Tag: Apartheid Wall

Ni’lin continues with strong will despite Israeli raids

8 August 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank  and Ni’lin Sons Group

On the 7th of August at 2:30am, 13 military jeeps entered the village of Ni’lin, took control of its southern region, and proceeded towards the nearby village of Qibya to arrest a Palestinian following an aggressive raid the previous night. Locals curious about the raid  have yet to ascertain why the man was arrested.

This comes following an incitement to escalate tension by the Israeli military in a raid the previous night at 11:20 pm, when two military jeeps raided the town of Ni’lin from the opposite side of the illegal Israeli separation wall through the adjacent fields, and began firing loud flares into the air, resulting in brush fires across these fields.

“The two military jeeps continued their commute until they reached our houses, and raided the house of Ilayan Mousa and started searching the house in an investigation of Mousa. They left the house after half an hour and no one was arrested. They moved from Mousa’s home to the rest of the village, raiding it and stopping in the middle to shoot tear gas grenades at the people and surrounding homes in the streets,” said one local, Saeed, who lives near the Israeli separation barrier that has been the focus of Ni’lin and other village advocacy campaigns and forms of peaceful resistance.

“The wall encloses Palestinians to limit travel, usurps Palestinian land, is a tool for illegal, Israeli occupation, and is a demeaning symbolic and physical injustice to the definition of freedom,” said an international observer from the United States.

One man was hit in the leg with a tear gas bomb and dozens suffered from tear gas inhalation.

The military jeeps left the town yet a group of approximately 45 Israeli soldier raided the fields near the houses and started shooting tear gas bombs and flare bombs, and stayed there until 02:00 am.

According to locals Israel has raided the village of Ni’lin at least four times a month in the past six months. Locals claim the purpose of the military invasions is clear, harassment with various weaponry and constant investigations and interrogations are two of many variables to incite fear in the villages that peaceful resist illegal Israeli occupation . But the ploy of fear tactics is futile, according to Saeed.

“We never get scared or stop protesting. We are continuing our struggle with a strong will and determination.”

Military resorts to violence in Al Walajah peaceful demonstration

27 July 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

A peaceful protest against the construction of the apartheid wall in the village of Al Walajah was brought to a violent end by the Israeli army this morning with five arrests.

At 09:00 AM a group of Palestinians, Israelis and international activists walked through the village’s threatened olive groves to where the Israeli diggers were destroying a road, which was funded by the EU to facilitate the villagers’ access to their land.

The protesters attempted to block the digger from reaching the olive groves but were met by fifteen Israeli soldiers, who proceeded to arrest an Israeli activist. The protest continued peacefully for fifteen minutes before the assault and arrest of a Palestinian villager and another Israeli protester. An international activist, David White, who witnessed the arrest said “the Israeli soldiers used disproportionate force to arrest the man, he was screaming – they seemed to be causing him a lot of pain, it was horrible to see.”

The soldiers used sound bombs to disperse the protesters and forced them from the area. As the protesters made their way back through the village the soldiers surounded and arrested Sheerin Alaraj, a member of the village’s Popular Committee. International protesters attempting to leave the village were then harrased at a flying checkpoint.

Al Walajah is already surrounded by the apartheid wall on three sides; if planned construction on a fourth side continues the village will retain only 1800 dunams of their original 13000. A map of the area reveals the extent of the separation barrier surrounding the village. A legal challenge has been mounted by the local Popular Committee but the Israeli Supreme Court has so far refused to rule. An appeal will be heard in 14 days but meanwhile construction work continues.

The Israeli Security Commission claims the wall is necessary for security purposes, but the Popular Committee has stated its belief that “the wall is a structural displacement tool, which aims to deprive the local population of their freedom of movement and natural growth area.”

 

 

 

 

Ni’lin demonstrator hit with shrapnel during weekly protest

23 July 2011 | Ni’lin Village

Today in Ni’lin, one demonstrator was hit with shrapnel and dozens suffered from tear gas inhalation during the suppression by the Israeli occupation forces of the anti-wall weekly protest.

The march organized by The Ni’lin Popular Committee was supported by many Palestinians, International’s and Israeli peace activists. Upon arrival at the gate of the racism wall, the people of Ni’lin sent a message to the Israeli Occupation Forces, (IOF) confirming that the weekly protests will never stop until our land is free, and we have dismantled the illegal racism wall.

The protest was stressful, following the threats of the Israeli Occupation Forces who had claimed to be planning a trap to surround the demonstrators in order to arrest them. However, their threats were all in vain.

After about fifteen minutes from the start of the protest, Israeli Occupation forces began to shoot tear gas grenades at the protesters which lead to many suffering from the effects of tear gas inhalation. One protester who was hit with shrapnel in his eyes had the necessary treatment.

 

Hole in the wall at Qalandia checkpoint

10 July 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

On 9th July, a group of twenty Palestinians accompanied by twenty internationals, managed to cut through some fence near the checkpoint at Qalandia.

The direct action was organised by Welcome to Palestine as part of the Week of Action in the West Bank. The action was in defiance against the Apartheid Wall, which divides the West Bank and is central to the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

Activists were able to cut through the barbed wire fence and plant Palestinian flags on the other side.

Israeli military targets al Khalayla in demolitions

11 July 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

On Monday, July 11th, the Israeli military demolished 5 buildings of local Palestinian businesses in the closed neighborhood of al -Khalayla near al-Jib village outside of Jerusalem. At 6:30am the owner of a window shop received a call  from the Israeli military that part of his business’s building structure would be demolished. Not long after the phone call, he arrived to the shop to find that they had already finished demolishing part of the structure.

At around 8am, the Israeli military destroyed a lumber factory owned by the al-Asmar family for 8 years.  In the process they also took 4 lumber machines, in addition to demolishing part of the al-Asmar’s home that was attached to the factory. One of the sons
explained that the military had come one month prior to issue the demolition. He then mentioned that twenty people were occupying the residences before they were demolished. The police also accompanied the military in 3 Hummers.

Later that morning at 10am, the Israeli military demolished Ismail Abu Rabah’s supermarket. Four months prior they had come to the village to issue the demolition. Ismail explained that he had hired a lawyer to work on the case in Israeli court, but was not successful in suspending the demolition for a longer period of time. Ismail had only short notice before his supermarket was demolished. While he was able to move refrigerators, shelves and products from the store into his home before the Israeli military arrived, the destruction of his business has cost him his livelihood.
In the late morning and early afternoon, the Israeli military demolished buildings of a mechanic garage and a truck and storage company. The owner of the garage explained that the military had arrived only one week before to issue the demolition. At approximately 1pm, structures of the Nasr storage and truck facilities were demolished. One of the sons, Tilal, explained that their equipment and storage structures were damaged, including a tractor owned by the family.

Al-Khalayla is located in Area C on the Jerusalem side of the Apartheid Wall. It is inhabited by about 700 Palestinians, 250 of whom hold West Bank Palestinian ID cards. Approximately half of Palestinians holding West Bank IDs are registered as refugees with the UNRWA.