30 November 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank, Occupied Palestine
Many injured as Israeli Forces fire rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas canisters directly into a crowd from close range during a peaceful attempt to remove an illegal road block.
On approaching the turn of the road in close vicinity to the settlement that is currently blocked the demonstration was halted and crushed by twenty or so Israeli soldiers simultaneously firing rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas canisters directly into the crowd. A number of protesters required medical attention following the tear gas attack, including a young child who was unconscious for a short time and another protester who had to be rushed to hospital after the tear gas triggered a serious asthma attack. Two international human rights activists were hit by rubber-coated steel bullets, and one activist’s arm will be incapacitated for some time.
Only hours after the successful Palestinian UN non-member state bid, today’s action started well spirited, with large groups of people in the centre of the village listening to speeches, enjoying music, and breaking into chants. By the time the protest was ready to leave, similar to previous actions to unblock the road, more than 200 people from Qaryut had gathered. The speakers briefed the crowd that the protest would be a strictly non-violent action and set off towards the road carrying olive branches, placards bearing slogans, and tools for dismantling the road block.
The village of Qaryut, located in Area C in the West Bank is being squeezed out by the Israeli settlements of Shilo and Eli. As a result, Palestinian farm land has and continues to be confiscated, access is restricted, property damaged, and members of the community are regularly harassed violently. Since the first Intifada, the village’s once-main road towards Highway 60 has been blocked, heavily infringing on the daily lives of commuting workers and students attending schools and universities in either of those cities. Blocking off the direct access to Route 60 means that travel times have been increased by at least 30 minutes going to or from Ramallah or Nablus. Continue reading New state, same occupation: violence in Qaryut as villagers attempt to remove illegal roadblock
30 May 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank
Derar Ammer’s family has owned the land they live on since 1936. He is in possession of the papers that state that this land and the home his ancestors built on it is rightfully his, which date back to the British mandate. Nevertheless, Derar is not allowed to expand his house, let alone construct a new one on his land. The 13 members of the Ammer family are forced to live in an early 20th century home lacking built in running water and electricity which instead must be purchased separately every month.
Derar Ammer's backyard, Shilo settlement visible in the background.
The Ammer family home is located about 20 kilometres south-east of Nablus, between the villages of Qaryut and Jaloud. Both these villages have been the target of attacks by settlers from illegal Israeli colonies built in the area. They are surrounded from all sides by the colonies of Shpot Raheel, Shilo, Eli, and Eli Eaval. Shpot Raheel, which was illegally erected in 1993, is less than 200 metres distance from Derar’s house.
“Sometimes the settlers come close and they start throwing stones directly at my house. It becomes more and more difficult to access my land,” says Derar.
Particularly during the time of the olive harvest, life is difficult for the inhabitants of both Qaryut and Jaloud. The village’s residents face Israeli settlers who have repeatedly attempted to burn the trees, and with that, ruin the small source of income for the villagers.
Basher, a young man from Qaryut, spoke with the International Solidarity Movement. He says that throughout the year, settlers and soldiers alike block the road that leads to the fields of the villagers, in order to prevent them from working on their agricultural land.
“A 35-year old man was shot by a settler 3 years ago because he was trying to access his land,” says Basher.
According to the villagers, every Israeli settlement is surrounded by cameras that monitor every move of nearby Palestinians. Dogs kept off leash ‘guard’ the illegal colonies. The Israeli military is present and many of the civilian settlers are heavily armed.
Last week however, a 13-year old boy managed to defy these and lit fire to some of the electric wires and cameras with the intention of allowing his family to work their land. As a response, Israeli soldiers raided Qaryut later in the day, and damaged several houses of the village while searching for the boy.
The illegal Israeli settlement Shilo
He has not been found yet. The Israeli military has been present in the village every night since as they continue to search for the child.
Both Jaloud and Qaryut are located in Area C which means that they are under full Israeli civil and military control. The most fertile land has been annexed by the illegal settlements, as well as many water springs and grassing fields for livestock. Several Palestinian houses are due to be demolished by Israel, and neither of the 2 villages are allowed to expand despite their growing numbers. Some families have hired lawyers.
