Tag: Demonstration

Ni’lin sets fire to the Apartheid Wall

Ni’lin Youth Center

30 October 2009

The heavy rain which fell down in the West Bank didn’t prevent the protesters of Ni’lin village from protesting against the Apartheid Wall, the pray held in one of the mosques in the village, after that the demostration went through village streets inviting the people to participate and calling against the polices of the occupation government in taking lands and killing people all over Palestine.

The protesters managed to reach the concrete wall; they brought huge number of the car tires, it is important to mention that the demo started with the slogan of the “Black Wall” the name expressing the bad effect of the wall for the people who lost their lands in Ni’lin and in Palestine in general.

The Protesters burned the tires near the concrete wall, that affected the wall and protesters started seeing cracks and splits in the concrete, during that the occupation forces start shot a huge amount of tear gas at the protesters, some of the people had difficulty breathing, the Red Crescent volunteers helped the people and gave them the treatment.

Ibrahim Ameera the coordinator of Ni’lin village public committee said that, “the public struggle the only way for getting our freedom back, and Ni’lin village is one of these examples, and we will continue the struggle and finding innovative ways to make the wall fall down.”

The clashes started between the stones throwers and the soldiers who managed to shoot the tear gas to the people and to spray the waste water towards the protesters to prevent them from reaching the wall, the youth thrown a bottles with red colors to send a message to the occupation that this is the real color of your jeeps and forces.

Israel began construction of the Wall on Ni’lin’s land in 2004, but stopped after an injunction order issued by the Israeli Supreme Court (ISC). Despite the previous order and a 2004 ruling from the International Court of Justice declaring the Wall illegal, construction of the Wall began again in May 2008. Following the return of Israeli bulldozers to their lands, residents of Ni’lin have launched a grassroots campaign to protest the massive land theft, including demonstrations and direct actions.

The original route of the Wall, which Israel began constructing in 2004, was ruled illegal by the ISC, as was a second, marginally less obtrusive proposed route. The most recent path, now completed, still cuts deep into Ni’lin’s land. The Wall has been built to include plans, not yet approved by the Army’s planning authority, for a cemetery and an industrial zone for the illegal settlement Modi’in Ilit.

Since the Wall was built to annex more land to the nearby settlements rather than in a militarily strategic manner, demonstrators have been able to repeatedly dismantle parts of the electronic fence and razor-wire surrounding it. Consequently, the army has erected a 15-25 feet tall concrete wall, in addition to the electronic fence. The section of the Wall in Ni’lin is the only part of the route where a concrete wall has been erected in response to civilian, unarmed protest.

As a result of the Wall construction, Ni’lin has lost 3,920 dunams, roughly 30% of its remaining lands. Originally, Ni’lin consisted of 15,898 dunams (3928 acres). Post 1948, Ni’lin was left with 14,794 dunams (3656 acres). After the occupation of the West Bank in 1967, the illegal settlements and infrastructure of Modi’in Ilit, Mattityahu and Hashmonaim were built on village lands, and Ni’lin lost another 1,973 dunams. With the completion of the Wall, Ni’lin has a remaining 8911 dunams (2201 acres), 56% of it’s original size.

Ni’lin is effectively split into 2 parts (upper and lower) by Road 446, which was built directly through the village. According to the publicized plan of the Israeli government, a tunnel will be built under road 446 to connect the upper and lower parts of Ni’lin, allowing Israel to turn Road 446 into a segregated-setter only road. Subsequently, access for Palestinian vehicles to this road and to the main entrances of upper and lower Ni’lin will be closed. Additionally, since the tunnel will be the only entryway to Ni’lin, Israel will have control over the movement of Palestinian residents.

Israel commonly uses tear-gas projectiles, rubber coated steel bullets and live ammunition against demonstrators.

Since May, 2008, five of Ni’lin’s residents were killed and one American solidarity activist was critically injured from Israeli fire during grassroots demonstrations in Ni’lin.

