Tag: Digests

Palestinians demonstrate and appeal for release of Western activists kidnapped in Iraq

1. Palestinians demonstrate and appeal for release of Western activists kidnapped in Iraq
2. Hebron: Palestinians offer their help to gain freedom for kidnapped CPTers
3. Palestinian Solidarity Activists Amongst Four Peace Activist Hostages in Iraq
4. Our son is an HRO
5. Sabbath Riot by Settlers in Hebron
6. Joint Police, IDF, and Settler Campaign to Remove Human Rights Workers from Tel Rumeida, Hebron

1. Palestinians demonstrate for release of Western activists kidnapped in Iraq
December 1st, 2005
A demonstration will be held in Rammallah today at the Al Manara square 3:00 PM to call for the release of the four kidnapped peace activists in Iraq; Harmeet Sooden, James Loney, Norman Kember, and Tom Fox.
Speakers at the demonstration will include a representative of the Palestinian Islamic Forum, Shawkat Samha The Mayor of Jayouss (where Harmeet and Tom volunteered), Mustapha Barghouti head of the Palestinian Initiative and Kadura Fares of the National committee against the wall and settlements.
Another demonstration will be held in the village of Tawani, tomorrow at 1:30, where American Tom Fox served as a volunteer.
The four workers for the group Christian Peacemaking Teams – an American, a Briton and two Canadians – were shown in a video released by an Iraqi militant group on Tuesday. Three of the four CPT (Christian Peace Maker Teams) activists Kidnapped in Iraq spent time in the West Bank aiding the Palestinians in CPT and ISM (International Solidarity Movement).
Calls for there release have been made by Head Mufti Akrema Sabri, The Al Aqsa Martyr Brigades, The Palestinian National and Islamic Forces in Hebron, The Popular Committees Against the Wall and Settlements and the Palestinian Islamic Forum.

Palestinians appeal for release of Western activists kidnapped in Iraq
November 30th, 2005
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
RAMALLAH
Palestinians, led by their top Muslim cleric, appealed to Iraqi insurgents on Wednesday to release four Western peace activists, saying three of them had spent time in the West Bank aiding the Palestinians.
The four workers for the group Christian Peacemaking Teams – an American, a Briton and two Canadians – were shown in a video released Tuesday by insurgents in Iraq.
While in the West Bank, American Tom Fox and the two Canadians demonstrated against the construction of Israel’s security fence, helped Palestinian children to get through Israeli army checkpoints and pitched in with the olive harvest, Palestinians across the West Bank said Wednesday.
“We demand that these aid workers be released immediately,” said Mufti Ikrema Sabri, the Palestinians’ top Muslim clergyman. “We tell them that these aid workers have stood beside Palestinian people and it’s our duty now to stand beside them.”
Sabri said Islam opposes taking civilians hostage and said such kidnappings are “inhumane.”
Palestinians in several towns said they had worked with the three activists and asked Sabri to issue the appeal. Hundreds of international activists have aided the Palestinians in largely nonviolent demonstrations during the more than five years of fighting with Israel.
“They subjected themselves to grave dangers when they stood in front of Israeli bulldozers,” said the mayor of the West Bank village of Jayyus, Shawkat Samha. “We knew them as people who were against occupation and supported freedom for occupied peoples, like the Palestinian and Iraqi peoples.”
Samha said he had met Fox and recognized him in the video that was shown on the Arab satellite channel Al-Jazeera.
Fared Tomallah from the West Bank village of Salfit said he cried when he recognized captive Canadian Harmeet Sooden on television.
“I saw him many times suffering through tear gas with the Palestinians when demonstrating against the wall,” Tomallah said, referring to the separation barrier. “We appeal to Iraqi insurgents to release him and we assure them that these people have nothing to do with the occupation.”
The local branch of Christian Peacemaking Teams in the West Bank city of Hebron said that one of the captives, James Loney from Toronto, Canada, had helped Palestinian children get through Israeli army roadblocks in the divided city. Loney was slated to return to Hebron next week to continue his work, said Rich Meyer, an activist with the group.
“The kidnapping prevents him from coming here to work,” Meyer said.
The group’s Toronto branch released a picture of Fox sitting with children.

2. Hebron: Palestinians offer their help to gain freedom for kidnapped CPTers
December 1st, 2005 | Posted in Press Releases
(Palestinians hold photos of Tom Fox, one of the four members of theaid group, Christian Peacemaker Teams, who were kidnapped in Iraq,during a protest outside a mosque in the West Bank city of Hebron,Wednesday Nov 30, 2005. Palestinians led by their top Muslim clericappealed to Iraqi insurgents Wednesday to release four Western peace activists, saying three of them had spent time in the West Bank aiding the Palestinians. The banner on the right reads in Arabic:’ we demands the release of the CPT members ‘ and the banner on the center reads: ‘ CPT are friends of Palastine and the Arabs, release them ‘. (AP Photo/Nasser Shiyoukhi))

On November 30, 2005 the National and Islamic Forces in Hebron held a press conference to ask for the release of four CPTers being held by an Iraqi armed group. The first speaker was Sheikh Najib Al Ja’abri, who hosted the press conference at the Ali Baka’a Mosque in the Haret e-Sheikh neighborhood of Hebron. He spoke of his warm sense of working together with CPTers over the years. The second speaker was Abdul ‘Alim Dana of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, followed by Fahmi Shahin, Coordinator of the National and Islamic Forces in Hebron, representing the Palestine People’s Party.
Naim Daour, Public Relations Director for Hebron University, talked about repeated closures of the university and CPT’s work to help to re-open the university. “Sometimes it is hard to tell who is working for us and who is against us, but really Christian Peacemaker Teams helps us – whoever is holding the CPTers has made a mistake.” Fariel Abu Haikal, Headmistress of
Qurtuba Girls’ School, emphasized the difference between CPTers and the American government. “Saif al-Haq (‘Sword of Justice,’ the Iraqi armed group holding the CPTers) I don’t know, but these problems in Iraq, they come from George Bush. He is the problem, not CPT.” She described the accompaniment that CPTers have provided for teachers and students at her school, who are often assaulted by Israeli settlers from the nearby settlement of Beit Hadassah.
The last Palestinian to speak was Jamal Miqbal of Beit Ummar. Jamal and his family live in the shadow of the Israeli settlement of Karme Tzur, and the Israeli military issued a demolition order on their home. Many CPTers have stayed at their home, both in tense times when the Miqbals feared that the bulldozer would come, and in more relaxed seasons.
At the conclusion of the press conference, CPTers read this message:
“We are very worried about our four friends. We fear that whoever is holding them has made a mistake. They are four men who went to Iraq to work for peace. They oppose the occupation. They are not spies.”

