Settlers attack Palestinians and Human Rights Workers

On August 5th, two Human Rights Workers (HRWs) from Denmark were sitting on Shuhada Street in Tel Rumeida. At around 2:45 PM a Palestinian boy, around age 15, wanted to use the stairs at the end of Shuhada Street, opposite the Beit Hadassa Settlement. A group of six settler children, around ten years of age, were hanging out next to the stairs. A Palestinian boy asked the HRWs to accompany him. The settlers tried to trip the Palestinian and the HRWs and kicked one of the HRWs from behind. One of the internationals accompanied the Palestinian all the way up the stairs, while the other stayed at the bottom of the stairs. When the HRWs descended the stairs and went back onto Shuhada Street, one of the settlers kicked one of the internationals on the back of her leg and threw a rock at her neck. Only one soldier was present in the military post opposite the stairs. He yelled at the children and ran towards them, and they backed off.

Around 3:20 PM two elderly men wanted to descend the stairs. A group of about ten settlers blocked their way at the end of the stairs. The soldier told the settlers to leave, but they refused. Two settlers around eight to ten years of age and one teenager, around fifteen years old, hit the elderly men with sticks, and other children threw rocks at them. One of the HRWs began screaming very loudly and ran towards the settler boys, while the other HRW started video taping the attack. The HRWs called the police, but they did not answer. The soldier told the attacking settlers to leave and called the police. The settlers still did not stop.

Four more HRWs came down to Shuhada Street. As the elderly men were leaving, the settlers began throwing numerous rocks at the HRWs. At this point, around 25 settler children and teenagers, between the ages of 8 and 14, and one adult settler woman were present. One American HRW from the Tel Rumeida Project was hit with a brick-size rock in her back and two other HRWs were lightly hit on the legs. At least three TIPH members arrived and observed the situation. The entire attack on the HRWs is recorded on video tape.

At 3:46 pm the police arrived and the attacks stopped. The adult settler woman told the police that the HRWs had entered the Beit Hadassa settlement and were causing problems. The soldier present during the entire incident said that it was not true. One police officer, who the HRWs recognize from daily interactions while on the streets, wanted to hear their version of the story. However, the head border policeman told the HRWs to leave Shuhada Street or he would arrest all of them. The HRWs attempted several times to talk with the head border policeman, but he refused. Since there were no Palestinians in the area, the internationals left Shuhada Street. During the interactions with the police and soldiers, settler girls under the age of 12 stood next the HRWs and mimicked their words and body language.

Approximately 45 minutes later, the internationals went back to Shuhada Street. The police were still present and told the internationals to go away.

Around 6:00 PM, the HRW who was assaulted with the brick-size stone was again sitting on the street, this time at the top of the hill. The soldier who was present during the attacks on Shuhada Street stopped by and asked her, “Are you OK? Are you injured?” The HRW told the soldier that her back was hurting. He said that the boys were very stupid and bad, and then apologized for her injury. He then said that he wasn’t allowed to do anything about the settler boys.

Rafah Tonight and The Morality of the Israeli Army

By Mona El-Farra from her blog From Gaza, With Love

12:30 am 4th of August
The Israeli army continues its military operation, in the south of Gaza (Rafah town). Army tanks are heading into the refugee camp under the cover of helicopters that fired several shells. At least 4 civilians were killed including a woman and 2 children. Tens of severely injured are reported to be received at the Rafah’s only hospital. The number will increase. Many of the in-patients were discharged to make space for the injured. The shelling is too severe, as I was told by colleagues there, ambulances can’t reach many of the injured, the army tanks are very close to the hospital, one of the houses was specifically targeted.

It seems that the military operation into Rafah will continue…….as noticed by the increasing number of the army tanks in the area.

Thursday, August 03, 2006

The Morality of The Israeli Army
Gaza Strip 1st of August 2006

Today the Israeli Occupying Forces redeployed into the area south east of Rafah, targeting Alshoukas village. They launched a big military operation against the village in a desperate attempt to demolish alleged tunnels. At least 50 army tanks along with helicopters and drones took part in this operation. What concerned me is that 8 people were killed, amongst them 2 Palestinian fighters, and the rest were civilians including one boy age 11. Twenty-six people were injured, ten are in serious conditions.

The health emergency teams were not allowed entry to rescue the injured for 12 hours, leaving the injured to face their destinies. I am sure, as are my colleagues at the Rafah hospital, that this inhuman act increased the number of the dead and seriously injured. During the operation, ambulances were also attacked by shelling at the hospital’s gate. Tens of families in the village were forced to leave their homes; children, women and men left their homes because the shelling was too severe.

