Don’t say we did not know

by the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions,

Don’t say we did not know 37

In the early 1980s the inhabitants of Tuba in the South Hebron Hills were evicted. Tuba used to be where the settlement Maon Farm is today.

The people of Tuba settled nearby, about 1.5 km away. They were expelled again in the big expulsion of 1999, and returned under a Supreme Court warrant. The inhabitants of Tuba suffer from the harrassment of settlers who want their lands. Following settler attacks they stopped cultivating their lands in Wadi Zeitun that pass near the cattle yard in the settlement Carmel. Passage through Wadi Zeitun is difficult as well (eg. going to the town Yatta) as the settlers threaten them with weapons.

Don’t say we did not know 38

The Jahalin tribe were expelled in the early 1950s from Israel to the West Bank – then under Jordanian rule – and some settled east of Jerusalem. Now the state wants to expel them. Israel intends to build the separation fence so that it surrounds the settlement Ma’ale Adumim and other settlements. In the enclave there will be 30 locations where the Jahalin live, only one of them on the fence route. The rest, some 3000 people will be inside the enclave. They don’t disturb the fence trajectory, nonetheless, the state intends to evacuate the Jahalin from their homes.

Don’t say we did not know 39

The Al-Nasasra tribe lived on their land before the establishment of the State of Israel. In 1980 the state built the town Kseife near them. They are listed as residents of Kseife, receive municipal services from Kseife and participate in the municipal elections. The town wishes to integrate them and their land as a neighbourhood of Kseife. Now the state wants their land. They have been offered NIS 1000 per dunam (=1000 sq.m.) and half a dunam for habitation in the town. They refuse, because they want to live on their land as farmers. Now the Ministry of Interior has pasted demolition warrants on all the 100 houses of the Al-Nasasra.

Don’t say we didn’t know 40

The municipality of Jerusalem hasn’t stopped demolishing homes in the Palestinian villages annexed to it after the war of 1967. Since the beginning of this year, the municipality has demolished 9 Palestinian homes. One of the cases that was carried out in bad faith is the case of Hamed El Amas in Sur Baher. The local planning committee had authorised this building, and had recommended to the regional committee that it be granted a licence. The municipality knew that the house had received authorisation by the local committee, but nonetheless sent its men and heavy machinery to demolish the house over a period of two days. It was a four storey building that had been intended to house eight families.

Don’t say we did not know 41

Mahmud ‘Ali was born in Dir Dibwan, east of Ramallah, seventy years ago. He married in 1957. In the 1960s, before the Occupation, he went to the USA, where he received citizenship. After some time, he brought his wife and children to the USA. In the 1970s, his wife and children returned to their village, Dir Dibwan. Mahmud then used to visit his family once a year for a month or two. Since his retirement he tried to prolong these visits. The Israeli authorities forced him to go to Jordan every three months and return with a new visa. His wife is seventy years old, is ill and needs his help. About a year ago, the Israelis told him he’d have to wait for a year until he’s permitted to return. On January 20, 2007, when he tried to enter the West Bank from Jordan, Israel refused to grant him a visa and his entry was refused.

The village Dir Dibwan is in Area B, which is under Palestinian civil control, but Israel controls entry and exit from it.

Yifat Alkobi leads colonist trespass on Tel Rumeida Hill

by ISM Hebron, February 19th

Today at 4 pm human rights workers (HRWs) decided to pass by local resident Issa Amro’s house on Tel Rumeida hill. In the past week colonists had occupied this Palestinian property several times.

When the HRWs arrived at the house, they noticed a group of colonists, 2 men, 5 women and 15 children, had entered the house and garden again. It was only yesterday that they were sent away by the police. The colonists took pictures of the HRWs and one of the women, Yifat Alkobi, videotaped them. Yifat Alkobi is notorious from the “Sharmouta video:”

A group of about ten colonist girls then approached two of the HRWs and started throwing stones at them. The HRWs continued taking photos and filmed the children attacking them. The children, aged 6-12 shouted “Monkey, monkey!!” to one of the HRWs of Indian origin. When a colonist woman saw that the children were throwing rocks, she told them to stop.

15 minutes after the arrival of the HRWs, the colonists left Issa Amro’s house and garden and returned to the Tel Rumeida colony, just 50 meters behind the hilltop house.

IOF soldiers didn’t show up during the occupation, neither did the police, although they were asked to come by and stop the repeated colonist trespassing.

*************************

Colonists invaded Hebron Old City this morning, accompanied by the IOF. The invaders broke into the Al Aqbat mosque, several Palestinian shops, damaging some doors, and destroyed the wing mirrors and headlights of some parked cars. They also threw stones at local Palestinians.

click here for Ma’an coverage

Second Anniversary Demonstration in Bil’in

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

On Friday 23rd February Bil’in village west of Ramallah marks two years of non-violent resistance to the annexation barrier and illegal settlements. Every Friday for the past two years villagers from Bil’in have marched from the village mosque after midday prayers to the site
of the barrier to protest the barrier and illegal settlement of Mod’in Elit which together have annexed over sixty percent of Bil’in’s agricultural land.

Activists from all over the world have stood shoulder to shoulder with the Bil’in villagers in their peaceful and creative struggle. Over six hundred have been injured, with some suffering permanent injury by Israeli military violence, which has been condemned by international
human rights groups such as Amnesty International.