3. Palestinian Solidarity Activists Amongst Four Peace Activist Hostages in Iraq
November 30th, 2005
CORRECTION: Three of the group of four have previously been in Palestine, not only two as previously stated. James Loney was in Palestine five years ago as an activist with CPT Hebron.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Two of the four Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT) hostages in Iraq of whom a video was released today have been in Palestine working as Palestinian Solidarity activists. Tom Fox (54) worked with CPT Hebron and participated in demonstrations against the apartheid Wall in Jayyous. Harmeet Sooden (32) a Canadian citizen who had been living in New Zealand, came to Palestine to join the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) in December 2004 and stayed until January 2005. He worked in solidarity with local Palestinian people, mostly in Nablus and Jenin. While in Jenin, he worked with a group of ISM activists who planted Olive trees on the ‘Swithart’ farm outside Jenin, He was committed to come to Palestine for three months to join the ISM again at the beginning of December 2005 as a long term activist for the liberation of Palestine from Israeli occupation, but first decided to join a two week CPT delegation to Iraq.
Palestinians in Ramallah will hold a demonstration tomorrow at 3pm in solidarity with all four kidnapped peace activists and to appeal for their release. The demonstration will be attended by notable Palestinian religious and resistance figures.
Mustafa Jayyousi a local Palestinian activist in Jayyous who knew Tom said: “When he worked in Jayyous, Tom was part of a group who went down to the gates everyday with local farmers to help them access their lands made inaccessible by the wall. He also participated in demonstrations with the people of Jayyous against the apartheid Wall in Jayyous”.
Mohammed Ayyesh a local Palestinian activist in Balata camp, Nablus said of Harmeet: “I was touch with Harmeet and was looking forward to him coming here to work next week. We must do everything we can to secure his release”.
Basem Abu-Bakar a local Palestinian activist in Jenin said: “Harmeet came as a volunteer in solidarity with the people of Jenin. He supported the Palestinian people and the people of Jenin with his presence here, and with his work in New Zealand”.
In an email to his friends Harmeet described the purpose of the four-person team’s work in Iraq as: “providing humanitarian aid in the form of training and documentation of non-violent responses to lethal inter-group conflict. We will also record the current conditions in Iraq, meeting with representatives of NGOs, Christian and Muslim clerics, Iraqi human rights groups and others”. He also recounted a story from Iraq: “A little 3-year old girl, Alaa, ran up to me and gave me a big hug me yesterday. She reminds me of my niece. She, however, does not see as my niece sees. She sustained severe shrapnel injuries to her abdomen and micro-fragments peppered her eyes, face and body during a US military attack in May on al Qaim, Iraq. Her mother lost an eye. She lost two brothers and several other relatives”.

4. Our son is an HRO
December 1st, 2005
Statement From Andrew’s Parents
Thursday 24th November 2005: “A Human Rights Observer from the UK was arrested in Tel Rumeida, Hebron earlier today. He had just finished escorting Palestinian children to school.”
This report appeared last week on the web-site of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) the movement dedicated to “non-violently resist the overwhelming military occupation force” in Palestine.
Monday 18th August 2003: “A Scots peace activist is to be deported from Israel after trying to stop soldiers blowing up and bulldozing the house of a Palestinian family at a refugee camp near Nablus”. Report in The Herald, August 2003.
Our son Andrew Muncie was the ‘peace activist’ of 2003, and also the ‘human rights observer’ arrested last week.
Two years ago, he had been arrested on the West Bank in Palestine. He and Swede Andreas Koninek, a fellow member of the ISM, had chained themselves to a pole in the house. “It was less likely they would blow the house up if internationals were present,” Andrew explained later. They were deported after an unsuccessful appeal and told not to return to Palestine (by the Israelis) for ten years.
On 18th August this year, two years exactly to the day of the report from Nablus, Andrew flew out from London Gatwick via Prague, on his way back to Palestine. He had gone out in 2003 to try and support the ordinary Palestinians. The attempt had been cut short. He was still of a mind to help them.
‘Andrew MacDonald’ was the name on his new passport. He had legally changed his name. As ‘Andrew Muncie’, he would have been stopped at Tel Aviv airport. This in spite of the fact that Andrew Muncie had committed no crime or offence when he had last been there. But the plight of the Palestinians, whose dignity and forbearance in the face of the constant erosion of their human rights, had awoken his concern for justice and peace.
Andrew has been in Palestine for almost fifteen weeks now. But he will be home soon. The Israeli authorities have finally identified him. They do not want Human Rights Observers reporting on what is happening. He is being deported again. But at the time of writing he has been in detention for five days with no date set for his deportation.
When he went out in August this year, he had decided that he would concentrate on capturing images of some of the injustices perpetrated on Palestinians while at the same time helping them in less confrontational situations than before. He attended peaceful demonstrations against the great wall which the Israeli Government are continuing to construct through Palestinian farmlands, towns, villages, and business areas, effectively strangling and devastating these communities. In spite of international calls from people of conscience for the wall to be halted, Israel continues unrelentingly destroying the livelihoods of tens of thousands.
The Israeli settlers, recently in the news loudly and bitterly complaining as they were forced to leave the land in Gaza they had occupied for some years, were all compensated by up to $400,000 for each family. The Palestinians, on their land for some centuries, and whose homes are demolished by the inexorable progress of the great wall, whose lands are wrecked by bulldozers, whose access to their land is made impossible by the huge barrier, receive nothing. Israel may be a democracy, but injustice is the face shown to Palestinians.
Andrew went to Tel Rumeida, an area of Hebron, south of Jerusalem, where the Palestinians live in a virtual hell caused by the daily abuse of the 500 or so settlers who live in an enclave established some few years ago in the Palestinian area of the city. Countless instances of brutality to the dwindling Palestinian population were recorded and photographed by Andrew and his colleagues, who lived in an apartment in Tel Rumeida. They daily escorted Palestinian children to and from school to try and protect them from the assaults of settlers. Because of the extremely dangerous and cruel situation here, the Tel Rumeida Project was established to try and protect the Palestinians. (See their website telrumeidaproject.org) The organisation Christian Peacemaker Teams also worked in an effort to alleviate the plight of the Palestinians in Tel Rumeida. Like the ISM, all are non-violent and peaceful.
The catalogue of violence against Palestinians and these Human Rights Observers is staggering.
Andrew reported a typical incident on 27th October this year from Tel Rumeida.
“At around 1.20pm on Thursday the 27th of October I received a phone call from one of the three internationals who had come to the aid of a Palestinian schoolgirl near Qurtuba School, and who were now under attack from a mob of settlers.
I made my way quickly to the end of Shuhada Street, stopping at the soldiers’ post there. On the right, a narrow stone staircase leads up to a hillside path which leads to Qurtuba School. By this time the three internationals and the Palestinian child had been removed from the area by the police and army.
On one occasion during the next hour four settler children followed me back along Shuhada Street, throwing stones at me. I was also spat at and shoved in the chest by two 18 year old settler males. I was told by the soldiers who were standing on the street that the Israeli Army were unable to ensure my safety.
At 2.30pm I walked with three Palestinian women to the bottom of the staircase, waiting until they had reached the top before I left. Seconds after I turned to leave, I heard several loud crashes and screams from the top of the staircase. I turned to see at least two teenage settler girls who had jumped up from behind a wall next to the path the Palestinian women were now on, throwing bottles and stones at them. The women retreated several metres to the top of the staircase, but were now effectively stranded there as four or five settler men (one of whom was brandishing a power drill) had now approached the bottom of the staircase.
I shouted to the soldiers to do something and went to join the women who were still trapped at the top of the stairs, but out of range of the missiles which continued to fly in their direction. The soldiers remained standing on the street with the settler men.
Five Palestinian kids had now arrived at the bottom of the stairs, and were being prevented from passing by the soldiers and settlers there. As I made my way back down the stairs to join the kids, the settler with the power drill began waving it in the air, shouting. He then charged at the kids, chasing them away. The soldiers continued to stand on the street.
Two police officers then arrived who despite requests to assist the stranded women continued to do nothing for 10 minutes until the settler girls who were throwing the rocks and bottles had left. They then went up to the women to escort them along the path. The soldiers continued to stand on the street.”
This lack of protection for the Palestinian population means that mob rule dictates the streets of Tel Rumeida.
Just over a week after this incident, Andrew was stopped and harassed by eight soldiers of the Israeli occupation force. He and his colleagues whom he phoned for help and who joined him on the street near their apartment, were arrested and taken to the police station in Hebron. They were falsely accused of assaulting an officer. The next day, Judge Rafi Strauss said as he released them, “I would like to express outrage and contempt for the behaviour of the police.”
Andrew and his colleagues were in contact with several Members of the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament, who expressed concern over the abusive behaviour of the Israeli police.
However, it is the Palestinians who continue to suffer. And the HROs who try to help.
Andrew was arrested last Thursday as he walked home.
According to the Israeli police, on Saturday 26th November, “Three thousand settlers from around the West Bank and Israel have come to the Palestinian city of Hebron ‘to show solidarity with the pioneers of Hebron’.” Haaretz, the Israeli newspaper, estimated the number at “twenty thousand”.
This report appeared on the ISM site: “Between 2pm and 5pm that day, a hostile mob of between 100 and 150 of these Israeli settlers visiting from outside Hebron besieged five Human Rights Observers inside their apartment in Hebron. Palestinian families were besieged in their homes. ISM and Tel Rumeida project volunteers alone recorded six assaults on Palestinians and twelve assaults and five stonings on HROs. The police were called on eight separate occasions and the army four times, but most of the time they did not arrive.”
As Andrew’s parents, while sympathetic already to the plight of the Palestinians, as any decent person must be, and fully supportive of Andrew’s actions throughout, we have become more aware, while keeping abreast of his experiences in Palestine, of the depth of misery in which the Palestinians are unjustly forced to live. We are proud of him, and commend him and his colleagues for their moral and physical courage.
Sadly, it is rare to see any mention in the media of the daily torture of the Palestinian people. The only mention of Palestinians in the press seems to be when a suicide bomber blows himself and others up.
The overwhelming majority of Palestinians need to live in peace and be able to work unhindered towards a decent life.
As Unicef state on their website unicef.org/infobycountry/oPt.html
“The decline in the wellbeing and quality of life of Palestinian children in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) over the past two years has been rapid and profound. This is directly linked to the violence and mobility restrictions children experience daily, including death and injury to family and friends, damage to their property, and the frustration and poverty they sustain through stifling closures, curfews and home confinement. Children are paying a heavy and disproportionate price for this conflict – many with their lives.”
With the international media largely ignoring the plight of the Palestinians, the general public is not fully aware of the real and terrible situation in Palestine. And so the terrorization continues of a people without even any comment.
Web-sites to check for more information:
www.palsolidarity.org
www.cpt.org

