On Friday around 35 Palestinians demonstrated against Hallamish settlement with around 15 Israeli and international peace activists in the village of An Nabi Salih. When the peaceful demonstration started, as usual after the noon prayer, the demonstrators went down to the entrance of the village where soldiers and border police were already aiting, blocking the road.
After pushing some Palestinians who were trying to walk down the street that leads to the settlement, the Israeli army started shooting low-flying teargas at the other side of the road, where some shebab where throwing stones at the jeeps. A lot of teargas was fired at the houses nearby and a lot of people including children suffered from teargas inhalation. More then two hours later, when the Palestinians just wanted to declare the demonstration over, the soldiers came across the fields shooting teargas at kids and people who were resting outside the house of one of the members of the popular committee. The demonstration ended around five – even though it was the first Friday of Ramadan – with no one arrested or injured.
Al Mas’ara – 13/8/2010
Six ISM activists joined Palestinians and some other internationals on the Al Ma’sara demonstration at 1pm on Friday 13th August. The whole demo took about half an hour from starting marching to the crowd dispersing; there were around 60 internationals and around a smaller number of Palestinians present. The demonstration was against the illegal apartheid wall – specifically how it is blocking the local farmers’ access to their land.
A large crowd of Catalonian activists were present, and waited until prayers had finished to set off with the rest. The group paraded through the village, with chanting, being led by a Palestinian man, but mainly in English (and Italian, with a few renditions of Bella Ciao). The Israeli army had cordoned off a section of road, and the group marched up to them. It was emphasized through the megaphone, and by lots of individual shouts, that this was an entirely non-violent demonstration. Calls of “Please don’t shoot” were also made. Soldiers pushed the Palestinian men on the front line of the group.
A demand was made for the soldiers to leave within three minutes, to allow access down the road and onto the fields. The soldiers remained impassive and maintained their blockade of the road, but then after a visit from their commanders, they threw five sound grenades at the crowd. The people scattered but noone was hurt. After this, the soldiers got back into their jeeps and drove away, much to the delight of the crowd.
Ni’lin – 13/8/2010
After many Palestinians participated in the noon prayer in the olive fields of Nil’in on Friday, the first demonstration during Ramadan of this year started. There were around 60 people including internationals and Israelis activists who were as always supporting Palestinians nonviolent resistance to call for the destruction of the Apartheid Wall which steals Palestinian land to expand settlement like Modi’in Ilit. and prevents farmer working their land.
As soon as the demonstration started, soldiers began shooting a lot of teargas that left dozens suffering from inhalation. Then, as they normally do, the Israeli army started coming t through gate and chasing demonstrators to try to arrest someone and kept shooting towards the village, with two kids aged 6 and 8 also hurt due to teargas inhalation. In about an hour the demonstration was over, with no arrests or serious injuries.
Bil’in – 13/8/2010
Around 20 Israeli activists and perhaps 40 or 50 internationals joined Palestinians in the Bil’in protest this Friday which commenced after Palestinians had prayed Jummah on the first Friday of Ramadan. The group marched holding Palestinian flags and also posters of shebab and members of the popular committee who are incarcerated in Israeli jails. Many of these political prisoners were arrested in the village during night raids. Some have been charged and sentenced for the “crime” of organizing peaceful resistance in the form of the popular struggle.
While marching towards the Apartheid Wall chanting slogans against land theft and the occupation the group held firm against the inevitable Israeli army attack. Once the first volley of tear gas was fired, several subsequent rounds followed immediately, forcing the demonstrators to retreat. The soldiers continued to shoot tear gas up the hill as the protesters backed off. One Israeli photographer was injured slightly by a hand grenade, and an Israeli woman was hit by a tear gas canister in her leg. Meanwhile, many suffered from gas inhalation, but despite the soldiers’ attempts, they managed to make no arrests.
The army also began shooting rubber coated steel bullets – a relatively rare occurrence at Bil’in. The demonstration lasted over an hour and a half however, and was declared a success considering that multiple protestors were fasting for Ramadan.
Beit Ommar – 14/8/2010
About 30 Palestinians supported by 10 international and Israeli activists met in the village of Beit Ummar around 10:00 a.m on Friday. There were also about another 20 internationals observing but not demonstrating.
