Scottish Rabbis volunteer threatened with deportation during olive harvest

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Theresa McDermont, a volunteer from Scotland who came to pick olives with Palestinian farmers and Israeli rabbis today sits in an Israeli detention cell, awaiting deportation. She is not being charged with any crime.

Theresa, a post office worker, has been detained since the 31st of October. She will have a court hearing on the 13th of November and her attorney is Gabi Laski. She came to the country to join Israeli group Rabbis for Human Rights. The group of rabbis and other Israeli and international volunteers are invited by Palestinian farmers to help pick olives during this year’s harvest. Palestinian olive pickers have been facing violence from Israeli settlers and harassment from Israeli soldiers.

On the 8th of November, another olive harvest volunteer with Rabbis was released from Israeli detention. Sam Grafton, a twenty-six year old theatre director from Britain had been picking olives with a Palestinian family in a Nablus village. The Israeli colony of Yitshar had been built near the the family’s olive groves. Israeli border police ordered Sam out of the area and arrested him. The next day, they brought him before a judge who released Sam on conditions that restrict his movement within the Palestinian areas.

Theresa was put into detention on her way into the country and is unlikely to get off so easily.

For more information:
Attorney Gabi Lasky: 054 441 8988
Arik Asherman, Rabbis for Human Rights: 050 560 7034 or 02 648 2757

Israeli soldiers rampage through Hebron after Palestinian youth demonstrate

by ISM Hebron, 8th November

Palestinian youths demonstrated against the Israeli massacre in Gaza at the Israeli checkpoint on Shuhada street today. All shops in Hebron closed in mourning.

International Human Rights Workers (HRWs) arrived at 1pm to see Israeli soldiers firing live rounds at demonstrators who hid behind burning tires and threw stones. Two soldiers ran out from the checkpoint firing their guns. Ten minutes later five more soldiers ran out, followed by a further five riding in an armoured vehicle. They positioned themselves behind concrete road blocks, firing rapidly at the demonstrators.

The soldiers then closed the checkpoint for the next few hours.

At 1.12pm a milkman arrived on his donkey and approached the checkpoint but was sent back. Immediately after, a Palestinian HRW heading out of the Israeli controlled H2 area into the Palestinian market in the H1 area of Hebron managed pass the checkpoint with a video camera. International HRWs heading the same way, however, were refused passage by the soldier on duty. Two Israeli settlers tried to exit but were also sent back.


Armed Israeli settler (note the rifle slung over his back) films events


The same armed settler continues filming from the comfort of the soldier’s section of the Shuhada street checkpoint (checkpoint 56).

At 1.24pm soldiers fired live and rubber-coated steel bullets at demonstrating youth. Soldiers then moved away from the checkpoint and toward the Old City. They moved up a side street near Beit Romano settlement to attack a group of youths at the end of the street. They were hiding around a corner behind a burning tyre. Once again the soldiers shot at the youth, who threw stones at them.

At 1.36pm Israeli soldiers advanced along the side street. Suddenly several Palestinian children around 11 or 12 years old ran around the corner and threw rocks at the soldiers. One soldier was hit on the leg and fell to the ground.


Rubber-coated steel bullets and empty live cartridges collected by HRWs from the scene. Note the small calibre shell – this does not come from the rifles that Israeli soldiers carry.

More soldiers poured out through the checkpoint and five returned, clearing their rifles’ magazines of the empty live cartridges. At 1.30 the Palestinian with the donkey was allowed to unload his milk. International HRWs were again refused exit by the soldiers but Palestinians were allowed out.


Armed Israeli settler casual with the Israeli soldiers. Note the small calibre side-arm.

By 1.37pm five Palestinians had been detained at the Shuhada street checkpoint along with the donkey. When asked by a HRW, the soldier on duty said there was still “ongoing trouble” and that he would let people through as soon as things calmed down. They were finally let through at 2.10pm. Only the exit side of the checkpoint was working at this point, though Palestinians were being allowed through it in both directions.

Inside the Old City market, four Armoured Personal Carriers (APCs) were driving around. At 1.48pm one of them pushed a fruit stall backwards along the street and spilled the oranges. By 2.30pm soldiers were patrolling the street randomly stopping Palestinian men and forcing them to lift their shirts.

