Settlers attempt large-scale assault on Palestinian village

Settlers on Wednesday from the illegal Israeli settlement of Sanur near Jenin — due to be evacuated as part of Israel’s “disengagement” plan — attempted to launch an assault on the Palestinian village of Assa’sa, clashing with the Israeli soldiers engaged in the evacuation. The clashes were witnessed by volunteers from the International Solidarity Movement.

Around 6 p.m., a group of about 50 settlers came out onto the road to Assa’sa, and began blocking Palestinian cars. About 10 minutes later, an Israeli army jeep arrived and soldiers told settlers to leave, setting up a checkpoint to allow Palestinian cars to pass. The settlers then began attacking a nearby Palestinian gas station. More jeeps arrived, coming under attack from the settlers, as they attempted to reach the village.

The soldiers tried to stop the settlers, but were overrun by them, and were forced to call for reinforcements. A number of armored personnel carriers arrived with more troops, who stopped settlers from entering the village. The settlers then returned to the settlement. It appeared that a number of settlers were setained by the army, and later on Border Police arrived, presumably to arrest the detainees.

Despite the fact that the Sanur settlers’ 48-hour deadline to leave the settlement passed at midnight last night, it appears that no attempts have been made by the army to evict them. Some soldiers have been seen inside the settlement today, apparently talking and arguing with the settlers, but without seeking to detain or remove them. ISM volunteers estimate that around 350 settlers remain in Sanur.

The mood in Assa’sa is currently one of extreme fear, with the villagers not knowing whether and when the settlers will attack again, and whether the army will be able to stop them. Some villagers are gathering stones to defend themselves, a poor weapon against the heavily-armed settlers, but for the most part, they can do nothing but watch and wait. ISM volunteers remain in Assa’sa, alongside the villagers, and continue to monitor the situation

Picture of a settlement


Kadim settlement, one the settlement being removed from the Jenin area in order to concentrate Israeli control in Jerusalem and Sulfit area.

by Devon
August 15

This picture is just after sunrise on the morning of the disengagement. The illegal Kadim settlement is a quarter of a mile away from the tiny West Bank hamlet of Kherbet Rannam, population 35 people; thats 6 families. The whole village descends from one man who fled Haifa in 1948. He lost around 2,000 dunams of land there and bought 210 dunams in Kherbet Rannam.

ISM was called there because on the night of Aug. 13 around a 100 settlers tried to enter the village, but were stopped by the army. Nevertheless, the children couldn’t sleep because they were so frightened. We arrived the next day and were greeted by the villagers. All was quiet except for the occasional round of of military gunfire in the late afternoon. Nobody was hurt.

On August 15, when I was coming home, I first stopped at the Palestinian Authority department of public works in Jenin. We saw bullet holes in the wall above the main desk. We were told that the Israeli soldiers patrol Jenin all the time and the shootings happen all the time. The man also said that he had to dive to the ground in order to dodge the bullets.

On the way back to Bil’in, my taxi was stopped at Ball’a, outside of Jenin. All eight of us were ordered to get out in front of the two armored vehicles (tanks without guns). All the men were then ordered to lift up our shirts to check for bombs. They looked at our passports and questioned us intensely. One woman next to me accidently said Palestine and the soldier replied, “this is Israel, f##k Palestine.”

So you can see, this is a military fully committed to human rights and “disengagement.”

Young Palestinian women lead demonstration against the wall in Bil’in

Girls in Bil'in lead international protest against theannexation barrier Israel is building in thier village.

A group of twenty young Palestinian women aged from 13-16 led more than 400 people in a demonstration Monday against the illegal annexation barrier being constructed across land belonging to the village of Bil’in. Local villagers were joined by a large number of activists from a range of peace organizations, including around 200 international representatives from the Women in Black and members of direct action groups The International Solidarity Movement (ISM) and the International Women’s Peace Service (WIPS).

Soldiers form a chain to guard stolen land for a settlement near Bil'in to be accessed by a group of middle-aged women.

This was the largest demonstration which has yet been seen in Bil’in, and the large numbers attending the action ensured that it could not be met with the violence which has often been the reaction of the IDF to village actions. However after the demonstration dispersed the few remaining demonstrators were attacked with tear gas and sound grenades.

The Peaceful demonstration confronted a line of heavily armed Israeli soldiers and demanded access to the Bil’in land being stolen and an end to the illegal occupation of the West Bank. The young women confidently approached the line of soldiers blocking the road, leading the entire group of women with chants and songs, and one of the girls read a statement the village had prepared for their guests.

Soldiers quickly surrounded the women who obviously posed some sort of threat to the illegal annexation wall Israel is building in the West Bank.

“We hope you take a look around and get to know the place and people here, and see what it is we’re trying to defend. We want as many people as possible to see what’s being done to our land with their own eyes, so they can make their own conclusions about what’s going on,” the teenaged girl said through a bullhorn in her speech to the gathering of hundreds of women. “… Settlers today are beginning to withdraw from Gaza. We are happy for the Palestinians there. But as that goes on, Israel is expanding settlements on our land here in Bil’in, and those settlers leaving Gaza are being brought here. This solves nothing, but rather moves the problem from one place to another. We need real answers that provides security for us all.”

BACKGROUND ON BIL’IN
Bil’in is a West Bank village which will lose approximately 52 percent of its agricultural land in the Israeli land grab begin carried out under the guise of “security.” Without access to their land, villagers will have lost their main source of income. This is an action which is being repeated throughout the West Bank and threatens the future self sufficiency of a Palestinian State.

About 200 or so members of Women in Black arrived in Bil'in and were joined by about 100 or more local women to protest the occupation.

Women in Black plan massive vigil in Bil’in

Hundreds of women in the region to participate in the International Women in Black Conference in Jerusalem will travel today to the village of Bil’in to participate with village women in a vigil against construction of Israel’s illegal annexation wall that will cut 60 percent of Bil’in’s farmland from its people so that nearby settlers can take over the land.

An expected 450 women from the Women in Black conference are expected to go to village for the vigil, where they will be joined by about 100 Bil’in women and another 100 Palestinian women from around the area. Chances are that this demonstration will have a vastly different result from the typical actions there, where nonviolent demonstrators are often met with brutality at the hands of Israeli soldiers as they attempt to access their own land.

The group will first be given a tour of the area, and take a look at the props used in Bil’in’s Friday actions, and then walk in silence toward the wall.