2 September 2010 | Mohammed Khatib, The Electronic Intifada

When I was a boy I was still allowed to travel in Israel. I went to the beach and swam in the sea, something that most Palestinian children living in the West Bank today can only dream of. Israel has been restricting movement more and more over the years. We Palestinians were banned from traveling to Israel, the land where many of our parents were born. And now I find I cannot leave the West Bank. I was stopped from leaving the country on 4 August when I tried to cross the Allenby Bridge and reach Jordan in order to fly to Europe.

Abdallah Abu Rahmah being arrested by Israeli soldiers at demonstration in Bilin in 2005. (Oren Ziv/ActiveStills)

And just as Israel has gradually increased restrictions of where we can go, the boundaries of what is permissible to do as a Palestinian have narrowed markedly. We have reached a point where peaceful protest is unacceptable to the Israeli state and military legislation has been constructed to criminalize and throw in jail anyone who dares to publicly voice dissent.

Abdallah Abu Rahmah, coordinator of the Bilin Popular Committee and my best friend, is one such man. He made the international news after the EU’s foreign policy chief issued a statement condemning his conviction in an Israeli military court on 24 August. He was convicted of “incitement” — an intentionally vague charge that criminalizes freedom of speech — and of organizing “illegal” demonstrations. Direct negotiation between Israel and Palestinians may be restarting, but on the ground, Israel’s military occupation continues: oppression as usual.

Abdallah, a school teacher and father of three, has been imprisoned at the Ofer military prison since 10 December 2009 — International Human Rights Day, no less. Israeli soldiers raided his occupied West Bank home in the middle of the night, and dragged him from his bed in front of his wife, Majida, and their three children, Luma (7), Lian (5) and eight-month-old baby Laith.

The protests that Abdallah was convicted of organizing began on 16 December 2004, the day Israeli military bulldozers first came to uproot olive trees on our village’s lands and plant a wall in their stead. Since that day we have held hundreds of demonstrations in which Israelis and internationals joined Palestinians to say no to Israeli apartheid and yes to partnership and peace based on justice. In Bilin we believe that creativity and hope are our most effective tools to break the shackles of occupation and realize our rights as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and guaranteed to us by international law.

In July 2004, months before the construction of Israel’s barrier on Bilin’s lands began, the International Court of Justice in the Hague ruled that the wall Israel is constructing in the occupied Palestinian territory is illegal and must be dismantled. The ruling also reiterated that Israeli settlements in the occupied territories are also illegal under international law.

Israel however continued constructing the wall and the settlements unabated. The impunity Israel enjoys regarding these violations erodes our people’s faith that international law and human rights are relevant to our lives. Many of us feel that human rights are something the West enjoys speaking of, but are reserved for others. We believe that for things to change there must be a price for Israel’s flouting of international law and that this price can best be drawn through nonviolent means.

Every day, more and more Palestinians choose to oppose injustice and occupation with grassroots unarmed resistance, challenging Israeli hegemony. Threatened by our movement’s growth, Israel has launched a campaign of repression, targeting activists and members of popular committees — the bodies mobilizing protesters — across the West Bank with arrests and violence.

Last March, in another draconian attack on free speech, the lands of Bilin and the neighboring village of Nilin, where regular weekly protests against the theft of their land are also held, were declared a permanent closed military zones for a period of six months.

Between February 2004 and June 2009, twenty unarmed demonstrators have been killed, hundreds imprisoned and thousands injured. The soldiers and settlers who regularly violate international law do so with almost complete impunity. Meanwhile, Palestinian civilians who organize protest are charged with incitement and organizing illegal demonstrations.

In fact, it is only by coincidence that I myself am not imprisoned in Ofer prison together with Abdallah. Like Abdallah, I have been arrested by soldiers who broke into my home at the middle of the night. I too was charged with incitement and organizing demonstrations. Like they did with Abdallah, the military also claimed that I had been throwing stones.

Their mistake was, that unlike in Abdallah’s case, they tried to use not only unlawfully extracted testimonies of minors, but they also provided a falsified picture of me with a stone in my hand. But I was lucky. I was abroad on the date that the picture was taken and could prove that I was not the man in the picture. When the fraud became evident, the judge had no choice but to order my release. Otherwise, like Abdallah and many other Palestinian organizers and activists, I would have been considered dangerous and held at least until the end of my trial, which is still ongoing.

If what Abdallah has done is illegal, then we are all proud offenders. Israel better round us up and throw us to its jails and prisons by the hundreds, as the perverse reality Israel has created on the ground means that we must defy Israeli military law in order to uphold international law and achieve our human rights.

The EU’s statement denouncing Abdallah’s conviction is an important first step. But it must be followed by serious action to ensure that Israel does not use the resumption of negotiations as a smokescreen to hide behind while entrenching the occupation. Until such steps are taken, no one who dares to protest and challenge Israel’s occupation is safe.

Mohammed Khatib is the secretary of the Bilin village council and the coordinator of the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee.

2 September 2010 | ISM Media

Baqa’a valley, HEBRON

Last night (1 Sept. 2010) around 150 to 175 Israeli settlers, many armed, constructed an illegal outpost at a new location in the Baqa’a valley, east of Hebron, and attempted to harass a Palestinian family.

A large group of settlers constructing an illegal near Road 60

The Israeli army did not attempt to disperse the settler gathering but later did partially raze the area on which the makeshift outpost buildings had been built – near the illegal Israeli settlements of Kiryat Arba and Givat Harsina, on the opposite side of Route 60, the road where four settlers were killed the previous night.

ISM activists were staying in the house of Palestinian farmer Atta Jabr and his family, who have been subjected to numerous attacks due to the proximity of the illegal Harsina settlement and the nearby “Hill 18” outpost. The last incident was just two weeks when Atta and his pre-teen daughter were attacked by six settlers.

From the house the family and the activists could observe the settlers’ activities a very short distance away.

At 17:00 six settlers arrived with a truck carrying a large water tank. Three soldiers approached them and spoke to them but took no action and left. Around half an hour later, a truck came carrying timber and other building supplies. It was unloaded by twelve settlers.

By 17:45, around 100 settlers had congregated at the site, including many armed with pistols and M16s. A digger arrived carrying around 40 bags of cement in its scoop.

By 18:30, around 175 settlers had arrived, many taking part in construction.

The home of the Jabr family which was besieged for three hours

Some settlers approached the Palestinian house, located about 40m up the hill, no doubt with the intention to harass the Jabr family again. Around 20 settler youths walked around the house. A settler family car stopped outside the front porch of the Palestinian house for a short period of time while the driver looked inside – however they took no further action. The family was effectively under siege for about three hours.

Shortly afterwards the Israeli army arrived, led by the same Captain who two weeks earlier had harassed peaceful internationals instead of removing a large group of settlers from the Palestinian Baqa’a.

A squad of six soldiers walked up to the Palestinian house. The Sergeant shouted in Hebrew demands for the windows to be shut and the lights to be switched off. The internationals didn’t understand so the Sgt lifted up his rifle and cocked it. The soldiers then climbed onto the roof.

By 19:00 it appeared that some settlers had started walking away back to Harsina.

At 20:00, some Israeli activists including Rabbis for Human Rights, AATW and ICAHD tried to access the area but been denied by the army. They reported that the outpost seemed to have been demolished, apparently by the civil administration. The soldiers came down from the roof.

Meanwhile across the valley at Al Buwayra tension was high and a settler attack was fully expected due to the village’s extremely close proximity to the outpost and it’s history settler violence. Three members of CPT and one ISM activist stayed at a house in the village that often bears the brunt of these attacks. At 11.30 news came in that settlers were stoning a nearby house. On arriving near to the house it was apparent that 4-5 settlers were throwing stones from behind the security fence at a Palestinian house. Not far from the scene  the chanting and yelling of  party of settlers probably numbering 30 -40 people could be heard. Not long after the internationals arrived the settlers left and the Palestinians and internationals returned to the house.

When activists went to investigate the location of the Baqa’a valley outpost construction attempt this morning they found a 3×3 metres square of cement, covered in boot prints. Palestinian Atta Jabr told them that the settlers had already come up with a Hebrew name for the outpost they wish to illegally build on Palestinian land – ‘Navi Hevron’.

This incident occurred following an announcement by the settlers that they would unilaterally violate the freeze on settlement construction – deemed illegal under international law – which is not due to expire until September 26th.

The settlers carry out so-called “price tag” attacks on Palestinians whenever the Israeli authorities prevent settlement expansion. The resumption of construction comes after the shooting of four Israeli settlers in Hebron two days ago, an attack which the militant wing of Hamas claimed responsibility for.

Atta Jabr and his family have lived in the area for more than three generations. Their house has been demolished twice. Members of the family appeared in the acclaimed 2006 documentary Occupation 101 – (clip below)  – speaking about their experiences of life under Israeli occupation.

Click here to view the embedded video.

2 September 2010 | Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice

Haifa, ISRAEL

On Sunday, September 5th, the Haifa District Court will resume hearing testimonies in a civil lawsuit filed by Rachel Corrie’s family against the State of Israel for her unlawful killing in Rafah, Gaza.  Rachel Corrie, an American student activist and human rights defender from Olympia, Washington, was crushed to death on March 16, 2003, by a Caterpillar D9R bulldozer while nonviolently protesting Palestinian home demolitions with fellow members of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM).  The second phase of the trial is expected to shed more light on the circumstances of her death and the Israeli government failure to conduct a thorough, credible and transparent investigation into her killing.

Thirteen affidavits have been submitted by the State, including those from both the driver and commander in the bulldozer that ran over Corrie, and from other military personnel involved.

Rachel Corrie / Courtesy Rachel Corrie Foundation

“As the trial in the killing of our daughter Rachel resumes in Haifa, we look forward to hearing from the State’s witnesses,” said Rachel’s father, Craig Corrie.  “For seven years our family has asked the Government of Israel to provide a complete, credible, and truthful explanation for the killing of our daughter.  We hope and demand they will take this opportunity to provide one.”