5. Sabbath Riot by Settlers in Hebron
November 29th, 2005
by ISM activists in Hebron
On the 26th of November in the West Bank, a large number of armed Israeli Settlers visiting Hebron for the commemoration of the Biblical character Abraham’s burial of Sarah broke Palestinian property and assaulted Palestinians. The rioting Settlers, numbering some one hundred and sixty people rioted in the ‘H2’ area of Hebron, so designated after the Oslo Two Peace Accord and the Hebron Protocol. ‘H2’ is that area of Hebron under Israeli civil control as opposed to the larger more populated ‘H1’ area which is under Palestinian Authority civil control. A large number of Palestinian families still remain in this Israeli controlled (and Settler occupied) ‘H2’ area and are subject to daily intimidation by local Settlers and Israeli military restrictions. International Human Rights Observers (HROs) remain in Tel Rumeida (H2) and daily escort Palestinian children to school and accompany the adults about daily errands.
Large numbers of Settlers began roaming the streets of H2 around midday. The majority were teenage youths. Initially, they shouted obscenities and spat at passing Palestinians. Around two thirty in the afternoon, a large fight broke out between the mob gathered at the top of Tel Rumeida street and the sons of several Palestinian families who were standing outside their house. One son received a fractured collarbone and another was badly beaten. The Israeli military had quickly arrived to keep Settlers away from the Palestinians, however they were greatly outnumbered by Settlers and were unable to break up the mob or prevent much of the stoning. After the Palestinians fled into their homes, attention then turned on the nearby home of the Human Rights Observers and for over two hours, five of them, with a German photojournalist remained locked indoors while their apartment was stoned and obscenities and death threats yelled at them. Another three HROs unaware that their nearby home was under siege tried to escort a single Palestinian student through this crowd and were beaten until the Israeli soldiers pulled them out.
Large numbers of the Settlers carried automatic weapons. Members of the Settler Militia were particularly aggressive toward the Western HRO’s throughout the day often shouldering and tripping them in an effort to provoke them. The HROs reported twelve separate incidents of physical assault including grabbing, pushing, shouldering, tripping and knocking one person to the ground. The mob toward evening moved along Tel Rumeida street entering Palestinian property, preventing returning Palestinians from entering their houses, breaking windows and beating on doors. The Israeli military closed a checkpoint which allows Palestinians from H2 to access H1 for over two hours while the mob paraded and Palestinians were also prevented from accessing their homes in H2 from the south. It was observed that television journalists were prevented by an Israeli soldier from entering the H2 area to film the riot and the Settlers that surrounded the soldier. Settlers remained on the street until sunset when the Sabbath fast ended.
Although the Israeli Police were called on over eight separate occasions during the day, their presence on the street was minimal and was of short duration when they did arrive. Only one Settler was seen to be detained. It was left to a small number of Israeli soldiers to hold back the Settlers. Nevertheless, many windows, doors and rooftop water heaters were smashed and Palestinians stoned, beaten and intimidated by Settlers. Despite repeated pleas, Police and army numbers remained minimal thus giving these armed Settlers free reign to roam the streets of ‘H2’ and continue the process of intimidation toward its Palestinian residents, a process which has the ultimate goal of evicting them from their homes. On Shuhaddah street adjacent to Tel Rumeida alone only eleven out of the fifty two families remain. One more family is currently trying to leave. Despite the recent high publicity Gaza pullouts, the remainder of the Settler community continues to use violence and intimidation to expand and consolidate unabated.

