beqa’a Valley just east of Hebron on July 14, 2010, the second day of incidents in the area this month.
When international peace activists from Christian Peacemaker Teams arrived in the area at 9:30am, the large bagger that had been used to break up the concrete of the cistern was just leaving the site. The driver of a large tractor lifted scoops full of rocks and dumped them into the demolished cistern. Also, workers cut and disposed of irrigation pipes laid in two fields. The fields each measured 10 dunams (approximately 40 acres). One was a field of grape vines and the other field had tomatoes planted under grape vines. In addition to dismantling the irrigation pipes, the workers also cut the twines that were holding up tomato plants. At least seven families will be affected by this destruction, in total about 50 people.
A Palestinian friend of CPT who lives in Al Beqa’a Valley explained the difficulties residents have in accessing water. A water line has been install by the Palestinian Authority from a nearby village; however, there is no water in the line. There is a large aquiver of water in the Hebron region, and Mekorot, the Israeli water company, has a well along the Israeli bypass road Route 60 in Al Beqa’a Valley which draws from this aquiver (in Area C, which is under full Israeli military control). Palestinian residents in Al Beqa’a Valley had made arrangements to purchase water from Mekorot. However, they never received as much water as they paid for. With the demolition of several rainwater cisterns in the valley in the past year, the Palestinian residents felt that they had no other option but to tap into the Mekorot water line at the well site.
Palestinians alleged that some of the Israelis that were with the border police and DCO on July 14th were from the Mekorot Company. Rather than preventing Palestinians from taping into the well at the source, the Israeli authorities destroyed the irrigation pipes in the fields of several families. Each 200m roll of irrigation drip pipe costs about 370NIS (~100$US), and the connection piping costs about 2.5NIS for each inch. For each dunam of vegetables it takes about 2-3 days to put the irrigation drip piping in place. The cost of the materials and time that goes into growing produce is high. Rather than prevent the ‘theft’ of water (which is ironically from an aquiver under Palestine) earlier in the season, the Israeli authorities instead waited until crops were almost ready for market. Therefore this destruction is not meant to stop the ‘theft’ of water but to cause the highest impact on farmers in the region.
A press conference organised in anticipation of the Almathea aid ship
In a press conference at the port of Gaza city yesterday government officials, fishing associations, non-governmental organisations and civil society groups reiterated their support for the attempts by international activists to break the Israeli siege of Gaza by sea.
Yesterday (July 14th 2010) many people amassed at the Gazan port to urge on the latest attempt by activists to enter the strip, this time by a Libyan chartered aid ship. It was the first serious attempt to enter Gaza by sea since the horrifying attack by the Israeli navy on the Free Gaza Flotilla and the Mavi Marmara which saw 9 Turkish activists killed.
Mahfouz Kabariti, President of Palestine Sailing Federation and Palestinian Association for Fishing and Maritime Sports, was communicating with the Amalthea as it neared Gazan waters: “The last contact we had with them was at midnight and since then communication was cut by the Israeli navy. They told us the boat was surrounded by Israeli gunships, but that they were determined to attempt to dock in Gaza and not take the option offered by the Egyptian government to dock in El Arish.”
According to Mahfouz the roll of the Freedom Flotilla missions are two-fold: “First is the arrival with aid, and materials such as construction supplies still banned by the blockade. The second is to put a spotlight on the suffering of the people here. Even if they are attacked, the second message highlights even more the extent to which Israel will go to keep us in Gaza isolated from the rest of the world with this illegal blockade of our people.”
Amjad Shawa, Gaza Coordinator for Palestinian NGOs: "It is not enough to demand some kind of minor reduction of this illegal siege."
As well as government representatives and the Popular Committee to Break the Siege, Amjad Shawa, Gaza Coordinator for Palestinian Non-Governmental Organizations (PNGO) was present. He emphasised the importance of international civil society persisting in trying to break the siege.
The need is especially acute because so far Israel’s response has only been to reduce the blockade on Gaza by a tiny fraction. The European Union, the United Nations, countless human rights groups and the International Committee for the Red Cross have all expressed the need for a return to the free flow of goods and people in and out of the Gaza Strip. This must include construction materials which are sorely needed to help rebuild the 17,000 houses severely damaged in the 3 week attack over the New Year period of 2009 that left over 1500 dead including over 400 children.
“Nothing has changed here,” says Amjad. “Just some more consumer products…but 80% of the people here still depend on humanitarian aid. It is not enough to demand some kind of minor reduction of this illegal siege. But we are thankful that the siege on Gaza has not been forgotten, and that our people are still in the minds of the world. These kinds of solidarity actions are very important for Gazans, we see that others share with us the values of justice and the principals of human rights.”
A Gaza resident holding pictures of Saif al-Islam Gadhafi - whose charity sponsored the aid ship - and his father, Libyan leader Muammar Gadhaf
When asked about the role of the international community to pressure Israel, Amjad is more critical: “We are so sorry that the international community until now has made no real intervention, put no real pressure on Israel to lift the siege totally or exerted pressure on Israel to have a transparent and accountable international inquiry into the Israeli crimes on the freedom flotillas.
