My family endured another heartbreaking setback last Tuesday in the case of my husband, Abdallah Abu Rahmah. Although Abdallah’s prison sentence ended November 18th, the Israeli Military Court of Appeals ruled that he should be held for three additional months. My husband has been gone for 13 months already, since he was arrested in the middle of the night last December.
Abdallah was convicted of incitement and organizing demonstrations in our West Bank village, Bil’in. The unarmed weekly demonstrations call for the removal of Israel’s illegal wall, built arbitrarily through our village’s farmland. Over half of our land has been annexed by the wall, mostly for illegal settlement construction. The whole of our lands have not been returned, though we keep demonstrating.
Last Tuesday’s ruling was attended by many European representatives, including German and Spanish heads of consulate in East Jerusalem, and diplomatic representatives from France, Sweden, Denmark, Austria, United Kingdom and the European Commission. Abdallah was called a ‘human rights defender’ by the European Union, and his imprisonment has been harshly condemned by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.
After the ruling, Philip Luther of Amnesty International called Abdallah a ‘prisoner of conscience’ stating that he remains in jail “solely for the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression and assembly.”
In 2009, President Obama addressed the Middle-Eastern world in Cairo. “America respects the right of all peaceful and law-abiding voices to be heard around the world,” he said. Despite this sentiment, the United States has done very little to help Abdallah or other Palestinian political prisoners. In response to repeated questions about Abdallah posed by journalists interested in his case, a US State Department spokesperson finally made only a mild statement that failed to criticize his imprisonment.
On this day, we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr., who spoke out against the state violence used against blacks in American and against the people of Vietnam. A leader who recognized, that the United States must stop funding war abroad and speak out against injustices everywhere. Today, we ask Obama to remember the powerful words spoken by King.
As the people of the United States commemorate the non-violent leadership of Dr. Martin Luther King in a struggle for equality and recognition, they must be reminded of the Palestinian sisters, fathers and husbands held as political prisoners by Israel. The courageous individuals who continually pursue justice, such as Abdallah, keep the spirit of Dr. King alive in villages and cities across the West Bank.
The court has accepted the military prosecution’s appeal to harshen Abdallah Abu Rahmah’s sentence to a total of 16 months. Abu Rahmah was supposed to be released on November 18th 2010, but was kept in detention by the military prosecution’s request, despite having finished serving his term. He will now serve an additional 3 months in prison.
After ordering to keep Abdallah Abu Rahmah in detention past his release date on the 18th of November 2010, the Military Court of Appeals sided with the prosecution’s appeal demanding to aggravate the one-year sentence imposed on Abu Rahmah. The prosecution asked the court to harshen the sentence so that it exceeds two years imprisonment. However, the judge gave a sentence of a total of sixteen months. He has been in jail for exactly thirteen months and one day. He will now serve three more months to complete the sixteen month sentence.
The judge sided with the military prosecution in front of a packed courtroom, which included the German and Spanish heads of consul in East Jerusalem, as well as diplomatic representatives from France, Malta, Sweden, Austria, United Kingdom, and the European Commission. Despite international outrage, the prosecution openly argued that the sentence should be extended for political reasons, namely “to serve as a deterrence not only to [Abu Rahmah] himself, but also to others who may follow in his footsteps.” Abdallah Abu Rahmah served as the coordinator of the Bil’in Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements until his arrest last year. Such arguments by the prosecution expose the real motivation behind the countless recent arrests of anti-Wall organizers and activists, which is to squash the popular struggle movement in the West Bank.
Adv. Gabi Lasky, Abdallah Abu Rahmah’s lawyer: “Israel has tried violent means to hinder and stop the popular unarmed demonstrations in the West Bank. Military courts are an instrument of the occupation and their verdicts are devised to help the occupation continue. This decision makes a mockery of the law and justice itself.”
On October 11th 2010, Abu Rahmah was sentenced to twelve months imprisonment for his prominent role in his village’s successful campaign against the construction of Israel’s Separation Barrier on its lands. Abu Rahmah was convicted of two Freedom of Expression charges – incitement and organizing illegal demonstrations, but was cleared of all charges connecting him with direct violence.
