Tag: Bil’in - Page 144 - International Solidarity Movement

Silence of the Lambs

by Aaron

For several hours this afternoon, I participated in a non-violent demonstration against the construction of the Annexation Wall through the village of Bil’in. We internationals, along with Israeli peace activists, were asked by the people of Bil’in to join them in the demonstration. Bil’in is a Palestinian village that will lose more than half of its land when Wall is completed.

I volunteered to be an “arrestable,” someone who is in the front lines of the demonstration, actively participating in the main action. I, and several of my fellow “arrestables”, had filmy Israeli flag blindfolds over our eyes, UN posters attached to our shirtfronts, and strips of tape over our mouths.

We marched with a large group of people who could see, and then played (extremely clumsy) catch with a ball wrapped in a Palestinian flag. I think that the message was something like, “Israel ignores UN rulings, tries to shut everyone up instead, and inevitably ruins Palestinian lives.”

After about twenty minutes, someone decided that the message had been conveyed, and we got to take off the accessories. I was now able to actually see the demonstration which was *completely* non-violent. There was chanting and milling around, and one older Palestinian villager yelled at the soldiers’
commander, and that was it.

There was maybe fifteen minutes of this, when, without any provocation that I (or any of the other demonstrators I’ve asked) could identify, the soldiers began throwing sound bombs among the demonstrators!

After a few more minutes of milling around, the soldiers suddenly took off after a young Canadian activist, again for absolutely no reason that anyone could find, except that she probably looked Palestinian. A woman from my training class, who has many years of experience with demonstrations in Europe, immediately called out for other ISM members to surround the young woman to protect her from the soldiers.

My fellow trainee immediately followed her advice, and four more of us joined her as quickly as we were able. I’m told that often this is sufficient to effect a “de-arrest,” but this time, thinking they had identified a Palestinian activist, they surrounded us and attempted to drag us away from the intended victim. The rest of us held tight, but there were simply too many soldiers.

They tore us off, one by one; I’m rather proud to have been the second to last removed, just before my friend was dragged away. I lost my shoes and my camera (which my friend actually had the presence of mind to grab while being dragged off!), and got dragged along the ground for a few yards and then dropped. My friend got the same treatment. The woman targeted for arrest was detained for two hours until she convinced the soldiers that she really was a Canadian citizen. If she had been a Palestinian, the story would, most likely, have ended quite differently. Five others were detained as well, but only one Israeli activist is currently being held.

After 15 minutes of sound bombs and tear gas, a Palestinian youth apparently snuck up near the demonstration and threw a stone at the soldiers. Some six soldiers rushed after the kid, and several of us rushed after them.

For about a half hour, a handful of Palestinian kids slung stones at the soldiers without any hits, or near misses, while the soldiers shot (mostly the less dangerous type of rubber bullets) at the kids. I’m told they hit one youth in the leg and stomach. We activists stayed close to the soldiers, took pictures and video, and urged them to stop shooting at the kids.

The critical issue here is that the soldiers’ presence is illegal and violate practically every section of the Geneva Convention, to which Israel is a signatory. The closest parallel is probably aggravated robbery, in which force is used to accomplish a theft. The fact that the victim attempts to defend him/herself is not considered a defense for the robber, to put it mildly.

At any rate, the action is over, and with limited casualties. There was the kid shot with rubber bullets. And a 61-year-old woman from my training class was shot in the back of the head with a tear gas canister; the Red Crescent gave her three stitches, a tetanus shot, and refused payment as usual.

A handful of activists were apparently treated for tear gas inhalation, and an Italian activist tripped, cut himself on Israeli barbed wire, and had a few
Stitches put in his hand.

Once again, the villagers of Be’lin made their statement about the horrors of occupation, and, once again, they were met with senseless violence by the Israeli military.

Note: Villagers and international activists tried to put signs on the guns of the Israeli soldiers. One managed to attach a sign to the gun.

