Tag: An Nabi Saleh - Page 26 - International Solidarity Movement

Protests continue: Al Ma’sara, Beit Ommar, Ni’lin, Iraq Burin and Nabi Saleh

26 July 2010 | International Solidarity Movement

Al Ma’sara (23 July 2010): Strong turn out for the second week running

Over 100 people participated in Al Ma’sara’s demonstration today in a successful protest against the Israeli Apartheid Wall which saw one person injured.

With the support of many internationals, including a large French contingent, the village – known for creatively themed protests – chose ‘European solidarity’ as the slogan this week.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZsPx-8DcGc

Israeli soldiers detain members of the press in Al Ma'sara

The demonstration in Al Ma’sara against the wall which annexes land from eight surrounding villages has been going since November 2006, when construction of the wall in the area began.

For the last year and a half Israeli soldiers have erected barbed wire and forced protestors back. However the army were surprised by the number of demonstrators today and although they threw tear gas and sound bombs at the peaceful protestors spirits and solidarity remained high, partly thanks to the presence of 6 piece drumming band.

The marchers approached the entrance of the villages while chanting ‘Free free Palestine, occupation is a crime’ and singing songs in French, English, Italian and Arabic. Despite the violent reaction from soldiers which forced the group to retreat some way, they stood they ground, dancing and singing – eventually the soldiers gave up.

One young woman from France, part of a group from Generation Palestine, was injured when a sound bomb exploded by her ear. She was taken to hospital where piece of shrapnel had to be removed from her ear. She required four stitches, and will be kept overnight to test for hearing problems.

Soldiers also detained one journalist and photographer for some time, in an unwarranted attack on freedom of the press.

Although the Israeli Occupation Forces have been more violent towards peaceful protestors in recent weeks, the determination to keep protesting is stronger than ever in Al Ma’sara. Protests will continue until the theft of thousands of dunums of agricultural land – which represents the villagers’ livelihood – for the illegal Gush Etzion settlement ends.

Beit Ommar (24 July 2010): Peaceful protest met with cynical military violence

In Beit Ommar, following last week’s attack on a journalist from Associated Press another member of the press – this time from Reuters – was injured due to the reckless and irresponsible use of weapons by the Israeli army. Around thirty soldiers intercepted the demonstration throwing sound grenades and tear gas cannisters directly at peoples’ heads and torsos, injuring several.

The 50 demonstrators (including twenty international activists) at this Saturday’s demonstration in Beit Ommar were met by a large military presence on their way to the land which has been confiscated by the military and nearby settlement since 2006. A few minutes were given to the protesters to leave the area declared to be a “closed military zone” – the commander counted the seconds on his watch whilst the soldiers prepared sound grenades behind their backs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Nisbw6Uf6w

The Palestinians and internationals present responded to the conditions by sitting on the floor and asserting their non-violent resistance against the decision. Suddenly a succession of ten or more sound bombs exploded in the crowd and it was clear that soldiers had been instructed to throw them at the fleeing protesters. Two international women were targeted from close range; one being hit in the back and the other in the head.

The severe response from the military caused many to run back, more soldiers appeared from the sides and threw tear gas into the crowd again injuring an international activist in the back of the head and wounding her.

Ni’lin (23 July 2010): Large international presence reduces military violence – until later that day

This Friday’s protest in Nil’in was both extremely lively and unusually peaceful, as the Israeli Occupation Forces, against all expectations, refrained from shooting both tear gas and other weapons. The outstanding number of demonstrators – more than one hundred, and including many internationals and Israeli activists – seemed to have taken the soldiers by surprise. However, a military incursion followed in the early evening.

Around one o’clock, the approximately hundred locals and internationals met at an olive field in the vicinity of the Apartheid Wall, which, along with the building of illegal settlements, has annexed about 30% of the farm land of Nil’in.

The demonstration was also a protest against the decision of an Israeli military court in sentencing the coordinator of the popular committee, Ibrahim Amireh, and two other committee members, Hassan Mousa and Zaydoon Srour. Each was sentenced to eleven and a half months in jail – having already been imprisoned for 7 months – and a 9000 shekel fine, for the crime of being key organizers of the peaceful resistance in Ni’lin.

As always, the protest was initiated by the traditional Friday noon prayer, after which the crowd approached the wall, waving flags and banners and chanting pro-Palestinian slogans in several languages.

Following the usual pattern of the Nil’in protests, some villagers began throwing stones against the wall built on their farm land, but the army for once didn’t answer with the usual tear gas and sound bomb attacks. This surprisingly peaceful reaction was probably thanks to the strong international presence. The protest ended around 3 o’clock, with no injuries or arrests.

However, later that evening, when internationals and media were no longer present, the army came to the village. At about 8pm four jeeps arrived and threw tear gas and sound bombs around and at people’s houses. A Ni’lin resident reported that two children were shot directly with tear gas canisters.

Having around 30% of their farm land annexed by illegal settlements and the wall – that also was declared illegal by The International Court of Justice in 2004 – Nil’in has become one of the most important sites for resistance against the occupation. The first suggested route of the wall was judged illegal by the The International Court of Justice as well as Israel’s own supreme court, as was another suggested route. The present route is still stealing large parts of Nil’in’s farm land and is still in conflict with international law.