Abu Rahmah was to be released from prison on November 18th, when the prison term he was sentenced to ended, but was kept in jail on the order of the Military Court of Appeals. The controversial decision directly conflicts with the jurisprudence of the Israeli Hight Court on the issue, instructing that a prisoner should only be kept under arrest after his term was over in the most extenuating of circumstances.
Abu Rahmah was declared a human rights defender by the European Union, and his conviction and sentence generated international outrage, and was denounced by human rights organizations and the international community alike, including EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton.
Background
Abu Rahmah, the coordinator of the Bil’in Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements, was arrested last year by soldiers who raided his home at the middle of the night and was subsequently indicted before an Israeli military court on unsubstantiated charges that included stone-throwing and arms possession. Abu Rahmah was cleared of both the stone-throwing and arms possession charges, but convicted of organizing illegal demonstrations and incitement.
An exemplary case of mal-use of the Israeli military legal system in the West Bank for the purpose of silencing legitimate political dissent, Abu Rahmah’s conviction was subject to harsh international criticism. The EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, expressed her deep concern “that the possible imprisonment of Mr Abu Rahma is intended to prevent him and other Palestinians from exercising their legitimate right to protest[…]”, after EU diplomats attended all hearings in Abu Rahmah’s case. Ashton’s statement was followed by one from the Spanish Parliament.
Renowned South African human right activist, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, called on Israel to overturn Abu Rahmah’s conviction on behalf of the Elders, a group of international public figures noted as elder statesmen, peace activists, and human rights advocates, brought together by Nelson Mandela. Members of the Elders, including Tutu, have met with Abu Rahmah on their visit to Bil’in prior to his arrest.
International human rights organization Amnesty International condemned Abu Rahmah’s conviction as an assault on the right to freedom of expression. Human Rights Watch denounced the conviction, pronouncing the whole process “an unfair trial”.
Israeli organizations also distributed statements against the conviction – including a statement by B’Tselem which raises the issue of questionable testimonies by minors used to convict Abu Rahme, and The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) which highlights the impossibility of organizing legal demonstrations for Palestinians in the West Bank.
Legal Background
Abu Rahmah, the coordinator of the Bil’in Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements, was acquitted of two out of the four charges brought against him in the indictment – stone-throwing and a ridiculous and vindictive arms possession charge. According to the indictment, Abu Rahmah collected used tear-gas projectiles and bullet casings shot at demonstrators, with the intention of exhibiting them to show the violence used against demonstrators. This absurd charge is a clear example of how eager the military prosecution is to use legal procedures as a tool to silence and smear unarmed dissent.
The court did, however, find Abu Rahmah guilty of two of the most draconian anti-free speech articles in military legislation: incitement, and organizing and participating in illegal demonstrations. It did so based only on testimonies of minors who were arrested in the middle of the night and denied their right to legal counsel, and despite acknowledging significant ills in their questioning.
The court was also undeterred by the fact that the prosecution failed to provide any concrete evidence implicating Abu Rahmah in any way, despite the fact that all demonstrations in Bil’in are systematically filmed by the army.
Under military law, incitement is defined as “The attempt, verbally or otherwise, to influence public opinion in the Area in a way that may disturb the public peace or public order” (section 7(a) of the Order Concerning Prohibition of Activities of Incitement and Hostile Propaganda (no.101), 1967), and carries a 10 years maximal sentence.
The court will deliver a decision on the military prosecution’s appeal to harshen Abdallah Abu Rahmah’s sentence. Abu Rahmah was supposed to be released on November 18th 2010, but has been kept in detention on the military prosecution’s request.
What: Appeal Verdict in Abdallah Abu Rahmah’s case.
Where: Military Court of Appeals, Ofer compound.
When: 10:00 AM, Tuesday, January 11.
After ordering to keep Abdallah Abu Rahmah in detention past his release date on the 18th of November, the Military Court of appeals will deliver its verdict on the prosecution’s appeal demanding to aggravate the one-year sentence imposed on Abu Rahmah. The prosecution is asking the court to harshen the sentence so that it exceeds two years imprisonment.
