I am a political activist who has worked and lived in the West Bank of the Occupied Palestinian Territories. This blog chronicles my time in Palestine and also provides news and analysis about Palestine and the situation on the ground in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Showing posts with label non-violent demonstrations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label non-violent demonstrations. Show all posts
Dear friends, as you will be aware, last week marked the 63rd anniversary of the Palestinian Nakab (the catastrophe) which marks the destruction of Palestinian society, when more than 500 Palestinian villages were forcibly depopulated by Zionist forces and more than 1 million Palestinians were ethnically cleansed from their homes. 750,000 of the 1 million ethnically cleansed became refugees in neighbouring Arab countries and 150,000 became internally displaced refugees inside the newly formed Israeli state and were subject to military rule for 17 years from 1949 until 1966 (Palestinian Arabs in Israel continue to face discrimination and inequality today). The Palestinian refugee community is the biggest and oldest in the world, with 7 million Palestinians living in exile.
Throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territories in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, demonstrations were held to commemorate the Nakba. Palestinians from around the world also staged demonstrations, including refugee communities in Syria http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifand Lebanon. Palestinian refugees from Syria crossed the border between Syria and the Golan Heights, which is Syrian territory illegally occupied by Israel. In Lebanon, Palestinian refugees attempted to march back to their homeland and cross the border into Israel. The Israeli military opened fire on the refugees wounding hundreds and killing 12 people.
The US based Atlantic Newspaper ran a photo-essay with photos from the demonstrations both in the OPT and on the borders. I have include a couple of the most stunning photos here, but you can view all the photos here.
Also please find below a brief video of the demonstration which took place at Qalandia checkpoint (the main Israeli military checkpoint between Jerusalem and Ramallah) and footage from the al Nakba demonstration in the small village of An Nabi Saleh which was brutally repressed by the Israeli military (please note the violence by the military in the footage is extreme).
in solidarity, Kim
Palestinian protesters at Syrian-Golan Heights border on May 15.(Jalaa Marey/JINI/Getty Images
A Palestinian man holding a Palestinian flag looks at fellow demonstrators gathering at Maroun al-Rass near the Israeli border in South Lebanon on May 15, 2011.(Reuters/Ali Hashisho)
Palestinian man and Israeli activist, Jonathan Pollak, struggle after being overcome by tear gas fired by Israeli Occupation Forces at demonstrators on May 15, 2011 at Qalandiya checkpoint near Ramallah, West Bank. (Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)
Undercover Israeli Occupation Force office dressed as a Palestinian woman detains Palestinian protester during demonstration at Shuafat refugee camp in the West Bank near Jerusalem on May 15, 2011. (Reuters/Baz Ratner)
Nakba Day demonstration at Qalandia Checkpoint
Nakba Demonstration in the village of An Nabi Saleh, north of Ramallah video by Tamimi Press
by Popular Struggle Coordination Committee http://www.popularstruggle.org/content/teen-critically-injured-israel-cracks-down-nakba-demos
17 year-old was critically injured from live fire in East Jerusalem. An American protester suffered serious head injury after being hit by a tear-gas projectile shot directly at him from close range.
Israeli military and police forces responded heavy handedly to demonstrations commemorating 63 years to the Palestinian Nakba (catastrophe) of 1948 today all over the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Morad Ayyash, a 17 year old from the Ras el-Amud neighborhood was shot in the stomach with live ammunition. He has reached the Muqassed hospital with no pulse and the doctors are now fighting for his life.
Tension also rose in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, where 19 protesters have been injured and 11 were arrested. During the evening hours, large police forces raided houses in Silwan and carried out additional arrests.
In the village of Ma'asara, south of Bethlehem, two protesters were arrested during a peaceful demonstration that was attacked with tear-gas for no apparent reason. One of those arrested is a member of the village's popular committee. In Nabi Saleh - a regular target for military aggression recently - soldiers and Border Police officers injured no less than 25 protesters, including a Palestinian women in her 50s who was beaten up so badly that her wounds required her removal from the Salfeet Hospital to the bigger and more advanced Rafidiya Hospital in Nablus. A 25 year-old American demonstrator suffered a serious head injury and an Israeli activist was diagnosed with two open fractures in his hand. Both were injured by tear-gas projectiles shot directly at them from short range, in violation of the Israeli Army's open fire regulations. Four protesters were arrested in Nabi Saleh, including two Palestinian women.
