According to the most recent reports 22 civilians were killed and 360 injured yesterday when Israeli soldiers opened fire at protesters marking Naksa day across the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and the Syrian border. The 5th June this year marked the 44th anniversary of the Naksa, or “setback” – Israel’s 1967 occupation of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank and its accompanying expulsion of 300,000 refugees from their homeland.
In the West Bank the International Solidarity Movement joined with hundreds of Palestinians as well as other internationals and Israelis in demonstrating at Qalandia checkpoint in Ramallah. The protest lasted for approximately seven hours and was met with a violent and disproportionate response by the Israeli military who shot teargas and rubber-coated steel bullets at the protesters throughout. The military who were positioned in front of the checkpoint as well as down the street and on occupied rooftops, began shooting at protesters as soon as they neared the checkpoint forcing them back down the road. No consideration was given to safety as tear gas was fired directly at protesters and at moving traffic resulting in approximately 90 injuries. Elsewhere in the West Bank demonstrations were also held in Hebron and Al Wallaje, however no injuries have been reported from these events. In Gaza hundreds of Palestinian refugees demonstrated outside the Erez Crossing in Beit Hanoun.
Golan Heights – Aljazeera
Golan Heights – Aljazeera
Golan Heights – Aljazeera
On the Syrian border the Israeli army used live ammunition on protesters as they advanced towards the occupied Golan Heights. 22 unarmed protesters were killed and 270 have been reported injured. This follows the widely condemned excessive use of force displayed by Israeli troops last month at the 15th May Nakba demonstrations which left five protesters dead on the Syrian border.
On Sunday four civilians were killed and 30 injured when Israeli soldiers opened fire at protesters marking Naksa across the West Bank, Gaza, and the Syrian border.
Forty-four years ago, Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights during the six-day war, which later became known to Palestinians as the Naksa, or setback.
Golan Heights:
At the Syrian border, Israeli soldiers fired live-rounds at protesters marking Naksa when they reached the border fence near Majdal Shams. So far Syrian sources said that four civilians were killed and 30 were injured by Israeli gunfire. The protest continues, sources reported.
On Saturday Israeli forces closed Majdal Shams and did not allow Palestinians form Israeli areas to reach the Sryian town to protest the Naksa. During last month’s Nakba commemoration five civilians were killed and at least 30 more were injured when Israeli troops stationed at the Syrian borders opened fire at protesters form the Syrian border village of Majdal Shams.
In total, Israeli military attacks on Nakba protests on May 15th left 16 killed and 400 injured. Israeli troops attacked Nakba protests in several parts of the West Bank, Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, in addition to the Lebanese and Syrian borders.
Ramallah:
Also on Sunday Israeli forces invaded the central West Bank city of Ramallah and attacked Naksa protesters as people marched towards Qalandiya checkpoint which separates the city from Jerusalem. Witnesses said that troops invaded the entrance of Ramallah city and fired tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets at unarmed protesters. So far five civilians were reported injured by soldiers’ rubber-coated steel bullets
Bethlehem:
At the village of al-Walajeh, located between the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem and Jerusalem, international and Israeli protesters joined the villagers and marched marking the 44th anniversary of the Naksa.
The Israeli army has locked-down the village since last night. Today, troops stopped buses transporting supporters into the village. At around 11 a.m. protesters marched, demanding an end to the Israeli occupation.
Al-Walajeh village was among the 500 Palestinian villages that was destroyed in 1948 when Israel was created – what Palestinians call the Nakba. People moved towards Bethlehem and built a new village at what was left from their lands that were occupied by Israel in 1967.
Hebron:
Also in southern West Bank on Sunday, people gathered in Hebron city and marked the 44th anniversary of the 1967 war or what is called by Palestinians as Naksa. Clashes were reported between Israeli troops and settlers in one side and Palestinian youth on the other. No injuries were reported.
Gaza:
A number of Naksa commemoration protests were organized in the Gaza Strip on Sunday. The ralies ended after speeches were delivered by political leaders in Gaza City. Sources said that Palestinian police stopped local youth from reaching the borders with Israel.
