International Solidarity Movement - Page 233 - Nonviolence. Justice. Freedom.

UPDATE: Shepherds in Salem

7th May 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Huwarra Team | Salem, Occupied Palestine

Update 14th May:

The wheat is not ready for harvest yet. The call for people to help the shepherds and farmers on their land is postponed until next Friday 22nd and Saturday 23rd. Please come in numbers as the Israeli forces are making it harder and harder for them to live of their land.

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The farmers and shepherds of Salem, near Nablus, are asking for you help. They are being beaten, humiliated and pushed off their land. They are asking you to join them on Friday 15th and Saturday 16th to help them save their harvest.

Mahfouda - shepherd from Salem who's worked her land for 40 years — Mahfouda – shepherd from Salem who’s worked her land for 40 years

In the village of Salem, near Nablus, the wheat is ready for harvesting. Once the crop has been collected, the sheep and goats will graze on the leftovers in the field and the shepherds will then milk them in order to make cheese and butter. The animal’s droppings are dispersed on the land; a perfect cycle is created.

However, Israeli occupation forces have forbidden the farmers from harvesting the wheat and forbidden the shepherds from crossing the road that cuts through their land, dividing it in two. See report written by the International Women’s Peace Service here.

Harassment happens on a daily basis and many of the shepherds can recount life-threatening stories. This is the case with Rabih, for instance. Only five days ago, as he was taking his sheep out to graze and was accompanied by his young nephew who was going out into the fields to work for the first time in his life; Israeli soldiers arrived. They pointed their guns to his brother’s head, threw his nephew to the ground and attacked Rabih with the butt of an M16 rifle. They ordered Rabah to take his clothes off. When Rabih refused they beat him and took him away blindfolded and handcuffed and threw him out hours later in the middle of the countryside. “I am getting used to being humiliated”.

Shepherds and farmers are asking for a large number of people to accompany them on Friday 15th and Saturday 16th May. From early in the morning, they will attempt to work a part of their land to the east of Salem that the occupation forces are preventing them from using. A call out will be made on the mosque’s megaphone to gather as many people from the village as possible.

These dates are coordinated with the 67th anniversary of Naqba day, when the ethnic cleansing of Palestine started. in 2014, 67% of Palestinians were registered as refugees or Internally Displaced Persons, according to UNWRA. Until today, they have not been allowed to return to their homes. Those who have been ‘lucky enough’ to not be pushed out are living either as third class citizen within the now called state of Israel, or under military occupation inside the West Bank and Gaza. Many Palestinians live from their land and it is part of the whole zionist expansion plan to grab more and more of it by whatever means possible.

Come and work with the farmers and shepherds of Salem, along with many others from the village, to help repossess their stolen land. Extra presence throughout the whole harvest season is also being called for as the attacks and threats are ongoing.

For more information, you can get in touch with ISM: palreports@gmail.com

Marianne heads for Gaza today!

10th May 2015 | Ship to Gaza | Gothenburg, Sweden

Marianne of Gothenburg will leave her home port at 7 pm on the 10 of May. The trawler, which has been acquired by Ship to Gaza Sweden and Ship to Gaza Norway jointly, departs for a voyage of almost 5000 nautical miles to eastern Mediterranean and the blockaded Gaza Strip.

Marianne will join other ships and together they will form the “Freedom Flotilla III” in order to perform a peaceful, nonviolent action to break the illegal and inhumane blockade of the Gaza Strip.

In passing Marianne will call at European ports for manifestations against the blockade. The First three ports will be Helsingborg, Malmö and Copenhagen. The subsequent ports will be announced in press releases.

Cargo
Marianne is not a cargo-ship, but she will bring a limited cargo of, among other things, solar cell panels and medical equipment.

The solar cell panels are a gift from ETC-El. In the blockaded Gaza Strip, where the infrastructure has been demolished, solar cells will thus provide an opportunity to independent local production of clean energy. The sun can not be blockaded.

Delegates
In addition to a crew of five people, Marianne will have up to eight delegates as passengers in each section of the route. The names of these individuals will be announced as time progress. In the first section are among others:

Maria Svensson, pro. tem. spokesperson, Feministiskt initiativ
Mikael M Karlsson, Chairperson, Ship to Gaza Sweden
Henry Ascher, professor of Public Health, paediatrician
Lennart Berggren, filmmaker
Dror Feiler, musician, spokesperson of Ship to Gaza

Palestinian woman and her children attacked by settlers

9th May 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Al Khalil Team | Al Khalil, Occupied Palestine

Yesterday evening in Al Khalil (Hebron), a Palestinian woman and her two small children were attacked by settlers from the illegal settlement as they were on their way to the shops.