The group marched through the village’s olive groves towards the illegal Israeli settlement of Gush Etzion.The march was halted by Israeli soldiers and police in front of the gate, and the commander informed the demonstrators that the whole area, including the village’s olive groves, was a closed military zone. The demonstrators were given five minutes to leave or be arrested.
After a short speech about the history of the village and the illegal settlement, the group began to walk back to the village. The group stopped about fifty metres from the soldiers and continued the demonstration. After a few minutes some of the soldiers turned to leave and then the Palestinians decided the group should walk down again.
This was met with a hail of metal tear gas canisters, some narrowly missing the demonstrators they were aimed at. Some Palestinian youths began symbolically throwing stones while the rest of the demonstrators retreated towards the village to avoid the tear gas. Soldiers periodically ran towards the demonstrators, hoping to make an arrest, but they were unsuccessful.
Around 20 Israeli activists and perhaps 40 or 50 internationals joined Palestinians in the Bil’in protest this Friday which commenced after Palestinians had prayed Jummah on the first Friday of Ramadan. The group marched holding Palestinian flags and also posters of shebab and members of the popular committee who are incarcerated in Israeli jails. Many of these political prisoners were arrested in the village during night raids. Some have been charged and sentenced for the “crime” of organizing peaceful resistance in the form of the popular struggle.
While marching towards the Apartheid Wall chanting slogans against land theft and the occupation the group held firm against the inevitable Israeli army attack. Once the first volley of tear gas was fired, several subsequent rounds followed immediately, forcing the demonstrators to retreat. The soldiers continued to shoot tear gas up the hill as the protesters backed off. One Israeli photographer was injured slightly by a hand grenade, and an Israeli woman was hit by a tear gas canister in her leg. Meanwhile, many suffered from gas inhalation, but despite the soldiers’ attempts, they managed to make no arrests.
The army also began shooting rubber coated steel bullets – a relatively rare occurrence at Bil’in. The demonstration lasted over an hour and a half however, and was declared a success considering that multiple protestors were fasting for Ramadan.
International Solidarity Movement, August 6th, 2010
An Nabi Salih: This Friday, August 6th, around 100 Palestinians, Israelis and internationals took part in An Nabi Salih’s weekly nonviolent demonstration against the illegal Halamish settlement’s theft of the village’s land and water supply. Regardless of the illegality of firing tear gas projectiles at body height, a practice which has caused many casualties in the village and last week injured an international female protestor, the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) continue to use this method in an attempt to quash the peaceful protests.
In response to the children symbolically throwing stones at IOF armored jeeps, tear gas projectiles were fired both directly at the children and also into the village, setting fire to one family’s garden. Despite the military’s refusal to use the fire extinguishers they carried with them whilst inspecting the blaze, international, Israeli and Palestinian demonstrators collaborated in attempting to extinguish the fire with bottles and buckets of water filled in neighbouring houses.
During this period, Israeli soldiers forcefully entered one of the aforementioned houses, in which women and children were collecting water to put the fire out. Several internationals and Palestinians entered the house in order to protect its inhabitants from the soldiers’ aggression. At this point a soldier attacked a Danish protestor, bashing his head against the wall.
One fire engine was later allowed on the scene, and the fire was extinguished after over two hours. The military continued to fire tear gas canisters at children throughout this period, and later began using both sound grenades and rubber coated steel bullets in addition.
Despite the IOF’s grossly disproportionate use of violence in order to repress the demonstration, the protest continued for several hours, with the majority of its participants – including more than twenty children – standing directly in front of the soldiers, chanting, singing and making peace signs.
In answer to these peaceful actions, two demonstrators (one Italian and one Israeli) were violently seized by soldiers and detained for over 5 hours in Halamish settlement’s military base without reason. The two protestors were standing in solidarity with villagers as soldiers attempted to arrest a Palestinian, again without cause.
The protest at An Nabi Saleh has taken place since January 2010, because of repeated attempts at land theft by nearby Israeli settlements – despite an Israeli court decision in December 2009 that awarded the property rights of the land to An Nabi Saleh residents. Stolen village land now lies on the other side of Highway 465 and is controlled by the illegal Hallamish settlement which has been expanding and colonizing Palestinian land since 1977.
