10 September 2012| International Solidarity Movement, West Bank
On Friday 7th September five international activists attended the weekly demonstration against the apartheid wall in the village of Ni’lin. Since 2004, the villagers of Ni’lin have been non violently protesting against the annexation of their lands. So far the village has lost over 50,000 dunum of land, in part to surrounding illegal settlements and in part annexed from the village in the construction of the apartheid wall.
Saeed Amireh, member of the Ni’lin popular committee explains that the confiscation of the land and colonization of the West Bank with illegal Israeli settlements are calculated methods designed to expel the Palestinians from the land. Many of the inhabitants in Ni’lin rely on the farm land and in particular the ancient olive trees for their livelihood.
This Friday was the first demonstration with an international presence for three weeks.Saeed says that the presence of internationals is vital to the resistance in
Ni’lin and is glad to give us a talk after the demonstration, explaining the history of Ni’lin. The demonstration began after the midday prayers which waft from the mosque and through the fields lined with olive and carob trees, under which we wait. They walked through the fields alongside the villagers and children who carried Palestinian flags and a megaphone.
The wall which cuts through the rocky valley is made of concrete blocks, barbed wire and electric fence. There, the soldiers are waiting expectantly in the midday sun, their helmets and guns glinting like the backs of well armored insects. Even before they reach the wall the soldiers of the Israeli Army begin to fire rounds of tear gas and spray the land with skunk water. The shabab are not deterred, they set the tires alight at the base of the wall and the flames further blacken the already charred concrete blocks. Fire weakens the wall and makes it easier to remove, Saeed explains. This was how, in November 2009 – on the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall – Ni’lin became the first village to succeed in removing a piece of the apartheid wall. The demonstration lasts for an hour, and as we leave the Israeli Army continue firing tear gas canisters into the field.
This week’s demonstration has been smaller than most weeks as strikes against the PA have been a distraction for many of the usual attendees. However the people of Ni’lin remain positive that their non violent resistance to the occupation will succeed, that the wall will fall, piece by piece and that they will be able to access their land again.
Saeed Amireh, of the Ni’lin popular committee, has been working to raise international awareness of Ni’lin’s struggle against the occupation. www.nilin-village.org
Anna is a volunteer with The International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).
9 September 2012 | International Solidaity Movement, West Bank
Israeli soldiers and young Palestinian boy
Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists gathered in Beit Ummar for the village’s regular Saturday demonstration against the nearby illegal Israeli settlement of Karmei Tsur, which has annexed village land. The demonstration focused on the August 27 destruction of a new Beit Ummar greenhouse by settlers, which occurred as the Israeli military stood by. The demonstration culminated in a young boy being kicked to the ground by an Israeli soldier.
Activists from the USA, UK, Japan, and Norway joined the villagers in taking a different route to the usual Saturday demonstration, surprising the Israeli soldiers, who had assembled elsewhere. Their route as they reached the Apartheid Wall was immediately blocked by 3 soldiers with riot shields. As more soldiers arrived, this number swiftly increased to around 45 – easily outnumbering the unarmed protesters.
The Israeli military formed a line, shoulder-to-shoulder, holding large riot shields. They harassed and targeted individuals, pushing and shoving Palestinians who were attempting to walk on their own land, including young children. The demonstrators retaliated peacefully by chanting and questioning the soldiers about their decision not to take action during the settler attack on the greenhouse. Soldiers also took pictures of individuals present – pictures taken at peaceful demonstrations have in the past been used to justify arrest of Palestinians and deportation or denial of entry to internationals.
Young Palestinian boy after being kicked by Israeli soldiers
After a prolonged face-off, the end of the demonstration was announced, and the protesters turned to leave. It was at this point that a 12-year-old Palestinian boy from Beit Ummar was kicked in the leg by an Israeli soldier, knocking him to the ground. The remaining soldiers immediately tightened their line around the activists and villagers, effectively preventing them from leaving, as well as shoving many with riot shields in the process. Concerned about the child, the protesters gathered around him and he was carried away from the soldiers, where he recovered with no major physical damage. The Commander of the Israeli forces in the village refused to comment on the kicking of the boy when questioned.
Ellie is a volunteer with The International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).
31 August 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank
Amer (standing) next to Abu with his siblings
“I can’t sleep. As soon as I close my eyes, I see settlers everywhere.”, says Amer the six years old son of my friend. Omar leaves his mattress and joins me outside, where I’m watching the beautiful full moon. This evening Amer’s father is absent, he’s still working on the other side of the green line, harvesting onions and can’t afford to come home often. “It looks like there are settlers all around the tent”, Amer continues. “Do you want me to come to bed next to you?”, I ask.
“Yes, please…” A few days ago six year old Amer watched the demolition of tents in a nearby encampment. Last year he saw his cousins’ encampment set on fire. Tomorrow will be his first day of school.
All this goes on with a world ignoring it, and behaving as if nothing is happening.
Israeli forces raided a Palestinian family home in Silwan on Saturday, 18 September. The Karki family were accused by armed forces of attacking nearby Israeli settlers.