6. Joint Police, IDF, and Settler Campaign to Remove Human Rights Workers from Tel Rumeida, Hebron
November 30th, 2005
Joint Police, IDF, and Settler Campaign to Remove Human Rights Workers from Tel Rumeida, Hebron
Contact: Tel Rumeida Project – Luna Ruiz: +972 (0) 54 557 3154, Chelli Stanley: +972 (0) 54 802 4841
From the moment the first international presence of Human Rights Worker’s (HRW’s) came to live in Tel Rumeida, Hebron, in August, 2005, to support Palestinians against settler violence, the IDF, police and settlers in Tel Rumeida have used whatever means, legal or otherwise, to prevent their work from continuing. Now Andrew Mcdonalnd, one of the main long term organizers of the work in Tel Rumeida is awaiting deportation at Abu Kabir Prison.
After the Gaza disengagement, Hebron settlers feel embattled, lacking support, and in their relative weakness present even more of a danger to Palestinian families and the HRW’s who are their only protection and advocates in the lawless, violent neighborhood of Tel Rumeida. The presence of HRW’s, as many Palestinian families tell the volunteers on a daily basis as they offer tea on a cold day or invite them to their homes to share a meal, is crucial. The settler’s stated goal is to expand the settlement in the face of the perceived threat of evacuation. A settler spokesperson, Orit Struck, was quoted recently as saying “the community’s response to the sense that it has been marked for expulsion is to expand Jewish settlement in Hebron.” The only way to expand is for more Palestinian families to leave. HRW’s are there at a crucial time to prevent any expansion and to support Palestinians who choose to stay in Tel Rumeida where mere existence is a great act of resistance.
Police and IDF Illegal Refusal to Protect Palestinians and HRW’s from Settler Violence
• Police fail to respond to phone calls for assistance from HRW’s or Palestinians when settlers attack. When police do respond, they often do nothing, refuse to stop settlers from attacking and do not arrest settlers.
• Police make Palestinians and HRW’s wait for 3 to 4 hours on average to place complaints against settler violence. Police do not act on complaints that are placed against settlers by Palestinians and HRW’s.
• Police capitulation to settler intimidation. Police often claim to be frightened of settler violence and choose to remove themselves from the conflict area to protect themselves, creating a de-facto state of lawlessness.
Details of Police, IDF and Settler Campaign to Remove Human Rights Workers
from Tel Rumeida, Hebron
– Beginning in September, the IDF began the illegal use of Closed Military Zone orders issued only against HRW’s with the sole purpose of removing HRW’s from Tel Rumeida. The orders kept HRW’s effectively under house arrest, going so far as attempting to arrest HRW’s simply for leaving their house to buy food. Rather than preventing settlers from attacking Palestinian families and children, as they are required to by law, the IDF sought to remove the only protection and advocates Palestinian families have in the area. The illegal use of the orders stopped only when Gabi Lasky, the lawyer for the HRW’s, wrote a letter challenging the use of the orders to the Attorney General of Israel and the Attorney General of the Occupied Territories.
– On September 9, after multiple settler attacks, which soldiers did nothing to stop, and on the same day that Closed Military Zone orders began to be issued which kept HRW’s effectively under house arrest for three consecutive days, the Kiryat Arba police detained HRW’s, took them to the police station and lied, inventing a new “order” that said that the HRW’s were no longer allowed to live in Tel Rumeida and would have to vacate their house that same day. HRW’s did not believe or submit to this lie and intimidation and refused to leave their home in Tel Rumeida. HRW’s later learned that there was, in fact, never any such “order.”
– On multiple occasions, when HRW’s called Hebron police to report a settler attack in progress, police arrived and rather than stopping the settler attack, harassed and threatened HRW’s with arrest and refused to protect them or Palestinians from settlers.
– On October 24, police forced a neighbor who lives in the same building as the HRW’s to come to their apartment to convince them to let the police and army inside. The police officer, Hussein Nabia, further threatened the neighbor that if he did not have the HRW’s move out of their apartment by 2PM the next day (even though the police knew that the neighbor is not the owner of the building) that the army and police would make life very difficult for him and his family. Officer Nabia, came back the next day, four separate times, looking for the neighbor. Officer Nabia pointed his video camera at the neighbor and repeatedly screamed at him to say on camera that he did not want the HRW’s living in the apartment. He also tried to force the neighbor to go to the police station to file a complaint saying that the HRW’s were living in the apartment against his will. The neighbor refused to cooperate with any of the police’s requests.
– On November, 8 the police arrested four HRW’s on the false charge of assaulting a soldier. This charge was made only after the police altered their story and the charges multiple times. Judge Rafi Strauss reprimanded the police saying, “I would like to express outrage and contempt for the behavior of the police…“should be seen in a very severe light to hold the defendants in custody for long hours after the interrogation was over.” The HRW’s were released from custody and the police have not issued an indictment on these false charges.
– On November 24th Border Police came specifically looking for a HRW who they wanted to deport. They knew that his visa had expired. When they questioned him on the street he explained that he had made a legal appointment with the Ministry of Interior to extend his visa. He showed the Border Police proof of his appointment issued to him by the Ministry of Interior. But the police took him and he is now awaiting deportation. This same day, a commander of the IDF stopped a different HRW and seemed surprised that she was there. He asked to see her passport. He said he knew the status of her visa would not allow her to be there. She showed the commander her proof of the appointment she has to extend her visa. He noted the date of her appointment and said, “No, you can’t stay that long. We are not waiting that long.” Then the commander drove away.
Video and Detailed Reports of the following are available to the public and press at telrumeidaproject.org. Better quality, broadcast quality available upon request.

1. Human Rights Observer to be Deported from Palestine by Israel.
2. Settler Mobs Attack Palestinians and Besiege Internationals In Hebron
3. Aboud Holds Second Demonstration Against the Wall
4. Army taught a lesson in Bil’in
5. Israeli Use of Daewoo Tracked Excavators in Palestinian House Destruction

From the Israeli press:
6. Ynet News: “Olive trees uprooted in Palestinian village”
7. Ha’aretz: The Killing of Mohammed Abu Salha

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1. Human Rights Observer to be Deported from Palestine by Israel

November 24th, 2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

A Human Rights Observer (HRO) from the UK was arrested in Tel Rumeida, Hebron earlier today. He had just finished escorting Palestinian children to school and was walking home on Shuhaddah street when he was stopped by an armed Border Police unit in a targeted arrest.

He was informed that his visa had expired but explained that he had been given an appointment with the Ministy of the Interior (MoI) for renewal. He had applied for this renewal before his visa had expired and was given an appointment in three weeks time, as is the usual practice of the MoI. He produced documents to prove this appointment. These documents were refused and he alone was put into a Border Police van and taken to Abrahim Avinu police station.

He has had an immediate hearing tonight with the MoI, not attended by any lawyer or independent witnesses. The MoI. decided on his deportation without hearing any representation from him or his lawyer. He now waits in the Ramleh Deportation Centre near Tel Aviv to be sent home.

This HRO has been working in Tel Rumeida for a number of months. His primary role has been in escorting Palestinian children to and from Qurtuba Primary School as they are subjected to stoning and physical assault by settlers from the Tel Rumeida and Beit Haddassa settlements on a daily basis. This area of Hebron has seen some of the worst settler violence against local Palestinians. The police have been at best apathetic toward this violence and at worst, have accommodated it. He and other HROs are regularly harassed and threatened with arrest by police.

Only last week, this HRO met with members of the Israeli Knesset to discuss the security situation with settlers and the difficulties with the Civil and Border Police in Tel Rumeida. HROs have been stoned, spat at and had their life threatened on numerous occasions by settlers communities for the work they do. The absence of HRO’s would give settlers carte blanche to do as they wish to Palestinians and their land without any international witnesses.

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2. Settler Mobs Attack Palestinians and Besiege Internationals In Hebron

November 26th, 2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Between 2pm and 5pm today, a hostile mob of between 100 and 150 Israeli settlers visiting from outside Hebron besieged five Human Rights Observers (HROs) and one photo-journalist inside the HROs’ apartment in Tel Rumeida, Hebron. Palestinian families, who were the main target of the settler’s hate, were also besieged in their homes. Other settlers attacked Palestinians throughout the city on a day that was advertised as a “mass prayer” for Jews only in the Ibrahimi Mosque. ISM and Tel Rumeida project volunteers alone recorded six assaults on Palestinians and twelve assaults and five stonings on HROs. The police were called on eight separate occasions and the army/DCO 4 times, but most of the time they did not arrive.

In one such incident on Tel Rumeida street, two HROs were present when settlers threw stones at Palestinians on the roofs of their houses, as well as at the HROs. Local Palestinian Basem Rajeb Abu-Aisha’s solar panels were broken by the stone throwers. In another incident, an HRO was violently pushed by one of a group of three settler girls who were trying to attack a Palestinian school girl the HRO was accompanying.

