Tag: Demonstration

Bil’in under attack

Alternative Information Center (AIC)

30 July 2009

Five years ago the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued its advisory opinion declaring that the Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is illegal and should be dismantled. After five years of silence and complicity by the international community in perpetrating this crime, several villages across the Occupied West Bank have formed committees engaged in continuous demonstrations against the Wall and the settlements. Israel is getting worried by this phenomenon of mass popular resistance, especially because of the unity being created amongst Palestinians, Israeli and International activists who have been demonstrating together against the apartheid Wall for more than four years. That’s why the Israeli military is escalating the level of violence and repression against these communities (curfews, sieges, destruction of property, threats, arrests and kidnappings of activists, injuries and killings of protestors), by targeting individuals as well as collectively punishing entire communities. The aim is to break the growing popular resistance movement and to discourage villages’ support for the resistance.

In the past weeks the Israeli Occupying Forces have invaded the village of Bil’in (whose 60 percent of its farmland are confiscated by the Wall) and other villages, raiding homes in the early hours of the morning to seize demonstrators, mainly youth under the age of 18, pressuring them to confess they were throwing stones during demonstrations or in general accusing them of instigating violence. In the last few weeks almost 20 people have been kidnapped in Bil’in. That’s why the Bil’in Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements requested the presence of Israeli and international activists to document and discourage the night raids, spending the night in the village. On Thursday July 16th, I decided, with a couple of friends, to bring the village our solidarity and “sleep” there the night before the Friday’s demonstration. Having witnessed one of these “arrests” that night, I’ll try to write down what I passed though.

As usual we were warmly welcomed by the families of the village and we were introduced to the activists of the International Solidarity Movement, permanent presence in the village (just few days before an US activist of the ISM was arrested while trying to prevent soldiers from kidnapping a Palestinian). We organized in three groups, each standing on its rooftop in a strategic side of the village, in the attempt to catch the soldiers coming and forewarning the others. Our group was made by 5-6 people, staring at the point of the Wall where we were expecting soldiers’ jeeps crossing the Separation Wall towards the village. Hot coffee and narghile helped us with the cold night and the long wait. After a couple of hours, at around 2 am, a mobile rang and we were informed that jeeps full of soldiers had invaded the village and were arresting people. We jumped into a car and rushed to the house where the arrest was taking place. Dozens of soldiers, on a war footing, wearing dark military camouflage uniforms and black masks, already surrounded and entered the house, searching everywhere inside. We got out the car altogether trying to enter the house and we started recording and taking pictures of soldiers. Of course we were immediately stopped and ordered to leave under threat of being arrested. At this point we saw all the family (father, mother, daughters and sons) pulled out from their home in a humiliating way, still wearing pajamas. They were followed by Imad Burnat, member of the Bil’iI n Popular Committee, blindfold and hand-tied, arrested and pushed out by a bunch of soldiers. Imad was brutally dragged for one kilometer across the countryside, in the middle of the night, until when he was pushed him into a military vehicle and left to the nearby military outpost.

Some Palestinians, Amid’s father and a dozen of international activists first tried to block the path of the army unit (about 20 soldiers), then followed them asking for the immediate release of Amid and protesting the systematic policy of kidnappings Palestinians of the village. The Occupying Forces tried to disperse us hitting with their rifles, throwing percussion grenades, sound bombs and spraying chemicals in our faces. We managed to disturb the army’s path until additional units came and began chasing us. While avoiding getting caught and arrested, Haitham Al-Katib, a Palestinian activist, stumbled and got injured in his leg. As the soldiers were coming back towards the village, Amid’s father, in a fit of despair, hugged his little son and stood in front of them saying to his child and pointing to the soldiers, as if to give him a lesson: “Don’t be afraid! Look at them! They are soldiers, Israelis! They took your brother!”.

The soldiers’ unit left followed, some minutes later, by at least four more jeeps coming from inside the village. We estimated that between 50 and 80 soldiers were involved in the arrest of an unarmed civil Palestinian.

Despite the recent wave of arrests and the escalation in the repression of the protests, the popular resistance movement has not been defeated and weekly demonstrations against the Wall and settlements continue in Bil’in, Ni’lin, Jayyus, al-Ma’sara and other villages.

For further info on the popular resistance in Bil’in see www.bilin-village.org. See also “Repression allowed, resistance denied: Israel’s suppression of the popular movement against the Apartheid Wall of Annexation”, Addameer and Stop the Wall Campaign new Joint Report.

