Tag: Video

Ni’lin demonstrates against the Apartheid Wall

24 July 2009

At 1 pm, after the Friday prayer, approximately 80 protesters gathered to demonstrate against the illegal Apartheid wall which Israel has built on Ni’lin land. Internationals and Israeli solidarity activists joined the residents of Ni’lin in their weekly demonstration against the Wall. The demonstration started in the outskirt of the village and walked through the olive fields towards the Wall. On the way people were singing and chanting carrying Palestinian flags. The demonstrators succeeded in reaching the Wall but were immediately forced back by multiple tear gas canisters shot from jeeps, some of them aimed very low risking serious injury. The Israeli armed forces continued to attack the protesters with an excessive amount of tear gas, sound bombs and also used chemical stinky water against the crowd Young men from the village responded by throwing stones .

The soldiers then breached the fence and advanced upwards towards the protest group whilst continuing to shoot tear gas and sound bombs. When the soldiers pulled back the demonstrators again returned to the Wall but where met with heavy use of low aimed tear gas and were once again forced away. Several suffered from tear gas inhalation and needed medical care; at least two were hit by tear gas canisters.

The protest ended at 3 pm.

Israeli forces commonly use tear-gas canisters, rubber coated steel bullets and live ammunition against demonstrators.

To date, Israeli occupation forces have murdered 5 Palestinian residents and critically injured 1 international solidarity activist during unarmed demonstrations in Ni’lin. In total, 19 people have been killed during demonstrations against the Wall.

  • 5 June 2009: Yousef Akil Srour (36) was shot in the chest with 0.22 caliber live ammunition and pronounced dead upon arrival at a Ramallah hospital.
  • 13 March 2009: Tristan Anderson (37), an American citizen, was shot in the head with a high velocity tear gas projectile. He is currently at Tel Hashomer hospital with an unknown
  • 28 December 2008: Mohammed Khawaje (20) was shot in the head with 5.56mm caliber live ammunition. He died in a Ramallah hospital 3 days later on 31 December 2008.
  • 28 December 2008: Arafat Rateb Khawaje (22) was shot in the back with 5.56mm caliber live ammunition and pronounced dead upon arrival at a Ramallah hospital.
  • 30 July 2008: Yousef Amira (17) was shot in the head with two rubber coated steel bullets. He died in a Ramallah hospital 5 days later on 4 August 2008.
  • 29 July 2008: Ahmed Mousa (10) was shot in the forehead with 5.56mm caliber live ammunition and pronounced dead upon arrival at a Ramallah hospital.

In total, 38 people have been shot by Israeli forces with live ammunition in Ni’lin: 9 were shot with 5.56mm caliber live ammunition and 29 were shot with 0.22 caliber live ammunition.

Since May 2008, residents of Ni’lin have been organizing and participating in unarmed demonstrations against construction of the Apartheid Wall. Despite being deemed illegal by the International Court of Justice in 2004, the Occupation continues to build the Wall, further annexing Palestinian land.

Ni’lin will lose approximately 2,500 dunums of agricultural land when construction of the Wall is completed. Israel annexed 40,000 of Ni’lin’s 58,000 dunums in 1948. After the occupation of the West Bank in 1967, the illegal settlements and infrastructure of Kiryat Sefer, Mattityahu and Maccabim were built on village lands and Ni’lin lost another 8,000 dunums. Of the remaining 10,000 dunums, the Occupation will confiscate 2,500 for the Wall and 200 for a tunnel to be built under the segregated settler-only road 446. Ni’lin will be left with 7,300 dunums.

The current entrance to the village will be closed and replaced by a tunnel to be built under Road 446. This tunnel will allow for the closure of the road to Palestinian vehicles, turning road 446 into a segregated settler-only road . Ni’lin will be effectively split into 2 parts (upper Ni’lin and lower Ni’lin), as road 446 runs between the village. The tunnel is designed to give Israeli occupation forces control of movement over Ni’lin residents, as it can be blocked with a single military vehicle.

A demonstration will be held outside the demolished Darwish Hijazi home in Sheikh Jarrah

UPDATE: All activists were given a condition to stay out of East Jerusalem for 3 weeks and will be released later today.

For Immediate Release:

4pm, Monday 27 July 2009: A demonstration will be held outside the Darwish Hijazi home to protest the demolition of the home and the ethnic cleansing of occupied East Jerusalem.

Palestinian residents of Sheikh Jarrah, along with international and Israeli solidarity activists, will hold a demonstration outside the Darwish Hijazi home in Sheikh Jarrah. On Sunday, 26 July 2009, 7 international activists, 1 Israeli activist and 2 Palestinians were arrested outside the Palestinian home.

Settlers had broken into the home and began to destroy the house from the inside. According to local residents, the Palestinian home owner had died a month ago, leaving no one inside the home to protect it. Around 12:30 pm, Israeli forces arrested a German national, an Australian national, a Scottish national, an Israeli and 2 Palestinians including former Minister of Jerusalem Affairs Hatim Abdul Qader, when they tried to block settlers from entering the home.

