“Excuse me!” the Israeli soldier called to us. “You can’t walk down that street.”
Elizabeth and I turned toward him, questioning. “We can’t? But the German tourists here earlier walked this way,” Elizabeth recalled.
“I walked down the street three days ago,” I added. “No one stopped me then.”
The soldier shrugged. “We can’t let CPTers walk on this street. That’s the order we’ve been given.”
The street in question was Shuhada Street, once a central route and thriving marketplace for the Palestinian community in Hebron. Since 1979, ideologically radical Israeli settlements have grown along the street. Often the settlers have harassed and attacked their Palestinian neighbors.
In November 1999, the Israeli military closed Shuhada Street to Palestinians. They locked or welded shut the doors of Palestinians shops. Even the Palestinian residents who still live on Shuhada Street can no longer use their front entrances. Instead they must take back exits and circuitous routes to stay off the street, sometimes even climbing ladders or ropes and crossing rooftops to get in and out of their homes.
In 2004 U.S. Aid renovated Shuhada Street with the intention of opening the street to all Hebron residents. Yet to date the street remains closed to Palestinians, while Israeli settlers freely walk and drive along it. Palestinians, supported by Israeli and international activists, have launched a campaign to “Open Shuhada Street” and end this example of what they consider “Israeli apartheid.”
Usually internationals are allowed to walk the street. But CPTers, apparently, fall into a different category, with our recognizable bright red caps and our known support of Palestinian nonviolent resistance to the occupation.
“The order is specific to CPT?” Elizabeth questioned the soldier. “So if I take off my CPT hat, I could walk down the street?”
“You could,” he acknowledged, “because then I wouldn’t know you’re with CPT.”
Elizabeth and I didn’t need to walk Shuhada Street that day. We could—as Palestinians habitually must—take a longer route to our destination. But we wanted to challenge even this small cog in the machinery of the Israeli occupation of Hebron.
So we pressed the soldier to explain the rationale for the order. “It’s to keep the peace,” he finally told us. “We don’t want any trouble with the settlers who live here.”
“I wouldn’t call that peace,” I objected. “Your order seems more about keeping things quiet.”
To my surprise, the soldier agreed with my shift in words. “Yes, it’s about keeping the quiet.”
“I know you’re only following the orders you’ve been given,” I continued. “But isn’t there something wrong in this order? If you’re worried that we will make trouble, then it’s appropriate to keep us off the street—”
The soldier shook his head, even grinned: he wasn’t worried about trouble from CPTers.
“But if you’re concerned that settlers might give us trouble, then there’s something upside down in us being the ones barred from the street,” I concluded.
“Of course it’s upside down,” the soldier admitted. “Everything here in Hebron is upside down. The system is wrong—I know that, you know that—but what can we do? We have to follow orders. There’s nothing we can do, except keep the quiet as much as possible while we work toward a solution.”
Yet keeping quiet rarely moves us toward genuine peace. As Martin Luther King, Jr. noted in his 1963 “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” the real obstacles in a liberation struggle are the moderate people “more devoted to ‘order’ than to justice,” those who prefer “a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice.”
Someday, I believe, Palestinians will again walk down Shuhada Street. In this and many other ways, they will experience the equality and dignity rightfully theirs. But the journey to reach that day of justice will not be quiet.
Since approximately 2000, the Israeli Military and nearby settlers have set in place an iron gate across the road leading to Al Bweireh. They have also positioned a huge several-ton rock perhaps 25 meters from the barrier gate on the same road and another gigantic heap of rock and earth 100 meters up from the second blockade. Three roadblocks and a huge settlement, plus Outpost Hill 86 have all but destroyed the “heaven” these villagers once enjoyed on their beautiful land.
Fifty six families representing 560 people no longer have the “luxury” of carrying their groceries to their home by car, of driving their children from school in rain and storm to their homes, or of shipping grain and grapes to market without passing a settlement and military tower. Now, if these Palestinians are going to use a car, they need to go an extra six or seven kilometers on a very bumpy detour road to get to their destination..