Violence in Nabi Saleh started today after Israeli Border Police officers took over the village's main junction and tried to disperse the demonstration while it was still well inside the village, The officers began charging the peaceful protesters with batons, shooting large amounts of tear-gas - partly shot directly at the demonstrators - and carrying out arrests.
The Israeli military and police's violent and hysteric reaction to the Nakba day demonstrations today is an example to the fact that Israel cannot conceive handling Palestinian civil resistance to the Occupation in any means but military means. As September looms, it seems as if Israel chooses to tread not the path of democracy, but rather that of neighboring regimes like Egypt and Syria, and shoot at unarmed demonstrators.
Dear friends, the following action alert and call has been sent out in relation to the campaign to release Adeeb Abu Rahme, one of the leaders of the Bil'in non-violent struggle against the wall.
Many of us of have spent time in Bil'in have met Adeeb on a number of occassions. He is a tireless and dedicated activist. As the call notes, he and other leaders of the Bil'in struggle are being target in a new wave of intimidation by the Israeli occupation forces.
Please consider if you are able to send through a letter in support of Adeeb.
in solidarity, Kim
***
letters are needed before Thursday! subject line should be Adeeb Abu Rahme
http://palsolidarity.org/2009/07/7652
Adeeb Abu Rahme, a leading Palestinian non-violent peace activist was arrested in the weekly Bil’in demonstration against the Apartheid Wall (see the video, Adeeb is the protester in the orange shirt with the mega-phone http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqaO8lFYuM0 ). The Israeli military is charging Adeeb with “incitement to violence,” a charge that could bring a serious jail term. This charge is the culmination of a new attempt to “break” the non-violent resistance in Palestine by targeting the leaders of the non-violent protests.
Adeeb is currently in detention and will be taken in front of a military judge on Thursday, 16 July 2009. The military prosecutor intends to request for Adeeb to remain in detention until the end of the proceedings against him. This could mean months or a year in military prison for Adeeb, who is the sole provider for his family of 9 children, wife and mother.
In the past five years, many attempts have been made by the to break the spirit of the Bil’in protests. Every new commander in Bil’in has promised to break the resistance, using new weapons and increasing the level of violence against unarmed demonstrators. But the spirit and resilience of Bil’in residents and their supporters cannot be broken; every Friday they continue to march and chant against the theft of Palestinian land and the systemic violence of the Occupation.
In the past month, Israeli forces have attacked Bil’in and other villages with renewed vigor, raiding homes in the early hours of the morning to seize suspected demonstrators. Mostly children under the age of 18, they are interrogated and pressured to ‘confess’ that they throw stones at the instructions of the village leaders. The truth remains that village leaders discourage stone throwing and recognize that it is used as a tool by the Occupation to falsely accuse the demonstrations of instigating violence. The Bil’in Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements requested the presence of Israeli and international solidarity activists to document and discourage the night raids.
Anyone of the thousands who have marched with Adeeb can testify that despite provocation and serious attacks on his person, he has never responded violently. Attempts to criminalize the leadership of non-violent protests where curbed in the past with the help of an outpouring of support from people committed to justice from all over the world. We need you now to testify to Adeeb’s commitment to non-violence and to hold the Israeli military accountable for trying to destroy the resistance.
Please email your letter to palestinesolidarity@gmail.com
SAMPLE LETTER:
To whom it may concern,
I was disturbed to learn that Mr. Adeeb Abu Rahme, a leader in his village and participant in the non-violent demonstrations that take place in Bil’in every Friday, was arrested for peacefully demonstrating against Israel’s separation fence on July 10th, 2009 and is still being held in prison. Over the past five years Mr. Rahme and the leaders in Bil’in village have displayed an unshakable commitment to non-violence and dignified action.
