Tag: Christian Peacemaker Team

Remembering Art Gish

1 August 2010

American peace activist Art Gish died on Wednesday in a tractor accident on his organic farm in Athens, Ohio, at the age of 70.

Gish and his wife Peggy – currently in Iraq – dedicated much of their lives to promoting peace in the Middle East through nonviolent action.

As a member of the Christian Peacemakers Team (CPT) based in Al Khalil (Hebron) in the West Bank, Gish lived up to the CPT’s slogan “Getting in the way” when he faced up to an Israeli tank in 2003 to try to prevent it from destroying a market in Hebron’s Old City.

Art Gish in Hebron in 2003 standing in front of an Israeli tank to try to stop it destroying a market in teh Old CIty
Art Gish in Hebron in 2003 standing in front of an Israeli tank to try to stop it destroying a market in the Old City

The photo became famous when it was distributed by the Associated Press around the world.

Gish also published two books about his work in the Middle East, including Hebron Journal: Stories of Nonviolent Peacemaking.

He wrote about this specific incident, saying:

“The soldiers tried their best to ignore me, but I am sure they heard me. I ignored their commands for me to leave. One soldier spit at me, so I walked right up to him and invited him to spit on me. He declined the offer.

Three soldiers aimed their guns at and moved toward a group of Palestinian bystanders. It looked to me like they were going to shoot. I quickly jumped in front of the soldiers, raised my hands in the air and shouted, “Shoot me, shoot me, go ahead and shoot me.” The soldiers immediately left.

A tank came roaring toward me, its big gun barrel aimed at me. I raised my hands in the air in prayer, and shouted, “Shoot, shoot, Baruch hashem adonai.” The tank stopped within inches of me.”

He added: “The Israeli military had put all of Hebron under total curfew today, saying they were looking for terrorists. Now I wonder if there really were terrorists hidden among the apples and oranges. Or, are the Israeli soldiers committing acts of terrorism against the civilian population of Hebron?”

Art Gish (1939 - 2010) with his wife Peggy

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Further tributes:

http://kittywampus.wordpress.com/2010/07/31/art-gish-is-dead-at-70-a-terrible-loss-for-peace-and-justice/

http://blog.sojo.net/2010/07/29/world-renowned-peacemaker-art-gish-dies/

CPT: Israeli Border Police Demolish Water Infrastructure in Al Baqa’a Valley

Christian Peacemaker Team – Hebron

For the third time in 12 days, Israeli Border Police carried out demolitions in Al Baqa’a valley, a fertile farming area northeast of Hebron, along route 60. On July 19, the Israeli Border Police, with the assistance of hired laborers using heavy machinery, destroyed a cistern and removed irrigation pipes from 1.5 acres (6 dunams) of vegetable fields.

Israeli Border Police and hired laborers first demolished a rainwater cistern. Border Police and the workers then moved to vegetable fields and removed all of the irrigation pipes. Israeli Border Police used sound grenades to disperse the Palestinian land owners and residents who were gathered around the site of the demolitions. Medical personnel came to give examinations to two women who were suffering adverse affects from the sound grenades, one woman was taken away by ambulance.

Israeli officials continue to dismantle Palestinian water infrastructure in the Beqaa Valley.
Israeli officials continue to dismantle Palestinian water infrastructure in the Beqaa Valley.

See photos at the CPT website.

CPT: Israeli Border Police Demolish Cistern in Al Beqa’a Valley

Christian Peacemaker Team – Hebron

Israeli border police demolished a rainwater cistern and removed irrigation pipes from several Palestinian fields in Al Beqa’a Valley just east of Hebron on July 14, 2010, the second day of incidents in the area this month.

When international peace activists from Christian Peacemaker Teams arrived in the area at 9:30am, the large bagger that had been used to break up the concrete of the cistern was just leaving the site. The driver of a large tractor lifted scoops full of rocks and dumped them into the demolished cistern. Also, workers cut and disposed of irrigation pipes laid in two fields. The fields each measured 10 dunams (approximately 40 acres). One was a field of grape vines and the other field had tomatoes planted under grape vines. In addition to dismantling the irrigation pipes, the workers also cut the twines that were holding up tomato plants. At least seven families will be affected by this destruction, in total about 50 people.

A Palestinian friend of CPT who lives in Al Beqa’a Valley explained the difficulties residents have in accessing water. A water line has been install by the Palestinian Authority from a nearby village; however, there is no water in the line. There is a large aquiver of water in the Hebron region, and Mekorot, the Israeli water company, has a well along the Israeli bypass road Route 60 in Al Beqa’a Valley which draws from this aquiver (in Area C, which is under full Israeli military control). Palestinian residents in Al Beqa’a Valley had made arrangements to purchase water from Mekorot. However, they never received as much water as they paid for. With the demolition of several rainwater cisterns in the valley in the past year, the Palestinian residents felt that they had no other option but to tap into the Mekorot water line at the well site.