Israeli Sources:
Haaretz reported that protesters threw rocks at Israeli police in the East Jerusalem village of Isawiyeh. Thirteen protesters were arrested and one police officer injured during the clashes, which involved an Israeli helicopter team, said the report.
Police were dispersing crowds of protesters with tear gas and other “demonstration dispersal weaponry” at Qalandiyah checkpoint between Ramallah and Jerusalem, said the report.
At the Israel-Syria border, where Syrian TV has reported four protesters killed and 30 injured, Haaretz reported that an Israeli Army spokesperson did not confirm any casualties. The spokesperson told Haaretz that Israeli soldiers had fired warning shots and then shot at protesters legs.
Other Israeli Army officials questioned the truth of Syrian reports that protesters had been killed, saying that any shots fired had been fired accurately, “guided by senior officers on the ground,” reported Haaretz.
Protests in RamallahAs protests commemorating Nakba ended on Sunday night sources confirmed that Israeli military attacks on those protests left 16 killed and 400 injured. Israeli troops attacked Nakba protests in several parts of the West Bank, Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, in addition to the Lebanese and Syrian borders.
Maroun al-Ras:
10 Palestinian refugees were killed and some 80 others injured when Israeli soldiers opened fire at protesters at the border fence near Maroun al-Ras at the Lebanese borders. The Lebanese army intervened after Israeli soldiers approached the borders with tanks, witnesses said that Lebanese soldiers convinced people to go back for fear from of more casualties. Lebanon filed a complaint to the UN because Israeli soldiers and tanks entered the Lebanese side of the borders violating the truce after the 2006 Israeli war on Lebanon.
Majdal Shams :
Five civilians were killed and At least 30 more were injured when Israeli troops stationed at the Syrian borders opened fire at protesters form the Syrian border village of Majdal Shams. Israeli sources said that protesters tried to destroy the border fence and soldiers opened fire at them. The army announced the area a closed military zone.
Sources talked about four killed during the clashes between protesters and troops. Israeli sources said that the protesters managed to go through the border fence into the occupied Golan heights.
Ramallah:
In Ramallah city central West Bank, 160 people were injured among them two in critical conditions when soldiers fired live rounds and tear gas at protesters who gathered at the Qalandiya checkpoint separating Ramallah from East Jerusalem. Witnesses told PNN that soldiers were targeting the peaceful protesters by shooting directly at them.
Later troops and undercover soldiers managed to arrest five Palestinians during the clashes between local youth and soldiers who attacked today protest.
The Gaza Strip:
One civilian were reported killed by Israeli fire in addition 86 were injured among them children and one journalist in critical conditions, when Israeli tanks and troops shelled a protest organized to commemorate the Nakaba in Beit Hannon in the northern part of the Gaza Strip.
Bethlehem:
Six civilians were arrested, one them injured, when troops attacked Nakba protest in the village of al-Walajeh, between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. The protest started near the UNRWA school in the village where people set fire to a tent symbolizing that this is the last year they stay as refugees.
Later the protesters marched towards the old village of al-Walajeh which was destroyed in 1948 to make way for the creation of Israel. Troops attacked protesters as they reached the green line beat up one man and arrested him in addition to three others. Those arrested were identified as Ahmad Abu Khyara, Ahamd al-A’raj, Baseil al=A’raj, and Mazin Qumsyia. Later troops invaded the village and searched homes then arrested one American and one German journalist.
Hebron/Jerusalem
Clashes were reported between local youth and Israeli soldiers who attacked Nakba protests in Hebron, southern West Bank and East Jerusalem. PNN sources reported clashes in the old city of Jerusalem, Sho’fat refugee camp and Sliwan near the old city. Meanwhile Israeli police and troops did not allow Palestinians from 1948 areas to enter Jerusalem fearing Nakba protests.
Yesterday evening mourners gathered in Ramallah and Gaza in memorial events for ISM activist Vittorio Arrigoni. The events were planned to coincide with Vittorio’s funeral in Bulciago, Italy, which was attended by hundreds of people.