Never Underestimate the Power of Women

by Greta B.

More than 450 international women arrived in Be’lin on Monday, August 16 to participate in an action against the Apartheid wall being built on the land of the village. Many of us came from the International Women in Black conference that was being held in Jerusalem, many came from other organizations in support of the demonstration.

But the most remarkable aspect of the event was to see over 100 Palestinian women join us. We walked down the dusty path to the heavily-armed soldiers standing behind their plastic shields, their riot gear and guns in stark contrast to our black shirts with the big purple flower on the front, the symbol for the conference.

The shocked look on their faces as 450 of us came up and over the last hill was recorded by dozens of video and still cameras. They simply didn’t know what to do with that much estrogen facing them. The soldiers tried to spread out to cover all the angles in front of a destroyed home, but they couldn’t stretch far enough, and more than a dozen Palestinian women got behind them, dancing and singing and clapping.

Many of us yelled at the soldiers, telling them we were ashamed of their behavior. One Jewish woman kept shouting, “I’m ashamed of you. I’m ashamed of what you are doing, and you’re not doing this in my name.” As we moved closer to them, trying to push back the barbed wire, the soldiers all got on their cell phones and pulled out a video camera. And there we were, many of us, photographing the soldiers photographing us.

Suddenly, the Palestinian women began to sing, as we clapped. Then we began the sing “We Shall Overcome” as they clapped. Back and forth in Arabic, English and Italian came the songs. Even if we didn’t know the words, we sang anyhow. For almost an hour, the demonstration was magic.

Then the Palestinian women pushed back through the soldiers and onto our side of them, one young woman shoving the soldier aside, then brushing herself off in disgust. The Palestinian organizers told us it was time to leave, and we began to straggle back up the hot, dusty road to the buses. Sure enough, just as the last of the women rounded the corner, the IOF began shooting tear gas at the Palestinian boys who had tagged along with us. But for that day, we peaceful women won that battle, looking into the faces of soldiers that were young enough to be our sons and grandsons.

They will never forget the force that came up over the hill at them.

Mirror, mirror on The Wall

Reflecting the True Face of The Occupation

By Sarita

Two days after the disengagement deadline for the four settlements in Jenin District, the villagers of Bil’in and their supporters challenged the ongoing Isreali occupation and illegal settlement expansion in the West Bank. Over 40and 30 Internationals accompanied the villagers to the path where the Israeli army is constructing it’s illegal Apartheid Wall, carrying mirrors that reflected written slogans such as “No to the Wall,” “Gaza Disengagement means more West Bank Settlers,” and “End the Occupation” — onto the soldiers blocking the way.

Four international peace activists were
detained Friday in Bil’in. Two were arrested.

While the demonstrators sat in front of the barbed wire chanting and singing, the army suddenly started shooting sounds bombs and tear gaz into the crowd. People dispersed quickly, but the soldiers chased down the protestors and began to arrest them. Four Isrealis and four internationals were detained, some were severely beaten as demonstrators attempted to de-arrest them.

Two Internationals are still being held at the police station and will be brought before the judge tomorrow to face their charge. So far only one international has been officially accused, charged with throwing stones. Supporters have gathered at the police station with video clips to prove the contrary. All the Israeli activists and one International have been released with no charge.

Women in Black plan massive vigil in Bil’in

Hundreds of women in the region to participate in the International Women in Black Conference in Jerusalem will travel today to the village of Bil’in to participate with village women in a vigil against construction of Israel’s illegal annexation wall that will cut 60 percent of Bil’in’s farmland from its people so that nearby settlers can take over the land.

An expected 450 women from the Women in Black conference are expected to go to village for the vigil, where they will be joined by about 100 Bil’in women and another 100 Palestinian women from around the area. Chances are that this demonstration will have a vastly different result from the typical actions there, where nonviolent demonstrators are often met with brutality at the hands of Israeli soldiers as they attempt to access their own land.