The HROs spent the morning spread along Tel Rumeida street and Shuhaddah street ready to observe the situation in anticipation of settler violence. Many were doing their usual accompaniment of Palestinian children returning home from school. Palestinian children in Hebron are regularly attacked by settlers with stones and other forms of violence.

They heard of a disturbance near to their apartment which is about 100m from Tel Rumeida settlement. They arrived to find a mob of about 150 settlers nearby throwing stones at a small group of Palestinian youth on the street. Israeli soldiers prevented the settlers from following the Palestinians. Police and soldiers picked one settler out of crowd to arrest him. He was detained for about five minutes before he escaped into the crowd of settlers. The soldiers ran after him but the crowd surrounded them and scuffles broke out between the settlers and soldiers. One of the HROs tried to take pictures of this confrontation but was met with hostility from the settlers and soldiers. The HROs were still trying to accompany Palestinians despite the hostile mob. One settler with an M16 automatic rifle threateningly followed one of the HROs, so he decided to come inside. Others from the small group of HROs also sought refuge in their apartment, fearing for their safety if they were to leave. At first they retreated to the roof where they could continue their observations, but were soon driven down when the settlers began throwing stones up at them. The settlers stayed outside singing in Hebrew and chanting slogans like “No Arabs” in English.

Other quotes from settlers throughout the day: “death to the Arabs”, “we hate all the Arabs”, “Palestinians are animals who should be in cages”, “they shouldn’t be caged just in Hebron but everywhere”, “I hope that God burns all the Arabs in hell… they are not men but dogs”.

According to Israeli Police and military, around 3000 Israeli settlers from around the West Bank and Israel have come to the Palestinian city of Hebron today to show “solidarity with the pioneers of Hebron” as they stated in their advertising for the day.

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3. Aboud Holds Second Demonstration Against the Wall

by ISM activists

On Friday the 25th of November the village of Aboud held it’s second demonstration in two weeks against the construction of the wall there. Joined by Israeli and international supporters, the village came out in force to show opposition to the construction of the wall on their agricultural land and the destruction and theft that will result from it. Over 5330 dunams of their land, as well as the whole of the water sources of the village will be confiscated by the Israeli apartheid barrier.

Around 300 protesters marched towards the site where construction will soon begin. The IOF had learned from last week and were far more organised and aggressive. They had organized regular tactical positions which they could fall back to. The jeeps were kept in the back, rather than falling back every time. It was possibly a different company of soldiers from last week as we did not recognise any of them. They had several soldiers with cameras – both video and still. They constantly gathered information, recording the faces of many of those present, often against their explicitly expressed will. In the distance, Israeli snipers could be clearly observed on the tops of the hills on both sides of the demonstration.

When the demonstration reached the first earth mound blocking the road, a few soldiers showed a map declaring the area a “closed military zone” – the usual IOF tactic to prevent non-violent demonstrations. They were largely ignored by the demonstrators who continued along the path towards the building site. At a tactically superior site in the road, a large number of IOF soldiers blocked the road, using razor wire and their own physical presence. Almost immediately, they attempted to disperse the protesters using sound grenades and tear gas. This assault on an unarmed crowd, consisting largely of young men, continued at regular intervals throughout the demonstration, often when there were attempts to move forward past the soldiers, though sometimes for no apparent reason. The soldiers also beat, punched and kicked people in the crowd.

Three Palestinians and one Israeli were arrested, including one Salaiman Khouri (33) who was trying to act as a de-escalating presence, negotiating with the soldiers in Hebrew. For his efforts he received a bloody wound to his arm from the soldier’s beatings. The four were held for over an hour, and were eventually released after negotiations, on condition that the demonstration end and disperse. One of the arrestees, Abdullah Bhargouti (24) was badly injured after being beaten with the soldiers rifle butts, and struck in the head and chest with their batons. His brother Abdullah Raheem Bhargouti was also arrested and held. For an hour they kept him captive using extremely tight handcuffs, which left marks on his arms.

After release, he was admitted to hospital for 24 hours, to allow neurological checks to be performed.

Despite the violence of the Israeli Occupation Forces, the demonstration was a success, pushing far into the land of the village. This acted as strong statement against the wall.

For picture from the demonstration:
https://www.palsolidarity.org/main/2005/11/25/aboud-holds-second-demonstration-against-the-wall/

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4. Army taught a lesson in Bil’in

by ISM activist Sarah

At 12:00 the weekly Bil’in protest against the Apartheid Fence got underway. The group consisted of about 100 people, mostly local Palestinian men supplemented by about 40 Israeli and international supporters.

The group marched out of town lead by a banner illustrating the land of Palestine pre-1948 partition, then another map of 1967, then a map of 2002-2005 showing just Gaza and a small enclave of the West Bank as Palestinian territory, and then a question mark for the future. By the fence, there were about 15 soldiers waiting, but the group did not continue on this route, instead deviating through the olive groves to the construction quarry, where about 15 more soldiers were waiting.

Protestors walked past the guards without impediment and several members were able to scale the mountain of stone in the quarry. They held the hill for 20 minutes or so until the number of soldiers swelled to around 40 in number – they then pulled people off the precarious rocks, with both soldiers and protesters sliding and stumbling. There were no serious injuries reported.

Earth moving work continued through-out. When the trucks drove around to the occupied side of the hill, protestors sat in the road, halting movement for more than half an hour, much to the anger of the drivers. The rocks and earth are used as foundations for the Fence

During this sit-in, the banner depicting the land of Palestine was held aloft, while a line of soldiers blocked the path between the protestors and the machinery. One of the Israeli protestors took the opportunity to give the assembled soldiers a history lesson for 15 minutes: he pointed to the map, highlighted the land grabs, talked about Prime Minister Sharon’s plans and invited participation from the soldiers.

None of the army group took the chance to make comment or ask questions. They were not very good students, despite looking attentive.

Meanwhile a few of the internationals were singing verses of “Where have all the flowers gone” changed to “Where have all the olive trees gone? Uprooted everyone… when will they ever learn? ” and “Where have all the soldiers gone? Occupying Palestine everyone… when will they ever learn?”.

Eventually as the group dispersed the army fired tear gas toward the youth with rocks who had moved back to the olive trees. About 25 canisters were fired.

For picture from the day:
https://www.palsolidarity.org/main/2005/11/25/army-taught-a-lesson-in-bil%e2%80%99in/

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5. Israeli Use of Daewoo Tracked Excavators in Palestinian House Destruction

Early morning on the 21st of November, several Israeli owned Daewoo tracked excavators accompanied by a large body of Border Police demolished seven occupied Palestinian homes in the Anata, Beit Hanina and Silwan areas of the West Bank. These houses fall within that area of the Jerusalem Municipality which has expanded into the West Bank. Reports say that the Jerusalem Municipality has a million and a half unused shekels ($300,000) for use in its annual budget. The money is lost if not used in demolitions. Since such an amount pays for about 70 demolitions, the Municipality is under pressure to demolish as many homes as possible in the next month and a half. That these homes are situated too close to the route of the Wall was given as a reason for demolishing the homes in Anata – even though the Wall has not yet been built. Seven homes were destroyed on this day alone. After having grabbed what few possessions they could as soon as they heard the bulldozers, these families were put out into the rain, homeless.

