10 February 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank
Planting trees in Aqraba
“Hurry up you turtles!” Wael yelled in the distance. He had suddenly turned this walk into some kind of contest. We skipped across the rocky landscape of Palestine, dirty and with the sun in our eyes.
We were planting trees in the small village of Aqraba, putting up pictures of our missed friends Rachel Corrie and Vittario Arrigoni. Men and women, young and old were helping out with the planting, and we were treated to tea sweet as syrup. Aqaba has lost 144,000 dunums of land to the ten illegal settlements surrounding the village. A road is being built between the settlements of Itamar and Gittit, effectively grabbing even more of the 17,000 dunums still in the villages possession.
After the planting some villagers insisted on showing us something on the other side of the mountain adjacent to the hillside on which we were planting the trees. We went down the slope between the blooming red, yellow, and purple flowers. We crossed the road leading from Itamar to Gittit and started climbing around the hill on the other side. From a rock right next to the trail a turtle watched us wobble past a hyenas nest with our arms stretched out to our sides, so as not to lose our balance.
On the other side of the hill, was a cave used by sheepherders as a place to sleep for hundreds of years. A few steps further down the road I got to see my first blooming almond tree of the year. Beyond that, the lemon groves stretched across the floor of the valley.
We were given lemons and oranges by the farmers and their children. I used the few Arabic phrases I knew to express my gratitude. Then we started the journey back to the olive trees. We picked up speed, not even stopping to admire the stunning view of the rolling green hills of the West Bank. Wael picked up the pace, treading with experienced feet over the rocky ground.
As a worn-out tourist and skeptic, who has long given up the search for the genuine and untouched, I find myself in this setting, my hands sticky with the sour juice of fresh lemons. The sheep grazing the mountainside stare at me just like the turtle, the street vendors of the old city of Nablus, and the children of Balata. As a Westerner I stand out here, without ever feeling like an outsider. The stare of the turtle, the sheep, the vendors, the children are all full of anticipation and curiosity, as is mine when I round the steep mountainside to catch up with Wael.
“Hurry up you turtles!” he yells in the distance.
But I find no reason to hurry. Palestine has greeted me well.
Jonas Weber is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).
8 February 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank
Bedouins in the Jordan Valley
On Saturday 5 February a delegation of activists from the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) went on a tour in the municipality of Tubas, 30 minutes by car to the south east of Nablus.
At the municipality building of Tubas we were greeted by Marwan E. Toubassi, governor of the area. We were treated to sweets and coffee while Toubassi told us about the municipality of Tubas.
Called the breadbasket of Palestine, Tubas is a municipality about the size of the Gaza strip and includes several smaller villages and the northern parts of the Jordan Valley. The area is heavily dependent on agriculture, wich has become increasingly difficult as somewhere between 60 and 70 percent of the municipality is under Area C and thus controlled by the Israeli Occupational Forces.
Two major illegal checkpoints have been established which further hinder agriculture in the area by restricting the movement of Palestinian farmers. This, in combination with the theft of natural water resources for 10,000 settlers in the region, and the systematic demolition of Palesetinian homes by Israel, create huge problems for the inhabitants of Tubas municipality.
Besides the agricultural and mineral resources of the region, the Jordan Valley has always played an important strategic role for the Israeli military. Here is the border crossing of King Hussein bridge, the only way out of Palestine for most Palestinians. Large parts of the area are used for military training and the soldiers often leave behind explosive materials that injure and kill villagers and livestock.
One of those injured by the military presence in the region is Hajj Sami Sadiq, who at age 16 was shot by Israeli soldiers with three
bullets when he was on his family’s land. 40 years later one of the bullets is still lodged in his body and Sadiq is in a wheelchair. He
is one of the 50 people who have been injured by the military in the small village of Al-Aqaba in the Tubas municipality. In the village, consisting of 300 inhabitants and situated entirely in Area C, 13 people have been killed since the occupation started in 1967.