  • 5 June 2009: Yousef Akil Srour (36) was shot in the chest with 0.22 caliber live ammunition and pronounced dead upon arrival at a Ramallah hospital.
  • 13 March 2009: Tristan Anderson (37), an American citizen, was shot in the head with a high velocity tear gas projectile. He is currently at Tel Hashomer hospital near Tel Aviv with uncertain prospects for his recovery.
  • 28 December 2008: Mohammed Khawaje (20) was shot in the head with 5.56mm caliber live ammunition. He died in a Ramallah hospital 3 days later on 31 December 2008.
  • 28 December 2008: Arafat Rateb Khawaje (22) was shot in the back with 5.56mm caliber live ammunition and pronounced dead upon arrival at a Ramallah hospital.
  • 30 July 2008: Yousef Amira (17) was shot in the head with two rubber coated steel bullets. He died in a Ramallah hospital 5 days later on 4 August 2008.
  • 29 July 2008: Ahmed Mousa (10) was shot in the forehead with 5.56mm caliber live ammunition and pronounced dead upon arrival at a Ramallah hospital.

In total, 19 people have been killed during demonstrations against the Wall.

Israeli armed forces have shot 40 demonstrators with live ammunition in Ni’lin. Of them, 11 were shot with 5.56mm caliber live ammunition and 24 were shot with 0.22 caliber live ammunition.

Since May 2008, 87 arrests of Ni’lin residents have been made in relation to anti-Wall demonstrations in the village. The protesters seized by the army constitute around 7% of the village’s males aged between 12 and 55. The arrests are part of a broad Israeli intimidation campaign to suppress all demonstrations against the apartheid infrastructure in the West Bank.

Bil’in demonstrates in solidarity with jailed activist: ‘We are all Adeeb Abu Rahmah’

Bil’in Popular Committee

30 October 2009

Adeeb Abu Rahmah was arrested on 10 July this year, and is still held in custody for taking part in organizing the village’s demonstrations. Demonstrators wore masks of his face and called for his release.

Two protestors were injured today, while several suffered from tear gas inhalation during the weekly Friday demonstration in Bil’in.

The demonstration was called by the Popular Committee Against the Wall and began after the Friday prayers. Bil’in citizens were joined by a group of international and Israeli solidarity activists and together they raised Palestinian flags and banners condemning the occupation, racist policy of building the Wall and settlements, land confiscation, road closures and detention and killing of innocent people.

Adeeb Abu Rahmah, a leading activist and organizer from the West Bank village of Bil’in has been held in detention since his arrest during a demonstration on 10 July 2009 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqaO8lFYuM0).

Bil’in’s weekly demonstration against the Wall and settlements was devoted to calling for the release of Abu Rahmah, as well as to protesting the ongoing attempts to eliminate the village’s resistance. Protesters marched on Friday wearing masks of Adeeb, declaring “We are all Adeeb Abu Rahmah”.

Abu Rahmah, who has been detained for over three months, is not suspected of committing any violence, but was indicted with a blanket charge of “incitement to violence”, which was very liberally interpreted in this case to include the organizing of grassroots demonstrations. A judge had initially ruled that Abu Rahmah is released with restrictive conditions, but an appeal filed by the military prosecution had the decision overturned, and he was remanded until the end of legal proceedings. Since the arrest, the defense has appealed this decision four times. Trials often last up to a year and Abu Rahmah is the sole provider for a family of eleven.

Abu Rahmah’s arrest came amidst an Israeli arrest and intimidation campaign that began concurrently with preliminary hearings in a Bil’in lawsuit against two Canadian companies responsible for the construction in the settlement of Modiin Illit. In almost five years of protest, 75 Bil’in residents were arrested in connection to demonstrations against the Wall. Of them, 27 have been arrested in the recent, ongoing arrest campaign. Israeli 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 stone throwing. Sixteen currently remain in detention, nine of which are minors.

On 23 June 2009, the Canadian court heard the preliminary arguments for a suit brought by Bil’in against two companies registered in Canada (Green Park International & Green Mount International). The village is seeking justice against the construction of settlements on its lands under the 2000 Canadian Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Statute, which incorporates international humanitarian law into Canadian federal law. Some of the people arrested in the latest wave of arrests have reported being questioned in regards to this suit during their interrogation.