November 21st , 6:30 AM the municipality of Jerusalem demolished the house of Hamdan’s family in Anata

Gush Shalom has called for activists to send letters to their local Daewoo-Chevrolet and General Motors dealers, Dawoo recently having been taken over by Chevrolet, a company owned by General Motors. ISM would very much support this call and encourage its activists to do likewise.

The use of Daewoo equipment to destroy civilian homes by a military occupying force violates international and human rights law. For Daewoo to profit by selling vehicle for such uses is morally reprehensible and similar to the Caterpillar corporation ties to military industrial complex.

See www.catdestroyshomes.org and the campaign against Caterpillar.

Images and some information courtesy of The Israeli Committee against House Demolitions, whose activists witnessed these events. www.icahd.org

Daewoo Chevrolet Europe
www.chevroleteurope.com

Daewoo US
www.daewoous.com

General Motors
www.gm.com

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6. Ynet News: “Olive trees uprooted in Palestinian village”

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3174632,00.html

Ali Waked

Private contractor uproots dozens of Palestinian village’s olive trees before eyes of soldiers near security fence. ‘If this is a security fence, how can IDF justify uprooting?’ villager asks

The residents of the West Bank village of Bil’in were amazed to discover several weeks ago that dozens of olive trees had been uprooted from the village’s orchards, tearing down the livelihood of dozens of families.

The village of Bil’in has become a symbol of the struggle against the construction of the security fence. Local residents and Israeli and international peace activists rally near the village on a weekly basis against the erection of the fence.

Many acres have already been appropriated from the village in favor of the construction project, and now its residents lost their olive orchards for a project to develop infrastructure for the new neighbourhoods of the nearby Israeli town of Modi’in.

“At the beginning of the month, while we were busy with preparations for the id al Fitr holiday, we discovered that 190 of our finest olive trees were loaded on trucks and disappeared,” Muhammad Abu Rahma, one of the land owners hurt by the uprooting, told Ynet.

“It is true that the lands are on the other side of the fence, but according to an agreement between us and the army, we are allowed to cultivate them. Although the army puts a lot of difficulties in our way, it does not deny the fact that the land is ours,” he said.

‘Police are doing nothing about it’

According to Abu Rahma, the residents of the village spotted employees of one of the contractors in the new neighborhood under construction across the fence uprooting the trees.

He claimed that when the villagers approached the IDF on the matter, they were told that it was not army business, and that they should turn to the police.

“The claim that the army is not involved in the issue is infuriating, because the whole uprooting operation took place before the soldiers’ eyes,” he said.

Abu Rahma claimed that although he filed a complaint with the police, nothing has been done so far.

“I told the people in the army that even if we can accept their claim that the fence is built for security purposes, how can they justify the uprooting of trees? Meanwhile the army keeps telling us it’s none of its business, and the police do nothing about it,” he said.

The Defense Ministry told Ynet that “the incident in question was not related to the construction of the security fence, but was the work of a private contractor who was operating in the area. Once his activity was reported, the police intervened to stop it.”

Police sources said in response that an investigation into the incident has been launched.

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7. Ha’aretz: The Killing of Mohammed Abu Salha

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArtVty.jhtml?sw=muhammed+abu+salah&itemNo=649792

“Death in French Park”

By Gideon Levy

It was afternoon, and the four boys, all of them high school students, set out on a hike on the heights of Mt. Ebal overlooking Nablus. They climbed on the rocks in the direction of the “French Park,” a small forest planted near the top of the mountain, the only green area of Nablus, which serves as the city’s picnic site. No one can explain why the place is called the French Park. Just as it is not exactly clear what the boys were doing there. Perhaps it was a peaceful afternoon hike, as the boys claim, or perhaps it was a terror activity, as the Israel Defense Forces claim.

The boys say that they were armed with a family-sized bottle of water, their only baggage. The IDF claims the four boys were a terrorist band that was about to plant a roadside bomb. Shortly before they got to French Park, fire was opened on the boys: Mohammed Abu Salha, 15, was shot in the head and apparently died on the spot; Ala Shishtri, 15, was shot in the stomach and is lying injured at home; Ramzi Saka, 17, was shot in the leg; and Ahmed al-Fahuri, 17, emerged unhurt, after managing to flee.

The chronological report in the newspapers the next day was typical, routine, almost boring: “A group of soldiers from the Haruv infantry battalion, waiting in ambush, noticed a band of young men trying to plant a bomb on the road that is used for military vehicles. The soldiers opened fire and identified a hit to three Palestinians. One of them was evacuated in a Palestinian ambulance and died of his injuries, the others fled.”

We can assume that not many readers of this laconic news item, as it was published in Haaretz based on military sources, spent much time reading it. The same item also noted that a few hours earlier, a company commander in the Paratroops was slightly injured during an arrest operation in the nearby Balata refugee camp – a fact that may not be connected to the shooting. But in long-suffering, embattled Nablus, they do see the context: There they are saying that there was no terrorist band and no bomb, only the soldiers’ quick and angry trigger fingers – perhaps as revenge for the bomb that had slightly injured the company commander that morning, perhaps as a cautionary measure on the part of the soldiers. The IDF has a different version.

Were the high school students Mohammed, Ala, Ramzi and Ahmed members of a dangerous terrorist band, or an innocent group of hikers? Did Mohammed deserve to die? And if they really were about to plant a roadside bomb, as the IDF claims, how is it that none of the survivors were arrested? After all, they have been at home since the incident, and we had no problems meeting them this week. Ala lay injured and bleeding on the slopes of the mountain when the soldiers approached him after shooting at him, and they didn’t evacuate him to a hospital or arrest him, either.

On the foot of Mt. Ebal some disturbing questions arise. Why was Mohammed killed, and why was Ala injured, and why was Ahmed released, and why was his uncle Amjad arrested last Friday? What really happened?

Even on a cloudy day, Nablus can be seen from the heights of Mt. Ebal. Breathing heavily, we climbed on foot this week to the top of the mountain, to the place where piles of rocks block the road, on orders of the IDF, to the place where the young people of the city, the most imprisoned city in the territories, go to breathe some mountain air. The dozens of empty beer bottles piled up by the side of the road testify to the nighttime activity here. The bloodstains that have not yet been completely washed away tell of happened here on Tuesday, November 8.

At 4 P.M., a rumor spread in the city that soldiers had fired at a group of boys who were roaming around. Mohammed Ayash, who serves as a coordinator for the handful of international volunteers who are living in the city, immediately set out with his “internationals,” about a dozen young people from all over the world, to comb the area. A native of Balata, he is a handsome and energetic young man who speaks fluent English, and is very experienced in rescue activities in his battered city. On Zablah Street, the last street on the mountainside, he heard that there was a missing person, Mohammed Abu Salah, a 15-year-old boy, whose father had sent him to take his place as a security guard in a building being constructed on the mountainside. Three other boys managed to flee from the shooting, he heard, two of them were wounded. One did not return.

Night began to fall, daylight was replaced by twilight, and Ayash and his colleagues on the rescue team searched for the missing boy, lighting the way with their cellular phones. After about 40 minutes, they found Abu Salah lying on a rock, his head pitched forward in the direction of the steep slope, with blood on his face and his chest. The boy was apparently dead when they reached him; his body was cold. On both sides of his head, there were bullet wounds. Ayash carried the boy’s body down the slope, shouting for help. With him was the boy’s uncle, Amjad Abu Salha, who had joined the search. The desperate parents were waiting near their home, also on the mountainside.

