Tag: Sheikh Jarrah - Page 7 - International Solidarity Movement

Direct action around Palestine

International Solidarity Movement

1 July 2010

Al Ma’asara

The people of Al-Ma’asara’s again demonstrated peacefully last Friday, protesting against land seizures and settler harassment. Twenty villagers were joined by a handful of Israelis and internationals, marching from the village out towards the confiscated fields.

For the second week running, the group was allowed to reach the fields; Israeli army jeeps appeared as always, but this week the soldiers escorted the protest group to the fields, rather than attempting to stop them. Protestors were pushed and shouted at if they tried to move away from the main group, but otherwise there was no incident.

Perhaps the Israeli Army has finally recognised that the Al-Ma’asara protest is 100% peaceful, and the soldiers have no reason to break it up. Or this may turn out to be a temporary respite from roadblocks and harsher treatment. In any case the people of Al-Ma’asara are still not able to cultivate their land in peace, as the farmer’s have no protection from settler violence.

An Nabi Saleh

Residents of An Nabi Saleh gathered on Friday to honour the men of their village who remain as political prisoners inside Israeli jails. As one man enters his 33rd year in captivity, the village congregated for speeches, songs, and presentations to the families of those imprisoned.

After this event, villagers, joined by Israeli and international supporters, marched towards village land which has been illegally taken from them by the nearby Israeli settlement of Halamish. Soldiers blocked their route, allowing them to stand and chant for only a short period before starting to shoot tear gas. Many of the tear gas canisters shot were fired at body height, seemingly deliberately aimed at demonstrators. Several participants were injured, by canisters or by rubber-coated steel bullets, which were also fired in large numbers.

Military jeeps then came into the village, and soldiers occupied the main square. After approximately an hour, they retreated again, pursued by a large group of young children, one of whom had successfully planted a Palestinian flag on the back of a jeep. Soldiers halted the jeeps, and got out to throw sound grenades and fire tear gas at the children. Fortunately, none were hurt.

The demonstration went on until after sunset, when soldiers finally moved out of the village.

Iraq Burin

At the weekly demonstration against the illegal Israeli occupation in Iraq Burin, stone throwing protesters and international observers were teargassed by the Israeli army while trying to access their own land.

Leaving the village after the protest, two villagers and six internationals were stopped by an army jeep, had their passports confiscated and were then detained, with the soldiers claiming that it was “illegal” to be in the village. The internationals and Palestinians were taken to separate Israeli checkpoints, before being brought together again at Huwarra checkpoint 40 minutes later, where the Palestinians had been kneeling in the hot sun with their hands behind their heads.

All prisoners were then taken to a police station, where one of the Palestinians was severely beaten, first in the jeep, then in a closed room in the police station. All prisoners were later released without charge, 4 1/2 hours after their detention. The beaten Palestinian was taken to hospital in Nablus, where the doctor noted heavy bruising on his chest, back and stomach.

Bil’in

Dozens suffered from tear gas inhalation in Bil’ins weekly demonstration this Friday.

This week’s protest focused particularly on the boycott of Israeli blood diamonds. Every year, consumers the world over unwittingly spend billions of dollars on diamonds extracted by violent militias in West Africa and later processed and sold on from Tel Aviv. Protestors also carried a message of solidarity with the Palestinians of East Jerusalem, who are currently subject to a particularly violent wave of evictions, demolitions and harassment.

About 100 Palestinians, Israelis and internationals marched together this week to the gate of the Annexation Wall, facing large amounts of tear gas before the soldiers charged through the gate and chased the protesters towards the village. The solders continued firing teargas on the fleeing crowd, leaving dozens of protestors affected by gas inhalation. Hot teargas cannitsters set fire to fields on either side of the road, with Palestinian youths struggling to put out the flames while avoiding the Isralie assault. The demonstration ended after about 45 minutes.

