Tag: Nablus

Brutality of settlers’ ‘price tag’ campaign erupts from notorious Yitzhar settlement

24 December 2009

Settler violence has erupted this week around Nablus, as outrage over the death of an Israeli settler triggers extremists’ “price-tag” campaign, its senseless violence directed once again at the hands of Yitzhar settlers on altogether unrelated, and repeated, Palestinian targets.

Ghalib Najar’s house sits on the southern tip of the beautiful, but long-suffering village of Burin. The family built their home in 1965, long before the arrival of settlers, their network of Apartheid roads or the Oslo zoning plans. Even when, in the early 1980s, the red-roofed houses of the (now infamous) settlements Yitzhar and Bracha began to dot the hillsides enveloping Burin, the Najar family still never expected what was to come.

In the years since, the family has come under repeated attack from their militant neighbours, their only crime to own land in the shadow of the mountain where Yitzhar settlement has now swollen and grown to 500 residents, living on thousands of dunums of what was formerly Burin and the neighbouring villages’ land.

Christmas Eve saw yet another attack on Najar’s family, including 8 children and 13 people in total. At 7pm 50 settlers, at least five armed with rifles, left their mountain stronghold and descended to Burin village. Surrounding the house, they began to shout and throw rocks at the windows, puncturing glass and terrifying the family. The noise alerted the village’s shabab (young men) to what was afoot, who then converged on the area in hopes of defending the village. The Israeli military arrived at 7:30, causing the settlers to disperse. At least one shot was fired by a settler as they escaped through the family’s olive groves, unimpeded by the army, towards the Yitzhar-bound, settler-only road lying some 50 metres from Najar’s home.

Four Israeli soldiers quickly entered Najar’s land, occupying the roof of the family’s home. Five military vehicles and an additional 10 soldiers remained positioned on the settler road, emergency sirens and lights blaring, but no attempt made to apprehend the assailants. Israeli soldiers atop the roof, denying any incursion had just taken place, attempted to prevent ISM activists from photographing the situation and threatened to apprehend the activists even as they interviewed Ghalib Najar and his family inside their home. The harassment came on the heels of lengthy questioning at nearby Huwara checkpoint, where soldiers had attempt to prevent activists from entering Burin, claiming that non-Arab people were not authorised to enter Palestinian villages. The military remained in the area for several hours, finally leaving the area around 10pm.

Yitzhar settlement is notorious for its fanatically ideological residents, the violence they inflict on neighbouring Palestinian communities, and the extremist doctrines they espouse. Saturdays, the Jewish religious holiday of Shabbat, typically sees Yitzhar settlers roused to fever pitch zeal, wrecking havoc upon Palestinian villages unfortunate enough to live in its shadow. Settlers have frequently launched attacks with rocks, knives, guns and arson on Palestinian families and property in the area. In one of the most extreme act of terrorism students of the Yitzhar Od Yosef Hai yeshiva fired homemade rockets on Burin in 2008.

Not content with committing their own acts of brutality, Yitzhar rabbis are key players in incitement of targeted violence across the West Bank. Rabbi Elitzur from the same Yitzhar yeshiva published a book this November titled “The Handbook for the Killing of Gentiles”, condoning even the murder of non-Jewish babies, lest they grow to “be dangerous like their parents”. Rabbi Elitzur is vocal in his encouragement of “operations of reciprocal responsibility” such as the arson attack made on Yasuf mosque three weeks ago.

Despite West Banks settlements’ status as illegal under international law, Yitzhar was included in the Israeli governments’ recent “national priority map” as one of the settlements earmarked for financial support. Yitzhar also receives significant funding from American donations, tax-deductible under U.S. government tax breaks for ‘charitable’ institutions.

Israeli military constructs new roadblock in West Bank village, crippling farmers’ economy

28 December 2009

The Israeli army erected a giant earth mound across a crucial agricultural road in the northern West Bank village of Madama this week. The road block severely limits hundreds of farmers’ access to their lands, making transport by vehicle all but impossible. The intentional crippling of the village’s chief economy comes as settler violence continues unabated in the region.

Four Israeli military jeeps and one Caterpillar bulldozer entered the village on Wednesday night to construct the road block. The targeted dirt road cuts directly underneath the speedy settler road leading west from Yitzhar settlement, where a tunnel was constructed to allow the road’s continuation to farmers’ land. The bulldozer quickly moved massive mounds of earth across the road underneath the bridge, entirely blocking it and removing the possibility of access to cars and tractors by village farmers.

