Villagers of Bil’in will use replica judge’s hammers to smash models of Modi’in Elite expansion of Metityahu Mizrah settlement. On Tuesday 21st March the High Court of Justice ordered the state to explain why a criminal investigation should not be opened against those responsible for issuing illegal building permits and why the houses should not be dismantled.
Beit Sira – villagers will hold a demonstration against the annexation barrier that will mean the loss of land to Makabim settlement.
Demonstrations will begin at 12.00.
For more information call:
Beit Sira-Mansur 0545420464
Bil’in- Abdullah 0547-258-210
ISM media office at 02-2971824
Our hearts are filled with joy today as we heard that Harmeet Singh Sooden, Jim Loney and Norman Kember have been safely released in Baghdad. Christian Peacemaker Teams rejoices with their families and friends at the expectation of their return to their loved ones and community. Together we have endured uncertainty, hope, fear, grief and now joy during the four months since they were abducted in Baghdad.
We rejoice in the return of Harmeet Sooden. He has been willing to put his life on the line to promote justice in Iraq and Palestine as a young man newly committed to active peacemaking.
We rejoice in the return of Jim Loney. He has cared for the marginalized and oppressed since childhood, and his gentle, passionate spirit has been an inspiration to people near and far.
We rejoice in the return of Norman Kember. He is a faithful man, an elder and mentor to many in his 50 years of peacemaking, a man prepared to pay the cost.
We remember with tears Tom Fox, whose body was found in Baghdad on March 9, 2006, after three months of captivity with his fellow peacemakers. We had longed for the day when all four men would be released together. Our gladness today is made bittersweet by the fact that Tom is not alive to join in the celebration. However, we are confident that his spirit is very much present in each reunion.
Harmeet, Jim and Norman and Tom were in Iraq to learn of the struggles facing the people in that country. They went, motivated by a passion for justice and peace to live out a nonviolent alternative in a nation wracked by armed conflict. They knew that their only protection was in the power of the love of God and of their Iraqi and international co-workers. We believe that the illegal occupation of Iraq by Multinational Forces is the root cause of the insecurity which led to this kidnapping and so much pain and suffering in Iraq. The occupation must end.
Today, in the face of this joyful news, our faith compels us to love our enemies even when they have committed acts which caused great hardship to our friends and sorrow to their families. In the spirit of the prophetic nonviolence that motivated Jim, Norman, Harmeet and Tom to go to Iraq, we refuse to yield to a spirit of vengeance. We give thanks for the compassionate God who granted our friends courage and who sustained their spirits over the past months. We pray for strength and courage for ourselves so that, together, we can continue the nonviolent struggle for justice and peace.
Throughout these difficult months, we have been heartened by messages of concern for our four colleagues from all over the world. We have been especially moved by the gracious outpouring of support from Muslim brothers and sisters in the Middle East, Europe, and North America. That support continues to come to us day after day. We pray that Christians throughout the world will, in the same spirit, call for justice and for respect for the human rights of the thousands of Iraqis who are being detained illegally by the U.S. and British forces occupying Iraq.
During these past months, we have tasted of the pain that has been the daily bread of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis. Why have our loved ones been taken? Where are they being held? Under what conditions? How are they? Will they be released? When?
With Tom’s death, we felt the grief of losing a beloved friend. Today, we rejoice in the release of our friends Harmeet, Jim and Norman. We continue to pray for a swift and joyful homecoming for the many Iraqis and internationals who long to be reunited with their families. We renew our commitment to work for an end to the war and the occupation of Iraq as a way to continue the witness of Tom Fox. We trust in God’s compassionate love to show us the way.
Living through the many emotions of this day, we remain committed to the words of Jim Loney, who wrote:
“With God’s abiding kindness, we will love even our enemies.
With the love of Christ, we will resist all evil.
With God’s unending faithfulness, we will work to build the beloved community.”
In what was the third time in the past eight months that a senior IDF officer was subjected to accusations of war crimes and the possibility of arrest in a foreign country, a recent petition by Arab and Jewish left-wing organizations to the Canadian government demanded them to arrest former IDF chief of general staff Lt.-Gen. (ret.) Moshe Ya’alon.
Ya’alon who was expected to arrive in Canada on Wednesday, decided not to cancel his visit after consulting Israel’s Ambassador in Ottawa.
The organizations claimed the Ya’alon was responsible for committing war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Army Radio reported that, unlike in Europe, Canada requires the justice minister’s approval in order to arrest someone on those charges.
In February, Brig.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi, commander of the Gaza Division, decided to cancel plans to study at the prestigious Royal College of Defense Studies in England over the summer out of fear he would be arrested and tried for war crimes.
IDF Judge Advocate General Brig.-Gen. Avi Mandelblit warned Kochavi that while a warrant had yet to be issued against him, he could be arrested for his actions during the Intifada and Israel’s hands would be tied in helping him.
Mandelblit based his recommendation on the near-arrest, half-a-year prior to the Kochavi case, of former OC Southern Command Maj.-Gen. (res.) Doron Almog, who landed in London but refrained from disembarking after he was warned that detectives were waiting to take him into custody on suspicion of war crimes.
The warrant, which had been issued per the request of a pro-Palestinian Muslim group, accused Almog of illegally ordering the demolition of 59 Palestinian homes in Rafah in 2002.
“We shouldn’t take any chances,” a senior officer was quoted as saying. “If an IDF officer is arrested in one of these countries he could be charged and put on trial and our hands will be tied.
Today, in the village of Beit Sira, Israeli occupation forces stopped a group of school children between the ages of 8 to 16 walking home from school. The soldiers had with them photos that where taken at the demonstrations against the apartheid-wall held in the village. After checking all the students, two were then supposedly identified from the pictures, 13 year old Muhammad Dib Nimer Khatab and 14 year old Ziad Muhammad Kamel Khatab. Last Friday Ziad was injured by rubber coated steel bullets from Israeli soldiers. The two young boys are now detained at the Ofer military detention centre.
