It was Shabat (25/02/06). In the morning, I was at the crossroad at the top of Tel Rumeida hill, waiting to escort Palestinian children to their homes near the Tel Rumeida settlement. When two girls, who live opposite the settlement arrived, I walked with them up to the soldier outside the settlement. The soldier said to go no further and that he would see the children to their house. I turned to come back to the crossroad. There were three teenage settler boys coming, followed by about ten settler adults. While the soldier’s back was turned, a boy of about 16 came over to me and spat in my face; he was laughing. I called to the soldier and showed him the spit on my glasses. I also indicated which boy was the offender. The soldier was shocked, and the settler adults spoke to the soldier as they passed behind the boys into the settlement.
Later, when I took another group of children up to the soldier, he seemed frightened and asked me to please not come up there. He said that he would see that the children were properly looked after and safe, and more soldiers arrived. I do not know who the settlers threatened – the children, the soldier or me. But I would not want to be the cause of danger so I stayed back.
Beer il Haia 25/2/06
I went with a Palestinian friend to Beer il Haia in H2 ( Israeli controlled Hebron), where the Ajlum and Gait families now live. Four years ago, they moved to Beer il Haia, when they were forced to leave their previous homes behind the Ibrahim (Abraham) Mosque. The families concerned need more accommodation and have been obliged to build without a permit from the IOF (Israeli Occupation Forces). The IOF will not grant permits, saying that the land is zoned for agricultural use. A few days ago, the IOF came with a bulldozer and destroyed a house, a well and a stone shed, which provided shelter for sheep and goats. They are supposed to give notice for such action and they say they did. However, the notice was left on the ground and not handed to the owners of the land and buildings to be destroyed. The owners did not see it.
There are two more houses, which are inhabited but not completely built and which are to be destroyed because they have been built without a permit.
There is great inconsistency between the IOF behavior when dealing with settlers and Palestinians. Here, in Tel Rumeida, we have settler caravans assembled on a street, without permit, and left there for years. Palestinians families, living on that street, are not allowed to use the street and have difficulty reaching their homes. At Beer il Haia, there is plenty of space to build and the land is owned by the families. There are plenty of houses about and there seems to be no good reason why there should not be more. It’s not near a settlement, so that’s not the reason for the IOF’s decision. And, if it is to be agricultural land, why did the IOF destroy the well and animal shed?
The demonstration today in the village of Beit Sira was a peaceful march of one hundred people to the village land where olive trees are being uprooted to make way for planned route of the annexation Barrier. The Route of the Barrier in Beit Sira is designed to annex the Makabim settlement and more of Beit Sira’s land to Israel. To the left of the crowd, on the hill bulldozers were seen working on the wall’s foundation throughout the day.
We walked in the direction of the site until they reached the line of Israeli soldiers waiting to block us. We were dismayed to see that the same border police unit who had shot Matan Cohen in the eye and Hussni Rayan from close range waiting for us. A stand off ensued in which both the soldiers and the demonstrators behaved in a restrained manner. A village elder negotiated that a group of us would cross the road (which had been partially destroyed by the Israeli Military) in order to replant trees. While one group planted trees, the rest of us chanted, while being flanked by mostly border police.
After finishing, the internationals formed a line between the border police and the demonstrators, and after approximately 20 minutes, the people all moved back to the village. As opposed to the previous demos in Bet Sira, there were no injuries at today’s demonstration Another demonstration in Bet Sira is scheduled for this Friday.
It’s been almost a year of the nonviolent struggle for the Bil’in residence against the illegal Israel wall. Beyond the wall, on land owned by the Bil’in community, the people of Bil’in have built a room referred to as the ‘outpost,’ adjacent to the illegal Israeli settlement outpost Matityahu Mizrah. The land on this side of the wall will be rendered inaccessible to the villagers by the annexation barrier.
Palestinians, Internationals and Israeli activists maintain a permanent presence in the outpost which has since been described as a place for shared popular resistance against the wall over Bil’in’s land.
When I was staying in the outpost, we (a friend, a boy from the village and I) walked through a gap in the fence created during one the protests against the wall. As we reached the other side of the wall an Israeli Hummer Jeep followed us through the field and stopped a few meters ahead. Three soldiers got out of the jeep and asked the boy, who was around 17 years old for his ID.
Boy: “I don’t have my ID”
Soldier: “where is your ID, why you don’t have it?”
Boy: “there is no need for my ID, why should I have it on me when I’m in my village?”
