Tag: Silwan

Chicago activists picket Israeli consulate as part of international day of action against house evictions and demolitions in Palestine

13 July 2009

On Monday, the 13th of July, around 35 Chicago activists picketed the Israeli consulate in response to a call to action from Palestinian residents of occupied East Jerusalem currently facing house eviction or demolition at the hands of Israeli authorities. When one demonstrator attempted to deliver an eviction notice to the staff at the consulate, similar to ones Palestinian families receive when Israel informs them that they are to be evicted or their homes demolished, he was prevented from even entering the building.

At 12pm, the solidarity activists demonstrated outside the building holding signs against the occupation and calling for a halt to the hundreds of eviction and demolition orders pending for Palestinian communities in occupied East Jerusalem. Palestinians regard East Jerusalem as their capital city, and the Israeli authorities are making no secret of their plans for depopulating Palestinian residents from the region.

As the picket was ending, one demonstrator attempted to enter the lobby of the building to deliver an eviction notice to the consulate staff. The activist was prevented from even entering the lobby by Chicago police as well as building security. None of the staff agreed to come down to receive the eviction order.

Chicago activists drop 88 banners across city protesting Israeli eviction and demolition of Palestinian homes

13 July 2009

Monday, July 13th 2009, 5am: In perhaps the largest campaign of its kind in Chicago’s history, over a dozen activists dropped 88 banners across Chicagoland this morning decrying Israel’s policies of evicting or destroying Palestinian homes. Each banner represents one of 88 Palestinian homes in the occupied East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan that have received demolition orders from Israeli authorities.

Today’s banners were dropped as part of an international day of action on July 13th in solidarity with Palestinian families facing house evictions or demolition in the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem. In addition to Chicago, demonstrations and actions are planned for San Francisco, New York City, London, Paris, Copenhagen, Glasgow, and Jerusalem.

Chicago’s action saw banners being hung from highway overpasses, bridges, and from the roofs of buildings. Some of the banners read, “End the occupation of Palestine,” or “From Chicago to Palestine, communities are facing eviction,” and call for onlookers to “Support. Resist. Fight.”

Under an illegal occupation, Israeli policies of evicting Palestinians or destroying their homes are often used as acts of collective punishment, contrary to international law.

As refugees and people living under occupation, we are asking people to help us with our struggle for our rights. It is unbelievable that in the 21st century, Israel’s authorities can get away with demolishing the homes of Palestinians in order to build settlements or national parks. The price we and our neighbours have to pay is too high, we are faced with two impossible choices – either we throw our kids out on the street or we go to prison. If we lose our homes, there is nowhere else for us to go, the only option we have is to live in tents

– Maher Hannoun, Palestinian resident from Sheikh Jarrah facing imminent eviction and imprisonment

In Chicago, the activists also tied their message of solidarity with Palestinians facing eviction to solidarity with Chicago communities that are being displaced as part of the city’s plans for the 2016 Olympic bid.

For more information please see: http://www.standupforjerusalem.org/

Copenhagen demonstrates in solidarity with East Jerusalem residents facing evictions and demolitions

13 July 2009

International day of solidarity with East Jerusalem residents facing eviction or demolition of their homes. Demonstration in front of the Israeli embassy in Copenhagen.

At 8.30 in the morning on Monday 13th of July Scandinavian activists showed their solidarity with the Palestinians in East Jerusalem facing eviction or demolition of their houses by putting up 6 tents in front of the Israeli embassy in Copenhagen.

The Danish police showed up after less than ten minutes, took the details of the activists, and ordered the manifestation to move to the opposite side of a busy street away from the Israeli embassy. The police moved the manifestation a second time further away from the Israeli embassy on demand from the employees of the embassy.

The 6 tents raised in front of the Israeli embassy in Copenhagen symbolize Palestinians in East Jerusalem threatened with eviction or demolition of their houses.

A tent for the Ghawe family and one for the Hanoun family in Sheikh Jarrah as well as each one tent for the Palestinian neighborhoods Silwan, Ras Khamis/ Shu’fat, The Old City and At-Tur. On the wall facing the embassy was a big banner with the words “No To Ethnic Cleansing” and a poster for the Al-Kurd family.

The residents of Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood have used the tent as a symbol for their struggle since the Al-Kurd family got evicted from their home in November 2008.

Another two eviction orders have been given to the Hanoun Family and the Ghawe Family, both family fathers face imprisonment if they do not hand over the keys to their houses.

Later the symbol has spread and is now used in Silwan were 88 homes are threatened with demolition to make room for a park leading to the new settlement “Ir David”. More than 50 Palestinian homes have been demolished in Silwan during the past 10 years.

Also Ras Khamis are using the tent as symbol for the threat demolition orders cause. 55 houses or more than 500 persons are in danger of becoming refugees if Israeli plans are carried out.

