Yesterday, Friday 6th September, the weekly demonstration at Bil’in continued in solidarity towards prisoners in Israel and in protest of the recent settler attack at Al-Aqsa mosque. During the demonstration a photographer, Mohammed Basman Yassin (21) was shot in the leg by a tear gas canister.
The regular demonstration is organised by the Popular Struggle Committee and included dozens of Palestinian, Israeli and international activists. The demonstrations began in protest against the settlements and apartheid wall that was illegally built on Bil’in land.
The protest march began after Friday prayers from the centre of the village heading towards the annexation wall. The activists raised Palestinian flags and chanted slogans calling for national unity, resistance against the occupation and the release of all prisoners. As the demonstrators reached the wall area, Israeli occupation forces fired rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas canisters, sound grenades and “skunk” water (waste water mixed with chemicals). Some of the youth of Bil’in threw stones at the soldiers, who then proceeded to chase the demonstrators into the olive groves and to the outskirts of the village, which is where Mohammed was injured.
Demonstrators overwhelmed with tear gas (Photo by Mohammed Yasin)
Israeli occupation forces spraying protesters with “skunk” water (Photo by Rani Bomat)
7th September 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Qusra, Occupied Palestine
Last 29th of August, Israeli soldiers detained two municipal workers from Qusra as they were taking the village’s trash to the local dump. The two men were later attacked by Israeli settlers. Residents of Qusra fear that greater collusion between the army and the settlers will only lead to more attacks.
One of the workers shows his bruises after a settler attack (Photo by ISM)
Early Thursday morning, two army jeeps carrying four soldiers detained the men as they transported trash to the local dump. Rather than transporting the men to the military base at Huwwarra checkpoint, the soldiers deposited the men and their tractor on the lands close to the illegal Israeli settlement, Esh Kodesh. At approximately 9:30, the municipal workers were attacked by six settlers, who beat them with stones and also caused major damage to the municipality’s tractor. Following the attack, both men were taken by ambulance to Rafidia Hospital in Nablus, where doctors ordered two to three days bed rest.
After the residents of Qusra were taken to the hospital, the settlers of Esh Kodesh stole the tractor and took it to Shvut Rachel, another nearby settlement. When members of the municipality appealed to the Israeli DCO (District Coordination Office) to locate the stolen tractor, Israeli officials stated that if they found it, they would confiscate the tractor for two months and require the village to pay 10,000 NIS for its return.
Though the village has used the same area for garbage collection for nearly 30 years, in the last three years, the Israeli army has attempted to prohibit dumping in the area. The village has no other areas in which to deposit trash, as all of the surrounding lands are considered area C and also prohibited for use. Employees of the municipality reported that this is the third time that the village’s tractor has been confiscated. The previous times, the municipality was forced to pay a 10,000 NIS fine for its return. Following the most recent incident, the mayor refused to pay the fine due to the violence inflicted upon the two men and his view that the attack was coordinated between the Israeli army and the illegal settlers.
The tractor was damaged by the settlers (Photo by ISM)
Eventually, the tractor was returned to the village, though there was extensive damage that will require more than 2,000 NIS for repairs. In addition to structural damage, the license plate was stolen off the tractor, which will take months to replace due to bureaucratic requirements; moreover, employees of the municipality noted the dangers of a Palestinian plate being in the hands of the settlers, as they can use the green, Palestinian plate to gain access to the surrounding Palestinian villages without garnering suspicion. The municipality reported the theft to both the PA and Israeli police in hopes of preventing future attacks.
Qusra village is located in the northern West Bank, approximately 28 kilometers southeast of Nablus. The villages’ 6,000 residents face constant, weekly attacks from the nearby illegal Israeli settlement of Esh Kodesh. Settlers frequently damage and uproot olive trees, burn village land, and attack residents. In 2011, settlers defaced the local mosque and attempted to set it on fire.
6th September 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Khalil Team | Al-Masara, Occupied Palestine
Today, Friday 6th September, Mohammed Breijeh was arrested during a completely non-violent and peaceful demonstration in the village of Al-Masara. Mohammed will be held until next Wednesday, where a military court will decide whether to release, or to sentence him for taking part in today’s peaceful demonstration.
Soldiers blocked residents from reaching their own land (Photo by ISM)
The protest consisted of approximately 40 people, a mixture of Palestinian, Israeli and international activists, walking through Al-Masara in order to reach the villagers’ land which is located just below Efrata settlement. Mohammed was arrested shortly after the protest began for no apparent reason. When activists confronted the soldiers about his arrest, they were unwilling to give any explanation, many standing in silence, with others positively ignoring the question. Mohammed was taken to Kiryat Arba police station and more information will be available from Wednesday.