Cindy Corrie added,”If the peace process unfolding in Washington, D.C. is to have any hope of success, the pursuit of truth, accountability, and justice for all the suffering that has occurred in this land must proceed with determination.  We look forward to that happening in Rachel’s case.”

The lawsuit charges that Rachel Corrie’s killing was intentional.  Alternately, it charges that the Israeli government is responsible for negligence of Israeli soldiers and military commanders who acted recklessly using an armored military bulldozer without due regard and due diligence to presence of unarmed and nonviolent civilians and who failed to take appropriate and necessary measures to protect Rachel’s life, in violation of obligations under Israeli and international law.

The government of Israel argues that Rachel Corrie’s killing took place in the course of armed conflict in a closed military zone and should be considered an “Act of War,” or “War Operation,” absolving soldiers responsible from liability under Israeli law.  The government argued for dismissal stating that the Israeli government is immune from such a lawsuit based on controversial legal theory that actions of the Israeli army in Rafah, Gaza, should be considered “Acts of State.”  Finally, the Israeli government argues that Rachel Corrie acted in reckless disregard of her life and was responsible for her own death.

“After seven years Rachel Corrie’s family will have the chance to hear the testimonies of those who were responsible for her death,” said Attorney Hussein abu Hussein, who represents the family.  “This civil trial is an important step to hold accountable not only those who failed to protect Rachel’s life but also the flawed system of military investigations which is neither impartial nor thorough.”

Court dates are currently set for September 5, 6, and 21 and October 7, 17, and 18 before Judge Oded Gershon at the Haifa, District Court, 12 Palyam St., Haifa, Israel.  All trial sessions are currently scheduled from 9:00-16:00.  See any changes to the schedule and register to receive further press releases at rachelcorriefoundation.org.

For press related inquiries and further information please contact:
stacy@rachelcorriefoundation.org
Phone (Israel): 972-52-952-2143

Adeeb Abu Rahmah (centre) during a 2009 demonstration in Bil'in. PHOTO CREDIT: Oren Ziv/ActiveStills2 September 2010

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

2 September 2010

Ramallah, WEST BANK

A military court of appeal yesterday (1st Sept. 2010) rejected a petition calling for the release of Adeeb Abu Rahmah, a leading activist from the West bank village of Bil’in, imprisoned in Israel’s Ofer military detention centre since 10th July 2009.

The decision comes 8 days after the conviction of another Bil’in activist – Abdallah Abu Rahmah – on very similar charges, was openly criticized by the European Union’s Foreign Affairs Chief Catherine Ashton, who said the verdict appeared to be designed to “prevent him and other Palestinians from exercising their legitimate right to protest”.

Adeeb Abu Rahmah, 38, a taxi-driver and father of nine and courageous nonviolent activist (watch video here), was arrested during one of the weekly protests in Bil’in over 11 months ago. An initial decision to release him on condition of avoiding demonstrations was reversed on July 21st 2009 when the military prosecution appealed. A judge ruled he should be kept till the end of proceedings against him.

Eventually sentenced on June 30th 2010, he was convicted of “inciting violence” and “activity against the public order”. These broad military orders are increasingly being used by Israel to criminalize peaceful protest. An additional charge initially made against him for inciting others to throw stones was withdrawn following arguments and evidence put forward by his legal defense.

The appeal rejected yesterday – which had argued that his conviction was incorrect and his sentence too severe – was dismissed by the military judge on the grounds that not enough time had passed since the latest appeal was lodged. Instead he will remain incarcerated until a judge decides whether or not to grant the prosecution’s request that his sentence be increased to two years or more.

Adeeb, like Abdallah Abu Rahmah, is well known as a committed non-violent activist.

Amnesty International amongst others called the Israeli court not to convict him, saying that: “The broad scope of Israeli military orders mean that Adeeb Abu Rahma could be imprisoned solely for legitimately exercizing his right to freedom of expression in opposing Israeli policies in the West Bank.” They added that he should be regarded “as a prisoner of conscience who should be released immediately and unconditionally.”

Media contact: ISM Media Office – 054 618 0056

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1 September 2010 | ISM Media

Just after midday a large group of settlers from an illegal outpost near to where four Israeli settlers where shot and killed last night, carried out an attack on an innocent Palestinian family.

One of four windows smashed by about 50 rock-throwing settlers

At about 12.30 between 50 and 70 Israeli settlers emerged from the Givat Gal outpost near the illegal settlement of Kiryat Arba and came down the hill towards a Palestinian home.

Palestinian Younis Idris and his large family, including 8 children, watched as the settlers hurled rocks at the house, smashing four windows. A family member told an employee of the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem that the settlers had tried unsuccessfully to open the door of the house.

They also knocked over and smashed a number of ceramic plant pots outside the family home and then set fire to the grass outside the house.

The family told ISM activists that Israeli soldiers were present during the attack but did nothing to prevent it. One soldier pointing his gun at family member who was outside the house, and ordered him to go inside.

The attack lasted about ten minutes, after which time the settlers departed in the direction they had come from.

Police were called and took photos of the damage caused. The family told police that the settlers were aged in their twenties. Police arrested one settler.

ISM members on the scene report that there is now a large Israeli military presence, as well as persistent settler presence though it is calmer than earlier.

The damage done to the Idris family home today by settlers

The family have been attacked by settlers many times before, with the most recent being an incident two months ago when settlers cut down 70 olive tress.

Following the shooting of four Israeli settlers last night, an attack which the militant wing of Hamas has claimed responsibility for, Palestinians in the Hebron area are fully expecting even higher levels of settler violence than usual.

An ISM activist based in Hebron said: “So far we have not heard of any other settler attacks on Palestinians in the region, but we are expecting that there will be more.”

Several areas of Hebron have been sealed off by the Israeli army. Meanwhile the Baqa’a Valley has been declared a closed military zone and Road 60 remains open to Israeli settlers only.

Another attack following the shooting saw settlers in the Nablus region randomly targeting Palestinian vehicles on the Jet junction between Nablus and Qalqilya last night. They broke care windows by throwing stone and were also cutting down olive trees, Ma’an news agency reported.

A patch of burned ground where settlers set fire to the grass - the family have been attacked numerous time

31 August 2010 | BBC News

More than 150 Israeli academics say they will no longer lecture or work in Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

In a letter, they said they supported the recent decision by a group of actors and others not to take part in cultural activity there.

The academics said that acceptance of the settlements caused “critical” damage to Israel’s chances of achieving peace with the Palestinians.

The actors were criticised for refusing to perform at a new cultural centre.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the last thing Israel needed as it resumed direct peace talks was a boycott from within.

In a letter published on Sunday, the academics said they would no longer take part in any kind of cultural activity, or lecture in any kind of academic setting, in settlements built on land occupied following the Middle East war – demarcated by what is commonly known as the “Green Line”.

They explained that they wanted to show support and solidarity for the 53 actors, writers and directors who last week said they would not take part in performances at the new cultural centre built in Ariel.

“We’d like to remind the Israeli public that, like all settlements, Ariel is also in occupied territory,” the academics said.

“If a future peace agreement with the Palestinian authorities puts Ariel within Israel’s borders, then it will be treated like any other Israeli town.”

“Legitimatisation and acceptance of the settler enterprise cause critical damage to Israel’s chances of achieving a peace accord with its Palestinian neighbours.”

Close to 500,000 Jews live in more than 100 settlements built since Israel’s 1967 occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem. They are considered illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.

A separate letter, signed by a number of well-known Israeli authors and artists, is expected to be published in the coming days.

Yigal Cohen-Orgad, the chancellor of the Ariel University Centre, told Haaretz newspaper on Tuesday that “stupid behaviour seems to attract academic stupidity”.

Several right-wing politicians have criticised the actors, saying they are subsidised by the Israeli state and should have their funds withdrawn if they refuse to work in any settlements.

31 August 2010 | ISM Media

The past two weeks in Sheikh Jarrah have seen a resurgence of settler harassment and violence against the local Palestinians – beyond low intensity abuse that is the norm.

Verbal sparring and abusive exchanges were sparked when a young settler entered the occupied Al-Ghawe house on August 16th. The teenager then went to the top of house and hoisted a huge Israeli flag up on the roof, next to the oversized menorah, a deliberate act of provocation intended to insult the evicted Palestinian family further.

The Palestinian Al Ghawe house that has been settler-occupied since Aug. 2009

After more shouting from both sides in Hebrew and Arabic, the Israeli settler picked up a very large rock and started threatening to throw it at people. Four of five community members rushed towards him and managed to take the rock away and restrain him. The settler called police, told them a warped version of events, and the usual outcome consequently occurred – one of the shebab was arrested.

After another scuffle between a large group of settlers and local Palestinians, police were again called by the settlers and, as usual, they arrested only a Palestinian and no Israelis despite fact that they had initiated the violence. Ayman Al Ghawe was kept in jail for one week, accused of assaulting three settlers, even though there was no evidence of this and in fact it was him who was left bleeding at the time of his arrest.

Police have also been trying to arrest an eleven year old boy from the area who settlers claim threw glass at “their” house – the house belonging the the Al Ghawe family which they have occupied since August 2nd 2009. He was summoned to a Jerusalem police station but did not attend.

On August 22nd at about 7AM, another Sheikh Jarrah resident called Jad had the tyres on his vehicle slashed. Although there were no witnesses to the attack, the Palestinians strongly suspect that settler youth were behind the attack because many similar incidents have occurred in the past.

The van was used in the course of his work, transporting disabled people. Following this vandalism, ISM volunteers hopefully suggested that the Israeli company which employs him mighty cover the cost of the repair, since he had been the victim of a racist attack. However, the opposite happened. The Israeli company said that they were concerned the vehicle might be set on fire next time – they took the view that Jad’s vulnerability as an inhabitant of a neighbourhood frequently subjected to attacks from settlers made him a liability, and he was fired from his job.