Despite international outrage over the mishandling of Abu Rahmah, the prosecution openly argues that the sentence should be extended for political reasons, namely “to serve as a deterrence not only to [Abu Rahmah] himself, but also to others who may follow in his footsteps.” Abdallah Abu Rahmah served as the coordinator of the Bil’in Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements, until his arrest last year. Such arguments by the prosecution expose the real motivation behind the countless arrests of anti-Wall organizers and activists recently which is to squash the popular struggle movement in the West Bank.
On October 11th, Abu Rahmah was sentenced to twelve months imprisonment for his prominent role in his village’s successful campaign against the construction of Israel’s Separation Barrier on its lands. Abu Rahmah was convicted of two Freedom of Expression charges – incitement and organizing illegal demonstrations, but was cleared of all charges connecting him with direct violence.
Abu Rahmah was to be released from prison on November 18th, when the prison term he was sentenced to ended, but was kept in jail on the order of the Military Court of Appeals. The controversial decision directly conflicts with the jurisprudence of the Israeli Hight Court on the issue, instructing that a prisoner should only be kept under arrest after his term was over in the most extenuating of circumstances.
Abu Rahmah was declared a human rights defender by the European Union, and his conviction and sentence generated international outrage, and was denounced by human rights organizations and the international community alike, including EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton.
Background
Abu Rahmah, the coordinator of the Bil’in Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements, was arrested last year by soldiers who raided his home at the middle of the night and was subsequently indicted before an Israeli military court on unsubstantiated charges that included stone-throwing and arms possession. Abu Rahmah was cleared of both the stone-throwing and arms possession charges, but convicted of organizing illegal demonstrations and incitement.
An exemplary case of mal-use of the Israeli military legal system in the West Bank for the purpose of silencing legitimate political dissent, Abu Rahmah’s conviction was subject to harsh international criticism. The EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, expressed her deep concern “that the possible imprisonment of Mr Abu Rahma is intended to prevent him and other Palestinians from exercising their legitimate right to protest[…]”, after EU diplomats attended all hearings in Abu Rahmah’s case. Ashton’s statement was followed by one from the Spanish Parliament.
Renowned South African human right activist, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, called on Israel to overturn Abu Rahmah’s conviction on behalf of the Elders, a group of international public figures noted as elder statesmen, peace activists, and human rights advocates, brought together by Nelson Mandela. Members of the Elders, including Tutu, have met with Abu Rahmah on their visit to Bil’in prior to his arrest.
International human rights organization Amnesty International condemned Abu Rahmah’s conviction as an assault on the right to freedom of expression. Human Rights Watch denounced the conviction, pronouncing the whole process “an unfair trial”.
Israeli organizations also distributed statements against the conviction – including a statement by B’Tselem which raises the issue of questionable testimonies by minors used to convict Abu Rahme, and The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) which highlights the impossibility of organizing legal demonstrations for Palestinians in the West Bank.
Legal Background
Abu Rahmah, the coordinator of the Bil’in Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements, was acquitted of two out of the four charges brought against him in the indictment – stone-throwing and a ridiculous and vindictive arms possession charge. According to the indictment, Abu Rahmah collected used tear-gas projectiles and bullet casings shot at demonstrators, with the intention of exhibiting them to show the violence used against demonstrators. This absurd charge is a clear example of how eager the military prosecution is to use legal procedures as a tool to silence and smear unarmed dissent.
The court did, however, find Abu Rahmah guilty of two of the most draconian anti-free speech articles in military legislation: incitement, and organizing and participating in illegal demonstrations. It did so based only on testimonies of minors who were arrested in the middle of the night and denied their right to legal counsel, and despite acknowledging significant ills in their questioning.
The court was also undeterred by the fact that the prosecution failed to provide any concrete evidence implicating Abu Rahmah in any way, despite the fact that all demonstrations in Bil’in are systematically filmed by the army.
Under military law, incitement is defined as “The attempt, verbally or otherwise, to influence public opinion in the Area in a way that may disturb the public peace or public order” (section 7(a) of the Order Concerning Prohibition of Activities of Incitement and Hostile Propaganda (no.101), 1967), and carries a 10 years maximal sentence.
One West Bank family has paid the highest price for their village’s peaceful pursuit of justice.
