Category: Reports - Page 440 - International Solidarity Movement

Israel’s tightening grip on the Jordan Valley

International Solidarity Movement

7 May 2010

“Israel will never cede the Jordan Valley”

Benjamin Netanyahu, March 2010

Settler and Palestinian tents in Al Maleh

The Jordan Valley is an area under urgent threat of annexation, and during the last few weeks Israel has considerably tightened its grip on the indigenous Palestinian population. On the 11th of April the Israeli military shut of the main water source to Bardala -jeopardising the village’s viability as a farming community-, on the 12th of April they declared Al Maleh a closed military zone, which prevented shepherds from grassing their animals, and on the 15th of April the Israeli military raided Al Farisiya and stole four water pumps in a further attempt to control all water resources in the area. On the 25th of April the harassment of Palestinians increased significantly as armed settlers from the strongly Zionist Maskiot settlement erected a tent only ten meters from the the Al Maleh Bedouin community.

The Maskiot settlers, who have resettled in the valley after being evacuated from the settlement of Gush Katif during the Israeli “withdrawal” from Gaza in 2005, are ideological settlers aiming to expand the Jewish presence in the area. An estimated 20-30 settlers arrived in Al Maleh at four pm on Sunday afternoon and the erection of their outpost was facilitated by the Israeli army and settler security. The settlers then proceeded to intimidate the community, which has live in the area for 25 years, by circling their community carrying guns and taking photographs and video of its inhabitants. During the first night the Maskiot tent brought in a generator and played loud music until four am -around the time when the people of Al Maleh normally rise in order to herd their sheep. By Monday evening the settler tent had already expanded to three times its original size, and lines which could not be crossed by Palestinians had been established. People from Maskiot were doing shifts in the tent, with around 10-20 settlers present at any one time. In a strong show of collective defiance, Palestinians from areas close by came to show their support with Al Maleh , and on Tuesday evening a Palestinian party with singing and dancing managed to drawn out the settlers’ amplified music. Al Maleh, as an area C community, are not allowed electricity by the Israeli occupation forces.

Throughout the next few days army and police presence by the tent increased, with soldier frequently seen having a laugh with the settlers and enforcing the illegal “border line” drawn by them. When Palestinians attempted to cross this border and reclaim their land they were met by force from both the settlers and the army. Early on Thursday morning (29th of April), in the presence of the army, police and border police, the area was declared a closed military zone and, in a move that essentially rewarded the settlers for their illegal actions, an army official instructed that both tents be dismantled. This was done voluntarily, meaning that Al Maleh now have one less tent for their community.

Although the immediate physical threat of settler outposts have now decreased, the repression in the xalley continues. In the early hours of Friday the 30th, just one day after the Al Maleh eviction, a large amount of Israeli soldiers raided a house in Al Jiftlik, arresting a several people. Army, police and border police were present as they then proceeded to dig up the family’s front yard for “security reasons”. Needless to say, nothing was found on the scene. Cameras used by activists to film the event were confiscated by the police, after the army made it clear that there were people involved in this operation who could not be seen on film. The Israeli military are still refusing to release information about the location of Palestinians arrested on the day.

The communities in the valley, many of whom are Bedouin, are used to the slow and systematic ethic cleansing carried out by the Israeli state in the area. Nonetheless, these new developments are deeply worrying. It is high time for the international community to come and stand in solidarity with the Jordan Valley and to recognise the urgency of this battle.

For an article on the general situation in the Jordan Valley, including the establishment of Maskiot, see http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/index.php/news/content/view/full/71348

For a report from inside Maskiot, see http://www.brightonpalestine.org/node/611

Mosque gutted by fire

International Solidarity Movement

7 May 2010

The small village of Al Libban (Libban al Sharquia) sits in rolling hills planted with olive trees, approximately half way between Ramallah and Nablus. The villagers are simple fellahin – farmers – growing wheat and fruit in addition to their olive trees. The pride of the village is the central mosque, an impressive, large structure, built in 1977 and the only mosque currently in operation.