Mourners gather in RamallahIn Ramallah, crowds gathered outside the municipality to hear speeches made by friends, politicians and fellow solidarity activists. Those who had known and worked with Vittorio, including friends from Gaza, recounted their memories of him whilst others spoke of his dedication to Palestine and the importance of the work he had been doing in the West Bank and Gaza. From the Palestinian speakers the message was clear, this was not an act representative of the Palestinian people, and Vittorio’s death was a great loss to all who will continue the struggle for a free Palestine. Mourners also sang some of Vittorio’s favourite Italian songs in his memory.
In Gaza hundreds joined together in a commemorative ceremony held in The Gallery, a cafe and social centre which Vittorio used to frequent. Here mourners shared memories of Vittorio, danced dabka and performed rap songs written about him.
Yesterday President Mahmoud Abbas also posthumously honored Vittorio and Juliano Mer-Khamis with the ‘Medal of Jerusalem’ award, saying that “crediting both martyrs the honoring ‘Medal of Jerusalem’, is the least expression of gratitude for their efforts in serving the Palestinian cause.” He too made clear that “the assassination of the two activists does not reflect the traditions, habits and morals of the Palestinian people and all humans.”
21 February 2011 | The Alternative Information Center
Canada Park
Palestinian, Israeli and international activists gathered in front of the Representative Office of Canada to the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah and the Embassy of Canada to Israel in Tel Aviv for protest vigils on Monday (21/2) organized by the Committee for the Defense of the Rights of the Latrun Villages.
A Memorandum to the Representative of Canada to the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah and the Ambassador of Canada in Tel Aviv respectively was submitted, protesting on behalf of families of the Latrun villages, who were forcibly expelled from their villages in the 1967 war by the criminal action of ethnic cleansing, classified as a crime against humanity under international law.
Canada Park, built in cooperation with the Jewish National Fund, now occupies the site of the villages of Imwas, Yalo and Bayt Nuba, which were were completely destroyed in 1967. Their residents are now refugees in the West Bank and Jordan.
“Canada Park was planted and funded with the support of the Jewish National Fund of Canada over the lands and over the ruins of three ethnically-cleansed villages: Imwas, Yalu and Beit Nuba, occupied and ethnically cleansed in the course and the wake of the 1967 war,” Dr. Uri Davis told the Alternative Information Center (AIC) outside the Canadian Embassy.
“The ethnic cleansing was perpetrated by the Israeli army, not the JNF, but the JNF is complicit in this crime against humanity by veiling and covering up the crime, planting the Canada Park over the lands and over the ruins, and presenting itself as an environmentally-friendly organization concerned with public will and recreational welfare of all citizens of Israel.”
Participants carried banners reading: “CANADA PARK IS COMPLICIT WITH A CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY PERPETRATED IN OUR VILLAGES,” “WE DEMAND THAT THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA RECOGNIZE AND ACT TO IMPLEMENT THE RIGHTS OF THE PEOPLE OF THE LATRUN VILLAGES,” and, “WE DEMAND THE NULLIFICATION OF THE LEGAL STATUS OF THE JEWISH NATIONAL FUND (JNF) IN CANADA.”
The village defense committee has repeated requested that the Representative Office of Canada to the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah meet with the Ambassador of Canada to Israel in Ramallah and together tour the Latrun area and the visiting the remains of the destroyed villages over whose ruins the Jewish National Fund (JNF) has planted “Canada Park.”
“Most representatives of the destroyed Latrun villages are not able to come to Tel Aviv to meet the Ambassador, it is our request that the Ambassador arrive in Ramallah, meet the people concerned and with a delegation of the destroyed, ethnically cleansed villages, visit Canada Park and submit an official report of his fact-finding to his government,” Dr. Davis said.
He continued saying, “Canada Park represents a blatant violation of international law, but it also represents a blatant violation of official Canadian policy condemning any intervention of settlement or occupation or change of demographic composition or any other alteration in the 1967 occupied territories.”
