Category: Reports - Page 452 - International Solidarity Movement

International call to action in solidarity with Sheikh Jarrah

Just Jerusalem
1 March 2010

WHAT: A global call to action in solidarity with the residents of Sheikh Jarrah
WHERE: Around the globe and into the streets
WHEN: 6 March 2010

WHY: Sheikh Jarrah is a unique community in occupied East Jerusalem. The plight of this community is emblematic of the larger Palestinian struggle for Justice. The families in Sheikh Jarrah have been evicted by a racist government and settlers now occupy their homes. The Palestinians of Sheikh Jarrah face daily harassment from both the settlers occupying their homes and the Israeli military.

This is a call for global direct actions.

The organizers of the weekly demonstrations in Sheikh Jarrah are asking for global solidarity as they plan for massive demonstrations in Jerusalem and greater Israel. They are calling for demonstrations and vigils at Israeli consulates and embassies abroad.

As many of you may not have access to Israeli consulates and embassies, we ask you to occupy everything. If you’re a student, occupy your administrative offices and demand divestment from any company who profits from the occupation in conjunction with demanding justice for Sheikh Jarrah. If you’re not a student, occupy any and all halls of governance. Demand that they pass resolutions condemning the occupation of Palestine and promise to withdraw support for it, in conjunction with demanding justice for Sheikh Jarrah. If you are unable to occupy anything, get out of the sidewalks and into the streets.

Demand Justice for Palestine and Justice for Shiekh Jarrah.

Background:

In August 2009, the Ghawis were evicted from their home after the Israeli court accepted forged Ottoman-era land-claims from a right-wing Zionist settler organization. The land-claims cited that Jewish people owned the land in the late 19th century and therefore should legally be in possession of people with a Jewish heritage. This is an illegal, unilateral right of return!

Since the eviction, the Ghawis have lived on the street opposite their home. The family lives on a tent on the sidewalk, watching settlers enter and exit the house they called their home since 1956. The live in their tent in act of protest and are determined to stay there until they are allowed to return to their home.

The Al-Kurds have had the front partition of their home annexed by the settlers on the First of December 2009. The back partition of their home is at risk of settler occupation in the following weeks.

Despite this horrendous attempt to ethnically cleanse Sheikh Jarrah, there is resistance. Israeli activists commenced weekly demonstrations in the community and ISM volunteers are on-site 24/7. In the beginning they mood was jubilant; drums and chanting which called out the racism and injustice of the settlers actions. But these demonstrations were escalated by police violence. Over 100 people have been arrested demonstrating or participating in acts of nonviolent direct action and civil disobedience.

Help the Palestinian families of Sheikh Jarrah find justice! Join our global call to action 6 March 2010

With my life and soul I will free you Palestine-Demonstrators in Gaza

Internatonal Solidarity Movement

1 March 2010

Thirty activists from the Local Initiative Beit Hannoun and the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) participated in the weekly demonstration asking for Palestinian land to be returned to its rightful owners. The activists gathered at the site of the University College for Agriculture which now lies in rubble following air attacks during operation Cast Lead.

The activists walked towards the Erez border chanting “Down with the Occupation” and “With my life and soul I will free you Palestine”. The activists reached 50 meters from the border and there Saber Zanin, Director of Beit Hannoun Local Initiative, spoke about the hardships farmers face on a daily basis as they attempt to plough and farm their land. Farmers risk being shot at either by Israeli snipers or from the automated tower machines which line the Gaza-Israel border zone. Speaking in Hebrew to the Israeli soldiers present within the watch tower, Zanin explained to them that the crowd was gathered on Palestinian land and that they had a right to be there by international law.

Zanin referred to the new regulation created by Israel upon Gaza that no person could come closer than 300 metres from the border. In reality, human rights groups within Gaza have documented that farmers have been shot at 2 km from the border.

As the demonstration came to a close and the activists started making their way back, shots were fired very close to the activists. A member of the ISM spoke to the Israeli soldiers through a microphone and asked the soldiers why they were firing upon civilians. The soldiers continued to fire as the group left. Seven shots were fired in all.

New Demolition Orders Issued in Silwan as Main Road Collapses A Second Time

International Solidarity Movement

28 February 2010

The Jerusalem Municipality issued a further 8 demolition orders on February 24 applying to Palestinian homes in Silwan village East Jerusalem. The main street of Wadi Hilweh neighbourhood of Silwan collapsed that evening at the same point it collapsed in January due to structural damage caused by settler project “City of David”’s subterranean excavations.

A large force of Israeli Police and Border Police, accompanied by Jerusalem Municipality representatives, executed an early morning raid on the village of Silwan that day to deliver a further 8 administrative demolition orders. Amongst the affected families are that of Riad a-Tawil, Nayef Alqam, Hani Haymoni, Yassin Salaymeh and Salfiti.

The demolition orders state “Under Construction & Management Law of 1956 you are ordered to immediately halt all current construction work and return the area’s condition to its status prior to initial construction [to remove the structure entirely]. If no action is implemented with regards to this warning the Municipality will consider taking legal action against you via administrative demolition.”

