FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Staying Arrested Together

INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT — Three international activists are refusing to sign release papers after being arrested alongside a Palestinian protester. The arrests occurred during a nonviolent action against the Illegal barrier in the West Bank village of Bil’in. The three women, one Danish and two U.S. citizens, say they won’t accept conditional releases so long as the Palestinian they were arrested with is not offered the same treatment. The three go before a civil judge Thursday July 21. The Palestinian awaits a military trial.

The arrestees were among a group of Palestinians, internationals and Israelis at a nonviolent action against construction of the barrier on Palestinian land.

Alison Brim of North Carolina, Nina Olsen of Denmark, and ISM cofounder Huwaida Arraf, a Palestinian American of Michigan, were taken in front of a judge and offered release with the condition that they stay 500 meters away from the path the wall in Bil’in. Meanwhile, Bil’in resident Tamer Al Khatib was taken to Ofer Military Base where he awaits military trial. In solidarity with their Palestinian friend, the international activists refused. They are being held in Givaat Zeev police station, awaiting a court appointment set for 12 p.m. Thursday at the Peace Court in the Russian Compound.

The four were among seven activists arrested Wednesday morning in Bil’in. Also arrested were Pel’e Minddal of Denmark and Israelis Avi Mugrabhi and Moshe Berger. Minddal signed papers for immediate release in order to get medical treatment for his arm, which was injured amid the arrest. Berger and Mugrabhi also signed for their release.

The protest Wednesday involved several activists. The seven who were arrested had locked themselves inside a large metal cylinder decorated with symbols of the Palestinian political factions and a Palestinian flag which was placed in the path bulldozers use to build the wall on Palestinian land in Bil’in. Only their heads and feet poking out of port holes and they were chained to one another inside.

Israeli soldiers beat them with batons and cut into the cylinder, forcing the activists out.

Interestingly, the arrested activists were charged with attacking the soldiers. The charge was dismissed by a judge Wednesday who had viewed a video tape of the incident and stated that it obviously was the soldiers who had attacked the activists.

Violence, false charges and harassment are not new responses to the nonviolent resistance in Bil’in. Abdallah Abu Rahme and Akram Al Khatib, members of the Bil’in Popular Committee Against the Wall have been in detention at Ofer Military Base since their arrest during a non-violent demonstration Friday, July 15. They have a military court appearance scheduled for today at Ofer Military Base.

For more information contact: 054-5892681 or ISM Media Office 02-2971824.

For more photographs:
freckle.blogs.com/photos/strength_in_unity

Protesters blocked the path of the Annexation Barrier

For photos of the action see:
freckle.blogs.com/photos/strength_in_unity

Bil’in- 6:00 AM Today
Protestors blocked the path of the Israeli bulldozers working to build the Apartheid Wall in Bil’in. They were chained together in a cylinder six meters long which allowed only their heads and legs to be visible.

The seven protestors include Palestinians, Israelis, and internationals. They were cut out of the cylinder by Israeli soldiers who hit them with batons, prodded them with wire cutters and then arrested them.

The seven include, Bili’in resident Tamer Al Khatib, Co- founder of the ISM Huwaida Arraf, Alison from the US, Nina and Pel’e from Denmark and Israelis Avi Mugrabhi and Moshe Berger. They are currently being held at Givaat Zeev police station.

Muhhamed Al Khatib, one of the leaders of the Bil’in Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements, a group that is committed to non-violent resistance of the Annexation Barrier was singled out from the group of non-violent protesters and detained, but was later released.

Abdallah Abu Rahme and Akram Al Khatib, also members of the Bil’in Popular Committee Against the Wall have been in detention at Ofer Military Base since their arrest during a non-violent demonstration Friday, July 15, 2005.

The cylinder was decorated with symbols of the Palestinian political factions and a Palestinian flag in the center, and carried the message our unity is our strength.

For more information contact: 054-5892681 or ISM Media Office 02-2971824

Non-Violent Organizing Resumes in Salfit

Place: Deir Ballut, Az Zawiya, and Mas’ha in the Salfit District, West Bank
Date: Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Time: 10:00 a.m.

Non-violent Palestinian activists, joined by internationals and Israelis, will hold a one day tour of three villages in the Salfit District which have been severely affected by the construction of the Separation Barrier. Participants in the tour will meet with local residents and learn about the impact of the occupation on daily life in these villages.

The tour will begin at 10:00 a.m. at a partially constructed school in Deir Ballut. The Israeli Army has halted construction on the school since June 2003 and will not allow the village to complete the school, which is funded by World Vision, a project of USAID.

At 11:00 a.m. the tour will proceed to Az Zawiya. Local residents, city council members, Women for Life, and girls from a local summer camp, will meet with the tour participants to discuss effects of the occupation and construction on the Separation Barrier in Az Zawiya and neighboring villages.

