The Israeli military invaded Nablus on February 25 in an operation called “Hot Winter.” The following videos were jointly produced by the Research Journalism Initiative (RJI) and the “a-films” film collective.
“Hot Winter” Day One
“Hot Winter” Day Two
“Hot Winter” Day Four
For more videos, visit: http://www.youtube.com/afilmspalestine
Israeli forces have escalated land confiscation throughout Bethlehem during the past several days, targeting Umm Salamuna in the south and Beit Jala in the west.
The Israelis are building the Wall through Bethlehem, further isolating the West Bank from Jerusalem. Thousands of Palestinians will be segregated from one another, human rights sources report.
In the Bethlehem District’s southern town of Umm Salamuna the confrontations continue between the large contingent of Israeli forces who are confiscating the land and the residents who are trying to stop them.
Joined by foreign and Israeli supporters, the land owners have taken to standing in front of heavy equipment in the campaign of nonviolent resistance mounted over recent weeks.
On Wednesday demonstrators held sticks to the soldiers’ machine guns. Israeli forces violently arrested five Israeli and two foreign supporters. Mahmoud Zoahrah is a member of the Wall Resistance Committee in southern Bethlehem. The group represents 10 area towns and was formed several months ago to combat land confiscation and Wall construction.
“The most tragic situation is occurring,” Zoahrah told PNN. “The bulldozers raised trees from nuts and lemons, to grape vines. In a few months 1,500 dunams of land are isolated in Umm Salamuna, in addition to the complete isolation that the coming weeks and months have in store for the entirety of southern Bethlehem.”
The western Bethlehem District will also be hemmed in by the Wall. Chairperson of the Committee to Defend against Land Confiscation, Khalid Al Azzeh, informed PNN that “the so-called Israeli Civil Administration distributed 11 home demolition notices in western Bethlehem where the Israeli settlement of Gush Etzion is encroaching.”
Ibrahim Attallah is among residents of western Bethlehem’s Beit Jala City whose home is slated for wrecking. He has two weeks to appeal the Israeli decision in the Israeli court system. The 100 residents who the Israeli authorities intend to evict in order to expand the settlements and Wall have agreed to collective action and say they will not leave their lands or homes.
In addition to destroying the stone fence surrounding agricultural land near the Talitha School in Beit Jala, over which the Israelis have under full control as Area C, Israeli forces are targeting the entire area for Wall construction.
Al Azzeh said that Israeli forces deliberately demolish houses during the early morning hours to avoid any major protest by land owners. He pointed that the Israelis claim the reason behind the destruction is that Palestinians have not solicited them for licenses for the existing structures. But the real reason, says Al Azzeh, is completing the Wall. Beit Jala will be surrounded by settlements, the settler bypass road and the Wall after the land is confiscated.
The same appeal that is circulated almost daily was issued again to international human rights institutions to pressure Israel to abide international law and stop the decades of looting Palestinian lands. “Dredging and demolition do not enable the search for a just peace,” commented Al Azzeh. Beit Jala’s Mayor said that the demolition order to establish the Wall here will lead to the isolation of approximately 7,200 dunams of agricultural land.
The only access will be through an iron gate in the Wall, and that is dependent on the mood of the Israeli soldiers, forewarned sources in the municipality.
Yesterday at midnight, Israeli jeeps and soldiers re-invaded Nablus’ old city and re-imposed curfew on its residents. Throughout today, the Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees (UPMRC) emergency medical volunteers and IWPS accompaniers delivered medicine, food and supplies to families unable to leave homes due to curfew.
At 1:00pm, three medics and two IWPS volunteers were stopped by four soldiers in a jeep and were asked to give their identification cards. Soldiers held their IDs for about one hour before releasing the medics.
At about 2:30pm, five soldiers interrupted a medical delivery by seven medics (including a doctor and nurse) and internationals by detaining the group for over ten minutes.
In another instance that afternoon, a group of 7 medics, including one doctor and volunteers attempted to reach a heart-condition patient in his home and were stopped by four soldiers. More soldiers arrived, detaining a total of 17 medics plus volunteers for over half an hour. The doctor was released after 40 minutes.
As of 5:30pm, UPMRC workers reported they had assisted approximately 60 people and there were 30 ambulance cases. Numerous houses are still occupied by soldiers, with the residents trapped inside.
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Here is some video footage of the first three days of the invasion. It’s a co-production by the Research Journalism Initiative (RJI) and the anarchist film collective “a-films”.
Day 1 – good quality
Day 1 – low quality
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This Friday the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine will celebrate its 38th anniversary in the village of Bil’in. Speeches will be held in the village after midday prayers before the march to the Apartheid Wall, which has annexed over 60% of the village’s land for the settlement of Mod’in Elit and its ongoing expansion. Two months ago the Fateh party held its 42nd anniversary celebration at the weekly Bil’in protest.
This week’s demo comes at a critical time for the village. A few days ago an Israeli Planning Council legalized the largest-ever settlement construction project in the West Bank, which is illegal even according to Israeli law.
The villagers of Bil’in filed an appeal with the Israeli High Court and a decision is expected imminently. According to their lawyer Michael Sfard, “the takeover of the lands was carried out by a conspiracy involving private developers and Israeli authorities. Thus, criminal companies that stole private Palestinian lands won the protection of the fence – which was intended as a means of security and became a tool for annexation – as well as backing from the planning authorities, whose approval laundered the offenses.”
UPDATE 3PM – all the activists have been released after being made to sign conditions saying they wouldn’t return to the site of their arrest for 15 days
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Six activists have just been arrested for trying to stop work on the annexation barrier in the South Bethlehem area. The four Israelis, American and Japanese activist were attempting to stop bulldozers razing the agricultural land of Umm Salamuna village, south of Bethlehem, which is being confiscated for the route of the annexation barrier around Efrat settlement.
The activists blocked the bulldozers for two hours this morning before a special unit of the riot police arrived to remove them. The activists have been taken to Gush Etzion police station.
Yesterday three Palestinians from Umm Salamuna were arrested for protesting the annexation of their agricultural land, including the Village Council Head Mahmoud Zaqatka. His son, Rashid remains in detention.
Israel plans to annex 700 dunums and confiscate 270 dunums of agricultural land for the route of the Wall in Umm Salamuna. Although the villagers are challenging the route of the Wall in the Israeli Supreme Court, a Court order freezing work was lifted last week and the bulldozers have recommenced razing the village’s agricultural land.
