Tag: Demonstration

Israel clampdowns on non-violent protest

Jonathan Cook | Middle East Online

12 February 2010

The Israeli courts ordered the release this week of two foreign women arrested by the army in the West Bank in what human-rights lawyers warn has become a wide-ranging clampdown by Israel on non-violent protest from international, Israeli and Palestinian activists.

The arrest of the two women during a nighttime raid on the Palestinian city of Ramallah has highlighted a new tactic by Israeli officials: using immigration police to try to deport foreign supporters of the Palestinian cause.

A Czech woman was deported last month after she was seized from Ramallah by a special unit known as Oz, originally established to arrest migrant labourers working illegally inside Israel.

Human rights lawyers say Israel’s new offensive is intended to undermine a joint non-violent struggle by international activists and Palestinian villagers challenging a land grab by Israel as it builds the separation wall on farmland in the West Bank.

In what Israel’s daily Haaretz newspaper recently called a “war on protest”, Israeli security forces have launched a series of raids in the West Bank over the past two months to detain Palestinian community leaders organising protests against the wall.

“Israel knows that the non-violence struggle is spreading and that it’s a powerful weapon against the occupation,” said Neta Golan, an Israeli activist based in Ramallah.

“Israel has no answer to it, which is why the security forces are panicking and have started making lots of arrests.”

The detention this week of Ariadna Marti, 25, of Spain, and Bridgette Chappell, 22, of Australia, suggests a revival of a long-running cat-and-mouse struggle between Israel and the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a group of activists who have joined Palestinians in non-violently opposing the Israeli occupation. The last major confrontation, a few years into the second intifada, resulted in a brief surge of deaths and injuries of international activists at the hands of the Israeli army. Most controversially, Rachel Corrie, from the US, was run down and killed by an army bulldozer in 2003 as she stood by a home in Gaza threatened with demolition.

Ms Golan, a co-founder of the ISM, said Israel had sought to demonise the group’s activists in the Israeli and international media. “Instead of representing our struggle as one of non-violence, we are portrayed as ‘accomplices to terror’.”

The first entry of Israeli immigration police into a Palestinian-controlled area of the West Bank, the so-called “Area A”, occurred last month when a Czech woman was arrested in Ramallah. Eva Novakova, 28, who had recently been appointed the ISM’s media co-ordinator, was accused of overstaying her visa and was deported before she could appeal to the courts.

Human rights lawyers say such actions are illegal.

Omer Shatz, the lawyer representing Ms Marti and Ms Chappell, said a military operation into an area like Ramallah could not be justified to round up activists with expired visas.

“The activists are not breaking any laws in Ramallah,” he said. “The army and immigration police are effectively criminalising them by bringing them into Israel, where they need such a visa.”

Officials in the Palestinian Authority (PA) has grown increasingly unhappy at Israeli abuses of security arrangements dating from the Oslo era. The PA’s president, Mahmoud Abbas, recently described the Israeli operations into Area A as “incursions and provocations”.

Although the supreme court released the two women on bail on Monday, while their deportation was considered, it banned them from entering the West Bank and ordered each pay a US$800 (Dh2,939) bond.

The judges questioned the right of the army to hand over the women to immigration police from a military prison in the West Bank, but left open the issue of whether the operation would have been legal had the transfer occurred in Israeli territory.

The Spanish government is reported to have asked the Israeli ambassador in Spain to promise that Ms Marti would not be deported.

Ms Marti said they had been woken at 3am on Sunday by “15 to 20 soldiers who aimed their guns at us”. The pair were asked for their passports and then handcuffed. Later, she said, they had been offered the choice that “either we agree to immediate expulsion or that we will be jailed for six months”.

On Wednesday, shortly after the court ruling, the army raided the ISM’s office in Ramallah again, seizing computers, T-shirts and bracelets inscribed with “Palestine”.

“Israel has managed to stop most international activists from getting here by denying them entry at the borders,” said Ms Golan. “But those who do get in then face deportation if they are arrested or try to renew their visa.”

The ISM has been working closely with a number of local Palestinian popular committees in organising weekly demonstrations against Israel’s theft of Palestinian land under cover of the building of the wall.

The protests have made headlines only intermittently, usually when international or Israeli activists have been hurt or killed by Israeli soldiers. Palestinian injuries have mostly gone unnoticed.

In one incident that threatened to embarrass Israel, Tristan Anderson, 38, an American ISM member, was left brain-damaged last March after a soldier fired a tear-gas cannister at his head during a demonstration against the wall in the Palestinian village of Nilin.

In addition to regular arrests of Palestinian protesters, Israel has recently adopted a new tactic of rounding up community leaders and holding them in long-term administrative detention. A Haaretz editorial has called these practices “familiar from the darkest regimes”.