Soldier: “this is not your village, don’t play dumb and give me your ID”
Boy: “I left it at home and we are going to visit friends in that small house (the outpost)”
Soldier: “your land is back there, and that room is not for you”
Boy (pointing with his finger): “do you see that land over there? It belongs to my dad and it’s our land!”
Soldier (making a rude look): “stop the crap, next time you bring your ID with you” The soldier then looked at me and my friend and asked the boy for our IDs, I was very nervous because –legally- according to the Israeli policy I am not allowed to travel outside Tulkarem, where I come from. The soldier looked at my ID for more two minutes and then he let us go peacefully.
That night while we were sitting around a camp fire night at the outpost, another Hummer Jeep stopped by and three soldiers walked towards our tent. One of the local activists I admire and respect very much, a farmer called Waji , was there to have this conversation in Hebrew with the soldiers for more than twenty minutes.
The first soldier (apparently the commander): “Hello, how are you?”
Wagi: “We are good, but it would be better if you drop your weapon and join us to drink tea”
The commander: “Why you still sitting here?, we gave you your land back”
Wagi: “You did not give me anything, this is all the land of Bili’n”
The commander: “Your land is the village, this land is not for you it’s for the government”
Wagi: “ How come this land is for the government, did you buy it? Did you earn it some way”
The commander: “I don’t care, this land is for the government and how you want me to drop my weapon when all Arabs hate me?”
Wagi: “ You are stealing our land, our water, our trees, and demolishing our homes and lives, how you want us to feel towards you?” “
The commander: “Well, I have to protect my country and it’s my duty to join the army”
Wagi again: “OK! there is something mentioned in the Jews history, the golden age, do you know about it?”
The commander said: “No, then the next soldier smiled and answered, “Yes, I heard about the golden age”
Wagi: “Do you know what is it?”
The soldier replied, “yes, but you tell me about it.”
Wagi: “It’s the age when the Jews where living under the Muslim empire and you never felt the justice and took all your rights like that time, right”
The soldier answered: “Yes, it’s true.”
Wagi: “Is this how you treat us back now, why we can’t live like we were in the past?”
The soldier: “You have started it, you want to fight us”
Wagi: “It doesn’t make sense, If you gave me all my rights would I fight you? Why you are here with your gun then?”
The commander: “What about the suicide bombers, do you want me to let them blow them selves up in Tel Aviv?”
Wagi: “Do you think a 100 years old man would prefer to die? Naturally people love life. Why you think these people blow them selves up, why do they want to finish there lives”?
The commander: “They do this because they hate us.”
Wagi: “They do this because you have killed their friends, maybe their family or someone close, do you think throwing a bomb in Gaza the most over populated place in the world and killing women and children is different than the suicide bombing?”
The commander again: “Yes, this is a military operation done by soldiers but suicide bombing is different”
Wagi: “Let me tell you this personal story, I have a disabled son moving in a wheelchair, few months ago your army invaded my house and one of your soldiers aimed at my son while he was sitting and shot him in the shoulder”
The other soldier: “Only the border police do that, they are crazy!!! We are not like them, we are regular soldiers”
Wagi: “Regular soldiers!! Don’t you have this saying in the army “Shoot then Cry”? What makes you different?.”
The soldier smiled and didn’t say anything, Wagi added “Do you know how my son became disabled?, at the beginning of this Intifada he joined a peaceful demonstration against an illegal checkpoint in Ramallah and he was shot with a “dumdum” bullet by an Israeli sniper”
The same soldier again: “What is a ‘dumdum’ ?”
Waji with a smile: “You don’t know what is a “dumdum”? It’s an explosive bullet, it makes an explosion once it hits something. This illegal bullet shattered my son’s spine”
The soldier: “We don’t have these kind of bullets in Israeli, we don’t use them maybe it was a rubber bullet?”
Waji: “Do you think that bullet came from the sky and hit my son?, Do you know my son was dying and I wanted to take to Jordan to get better medical care but your authority did not give me a permit to save my son’s life! Let me tell you something else, what weapons do you use against peaceful demonstrations in Bil’in? Rubber bullets, coated steal bullets with salt, bean bullets (an illegal bullet splits into plastic pieces to poison the body, used once in the US and killed one woman”,) sponge bullets, the scream weapon, electric weapons. my other 12 years old son was shot with a “dumdum” bullet too in one of the demonstrations? Are you going to tell me that you don’t have these weapons too? My other son is in prison now for three months because he participated in peaceful protests against stealing his land. If you were in my place as a father, what would you do?!!”
