Tag: Ethnic Cleansing

Collective Wall-Building Effort Baffles IOF in An-Nabi Salih

International Solidarity Movement

12 February 2010

Soldiers Climb Hill to Attack Residents in Home
Soldiers Climb Hill to Attack Residents in Home

Israeli army and border police used tear gas, stun grenades, rubber- and plastic-coated bullets, live ammunition and “stinky water” to disperse close to 150 Palestinians who tried to reach their village well in An-Nabi Salih.  The villagers were accompanied by over 20 Israeli and international solidarity activists.

Following mid-day prayers, protesters marched towards the well and their agricultural lands but were immediately confronted with tear-gas and rubber-coated bullets.  A group of 50 settlers from the neighboring settlement of Halamish watched as the Israeli Occupation Forces attacked the Palestinians.  In total, 14 protesters were injured, including one hit in the face with a tear gas canister.

The march began in its usual fashion. Villagers, Israelis and internationals descended the hillside to attempt to plant olive trees in the settler-occupied land. As the contingent came within 50 meters of the road that splits An Nabi-Salih, IOF soldiers launched 15-20 tear gas grenades in rapid succession. The group went up the hill to regroup and there was an hour-long lull in the demonstration.

During this respite, a smaller group of Palestinians, Israelis and internationals began tending to the fields near the road dividing the settlement and the village. In unison, they moved large boulders and rocks to build a series of three retaining walls that will further the growth of the crops in An-Nabi Salih. Differences that seemingly divide some were forgotten in that respite from the tear gas. Words such as “ownership” and “territory” were not a part of the repertoire.

The group’s project moved them closer to the road and the 6 soldiers guarding it. As the laborers approached, the soldiers appeared flabbergasted as they didn’t know how to handle such a situation. Those soldiers knew only force and how to implement it to repress, but this show of solidarity was something quite different then anything there training had taught them. Confused looks were all they could muster.

The irony of building walls collectively wasn’t lost to the group, when barriers physical and social that keep two cultures far from one another pervade their daily lives. These walls were different. They  didn’t divide, they were not impassable. These walls unified. They paved the way for An-Nabi Salih future crops. Crops that would come to fruition, in some degree, being nurtured through the solidarity between two cultures. It may be awhile, but perhaps they’ll be able to sit at a table, lacking the presence of soldiers, tear gas and conflict, and enjoy the fruits of the labor.

Wall construction ended when shots were heard from the southern edge of the village. ISM activists battled clouds of tear gas with hands visibly extended in order to reach an An-Nabi Salih home, containing women and children, which had been surrounded by IOF forces. Soldiers thankfully descended the hill after several tense moments.

Barricades were set up on the main road leading to An-Nabi Salih, using rocks and burning tires.  At around 2pm, a group of soldiers entered the village from the southwest side and fired rubber-coated bullets and tear gas at protesters, endangering villagers trapped inside their homes. “Stinky water” was used twice on protesters.

Soldiers occupy the roof of a house in An-Nabi Salih
Soldiers occupy the roof of a house in An-Nabi Salih

At around 5pm, a group of approximately 8 soldiers occupied the roof of a villager’s house, firing plastic-coated bullets and tear gas at protesters below. The villager reported that when soldiers entered his home, they pointed their guns at him and told him not to move or they would kill him. Four adults and six children were trapped in the house until the soldiers left, but not before damaging the family’s internet receiver, located on the roof.

Thirty minutes later, the soldiers entered the same home again, cutting the back-yard fence in order to pass through.  An ISM activist present at the house was told not to film the soldiers’ actions. When the activist continued taking pictures from the entrance of the home, one soldier threw a stun grenade that exploded less than 3 meters from the activist and a young child.

The protest ended around 6pm, when soldiers began to use live ammunition.

The weekly Friday demonstrations in An-Nabi Salih commenced in December 2009, in protest to the uprooting of hundreds of olive trees by settlers from Halamish settlement. Construction of Halamish settlement began on farmland belonging to An-Nabi Salih and neighbouring villages in 1977. Conflict between the settlement and villagers reawakened in the past month due to the settler’s attempt to re-annex An Nabi Salih land despite the December 2009 Israeli court case that ruled the property rights of the land to the An Nabi Salih residents. Despite the Israeli District Co-ordination Office’s promise to allow the village unrestricted passage to the land, farmers have been barred and violently assaulted when they attempted to access the land in question. An Nabi Salih’s resistance mirrors the ongoing resistance in Bi’lin, Ni’lin and the burgeoning popular struggle in Sheikh Jarrah, Iraq Burin, Burin and Al-Ma’asara.