31 August 2010 | ISM Media

Bi’lin – Palestinian shot in the knee with a rubber-coated steel bullet

On the third Friday of Ramadan the Bil’in popular committee marked the 9th anniversary of the assassination Abu Ali Mustafa, former PFLP secretary general. A large number of internationals, including British and French people, supported the demonstration, with many protestors wearing masks depicting the face of Abdallah Abu Rahma, recently convicted by Israel for the ‘crime’ of organizing peaceful resistance. One Palestinian youth was hurt when shot in the knee with a rubber coated steel bullet. The army’s harsh repression of the unarmed protest with unnecessary use of force continued the patter of the previous week.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The popular committee also praised the decision of the Norwegian government to divest from Israeli companies ‘Africa-Israel’ and Danya Cebus on ethical grounds because of their involvement in the construction of illegal settlements in the West Bank. They called on other countries to follow the Norwegian example and boycott firms involved in settlement building in order to further strengthen the movement for Boycott, Divestment and Sanction and further weaken Israel’s colonizing capacity.

As well as an extremely large amount of tear gas that the approximately 100 protestors were subjected to, the Israeli army also decided to chase demonstrators into the village and fire rubber bullets at them as they retreated. One young man was wounded in the knee – shot by a rubber bullet from about 30 metres – and had to be rushed to Ramallah hospital for treatment.

Israel started building the separation wall through the village in 2005, completeng it in 2007 and cutting off 230 hectares of land belonging to the village. Demonstrations have been held every week since February 2005 to protest against the wall and the confiscation of land. In April 2009 Bil’in resident Bassem Abu Rahma was killed, when a high velocity tear gas canister was fired directly at his chest by an Israeli soldier. Last week Abdallah Abu Rahmah, the head of the popular committee was imprisoned by Israel in December 2009 and just last week convicted of “incitement” and organizing “illegal demonstrations” as part of Israel’s ongoing criminalization of peaceful protest.

Ni’lin – Israeil army arrest medics as protesters graffiti articles of the Fourth Geneva Convention on the Apartheid Wall

At around midday on Friday, about 35 Palestinians were joined by five internationals and around six Israeli activists in the olive groves by the West Bank village of Ni’lin.

The Palestinians participated in midday prayers; after this they were joined by the international and Israeli activists to help carry car tyres down to the Israeli Apartheid Wall which snakes through the village’s land. The black tyres were partly a symbol of mourning and loss for the farmland (and consequently livelihoods) that has been stolen from the village. They also served a practical purpose and were set on fire in front of the gate in the wall in order to impede storming by the Israeli army.

Palestinians used megaphones to demand the removal of the illegal wall, while some activists wrote graffiti citing the Fourth Geneva Convention. After a few minutes, some Palestinian youths began symbolically throwing stones in the direction of the wall; this was met with a hail of tear gas canisters fired blindly by Israeli soldiers on the other side. Many people suffered from inhaling gas.

After ten minutes of firing tear gas, the soldiers managed to pass the burning tyres and charge towards the group. Whilst the demonstrators were successful in evading the soldiers, five Red Crescent medical volunteers on hand to attend to any injured demonstrators, along with two photo-journalists – one Palestinian and one Israeli were detained by the army. They had in fact been arrested in similar circumstances in Ni’lin before. That time the Israeli army kept them in jail for three days and accused them of throwing stones – which they were able to disprove with video footage – but this time they were released after approximately half an hour.

The Palestinian youths spent about an hour trying to approach the wall once more, backed up by internationals. Unfortunately, the way was blocked by soldiers and the demonstrators all returned to the village.

The history of protest in Ni’lin is marked by huge violence on the part of the Israeli army, who – in attempting to rush and deter the resistance – have killed 20 Palestinians since Februrary 2004 including 5 from the village, critically injured an American solidarity activist, and wounded countless others. Two weeks ago the military also burned a number of olive trees in the village. The illegal settlement of Mod’in Illit is one of the biggest in the area and is in the process of expanding and constantly attempting to annex Palestinian land to this end.

Al Ma’sara- Two Israeli solidarity activists arrested and two international protesters lightly injured

Today’s demonstration in Al-Ma’sara commemorated several landmarks: the twenty-third anniversary of the assassination of Palestinian artist Naji Al-Ali, the ninth anniversary of the martyrdom of Abu Ali Mustafa, the sixteenth anniversary of massacre in the Ibrahimi Mosque and the recent unjust conviction of Abdullah Abu Rahma.

The protest saw Palestinians joined by groups of Italian, French, Spanish and Irish participants demonstrating in solidarity with villagers, all together totaling approximately 100 people. This expression of solidarity was also extended to others facing oppression and human rights abuses, in particular the constantly harassed residents of Sheikh Jarrah.

The demonstration was accompanied by various songs of resistance and solidarity in many languages. Upon reaching the entrance of the village, demonstrators were faced with a blockade of 4 Israeli army jeeps. Despite their presence, the demonstrators continued their protest, singing songs and making speeches in front of the soldiers and raising Palestinian flags and banners. The soldiers’ disproportionate response to these peaceful acts of resistance was to violently push the protesters back towards the village using unnecessary force.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Israeli soldiers also used sounds grenade and tear gas on the peaceful demonstrators – throwing both directly at people. One Danish international was hit on the leg by a tear gas canister but not hurt while an American solidarity activist received a slight burn when a sound grenade hit him on the back first, and then exploded on his arm. Dozens of people suffered from tear gas inhalation.

The demonstration came to its conclusion shortly afterward but not before the solders detained two Israeli protesters and took them away to an unknown location. Both were released but one will soon have to face fabricated charges in court.

The agricultural village of Al Ma’sara has been holding weekly nonviolent demonstrations since November 2006, when construction of Israel’s Apartheid Wall began in the area. They are a means to voice opposition to the expansion and construction of the nearby illegal settlement bloc of Gush Etzion, and the annexation of thousands of dunams of stolen Palestinian land.

Iraq Burin – Army continue illegal practice of shooting low-flying tera gas directly at demonstrators

The Iraq Burin protest this week started at 5 Ramadan time, and lasted for over an hour, with no arrests or injuries. There were about 70 Palestinians present, backed up by a small group of internationals.

At Iraq Burin, there are two options of hills to march up: a smaller hill that abuts the village directly, or a slightly larger hill across a small valley from the village. This week, the smaller hill was chosen, which has the advantage that it’s easier to scale, but the disadvantages that tear gas gets nearer to the village, and it’s harder to see the soldiers when scaling the hill.

Some of the internationals present tried to position themselves where they could see the soldiers so that they could film some footage of the soldiers who are notorious for firing low-flying tear gas directly at the protestors in Iraq Burin.

The shabab were persistent in advancing up the hill towards the soldiers but kept being repelled by tear gas (even so, they kept in high spirits, maintaining the same level of defiant resistance as in previous weeks). However, as soon as the soldiers were in view, the demonstrators could see that the border police had arrived, hoping to make arrests, so everyone retreated back down again. An attempt to climb the hill again was thwarted by around 5 or 6 tear gas canisters being shot around protesters.

Soon there was too much tear gas to successfully ascend further, so the internationals and a large number of the shabab went back down the hill, and instead tried to get more photos of the soldiers in order to document them repeatedly shooting of tear gas directly at  demonstrators.

Regular Saturday demonstrations in Iraq Burin began in response to the fatal shootings of Mohammad and Ussayed Qaddous, 16 and 19, on March 20th, 2010. Israeli settlers from the nearby illegal settlement of Bracha also frequently attack villagers.

An Nabi Salih – Soldiers fire rubber-coated steel bullets at a demonstration attended by many village children

The children of An Nabi Salih village turned away two Israeli army jeeps which had invaded the village in order to disrupt the regular Friday protest this week. The protest, which involved around 35 local Palestinians, among them many children, and around 10 internationals plus some Israelis standing in solidarity with Palestinians, had been marching towards the local settlement when the Israeli army blocked access to the road.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The protesters moved back towards the village, where the army began to throw tear gas and sound bombs at the demonstrators and the near-by houses. Strong resistance was mounted, especially among the younger protesters, and after many cat-and-mouse games the Israeli jeeps retreated under a hail of stones and singing from the children. There were no injuries, despite use of copious amounts of tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets by the Israeli army. One Israeli activist was arrested but was released later that day with conditions.

The village has been protesting against the annexation large amounts of land and to the nearby illegal Halamish since the start of this year. Protests in Nabi Saleh frequently go on for many hours – this week the military maintained a presence in the village well into the evening but did not make any further arrests.

29 August 2010 | The Guardian

60 actors, writers and directors argue that performing in occupied territories would legitimize illegal settlements

Dozens of Israeli actors, playwrights and directors have signed a letter refusing to take part in productions by leading theatre companies at a new cultural centre in a West Bank settlement, prompting renewed debate over the legitimacy of artistic boycott.

More than 60 have joined the protest over plans by Israel’s national theatre, the Habima, and other leading companies to stage performances in Ariel, a settlement 12 miles inside the West Bank. The letter, to Israel’s culture minister, Limor Livnat, says the new centre for performing arts in Ariel, which is due to open in November after 20 years in construction, would “strengthen the settlement enterprise”.

“We want to express our dismay with the intention of the theatres’ managements to perform in the new auditorium in Ariel and hereby declare that we will refuse to perform in the city, as in any other settlement.” Israel’s theatre companies should “pursue their prolific activity inside the sovereign territory of the state of Israel within the boundaries of the Green Line”.

Livnat said the boycott would cause divisions in Israeli society: “Culture is a bridge in society, and political disputes should be left outside cultural life and art. I call for the scheduled performances to be carried out as scheduled in Ariel and all over the country, as each citizen has the right to consume culture anywhere he chooses.”