Ni’lin

Around 20 international activists and journalists joined a group of 80-90 local villagers for the weekly protest against the Annexation Wall, continuing a tradition that has been going for over 4 years now. Starting from the olive fields, the protesters marched down the hill towards the wall, chanting slogans and waving flags. Having arrived at the wall, which annexes farmland and property from the locals and gives it to illegal settlers, there was an interlude of around 5 minutes, after which time the Israeli Army, from the other side of the wall, launched volleys of tear gas canisters at the peaceful protesters, continuing another integral part of the demonstration since its inception- unprovoked violence against peaceful demonstrators.

Following the volleys, most of the activists positioned themselves out of the direction of the wind, in order to minimize the poisonous effects of the gas. Some of the canisters were conventional rubber canisters, and others were higher velocity metal canisters, and thus the protesters had to be careful to avoid the projectiles, which have in the past caused serious and even fatal injuries to several activists. Some of the Palestinians then started throwing rocks over the wall at their aggressors, as well as using slingshots to hurl the empty gas canisters back at the soldiers.

After around 45 minutes events petered out. The protesters moved to the edge of the wall, and some of the journalists conducted interviews, while some Palestinians continued using slingshots to hurl the empty rubber gas canisters back over the wall. Suddenly, the Army burst through the gate in the wall in their jeeps, and started pursuing the peace protestors, who fled on foot over the hills, out of the reach of the jeeps. After a roughly 10 minute chase, the activists had managed to distance themselves safely from the army, who had given up the pursuit; they returned to the village in peace.

Hebron

Demonstrators gathered in Hebron on Saturday to demand an end to the illegal theft of water from the region for use in Israel and in Israeli settlements.

Protesters carried a large banner which read ‘Stop Stealing Our Water’, a reference to the theft of Palestinian water supplies by Israel. According to the Middle East Monitor, ‘The rate of water consumption of Israel citizens is 344 million cubic metres per year, while the consumption of Palestinians stands at 93 million cubic metres per year’. Israel’s disproportionately high usage and wastage of water is in large part fed by water stolen from the occupied West Bank. The Middle East Monitor goes on to write of ‘3 reserves within the West Bank area producing about 679 million cubic metres of water. According to international law, this water belongs to the Palestinians but they only get 118 million cubic metres. In other words, Palestinians get just 15% of their own water while the rest is consumed by Israelis’ [1]. Much of this stolen water comes from the Hebron region.

Local residents were joined for the protest by a large group of Israeli and international activists. After chanting and making speeches in front of one of Hebron’s many military watch-towers, the protest then moved up a nearby street, which was blocked by Israeli soldiers who violently pushed demonstrators back down the road. Protesters refused to give up, and went instead into the Old City’s covered market. Above this market is one of the illegal settlements that exist within Hebron itself, and settlers from here threw glass bottles, eggs and water down onto the protesters below.

The settlements in Hebron are, like all settlements within the West Bank and East Jerusalem, illegal under international law. Palestinian residents of the Old City and the district of Tel Rumeida suffer severe restriction of movement, frequent harassment and occasional violence at the hands of both soldiers and settlers.

[1] http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/resources/briefing-papers/805-israel-is-stealing-palestinian-and-arab-water

Beit Jala

Midday Sunday, a group of Palestinians and internationals gathered in the village of Beit Jala outside Bethlehem to protest against the construction of the wall cutting off the village from its land. The protesters divided into two groups, one facing a roadblock set up by the soldiers and while another smaller group went down trough the olive groves to reach the construction site.

Israeli soldiers responded violently towards the larger group, using sound bombs and tear gas. When the smaller group reached the road leading to the construction site, soldiers quickly formed a line to stop them. After some time border police arrived and arrested three of the protesters: one Palestinian, one Israeli and one international. As a result of the ferocious violence from the soldiers, the demonstration dissipated.

Bir el-Eid

Activists working with local farmer to dredge the well

Early Saturday morning, 10 volunteers from Taayush and ISM travelled to Bir el-Eid in the South Hebron Hills, where we met with the local farmers, and were joined also by renouned activist Ezra Nawi. Activists gathered here to help the locals dredge out their well. The people Bir el-Eid only just have enough water to drink, but nothing for crops or animals. Water must be expensively brought in tanks from outside, negotiating whatever the current military conditions may be.