Mr. Rahme in particular is well known for his commitment to the struggle for peace through non-violent means and for his willingness to work in partnership with Israelis. He is a respected member of the community. I am impressed with his honesty and commitment to non-violence. My understanding of Israeli law is that the right to demonstrate peacefully is protected. Mr. Rahme should be commended and not punished for his efforts.
I hope and trust that Mr. Rahme will be allowed to return to his family, including his 9 children, wife and mother for whom he is the sole supporter, and community without further delay and that his name be cleared of all accusations.
On Tuesday, July 29, Ahmed Ussam Yusef Mousa, aged 10, was shot dead with a single shot to the head by Israeli occupation forces. Ahmed was murdered, just before 6pm, when he and a group of youth from Ni'lin village attempted to dismantle a section of barbwire fencing erected on the village's land by the Israeli occupation forces.
Ahmed is now the twelfth person and seventh child to be killed by the Israeli occupation forces in demonstrations against the apartheid fence [1]. He is one of more than 840 Palestinian children killed by the Israeli Zionist state since the beginning of the Al Aqsa Intifada in September 2000 [2].
My IWPS team mate and myself received the news of Ahmed’s death last night as we arrived in Ramallah. Within fifteen minutes we were at the hospital. As we arrived Ahmed's little body was being brought into the hospital. My teammate and myself were "lucky" in that we did not see Ahmed but two of our friends and activists from the ISM, who were at the hospital, did. Both experienced activists, they spoke quietly and with disbelief of how tiny Ahmed was.
Ahmed (facing camera) with other boys from his village, a few hours before he died. Photo: Electronic Intifada and Palestine Solidarity Project
The initial shock, grief and tears we all felt were held at bay over the next few hours as we worked in the ISM's media office, ringing media persons, outlets, pulling together media releases. As we emailed out the press releases to the media and our various networks around the world, the emails poured in expressing shock, outrage and heartache.
Ahmed's father kisses him goodbye Photograph by Anne Paq, ActiveStills (published with permission from ActiveStills)
As the night wore on we sat with each other, listened and supported each other, especially with those of use who had close ties with the villagers of Ni'lin and who had witnessed the arrival of Ahmed's body at the hospital. None of us could sleep, although we were all exhausted and we sat in the garden as the early hours of the mourning came upon us. Finally at around 3am, we forced ourselves to go to bed, but we all spent a sleepless night thinking about the grief the family must be experiencing - their shock, horror and disbelief - that their little boy was no longer with them.
In the morning, other members of the ISM and IWPS began to arrive in Ramallah, so we could all go to the hospital at 10am to be part of Ahmed's funeral procession and to accompany his family home with his body. At 10.30am, Ahmed’s family arrived, accompanied by many of the villagers from Ni’lin who came to pay their respects. Soon Ahmed's body was brought out and placed in the ambulance. As the ambulance drove out of the hospital car park, we took our place in the funeral procession made up of dozens of cars filled with villagers and others had come to pay their respects. Over the next 45 minutes, as we made our way through the streets of centre of Ramallah, we were joined by more cars, trucks and taxis.
Young Palestinian mourner carries poster of Ahmed in funeral procession, Ramallah Photograph by Anne Paq, ActiveStills (published with permission from ActiveStills)
Mourners in cars during funeral procession for Ahmed Photograph by Anne Paq, ActiveStills (published with permission from ActiveStills)
Many of the cars displayed Ahmed's shihad or martyr poster (in Palestine the word martyr refers to anyone killed as a result of the Israeli occupation, not just militants who participate in suicide bombings or who are part of the armed resistance in the camps. Martyrs can be children and/or adults, who have died at the hands of the Israeli military). Ahmed’s poster displayed a handsome little boy, who was small and slight of build. Each time I looked at the poster, I wondered how anyone one could think that this tiny child could be such a threat to the security of their state? What could posses any person to think that the appropriate response to a small child was to fire live ammunition, deliberately shooting to kill?
As I looked at his photograph trying to image why Ahmed had to die, his funeral procession began to make its way out of Ramallah. As we left the city and began to traverse the hills and pass through the surrounding Palestinian villages, we sat in silence, very little to say to each other. As the procession drove on the chants from the Palestinian mourners continued, remembering Ahmed, God and opposing the occupation and the apartheid wall.
