Palestine-Israel, The joint struggle still continue in spite of some official reservations

mashriq / arabia / iraq | community struggles | news report Monday September 06, 2010 20:53 by Ilan S. - AAtW; ainfos; Matzpen Tel Aviv

The end of the Summer, and the end of the Ramadan... with most of the internationals already returned home. The local activists - Israelis of the anarchists against the wall initiative and the real radicals of the left still holding. [Italiano]

Arkib

Monday afternoon, the weekly protest at the Lehavim intersection at 17:00. After that, a meeting with the village people.

Beit Ommar Saturday September 4

Bil'in

3-8-10 Some 10 Israelis and a handful of internationals joined this Ramadan's last Friday demo against the wall and the occupation in Bil'in. With the heat and fasting taking their toll, and the international delegations season over, the demo was smaller than usual. The army set a barbed wire barrier on the way to the wall, and deployed a few dozen meters behind it, between the wall and the barrier. The demonstrators gathered behind the barbed wire, and after a few minutes removed it to march forward (next week, will they set a new barrier to protect the barrier that is supposed to keep demonstrators away from the wall?). At that point the army started shooting gas, and the demonstrators had to retreat and declared the demo over. While even some of the feistier shabab couldn't be bothered to throw stones, the army kept on shooting gas until all demonstrators were far up the hill leading to the village, occasionally getting some gas "blow back" due to the shifting winds.

Hebron (Al Khalil) Saturday September 4

Jerusalem - Al-Kuds

Sheikh Jarrah

Solidarity activists remind Jerusalemites what is happening yards away from their venues of leisure.

The week end demonstration again in the Saturday evening due to the Ramadan Day fasting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMebMDNYOIE

Silwan

This Wednesday, 1.9, the Elad association will hold a day of tours to new excavation sites in Silwan, to be followed by an archaeological conference.

We will be there to greet the visitors, tell them what they are really taking part in, and tell them facts that visitors are not being told in the "City of David" tours.

We will be there to remind everyone that the Elad association is not a research institution interested in archaeology, but a political tool for the Judeaization of East Jerusalem through the expulsion of the Palestinian inhabitants. We will remind them that they are in an occupied village called Silwan, and not in the Biblical tourist site "City of David".

Background

The special day of tours, as well as the annual archaeological conference, has been held by Elad for several years. In these conferences, Elad and its supporters wish to convince the public under a false pretense that Elad is only a research association. It is all the more important now, after it has been revealed that the Jerusalem Police and the Ministry of Law regard themselves as partners of Elad, that we be present there and stand in solidarity with the residents of Silwan. The settlers in Silwan keep trying to raise the tension level in the village. Last week they trespassed into private property near the Silwan Mosque and carried out a violent provocation which included shots being fired at Palestinians by security guards, as well as other actions. Settler activity disguised as research and cultural activity is a routine method of deception employed by right wing associations in East Jerusalem, especially Elad. It is because of this deception that we have decided to be there and remind everyone what this is really all about.

The demo:

The demo started with about 100 activists that tried to reach the entrance of the visitors center where the archeological conference was taking place. The police blocked the way with barriers and demonstrators stood there chanting.

Part of the activists succeeded to pass the barrier but were blocked and dragged back behind the barrier.

At a certain moment one of the policeman crossed the barrier and assaulted an activist... the other border policeman followed his example an did the same to other activists.

The activists regrouped and approached again and as a result 5 were arrested.

SILWAN DEMO 1.8.10 Nissim Mossek video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCOwQL7w_Rg

Hagit Ofran video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wn1KM3Woz34

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aw97TC3k-xs&feature=email

Ma'asara Friday September 3

Some thirty Palestinians, Israelis and internationals participated in Friday's demonstration in the village of Al Ma'asara. Upon arrival at the main road, protesters were blocked by two army vehicles. Additional army vehicles came from the other direction.

Soldiers, who jumped off the vehicles as they wave their guns, declared the area a closed military zone and began pushing the protesters away while throwing stun grenades. One grenade was thrown directly at one of the demonstrators, hitting his body before falling and exploding on ground.