In Nov. 2009 CPT was invited to accompany the children of the village on their way home from their schools. The children had experienced stone throwing, cursing, and chasing by the settlers. At times they also had their bicycles stolen. Some of the villagers therefore invited CPT to accompany their children from the eight schools they now attend, past the settlement and outpost to their homes.
Within the last six months, the settlers from the Outpost and Harsina Settlement have begun to “heat up the air” in Al Bweireh with their violent provocative activities toward the Palestinians. Every Friday the settlers enter the village to reach a lone tree on the hill opposite from Outpost Hill 86. They say their leader, Neti, was killed some years ago on this hill. According to the Palestinian residents, as the settlers walk through the Al Bweireh village, they try to pick a fight with some of the Palestinians.
During the week of July 11 the settlers broke two Palestinian car windows and started a fire in a Palestinian neighbor’s lawn. They also threw stones at the farmers and cut the water pipes in one of the grape fields. Prior to these activities, at the beginning of planting season, settlers stole a horse from one of the families. This put the farmer behind in his plowing and also forced him to borrow money to buy a new horse to use until the settlers returned his former horse one month later for the ransom price of 1200 shekels.
During the week of July 18 “about 200 settlers” gathered on the Palestinian road leading through the village. A local Palestinian called CPT to come, to see, to document what was happening. Two CPTers responded, but when they saw the settlers on Outpost Hill 86, they feared something was happening to one of the Palestinians. They approached the settlers at the Outpost and were told to leave. When they began to leave the Outpost, the settlers kicked the CPTers and attempted to steal one of their cameras.
In response to all these provocations, members of CPT or ISM (International Solidarity Movement) are present for some hours in the village every possible day of the week. Also, every Sunday CPT plus their translator Hani Abuhaekel visit the families, build relationships, ask for a review of the past week, and check any further growth of the Outpost. On one Sunday the former Sheik spoke so poignantly: “Why do they (the settlers) come here and do this to us? We all – Jews and Muslims – lived as one family before 1928.”
CPTer Paul Rehm presented a proposal to the “U.S. Campaign to End the Occupation” to help the village of Al Bweireh remove the road blockades to their village. The organization accepted his proposal unanimously and will send it to all 300+ organizations of the Campaign in hopes that each sub group will work creatively in their context on this proposal for the next year.
Though it is not clear what will result from this action, soldiers and police arrived in Al Bweireh at 3:00am Thursday Aug. 5 to dismantle the Outpost. A neighbor said the soldiers found the settlers asleep and had to forcibly carry some of the settlers out of the Outpost. By the time CPT was alerted and was able to arrive in Bweireh, there was evidence of settler reaction to their removal: huge rocks and glass on the Palestinian road and a part of a grape field burned. The military had built a huge earthen mound on the road to the Outpost, making it inaccessible to the settlers. Typically, the settlers begin rebuilding almost immediately. Time will tell.
Al-Buwayra, HEBRON – This morning, in a second day of violence in the village of Al-Buwayra, near Hebron, two international peace activists were attacked by three Israeli settlers wearing black masks.
Both were left seriously injured and have been hospitalized following the unprovoked attack.
Peter after the attack which left him with a probably broken nose
The settlers knocked Canadian Peter Cunliffe (pseudonym), 26, to the ground then beat him in the face and body using metal poles and wooden sticks. He is being treated for a probable broken nose and serious back injuries.
Danish peace activist Koba Soernesen. 23, is currently having his left foot examined as he is unable to stand.
He said: “We were sitting under a fig tree where we often sit, when they appeared out of nowhere, from the direction of the settlers’ area. Peter didn’t see them coming. They continued to beat him when he was on the floor, but I was able to fend them off a bit with my leg.
“They also stole my bag with my passport and camera in it.”
Both are currently receiving treatment in Hebron hospital.
The attack comes after violence erupted in Al Buwayra yesterday following the evacuation by Israeli authorities of an illegal Israeli outpost near the Kiyrat Arba settlement. Peace activists based in the area have been trying to prevent settlers setting fire to olive trees and documenting cases of attacks on Palestinians by settlers.
On 25th July two other peace activists, from the Christian Peacemaker Team, were attacked by settlers in Al Buwayra during a massive settler gathering at an illegal Israeli outpost.