“Still today we’re waiting for real international pressure from the international community. We hope that Israel will not use this silence as a chance to commit more crimes against the Palestinian people and international solidarity workers.”
The Libyan chartered boat was eventually forced to dock in El Arish, Egypt, after a wall of Israeli gunboats blocked its passage through to Gaza. But the Palestinians remain heartened by these attempts and the further missions planned this September. Says Mahfouz: “People here feel grateful to those internationals who try to arrive at the Gaza beach, it’s so important to us that other people worry and support us.”
Over 100 Palestinians together with international solidarity activists gathered in Hebron this Saturday to protest against the closure of Shuhada street. As a response to the infamous YouTube video of soldiers dancing near the illegal settlement of Tel-Rumeida, some protesters staged a dance protest: three dancers took the role of soldiers and searched and “arrested” three Palestinians.
They performed in front of the gate that closes off Shuhada street and prohibits all Palestinians from using it. The demonstrators called for justice and the opening of Shuhada street, and for the inhabitants of illegal Israeli settlements to leave the city and take the soldiers with them.
A message to the Israeli army
The demonstration, held weekly on a Saturday afternoon, then turned and paraded through the town. As they approached the market the peaceful protesters’ path was blocked by a line of soldiers armed with M-16 rifles – some of whom were seen kicking and hitting protesters. After a short sit-in the protest continued by turning around and heading towards the Old City.
Israeli activists gave speeches in Hebrew aimed at soldiers and settlers, calling for an end to the Apartheid situation in Hebron. One settler living in a house from which Palestinians were evicted threw water down on protesters but this did not dampen their spirits. Palestinians and international activists chanted together: “One two three four, occupation no more, five six seven eight, stop the killing, stop the hate.”
There are 18 check points that severely limit the movement of Palestinians in the Israeli military controlled area of Hebron (known as ‘H2’). Palestinian residents face daily attacks and harassment from soldiers and extremist, fanatical settlers who are often armed and violate the rights of Palestinians with impunity.
Around 20 people trying to travel to Iraq Burin from Nablus for the weekly protest on Saturday 10th July, a group made up of Palestinians and international activists, were stopped by armed forces on the road leading to the small village; the media gathered and a protest against this decision ensued.
Despite the attempts from the army to prevent people from attending, the demonstration against illegal Israeli settlements went ahead in the afternoon. The peaceful demonstration was lead by the Palestinian community with the support of 10 internationals whose presence it was hoped might ease the infamously violent and disproportionate tactics of the Israeli forces.
Sound bombs and aluminium and rubber tear gas canisters were used to disperse the crowd. Soldiers chased the demonstrators across the valley and fired tear gas occasionally into the crowds, contrary to international law.
The bus transporting people to the demonstration was prevented from entering the village by a “closed military zone” order which had been put in place that day, and is a method used by Israeli authorities across the West Bank to weaken international, Palestinian and media presence at demonstrations. The activists requested to see official documentation evidencing such an order and the soldiers produced a dubious piece of paper – with sentences blacked out- which they could not verify because it was written in Hebrew. They were denied the right to photograph the document.
Local media then arrived and the group lead a demonstration against the decision to close the road. A member of the local Popular Committee stated to the soldiers that she was entitled to be on that land on account of the fact that it is Palestinian land illegally occupied by Israeli settlers and military. Soldiers and border police multiplied on the site, sniggering at the calls for a free and peaceful state of Palestine. The demonstrators retreated at their own will some choosing to take alternative routes up to the village of Iraq Burin in order to attend the demonstration.
At 1:30 a march began from the edge of the village to the hill where the Israeli settlement of Bracha has prevented farmers from accessing their land. The situation in Iraq Burin is a story severe harassment towards Palestinians from settlers who believe God has given them entitlement to land which has been inhabited for thousands of years by Palestinian people. Tension in the village is high, especially after two young men from the village were killed earlier this year, during a military incursion into the village following a demonstration. In their memory and for a future without settlements the villagers proceeded up the mountain to face the soldiers. Youths symbolically threw stones whilst non-violent activists from ISM, IWPS and Project Hope made their presence known and called for the soldiers and settlers to retreat from Palestinian land, asking for non-violence. As usual tear gas was fired and multiple sound bombs causing demonstrators to run to safety on the other side of the valley. Soldiers also fired aluminium canisters at head height, ignoring the calls from the demonstrators. Fortunately nobody was seriously injured but one American Palestinian returning to his parents’ village fell unconscious from gas inhalation and had to be carried to safety.
This week’s demonstration was less violent than on previous weeks and no arrests were made. Perhaps this is due to an increase in international presence which is consistently lacking in the demonstrations in Iraq Burin. Activists are also calling for a media presence which might further deter the soldiers from firing tear gas, especially into the crowd.