Sheikh Jarrah settlers threaten Palestinians with M-16 for the second time in 8 days

International Solidarity Movement

8 February 2010

A banner is hung during a demonstration against the Sheikh Jarrah evictions.
A banner is hung during a demonstration against the Sheikh Jarrah evictions.

According to local residents, a settler was seen spray painting a swastika on the Ghawi tent. The truck driver yelled at the settler and called the police. When the police arrived they ignored the settler and accused neighborhood Palestinians of having painted the swastika. Palestinians painted over the swastika to prevent further accusations.

Later, at 5.30 the settler came back again and this time accompanied with another settler dressed in army uniform. This time they threatened the 87 years old Rifka Al-Kurd with a M-16 machine gun and said that they would kill her. All this was taped by the Al-Kurd daughter and the recording was shown to the police who arrived 15 to 20 minutes after the incident started. The settler who was carrying the machine gun was arrested, but one managed to escape the scene before the police arrived.

The police wrote a report on the spot in Hebrew and handed it over to Mr. Al-Kurd and less then 45 minutes after the incident began the police had left.

The occupied Al-Kurd house where the M16 incident happened. The protest tent is to the right.
The occupied Al-Kurd house where the M16 incident happened. The protest tent is to the right.

Neither of the two settlers involved live in Sheikh Jarrah, but they are known by the Palestinian families from previous harassment incidents.

This event, combined with the events of last week mark a recent escalation of illegal and unjustified aggression by the Sheikh Jarrah settlers. The unexcited and light handed reaction of police against this aggression shows continued support by the Israeli government of these religious extremists and the settlements which have been condemned by the international community.

Last Sunday there was a similar incident with a settler waving a M-16 machine gun at the Palestinians.

See last report on settler violence in Sheikh Jarrah

Background on Sheikh Jarrah

Approximately 475 Palestinian residents living in the Karm Al-Ja’ouni neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, located directly north of the Old City, face imminent eviction from their homes in the manner of the Hannoun and Gawi families, and the al-Kurd family before them. All 28 families are refugees from 1948, mostly from West Jerusalem and Haifa, whose houses in Sheikh Jarrah were built and given to them through a joint project between the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and the Jordanian government in 1956.

So far, settlers took over houses of four Palestinian families, displacing around 60 residents, including 20 children. At present, settlers occupy all these houses and the whole area is patrolled by armed private security 24 hours a day. The evicted Palestinian families, some of whom have been left without suitable alternative accommodation since August, continue to protest against the unlawful eviction from the sidewalk across the street from their homes, facing regular violent attacks from the settlers and harassment from the police.

The Gawi family, for example, had their only shelter, a small tent built near their house, destroyed by the police and all their belongings stolen five times. In addition, the al-Kurd family has been forced to live in an extremely difficult situation, sharing the entrance gate and the backyard of their house with extremist settlers, who occupied a part of the al-Kurd home in December 2009. The settlers subject the Palestinian family to regular violent attacks and harassment, making their life a living hell.

The ultimate goal of the settler organizations is to evict all Palestinians from the area and turn it into a new Jewish settlement and to create a Jewish continuum that will effectively cut off the Old City form the northern Palestinian neighborhoods. On 28 August 2008, Nahalat Shimon International filed a plan to build a series of five and six-story apartment blocks – Town Plan Scheme (TPS) 12705 – in the Jerusalem Local Planning Commission. If TPS 12705 comes to pass, the existing Palestinian houses in this key area would be demolished, about 500 Palestinians would be evicted, and 200 new settler units would be built for a new settlement: Shimon HaTzadik.

Implanting new Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank is illegal under many international laws, including Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The plight of the Gawi, al-Kurd and the Hannoun families is just a small part of Israel’s ongoing campaign of ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people from East Jerusalem.

Legal background

The eviction orders, issued by Israeli courts, are a result of claims made in 1967 by the Sephardic Community Committee and the Knesseth Yisrael Association (who since sold their claim to the area to Nahalat Shimon) – settler organizations whose aim is to take over the whole area using falsified deeds for the land dating back to 1875. In 1972, these two settler organizations applied to have the land registered in their names with the Israel Lands Administration (ILA). Their claim to ownership was noted in the Land Registry; however, it was never made into an official registry of title. The first Palestinian property in the area was taken over at this time.