What of morality? Of the Fourth Geneva convention and its charters regarding civilians and the safety of health teams working during war times? This accord means nothing and is not respected by the Israeli army. For us here in Palestine, we know very well that Israel, with its colonial-Zionist ideology, aims to kill more and more Palestinian civilians. During its so called military operations to “defend its security”, hundreds of civilians including entire families were unnecessarily killed.

Israel aims to break the Palestinian people’s will and determination to achieve their inalienable nationals goals. I said before they will not succeed and I am saying it again and again. It is impossible to control an entire nation using collective punishment and continuous occupation. It is impossible to confiscate an entire nation’s right of freedom and self-determination. Israel and the United States should read history lessons.

Here in Gaza City the artillery shelling continued in the east and north. We don’t have air raids shelters, we don’t have electricity, we don’t have clean water. The war boats patrol the sea and the helicopters continue their shelling at all times of the day. Lately, Israel has also been distributing of flyers against resistance movement.

I was in the Omar Elmukhtar high street and watched the sarcastic expression on the faces of a bunch of teenagers as they picked up these flyers and read them. I remembered myself as a teenager during 1967 war time. I read the same sort of flyers and laughed. Israel aims to make Palestinian people hungry, thirsty, to make us face humanitarian disaster after humanitarian disaster, and dependent on the world’s sympathy.

We are a nation with a noble cause; we resist injustice and occupation. We are not alone and we know that very well. What we face is the most ugly version of the United States’ imbalanced policies in the Middle East. The immorality and injustice of these policies will reflect itself on the future of USA, let us wait and see.

P.S. I was asked by some of you why I keep referring to the Israeli army as occupying army. This is the truth AND I AM SAYING THE TRUTH. The disengagement plan from Gaza last Septemper did not end the occupation of Gaza and the West Bank. All it has meant for me is that I can visit my mother in the south (20 km drive) without passing through the Israeli checkpoints. But I am still under the threat of the jetfighters, sonic booms, and continuous shelling from the north and east. Israel still has control of the commercial borders and has closed them at will causing shortages of baby formula, bread, food, and medicine. Israel and the rest of the world have imposed economic sanctions on us as a collective punishment for our choice during the January election. How would you define the above but occupation?

In love and solidarity,
Mona

Lebanon Articles and Sites Round-up


Demonstrators Rally for Victims in Lebanon in Ramallah, West Bank July 31

Lots of people have asked us for information about Israel’s current aggression against Lebanon. ISM works in Palestine and as such we are not directly involved in Lebanon. However, the terrible situation there is of great concern to Palestinians, many of whom live in refugee camps in South Lebanon. We try to keep up to date with events. The following is a list of some of the most interesting of the articles we’ve been reading. We urge you to not forget that the situation is also getting worse in Gaza and the West Bank right now.

The current phase of the violence started when Israel abducted two Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Jonathan Cook, a British journalist living in Nazareth in the north of Israel, has been writing a brilliant series of articles about the current situation and exposing a lot of the myths appearing about it in the mainstream media There are several other commentators who effectively demolish the false chronology about the current conflict being perpetuated in the mainstream media right now.

While targeting civilians, the Lebanese army (who it claims to support) and UN observers, Israel’s aggression has been aided diplomatically and materially by the US and UK throughout. This attack has included cluster bombs – weapons banned under international law. Although Israeli politicians are publicly saying that the attacks will end soon, it appears that the military is digging in for the long term.

Although the “international community” of governments refuse to call for an immediate ceasefire, there is international disgust and protest against the massacres perpetuated by Israel. Protest in Scotland seems to have even yielded some results. The massacre of 54 civillians in the Biblical city of Qana could yet pale in comparison if Israel is permitted to continue its war of choice in Lebanon.

Meanwhile in Gaza, it looks as if Israel’s non negotiation with Hamas for a prisoner release was simply posturing. It seems that Israel is close to accepting just such an agreement, which Hamas has been offering from the start.

Finally on Hizbullah, it is obvious that despite Israel’s ambitions, Hizbullah is a genuinely popular movement, and driving them out of the south of Lebanon is not a realistic goal. The only way to do so would be to ethnically cleanse the entire Shi’a population of Lebanon. Which is most likely the reason that Hizbullah does not seem too worried right now.

The following is a list of news sources covering the situation there. This list is presented for information purposes only. We are not responsible for the content of external websites and inclusion on this list is not an endorsement of the sources or groups they respresent.