ISM activists visited Madama to witness families clambering over the earth mound on foot and herding, with great difficulty, donkeys and flocks of sheep and goats across the blockage. The prevention of tractor access is critical now especially, as Palestine enters its wet season and land must be ploughed to become fertile for the new year. Approximately 500 of Madama’s farmers hold land on the other side of the road block, whose economic livelihood is severely threatened by this senseless impediment.

The road overhead, linking Israeli settlers effortlessly with their homes and work outside the settlements, cuts deeply through Madama’s land, as it has done since it was built 10 years ago. Two homes, belonging to Yasser Taher’s family, are now isolated on the other side of the highway, marking them as prime targets for settler and military harassment, leaving children traumatised and inevitably forcing the majority of the family to move to a safer home within Madama.

Madama resident Abed Al-Aziz Zeiyada became the latest victim in an endless series of settler incursions as he drove his taxi home on Friday night. Settlers of Yitzhar settlement, waiting on the side of the road, hurled rocks at his car and destroyed the windscreen. When Zeiyada reached Huwara, now without a windscreen in his car, he was stopped by Israeli forces at a flying checkpoint. Showing them the unmistakeable damage, Zeiyada was refused assistance by Israeli soldiers. He returned to Madama and paid a 700 shekel bill for the window to be fixed the next day.

Residents of Madama always have one eye fixed on the settlements that loom over the village; Bracha to the north, and Yitzhar to the south. Yitzhar alone is built on 1000 dunums of Madama’s land, including all of its water wells. Villagers are forced to spend vast amounts of their income on water, a 90-litre tank costing a crippling 125 shekels. Settler incursions also occur frequently, wrecked upon homes on the edge of the village, if not from the settlers then from the military, whose base next to Bracha send jeeps careening through the streets of Madama and neighbouring villages by night.

Israeli settlements, illegal under international law, and their network of Apartheid roads, in addition to Israeli government and military suffocating policy and presence in occupied Palestine culminate in a devastating effect on the everyday lives of Palestinians, such as residents of Madama village, whose voices all too often go unheard.

Demonstration demanding the release of Palestinian political prisoners to be held in Nablus on Tuesday, 29 December

28 December 2009

For immediate release:

A demonstration will be held in Nablus on Tuesday 29 December 2009 to demand the release of all Palestinian prisoners. Almost 8,000 Palestinians are currently held in Israeli prisons. Among them are grassroots activists Jamal Juma’ and Mohammad Othman from the Stop the Wall Campaign, Adeeb Abu Rahmah and Abdallah Abu Rahmah from the Bil’in Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements and Wa’el Al Faqeeh from the Tanweer Cultural Centre in Nablus, imprisoned during a recent wave of arrests conducted by the Israeli military targeting the non-violent popular resistance leaders.

Demonstrators will gather outside of the Red Crescent Building at 11am and demand the release of Wa’el al Faqeeh, renowned throughout the Nablus region for his tireless campaigning and non-violent action against the Israeli occupation. He was taken from his home at 1am on 8 December when 50 Israeli soldiers entered his house in the north of Nablus, aiming their weapons at Al Faqeeh and his family. Al Faqeeh is now being held at Jelemeh Prison in Haifa, Israel. The prison is notorious for its imprisonment and ill-treatment of Palestinian political prisoners in particular.

Al Faqeeh, 45 years old, worked with various groups in the Nablus region such as the Nablus Youth Union, the Palestinian Cultural Enlightenment Forum and many international groups, supporting Palestinian non-violent struggle. He championed the struggle of Palestinian farmers and villagers, as well as working closely with youth groups in the fields of education, culture and the arts. His co-ordination work of the yearly olive harvest, as well as year-round organisation of demonstrations, fund-raising, community-building and educational events has played an instrumental role in the communities of the region. Favouring grassroots, cross-spectrum peaceful activism to politics, Al Faqeeh has always strived to bridge political divides between Palestinians.

Three Palestinian men executed by Israeli military during Nablus night invasion, several wounded

26 December 2009

The Israeli army invaded the Palestinian city of Nablus shortly after midnight, Saturday 26 December, raided three houses and executed three men. Several family members have been injured and houses, where families of the three killed men lived, have been left completely destroyed. The army used live ammunition against the men, at least two of whom were unarmed and fired rockets at the houses, while their residents were still inside.

