Last week in Sheikh Jarrah, a group of Zionists visited the area to show solidarity with racist Occupation and Israel's policy of ethnic cleansing. Your blood pressure will increase considerably while watching the video, so afterwards, go smoke a joint or play in the sun.
I haven't been writing much because recently I have been doing a lot of the tourist bit, as well as putting together a proposal for a fellowship. Lots of thoughts out there about Palestine, just not getting them written down. Thus the reliance on other people's videos and articles. Sorry.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
Video from An-Nabi Salih
From http://palsolidarity.org:
Collective Wall-Building Effort Baffles IOF in An-Nabi Salih
"Israeli army and border police used tear gas, stun grenades, rubber- and plastic-coated bullets, live ammunition and “stinky water” to disperse close to 150 Palestinians who tried to reach their village well in An-Nabi Salih. The villagers were accompanied by over 20 Israeli and international solidarity activists.
Following mid-day prayers, protesters marched towards the well and their agricultural lands but were immediately confronted with tear-gas and rubber-coated bullets. A group of 50 settlers from the neighboring settlement of Halamish watched as the Israeli Occupation Forces attacked the Palestinians. In total, 14 protesters were injured, including one hit in the face with a tear gas canister.
The march began in its usual fashion. Villagers, Israelis and internationals descended the hillside to attempt to plant olive trees in the settler-occupied land. As the contingent came within 50 meters of the road that splits An Nabi-Salih, IOF soldiers launched 15-20 tear gas grenades in rapid succession. The group went up the hill to regroup and there was an hour-long lull in the demonstration.
During this respite, a smaller group of Palestinians, Israelis and internationals began tending to the fields near the road dividing the settlement and the village. In unison, they moved large boulders and rocks to build a series of three retaining walls that will further the growth of the crops in An-Nabi Salih. Differences that seemingly divide some were forgotten in that respite from the tear gas. Words such as “ownership” and “territory” were not a part of the repertoire.
The group’s project moved them closer to the road and the 6 soldiers guarding it. As the laborers approached, the soldiers appeared flabbergasted as they didn’t know how to handle such a situation. Those soldiers knew only force and how to implement it to repress, but this show of solidarity was something quite different then anything there training had taught them. Confused looks were all they could muster.
The irony of building walls collectively wasn’t lost to the group, when barriers physical and social that keep two cultures far from one another pervade their daily lives. These walls were different. They didn’t divide, they were not impassable. These walls unified. They paved the way for An-Nabi Salih future crops. Crops that would come to fruition, in some degree, being nurtured through the solidarity between two cultures. It may be awhile, but perhaps they’ll be able to sit at a table, lacking the presence of soldiers, tear gas and conflict, and enjoy the fruits of the labor.
Wall construction ended when shots were heard from the southern edge of the village. ISM activists battled clouds of tear gas with hands visibly extended in order to reach an An-Nabi Salih home, containing women and children, which had been surrounded by IOF forces. Soldiers thankfully descended the hill after several tense moments.
Barricades were set up on the main road leading to An-Nabi Salih, using rocks and burning tires. At around 2pm, a group of soldiers entered the village from the southwest side and fired rubber-coated bullets and tear gas at protesters, endangering villagers trapped inside their homes. “Stinky water” was used twice on protesters.
At around 5pm, a group of approximately 8 soldiers occupied the roof of a villager’s house, firing plastic-coated bullets and tear gas at protesters below. The villager reported that when soldiers entered his home, they pointed their guns at him and told him not to move or they would kill him. Four adults and six children were trapped in the house until the soldiers left, but not before damaging the family’s internet receiver, located on the roof.
Thirty minutes later, the soldiers entered the same home again, cutting the back-yard fence in order to pass through. An ISM activist present at the house was told not to film the soldiers’ actions. When the activist continued taking pictures from the entrance of the home, one soldier threw a stun grenade that exploded less than 3 meters from the activist and a young child.
The protest ended around 6pm, when soldiers began to use live ammunition.
The weekly Friday demonstrations in An-Nabi Salih commenced in December 2009, in protest to the uprooting of hundreds of olive trees by settlers from Halamish settlement. Construction of Halamish settlement began on farmland belonging to An-Nabi Salih and neighbouring villages in 1977. Conflict between the settlement and villagers reawakened in the past month due to the settler’s attempt to re-annex An Nabi Salih land despite the December 2009 Israeli court case that ruled the property rights of the land to the An Nabi Salih residents. Despite the Israeli District Co-ordination Office’s promise to allow the village unrestricted passage to the land, farmers have been barred and violently assaulted when they attempted to access the land in question. An Nabi Salih’s resistance mirrors the ongoing resistance in Bi’lin, Ni’lin and the burgeoning popular struggle in Sheikh Jarrah, Iraq Burin, Burin and Al-Ma’asara."
