Palestine-Israel, AAtW activity in the joint struggle against separation fence + occupation Tel Aviv, Bil'in, 443 highway, Bethlehem. 28 Dec 2007

The weekend activity of the anarchists against the wall (AAtW) started with the monthly critical mass against occupation. We started a new tradition of such critical mass at the last Thursday of the month. (The activists of the usual "green" critical mass of bicycles driving, protested our use of the label in the critical mass we did at the "celebration" of 40 years to the occupation.
However, after they were rebuffed, they stopped complaining.) About 30 riders with the dram orchestra participation "toured" the main streets of Tel Aviv center. The police pressured the riders to let traffic go on one of the two lanes main street, but when the riders took narrower streets, the police just let them ride freely till they ended the "tour".

Friday our activists participated in three demonstrations only - Bilin, 443 apartheid high way, Bethlehem,.... as that of Um Salmuna was canceled.

In Bilin the Friday demonstration started at noon as usual - Palestinians, internationals and AAtW activists. For a bit of change the internationals who participated in it was a good size Italian delegation. At the confrontation site - in the foot of the hill the gate in the fence to the west side, the state force tolerated for a while the crossing of people to the other side of the line marking the forbidden zone for Friday demonstrations. After a while they showered us with canisters of tear gas. This time they were doing it in a new strategy, and succeeded to force us back to the built area of the village.

Friday noon there was also a demonstration at the 443 apartheid highway from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. It cross through the lands of the villages Beit Sira, Saffa, Beit Liqiya, Kharbatha al-Misbah, Beit Ur al-Tahata, Beit Ur al-Foqqa and al-Tirra west to Ramallah. Approximately 40,000 Israeli citizens travel on it on a daily basis - but the villagers it was built on their lands are not allowed to use it.

The usual activists of the neighboring villages, with internationals and Israelis of the AAtW marched as usual from Kharbatha al-Misbah towards the near by highway. However, this time the choose a new route not tried before. They started to climb on the step margin of the highway. It took the Israeli state force in surprise, but quickly they reorganized and blocked the way of the demonstrators from approaching the fence that was already been built there on the two sides of the highway.

After a prolonged period, the people started to return to the village while the state force following them - waiting for the first stone thrown on them to start their usual show of power. And indeed, they entered the village with two armored cars, using tear gas. After the show of they left the village. At the exit, they encountered 10 activists of the AAtW sitting with two Palestinians, waiting for transportation. The state force cars stop there for a minute, and as a "present" they threw a tear gas grenade on the sitting comrades.

In the south, there was a demonstration in Bethlehem itself. Lot of local people and activists from the region, with internationals and AAtW Israelis marched towards a small fortress blocking the road toward Jerusalem. There was a sporadic stone throwing on the structure - with no response. After about 20 minutes the people returned to the city.

Palestine-Israel, AAtW weekly report and the joint struggle against the separation fence and occupation continues. 23 Dec 2007

Palestine-Israel, AAtW weekly report and the joint struggle against the separation fence and occupation continues.
This week The AAtW people were involved in the struggle against the wall in Ne'ilin, Bil'in, and Um Salmuna, and in Tel Aviv (struggle against forced eviction of inhabitants of Kfar Shalem - an Israeli neighborhood built on Palestinian village destroyed at 1948 Nacba).
In Bil'in, The Friday noon demonstration of Palestinians, Internationals, and Israeli anarchists against the wall initiative was nearly as usual, but, even before we reached the barbed wire spool blocking the road, people who dispersed to the olive trees on the two sides of the road, got a shower of tear gas from the Israeli state force who do not like it. However, as the wind was on our side, they state force found it self damaging, and changed to firing bullet coated with rubber and direct shooting of tear gas canisters to intimidate us. At one stage they even shoot two white haired 70+ oldies who were saved only by the trunks of olive trees they were behind.

