Almond Tree Planting Interrupted by Israeli soldiers
Saturday morning around 9am, Palestinian residents of the Jubbet adh Dhib Village, south east of Bethlehem, were planting almond trees on their limited land when settlers from the nearby illegal outpost of Noqedim called the Israeli soldiers to stop them from doing so.
The soldiers arrived quickly, but didn’t do anything before their commander arrived half an hour later with a paper stating that the area was a closed military zone. Meanwhile, the settlers tried to herd their goats out on to the field, but the Palestinians verbally herded them back and demanded that the soldiers tell the settlers to leave the area as well. After another half an hour of discussion about who started the trouble and whose land this is, the soldiers made the settlers go back to their road and the Palestinians proceeded back to their village as well.
The village of Jubbet adh Dhib is surrounded by the settlements of Noqedim and Teqoa, which have been the target of many harassments from settlers and Israeli soldiers over the past several years. The villagers, who are denied electricity, had their water cut off one week ago and have only recently gained access to the only road that leads to the village.
The Noqedim settlement is home to Avigdor Lieberman, the Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Deputy Prime Minister of Israel, which the illegal outpost settlement economically benefits from.
Israeli army and border police used tear gas, stun grenades, rubber- and plastic-coated bullets, live ammunition and “stinky water” to disperse close to 150 Palestinians who tried to reach their village well in An-Nabi Salih. The villagers were accompanied by over 20 Israeli and international solidarity activists.
Following mid-day prayers, protesters marched towards the well and their agricultural lands but were immediately confronted with tear-gas and rubber-coated bullets. A group of 50 settlers from the neighboring settlement of Halamish watched as the Israeli Occupation Forces attacked the Palestinians. In total, 14 protesters were injured, including one hit in the face with a tear gas canister.
The march began in its usual fashion. Villagers, Israelis and internationals descended the hillside to attempt to plant olive trees in the settler-occupied land. As the contingent came within 50 meters of the road that splits An Nabi-Salih, IOF soldiers launched 15-20 tear gas grenades in rapid succession. The group went up the hill to regroup and there was an hour-long lull in the demonstration.
During this respite, a smaller group of Palestinians, Israelis and internationals began tending to the fields near the road dividing the settlement and the village. In unison, they moved large boulders and rocks to build a series of three retaining walls that will further the growth of the crops in An-Nabi Salih. Differences that seemingly divide some were forgotten in that respite from the tear gas. Words such as “ownership” and “territory” were not a part of the repertoire.
The group’s project moved them closer to the road and the 6 soldiers guarding it. As the laborers approached, the soldiers appeared flabbergasted as they didn’t know how to handle such a situation. Those soldiers knew only force and how to implement it to repress, but this show of solidarity was something quite different then anything there training had taught them. Confused looks were all they could muster.
The irony of building walls collectively wasn’t lost to the group, when barriers physical and social that keep two cultures far from one another pervade their daily lives. These walls were different. They didn’t divide, they were not impassable. These walls unified. They paved the way for An-Nabi Salih future crops. Crops that would come to fruition, in some degree, being nurtured through the solidarity between two cultures. It may be awhile, but perhaps they’ll be able to sit at a table, lacking the presence of soldiers, tear gas and conflict, and enjoy the fruits of the labor.
Wall construction ended when shots were heard from the southern edge of the village. ISM activists battled clouds of tear gas with hands visibly extended in order to reach an An-Nabi Salih home, containing women and children, which had been surrounded by IOF forces. Soldiers thankfully descended the hill after several tense moments.
Barricades were set up on the main road leading to An-Nabi Salih, using rocks and burning tires. At around 2pm, a group of soldiers entered the village from the southwest side and fired rubber-coated bullets and tear gas at protesters, endangering villagers trapped inside their homes. “Stinky water” was used twice on protesters.
Soldiers occupy the roof of a house in An-Nabi Salih
At around 5pm, a group of approximately 8 soldiers occupied the roof of a villager’s house, firing plastic-coated bullets and tear gas at protesters below. The villager reported that when soldiers entered his home, they pointed their guns at him and told him not to move or they would kill him. Four adults and six children were trapped in the house until the soldiers left, but not before damaging the family’s internet receiver, located on the roof.
Thirty minutes later, the soldiers entered the same home again, cutting the back-yard fence in order to pass through. An ISM activist present at the house was told not to film the soldiers’ actions. When the activist continued taking pictures from the entrance of the home, one soldier threw a stun grenade that exploded less than 3 meters from the activist and a young child.
The protest ended around 6pm, when soldiers began to use live ammunition.