After the verdicts against the wall in 2004, the construction stopped, but was commenced again in 2008. Since then, five villagers of Nil’in has been killed in the weekly protests, among them a ten-year-old boy. Many more have been injured and arrested.

An Nabi Saleh (23 July 2010): Soldiers fire low-flying tear gas but fail to deter protesters

The demonstration at An Nabi Saleh this week started out with a gathering at a local coordinator’s house. South-Korean and South-African Press, local people and international and Israeli activists had lunch before going to the city centre near the mosque to meet up with the rest before the demonstration started.

At about 13.30, the group moved towards the city crossroad where soldiers blocked their way. The local coordinator as well as other citizens discussed for about 15-20 minutes with the soldiers before trying to go around the blockade. Soldiers responded with sound bombs, aggression and an arrest of an Israeli activist. He was soon released since no police were present.

Since the group didn’t manage to break the soldiers’ blockade, they instead jumped a small wall to get to the crossroad. Around 14.30 a group of mainly children sat down and sung in front of the soldiers for a while. When the group moved back, the shebab immediately threw stones from higher ground at the army vehicles and soldiers, who quickly fired tear gas canisters back.

For the next hour or two the shebab and internationals were spread around the city top and soldiers were firing tear gas canisters in different directions setting a field on fire. At about 16:00 the demonstrators met again at the house where the group met at the beginning. There was a new group of about 6 soldiers standing at the hilltop behind the house. Bushes were burning from the tear gas they were shooting, but the fire was quickly put out.

Lots of tear gas canisters were fired at close range near the house, in which people were retreating to. Videos uploaded on to youtube clearly show the soldiers firing tear gas canisters directly at people and making no attempts to fire it in the air as it is supposed to be used.. Soldiers came in jeeps to the front of the house in order to make arrests, but the shebab had by then disappeared. Shortly after, the jeeps left and the situation was normal again.

Iraq Burin (25 July 2010): Protesters defy Israeli Occupation Forces

Iraq Burin can be quite difficult to reach since an Israeli flying checkpoint is located on the main road to the village. To avoid the checkpoint internationals and Palestinian protesters this Saturday (24 July 2010) had to climb up hills in order to get there. As a consequence of the checkpoint two Palestinian boys were arrested before the demonstration even started.

About an hour before the demonstration began people gathered at the edge of the hill on which the village is located. The goal was to get to the nearby settlement which is causing trouble for the local farmers and city water supply.

Due to the killing of two Palestinian boys in Iraq Burin in the autumn, tensions are obvious. When the group started moving shabab immediately gathered rocks and scarfed themselves in order to avoid being recognized. About 20 soldiers where located on a hilltop which the demonstration had to move towards to get to the settlement.

Shabab and soldiers where equal in numbers and about 10-15 internationals where present. Fights immediately broke out and lasting for around 2 hours with lots of rocks being thrown and tear gas canisters fired. No further arrests were made or any injuries reported. The only damage caused was to the already quite burnt hill.

The resistance continues in protests across Palestine

Al Ma’sara (Friday 16 July)

On the anniversary of the French Revolution, the theme of the protest in Al Ma’sara on Friday was the destruction of the prison in which Israel holds Palestinians captive, redolent of the French storming of the Bastille in 1789. Around 50 demonstrators, both Palestinians and internationals, marched towards the main entrance of the village to call for an end to the construction of the illegal Apartheid Wall and the illegal settlement of Efrat, which surrounds the village and severs the inhabitants from their land. The Israeli army, without any provocation, responded viciously to the non-violent protest.

During the demonstration the local popular committee leaders spoke powerfully about their right to the land of their ancestors and their ongoing non-violent struggle for freedom. They called for an end to the arbitrary imprisonment of Palestinian political prisoners

Despite the peaceful nature of the demonstration the soldiers responded by throwing sounds bombs and tear gas. A local popular committee leader Marwan was detained and threatened with a beating by soldiers, but later released without charge.

Palestinian and international voices urged the army not to shoot or use violent means, holding up their hands to symbolize non violent resistance. Despite this soldiers began to hurl sound bombes – one of which injured an international journalist – followed by rubber tear gas canisters. The group of protestors, which included women and the elderly, was subjected to several volleys tear gas and sound bombs, and dispersed as a result.

Construction and expansion of the illegal Gush Etzion settlement has already confiscated a large portion of village lands and construction of the illegal Apartheid Wall in the area cleaves roughly 3,500 dunams of land.

Throughout the history of the popular resistance, local leaders here have been arrested, imprisoned and threatened by soldiers; they face harsh fines or imprisonment for attending demonstrations. Night raids are often carried out in attempts to deter the inhabitants of Al Ma’sara from exercising their right to protest against the occupation, which they have been doing since 2005. However, it seems that the tactics of the soldiers in the hope of scaring demonstrators will have the contrary effect; strengthening future protests.

Bil’in (Friday 16 July)

On July the 16th around 200 people participated in the weekly demonstration against the wall in Bil’in – many of them where internationals. Huge amounts of tear gas was fired – unnecessarily – at the demonstrators and two people were injured.