The army’s response to the regular Friday demonstrations in Al-Masara is very revealing of the general attitude the Israeli forces have towards Palestinian descent. The speed at which the demonstrators are arrested, and in many cases, the use of unnecessary and disproportionate force when conducting these arrests, is typical. Many of the regular demonstrators at Al-Masara have been previously arrested numerous times in a similar manner. The army has consistently used this tactic of immediate arrests to break up the peaceful demonstrations Al-Masara is known for. A prime example of this tactic in action was seen last month on 16/08/2013, where the army violently arrested Palestinians and internationals including journalists, no more than five minutes after the demonstration started.
Since 2006 Al-Marara has been holding weekly demonstrations that began in protest against the apartheid wall which illegally annexed a portion of the village’s land. Over the years the demonstration has evolved to focus on a number of issues, themes of Palestinian struggle such as erecting tents on annexed land and symbolising the right of return in this manner, with the demonstration today highlighting the plight of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. The population of Al-Masara is approximately 1000 people. A small village when compared to some of its neighbouring villages and towns. Nevertheless, its residents show no sign of giving up their struggle, or changing its non-violent nature. Unfortunately, Israeli forces have made their response to this village’s peaceful demonstrations consistently clear: Palestinian descent to occupation will not be tolerated.
New trial dates have been set for Tristan Anderson’s civil case against the Israeli Military. The new dates follow a recent ruling from the High Court of Israel forcing the Israeli Police to re-open their investigation into the near fatal shooting, which occurred when Israeli Border Police opened fire on a crowd of Palestinian and international activists following a protest against the building of the Apartheid “Seperation” Wall in the West Bank village of Ni’ilin March 13, 2009.
Tristan was shot in the face from close range with a high velocity tear gas grenade, causing severe damage to his brain and paralysis to half his body.
The Israeli High Court has ordered the police to actually interview the officers involved in the shooting, who to date have never been questioned about it. (The findings of the new investigative report are scheduled to be released shortly before Anderson’s civil trial has been scheduled to begin.)
“Officers on the ground need to be afraid,” said Gabrielle Silverman, the girlfriend of Tristan Anderson and witness to his shooting. “We need real accountability for police violence, and for abuse against civilians by the military.”
High Velocity Tear Gas is manufactured in the USA.
28th August 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Asira al Qibliya, Occupied Palestine
Around 80 settlers and soldiers brought diggers and steam rollers near the Asira water project and started to flatten ground on private Palestinian land. Residents fear this is the first stage in an expansion of the illegal extremist settlement of Yitzhar that daily attacks Asira and the unfinished water project that will provide the village with the much needed resource.
Construction of illegal settlement expansion, after work was finished in the afternoon (Photo by ISM)
Early in the morning on Wednesday 28th August in Asira al Qibliya around 50 soldiers and 30 settlers set up a tent on the mountain in land between the illegal settlement of Yitzhar and the Asira Water project. Machines were then brought to start work on the land including a digger and a steam roller. The land was flattened in preparation for new illegal structures that will most likely be an expansion of Yitzhar, which is of major concern to the villagers.
The settlement is built on stolen land and the new construction is also taking land from the village, even when organisations such as the UN have visited the site and agreed that it always belonged to Asira, a Palestinian activist working for the village council told international activists. The family who owned the land was given no information by the army about any plans to construct on their property. Any expansion of the settlement not only steals land but puts the villagers in great danger. Settlers from Yitzhar have attacked numerous surrounding villages, attacking villagers, burning land and cutting olive trees. When attacking Asira, settlers have focused most of their attention recently on the construction of a water project that will provide much needed water to the village, presently Asira residents have to buy water tanks to sustain their families. Settlers have thrown petrol bombs to damage the project and stop the workers and recently, on Sunday the 25th August, stole equipment including water pipes. Expanding the illegal settlement puts the water project at greater risk, not just by the attacks of the settlers, but the close proximity to the new expanded settlement could justify it being claimed as a security threat by the army and so demolished.
This new expansion of Yitzhar is an extremely aggressive move by the Israeli occupation given that they are currently claiming to be committed to peace talks. Yitzhar already started to expand during the talks when land was raised near Einabus on the 21st August. The village of Asira feel powerless in the face of these moves.