A protester at Ni'lin symbolically smashing the wall
Shot in this way at the age of 17, Amireh had been demonstrating against the murder of another child from Ni’lin – 10-year-old Ahmed Mousa – killed by the Israeli army the day before Amireh, and whose death was commemorated in last week’s Ni’lin protest.
The demonstration to mark this painful anniversary, which followed 6 hours of mourning in the village, was attended by international and Israeli activists as well as Palestinians. Protestors marched towards the Apartheid Wall, holding pictures of the two boys while chanting slogans in remembrance of the two innocent children murdered by soldiers. They held a banner which read: “We will never forget you Yousef, you will stay in our hearts” and called for the illegal wall to be brought down, with one protestor bearing a hammer to smash a part of the wall symbolically. The Israeli soldiers started shooting a lot of tear gas into the crowd and 5 protesters suffered breathing difficulties after the inhalation of toxic tear gas. Luckily, no serious injuries were incurred by any of the demonstrators and no arrests were made, despite Israeli soldiers moving towards the village, firing tear gas at the group and chasing protesters hoping to arrest them.
The construction of the wall in Ni’lin was delayed by a court injunction from the Israeli Supreme Court and by massive daily protests, as well as the wall in its entirety being declared illegal by the International Court of Justice. It serves to annex many thousands of dunams of Palestinian land to nearby illegal Israeli settlements such as Modi’in Ilit. Since the killings of Mousa and Amireh, three other Ni’lin residents have been killed by the Israeli army, and American solidarity activist Tristan Anderson was shot in the head with an illegal high-velocity tear gas canister on 13th March 2009.
On the second anniversary of her son’s death, Yousef’s mother said that the village would remain steadfast and continue to protest against the Apartheid Wall. Yousef’s brothers said that they will never surrender and will always honor what Yousef died for: a free and peaceful Ni’lin. Saeed Amireh from Ni’lin said: “For every one of us who gets killed, thousands will stand up and refuse to surrender to the inhuman forces that insult life and try to deny us a peaceful and dignified existence. No person on this planet should be denied freedom and peace and dignity. For this, we will always stand up and struggle.”
Bil’in: This Friday over 200 Palestinian, Israeli and international protesters gathered in the village Bil’in to call for an end to the building of the illegal wall separating the villagers from their land. The Israeli army responded the peaceful protest with a large amount of teargas.
The demonstrators first gathered as usual by the community center in the village after noon prayers, and included a large group from a political Palestinian summer camp who had come to the village to join in solidarity with the local protesters. The march started with spirited chanting and went from the village towards the fence. Soldiers came out from the gate and faced the protesters in the olive fields – stopping them from reaching the fence. Protesters argued with the soldiers and continued chanting for about ten minutes before the Israeli army started to fire teargas towards the crowd. Most of the protesters ran back towards the village, while a smaller group remained in the olive fields continuing the protest for another half hour. No one is reported to have been hurt or arrested during the protest.
The protest against the illegal Apartheid Wall which cuts off the villagers from their farmland, causing severe economic damage to the village, has happened every week since. March 2005, and over the years has become an international symbol of the popular struggle for freedom and justice in Palestine, Bil’in itself has lost around half of its agricultural land – to illegal settlements and the illegal Apartheid Wall. Despite being ruled illegal by the International Court of Justice in 2004, Israel continues to build the wall, and completed a route which steals Bil’in farmland even though is own Supreme Court also deemed it illegal. Prominent leaders of the popular struggle – including Abdallah and Adeeb Abu Rahmah – have been imprisoned, in an attempt to quash the resistance. Mohammed Khatib was this week prevented from travelling abroad, against the orders of a court. On 17th April 2009 Israeli soldiers shot and killed Bil’in resident and regular protest attendee Bassem Abu Rahma with a high-velocity tear gas canister.
