Tag: Settlement

What happened on the 10th of January in Jericho

14 January 2012 | Mahmoud Zwahre, Al Ma’sara Village

I would like to thank all of you who stand with us, who have showed amazing support these past three days and demanded our immediate release from Israeli military jail. I hope that we will be able to free Omar Dar Ayoub from Nabi Saleh soon, as well. Although Omar was arrested together with the other four of us on Wednesday, only a short time after finally having been released from military jail as part of the “prisoner swap”, Omar, alone, was remanded until Sunday. We need Omar out NOW, together with all political prisoners.

Unlike Omar, Anwar Abu Mousa, the young woman from Ramallah who was arrested first, ‘Azmi al Shyouhki from Hebron, Khaled Tamimi from Nabi Saleh and I were released Thursday night, after the first hearing of the “case” against us in military court. During the hearing, the prosecution had argued vehemently for the need to extend our imprisonment – on the grounds that, for various reasons, they had allegedly not been able to conclude the interrogations and generally needed more time to prepare the case against us. Fortunately, our lawyer was nonetheless able to secure the release of the four of us – on the condition that we each pay 3000NIS in cash as bail, sign guarantees of another 10,000 NIS that we would be forced to pay should we fail to show up in military court, and the signature of a third person also guaranteeing that we will show up (as if there was any way we could evade that in the occupied Palestinian West Bank).

No charges were formally brought against us yet, but during the hearing, the prosecution accused all five of us of having “assaulted” soldiers and of “illegal assembly”. In spite of ample video footage and other evidence to the contrary, the prosecution alleged that ‘Azmi, Khaled and I had pushed soldiers, while Anwar had allegedly slapped one soldier and Omar kicked four of them, as if highly armed Israeli soldiers in an equally armed military unit were likely targets for unarmed and handcuffed Palestinian civilians.

Of course, accusing us of assault is an easy and efficient way for the prosecution to criminalize us, but after all that had happened in the previous 30 hours or so, it was highly surreal to listen to the prosecutor’s allegation. For a moment, it almost sounded like we should organize a campaign of solidarity with the soldiers.

What actually happened is this:

Early Tuesday morning, our convoy set off from the center of Jericho. Our plan was to drive together to Ramallah on “Road 1”, one of the so-called “bypass roads” that Israeli authorities illegally build on Palestinian land to provide infrastructure for the equally illegal settlements.

Although they run right all over the occupied West Bank, in and around our privately owned lands, the “Israeli Civil Administration” claims full control on these roads, but “allows” us West Bank Palestinians to use them alongside the settlers. In practice, this means that Israeli traffic police not only patrols on these roads, but actually claims authority on them, frequently stopping us and issuing arbitrary fines; all along these roads, Israeli settlers wait at bus stops of ordinary Israeli bus companies, only a few meters away from the make-shift bus stops that we are allowed to use; attacks through settlers or pull-overs through Israeli military are common.

We had intended to drive up to Ramallah via one of these roads, and only then use some of those roads that are accessible to Jewish settlers only and from which we are barred. But we didn’t even make it that far.

On our way to Ramallah, before reaching “Road 1” which, according to their bizarre military law, we are allowed to use, we were stopped by Israeli armed forces. We were told that we would not be allowed to continue our trip while displaying the Palestinian flag – an act that, since the “Oslo accords” of 1993, is no longer considered illegal by Israeli authorities. About 300m away, illegal settlers were driving past unhindered, displaying the Israeli flag in the occupied Palestinian West Bank.

As you might have seen in the many videos of that day, we were angered and outraged at this arbitrary denial of our freedom of movement. We had come to exercise some of those rights that are regularly denied to us, and we were not going to walk away with yet more of our rights stripped away. We refused to turn back or to take down our flags.