The demonstration started in the center of Bil’in after noon prayers. One hundred Palestinians and almost as many internationals gathered and paid tribute to Fayyes Tanin, a leader of the Palestinian grassroots movement who passed away 6 weeks ago in an accident and was commemorated in numerous posters. The protestors marched as usual through the village and up to the wall, waving flags and chanting in Arabic and English as they went. The demonstration stopped some meters from the gate, where Israeli soldiers were waiting. Without warning and without a single stone being thrown, the soldiers started firing teargas, less than a minute after the demonstrators had reached the wall.

Demonstrators had hoped to quickly lock the gate from the Palestinian side – preventing soldiers from making incursions towards the village and trying to arrest people – but the large Israeli force pushed through and chased people back, all the time firing tear gas and stun grenades at the nonviolent protestors. One boy of 12 years old passed out from teargas inhalation and had to be taken back to the village. Another young boy was hit by a teargas canister in his stomach, and suffered painful but luckily not serious injuries.

About ten soldiers went on the offensive, advancing towards the village firing tear gas from among the olive trees so it was closer to the protestors who had retreated and regrouped. A big group of demonstrators who had gathered on another hill near the village were subjected to repeated teargas attacks which actually prevented them from returning to the village for some time.

The demonstration lasted over an house and no arrests were made, in spite of much effort from the Israeli army.

Bil’in residents have – since March 2005 – organized regular direct actions and demonstrations against the theft of their lands for the construction of the illegal Apartheid Wall and illegal Israeli settlements such as Modi’in Illit. Although both the International Court of Justice (in 2004) and the Israeli Supreme Court (in 2007) have declared the route of the wall illegal – the latter stating that at least 25% of Bil’in’s 1964 dunums of confiscated land should be returned to the village – these rulings have to date been ignored and settlement construction continues.

Ni’lin (Friday 16 July)

A Danish student, 24, was arrested and detained for several hours by Israeli authorities yesterday for being in the vicinity the weekly peaceful protest in Ni’lin.

She was surrounded by ten soldiers armed with M-16 rifles while she was resting away from the main protest, suffering from tear gas inhalation.

She was transported away from Ni’lin, where she and other internationals were accompanying villagers on their weekly peaceful protest against Israel’s Apartheid Wall – declared illegal in 2004 by the International Court of Justice – which cuts through their land.

The nonviolent protest was met with severity by Israeli soldiers who fired tear gas repeatedly at protesters and also arrested one Israeli photographer.

She was interrogated at Shaar Benyamin police station in Jerusalem, detained for four hours, and told to sign a form stating that she had illegally been present in a ‘closed military zone’. However, when she refused to sign she was released without charge.

The village of Ni’lin is designated as ‘Area A’ under the Oslo Accords of 1993 signifying that it should be under full Palestinian control. But since May 2008 the Israeli army have killed 5 residents and critically injured American solidarity activist Tristan Anderson in the process of harshly repressing demonstrations against the occupation.

The route of the wall annexes Palestinian land to neighboring illegal Israeli settlements and Ni’lin is now 56% of it’s original size (8911 dunams). As well the ICJ’s ruling, Israel’s own Supreme Court has found two proposed routes of the wall in Ni’lin to be illegal – but these legal decisions supporting the villagers’ claims have been ignored.

An Nabi Saleh (Friday 16 July)

After noon prayers the villagers in An Nabi Saleh accompanied by international and Israeli activists joined together to protest against the lack of water resources accessible to Palestinians. The demonstration was carried off peacefully with chants and heated discussions with the soldiers who were present to stop the demonstration from reaching the nearby settlement.

About one hundred Palestinian villagers and internationals gathered in An Nabi Saleh to protest against the settlement annexing their land. The demonstration walked down towards the settlement chanting, but soldiers intervened and disrupted the demonstrators from walking ahead. The demonstration was peaceful until a shabab accidentally hit a journalist with a stone. A soldier then retaliated by shooting teargas at the shabab. This accident didn’t hinder the protest from continuing, as a large number of children and women started to chant and make noise in front of the soldiers. The children signaled peace signs and sang for the soldiers, making clear that they were not welcome. The children went on and on from soldier to soldier, who struggled to keep their cool.

After about two hours of passionate protesting the soldiers left the village and the demonstration ended. The theme of the demonstration was the lack of water given to the Palestinians compared to the excessive amount of water set aside for use only by the settlers, such as those living in the illegal settlement of Halamish (Neve Zuf). The people from the village, who have been demonstrating weekly since January 2010, this week expressed their anger by putting used tear gas canisters and sound bombs in plastic bags filled with water.

Wadi Rahhal (Friday 16 July)

Between 40 and 50 Palestinians together with 10-15 internationals protested against the illegal settlements near Wadi Rahhal. The demonstration started around one in the afternoon but was blocked by 6 Israeli soldiers and 6 border police. The demo was told to move to the side of the road because it was blocking traffic (even thou it was the military doing this). The local residents of Wadi Rahhal held speeches in Arabic and English, and told the soldiers to leave the area and called for an end to the occupation. The demo lasted for 45 minutes, and there were no serious incidents. Two settlers came by to watch and were chatting to the soldiers, demonstrating the ideological and strategic connection between the army and the settlers’ wishes.

Hebron (Saturday 17 July)

Around one hundred peaceful demonstrators gathered in Hebron on Saturday to protest against the illegal settlements in the city and to demand Shuhada Street be open to Palestinians again. The protesters consisted of approximately 40 internationals and 60 Palestinians and Israeli activists.