Bassem Abu Rahmah, a pillar of non-violence in the village of Bil’in, was shot in the chest with a high-velocity teargas canister and died on his way to hospital in 2009. Picture credit: Lazar Simeonov.People say that time heals, but the Abu Rahmah family feels as though it is living in a recurring nightmare from which there is no respite. Their nightmare is set in the West Bank village of Bil’in, which has been cut into pieces by Israel’s “separation” wall.
It is a unique village: On the front lines of the conflict with Israel, it has also been the site of weekly non-violent protests since the wall was constructed 2005. It even has its own website, which describes “a Palestinian village that is struggling to exist” and “fighting to safeguard its land, its olive trees, its resources … its liberty”.
But what really makes the village stand out is the people that inhabit it – in particular, the Abu Rahmahs, whose misfortunes really began about three years ago.
All six Abu Rahmah siblings were non-violent activists – only four of them are left.
Their tale begins in July 2008, when one of them, Ashraf, was detained by Israeli soldiers in the nearby village of Ni’lin. The soldiers tied him up, blindfolded him and, as their commander watched, shot him in the foot at close range with a rubber-coated steel bullet.
The term “rubber-coated” can be misleading; this type of ammunition is consistently mislabelled as ‘rubber’ bullets by the army, leading people to think that it is relatively harmless. But the rubber coating is, in fact, paper-thin and encases a marble-sized steel ball that can break bones or even kill.
The whole incident was captured on video, making it impossible for the Israeli military to deny responsibility.
Ashraf’s case went to the Israeli Supreme Court where a strong indictment against the commander was unanimously ordered. The soldier who committed the deed was put under investigation, but just two weeks later the charges against him were dropped and he resumed duty.
Bassem’s story
On April 17, 2009, Bassem Abu Rahmah, another of the siblings, made his way to the front of the weekly protest as he did every Friday. Reaching the wall, he stood before dozens of Israeli soldiers, who have a reputation for regularly using violent means of “crowd dispersal” against non-violent protesters.
On this occasion, the Israeli military used a new type of high-velocity teargas canister – the sheer velocity of which, unlike the normal canisters, made it nearly impossible for the protesters to evade them.
Several Israeli activists had become trapped between two fences and, disorientated by the teargas, were unable to escape. Bassem shouted in Hebrew at the soldiers that they were shooting teargas at their own people and should stop for a minute to allow the Israeli activists to get out from between the fences.
One of the Israeli soldiers responded to Bassem’s request by shooting a high-velocity teargas canister directly at his chest from a distance of about 40 metres.
By this point, many of the protesters and media had been driven away by the billowing teargas, but those still present heard a desperate call for an ambulance. There was no ambulance in the village that day and, after, a few drawn out minutes, a small, beat-up car sped down the road to the spot where Bassem lay. As it approached, the soldiers shot at it with teargas canisters. Bassem’s limp body, his chest covered with blood, was carried to the car and driven the 30 minutes to the nearest hospital.
He died before reaching it.
It was the first time that somebody had been killed at one of Bil’in’s weekly demonstrations and it soon became clear that Bassem had left a considerable mark not just on his family, but on the entire village.
Over coffee at her home, I told Bassem’s mother in my broken Arabic that my own family in the US had heard about what had happened to Bassem on the news and that people all over the world knew of his story. It seemed to offer her little comfort.
I remembered how Bassem had been the first person in the village to introduce himself to me, how he seemed to know everyone and was always going from one place to another, helping people and spending time with his friends.
He worked with the Bil’in Popular Committee, which espouses non-violent and creative ways to attract attention to their cause, was deeply committed to non-violence and always spoke peacefully to the Israeli soldiers.
Who will look out for them?
I also recalled how on that fateful afternoon, Bassem had joined the other villagers and activists at the centre of Bil’in as they chanted slogans and began to walk towards the village’s annexed land.
As always, Bassem was initially at the back of the crowd, trying to finish a conversation before the march began. But he had a long stride and, with his mobile phone blasting Arabic music, he had passed everyone by the time we reached the wall.
As he walked past me, told me, as he always did, to be careful and warned my friend to look out for me during the protest. But who was looking out for him?
Bassem’s family were devastated by his death, so when I heard about the death of his sister, Jawaher, a few days ago, I immediately thought of them.
Jawaher died on New Year’s Eve as a result of inhaling teargas at the village’s weekly protest.
