Friday, December 29, 2006

Palestine-Israel, Bil'in, Another Friday demonstration in the chain 29 Dec 2006

Another Friday demonstration in the persistent joint struggle against the separation and occupation. We started at noon a march from the center of village to the route of the separation fence - Palestinians from Bil'in and from the region, international activists and Israelis of the anarchists against the fence initiative. We chanted all the way to the route of the separation fence - seeing on the way the state force provocateurs at the fringe of the built area of the village - waiting for the stone thrower youngsters.
When we arrived at the blocked gate to the route of the separation fence and to the village lands beyond it we confronted verbally the guards. few comrades succeeded to move the spool of barbed wire and penetrate to the narrow pass between it and the first fence on the side of the rote. Gradually, the nonviolent demonstration moved along the route and more comrades succeeded to cross the spools of the barbed wire.

This tactic continued till we arrived near a better crossing an the tired state force stopped trying to prevent us from crossing the barbed wire spools. All along the demonstration we could hear the regular confrontation of stones versus shock and tear gas grenades, and shooting with rubber coated bullets, from the fringe of the built area of the village.

About an hour after we arrived at the fence, the demonstration ended and we returned to the village.... but the action continued. In a kind of a gesture towards the stone throwing youngsters (part of whom arrived with us to the fence, but refrained from disrupt the demo by stone throwing there - as they often do....), most of the returning demonstrators confronted the state forces engaged in confrontation with the stone throwers at the fringe of the village, trying to make them go away. At a certain point lot of activists were in the same not yet finished building with state force gendarmes, who refused to go away. It developed to a physical confrontation and few activists were injured. After state force reinforcement arrived, the nonviolent activists left the arena.

In the afternoon news program of the main public radio channel, they reported that 80 demonstrators confronted state force at the route of the fence, and two gendarmes were injured.

(Just the usual creative disinformation, that try to put together the nonviolent demonstration against the fence [guarded usually by soldiers] with the stone throwers which confront the border police gendarmes a kilometer away at the fringe of the built area of the village.)

Sunday, December 24, 2006

Israel-Palestine, Links to Media posts on activities israeli anarchists against the wall were involved in 24 Dec 2006

Renewed web site of the Israeli anarchists against the wall (and occupation too..) http://awalls.org
Link to Media posts on activities israeli anarchists against the wall were involved in since 29/07/2003

http://awalls.org/topics/press_clippings since 29/07/2003

Friday, December 22, 2006

Palestine-Israel, 100th weekly Friday joint demonstration in Bil'in against the separation fence and occupation 22 Dec 2006

The Israeli state still do not like the joint Friday demonstrations against the separation fence and occupation, (as was expressed by the patrolling armored car who found us waiting to the car to Bil'in and declared the area as closed military zone and ordered us to return to the Israeli territory.. which we ignored). However they adopted a less belligerent pattern. As usual there were Palestinians from the village, from neighboring villages, and from Ramallah, and as usual ISM international (including this day a two dozen strong delegation from Spain), and of course the Israeli activists of the anarchists against the wall that never missed any of the demos in Bil'in.
As usual we started at noon the march from center of village to the route of the separation fence. As usual we carried a banner and placards, chanting all the way. As usual we seen the border police gendarmes on the roof of the last house and around it as provocation inviting the youngsters of the village to start the usual battle of stones against shock and tear gas grenades and rubber coated bullets. As usual we marched the one kilometer road through the olive grooves. As usual we found the gate to the route of the separation route blocked, with few soldiers in front of it.

As usual, there was the verbal confrontation and and low intensity physical pushing to - mainly from the soldiers side. As usual (but not the previous Friday), there was also the "hero" youngster who throe few stones behind our backs and quickly run away... but not as usual, the soldiers did not respond with the usual barge of shock grenades... and the nonviolent demo continued without the expected disruption

after a while we started to walk along the rote of the fence and in many points comrades pulled the barbed wire spools protecting the fence of the rote the electronic one is in its middle. The less belligerent mode of the soldiers was expressed by their refraining from throwing on us shock or tear gas grenades or arresting the most daring - they just approached the ones who pulled the barbed wire and pushed them away....

As usual, we heard all along the grenades and the shooting from the fringe of the village - though it seemed to be in lower intensity than usual. We were able to pass the "war zone" and return to the village without the need for a long detour with only the remnants of tear gas bothering us.

Friday, December 15, 2006

Palestine-Israel, Bil'in, Another quite Friday demonstration against the separation fence and occupation 15 Dec 2006

It is probably the ninety ninth (99) Friday demonstration in a row (since February 2005) of the joint struggle of the Bil'in people and the Israeli anarchists against the wall initiative. Though the separation fence had already been built in the region, and in spite of the Israeli supreme court of "justice" approval of the robbery of most of the village lands on the west side of the separation fence, and even when lot of the village people do not support the Friday demonstrations any more - the struggle continue. There are still enough people of the village, of the Israelis anarchists against the wall, international activists, and Palestinians out of the village who persist. This Friday about 80 of us marched at noon from the village center on the road towards the route of the separation fence. Holding some flags and placards, and chanting all the way we arrived at the blocked gate to the other side of the fence. (When we exited the built area of the village we have seen on the two sides of it the Israeli state force waiting for the stone throwing youngsters who engage them with the stones against shock and tear gas grenades and rubber coated bullets each Friday - after the nonviolent demonstration is already out of the village.)

