Tag: Sheikh Jarrah - Page 14 - International Solidarity Movement

Stop the deportation of Ryan Olander; American citizen arrested in Sheikh Jarrah

24 December 2009

Ryan Olander is due to be deported by the Israeli state, after being illegally arrested and detained in the Palestinian neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah, in Occupied East Jerusalem. Please contact the Embassy of the United States in Tel Aviv, the Israeli Minister of Interior, or consider donating towards Ryan’s legal costs.

Ryan is currently being held at a deportation facility in Ramle, where his request for release has been rejected by the prison judge. His lawyer is working on submitting an appeal to the District Court in Tel Aviv this Sunday, 27 December.

Ryan was visiting the al-Kurds in the tent the Palestinian family built in their own backyard, after the recent setter take-over of a section of their house. At 1.15pm, on Friday 18 December, 6 Israeli police walked into the tent, where Ryan was talking to the family members and drinking tea, and took him for questioning at the Russian Compound police station in west Jerusalem. (For more information about his arrest click here.)

Ryan was released without charges the following Saturday, 19 December, before the beginning of a trial with 26 Israeli activists arrested in Sheikh Jarrah, only to be illegally re-arrested by immigration police right outside of the same police station that told him he was free to go. Now Ryan is facing illegal deportation after being held in Israeli prisons for a week.

From the Givon prison in Ramle, where Mr. Olander was taken, he made the following statement:

“On Friday, 18 December, I was placed under arrest illegally. A police officer forcibly removed me from the al-Kurd private residence and proceeded to file a fallacious police report stating I participated in what they claimed was an illegal demonstration and refused to disperse when ordered. In fact, I was arrested before the demonstration even took place.

I have become a target of the police for standing in solidarity with the Palestinians of Sheikh Jarrah who struggle against the unjust and illegal evictions from the places they have called their homes for nearly 60 years. Now I face illegal deportation from Israel.”

His arrest happened just before a peaceful demonstration of around 300 people, held in solidarity with the evicted Palestinian residents of Sheikh Jarrah, was violently dispersed by the Israeli police and 27 people arrested. Ryan, along with other arrestees from Sheikh Jarrah reported ill-treatment by the police, who subjected them to several strip-searches, denied them food and water for prolonged periods of time and held them outside of the police station until late at night, with insufficient protection against the cold conditions.

The Israeli police and authorities have previously attempted to deport activists supporting the struggle of the Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah and, so far one case, succeeded. We need to fight this deportation not only to stop the authorities from deporting solidarity activists in the future, but also to highlight the settlement expansion in East Jerusalem along with discriminatory law enforcement towards Palestinians.

What can you do?

1. Contact the Embassy of the United States in Tel Aviv and ask that they enquire with the Israeli authorities and challenge Ryan’s detention and possible deportation. Numerous inquiries about Ryan’s case will make it difficult for them to ignore it. You can contact them by calling (+972) 3519 7575, faxing (+972) 3517 3227 or emailing amctelaviv@state.gov. Below is a suggested draft email:

Dear Ambassador James B. Cunningham,

I have recently learned of the arrest of Ryan Olander. He was arrested while visiting a family in Sheikh Jarrah. Contrary to the claims of the officer who arrested him, Mr Olander was not taking part in an illegal demonstration and was subsequently released without charges the following day. I am particularly concerned about his illegal re-arrest by the immigration police, which occurred only a few moments after his release. Despite having valid visa, Mr Olander is now facing deportation and has already been held at Givon prison in Ramle for over a week.

As a US representative to Israel, I ask you to investigate his detention by submitting an official letter of inquiry about his case and to petition for his deportation to be cancelled and Mr Olander to be immediately released from prison. I will continue to contact you about this important matter.

Sincerely,

Please copy us into your emails, or let us know when you call / fax the Embassy at free.ryan.sj@gmail.com

2. Contact the Israeli Ministry of the Interior to demand Ryan’s immediate and unconditional release. You can contact the Minister by emailing eyishay@knesset.gov.il, faxing 00972 2666 2909 or calling 00972 2640 8406 / 00972 2640 8407. Please feel free to use the following sample letter:

Dear Minister of Internal Affairs, Eliyahu Yishai

I have recently learned of the arrest of Ryan Olander. He was arrested while visiting a family in Sheikh Jarrah. Contrary to the claims of the officer who arrested him, Mr Olander was not taking part in an illegal demonstration and was subsequently released without charges the following day. I am particularly concerned about his illegal re-arrest by the immigration police, which occurred only a few moments after his release. Despite having valid visa, Mr Olander is now facing deportation and has already been held at Givon prison in Ramle for over a week.