In the ensuing argument, Awar was suddenly and very arbitrarily arrested. When Omar tried to prevent this absurd arrest, he, too, was arrested, shorty followed by ‘Azmi. At that point, IOF took both my ID and the ID of my friend Naim Manar, and ordered us to move to the side while they made checked information on us. I realized that they were going to arrest me as well and that my car was stuck on the road, right in front of the soldiers, so I handed the car keys to Khaled Tamimi, and caught a ride back to Jericho. I later learned that they then arrested Khaled (who – after having been released together with us Thursday evening – was rearrested later that night during a raid, together with 17 year old Anan and 20 year old Mahdi, and then again released yesterday evening while Anan and Mahdi remain in prison). The army also prevented anyone else from moving my car.

30 minutes after I left, the Israeli “intelligence” office began calling me on my mobile phone and threatening that I would be put on the “wanted” list if I did not turn myself in immediately. Knowing the limited options available to us in occupied Palestine, I opted to go back in the company of a lawyer.

As soon as I arrived, I was handcuffed and blindfolded and taken to the “DCO” in Jericho where I was kept until I was brought to the settlement in Ma’ale Adumim. After Anwar, Omar, ‘Azmi, Khaled and I were interrogated, we were then transferred to the military prison in Ofer, which marked our official arrest.

This is only one more example for the blatant disregards of any Palestinian rights in the entire Israeli system, including its so-called legal one. Khaled, like so many other Palestinian women, men, and children, remains in military jail because of the arbitrary and criminal politics of an entity that is allowed to act with total impunity. This has to stop!

Kufr ad-Dik resists by the hundreds

by Jonathon

7 January 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

The residents of Kufr ad-Dik sent a clear and strong message of resistance to the Israeli authorities,  just the second of planned weekly demonstrations in the village thus far.

There were approximately 250 residents who attended the demonstration, with a number of Israeli and international activists also present to resist the planned further expansion of  several illegal settlements besieging the village. Should construction go ahead, it will reportedly take 80% of the land belonging to Kufr Ad-Dik. To add further insult to the injustice and illegality of this situation, the Israeli authorities have denied Kufr Ad-Dik permission to build any new homes on their own land as the village is in Area C.

The protest began with the gathering of demonstrators in front of the village municipality, before walking in unison towards the Israeli military. They walked up a hill towards the main road separating the village from the illegal settlements and inevitably towards the Israeli military. It appeared that perhaps the occupation forces were caught off guard by the demonstrators, or at least by their courage, and were not immediately prepared to respond in their typically aggressive and sometimes fatal manner.

 The partial retreat of the Israeli occupation forces was short lived and was followed by an extended and intense period of tear gas, sound bombs and steel bullets coated in a thin layer of rubber. Even under such an assault the protesters remained steadfast, refusing to be intimidated even when it appeared there was a genuine threat to their lives.

The demonstration also caused some considerable disturbance to traffic travelling along the illegal road, and there are reports that live ammunition was fired by settlers from the main road. As is to be expected there was no evidence that any attempt was made by the Israeli military to intervene in any way. Instead the soldiers continued to fire directly at the protesters.

For the second consecutive week an ISM activist had a tear gas canister fired directly at them while they attempted to record the soldiers with a camera. It is clear the Israeli military is targeting media.

Eventually the demonstrators were forced to retreat. Gradually the group moved to another area of the village where they were again confronted by the Israeli military positioned on the illegal road. On this occasion the Israeli Occupation Forces were prepared and immediately began firing tear gas canisters and rubber coated steel bullets.

The young men of the village refused to be subdued or intimated by such intense aggression and continued to throw stones in a symbolic gesture of resistance. Eventually the older men of the village urged the young men to cease, and that the situation was becoming too dangerous.

The injuries sustained were relatively minor, mostly constituted by partial asphyxiation from tear gas. It seems inevitable that there will be a series of arrests targeting the young men of the village during the next week, yet it is reported that this will not deter the village from continuing their struggle for justice.

Jonathon is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).