Peace activists from Bil’in have been especially targetted by Israeli forces with over fifty villagers being arrested during demonstrations and nighttime invasions. They have frequently spent weeks in military detention on spurious charges. Bil’in refuses to submit to such
Israeli oppression and vows to continue the non-violent struggle until the dismantling of the illegal barrier and settlements.

A photo exhibition featuring some of the creative protests from the past two years will be held in the village before the march from the village mosque.

Hebron colonists occupy Palestinian hilltop home

by ISM Hebron, February 18th

Today at 4 pm human rights workers (HRWs) in the Tel Rumeida district of Hebron were alarmed that colonists had entered local resident Issa Amro’s house on the hilltop overlooking the olive grove. For the third time this week a group of about 10 colonists illegally occupied this Palestinian property. Today they stayed in and around the house for an hour, while nearby soldiers didn’t take any action to get the trespassers out.

When the HRWs arrived to join Issa Amro and Israeli HRWs, the colonists reacted by making disgraceful remarks. Colonist Yifat Alkobi, who became infamous starring in the “Sharmuta Video”, said to one of the HRWs : “You are a Nazi, go back to Auschwitz! “.

After this brief stand-off the IOF soldiers did arrive and also entered the house and garden. The colonists carefully took pictures of international and Israeli HRWs present. Finally they left the house and its garden. Issa Amro and the HRWs were then told to leave by the police.

This latest episode in the struggle against colonist occupation and IOF complicity ended today, but Palestinians residents are determined to keep on fighting for their rights in Tel Rumeida.

Anarchist activist Jonathan Pollak given 3 month suspended sentence

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Jonathan Pollak, an activist with Anarchists Against the Wall was sentenced to 3 months in prison, that will be activated if he is convicted at a similar charge again. Pollak was sentenced today after he was convicted together with 10 other activist for blocking a road in Tel Aviv in protest of the construction of the wall. He asked the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court to sentence him to jail time, rather than community service or a suspended sentence, saying he has no intention to stop resisting the occupation. The ten other convicted activists were sentenced to 80 hours of community service.

In his sentencing statement Pollak said ” This trial, had it not taken place in a court of the occupation, in the democracy imposed on 3.5 million Palestinian subjects devoid of basic democratic liberties – was supposed to be a trial of the wall. The same wall defined as a illegal by the highest legal authority in the world; the same wall that serves as a political tool in the campaign of ethnic cleansing Israel is running in the occupied territories.”

“It was not us who were supposed to stand here in the dock, but those who plan and carry into action the Israeli apartheid,” Pollak continued. He also stated that while he is not surprised by his conviction, he does not recognize it as legitimate, explaining that is the reason he refused community service or cooperation with the probation authorities.

To end his statement Pollak asked that the court punish him with a prison sentence and not a suspended one. “In a state of things where any gathering in the territories is considered illegal because of a widespread anti-democratic policy of closed military zones, any suspended sentence given to me will quickly become a prison term” pollak said, then turning to the judge personally, saying “if your honor believes one should be sent to prison for such acts, please take the liberty and personally send me to prison here and now”.

The state prosecutor quickly responded by asking not to send Pollak to prison, but rather to pose a conditional sentence and a fine.

Jonathan Pollak’s full sentencing statement

From the first moment of this trial we took responsibility for our acts. We’ve never denied, even for an instant, that we sat on the road. Quite the opposite – we fully admitted this, and we explained why we did so. The defense was revolved around two central axes – exposing the police’s lies and their invention of fictional accusations, which the court has already addressed, and on the principals of civil resistance. In its decision, the court stated that we were attempting to drag this court into the political arena, which it should avoid like fire, lest it get burned. In fact, the state prosecution was the one doing the dragging. In every crime and in every trial, the question of motive is a central one. Our so called crime is clearly a political one, and so are its motives.

This trial, had it not taken place in a court of the occupation, in the democracy imposed on 3.5 million Palestinian subjects devoid of basic democratic liberties, would have been the trial of the Wall; that same wall that was defined as illegal by the highest legal authority in the world; that same wall that is used as a political tool in the campaign of ethnic cleansing being undertaken by Israel in the Occupied Territories; that same wall that in its previous route, that route of the relevant days, was thrown out even by Israeli courts! It was not us who should have been standing accused here, but rather the architects and enforcers of Israeli Apartheid.

To our assertion that there is a duty to violate the law at times, the court answered that in such times, one must accept the punishment as well. This response contains an obvious moral failure. The correct response would be that those who violate the law must expect punishment. Expect it, but under no circumstances accept its legitimacy.

I am not surprised that we were found guilty. But in spite of that, I cannot accept the legitimacy of the punishment. That is the reason I refused to cooperate with the parole agency, and I will refuse community service as well.

I believe that at this stage of the trial the defense tends to state that this is the defendant’s first conviction, that he is a normal human being, who is well within the bounds of civil society, that he works a steady job and so on and so forth. I will argue otherwise. I will state that while this is indeed my first conviction, it is unlikely to be my last. I still believe that what I did was necessary and morally correct, and that resistance to oppression is the duty of every human being, even at a personal price.

It is customary to ask for leniency – not to impose an active sentence, and to be satisfied with a conditional sentence. I will ask not to have a conditional sentence imposed on me, but an active one, since as things are, any demonstration taking place in the Occupied Territories is declared illegal assembly, according to the extensive and anti-democratic system of closed military zone warrants. In this state of affairs, any conditional sentence imposed upon me will quickly become an active one. If your honor believes one should be sent to prison for such acts, please take the liberty and personally send me to prison here and now.