Demonstrators from Sarra village danced dubka on a roadblock in defiance of tear gas and sound bombs fired by the Israeli army as part of the Summer Against Apartheid.
Approximately two hundred villagers, supported by international activists, marched to the road block which restricts their freedom of movement. ‘This is Apartheid’ read the banner held by protesters who stood in front of Israeli soldiers, while others began to clear the earth mound road block with shovels.
The soldiers, who had been waiting for the demonstration to arrive, refused to speak with people from the village who tried to explain the action. They responded aggressively with sound bombs and tear gas. Protesters remained at the road block and continued to work to remove it while further armed forces arrived. Soldiers finally agreed to talk with demonstrators and ordered them to leave the area. Instead, young people from the village, dressed in traditional costume, danced dubka, a Palestinian people’s dance, in front of the line of soldiers as other protesters clapped time.
Afterwards, soldiers fired canisters of tear gas at the demonstration as participants walked back to the village.
This was the second in what is to be a series of demonstrations in Sarra against Israel’s apartheid system.
A Palestinian farming family in Iraq Burin, a village outside Nablus, had just made it halfway through this year’s wheat harvest when Israeli settlers burned it all down. The family is very upset by this action, since they now might not be able to feed their family and animals. The family discovered the ruined crop in the morning on June 24th.
During the last ten years the settlers, living three kilometers away from the village, have an increasing amount of land from Iraq Burin. Setting fire to the land is one way that the settlers have used to try and force local Palestinians off of their land. Last year a whole cultivated hill, belonging to the village, was set afire. It is not only the settlers are causing problems to the villagers, but also the Israeli army. For years they have been threatening to demolish three houses that they claim are too close to the settlement.
The family of nine has owned the land for generations, and beside wheat they also grow olive- and almond trees. They are now unsure if they can continue with the harvest, assuming that the settlers will cause more problems.
Only one night after the settler attack the Israeli army invaded parts of the village. At least twenty families were affected.
The village of Asira al Qibliya has during the last month suffered from several attacks by Israeli settlers. The settlers usually show up each Friday and Saturday, aiming for the houses in the outskirts of Asira. During the last week at least three houses were attacked. Large parts of Salman Mountain, where the villager have their farming land and grow things such as wheat and lentils, was also set on fire by the soldiers. About 5 to 100 settlers are participating in each attack
During the attacks the settlers have thrown stones though windows, crashed a car, stolen and killed cattle, torched fruit treas and farmland, fired live ammunition on the houses and water tanks, thrown gas grenades and painted stars of David over the house facades. The families living in the exposed houses are scared, the children can’t play freely outside anymore and the adults witnesses of troubles to sleep worrying of the settlers. When asked if they have ever considered moving to a safer place, one family father told us “Of course we will stay here – since moving away is exactly what the settlers want us to do”. That particular family has lived in generations in the same house making up at least 60 years. The family car was torched and totally destroyed one year ago. A big concern is the olive harvest two months away when the parents has to decide whether to leave their children behind exposed to attacks or leave their house an empty open target for the settlers. Another family has barricaded their windows with stones to protect themselves from live ammunition and was pointing out bullet holes in the wall witnessing of the attacks. Every Friday and Saturday the family locks themselves inside the house to wait out the settler attacks. Recently two villagers were caught by the settlers, of which one was shot in the leg. The settlers then used stones to hit the villagers causing serious damage.
According to the president of the village, the situation in Asira has gotten worse since the start of the Al-Aqsa Intifada seven years ago. Not only because of attacks from settlers, but also due to the restriction of movement, closed roads, poor health care and increased unemployment. Today there is no way out of Asira not passing a checkpoint. Before the checkpoints it took only 10 minutes to go to Nablus, the closest city, but today the travel time can take 2-3 hours up to a day. The settlers also prevent them from reaching their farming land, even if this land is not even close to the settlement.
