Neta Golan released from Israeli jail

Neta Golan, arrested leaving Gaza on the 22nd December through Erez crossing, has been released today by Israeli police following her second appearance in court in Kiryat Gat.

She was not charged and was released without bail. Neta Golan was kept in isolation for the duration of her time in prison, but had this to say;

“I left Gaza under Israeli siege to another Israeli prison in Kiryat Gat. Yet in Kiryat Gat, while I did not have freedom, I was given food, including bread and dairy, and the cell I was kept in though dirty and cold had electricity. The Palestinian people of Gaza do not have these things due to the Israeli policies of collective punishment.”

After successfully breaking the blockade with the Free Gaza Movement, Neta Golan spent three days in the Gaza Strip observing the effects of the Israeli siege on Gaza. She visited schools, hospitals and farmers who’s lives have been devastated by Israel’s policies of collective punishment.

Upon being arrested Neta Golan stated;

“How can an act against the collective punishment of over 1.5 million people be a crime? The policies of the Israeli State towards the people of Gaza is the real crime”.

Neta Golan is one of the co-founders of the International Solidarity Movement which was nominated twice for a Nobel Peace prize. She has actively resisted the occupation, participating in hundreds of demonstrations against the wall and the illegal settler roads. She is married and lives in Ramallah with her Palestinian husband and two children.

Ynet: Israeli activist charged with violating disengagement order

Police claim Neta Golan, who sailed into Gaza on activists’ boat, will be charged with violating order prohibiting Israelis from entering Gaza. Meanwhile Lebanese boat prepares to sail for Strip on Jan. 3

By Tova Dadon

To view original article, published by Ynet on the 23rd December, click here

The Magistrates’ Court in Kiryat Gat on Tuesday remanded the arrest of peace activist Neta Golan, who attempted to cross into Israel after arriving in Gaza on an activists’ boat from Cyprus. She was arrested at the Erez crossing on Monday.

Police stated an indictment would be filed against Golan, charging her with the violation of the order implementing the State’s Disengagement Plan of 2006. The order prohibits Israeli citizens from entering Gaza.

Police representatives asked the court to remand Golan’s arrest in order to provide for time to prepare the indictment and to consult with the Prime Minister’s Office in order to estimate the danger of Golan’s actions.

Golan’s attorney, Adanan Aladdin, told the court that his client “may have been endangering herself by entering Gaza, but the Gazans welcomed the arrival of the boat carrying a minimal amount of medical equipment to cure the seriously ill.”

Aladdin added, “There is no criminal offense in Golan’s actions. The siege Israel is imposing on Gaza is causing a serious humanitarian crisis endangering the lives of thousands of Gazans.

“Golan was taking personal responsibility as she believed the entire Israeli public should be doing, and boarded the ship that eventually docked in Gaza, otherwise the ship would have been banned. The fact that there were Israelis on board forced the Israeli forces to allow it to dock in Gaza.”

First Lebanese boat follows suit

Meanwhile it was reported that another cargo ship will set sail for Gaza on January 3 to defy the Israeli blockade, the organizer said Tuesday. On board the ship will be Lebanese activists, journalists, and supplies. Authorities at Larnaca port in Cyprus are expected to inspect the cargo and passengers before it proceeds to Gaza.

Hani Sleiman, a lawyer and university professor, said the indirect route is designed to deprive Israel of any excuse not to allow the ship into Gaza.

Five ships carrying activists and goods have run the blockade since the summer, but it will be the first time a ship carrying people and goods from Lebanon.

A spokesman for Israel’s Foreign Ministry, Yigal Palmor, said Israel will not comment prior to the event and “will react accordingly when it happens.”

AP contributed to this report

Um Kamel al-Kurd again claims her Right of Return

On Monday 22nd of December, the people of Sheikh Jarrah, together with international and Israeli activists, returned for the second time to Um Kamel’s former house in Talbieh to express her right of return.

Around 50 people took part in the non-violent demonstration at 3pm to protest in the streets about Um Kamels eviction from her house in Sheikh Jarrah.

“I have two choices, either to push for a return to my house in Sheikh Jarrah or claim my right to my land in the Palestinian neighbourhood in Talbieh. This is my right and I will claim my right”, Um Kamel said.

