On 24th July 2006, Maria Nikiforou was forcibly sent back to Greece from Tel Aviv airport, despite the decision of the appeal court.
The judge had intialy issued a stay on her deportation order. After reviewing secret evidence provided by the Israeli “General Security Services” (Shabak/Shin Beit), he then reversed his previous decision without explanation. Upon hearing of the reversal, Maria’s lawyer Leah Tsemel immediately filed an appeal. The appeal judge then granted an indefinate stay of deportation. When Tsemel came to see her client on July 26th, she was stunned to find that she had been deported anyway, against the orders of the appeal court.
The right to a fair trial is guaranteed by international law. Israel’s use of secret evidence in cases involving Palestinian and international activists contravenes international legal standards. In the name of ‘security’, Israel regularly imprisons and deports Palestinian and international activists without a fair hearing, on the basis of ‘secret evidence’ provided by the Shabak, which the defense does not get a chance to review.
Contacts:
Leah Tsemel +972 2 627 3373
ISM Media office +972 2 297 1824
CLARIFYING NOTE, 29th July: This court decision is a temporary injunction. Retroactive permission to build the settlement (which was started without permission) is still being sought by the construction company.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
A victory for the Palestinian villagers of Bil’in came down from the Israeli High Court of Justice yesterday. In HCJ 143/06 the Court ruled that while the Court is considering the legality of the Matityahu East settlement, being constructed on Bil’in land, the ban on new construction and new residents moving in must remain in effect. This temporary decision, by fully enforcing the ban, solidifies the remarkable status of Bil’in activists, who have now successfully prevented planned settlement construction for 7 months – a singular feat in the Israeli-Occupied West Bank.
Furthermore, the Court ruled that demolition of settlement constructions can proceed in certain enclaves of Matityahu East in an attempt to return the land to its pre-settlement, vegetated state. This is significant because not only have Bil’in activists succeeded in halting the settlement construction, but, even more, they have forced the state of Israel to demolish structures in recognition of the fact that the land on which the settlement is built was illegally annexed.
This victory is the result of years of dedicated non-violent activism on the part of the villagers of Bil’in and their international and Israeli allies. Resistance to the Israeli confiscation of Bil’in land began when in 1991 the State of Israel appropriated around 1100 dunums (275 acres) of Bil’in farmers’ land. At the time, the confiscation was justified by reference to an old Ottoman-era law allowing for confiscation of unused land. Much later, it was revealed that in order to demonstrate that the coveted land was “unused,” the State made use of photos of seasonal crop farm land taken when the crops were not yet in season. More than a decade after the confiscation, settlements began to be built, following a typical pattern of settlement expansion, whereby, first, Palestinian land is declared State property and then eventually given out to Israelis. As a consequence, weekly non-violent demonstrations began in Bil’in. These demonstrations, in existence weekly since January 2005, garnered international attention and support, making a protracted legal campaign challenging the settlement’s legality a possibility. Tuesday’s decision, while by no means the end of the struggle for justice in Bil’in or countless places elsewhere in the West Bank, is a testament to the power of this creative direct action.
For more information call:
Mohammed Khatib, 0545573285
The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) has been instrumental in challenging one of the most nefarious features of the Israeli occupation of Palestine – the demolition of Palestinian homes. ISM’ers have begun to pitch in and lend a helping hand with ICAHD’s summer rebuilding camps when not supporting non-violent direct action against the occupation in other regions of the West Bank. ICAHD is currently constructing a home in the Anata community, which nebulously falls under East Jerusalem and West Bank designations. This is the fourth summer in a row that ICAHD has organized a house construction summer work camp for internationals volunteers.
As bombs and rockets are launched on Gaza and Lebanon, internationals and Palestinians are working under the radar to reconstruct a Palestinian home that was demolished by the Israeli Army. What Israel destroys, Palestinians rebuild with the help of allies. Many Palestinian homes are subjected to military demolition every year. Four main reasons guide this destructive activity: Palestinian homes are demolished to assassinate alleged terrorists, as collective punishment for family members of alleged terrorists, to clear a path for the Apartheid Wall, or because the houses are deemed illegal under Israel’s Apartheid laws.