There has been some speculation over the type of teargas used on that day, with other activists emphasising the large quantity and unusually strong effect it had on them.
The Abu Rahmah family has been left to deal with yet more injustice, grief and loss.
Waiting for justice
Israel began building settlements on the village’s land during the 1980s. Gradually more and more land was confiscated, until, in late 2004, the Israeli army ordered the construction of the “separation” wall, which would annex almost 60 per cent of Bil’in’s land. The land, which was mostly agricultural, was essential to the economy of the village.
Soon after the decision to build the wall was announced, the Bil’in Committee of Popular Resistance Against the Wall and Settlements (Bil’in Popular Committee) was formed and in February 2005, the weekly non-violent demonstrations against the wall began. The have continued ever since, despite the harsh reactions of the Israeli military, which has, among other things, raided the homes of and arrested protest organisers in the middle of the night.
The village has had some success in its legal battle to get its land back. At one point, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that construction on the nearby settlement of Matityahu had to be stopped and ordered the path of the wall to be moved back – returning almost half of its land to the village.
But, like many court orders impacting the occupied territories, this was never carried out. Construction continued on the nearby settlements and the Supreme Court reached a new decision, whereby only about 10 per cent of the land would be returned to the people of Bil’in.
Even this ruling, however, has not been carried out and for the people of Bil’in the struggle continues in the hope that the deaths of Bassem and Jawaher Abu Rahmah will not have been in vain.
Woman marching in Bil'in this afternoon. Picture Credit: Oren Ziv/Activestills.org
Hundreds march in Bil’in to commemorate Jawaher Abu Rahmah, the 36-year-old woman who was killed last week in an unarmed demonstration against the separation wall. The former vice president of the European Parliament, Lusia Morgantini and a current Israeli Parliament member Mohammed Barakeh (Hadash) joined the demonstration which was lead by over thirty women’s organizations from the West Bank and Israel. During the protest, demonstrators managed to tear down portions of the barrier.
Hundreds of Palestinians, Israelis and internationals marched today in Bil’in to commemorate the killing of Jawaher Abu Rahmah and protest Israel’s separation wall and land annexation in the village. Jawaher –the 36-year-old sister of Bassam Abu Rahmah, who was killed in 2009 when Israeli soldiers fired a high velocity tear gas canister directly at his chest– was laid to rest in Bil’in last Saturday after dying from complications stemming from tear gas inhalation. Over thirty women’s rights organizations from across the West Bank and Israel mobilized in the demonstration and called for an end to the use of tear gas to crush demonstrations. Before the protest even started, the Israeli military set up ‘flying checkpoints’ at all the entrances to the village. Hundreds of Israeli and international supporters were forced to hike through the hills surrounding the village in order to reach the demonstration.
Outrage over the death hung in the air as the demonstration left the center of the village’s square towards the area of the wall. Unlike last week, when the army set up a barricade, hundreds of demonstrators were able to reach the area of the wall and subsequently began chanting and pulling on the fence. Parts of the fence were successfully dismantled by protesters in accordance with the Israeli Supreme Court’s decision that the route of the wall must be moved from Bil’in’s lands.
After thirty minutes, the army opened fire on the demonstrators, among them Israeli parliament members and European diplomats, with a petro-chemical dubbed the ‘skunk’. The foul smelling water was shot directly at demonstrators, press and diplomats. If hit by skunk water, the smell can be on your skin and clothing for up to two weeks.
Not content with skunk water, the army resorted to firing tear gas at all corners of the demonstration. Hundreds ran back to the village as wave after wave of the poisonous gas covered Bil’in’s agricultural fields. Clashes erupted between soldiers and village youth as the tear gas continued to fall on the demonstration. Youth managed to throw tear gas canisters back on soldiers as the afternoon deepened and rain clouds appeared on the horizon. The protest was attended by large numbers of international press including film crews from the BBC and Fox News. The protest ended with multiple people being treated fo tear gas inhalation.
Nearly six years have passed since residents of Bil’in, together with their Israeli and international supporters, started regularly demonstrating against the Wall and the confiscation of more than half their land by it. It has been more than three years since the Israeli High Court ruled that the path of the Wall must be changed as soon as possible, and the people of Bil’in have waited long enough.
