Tag: Demonstration - Page 132 - International Solidarity Movement

Bil’in leader Abdallah Abu Rahmah arrested during military night raid

Popular Struggle Coordination Committee

10 December 2009

Abdallah Abu Rahmah (right) with Ela Bhatt, Desmond Tutu, Jimmy Carter, Fernando H Cardoso, Mary Robinson and Gro Brundtland of the Elders during their visit to Bil'in

As part of a recent escalation of political arrests in Bil’in, Abdallah Abu Rahmah, a school teacher and coordinator of the Bil’in Popular Committee was arrested by Israeli soldiers

At exactly 2 AM last night, seven Israeli military jeeps pulled over at Abdallah Abu Rahmah’s residence in the city of Ramallah. Soldiers raided the house and arrested Abu Rahmah from his bed in the presence of his wife and children. Abu Rahmah is a high school teacher in the Latin Patriarchate school in Birzeit near Ramallah and is the coordinator of the Bil’in Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements. A previous raid targeting Abu Rahmah was executed with such exceptional violence on 15 September 2009, that a soldier was subsequently indicted for assault.

Abu Rahmah’s arrest is part of an escalation in Israeli military’s attempts to break the spirit of the people of Bil’in, their popular leadership, and the popular struggle as a whole – aimed at crushing demonstrations against the Wall. Recently, Adv. Gaby Lasky, who represents many of Bil’in’s detainees, was informed by the military prosecution that the army intends to use legal measures as a means of ending the demonstrations.

Following Abu Rahmah’s arrest, Adv. Lasky, stated that “My client’s arrest is another blatant illustration of the Israeli authorities’ application of legal procedures for the political persecution of Bil’in residents. The Bil’in demonstrators are being systemically targeted while it is the State that is in contempt of a High Court of Justice ruling; a ruling which affirmed that the protesters have justice on their side and instructed 2 years ago that the route of the Wall in the area be changed, which has not been implemented to date.”

Since 23 June 2009, 31 residents of Bil’in have been detained by the military. The Army has pursued Popular Committee members in its arrest operation, but all three detained members were released for lack of evidence. In the case of another member, Mohammed Khatib, the court even found some of the presented evidence to be falsified.

In addition to committee members, a leading Bil’in activist, Adeeb Abu Rahmah, who has been detained for over five months, is not suspected of committing any violence, but was indicted with a blanket charge of “incitement”, which was very liberally interpreted in this case to include the organizing of grassroots demonstrations.

Armageddon is coming to East Jerusalem

Palestine Monitor

5 December 2009

This was the ominous warning issued yesterday by Rabbi Arik Asherman, director of Rabbis for Human Rights who believes that “if nothing changes, Jerusalem will burn.” His remarks come in response to a court decision on Monday permitting Israeli settlers to take possession of another Palestinian home in the East Jerusalem region of Sheikh Jarrah. This is the fifth family to be evicted in a neighbourhood where more and more Israeli flags are appearing atop of freshly occupied Palestinian homes.

Yesterday Rabbis for Human Rights organized a demonstration in Jerusalem protesting the courts decision bringing together 150 Israeli and international activists from organizations such as ICHAD, EAPPI and Anarchists against the Wall. As they marched through the streets in West Jerusalem, they received a mixed reaction from passer bys. Some cheered them on whilst others shouted ‘traitor’, spat at demonstrators and at one point a hose was turned on the crowd from behind the curtain of an upstairs apartment.

The demonstration culminated in the front yard of the Al-Kurd’s family home where the front section is now occupied by Israeli settlers and the family has been moved to the back.

The Al-Kurd house was built in 1956 and an extension added 10 years ago is the current source of contention. On Monday the Magistrates Court ruled it illegal and gave permission for a group of Israeli settlers to take occupation. An immediate appeal issued by the Al-Kurd family was dismissed. On Tuesday a group of Israeli settlers, accompanied by armed private security guards and Israeli police forces, took possession of the extension strewing the Al-Kurd’s belonging across the front yard.

Rising tension

As Shabbat prayers began late yesterday afternoon an influx of Orthodox Israelis gathered at the house, pushing through the crowd and throwing things at demonstrators. As the first and most important prayer began the Orthodox crowd moved from inside the house to clap, dance and sing in front of the on looking Al-Kurd family and demonstrators. An Israeli activist present described the move “as intentionally provocative.” He said “people deliberately gathered at the house for prayers to show solidarity with the settler family and to demonstrate to protestors their strength and ownership of the house.”

More evictions to come

A UN official at yesterday’s demonstration warned of further misery to come for Palestinian families in East Jerusalem. A letter from lawyers representing Nahalat Shimon International, the settler organization forcing through the evictions in East Jerusalem, has ordered two more Palestinian families to hand over the keys to their house to the legal firm by December 15th. According to the UN representative there are now 8 families under eviction orders and 5 families who have already been evicted from their homes.