Al Jab’a: “If the judge is your enemy, who are you going to complain to”

by Sarah Morand

28 December 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

 At first sight Al Jab’a appears as an idyllic Palestinian village, and sitting in a lovely garden under big olive trees, this seems like a perfect escape to the country side: white houses, friendly people, nice nature, and a splendid view until you glance just 500 meters from the village’s border.

An Israeli military watch tower seen from Al Jab`a village

Al Jab’a is surrounded by illegal settlements, a soldier camp, one major checkpoint, the construction of the separation wall as well as one permanent roadblock which blocks access to Jab’a’s land and the neighboring village of Surif. Since Al Jab’a only has about 1000 inhabitants and lacks a hospital, markets, and high school, the restriction of movement means that everyone has to go two to three kilometers by foot in order to do their basic shopping and to reach school, work and healthcare. Sometimes even that is impossible.

“When my wife was pregnant and was about to give birth, they didn’t let us cross the checkpoint. They forced us to go back and my wife had to give birth at home,” Naser, a senior of the village, said.

As Naser guided ISM volunteers through his village, the roadblock obstructing the village from free movement was visible.  One women explained that since her husband is sick and she does not want to leave her children alone, she has to walk with them every 4th day to do the basic shopping and to buy milk for her baby.

The restriction on movement should also be seen in context of everyday Israeli harassment which aim at making life unbearable in order to make people leave the village.  Many houses have a demolition order as do its trees, plants, fences, walls and mailboxes. The big sign which welcomes visitors at the entrance has one and so do the two small plants that are put next to it.

“They say it is for security but I don’t know what the sign has to do with security. It is like they want to show the world we are not civilized,” said Naser.

The sign to the entrance of the village of Al Jab`a

A small wall similar to a fence on the side of a house had to be taken down because the demolition order said that if the man did not destroy it they would send a bulldozer, charging the man the cost of them sending a bulldozer to demolish his own property.

Why is there so much pressure on such a small village?

In the very middle of settlements, Al Jab’a is a strategically important location. With no Al Jab’a in the middle, all surrounding settlements would be connected into one larger settlement which would mean a complete takeover and a further expansion into Palestinian land.

As in all other cases when Palestinians have to deal with Israeli bureaucracy, it is a long and tiring process when they are asked to bring papers that prove they own their land and houses. Because Palestine has been under both Ottoman rule and British mandate, different record keeping methods have been instilled in the short history of Palestine’s transfer from one occupier to the next. The only papers recognized by Israel  are the ones they invented when it was founded, and now they refuse to hand these out.

“Since we have been here for so long, people just know that this was my grandfather’s land which he inherited from his grandfather and so on. We know it because it has been passed from generation to generation and we grew up on it. That is how we know it,” said one middle aged villager, who wished to remain anonymous.

Along the village’s main road only half of the restoration of the pavement is finished. It is painted in black and white and looks a bit odd because of the sudden abruptness. The villagers explained that the road has a demolition order which forced them to stop before it was finished.

“The soldiers should be happy we want to make the road nicer since they come into the village and use it more often than we do, said Naser sarcastically. “They come during the night and bring all the men out to the street. Sometimes they let us stay outside the whole night, and sometimes they bring us to the mosque. Every time they come, they do different things to humiliate us.”

One resident alone has 7 demolition orders for different buildings. This includes the communication tower for Jawwal (Palestine communication service) which is built on his land. Without the tower, communication services will be more difficult and at least 2-3 jobs will be lost. In a village where work is hard to find, 2 or 3 jobs means a lot ,and the loss of work will affect everyone.  Many people have already been forced to leave in order support themselves and to find work elsewhere.

Naser described the difficulty of his fellow neighbors,

Everything we build is being destroyed by the military or they send us a demolition order. People cannot predict anything since we are not in power to decide over our village and life here. We have an Arab saying which says that ‘If the judge is your enemy, who are you going to complain to?’ People think that if they do something they will put us in jail, demolish our houses, uproot our trees or kill our children.