Israel pays NIS 3.25 million to protester shot by Border Police

Ofra Edelman | Ha’aretz

28 July 2009

The Defense Ministry has recently paid NIS 3.25 million in compensation to Limor Goldstein, 31, who was shot in the head by Border Policemen during an anti-separation fence protest in the West Bank town of Bil’in in 2006.

Goldstein filed a lawsuit against the state over disabilities incurred when a rubber bullet pierced his brain and traveled to his eye socket, his neck and his shoulder.

The lawsuit ended in a deal between the complainant and the state, which was authorized by the Tel Aviv district court. Under the terms of the deal, the state would pay Goldstein NIS 3.25 million while refraining from admitting any responsibility for the event or mentioning the extent of the damage, while Goldstein would be forbidden from filing any lawsuits on the matter in the future.

In the lawsuit, filed in 2007, Goldstein argued that he had suffered physical, psychological and neurological disabilities which posed an obstacle in his ability to earn a living as a lawyer. As part of the lawsuit, Goldstein presented a videotape of the moment in which he was hit by the rubber bullet.

The state reached an agreement with the complainant before having filed a defense with the court, thereby avoiding taking a stance on its culpability in the incident. Signing a deal also allowed the state to circumvent any judgments on it in similar cases.

The Border Police officer who shot Goldstein is also facing a lawsuit, but the case has been delayed since Goldstein petitioned the High Court of Justice in efforts to increase the severity of the charges against him and to compel a criminal investigation against his commanding officer. The petition is set to be heard by the court in November.

Attorney Bishara Jabali, who represented Goldstein, said that “the deal contains an inherent admission of guilt by the state. The security forces really employ excessive brutal force [in Bil’in] lacking in any kind of proportion, which manifests itself in serious, and sometimes lethal results. The movie documenting the moment of the shooting accurately describes the outrageous relationship between the security forces and someone trying to exercise his most classic democratic right to speak his mind.”

Protest over Sheikh Jarrah house continues

Abe Selig | The Jerusalem Post

27 July 2009

A woman was arrested in east Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood on Monday evening, after a scuffle broke out between police and foreign left-wing activists who were protesting the entry of Jews into a nearby home the previous day.

The house is the subject of a legal dispute in which the Jewish claimants, who say they purchased the property legally, have been granted the right to enter the premises, although a stop work order had been issued for the property and was scheduled to take effect at 5 p.m. on Tuesday.

Sheikh Jarrah residents, however, said on Monday that the home had belonged to an elderly woman, Mrs. Hijazi, who had recently passed away, and that the Jewish claimants had falsified their ownership papers for the house.

“We have papers dating back to the Turkish government that show this home to be Palestinian property,” said Mitri Nasrawi, who works for the Coalition for Jerusalem, a Palestinian group.

Monday’s protest followed a larger demonstration in front of the house on Sunday afternoon, in which seven people were arrested – including a former Palestinian Authority minister for Jerusalem affairs, Hatem Abdel Kader – after activists and Arab residents clashed with police and the Jews, who had arrived to begin renovating the property.

Activists and locals residents said on Monday they would not stop their protests until the group of Jews had left.

Yelling “settlers out!” and “thieves!” the protesters congregated outside the home as police barred them from entering.

After more than an hour, police began to push back the demonstrators, who were banging on sheet metal walls that had been set up around the property, setting off the scuffle.

“You’re terrorists!” some of the activists yelled as police began to clear the area. “We are here because you are fascists and terrorists!”

But the feelings of local residents ran the gamut from dismay over the new Jewish presence in their neighborhood to downright outrage.

One elderly man approached an Israeli reporter and asked him if “he was a Jew.”

“Yes,” the reporter replied, as the man made a disgusted hand gesture and walked away.

“I don’t have any problem with Jews, I work with them and grew up around them,” another resident, Osama Kedek, told The Jerusalem Post on Monday. “But this is just a provocation here. What would happen if a secular Jew went to live in Mea She’arim? I think there would be protests there as well.”

Kedek also said that while he appreciated the concern of the foreign activists, “it would be better if they used their energy to show their governments what Israel is doing to our neighborhoods.”

A handful of foreign reporters and even a French Embassy worker were on hand to document the demonstration.

Etgar Lefkovits contributed to this report.

Sheikh Jarrah demonstrates against settler takeover and demolition

27 July 2009

Israeli police arrested the woman on the right.
Israeli police arrested the woman on the right.

At 4pm today Sheikh Jarrah demonstrated against the Israeli settler takeover and partial demolition of the Darwish Hijazi home yesterday.

