Category: Reports

Students Unite Against Checkpoints


photo from Reuters

A nonviolent demonstration was held at Atara checkpoint today to protest against the Israeli Occupation Forces’ preventing students from reaching their universities and schools.

Palestinian and Israeli students, including Palestinian Israelis, were joined by international solidarity activists. The Atara checkpoint is located on the road to Bir Zeit University, north of Bir Zeit village.

The area directly in front of the checkpoint was cordoned off by Israeli Border Police prior to the demonstration. The protest commenced with Palestinians, internationals, and Israeli students and anarchists chanting “Red Blue Green White, Palestine is going to fight!” in English and “Refuse!” in Hebrew. The latter slogan reflects the growing popularity of the refusenik movement, Israeli youth who reject conscription in the IOF to serve in Occupied Palestine.


photo by Sunbula

Soon after, Palestinians students from al-Quds Open University and Bir Zeit University arrived. The atmosphere was one of festive resistance. The protestors sang Palestinian revolutionary songs and Palestinians, Israelis, and internationals danced in front of the Border Police, who appeared more like sulky guests at a party and not an occupying military force.

The general message of the protest was, “Out with the Occupation. This time is the last time.” The call to move forward towards the checkpoint was given. Immediately afterwards, an Israeli commander presented ISM coordinator Abdullah Abu Rahme with an order that apparently stated that the area was a closed military zone, and that the presence of the protestors was forbidden. The commander then attempted to announce on a bullhorn that crowd had ten minutes to disperse. He was, however, drowned out by whistles and booing from the crowd.


photo by Sunbula

Two soldiers could be seen photographing and filming the protestors from a short distance.


photo by Sunbula

There was relatively little violence. Only once was an Israeli protestor shoved by a Border Policeman. At one point, several taxis carrying passengers were stuck behind the demonstrating crowd. The drivers asked the crowd to make enough room for them to pass, and they complied. However, the military refused to let the taxis through the checkpoint, blaming this decision on the protestors. The Palestinians present chose not let this turn of events deter the remainder of the protests. They began to shout, “It is not the protestors, but the checkpoint and the Occupation, that will not allow the taxis to pass.”

The demonstration continued in this way until it ended in stalemate. The demonstrators were not able to break the gauntlet of the military, nor was the IOF able to disperse the crowd of protestors. The spirit of solidarity was evident in the unity shown by protestors coming from different backgrounds sticking closely together.

Demonstrations will be held this evening simultaneously in al-Manara square in Ramallah and in Tel Aviv.

Palestinian Unity Against Military Brutality


This week’s demonstration a call for greater Palestinian unity against the occupation. It was also a recognition of the 39th anniversary of al-Naksa, “the great disappointment” which marked the beginning of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, Gaza strip and the Golan Heights in 1967.

About 300 demonstrators carrying Palestinian flags marched to the wall together. Among them were Palestinian Legislative Council members Mustafa Bargouthi and Kais Abu Leyla; al-Quds University President Sari Nusaybah; Knesset member, Muhammed Baraka, and Israeli supporters from Anarchists Against the Wall, Gush Shalom (including Uri Avnery) and other Israeli anti-occupation groups. International supporters from ISM were also present.

As they approached the gate in the annexation barrier, demonstrators found that Israeli soldiers had positioned themselves behind journalists, as well as in front of the gate, surrounding them. Some of the demonstrators tried to non-violently cross the gate. Soldiers attacked the demonstrators from all sides with sound bombs and serious beatings. The soldiers then rushed forward, violently pushing everyone back causing widespread injuries. The soldiers then proceeded to fire tear gas at Palestinians and internationals attempting to extinguish a fire which the explosion from a sound bomb had started in the olive groves.

Amongst those known to be badly injured by beatings and evacuated in ambulances so far are: Mohammed Mansour- who was hit with two rubber bullets in the arm and a sound bomb in his abdomen, Mohammed saw a soldier aiming for his head from close range and covered his eyes with his arm, Akram al-Katib- who was beaten, Abdullah Abu Rahme- from the Popular Committee, was beaten as well as a woman named Yahia Abullah Yasin. Two Israelis were also seriously injured. And there were many minor injuries from beatings.

Beit Ummar Farmers Struggle to Work Their Land

by Zadie Susser

We visited the land of Samer Shahdah Abu Asara, a Beit Ummar farmer who owns land directly next to the illegael Israeli settlement of Efrat. In part of his land he used to grow grapes. Another part, 25 dunums in size, has been annexed and enclosed by the settlement. This section of his land is surrounded by an electric fence, which was built about 6 months ago. It has been ten years since he used his land for growing grapes because settlers have erected a barbed wire fence inside and put up a tent that is used for vegetables. The tent has been there for about 4 years. Efrat settlement was built 27 years ago on the land of Abu Brekoot and now spans 3000 dunums. Samer Asara is intending to take his struggle to the Israeli courts to show that he has legal right to the land and the documents to prove it.