At first the uncle carried his nephew’s body, but he tripped, and Ayash was the one who finally brought the body to the Palestinian ambulance waiting below, in front of the horrified parents. Dr. Samir Abu Zarur of Rafidia Hospital in the city pronounced the death: “A boy in a white T-shirt and blue jeans, with a digital watch on his wrist, and white socks,” wrote the doctor. “We found blood on the head and the face, remnants of vomit in the mouth, the entry wound on the right side of the head, half a centimeter in diameter, and an exit wound of three centimeters, at a depth of eight centimeters, on his left side. The X-ray showed crushed bones and bleeding in the skull.” Dr. Abu Zarur told Ayash and his friends that in light of the tiny entry wound and the relatively large exit wound, it looked to him as though the boy was shot at short range. He didn’t write that in his report of the death.

There is a rockslide at the place where the boy’s body was found. On the rock where he lay, an arrow and markings in Hebrew letters were painted in red long ago. From above, the ruins of an ancient mosque, the Imad al-Din mosque, overlook the place where the body was found. On the top of the bald mountain there is a forest in which the soldiers of the Duvdevan anti-guerrilla unit and the other IDF special units hide when they want to command a view of the city. Sometimes it is very dangerous to walk there. A few moments’ walk away, down on the mountainside, is the home of the Abu Salha family.

A tiny house, with two small rooms. The sofa in the narrow hallway served as Mohammed’s childhood room, a pathetic flowerpot on the windowsill for decoration. The father, Hamdi, and the mother, Rana, are very restrained for parents who lost their eldest son only a few days ago. They welcome us with a friendly smile, impossible to understand. Only the cuckoo clock emits a strange sound, like weeping, on the hour. There were six well-groomed children until a few days ago; now five remain. The grandmother, Jihad, also proud and restrained, and the little brother, Mahmoud, join the conversation of the bereaved.

Mohammed was in 10th grade, and dreamed of becoming a doctor. They say that he wanted to make his father happy. His father has worked all his life as an ordinary laborer and as a night watchman. In the meantime, Mohammed saved his pocket money for a cellular phone with a camera, G2 or G3. The father got work at the building site a few months ago: He used to spend his nights there. This week Hamdi resigned from the job; he couldn’t sit there anymore, in the place near where his son met his death.

From time to time, Hamdi used to call his son Mohammed at home, and ask him to replace him at the construction site until nightfall. That’s what happened on the last day of Mohammed’s life. Mohammed returned home from school at 1 P.M. that day.

“What did you cook? I’m hungry,” he asked his mother, who apologized that she hadn’t had time to make lunch yet, because she was at the doctor with his sister. He went to do his homework, recalls his mother, a very attractive woman wearing a headscarf, until she finished preparing the mujadra, a dish of lentils and rice, for him.

At about 3 P.M., his father called from the city and asked his son to go out to the construction site until he came to replace him. In contrast to his usual behavior, Mohammed left the house without asking permission from his mother, who was busy with the laundry. He only asked his brother to tell her he had left. A short time later, when Rana sent her young son to the construction site to tell Mohammed not to come home late, Mohammed asked to apologize to his mother for his hasty departure. Thus, in detail, without tears, the mother recalls her son’s last hours. “He took a bottle of water with him,” adds his grandmother, Jihad.

At about 4 P.M., someone called the house and said that there was shooting from above, and that Mohammed was in danger: Maybe he was arrested, maybe he was wounded, maybe he was killed.

Three boys set out. Ahmed al-Fahuri, a 17-year-old boy who is big for his age, now says that he set out with his two friends, Ala Shishtri and Ramzi Saka, in the direction of French Park. On the way they met Mohammed, sitting at the entrance to the construction site, and they suggested that he join them. Mohammed brought a bottle of water with him. When they approached French Park, they were suddenly fired on, as Fahuri recalls. Fahuri lives near the Abu Salha family; the other two boys were his friends. The four scattered in panic in all directions when they heard the shooting. Two of them, Ramzi and Ahmed, ran down the slope in the direction of the first row of houses, and found a hiding place among the rocks; Ala and Mohammed fled eastward, in the direction of the Imad al-Din mosque. Fahuri says the soldiers fired and threw grenades at them.

In his home in the city, the injured Ala Shishtri lies convalescing from his injury. Smiling, with a long scar along the length of his stomach, a red kaffiyeh covering the wound. He also says that they were fired on suddenly, when they approached French Park. He and Mohammed fled eastward, and he heard the soldiers calling to them on the megaphone in Hebrew, which he doesn’t understand. The soldiers who hit him and Mohammed shot at them, he says, from a distance of about 20 meters. Ala says that he fell from the bullet that hit his stomach, and then he noticed the soldier who approached him, checked whether he was carrying a weapon, and left without a word. Afterward, Ala managed to get up and run wounded to the first house. Mohammed remained behind, bleeding.

The IDF spokesperson said this week: “On Tuesday, November 8, an IDF lookout spotted four Palestinians apparently engaged in placing a bomb on the road going up the mountain, in order to harm the military vehicles on it. Relying on intelligence information, and since the four had been engaged in a similar activity the day before, the force opened the `suspect detention procedure’ in order to detain them. In the course of events fire was opened toward the lower part of the body and a hit on three of them was observed. The four, among them the Palestinian who was apparently not hurt, were seen fleeing in the direction of the city of Nablus. Therefore, the possibility of detaining them or giving them medical care was denied.”

Last Friday night, at about 2 A.M., soldiers knocked on the door of the bereaved family. The father, Hamdi, sounded more upset when he recalls the events of that night, than when he recalls the events of the day his son was killed. The soldiers knocked on the door, threatened with weapons, searched the house before the frightened eyes of the children, and didn’t bother to explain why they had come. They only asked, “Is that your son?” when they saw the memorial poster for Mohammed, issued by Hamas, who adopted Mohammed after his death.

Every casualty has an adoptive organization, but Hamdi says his son had no connection with Hamas. But the green flags of the organization are now fluttering in the wind above the home of the Abu Salha family. Afterward, the soldiers went to the apartment on the ground floor of the house, where Hamdi’s brother Amjad, a 32-year-old bachelor, lives. This is the uncle who found Mohammed’s body, together with the foreign volunteers. At the conclusion of the search, which apparently didn’t turn up anything, the soldiers arrested Amjad. At home, they haven’t heard from him since.

Why was Amjad arrested?

The IDF Spokesperson’s Office did not answer the question.

From his sickbed, Ala Shishtri swore that he will never, never again climb the accursed mountain, Mt. Ebal, to visit French Park at the summit.

1. Human Rights Observer to be Deported from Palestine by Israel
2. Mohammed Mansour’s trial update
3. Pastoral Calm Faces Military Might
4. Settlement Expansion Under the Guise of Security
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1. Human Rights Observer to be Deported from Palestine by Israel

November 24th, 2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

A Human Rights Observer (HRO) from the UK was arrested in Tel Rumeida, Hebron earlier today. He had just finished escorting Palestinian children to school and was walking home on Shuhaddah street when he was stopped by an armed Border Police unit in a targeted arrest.

He was informed that his visa had expired but explained that he had been given an appointment with the Ministy of the Interior (MoI) for renewal. He had applied for this renewal before his visa had expired and was given an appointment in three weeks time, as is the usual practice of the MoI. He produced documents to prove this appointment. These documents were refused and he alone was put into a Border Police van and taken to Abrahim Avinu police station.