Riad a-Tawil stated that Municipality representatives visited his shop in the Wadi Hilweh district of Silwan to measure and photograph it from the exterior prior to their delivery of the demolition order to be applied to the property. He denounced the exclusive enforcement of the law on Silwan’s Palestinian residents whilst various illegal settlement construction continues unabated in the village.

Hani Haymoni reports similar treatment, wherein Municipality officials photographed and assessed his family home from the outside before issuing its order for demolition. The house is home to 8 members of the Haymoni family.

The same evening at approximately 8:30pm the Wadi Hilweh neighbourhood’s main street collapsed a second time, the cavity having been repaired since it collapsed at the same point on 2 January 2010. The collapse was due to structural damage caused by extensive excavations undertaken by settler conglomerate Elad’s “City of David” project underneath large areas of Silwan, severely compromising the structural integrity and safety of Palestinian homes, shops and streets. Elad has employed methods of “political archeology” to lay claim to the area, claiming to have uncovered the Biblical city of King David, reinforcing the right-wing ideological vision of Jerusalem as Israel’s unified capital on the basis of ancient history. Its plans are to convert the majority of Silwan in to a “Biblical theme park”, which, should they succeed would ethnically cleanse thousands of Palestinian residents from the region.

There are already over 200 standing demolition orders on Palestinian homes in Silwan that face a renewed threat since Jerusalem mayor Nir Barakat’s statement last week that the Municipality will implement all demolition orders on structures deemed illegal. The statement was made in response to an in effect order of eviction on the illegal Jewish settlement project of Beit Yehnatan in Silwan issued by the Jerusalem Civil Court. Although the law stipulating the illegality of construction without the required permit applies to all residents of Silwan, it has only been applied to Palestinians to date, betraying the Municipality’s racist policies regarding the Palestinian population of East Jerusalem. The law has been used as one of the Municipality’s fundamental tools in its attempts to limit or prevent natural growth of Silwan’s native population and its underhanded support for seemingly private settler projects such as Beit Yehnatan or Elad’s “City of David” project.

Ni’lin Wards Off IOF Invasion

International Solidarity Movement

26 February 2010

Nearly 100 youth of Ni’lin were tear gassed and shot at with rubber-coated steel bullets as the IDF attempted to invade their village. Near the edge of the village, the soldiers scaled a house to attack the demonstrators from a heightened vantage point.

Undeterred by inclement weather, residents of Ni’lin attempted to reach the Apartheid Wall for their weekly demonstration. The rolling thunder accentuated their chants which demanded justice, the destruction of the wall that kept them from their crops and to be heard. However, the protest’s course was redirected after the Israeli soldiers brought two military jeeps and tried to enter the village.

The Palestinian protesters walked up to the gate of their village where they were met with volleys of tear gas. The demonstration retreated, and the Israeli forces moved forward, entering a Palestinian home, climbing onto the roof and firing down into the street. Other soldiers moved behind buildings to fire on the protesters from the side. At this point, the Palestinians built an improvised road blockade to stop the soldiers from advancing further into their village. This was successful, and prevented the military from wreaking further havoc on villagers in their residences. This position was held for approximately two hours, after which residents returned home and soldiers moved out of the area.

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 (http://www.poica.org/editor/case_studies/view.php?recordID=622). 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.

Wanted: Israeli army commander of Bil’in area, Palestine

Bil’in Popular Committee
26 February 2010

Demonstrators distributed wanted signs to members of the Israeli Occupation Forces in Bil'in

Palestinian, Israeli, and International activists demonstrated against the apartheid wall and settlements in Bil’in village west of Ramallah. Despite rain and harsh winds demonstrators marched to the wall and were immediately met with tear gas from the Israeli military as they are each week Friday. Soldiers fired heavy aluminum tear gas canisters into the crowd, and veteran activists commented on the extra strength of the gas today. People attempted to distribute “wanted signs” with the face of the local army commander to the soldiers positioned on the other side of the fence. Signs read:

WANTED: ISRAELI ARMY COMMANDER OF BIL’IN AREA, PALESTINE
Suspected of Committing Crimes Against Humanity
-sections 23(g), 25,42,46,50, and 52 of the Hague Regulations 1907
-Articles 31, 33, and 53 of the Fourth Geneva Convention
IF IDENTIFIED, DO NOT TRY TO APPREHEND THE SUSPECT, CONSIDER HIM ARMED AND DANGEROUS. NOTIFY THE AUTHORITIES IMMEDIATELY!

Soldiers warned demonstrators not to come close to the gate that leads to the apartheid fence, and continued shooting gas into the crowd. They later entered the village and continued firing tear gas from a distance as people retreated back towards the village.

One the 11th of this month, residents of Bil’in received news that the path of the wall was finally being moved; giving almost half of the land slated for settlement development back the village. Residents have been crossing the fence to access their land for this years planting season. Farmers and their families are often harassed as they pass through the gate to the other side of the fence. Last week, two men were detained and held for two hours as they returned to the village from the other side of the wall.