After pushing demonstrators to the junction outside the closed military zone, the soldiers began to back off. Demonstrators decided to move forward again. After a short distance, the soldiers pushed back the demonstrators to junction, using tear gas and stun grenades. At This point, occupation forces left the area and demonstrators declared victory. before the end of the demonstration was announced, Arabic and English speeches were made, denouncing the occupation, and calling for freedom, justice and implementation of international law.

An Nabi Saleh Friday September 3

The people of Nabi Salih village were joined by around 12 international activists for the weekly protest on Friday, including 3 ISM volunteers. Those not from the village trying to reach it for the demonstration sighted a flying checkpoint The soldiers claimed the area was a closed military zone (and had paperwork displaying the correct dates) so after being refused entry, international protestors disembarked out of sight of the roadblock and followed the road around to reach the village and join the demonstration.

When crossing the main hill to meet the Palestinian protest organizers, a soldier pointed a gun (without attachments) at the group of internationals. Shortly afterwards soldiers got out their closed military zone papers and tried to get the group’s attention, but the children on the demonstration noticed and surrounded the soldiers in question and started chanting (if a CMZ order has not been displayed, you cannot be charged with violating it).

During the demonstration soldiers detained a Palestinian youth (22 years old). The children mobbed in front of the jeep that he had been put in, chanting and shouting and jumping on the jeep to stop it leaving. After moving the detainee to a second jeep, the children repeated their performance. Finally the soldiers threatened the children and advanced towards them enough to make them move out of the way, and drove away with the young Palestinian inside. No one had seen him commit any crime.

Later on in the village a number of women heading warned the internationals to flee with shouts of "Jeesh! Jeesh fii al-bayt" ("Soldiers! Soldiers in the house!") One international had also been detained at this point and signs indicated that the soldiers were aiming to remove all of the internationals from the protest. At last count, there were 7 internationals arrested (about 4 of which were Israelis) and one Palestinian - he was released later on that day and it is believed that the 7 internationals and Israelis were too.

Today and every Friday since January 2010, around 100 un-armed demonstrators leave the village center in an attempt to reach a spring which borders land confiscated by Israeli settlers. The District Coordination Office has confirmed the spring is on Palestinian land, but nearly a kilometer before reaching the spring, the demonstration is routinely met with dozens of soldiers armed with M16 assault rifles, tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets and percussion grenades.

The demonstrations protest Israel’s apartheid, which has manifested itself in An Nabi Salih through land confiscation. The illegal Halamish (Neve Zuf) settlement, located opposite An Nabi Salih, has illegally seized nearly of half of the village’s valuable agricultural land.

Wad Rahal

The people of Wad Rahhal invite Israeli and international activist every Thursday for agricultural works in the village. The works take place in their fields, on a hill close to the village, that watches westward toward the Efrat settlement and northward toward Beit Lehem, Jerusalem and even Rammala, in a clear day. Due to this fact the hill is suppose to stay outside the separation fence. During the building of the fence road some of the fields were destroyed and olive trees were demolished, their owners have rehabilitated the fields and planted new olive trees. The works last for about two or three hours and take place during the late afternoon, they include pruning the trees and cleaning the fields from rocks allowing tractors to plow the land.This week the villagers plan to build a tent near one of the villagers home, that under threat of being destroyed by the IDF. The house in a bit further that the village hence is a target for harassment by the army and the settlers. In order to support its owner their will be a Hafla every Thursday, after the works.The work will start at 16:00 Israel time (15:00 Palestine time), if you wish to attend please contact D.

Ni’lin weekly demonstration 03.09.2010

The weekly protest in Ni'lin was very short. A group of around thirty protesters reached the wall route after a short march through the villages lands. One of the protesters called on the soldiers to stop defending the theft of Ni'lin lands. one or two protesters threw some stones over the wall, and some tires were set fire to. Within a minute of this, soldiers fired a volley of tear gas canisters, and shortly after, crossed the barrier in pursuit of the demonstrators, who retreated back into the village. Two international protesters were grabbed by soldiers and held for around half an hour, but they were then released and returned to the village.

Walaja

Al-Walaja peace march tomorrow/Friday 3-9-10 10 AM Palestine Time (11 Israeli Time) from Wadi Jouz area to the wall area near Har Gilo.
Please join if you can.
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See Previous reports at http://awalls.org and at http://ilanisagainstwalls.blogspot.com