Funeral procession arrives outside of Ni'lin Photograph by Anne Paq, ActiveStills (published with permission from ActiveStills)
As we weaved our way through one village after another, more cars joined us and villagers came to stand on the streets to offer their silent condolences and respect for Ahmed and his family. Along with adults, young children also lined the streets of the villages we passed through. My heart broke as I watch their little faces, many of them too young to comprehend what the procession was about. But as I watched these small children through the windows of our car, I kept wondering if one day they too would share the same fate as Ahmed. And the sadness and anger in me grew once again.
Funeral procession carries Ahmed's body to Ni'lin
Funeral procession arrives at Ni'lin
As we approached Bil'in village, a young father stood on the side of the road, along with a group of young children, many no doubt his own. They stood silent, bravely, in dignity with Palestinian flags held high in remembrance of Ahmed. Suddenly, all the composure and restraint I had imposed on myself since we first heard the news of Ahmed’s death left me and tears began to stream down my face.
When we reached Bil'in, many of the village residents who had been active in the struggle to save the lands of their village were waiting for the funeral procession. As the procession wound through the village, many of them joined us, as we began to make the last leg of the journey to Ni’lin.
IOF attack funeral mourners, including ambulance which carried Ahmed's body Photograph by Anne Paq, ActiveStills (published with permission from ActiveStills)
As we neared the settler highway that we must traverse to get to Ni'lin, we began to anxiously scan the hills and fields for the Israeli occupation forces who would be waiting for the funeral procession. As rounded the last bend before the highway, we caught our first glimpse of them and wondered would they try and stop the funeral procession? Would the use violence us? Would they attack the funeral procession, as the Israeli military had done on so many occassions before?
As we reached the highway, we could see the Israeli occupation forces had blocked the road and stopped Israeli plated cars from continuing towards the village’s entrance. This sight was a relief. Perhaps, we thought, they will let the funeral procession proceed unhindered. However, as we got closer to the entrance of the village and we and the rest of the Palestinians mourners and other internationals poured out of the vehicles on to the highway, we could see the Israeli occupation forces had set up another barricade near the village entrance. While the barricade did not prevent entry to the village, it was a clear sign that the military want to make their presence known. By placing the barrier directly opposite the entrance, rather then setting it up 50 or 100 or 200 metres or more away as they could have easily have done, the Israeli military seemed intent on provoking a confrontation with the mourners.
Ahmeds' Funeral procession arrives at Ni'lin. Video by Emad Bornat
As Ahmed's tiny body, wrapped in his funeral shroud, was carried above the crowd, the mourners chanted his martyrdom, against the occupation and the wall and for the greatness of God. Soon, smaller groups broke off from the procession to confront the soldiers, yelling at them angrily, as the emotions, anger and grief surrounding Ahmed’s death spilled over. In response the Israeli occupation forces began to throw sound grenades and flash bombs. As myself and one of my IWPS teammates moved closer to the front line to try and offer some sort of international presence, teargas began to be fired by the Israeli military. For the next few minutes, we were caught between the military firing on us and the young Palestinian men throwing stones in response to the occupation forces attack on the funeral procession.
As people began to run, we were swept up in the chaos and at one point people tried to crush past a park car, resulting in several young boys being dragged down and trampled. Suddenly, I saw a man dragging the limp body of a young teenage boy and at first my heart went to my mouth, as I thought another child had been shot. As the young boy was dragged to safety, he began to gain consciousness and my relief was palpable.
Tears streaming down my eyes from the teargas, I tried to locate my team mate and the internationals amongst the mourners who began to regroup. Soon, the funeral procession began to make its way once again, with Ahmed’s tiny body, towards the mosque. As Ahmed was carried up the stairs into the mosque, prayers were called and we waited in quite vigil for Ahmed and his family.
When the prayers finished, Ahmed was brought from the mosque and taken once again by funeral procession to the village burial ground. We walked quietly, as again the chants from the villagers and others Palestinians spoke of Ahmed's martyrdom, God and the occupation.
As we approached the burial grounds, women stood atop the house near where little Ahmed would be buried. As the funeral procession passed by they ululated, performing the zachrohtah, the traditional sound made to wish someone well. In performing this tradition, the women sought to ensure Ahmed's journey to paradise would be happy and joyful.