The Israeli military claims the men were wanted for their involvement in the recent West Bank killing of an Israeli settler near Tulkarem, for which a group associated with the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade claimed responsibility. The killings are, however, in flagrant breach of international law and represent assassinations without trial.

The human rights organization B’Tselem, who collected testimonies from family members of the three killed men, issued a statement condemning these killings. According to B’tselem, evidence gathered in the houses suggests that the Israeli military acted as if they were carrying out executions, rather than arrests. Eyewitnesses and relatives told the organization that at least two of the three men were unarmed and did not attempt to escape. This was confirmed by a senior IDF official, who told Israel Radio that the three men had not fired at the Israeli soldiers and that two of them were unarmed. B’Tselem also stated that, according to eyewitnesses, the soldiers did not try to stop or arrest the men, but simply shot them from a close range after discovering their identities.




First house the Israeli army invaded was the house of Gassan Abu Sharkh in the Old City of Nablus. Just after midnight, the military forced open the entrance door and ordered twenty members of Ghassan’s extended family to leave the house. Ghassan, who remained in the hallway, was shot several times from a short distance in his head. Ghassan’s family reported to ISM activists, who visited the scene in the morning, that the army fire was so intense that his head was split in half as result and the room was covered in blood and remains of his brain. Windows, doors, furniture were all destroyed by the soldiers. Ghassan (38), who worked as an electrician, left behind a wife, three sons and one daughter.

Second invaded house was also in the Old City and belonged to the family of Raed Sarakji. Israeli soldiers blew the door open with explosives at about 2.30am, entered the house and forced the entire family of twenty out of their home. They then opened fire on Raed as he was coming down the stairs. He was left to bleed to death in front of his family. His pregnant wife was shot in her foot. The military destroyed furniture in the house and broke many windows and doors.

The third house was raided at 3am, when the Israeli military in the force of approximately 180 soldiers (30 army jeeps) entered the Ras Al-Ain neighbourhood, close to the Old City, and occupied several houses surrounding the Subih family house. From the roofs of an adjacent house soldiers then fired several rockets at upper levels of the Subih house, leaving huge cavities in the walls and blowing a hole between the third and fourth levels of the house. The soldiers on the ground then blew open the door and entered the whole house, forcing the families one by one out into the street and firing live ammunition inside the house. The soldiers found and executed Anan Subih inside of the house, while members of his family were all detained outside. Anan was married and left behind five daughters and two sons. ISM activists reported bullet holes everywhere in the house, which was left ransacked and partially flooded after the army shot at the water tanks on its roof.

After the killings children gathered in the streets of Nablus throwing rocks at jeeps, to which the army responded by firing sound bombs and live ammunition. They left the city at 8am. Residents say Israeli spotter planes had been flying low over Nablus for the last two days, conducting reconnaissance missions.

Background

According to B’Tselem, during the second intifada, Israel formally adopted a policy of assassinating Palestinians suspected of membership in armed organizations. At least seventeen of the eighty-nine Palestinians killed by Israeli forces between 2004 and 2005, during arrest operations, were not wanted by Israel and were not suspected by Israel of having committed any offense. In addition, at least forty-three of those killed were unarmed, or were not attempting to use their arms against Israeli security forces at the time they were killed.

B’Tselem has documented cases in which Israeli soldiers besieged a house in which they claimed a wanted person was present, and then fired at another occupant of the house when he opened the door, without prior warning and without offering them a chance to surrender. In other cases, the security forces disarmed the wanted persons, but then shot and killed them. In all these cases, the security forces acted as if they were carrying out an assassination and not an arrest, in flagrant breach of international humanitarian law.

Based on the report’s findings, there is a grave suspicion that execution of Palestinians has become a norm among the Israeli forces. Since the beginning of the second intifada, only a few cases in which Palestinians were shot and killed by soldiers have been investigated and members of the security forces were not held accountable for their actions.

Breaking Palestine’s peaceful protest

Neve Gordon | The Guardian

23 December 2009

Palestinians have a long history of nonviolent resistance but Israel has continuously deployed methods to destroy it

“Why,” I have often been asked, “haven’t the Palestinians established a peace movement like the Israeli Peace Now?”

The question itself is problematic, being based on many erroneous assumptions, such as the notion that there is symmetry between the two sides and that Peace Now has been a politically effective movement. Most important, though, is the false supposition that Palestinians have indeed failed to create a pro-peace popular movement.