As the Minister of Internal Affairs in Israel, I ask you to investigate his illegal arrest and detention and to undertake all necessary steps in order for his deportation to be cancelled and Mr Olander to be immediately released from prison. I will continue to contact you about this important matter.

Sincerely,

Please copy us into your emails, or let us know when you call / fax the Embassy at free.ryan.sj@gmail.com

3. Join our Facebook group to receive regular updates and help us spread the information about Ryan and Sheikh Jarrah.

4. Please consider making a donation towards Ryan’s legal costs and lawyer fees. If you would like to contribute to his defense fund you can do so via a PayPal account we have set up for this purpose.

Background on Sheikh Jarrah

Approximately 475 Palestinian residents living in the Karm Al-Ja’ouni neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, located directly north of the Old City, face imminent eviction from their homes in the manner of the Hannoun and Gawi families, and the al-Kurd family before them. All 28 families are refugees from 1948, mostly from West Jerusalem and Haifa, whose houses in Sheikh Jarrah were built and given to them through a joint project between the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and the Jordanian government in 1956.

So far, settlers took over houses of four Palestinian families, displacing around 60 residents, including 20 children. At present, settlers occupy all these houses and the whole area is patrolled by armed private security 24 hours a day. The evicted Palestinian families, some of whom have been left without suitable alternative accommodation since August, continue to protest against the unlawful eviction from the sidewalk across the street from their homes, facing regular violent attacks from the settlers and harassment from the police.

The Gawi family, for example, had their only shelter, a small tent built near their house, destroyed by the police and all their belongings stolen five times. In addition, the al-Kurd family has been forced to live in an extremely difficult situation, sharing the entrance gate and the backyard of their house with extremist settlers, who occupied a part of the al-Kurd home in December 2009. The settlers subject the Palestinian family to regular violent attacks and harassment, making their life a living hell.

The ultimate goal of the settler organizations is to evict all Palestinians from the area and turn it into a new Jewish settlement and to create a Jewish continuum that will effectively cut off the Old City form the northern Palestinian neighborhoods. On 28 August 2008, Nahalat Shimon International filed a plan to build a series of five and six-story apartment blocks – Town Plan Scheme (TPS) 12705 – in the Jerusalem Local Planning Commission. If TPS 12705 comes to pass, the existing Palestinian houses in this key area would be demolished, about 500 Palestinians would be evicted, and 200 new settler units would be built for a new settlement: Shimon HaTzadik.

The creation of new Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank is illegal under many international laws, including Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The plight of the Gawi, al-Kurd and the Hannoun families is just a small part of Israel’s ongoing campaign of ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people from East Jerusalem.

Settlers attempt to destroy Christmas tree following Palestinian celebration in Sheikh Jarrah

23 December 2009

On Wednesday 23 December at 11.30pm, as every other night, settlers began to circulate in the street between the occupied Gawi house and the half-occupied al-Kurd house in Sheikh Jarrah. After about an hour of general harassment of the Palestinian families living in the neighbourhood since 1956, the settlers increased their aggression and started throwing fruit at the people who sat in front of the Kurd family house to protect it from further invasions. Two settlers started making graffiti and sprayed over Palestinian flags painted on the wall of the al-Kurd backyard, while the rest pushed and cursed the Palestinians and internationals, who verbally tried to make them stop. A solidarity activist filming the episode was spray-painted in the face numerous times. Three border policemen stood next by and watched without interfering for the whole duration of the attack.

During the Christmas celebration in Sheikh Jarrah, children from the neighborhood painted Palestinian flags on the al-Kurd wall to cover the stars of David the settlers had painted days earlier. The Israeli police came within 3 minutes and stopped them. The settlers living in the occupied Gawi house, reacted by adding another 3 Israeli flags in addition to the 8 big ones and 18 small ones that they have already plastered outside the stolen house.

The settlers started their nightly harassment campaign by trying to reach the Christmas tree but were prevented from reaching it by the Israeli border police, who have a 24 hour presence in the neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah. After about half an hour, the settlers seemed to have dropped their original plans and started verbally harassing the Palestinians and the internationals; who were awake in order to protect Gawi family members, as well as the al-Kurds, who had half of their house stolen by settlers and have been forced to share their backyard with them. The settlers were particularly focused on an elderly man and an international woman. They called the man by his name and kept at cursing him while they sexual harassed the woman by sign language, touching their own bodies and making kissing sounds.