One farmer showed the remaining stumps of what used to be his olives trees. “Soldiers cut down my olives trees even though I showed them the right paper which says my family is the owner of this land. They cut down the trees and dumped them beside my house. Seeing my trees being cut down was like seeing my son being killed. I inherited this land from my father, and it has been passed from generation to generation.”

Olive trees are a vital part of the Palestinian identity. In one instance villagers were offered money in exchange for land and olive trees. In exchange for one tree they were offered between 100 and 200 NIS but as Naser explained “it is not about the money. Money is not my ID and money is not who I am. But the connection to my trees and my land is. When people want to know who I am they don’t ask ‘Where is his money?’ but ‘Where is his land located?’ ”

Much of the land that belongs to the village has been made inaccessible by the settlement and the ongoing construction of the wall, and what used to be the fruit basket of the village is now left as empty land. A year ago peace activists came to help plant some hundred olive trees in order to protect Palestinian lands from the settlers. However, if the construction of the wall continues as planned, the owners of the land will have to go all the way around the wall which means crossing neighboring towns and villages to access it. It is hard to imagine that the walk that normally takes about 10 minutes from the village will be replaced by a 2 hour bus drive. In addition to this, the overall area of 400 meters next to the wall will be “security area” which means it is a prohibited area for Palestinians to enter.

“When the wall is finished we’ll probably have a gate that will be open during certain hours of the day for which we’ll need permission to enter and exit through,” said Naser.

In total, the village has lost about 4200 donums from what used to be 6000 donums from the beginnings.  When the wall is finished only 200 donums of Al Jab’a will be left for the people to live on.

Beside the everyday harassment when soldiers are coming into the village, the surrounding settlements also cause a lot of problems.  Nabil Ibrahim Abdel Hamden walked with his goats when armed settlers came and shot him on the spot after they claimed the land to be theirs.

When relatives from Al Jab’a came to take the dead body away soldiers arrested around 12 of them with the explanation that they did not want them to take revenge on the neighboring settlement. Other children have also been severely beaten either by soldiers or settlers on several occasions. Many youth in the village suffer from long time stress of the constant harassment and the uncertainties of living in the village.

“You know, when children are small they think their parents can protect them from anything. How do you explain to them that you cannot protect them from the soldiers because they are in the ones who have the power?” questioned Naser.

So what does this leave for the future?

When questioned about the future of the village, one woman from the village responded, “It will be bad but I’ll never leave Palestine, it is my land. It is my country. Even though we don’t have anything other than our own hands we are determined to stay.”

In his response, Naser stated that

“Occupation means one land for one people, without any room for Palestinians. What is happening here is a way of making it unbearable for us to live, they want us to give up and leave so that they can take over what is left of our land. Everywhere in the world people talk about the new world order, peace for everyone and human rights but as you can see here in Palestine, they know what’s happening but they don’t care”.

From the main checkpoint and the border into Israel, the Israeli flag is clearly visible but for the Palestinian school-children inside the village, raising the Palestinian flag in the schoolyard is forbidden.  Basically any sign of Palestinian existence is being reduced, erased or demolished.

Sara Morand  is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed)

In Photos: Settlement too close for comfort

by Amal

16 December 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

Kufr Qaddoum’s resistance is only getting stronger and is showing no signs of slowing down. The resilience of the Kufr Qaddoum residents is remarkable. Every week the Israeli Occupation Forces have increased their aggressive attacks, and yet the people still join together every Friday against the injustices they face. Not only have they lost more than half of their land, but also their right of movement.

Too close for comfort - Click here for more images

Kufr Qaddoum has been resisting the closure of one of their main roads since 2003. They have and are still going through court appeals to change this illegal army order. Due to the useless Israeli court appeals, the residents decided to declare their rights through protests.

Although it is not obvious, many of the freedom fighters do have concerns about the increased aggression against them. During the protest several statements were made that the soldiers were firing tear gas canisters directly at participants. This was also visually evident as one canister after another just barely missed a local.