The demonstrations lasted an hour during which protesters displayed posters, banners and tried to reach by-passers with Um Kamel’s message. Some of the banners said; “This is our land, our home”, “No to ethnic cleansing in Jerusalem” and “End the occupation – free Palestine”. Flyers were distributed to passers-by containing information about the protest tent in Sheikh Jarrah and concerning the nature of the demonstration.

Once again Um Kamel called upon the international community to put pressure on Israel to stop the continuing colonialisation of East Jerusalem. “We are experiencing small steps forward as even the children say they want their lands back. But we still need more people to join our struggle”.

The protest will continue to take place every week from now, bringing the same message to Talbieh and the world; “It’s time for the Palestinian people to live on their own land and in peace”.

Three residents of Ni’lin arrested during night invasion

December 22, 2008

At 2.30 am on the 22nd of December, more than 100 soldiers invaded the village of Ni’lin, abducting three people in their homes. A fourth person they were looking for was not captured. The three arrested were:

Saeed Ibrahim Mustafa Amireh, 17

Mohammed Daoud Husain Khawaja, 17

Mohammed Abdallah Yousef Amireh, 32

At the house of Saeed Amireh the soldiers came by foot and surrounded the house. Approximately 25 soldiers entered the home searching for evidence to connect the family to participation in the resistance against the construction of the wall, yet they found nothing. During the raid the Israeli army put the whole family of ten in one room. After harassing the family for an hour and a half, Saeed was arrested and taken to Ofer prison.

One of the soldiers said in Arabic to Saeed’s father Ibrahim Amireh, “we arrested you two months ago, now we are here to take your son”. Saeed’s father, who is a member of the Popular Committee of Ni’lin, was arrested on the 14th of August also during a night invasion of Israeli soldiers in the village. He was imprisoned and daily interrogated during 16 days and then released. This resulted in him losing his permit to work in Israel.

At 2.30 the army came to the house of Mohammed Khawaja, 17 years old. First they went to his brother’s home downstairs, where they entered and searched the house. They did not find Mohammed so they went upstairs and arrested him immediately. One soldier searched the house looking for evidence in connection with the popular resistance. As it was a swift arrest the parents didn’t have a chance to give him extra clothes, Mohammed has also been taken to Ofer Prisoner Camp, near Ramallah.

At around 3am, 20 soldiers came to Mohammed Abdallah Yousef Amirehs house and called him out, before then arresting him. They also entered his mother’s house downstairs harassing her and searching her house. They took him by foot to the checkpoint from were he was taken to Ofer Prisoner Camp. He is the father of five small children. Without him his family have no income.

During the arrests two jeeps were parked outside the municipality in the village centre. Around ten soldiers stood shooting teargas and sound bombs towards the surrounding houses. They used flares to see if there were any people outside. The army finally left the village at around 5am.

Israeli forces invade Ni’lin regularly in order to arrest people who have been active in the popular resistance against the Annexation Wall being built on their lands. Since the start of the construction of the Annexation Wall in April 2008, more than 60 villagers have been arrested. Out of the 60 held 31 are still in jail, six of them under the age of 18.

The wall annexes 23 hectares of agricultural land from the village. In addition to the wall, two tunnels that are planned that will act as the only entrances in and out of Ni’lin will annex a further 2 hectares.

432 hectares of farming land have already been annexed by the Israeli state since 1948 leaving Ni’lin with only 23 hectares of land that includes the land the village houses are build on.

When the Annexation Wall is finished it will completely encircle the village together with two roads that can only be used by Israelis. The construction turns Ni’lin into a small enclave closed off from the rest of the West Bank.

Excluding Saeed and Mohammed, 4 other children have been imprisoned and so far, they have been held for more than a month. They are:

Ibrahim Khalqel, 16

Majed Hisham Nafea, 17

Sufyan Khawaja, 17

Mohammad Ata Mousa, 14 – On Wednesday 17th December Mohammed Mousa was sentenced to four months and fined 2000 NIS (starting from the day he was arrested).

These children have had their education interrupted and they risk losing a school term. Saeed and Mohammad have been arrested just one week before their final exams of the semester. This is another strategy from Israel to make the daily life increasingly difficult for the Palestinian population, particularly those involved in popular resistance against the occupation.