Marwat Abu Remele lives in Tel Rumeida, an area in Al Khalil under Israeli control. She was on her way to buy groceries, when about twenty settlers gathered around them and attacked her son. A Palestinian man, Mohammed Abu Hazerh, promptly ran to protect them from this harassment. Harassment of this kind is not unusual for the Palestinians living in this part of the city.

A settler woman managed to convince Israeli soldiers that the Palestinians were in the wrong, and Mohammed narrowly escaped arrest. When the soldiers agreed to release him, the Israeli woman became hysterical and with a crowd of children ran after him. While she was shouting and insulting everyone standing on the street, the settler children spat, harassed and kicked other Palestinians and internationals that had come to witness the scene.

The soldiers attempted to stop all filming of what was going on and were failing to prevent the settlers harassing and taunting local people. The Abu Shamsiyeh family, who live on the street where the attack took place, were unable to enter their home as settlers were blocking their entrance. One of the Palestinian women who was trying to film the scene was violently attacked by two settlers.

About an hour later, Marwat and her children came back from their errand down in the old city but were afraid of passing through the crowd of settlers who were blocking the road, preventing her going home. Finally, some soldiers and Palestinian neighbours escorted her back to the house while settlers hurled insults at her.

The video clearly shows how the settlers, who have taken over much of the neighbourhood from local Palestinians, are making it harder and harder for them to live in peace. Palestinian children are terrified and full of frustration and anger, as they cannot move freely outside their homes without the fear of being attacked or arrested. The Israeli forces remit is to protect the settlers and they are not interested in the welfare of the Palestinians.

Update on urgent call – help Mohammed Abu Rahmah

09th May 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Ramallah Team | Ramallah, Occupied Palestine

UPDATED – On the 20th April, Israeli forces arrested Mohammed Adeeb Abu Rahmah while he was on his way to Mecca.

Mohammed is the 19 year old son of prominent Bil’in activists Adeeb Abu Rahmah. Father of nine, Adeeb was sentenced for 18 months in military prison for his role in the popular struggle to free his village’s land from the occupation forces. (Read our previous article on his arrest here)

Now Mohammed, his eldest son, has just been arrested and held in the Ofer military prison. His court case is not due to happen until at least the end of May.

Mohammed Abu Rahmah was arrested crossing the bridge into Jordan while trying to travel to Saudi Arabia for pilgrimage. According to his lawyer Neri Ramati, the case Mohammad was arrested for was closed a year ago and involved the weekly protests of Bil’in against the construction of the apartheid wall.

His family thanks everyone who has donated money toward his release. Mohammed is now out of prison. However, only two thirds of the needed sum has been collected and they are still needing $750 that have been borrowed.
If you are able to help financially, please follow this Paypal link: https://palsolidarity.org/donate/

Any amount will help. Together we can support the Abu Rahmah family with Mohammed’s freedom! If you are unable to help financially, please spread the word.

Please send an email to palreports@gmail.com and lumalayan@gmail.com with Mohammed Abu Rahmah in the subject line to let us know about your donation. If any additional money is raised, ISM will use it to obtain the release of other Palestinian activists imprisoned by the occupation forces for resisting the theft of their lands.

Thank you.

Open the gate, bring down the wall!

08th May 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Al Khalil Team | Al-Zaim, Occupied Palestine

The villagers of Al-Zaim held their third demonstration today in front of the gate in the apartheid wall that separates them from East Jerusalem. Peaceful demonstrators were met by a large number of occupation forces and agreement was eventually reached to open the gate.

6000 people live in Al-Zaim, but the difference between them and most other Palestinians living inside the West Bank, is that they hold a blue rather than a green ID. This defines them as citizens of East Jerusalem. However, the apartheid wall cuts them of from their city, placing them otherside of the Green Line. An iron gate has been erected as the main way for these Jerusalemites to access their occupied city, where most of them work. “Al-Zaim is like a jail inside a jail”, comments an ISM activist present at the demonstration.

Gate separating the Jerusalemites from their own city

Two weeks ago, 16 year old Ali Abu Said Ghannam was shot dead by the Israeli forces in Attur, a neighbourhood of Mount Olive. Since then, the gate allowing the villagers in and out of East Jerusalem has been closed, apart from one hour in the morning and one hour in the evening. Freedom of movement has become near to nonexistent and those who need to reach the other side of the wall have to do a long detour via Adumin to get there.

Children of Al-Zaim asking for their freedom

The villagers are asking for the full opening of the gate. But ultimately, they are questioning its very existence. On this third demonstration in Al-Zaim, children holding Palestinian flags and signs of peace stood face to face with the Israeli forces. Behind them, the men of the village and the surrounding area prayed together before everyone united to sing songs of freedom for their people and their land.

The senior Israeli officer told the head of the municipality that if the demonstration stopped, they would open the gate. Accepting that decision, the people marched back, ending this short and peaceful demonstration. Whether the gate will actually stay open is still unknown. The fact is, there is still a gate and there is still a wall.