Falling on the day before Nelson Mandela’s birthday, the protest against Israeli Apartheid was especially pointed, with demonstrators and children carrying many banners and placards, some drawing a parallel between Israeli and South Africa’s Apartheid regime. The demonstration paraded down to Shuhada Street, where speeches were made by several Palestinians activists and one international. The Israeli army arrested one Israeli activists as he was mistaken for someone else the army claim they have reason to arrest. He was released after a couple of hours.

After the speeches and chanting the demonstration went into the souq. Surprisingly the demonstration went up a side street while which the Israeli occupation forces had not expected – and it allowed the protesters to avoid a confrontation with the soldiers who were waiting for them some one hundred meters away. The Israeli occupation forces have used increasingly violence against demonstrations in recent weeks and continue in attempts to make targeted arrests of activists, hoping to deter further protests. But the enthusiastic protestors made their point and continued through the streets. The demo ended in cheering.

Iraq Burin (Saturday 17 July)

The weekly Iraq Burin protest against the annexation of Palestinian owned land by illegal Israeli settlements was harshly put down by the Israeli army, who fired round upon round of metal and rubber tear gas canisters down the hill at protesters, to prevent them walking on their own land.

Soldiers positioned themselves on the brow of the hill, in between land that has been stolen for illegal Israeli settlements such as Bracha, and what the villagers can still call their own. As demonstrators approached the soldiers, around 30-40 in total, some villagers- who were accompanied by about 10 internationals, including journalists from American television service PBS – started throwing stones. This was concomitant with the initiation of tear gas volleys from the Israeli soldiers. The soldiers did not discriminate between the international observers and the locals in their aggression.

The internationals and villagers were forced to run down the steep, rocky hill face to escape the tear gas, which included potentially lethal metal canisters which were fired at ground level. The aggression continued for 45 minutes to an hour, until the soldiers disbanded, and left the villagers in peace.

Regular Saturday demonstrations in Iraq Burin began in response to the fatal shootings of Mohammad and Ussayed Qaddous, aged 16 and 19, on March 20th, 2010. The boys were shot while protesting the violent invasion of their village, a frequent Saturday occurrence.

Beit Ommar (Saturday 17 July)

Around thirty Palestinians and fifteen internationals met in Beit Ommar to march towards the settlement of Karmei Tsur which has already confiscated six hundred dunams of Palestinian land. Soldiers forcefully pushed back peaceful demonstrators including children, declaring the area a closed military zone. Despite the peaceful nature of the demonstration soldiers used sound bombs and tear gas; injuring two journalists and arresting one. Soldiers also made two attempts to arrest an international activist but were prevented by other activists.

Leaders of the popular and national committees called for the right to freely access and cultivate their land which has been under military and settler control since 2006. Demonstrators and children from the village of Beit Ommar proclaimed their non-violent protest and placed Palestinian flags on the razor fence which separates them from their farms. A group of five Israeli soldiers denied that it was Palestinian land, symbolically removing the flags and then proceeding to violently push back the protesters causing a Palestinian journalist to faint.

The soldiers, who seemed unsure about how to manage the situation, resorted as usual to unnecessary use of extreme force and deployed sound bombes and tear gas despite the presence of young children. Two Palestinian photographers from Reuters and Associated Press were injured as a result of the soldiers’ severe actions. The first was pushed from a wall, injuring his leg and was later carried away to a Red Crescent ambulance which took him for treatment at Beit Ommar medical centre. The second photographer received an injury to the head caused by a flying sound bomb also ripping his gas mask in half with the force of the explosion. The seriousness of his injuries shocked those present, including the soldiers, who had evidently misjudged their actions. He was later carried on a stretcher to the ambulance and we are still awaiting news of his treatment.

Soldiers also made repeated attempts to arrest an activist from the International Solidarity Movement. She said: “He asked me to leave the area and I said that this was a peaceful demonstration. He said he would arrest me if I didn’t leave, so I repeated that it was a peaceful demonstration, which resulted in him grabbing my arm and trying to drag me away”. The arrest was prevented by other activists on two separate occasions. Soldiers did however manage to arrest one Palestinian reporter, whose whereabouts is still unknown

Demonstrations have been taking place every Saturday at ten in the morning since 2006 and will continue until the locals receive the right to cultivate their land. Farmers refuse to participate in the arbitrary application process which only grants them very infrequent access to land which needs to be constantly cared for. In addition, farmers face attacks from extremist settlers whilst tending to their crops and so are calling for an end to the illegal settlements which have already confiscated a significant 600 dunams of their land. The villagers will continue to protest against the growing settlements which surround their village and threaten to consume grab even more land.

West Bank protests mark 6th anniversary of ICJ’s ruling on Israel’s illegal Apartheid Wall

10 July 2010

Al-Ma’sara: tearing down the wall

Al Ma'sara residents destroy a fake wall. Photo: Kara

The Popular Committee of Al Mas’ara supported by a number of Internationals and Israelis constructed and then demolished a symbolic wall to mark the sixth anniversary of the decision by the International Court of Justice that Israel’s Apartheid Wall is illegal.