Israel’s prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, said the country was under attack by the international community – including economic, academic and cultural boycotts – and “the last thing we need at this time … is a boycott from within”.

The Habima, Cameri, Beit Lessin and Be’er Shiva theatre companies issued a joint defence of their plans, saying they “will perform in any place where there are theatre-loving Israelis, including the new cultural centre in Ariel. We respect the political views of our actors, but we’ll make sure that the best of Israeli theatre will get to Ariel”. The four companies, plus another two – the Khan and the Haifa – which have also agreed to stage productions in Ariel, all receive state funding.

Ron Nachman, the mayor of Ariel, said: “These actors get salaries from the government, which is sponsoring their theatres. You cannot take the money from the government and then decide your own policies. That is not integrity or honesty. If they disagree [with performing in Ariel], they should resign.”

It was not clear how many of the signatories were listed for planned performances in Ariel. Yousef Swaid, who is appearing in A Railway To Damascus, a production scheduled to be staged in Ariel, told Channel 1 television: “Settlers and settlements are not something that entertain me, and I don’t want to entertain them.” Rami Heuberger, who is not listed, said: “As a stage actor, it is a very, very problematic issue, and I think that so long as settlements are a controversial issue that will be discussed in any negotiations [with the Palestinians], I should not be there.”

Gideon Levy, a leading liberal Israeli commentator, backed the actors’ stance. “Yes, there is a difference between legitimate, sovereign Israel and the areas of its occupation,” he wrote in today’s Haaretz, which first reported the story. “. “Yes, there is a moral difference between appearing here and appearing there in the heart of an illegal settlement … built on a plot of stolen land, in a performance designed to help settlers pass their time pleasantly, while surrounded by people who have been deprived of all their rights.”

The Yesha Council, which represents settlers, said the actors’ letter had been signed by “army evaders and anti-Zionist leftwing activists”.

The actors’ letter follows the refusal of some international artists to perform in Israel because of its occupation of the Palestinian territories. Earlier this summer, Elvis Costello cancelled concerts in Israel, citing the “intimidation, humiliation or much worse on Palestinian civilians in the name of national security”. The Pixies, Gil Scott Heron, Santana and Klaxons have also withdrawn from performances.

Ariel, home to almost 20,000 people, was founded in 1978 deep in the West Bank. Israel wants it to remain on its side of any border resulting from peace negotiations with the Palestinians. All settlements on occupied territory are illegal under international law.

At a time of increasing settler violence in the West Bank, the International Solidarity Movement is issuing an urgent call for volunteers to participate in the 2010 Olive Harvest Campaign at the invitation of Palestinian communities.

Join the 2010 Olive Harvest Campaign

The olive tree is a national symbol for Palestinians. As thousands of olive trees have been bulldozed, uprooted and burned by Israeli settlers and the military – (over half a million olive and fruit trees have been destroyed since September 2000) – harvesting has become more than a source of livelihood; it has become a form of resistance.

The olive harvest is an annual affirmation of Palestinians’ historical, spiritual and economic connection to their land, and a rejection of Israeli efforts to seize it. Despite efforts by Israeli settlers and soldiers to prevent them from accessing their land, Palestinian communities remain steadfast in refusing to give up their olive harvest

International and Israeli volunteers join Palestinians each year to harvest olives, and this makes a big difference. It has proven in the past to help limit and decrease the number and severity of attacks and harassment. The presence of activists can reduce the risk of extreme violence from Israeli settlers and the Israeli army and supports Palestinians’ assertion of their right to earn their livelihood. International solidarity activists engage in non-violent intervention and documentation and this practical support enables many families to pick their olives. In addition The Olive Harvest Campaign also provides a wonderful opportunity to spend time with Palestinian families in their olive groves and homes.

The campaign will begin on the 8th or 9th of October and run for approximately 6-8 weeks, depending on the size of the harvest. We request a minimum 2 week commitment from volunteers.

Training

The ISM will be holding mandatory two day training sessions which will be run every week. Please contact palreports@gmail.com for further information.

Ongoing campaigns

In addition to the olive harvest, there will also be other opportunities to participate in grass-roots, non-violent resistance in Palestine.

In occupied East Jerusalem, ISM activists have been staying in Sheikh Jarrah, where the Hanoun and Ghawe families, evicted from their houses by Israeli police and settlers, maintain a presence, and the Al-Kurd family endure constant harassment from settlers who have occupied part of their home . We will continue to support the initiatives of families who face evictions or demolitions in all Palestinian neighborhoods in order to resist the ongoing ethnic cleansing of occupied East Jerusalem.

ISM volunteers harvesting olives.

ISM maintains a presence in Hebron and is making regular visits to the nearby village of Al Buwayra where settlers have terrorized villagers in recent weeks with regular attacks, including the unprovoked assault of two ISM activists. Lately the Israeli army has used brutal violence to suppress the regular demonstration for the opening of Shuhada street. They have shut down local shops and made numerous arrests of Palestinians and international activists in attempts to thwart the demo, sometimes also fabricating crimes and prosecuting activists leading to fines, bans and spells in jail.

We also have an apartment in Nablus from where we work on a number of projects including resisting demolitions in the village of Izbet Tabib, documenting the rioting and olive tree-burning of settlers and attending the weekly demonstration in Iraq Burin where the military have been illegally firing tear gas canisters directly at protesters.

Other regular demonstrations ISM participate in include those in the village of Bil’in where rubber bullets have been used to disperse unarmed protestors and a campaign of legal persecution has been waged against key protest organizers in an attempt to repress the grassroots nonviolent resistance movement.

ISM activists have also been attending weekly demonstrations against the Apartheid Wall, the annexation of Palestinian land and the construction of illegal settlements in Al Ma’sara, Ni’lin, An Nabi Saleh, Al Walaja and Beit Ummar.

Come! Bear witness to the suffering, courage and generosity of the Palestinian people under Israeli occupation.

Experiencing the situation for yourself is vital to adequately convey the reality of life in Palestine to your home communities and to re-frame the debate in a way that will expose Israel’s apartheid policies; creeping ethnic cleansing in the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem as well as collective punishment and genocidal practices in Gaza.

Abdallah Abu Rahmah protects a young girl in Bilin

27 August 2010

The West Bank village of Bil’in has become a symbol of the wider popular resistance movement in Palestine. Abdallah Abu Rahmah, head of Bi’in’s Popular Committee, is one of many key organizers of peaceful resistance that Israel has used legal means to persecute. He was convicted on Tuesday of two out of four charges in an Israeli military court and faces up to ten years in jail. The facts of his case – and what you can do to help put pressure on Israel – are set out below.

Name: Abdallah Abu Rahma
Age: 39 years old
Incarcerated: Ofer military prison
Job: Abdallah worked as a high school teacher at the Latin Patriarchate school in Birzeit near Ramallah until he was jailed. He also owned a chicken farm.

Family: Abdallah is married to Majida and they have three children — seven year-old Luma, five year-old Lian and eight month-old baby Laith.

Why is he imprisoned?
As coordinator of Bili’in’s Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements, Abdallah is seen as a threat by Israel because of his prominent role in the nonviolent struggle which has attracted international support. He is being legally persecuted because of the successes of the grassroots nonviolent resistance movement which has been growing steadily for the last 5 years.

EU representatives attended all court hearings over the last 8 months and they did not fail to notice the politically motivated nature of the prosecution. Catherine Ashton, European Union High Representative, said yesterday that the EU views Abdallah as “a human rights defender committed to non-violent protest” and that the EU was “deeply concerned that the possible imprisonment of Mr Abu Rahmah is intended to prevent him and other Palestinians from exercising their legitimate right to protest”.

Help us work for his release.

How and when was he arrested?
At 2am on Thursday 10th December 2009 (International Human Rights Day and exactly one year after receiving the Carl Von Ossietzky Medal from the International League for Human Rights) Abdallah was arrested by Israeli forces.

Several military jeeps surrounded his home the West Bank city of Ramallah. Israeli soldiers broke the door down, extracted Abdallah from his bed, blindfolded him and took him away.

Abdallah Abu Rahmah arrested by the Israeli military

What crime does Israel say he has committed?
Abdallah faced 4 charges. He was kept in prison for 8 months during the trial. On August 24th he was found not guilty of stone-throwing and possession of arms (the latter absurd charge brought by the military prosecution, was based on a collection of spent munitions fired at peaceful protesters by the Israeli army, and displaying by Abdallah to demonstrate the disproportionate violence used to disperse demonstrations in Bil’in.).

But he was convicted of organizing “illegal” demonstrations and of “incitement”.

Abdallah was convicted based only on the forced testimonies of minors who were arrested from their beds at the middle of the night and denied their right to legal counsel – not a single piece of material evidence was presented during the entire trial, despite the fact that the military film every demonstration.

The trial
Under military law, incitement is defined as “The attempt, verbally or otherwise, to influence public opinion in the Area in a way that may disturb the public peace or public order” (section 7(a) of the Order Concerning Prohibition of Activities of Incitement and Hostile Propaganda (no.101), 1967), and carries a 10 years maximal sentence.

Abu Rahmah’s case was the first time the prosecution had used the organizing and participating in illegal demonstrations since the first Intifada. Military law defines illegal assembly in a much stricter way than Israeli law does, and in practice forbids any assembly of more than 10 people without receiving a permit from the military commander.

Diplomats from France, Malta, Germany, Spain and the UK, as well as a representative of the European Union were in attendance to observe the trial. The EU have criticized the conviction. The complete verdict of the Israeli military court can be read online. Click here to read it in Hebrew. It is currently being translated into English and will be available online soon.

Abdallah is likely to be sentenced in the next few weeks – he faces up to ten years in jail. The prosecution is expected to call for a jail term exceeding two years.

Help us send the message that Abdallah Abu Rahmah and the other prisoners of the popular struggle must be protected.