Women mourners on roof of house, as funeral procession takes Ahmed to be buried
Archway of burial ground with posters of Ahmed
As the men accompanied Ahmed's body for burial, we decided to remain outside. As we waited quietly, two young girls, both under the age of ten, shyly came to say hello. As we conversed, they asked me my name, where I lived and other innocent questions. As I responded, in my badly pronounced Arabic, they also began to ask if I liked Noor, the widely popular Turkish soap opera (which is dubbed in Arabic) that is showing at the moment on Palestinian television. I asked them if they liked Mohanad, the male lead, who all the Palestinian girls and young women have fallen in love with and they told me yes. As I practiced my Arabic with them and spoke of the things little girls find interesting and joyful, I thought again of Ahmed who will never have the chance to play games with his friends or his family and of how he would never be able to speak of the television shows he loved. And again the sadness swept over me for Ahmed and for his family, who would miss him so much.
*17 year old, Yousef Ahmad Younis Amera was shot in the head, twice, with rubber coated steel bullets at close range by the Israeli military, in Ni’lin village several hours after Ahmed was buried. Yousef was declared brain dead several hours after he was shot by the Israeli occupation forces.
[1]International Solidarity Movement (29 July, 2008) Ten year old shot In Ni’lin http://www.palsolidarity.org/main/2008/07/29/10-year-old-shot-dead-at-nilin/ [2] Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, Statistics relation to the Al Aqsa Intifada http://www.pchrgaza.org/alaqsaintifada.html
More than 40 years ago, the Argentinean-born Cuban Revolutionary, Ernesto Che Guevara wrote in his message to the Tricontinental that the "forgotten peoples" of the world - the poor, oppressed and exploited – must "create two, three, many Vietnams" [1]. Written at the time when the Vietnamese people were waging their courageous struggle against US imperialism, Che noted that rebellion must flourish across the tricontinent (Asia, Latin America and Africa) and around the world and that it was the duty of the dispossessed and oppressed to "liberate ourselves at any price".
Today, the rebellion advocated by Che Guevara can be found in the many courageous struggles of the oppressed around the world for liberation, freedom and justice. In Palestine, this rebellion is evident in the brave struggles of the Palestinian villages, towns and cities throughout the occupied West Bank and Gaza, who oppose the brutal Israeli occupation and the erection of the illegal apartheid wall.
Since 2002, when Israel began the construction of its illegal wall, Palestinian villages, towns and cities have been engaged in non-violent struggle against all odds to defend their culture, land and livelihood. In 2003, villages such as Budrus, Al Midya, Deir Qadddis and Kharbata in the Ramallah district of the Occupied West Bank led the struggle in non-violent resistance against the wall, holding daily and/or weekly demonstrations. Budrus became one of the first villages to successful win an Israeli court order for the apartheid wall to be pushed back to the Green Line. In 2004, the village of Bil'in took up the baton of struggle and in the last three years has become the model for joint Palestinian-Israeli and International non-violent struggle throughout the occupied West Bank, inspiring other Palestinian villages and supporters of social justice and freedom all over the world.
As the village of Bil'in continue their struggle, they have been joined by the residents of another small Palestinian village, whose non-violent struggle is also inspiring Palestinians throughout the Occupied West Bank and making headlines throughout the world.
Nilin Village's Non-violent Struggle Against the Wall
In May, Ni'lin village, located just 10 kilometres from Bil'in village and on the 1948 Green (armistice) line became the latest Palestinian village to begin organising demonstrations against the building of the illegal apartheid wall and the stealing of their farm land by the Israeli state. In 1948, with the creation of the Israeli state, Ni'lin village lost more than 40,000 dunams (4000 hectares) of its land. Today, with the construction of the wall, the village will stand to lose a further 2500 dunams (250 hectares) of its agricultural land [2]
For the last two months, the villagers of Ni'lin, have been courageously holding 3 to 4 demonstrations a week against the destruction of their land and livelihoods. At each demonstration, they have also been joined in their struggle by Israeli and International peace activists, echoing Che's words that solidarity is "not a matter of wishing success to the victim of aggression, but of sharing his fate; one must accompany him to his death or to victory".