At 2.40pm six Palestinian youths stoned an APC that was driving through the area carrying shooting soldiers. A soldier jumped out, shot at the youths, jumped back in and drove away. Five minutes later more stones hit a stationary APC which eventually backed away.


Israeli soldiers inside the supposedly Palestinian-controlled H1 area of Hebron.

At 3.05pm six Palestinian youths threw stones at an army jeep from behind two burning tyres. The jeep drove around the area shooting at the protesters.

Israeli soldiers were moving along a street in the H1 area (which is supposed to be controlled by the Palestinian Authority) kicking parked cars. They were very abusive to journalists, both Palestinian and international. They screamed at them and tried to damage a car that belonged to one of them.

A soldier pointed his gun at a seven year old girl from about 300 feet away. She ran into her home scared. When she came back he shouted “sharmuta” (Arabic for whore) at her. He gestured dismissively at a HRW who said to him, “You just called a child a whore?”

“Get a life,” he said.

“And your life is calling children whores?”.


One of the many tear gas canisters the Israeli soldiers shot.

Soldiers then shot tear gas at a group of women and children, including six HRWs. The soldiers laughed at the painful effects it had on them. They spent the next three hours driving up and down the street, laughing and joking. They shot tear gas directly at children, hitting one ten year old boy in the leg. He had been riding past on his bike at the time, clearly not carrying any rocks.

Overall, they shot off more than 50 canisters of tear gas, at least 50 rubber-coated steel bullets as well as a significant number of live rounds.


A Palestinian child taken away by Israeli border police near the Ibrahimi Mosque.

Updated 10th November.

ISM Hebron also wrote a report from the second and third days of these protests.

Ma’ariv: “Forbidden by the High Court, Built by Construction Companies, Approved by State Prosecutor”

translated from the Hebrew orginal by Rann Bar-On

The [Israeli] state prosecutor is singing from two hymn sheets: it submitted a document to the High Court condemning illegal construction in Modi’in Ilit, but is also asking to legalize it to ease the lives of residents.

by Efrat Forsher, November 2nd

Ignoring the High Court

Despite a court order that expressly forbids the continuation of illegal construction in the Matityahu East neighborhood in Modi’in Ilit, and at the height of a criminal investigation, an access road was suddenly opened up connecting some of the houses in the neighborhood to the main road leading to the city. The state prosecutor explained to the High Court that it sees these illegal acts in a severe light, as they ignored an explicit court order. However, in the same breath and totally in opposition to its stated position, the state prosecutor asked the judges to approve the construction for humanitarian reasons.

The High Court is currently debating a motion filed by the ‘Peace Now’ movement following an investigation by ‘B’tselem’ and ‘Ba’Makom’ that exposed the existence of plans for the expansion of the ultra-orthodox settlement Modi’in Ilit on private Palestinian land. The motion asks the High Court to cancel the plans, including the construction of 3000 residence units.

According to the appelants, the land was expropriated from the residents of [Palestinian village] Bil’in, and the work began without permits being issued. When the motion was filed, 750 residence units had already been built, some of which were occupied.

Two days after the motion was filed, the High Court issued an order forbidding the continuation of construction in the neighborhood, the occupation of the residence units and the continuation of sales. The momentum of construction was halted and the residence units were left standing bare at various stages of construction, with the exception of around eighty that were previously occupied by families.

The Court Order was Scaled Down – and Broken

Later on, the state prosecutor admitted that the construction plans hadn’t been approved. The national police unit for the investigation of fraud is now conducting a criminal investigation into the suspected illegal construction.

After the motions were filed, the planners made several changes to the plan and refiled it. This time, they designated five enclaves of private land belonging to Palestinian residents of Bil’in. It was stated that in all of those areas where construction had previously taken place, the land will be returned to its former state, the areas will be fenced off and will be covered in soil.

In July the High Court scaled down its order so that work can begin. The High Planning Council in the Area of Judea and Samaria also gave the companies ‘Green Park’ and ‘Green Mount’, the partners in the project, permission to act. As part of the works, the enclaves were fenced off
and the roads crossing them that lead to the populated area, Hetziva B, were destroyed.