ACT NOW FOR ABDALLAH

Abdallah’s outrageous conviction will be followed by a sentence in the coming weeks. The amount of pressure we will be able to generate in this time could influence Abdallah’s sentence, but will also make clear to Israeli authorities that the repression of the popular struggle does have a political price.

Please use the below template letters prepared by the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee to ask your Minister of Foreign Affairs to send an official inquiry to the Israeli government about Abdallah. Demand that your country apply pressure on Israeli officials to release Abdallah Abu Rahmah and stop targeting popular struggle.

USA | UK | GERMANY | ITALY | PORTUGAL | SWEDEN | CZECH REPUBLIC | NETHERLANDS | SPAIN

Abdallah’s history of organizing
Abdallah has been a member of the Bil’in Popular Committee since its conception in 2004. As coordinator, Abu Rahmah not only regularly organized and attended the weekly Friday demonstrations but also did the media work for the Bil’in struggle.

Abdallah Abu Rahmah (right) with Ela Bhatt, Jimmy Carter, Desmond Tutu, Fernando H Cardoso, Mary Robinson and Gro Brundtland of the Elders during a visit to Bil'in in August 2009

Abdallah represented the village in engagements around the world to further Bil’in’s cause. He traveled to Montreal in June 2009 to participate in a speaking tour and for the village’s legal case against two Canadian companies building settlements on Bil’in’s land. In December 2008, he participated in a speaking tour in France and traveled to Germany to accept the the Carl von Ossietzky Medal for outstanding service in the realization of basic and human rights, awarded by the board of trustees of the International League for Human Rights on behalf of Bil’in.

In August 2009 he met with internationally renowned human rights defenders like Nobel Peace prize winner Desmond Tutu and former US President Jimmy Carter, as part of a visit by The Elders to Bil’in village.

Treatment in prison
A previous raid targeting Abu Rahmah, on 15th September 2009, was executed with such exceptional violence that a soldier was subsequently indicted for assault.

Abdallah has written that the Ofer prison consists of a collection of tents enclosed by razor wire and an electrical fence, with 22 prisoners in each tent. In winter, he says, wind and rain comes in through cracks in the tent and prisoners are not provided with sufficient blankets, clothes, or other basic necessities. They are also not given enough food, he states.

Abdallah was arrested in his slippers in the middle of the night on 10th December 2009, and wrote on 17th February 2010 that he had still not been provided with proper shoes, nor were his family given permission to supply him with shoes. After repeated requests, he writes, his watch was returned.

The Israeli authorities allow family visits extremely infrequently. The families of prisoners are viewed as security threats. For more on the treatment of prisoners see Adameer, Prisoners’ Support and Human Rights Association.

Abdallah Abu Rahmah

Abdallah’s words:
The afternoon before his arrest on 10th December 2009, Abdallah prepared a speech to be delivered on his behalf at the World Association for Human Rights awards ceremony in Berlin. In his speech, Abdallah wrote:

“Unlike Israel, we have no nuclear weapons, and no army, but we do not want or need those things, because of the justice of our cause, we have your support and with it we know that ultimately we will bring down Israel’s Apartheid Wall.”

On 6th January 2010 Abdallah wrote:

“The price I and many others pay in freedom does not deter us. I wish that my two young daughters and baby son would not have to pay this price together with me. But for my son and daughters, for their future, we must continue our struggle for freedom…”

Also, read “A Letter from My Holding Cell”, written by Abdallah from Ofer Military Detention Camp and detailing the conditions in prison and stating:

“From the confines of my imprisonment it becomes so clear that our struggle is far bigger than justice for only Bil’in or even Palestine. We are engaged in an international fight against oppression. I know this to be true when I remember all of you from around the world who have joined the movement to stop the wall and settlements. Ordinary people enraged by the occupation have made our struggle their own, and joined us in solidarity. We will surely join together to struggle for justice in other places when Palestine is finally free.”

Bil’in’s struggle
Perhaps the greatest irony of Abdallah’s case is that he has been found guilty of organizing supposedly “illegal” protests against Israel’s separation wall which itself has been declared illegal by the International Court of Justice and even by Israel’s own High Court in the case of the route it takes through the village of Bil’in.

• The West Bank village of Bil’in is located 12 kilometers west of Ramallah and 4 km east of the Green Line. It is an agricultural village, around 4,000 dunams (988 acres) in size, and populated by approximately 1,800 residents.
• Starting in the early 1980’s, and more significantly in 1991, approximately 56% of Bil’in’s agricultural land was declared ‘State Land’ for the construction of the settlement bloc, Modi’in Illit.
• In 2004, the International Court of Justice ruled that the Wall in its entirety is illegal under international law, particularly under International Humanitarian Law. The Court went on to rule that Israel’s settlements are illegal under the same laws, noting that the Wall’s route is intimately connected to the settlements adjacent to the Green Line, further annexing 16% of the West Bank to Israel.
• Despite the advisory opinion, early in 2005, Israel began constructing the separation Wall on Bil’in’s land, cutting the village in half in order to place Modi’in Illit and its future growth on the “Israeli side” of the Wall.

• Bilin organizes regular demonstrations against the occupation. Photo: HAMDI / RANI BRONAT

  In March 2005, Bil’in residents began to organize almost daily direct actions and demonstrations against the theft of their lands. Gaining the attention of the international community with their creativity and perseverance, Bil’in has become a symbol for popular resistance. Almost five years later, Bil’in continues to have weekly Friday protests.
• Bil’in has held annual conferences on popular resistance since 2006, providing a forum for activists, intellectuals, and leaders to discuss strategies for the non-violent struggle against the Occupation.
• Israeli forces have used sound and shock grenades, water cannons, rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas grenades, tear gas canisters and 0.22 caliber live ammunition against protesters.
• On 17 April 2009, Bassem Abu Rahma was shot with a high-velocity tear gas projectile in the chest by Israeli forces and subsequently died from his wounds at a Ramallah hospital.
• Out of the 75 residents who have been arrested in connection to demonstrations against the Wall, 27 were arrested since the beginning of a night raid campaign on 23 June 2009. Israeli armed forces have been regularly invading homes and forcefully searching for demonstration participants, targeting the leaders of the Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements.

26 August 2010 | Wadi Hilweh Information Center

Israeli forces invade Silwan during the clashes

Violence has swept through Wadi Hilweh again as Israeli settler security guards attempted to storm the neighborhood mosque last night, in what marks the third time such an attack has been launched on the local religious site. Settler guards fired live ammunition at Palestinian residents in the ensuing clashes that erupted.

Police claim that stones were thrown at the occupied home of Khader al-Qaq in Wadi Hilweh last night. Three hours later a group of armed Elad settler guards attempted to storm the Wadi Hilweh mosque, using a fire extinguisher to try and break through the door. As the mosque’s emergency call sounded out from the minarets, the guards attempted to flee the scene. Palestinians of Wadi Hilweh flocked to the site of the attack to defend their mosque, where skirmishes soon broke out between residents and settler guards. Shots were fired by armed settler guards at Palestinian residents during the clashes.

Wadi Hilweh resident Mohammad Qaraeen stated that when he tried to alert the police to the attack, the police officer on duty hung up on him. When he tried to call a second time, the police did not arrive until several hours afterwards.

The area was invaded soon after by a large force of Israeli military and Border Police, stationed in the nearby suburb of Baten el-Hawa. The invading forces immediately began firing rounds of tear gas projectiles at crowds of Palestinian residents, causing widespread suffocation as a result of gas inhalation. A fire was started by a group of angry youths at the entrance to Aid el-Hamra, an area under control of the Elad tourism-settlement project “City of David”, in response to the secondary invasion of their community. Residents and journalists were then prevented from accessing the area by Israeli forces, who began firing rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas projectiles and sound bombs at the crowd, only adding to the widespread panic and confusion of the night.

Eyewitnesses report that Israeli soldiers attempted to arrest a Palestinian child during the clashes. The entire area of Wadi Hilweh was then cordoned off by the Israeli military, blocking all entrances to the neighborhood.

25 August 2010 | Popular Struggle

UPDATE: Baroness Ashton condemns Bil’in leader’s conviction; Attorney: “International community must take a tough stand on human rights defenders.”

Picture credit: Oren Ziv/ActiveStills

Abdallah Abu Rahmah, the coordinator of the Bil’in Popular Committee, was yesterday convicted of incitement and organizing illegal marches by an Israeli military court. The conviction concluded an eight months long political show trial, during which he was kept behind bars. Help us work for his release

Persecuted for his key role in organizing the successful grassroots campaign against the wall and Jewish-only settlement on Bil’in’s land, Abdallah was convicted based only on the forced testimonies of minors who were arrested from their beds at the middle of the night. not a single material evidence was presented during the entire trial.

We are now waiting for Abdallah’s sentence, but he is facing years in jail. Now is the last moment act up on his case, and it is still not too late.

Last year, on the night of International Human Right Day, Thursday December 10th, at 2am, Abdallah Abu Rahmah was arrested from his home in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Seven military jeeps surrounded his house, and Israeli soldiers broke the door, took Abdallah from his bed and, after briefly allowing him to say goodbye to his wife Majida and their three children — seven year-old Luma, five year-old Lian and eight month-old baby Laith — they blindfolded him and took him into custody.

Help us send the message that Abdallah Abu Rahmah and the other prisoners of the popular struggle must be protected.

Abu Rahmah did not find himself behind bars because he is a dangerous man. Abdallah, who is amongst the leaders of the Palestinian village of Bil’in, is viewed as a threat for his work in the five-year unarmed struggle to save the village’s land from Israel’s wall and expanding settlements.

As a member of the Popular Committee and its coordinator since it was formed in 2004, Abdallah has represented the village of Bil’in around the world. In June 2009, he attended the village’s precedent-setting legal case in Montreal against two Canadian companies illegally building settlements on Bil’in’s land; in December of 2008, he participated in a speaking tour in France, and on 10 December 2008, exactly a year before his arrest, Abdallah received the Carl Von Ossietzky Medal for Outstanding Service in the Realization of Basic Human Rights, awarded by the International League for Human Rights in Berlin.