July 10: Villagers of Ni'lin, along with Israeli and international anti-occupaiton activists march to village fields to oppose confisication of land by the Israeli state for the apartheid wall.
The joint Palestinian-Israeli-International demonstrations have been so successful that the village has been able to disrupt and halt temporarily, three times, the construction work being carried out illegally on their land. This is the first time in several years that a Palestinian village has been able to successful halt the Israeli bulldozers and push back construction crews destroying their lands.
Because the village has refused to quietly accept the confiscation of their land, the Israel military retaliated by attempting to intimidate and to collectively punish (which is illegal under international law) the 5000 residents of the township. On July 4, Israel's occupation forces imposed a 4 day siege on the village, preventing the residents of Ni'lin from leaving and entering the village, as well as food and medical supplies from entering the village.
Al Jazeera report on the Israeli military siege of Ni'lin - 6 July, 2008
According to the Ni'lin Popular Committee Against the Apartheid Wall during the four day siege, Israeli occupation forces injured more than 50 villages with rubber coated-steel bullets, while three people were seriously injured by live ammunition [3]. In addition, hundreds of people suffered from respiratory problems to teargas inhalation when the Israeli military shot teargas at and into residential homes. More than 20 homes were invaded by the Israeli military during the siege, breaking personal property and beating the residents of the houses, including women, children and the elderly. During the siege, the Israeli military also dug up newly paved roads, wrecking parts of the municipal sewage system and also entered the local girl's schools breaking down doors and smashing windows.
One female Ni'lin resident was force to give birth at home without medical assistance, as the Israeli military refused to allow her to leave the village to go to hospital in Ramallah. During the first three days of the Israeli siege, ambulances and medical crews were unable to enter the village and as a result the injured remained untreated. Palestinians, Israeli and international peace activists who attempted to deliver food, milk and medicine to the besieged village were also prevented from entering, with the Israeli military using force – including beatings, teargas and rubber bullets - to prevent them carrying out their humanitarian mission. In addition, during the four day siege, the Israeli military also prevented the family of a deceased villager from entering the village, with the body of their deceased family member. As a result, the family was unable to bury their family member within the time prescribed within their religion.
Israeli soldier attacks non-violent Palestinian demonstrator
Photograph by Oren Ziv, ActiveStills (published with permission from ActiveStills)
Joint Palestinian-Israeli-International opposition to the apartheid wall
Photograph by Oren Ziv, ActiveStills (published with permission from ActiveStills)
Palestinian new agency, Maan News also reported on the fourth day of the curfew, that the Israeli military violently attacked village residents as they attempted to demonstrate against the illegal curfew imposed on their village [4]. According to Maan, Jamil Srur, an electrician from the village, who did not participate in the demonstration was hit by a live bullet in the stomach when he was watching the demonstration from his door way. According to Maan News, "the bullet lodged itself into Srur's back" and "doctors were unable to remove the bullet, for fear that the damage to his spine will cause paralysis". Maan also reported that Mutia' Amira, a 32 year old construction worker whose family will lose approximately 9 dunums of land to apartheid wall was also hit in the knee with live ammunition fired by the Israeli military as he took part in the demonstration.
Palestinian, Israeli and international anti-occupations activist march from the village of Budrus (next to Ni'lin) in an attempt to deliver urgently needed supplies and to break the siege. 7 July, 2008
According to the Popular Committee, since demonstrations began in late May, to date more than 160 people, including children, have now been injured by rubber coated steel bullets fired by the Israeli military, while hundreds of non-violent protesters have been brutally beaten by the Israeli military during the protests and more than 26 people have been arrested.
The Palestinian Medical Relief Society who provides medical assistance to villagers during the demonstrations have also reported the Israeli military have fired indiscriminately on their health workers and vehicles, with one ambulance being hit at least 15 times by bullets fired by the Israeli military [5]. According to the 29 year old PMRS health worker driving the ambulance and who was trying to reach an injured youth, "This is not a one-off incident, but it's part of a wider series of attacks against medical staff. I have been attacked three times before under similar circumstances in Bil'in village". The driver noted that the attack by the Israeli military was "deliberate" and a "targeted act of violence".