Electronic Lebanon
A new project from Electronic Intifada. Highly recommended.
http://www.electronicintifada.net/lebanon

Tadamon!
A Montreal-based collective working to build relationships of solidarity with grassroots political movements for social and economic justice between Beirut & Montreal. Maintains a list of blogs reporting from the ground.
http://tadamon.resist.ca

Indymedia Beirut
Independent reports from the grassroots in Beirut.
http://beirut.indymedia.org

From Israeli to Lebanon
Photos of Israeli war crimes in Lebanon (warning – some graphic images).
http://www.fromisrael2lebanon.info

Blogging the Middle East
A Lebanese anarchist’s blog. Also maintains an extensive list of links to blogs and other news sources (from many different political perspectives).
http://meastpolitics.wordpress.com

Islamic Resistance Lebanon
Understand the Hizbullah perspective
http://www.alghaliboun.net/english

Israel Defence Forces: the Official Site
Understand the Israeli Military Perspective
http://www.idf.il

My Head Might Burst with Irony

by Alizarin J. Crimson

Sometimes I feel like my head is going to burst with irony.

Like walking through Arab East Jerusalem and seeing Palestinian men wearing tshirts that say: “F.B.I. anti-terrorism unit”. And I wonder if they are wearing it out of irony or if they don’t actually know what it says. Clothing covered with English words and phrases is very popular in the West Bank. Many of the phrases make absolutely no sense at all, while some of it is quite sexually suggestive. So it blows your mind when you walk through extremely conservative Hebron and you see a Palestiniain kid wearing a t-shirt saying “No, you’re NOT coming home with me tonight.” or “Mad licking skills.”

Today I had some business in Jewish West Jerusalem and stopped in a few art galleries that were on my way. To be confronted by a nice Jewish man who tries to sell you some Judaica painting for $3000 and who happens to be dressed in the exact same manner as the people who just spit on you and called you a Nazi the day before is irony. When enough of these people harass you, you have a physical reaction everytime you see them because your body is preparing you to be harassed.

So is kneeling down and feeling the pain in your right thigh where the gigantic rock hit you a few weeks before, (courtesy of the religious Jews in Hebron) as you examine a painting of a bunch of
religious Jews praying. This particular injury which has not healed yet came from an adult male this time (never got around to writing in detail about it, but the official report is here) who was never arrested despite a police complaint by both me and Joe Skillet.

More irony is when I ran into a border policeman who happened to be in the police car which took Joe and I to the police station that day we made the complaint. He saw me going through the checkpoint from Palestinian controlled H1 into Israeli military controlled H2 and told me that if I ever saw the guy in there (pointing to Palestinian controlled H1) who hit me with the rock, he’d arrest him. I informed him that it wasn’t a Palestinian who threw the rock, it was a Jew. With a look of shock and disbelief, he asked, “Why do they throw rocks at you ?”

“I don’t know, why don’t you ask them ?” I replied. Suffice it to say, he didn’t offer to go into Beit Hadassah and find the Jew who hit me with the rock.

Bil’in Mourns 1,000 Dead in Lebanon and Gaza

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Today on Friday August 4, the people of Bil’in joined by Israeli and international supporters marched to the apartheid wall and attempted to cross the gate which separates villagers from their land. They bore Palestinian and Lebanese flags alongside black flags of mourning in memory of over 1,000 people who have been murdered in Gaza and Lebanon, including the horrific massacre in Qana this past week. They delivered words and posters bearing photos and messages rejecting the Israeli aggression which has caused one of the bloodiest months for the region. The demonstrators were pushed back by Israeli military violence: sound grenades, rubber bullets, and tear gas.

Demonstrators showed peaceful, but defiant, displays of the flags despite the cadre of armed military personnel, now able to hide behind newly constructed reinforcement fences. The occupation forces immediately advanced through the gate to take strategic positions overlooking the activists. At a distance of hundreds of meters, the soldiers began lobbed grenade-launched tear gas canisters, throwing concussion grenades, and firing rubber bullets. In the ensuing attack: Margaret, a 52 year-old participant from Scotland was shot in the back with a rubber bullet; Yasir, a participant from Spain was shot in the back with a rubber bullet; and John, a 53 year-old participant also from Scotland sustained facial injuries from a concussion grenade thrown directly at him.

Two large brush fires were ignited by grenade-launched tear gas. When villagers and activists attempted to return to put the fire out, the army advanced and renewed their attack of tear gas and rubber bullets on those who were clearly attempting to stop the rapidly spreading blaze. Nearly totally blinded and inhaling thick smoke, those attempting to extinguish the fire endured continued long-range bombardment of tear gas and rubber bullets by the soldiers hidden behind the fence. The fires were successfully extinguished in the end after 40 minutes, despite the attack.

Since the onset of the recent violence in Gaza and Lebanon, the people of Bil’in have maintained a weekly protest in support of those enduring continued Israeli attacks.