Tag: Apartheid Wall

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.

Israeli PM says West Bank barrier there to stay

AFP

22 July 2009

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that Israel’s controversial separation barrier in the occupied West Bank would not be pulled down.

“I hear today people who say that because the situation is calm in the West Bank we can dismantle the security barrier, but it is in fact because of this barrier that there is calm,” he told a session of parliament.

“It is because of this barrier and because of a certain improvement on the part of the Palestinian security services that the situation is calm,” Netanyahu said. “The barrier will stay.”

Israel began erecting the barrier in the wake of the second intifada or uprising, calling it a “security barrier” needed to prevent potential suicide bombers from entering the Jewish state.

Palestinians call the barrier an “apartheid wall” and say its purpose is to grab land and make their promised state unviable by thrusting deep into the West Bank and isolating Jerusalem from the occupied territory.

The controversial barrier consists of more than 400 kilometres (250 miles) of walls, fences and barbed wire, with about 300 kilometres (190 miles) more either being built or planned, according to UN figures which show 87 percent of it to be inside the West Bank and annexed east Jerusalem.

On July 9, 2004 the International Court of Justice issued a non-binding ruling declaring parts of the barrier illegal because they were built inside the occupied West Bank, but Israel pressed on with its construction.

Netanyahu spoke on the same day that the Maariv daily ran a report that the Palestinian Authority (PA) has recently sent a message to US President Barack Obama’s administration, asking that the barrier be dismantled because of the improved security situation in the territory.

There was no comment on the report from the PA.

Palestinian arrested after testifying in Geneva

Ali Waked | YNet News

22 July 2009

Palestinian sources reported Wednesday that a resident of the West Bank village of Naalin was arrested upon returning from Geneva, where he testified before a UN committee charged with investigating the IDF offensive in Gaza earlier this year.

Mohammad Srur, who was injured during a protest in Naalin in which two other Palestinian residents of the village were killed, testified before the Goldstone committee along with Jonathan Pollack of the Activists Against the Wall organization.

Upon returning from Switzerland two days ago, Srur was arrested by Israeli security officials at the Allenby Bridge crossing and is currently being held at the Ofer Prison.

His brother Moussa told Ynet that Mohammad had first contacted his family on Wednesday, and that he had not been questioned since his arrest.

The family says the arrest is an attempt to hurt Srur because of his testimony before the UN committee. His brother rejected the notion that the arrest was a result of any transgression on his brother’s part, and said the latter had received permission to embark on the excursion.

Security sources claim Srur was detained for questioning on suspicion that he was involved in terror activity and that his visit to Geneva had no bearing on the arrest.

Israeli forces arrest Palestinian on his return from testifying to the UN in Geneva

Update: According to his legal representation, Mohammad Srour will be released on bail.

For Immediate Release:

22 July 2009: Israeli forces arrest Palestinian on his return from testifying to the United Nations in Geneva.

Mohammad Srour was arrested on 20 July 2009 while crossing the Allenby Bridge from Jordan.

Srour and Jonathan Pollack, an Israeli solidarity activist, testified to the United Nations in Geneva on 6 July 2009 about the murder of 2 young men by Israeli forces during a demonstration in Ni’lin.

(Video available: http://www.un.org/webcast/unhrc/archive.asp?go=090706, download the video: http://webcast.un.org/ramgen/ondemand/conferences/unhrc/gaza/gaza090706pm1-eng.rm?start=00:35:37&end=01:41:24)

Srour, a member of the Ni’lin Popular Committee Against the Wall, participates in demonstrations that take place against the theft of Ni’lin’s land. He and Pollack were witness to the shooting of 2 Ni’lin residents (Arafat Rateb Khawaje and Mohammed Khawaje) on 28 December 2009, during a demonstration in solidarity with Gaza.

“I know full well that I will pay the price for this testimony when I return at Israeli crossing points in my journey of return after this hearing.” –Mohammad Srour stated at minute 4 of his testimony to the United Nations

Srour was arrested at the border crossing of the Allenby Bridge and taken to Ofer prison. On Wednesday, he was interrogated by Israeli forces and his lawyer has requested an urgent hearing for Thursday. He will likely be taken to court on Thursday, 23 July 2009 to hear the charges against him.

Background

The West Bank village of Ni’lin has been demonstrating since the Israeli government began for a second time to construct the Wall on village lands in May 2008. To date, Israeli forces have killed 5 residents of Ni’lin and critically injured 1 American solidarity activist. According to local medics who volunteer with the Palestinian Red Crescent, over 450 people have been injured during demonstrations as of April 2009.

Visibly, the violence from Israeli forces dramatically increased during and after the 22-day assault on Gaza that began on 27 December 2008. Israeli forces have killed 3 demonstrators since the beginning of the Gaza assault in Ni’lin. Additionally, the Israeli army has introduced new weapons against demonstrators; using the high-velocity tear gas projectile and a 0.22 calibre live ammunition shot by sniper fire as a means of crowd dispersal.

Additionally, Israeli arrest and intimidation campaigns on the villages that demonstrate against the Wall, have led to the arrests of over 76 Palestinians in Ni’lin alone.

  • 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 uncertain prospects for his recovery.
  • 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, 19 people have been killed during demonstrations against the Wall.

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.