The case continued in the courts for another 37 years. Amongst other developments, the first lawyer of the Palestinian residents reached an agreement with the settler organizations in 1982 (without the knowledge or consent of the Palestinian families) in which he recognized the settlers’ ownership in return for granting the families the legal status of protected tenants. This affected 23 families and served as a basis for future court and eviction orders (including the al-Kurd family house take-over in December 2009), despite the immediate appeal filed by the families’ new lawyer. Furthermore, a Palestinian landowner, Suleiman Darwish Hijazi, has legally challenged the settlers’ claims. In 1994 he presented documents certifying his ownership of the land to the courts, including tax receipts from 1927. In addition, the new lawyer of the Palestinian residents located a document, proving the land in Sheikh Jarrah had never been under Jewish ownership. The Israeli courts rejected these documents.

The first eviction orders were issued in 1999 based on the (still disputed) agreement from 1982 and, as a result, two Palestinian families (Hannoun and Gawi) were evicted in February 2002. After the 2006 Israeli Supreme Court finding that the settler committees’ ownership of the lands was uncertain, and the Lands Settlement officer of the court requesting that the ILA remove their names from the Lands Registrar, the Palestinian families returned back to their homes. The courts, however, failed to recognize new evidence presented to them and continued to issue eviction orders based on decisions from 1982 and 1999 respectively. Further evictions followed in November 2008 (Kamel al-Kurd family) and August 2009 (Hannoun and Gawi families for the second time). An uninhabited section of a house belonging to the al-Kurd family was taken over by settlers on 1 December 2009.

Gathering to rebuild Gawi tent creates air of solidarity and support in the face of police repression and settler violence

International Solidarity Movement

2 February 2010

Israelis, internationals and Palestinians rebuild Gawi living space outside their occupied house.
Israelis, internationals and Palestinians rebuild Gawi living space outside their occupied house.

50 Israeli and international supporters gathered today in Sheikh Jarrah to help Palestinian residents rebuild the Gawi family tent after it was demolished by police earlier in the day. The event, called by neighborhood residents and ISM activists, created a sense of support, solidarity and community in the face of high tension and repression by authorities.

Two days earlier, Nasser Gawi was suspended from entering the neighborhood for 15 days after a settler attacked a child, punched Nasser, then cocked and pointed his M-16 assault rifle at a crowd of Palestinians and internationals. The weapon was seized and the settler was also expelled from Sheikh Jarrah for 15 days.

Then, in a blatant attempt to break the spirit of the displaced and protesting residents, police raided and removed the living space of the Gawi family. Local residents scrambled to remove personal belongings before police confiscated the Gawi tent where the family has been living since their forceful eviction in August of last year.

This is the 12th confiscation of the Gawi living space. Previous confiscations have also occurred after tension in the neighborhood built and settler vs. Palestinian conflict occurred. This confiscation was no different. Just a few hours after the tent was taken however, family members and activists sleep soundly, sheltered from the elements in a new tent rebuilt by a community of support.

Report on altercation between settlers and neighborhood residents on 31 January 2010 including photo and video: https://palsolidarity.org/2010/02/11104

Background on Sheikh Jarrah

Approximately 475 Palestinian residents living in the Karm Al-Ja’ouni neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, located directly north of the Old City, face imminent eviction from their homes in the manner of the Hannoun and Gawi families, and the al-Kurd family before them. All 28 families are refugees from 1948, mostly from West Jerusalem and Haifa, whose houses in Sheikh Jarrah were built and given to them through a joint project between the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and the Jordanian government in 1956.

So far, settlers took over houses of four Palestinian families, displacing around 60 residents, including 20 children. At present, settlers occupy all these houses and the whole area is patrolled by armed private security 24 hours a day. The evicted Palestinian families, some of whom have been left without suitable alternative accommodation since August, continue to protest against the unlawful eviction from the sidewalk across the street from their homes, facing regular violent attacks from the settlers and harassment from the police.

The Gawi family, for example, had their only shelter, a small tent built near their house, destroyed by the police and all their belongings stolen five times. In addition, the al-Kurd family has been forced to live in an extremely difficult situation, sharing the entrance gate and the backyard of their house with extremist settlers, who occupied a part of the al-Kurd home in December 2009. The settlers subject the Palestinian family to regular violent attacks and harassment, making their life a living hell.

The ultimate goal of the settler organizations is to evict all Palestinians from the area and turn it into a new Jewish settlement and to create a Jewish continuum that will effectively cut off the Old City form the northern Palestinian neighborhoods. On 28 August 2008, Nahalat Shimon International filed a plan to build a series of five and six-story apartment blocks – Town Plan Scheme (TPS) 12705 – in the Jerusalem Local Planning Commission. If TPS 12705 comes to pass, the existing Palestinian houses in this key area would be demolished, about 500 Palestinians would be evicted, and 200 new settler units would be built for a new settlement: Shimon HaTzadik.