These latest arrests mark a continuation of the Israeli policy of arrests of those believed to be involved in demonstrations against the Wall.

Neta Golan arrested by Israeli police after attempting to leave Gaza

Neta Golan, an Israeli citizen and co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), has been arrested by Israeli police while attempting to leave Gaza through the Erez border crossing.

Neta Golan, 38, arrived Gaza on the 20th December, along with 17 human rights observers on the SS Dignity, the fifth boat to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza, organised by the Free Gaza Movement.

She will be taken to court tomorrow (23rd December) in Kiryat Gat.

Neta Golan’s lawyer, Adnan Aladdin, condemned the arrest;

“Ms Golan’s actions in no way constitute a crime. Her actions in entering Gaza were acts of necessity based on international law and a rejection of the policies of collective punishment pursued by the Israeli government”

“Humanitarian needs, such as those faced by the Palestinian people of Gaza due to the Israeli siege, make non-violent acts that are clearly a response to this act of collective punishment necessary. This is common sense and has precedent.”

“The Defense of Necessity protects those who peacefully seek to prevent gross violations of human rights, grave breaches of humanitarian law, and war crimes from occurring. Non-violent civil disobedience in opposition to and aimed at preventing gross violations of human rights, grave breaches of humanitarian law, and war crimes has been recognized as justified by the necessity of self-defense and the necessity of defense of others in several jurisdictions around the world. (Source – The State of Israel vs.Ascherman, Arik; Omer, Ori; Hamburger, Shai Eliezer, January 2004, Criminal Case # 003751/03)

Under the Geneva Conventions of 1949, collective punishment is deemed a war crime. Article 33 of the the Fourth Geneva Convention states; “No protected person may be punished for an offense he or she has not personally committed,” and that “collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited.”

After successfully breaking the blockade with the Free Gaza Movement, Neta Golan spent three days in the Gaza Strip observing the effects of the Israeli siege on Gaza. She visited schools, hospitals and farmers who’s lives have been devastated by Israel’s policies of collective punishment.

She stated;

“How can an act against the collective punishment of over 1.5 million people be a crime? The policies of the Israeli State towards the people of Gaza is the real crime”.

“I feel it is my duty to come to Gaza and attempt to raise awareness as to what the Israeli state is doing to the people here. We broke the siege on Gaza, now it is time for more from the international community to do the same in solidarity with the Palestinian people.”

Neta Golan is one of the co-founders of the International Solidarity Movement which was nominated twice for a Nobel Peace prize. She has actively resisted the occupation, participating in hundreds of demonstrations against the wall and the illegal settler roads. She is married and lives in Ramallah with her Palestinian husband and two children.

The collective punishment of the people of Gaza has, according to the UN Relief and Works Agency, had a devastating effect on the local population. The siege has seen Israel allow only the bare minimum of essential materials allowed into the Strip. Last week even the UN food and cash distribution that was to be transferred was suspended by Israel.

Figures collected by the UN also show that 51.8% of the people of Gaza are now living below the poverty line, a figure the UN described as “unprecedentedly high“. The UN also announced last week that it had been forced to stop distributing food to the 750,000 people inneed and forced to suspend financial distributions to a further 94,000.

The International Solidarity Movement (ISM) is a Palestinian-led movement committed to resisting the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land using nonviolent, direct-action methods and principles. Founded by a small group of activists in August, 2001, ISM aims to support and strengthen the Palestinian popular resistance by providing the Palestinian people with two resources, international protection and a voice with which to nonviolently resist an overwhelming military occupation force.

The International Solidarity Movement re-established its presence in the Gaza Strip following the first voyage of the Free Gaza Movement on the 23rd August 2008. ISM volunteers have been accompanying Gazan fishermen as they fish with Palestinian waters, working with farmers who have land situated along the Green Line and documenting aspects of the siege and occupation of Gaza. On the 18th November, three ISM volunteers were abducted from Palestinian waters by the Israeli navy together with fifteen Palestinian fishermen. The internationals were later deported from Israel, despite never having entered Israeli territory until taken into Israeli waters by the Israeli navy.