That was, until the night of Tuesday 4th May when fire gutted the mosque’s interior, destroying carpets, furniture, numerous Korans and the building’s fixtures and fittings. The visitor now witnesses a scene of total devastation. The blackened walls, floor and ceiling have a nighmarish quality and it is hard to imagine that this was once a beautiful, light-filled and serene place of worship. Local children have attempted to assert their defiance by scrawling such slogans as “Allah Akbar” onto the blackened tiles on the walls.

An Israeli Occupation spokesperson has suggested that the fire may have been caused by an electical fault, a suggestion described as “a joke” by villagers. Situated as it is, close by the Jewish colony/settlements of Shilo, Male Livona and Bet El, Al Libban has long been the target of settler aggression and violence. Another mosque, in nearby Huwwara, has been vandalised in recent weeks, suggesting an emerging pattern of targeting mosques for desecration.

The cost of repairing and renovating the gutted building has been put at 500,000 shekels (about AU$175,000) an enormous sum for such an impoverished community. Nevertheless, the villagers are determined to regain their mosque as a functioning place of worship, just as they are determined not to be driven from their homes and their lands by Israel’s policy – and practice – of ethnic cleansing.

Demonstrators succeed in delaying illegal wall construction; brutal military violence hospitalizes three

International Solidarity Movement

6 May 2010

Demonstrators peacefully block bulldozer. Credit: Oren Ziv/Activestills.org

Sitting peacefully in front of the formidable D9 Caterpillar bulldozer, demonstrators were successful today in temporarily halting construction of Israel’s illegal annexation wall. In the village of Al Walaja, approximately 20 Palestinian, Israeli and international activists disrupted work on the wall for nearly 30 minutes. Highlighting the systematic racism of Israeli apartheid, soldiers specifically targeted Palestinian participants. While internationals and Israelis were virtually ignored, Palestinians were brutally beaten and pepper sprayed, resulting in three hospitalizations. Three Palestinians and one international were arrested.

Palestinians being brutally beaten. Credit: Oren Ziv/Activestills.org

After gathering in the village, demonstrators walked down a hillside to access the massive, dusty swath of ex-farmland where the wall is to be built. Sitting in front of the bulldozer and linking arms, the action proved successful in delaying construction of the wall which will claim nearly all of Al Walaja’s land. Approximately 15 soldiers and border police then attacked the non-violent demonstrators, separating Palestinians from the group and pepper spraying some directly in the eyes while beating others. After arresting three Palestinians, Israeli military returned to violently rip apart international and Israeli activists. Several reported minor injuries, and one international was arrested. Currently three Palestinians remain hospitalized. Beatings resulted in one broken rib and one broken leg, and a third victim has impaired hearing due to receiving pepper spray directly in the ear. Of those arrested, at least one had been pepper sprayed directly in the eyes without receiving proper medical treatment afterwards.

http://www.youtube.com/user/klamathmedia#p/a/u/0/O6J4h4_icKY

This is third time bulldozers have been stopped in Al Walaja, which is located between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. After 1967, the village was annexed into Jerusalem, although villagers did not receive city residency. The settlements Gilo and Har Gilo are located on Al Walaja land, although villagers cannot build on their own lots. Because the village is in “Area C”, building permits must be granted by the Israeli government. Between 2000 and 2007, over 94% of permits were denied. Upon completion of the wall, Al Walaja will be almost entirely trapped, with access limited to just two guarded checkpoints. Over 5,000 dunums will be annexed into Jerusalem by the wall, virtually all of the village’s farmland.

Youth against Settlements organizes another successful demonstration in the heart of Hebron

Youth Against Settlements

4 May 2010

Demonstrators march through the narrow Old City streets, where settlers poured water from windows of the occupied second story

On Saturday 1st May 2010, Youth Against Settlements held the second of their new, weekly, non-violent demonstrations in the heart of the Old City of Hebron. The demonstration calls for the opening to Palestinians of Shuhada Street and freedom of movement for all Palestinians in Hebron.

Approximately 80 Israeli, International and Palestinian demonstrators attended the demonstration which took place in the heart of the old city of Hebron next to a closed entrance to Shuhada street and the Beit Romano settlement.