Implanting new Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank is illegal under many international laws, including Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The plight of the Gawi, al-Kurd and the Hannoun families is just a small part of Israel’s ongoing campaign of ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people from East Jerusalem.

Legal background

The eviction orders, issued by Israeli courts, are a result of claims made in 1967 by the Sephardic Community Committee and the Knesseth Yisrael Association (who since sold their claim to the area to Nahalat Shimon) – settler organizations whose aim is to take over the whole area using falsified deeds for the land dating back to 1875. In 1972, these two settler organizations applied to have the land registered in their names with the Israel Lands Administration (ILA). Their claim to ownership was noted in the Land Registry; however, it was never made into an official registry of title. The first Palestinian property in the area was taken over at this time.

The case continued in the courts for another 37 years. Amongst other developments, the first lawyer of the Palestinian residents reached an agreement with the settler organizations in 1982 (without the knowledge or consent of the Palestinian families) in which he recognized the settlers’ ownership in return for granting the families the legal status of protected tenants. This affected 23 families and served as a basis for future court and eviction orders (including the al-Kurd family house take-over in December 2009), despite the immediate appeal filed by the families’ new lawyer. Furthermore, a Palestinian landowner, Suleiman Darwish Hijazi, has legally challenged the settlers’ claims. In 1994 he presented documents certifying his ownership of the land to the courts, including tax receipts from 1927. In addition, the new lawyer of the Palestinian residents located a document, proving the land in Sheikh Jarrah had never been under Jewish ownership. The Israeli courts rejected these documents.

The first eviction orders were issued in 1999 based on the (still disputed) agreement from 1982 and, as a result, two Palestinian families (Hannoun and Gawi) were evicted in February 2002. After the 2006 Israeli Supreme Court finding that the settler committees’ ownership of the lands was uncertain, and the Lands Settlement officer of the court requesting that the ILA remove their names from the Lands Registrar, the Palestinian families returned back to their homes. The courts, however, failed to recognize new evidence presented to them and continued to issue eviction orders based on decisions from 1982 and 1999 respectively. Further evictions followed in November 2008 (Kamel al-Kurd family) and August 2009 (Hannoun and Gawi families for the second time). An uninhabited section of a house belonging to the al-Kurd family was taken over by settlers on 1 December 2009.

Sheikh Jarrah: Gawi family tent demolished as tension builds, gathering to rebuild tent today at 4PM

International Solidarity Movement

2 February 2010

What? Gathering to rebuild Gawi family tent and show support for evicted families in Sheikh Jarrah

When? 4pm, 2 February 2010

Where? Outside occupied Gawi family house, Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem

Settler attacks young boy in Sheikh Jarrah.
Settler attacks young boy in Sheikh Jarrah.

Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem – At 4PM in a showing of solidarity with the forcefully evicted families of Sheikh Jarrah, Israeli, Palestinian and international supporters will gather to rebuild the Gawi family tent after it was demolished by police earlier today.

At 9AM police raided and removed the living space of the Gawi family in Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem. Local residents scrambled to remove personal belongings before police confiscated the Gawi tent where the family has been living since their forceful eviction in August of last year.

This is the 12th demolition of the Gawi living space. Previous demolitions have occurred as tension in the neighborhood builds and settler vs. Palestinian conflict occurs. This demolition is no different. On Sunday, January 31st one settler and Nasser Gawi were suspended from entering the neighborhood for 15 days after an altercation.

The settler exited the occupied Gawi house with an M-16 and physically attacked a neighborhood child. As residents stepped in to defend the child, the settler punched Nasser Gawi and after Nasser returned blows the settler cocked his assault rifle, pointing it wildly at the gathered crowd. The weapon was confiscated and both were detained.

Press is invited to today’s tent re-building.

Report on altercation between settlers and neighborhood residents on 31 January 2010 including photo and video: https://palsolidarity.org/2010/02/11104

Background on Sheikh Jarrah

Approximately 475 Palestinian residents living in the Karm Al-Ja’ouni neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, located directly north of the Old City, face imminent eviction from their homes in the manner of the Hannoun and Gawi families, and the al-Kurd family before them. All 28 families are refugees from 1948, mostly from West Jerusalem and Haifa, whose houses in Sheikh Jarrah were built and given to them through a joint project between the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and the Jordanian government in 1956.

So far, settlers took over houses of four Palestinian families, displacing around 60 residents, including 20 children. At present, settlers occupy all these houses and the whole area is patrolled by armed private security 24 hours a day. The evicted Palestinian families, some of whom have been left without suitable alternative accommodation since August, continue to protest against the unlawful eviction from the sidewalk across the street from their homes, facing regular violent attacks from the settlers and harassment from the police.

