commentary from Israel & the West Bank
Mohammed Khatib of Bil’in’s Popular Committee Prevented from Going Abroad Despite an OK from Court
Aug 4th
From the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee:
The Shin Bet prevented Mohammed Khatib of the Bil’in Popular Committee to cross the Allenby Bridge on his way to Spain today. Khatib was banned despite having a permit to leave the country from the Military court.
Mohammed Khatib, a prominent member of the Bil’in Popular Committee, arrived at the Israeli-controlled Allenby Bridge between the West Bank and Jordan today, in order to fly to Spain from the Amman airport. He is scheduled to attend a number of meetings and has a few planned speaking engagements. At the crossing, Khatib was told he is not allowed to travel for “security reasons” and to “go back home”. Knowing that there is no security-driven cause to deny his right to travel, he refused to turn back, saying “If I am a security threat, arrest me now, otherwise, let me pass”. Currently, he is still waiting at the crossing, refusing to evacuate.
Khatib is currently standing trial on charges of incitement and organizing demonstrations for his involvement in the successful campaign against the construction of Israel’s wall on Bil’in’s lands. The indictment against him, and many others like him, is part of a politically-motivated legal persecution campaign to quash the Palestinian Popular Struggle.
Initially he was also accused of stone-throwing, but the charge was dropped after it was proven in court that the prosecution used falsified evidence. The defense was able to prove that he was abroad at the time he was allegedly pictured throwing stones at soldiers in Bil’in.
Adv Gaby Lasky, Khatib’s lawyer said that “It is not security, but rather politically-motivated vengeance that is behind Mohammed Khatib’s tavel-ban. No one in his right mind believes that his trip to Spain could endanger anyone, but the Shin Bet wants to threaten and hurt organizers of legitimate protest.”
Israel Arrests Children Walking Near West Bank Separation Wall
Aug 2nd
At 12pm on Monday August 2nd, three children who had been walking near the wall in Bil’in village where arrested by Israeli soldiers. The three 14-year-old friends Moatasem Ali Mansor, Majde Burnat, and Mohamad Abu Rahmah often take walks near the wall. Today they were detained by soldiers behind the wall for three hours. While behind the wall their families tried to negotiate for their release to no avail. They were then arrested and taken away in an army ambulance. This happened three hours ago, and no ones knows where they have been taken yet. Soldiers claim that the boys were throwing stones.
Israel Continues to Place Settlers in East Jerusalem
Jul 30th
Last night, Israeli settlers took over yet another house in East Jerusalem. This time the house is located in the Arab quarter of the Old City. The facts on the ground simply discredit Israeli rhetoric about peace. The government continues to demonstrate its willingness to put more and more Jewish settlers in highly contested areas despite official policy of wanting peace talks with the Palestinians.
Peace Now has posted the following video of the arrival of the settlers in the Old City:
The Associated Press is also covering the story here.
The family’s lawyer, Samer Zoabi, said the settlers bought the building in 1987, and went to court repeatedly to get the Quirresh family evicted. Zoabi said the courts ruled each time in favor of the tenants. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said authorities were trying to determine whether the settlers held a proper eviction order. U.N. envoy Robert Serry said in a statement that he deplored “today’s unacceptable action by armed Israeli settlers who forcibly took over a building, which is home to nine Palestinian families.” He urged the Israeli authorities to remove the settlers from the property and allow the Palestinian tenants to return.
Facing annexation, the West Bank village of al-Walaja looks to ‘Budrus’ for inspiration
Jul 29th
In the cool summer evening air of the Jerusalem hills last Tuesday evening, hundreds of Palestinians and Israelis descended on the small village of al-Walaja for a screening of the critically acclaimed documentary Budrus. The screening was jointly organized by Israelis and Palestinians who are working to non-violently resist the construction of Israel’s separation barrier on the village’s land.The screening bore special significance for the people of al-Walaja as the film follows the story of a West Bank village’s unarmed struggle against the construction of Israel’s separation barrier on its farmland and its subsequent success in having the route of the wall changed.