Ni’lin demonstrates against the Apartheid Wall

Ni’lin Youth Center

23 October 2009

More than 200 demonstrators attended the weekly demonstration against the Apartheid Wall in Ni’lin today. This week the demonstration was calling for Palestinian unity and the protestors demanded a stop to all factional rivalry and unite against the occupation. ‘The Palestinian people are one, the Palestinian people all live under occupation and we can only over come if we stand strong as one!’. This week there was a large number of international solidarity activists, who are currently in Palestine for olive harvest. There was a delegation from the Norwegian foundation BLETZ and around 20 to 30 other internationals from different countries, all carrying signs advocating for the Palestinian and calling to end the occupation.

The demonstrators carried a coffin that had statements written on it calling for unity, such as: ‘Palestinian brothers, Unite!’, ‘Stop the bloodshed amongst us’. A number of protestors had put stickers on their body with the same statements. All political parties active in Ni’lin were carrying their flags in the demonstration in order to show the unity amongst them. One participant stated: “In Ni’lin, we have been resisting the Apartheid Wall, the land theft and the aggressive Israeli occupation as one for 1,5 year now, we must all follow this path of popular resistance through unity in order to resist the occupation effectively. We are all brothers and we must support each other, otherwise our cause is lost.”

Once the demonstration reached the Wall, they were met with large quantities of tear gas and rounds of rubber coated steel bullets. Israeli soldiers wounded six people. One Norwegian solidarity activist was shot in his arm and received treatment on the spot. A resident of Ni’lin (20 years old) was seriously injured when he was shot in his jaw with a rubber coated steel bullet. He was taken to Ramallah hospital immediately for treatment.

The protesters tried to pull the concrete wall again, they pulled a small part of it, they want to send a message for the government of occupation that the wall will fall soon and the start will be from the village of Ni’lin, small kids also sent their message buy hitting the jeeps with a stones while they are hiding by the concrete, they said we are with our brothers and sisters against the occupation and against taken our lands.

The occupation forces opened the gates in the apartheid wall twice and more than 30 soldiers followed the protesters close to the village, the youth respond by throwing tear gas canisters and stones the invaded forces, one of the soldiers shoot live bullets, two of the youth lucky the bullets passed close to them, but despite the heavy use of bullets the youth pushed them back to the wall, the demo end after 6 hours.

Israel began construction of the Wall on Ni’lin’s land in 2004, but stopped after an injunction order issued by the Israeli Supreme Court (ISC). Despite the previous order and a 2004 ruling from the International Court of Justice declaring the Wall illegal, construction of the Wall began again in May 2008. Following the return of Israeli bulldozers to their lands, residents of Ni’lin have launched a grassroots campaign to protest the massive land theft, including demonstrations and direct actions.

The original route of the Wall, which Israel began constructing in 2004, was ruled illegal by the ISC, as was a second, marginally less obtrusive proposed route. The most recent path, now completed, still cuts deep into Ni’lin’s land. The Wall has been built to include plans, not yet approved by the Army’s planning authority, for a cemetery and an industrial zone for the illegal settlement Modi’in Ilit.

Since the Wall was built to annex more land to the nearby settlements rather than in a militarily strategic manner, demonstrators have been able to repeatedly dismantle parts of the electronic fence and razor-wire surrounding it. Consequently, the army has erected a 15-25 feet tall concrete wall, in addition to the electronic fence. The section of the Wall in Ni’lin is the only part of the route where a concrete wall has been erected in response to civilian, unarmed protest.

As a result of the Wall construction, Ni’lin has lost 3,920 dunams, roughly 30% of its remaining lands. Originally, Ni’lin consisted of 15,898 dunams (3928 acres). Post 1948, Ni’lin was left with 14,794 dunams (3656 acres). After the occupation of the West Bank in 1967, the illegal settlements and infrastructure of Modi’in Ilit, Mattityahu and Hashmonaim were built on village lands, and Ni’lin lost another 1,973 dunams. With the completion of the Wall, Ni’lin has a remaining 8911 dunams (2201 acres), 56% of it’s original size.