“The settlers and soldiers make it impossible for us to access our lands for such a long period of time, that in the end it gets taken away by [a law of] the Israeli government,” says Basher.
Life is becoming more difficult on a daily basis in both Qaryut and Jaloud. The Occupation Forces, settlers, and soldiers alike are attempting to drive the people out of their rightful homes by denying them basic commodities such as water, electricity, and new or improved housing. The Palestinian villages’ lands continue to shrink, whilst the illegal Israeli settlements expand. It is nothing less than systematic ethnic cleansing that is sneaking up on the Palestinian people of Qaryut and Jaloud.
Maria Erdely is a volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).
2 April 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank
Yemams father did not have time to respond to his son before the bomb exploded. Ripping through three layers of clothes and even more layers of skin, his father had to watch the tragedy unfold before his eyes. Yemam Mohammad Fatah Azam is just eight years old. He was enjoying a Friday afternoon with his father in the olive groves.
Situated between the illegal Israeli settlements of Shilo, Eli, and Suvat Rachel, Qaryut is not new to military and settler violence. Yamam’s story however is the first incident of its kind and has shaken the community. As floods of school children come to visit Yamam in his home, it is clear that all the parents are aware that the bomb could have been in their loved one’s hands. The children show they are upset with a handshake and sit next to Yamam in silence.
Bashar, a member of the Popular Commitee explains that the planting of un-exploded ordinance (UXO) “..is an act to intimidate us from going to our land.”
Efforts by violent Zionist settlers have been well underway to intimidate farmers from visiting their land, and recently the village has joined the popular resistance with a Friday demonstration in protest of the closure of their road by Israeli military. The road runs through the land in which many farmers reside. One farmer explained, “It brings us much comfort to have cars passing through the road, we know if anything was to happen a car would stop and support us.”
As Yamam lays in bed, not able to move much due to the wound constantly re-opening, causing pain beyond comprehension, four more bombs lay on the land near by. This case has reached The United Nations group, OCHA, who has reported this in their “Protection of Civilians Weekly Report, 21-27 March 2012.” The Palestinian Authority is also addressing the issue as well. Both have been informed of the bombs which still reside on the land of the farmers, but have not been able to make the area safe. Due to the olive groves being in Area C, the Palestinian Authority has no permission to enter the land.
Lydia is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).
Demonstrators in Qaryout attempted to plant olive trees to resist land grab. On the way, they were attacked by settlers and the army.
Photos by Popular Struggle Coordination Committee
Approximately 100 residents of the Qaryout joined the weekly protest against the occupation this week, aiming to plant olive trees on their lands, as an action against confiscation of lands by neighboring settlements. One of main legal mechanisms used by Israel to expropriate Palestinian land is the Ottoman Land Law of 1858, which was in force on the eve of the occupation. According to this law, if privately owned agricultural land is not cultivated for three years it may be declared as “abandoned property” and seized by the state.
Photos by Popular Struggle Coordination Committee
Residents and their supporters marched towards the roadblock, which they have managed to open last week, and which currently remains open. As they were proceeding, settlement private security guards approached the demonstration, shooting live ammunition in the air. The protesters continued marching, finally reaching a line of soldiers. After proceeding some more, the march was effectively trapped in between two groups of settlers – one from the front and one from the back, as well as the army. Nonetheless, they managed to plant a number of trees. As demonstrators were heading back towards the village, settlers “accompanied” them from the hilltop and threw stones directly at protesters. As a result, some clashes erupted between the local youth and the settlers. The army intervened by shooting massive amounts of tear-gas canisters at the protesters. Two injuries were reported.
The village of Qaryout is located in the Northern West Bank, near the city of Nablus. It is home for approximately 2500 residents whose lives have become unbearable due to continuous land confiscations, obstruction of movement and settler violence.
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).
West Bank, Occupied Palestine