At around 12.30 the settlers, started making graffiti on the wall of the al-Kurd family house, painting over the Palestinian flags and writing ‘death to Arabs’ in Hebrew. They further increased the violence, pushed the Palestinians and spray-painted the international woman who filmed the episode in the face. The border police observed the aggressive behavior but did not interfere and only phoned the police about half an hour later when it had already been called from by the attacked several times.

The police finally arrived, around 1.30am, and promised to arrest the settlers responsible for the attack, but even when they were shown the film and told where the settlers ran to hide, they refused going there. Instead they went into the occupied part of the al-Kurd house and took one settler, who wore a ski mask while painting, with them to the police station. He returned after 20 minutes because there were no evidence that he had taken part in the actions.

The Palestinians in the neighborhood will go to the Israeli police and file a complaint about the poor intervention of the police, as well as try to encourage them to arrest the settler whose face is shown in the video. Three days ago a Palestinian man was held at the police station for 24 hours for encouraging the children in the neighborhood to paint over offensive graffiti painted by the settlers on the same wall. The Palestinians only ask to have equal law rights in occupied East Jerusalem, where even the rights to live in their houses have been denied.

Residents of Sheikh Jarrah celebrate Christmas despite ongoing settler expansion

23 December 2009

“Merry Christmas to all the Christians and Happy New Year,” Nasser Gawi after his first Christmas tree decoration.

On Wednesday, 23 December, residents of Sheikh Jarrah organised a Christmas celebration outside the occupied homes of the Gawi and al-Kurd families. At 11am two trees, donated by the Coalition for Jerusalem, were brought by the Palestinian community, and were continually decorated thoughout the day. The decorations started from handmade paper baskets filled with candy for the children, a panda bear and monkey toys, who had been living outside with the Ghawe family, and ended with streamers, tensile, and a bright lit up star. The best decorations were the Palestinian flags flowing across the trees.

The celebration started around 4pm and more than 100 people came to join in the fun. There were lots of media outlets that showed up and seemed to enjoy themselves; even with the constant presence of the settlers. Father Christmas made a surprise visit and brought gifts to the children. Peter McClowish, head of a local church in Jerusalem, gave a very moving speech due to the neighborhood being both Muslim and Christian.

Nearing the end of the party, sweets were passed around and everyone sang Christmas carols and the Palestinian National Anthem. The children spray-painted Palestinian flags on the gate of the half occupied al-Kurd family house. By doing this they covered up stars of David painted by settlers days earlier. This was not received well by the settlers, who illegally occupy the Gawi family home, so they added 3 more flags to the 8 already plastered on the house.

If only for one day, the community had a bit of normalcy and genuine fun.

Background

Implanting new Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank is illegal under many international laws, including Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The plight of the Gawi, al-Kurd and the Hannoun families is just a small part of Israel’s ongoing campaign of ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people from East Jerusalem.

Danger: Popular struggle

Amira Hass | Haaretz

23 December 2009

There is an internal document that has not been leaked, or perhaps has not even been written, but all the forces are acting according to its inspiration: the Shin Bet, Israel Defense Forces, Border Police, police, and civil and military judges. They have found the true enemy who refuses to whither away: The popular struggle against the occupation.

Over the past few months, the efforts to suppress the struggle have increased. The target: Palestinians and Jewish Israelis unwilling to give up their right to resist reign of demographic separation and Jewish supremacy. The means: Dispersing demonstrations with live ammunition, late-night army raids and mass arrests. Since the beginning of the year, 29 Palestinians have been wounded by IDF snipers while demonstrating against the separation fence. The snipers fired expanding bullets, despite an explicit 2001 order from the Military Adjutant General not to use such ammunition to break up demonstrations. After soldiers killed A’kel Srour in June, the shooting stopped, but then resumed in November.

Since June, dozens of demonstrators have been arrested in a series of nighttime military raids. Most are from Na’alin and Bil’in, whose land has been stolen by the fence, and some are from the Nablus area, which is stricken by settlers’ abuse. Military judges have handed down short prison terms for incitement, throwing stones and endangering security. One union activist from Nablus was sent to administrative detention – imprisonment without a trial – while another activist is still being interrogated.

For a few weeks now, the police have refused to approve demonstrations against the settlement in Sheikh Jarrah, an abomination approved by the courts. On each of the last two Fridays, police arrested more than 20 protesters for 24 hours. Ten were held for half an hour in a cell filled with vomit and diarrhea in the Russian Compound in Jerusalem.