When we arrived at the blocked gate, we found that like the previous Friday, the spools of barbed wire were not "protecting" the gate and the "ritual" of pulling it with response of shock grenades - that characterized previous demonstrations, was not carried out. Thus after some verbal confrontation with the soldiers protecting the closed gate we started to march along the separation fence. As usual, Few officers and a platoon of soldiers accompanied us to prevent "assault" on the spool of the barbed wire that protect the fence that protect the route the electronic fence pass in its middle.

As in the previous demonstration some of us pooled a bit, but stopped when the soldiers insist... some of us succeeded to pass the barbed wire and stand along the fence bordering the route, before the soldiers blocked the points the passing was possible at.

And as usual, there was there the verbal confrontation with the state force personal - mostly privates serving the mandatory 3 year service of high school graduates and their officers.

After a while, we started to return to the village. However, it was not so simple, as the area around the entrance of the road to the village was the war zone the confrontation between the village youngsters and the state force was continuing. So we made a long detour around them and arrived back to the center of the village without casualties.

Friday, December 8, 2006

Palestine-Israel, Bil'in, The quietest Friday demonstration ... 08 Dec 2006

Comrade think this Friday demonstration was so (relatively) peaceful because we had as "visitors" the top activists of the international amnesty.
At noon, we started the march to the route of the fence as usual - Palestinians, internationals and Israelis of the anarchist against the wall initiative. Chanting and carrying placards and a big banner. On the way we have seen the Israeli state force personnel on the roof of the house at the end of the village and around it - waiting/provoking for village youth stone throwing confrontation. When we arrived at the route of the fence we found it blocked as usual with the heavy gate, an armored car, and few soldiers, but without the spools of barbed wire (we used to pull the previous Fridays and receiving in return shock grenade). Thus the confrontation was mostly verbal and a baton of a soldiers was snatched as a trophy - without the usual punishment of thrown grenades....

As the state forces refrained from throwing grenades, the few kids that usually come with the nonviolent demonstrators, respond to that with stones and put end to the nonviolent demonstration, had no excuse for their act. Thus, after a while they left us and returned to the village with out causing their usual havoc.

The rest of us started to walk along the fence looking for low intensity confrontation with a platoon of soldiers who "accompanied" us to prevent any assault of us against the fence of the route.

After a prolonged verbal confrontation mainly, we returned to the village, passing through the usual "war zone" between the stone throwers and the Israeli state force shock and tear gas grenades and rubber coated bullets.

Saturday, December 2, 2006

Palestine-Israel, Bil'in Friday demonstration still going on even when no light is seen in the end of the tunnel 02 Dec 2006

Just like every other Friday of the last 21 months, we had today too, for a while, in Bil'in, the joint struggle of Israeli anarchists against the wall, international activists, and people of Bil;in. The electronic separation fence is already completed in west of Bil'in. The Israeli higher court of "justice" already demonstrated again what is the NaZionist meaning of "justice" and threw away the Bil'in protest about the theft of Bil'in lands for the building of another quarter in the settler colonialist town Modi'in Ilit. It will probably do the same to the protest about the route of the separation fence that grab more lands of Bil'in... But the struggle continue. Every day and every act of resistance is part of the "Tsumud" = "persistence" refusing to give in to the huge transfer started 1948, continued all the year and increased in momentum in 1967 occupation and more so in 2002 project of the separation fence.

At noon, we started as most of previous Friday demonstrations from the center of the village on the road to the west - now cut by the separation fence and gate to the West which is always closed for us at Friday noon.

We marched with placard, and a tractor with a plow, chanting all the way to the route of the fence. Just living the built area of the village we have seen Israeli state force on the roof of one of the building and around it - waiting for the usual Friday confrontation with the youngsters of the village so they will be able to report to the media there was violent confrontation in Bil'in - and not just a non violent demonstration.

On our way to the rout of the fence, two youngsters who prefer to throw stones behind the back of the nonviolent demonstration accompanied us - leaving behind the more authentic stone throwing youngsters to confront the state force.

When we arrived at the blocked gate to the route of the fence and to the West of it, we started verbal confrontation with the state force guarding the gate and pulling the spools of the barbed wire "protecting" the gate.

From time to time the soldiers threw on us shock grenades that did not deter us any more. At some stage they even threw on us a tear gas canister that was thrown back to them to enjoy their own "medicine".

At that minute the two "brave" youngsters threw few stones on the soldiers behind our backs and run away. Due to our persistence and the "lenience" of the soldiers who only threw of us few shock grenades, they failed to disrupt the nonviolent demonstration that continued till we decided to return to the village.

Not long afterwards two officers tried to arrest one of us for "bad behavior", but due to the resistance of the comrades around, the needed more and reinforcement. When they were already 20, they did succeed to take him prisoner, to be released 2 hours later from the not far away police station in the Settlement Givat Ze'ev, on condition he will refrain from demonstrate in Bil'in for 15 days.

It seems that only three of the demonstrators were injured a bit in the confrontation.