Following is a post about the action from a Bil'in villager:
"Palestinians from the village of Bil'in, near Ramallah in the central West Bank, along with their international and Israeli supporters conducted their weekly protest against the Israeli Annexation Wall on Friday midday. Shortly after the midday Friday prayers, the protestors marched towards the location of the illegal wall built on the village's land. The Israeli army installed a barbed-wire roadblock to try and prevent the protesters reaching the construction site. As soon as the demonstration reached the roadblock troops showered the protesters with tear gas and metal rubber coated bullets injuring six people.

Among those injured was Iyad Bornat the head of the popular committee against the wall and settlements in Bil'in village. For more information:
The Bilin Friends of freedom and Justice - society
Email: majdarmajdar@yahoo.com
Tel: 972 547 847 942
http://www. Ffj-bilin.org
ffj.bilin@yahoo.com"

Bil'in 21-12-07 - link to video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxrAFV0EarE&feature=user
-------------------------------------------------------

-------South Bethlehem region - Um Salmuna ------

This week the Friday demonstration in the South Bethlehem region was again at the Um Salmuna village. However, this week, the Israeli occupation forces were more restrictive than ever before.

The people - about 40, Palestinians from the region's villages, few internationals, 10 activists of the Israeli anarchists against the wall initiative, and lot of media, were prevented from exiting the village. They were blocked from crossing or going along the regional high way using physical power of pushing.

The demonstration was carried out few meters from the main road while "Santa Claus" distributed Kandy.

One Palestinian activist was detained and released few hours later.

Palestine-Israel, The Anarchists Against the Wall join the struggle in Bil'in, 443 apartheid highway, and south of Bethlehem 15 Dec 2007

The 148th Friday demonstration had no surprises. Just lower intensity confrontation since the new front of struggle at the 443 apartheid highway. The more refrigerant personnel of the Israeli regional state forces were shifting there. Thus, when we crossed the forbidden line near the gate of the separation fence, the state forces tried half heartedly to force us back. As in previous week we were allowed to advance about 30 meters, with minor use of sound and tear gas grenades and some pushing. Only when the demonstration was finished and the stone throwers started their action, a massive amount of tear gas was used.

link to video of Bil'in Friday 14-12-07 demonstration:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2oZs-I-85k

-------------------------------

In the 443 apartheid demonstration too there were no surprises. Palestinian activists of the neighboring villages, internationals and activists of the Israeli activists of the AAtW initiative converged at Tahta. At noon the demonstration started with the march to the near by 443 Apartheid highway the access to it is forbidden to cars from the Palestinian villages it pass through their lands. When the marchers try to get to the road block they encountered Israeli state force guarding a gate on the road constructed after the Friday demonstrations started. After a while, with no reason what so ever, The state force attacked the people forcing them to retreat 10 meters. After a prolonged stand still, the demonstration ended. The youngsters start to throw stones. The state force showered tear gas. Later they invaded in a show of force the entrance to the village.
-------------------------------

South of Bethlehem - Um Salmuna

Palestinians of the region, internationals, and Israeli activists of the AAtW converged for a small demonstration near the regional highway at late Friday morning. A new commander of the Israeli regional occupying state force came to introduce himself and ask the people not to march on the road.... In spite his advice, the people marched on the highway towards the near by route of the separation fence. On the way, state force used mild pushing that failed to force the marchers out of the road.

When the demonstration arrived at the route of the separation fence some Palestinians gave a speech.

Palestine-Israel, Update for the weekly report of the AAtW activity.... 09 Dec 2007

This Saturday activists of the Anarchists Against the Wall initiative were involved in two actions. The first in the morning at the E1 area, and the second in Tel-Aviv.
This morning, a group of Palestinian, Israeli and international activists put up an outpost in the E1 area which is designated to be an expansion of Ma'ale Edumim in a way that it will connect it to Jerusalem and cut the West Bank in two.

The police and the border police have arrived at the scene and start the repression activity.

All the activists involved were detained and the police have confiscated the keys of the truck that transported the material to the area. Later, all have been released. The conditions are that they keep out of the area for 15 days. The three Palestinians have already gotten summoned to trail on 11 Feb. The Israelis and internationals have not been summoned to trial yet.