The more permanent and sustainable water supply here comes from two wells that capture a good part of the yearly rain, which soaks down through the chalk rocks. The people of Bir el-Eid were evicted from their land for a number of years, and when they recently returned, they found their wells in disrepair. Without anyone here to maintain the wells they filled with silt, and the problem may have been compounded by settler vandalism.

Restoring the well to usefulness is a crucial part of re-establishing a sustainable community here. Activists spent about five hours working with the farmers; one Palestinian and three Israelis went down into the cistern at the bottom of the well, and five of us at the top hauled up the bucket-loads of muck with a pulley. This was filthy, heavy work, but seeing Palestinians and Israelis working together against the Apartheid provided powerful inspiration.

Demonstrators refuse to be intimidated by military violence

International Solidarity Movement

22 June 2010

Al Ma’asara

After three years of being blocked from accessing their land on Fridays, Al Ma’asara villagers were granted permission on Friday to walk to the fields which will be confiscated by planned wall construction. Soldiers initially tried to block the route with razor wire but, as it was tangled and out of commission, relented to the requests of organizers to let the group pass. The group then walked peacefully to the land and rested under olive trees. One organizer, reluctant to be overly celebratory, said, “I think this is a compensation. Last week they took away one of our boys, so this week they let us march to the land. Next week we will see.”

An Nabi Saleh

Around two hundred demonstrators marched on Friday to protest against the illegal expansion of the Halamish settlement and the theft of the natural spring in the village of An Nabi Saleh.

The nonviolent demonstration started from the main square and continued down to the road where Palestinians and international and Israeli activists intended to reach the stolen land and the natural spring. However, Israeli forces blocked the road and stopped the nonviolent demonstration. Soon after that, one of the villagers was taken from his house and detained for several minutes for being falsely accused of letting shabab (young Palestinian boys) throw stones from his house.

After that incident, men, women and children persisted in their attempt to demonstrate when soldiers started to launch tear gas canisters at the people. Then, the crowd was dispersed but the tear gas canisters were still flying through An Nabi Saleh’s sky.

Around four o’clock in the afternoon, when the demonstration was still going on, the army raid the village and chased demonstrators, who had to run and hide in order to avoid arrest. The raid lasted for thirty minutes. When demonstrators tried to continue the demonstration, soldiers once again invaded the village and chased demonstrators in a clear attempt to arrest them. As a form of collective punishment, the army remained in the village for one hour. Soon after they left the demonstration was called off.

Bil’in

Around fifty villagers, Israelis and international activists gathered for the weekly demonstration and walked from the village towards the illegal annexation barrier built to separate them from around 60% of their land, and from an illegal settlement built on a neighbouring hill. Israeli military fired several tear gas from the other side of the fence to the right of the road, to deter the demonstrators from proceeding. Most of the group reached the fence and razor wire where it cut off the road, and Israeli forces in masks and riot gear stood beside a small camouflaged hut about 10m beyond the fence on the opposite side. Some of the local boys threw stones in their direction and twice attempted to pull away the razor wire. The soldiers responded by firing multiple tear gas and then charged towards the protesters with shields and full riot gear, causing the group to run back towards the village. The military continued firing tear gas and chased the demonstrators who fled and took cover in houses and olive groves. One British ISM activist, overcome by the effects of the highly concentrated tear gas, was caught and arrested, along with two Israeli demonstrators. They were detained at the nearest police station and released after several hours

Hebron

About one hundred Palestinians, Israelis and internationals took part in the weekly demonstration Saturday which aims to open the closed Shuhada Street. It was a joyful demonstration with the world cup theme, although two Israeli activists were arrested.

One hundred persons or so gathered in Hebron old town to protest against the occupation and the Israeli settlements in Hebron. The demonstration started in the old municipality square near Shuhada Street which the Israeli military has closed for all Palestinians. People from all ages chanted and called for the occupation to end. Inspired by the ongoing world cup, the demonstrators simultaneously gave the settlers and the army the red card. After a while the protesters started to march through the old city. The army, however, wanted differently and formed a line to stop the peaceful march. After a bit of pushing the march changed route and went in the opposite direction. During the confrontation, Hebrew speaking activists overheard the police getting orders from the radio to randomly select two people and arrest them. Surprisingly, just a few minutes later two Israeli activists were arrested and held for a few hours. As the march continued through the ancient streets of the old city, songs echoed and the spirit rose. Even the water-throwing settlers couldn’t bring down the good mood and the people reassembled in the old municipality square.