Al Ma’sara: Around 60 people demonstrated in Al Ma’sara on Friday August 6th, about half of them internationals, joining the locals in solidarity with their struggle. Members of the Popular Committee welcomed the internationals, and made special mention of Japanese participants, expressing solidarity with their nation on the anniversary of the destruction and death wrought by the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Some parallels were drawn with the suffering of Palestinians today.
Two peace and justice delegations from Canada and France also participated in the demonstration which as always aimed to reach village lands stolen by the military occupation forces for the nearby illegal settlements. Palestinian demonstrators and their international supporters were presented with a written military order by four soldiers, in an attempt to deter the protest by declaring it a closed military zone .But chanting slogans of ‘Free Palestine’ and ‘The Wall Must Fall’ demonstrators continued their march past the soldiers regardless and only stopped when they were physically prevented from going further because of three army jeeps blocking the road.
Israeli occupation forces in An Nabi Salih
The demonstrators instead sat down en masse in front of the occupying forces. Speeches by members of the Popular Committee were followed by united chants from the crowd demanding peace, justice, access to land and the end of Israeli Apartheid. Members of both the Canadian and French delegations also sang resistance songs from their home countries. The demonstration reached its conclusion peacefully with no assaults by the Israeli Occupation Forces.
Renowned for their creativity, protests in Al Ma’sara have been organized since November 2006, when Israel started constructing the wall in the region. Roughly 3,500 dunams of land are stolen by the wall and annexed to the illegal settlements which surround the cluster of nine Palestinian villages of which Al Ma’sara is one. The path of the wall in the area also cuts through the main road to Bethlehem, 13 kilometers to the north, which villagers depend on for access to basic needs such as medical services and education. Israeli soldiers have used unnecessary violence and weapons to suppress the peaceful protests in the village – including the use of sound bombs, and tear gas grenades.
Reports of all the weekend demonstrations in the West Bank attended by ISM activists.
Demonstrators enveloped in tear gas retreat to cover
Bil’in: tributes paid to Olympia and music from rappers in solidarity with Palestine (July 30th)
Dozens suffered from tear gas inhalation and stun grenades in Bil’in’s weekly demonstration, and two people were injured. On Friday 30 July the people of Bil’in were joined by several groups of internationals, including a group of rappers from Britain and the US. A large group of the demonstrators managed to approach the soldiers who had already entered the gate. Two people were detained for a while, following large amounts of tear gas, eventually forcing the protestors back towards the village. One Israeli protestor was hit by a tear gas canister in his leg, while a British citizen was dragged several meters by soldier, causing his back bruising and bleeding.
About 200 protestors – Palestinians, Israeli and internationals – were today carrying posters asking for a boycott of Israel, and also honoring Rachel Corrie’s hometown Olympia, where the co-op recently introduced a boycott of Israeli goods. There were groups of people from Spain, Italy and France, as well as individuals coming independently to show solidarity. People were singing and dancing all the way up to the road leading to the illegal Apartheid Wall. As the protestors were approaching the fence, a number of soldiers ran through the gate and lined up on the road, preventing people from getting close to the gate. A large group of protestors started singing, and a truck with speakers approached playing music. Protestors asked to cross the soldier’s barrier, but were prevented, and pushed back.
Signs paid tribute to the co-op in Olympia, Rachel Corrie's home town, which has introduced a boycott on Israeli goods
At one point the soldiers attacked one international protestor, and when people tried to help him, they detained another protester. This British citizen was dragged several meters by the soldiers, causing heavy bruising to his back. In the middle of the chaos the army started shooting and throwing tear gas and stun grenades at the protestors. As people ran back towards the village, tear gas continued to be shot, making it hard to see and breathe. One Israeli was hit by a low flying tear gas canister in his leg.
Once again the army showed that they don’t hesitate to use brutality and violence again non-violent protestors in Bil’in. There were two fires caused by tear gas canisters in the fields, but luckily people were able to put them out. The demonstration was ended by a performance from an MC, whose presence with a group of other rappers was a sign of solidarity with Bil’in and Palestine.
An Nabih Salih: one injury and one arrest as IDF violence continues unabated (July 30th)
This Friday around one hundred Palestinians, Israelis and internationals gathered in the village An Nabi Salih to protest against the illegal settlements stealing the village’s water supply and farmland. The demonstration was met by Israeli soldiers firing metal teargas canisters at body height – illegal under international law – hitting one international in the leg. A 13 year old boy was briefly detained and one Israeli activist was arrested during the three hour demonstration.