The demonstrators carried banners and Palestinian flags and chanted slogans in Arabic, English and Hebrew condemning the closure of the Shuhada street and calling for the end of the practices of the occupation and the settlers against the Palestinian residents of Hebron.

A large number of Israeli soldiers and police were positioned on the roof tops of the buildings surrounding the demonstration. A large number of settlers, from the Beit Romano settlement, also watched the demonstration take place. The demonstration ended with a tour through the Old City during which settlers tried to spray dirty water on the demonstrators.

Hisham Sharabati, media spokesman for Youth against Settlements, said that “This weekly demonstration is part of a series of events organized Youth against Settlements to demand the reopening of Shuhada Street which has been closed to Palestinians since 1994 but remains open for use by settlers and the Israeli Military and Police”.

According to Hisham Sharabati the closure of Shuhada street, which is located in the heart of the city, has severed the city in two, paralyzing trade and destroying the commercial centre. More than 500 shops and businesses have been forced to close by military order. The continual repression enforced by the occupation has led to the mass abandonment of more than an additional 1000 shops, businesses and homes in the city centre.

Demonstrations across West Bank reflect growing momentum

International Solidarity Movement

3 May 2010

Non-violent demonstrations against the apartheid are growing

Between Friday and Sunday, more than 600 demonstrators protested the apartheid, land confiscation and the illegal wall in eight West Bank locations. These weekly demonstrations reflect the growing momentum of popular non-violent resistance, despite violent responses by the Israeli military.

Bil’in
Four were detained in Bil’in, including two Al-Jazeera reporters, as demonstrators gathered for the popular weekly protest against the Israeli apartheid and illegal wall. After speeches given in honor of International Workers’ Day, demonstrators marched towards the wall, where they were met with tear gas fired by Israeli soldiers. Soldiers entered the village several times in attempts to make arrests. Two were injured by flying tear gas canisters, just a week after Emad Rezqa suffered a fractured skull in Bil’in from a gas canister fired directly at his head. The demonstration was one of many global actions this week calling for the Irish multinational firm CRH to divest from its links to Nesher Cement. Nesher is the only Israeli cement company, meaning that it supplies cement for construction of the wall, settlements and other infrastructures of apartheid, all illegal under international law.

Ni’lin
Approximately 50 demonstrators gathered for midday prayers before walking to the Western end of the illegal wall which bounds the town of Ni’lin on two sides. After facing Israeli military jeeps on the opposite side of the wall, the demonstration returned to the village in response to the invasion of a military jeep. The jeep retreated, at which point demonstrators returned to the wall and were met with a barrage of tear gas. Since May 2008, five demonstrators have been killed in Ni’lin, and American ISM activist Tristan Anderson was critically injured 13 months ago.

Qarrawat Bani Hassan
Nearly surrounded by settlements and facing continual land confiscation, villagers from Qarrawat Bani Hassan gathered with visiting Palestinians and internationals for a weekly work party. Springs near the village, dating to Roman times, have repeatedly been vandalized by Israelis from the nearby illegal settlements, most recently on March 8th, 2010. Although it is believed that the most recent destruction of the springs was in retaliation for the weekly gatherings, villagers have not been deterred and continue in their work to build a park near the springs.

This Friday, workers planted trees and built a trail. A past mayor of Al Bireh attended and spoke to volunteers about the role of community work in building cohesive resistance to the occupation, based on his experiences in the late 1960’s.

Al Ma’asara
A group of about 25 demonstrated in the agrarian village of Al Ma’asara, near Bethlehem, after midday prayers on Friday. Speeches were delivered in Arabic, Hebrew and English to the crowd of Palestinians, Israelis and Internationals. Soldiers obstructed the road with razor wire during the demonstration, preventing cars from passing. This included an ill woman traveling to a nearby clinic.

Al Walaja
Protesting the illegal wall which will completely surround Al Walaja and confiscate nearly all of the village’s land, approximately 60 Palestinian, Israeli and International demonstrators gathered Friday. Speeches were delivered by local and regional residents after the demonstrators marched across the bulldozered swath of land. Bulldozing recently began for the wall, which will claim nearly 5000 dunums of farmland and separate the village from nearby Jerusalem and Bethlehem.