Last summer Abdallah was standing shoulder to shoulder with Nobel Peace laureates and internationally renowned human rights activists, discussing Bil’in’s grassroots campaign for justice when The Elders visited his village. This summer, he may be sent to years in prison, exactly for his involvement in this campaign.

Abdallah’s outrageous conviction today will be followed by a sentence in the coming weeks. The amount of pressure we will be able to generate in this time could influence Abdallah’s sentence, but will also make clear to Israeli authorities that the repression of the popular struggle does have a political price.

Please use the below template letters prepared by the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee to ask your Minister of Foreign Affairs to send an official inquiry to the Israeli government about Abdallah. Demand that your country apply pressure on Israeli officials to release Abdallah Abu Rahmah and stop targeting popular struggle.

USA

UK

FRANCE

GERMANY

ITALY

PORTUGAL

SWEDEN

THE CZECH REPUBLIC

THE NETHERLANDS

SPAIN

Three half-demolished shops in Izbet Tabib: the owners hope to stop any further bulldozers from the Israeli company Delek

24 August 2010 | ISM Media

In the small village of Izbet Tabib near Qalqiliya in the north of the West Bank, 27 of the 55 houses have received eviction orders from Israeli authorities. Located in Area C (following the Oslo Accords making it Israeli civilian and militarily controlled), the village has an extremely hard time getting building permits. Furthermore as it is situated near both the annexation wall and several illegal settlements, villagers experiences daily harassment and constant tension.

The wall has annexed large parts of Izbet Tabib’s farm land, and extremist Israeli settlers are in the habit of driving through the village and harassing the inhabitants by shooting in the air or setting olive trees on fire. Also, the Israeli Occupation Forces are almost always present, creating additional trouble and fear for the village. The Popular Committee and others attempting to resist the occupation are especially targeted by the Israeli authorities in an attempt to repress this resistance.

A case in point is that of the Mayor and Head of the Popular Committee, Bayian Tabib. He and his fifteen-year-old son, Thair Bayain Tabib, were arrested on Friday the 30th of July around 2 p.m. as they stepped out of the mosque after the Friday noon prayer. Both were accused of throwing stones at a main road near the settlement – both declared themselves innocent. Regardless of the complete lack of evidence, Israeli soldiers, after having detained the two men for about an hour, put them in a jeep and drove them to a secluded place slightly outside of the village. Here, the commander in charge demanded that Bayain Tabib keep the youngsters of the village completely away from the main road and threatened him with further arrests if he didn’t obey. The soldiers seized the identity cards of the two men unlawfully and finally released them after one hour and a half.

Episodes like this are not exceptional. Thair Tabib has been arrested a number of times, the first when he was thirteen years old, and is always accused of stone-throwing. His father, Bayain Tabib, was in prison for two months in 2002 during the second Intifada. As the head of the Popular Committee, Tabib receives special attention from the Israeli authorities. Israeli soldiers often park outside his home and point their machine guns at anyone coming or going in an attempt to intimidate Tabib, his wife, and his nine children.

The latest threat is to three shops in the village which were partially demolished on August 12th by a bulldozer owned by a private Israeli gas company, Delek. The firm wants to build a new gas station in the area for the roughly 5,000 Israeli settlers from Zufin and  the many more who inhabit Alfei Menashe, the biggest illegal settlement nearby,  as at present the only one nearby is Palestinian. The land was sold to them by a Palestinian collaborator with Israeli ID but the shopkeepers are resisting the demolition of their shops which would destroy their livelihood. ISM activists will be staying overnight together with the Mayor and owners of the shops in case a demolition bulldozer returns – they have come on the three previous Thursdays and are expected again this Thursday. According to the villagers court has issued a demolition order on the shops.

Meanwhile, despite the great pressure that Izbet Tabib is exposed to from both soldiers, settlers, the wall, eviction and demolition orders, the village has become an important and inspiring site for resistance against the occupation. What is particularly unique is that Izbet Tabib joins an extremely small number of villages that have succeeded in having the wall that used to cut deeply into their farm land physically removed and thus getting most of their stolen farm land back after a verdict that declared the original route of the wall illegal.

24 August 2010 | Popular Struggle

Picture credit: Oren Ziv/ActiveStills

Protest organizer Abdallah Abu Rhamah from Bil’in was convicted of incitement and organizing illegal demonstrations today, after an eight months long military trial, during which he was kept behind bars. He was acquitted of a stone-throwing charge and a vindictive arms-possession charge.

Abdallah Abu Rahmah’s verdict was read today in a packed military court room, concluding an eight months long politically motivated show-trial. Diplomats from France, Malta, Germany, Spain and the UK, as well as a representative of the European Union were in attendance to observe the trial. Many of his friends, supporters and family members showed up to send their support.

Abu Rahmah, the coordinator of the Bil’in Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements, was acquitted of two out of the four charges brought against him in the indictment – stone-throwing and a ridiculous and vindictive arms possession charge. According to the indictment, Abu Rahmah collected used tear-gas projectiles and bullet cases shot at demonstrators, with the intention of exhibiting them to show the violence used against demonstrators.  This absurd charge is a clear example of how eager the military prosecution is to use legal procedures as a tool to silence and smear unarmed dissent.

The court did, however, find Abu Rahmah guilty of two of the most draconian anti-free speech articles in military legislation: incitement, and organizing and participating in illegal demonstrations. It did so based only on testimonies of minors who were arrested in the middle of the night and denied their right to legal counsel, and despite acknowledging significant ills in their questioning.

The court was also undeterred by the fact that the prosecution failed to provide any concrete evidence implicating Abu Rahmah in any way, despite the fact that all demonstrations in Bil’in are systematically filmed by the army.

Under military law, incitement is defined as “The attempt, verbally or otherwise, to influence public opinion in the Area in a way that may disturb the public peace or public order” (section 7(a) of the Order Concerning Prohibition of Activities of Incitement and Hostile Propaganda (no.101), 1967), and carries a 10 years maximal sentence.

Abu Rahmah’s case was the first time the prosecution had used the organizing and participating in illegal demonstrations since the first Intifada. Military law defines illegal assembly in a much stricter way than Israeli law does, and in practice forbids any assembly of more than 10 people without receiving a permit from the military commander.

Abu Rahmah’s sentencing will take place next month, and the prosecution is expected to ask for a sentence exceeding two years.

Click here for the complete verdict (Hebrew, .pdf)

Background

Last year, on the night of International Human Right Day, Thursday December 10th, at 2am, Abdallah Abu Rahmah was arrested from his home in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Seven military jeeps surrounded his house, and Israeli soldiers broke the door, took Abdallah from his bed and, after briefly allowing him to say goodbye to his wife Majida and their three children — seven year-old Luma, five year-old Lian and eight month-old baby Laith — they blindfolded him and took him into custody.

Abu Rahmah did not find himself behind bars because he is a dangerous man. Abdallah, who is amongst the leaders of the Palestinian village of Bil’in, is viewed as a threat for his work in the five-year unarmed struggle to save the village’s land from Israel’s wall and expanding settlements.

As a member of the Popular Committee and its coordinator since it was formed in 2004, Abdallah has represented the village of Bil’in around the world. In June 2009, he attended the village’s precedent-setting legal case in Montreal against two Canadian companies illegally building settlements on Bil’in’s land; in December of 2008, he participated in a speaking tour in France, and on 10 December 2008, exactly a year before his arrest, Abdallah received the Carl Von Ossietzky Medal for Outstanding Service in the Realization of Basic Human Rights, awarded by the International League for Human Rights in Berlin.

Last summer Abdallah was standing shoulder to shoulder with Nobel Peace laureates and internationally renowned human rights activists, discussing Bil’in’s grassroots campaign for justice when The Elders visited his village. This summer, he may be sent to years in prison, exactly for his involvement in this campaign.

23 August 2010 | ISM Media

Today (23 August 2010) a demonstration was held in the Baqa’a Valley, east of Hebron, against the theft of water from the Palestinian population in the area. About 15 water trucks were parked along Road 60, the road that runs through the valley. The intention was to protest against the fact that the farmers don’t get access to the water reservoirs in Kyriat Arba, the illegal settlement outside Hebron city. The demonstration was also attended by local farmers, standing on the side of the road with the truck drivers. Israeli police and army came to the spot, but did not interfere during the hour-long demonstration.

The water situation in Baqa’a Valley is critical, as the population depends on their farmland to support themselves, and they get a very limited amount of water from the municipality. The settlements in the Hebron district are supported by the Israeli government with the majority of the water resources, originally sourced from Bethlehem, going to settlements. The water is cut off from the Palestinian areas, which receive only a tiny percentage from the Hebron municipality, while most of it is confiscated by the Israeli state and distributed to illegal settlements like Kyriat Arba and Harsina. According to B’Tselem figures from 2008, residents in the Hebron district use on average 56 litres per capita daily – the third lowest amount in the West Bank. In general, Israelis have access to three and a half times more water than Palestinians living in the West Bank.

Baqa’a Valley is the most fertile land in the Hebron district, and the residents are living in constant fear of losing their homes and land, as the area is included in the Israeli state’s plan of dividing the West Bank and expanding and connecting the surrounding settlements. About 35 houses in Baqa’a Valley, in the so-called Area C are now facing eviction orders. In addition the residents frequently face vandalism of crops and water pipes from settlers intent on sabotaging Palestinian residents’ livelihoods. The video below from Tayush shows a recent incident in which settlers attempted to destroy water pipes in the Hebron district.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The water shortage in the Occupied Territories is a major violation of the basic human rights of Palestinians. Israel’s control over and unequal distribution of water resources has been an increasingly harmful policy since 1967 as Palestinian consumption needs have increased with population but not been met due to both neglect of existing infrastructure and failure to construct new water infrastructure, especially in rural areas. There are also numerous restrictions placed on Palestinians right to access water for example by constructing wells. As well as deliberate sabotage by settlers, leakage from pipes due to defective maintenance means that one-third of the amount of the water supplied to the West Bank annually is lost.