Palestinians alleged that some of the Israelis that were with the border police and DCO on July 14th were from the Mekorot Company. Rather than preventing Palestinians from taping into the well at the source, the Israeli authorities destroyed the irrigation pipes in the fields of several families. Each 200m roll of irrigation drip pipe costs about 370NIS (~100$US), and the connection piping costs about 2.5NIS for each inch. For each dunam of vegetables it takes about 2-3 days to put the irrigation drip piping in place. The cost of the materials and time that goes into growing produce is high. Rather than prevent the ‘theft’ of water (which is ironically from an aquiver under Palestine) earlier in the season, the Israeli authorities instead waited until crops were almost ready for market. Therefore this destruction is not meant to stop the ‘theft’ of water but to cause the highest impact on farmers in the region.

Information on the July 6th incident is available at the Christian Peacemaker Teams website.

CPT: Israeli Police Invade Palestinian Home, Arrest Father in Hebron’s Old City

Christian Peacemaker Team – Hebron

July 14, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

On July 13, 2pm about 20 Israeli police and soldiers invaded the Awewi family home in Hebron’s Old City. They forced the mother and the eight children into the kitchen and arrested the father, who is a Palestinian Authority (PA) police officer. The mother attempted to force the door of the kitchen open to give her husband his shoes and trousers, but a soldier pushed her against the counter in spite of her obvious pregnant status. She threw the shoes down the stairwell, hoping her husband could retrieve them.

Meantime, about 20 Israeli soldiers guarding the street below had ordered a closure of the surrounding shops and prevented Palestinians from walking past for about 15 minutes. One of the soldiers shouted to the people, “Nobody come close or we will shoot.”

By the time CPTers reached the area, the Israeli police and soldiers had taken the Palestinian to Bab il Baledeyya (Beit Romano settlement) checkpoint and ordered him behind the checkpoint gate.

CPTers then visited the mother and her shaken-up family. The mother shared all the above information with CPT and was obviously very distressed. The police had given her no reason for the arrest, and it can take up to 14 days before the Red Cross can find out information for family members from Israeli authorities about arrested or detained Palestinians.

Since Israeli settlers established the settlement of Avraham Avinu right next to their home the Awewi family has experienced a lot of distress. The settlers have harassed the family many times, including invasions, and a fire set to one of their bedrooms. Israeli authorities have also arrested family members at least twice. The family has received many large financial offers from the settlers to purchase their home, but the family refuses to sell.

The Israeli police released the PA police officer three hours later, reprimanded him for arresting a Palestinian in the Old City (in H2 area of Hebron under full Israeli control) and not informing the Israeli police of this, and told him not to work in the Old City.

CPT: Israeli soldiers arrest Palestinian shepherd, assault Palestinian youth

Christian Peacemaker Team

On Tuesday afternoon, February 23, 2010, Israeli soldiers arrested a Palestinian shepherd, Khalil Ibrahim Abu Jundiyye, from the village of Tuba.

Abu Jundiyye, 19, was grazing his flock near Tuba when four Israeli soldiers, coming from the nearby Ma’on settlement, chased him and another shepherd back to Tuba. The soldiers aggressively pursued the two shepherds while Tuba families attempted to keep the soldiers away from them. One soldier head-butted a Palestinian youth who was pleading for an explanation why his brother was being arrested. Another soldier loaded his rifle and pointed it in the air, threatening to shoot, forcing the families to quell their protest.

Handcuffing him, the soldiers quickly led Abu Jundiyye away, threatening arrest for anyone who followed. Two members of Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT), standing at a distance, saw that the soldiers forced Abu Jundiyye to walk blindfolded over rugged terrain for nearly one kilometer. An Israeli human rights organization later reported that Abu Jundiyye was taken to the Beit Yatir checkpoint near the southern edge of the Green Line, adjacent to the Mezadot Yehuda settlement.

Abu Jundiyye remained in custody overnight, but his whereabouts are unknown. According to the Israeli District Coordinating Office, Abu Jundiyye was presumably arrested for assaulting an Israeli soldier. The two CPT members present during the incident did not witness Abu Jundiyye assault a soldier. Nor is that charge supported by any of their video footage of the incident.

Note: According to the Geneva Conventions, the International Court of Justice in the Hague, and numerous United Nations resolutions, all Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) are illegal. Most settlement outposts are considered illegal under Israeli law.