Today Sadiq is a part of the village council and is constantly working to stop the demolition of homes and roads in Al-Aqaba. It is no longer possible to get permits to build new homes or even a mosque in the village. A house is currently being built next to the municipality building in spite of the military ban, and during the last two weeks 20 households have been served with demolition orders by the Israeli military.
Over 700 inhabitants have left the village in recent years due to the lack of housing.
These house demolitions in the Tubas municipality are part of a strategy to force Palestinians out of these important areas of the
Jordan Valley.
ISM volunteers met with the Bedouins of El-Hamma and heard the story of how their homes were torn down when the area was occupied in 1967. Their homes where temporarily replaced in 1968 but then these structures were torn down as well. Today only two houses still stand from the time. Tents have received notices of demolition. 19 of 22 households in the village currently have demolition orders.
Demolition orders and water theft - Click here for more images
“This is not Israeli land,” said one of the farmers as we volunteers sat under the tallest tree in the village, sipping thyme tea that vaguely has reminders of cough syrup in its sweetness. From the hillside one can see the high tech farming facilities of the Israeli settlers on the other side of the road running along the bottom of the valley. It is not hard to imagine why the land that the Bedouins live on is so desirable. There is money waiting to be made here.
“Our ancestors lived on this land long before it was occupied by Turkey,” the man stated. “We never went into Israel. What am I to do about the fact that my land is in Area C?”
The village is surrounded by eight Zionist settlements, and at present 70 percent of the land has been confiscated for Israeli interests. Water is also being stolen to satisfy the water guzzling modern farms of the settlers. The stream in the valley next to the home of the Bedouins has been systematically drained over the last 50 years and is now only a dried out riverbed.
“The Israelis have stolen our land, our homes, our water. They are killing us, and still they are not satisfied,” an older man among the Bedouins cried out. “They have no respect for us, ” he said.
Back at the Tubas municipality center, Marwan E. Tubas finished up his presentation of the situation in Tubas on a lighter note.
We firmly believe in coming to a peaceful two state solution with Israel according to the agreements of 1967… [Israel] supposedly supports Arabic people struggling for freedom in Lybia and Syria, but when it comes to the Israeli occupation no one dares to speak out.
Jonas Weber is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).
6 February 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank
On February 5 the residents of Kufr Qaddoum noticed several soldiers and illegal settlers on their lands who were plotting how to illegally seize land from the village. Upon arrival, International Solidarity Movement received word that indeed the colonizers were planning an action to seize land today.
Zionists attack to steal Palestinian land in Kufr Qaddoum - Click here for more images
In a collaboration between military and illegal settlers, the main road that Kufr Qaddoum has been advocating to open through its weekly peaceful demonstrations has also been reportedly seized, while illegal, Zionist settlers are currently planting trees in the newly plowed land under the protection of the Israeli military.
Every Friday Kufr Qaddoum has held peaceful demonstrations to reopen their main road. On January 21 the village celebrated their success in peacefully pushing back Israeli Occupation Forces for the second week in a row as they tried to reclaim access to this road.
Kufr Qaddoum is hedged in on most sides by Israeli Jewish settlements, illegal according to international law, the 1993 Oslo Accords, and in some cases even Israeli law.
6 February 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank
As of 2:00 PM today it was reported that two army jeeps were still on site in Kufr Qaddoum, in addition to one police jeep, while illegal settlers had left the scene of today’s violent incursion.
Abu Ashraf, pictured below being dragged by Israeli military, is now in a local hospital with injuries sustained to the head and wrists. It is reported he was hit by military on the left side of his forehead leaving an open wound and bruising. His hands were also tightly handcuffed in plastic, leaving bruising to the wrists.
Abu Ashraf was defending his family’s land as it was being invaded by settlers from nearby illegal settlements and was met with violence. Settlers plowed this land under the protection of Israeli military.
Another 60 year old woman was also wounded by Israel’s violent intrusion into Kufr Qaddoum, after Israeli forces twisted her arm. She was treated on the scene by paramedics.*
Abu Ashraf is in a local hospital, recovering.
Updated From:
On February 5 the residents of Kufr Qaddoum noticed several soldiers and illegal settlers on their lands who were plotting how to illegally seize land from the village. Upon arrival, International Solidarity Movement received word that indeed the colonizers were planning an action to seize land today.