Ni’lin

Roughly fifty Palestinian, Israeli and international demonstrators gathered Friday for a demonstration against Israel’s illegal apartheid wall, which claims roughly 30% of the village’s remaining land. The demonstrators marched through olive groves singing and chanting, before approaching the wall where a large number of soldiers stood watching from behind the gate. Demonstrators fanned out along the wall as barrages of tear gas were fired at the nonviolent crowd.

After walking to a point at which the wall becomes fence, soldiers continued to fire gas at demonstrators despite having caused a large fire on their side of the wall. Half-hearted attempts were made by the soldiers to extinguish the blaze, but it ultimately was permitted to burn through the olive grove now separated from the village. Villagers were forced to watch as flames licked the trunks of the village’s ancient trees. Frustration was expressed with their lack of access to the land, which prevents farmers from clearing the brush to prevent fires.

Soldiers then entered the village through a gate in the wall and began running towards the demonstrators to make arrests. Five medics and one reporter from Nil’in were roughly grabbed and arrested. A medic’s radio was smashed on a rock and the arrestees were marched back through the gate into army jeeps. Four were released and two are being charged with assault, an entirely unfounded claim.

Sheikh Jarrah

Friday, several hundred Israeli activists, joined by internationals and Palestinian residents of Sheikh Jarrah, gathered in the park on the opposite side of Nablus Road from the neighborhood where four families have been evicted from their homes. After trying to access the neighborhood, permission which is never granted despite giving settlers unlimited access to the street for demonstrations, the crowd then turned in the other direction to access homes which have recently been given eviction orders west of Nablus Road. Police initially blocked the crowd, but demonstrators were successful in finding a second route and reaching the homes.

Tear gas canisters sparked a fire, ultimately claiming village farmland

Iraq Burin

For the second week in a row, Israeli soldiers formed road blocks outside the village of Iraq Burin on Saturday, in an attempt to stop people gathering for the village’s weekly demonstration. Non-residents of the village were denied entry, though several walked across the hills, successfully avoiding the roadblock. Residents of the village returning from Nablus were threatened and hurt by soldiers. Several reported being slapped in the face and beaten in the legs when they were stopped outside the village.

Despite this intimidation, villagers and supporters nonetheless assembled at the edge of Iraq Burin, and crossed the valley to reach their land, which they have been repeatedly prevented from accessing due to Israeli settler violence. When the Israeli military has intervened, it has always been to prevent Palestinian access to the land, rather than being to prevent the violence from the settlers.

Upon reaching the top of the hill opposite the village, demonstrators were met with a line of soldiers, who fired tear gas at them, forcing them back down into the valley. The heat of the gas canisters caused a large fire on the dry farm land. Soldiers continued to aim at the Palestinian youth as they attempted to put out the flames.

Beit Jala

On Sunday, a small group of Palestinian. Israeli and international demonstrators gathered in Beit Jala with the intention of protesting on land where the illegal apartheid wall is being built, but were prevented by soldiers who had obstructed both access roads with razor wire. The demonstrators chose to cut through an olive grove in an attempt to reach the land, but were quickly met by soldiers. A standoff between soldiers and demonstrators ensued, during which several speeches were delivered. After several minutes, soldiers began to forcibly push the crowd back with batons. As the soldiers fired several tear gas canisters and began to push the nonviolent demonstrators more quickly, an atmosphere oif “muted panic” ensued as demonstrators tried to avoid being injured. At this point, a young Palestinian was seized by soldiers and badly beaten.
Tear gas canisters started a small fire in the olive grove, which was quickly extinguished.