Despite four days of siege, the villagers of Ni'lin emerged defiant. In a statement released on July 8th, the day following the lifting of the Israeli siege, the Ni'lin Popular Committee Against the Apartheid Wall said "the people of Ni'lin will not give up their right to defend their basic human, economic and social rights and therefore will not relinquish their right to protest against the confiscation of their land. The people of Ni'lin are also not willing to give up their right to stand up against the construction of a Wall that has been declared illegal by the International Court of Justice" [6]
On July 9 and 10, the village organised two more demonstrations. On July 9, the villages, joined by Israeli and international anti-occupation activists were again able to reach the wall construction area and temporarily stop construction work pushing back a bulldozer and preventing it from continuing its work.
The following day, hundreds of villagers were joined by other Palestinians from nearby villagers, as well as around a hundred Israeli and international activists. The peaceful rally was brutally attacked by the Israeli military. While the Israeli occupation forces were able to successfully split the demonstration, preventing half of the demonstrators from getting from the side of the wadi (valley) closest to the village to the other side where the construction work was talking place, at least a hundred demonstrators were able to make it that side of the wadi. Demonstrators on the village side of the wadi were prevented by teargas and rubber bullets from entering the wadi.
Palestinian-Israeli-International non-violent demonstrators attempt to get to construction site to stop the destruction of Ni'lin's land.
Injured Israeli anti-occupation activist
From our vantage point at the top of the wadi, we were able to witness the Israeli military severely beating Palestinian, Israel and International non-violent demonstrators on the other side of the wadi. At least 8 Palestinian villagers, 6 Israeli anti-occupation activists and at least two international activists were seriously injured. Several villagers and Israeli anti-occupation activists received rifle butts to the head, causing severe bruising and cuts to their eyes, while others were badly beaten around the legs, arms and hands resulting in many of them not being able to walk without considerable pain for at least a week. One Israeli activist was injured when he was hit in the head with a teargas canister fired directly into the unarmed demonstrators, while an elderly female international activist was injured when hit with a rubber coated steel bullet.
Injured Israeli anti-occupation activists
Photograph by Oren Ziv, ActiveStills (published with permission from ActiveStills)
Injured Israeli anti-occupation activists
Photograph by Oren Ziv, ActiveStills (published with permission from ActiveStills)
As the demonstration drew to a close and the injured were attended to in the small village medical clinic, Palestinian Prime Minister, Salaam Fayyad surrounded by an entourage of cars and security barreled into the village. But despite all the trappings of leadership, today, in Palestine, the true leadership of the people lies not within the sterile and quisling parameters of the Palestinian Authority lead by the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas and his unelected and appointed Prime Minister, Fayaad. Instead, it is in the Palestinian villages, townships and cities, where rebellion and struggle has not been forsaken. As Che noted in, "the active mobilisation of the people creates its new leaders" because it is in the framework and hardship of real struggle, that "the people create their warriors and leaders…" who will be the ones to win their people's liberation as they create two, three, many Ni'lins.
As the village of Ni'lin takes up the leadership of the non-violent resistance to oppression and occupation, the courage of its villagers and the courage of their brothers and sisters in Bil'in, Al Masra, Umm Sulummuna, Azzoun Atma, Al Khader and other villages throughout the occupied West Bank and Gaza deserve no lesser words then those reserved by Che for the Vietnamese people in 1966: "what greatness has been shown by this people! What a stoic and courageous people! And what a lesson for the world their struggle holds".
Non-violent demonstration in Ni'lin on July 13.
[1] Guevara, E., Message to the Tricontinental – Create two, three many Vietnams. http://www.rcgfrfi.easynet.co.uk/ww/guevara/1967-mtt.htm
[2] McCarthy, R., (8 July, 2008) We have no alternative than peaceful protest. The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jul/08/israelandthepalestinians.middleeast
[3] and [6] Statement from the Ni'lin Popular Committee against the Wall (9 July, 2008) International Solidarity Movement http://www.palsolidarity.org/main/2008/07/09/statement-from-the-nilin-popular-commuttee-against-the-apartheid-wall/
[4] Maan News (12 July, 2008) Many injured or detained at Ni'lin march
[5]Palestinian Medical Relief Society (26 June, 2008) Israeli Soldiers Deliberately Attack PMRS Health Worker http://www.pmrs.ps/last/etemplate.php?id=247
Nil’in village has become the latest village to begin organising demonstrations against the building of the apartheid wall and the stealing of their farm land by the Israeli state.