He has had an immediate hearing tonight with the MoI, not attended by any lawyer or independent witnesses. The MoI. decided on his deportation without hearing any representation from him or his lawyer. He now waits in the Ramleh Deportation Centre near Tel Aviv to be sent home.

This HRO has been working in Tel Rumeida for a number of months. His primary role has been in escorting Palestinian children to and from Qurtuba Primary School as they are subjected to stoning and physical assault by settlers from the Tel Rumeida and Beit Haddassa settlements on a daily basis. This area of Hebron has seen some of the worst settler violence against local Palestinians. The police have been at best apathetic toward this violence and at worst, have accommodated it. He and other HROs are regularly harassed and threatened with arrest by police.

Only last week, this HRO met with members of the Israeli Knesset to discuss the security situation with settlers and the difficulties with the Civil and Border Police in Tel Rumeida. HROs have been stoned, spat at and had their life threatened on numerous occasions by settlers communities for the work they do. The absence of HRO’s would give settlers carte blanche to do as they wish to Palestinians and their land without any international witnesses.

For more information please call :

ISM Media office: +972 2 297.1824
Gabi laski (attorney): +972 544.418.988

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2. Mohammed Mansour’s trial update

On the 22nd of November during the most recent Hearing of Palestinian nonviolent organiser Mohammed Mansour from Biddu, court case the prosecution finally gave up on getting Mohammed Mansour to agree to stop participating in demonstrations for the next two years and pay a 3,500 shekel fine of his own free will.

“I would prefer to go to jail than pay one shekel to the Occupation. It is not I, but those that build the wall that are the criminals” said Mohammed.

In the next session, set for the 10th of January the Judge will begin hearing witnesses. Mohammed was initially arrested in June 2004 at a nonviolent demonstration in Al Ram. Undercover Israeli agents stormed the crowd and many, including Mohammed and a Palestinian photographer for “Yediot Ahronot,” a large Israeli newspaper, were severely beaten. Mohammed was hospitalised and then held for a week before his release on bail together with another three Palestinians, including two minors, who were arrested at the Al Ram demonstration. Five Israeli peace activists, also arrested at the demonstration, were released a few hours following their arrest.

Mohammed is being charged with assaulting a police officer, throwing stones and presiding illegally in an “Israeli area.”

Mohammed’s trail is taking place while sixteen nonviolent activists from the village of Bil’in are currently in jail in an attempt to crush the nonviolent resistance in the village.

The International Solidarity Movement condemns the Israeli legal system defense of war crimes committed by the Israeli military and settlers and its criminalization of nonviolent protest against the Occupation and Apartheid wall.

Picture here:
https://www.palsolidarity.org/main/2005/11/24/mohammed-mansours-trial-update/

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3. Pastoral Calm Faces Military Might

by Asa and Sarah
At 11am on Tuesday the 22nd of November residents of the Tubas area held a dignified demonstration against the Israeli checkpoint near Tayasir village. Around 100 Palestinians were joined by about 25 Israeli and international supporters. The shebab (youth) of the region were mostly in school at the time, so the demonstration was mostly made up of mature, respected men of the community as well as several local women.
Protesters marched towards the checkpoint where they significantly outnumbered the IOF presence. It would have been relatively easy for the group to occupy the checkpoint non-violently, which must have been clear to the soldiers too. However, the organisers of the demonstration had decided beforehand on a non-confrontational approach. For around an hour the protesters stood facing the soldiers holding banners and signs with slogans such as “Yes to the application of international law” (in Arabic), and “Checkpoint = Chokepoint” (in English). The protest included a time of prayer for the Muslim men who were in attendance.
During the quiet assembly, the checkpoint guard continued to increase in number, presumably in anticipation of a checkpoint breach. Also two snipers assumed position on a roof in the military compound and maintained constant sight on the group. The soldiers were to be frustrated that they did not provoke a violent reaction, and the only activity at the checkpoint was the arrival of the Israeli activists who refused to show their IDs while joining the group assembled on the western entrance. There were intervals of chanting and the sound of an F16 and two helicopters flying in the vicinity but otherwise all was calm.
At the signal of the the Palestinian leadership, the assembly dispersed quietly.
The Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committee (PARC) in Tubas organised the demonstration to draw attention to the nature of the occupation in the isolated Tubas region. Over the last year the checkpoint has cut Palestinian villages in the area off from each other and Palestinians from their agricultural land.
The villages of Bardala, Ein Al Beda, Cardala and Wadi Al Malech are in an enclave in the Jordan Valley, the only entry and exit point to which is the Tayasir checkpoint. Anyone who is not registered on their I.D. card as being from these villages or has a time limited permit is forbidden to enter by the Israeli military. In order to be allowed to move freely many residents of this village have registered there addresses in Tubas itself. Now, if they leave their villages they are forbidden to return.
Tayaseer and Aqaba are in an area considered a “Military Zone”. Occupation officials have made no secret of their opinion that Aqaba “just should not be there”. Recently the military confiscated villagers sheep and burnt there grazing grounds. According to Ha’aretz (26th March 1999), 8 villagers from the village were killed and 43 wounded by the Israeli military between 1967 when they “adopted” it as a training facility and September 2000 when they were forced to pull out after the village brought a successful case against the them to the Israeli high court. More recently, the military declared all the village homes to be “illegally built” and threatened to demolish the whole village, issuing demolition orders in the village. These efforts were defeated by international protests.
Although one village in the area removed the military through legal action, it was clear to us that the region is still very much used by the IOF as a training grounds. The military presence in the air and on the ground during the protest was in stark contrast to the calm face of the locals and the action they orgainsed.
Pictures here:
https://www.palsolidarity.org/main/2005/11/23/pastoral-calm-faces-military-might/

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4. Settlement Expansion Under the Guise of Security

CORRECTION: both demonstrations start at 12pm tomorrow, and not 1pm as previously stated.

Two villages rise up against the wall tomorrow

[Ramallah District] The West Bank villages if Bil’in and Abud will both march to the construction sites of the Annexation Wall on their land Friday, November 25 at 12:00 PM. The Abud and Bil’in protest marches are part of the ongoing efforts of Palestinians to stop the destruction of their land and the ghettoization of their communities. Palestinians, joined by Israelis and internationals, have conducted almost weekly protests, marches, direct actions and other forms of civil resistance and disobedience since the beginning of the construction of the wall in 2002.

Abud, a village of approximately 2200 Christian and Muslim Palestinians, will lose over 4,000 dunams (about a 1,000 acres) of its land due to the route of the barrier. The route of the wall around Abud is designed to enable the unapproved planned expansion of the Ofarim and Beit Arye settlements. Both of these settlements are illegal under international law.

The village of Bil’in, now a symbol of persistent community organizing and cooperation between Palestinians and Israelis in the struggle against the wall, is losing over 60% of its agricultural land to the construction of the barrier. The route of the wall in Bil’in will de-facto annex the village’s farmland for the planned expansion of the illegal Modi’in Elite settlement.

Abud and Bil’in are not alone. According to a report from Israeli human rights organization B’tselem, “ the currently approved route of the Barrier leaves fifty-five settlements, twelve of them in East Jerusalem, separated from the rest of the West Bank and contiguous with the State of Israel. Study of a map of the route indicates that in most of the cases… the Barrier’s route was set hundreds, and even thousands, of meters from the houses at the edge of the settlements.”

The B’tselem report also shows that not only were security-related reasons of secondary importance to the Israeli government in certain locations, but that in cases where security concerns conflicted with settlement expansion, the planners opted to enable expansion at the expense of security.

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