This morning, ten Palestinians were injured when soldiers opened fire
in Liban Al-Gharbi, near Rantis – 15 km south of Qalqilya. The
conflict began six days ago, when a group of 25 settlers and soldiers
brought heavy machinery onto a piece of land that belongs to the
village. They began digging and excavating the land, claiming to be in search of archeological ruins.
On several occasions in the last week, the settlers have also come into the village to harass and threaten the Palestinians. Each day, the Palestinians have gone down to the occupied land to talk to the settlers – insisting that the land belongs to the village and that the settlers do not have the right the work there.
This morning, when the Palestinians confronted the settlers, the situation escalated into a fight, with settlers and villagers throwing rocks at one another. Israeli soldiers then opened fire on the villagers with rubber coated metal bullets – injuring ten Palestinians. Seven of the injured have been transferred to Ramallah Hospital; two are in serious condition. Bajis, 33, was shot twice in his left leg from a distance of less than 5 meters. Munthir, 40, was shot in the forehead and in the left shoulder. The other villagers were treated and released.
The soldiers, settlers were ordered by the Israeli military to vacate the area this morning, however, the order is only one week and villagers fear that they will return. It was not stated exactly what the intent of the archeological work was or what ruins settlers were supposedly in search of.
Soldiers set up a “flying checkpoint” outside Ramallah, near the village of Surda on Sunday.
By Sarita and Andrew
Ambulances, commerce, people traveling to work or heading home were all brought to a halt Sunday in Ramallah as Israeli soldiers closed all exit and entry points to the city following a shooting by Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade members in which a 10-year-old Israeli boy from the nearby Ateret settlement was injured.
As the boy lay in stable condition after being rushed to Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital in Jerusalem, two ambulances carrying sick Palestians to a nearby hospital were forced to sit for three and a half hours at a checkpoint in the West Bank village of Atara along with hundreds of other commuters. International Solidarity Movement volunteers went to monitor the checkpoints at Atara and Surda.
Flying Checkpoint in Surda
At approximately 10:30 this morning, the Israeli military closed the Atara checkpoint. A flying checkpoint was placed at Surda, 10km from Atara towards Ramallah. Ten ISM activists arrived at Surda Checkpoint around 1:00pm and began monitoring the Israeli soldiers blocking the road with 2 jeeps. The army was letting some cars as well as women, children and the elderly go through, but Palestinian men between the ages of 18-35 were being stopped and had to show their ID.
Surda Checkpoint
ISM divided into 2 groups, and sent one to monitor Atara Checkpoint with the 3 International Women’s Peace Service (IWPS) activists and the other remained at Surda.
A soldier at the flying checkpoint approached the ISM activists, to explain (in the little english that he knew) that they were searching for the “terrorist” that had attacked and shot settlers near Jerusalem. He wanted to let the ISM volunteers through the checkpoint, but they explained that they had come to observe him and the army’s actions, and that they wouldn’t leave until the checkpoint was lifted.
Surda checkpoint
During the time ISM was filming and taking photographs, movement through the checkpoint almost came to a complete halt as the soldiers tightened control. One soldier driving a jeep, aggressively raced up to a UN vehicle waiting in line as if he was going to smash into the car. He got out of the jeep, yelling and brandishing his M-16. He then took position in the middle of the road and began harassing the men waiting to have their IDs checked. The commanding army officer eventually ordered him to return to his jeep as media arrived on site.
A bus full of children between the ages of 4 and 12, who were travelling to Ramallah to present a theatre performance, were stopped for over 2 hours. Stefanie and Marie-Eve, ISM activists from France and Canada, managed to convince the commanding officer to let the bus through.
Surda Checkpoint
At around 2:00 p.m., the soldiers suddenly lifted the checkpoint and the army vehicles raced behind the hill. The hundreds of people and cars that had been waiting patiently flooded the road. The sounds of hurried movement filled the landscape and the trace of soldiers was erased by the loud honking and bustle.
Atara checkpoint
Atara Checkpoint
As traffic flowed at a snail’s pace at the temporary checkpoint in Surda, The permanent checkpoint at Atara was blocked for three and a half hours by soldiers in checkpoint structures, jeeps and sniper posts.
Members of IWPS and ISM attempted to talk to soldiers about the reason for the road closures and to seek permission for the ambulances carrying sick passengers to pass. Their requests were rebuffed. No arrests or vehicle checks were made at the roadblock. Soldiers were not searching anyone or allowing anyone to approach to ask them for information as to how long they should expect to wait.
As the group of international observers asked again if the roadblock would soon open, or if the ambulances could pass, the guards received instructions to allow traffic to move. Leaving a small contingent of soldiers at the posts in the permanent checkpoint, most of the soldiers promptly jumped into their jeeps and sped off. Nearly 200 vehicles, including a number of packed busses, had been detained under the hot sun for nearly four hours.
The inequity that Palestinians face when compared to the amount of security and safety Israelis are afforded is obvious in every facet of life in occupied Palestinian lands.