The group of protesters demonstrating against land and water theft by neighbouring settlements such as Halamish were just beginning to clap and chant when completely without provocation, the soldiers – who had arrived to prevent the villagers from accessing parts of their land that even the Israeli government admits belongs to them – fired a metal tear gas canister at directly into the crowd. One young British woman was struck directly in the calf, and had to be carried away from the soldiers to a safe place. She sustained severe bruising but doctors at Ramallah hospital confirmed that no bones were affected after taking an x-ray.
Protesters face up to soldiers at Bili'in
The protest continued; the soldiers started firing more tear gas into the crowd, again using the potentially lethal metal canisters fired at body height. They arrested a 13 year old boy, who they then used as a bargaining chip against the villagers, stating that they would only release him if the villagers agreed to call off the protest. The offer was refused, but the villagers managed to secure the boy’s release nonetheless. Minutes later, the army departed.
The protest resumed about 30 minutes later, with villagers marching peacefully down to the intersection with the main road, chanting loudly. Soon, around 6 military jeeps turned up, presumably from the base located inside the Halamish settlement, and soldiers jumped out and starting chasing protesters, looking for people to arrest, and firing tear gas at the fleeing activists. They then came into the village, and arrested an Israeli activist as he attended to a boy who had cut his knee while running from the soldiers. He was grabbed around the throat by one soldier, and viciously manhandled by two, taken into the jeep, and away to the Halamish settlement. Despite the typically violent repression of the An Nabi Salih protest, the villagers courageously continued throughout and the three hour protest was a success.
Ni’lin: calls for increased international presence in the village (July 30th)
On Friday, July 30, the village of Nil’in commemorated the second anniversary of the murder of Ahmad Mousa, a ten-year-old Palestinian boy. Mousa was shot in the forehead with a 5.56mm caliber live bullet in July 2008. He was pronounced dead upon arrival at a Ramallah hospital.
A young boy of a similar age to Mousa joins the march in Ni'lin
The Friday demonstration, which began after midday prayers, was conducted in memory of Mousa, and in light of the constant oppression that residents of Nil’in are subjected to. A Popular Committee representative received a group of international activists at their media office. There, the representative relayed the recent history of Nil’in and the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF).
Mousa was the first of five martyrs in the last two years of Nil’in’s resistance. Israel began construction of the Apartheid Wall on Ni’lin’s land in 2004, but stopped after an injunction order was issued by the Israeli Supreme Court (ISC). Despite the previous order and a 2004 ruling from the International Court of Justice declaring the Wall illegal, construction of the Wall began again in May 2008. Following the return of Israeli bulldozers to their lands, residents of Ni’lin have launched a grassroots campaign to protest the massive land theft, including demonstrations and direct actions.
Since then, the IOF has placed snipers on the rooftops in Nil’in, abused and arrested residents of the village, and destroyed property. According to the Popular Committee member, the army has also tried to force some Palestinians from Nil’in to become collaborators, in order to make them divulge information about the popular struggle.
On Friday, Palestinians were joined by international solidarity activists. The demonstrators marched to the Apartheid Wall where a confrontation arose between young Palestinians throwing rocks and Israeli soldiers shooting tear gas. After about thirty minutes, the soldiers entered the village and attempted to arrest the activists. However, the soldiers were not successful, and the demonstration ended with no arrests or injuries.
“Now more than ever, Nil’in needs international activists to join in our struggle against Israel’s land confiscation and illegal occupation,” said the representative from the Popular Committee. He said he has seen the effect that internationals have on the military’s decision to not use deadly force against the demonstrations.
Al Ma’sara: holding firm despite military violence (July 30th)
Approximately 60 people attended the weekly non-violent demonstration in Al-Ma’sara on Friday. Half of the demonstrators were internationals from mainly Italy, Denmark and Spain.