Ahmad Siyam told Silwanic that a group of Palestinian children playing in the street were in fact attacked by settlers, leading to a confrontation. When the children continued playing after, a settler arrived 10 minutes later with an Israeli forces escort to arrest the children. When the children ran away, armed forces raided the Karki home.
Attorney Hussein Abu Hussein, who represented Rachel Corrie’s family in its suit against Israel, says they knew from the beginning that it would be an uphill battle to find truth and justice in an Israeli court.
On Tuesday, Judge Oded Gershon of the Haifa District Court dismissed the civil lawsuit I brought on behalf of Rachel Corrie’s family against the State of Israel for the unlawful killing of their daughter, an American peace activist and human rights defender who legally entered Gaza to live with Palestinian families in Rafah whose homes were threatened by demolition.
While not surprising, the verdict is yet another example of impunity prevailing over accountability and fairness and it flies in the face of the fundamental principle of international humanitarian law – that in a time of war, military forces are obligated to take all measures to avoid harm to both civilians and their property.
Rachel Corrie on March 16,2003
It is not the first time courts have denied victims of Israeli military actions the right to effective remedy. Just ask the many Palestinians who have faced a myriad of legal hurdles and fought for decades simply to have their day in court. Thousands of legitimate claims continue to be denied based on the controversial legal theory – which Judge Gershon adopted – that soldiers should be absolved of civil liability because they were engaged in military operational activities in a war zone.
Rachel’s case is unique because she was the first foreign national to be killed while protesting Israeli occupation, though she was hardly the last. Tom Hurndall, a British peace activist, was shot in the head and killed by an Israeli sniper less than three weeks after Rachel was killed. And less than a month after that, James Miller, a British cameraman was also shot and killed by the IDF in Rafah.
In reaching his decision in Rachel’s case, Judge Gershon accepted virtually all of the government’s legal arguments and either ignored or distorted critical facts in order to reach his decision. For example, he concluded that Rafah was a closed military zone, as declared by the Israeli military’s southern command (never mind that no such order was presented in court, and the ground unit commander testified he was unaware of the area’s designation as a closed zone). And that conclusion had implications.
When the former Gaza Division’s Southern Brigade Commander Colonel Pinhas (Pinky) Zuaretz, who was in charge in 2003, testified, he confirmed that the rules of engagement at the time Rachel was killed were to “shoot to kill any adult person on the [Philadelphi] route.” As another Israeli colonel who testified put it: “There are no civilians in a war zone.” By accepting the testimony of Zuaretz and others, Judge Gershon essentially accepted that the “shoot to kill” order was acceptable, which violates the fundamental tenets of international humanitarian law, mandating that soldiers distinguish between combatants and civilians.
We knew from the beginning that it would be an uphill battle to find truth and justice, but we are convinced that this verdict not only distorts the strong evidence presented in court, but also contradicts fundamental principles of international law with regard to protection of human rights defenders. In denying justice in Rachel Corrie’s killing, this verdict is part of a systemic failure to hold the Israeli military accountable for continuing violations of basic human rights. As former U.S. President Jimmy Carter put it: “The court’s decision confirms a climate of impunity, which facilitates Israeli human rights violations against Palestinian civilians in the Occupied Territory.”
The Corrie family has always stressed that the purpose of this lawsuit was larger than compensation for their loss. For them, it was about understanding exactly what happened to Rachel and exposing the injustices their daughter and her friends in the International Solidarity Movement stood against. They filed suit on advice of Lawrence Wilkerson, former Chief of Staff to U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, who, on behalf of the State Department, told the family in 2004 that the United States did not consider the investigation into Rachel’s death to be “thorough, credible and transparent.”
The U.S. government has repeatedly reiterated its position regarding the failed investigation, and after nearly seven years of mounting evidence since the case was initially filed, it has become even clearer that the military conducted its investigation not to uncover the truth of what happened, but rather, to exonerate itself of any blame.
In his decision, Judge Gershon concluded that because Rachel put herself in harm’s way, she is to be blamed for her own death. That conclusion puts at serious risk the lives of human rights defenders and it creates yet another dangerous precedent regarding the protection of civilians in war. Not surprisingly, the court avoided any analysis of international law obligations.
The verdict ensures that the Israeli culture of impunity will continue unchecked. Rachel Corrie lost her life standing non-violently with those who have been subject to Israel’s systematic policy of destruction and demonization. Like the Freedom Riders in the United States who, during the civil rights movement, joined oppressed black communities in their struggle for equality, Rachel and her friends in the ISM presented a new challenge and model of non-violent activism, solidarity and resistance to the longest military occupation in modern history.
In a country in which the judicial system has enabled the occupation for almost 50 years, I suppose it’s not surprising that the judicial system blamed the victim for her own death.
Hussein Abu Hussein is a human rights lawyer and co-founder of the Arab Association for Human Rights.He represented the Corrie family in their case against the Israeli government and the Israeli Ministry of Defense.
On Friday 7th September five international activists attended the weekly demonstration against the apartheid wall in the village of Ni’lin. Since 2004, the villagers of Ni’lin have been non violently protesting against the annexation of their lands. So far the village has lost over 50,000 dunum of land, in part to surrounding illegal settlements and in part annexed from the village in the construction of the apartheid wall.
