International Solidarity Movement - Page 1318 - Nonviolence. Justice. Freedom.

IMEMC: Um Salamuna village protest the construction of the wall

Um Salamuna village protest the construction of the wall
by George Rishmawi

Around two hundred protesters marched in the village of Um Salamuna, south of Bethlehem to protest the construction of the wall on their land and to commemorate the 31 anniversary of Land Day.

Protesters, including Palestinians, Internationals and Israelis, carried signs and banners and chanted slogans calling for the removal of the Wall, describing it as land theft that is killing the Palestinian life.

The protest started with a prayer at the land slated for confiscation by the Israeli authorities for the construction of the wall.

No clashes erupted with the soldiers as the protesters remained nonviolent. Provocative moves by some of the protesters were stopped by the organizers of the action.

The crowd arrived at the Mosque of the village where some speeches related to the Land Day were made. The speakers stressed the importance of the nonviolent resistance to protect the land from being confiscated by the Israeli army.

A wide area of the village of Um Salamuna and the near by villages are confiscated for the construction of the wall and the expansion of the Israeli settlement of Ephrata.

PNN: Non-violent protest against Wall in Tulkarem for Land Day

Non-violent protest against Wall in Tulkarem for Land Day
Palestine News Network March 30, 2007

The Popular Committee Against the Wall in Tulkarem and the National Action Committee organized a nonviolent march for Land Day, an occasion which Fateh spokesperson in Tulkarem, Samir Naifa said, “remains an immortal part of the Palestinian struggle.”

Thousands of Palestinians gathered after Friday prayers at the gate of the Wall to the west of the city. They came from villages and towns throughout the northwestern West Bank district and included Legislative Council member Hassan Kreisheh and foreign supporters.

The protesters held banners calling for an end to occupation, the restoration of the land to its rightful owners, and the Right of Return. They flew the Palestinian flag and walked armed in arm. Israeli forces intercepted the march and fired gas and shot sound bombs. Some demonstrators began throwing stones and several people suffered from gas inhalation.

Organizer Faiz Al Tanib of the National Action Committee said that similar marches are in the works for several regions suffering from the Wall and land confiscation, or the threat of both. Legislative Council member Taysir Khalid said, “Land Day embodies the historical right of the Palestinians to their land and homes.”

Also today in southern Bethlehem’s Umm Salamuna Village Palestinians held what has become a weekly nonviolent demonstration in the area, while at a western Ramallah demonstration Israeli forces injured 13 people.

Women’s March in Hebron on April 1st

Women’s March in Hebron on April 1st
ISM Media Team, March 31

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

On Sunday, April 1st, the Palestinian Women’s Club will lead a women’s demonstration in the city of Hebron in the West Bank.

The women are planning at noon in H2, where they will then march through the Old City and end at the Ibrahimi Mosque, where they will pray. The women will be joined by international and Israeli solidarity activists.

Nisreen, one of the organizers of the event, is expecting around 100 participants. She also stated that “there should not be any intervention from the Israeli army because we will be marching the ‘legal way,’ through the Old City and to the mosque.” She stressed, however, that the army often invades the Old City.

The Hebron Protocols of 1997 divided the city of Hebron into 2 parts: H1 and H2. There are around 130,000 Palestinians in H1, an area where the PA has limited autonomy. H2 homes nearly 35,000 Palestinians and 600 Israeli settlers. H2 is under complete Israeli military control. The Palestinians in H2 are not allowed to drive cars of any kind, including ambulances and taxis. There is a road that leads directly to the Ibrahimi Mosque in H2. Palestinians, however, are forbidden by the Israeli military to walk down this road to reach the mosque.

Palestinians must take the long way around to reach the mosque, through the Old City. This is the route the women’s march will take on Sunday.

For more information, contact:

Nisreen (Hebron), 0599-081-579
Issa Amro (Hebron), 0599-340-549
Fawaz, 0599-355-286
ISM Media Office, 0599-943-157, 02-297-1824

Israeli Army Invading Jenin town of Zababdeh

31 March, 01:40

Update, March 31 As of noon today, the Israeli military has left Zababdeh. There have been no reported injuries or arrests. The army destroyed a wire leading from the main generator, leaving the village without electricity. This same wire was repaired after the army damaged it on Wednesday.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Israeli army is currently invading the town of Zababdeh, in the Jenin district of the West Bank.

Just hours ago, an Israeli hummer exploded when a Palestinian threw a Molotov cocktail inside the vehicle. According to a source in Zababdeh, the Israeli soldiers escaped the hummer before the explosion.

The source has stated that more Israeli jeeps and soldiers are entering the town, and are searching for suspects. The Israeli army is shooting in Zababdeh but there have been no reported injuries or arrests.

For more information, contact:

Refai (in Zababdeh), 0599-557-196
ISM Media Office, 0599-943-157, 054-237-8609

On Land Day, 3 Palestinians Arrested in Village of Rafat

On Land Day, 3 Palestinians Arrested in Village of Rafat
from IWPS, March 30

Update, March 31
The three men were released around 10pm last night, with no reports of abuse by the boys while in Israeli custody.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

RAFAT, SALFIT – Three young men from the village of Rafat were arrested today by the Israeli Forces following a nonviolent demonstration on their land. At 12:44 p.m., the men—ages 16, 20, and 24—were detained on the road by eight soldiers who were checking IDs. At 1:15 p.m., the men were handcuffed and escorted by five soldiers to five jeeps. The men were taken away in separate jeeps at 1:30 p.m.

150 people joined the demonstration in Rafat as part of the Stop the Wall campaign to commemorate the 31st Land Day celebration in Palestine. Participants marched westward from the center of town towards the Israeli Apartheid Wall. One group of men prayed, while another group of 30 men approached the Wall (made of wire fence, electric sensory wire, and razor wire), broke open a gate, and tore down part of the Wall before Israeli forces arrived on the scene at around 12:15 p.m. All participants retreated to the village and there was no confrontation or clashes with Israeli soldiers during the demonstration.

As they were leaving the village after the demonstration, seven participants were detained by soldiers for 30 minutes near the center of town, including Medical volunteers in an ambulance and the three men who were later arrested. The three young men were detained as they passed the jeeps on their way home. Soldiers gave no reason for the detention or the arrest and refused to disclose information to human rights advocates. As of 9 p.m., the three men had not been released.

Since 1976, Land Day is marked by Palestinians to protest against the the colonization and confiscation of Palestinian lands by Israel. Rafat is adjacent to the 27-settlement bloc of Ariel, the largest Israeli settlement network in the West Bank. The Wall around the Ariel bloc stretches for 114 km and grabs within it 120,000 dunums of prime aquifer-laden agricultural land which produce about 30 percent of the West Bank’s olive oil production. The Apartheid Wall dips farthest from the Green Line here and deep into the West Bank by about 22 kilometers.

For more information, contact:
International Women’s Peace Service (IWPS)
Hares, Salfit
Telephone: 09 251 66 44, 054-584-3952
Website: http://www.iwps-pal.org

ISM Media Office: 0599-943-157