Israeli occupation forces were out in large numbers to repress peaceful protests
The internationals followed the Palestinians’ lead and chanted along, showing their support in the fight against the illegal Israeli occupation. The purpose of the demonstration was to reach the Palestinian land that the illegal settlement Efrata and the building of the Apartheid Wall has stripped the village of.
As usual the demonstrators were stopped by the IOF on the main road. The IOF momentarily surrounded the demonstrators with jeeps and threw sound-bombs at the unarmed participators. The Palestinians and the internationals then marched towards the main entrance of the village while chanting “Free, free Palestine.”
Three military jeeps blocked the road, preventing the demonstrators from reaching the Palestinian land. The soldiers allowed the demonstrators to pass by the jeeps, but immediately blocked the road behind them. More military jeeps arrived in front of the demonstrators, and as a result the demonstrators were almost surrounded by soldiers. Members of the Al-Masara Popular Committee spoke in front of the soldiers, demanding their right to the land that belongs to the Palestinians according to international law. The soldiers responded by throwing sound-bombs.
Al Ma’sara is one of nine intertwined villages which are surrounded by the illegal Israeli settlement Efrata, which is a part of the Gush Etzion settlement block. The 9000 Palestinian inhabitants of the nine villages are enclosed by almost as many illegal settlers. In November 2006, Israel began the construction work for the Apartheid Wall on the villages’ land, which would annex an additional 3500 dunums (35,000 square metres) if completed. This means that Al-Ma’sara and the eight other villages would be stripped of more than half of their land
The start of the march in the village of Ni'lin
Al-Ma’sara is an agricultural village, with the majority of the population relying on the land for sheep and goat farming, and for harvesting crops such as grapes, olives and seasonal fruit and vegetables. In addition to being the village’s main source of income, the land is also Al-Ma’sara’s chief source of natural water. Therefore, Israel’s plan to strip the inhabitants of a large part of this land would cut off their main water supply, thereby breaching international law both in terms of the individual needs of the villagers and of their crops and animals; violating the villagers’ human rights and their income.
Since November 2006, the Al-Ma’sara Popular Committee has been organizing weekly non-violent demonstrations against the Apartheid Wall, the illegal settlements, and against the occupation as a whole. The non-violent protest started as a reaction to the soldiers’ destruction of the grape and olive fields. Whilst in the beginning protestors were able to march straight to the construction site of the Apartheid Wall and temporarily block bulldozers from their work, the protestors are now stopped on the main road in the at the entrance of the village.
Beit Ommar: resistance again met with weapons used at close-range – one journalist hurt
The absurd use of force by the IDF against nonviolent demonstrations continued this weekend in the village of Beit Ommar. On Saturday, July 31, Palestinian men, women, and children together with international activists marched toward the Karmei Tsur settlement to protest the illegal settlement and the continued confiscation of Palestinian land before being stopped and surrounded by soldiers approximately 100 meters from the edge of the settlement. Standing together on privately owned, Palestinian land, the crowd was told that they were now in a closed military zone and had 5 minutes to get past the ambiguous boundaries of this arbitrary zone or they would be arrested.
When the demonstrators refused to comply with this act of intimidation, they were met with the typical onslaught of sound bombs and tear gas. Particularly shocking was the soldiers’ deliberate targeting of journalists and children. One journalist was injured after being hit by a tear gas bomb, and soldiers were photographed shooting tear gas canisters directly at young boys and girls standing up the hill. Even after the demonstrators had walked back into the village, soldiers continued to shoot tear gas into the village streets, in front of homes, and onto the residents’ porches – causing families to flee their homes in order to escape the choking gas.
Hebron: an IDF donkey ridden by a fanatical Israeli settler prove a point (July 31st)
On Saturday, 31 July, Palestinians, Israelis and Internationals gathered to demonstrate against the illegal settlements and closure of Shuhada Street in Hebron. The protestors were immediately met by about 50 Israeli soldiers and border police who prevented them from continuing the march through the Old City. During the second confrontation the army started pushing people backwards, but no injuries or arrests were made.