Collective Wall-Building Effort Baffles IOF in An-Nabi Salih
"Israeli army and border police used tear gas, stun grenades, rubber- and plastic-coated bullets, live ammunition and “stinky water” to disperse close to 150 Palestinians who tried to reach their village well in An-Nabi Salih. The villagers were accompanied by over 20 Israeli and international solidarity activists.
Following mid-day prayers, protesters marched towards the well and their agricultural lands but were immediately confronted with tear-gas and rubber-coated bullets. A group of 50 settlers from the neighboring settlement of Halamish watched as the Israeli Occupation Forces attacked the Palestinians. In total, 14 protesters were injured, including one hit in the face with a tear gas canister.
The march began in its usual fashion. Villagers, Israelis and internationals descended the hillside to attempt to plant olive trees in the settler-occupied land. As the contingent came within 50 meters of the road that splits An Nabi-Salih, IOF soldiers launched 15-20 tear gas grenades in rapid succession. The group went up the hill to regroup and there was an hour-long lull in the demonstration.
During this respite, a smaller group of Palestinians, Israelis and internationals began tending to the fields near the road dividing the settlement and the village. In unison, they moved large boulders and rocks to build a series of three retaining walls that will further the growth of the crops in An-Nabi Salih. Differences that seemingly divide some were forgotten in that respite from the tear gas. Words such as “ownership” and “territory” were not a part of the repertoire.
The group’s project moved them closer to the road and the 6 soldiers guarding it. As the laborers approached, the soldiers appeared flabbergasted as they didn’t know how to handle such a situation. Those soldiers knew only force and how to implement it to repress, but this show of solidarity was something quite different then anything there training had taught them. Confused looks were all they could muster.
The irony of building walls collectively wasn’t lost to the group, when barriers physical and social that keep two cultures far from one another pervade their daily lives. These walls were different. They didn’t divide, they were not impassable. These walls unified. They paved the way for An-Nabi Salih future crops. Crops that would come to fruition, in some degree, being nurtured through the solidarity between two cultures. It may be awhile, but perhaps they’ll be able to sit at a table, lacking the presence of soldiers, tear gas and conflict, and enjoy the fruits of the labor.
Wall construction ended when shots were heard from the southern edge of the village. ISM activists battled clouds of tear gas with hands visibly extended in order to reach an An-Nabi Salih home, containing women and children, which had been surrounded by IOF forces. Soldiers thankfully descended the hill after several tense moments.
Barricades were set up on the main road leading to An-Nabi Salih, using rocks and burning tires. At around 2pm, a group of soldiers entered the village from the southwest side and fired rubber-coated bullets and tear gas at protesters, endangering villagers trapped inside their homes. “Stinky water” was used twice on protesters.
At around 5pm, a group of approximately 8 soldiers occupied the roof of a villager’s house, firing plastic-coated bullets and tear gas at protesters below. The villager reported that when soldiers entered his home, they pointed their guns at him and told him not to move or they would kill him. Four adults and six children were trapped in the house until the soldiers left, but not before damaging the family’s internet receiver, located on the roof.
Thirty minutes later, the soldiers entered the same home again, cutting the back-yard fence in order to pass through. An ISM activist present at the house was told not to film the soldiers’ actions. When the activist continued taking pictures from the entrance of the home, one soldier threw a stun grenade that exploded less than 3 meters from the activist and a young child.
The protest ended around 6pm, when soldiers began to use live ammunition.
The weekly Friday demonstrations in An-Nabi Salih commenced in December 2009, in protest to the uprooting of hundreds of olive trees by settlers from Halamish settlement. Construction of Halamish settlement began on farmland belonging to An-Nabi Salih and neighbouring villages in 1977. Conflict between the settlement and villagers reawakened in the past month due to the settler’s attempt to re-annex An Nabi Salih land despite the December 2009 Israeli court case that ruled the property rights of the land to the An Nabi Salih residents. Despite the Israeli District Co-ordination Office’s promise to allow the village unrestricted passage to the land, farmers have been barred and violently assaulted when they attempted to access the land in question. An Nabi Salih’s resistance mirrors the ongoing resistance in Bi’lin, Ni’lin and the burgeoning popular struggle in Sheikh Jarrah, Iraq Burin, Burin and Al-Ma’asara."