The group will first be given a tour of the area, and take a look at the props used in Bil’in’s Friday actions, and then walk in silence toward the wall.

Soldier joins Bil’in protest

A wall moves through Bil’in

A woman who showed up in her military uniform along with protesters in Bil’in was quickly arrested by soldiers and transferred to IDF investigators for questioning. About 100 or so peace activsits carried their own version of Israeli’s annexation wall that is being built through villages like Bil’in. Soldiers detained more than 30 Israeli and foreign demonstrators. Two Israelis were arrested.

The soldier was taken to IDF investigators to be questioned. Her identity is not known, but an Israeli activist who is friends with her said she had been drafted one month ago and had questions about Israeli’s tactics of enforcing the occupation. While the protest neared the area of the village which was blocked by soldiers, she approached them to talk about what they were doing there. She was quickly whisked away.

Friday is Bil’in’s day of peaceful but direct protest against Israel’s illegal wall, which is being built though the village, cutting off locals from 60 percent of their land.

Palestinians, Israeli and International activists filled the streets in this West Bank village. At the front of the procession was an effigy of a crucified Palestinian on a fence. The fence represented the Wall, and the form of the Palestinian hung on it represented the suffering of Palestinians because of the Wall. Signs posted on the fence said that the Wall is a tool of death, and another two signs that said you take our land, you take our lives.

When the demonstration reached the wall of soldiers it stopped. After about ten minutes of chanting everyone took a side road to reach the site of the wall construction. At this point, the Israeli soldiers were caught off guard. Tear gas was fired and sound grenades exploded. A group of Israeli activists were separated and detained.

Internationals formed a line, locked arms and sat down in classic nonviolence civil disobedience. The soldiers tore people away. In all, 10 internationals were detained and 24 Israelis, 2 of which were arrested. The protest meanwhile went on and escalated to rubber bullets aimed at children throwing stones. Eventually the detained activists were released.

The United Nations’ International Court of Justice issued a ruling, though a nonbinding one, in 2004 saying the annexation barrier which zigzags around the West Bank is illegal and should be torn down.

At the demonstration, Palestinian activists handed out a statement to reporters and photographers who had made the trip to Bil’in to see what the situation was:

Help keep our village from becoming a prison

Dear media representative,

First, thanks for coming to our village. We like it here, and we want you to see what it is we’re trying to defend. We hope you take a look around and get to know the place and people here, and see that there’s something here worth saving. We want as many people as possible to see what’s being done to our land with their own eyes, so they can make their own conclusions about what’s going on.

If Israel is allowed to continue building its illegal annexation barrier on our land, it will mean death of Palestinian identity, security and any chance for sovereignty. It will mean the slow painful demise of our village. That’s the message of our weekly demonstrations.

Today we wear black, because it is the color of mourning. We feel like we are on a funeral march for ourselves.

Bil’in is being strangled by the Wall. Our village sits two and a 1/2 miles east of the Green Line, yet Israel’s Wall and settlements will take more than 60 percent of our land. This land is also money to us. Bil’in’s 1,600 residents depend on farming and harvesting olive trees for our livelihood. The Wall will turn Bil’in into a prison. It will further curtail the limited freedoms we now have.

We are not asking you for much. Just give us a chance to get this side of the story out. If this wall is for security, why is it being built so far from internationally recognized borders? Why is Israel creating so much animosity if it really is seeking safety? The reality of the situation is that this is a land grab. And in the process, it is killing us. We rely on you to get our message to the outside world. Pretty soon we won’t be able to. Pretty soon, we’ll be in a prison.

— Bil’in Popular Committee Against the Wall

“Everybody has to move, run and grab as many hilltops as they can to enlarge the settlements because everything we take now will stay ours … Everything we don’t grab will go to them.” — Ariel Sharon, then Israeli Foreign Minister, addressing a meeting of militants from the Tsomet Party, November 15, 1998