The residents of Bil’in gathered again today after the Friday prayer in a protest joined by international and Israeli activists. The protesters carried Palestinian flags and banners calling for a stop to the crimes against civilians, to break the siege on Gaza and for the prevention of settlement building.
The protest left from the centre of the village, calling for national unity and resistance to the occupation, heading towards the apartheid wall which is built on Bil’in’s land. An Israeli army unit was situated behind the wall and prevented the crowd from going through the gate, the army fired tear gas canisters to disturb the crowd, causing dozens to suffer from gas inhalation andinjuring two people. The two injured were Adib Abu Rahma and Abdullah Abu Rahma.
The Israeli army has been raiding the village at night almost on a daily basis. There have been clashes between the army and residents of the village. Some residents have been kidnapped. These Israeli actions are collective punishment which aims to create fear among people in the hope that they will stop resisting the occupation. The Popular Committee against the wall is still encouraging people to continue resisting the wall and the occupation despite these threats.
Five young men from the village of Bil’in located near the central West Bank city of Ramallah were kidnapped on Wednesday by the Israeli military.
Troops stormed the village then raided several houses and searched them.
During the search troops took five men away, including: the brothers, Ali and Haitham Hamdan Abu Rahma, and Hosam Mohamed Hamad, Qasim Hassan Hamad, Fahad Jalal Al-Khatib, and they took the detainees to unknown place.
Since nearly four years, Bil’in village is the scene of weekly nonviolent protest against the Israeli illegal wall being built in the West Bank
Bil’in Popular Committee Against the Apartheid Wall and Settlements
Friday 16th January 2009
Residents of Bil’in demonstrate against the Israeli’s rejection of the international efforts for ceasefire.
The residents of Bil’in today gathered after the Friday prayer in an act of solidarity with the people of Gaza. They were joined by international activists and the Israeli Anarchists Against the Wall, all opposing the war on Gaza. The protesters carried Palestinian, Venezuelan, and Bolivian flags, in a show of support for the two South American countries who, this week, cut diplomatic ties with Israel due to the war on Gaza.
The demonstration was symbolically silent, as the protesters wore the UN, EU, and the Arab League flags on their chests and carried shoes bearing Israeli and American flags in their mouths, to symbolize the power the two countries have to gag that rest of the world. Other demonstrators wearing the three flags covered their mouths with tape to show the world’s silence presented by the UN, EU and the Arab League against the Israeli massacres in Gaza.
The values of human rights and respect that the international law protect are being violated by the Israeli and the American government, all these rights and decisions are denied by Israel.
The protest marched towards the wall which is built on Bil’in’s land, the Israeli army was behind concrete blocks and fired tear gas canisters as soon as the crowed got closer. The army chased the protest back to the village using rubber coated steel bullets and tear gas. Dozens suffered tear gas inhalation and four were shot with live bullets: Their names are Abdullah Ahmad Yasen, Yasen Mohammed Yasen, Wajdi Abu Rahme and Mohammed Shukat Al- Khatib.
The Israeli army kidnapped Rashad Abed Dar-Aldeik yesterday (15th January) when he was near the Apartheid Wall. He was taken to Ofer prison
As a gesture of solidarity, residents in the West Bank village of Bil’in demonstrated against the current holocaust on Gaza in outfits symbolic of the clothing worn by victims of the Nazi holocaust.
Bil'in protests in solidarity with GazaThe Israeli army used several new weapons, one of which is a bullet filled with an unknown chemical substance, against the demonstrators. Five individuals, including a member of Bil’in’s popular committee, were arrested and later released.
“Stop the holocaust,” chanted the residents of Bil’in during today’s protest, held in solidarity with the Gazan people. After the Friday prayer, Palestinian, international and Israeli activists gathered to voice their opposition to the massacre of Palestinians in Gaza.
Wearing clothing similar to prisoners in Nazi camps, protestors traded the Star of David badge for a Gaza Strip badge.