In September 1967 – three months after the decisive war in which the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem were occupied – Palestinian leaders decided to launch a campaign against the introduction of new Israeli textbooks in Palestinian schools. They did not initiate terrorist attacks, as the prevailing narratives about Palestinian opposition would have one believe, but rather the Palestinian dissidents adopted Mahatma Gandhi-style methods and declared a general school strike: teachers did not show up for work, children took to the streets to protest against the occupation and many shopkeepers closed shop.

Israel’s response to that first strike was immediate and severe: it issued military orders categorising all forms of resistance as insurgency – including protests and political meetings, raising flags or other national symbols, publishing or distributing articles or pictures with political connotations, and even singing or listening to nationalist songs.

Moreover, it quickly deployed security forces to suppress opposition, launching a punitive campaign in Nablus, where the strike’s leaders resided. As Major General Shlomo Gazit, the co-ordinator of activities in the occupied territories at the time, points out in his book The Carrot and the Stick, the message Israel wanted to convey was clear: any act of resistance would result in a disproportionate response, which would make the population suffer to such a degree that resistance would appear pointless.

After a few weeks of nightly curfews, cutting off telephone lines, detaining leaders, and increasing the level of harassment, Israel managed to break the strike.

While much water has passed under the bridge since that first attempt to resist using “civil disobedience” tactics, over the past five decades Palestinians have continuously deployed nonviolent forms of opposition to challenge the occupation. Israel, on the other hand, has, used violent measures to undermine all such efforts.

It is often forgotten that even the second intifada, which turned out to be extremely violent, began as a popular nonviolent uprising. Haaretz journalist Akiva Eldar revealed several years later that the top Israeli security echelons had decided to “fan the flames” during the uprising’s first weeks. He cites Amos Malka, the military general in charge of intelligence at the time, saying that during the second intifada’s first month, when it was still mostly characterised by nonviolent popular protests, the military fired 1.3m bullets in the West Bank and Gaza. The idea was to intensify the levels of violence, thinking that this would lead to a swift and decisive military victory and the successful suppression of the rebellion. And indeed the uprising and its suppression turned out to be extremely violent.

But over the past five years, Palestinians from scores of villages and towns such as Bil’in and Jayyous have developed new forms of pro-peace resistance that have attracted the attention of the international community. Even Palestinian Authority prime minister Salam Fayyad recently called on his constituents to adopt similar strategies. Israel, in turn, decided to find a way to end the protests once and for all and has begun a well-orchestrated campaign that targets the local leaders of such resistance.

One such leader is Abdallah Abu Rahmah, a high school teacher and the co-ordinator of Bil’in’s Popular Committee Against the Wall, is one of many Palestinians who was on the military’s wanted list. At 2am on 10 December (international Human Rights Day), nine military vehicles surrounded his home. Israeli soldiers broke the door down, and after allowing him to say goodbye to his wife Majida and three young children, blindfolded him and took him into custody. He is being charged with throwing stones, the possession of arms (namely gas canisters in the Bil’in museum) and inciting fellow Palestinians, which, translated, means organising demonstrations against the occupation.

The day before Abu Ramah was arrested, the Israeli military carried out a co-ordinated operation in the Nablus region, raiding houses of targeted grassroots activists who have been fighting against human rights abuses. Wa’el al-Faqeeh Abu as-Sabe, 45, is one of the nine people arrested. He was taken from his home at 1am and, like Abu Ramah, is being charged with incitement. Mayasar Itiany, who is known for her work with the Nablus Women’s Union and is a campaigner for prisoners’ rights was also taken into custody as was Mussa Salama, who is active in the Labour Committee of Medical Relief for Workers. Even Jamal Juma, the director of an NGO called Stop the Wall, is now behind bars.

Targeted night arrests of community leaders have become common practice across the West Bank, most notably in the village of Bil’in where, since June, 31 residents have been arrested for their involvement in the demonstrations against the wall. Among these is Adeeb Abu Rahmah, a prominent activist who has been held in detention for almost five months and is under threat of being imprisoned for up to 14 months.

Clearly, the strategy is to arrest all of the leaders and charge them with incitement, thus setting an extremely high “price tag” for organising protests against the subjugation of the Palestinian people. The objective is to put an end to the pro-peace popular resistance in the villages and to crush, once and for all, the Palestinian peace movement.

Thus, my answer to those who ask about a Palestinian “Peace Now” is that a peaceful grassroots movement has always existed. At Abdallah Abu Rahmah’s trial next Tuesday one will be able to witness some of the legal methods that have consistently been deployed to destroy it.