Contact
ISM Media Office: 054-618-0056
Available for interview: Koba Soerensen (English & Dansk): 052 821 0047
Yesterday morning (2 August 2010) a group of Israeli soldiers, reportedly drunk, used two bulldozers to destroy a well that belonged to a family living in Wad Lerus, Hebron.
Several ISM activists went out to talk to members of the Al Jaabel family in Wad Lerus, close to the Kyriat Arba settlement in Hebron, yesterday afternoon.
The family members we talked to were very upset since Hebron already has limited water supply, and they depend on this private well in front of their house as a water source, as do some of their neighbours. They had also invested a lot of resources, both on building the well and filling it with water.
They explained that a group of approximately 50 soldiers and border police arrived at the family home at 11:00 in the morning on Monday. The soldiers were reported to be drunk, drinking cans of beer while carrying out the destruction work. ISM activists observed empty beer cans scattered around the destroyed well.
The family said that soldiers and border police brought two bulldozers, and that these were used to destroy the walls at the side of the well, causing huge rocks to fall down into it. When the family tried to stop the soldiers, they were met with violence and aggression, including towards the women. The soldiers also destroyed the gate to the house, which was now standing at the side, off the hinge. The attack lasted for about 30 minutes, and severe damage was done to the well during this time. Several water pipes were also cut off.
At the time ISM visited the family, they were about to empty the well since they fear that children might fall into it. There used to be an edge preventing this possibility, which was bulldozed down by the soldiers. The family told us that they had just bought and refilled the well with 80 cubic meters of water, to the cost of 2000 shekels, and now they had to see it all going to waste. The incident was the first time they had experienced a military attack of this nature, and even though they fear it will happen again, they have no other choice but to try and rebuild the well.
Reports of all the weekend demonstrations in the West Bank attended by ISM activists.
Demonstrators enveloped in tear gas retreat to cover
Bil’in: tributes paid to Olympia and music from rappers in solidarity with Palestine (July 30th)
Dozens suffered from tear gas inhalation and stun grenades in Bil’in’s weekly demonstration, and two people were injured. On Friday 30 July the people of Bil’in were joined by several groups of internationals, including a group of rappers from Britain and the US. A large group of the demonstrators managed to approach the soldiers who had already entered the gate. Two people were detained for a while, following large amounts of tear gas, eventually forcing the protestors back towards the village. One Israeli protestor was hit by a tear gas canister in his leg, while a British citizen was dragged several meters by soldier, causing his back bruising and bleeding.
About 200 protestors – Palestinians, Israeli and internationals – were today carrying posters asking for a boycott of Israel, and also honoring Rachel Corrie’s hometown Olympia, where the co-op recently introduced a boycott of Israeli goods. There were groups of people from Spain, Italy and France, as well as individuals coming independently to show solidarity. People were singing and dancing all the way up to the road leading to the illegal Apartheid Wall. As the protestors were approaching the fence, a number of soldiers ran through the gate and lined up on the road, preventing people from getting close to the gate. A large group of protestors started singing, and a truck with speakers approached playing music. Protestors asked to cross the soldier’s barrier, but were prevented, and pushed back.
Signs paid tribute to the co-op in Olympia, Rachel Corrie's home town, which has introduced a boycott on Israeli goods
At one point the soldiers attacked one international protestor, and when people tried to help him, they detained another protester. This British citizen was dragged several meters by the soldiers, causing heavy bruising to his back. In the middle of the chaos the army started shooting and throwing tear gas and stun grenades at the protestors. As people ran back towards the village, tear gas continued to be shot, making it hard to see and breathe. One Israeli was hit by a low flying tear gas canister in his leg.
Once again the army showed that they don’t hesitate to use brutality and violence again non-violent protestors in Bil’in. There were two fires caused by tear gas canisters in the fields, but luckily people were able to put them out. The demonstration was ended by a performance from an MC, whose presence with a group of other rappers was a sign of solidarity with Bil’in and Palestine.