The Gawi family, for example, had their only shelter, a small tent built near their house, destroyed by the police and all their belongings stolen five times. In addition, the al-Kurd family has been forced to live in an extremely difficult situation, sharing the entrance gate and the backyard of their house with extremist settlers, who occupied a part of the al-Kurd home in December 2009. The settlers subject the Palestinian family to regular violent attacks and harassment, making their life a living hell.

The ultimate goal of the settler organizations is to evict all Palestinians from the area and turn it into a new Jewish settlement and to create a Jewish continuum that will effectively cut off the Old City form the northern Palestinian neighborhoods. On 28 August 2008, Nahalat Shimon International filed a plan to build a series of five and six-story apartment blocks – Town Plan Scheme (TPS) 12705 – in the Jerusalem Local Planning Commission. If TPS 12705 comes to pass, the existing Palestinian houses in this key area would be demolished, about 500 Palestinians would be evicted, and 200 new settler units would be built for a new settlement: Shimon HaTzadik.

Implanting new Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank is illegal under many international laws, including Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The plight of the Gawi, al-Kurd and the Hannoun families is just a small part of Israel’s ongoing campaign of ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people from East Jerusalem.

Legal background

The eviction orders, issued by Israeli courts, are a result of claims made in 1967 by the Sephardic Community Committee and the Knesseth Yisrael Association (who since sold their claim to the area to Nahalat Shimon) – settler organizations whose aim is to take over the whole area using falsified deeds for the land dating back to 1875. In 1972, these two settler organizations applied to have the land registered in their names with the Israel Lands Administration (ILA). Their claim to ownership was noted in the Land Registry; however, it was never made into an official registry of title. The first Palestinian property in the area was taken over at this time.

The case continued in the courts for another 37 years. Amongst other developments, the first lawyer of the Palestinian residents reached an agreement with the settler organizations in 1982 (without the knowledge or consent of the Palestinian families) in which he recognized the settlers’ ownership in return for granting the families the legal status of protected tenants. This affected 23 families and served as a basis for future court and eviction orders (including the al-Kurd family house take-over in December 2009), despite the immediate appeal filed by the families’ new lawyer. Furthermore, a Palestinian landowner, Suleiman Darwish Hijazi, has legally challenged the settlers’ claims. In 1994 he presented documents certifying his ownership of the land to the courts, including tax receipts from 1927. In addition, the new lawyer of the Palestinian residents located a document, proving the land in Sheikh Jarrah had never been under Jewish ownership. The Israeli courts rejected these documents.

The first eviction orders were issued in 1999 based on the (still disputed) agreement from 1982 and, as a result, two Palestinian families (Hannoun and Gawi) were evicted in February 2002. After the 2006 Israeli Supreme Court finding that the settler committees’ ownership of the lands was uncertain, and the Lands Settlement officer of the court requesting that the ILA remove their names from the Lands Registrar, the Palestinian families returned back to their homes. The courts, however, failed to recognize new evidence presented to them and continued to issue eviction orders based on decisions from 1982 and 1999 respectively. Further evictions followed in November 2008 (Kamel al-Kurd family) and August 2009 (Hannoun and Gawi families for the second time). An uninhabited section of a house belonging to the al-Kurd family was taken over by settlers on 1 December 2009.

Thirteen leftists detained in East Jerusalem rally

Ronen Medzini | Ynet News

15 January 2010

Director of Association for Civil Rights in Israel among detainees in weekly protest against Jewish takeover.

Thirteen leftist activists, including the director of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, Hagai Elad, were detained Friday in a rally in east Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarah neighborhood.

About 70 Arab and Jewish leftists took part in the weekly protest to demonstrate against the Jewish takeover of homes in the neighborhood. The signs held up by protestors included “Jews and Arabs against evictions.”

Police officials said some protestors were detained because they ignored orders to disperse the unauthorized rally.

However, a protestor told Ynet that Elad was detained after approaching police officers at the scene and trying to talk to them.

“He explained to them that there was no reason for arrests because it was a quiet and legal gathering, but they told him to go into the police cruiser,” she said. “They arrested him just for the hell of it.”

Another demonstrator also claimed the protest was peaceful and did not include the blocking of roads.

“We gathered quietly and protested quietly,” she said. “We didn’t even get close to the homes, and for such rally there is no need for a police permit. The police wish to silence our protest because we are leftists and Arabs. They don’t treat rightist protestors that way.”