Abu Ashraf, a local of Kufr Qaddoum, being dragged away by Israeli Zionist military
Early this morning over 20 Israeli soldiers and Zionist settlers descended up on Kufr Qaddoum’s lands, arresting local villager Abu Ashraf, and dragging him off. Settlers were seen plowing through the land with bulldozers and military present.
In a collaboration between military and illegal settlers, the main road that Kufr Qaddoum has been advocating to open through its weekly peaceful demonstrations has also been reportedly seized, while illegal, Zionist settlers are currently planting trees in the newly plowed land under the protection of the Israeli military.
Every Friday Kufr Qaddoum has held peaceful demonstrations to reopen their main road. On January 21 the village celebrated their success in peacefully pushing back Israeli Occupation Forces for the second week in a row as they tried to reclaim access to this road.
Kufr Qaddoum is hedged in on most sides by Israeli Jewish settlements, illegal according to international law, the 1993 Oslo Accords, and in some cases even Israeli law. Theft of nearly 2/3 of land associated with these settlements (1100 ha of the 1900 ha pre-1967 original), combined with the Apartheid Wall and closures of multiple access points in the last 12 years, have choked the local economy and driven people from the community (according to POICA and the Land Resource Center). During 2003, in the midst of the Second Intifada, the Israeli military closed off the main road leading to the village, doubling the transit time to Nablus. After 6 years of court cases and a ruling supportive of villager’s rights–but still no results–the Popular Committee of Kufr Qaddoum decided to press the issue with a series of weekly protests which began in July, 2011.
Organizers in the village are currently determining future steps and actions in light of the Zionist invasion upon their lands and call upon the Palestinian and international community to support their village and Palestine against illegal Israeli Occupation.
*Correction: The original article stated that the women injured was taken to the hospital. This has been replaced with the fact that she was treated on the scene by paramedics.
5 February 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank
Taking apart Israeli Occupation - Click here for more images
Hundreds of peaceful demonstrators confronted heavily armed Israeli soldiers this Friday, February 3rd, at a new protest in the village of Qaryut, planting nearly one hundred trees and partially demolishing the roadblock that has obstructed access to the highway since the First Intifada.
Although organizers were prepared for military violence, the protest remained peaceful until the end, and demonstrators marched home triumphantly with a promise from the military to remove the roadblock with a bulldozer, which they did later the same day. While the villagers celebrated this as a victory, Qaryut’s people continue to struggle for control of their lands and recognition of their rights. As of the publishing date, it is uncertain what will be the nature of future protests.
Although Qaryut villagers annually plant trees on their lands, a recent history of settler violence and military intervention drew the Qaryut Youth and Village Councils, together with Stop the Wall Campaign, to organizing a confrontational but peaceful demonstration.
Beginning after Friday prayers, villagers of all ages met with Israeli, international, and other Palestinian supporters at the village center before parading several kilometers down the village’s once- main road towards Highway 60.
With children holding banners and Red Crescent volunteers and solidarity activists in the front, some 400 demonstrators marched down the valley road—above them Israel soldiers, military jeeps, and several counter-protestors thought to be from the hilltop illegal settlements nearby. As protesters climbed over the bulldozed roadblock of dirt and rocks, they were greeted on their land by several dozen heavily armed soldiers in riot gear and jeeps armed with cannons for firing multiple volleys of tear gas canisters. When the crowd did not stop, soldiers closed in on the front but did not fire—and organizers entered into dialogue with commanders, explaining that it was a non-violent protest and were demanding access to their land.
While soldiers were noticeably uncomfortable in close quarters, fingering pepperspray canisters and a few times shoving aggressively, their was no attack on either side. While some protesters faced off with soldiers, the youth began furiously picking away at the roadblock, while a mix of youth and adults dug holes and planted trees with printed images of Palestinian and international activists martyred in the struggle for Palestinian liberation.