Under international law (Article 27 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 which prohibits an occupying state from discriminating between residents of occupied territory) Israel’s clear discrimination in terms of quantity and regularity of water to supply to settlements as opposed to Palestinian areas is illegal. During the summer Palestinians’ water supplies are often reduced even further in order to meet increased demand from settlements.

Adalah-NY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Norway divests from companies illegally building Israeli settlements.

New York, NY – In a major victory for the international movement for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel, the Norwegian government announced today that it has divested from Lev Leviev’s company Africa Israel Investments and its construction subsidiary Danya Cebus due to their construction of Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The move followed a campaign of more than a year by affected Palestinian villages of Bil’in and Jayyous and by Norwegian, Palestinian, Israeli, and international activist groups, including Adalah-NY, calling on the Norwegian government to divest from Africa Israel.

The companies of Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev have been the target of a boycott campaign that led UNICEF and Oxfam to renounce donations from Leviev, the British government to sever business ties with Leviev, celebrities to seek distance from him, and divestment by other major investment firms.

Mohammed Khatib representing the West Bank village of Bil’in’s Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements commented,

We’ve achieved another major victory in our struggle of protests and boycotts against Israeli apartheid. On April 21st, 2009 we wrote the government of Norway calling for them to divest from Africa Israel because it is one company that built the settlement of Mattityahu East on Bil’in’s land, and they responded that they were investigating. It is victories like this that demonstrate our commitment to continue our struggle for justice, despite Israel’s efforts to crush it through a campaign of arrests and intimidation, targeting activists like Abdallah Abu Rahmah from Bil’in who will be sentenced tomorrow for being an organizer.

Palestinian protest and boycott organizers like Abu Rahmah, Khatib, Mohammad Othman from Jayyous and Jamal Juma’ have all been arrested recently by Israel for their nonviolent activities, and Israel’s Knesset is reviewing a bill to criminalize pro-boycott activities by Israeli citizens.

In addition to divesting from Africa Israel Investments and Danya Cebus, the Norwegian Government announced divestment from the Malaysian Company Samling Global over its forestry operations. The Norwegian government had previously divested from the Israeli company Elbit Systems, due to its role in building Israel’s wall in the Occupied West Bank in violation of international law. The Norwegian government is maintaining its holdings in another Africa Israel subsidiary, Africa Israel Properties, saying it is not directly involved in settlement construction.

Riham Barghouti from Adalah-NY explained,

I met with a senior advisor from Norway’s Council on Ethics at their Oslo offices in May, 2010 to encourage them to divest from Africa Israel. So I’m glad to see that the Norwegian government has upheld its commitment to international law, and we encourage them to continue reviewing and divesting from other companies in their portfolio that are complicit in Israeli apartheid, including Africa Israel Properties.

Jamal Juma’, the Coordinator of the Stop the Wall Campaign and a member of the Palestinian Boycott National Committee, noted,

We appreciate the Norwegian Finance Ministry’s commitment to upholding international law through continuing to divest from companies profiting from Israel’s oppression of the Palestinian people. It is a significant milestone in the Palestinian-led BDS movement aimed at holding Israel accountable for its violations of international and humanitarian law. We hope that the Norwegian Pension fund will fully divest from Israeli crimes through severing links with all Israeli companies and international companies complicit with Israeli violations of international law, and hope that other governments follow the lead of Norway until Israel ends its oppression and occupation of the Palestinian people.

On April 21, 2009, Bil’in’s Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements sent a letter to Norway’s Council on Ethics calling for Norway to divest from Africa Israel. The West Bank village of Jayyous where a different Leviev company, Leader Management and Development, is building the Zufim settlement, followed with a May 4th letter calling on Norway to divest. On May 11, 2009, eleven organizations from Norway, Europe, Palestine, Israel and the US sent a letter to Norway’s Council on Ethics supporting the letters from Bil’in and Jayyous.

Sharif Omar of Jayyous’ Land Defence Committee added,

We welcome this decision by the Norwegian government to divest from some of Leviev’s companies. But another Leviev company, Leader Management and Development, continues today to build settlements on Jayyous’ land. We call for additional international action to pressure these companies and the Israeli government to end construction and return our stolen farmland.

23 August 2010 | ISM Media

Bilin protestors pose as prisoners in front of Israeli soldiers following the release of photos of abuse of Palestinian detainees.

Bil’in

The weekly demonstration in the village of Bil’in this week saw protesters draw attention to the recently published photos of the abuse of Palestinian prisoners by the Israeli army. A handful of the protesters blindfolded and handcuffed themselves to draw attention to the mistreatment of prisoners and marched at the front of the demonstration. Two arrests were made, including one of these protesters, a Norwegian student, who was grabbed while still blindfolded and dragged away.

Israeli soldiers detaining a Norwegian protestor who had blindfolded herself like a Palestinian prisoner

As well as local Palestinian residents, around 30 internationals and about 10 Israelis took part in the demonstration against the Apartheid Wall and the theft of land belonging to the residents of Bil’in. Despite it being the second Friday of Ramadan and a swelteringly hot day, the protesters chanted slogans against the occupation and called for the release of the village’s prisoners, as well as the prosecution of Israeli soldiers found to have been abusing prisoners in their custody. Many demonstrators carried reproductions of a photograph of Israeli soldiers posing by the body of a dead Palestinian man – an image they termed a “souvenir shot” which bears comparison to pictures of Iraq’s Abu Ghraib which shocked the world in 2004.

The protesters marched up to the soldiers and the blindfolded and cuffed ‘prisoners’ sat at their feet (to offer the soldiers an opportunity for photos they could later upload to facebook.) Without warning tear gas started to be fired and – while still blindfolded – a Norwegian citizen was forcefully arrested. She was later released but told to return to meet Israeli authorities on Sunday, when they admitted she could not have been aware of the fact that the area had been declare a ‘closed military zone’ but then accused her of being a member of the International Solidarity Movement and imposed conditions banning her from going to Bil’in for 15 days. An Israeli activist was also arrested but released later the same day.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The route of Israel’s separation wall in Bil’in cuts off villagers from large areas of their land. It was declared illegal in September 2007 by Israel’s own High Court, but despite this – and the International Court of Justice’s 2004 ruling that the wall in its entirety is illegal and should be dismantled – it remains in place. Bil’in have been holding weekly protests since March 2005 and the creativity and perseverance of the nonviolent struggle there has drawn international attention to the Palestinian resistance to occupation as a while.

Ni’lin

On Friday about 25 Palestinians were joined by a small group of internationals for the village of Ni’lin’s weekly protest against the Apartheid Wall. Five international and two Israeli protesters joined the demonstration which started after Friday prayers. The group marched to the wall which cuts off Palestinians from their farmland, annexing it to Israeli settlements like Modi’in Illit.

Perhaps due to the intense heat and it being the second Friday of Ramadan, the demonstration this week was fairly quiet. Despite huge aggression for the Israeli army in the past, they refrained for once from even using teargas or sound bombs against the unarmed protest so the situation remained peaceful. After the demonstration the internationals present were given a tour of the village and its small museum commemorating important events in the history of Ni’lin’s struggle.

An Nabi Saleh

Around 50 people took part in this Friday’s demonstration against the illegally built Halamish settlement encroaching on land belonging to the village of An Nabi Saleh, this Friday, and this number included approximately 15 Israeli and international human rights activists.

As usual the protest began after noon prayer, and continued until around four o’clock, despite the fact that the majority of the participants are currently fasting for Ramadan. The march down to the entrance of the village was once again met with a blockade, and after several attempts to gain access to the village’s main road, the protesters retreated back up the street to the centre of the village.

Soldiers later began throwing sound bombs and shooting tear gas projectiles directly at Palestinian children. The children stones at the soldiers’ armored jeeps. One of the children was hit in the leg by a ricocheting tear gas canister, but was not seriously injured.

Subsequent attempts to reason with the soldiers resulted in two international activists being detained in Halamish military base for several hours. Other attempted arrests were scuppered by fellow activists. A lot of teargas was fired at the houses nearby and a lot of people including children suffered from teargas inhalation, but the protesters declared the lack of serious injuries and spirited protest a success.

Al Ma’sara

Palestinians from Al Ma’sara and nine surrounding villages south of Bethlehem were joined on Friday by internationals and Israelis in solidarity with their cause. The weekly demonstration against the Apartheid Wall and illegal settlements reacted to the pictures of Palestinian prisoners humiliated by Israeli soldiers in ‘souvenir photos’ posted on Facebook – and so several protesters wore handcuffs and blindfolds while others carried enlarged photographs of the abuse.

Al Ma'sara protestors hold copies of photos showing captured, injured or killed Palestinians - posted on facebook by Israeli soldiers

Despite some suggestions that they are a one-off, the demonstrates hoped to make the point that in fact these images and such incidents are common and form part of the systematic abuse that goes hand in hand with Israel’s ongoing illegal occupation of Palestine. In chants and speeches, protesters called for an end to the continuing violations of the Geneva Accords and international law.

The protesters proceeded to the road that Israel illegally constructed on Palestinian land to connect the Jewish-only settlements of Gush Etzion but they were intercepted by the Israeli army. Sound bombs were thrown at the unarmed and nonviolent protesters who were denied the right to access their land once again. However, organizers stated that despite the soldiers’ violence they would continue their peaceful fight for freedom and justice which is their right.

Hebron

At 4:00 PM on Friday August 21, people began gathering in the Old City centre of Hebron. The resistance organized a peaceful march through the Old City markets. The purpose of the march was to thank the shopkeepers for their support of the demonstrations that take place on a weekly basis, calling for an end to the military occupation and settler violence – and to reiterate this call.