Later we visited the land of Mohammed Abu Solebey on the wadi Abu Reesh. He has 200 dunums of land near the Beit Aian settlement and suffers from the settlers there. The settlers bring their sheep to his land to graze and the sheep eat the new growth on his grape vines, fruit and olive trees. The settlers have pushed over many of the grape vines and destroyed them. He has gone to the police and they have written eight different police reports dating from 2004 to this year. On the 3rd of February last year he was severely beaten by a settler and was admitted to the hospital for his injuries.

The impact of the financial crisis on the Palestinian community

by Qusay Hamed, Nablus, Palestine. 13th May 2006

The term “Financial crisis” is an old/new term in the Palestinian dictionary; this occupied territory – that has scanty resources – is economically bounded with Israel.

Nowadays Palestine lives a dramatic financial crisis that is considered one of the worst in the nation’s history.

Palestinians have been punished for their democratic choice, where the Palestinians practiced choosing their representatives to the Palestinian Legislative Council; this choice practically brought Hamas up to the power by majority.

This choice that has been embodied by the democracy became as a pretext to refuse this choice and stop the international community subsidy to the Palestinian Authority.

I personally understand the term “Democracy” as the people’s choice for their representative in a civilized, transparent and highly credited manner.

The main and most important factor of the crisis is the external stipulated subsidy that has been cut by the American government and the European countries, in addition to the huge pressure that they practice in order to not transfer money to the newly elected government.

At the same time, Palestinian Authority has no control over their borders to import or export, That leaves Palestinian people depending on the international aid to keep the Palestinian economy and the infrastructure alive.

Political and security impacts

Security

There is no doubt that the crisis came out as a result of the American, Israeli and European pressure upon the Palestinian authority in general and upon Hamas government particularly, in order to force the government to change its political agenda. The continuation of this crisis means that the Palestinian authority will not be able to maintain it’s authority on the economical, social, health and security institutions; Which could be simply represented by the disability of what has remained from the security force, in securing the essential needs like food, health services etc, whether for it’s members or even the prisoners. In addition to that, the government is not able to pay the police force salaries. Therefore, the police force will not be able to practice its high demanded job, thus disorder, revelry and robbery will spread out and prevail.

Compulsory resignation

The other political impact is that the government becomes forced to resign or to be deposed.

This scenario is approaching for sure as this crisis continues, where the government will be forced out or will have to resign which will bring the region to a complex problematic situation that will inflame the anarchy and will have unacceptable and unpredictable results.

The economical impact of the crisis

The external financial subsidy equals 85 % of the total Palestinian income, a part of that goes to feed 150,000 employees’ families, which is the soul source of life for them. These salaries help to keep the Palestinian economy surviving, which is also considered as the main factor that keeps the Palestinian economy functioning; since these subsidies were frozen, families are not able to secure their essential life necessities. Thus the economic life is frozen also; it’s clearly embodied in Ramallah, Nablus and Hebron as the biggest cities in Palestine territories; factories, supermarkets and companies were closed as a result of the economical stagnancy and not being able to bear extra cost. Consequently that means what is called Palestinian economy will collapse at any time.

Humanitarian impact

The health sector can also clearly show the suffering which caused by the current financial crisis, whereby this institution is not able to offer its health services, in addition to the huge lack of medical staff and medicine. Therefore they are not able to give the very basic needs of life, children’s milk and health care services to the people, where also the problems of isolation and lack of mobility make it difficult for people to access essential services.

On the other hand, the education sector is highly affected by this crisis, Transportation is almost impossible because people would rather save money for basic needs of food.

Finally, the continuation of the crisis is mainly harming the lower class, Poor families are barley managing; about 150.000 families are having no money for the past three months and not clear future in the horizon, make it almost impossible for them to survive.
All this require a serious stand from the international community in order to stop the continuous suffering of the Palestinian people as a result of this financial sanction.

Tel Rumeida, Hebron: Recent Settler Attacks

29th May 2006. Tel Rumeida, Hebron

5:30 pm, Shuhada St, near Bet Haddasah settlement

Four settler children were throwing stones at a Palestinian home. The two youngest were less than four years old and the older two were between 7 and 8 years of age. A Danish Human Rights Worker (HRW) approached the Israeli soldier on duty, and asked him to stop the children. The older two settler children then turned on the Danish HRW, and began throwing stones at him, one of which hit an Australian HRW who was filming the incident.

The entire incident lasted about five minutes, and ended when the soldier on duty called for backup.

7:30 pm, Tel Rumeida St, just outside the ISM apartment

A Spainish HRW was in the street playing football with some Palestinian children. Ten or twelve settler children, around thirteen years of age came up Shuhada st, swearing at the Palestinian children. The HRW and a Palestinian man went to stand in the entrance of a nearby Palestinian store. The children threw stones at them, until the soldier on duty shooed them away. They moved up Tel Rumeida road, to a nearby Palestinian house, taking a table from the front yard and tossing it into the street.

When they moved further up Tel Rumeida strett, the HRW tried to return the table, at which point the settlers threw stones at him again.