About 100 people joined the protest in, carrying posters asking for justice for the Palestinians in Hebron, and the opening of Shuhada Street. Among the protesters was a donkey dressed up as an Israeli soldier, with an Israeli flag strapped to the head. One Palestinian who was dressed as an Israeli settler was leading it. The idea was to show how the Israeli settlers in Hebron are protected by the army, even when they are attacking and harassing Palestinian citizens. Palestinians are likely to be arrested or mistreated further by the army in situations where the settlers attack them.
As the army blocked the way at the gate leading up to Shuhada Street at Bab al Balladyeh, with soldiers and border police lining up facing the protesters, the commander stepped forward and grabbed the Israeli flag and a poster reading “IDF” from the donkey. After about 20 minutes of singing and chanting slogans, the protesters turned around and went around the old city, still singing and playing a drum. At one point water was thrown from where settlers have occupied the second floor of a house.
Arriving back at the starting point of the demonstration, there were no soldiers present, but they came out from the gate soon after people gathered at Bab al Balladyeh for the second time. Even though the protesters were standing still, soldiers started to push people back, so people responded by sitting down in the street, still singing slogans. At one point the soldiers targeted an international photographer, but he managed to run away before they reached him. The demonstration ended without any arrests, but once again the army proved that they want to repress peaceful demonstration using force and threats of arrest.
Iraq Burin: large Israeli force fails to deter protestors (July 31st)
The Israeli army entered the village of Iraq Burin after the weekly protest against the theft of their land by the illegal settlement of Baracha on Saturday. This follows the arbitrary arrest of 2 members of the village the previous Saturday, who were released on Thursday, as well as the murder of 2 boys the last time the army stormed the village 3 months ago.
Around 40 villagers, joined by 4 internationals and journalists, started marching to the usual protest location, on the brow of the hill where the soldiers usually position themselves to block the protesters’ path. This time however, the villagers noticed that there was another unit of soldiers that had placed themselves to the rear of the usual protest point, potentially to advance on the protesters from the rear once the demonstration had commenced. Therefore the protesters marched up to the soldiers in their new position and chanted slogans. Some shebab were throwing stones from a long distance, and the soldiers responded with volley after volley of tear gas. As usual for Iraq Burin, they were using the potentially lethal metal tear gas canisters, fired at illegally at people instead of up in the air. They advanced half way down the hill to better target the demonstrators, nearly all of whom inhaled large quantities of gas. After about an hour, the army dispersed.
Shortly afterwards, around 8-10 army jeeps began congregating at the foot of the village, ostensibly preparing for a raid. The jeeps milled around for about an hour, after which point they made to enter the village. All but one stopped at the entrance of the village, and one jeep came in, circling through the village before leaving. The jeeps remained at the foot of the village for a further hour before leaving.
The Israeli army entered the village of Iraq Burin after the weekly protest against the theft of their land by the illegal settlement of Baracha on Saturday. This follows the arbitrary arrest of 2 members of the village the previous Saturday, who were released on Thursday, as well as the murder of 2 boys the last time the army stormed the village 3 months ago.
Around 40 villagers, joined by 4 internationals and journalists, started marching to the usual protest location, on the brow of the hill where the soldiers usually position themselves to block the protesters path. This time however, the villagers noticed that there was another unit of soldiers that he placed themselves to the rear of the usual protest point, potentially to advance on the protesters from the rear once the demonstration had commenced. Therefore the protesters marched up to the soldiers in their new position, and having chanted slogans, followed by throwing stones from a long distance, the soldiers responded with volley after volley of tear gas. As usual for Iraq Burin, they were using the potentially lethal metal tear gas canisters, fired at high velocity. They advanced half way down the hill to better target the demonstrators, nearly all of whom inhaled large quantities of gas. After about an hour, the army dispersed.
Shortly afterwards, around 8-10 army jeeps began congregating at the foot of the village, ostensibly preparing for a raid. The jeeps milled around for about an hour, after which point they made to enter the village. All but one stopped at the entrance of the village, and one jeep came in, circling through the village before leaving. The jeeps remained at the foot of the village for a further hour before leaving.
British student injured by Israeli soldiers illegally firing tear gas canisters directly at protesters
An Nabi Saleh, West Bank
31 July 2010
Kidd is one of many who have been injured at An Nabi Saleh where Israeli soldiers frequently flout international law by firing directly at protesters
A British student was injured yesterday (30 July 2010) when she was hit in the leg by a tear gas projectile fired directly at her, when Israeli soldiers violently repressed a peaceful protest in the West Bank.
