Shabbat “Party” in Tel Rumeida

ISM Hebron

Click here to watch video of some of these events. Click here to download the same video.

2:48pm: Three settler boys around age 13 began behaving physically threatening towards a Palestinian girl of the same age as she was trying to enter her home on Shuhada Street, just across from Beit Hadassah. Human rights workers (HRWs) on Shuhada Street moved to accompany her to her house and the settler boys started throwing rocks at them. The soldier on duty had his back turned and ignored the situation even though HRWs asked him to intervene. Only after an Israeli HRW spoke to him in Hebrew, did he begin to pay attention to the situation. The soldier said the HRWs were provoking the settler kids by standing there. Another HRW called the police who came promptly and remained in front of Beit Hadassah for approximately half an hour.

3.30pm: Two HRWs were at the crossroads looking towards the Tel Rumeida settlement. Three settler boys, aged about ten, were throwing rocks towards a Palestinian house nearby. The HRWs called to the soldiers at the crossroad to come. One of the soldiers yelled at the boys until they stopped.

4.15pm: The same boys came out of the settlement with other girls and boys. They moved down the road towards the crossroad. Three boys went into the entryway of the Palestinian house and threw rocks at the front door. Others threw rocks down the road towards the soldiers who were responding to the HRW’s call. Both soldiers sent the settler children back to the settlement.

5.00pm: Abu Samir, Samir, Rafa and Mohammad Abu Aeshah were returning to their house opposite the Tel Rumeida settlement. Two settler boys came out and threw rocks at them. Video of this is available. An Israeli army officer has told a HRW that the soldiers are positioned to help in case of a settler attack against this family. This does not appear to be the case. No soldiers came. It is less than a week since the Abu Aeshah family were attacked in this way. The officer’s assurance does not seem to be worth much.

Roadblock Removed in Al-Jab’a, Demonstrators Attacked

by PSP

September 29, 2006: Today, in the village of Al-Jab’a, Palestinian villagers, supported by Israeli and international activists successfully removed a large section of an illegal roadblock that had been installed by the Israeli army. The Palestinians were able to achieve their objective: creating a passage wide enough to allow for a service taxi (a mini-bus sized shared taxi: they at as the mainstay of public transport in the West Bank). While work was still going on, Israeli army arrived and assaulted Palestinian, international and Israeli activists.

A group of Palestinians, along with their Israeli and international supporters joined together at the junction between the villages of Al-Jab’a and Surif to remove the earth mound roadblock that prevents cars from passing between the villages – nearly 100 people altogether. The roadblock prevents school children in Al-Jab’a from reaching Surif. It also prevents farmers in Surif and Al’Jab’a from reaching their land via tractor, while similarly preventing the transport of crops from the fields to the market. The roadblock effectively closes the road in two directions, and service taxis are prevented from waiting to pick up travellers. Fed up of these restrictions aimed against the Palestinians, for the second time in eight days, the people assembled to dismantle the obstruction. On September 21, the villagers carried out a similar action and began the work to remove the roadblock.


The gap created in the roadblock by the villagers and their supporters

The demonstrators marched from the village of Al-Jab’a, following Friday prayers, and assembled at the blockade. The Palestinians carried signs reading “I Dream of Freedom for My Children,” “Settlers Create Apartheid” and “You Steal Freedom,” while others carried Palestinian flags. When the demonstrators reached the roadblock, they began removing it with shovels, hoes, picks and their hands. Rocks were passed hand to hand, the rubble that formed the base of the mound was moved by shovel, and others began to dig underneath the two ton concrete block that was to be moved. After the stones and dirt had been partially removed, and the base of the block exposed, ropes and straps were attached to the block, and a large lever was angled underneath to help lift. Using the strength of over thirty people, the block was moved inch by inch. Some demonstrators pushed the block from behind, and others pulled on the ropes. In minutes, the demonstrators were able to roll the block five times, clearing a path for cars, trucks, pedestrians and donkeys. With the block removed, and the rubble cleared, the hole created was nearly 9 feet (3 meters) wide.