Spirit strong in weekend demonstrations

International Solidarity Movement

15 June 2010

Al Ma’asara

Around 30 Palestinians, Israelis and internationals gathered for the weekly demonstration in Al Ma’asara on Friday June 11th. The participators called for the Israeli government to stop construction of the illegal apartheid wall, which will claim a sizeable amount of the village’s farmland. Village resident Hassan was arrested during the peaceful demonstration.

The demonstration began with a march. Many organizations were represented, including the International Solidarity Movement, Anarchists Against the Wall, and Holy Land Trust.

The planned route of the illegal wall annexes much of the village’s farmland, with dramatic consequences. Protesters shouted slogans against the illegal wall, to end the occupation, and their hopes for peace.

The march was met by Israeli soldiers, who obstructed the junction as usual. Hassan was then arrested. The demonstrators remained protesting Hassan’s arrest and waiting for his release. During this time four military jeeps, one tank and one police car arrived. As demonstrators demanded Hassan’s release through a megaphone, the army responded with the promise that Hassan would be released if the group moved 15 meters back. However, after ten minutes soldiers left with Hassan.

Bil’in

Demonstrators in Bil’in today formed their own Palestine national football team, coinciding with the start of the World Cup, to highlight their right to be an independent nation. The players, together with dozens of other Palestinian, Israeli and international activists, marched to the annexation barrier at the edge of the village, where a goal was constructed and a game was begun. Israeli soldiers responded to this entirely non-violent activity by firing volleys of tear gas at the participants. They then came through the fence, and arrested 6 journalists, four of whom were soon released.

The tear gas canisters fired also caused large fires on the dry ground around the olive trees. Soldiers fired more canisters, aiming for the groups of villagers attempting to put out the flames.

Hebron

Many Palestinian, Israeli and international protestors gathered Saturday for the weekly demonstration organized by Youth Against Settlements. The demonstrations call for freedom of movement for Palestinians in Hebron, generally, and specifically for the opening of Shuhada St. The protest began at the Hebron municipality and marched to one end of the closed Shuhada St. At the barrier, participants chanted and held signs in solidarity with the Palestinians living in Hebron.

During the protest, settlers gathered to harass and provoke the demonstrators. One settler even approached the barrier to further provoke, warning that there would be another Baruch Goldstein. Baruch Goldstein was an American doctor from Brooklyn, who, in 1994, went into Ibrahimi Mosque during prayers, and massacred twenty-nine people inside the mosque, then went outside to continue the slaughter.
After the massacre inside the Ibrahimi Mosque, Shuhada St. was blocked off to Palestinians completely. In 2000, the street was closed for the “security of the settlers”, including around 500 shops in the middle of the city. After this, due to a lack of traffic, more than 1000 shops were closed. Since then, more than 100 checkpoints have been installed, while settlers not only enjoy the freedom of movement, but also have full protection of the Israeli Military. These settlers have completely changed the lives of some 200,000 Palestinians, reducing their lives to enough of a living hell for roughly 1000 families to abandon their homes.

The protest went from the Shuhada St. closure through the Old City, and met with soldiers, then continued back to the Shuhada St. closure where the protest ended. The spokesperson for Youth Against the Settlements called on the people of the Old City to join in the protest, and thanked all demonstrators for their show of support. As usual, participants were urged to continue the struggle against the divisions of Hebron, as well as the occupation of Palestine.

Dahamash

Sunday evening, two hundred Palestinian, international and Israeli activists demonstrated against the demolition order of 70 houses in the village of Dahamash. Demonstrators marched from the village to the main adjacent road where they concentrated and chanted, demanding the recognition of the village and a stop to the demolition orders.

Residents from Sheikh Jarrah and international and Israeli activists rallied for an hour in solidarity with the villagers of Dahamash. Speeches were given by Nasser Gawi of Sheikh Jarrah and leaders of Dahamash’s community, denouncing the Israel’s racist policy towards Palestinians and claiming their right to live on their lands. In a jovial atmosphere, the internationally-famous Palestinian hip hop group, DAM, gave a concert in which they showed their solidarity with the people of Dahamash, Sheikh Jarrah and all Palestinians.