Ni’lin is effectively split into 2 parts (upper and lower) by Road 446, which was built directly through the village. According to the publicized plan of the Israeli government, a tunnel will be built under road 446 to connect the upper and lower parts of Ni’lin, allowing Israel to turn Road 446 into a segregated-setter only road. Subsequently, access for Palestinian vehicles to this road and to the main entrances of upper and lower Ni’lin will be closed. Additionally, since the tunnel will be the only entryway to Ni’lin, Israel will have control over the movement of Palestinian residents.

Israel commonly uses tear-gas projectiles, rubber coated steel bullets and live ammunition against demonstrators.

Since May, 2008, five of Ni’lin’s residents were killed and one American solidarity activist was critically injured from Israeli fire during grassroots demonstrations in Ni’lin.

  • 5 June 2009: Yousef Akil Srour (36) was shot in the chest with 0.22 caliber live ammunition and pronounced dead upon arrival at a Ramallah hospital.
  • 13 March 2009: Tristan Anderson (37), an American citizen, was shot in the head with a high velocity tear gas projectile. He is currently at Tel Hashomer hospital near Tel Aviv with uncertain prospects for his recovery.
  • 28 December 2008: Mohammed Khawaje (20) was shot in the head with 5.56mm caliber live ammunition. He died in a Ramallah hospital 3 days later on 31 December 2008.
  • 28 December 2008: Arafat Rateb Khawaje (22) was shot in the back with 5.56mm caliber live ammunition and pronounced dead upon arrival at a Ramallah hospital.
  • 30 July 2008: Yousef Amira (17) was shot in the head with two rubber coated steel bullets. He died in a Ramallah hospital 5 days later on 4 August 2008.
  • 29 July 2008: Ahmed Mousa (10) was shot in the forehead with 5.56mm caliber live ammunition and pronounced dead upon arrival at a Ramallah hospital.

In total, 19 people have been killed during demonstrations against the Wall.

Israeli armed forces have shot 40 demonstrators with live ammunition in Ni’lin. Of them, 11 were shot with 5.56mm caliber live ammunition and 24 were shot with 0.22 caliber live ammunition.

Since May 2008, 87 arrests of Ni’lin residents have been made in relation to anti-Wall demonstrations in the village. The protesters seized by the army constitute around 7% of the village’s males aged between 12 and 55. The arrests are part of a broad Israeli intimidation campaign to suppress all demonstrations against the apartheid infrastructure in the West Bank.

California residents disrupt Olmert

Indy Bay

22 October 2009

Twenty-two activists were arrested at Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s speech to the World Affairs Council tonight between 6:30 and 7:30pm at the Westin St. Francis Hotel (Union Square). Inside the auditorium, activists began disrupting the event by placing Olmert under citizens arrest. Every couple of minutes, more activists disrupted his speech, barely allowing him to speak, by reading the names of the children killed in Gaza last winter, reading from the recently published Goldstone Report, and displaying banners that read “Lift the Siege on Gaza” and “War Crimes are Not Free Expression!” Activists were removed from the auditorium chanting “War Criminal!” and taken to the Tenderloin Police Station where they are being held for citation. Ten additional people participated in the action but were not arrested.

Olmert ordered Israel’s brutal attacks on Gaza beginning in late December 2008, codenamed Operation Cast Lead. Last week, the UN Human Rights Council passed a resolution endorsing the Goldstone Report, an independent investigation into the Gaza operation, which found that Israel violated international law and possibly committed crimes against humanity.

“Israel is an apartheid state guilty of war crimes and its leaders should not be welcome in San Francisco,” said Lisa Nessan, a Jewish resident of Oakland, who has traveled several times to Israel and Palestine, most recently in May. “For the past sixty years, under leadership like Olmert’s, Israel has denied Palestinians their basic human rights, built settlements on their lands, and killed civilians – all to force them from their homeland.”