An Nabih Salih: one injury and one arrest as IDF violence continues unabated (July 30th)
This Friday around one hundred Palestinians, Israelis and internationals gathered in the village An Nabi Salih to protest against the illegal settlements stealing the village’s water supply and farmland. The demonstration was met by Israeli soldiers firing metal teargas canisters at body height – illegal under international law – hitting one international in the leg. A 13 year old boy was briefly detained and one Israeli activist was arrested during the three hour demonstration.
The group of protesters demonstrating against land and water theft by neighbouring settlements such as Halamish were just beginning to clap and chant when completely without provocation, the soldiers – who had arrived to prevent the villagers from accessing parts of their land that even the Israeli government admits belongs to them – fired a metal tear gas canister at directly into the crowd. One young British woman was struck directly in the calf, and had to be carried away from the soldiers to a safe place. She sustained severe bruising but doctors at Ramallah hospital confirmed that no bones were affected after taking an x-ray.
Protesters face up to soldiers at Bili'in
The protest continued; the soldiers started firing more tear gas into the crowd, again using the potentially lethal metal canisters fired at body height. They arrested a 13 year old boy, who they then used as a bargaining chip against the villagers, stating that they would only release him if the villagers agreed to call off the protest. The offer was refused, but the villagers managed to secure the boy’s release nonetheless. Minutes later, the army departed.
The protest resumed about 30 minutes later, with villagers marching peacefully down to the intersection with the main road, chanting loudly. Soon, around 6 military jeeps turned up, presumably from the base located inside the Halamish settlement, and soldiers jumped out and starting chasing protesters, looking for people to arrest, and firing tear gas at the fleeing activists. They then came into the village, and arrested an Israeli activist as he attended to a boy who had cut his knee while running from the soldiers. He was grabbed around the throat by one soldier, and viciously manhandled by two, taken into the jeep, and away to the Halamish settlement. Despite the typically violent repression of the An Nabi Salih protest, the villagers courageously continued throughout and the three hour protest was a success.
Ni’lin: calls for increased international presence in the village (July 30th)
On Friday, July 30, the village of Nil’in commemorated the second anniversary of the murder of Ahmad Mousa, a ten-year-old Palestinian boy. Mousa was shot in the forehead with a 5.56mm caliber live bullet in July 2008. He was pronounced dead upon arrival at a Ramallah hospital.
A young boy of a similar age to Mousa joins the march in Ni'lin
The Friday demonstration, which began after midday prayers, was conducted in memory of Mousa, and in light of the constant oppression that residents of Nil’in are subjected to. A Popular Committee representative received a group of international activists at their media office. There, the representative relayed the recent history of Nil’in and the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF).
Mousa was the first of five martyrs in the last two years of Nil’in’s resistance. Israel began construction of the Apartheid Wall on Ni’lin’s land in 2004, but stopped after an injunction order was issued by the Israeli Supreme Court (ISC). Despite the previous order and a 2004 ruling from the International Court of Justice declaring the Wall illegal, construction of the Wall began again in May 2008. Following the return of Israeli bulldozers to their lands, residents of Ni’lin have launched a grassroots campaign to protest the massive land theft, including demonstrations and direct actions.
Since then, the IOF has placed snipers on the rooftops in Nil’in, abused and arrested residents of the village, and destroyed property. According to the Popular Committee member, the army has also tried to force some Palestinians from Nil’in to become collaborators, in order to make them divulge information about the popular struggle.
On Friday, Palestinians were joined by international solidarity activists. The demonstrators marched to the Apartheid Wall where a confrontation arose between young Palestinians throwing rocks and Israeli soldiers shooting tear gas. After about thirty minutes, the soldiers entered the village and attempted to arrest the activists. However, the soldiers were not successful, and the demonstration ended with no arrests or injuries.
“Now more than ever, Nil’in needs international activists to join in our struggle against Israel’s land confiscation and illegal occupation,” said the representative from the Popular Committee. He said he has seen the effect that internationals have on the military’s decision to not use deadly force against the demonstrations.
Al Ma’sara: holding firm despite military violence (July 30th)
Approximately 60 people attended the weekly non-violent demonstration in Al-Ma’sara on Friday. Half of the demonstrators were internationals from mainly Italy, Denmark and Spain.