During the last few weeks, soldiers have been attacking peaceful protesters. Many Palestinians, internationals and Israelis have been assaulted and arrested by the Israeli army. Some of the Palestinians were also beaten in prison.

The soldiers have also threatened leaders of the movement with lengthy prison terms, up to 10 years. In addition to this, they have sent agents to threaten and intimidate shopkeepers. Three shops were forcefully closed down last week.

A young boy watches Israeli soldiers patrolling in occupied Hebron

In light of all of this repression, the leaders have decided to temporarily suspend the protests. The crowd met and marched through the Old City. Shopkeepers were given certificates thanking them for supporting the struggle.

There were soldiers watching the procession from the roofs, and six of them followed the people from behind. They did not try to interfere and in the end went back to their base. The group Youth Against Settlements will be organizing more events in the future to continue the struggle for justice in Hebron.

Iraq Burin

Yesterday in the small village of Iraq Burin, nonviolent demonstrators were attacked by the Israeli army and Border Police, who fired tear gas and sound bombs at the protestors. Since a flying checkpoint is regularly used to close the road into the village along the main road from Nablus, preventing access to internationals and media, and the young men of the village suspected of taking part in the demonstrations, a long hike across a valley leads up to the hill-top village. Demonstrations happen every Saturday, but tensions have been high since the murder of two young boys by an Israeli military sniper took place inside the village in March this year.

A large group of Palestinians gathered on the outskirts of the village and three internationals who had skirted the checkpoint were also present. The demonstration began with around thirty or more Palestinians attempting to scale the steep hill opposite the village, where Israeli soldiers were already in position. The soldiers responded to the demonstration by – illegally – firing teargas canisters directly at Palestinians and internationals, firing downhill at the upper body. At least two Palestinians received injuries from the canisters on the neck and shoulders, and one international was hit in the back although none were seriously hurt because each ricocheted off a rock first. Tear gas and sound bombs were also shot in the direction of the village and those not even taking part in the demonstration but watching from the opposite hill. The demonstration continued for approximately an hour, when Israeli Border police arrived and the demonstrators were forced to retreat. Thankfully, no live fire has been used since the murders but the isolation of the protest by the military creates a dangerous situation, as it is difficult for media and international volunteers to be present, increasing the chances that the Israeli army will use weapons with reckless disregard for human life.

21 August 2010 | The Guardian

Jewish-American Emily Henochowicz recalls how she lost an eye at a protest in Israel after the storming of the Gaza aid flotilla

As a student artist, Emily Henochowicz has always been fascinated by the way the brain processes visual signals to form images of the physical world around us. That has been a theme of her work at the prestigious New York art college, Cooper Union, which she joined three years ago.

In her first term she made a costume out of papier-mache for the inaugural freshman’s parade that neatly expressed that fascination. It was meant to be a monster cyclops, but the way it came out it resembled a giant eyeball with her arms and legs sticking out of it.

For more than a year she has used a photograph of that eyeball as the icon of her art blog, thirsty pixels. It is all too ironic, she laughs now. The irony is that in May Henochowicz became – in her own words – a cyclops. She lost her left eye as she was demonstrating against Israeli government policy in the Palestinian occupied territories.

With her loss, she became yet another casualty of the ongoing Israeli occupation. But what makes Henochowicz’s story singular was that her experiences were filtered through the lens, the eye, of an artist.

It was art that took her to the Middle East in the first place. She signed up to an animation course in Jerusalem that suited her passion for drawing.

Her choice of Jerusalem had little to do with the fact that she was the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, or that her father was born in Israel and that she herself was Jewish and an Israeli citizen. It had even less to do with any political beliefs she might have on either side of the Israeli-Palestinian divide, though she had been disturbed by Israel’s conduct in the Gaza war of 2008-9.

It was all about art. But a month after she arrived in Jerusalem, an Israeli friend and peace activist took her into Palestinian East Jerusalem. That day changed everything.

“It was a little bit shocking,” she says, recalling the event in a Manhattan cafe. “Suddenly a huge group of Hassidim came down the street. These little Palestinian kids – just five or six years old – linked arms and were standing in the middle of the street. The Hassidim were on the other side, singing prayers at them. It was such a powerful image for me: that line of children, so strong and defiant, this huge group of adults in front of them.”

The next day Henochowicz captured the moment in a dramatic painting that shows the children in front of a swirl of black-clad Jewish men. And then she acted on impulse – something that as an artist she says she is wont to do. She went to Ramallah on the West Bank and joined the protest campaign the International Solidarity Movement.

Over the next few weeks Henochowicz threw herself into the fray, protesting outside Israeli settlements in the West Bank and along the separation wall. She was aware of the dangers, not least because it was with the ISM that fellow-American Rachel Corrie had been demonstrating in 2003 when she was crushed to death by a bulldozer.

“I had a fear the whole time I was going to get hit with tear gas,” Henochowicz says. “I knew the way that it was used. Forget UN regulations, this is Israel, the rules don’t apply here – tear gas is fired directly into crowds.”

At first she kept what she was doing from her parents, certain that they would disapprove. But eventually she told them.

“They were incredibly upset, particularly my dad. He had been to Yeshiva, Jewish school, and speaks Hebrew.’ How could you do this to me?’ he said, but I wasn’t doing it to him.”

Paradoxically, shortly before the incident in which she lost her eye, Henochowicz decided, partly out of concern for her parents, that she would avoid demonstrations and dedicate herself instead to teaching art to Palestinian children. But on the morning of 31 May she awoke to the news that a Turkish flotilla attempting to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza had been raided and nine activists killed.

Mayhem and confusion ensued. She was swept along by the reaction, and found herself at a protest rally at the Qaladiya checkpoint, facing Israeli soldiers. “I was scared in a way I’d never been before.”

It was so quick, maybe just a minute from the first stones being thrown to the tear gas canister striking her in the face.

“I remember a weird crunch feeling and thinking, ‘Oh, I’ve been hit!’ Then there was the thought: ‘Hey guys, my brain’s ok! My brain’s ok!”

“And then I remember falling back and being held, and cameras rushing to me and clicking away and me thinking ‘Oh, I’ve become one of those images’.”

She was treated in a hospital in Ramallah and Jerusalem before returning to Maryland in the US. She has had multiple operations for a fractured skull as well as losing the eye.

The Israeli government has refused to pay thousands of dollars in medical costs, on the grounds that Henochowicz chose to put herself at risk and that she was hit by mistake by a ricochet.

“That’s preposterous,” she says. “A ricochet? From what wall? Where? How? This was no ricochet.”

Henochowicz is now preparing for term to start at Cooper Union. She wears a pair of glasses, the left lens of which she has painted with swirls to obscure the empty socket behind it.

She says she has adapted with amazing speed to the loss. “I go through a lot of my days not even thinking that I’m seeing only through one eye. I’m so fine in other ways, I’m perfectly healthy.”

She stresses how unfair she thinks it is that she gets so much attention, while Palestinians who are injured with depressing frequency go without notice. “I’m white, I’m Jewish, I’m an Israeli citizen and American. When I’m hit by tear gas there are articles, the Israeli government gets involved. When Palestinians are hit, who gives a shit?”

She doesn’t know what the longer-term impact will be on her art. She remembers telling the doctor who informed her she had lost an eye: “But I’m an artist, that’s not supposed to happen!”

“I’ve been sad because this is a moment in my life I can never escape, and that’s what gets me more than the loss of my eye,” she says. “Twenty years from now I will still carry this moment, and I desperately don’t want it to be the end of my story.”

20 August 2010

On Thursday 12 August 2010 Swedish peace activist Marcus Regnander’s legal battle with the Police Department of Hebron ended successfully. His appeal against a sentence which banned him from the West Bank for six months, after being convicted – despite the absence of any evidence – of assaulting a soldier, was filed at the District Court in Jerusalem.

Regnander, a nursing student from Gothenburg, was arrested at the Tel Rumedia checkpoint on the night of July 20th, accused of having assaulted a soldier during a demonstration nine days before. He maintained throughout that he was completely innocent of any crime and according to several witnesses the charges against him were completely fabricated. However he was taken to an Israeli jail where he spent three days.

During his imprisonment Regnander was not given any information about his own case, was not allowed to make or receive phone calls, and was never given the opportunity to present any evidence of his innocence. In all he spent three nights and a total of 60 hours in police custody, during which time he was given only two meals. Regnander said that he was not allowed to sleep properly because Israeli guards kept turning on lights, yelling and “pushing me in different directions”.

His first court appearance, within 24 hours of his arrest, saw the judge presiding over the trial at the Court of Peace in Jerusalem note the absence of evidence presented against him – but instead of throwing the case out, instead granted the police more time to investigate, ordering that Regnander be held in custody for a further 48 hours. Following the judge’s ruling he was led away in handcuffs and shackled at the ankles.

The second trial was held on July 23rd in a Hebrew-speaking court, with no translator provided. Israeli activists who came to the court to help translate were not let in. Regnander did not understand the proceedings and when he signed conditions stating that he could not be in the West Bank for 180 days or within 500 metres of a checkpoint “for the security of soldiers” he did so because he thought he had no choice.

On appeal, his lawyer Lymor Goldstein raised these judicial violations and before the case was heard Regnander accepted a new offer from the court that said he could return to the West Bank (but not to Area A or Area H2 in Hebron, or to attend any ‘illegal demonstrations’.) Regnander views this as a vindication of his innocence and a victory over the unjust Israeli justice system. He commented: “I’m glad to be back in the West Bank, but the most important thing about my appeal is that we broke the general trend. This success should prevent Israeli occupation forces arresting peace activists on fabricated charges again.”

ISM have launched an appeal for funds to help cover lawyers’ expenses for court cases as Israeli forces increasingly try to deter international activists by manipulating the legal system.