Photos of George Habash, Vittorio Arrigoni, Rachel Corrie and other heroes adorn trees planted by volunteers
When all the trees were planted and much, but not all, of the barricade demolished, the Israeli commander promised to finish the job with a bulldozer that afternoon if the crowd would withdraw. Though demonstrators agreed, many expressed doubt that the commander would follow through—and organizers began preparations for the next demonstration, expecting they would have to open it themselves. Counter-protestors were also surprised with the outcome; one conservative blogger “YMedad” of Shilo wrote prematurely that Ma’an’s report was mistaken–insisting “when I left, the dirt roadblock was still in place.”
For many participants, one of the most remarkable aspects of the demonstration was an overwhelming sense of jubilant defiance. Before the demonstration, participants expressed concern about the potential for military violence, citing similarly peaceful protests in villages being brutally broken up. Yazan Azem, like many others, could scarcely contain his excitement to go work his community’s land, even though he fully expected a violent response.
“I have to go [to the protest]”, he said. “The land is our life. If I don’t go to take it, it’s like giving up my life.”
Another said, “We are defined by the land. When we come here we feel human. Zaytun [olive] is us. We are deeply rooted.”
During the demonstration, protesters’ passion was palpable in a way unique to people finding their voice. Kheer Abdul Kader, a middle-aged man who claimed to have been arrested ten times for crossing the Apartheid Wall, started by saying “talk means nothing” but, clearly excited to be present, continued, “I’m not saying there should not be the ’48 [Israel inside the 1948 boundaries]. But they should not be here. They do not have permission, like me…Why are the settlers coming here to my homeland, when I cannot be there? I just want to work on my land and do not want to go there.”
After the demonstration, the mood became celebratory—according to peace activist Arafat Mahmod, a double victory because they completed most of what they wanted to do and because “nobody got hurt.” Walking back towards the village, protestors sang songs and chanted “ash`ab yureed tahrir falasteen” (“the people demand the freeing of Palestine”), borrowed from the ongoing Egyptian revolution of Arab Spring fame.
The problems faced by Qaryut, however, are far from resolved.
Located between Ramallah and Nablus (Northern Palestine), Qaryut has long been cut off from the main arterial and its agricultural lifeblood by seven settlements, military harassment, and a earthen roadblock constructed in 2002. The settlements, the largest of which are Eli, Shilo, and Hayovel, occupy 78% of the pre-1976 village’s lands. Settlers and the Israeli government legitimize this using the Oslo Interim Agreement (which gives them military and administrative control) and the antiquated Ottoman ‘absentee property law’ (which allows the state to confiscate it under a variety of pretexts.) This land theft has had far-reaching effects for the village whose people rely on olive, almond, and other harvests for subsistence.
To make matters worse, the United Nations have documented that settlers have joined the harrassment, regularly destroying new generations of trees and sometimes attacking villagers, including children. A young man from the village, Hasan Abdilatef, corroborated this as the norm:
“Most of the time the soldiers come and pull the [olive trees] up. But we keep coming. Maybe two or three [trees] are still up after three years.”
The blocked road, in turn, has until now severely delayed transportation of people, movement of goods, and other necessary services—typically adding on 30 minutes for the alternate route. For medical emergencies, villagers had to call two ambulances and hand off patients across the barricade. Waste disposal also has been an issue, as villagers report that access to the city dump has been barred to them—soldiers claiming there are settlers living in the area. Instead the dump has been moved to the one other accessible area, along their once-main road and the march-route—where it is burnt. Walking back to the village, another young resident of Qaryut, said that he considers this as a kind of bio-warfare: forcing the village to improperly dispose of its own waste in toxic ways. “There is no one there,” he said; This is another way of making us leave.”
With one of their main demands met, it is unknown what form future protests will take or whether other land and road restrictions will be loosened. Although the Israeli commander was unavailable for comment, one Israeli soldier (who did not give his name) denied that the roadblock had been maintained for political reasons, instead claiming it was there “for safety [because] it is a difficult turn [onto Highway 60].”
Forcible relocation of a population, attacks on civilians, and intentionally destroying a people’s means of sustenance are all illegal under international law.
Aaron is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).