By the time the block was moved and the road opened, large contingents of Israeli Occupation Force (IOF) soldiers had assembled. Three military jeeps, one Hummer and one police jeep had been dispatched, as well as more than twenty soldiers and police. They ordered the people to leave, claiming that the entire area was a “closed military zone.” Soon after, the IOF soldiers and police attacked the demonstrators. First the IOF attempted to seize the shovels and picks, but the demonstrators were able to prevent these tools from being taken by passing them from person to person. After this, the IOF soldiers attempted to arrest a Palestinian man. During this attempted arrest, the demonstrators were able to peacefully block the soldiers, and prevent the man from being seized. After two unsuccessful attempts to arrest demonstrators and steal tools, the IOF soldiers attempted to arrest two Israeli solidarity activists. Once again, the demonstrators were able to successfully prevent the arrest of the activist by blocking the IOF soldiers with their bodies.

Following the four unsuccessful attempts to seize demonstrators and equipment, the soldiers entered the clearing leading to Surif and chased an Israeli activist who was returning the tools to their owners. The IOF soldiers assaulted the activist, and quickly international activists with the Palestine Solidarity Project (PSP) intervened. During this encounter, the IOF soldiers repeatedly assaulted international and Israeli activists by choking them, punching them, striking them with the shovels and knocking them onto the ground. While the four soldiers attacked the demonstrators, one shouted in English, “I am going to beat her…I am crazy.” During this attack, four activists were injured. While seemingly departing, one soldier, in his rage destroyed a protest sign held by a Palestinian child.

Having successfully opened the roadblock, and remaining in possession of their tools, the Palestinians, Israelis and internationals decided to return to the village. Though they were totally non-violent throughout the demonstration, and were peacefully dispersing, IOF soldiers attempted to follow the Palestinians into the village, presumably to make arrests. In order to prevent this, international and Israeli activists sat down in front of the Hummer that was leading the caravan of soldiers into the village. This tactic prevented the IOF from entering the village, and the Palestinians returned home.

Less than one hour following the demonstration, an military bulldozer, made by US company Caterpillar was dispatched to rebuild the roadblock. This reaction by Occupation forces was expected. The demonstrators knew that their action would not open the road permanently – it was an act of resistance against the Occupation’s policy of closure and restriction of movement. While the roadblock was open for only one hour, during that time, the demonstrators witnessed several families, individuals and farmers riding donkeys, pass through the opened roadblock.

IOF attacks Marda village, Salfit region

by International Women’s Peace Service

Around 10:30p.m. on Thursday 28th September 2006 the Israeli army entered the village of Marda with at least seven armoured vehicles, including jeeps, hummers and a truck. IWPS volunteers present in the village witnessed as soldiers got out of the vehicles and dispersed into several groups all over the village, throwing numerous sound bombs and shooting flares in the process. The soldiers started to randomly bang on doors, ordering residents to open and come out of the house. According to residents, in some cases the whole family had to come out onto the street, in others they forced only male adults and youth to line up in front of the house while guns were pointed at them. No targeted arrest attempts were reported, though many residents had their ID cards checked. IWPS volunteers witnessed several soldiers lecturing and warning parents with threats to prevent the youth of the village from throwing stones. In one case soldiers forced a youth out of a house and threatened to arrest him, because they had heard someone speaking in a loud voice inside, which the soldiers seemed to perceive as an act of defiance. Local sources reported that about 30 houses were forced open until the soldiers left at around 00.15 a.m. A man later reported that he had been slapped around by soldiers and a youth reported he had been punched in his nose.

Human rights activists that called the Israeli DCO to inquire about the situation in Marda were told that the army invaded the village because children had thrown stones.

Randomly throwing sound bombs at houses and forcing a large number of residents out of their homes at gunpoint at night time as a reaction to the alleged stone throwing by some children constitutes a Collective Punishment, which is illegal under International Law, as stated by Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention as well as Article 50 of the Hague Convention.

The Fire That Will Not Die…

by Tom

A quick look at the forecast and the calendar today might have told one all that you needed to know about how the demo at Bil’in might have been expected to fare. Unseasonally hot weather, combined with it being Ramadan, the month of fasting for Muslims, both significantly contributed to a somewhat muted protest today. That notwithstanding, at midday today there were still 50 commited protesters, Palestinians and Israelis marching together, supported by an international presence from ISM and the media. Their complaints against the Israeli government, vociferous and persistent, continue unabated against the shameless land-grab perpertated by the ever-expanding, endlessly greedy Israeli state, which swallows Palestinian land by the mouthful and spews only settlement-colonies in its wake. Without recourse to the law, the substance of which is no than the emptiest of charades for Palestinians, the robbed villagers of Bil’in have no other option but to physically protest at the presence of the wall which snakes arounds their homes and steals their livelihoods.