Dahamash is a small unrecognized village between Lod and Ramlle that existed since before 1948 and was built on privately owned Palestinian land. The state of Israel refuses to recognize the village, claming the land is agricultural land, while in adjacent Jewish villages land is rezoned for building. Now that the Municipality of Ramlle is building a new Jewish neighborhood adjacent to the village, the mayor believes the new Jewish residents will prefer not to have Dahamash residents as neighbors and so has issued 70 demolition orders for houses in the village. If the demolitions proceed, 600 men, women and children will lose their homes.

Join the Global Intifada

International Solidarity Movement

20 May 2010

Join the Global Intifada in Palestine this summer

Global Intifada 2010: Popular Struggle. Steadfastness. Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions.

Popular resistance to Israel’s apartheid is growing globally! In Palestine, non-violent resistance to land confiscation and settlement expansion is gathering momentum.

Weekly non-violent demonstrations in the West Bank and Gaza have tripled since January, and continue to increase in size and number. The tents are standing strong in Jerusalem’s threatened communities of Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan, and resistance to settler attacks and land grabs in the Jordan Valley is also building.

The International Solidarity Movement is committed to supporting these communities in their struggle for justice and freedom. We stand alongside Palestinians in demonstrations, stay in the tents and homes of threatened areas, and walk with farmers to their land. By documenting and helping to resist the evils of apartheid, ISM projects the Palestinian struggle to a global audience, and shows Israel that the world is against its actions.

Come and join the Global Intifada in Palestine! Committed volunteers are needed in the West Bank. This new wave of unarmed resistance is exciting and powerful, and it needs your support. Whether for 2 weeks or for 3 months, your contribution is needed. See www.palsolidarity.org for more information, or email us at palreports@gmail.com.

From abroad: Under the banner of “Global Intifada”, solidarity actions are needed worldwide. Please consider organizing an action in your hometown.

The growing Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement is crucial, and is a great way for you to get involved in your own country. Similar tactics were used in ending South African apartheid. For more information, go to bdsmovement.net

Please join the Global Intifada. We look forward to seeing you here.

ISM Palestine

Urgent call for equipment

ISM is hard at work in the West Bank and Gaza, and needs your help!

The ISM media office was raided two times in the span of four nights in February, when Bridget Chappell and Ariadna Jove Marti were arrested. In the raids, the Israeli military stole all of our computers (three laptops, one desktop) as well as several video cameras. Just a few weeks ago, the Hebron office was broken into while activists were away. We believe the military is also to blame because neighbors reported soldiers coming to look through the windows multiple times when the apartment was empty, and in the raid two laptops, multiple cameras, photo memory cards and USB memory devices were stolen, while other valuables were left in plain sight.

ISM needs to replace this equipment in order to continue the important work we’re doing. Documenting ongoing settler violence and harassment in Tel Rumeida (Hebron) and Sheikh Jarrah (East Jerusalem) are two of our most important activities. The residents of these communities demonstrate remarkable resilience by refusing to be deterred by settler violence. In order for the communities to have a chance of telling their story to the global community (one of ISM’s primary roles), and to prove the innocence of our Palestinian friends when they are falsely accused (a frequent occurrence), we need to capture high-quality footage.

We need: at least two small hand-held video cameras (roughly $150-200 each).

ISM Gaza activists risk extreme danger to document some of the worst human rights violations in the world. One primary activity is documenting use of live fire in the “buffer zone” towards farmers and non-violent demonstrators. Israel’s use of live fire has killed 14 and injured over 50 thus far in 2010. Bianca Zammit, a Maltese activist, was shot in the leg April 23 while filming a demonstration, proving that such documentation is viewed as a threat by the Israeli military.

We need: a Mac laptop computer for video editing ($1000)
A camera with good ‘optical’ zoom, such as a Canon Powershot S51S ($150-300)

The strategic theft of our media equipment, combined with Bianca’s shooting, serve as a reminder that we pose a real threat in our ability to reach global audiences with information about Israel’s actions. As non-violent activists, cameras are our weapons in exposing the Apartheid. Please, help us to continue this important work by donating here: palsolidarity.org/donate, or by sending equipment to Palestine with an activist.