On 21st June the villages of Sarra and Qussin, near Nablus, organised simultaneous demonstrations against the apartheid road system that denies them freedom of movement. Organised as part of the Summer Against Apartheid campaign, both villages marched towards the respective roadblocks that enable the existence of the Israeli-only road stretching from the Beit Eba checkpoint to the Jit checkpoint.
Sarra
Qussin
In Sarra approximately 200 residents and internationals attempted to remove the earthmound roadblock, using spades and shovels to dig away at the mass of earth, rocks and rubble that blocks the villagers from accessing the Beit Eba – Jit road. Holding a banner that read “This is apartheid!”, protesters continued to work at removing the roadblock for approximately 20 minutes before Israeli soldiers finally arrived.
Demonstrators sat in the middle of the apartheid road, chanting “Freedom for Palestine”, before moving back to stand in front of the roadblock as five jeeps and one Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) arrived. Soldiers immediately took up sniper positions, removing Palestinian flags that had been planted in the land by the road, in a clear attempt at provocation. Protesters, however, refused to take the bait, and maintained a non-violent demonstration. After one and a half hours, the demonstration moved back to the village, determined to continue the struggle for their freedom.
In nearby Qussin, approximately 50 residents of the village were joined by international human rights workers (HRWs) and marched from the village to find their way already blocked by an Israeli APC. Activists confronted the soldiers, marching directly up to the jeep, bearing banners that read: “This is apartheid!” and “Free the village of Qussin”. Soldiers ordered protesters to leave the area and attempted to intimidate them by driving forward in the APC, bearing down on the activists. The demonstrators, however, held their ground, refusing to yield to the intimidation.
Shortly thereafter, the mayor of the village entered into negotiations with the soldiers, resulting in the arrival of the Israeli District Coordination Office (DCO) – the office responsible for the coordination of Israeli military activities in each region. The negotiations resulted in an agreed meeting on Monday 23rd June, to further discuss the possibility of opening the road-gate that prevents the villagers from accessing Nablus directly.
The villagers, however, will continue to demonstrate against the road-gate that forces them to pass daily through the notoriously difficult Beit Eba checkpoint each day in order to reach the nearby city of Nablus.
Both villages have committed to joint, weekly demonstrations against this system of apartheid, which prohibits the residents from entering or exiting Nablus without passing through checkpoints. This level of coordination between villages is new for the Nablus region, but both villages are hopeful that more of the surrounding villages will join them in their upcoming demonstrations, in the hope of reviving the Palestinian popular struggle in the area.
For the past three weeks, international human rights workers (HRWs) have been accompanying farmers from the village of Zawata near Nablus to their lands, in order to care for their olive trees. Ordinarily farmers from this village are too scared to go to their lands, because passing through them, 1 kilometre from the centre of the village, is a 6 kilometre long, Israeli military-only road, forbidden to Palestinians. For 200 metres either side of this road, Israeli authorities have imposed a “closed military zone” – in theory an area that is only accessible to Israeli military; in practice a space that prohibits Palestinians.
Residents of the village advise that to go to this area is to risk being shot at, or beaten and forcibly ejected from their lands. Especially in danger are the farmers whose land lies beyond the military road that curves through the northern part of the village, who are forced to cross the road in order to care for and harvest their olives. Olive trees in this area, and those on the southern side of the road are much neglected – the mayor of Zawata estimates that while usually each olive tree will yield one gallon of olive oil, it takes ten of the olive trees in these areas to yield just one gallon of oil. The affected land totals approximately 500 dounums (125 acres). This situation is especially difficult for the village as most of the residents are dependent on agriculture for their income.
Zawata municipality and the local Charitable Society are committed, however, to break through the fear that exists around going to lands which are near or beyond the military road. To that effect, they have invited international HRWs to go with farmers to their lands each week throughout the Summer Against Apartheid campaign – in order to both embolden the farmers and show to the Israeli military that they are not afraid, and that they will not be kept from their lands.