After afternoon prayers the villagers and internationals gathered to march towards the the illegal Israeli settlements that encroach on Palestinian land, while chanting “The wall must fall”. They set up the Styrofoam wall at the intersection of roads 356 and road 3157 which link these settlements to Jerusalem and each other. Though Palestinians can at present use the road to get to Ramallah, Israel soon plans to block Palestinian access, making it a settlers-only road, explained Mahmoud Zahwre of the Al Ma’sara Popular Committee .

The makeshift wall blocked traffic and Israeli army jeeps arrived and tried to intervene in the protest, telling demonstrators that they were in a closed military zone and must leave, but without success. Speeches were held in Arabic and English calling for an end to the occupation and the continuation of the struggle for peace and justice. The demonstration culminated in the destruction of the Styrofoam wall by protestors.

This fake wall measured four meters wide and demonstrators who tore it down said they were implementing the decision of the International Court of Justice. The actual wall that Israel continues to build despite the ruling of the ICJ will be some 760 km when completed and already illegally annexes huge swathes of the West Bank.

The popular committee of Al Ma’sara was established in November 2006 and has held weekly nonviolent demonstrations since that time.

Bili’in: the scales of justice

Bilin villagers carry scales labelled Israel and World

This Friday, as usual, the village of Bil’in held its weekly protest against the Apartheid Wall and the illegal occupation. Bil’in has had 70% of its farm land annexed by the wall and an expansion of the large illegal settlement Modi’in Illit – and the village has for that reason become one of the main sites of the Palestinian resistance. This particular Friday was also the 6th year anniversary of the verdict of the International Court of Justice that the wall is illegal and must be removed – a verdict that has yet to be enforced.

Approximately two hundred locals and internationals participated in the non-violent action. The Israeli army responded by raining tear gas down on protestors from two directions – causing one young Palestinian to collapse and lose consciousness for some minutes due to inhalation. Nineteen year old Taher from Tulkarm who was visiting Bili’in with the Freedom Theatre group, had to be carried by locals back towards the village and away form the wall which was the target of the protest. There were cheers when he eventually came to. Last year Bili’in resident Basem Abu Rahma was killed by soldiers who shot a high-velocity tear gas canister directly at him.

Bil’in protests, over 300 of which have been held in the last 5 years, are known for their imaginative and highly visual demonstration props, and this Friday was no exception, as the protest was dominated by an enormous weighing scale carrying signs saying “Israel” on one side and “The World” on the other to symbolize the imbalance of Israel’s power compared to the rest of the world. The scale was planted in a fake coffin with the inscription “International Law – RIP” as an unmistakably clear comment on the Israeli government’s disregard of the verdict of the ICJ on the wall as well as its flouting of a number of other international laws, according to which the occupation and the West Bank settlements it continued to expand are wholly illegal.

A teenager lost consciousness after inhaling tear-gas

As the demonstration approached the wall, Israeli soldiers from behind the fence fired repeated volleys of tear gas at the non-violent protestors, with some of cannisters setting the dry grass on fire, endangering the olive trees. Many of the young locals kept returning to the fence, despite the tear gas bombardment. Some threw stones over the wall, where their farm land used to be. The response of the Israeli army was typically disproportionate but since no arrests were made the protest ended in high spirits.

An Nabi Saleh: the struggle continues

In the hilltop village of An Nabi Saleh around 70 Palestinian men, women and children, 10 Israeli activists and 15 internationals gathered in the main square and marched down the hill, blowing paper trumpets and waving flags, towards the Israeli soldiers who were waiting at the crossroads, where the main protest usually occurs. Following last weekend, when soldiers entered the village dressed as civilians and arrested one of the young men, many of the local youth were lying low and did not join in the demonstration.

When the group were about 10 metres away, the soldiers started throwing sound bombs, and tear gas canisters were fired directly at the group at head height. Although this is against their rules of deployment, tear gas canisters are regularly used as missiles as well as for crowd dispersal. Two internationals narrowly missed being hit, and a member of the popular committee was arrested, and his wife and four-year-old child briefly detained. Some of the demonstrators made it to the crossroads and the group (mainly women and children) stood chanting at the soldiers. Two Israeli activists were grabbed from the crowd and wrestled into jeeps, amid scuffles with female activists who were roughly pushed away by soldiers.

The demonstration continued around the village for a few hours, as soldiers and border police in five jeeps pursued the young men around the area in an attempt to arrest those they had pictures of. Their presence in the village lasted for just two hours, as the usual spirit of the children and women had been dampened by the violent repressive tactics of the Israeli army, and the young men had fled over the hills towards a neighbouring village. The three men who had been arrested were released after three hours.

Protests against the theft and annexation of Palestinian land to the illegal Israeli settlement of Halamish (Neve Zuf) have taken place in the village every Friday since January 2010. Although Israel’s courts ruling that An Nabi Saleh residents owned the valuable agricultural land, nearly half of it has been seized by settlers who also uprooted hundreds of olive trees in January 2010.

Ni’lin: army repression fails to deter protest

A group of around 75 people – locals and internationals – marched on the Apartheid Wall in Ni’lin yesterday for the village’s weekly protest. When demonstrators reached the Wall, the Israeli army – who since May 2008 have killed five people in the village and critically injured one American solidarity activist – fired multiple volleys of tear gas, forcing the protesters to run for cover. This was then followed by incursions by Israeli soldiers onto the Palestinian side of the wall; they pursued fleeing protesters across the hilly terrain, intermittently firing tear gas at them. This week the army did not capture or injure anyone and refrained from storming the village. In the past they have used tear-gas projectiles, rubber coated steel bullets and live ammunition.