The village of al-Walaja sits between Beit Jala and Jerusalem next to the settlements of Gilo and Har Gilo, both of which have been built on historic al-Walaja land. Since 1967, the village’s boundaries have been shrinking as subsequent Israeli governments have expanded the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem while trying to keep al-Walaja in Palestinian controlled territory. Recently, Israel has started to construct a portion of its separation wall on al-Walaja’s land. The wall will completely surround the village leaving only one entrance to be controlled by an Israeli military checkpoint which will isolate the village from Jerusalem, a main area of employment for many villagers. In some portions, the wall will be as close as five meters from houses of al-Walaja residents. Last Sunday, the Israeli High Court, on appeal from the residents of al-Walaja, decided to request a ‘full explanation’ from the state about the route of the wall. The state has forty five days to explain itself to the courtalthough work is allowed to continue during this time.
"Budrus" Screening in al-Walaja
On the heels of this important decision, the resemblance between the situation the people of Budrus faced during the time of the film and the threat al-Walaje is facing now made for an emotional screening. Budrus was one of first Palestinian villages to embrace a model of unarmed resistance to the creation of Israel’s separation barrier on its land. Due to the success of this model of resistance other villages such as Bi’linand Ni’lin have adapted similar tactics in confronting the theft of their valuable land.
During the screening, many in the audience were emotional as images of demonstrations in Budrus flashed before their eyes. Packed in a room of Israelis and Palestinians working together to protect a small village’s land from confiscation by Israel’s separation wall while watching the uplifting story of Budrus, it was hard not to be emotional. A key plot line of the film is the cooperation between Palestinian, Israeli and international in organizing and demonstrating against the wall. These demonstrations, which are documented in the film, often involved harsh Israeli repression in the form tear gas, sound bombs and the use of live fire against unarmed demonstrators.The residents of al-Walaja are accustomed to seeing the same type of violence from the Israeli army during their non-violent demonstrations.
Ayed Morrar, the Palestinian community organizer of Budrus and one of the film’s protagonists, was on hand in al-Walaja for questions after the screening. He appealed to Palestinians to ‘free themselves of traditional thinking’ in adopting new models of non-violent resistance to Israel’s occupation of the West Bank. He argued that Palestinian woman, who make up half of Palestinian society, should play a greater role in organizing and demonstrating in non-violent demonstrations. He noted the similarities between Budrus and al-Walaja in their struggle against the wall and occupation.
Israeli activist, Yotam Wolfe, appealed to the Israeli members of the audience to keep attending the demonstrations in al-Walaja just as Israelis had done in Budrus. He reminded everyone that as Israelis with extreme privilege in society, it is a moral responsibility to help the people of al-Walaja in their struggle. One Israeli, writing on his blog in Hebrew, wrote about returning to Jerusalem after the screening; ‘I returned full of hope and anger, full of anger and pain, full of love…” I believe his statement captures the feeling that all of us had after viewing this incredible film in al-Walaja.
Seventeen Year Old Child Taken in Night Raid on Bi’ilin Now Facing Jail Time
Jul 25th
From Iyan Burnat of the Bi’ilin Popular Struggle Committee:
Bil’in was subjected to yet another Israeli Occupation Forces night raid when an unusually heavy number of Israeli soldiers entered the outskirts of the village to arrest a local youth; 17 year old Ahmad Abed Al-Fatah Burnat – who unfortunately was arrested.
Ahmad was taken by jeep to Ofer military prison located outside Ramallah, where arrestees from Bil’in are normally taken. His family witnessed their son and brother being taken away without knowing why. There is still uncertainty why the Israeli army came in 12 jeeps and stormed the family’s house kidnapping the 17 year old that night.
Ahmad has now been held for seven days in Ofer. What we know from experience is that the prisoners in Ofer, especially young boys are put under harsh conditions, with the intention of pressuring them to give information about other villagers. We know that many are denied food and water for extended periods of time and exposed to extreme cold or heat. This coupled with the uncertainty of when he is to be released makes the situation unbearable for his family. All this is done to make the prisoners confess false charges, or to falsely confess that they have witnessed other people i.e. throwing stones.
Today Ahmad was brought in front of a judge. The court’s decision is that the military has to bring evidence of any crime committed by Ahmad, which they haven’t been able to do so far. If none is presented within 37 hours from today’s court, Ahmad is to be released. The condition is that there must be paid a bail of 10,000 shekel. If this isn’t paid, Ahmad will remain in Ofer military prison indefinitely, while waiting for the next court decision.
The popular committee has seen hundreds of Bil’in residents being arrested over the years, and have been forced to pay a total of more than 300,000 NIS for bail. In addition, the costs for the trials are estimated to lie at around 2,800 NIS per person, per court appearance.