Settler attacks on Palestinian villagers often go unreported or investigated. While shooting at settlers can bring all of Ramallah to a halt, often there is little to no protection for the Palestinian population inside Israeli borders, in the West Bank or Gaza.
As Israeli and U.S. officials continually bombard Palestinian authorities to go after militant groups, little is being done to curtail attacks carried out by settlers. No security was in place to keep the 19-year-old settler off the bus in the middle of a Palestinian community inside Israel’s borders where he killed 4 people and injured 12 others with an army issued rifle — in an act of what he considered to be in defense of the settlements. None of the settler-only roads that wind through Palestinian territories were closed off for hours after the incident.
In fact, Raanan Gissin, an adviser to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, said the killing of Palestinian bus riders was an “isolated incident” that was “a far cry from when you have on occasion one or two isolated incidents of this sort than when you have a whole society which is beset by terrorists.”
Also, none of the violence and human rights abuses against Palestinian civilians are taken into account.
According to weekly figures by the Palestinian Center For Human Rights, acts against Palestinian civilians have recently been on the rise. The organization reports that, between July 28 and August 3, Israeli forces sraeli Occupation Forces killed a Palestinian civilian in Shoufa village, south of Tulkarm. Ten Palestinian civilians were injured in attacks by militant settlers in that time. Add to that the amount of violent force used against peaceful demonstrations organized by Palestinian civilians, the economic ruin brought about during that time by the expansion of Israel’s illegal annexation wall, and the notion of who actually is “beset by terrorists” should become more and more clear.
Statistics: www.pchrgaza.org Background on speicific incidents: www.haaretzdaily.com
Carrying a 20-foot long mock snake with a dove baring the colors of the Palestinian flag in its mouth, about 100 Palestinian peace activists in the West Bank village of Bil’in on Friday were joined by 50 Israelis and 30 internationals in a march toward the construction site of Israel’s illegal annexation wall. The display represented how is snaking through Palestinian land, killing the possibilities for peace.
While Israeli soldiers attempted to turn the situation into chaos with tear gas and sound grenades, peace activists were able to maintain two lines, with their arms locked, and walk toward the soldiers until they retreated back as television cameras from Aljzaeera and other news agencies recorded footage. Soldiers injured some protesters with shrapnel from sound grenades. Others were kicked or punched by soldiers. 13 Israeli activists were detained. Four people were arrested, two Israelis and two foreign peace activists.
Friday demonstrations in Bil’in’ begin at 1 p.m. on the dot. The Aug. 5 wall protest was no exception. As the demonstration neared the last house in the village, Israeli soldiers were prepared, standing with shields and riot gear behind razor wire. They immediately declared the area a closed military zone. Palestinians shouted back “This is Palestinian territory!” and continued chanting, singing and dancing for about half an hour.
As some of the protestors continued chanting, the Israeli military started to move toward the demonstrators, firing tear gas and throwing sound grenades into the crowd. Israeli soldiers then pushed the demonstration back toward the village.
A peace activist from India was knocked down and kicked in the head. He said later that the soldiers had talked to him as though they thought he was a Palestinian. Another man — an actual Palestinian — was injured in his leg by shrapnel from one of the sound grenades tossed into the crowd by soldiers. Of the four arrested, the two internationals, one from Germany and the other from Denmark were released hours later. Two Israelis are still under arrest and accused of assault. One soldier has claimed that one of the Israeli peace activists “bit” him.
The demonstrators reformed into clear lines and linked arms and were beaten with shields by the Israeli military. Palestinians were specifically targeted with brutal force. Despite the large number of Israeli soldiers, the demonstration was able to eacefully stand its ground and move the soldiers back to the original stand-off point.
Abdullah Abu-Rahme was released from the jail in Ofer Military Base on Monday, Aug.1, at 2.30 pm. Abdullah was arrested July 17 during a nonviolent demonstration against the wall in his home village of Bil’in.
In a previous hearing, a judge at the military base ordered that Abdullah should remain jailed until the end of court proceedings. This could have taken months. The decision was made on the acceptance of the prosecution’s claim that Abdullah was ‘highly dangerous,’ despite an earlier ruling from a military court that he should be released, as he posed no threat.
This time, the court released him on bail, with the conditions that he will stop demonstrating against the wall. He posted a bail of NIS 6,000 and an Israeli friend signed third-party bail for the sum of NIS 10,000. The latter sum will have to be paid if Abdullah breaks his conditions. All of this money paid, and these conditions, are absurd. Abdullah did nothing more than walk to his village’s land.
On July 31, when Abdullah’s hearing began, about 50 people demonstrated against the unfair military court and in solidarity with Abdullah. Now he is back home in Bil’in, celebrating amongst friends and family. His lawyer is going to appeal the conditions.
Kids are jumping around. Dancing. A perspiring, lanky gray haired guy is fiddling nonstop and Harry Borrey, fresh from a brief kidnapping experience in Gaza is singing things like “We Shall Overcome” and telling various Israeli soldiers that he loves them. And in Hebron, there are a lot of soldiers for Harry to love…
An ISM media coordinator blogs in the distance. Read the rest of this post at thismuchicansayistrue.