Since May 2008, a total of 112 Ni’lin residents have been arrested in relation to anti-Wall protest in the village. Constituting nearly 10% of the male population of Ni’lin aged between 12 and 55, the arrests are part of Israel’s campaign to suppress grassroots opposition to the wall. As a result of the Wall construction, Ni’lin has lost 3,920 dunams, roughly 30% of its remaining lands, and due to illegal settlement building is nowadays only 56% of its original size. Ni’lin is sliced in half by Road 446, which was built directly through the village. According to Israeli government plans, this will be made into a segregated setter-only road and Palestinian access and freedom of movement severely restricted as a result.

Ni’lin presents yet another example of Israel’s disregard of the rule of law. As well as the International Court of Justice ruling the wall illegal almost exactly six years ago today, Israel’s own Supreme Court issued an injunction in 2004 briefly halting construction of the wall, and subsequently rejecting a second proposed route as equally illegal. However it resumed again in May 2008 and since then Ni’lin residents have staged regular demonstrations calling for Israel to respect its own and international laws.

Protestors hold firm around Palestine this week

International Solidarity Movement

6 July 2010

An Nabi Salih

Palestinian children confront Israeli soldiers

The Friday protest in An Nabi Salih was passionate and vibrant as ever. Israeli Army jeeps pre-emptively invaded the village, setting up a roadblock at the main crossroads. Dozens of villagers, joined by a handful of international and Israeli activists, marched down the main street to meet them. The number of protestors soon grew as most of the people in the village came out into the streets to demonstrate against the soldiers.

The An Nabi Salih demonstration is specifically against the expansion of the nearby Halamish settlement, annexing An Nabi Salih’s land. But there is also a strong message against the Occupation in general.

Crowds of women and children in particular assailed the soldiers, singing and clapping. Chanting went on for almost two hours, with the soldiers still refusing to leave the village, until some local youths began throwing a few stones down the main street. The Israeli soldiers responded with disproportionate violence, firing volleys of tear gas canisters up the street at head-height, making a mockery of this supposed crowd-dispersal technique.

Skirmishes between soldiers and local youth went on almost until sundown, with the soldiers making forays deeper into the village but failing to capture any of the stone-throwers. Two Israeli activists were detained, however, for no other reason but criticising the soldier’s illegal invasion of the village. Both were later released without charge.

After some five hours of confrontation, the soldiers left An Nabi Salih, to the joy and relief of the villagers.

Ni’lin

This Friday, as every Friday for over two years, the villagers in Ni’lin together with international activists gathered to protest against the illegal annexation wall.

The demonstrators gathered in the olive groves outside the village after noon-day prayers, then marched towards the wall. When the march neared the wall the Palestinians chanted and waved their flags. Some shabaab (Palestinian youths) threw stones against and over the wall. Surprisingly there was no reaction from the soldiers on the other side, besides taking pictures of the shabaab. After about half an hour the protest ended and the protesters walked back to the village.

Bil’in

At the Bil’in weekly demonstration about 150 protestors carried a message to the Palestinian leadership, expressing the need for unification. A large banner showed a picture of Arafat and Yaseen together. The Israeli army was waiting on the other side of the Wall, responding with tear gas and stun grenades which set fire to several olive trees. Soldiers then charged through a gate in the Wall, chasing protestors back towards the village. Soldiers continued to fire on the retreating crowd, though luckily there were no injuries.

Heat from tear gas canisters and sound grenades set fire to the dry ground in several places, with smoke and gas forcing the people of Bil’in further back. Ammunition starting fires is a serious problem this time of the year, when the ground is dry. Many olive trees have been severely damaged, resulting in fewer olives for harvest this year.

Wadi Rahal

A few dozen Palestinians, Israelis and Internationals walked Friday at noon from Wadi Rahal to the site where Israel plans to build the illegal Apartheid Wall. There was plenty of energy, chanting and drumming (local and Israeli drummers). The army did not allow passage, and tried to push the demonstrators backwards. After a long non-violent struggle (i.e. the demonstrators acting non-violently) the soldiers started shooting tear gas and sound bombs, the first landing on a little boy’s leg. Two Israeli activists were arrested, illegally, for participating in the non-violent protest. The demonstration went on in a schoolyard nearby, still with great spirit and energy.

Iraq Burin

Some 50 villagers from Iraq Burin gathered for the regular Saturday afternoon protest this week, supported by five ISM activists. The Israeli Army attempts to completely close off the village each week, clearly hoping that the disproportionate violence of their behaviour will be invisible outside Iraq Burin. Activists are forced to take extraordinary measures to reach the village and document military violence.

On arrival in the village, ISM activists met with a local man, 22, who was detained and beaten after last week’s protest. He confirmed that he was punched and kicked repeatedly in police custody; he now walks with a pronounced limp and has constant pain in his back. He will not be able to continue his regular work for at least three months, and will have no income for that period.