A lively protest also gathered across from the hotel in Union Square, where about 250 people carried signs bearing the names and pictures of children killed during Operation Cast Lead. Olmert is making several appearances in the US this month, and has been met with strong protests at locations including the University of Chicago and Tulane University in New Orleans. “We join with people around the world who believe that Israel and its leaders must be held accountable for their actions. Israel killed 1400 people during its attacks on Gaza last winter alone, and many more have died or suffered from the effects of siege, occupation, and apartheid on their daily lives,” said Monadel Herzallah, a Palestinian activist who lives in Fairfield and whose 21 year old cousin was killed in Gaza in January.

Organizers also expressed outrage that President Obama has ignored the findings of the Goldstone Report. The US has pledged more than $3 billion each year in unrestricted aid to Israel. “Israel’s use of US aid and military equipment violates our own laws,” said Rae Abileah, an organizer with CODEPINK whose father is Israeli. “Why are we giving aid to a country that is destroying people’s homes and attacking civilians, while our own nation is struggling with unemployment and underfunded social services?”

Eduardo Cohen of San Francisco sums up the sentiment: “The war crimes in the Goldstone Report are not an exception, but a reminder that Israel’s apartheid law is itself criminal. We must not only hold Olmert accountable, but all of Israel’s leaders, our own elected officials, and other companies and individuals that profit from these crimes. Only then can true justice be reached.”

The protest was sponsored by: Arab Resource & Organizing Center (AROC), Bay Area Campaign to End Israeli Apartheid (BACEIA), CODEPINK Women for Peace, Friends of Deiribzi’a, Northern California International Solidarity Movement, Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA), South Bay Mobilization, Stop AIPAC, CAL Students for Justice in Palestine, US Palestine Communities Network (USPCN), Bay Area Women in Black.

Dozens suffered tear gas inhalation at Friday demonstration in Bil’in

Bil’in Popular Committee

23 October 2009

Several demonstrators suffered from tear gas inhalation from canisters thrown at them by the Israeli occupation soldiers in their attempt to suppress the weekly protest of Bil’in citizens and solidarity groups.

The demonstration was called by the Popular Committee Against the Wall and started directly after the Friday prayers. Bil’in citizens were joined by a group of international and Israeli peace activists and together they raised Palestinian flags and banners condemning the occupation, racist policy of building the Wall and settlements, land confiscation, road closures and detention and killing of innocent people.

The Shministim (Hebrew for high school seniors), an Israeli group of activists who are refusing military service, participated in the demonstration. One of the Shministim, Emelia (18) from Tel Aviv, said: ”I came to support the people of Bil’in in their struggle against the violence they continue to face from the Israeli soldiers. I don’t want to be a part of an army that is using violence against people who, in a peaceful way, protest the theft of their land for the expansion of illegal settlements and the Wall. I prefer to be in jail than to be a part of the army.”

In addition, an active organisation of retired Palestinians participated in the demonstration, to express their solidarity with people of Bil’in. They took this occasion to announce a festival they are organizing next Sunday at 3pm in Bil’in in order to support the local resistance in the face of the occupation. They have invited Palestinian actors and celebrities to take part in the festival.

Demonstrators marched through the streets of Bil’in, chanting national songs, condemning the occupation. When they approached a gate at the western side of the Wall, the protestors attempted to enter their land that was annexed by the Wall. The Israeli soldiers closed the gate and prevented the demonstrators from entering, throwing tear gas on them and causing tens of participants suffering from tear gas inhalation.

Earlier this week, a delegation from “Follow the Women” visited Bil’in and heard from the Popular Committee about the experience of the village with the struggle against the construction of the Wall and settlements and about the suffering of Bil’in citizens caused by the Wall. The delegation cycled to the Wall in Bil’in in solidarity with the Friday demonstrations. They were a part of a tour to Palestine, which included visiting refugees camps, villages and cities, places with active local resistance and conflict points with the Israeli occupation. The delegation also visited Palestinian refugee camps in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. The aim of this ride was to promote peace in region and ending of the occupation of the Palestinian territories, as the delegation coordinator, Dita Reagan stated.