However, something else also happened. Despite the High Court order, another road was prepared last month, running from the populated area and connecting to the road to the city of Modi’in Ilit. To build this road, gravel was removed, potholes blocked up, the soil was compacted and infrastructure prepared for the paving of the road, all of which will pass through the ‘disputed area’.

A Request for ‘Temporary Approval’

Employees of the Civilian Administration on a tour of the area were surprised to see construction equipment working on the road and ordered an immediate halt to the work.

In a document the state prosecutor filed last week with the High Court, it states that construction and development were carried out against the court order, the construction permits and the plan, and emphasizes the gravity of these acts. In the same breath, the state prosecutor requests ‘temporary approval’ of the bypass road, justifying this by saying that ‘humanitarian concerns’ have arisen. It argues that the fencing-off of the enclaves has cut off access for the resident population that due to its socio-economic situation relies almost entirely on public transport.

At the moment, everyone is waiting for the High Court to decide in the matter. The residents of the neighborhood are hoping that the High Court will approve the road and will rescue them from the isolation that was imposed on them. The Palestinians, on the other hand, are hoping that the enclaves, which they say were stolen from them, will be returned to their owners.

The Justice Ministry responded that “the state believes that the residents of the populated buildings in the Matityahu East neighborhood have no connection to the illegal construction carried out by the construction companies. Since the court allowed the continued residence of the populated buildings, and the only means of access of public and emergency vehicles to the populated area was cut off, an impossible situation was created that is impossible to ignore.”

“The Only Means of Access was Cut Off”

Additionally it was written that “the state has no choice but to approve the completion of the construction of the access road within the appropriate legal framework as suggested by the state in its response to the High Court. We emphasize that this does not lessen the gravity of the acts carried out on the land.”

Yariv Openheimer, the general secretary of ‘Peace Now’ attacked the conduct of the state prosecutor and said that “the prosecutor is compounding crime upon crime and is attempting to approve illegal construction. In doing so, it is turning the High Court decision into a sad joke. The state must act against those who break the law, not cooperate with them.”

The ‘Green Park’ and ‘Green Mount’ companies who carried out the construction stated that the residents opposed the destruction of their only means of access to the populated area that passed through the third enclave, in part using physical obstructions.

Representatives of the families conducted negotiations with the construction company and agreed that the possibility of a temporary access road be looked in to as an interim solution: “the approval of the road was done without malice, and without violating any judicial order. Construction was halted the moment the civilian administration ordered it.”

The Modi’in Ilit local council did not respond to the matter prior to the handing down of the High Court verdict.

See also these previous stories on the ISM website:

“It was very painful to see children dead on the street” — a Doctor’s account of Israeli massacre in Gaza


Photo by Dr. Mona El-Farra, November 8th

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

From ISM Media team interview with Dr. Mona El-Farra, a Gazan doctor working at Alawda Hospital in Jabalia:

“This morning at 6.30 am army tanks on the east of the village fired missiles against some homes of Beit Hanoun Village, the outcome was disasterous, 11 members of one family were killed, the total death toll is 22, and may increase in the next hours, the injuries are serious and very critical, including many women and children.”

“It was very painful to see young children dead on the street, most were badly injured. The Israeli army said they will investigate and open a case of what happened. But only 30 minutes after they declared that, a 16 years old Palestinian boy was shot dead by an Israeli sniper.”

English-speaking media contacts in Gaza:

Dr Mona Elfaraa, Doctor at Al Awda Hospital in Beit Hanoun.
Tel: +972 599 410 741 and +970 82846602
fromgaza.blogspot.com

Dr Abu Ala’a, Professor at Gaza University.
Tel: + 972 599441766

Dr Asad A. Shark, Gaza Strip, + 972 599 322636

Dr Ayoub Othman, + 972 599 412 826

Yousef Alhelou, Journalist based in Beit Hanoun.
Tel: + 972599697254.
Email: ydamadan@hotmail.com

“I only listen to what they tell me” – a Palestinian account of what it takes to travel from Jenin to Ramallah

by Ashraf, 7th November

Today at 9 in the morning, a group of 30 students from my university in Jenin left to attend a conference and an exhibit of Information Technology held in Ramallah. IT students were invited to visit a joint Palestinian market of different Palestinian computer and software companies.