Abdallah Abu Rahman, a schoolteacher and head of the popular committee in the village of Bilin, has been in jail since December for arms possession. The charge refers to a display he created at his home of used tear gas cannisters fired by the Israeli army at demonstrators.

On Monday, the offices of Stop the Wall, an umbrella organisation for the popular committees, was raided, and its computers and documents taken. Two co-ordinators of the group, Jamal Juma and Mohammed Othman, were released from jail last month after mounting international pressure.

The Israeli police also have been harshly criticised by the courts for beating and jailing dozens of Israeli and Palestinian activists protesting against the takeover of homes by settlers in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah.

Last month, Hagai Elad, the head of Israel’s largest human rights law centre, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, was among 17 freed by a judge after demonstrators were detained for two days by police, who accused them of being “dangerous”.

An unacceptable fight against protest

Ha’aretz

12 February 2010

Israeli security forces have recently intensified their fight against peace activists from here and abroad who seek to protest against the occupation and identify with the Palestinian inhabitants. This week, Israeli soldiers raided the Ramallah offices of the International Solidarity Movement a number of times. They arrested two activists – one a Spanish citizen and the other an Australian. They confiscated office equipment, T-shirts and bracelets bearing the word “Palestine.” They also raided the offices of Stop the Wall and the Palestinian Communist Party in Ramallah.

According to data provided by the activists, since December, Israeli forces have undertaken more than 20 nighttime raids on the villages of Na’alin and Bil’in and have arrested more than 30 people. They are all suspected of taking part in protests against the separation fence, which invades these villages and very severely harms the inhabitants’ welfare. None of them were charged with involvement in terror operations or criminal activities to justify persecuting, arresting and deporting them.

At the same time, the Israel Police used force to suppress protests identifying with the Palestinians in East Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood; these Palestinians had been forced to vacate their homes. Dozens of protesters are arrested every week and brought to court. All these steps were taken to deter human rights activists from implementing their right to free speech – the life’s breath of a democratic society.

Out of a passion to root out protest, the Israel Defense Forces was sent into parts of Area A, which is under full control of the Palestinian Authority. Entering these areas breaches the Oslo Accords and damages the prestige of the moderate Palestinian leadership, that same leadership that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continually offers “good neighborliness.”

More serious is that members of the Interior Ministry’s Oz unit joined the “assault” on Ramallah. Oz repeated the trick of arresting foreign activists on the pretext that they were illegal labor immigrants. Although a Jerusalem court ordered them freed, we needed a ruling by the High Court of Justice and the intervention of the governments of the two detained activists to redress the distortion and release them.

It could be expected that a country that has ruled another nation for many years would show tolerance toward manifestations of unarmed protest against the occupation and its ills. The state should also respect the right of other countries’ citizens to show solidarity with the local people and join protests alongside Israeli and Palestinian activists.

The harassment of individuals who do not toe the line and posters in the streets that incite against human rights groups should arouse concern in the heart of every Israeli. The suppression of public protest under the transparent guise of protecting state security does not augment Israel’s international standing. Such a policy gives a bad name to “the only democracy in the Middle East.”

Officials at the top of government must instruct the security forces and the Interior Ministry to immediately stop these heavy-handed attacks on nonviolent protest.

Bil’in weekly demonstration reenacts the Avatar film

Friends of Freedom and Justice

12 February 2010

Demonstrator in Bilin dresses as the Navi from the film Avatar
Demonstrator in Bilin dresses as the Navi from the film Avatar

The village of Bil’in reenacted James Cameron’s new film Avatar during today’s weekly demonstration. Five Palestinian, Israeli and international activists were painted blue, with pointy ears and tales, resembling the Avatar characters. Like Palestinians, the Avatars fight imperialism, although the colonizers have different origins. The Avatars’ presence in Bil’in today symbolizes the united resistance to imperialism of all kinds.

Today’s non-violent demonstration was again met with excessive violence by the Israeli army. Sound bombs and tear gas were used, leaving four people directly injured by the canisters. The canisters were shot directly at the protesters, which is in violation with the IOF’s firing regulations. Many other activists suffered from tear gas inhalation.

Before coming to Bil’in, Israeli activists reported that police were present at their carpool meeting point. Their ID’s were checked and some cars reported they were followed by the police. At the Rantis checkpoint, they were delayed once more and activists were obliged to continue their journey by taxi.

Bil’in has reason to celebrate this week. Yesterday, preparations for the construction of the new Wall began, which returns 30 per cent of Bil’in’s land to the village. Iyad Burnat, Head of the Bil’in Popular Committee speaks of a victory: “We feel relieved and feel the non-violent resistance is successful in its aim. Nevertheless, we will continue our struggle against the occupation as Bil’in still has another 30 per cent of land that is confiscated by Israel.”