After noon-day prayers, the protest group marched up a hill, across village land that is threatened by settler violence. As usual the group was met by a unit of dozen soldiers waiting at the top of the hill. There was some chanting against the Occupation, and a tense stand-off for a few minutes, the two groups standing about 50 metres apart. One of the Palestinian youths threw a single, small stone at the soldiers, falling well short of their group. Soldiers responded by firing tear gas at the Palestinians and internationals, aiming their canisters directly at the demonstrators, at head height. Some canisters narrowly missed hitting both Palestinians and internationals, and there were a few minutes of panic as the protestors retreated across the rocky, open ground, desperately hoping not to be hit.

Lighter skirmishes followed, until the soldiers left the village land after about an hour, bringing the demonstration to an end.

Hebron

On Saturday around two hundred Palestinian and International protesters gathered in the Old City of Hebron to protest against the illegal settlements and the closure of Shuhada street. Speeches were held by politicians from different parties, including Mustafa Barghouti. A massive amount of soldiers attempted to intimidate the participants and block their way into the Old City. But the demonstrators resisted non-violently and despite persistent violence from soldiers successfully paraded the Old City.

Beit Jala

On Sunday in Beit Jala some 30 protesters marched through a street that leads to the Apartheid Wall’s construction site. To the sound of the working bulldozers nearby, the march was stopped by a group of soldiers and a barbed wire they had installed earlier. The protesters demanded to go through to the Palestinian land being annexed and destroyed by the wall construction, and some touched the barb wire to show their contempt to the occupying army.

The soldiers soon launched an assault with sound bombs and then tear gas canisters, which were shot at the populated street far beyond the protesters. One person was treated for heavy tear gas inhalation. At a different spot the army incursion was met with stone throwers. The army then began terrorizing a main street in Beit Jala, traumatizing passers-by and the entire population of the area.

Direct action around Palestine

International Solidarity Movement

1 July 2010

Al Ma’asara

The people of Al-Ma’asara’s again demonstrated peacefully last Friday, protesting against land seizures and settler harassment. Twenty villagers were joined by a handful of Israelis and internationals, marching from the village out towards the confiscated fields.

For the second week running, the group was allowed to reach the fields; Israeli army jeeps appeared as always, but this week the soldiers escorted the protest group to the fields, rather than attempting to stop them. Protestors were pushed and shouted at if they tried to move away from the main group, but otherwise there was no incident.

Perhaps the Israeli Army has finally recognised that the Al-Ma’asara protest is 100% peaceful, and the soldiers have no reason to break it up. Or this may turn out to be a temporary respite from roadblocks and harsher treatment. In any case the people of Al-Ma’asara are still not able to cultivate their land in peace, as the farmer’s have no protection from settler violence.

An Nabi Saleh

Residents of An Nabi Saleh gathered on Friday to honour the men of their village who remain as political prisoners inside Israeli jails. As one man enters his 33rd year in captivity, the village congregated for speeches, songs, and presentations to the families of those imprisoned.

After this event, villagers, joined by Israeli and international supporters, marched towards village land which has been illegally taken from them by the nearby Israeli settlement of Halamish. Soldiers blocked their route, allowing them to stand and chant for only a short period before starting to shoot tear gas. Many of the tear gas canisters shot were fired at body height, seemingly deliberately aimed at demonstrators. Several participants were injured, by canisters or by rubber-coated steel bullets, which were also fired in large numbers.

Military jeeps then came into the village, and soldiers occupied the main square. After approximately an hour, they retreated again, pursued by a large group of young children, one of whom had successfully planted a Palestinian flag on the back of a jeep. Soldiers halted the jeeps, and got out to throw sound grenades and fire tear gas at the children. Fortunately, none were hurt.

The demonstration went on until after sunset, when soldiers finally moved out of the village.

Iraq Burin

At the weekly demonstration against the illegal Israeli occupation in Iraq Burin, stone throwing protesters and international observers were teargassed by the Israeli army while trying to access their own land.

Leaving the village after the protest, two villagers and six internationals were stopped by an army jeep, had their passports confiscated and were then detained, with the soldiers claiming that it was “illegal” to be in the village. The internationals and Palestinians were taken to separate Israeli checkpoints, before being brought together again at Huwarra checkpoint 40 minutes later, where the Palestinians had been kneeling in the hot sun with their hands behind their heads.

All prisoners were then taken to a police station, where one of the Palestinians was severely beaten, first in the jeep, then in a closed room in the police station. All prisoners were later released without charge, 4 1/2 hours after their detention. The beaten Palestinian was taken to hospital in Nablus, where the doctor noted heavy bruising on his chest, back and stomach.

Bil’in

Dozens suffered from tear gas inhalation in Bil’ins weekly demonstration this Friday.

This week’s protest focused particularly on the boycott of Israeli blood diamonds. Every year, consumers the world over unwittingly spend billions of dollars on diamonds extracted by violent militias in West Africa and later processed and sold on from Tel Aviv. Protestors also carried a message of solidarity with the Palestinians of East Jerusalem, who are currently subject to a particularly violent wave of evictions, demolitions and harassment.