Israel Continues to Violently Repress Unarmed Demonstrations Against the Occupation
Jul 25th
This past weekend, just like the past weekends of recent years gone by, various unarmed demonstrations against the occupation took place throughout the West Bank. Palestinians joined by Israelis and International supporters held demonstrations in Wad Rahel, Masara, Nabi Salih, Ni’ilin, Bi’ilin, Hebron, Beit Umar and Beit Jala. The Israeli response to these demos has been violent repression using crowd dispersal methods. In Hebron, about 100 Palestinians and their international and Israeli supporters gathered next to the closed gates of the Israeli army blockade on Shuhada street in the Saturday demonstration of the “Open Shuhada Street” campaign in Hebron. After some chanting and speeches against the occupation and settlements and for freedom of movement in Hebron, the protesters headed towards one of the old city allies, blocked by Israeli soldiers. The soldiers violently attacked the demonstration and in the commotion that erupted have managed to grab into arrest 4 internationals and one Israeli protester. Due to the Israeli army’s determination to end the demo, the protesters sat on the ground in front of the soldiers, continuing the demo while sitting. After a while the demo was declared over and participants started going away from the soldiers, who kept going after the retrieting crowd. At a certain point one of the soldiers threw out a sound bomb. Below video by fil kaler.
David Reeb has uploaded a video of the demo in Nabi Salih this Friday in which one can clearly see IDF soldiers using tear gas projectiles as bullets. Towards the end of the video pay close attention to the angle of the tear gas as the soldiers discharge the projectile. Instead of firing at an arch in order to spread out the tear gas, which is IDF protocol in these demos, the soldiers fire them directly at Palestinian youth in the village. This has resulted in countless injuries and in some cases, deaths of Palestinian protesters.
Palestinian Children in West Bank Summer Camp: “Break the Silence, Break the Siege”
Jul 24th
This afternoon, I visited a Palestinian summer camp in the southern West Bank city of Beit Umar. The camp is named “The Freedom Flotilla Camp” and contains roughly one hundred youth aged 12 to 17 years old from the city. In addition to normal summer camp activities like swimming, playing football and general running around with friends, the children staged a festival titled “Break the Silence, Break the Siege.” The festival, which was organized by various popular struggle committees in the west Bank, included poetry about the occupation, plays about Palestinian interaction with settlers/soldiers and traditional ‘debka’ dances. The aim was to send a message to the international community that Palestine is unified and Gaza is not separate from the West Bank. The children wanted to express their concern about the silence of the international community over Israeli blockade of Gaza and the ongoing occupation of the West Bank.
The Freedom Flotilla Camp in Beit Umar
The event took place after the weekly demo in Beit Umar against the occupation. I attended the increasing violent demo this morning with fellow activist Kobi Snitz. After the army violently injured one Palestinian photojournalist and rained sound grenades/tear gas on the non violent demonstrators, Kobi and I were invited to attend the children’s festival to address them about Israeli activists supporting of the popular struggle. Below video provided by Fil Kaler.
As soon as we arrived to the camp complex, a customary mob of kids surrounded us asking “what is your name?” and “where are you from?” in broken English. When I explained that I was Israeli from Jerusalem, most took a puzzled looked which only lasted for a couple of seconds and quickly dissolved as they would grab me by the hand and introduce me to all their friends.
Israeli Activist Addressing Palestinian Children in Beit Umar
During the festival, one by one a kid or groups of kids would get on stage to perform a poem or song about Palestine or the occupation. Most of the poems were about the unity of Palestine and expressed solidarity with the people of Gaza. After a slew of performances, it was Kobi’s turn to address the crowd. As he explained that we come from Israel and support the popular struggle movements in the West Bank in his Hebrew accented Arabic, I wondered what it would take for an Israeli summer camp to invite a Palestinian to address their participants. I tried to picture a Palestinian from Beit Umar addressing rowdy youngsters in Herzilya. To be honest, the picture was hard to convince.
Former Vice President of European Parliament Arrested in Bil’in
Jul 23rd
From The Popular Struggle Coordination Committee website:
Israeli forces arrested Lusia Morgantini, the former Vice President of the European Parliament, and three others during the weekly anti-wall demonstration in the West Bank village of Bil’in earlier today. All were released once the soldiers realized who was in their hands.About 200 demonstrators, fifty of them from of an Italian delegation headed by Morgantini, were attacked with tear-gas as soon as the procession reached the path of the wall and with out any provocation. Some youth responded with stones, but the majority of demonstration remained peaceful despite the provocation.