Sunday, February 7, 2010
In Defense of Rock Throwing
In the latest phase of Palestinian resistance to occupation on their indigenous lands, the "Popular Committees" are getting complete (and often derogatory) coverage by the Israeli and foreign media. While the basic demands that Palestinians are fighting for - access to their land, an end to the construction of the Apartheid Wall, an end to settlement growth, etc. - are often overlooked, there has been much talk about the "violence" of Palestinian resistance. It has become almost the norm in the media that the Israeli army uses toxic gases, sound grenades, rubber bullets and plastic-coated steel bullets (note the distinction: the steel bullets actually have a 1/8" plastic coating, which delivers a extremely painful punch) against Palestinian demonstrators. Even when live bullets are shot (which is not rare), the Israeli and foreign media protest little.
But there is usually always a distinction in the press between "peaceful" Palestinians and "violent" ones, usually the youth. They are "violent" because they throw rocks at soldiers. This division is usually echoed by "peace-loving" foreigners, who many a time I have heard question why Palestinians resort to throwing rocks. It seems strange to some that a people who have had their lands stolen and are continually harassed, arrested, beaten and killed, would resort to throwing rocks against a vastly superior oppressive force, armed with the latest weaponry.
Sometimes you can hear foreigners saying, "Oh, you should check out Bil'in. It's much more peaceful. Nilin is crazy. They are hard-core: they fight the army." There becomes a neo-colonialist, paternalizing attitude to judge which resistance is more "legitimate".
But many Palestinians are starting to reject the idea that resistance means being humiliated, slapped around and arrested, while the world watches to see if the Occupation will eventually disappear on its own. In An-Nabi Salih, a village of 400 people northwest of Ramallah, I was talking with a member of the town's Popular Committee, formed a little over a month ago to coordinate weekly demonstrations against the theft of the town's water spring by the adjacent settlement of Halamish. He correctly pointed out that despite the "peaceful" resistance of Bil'in, many of their leaders are in jail and the army has begun night raids of the village.
"We invite internationals to come and support us. It's important to see what is happening and tell the world. But we don't want internationals to come and tell us how to run our demonstrations. It's our land that was stolen, why can't we resist?" He explains to me over breakfast before the Friday demonstration that with the repression against the Popular Committees and peaceful protests increasing, Palestinians may find inevitable a return to armed struggle, a situation he feels would not be productive.
In the first demonstration that the villagers of An-Nabi Salih coordinated, olive trees were taken as symbols of peace and a return to their stolen land. Despite their peaceful first intent, the army would not allow them to demonstrate and used heavy force to break up the march. Subsequent demonstrations saw the army enter the village, beating men and women, and in one case, throwing gas into a house full of children.
This past Friday, the villagers decided not to back down. Even before we had reached 20 meters past the last house in the village, the army had opened up their arsenal against us. However, the villagers set up barricades - made of boulders, burning tires and trash cans - on the roads leading to the village and for over four hours in the cold and rain, managed to keep the Israeli army out. Some 10 Palestinians were injured with gas and rubber- and plastic-coated bullets.
With the resistance spreading all over the West Bank, Israel continues to crack down on foreign activists who are talking about what's going on. This morning, Israel raided the ISM apartment in Ramallah - in full violation of the Oslo Accords which gave total control of "Area A" areas like Ramallah to the Palestinian Authority - and once again, arrested and are trying to deport two compañeras. Aside from citing expired visas, the Israeli Occupation Authorities claimed that they "were known to be involved in illegal violence". Documenting the "legal" violence of the Israeli army is a crime. I encourage more would-be criminals to come out to Palestine and break the law. International and Israeli presence at these marches is crucial to prevent a complete assault against the Palestinians.
Many people think that resisting occupation means that Palestinians hate Israelies, or Muslims hate Jews. While that idea might represent a small minority of people, the overwhelming majority of people simply want freedom, and they have a right to resist oppression. When Britain occupied the United States, we used more than just stones to resist. Lots of people died, and yet now there is peace (and Tony Blair lives in the American Colony Hotel). Germany occupied France at one time, now they trade sauerkraut and frogs legs. Racism and imperialism continues to oppress the Native Americans, even if they aren't rising up with sticks or guns. So talk a break from debating Palestinian "violence" and throw some rocks.
More information on the Popular Resistance, see www.awalls.org
Monday, February 1, 2010
Settler Attack in Sheikh Jarrah
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