Fortunately today, the only physical contact with a tear gas canister occurred when one grazed a man’s leg.  However, the Israeli Occupation Forces’ policy of shooting tear gas to kill was not enough. After an hour of viciously attacking the village with tear gas, the soldiers forcefully drove through the village. A resident stated that the army jeep appeared it was going to run over an international activist.

Unfortunately, there are many similar stories of army incursion into the village, yet Kufr Qaddoum’s quest for freedom will continue, until they have the right to use all their roads freely.

Amal is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).

 

Record number of Palestinians displaced by demolitions as Quartet continues to talk

13 December 2011 | Amnesty International

There has been a sharp rise in demolitions of Palestinian homes in 2011 © Amnesty International

Israeli authorities have stepped up unlawful demolitions in the West Bank including East Jerusalem over the past year, displacing a record number of Palestinian families from their homes, an international coalition of 20 leading aid agencies and human rights groups said today.

The statement comes as the Middle East Quartet meets in Jerusalem in its latest effort to revive peace talks.

The sharp rise in demolitions in 2011 has been accompanied by accelerated expansion of Israeli settlements and an escalation of violence perpetrated by settlers, the groups said.

The humanitarian and human rights groups, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Oxfam International, are calling for the Quartet to hold all parties to the conflict to their international law obligations. The Quartet must, therefore, press the Israeli government to immediately reverse its settlement policies and freeze all demolitions that violate international law.

“The increasing rate of settlement expansion and house demolitions is pushing Palestinians to the brink, destroying their livelihoods and prospects for a just and durable peace. There is a growing disconnect between the Quartet talks and the situation on the ground. The Quartet needs to radically revise its approach and show that it can make a real difference to the lives of Palestinians and Israelis.” said Jeremy Hobbs, Executive Director, Oxfam International.

The evidence of rapidly deteriorating situation on the ground includes:

  • Doubling the number of people displaced by demolitions: Since the beginning of the year more than 500 Palestinian homes, wells, rainwater harvesting cisterns, and other essential structures have been destroyed in the West Bank including East Jerusalem, displacing more than 1,000 Palestinians, UN figures show. This is more than double the number of people displaced over the same period in 2010, and the highest figure since at least 2005. More than half of those displaced have been children for whom the loss of their home is particularly devastating.
  • Accelerating settlement expansion: Plans for around 4,000 new settler housing units have been approved in East Jerusalem over the past 12 months – the highest number since at least 2006, according to Peace Now. In November, moreover, Israel announced plans to speed up construction of 2,000 new units in the West Bank including East Jerusalem.
  • Sharp increase in settler violence: violent attacks by settlers against Palestinians have escalated by over 50% in 2011 compared to 2010, and by over 160% compared to 2009, the UN reports. 2011 has seen by far the most settler violence since at least 2005. Settlers have also destroyed or damaged nearly 10,000 Palestinian olive and other trees during this year, undermining the livelihoods of hundreds of families. The perpetrators act with virtual impunity, with over 90% of complaints of settler violence closed by the Israeli police without indictment in 2005-2010.
  • Impending threat of forced displacement of Bedouin: Up to 2,300 Bedouin living in the Jerusalem periphery could be forcibly and unlawfully relocated if Israeli authorities follow through with their reported plans in 2012, which would destroy their livelihoods and threaten their traditional way of life. Rural communities in the Jordan Valley are also facing the prospect of further demolitions as settlements continue to expand.

“The Quartet should call ongoing settlement expansion and house demolitions what they are: violations of international humanitarian law that Israel should stop,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.

“Israel’s escalating violations show the fundamental failure of the Quartet’s approach. It’s time for the Quartet to understand that they cannot contribute to achieving a just and durable solution to the conflict without first ensuring respect for international law,” said Phillip Luther, Middle East and North Africa Interim Programme Director, Amnesty International.