“The outfits and insignia are a visual remembrance to the parallel conditions of the Jewish holocaust and the Gazan holocaust. Indiscriminate killing of members belonging to an ethnic group that was put and is trapped in a ghetto: Gaza is the present day concentration camp,” stated Abdallah Abu Rahmah, a member of Bil’in’s popular committee. Protesters hoped to send a message to the world: the international community is ignoring another holocaust.
Israel uses the 'scream' weapon on Bil'in demonstration in solidarity with GazaThe demonstrators marched through the streets of the village, towards the Apartheid Wall. An effort to condemn Israeli war crimes against the population of Gaza was met with tear gas, new bullets containing an unknown chemical substance and new bullets termed “0.2”, from Israeli soldiers. The new bullets that contain an unknown chemical substance are round and green and explode upon impact. Several protesters were injured including Muhammad Nabil Abu Rahmeh who had to be taken to Ramallah Hospital for treatment after he was shot at with the new 0.2 bullet. The small bullet went through his leg, causing great damage to muscle. Also injured by rubber bullets were a photographer from Al Jazeera International, Yase Ashal Mahmud Yasen and a child named Nashmi Aburahma.
Soldiers also entered through a road gate into Bil’in and arrested Muhammed Khatib, a member of Bil’in’s Popular Committee, Ashraf Abu Rahma, Samer Ataya and two Israeli activists. They were released later in the day.
The ongoing siege on Gaza, illegal under international law, was intensified when Israeli occupation forces began attacking Gaza with air strikes, shelling from the navy and a ground invasion. The military incursion on Gaza has already led to the death of over 781 people and injury of another 3,300.
Israel continues to indiscriminately attack on the densely populated Gaza Strip: a 40km by 7km remnant of historical Palestine with 1.5 million residents. Even Israeli officials are drawing comparisons to the Nazi inflicted holocaust.
Speaking to Israeli army radio, the Deputy Defense Minister, Matan Vilnai said, “the more Qassam [rocket] fire intensifies and the rockets reach a longer range, [the Palestinians] will bring upon themselves a bigger shoah because we will use all our might to defend ourselves.” Shoah is the Hebrew term for the Jewish holocaust.
Today’s action was a reminder to the international world about the consequences of letting Gazan massacres go unnoticed. As proven by a history that was constructed because of willful ignorance during the Nazi inflicted holocaust, ignoring the Israeli inflicted holocaust on the Palestinians of Gaza is not an option.
To view original article, published by Al Arabiya News Channel on the 1st January, click here (Arabic version here)
Hollywood stars have called for their pictures to be removed from the website of a diamond company that is associated with settlement expansion in Israel and human rights violations in Africa.
The diamond stores owned by Jewish-American billionaire Lev Leviev had to remove pictures of several actresses after they complained of being linked to a company that funds settlements in the Palestinian occupied territories, a statement issued by the pro-Palestinian human rights group Adalah- New York said.
The actresses include Salma Hayek, Sharon Stone, Whitney Houston, Halle Berry, Drew Barrymore, Brooke Shields, Andie Macdowell, and Lucy Liu.
The celebrities were contacted by the rights group Adalah and the New York based ‘Jews Against the Occupation’ and asked them to distance themselves from a corporation that supports the Zionist project.
The organizations sent letters to the actresses and held negotiations with their representatives to inform them of the human rights violations Leviev is involved in in Palestine and South Africa. As a result the actresses demanded that pictures of them wearing his diamonds were removed from the company’s website.
“Unethical business”
In October, the ambassador of Oxfam International aid agency Kristin Davis demanded that the Leviev’s company remove her pictures from its website.
In June, UNICEF announced its refusal to receive any future donations from Leviev for his involvement in building settlements in the West Bank.
UNICEF justified its decision by stating that it does not receive donations from any parties in conflicts.
“We are gratified that these stars have joined UNICEF, Oxfam and a growing list of others who have distanced themselves from Leviev over his companies’ settlement construction in violation of international law in Palestine, and rights abuses in Angola and Namibia,” Ethan Heitner from Adalah- NY said.
“Some immediately expressed concern when we explained that Leviev was using their photos to whitewash his unethical business practices,” he said, adding “their actions show that Leviev’s wealth and diamonds can’t buy impunity.”
Translated from Arabic by Sonia Farid