At 2:30 tour participants will visit the house of Hani Aamer in Mas’ha. Since the completion of the Wall in Mas’ha two years ago, the Aamer house has been surrounded by the Wall on all four sides. The family may only enter and leave when soldiers open the gates.

Together

By Mansour

It is a very hot day today… in fact the last two months have been very hot here in Palestine, yet we continue to have a strong desire to resist the Occupation, especially the Annexation Wall. Every day that we have a nonviolent demonstration or action the sweat of Palestinians, internationals, and Israeli activists proves the reality of solidarity and the possibility of coexistence between people.

Force is not the language for peace. Unlike the coalition forces who claim to create democracy and global justice through their weapons and destructive technology, in Palestine, simple human beings with empty hands and full hearts face one of the strongest armies in the world, the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF). We won’t react towards the IOF by using the same means of violence that they use against us.

We are not teachers or lecturers, but we have the experience of 57 years of resisting the Israeli Occupation. By our continuous resistance and the hope we have maintained, we prove that force and violence is the weapon of the loser. We need you, our friends, side by side with us to work for that peace. We await you in Palestine.

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IWPS: Killing Salfit

16 year old boy killed in Salfit following assassination of two men by Apache helicopters; 9 people injured by gunshots, rubber bullets, and tear gas inhalation; Army raids hospital and fires tear gas at entrance; ambulances blocked and doctor beaten.

Date of incident: July 15, 2005
Place: Salfit, West Bank
Witness/es: Dr. Naim Sabna, director of Salfit Emergency Medical Hospital, Salfit residents including 12 year old boy who witnessed shooting of Moath

At approximately 2:30 p.m. on Friday, July 15 two Apache helicopters fired rockets and opened fire on three men in an olive grove east of the town of Salfit. Two men, Samer Abdulhadi Dawhqa and Mohammad Ahmed Marri, were killed instantly. The third man, Mohammad Yusef A’yash, was gravely injured with multiple injuries to the chest and head. He was taken to the Emergency Medical Hospital in Salfit, where he was given emergency treatment and sent by ambulance to the hospital in Ramallah. On the way to the hospital, the ambulance was stopped by Israeli soldiers. The soldiers took the keys to the ambulance and beat the doctor on his shoulder and foot with the butt of their gun. Mr. A’yash was taken away by an Israeli military ambulance. His location and condition are not known at the time of this writing.

At about 3 p.m. army jeeps entered the town shooting gas and declared a curfew. The people ran inside their houses and closed their shops, but there were some young men and boys on the main street who threw stones at the jeeps. The soldiers fired at them and they ran away, scattering in different directions.

Between 3:30 and 4:00 p.m., a soldier in a jeep shot at two boys who were in an alley near the main street, approximately 15 meters from the jeep. One boy escaped, but the bullet hit Moath Jamal Sulieme, 16 years old, in the forehead above the left eye and exited from the back of his head. A small group of young boys (ages 12-14) saw the soldiers fire at Moath and ran over to help him. The soldiers fired rubber bullets at them so they ran away and called an ambulance.

The ambulance picked up Moath and took him to the Salfit Emergency Hospital, where he was given emergency treatment. Moath was sent by ambulance to the hospital in Nablus. On the way to the hospital, the ambulance was detained by Israeli soldiers at the Zatara checkpoint until an Israeli military ambulance arrived. He was transferred to the Israeli military ambulance and taken to a hospital in Israel. At 10:30 p.m. the hospital informed the DCL that Moath had died.

At approximately 5 p.m. about 20 jeeps and more than 50 soldiers surrounded the Salfit Emergency Hospital and demanded to enter. When the hospital director refused, the soldiers threw tear gas into the courtyard of the hospital which filled the inside of it with gas. The army entered the hospital by force, searching all of the rooms, including the operating room and delivery room. Around 10:00 p.m. the army left the hospital and Salfit.

Injured Persons treated by the Salfit Emergency Hospital:

  • Mohamad Al Masri, 22: bullet injury, right shoulder
  • Anas Fatash, 16: bullet injury, hand
  • Mahmoud Asad Yunis, 16: rubber bullet injury, left thigh
  • Dia Madee, 18: rubber bullet injury, right knee
  • Mahamad Shahir Darweesh: Bullet injury, right loin
  • Jalal Abdall, 30: multiple traumas, right shoulder
  • Jalila Jammal, 49: tear gas inhalation
  • Ahmed Darweesh, 15: rubber bullet injury to the head
  • Said Shtaeh, 30: anxiety attack
  • Ramee Mraita, 18: rubber bullet, right elbow
  • Martha Jlal: anxiety attack