The village is located in the Ramallah district, approximately 10 kilometres from the village of Bil’in which has conducted a non-stop struggle against the confiscation of their land and the building of the apartheid wall on their land for the past three years.
In 2003, other villages in the region, including Budrus, Al Midya, Deir Qadddis and Kharbata led the struggle in non-violent resistance against the wall, holding daily and/or weekly demonstrations. Budrus became one of the first villages to successful win an Israeli court order for the aparthied wall to be pushed back to the Green Line.
In the last week of May 2008, construction began once again on the land belonging to Nil’in village in order to build the apartheid wall. Since construction began, the village has held large demonstrations nearly every second day. The village has been joined in their demonstrations by International solidarity activists and Israeli anti-occupation activists.
In response to the demonstrations, the Israel military have reacted with extreme violence, including firing massive amounts of teargas from new weaponry mounted on jeeps. The weaponry consists of cannons which are capable of firing between 10 and 15 teargas canisters simultaneously.
The biggest of the demonstrations, which happened last week, have involved around 500people, the majority from the village of Nil’in.
On Friday night, the village held an innovative protest in which they assembled close to the fence line of the illegal Israeli settlement of Hashmon’im with pots and pans banging them to signal the poverty that Palestinians were suffering. They were also “armed” with other noise makers such as whistles and sirens to represent they would not be quite and accept the stealing of their land.
On June 8, approximately 120 Palestinian, Israeli and International demonstrators marched to Nil’in’s fields in an attempt to stop the destruction of their land. The non-violent demonstration was met with force by the Israeli military, who opened fire on the unarmed demonstrators. The front line of the demonstration, which was made up of Israeli anti-occupation activists, many from the Israeli Anarchists Against the Wall, were less then 10 metres from the soldiers. The Israeli soldiers, in violation of their own military regulations, fired directly into the front line. An Israeli photojournalist activist was hit by a teargas canister at close range, inflicting a deep wound near his hip. A number of times during the demonstration, canisters in large numbers fired at waist level, whizzed by myself and other activists. A Palestinian activist and an Israeli anti-occupation from Anarchists Against the Wall were detained and arrested by the Israeli military.
Nil’in village has vowed to continue its demonstrations against the confiscation of their farm land and the building of the Apartheid Wall.
Non-violent anti-wall demonstrators march to Nil'in's farm land.
Israeli non-violent anti-occupation activists from Anarchists Against the Wall and media on front line of demonstration. The photo was taken just before the Israeli military opened fire with teargas canisters directly into the group.
Israeli soldier armed with a tear gas launcher
Teargas fired at unarmed, non-violent demonstrators by Israeli military. Photograph by Oren Ziv, ActiveStills (published with permission from ActiveStills)
Teargas Photograph by Oren Ziv, ActiveStills (published with permission from ActiveStills)
Teargas being fired by Israeli military Photograph by Oren Ziv, ActiveStills (published with permission from ActiveStills)
Israeli military forces arrest Palestinian demonstrator Photograph by Oren Ziv, ActiveStills (published with permission from ActiveStills)
Tear gas explodes, nears Palestinian demonstrators
Palestinian ambulance assists injured demonstrators who had been hit by teargas canisters or had been overcome with teargas inhilation
Israeli photojournalist injured by Israeli military, who fired directly into front line of demonstrators less then 10 metres away. This is illegal under the Israeli military's own operational regulations.
Close up of deep wound caused by tear gas canister fired directly into frontline of anti-wall demonstrators.
Two expended teargas cannisters fired at demonstrators in Nil'in by Israei military.
Palestinian children at Nil'in demonstration with banner. In the background is the illegal Israeli colony of Hashmon'im