The commander (nodding his head): “It’s been good talking to you, we have to go now. I hope we can see again and talk”
Waji: “If you come next time, come with your car without your uniform and you are welcome to visit me in my house”.
19:10 February 19, 2006 Twenty-two year old Mohammad Subkhi Abu Hanade was shot in the chest with live ammunition while he was in his home by a sniper in an occupied house adjacent to his. A medical team andinternational volunteers who were in the vicinity say that the atmosphere was quiet when they heard two shots followed by screaming coming from the house. They immediately came in and found Abu Hanade bleeding heavily. After Mohammad was evacuated, a pregnant woman in the house went into what seemed to be shock induced labor and was also evacuated to hospital.
They say they saw no weapon, nor any apparent reason for the shooting. Israeli soldiers subsequently ordered Mohammad’s family, a total of 12 people including two small babies, out of the house at 20:45 and detained them in the street for an hour and a half.
Since the incursion in Balata refugee camp started on 1:00 am February 19, Balata camp has been under ongoing curfew. In addition, The Israeli Military has made medical emergency work impossible. All entrances to Balata refugee camp are blocked. The one ambulance left in the camp brings the wounded only to the edge of the camp, as medical workers fear that the army would prevent the vehicle from re-entering.
The wounded are carried on stretchers to the entrance of the camp and transported to hospitals in Nablus. Normal ambulance traffic has come to a complete halt. International volunteers are working with ambulance personnel to transport the wounded to an emergency field clinic inside the camp and to hospitals in Nablus and other cities. They witnessed all following incidents or heard and confirmed them from ambulance personnel of the United Palestinian Medical Relief Committees (UMPRC) and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS).
• 07:15-An Israeli military Jeep shot in the direction of an ambulance
and prevented it from approaching the camp.
• 11:15-The military attempted to close the UN medical clinic by shooting warning shots and percussion grenades. They also prevented patients from entering the clinic.
• 13:45-Mohammad Yousef was shot with a rubber coated metal bullet in the head while throwing stones at a military jeep on Jamal Abdel Nasser Street near the entrance of the camp.
The bullet entered several centimetres into his skull. Today there were an additional 12 young men injured while throwing stones at the military jeeps, in Balata village. Another five were injured in the Balata refugee camp by rubber coated steal bullets.
• 15:20-Four youths are injured by rubber coated steel bullets in Balata village. One of them is shot in the head.
• 15:40-Israeli soldiers denied entry to a medical team attempting to deliver food and medicine into the camp. The Israeli soldiers also threatened to shoot them.
• 18:00- Until the writing of this report, a large group of soldiers are surrounding a house in the Magdush neighbourhood in Balata camp.
Soldiers have broken into neighbouring houses and broken windows and doors. In several instances today, soldiers drove through the camps cursing the residents’ mothers and sisters in Arabic in what seemed to be an attempt to provoke the youth to throw stones. The volunteers have witnessed no armed resistance, only youth throwing stones and building
barricades.
The struggle of Palestinian villagers against the separation wall and settlements is collecting momentum. In addition to the ongoing direct action of manning the two Palestinian “out posts” that Bil’in villagers have built on their land to be stolen by the annexation wall, three demonstrations were held this Friday. As usual, the Israeli military attempted to block the way of the Israeli activists to Bil’in and detained two of them who were not fast enough to evade the few soldiers allocated to the mission.
In Bil’in, about 20 internationals who came to participate in the Bil’in international conference due 20th-21st February joined the 70 Palestinians and the 20 Israelis in what has become the traditional Friday demo.
The demonstration began at noon with a march towards the land cut off from the village by the route of the barrier. Protesters first attempted to pass through the olive orchard towards the part of fence not yet finished but , the soldiers were ready to stop them among the olive trees… so they diverted back to the road leading to the open gate in the fence – now “blessed” by the highest court of justice as opened always for passage, though the armed forces make an exception, and block it every Friday during the demonstration.
The march was blocked by a border police unit about 20 meters from the passage. During the usual confrontation the protestors advanced about 2 meters – something the commander of the unit took personally. A few shock grenades and physical pushing gained the Israeli military the last two meters. After a while, people tried to get down from the road to the olive orchard in order to go around the blocking border police and get nearer to the fence. A large group of demonstraters did reach the fence route and started to bang with stones on the low fence bordering it. A small unit of soldiers who rushed there tried unsuccessfully to disperse the people with tear gas grenades.
After the nonviolent demonstration was declared over, many of the protestors stayed near by observing the usual confrontation between the stone throwing youngsters and the military, shooting tear gas grenades at them.