Ellie Kidd, 23, from North London, is currently unable to walk due to the damage inflicted by the tear gas canister fired from approximately 50 metres away.
It is illegal to fire tear gas directly at human beings but Israeli soldiers frequently ignore the requirement to fire it up into the sky, instead firing directly at groups of peaceful protesters.
Kidd had joined a protest in the Palestinian village of An Nabi Saleh, 30 km northeast of Ramallah, where residents have since January 2010 been protesting against the theft of their land by the neighbouring illegal Israeli settlement of Halamish*.
Kidd was with around 15 other international and Israeli peace activists, whose presence at other demonstrations such as Bil’in has in the past discouraged the military from using such extreme force to repress demonstrations. However protests at An Nabi Saleh have from the start been dealt with using grossly disproportionate force** and numerous people have been injured in the last six months***.
A tear gas projectile of the kind illegally fired directly at protestors at many demonstrations
Kidd said: “The demonstration had barely even begun when Israeli soldiers started firing tear gas canisters directly at us. I heard the first shot and turned around but there was no time to move out of the way. The Israeli army has no respect for international law, or even for Israel’s self-professed laws****, let alone respect for Palestinians who should have a right to demonstrate against the theft of their land without risking injury or death.
“I’ve seen the army fire directly at Palestinian children as young as five. It’s time the British government and the rest of the world stopped ignoring the war crimes that are committed here by Israel every day.”
For more information contact:
Israeli soldiers have viciously repressed protests at An Nabi Saleh since they began in January 2010, including firing straight at groups of children
ISM Media Office
palreports@gmail.com
0546 180 056
Notes for Editors:
* The illegal Halamish (Neve Zuf) settlement, located opposite An Nabi Saleh, has illegally seized nearly half of the village’s valuable agricultural land. In January 2010, hundreds of the village residents’ olive trees were uprooted by settlers.
** The An Nabi Saleh demonstration is routinely met with dozens of soldiers armed with M16 assault rifles, tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets and percussion grenades. This is despite the fact that the District Coordination Office has confirmed that the spring which the villagers try to reach each week is on Palestinian land.
**** In December 2009 an Israeli court decision awarded the property rights of the land to An Nabi Saleh residents, but this ruling has been ignored by soldiers and settlers.
Fire engines struggle to control the blaze in the olive groves of Burin
At 11:30 yesterday, 26th July 2010, settlers from the Berakha Shomronim settlement began shooting at Palestinians in the village of Burin and setting fire to crops on their land.
Trouble flared when Israeli authorities ordered the demolition of a structure in an illegal settler outpost because of the freeze on settlement construction. Israeli police failed to contain the settler riot which followed and closed Huwara checkpoint, near Nablus, in response.
The village of Burin covers 1500 dunams and about 3000 olive trees are planted on this land. Much of this was destroyed yesterday after fires were lit by a group of approximately 120 settlers and then spread to the next village of Kafr Qalil. The Palestinian fire services arrived to help the villagers who were attempting to put out the the flames with olive branches.
International activists from ISM arrived in Burin to report on the incident but were quickly and forcefully dragged away by Border Police, who took their passports and stated that “there was nothing to see here”. Later they were told that it was unsafe because the settlers were armed – but according to a local witness, Ahmed from Iraq Burin, the Border Police were acting as security for the settlers and preventing an ambulance from entering the area.
The ambulance was called after two Palestinians were injured. Reports received by ISM allege that these injuries were sustained from being shot at by settlers. At present we have been unable to verify this, the identity of the victims, or reports that this morning one person died in hospital from their wounds. Both ISM and EAPPI members are conducting further interviews and photography on the scene.
There were also reports of settlers smashing the windows of houses and cars, and throwing stones in the village of An Nabi Saleh in the Ramallah region.
supporting Palestinians nonviolent resistance to call for the destruction of the Apartheid Wall which steals Palestinian land to expand settlement like Modi’in Ilit. and prevents farmer working their land.
