Tag: Freedom of Access

In Photos: The survival of olives

16 October 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

The olive harvest started in theWest Bankin early October and will continue in some villages until mid-November.  Olives have been cultivated in Palestinian land for thousands of years.  Around 95% of the harvest is used to make olive oil, with the remainder for pickles, table olives, and soap.  The harvest is worth around 364m shekels (£64m) a year to the fragile Palestinian economy, struggling under the burden of occupation.  Up to 100,000 families depend upon the olive harvest for their livelihoods to some extent, according to the UN.

Olives are also symbol of Palestinian culture and a connection to the land.  Olive picking contains a strong political dimension; particularly in villages which are vulnerable to settler attacks and interference from the Israeli military.

Olive Harvest 2011 - Click here for more images

 

Settler attacks on olive groves have escalated in recent years.  In previous harvests settlers have fired live ammunition at olive farmers and have burnt and uprooted thousands of trees.  Israeli security forces are often unwilling to intervene during settler attacks and they regularly interfere with olive harvests, forcing farmers to seek permission to pick olives on their own land and only granting short periods to complete picking over large areas.  Even when permission is granted, the Israeli military may still arbitrarily force olive farmers to cease picking; often offering no reason or falsely declaring ‘closed military zones’.

The presence of international volunteers to document and use non-violent action to intervene can reduce the threat of violence from settlers and the Israeli military.  It is also a vital expression of solidarity with beleaguered Palestinian farmers.

Whilst the heavily armed settlers often attack olive farmers with impunity, the Palestinian farmers have limited means to protect themselves.  As Ibrahim El-Buriny, a 27 year old olive farmer from Burin, says “We don’t have anything to protect ourselves except a rock, our heart and God.”  El-Buriny remains defiant in spite of the mounting pressure he faces, “The land is like our mother and father.  We can’t leave our land and who would?”

 

Teachers in Hebron give lessons at Checkpoint 56

12 October 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

This morning the pupils and teachers from Qutuba School protested against the treatment of teachers at checkpoint 56. When, for the second day running, the teachers were not allowed to use the checkpoint gate that they usually use, they refused to pass through. In response at 8 AM the school closed, and the pupils came out to take their lessons outside of the checkpoint.

Addressing the children at the beginning of a lesson one teacher said, “Until the teachers are allowed to pass around the checkpoint we will have our lessons here.”

At the same time thousands of Palestinians gathered near the municipality of Hebron in a solidarity demonstration with the hunger striking prisoners. Here there were speeches from the head of the prisoners club, Amjad Najjar and the governor of Hebron, Kamil Hamid. In the square where the demonstration took place there have been tents forming a solidatarity camp for the prisoners for the last one and a half weeks. The demonstration ended peacefully at 10am.

Lessons resume at Checkpoint 56 - Click here for more images

At the same time, away from the demonstration, in the old city, there were reports that some settlers had attacked Palestinians. The settlers reportedly threw stones at the Palestinians, and after a short while the Israeli Occupation Forces arrived. When the Palestinians did not disperse immediately, the soldiers shot tear gas canisters directly into the crowd and made 4 arrests. One of the detained men is Fatel Dendis, 20 who has learning difficulties. After half an hour of unrest the Palestinian Police arrived and dispersed the Palestinian protesters.

In an act of collective punishment the soldiers demanded that all traders in the Old City to close their shops immediately, and offered no indication of when they would be permitted to re-open.

Seven school children injured over tightened “security” measures in Tel Rumeida

11 October 2011 |  International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

Tightened security at Tel Rumeida checkpoint cause an impromptu demonstration by the schoolchildren, resulting in seven injured children, and injuries to the headmaster. Teachers of Tel Rumeida’s school were told they must begin to pass through metal detectors and present their bags for search, despite the permission they have had for the past 7 years to pass through a separate gate. The rules have also been changed for those suffering heart complications, and pregnant women, who carry permits that normally would allow them to avoid the metal detectors. The children of the school emerged, chanting slogans and holding posters. Finally, the children exited the checkpoint to be with their teachers, and began classes on the sidewalk. Seven children reported injuries and six went to hospital. The head master of the school also reported injuries from soldiers aggressively handing her.

In Tel Rumeida, Hebron, around 7:30 Tuesday morning, the teachers of Tel Rumeida’s boy and girl school of grades 1-10 refused to submit to checks, instead beginning a silent demonstration by remaining outside the gate where they were refused entry. 9:00 am, the school children marched out of the school to the inward side of the checkpoint, demanding their right to education. Israeli military soldiers at times pushed the children. An Israeli police man grabbed two girls, about 12 years old, and dragged them out through the checkpoint, causing an uproar. He continued to grab outspoken children and pull them out of the checkpoint. Seven children ended up in the hospital with injuries from aggressive handling by soldiers. Some were pushed against a stone wall. A female settler drove through the demonstration, aggressively pushing both adults and children with her car. She drove around, and returned to drive through again. Many of Tel Rumeida’s inhabitants claimed that she pushes pedestrians with her car on a regular basis while driving through the streets that Palestinians can only walk on.

 

Demonstration of teachers and students in Tel Rumeida - Click here for more images

Before the children emerged from the school, a soldier was asked why restrictions are enforced only on the Palestinian residents, despite the violent reputation of the settlers. He replied, “I also don’t agree, but I have a mission to protect the Jewish people. I don’t want to be here.” Their batallion was newly transferred to this area, and soldiers said that their commander had come the day before and changed the rule. As the kids began the demonstration, the head of the school health department, Mohammed Abutherei was detained in a police jeep for at least half an hour because he was unable to control the over 100 children. “Police threatened that if I did not control the students, Tel Rumeida would no longer have a school” said Abutherei.

For the past seven years, teachers, those with heart complications, and pregnant women have passed through a gate without a metal detector.

Several of the teachers exclaimed that they will continue to hold classes on the street until the checkpoint’s rules are reverted. More protests are being planned.