The soldiers than continued to cross the gate in the wall and into the village. Morganitini and three others who refused to escape were detained by the soldiers and taken away through the wall. Less than an hour after her arrest, once the commanders had realized who they have arrested, Morgnatini was released. The soldiers also released those who were arrested together with, except for one Israeli activist who was taken to the police station. After her release Morgantini said that “I saw Palestinian protesting nonviolently attacked by the army for trying to defend their lands. I strongly encourage the EU to take strong action for the protection of Palestinians and the implementation of their rights.”
Fencing in the Streets of Europe and Stone Throwing in the West Bank
Jul 22nd
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, fencing was a popular past time in the central Europe. Early Zionist youth clubs such as Beitar participated in fencing events and based youth activities around the sport. Perhaps because of the popularity of fencing, street sword duals were a regular endeavor of pride. Young Jewish men were not alien to these duals. The yearbooks of early Zionist youth sport clubs contain many photos of men with a scars across their faces received in dual. These scars were worn with pride and honor. In some cases, duals would even break out between Jews affiliated with Zionist sport clubs and Jews affiliated with non Zionist sport clubs.
In Ni’ilin, I often think about the fencing and duels of early Zionist leaders as I watch the young Palestinian boys throw stones across the wall at Israeli soldiers. In a way, stone throwing carries the same weight of pride, honor and dignity for Palestinians as dueling in the streets carried for early Zionist leaders. It is a symbolic form of resistance treated with much respect in Palestinian society. However, Palestinian stone throwing is portrayed as a violent act which endangers the lives of Israeli soldiers. A Palestinian child who throws a stone is a target for arrest in the middle of the night, harsh interrogation, and ultimately jail time. Leaders of the popular struggle movements in the West Bank are routinely thrown in jail for long periods of time for encouraging youth stone throwing. Usually, these leaders are found guilty by Israeli military courts with coerced testimony gleaned from arrested children without lawyers or parents present.
A Palestinian Throws a Stone Over the Wall in Ni'ilin
Why is the IDF afraid of stone throwing in the first place? I believe that part of the answer lies with the logic of Zionist duals in Europe; one must always defend honor. The IDF, according to its own rules of conduct, will not allow acts of resistance such as stone throwing to go unanswered. If a stone is thrown at a military Jeep, the soldiers must respond in some way whether it be firing tear gas, chasing the stone thrower or firing a rubber bullet. The logic is clear, Palestinians must always be reminded who is boss in the West Bank. Any attempt to dishonor the IDF must never go unanswered.
As good Zionists, settlers never let acts of stone throwing go unanswered as well. Just as in the case of dueling on the streets of Prague or Budapest, settlers often throw stones at Palestinians. It is as a new form of dueling has taken shape in the West Bank. Below is a video that I shot last year in the West Bank village of Safa. Settlers from the extremist settlement of Bat Ayin, rained stones on Palestinian farmers and their Israeli supporters as a unit of the army watched on, sometimes standing right next to the Jewish stone throwers.
In the contemporary world of Zionist honor, the IDF has become the enabler of dangerous settler behavior. The duels of early Zionist leaders in Europe continue on in the stone throwing of Palestinians and settlers in the West Bank. It is a battle of honor.
Israeli Soldiers Hit Children With Their Rifles in al-Walaja
Aug 4th
Posted by Joseph Dana in Unarmed Resistance
1 comment
The village of al-Walaja continued its unarmed resistance to the creation of the Separation Wall on its lands today. Villagers along with Israeli and international supporters non-violently stopped construction of the wall for one hour and half today. Israeli armed forced responded by arresting 12 protesters and using pepper spray on a majority of the non-violent group.
The following is an account of Mazin Qumsiyeh, PhD who witnessed the event:
Today (Wednesday) was another honorable and painful chapter in the struggle of the village of Al-Walaja. Apartheid soldiers assaulted children and adults protesting peacefully, injured many, and arrested six Palestinians. The destruction of the beautiful ancient village land was stopped for over 1.5 hours. I was especially touched by the courage of Omar and his two children, one of them was hit by a soldier with his gun on top of his head. Please see this video and be both angered and inspired by the courage of the Walajans. The villagers need our support in many ways especially to demand Israel release those they abducted. Come join us PLEASE and act.