After they were taken to the police station on Salah al-Din street, settlers were able to enter the home. According to witnesses at the scene, settlers were destroying the house from the inside.

Around 3:30, Israeli forces arrested 2 American nationals and a British national, as they tried to enter the Palestinian home to stop the settlers from destroying it. They were also taken to the police station on Salah al-Din street.

The 7 internationals and 1 Israeli activist are still in detention and will likely have court on the morning of Monday, 27 July 2009.

The case of Sheikh Jarrah

The Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem was built by the UN and Jordanian government in 1956 to house Palestinian refugees from the 1948 war. However, with the the start of the Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem, following the 1967 war, settlers began claiming ownership of the land the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood was build on.

Stating that they had purchased the land from a previous Ottoman owner in the 1800s, settlers claimed ownership of the land. In 1972 settlers successfully registered this claim with the Israeli Land Registrar.

The 28 families face eviction from their homes. In November 2008, the al-Kurd family was violently evicted from their home in Sheikh Jarrah. Two weeks thereafter, Mohammad al-Kurd died from a stress induced heart attack.

Currently, the Hannoun and the al-Ghawe families face eviction from their Sheikh Jarrah homes. However, all 28 families are battling eviction in Israeli court.

ISM Gaza accompanies Palestinian farmers

Israel’s Open-Fire Policy: shooting the donkey (as an old woman hides behind it)

Resisting the Zionist Gun – Part 1: Letaemat 07/05/2009

Resisting the Zionist Gun – Part 2: Letaemat 09/05/2009

Harvest in the Automated Kill Zone, Part 1 – Khoza’a 21/05/2009

Harvest in the Automated Kill Zone, Part 2 – Khoza’a 24/05/2009

Bil’in demonstrates against the Apartheid Wall

Bil’in Popular Committee

24 July 2009

Immediately after Friday prayers today, Bil’in citizens, International supporters, and Israeli activists went out in a demonstration, raising Palestinian flags and banners condemning the occupation policies of building the wall, land confiscation, building settlements, roads closures, the siege of cities, killing civilians, house raids, and the arresting of children.

Palestinian Minister of Affairs Related to the Apartheid Wall, Mr. Maher Ghuneim, also participated in the demonstration, and listened to a comprehensive explanation from the Popular Committee for Resistance Against the Wall about the experiences of the Bil’in community and its most recent developments. The Minister affirmed the government’s support for the popular resistance, pointing to the fact that there are no current negotiations on the question of the presence of settlements and the wall.
demo 24-07

The gathering began at the center of the village, with participants chanting slogans against the Occupation, calls for national unity, and releasing the thousands of prisoners in the Israeli prisons –many being held without being charged. The demonstrators turned towards the wall after trying to cross into the land incorporated by the wall. Upon arrival one of the demonstrators threw a football (soccer ball) at the soldiers. Right away the Israeli soldiers responded by opening a tear gas assault. This football activity was in response to the recent airing of a recent Israel TV commercial (Cellcome Mobile Phones), in which Israeli soldiers are playing football with a Palestinian football that accidentally comes flying over the wall. The TV commercial makes light of the Palestinian situation, shows the Israeli soldiers having fun at the Palestinian expense, and ignores and mocks the real suffering, racial discrimination, and poverty the Palestinians on the other side of the wall face daily.

Demonstrators were able to approach the wall, but while they were chanting slogans against side of the wall face daily. the occupation and the Israeli soldiers, a dispute took place among Israeli soldiers and the demonstrators. The Israeli soldiers fired sound bombs and tear gas at the demonstrators, which led to the injury of tens of the demonstrators, after breathing the toxic gas.

In a new protest activity, last Wednesday night the Popular Committee organized a demonstration, with approximately 80 local and international participants, parading alongside the wall, waving Palestinian flags, lighting torches, and chanting slogans against the occupation and night arrests.

In other news, the occupation forces yesterday released Muhamad Abdul Fattah Bernat, after forcing him to pay a fine of 1500 shekels. Mohammed was arrested a week ago in his Bil’in home. Also, occupation forces detained Haitham Khatib, the photographer of the Popular Committee, for several hours before releasing him.

Bil’in demonstrates against Israeli night raids

22 July 2009

The Bil’in Popular Committee organized a night demonstration on Wednesday to protest ongoing nightly raids and arrests that have taken place for the past 3 weeks. On the course of the past weeks, over 17 people have been arrested and 13 of those are still being held in detention.

About 120 protesters—Palestinian, international and Israeli solidarity activists—started to march toward the Apartheid Wall shortly before midnight holding up small flashlights in various colors. They were chanting while proceeding. At a certain point near the Wall, the Palestinian activists lit several fires to emphasize our presence. About 3 army jeeps started to patrol the road near the Wall observing our actions. They shot several illuminating shells to get a clearer view of what was going on, and to see how many demonstrators were present.

The road the demonstrators were marching was in safe distance from the army outpost and the road near the Wall. The group gathered around the fires for about half an hour chanting and whistling while the army jeeps remained stationary. Apart from shooting illuminating shells, there was not intervention from the occupation forces. The protesters then returned peacefully back to the village.