Common for all the above mentioned neighborhoods is that the residents are originally refugees that had to flee their homes in 1948.
UN reports estimate that 60.000 Palestinians in East Jerusalem are in danger of administrative house demolitions or evictions.

The many house demolitions and evictions are all part of the ethnic cleansing of East Jerusalem.

The International society have to act now. Have to share the responsibility for the ongoing catastrophe.

East Jerusalem residents prepare for demolitions

24 June 2009

The people of Silwan, East Jerusalem, were on red alert on the morning of June 23rd, as rumours spread the neighbourhood that the army was set to arrive to demolish houses. This was based on warnings from the Palestinian Authority, a journalists tip, and the fact that many special police forces were visibly analysing the road crossings the night before. ISM volunteers joined residents of Silwan in the early hours of Tuesday morning in expectation of the bulldozers arriving.

Ultimately, they never came, but the Palestinian residents of Silwan continue to live in fear of their homes being destroyed. In the Bustan neighbourhood of the area 88 houses are planned to be demolished to make way for a new planned Archaeological Park. Renewed demolition orders were given to families recently but resistance to Israel’s policy of ethnic cleansing remains fierce amongst Palestinian locals who have lived in their houses for generations.

Meanwhile, in the Isiwiye area of East Jerusalem, there were reports of the army entering the town and closing off part of the area. Activists arrived and were greeted with the sight of around 25 soldiers (from the border guard) who had cut off access to 2 Palestinian houses and the hill behind it. The police were mounted on horses whilst soldiers has large dogs with them and attempted to use them to scare people from the site. When the activists attempted circumventing the soldiers to see what construction/destructive work was occurring, they were blocked by the police and refused permission to climb the hill. When press arrived in an attempt to discover what the commotion was about, they were grudgingly given permission to climb the hill and photograph the construction site.

According to journalists at the site a ramp-like structure was being built which could serve to cut the outlying houses off from the empty hill behind it. This would allow the adjacent hill to be used for future settlement construction which local residents fear is happening.

Israeli construction in East Jerusalem is illegal under international law, specifically the 4th Geneva convention that obligated the occupying authorities, Israel, to maintain the geographic and demographic characteristic of occupied East Jerusalem.

Freedom Summer 2009: Defend the Land and Jerusalem

The International Solidarity Movement is issuing a call-out for internationals to volunteer as field activists and office workers in the West Bank, Gaza, and occupied East Jerusalem this summer.

Whether you can come for only few weeks or several months, your presence is needed to support Palestinian communities who are nonviolently resisting the Israeli occupation. Freedom Summer 2009, which will run from June 6th until August 15th, aims to challenge the continued theft of Palestinian land for the rapid expansion of illegal Israeli settlements and their infrastructure in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Volunteer training sessions will be held every week on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Visit our “Join Us in Palestine” section to read more information about volunteering.

Below are some of the actions ISM volunteers can anticipate this summer:

  1. ISM volunteers will stand in solidarity with the Palestinian families of occupied East Jerusalem who face dispossession.
    International activists will join families in Sheikh Jarrah, Silwan, Shu’fat, and other neighborhoods whose residences are threatened, in resisting evictions and demolitions with non-violent, direct actions methods. ISM volunteers will also participate in demonstrations against discriminatory Israeli policies and support ongoing organization of Palestinian heritage and cultural events.
  2. In the West Bank, volunteers will join Palestinian villagers in nonviolent demonstrations against the Wall, and other apartheid infrastructure of the occupation such as checkpoint, settlements, and Israeli-only roads. Activists will be working in communities such as Ni’lin, Bil’in, Jayyous, Husan and Tulkarem to support direct actions under Palestinian popular leadership. Recently Israeli military violence during nonviolent demonstrations has escalated, making it more important that international solidarity activists are present to help deter and document the repression from Israeli forces. Additionally, volunteers will accompany farmers and shepherds to deter violence from the Israeli military and settlers. In the South Hebron hills, the army’s designation of large areas as military closed zones will be challenged.
  3. The ISM volunteers in the Gaza Strip will continue to accompany Palestinian farmers who frequently face live fire from the army as they work their land in the buffer zone. Volunteers will stand in solidarity with the people of Gaza against the crippling siege and sporadic attacks on the region. Several ISM activists will be joining the Free Gaza Movement’s Hope Fleet that will sail into Gaza’s port at the end of May. International activists will mass on the Egyptian border with Gaza between the 22nd of May and the 14th of June, in an attempt to challenging the ongoing closure and isolation of the people of Gaza. Individuals interested in volunteering with ISM Gaza must have previous experience with ISM in the West Bank.

Come to Palestine to support the Palestinian people in their struggle against occupation. Become an eyewitness to the Palestinian struggle for freedom! ISM volunteers have become better advocates for the freedom and self-determination of the Palestinian people in their home communities.

This summer, support and participate in the Palestinian non-violent resistance to the Occupation by using direct action methods to defend the land of East Jerusalem and the West Bank.