The first checkpoint we reached came a few minutes after leaving the campus just outside the village of Zababdeh. Two Israeli army jeeps controlled the road, stopping cars traveling in one direction. It was not long till we were stopped at our second checkpoint outside Buckram. The army forced us to leave the bus and wait on the side of the street. Two soldiers went inside to check our bags, while anther two soldiers checked our IDs. After 10 minutes we were allowed back in the car. The driver stopped just few a meters ahead waiting for them to finish checking our IDs.

We finally got our IDs back after 30 minutes of waiting. The next checkpoint was Za’atara, one of the biggest in the West Bank. It separates the central and southern regions of the West Bank. A large white sign acted as a propaganda message at the checkpoint. It has the picture of a large red flower along with a greeting written in Arabic “Kol A’am Wa Antum Bi Khayer” – “wish you good health every year”. In this way Israel hope to polish and consolidate the checkpoints, hoping to legitimize their daily humiliation of Palestinians.

Our bus was stopped again for more ID checks. Some students got bored of waiting and got out for a cigarette. I sat at the back of the bus watching the traffic. Soldiers denied the passage of an old man with an x-ray, and two women with a baby. Welcome to the “Kol A’am Wa Inta Bikhayer” checkpoint.

I recognized one of the female Israeli soldiers from the Huwarra checkpoint, just a few kilometers to the north. She is notorious for her humiliating treatment of Palestinian passengers. She was obviously in charge here. Three soldiers approached the bus holding our IDs divided into two stacks. We were told to move our bags off the bus for checking and to stand in a line. One soldier started calling our names. We were forced to walk forward a few steps, lift up our shirts so as to prove that we were not wearing explosive belts around our waists, then wait on the side with our backs facing the soldiers. I was the third to be called. I was given my ID back and told to open my bag. The soldier ordered me to lift up my shirt, but I refused to submit to that and instead I tucked it in and walked away without waiting for the soldier’s order. One of the soldiers laughed and said in Hebrew to the female soldier that I hadn’t lifted up my shirt.

After 5 minutes, only the students who had been given their IDs back were allowed to pass. The rest -almost half of the group- were turned back. I walked towards the soldier who it seemed was in charge and asked in English “are you the one who is in charge here?”. She smiled and answered she was. I explained the reason for our trip and that we are all students from one group going to a conference in Ramallah, “why can’t they come with us?” I asked. She replied in slow broken English that: “they shouldn’t be here, they are not allowed”.

“Why? You have a computer here, check their IDs and let us all go. You know what you are doing, right?” I asked

“I can’t do that – I listen to what they tell me to do”.

“Listen to who?”.

“Them, my boss” she said, raising her hand up. I asked again: “but you know what you are doing, right? Don’t you think this is injustice?” She ended the exchange with the answer: “this is my job, it’s orders!”

Orders! What kind of order asks every Palestinian passing through a checkpoint to get close to soldiers and lift up their shirt for “security checks”? What if a Palestinian was really hiding something? Can’t the soldiers see how stupid these procedures and orders are? Or maybe these orders are not really meant for security.

We headed back into the bus arguing what we should do at this point. Some tried to talk to the soldiers again, but made no progress. As we were talking, a young Israeli soldier, apparently from a different army unit came over. He yelled at the crowd of students and grabbed one of us aggressively by his bag and led him to the other side of the street. I got out of the bus and asked the female soldier loudly: “why is he doing this? Where is he taking my friend?” she said in Hebrew “he is Magav” (the notoriously brutal Israeli border police). Was this one of the orders too?

The students who were denied entry then split into two new vehicles. They headed back towards Huwarra so as to try and find a road around the Za’atara checkpoint they had been turned back from. When they found a road, the first car was turned back at a flying checkpoint “for security reasons”, but the second one was allowed through. Maybe there was an order for them to only let one of the two cars pass. The denied car eventually found another road that they were allowed to pass through.

We waited in a small village after Za’atara for our colleagues to arrive. While we waited we all (even the bus driver) went olive picking with a Palestinian family near Assawiya village. It was a new atmosphere to change our mood. We swapped jokes at the end of the day after 7 hours of traveling about how we finally made it all together despite the dehumanizing checkpoints.