Next week Bil’in will have a special demonstration, celebrating five years of non-violent resistance and expects a large number of demonstrators. Bil’in calls for all its supporters to invite people to join in next week’s demonstration.

250 olive trees planted by volunteers near Osh Grab

International Middle East Media Center

12 February 2010

A man plants an olive tree in the lands around Oush Grab.

Following the beginning of construction of a new watchtower at the site of the former military base, this week, residents of Beit Sahour and international volunteers gathered at the surrounding farmlands, on Friday, to cultivate the land, planting 250 olive trees.

The former military base at Osh Grab was abandoned by the Israeli military in April 2006, and part of the site was transformed into a public park and centre for the residents of Beit Sahour by the town’s municipality. The land private land reverted to its original owners, including the sites worked on today.

Part of the site has remained abandoned, though, as it falls inside of zone C, as designated by Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, also referred to as Oslo 2, signed in 1995. Part of the accords divided the land in the West Bank into 3 sections; areas A, B and C.

Area A is under the control of the Palestinian Authority, and amounts to 17% of the West Bank. Area B is shared between the PA and the Israeli military, and amounts to 24%. Finally, area C is under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Israeli military, known as the Civil Administration, and accounts for the remaining 59%.

It is worth noting that 55% of Palestinians living in the West Bank live in area A, i.e. In 17% of the land.

Due to this land being under the control of the Israeli military, the municipality of Beit Sahour has been prevented from converting the area into a children’s hospital, as was their original intention.

The site has remained highly contested, with settler’s groups, such as Women in Green, lobbying for the construction of a new settlement in the area, to be named Shdema. The groups have been active in lobbying and protesting, including regular gatherings to cultivate the lands with tree planting session of their own.

The residents of Beit Sahour are suspicious that the watchtower is a precursor for further construction in the area. Speaking to IMEMC, earlier in the week, Dr. Mazin Qumsiya, resident of Beit Sahour and member of the Popular Committee to Defend Osh Graib, had the following to say,

“They claim that it’s about a watchtower that they want to construct, but the map of the watchtower is a different map to this area; it has nothing to do with this bulldozing. My fear is that they are either going to get back the military base completely, or that they are going to have a settlement.”

Today’s activities were organized by Popular Committee, in co-operation with the Joint Advocacy Initiative and the Reclaiming The Land Project. The JAI launched their Olive Tree Campaign in 2002, with intention of planting 50,000 olive trees, to replace some of the near 600,000 trees that have been destroyed by Israeli attacks, both by the military and by settlers.

To date the project has planted 62,000 trees, in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and have secured a further 1,200 to plant this season. Olive trees have the capacity to last for hundreds of years, but take upwards of a decade before they will begin to bear fruit.

The olive is vital to the Palestinian economy, with the fruit being sold to eat, to be turned into olive oil, or to be turned into soap. Furthermore, when olives have been pressed for their oil, the stones inside are crushed, and can then be mulched for fertilizer, or dried into briquettes to be used as a source of heat.

Speaking to IMEMC, the owner of the land, Tarib Jubran, expressed his gratitude to the organizers and volunteers, both local and international, for helping him secure safe access to his land and for their hard work in planting so many trees. He continued, “I will continue to cultivate, and care for my land. Olive trees are tough, they survive in tough environments. They have deep roots in the land, like Palestinians.”

Israeli forces fire upon a demonstration in Gaza

ISM Gaza

8 February 2010

The Israeli army fired four shots and shouted abuse at the group of about 40 Palestinians and internationals who, on Monday 8th February ’10, walked within 50 meters of the Erez border crossing, waving Palestinian flags and chanting demands for justice and an end to the Occupation.

Similar demonstrations have taken place weekly for over a month and this is the closest that the demonstrators got to the border, so far. To mark the occasion two Palestinian flags were placed at the furtherest spots the demonstrators reached.

‘ I don’t think a Palestinian set a foot at this place for a long time’, said a participant.

The organizers, the volunteers form the ‘Local Initiative’ in Beit Hanoun were inspired by the similar peaceful resistance initiatives in Ni’lin ans Bil’in. Their aim is to support people who have farms in the so called ‘buffer zone’, a 300 metre wide belt of Palestinian land which Israelis declared a no-go area. A few weeks ago they even dropped warning flyers reinforcing the illegal ban.

Local Initiative activists are determined to reclaim the right to move freely on every inch of the Palestinian land and to support farmers to continue farming near the border where they often face firing and threats form the Israeli soldiers.

The area of Beit Hanoun, which is located in the North East of the Gaza strip has suffered significant destruction during the Israeli attacks a year ago. Many houses have been completely destroyed and not one building has been left standing anywhere near the border.

This combined with the imposition of a ‘buffer zone’ and a general lack of safety, has made farming extremely risky in this particularly fertile area, where wheat, vegetables and fruits, including famous Gazan strawberries, have been grown for centuries.