5th November 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Tulkarem, Occupied Palestine
Protest in Tulkarem
On the 4th of November, associations, officials and activists protested against the chemical factories that sicken the population of Tulkarem.
The construction of Israeli factories on Palestinian land near Tulkarem started in 1987. At the time locals were told these installations were a good will gesture that would provide employment.
26 years later the women’s group MIFTAH, surrounded by speakers from the Palestinian Government, Ministry of Health and local campaigners raised concerns about the high rates of cancer, respiratory diseases and skin ailments close to the factories. All of them condemned the factories.
It was reported that the factories do not operate when east winds would carry the fumes into Israel and that toxic waste had been buried on agricultural land in a nearby Palestinian village.
International activists then joined a protest march to the high wire topped wall that marks the boundary to the industrial complex.
The protest passed peacefully without the security forces attending.
30th October 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Charlie Andreasson | Gaza, Occupied Palestine
(Photo by Charlie Andreasson)
As part of the resumption of negotiation between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, 26 Palestinian prisoners were released overnight Wednesday from Ofer prison in Israel. Five were transferred to the Gaza Strip via the Erez checkpoint in Beit Hanoun. This was the second of four planned releases of a total of 104 Palestinian prisoners, nearly all imprisoned before the beginning of the Oslo system in 1994. The 26 released in this round have been detained from 19 to 28 years, and are between 38 and 58 years old. But they could have regained their freedom long ago. As part of the Sharm el-Sheikh Memorandum in 1999, all Palestinians captured and sentenced before Oslo should have been freed.
(Photo by Charlie Andreasson)
The five men returning to the Gaza Strip were hailed as heroes for their resistance against the occupation by the 400-500 Palestinians gathered at Erez to greet them. The scene in Israel, however, was entirely different. On Monday, thousands gathered outside Ofer prison to protest against plans to release the 26 prisoners, all but two sentenced to life.
Even within Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government, there have been strong disagreements about the release. The Jewish Home party, an ultra-right coalition member, unsuccessfully proposed legislation to bar future releases. Its leader, Naftali Bennett, criticized Israeli justice minister Tzipi Livni, one of the negotiators, in strong terms, saying that stopping the release of Palestinian prisoners was far more important than than Livni’s continued presence in the cabinet. Less extremist elements within the coalition said that Netanyahu could have prevented the release by accepting a freeze on the construction of new settlements in the occupied West Bank, or negotiations based on its boundaries as the borders of a future Palestinian state. This is a view shared by opposition leader Shelly Yachimovich, who claimed that Netanyahu’s Likud prefers to release prisoners than freeze settlement construction.
(Photo by Charlie Andreasson)
A freeze on the construction of new settlements and the expansion of existing ones, all illegal under international law, has always been a demand of Palestinians to continue negotiations. It was Israel’s refusal to meet this requirement that crashed the talks 2010, and only after the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s mediation were the parties were able to return to the negotiating table. But Netanyahu has already stated that permission will be given for more settlements. It is speculated that this will include between 1,200 and 1,700 units of settler housing. How this will affect the negotiations remains to be seen.
(Photo by Charlie Andreasson)
A spokesman for the Hamas-led government in Gaza, Fawzi Barhoum, accused the Israeli government of using the release of prisoners as a smokescreen for house demolitions, the construction of the wall, changing the status of Jerusalem, obstructing the right of return, and seizing even more Palestinian land. Hamas is not part of the negotiations. Barhoum’s claim expresses what many believe, that Israel hopes to change the focus of the negotiations. A resolution giving Israel the opportunity to expand settlements on occupied territory is an agreement between a pacified Palestinian authority and an occupying power. With the announcement escalated settlement expansion, the Netanyahu government has proven what it wants out of the talks.
26th October 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Khalil Team | Al Masara, Occupied Palestine
Some of the protesters at the demonstration
Yesterday, Friday 25th October, over a hundred non-violent protesters, half of them internationals from more than a dozen countries all over the world marked the seventh anniversary of the popular struggle of the people of Al Masara against illegal Israeli settlements, most notably the expansion of the Efrata settlement.
After activists were prevented from marching to the Al Masara land by a row of Israeli soldiers in riot gear, several speeches were given. Most notably by Hasan, the leader of the Al Masara non-violent resistance, and Rabbi Brant Rosen from a Jewish-Palestinian delegation from Chicago, highlighting the importance that fighting oppression and injustice takes in the Torah, addressing both the protesters and the soldiers.
Wrapping up this successful non-violent stand against the blatant violation of the international law taking place in the West Bank, some of the internationals and the Palestinians gathered in Hasan’s house to listen to an impassioned speech by his mother Fatima, who recounted the role of the international community in the Palestinian struggle and stressed the desire for freedom and a state that the Palestinians could call their own, rather than alms in aid money.
23rd October 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Gal·la López | Gaza, Occupied Palestine
It’s 9:00 am, and today the Red Cross in Gaza City is more crowded than usual. Women, men, children and the elderly await the arrival of the resistance. In a moment, they will receive some members of the al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas movement.
(Photo by Gal·la López)
When the resistance members arrive, a noise of great joy spreads throughout the crowd. They distribute flowers among the mothers, wives and relatives to honor the struggle they wage, Monday after Monday, in the Red Cross.
(Photo by Gal·la López)
Today more than 5,000 Palestinians are detained by Israel.
(Photo by Gal·la López)
It’s important to mention that while Palestinians differ on many questions, the armed resistance, as well as the detainees, are strong points of unity.