Too little too late?

The eviction of Palestinians from their homes in East Jerusalem is illegal under international law which forbids an occupying power from transferring its own people into an occupied area. Despite this the international community has done little to abate the appropriation of houses here. There is growing concern that Zionists are attempting to create a new Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem which will strengthen Israeli claims to complete autonomy of the capital. In reaction to this there is speculation that the European Union will issue a statement this week supporting the establishment of East Jerusalem as a future capital of a Palestinian state but many fear this is too little too late. As more and more settlement houses become ‘facts on the ground’ the balance of power and ownership is East Jerusalem is shifting perhaps irrevocably.

The tension in East Jerusalem is intensifying daily and many including Rabbi Asherman fear that without swift and decisive international intervention the situation will soon approach “breaking point.”

Bil’in residents demonstrate in support of recent Swedish initiative calling for a Palestinian state

Bil’in Popular Committee

4 December 2009

Residents of Bil’in, alongside international and Israeli solidarity activists, demonstrated against the Wall after the Friday prayer. Many suffered from tear-gas inhalation, as the Israeli armed forces fired upon protestors as they approached the illegal Wall. The demonstration concluded at 1 pm.

The weekly demonstration, organized by the Bil’in Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements, was centered on the recent endeavor of the Swedish government. Sweden, as president of the European Union, recently announced plans to discuss a draft for a Palestinian state, recognizing Jerusalem as its capital. The Popular Committee encourages the just effort and calls on other governments to support the initiative.

Demonstrators marched from the center of Bil’in village, chanting slogans against the theft of Palestinian land and called for an end to Israel’s military occupation. People rallied especially as a response to the escalation of the Israeli authorities to resume an arrest and intimidation campaign against Bil’in protestors (which began on 23 June 2009).

Palestinian moderately hurt in Naalin

YNet News

4 December 2009

Evacuating the injured Palestinians Friday (Photo: Activestills)

A 20-year-old Palestinian protestor was moderately injured from a bullet fired by the security forces during a rally against the separation fence in the West Bank village of Naalin, Palestinian sources reported Friday.

An Israel Defense Forces official said the man was lightly wounded after being hit in the lower part of his body by a bullet fired from a Ruger rifle, which is used as a crowd dispersal mean. One of the protesters, Yonatan Polk, said he was standing next to the demonstrator that was shot.

“The guy was standing between 50 and 70 meters away from the soldiers, with two barbed-wire fences between them,” he said.

“Both he and the soldiers were standing behind cement blocks, meaning any arguments of their lives being in danger are far from reality. He was hit by a live bullet near his crotch. It’s a policy of using these means in order to create tension and nothing more,” he added.

Dozens of Palestinians, left-wing activists and foreigners took part in the weekly anti-fence demonstrations in the villages of Bilin and Naalin. Some 150 people protested in Naalin and about 80 in Bilin.

According to the IDF, the protestors rioted and hurled stones at the security forces, who responded with tear gas and crowd dispersal means.

Later Friday, the IDF reported that two Molotov cocktails were hurled at Border Guard vehicles in Naalin. There were no reports of damage or injury.

Efrat Weiss, Roee Nahmias and Anat Shalev contributed to this report

Night raids conducted by Israeli forces resume in the village of Bil’in: One Palestinian resident arrested

Popular Struggle Coordination Committee

3 December 2009

For immediate release:

Night raids, conducted by the Israeli army as a part of the ongoing arrest campaign in an attempt to crush the popular struggle against the Apartheid Wall and settlements in the Palestinian village of Bil’in have resumed in the early hours of Thursday, 3 December.

At 2am, approximately 20 soldiers invaded the village on foot from the direction of the Apartheid Wall and broke into the house of Rani Najar, without issuing any prior warning. The soldiers handcuffed all men living in the house and detained them in a separate room. They then proceeded to arrest Rani (23), who had only returned from Jordan the previous day. Female members of the family who came to help Rani were violently pushed away, and, as the soldiers exited the house, they also failed to remove handcuffs from the earlier detained men.

The Israeli military are using night raids and arrests conducted by undercover army units in an attempt to crush the non-violent resistance against the Wall and settlements in the village. In addition to Rani, another 29 Bil’in residents were arrested for their involvement in the demonstrations since 23 June 2009. Israeli armed forces have been regularly invading homes and forcefully searching for demonstration participants, targeting the leaders of the Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements, as well as teenage boys accused of throwing stones at the Wall. Sixteen (including Rani) currently remain in detention.

Among those arrested during the recent night raid campaign is Adeeb Abu Rahma, who has been held in detention for almost five months under a charge of ‘incitement’ – a term used by the Israeli military prosecution for organizing demonstrations.