Israeli occupation forces were out in large numbers to repress peaceful protests
The internationals followed the Palestinians’ lead and chanted along, showing their support in the fight against the illegal Israeli occupation. The purpose of the demonstration was to reach the Palestinian land that the illegal settlement Efrata and the building of the Apartheid Wall has stripped the village of.
As usual the demonstrators were stopped by the IOF on the main road. The IOF momentarily surrounded the demonstrators with jeeps and threw sound-bombs at the unarmed participators. The Palestinians and the internationals then marched towards the main entrance of the village while chanting “Free, free Palestine.”
Three military jeeps blocked the road, preventing the demonstrators from reaching the Palestinian land. The soldiers allowed the demonstrators to pass by the jeeps, but immediately blocked the road behind them. More military jeeps arrived in front of the demonstrators, and as a result the demonstrators were almost surrounded by soldiers. Members of the Al-Masara Popular Committee spoke in front of the soldiers, demanding their right to the land that belongs to the Palestinians according to international law. The soldiers responded by throwing sound-bombs.
Al Ma’sara is one of nine intertwined villages which are surrounded by the illegal Israeli settlement Efrata, which is a part of the Gush Etzion settlement block. The 9000 Palestinian inhabitants of the nine villages are enclosed by almost as many illegal settlers. In November 2006, Israel began the construction work for the Apartheid Wall on the villages’ land, which would annex an additional 3500 dunums (35,000 square metres) if completed. This means that Al-Ma’sara and the eight other villages would be stripped of more than half of their land
The start of the march in the village of Ni'lin
Al-Ma’sara is an agricultural village, with the majority of the population relying on the land for sheep and goat farming, and for harvesting crops such as grapes, olives and seasonal fruit and vegetables. In addition to being the village’s main source of income, the land is also Al-Ma’sara’s chief source of natural water. Therefore, Israel’s plan to strip the inhabitants of a large part of this land would cut off their main water supply, thereby breaching international law both in terms of the individual needs of the villagers and of their crops and animals; violating the villagers’ human rights and their income.
Since November 2006, the Al-Ma’sara Popular Committee has been organizing weekly non-violent demonstrations against the Apartheid Wall, the illegal settlements, and against the occupation as a whole. The non-violent protest started as a reaction to the soldiers’ destruction of the grape and olive fields. Whilst in the beginning protestors were able to march straight to the construction site of the Apartheid Wall and temporarily block bulldozers from their work, the protestors are now stopped on the main road in the at the entrance of the village.
Beit Ommar: resistance again met with weapons used at close-range – one journalist hurt
The absurd use of force by the IDF against nonviolent demonstrations continued this weekend in the village of Beit Ommar. On Saturday, July 31, Palestinian men, women, and children together with international activists marched toward the Karmei Tsur settlement to protest the illegal settlement and the continued confiscation of Palestinian land before being stopped and surrounded by soldiers approximately 100 meters from the edge of the settlement. Standing together on privately owned, Palestinian land, the crowd was told that they were now in a closed military zone and had 5 minutes to get past the ambiguous boundaries of this arbitrary zone or they would be arrested.
When the demonstrators refused to comply with this act of intimidation, they were met with the typical onslaught of sound bombs and tear gas. Particularly shocking was the soldiers’ deliberate targeting of journalists and children. One journalist was injured after being hit by a tear gas bomb, and soldiers were photographed shooting tear gas canisters directly at young boys and girls standing up the hill. Even after the demonstrators had walked back into the village, soldiers continued to shoot tear gas into the village streets, in front of homes, and onto the residents’ porches – causing families to flee their homes in order to escape the choking gas.
Hebron: an IDF donkey ridden by a fanatical Israeli settler prove a point (July 31st)
On Saturday, 31 July, Palestinians, Israelis and Internationals gathered to demonstrate against the illegal settlements and closure of Shuhada Street in Hebron. The protestors were immediately met by about 50 Israeli soldiers and border police who prevented them from continuing the march through the Old City. During the second confrontation the army started pushing people backwards, but no injuries or arrests were made.