About 100 Palestinians, Israelis and internationals marched together this week to the gate of the Annexation Wall, facing large amounts of tear gas before the soldiers charged through the gate and chased the protesters towards the village. The solders continued firing teargas on the fleeing crowd, leaving dozens of protestors affected by gas inhalation. Hot teargas cannitsters set fire to fields on either side of the road, with Palestinian youths struggling to put out the flames while avoiding the Isralie assault. The demonstration ended after about 45 minutes.

Ni’lin

Around 20 international activists and journalists joined a group of 80-90 local villagers for the weekly protest against the Annexation Wall, continuing a tradition that has been going for over 4 years now. Starting from the olive fields, the protesters marched down the hill towards the wall, chanting slogans and waving flags. Having arrived at the wall, which annexes farmland and property from the locals and gives it to illegal settlers, there was an interlude of around 5 minutes, after which time the Israeli Army, from the other side of the wall, launched volleys of tear gas canisters at the peaceful protesters, continuing another integral part of the demonstration since its inception- unprovoked violence against peaceful demonstrators.

Following the volleys, most of the activists positioned themselves out of the direction of the wind, in order to minimize the poisonous effects of the gas. Some of the canisters were conventional rubber canisters, and others were higher velocity metal canisters, and thus the protesters had to be careful to avoid the projectiles, which have in the past caused serious and even fatal injuries to several activists. Some of the Palestinians then started throwing rocks over the wall at their aggressors, as well as using slingshots to hurl the empty gas canisters back at the soldiers.

After around 45 minutes events petered out. The protesters moved to the edge of the wall, and some of the journalists conducted interviews, while some Palestinians continued using slingshots to hurl the empty rubber gas canisters back over the wall. Suddenly, the Army burst through the gate in the wall in their jeeps, and started pursuing the peace protestors, who fled on foot over the hills, out of the reach of the jeeps. After a roughly 10 minute chase, the activists had managed to distance themselves safely from the army, who had given up the pursuit; they returned to the village in peace.

Hebron

Demonstrators gathered in Hebron on Saturday to demand an end to the illegal theft of water from the region for use in Israel and in Israeli settlements.

Protesters carried a large banner which read ‘Stop Stealing Our Water’, a reference to the theft of Palestinian water supplies by Israel. According to the Middle East Monitor, ‘The rate of water consumption of Israel citizens is 344 million cubic metres per year, while the consumption of Palestinians stands at 93 million cubic metres per year’. Israel’s disproportionately high usage and wastage of water is in large part fed by water stolen from the occupied West Bank. The Middle East Monitor goes on to write of ‘3 reserves within the West Bank area producing about 679 million cubic metres of water. According to international law, this water belongs to the Palestinians but they only get 118 million cubic metres. In other words, Palestinians get just 15% of their own water while the rest is consumed by Israelis’ [1]. Much of this stolen water comes from the Hebron region.

Local residents were joined for the protest by a large group of Israeli and international activists. After chanting and making speeches in front of one of Hebron’s many military watch-towers, the protest then moved up a nearby street, which was blocked by Israeli soldiers who violently pushed demonstrators back down the road. Protesters refused to give up, and went instead into the Old City’s covered market. Above this market is one of the illegal settlements that exist within Hebron itself, and settlers from here threw glass bottles, eggs and water down onto the protesters below.

The settlements in Hebron are, like all settlements within the West Bank and East Jerusalem, illegal under international law. Palestinian residents of the Old City and the district of Tel Rumeida suffer severe restriction of movement, frequent harassment and occasional violence at the hands of both soldiers and settlers.

[1] http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/resources/briefing-papers/805-israel-is-stealing-palestinian-and-arab-water

Beit Jala

Midday Sunday, a group of Palestinians and internationals gathered in the village of Beit Jala outside Bethlehem to protest against the construction of the wall cutting off the village from its land. The protesters divided into two groups, one facing a roadblock set up by the soldiers and while another smaller group went down trough the olive groves to reach the construction site.

Israeli soldiers responded violently towards the larger group, using sound bombs and tear gas. When the smaller group reached the road leading to the construction site, soldiers quickly formed a line to stop them. After some time border police arrived and arrested three of the protesters: one Palestinian, one Israeli and one international. As a result of the ferocious violence from the soldiers, the demonstration dissipated.

Bir el-Eid

Activists working with local farmer to dredge the well

Early Saturday morning, 10 volunteers from Taayush and ISM travelled to Bir el-Eid in the South Hebron Hills, where we met with the local farmers, and were joined also by renouned activist Ezra Nawi. Activists gathered here to help the locals dredge out their well. The people Bir el-Eid only just have enough water to drink, but nothing for crops or animals. Water must be expensively brought in tanks from outside, negotiating whatever the current military conditions may be.

The more permanent and sustainable water supply here comes from two wells that capture a good part of the yearly rain, which soaks down through the chalk rocks. The people of Bir el-Eid were evicted from their land for a number of years, and when they recently returned, they found their wells in disrepair. Without anyone here to maintain the wells they filled with silt, and the problem may have been compounded by settler vandalism.

Restoring the well to usefulness is a crucial part of re-establishing a sustainable community here. Activists spent about five hours working with the farmers; one Palestinian and three Israelis went down into the cistern at the bottom of the well, and five of us at the top hauled up the bucket-loads of muck with a pulley. This was filthy, heavy work, but seeing Palestinians and Israelis working together against the Apartheid provided powerful inspiration.