The weekly Friday demonstrations in An-Nabi Salih commenced in December 2009, in protest to the uprooting of hundreds of olive trees by settlers from Halamish settlement. Construction of Halamish settlement began on farmland belonging to An-Nabi Salih and neighbouring villages in 1977. Conflict between the settlement and villagers reawakened in the past month due to the settler’s attempt to re-annex An Nabi Salih land despite the December 2009 Israeli court case that ruled the property rights of the land to the An Nabi Salih residents. Despite the Israeli District Co-ordination Office’s promise to allow the village unrestricted passage to the land, farmers have been barred and violently assaulted when they attempted to access the land in question. An Nabi Salih’s resistance mirrors the ongoing resistance in Bi’lin, Ni’lin and the burgeoning popular struggle in Sheikh Jarrah, Iraq Burin, Burin and Al-Ma’asara.
Peaceful Protest in Al Masara Halted with Tear Gas and Sound Bombs
Yesterday around 1pm, a peaceful demonstration at Al Masara was stopped by the Israeli army when tear gas and sound bombs were unexpectedly thrown into the crowd.
The protest comprised of around 20 Palestinians, 8 internationals and 7 Israeli activists. Three mini busses of approximately 75 Palestinians from neighboring villages were stopped at a nearby checkpoint and prohibited from attending the protest.
Palestinian demonstrators at this protest were completely nonviolent, both verbally and physically. The crowd at once obeyed the orders from the commander of the army to move off the spontaneously demarcated closed military zone.
The first tear gas was fired soon after two youths waved Palestinian flags in front of a military vehicle as the crowd was moving back according to the orders from the commander. The assault was followed by two more hand thrown tear gas grenades and two sound bombs, one of which was thrown directly at a crowd of press after most of the demonstrators had left the area.
Local Palestinians were protesting for the right to access their land in the region where the separation barrier is currently being constructed. Similar nonviolent protests occur every Friday in Al Masara, which provokes frequent night raids by the IDF into the homes of the organizers.
Palestinians, Israelis and internationals walk on Road 60 during the demonstration.
Activists in Ma’asara village near Bethlehem changed their demonstration route today and marched to the “settler only” road outside the village. Once they reached Highway 60 the demonstration was surrounded by Israeli soldiers and the area was declared a closed military zone. Demonstrators were then besieged by tear gas as they made their way back to the village. Soldiers began following people into the village once the activists crossed the razor wire fence that the military uses to block the progress of weekly demonstrations. Many people suffered from tear gas inhalation at today’s demonstration, and many children were terrified once the military invaded the village.
Demonstration against the Wall in Al Ma\’sara
At the beginning of 2010 the Israeli military began intensifying the level of violence used in their methods to repress non-violent demonstrations in villages opposing the apartheid wall and settlements. Compared to Bil’in and Nil’in villages, which have dealt with military violence for their involvement in campaigns to halt the building of the apartheid wall and illegal Israeli settlement for the last five years, this is a relatively new occurrence in Ma’asara. International activists have been intermittently staying in Ma’asara to document and hopefully diminish soldier violence since the beginning of the year. The army has been targeting activists and popular committee members involved in organizing non-violent demonstrations in a series of night raids. People from the village expressed concern that the military would return tonight and continue targeting activists.
Demonstrator in Bilin dresses as the Navi from the film Avatar
The village of Bil’in reenacted James Cameron’s new film Avatar during today’s weekly demonstration. Five Palestinian, Israeli and international activists were painted blue, with pointy ears and tales, resembling the Avatar characters. Like Palestinians, the Avatars fight imperialism, although the colonizers have different origins. The Avatars’ presence in Bil’in today symbolizes the united resistance to imperialism of all kinds.
Today’s non-violent demonstration was again met with excessive violence by the Israeli army. Sound bombs and tear gas were used, leaving four people directly injured by the canisters. The canisters were shot directly at the protesters, which is in violation with the IOF’s firing regulations. Many other activists suffered from tear gas inhalation.
Before coming to Bil’in, Israeli activists reported that police were present at their carpool meeting point. Their ID’s were checked and some cars reported they were followed by the police. At the Rantis checkpoint, they were delayed once more and activists were obliged to continue their journey by taxi.
Bil’in has reason to celebrate this week. Yesterday, preparations for the construction of the new Wall began, which returns 30 per cent of Bil’in’s land to the village. Iyad Burnat, Head of the Bil’in Popular Committee speaks of a victory: “We feel relieved and feel the non-violent resistance is successful in its aim. Nevertheless, we will continue our struggle against the occupation as Bil’in still has another 30 per cent of land that is confiscated by Israel.”
Next week Bil’in will have a special demonstration, celebrating five years of non-violent resistance and expects a large number of demonstrators. Bil’in calls for all its supporters to invite people to join in next week’s demonstration.