About 100 people joined the protest in, carrying posters asking for justice for the Palestinians in Hebron, and the opening of Shuhada Street. Among the protesters was a donkey dressed up as an Israeli soldier, with an Israeli flag strapped to the head. One Palestinian who was dressed as an Israeli settler was leading it. The idea was to show how the Israeli settlers in Hebron are protected by the army, even when they are attacking and harassing Palestinian citizens. Palestinians are likely to be arrested or mistreated further by the army in situations where the settlers attack them.
As the army blocked the way at the gate leading up to Shuhada Street at Bab al Balladyeh, with soldiers and border police lining up facing the protesters, the commander stepped forward and grabbed the Israeli flag and a poster reading “IDF” from the donkey. After about 20 minutes of singing and chanting slogans, the protesters turned around and went around the old city, still singing and playing a drum. At one point water was thrown from where settlers have occupied the second floor of a house.
Arriving back at the starting point of the demonstration, there were no soldiers present, but they came out from the gate soon after people gathered at Bab al Balladyeh for the second time. Even though the protesters were standing still, soldiers started to push people back, so people responded by sitting down in the street, still singing slogans. At one point the soldiers targeted an international photographer, but he managed to run away before they reached him. The demonstration ended without any arrests, but once again the army proved that they want to repress peaceful demonstration using force and threats of arrest.
Iraq Burin: large Israeli force fails to deter protestors (July 31st)
The Israeli army entered the village of Iraq Burin after the weekly protest against the theft of their land by the illegal settlement of Baracha on Saturday. This follows the arbitrary arrest of 2 members of the village the previous Saturday, who were released on Thursday, as well as the murder of 2 boys the last time the army stormed the village 3 months ago.
Around 40 villagers, joined by 4 internationals and journalists, started marching to the usual protest location, on the brow of the hill where the soldiers usually position themselves to block the protesters’ path. This time however, the villagers noticed that there was another unit of soldiers that had placed themselves to the rear of the usual protest point, potentially to advance on the protesters from the rear once the demonstration had commenced. Therefore the protesters marched up to the soldiers in their new position and chanted slogans. Some shebab were throwing stones from a long distance, and the soldiers responded with volley after volley of tear gas. As usual for Iraq Burin, they were using the potentially lethal metal tear gas canisters, fired at illegally at people instead of up in the air. They advanced half way down the hill to better target the demonstrators, nearly all of whom inhaled large quantities of gas. After about an hour, the army dispersed.
Shortly afterwards, around 8-10 army jeeps began congregating at the foot of the village, ostensibly preparing for a raid. The jeeps milled around for about an hour, after which point they made to enter the village. All but one stopped at the entrance of the village, and one jeep came in, circling through the village before leaving. The jeeps remained at the foot of the village for a further hour before leaving.
The Israeli army entered the village of Iraq Burin after the weekly protest against the theft of their land by the illegal settlement of Baracha on Saturday. This follows the arbitrary arrest of 2 members of the village the previous Saturday, who were released on Thursday, as well as the murder of 2 boys the last time the army stormed the village 3 months ago.
Around 40 villagers, joined by 4 internationals and journalists, started marching to the usual protest location, on the brow of the hill where the soldiers usually position themselves to block the protesters path. This time however, the villagers noticed that there was another unit of soldiers that he placed themselves to the rear of the usual protest point, potentially to advance on the protesters from the rear once the demonstration had commenced. Therefore the protesters marched up to the soldiers in their new position, and having chanted slogans, followed by throwing stones from a long distance, the soldiers responded with volley after volley of tear gas. As usual for Iraq Burin, they were using the potentially lethal metal tear gas canisters, fired at high velocity. They advanced half way down the hill to better target the demonstrators, nearly all of whom inhaled large quantities of gas. After about an hour, the army dispersed.
Shortly afterwards, around 8-10 army jeeps began congregating at the foot of the village, ostensibly preparing for a raid. The jeeps milled around for about an hour, after which point they made to enter the village. All but one stopped at the entrance of the village, and one jeep came in, circling through the village before leaving. The jeeps remained at the foot of the village for a further hour before leaving.
The family members we talked to were very upset since Hebron already has limited water supply, and they depend on this private well in front of their house as a water source, as do some of their neighbours. They had also invested a lot of resources, both on building the well and filling it with water.