The day began with a meeting held in Sheikh Jarrah’s Um Kamal protest tent, which has become a powerful symbol of Palestinian steadfastness in face of the Israeli ethnic cleansing of Jerusalem, and international Human Rights Workers (HRWs) heard moving stories from local residents whose houses are under threat of demolition. From there, around 30 demonstrators accompanied by HRWs marched on the Hijazi house to find Israeli settlers on the stolen land. The protesters attempted to gain access to the property, only to be initially denied by settler security and Israeli police, and then a large deployment of Israeli Police and Border Police.

The protesters remained at the site, chanting and demanding the settlers leave the property. The Border police later began to attack the crowd, pushing and kicking protesters as they lay on the ground. One Palestinian woman was arrested.

As of 7.30pm, the protest has disbanded but HRWs remain with Mair Hasan, the head of a nearby household who has just today been issued with orders that he must vacate his property for two weeks, starting from 8.30pm tonight, keeping a distance of at least 1km from the home. He is married and has 5 children.

The case of Sheikh Jarrah

The Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem was built by the UN and Jordanian government in 1956 to house Palestinian refugees from the 1948 war. However, with the the start of the Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem, following the 1967 war, settlers began claiming ownership of the land the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood was build on.

Stating that they had purchased the land from a previous Ottoman owner in the 1800s, settlers claimed ownership of the land. In 1972 settlers successfully registered this claim with the Israeli Land Registrar.

The 28 families face eviction from their homes. In November 2008, the al-Kurd family was violently evicted from their home in Sheikh Jarrah. Two weeks thereafter, Mohammad al-Kurd died from a stress induced heart attack.

Currently, the Hannoun and the al-Ghawe families face eviction from their Sheikh Jarrah homes. However, all 28 families are battling eviction in Israeli court.

Ni’lin demonstrates against the Apartheid Wall

24 July 2009

At 1 pm, after the Friday prayer, approximately 80 protesters gathered to demonstrate against the illegal Apartheid wall which Israel has built on Ni’lin land. Internationals and Israeli solidarity activists joined the residents of Ni’lin in their weekly demonstration against the Wall. The demonstration started in the outskirt of the village and walked through the olive fields towards the Wall. On the way people were singing and chanting carrying Palestinian flags. The demonstrators succeeded in reaching the Wall but were immediately forced back by multiple tear gas canisters shot from jeeps, some of them aimed very low risking serious injury. The Israeli armed forces continued to attack the protesters with an excessive amount of tear gas, sound bombs and also used chemical stinky water against the crowd Young men from the village responded by throwing stones .

The soldiers then breached the fence and advanced upwards towards the protest group whilst continuing to shoot tear gas and sound bombs. When the soldiers pulled back the demonstrators again returned to the Wall but where met with heavy use of low aimed tear gas and were once again forced away. Several suffered from tear gas inhalation and needed medical care; at least two were hit by tear gas canisters.

The protest ended at 3 pm.

Israeli forces commonly use tear-gas canisters, rubber coated steel bullets and live ammunition against demonstrators.

To date, Israeli occupation forces have murdered 5 Palestinian residents and critically injured 1 international solidarity activist during unarmed demonstrations in Ni’lin. In total, 19 people have been killed during demonstrations against the Wall.

  • 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 with an unknown
  • 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, 38 people have been shot by Israeli forces with live ammunition in Ni’lin: 9 were shot with 5.56mm caliber live ammunition and 29 were shot with 0.22 caliber live ammunition.

Since May 2008, residents of Ni’lin have been organizing and participating in unarmed demonstrations against construction of the Apartheid Wall. Despite being deemed illegal by the International Court of Justice in 2004, the Occupation continues to build the Wall, further annexing Palestinian land.

Ni’lin will lose approximately 2,500 dunums of agricultural land when construction of the Wall is completed. Israel annexed 40,000 of Ni’lin’s 58,000 dunums in 1948. After the occupation of the West Bank in 1967, the illegal settlements and infrastructure of Kiryat Sefer, Mattityahu and Maccabim were built on village lands and Ni’lin lost another 8,000 dunums. Of the remaining 10,000 dunums, the Occupation will confiscate 2,500 for the Wall and 200 for a tunnel to be built under the segregated settler-only road 446. Ni’lin will be left with 7,300 dunums.

The current entrance to the village will be closed and replaced by a tunnel to be built under Road 446. This tunnel will allow for the closure of the road to Palestinian vehicles, turning road 446 into a segregated settler-only road . Ni’lin will be effectively split into 2 parts (upper Ni’lin and lower Ni’lin), as road 446 runs between the village. The tunnel is designed to give Israeli occupation forces control of movement over Ni’lin residents, as it can be blocked with a single military vehicle.