Salim – Palestinian ICAHD member who has been made homeless 4 times over by the Occupation Forces
The reality is that many homes have been demolished for these or apparently no reasons by the Israeli military and dozens others have been destroyed by settlers in an effort to terrorize Palestinians into leaving their homes, community, and land.
In order to struggle against this injustice ICAHD organizes direct action to block the demolition of homes and it also take on the task of rebuilding, not just homes but also relationships between Palestinians, Israelis, and internationals through shared work. This is a form of active non-violent direct action against the occupation; the very act of building homes for Palestinians is illegal in this racist power structure.
In the Anata community, entire sections have been demolished as part of the ethnic cleansing of “Greater Jerusalem”. The ICAHD project currently underway is a challenge to this institutional violence. In just a few days a Palestinian family will receive keys to their newly rebuilt home. The community council has selected this family among dozens to receive this gift of solidarity and as the work camps continue, more families will be able to reclaim their homes.
Israeli volunteers work on the house
Salim is a member of ICAHD and an example of Palestinian summoud, steadfastness; his family’s home has been demolished four times by the Israeli military and each time ICAHD has rebuilt. Now, in its fifth reconstruction, Salim has named the home Beit Arabeia and dedicated it as a center in memoriam to Rachel Corrie and Noha Sweeden. This is the base camp for internationals who work arduous hours building. This is also where folks convene to sharpen their analysis of the occupation and meet other activists involved in local struggles such as Ta’ayush, Anarchists Against the Wall, Bustan, Active Stills, and the Bio-Falha Budrus Project.
Yesterday, 26th of July, the Israeli military set up a so-called “flying checkpoint” – made up of three jeeps and a couple of cement blocks – on the busy road from Ramallah to Tulkarm between the villages of Beit Iba and Beit Lid.
They refused to let any Palestinians pass going in both directions starting from two o’clock in the afternoon. After many hours standing in the sun, some of the people got so frustrated they initiated a spontaneous demonstration. The Israeli army responded to their peaceful act of defiance by shooting massive amounts of tear gas into the crowd, followed by live ammunition fired above people’s heads.
Amidst the chaos, Shadi Takhsin Abu Aidi, from Beit Lid, was grabbed by the army, blindfolded and thrown into a jeep.
The army escorted settlers- headed for one of the many settlements and outposts around Nablus- past the mile-long line of Palestinian vehicles, ambulances and buses loaded with wedding guests, students and children.
A group of women students from Jenin, one of whom was severely ill, had been told that they were not to be allowed to pass, even though the alternative way to Jenin was also blocked. When
asked whether they were supposed to sleep beside the road, one of the Israeli soldiers replied that the women could pass but not their male driver. “They can walk to Jenin”, he said and turned his back on them.
At about ten o’clock in the evening, the Israeli military started letting Palestinian vechicles pass.
This is in no way an isolated incident. The Israeli army regularly prevents the passage of Palestinians to school, work and during medical emergencies. Currently there is a closure of Northern cities and villages of the West Bank, where checkpoints are completely closed for many hours of the day for no reason other than to restrict movement.
Today, July 26th, at 5pm, the IOF closed Yesthar checkpoint (west of Nablus) in all directions for all Palestinian and settlers passing on the road. They re-opened it at 7pm for just the settlers, while there were dozens of Palestinians waiting to go back to their homes.
Previously the road was only for settler use, but was opened for Palestinians in 2004 after it was closed since the beginning of the Intifada.
Opening the checkpoint just for the settlers made the Palestinians very angry and they responded by having a completely non-violent direct action by lying down on the road and closing it with their bodies. The army responded with excessive violence by beating the people and throwing sound grenades at the crowd. This violence wasn’t helpful to evacuate the crowd who continued chanting songs of the Intifada and refusing to move.
After the failure of the IOF troops to open the way for the settlers who were stuck waiting, the settlers began threatening the Palestinians with their machine guns, waving them at their faces. The soldiers did nothing to stop the settler’s threats.
The army failed to evacuate the Palestinians who occupied the checkpoint from 7pm until 9pm and so the army was forced to open the checkpoint for all.