In the heat today, and with many protesting on empty stomachs, the demo was quieter than usual, almost subdued. People tried to pass onto their land, and tried to remove the barbed wire seperating them from what is theirs, but to no avail. In Bil’in today the fire that burns in the hearts of many against the injustices here may have flickered but it was not extinguished. It is a fire that will not die, as it spreads from village to village, providing light in the shadow of the wall.

Olive Harvest Campaign 2006 Gets Underway!

by ISM Nablus

The olive harvest of 2006 in Nablus has officially begun! Although not an ideal starting-date, an olive farmer from the Palestinian village of Azmut and his family who own 150 dunums of land partitioned by an Apartheid settler-only road, decided to start harvesting a few days ago. They fear that the Israeli colonists of nearby Elon Moreh will otherwise steal the olives from the trees closest to them.

This is an annual occurrence that further decreases the family’s harvest, already decimated by the limited amount of harvest-time permitted by the DCO (District Coordination Office – the civil administration wing of the Israeli occupation forces in the West Bank). The colonists generally send one or two young girls to pick the olives, making it extremely difficult for the landowner to protest as anything he might say or do to the girls would be blown out of proportion and used against him by the colonists and their allies in the Israeli military and police forces. Thus, he has remained silent so far.

Previous olive harvests in the Nablus region have also been characterised by a substantial degree of violence on the part of both Israeli colonists and soldiers. In this village in 2004, two Palestinian olive pickers were shot by colonists, killing one. Israeli gunmen have without fail turned up to chase the family off their land and the Israeli army’s sole contribution has been to advise the farmer not to return as “the settlers are crazy and they will kill you”. Apart from physical violence, Israeli colonists also cut down about 300 trees belonging to this family in 2000, and burnt an additional area of land in 2004.

This year the family decided to brave the hot sun in the middle of Ramadan to tend to their fields, without DCO permission and armed only with the deed to their land. On Tuesday 26th September 2006, the elderly farmer, his wife, five of his daughters and nieces, and four international observers picked olives from trees adjacent to the Apartheid settler bypass road. These trees had not been picked by their rightful Palestinian owners for more than 10 years due to colonist theft and constant threats.

The first day progressed smoothly, with no interruptions from colonists or military. The mood was cheerful, almost festive, as branch after branch was picked clean. Certain trees grow only 5 metres away from the settler-only road and each vehicle that passed by momentarily caused conversations to cease and breathing to quicken. Yet the work was soothing and spirits were high despite the heat. When the internationals commented on how meditative picking olives could be, a couple of the women joked about organising working holidays for rich westerners looking for an exclusive getaway. We imagined the brochure – “experience the thrill of a lifetime! Come pick olives in beautiful landscapes. Adrenaline rush guaranteed!”

The promised adrenaline rush was delivered the day after. As we proceeded to pick olives on the other side of the Apartheid road, only 100 meters away from Elon Moreh settlement, two colonist gunmen in a jeep pulled up and got out, carrying their machine guns. They did not approach or shout to us but stood at the top of the hill looking down with binoculars as we worked, talking into their radios and driving back and forth at times. There are cameras set up along the entire breadth of the hillside and so they probably saw us coming on their screens, or were told by someone passing by on the road below us. After about half an hour, five soldiers arrived and told us to stop picking.

After some negotiation, we continued picking and the soldiers retreated further down the hill. After another half hour, a DCO representative drove up and spoke to the farmer. Despite not having gained DCO permission prior to going to his field, the farmer successfully talked the DCO officer into leaving us alone. Before leaving, the officer ordered the soldiers to guard us as we worked, once again emphasising that the colonists of Elon Moreh are violent and not to be trusted. We continued working as the soldiers sat in the shade playing with their mobile phones and muttering something about “Palestinians planting bombs in the groves.” We continued picking until the time of day that we had decided at the outset, packed our harvest onto the donkey and left, light-headed and filthy, yet triumphant. The soldiers followed, slipping and sliding among the rocks with their heavy armour.

The family still has many dunums left to pick but have decided to postpone this until after the end of Ramadan due to the extreme heat. They urge internationals to come with them as they continue harvesting after Eid ul-Fitr (the Muslim festival that marks the end of Ramadan), because “if you were not here today, there would be no talk, only guns and threats. We thank you for coming and hope we will meet again someday under happier circumstances.”

This experience shows the importance of international accompaniment for the Palestinian olive harvest. We urge all internationals seeking to build links of solidarity with the Palestinian people fighting occupation to come to Palestine, come to the fields and help ensure that every last olive is harvested.