Israel also recently arrested two main activists from the Palestinian organization Stop the Wall, which is involved in research and international activity which calls for the boycott of Israel and companies profiting from the occupation. Mohammad Othman was arrested three months ago. After two months of interrogation did not yield any information, he was sent to administrative detention. The organization’s coordinator, Jamal Juma’a, a 47-year-old resident of Jerusalem, was arrested on December 15. His detention was extended two days ago for another four days, and not the 14 requested by the prosecutor.

The purpose of the coordinated oppression: To wear down the activists and deter others from joining the popular struggle, which has proven its efficacy in other countries at other times. What is dangerous about a popular struggle is that it is impossible to label it as terror and then use that as an excuse to strengthen the regime of privileges, as Israel has done for the past 20 years.

The popular struggle, even if it is limited, shows that the Palestinian public is learning from its past mistakes and from the use of arms, and is offering alternatives that even senior officials in the Palestinian Authority have been forced to support – at least on the level of public statements.

Yuval Diskin and Amos Yadlin, the respective heads of the Shin Bet security service and Military Intelligence, already have exposed their fears. During an intelligence briefing to the cabinet they said: “The Palestinians want to continue and build a state from the bottom up … and force an agreement on Israel from above … The quiet security [situation] in the West Bank and the fact that the [Palestinian] Authority is acting against terror in an efficient manner has caused the international community to turn to Israel and demand progress.”

The brutal repression of the first intifada, and the suppression of the first unarmed demonstrations of the second intifada with live fire, have proved to Palestinians that the Israelis do not listen. The repression left a vacuum that was filled by those who sanctified the use of arms.

Is that what the security establishment and its political superiors are trying to achieve today, too, in order to relieve us of the burden of a popular uprising?

Settlers attack Palestinian family in Sheikh Jarrah

21 December 2009

Another settler attack on a family in Sheikh Jarrah on Monday 21 December leaves the family with two broken windows and fear of future attacks.

After dark on Monday 21 December 2009 a group of around 40 settlers gathered outside the Ftyaney family house. At about 7pm the settlers began throwing stones at the windows of the Ftyaney home. They then threatened the mother of the family who was at home with her three daughters.

The Ftyaney family lives in a house directly beneath the garden of the house of Fawzia and Muhammed al-Kurd which is now occupied by Israeli settlers. On Monday evening Rema, the mother of the family, heard stones striking her front gate and she rushed to the door only to realize that 40 settlers were attacking the house. When the settlers saw her in the door they started to scream at her that she should bring out her sons. No men were present in the house since the father of the family was at work. Rema called the Israeli police. They keep a 24 hour presence in the neighbourhood, but still took 15 minutes to arrive. When Rema talked to the police the settlers shouted at them, “don’t talk to the woman!”

One of Rema’s daughters was too afraid to sleep after the attack. The family has been attacked several times, the last time a month ago and Rema explained that it is not unusual; there are Palestinians being attacked by settlers every day in the neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah.

Fawzia and Muhammed al-Kurd were evicted from their home in Sheikh Jarrah on 8 November 2008. Since the eviction, settlers have moved into their home and the violence against the Palestinian residence in the neighbourhood has increased. At least two other attacks on Palestinian residents of Sheikh Jarrah have taken place in the past five days. On Friday a mother of six was violently attacked in the street outside her home. When her sons came to her assistance the settlers threw stones at them and injured two. They had to be taken to the hospital. On Sunday a little girl was attacked in the street by a settler. Palestinians living in Sheikh Jarrah are also subject to other forms of harassment from settlers. Garbage and stones are regularly thrown down in the garden of the Ftyaney family from the occupied house of the al-Kurds.

The displacements in Karm Al-Ja’ouni (where the Ftyaney family lives) are part of a larger settlement project. Areas targeted in Sheikh Jarrah include Kubanyat Im Haroun, the Shepherd Hotel, Karm el-Mufti and the Planned Amana HQ. Other Palestinian neighbourhoods of East Jerusalem that are affected by settlement expansion include Silwan and the Mount of Olives. The United Nations already raised concerns about the humanitarian consequences of the illegal settlements in Sheikh Jarrah in August 2009. The Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) called for the immediate end to forced evictions and house demolitions and the displacement of Palestinian communities.

Despite these attacks, residents of Sheikh Jarrah continue to support each other. On Wednesday 23 residents will have a Christmas dinner in the neighbourhood. On Friday, a regular demonstration against ethnic cleansing and house evictions will start at 2pm in Sheikh Jarrah.