This Saturday evening the "Israeli conference for business" was started at the David Intercontinental hotel. few scores of social activists demonstrated near the entrance against "the law of regularization" and the conference of the oppressors. (In Hebrew the two labels differ in one letter with the sound of 'S' or 'Sh'.)

The activists of the AAtW initiative were on their way in a critical mass of Bicycle riders against occupation and the businesses involved, from the city square to the place of the conference. After we passed half the way, the police tried to force us to stop blocking the traffic on the road. As we were not doing it in time, a unit of the special police force was summoned. They arrested brutally six of us - including a certificated media worker, and punctured few of the wheels of the bicycles.

After a while, we repaired the sabotaged wheels and split forces - half the participants continued to the business conference and the other half went to protest the arrest of our comrade at the police station they were taken to.

Later, the media worker was released while the other 5 were not released and will appear in front of the judge Sunday morning.

Subject: (en) Palestine-Israel, Tel Aviv, Um Salmuna, Bil'in, 443 apartheid road - AAtW weekly report 08 Dec 2007

After a meeting of the activists of the Anarchist Against the Wall initiative and the preparation of the materials, about 60 activists posted hundreds of big placards and thousands of small posts in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Haifa. These were in the format of the general electricity company announcing planed power outage notices in a vicinity for maintenance... but this time with a different content in the name of "the front for liberation of Gaza".
This action was a response for the planed action of "retaliation" by the Israeli occupation state, against the population of the Gaza strip, for the continuation of firing of mortars and Kasams from the Gaza strip on the neighboring Israeli areas. Reports on the action were the next day in all the Israeli electronic media and in the late news bulletin of TV chanel 10.

Following are two of the texts:

Leftists announce mock power cuts to protest Gaza fuel slash - Haaretz.com

Residents of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem were surprised Thursday morning to find on the doors to their homes mock notices announcing that the flow of electricity to the two cities would be cut off next week.

The 10,000 or so fake notices were posted across both cities by some 70 left-wing activists in response to the government's decision to reduce the supply of fuel to the Gaza Strip, and its plan to cut power flow in the near future.

The High Court of Justice on Sunday ordered the state to delay its reduction of power supplies to the Gaza Strip by at least one week, pending a full presentation detailing the proposed operation.

The justices upheld the state's plan to reduce fuel transfers to the Strip, as long as the humanitarian needs of Gaza's residents were given primary consideration.

The notices posted Thursday by the activists read: "We wish to inform you that there will be a wave of cessation and severance of electricity. We have no choice but to cut off power and we are forced to do it because in your cities reside the commanders of an army that harms civilians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip."

"For humanitarian reasons, the cessation of electricity will not be permanent and should leave you to consider: should the flow allotted be directed to hospitals, water systems, sewers or private homes. We apologize for the temporary inconvenience this might cause you and emphasize that this is a necessary defense move," read the notices.

According to the activists, the notices were hung to draw attention to the government's "arbitrary" decision to cut fuel and power from the civilian Palestinian population.

"There is no legitimacy for the collective punishment on civilians. We are talking about a move that even the army has admitted has no chance of stopping Qassam fire on Sderot."

"Through this activity we are interested in raising the awareness of Israeli citizens to the arbitrariness of these offensive moves and to try to create solidarity with the plight of civilians in Gaza," said the activists.

---------------------

Anarchists post 'power outage notices' - JPOST.COM Over 10,000 posters warning of a power outage were plastered over residential doors and public locations in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa by left wing activists in protest of the government's decision to cut-back the power supply to the Gaza Strip.

The poster which plastered at over 10,000 locations in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa:

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?blobcol=urlimage&blobheader=image%2Fjpeg&blobheadername1=Cache-Control&blobheadervalue1=max-age%3D420&blobkey=id&blobtable=JPImage&blobwhere=1196834825444&cachecontrol=5%3A0%3A0+*%2F*%2F*&ssbinary=true..]

Dozens of activists participated in the overnight operation which was organized by "The Front for the Liberation of Gaza", a coalition of anarchist organizations who oppose the government's decision to cut power supplies to Gaza.

According to the poster, the power outage is scheduled for next week. "The power outage is a step we must take since there are army headquarters in your city which are responsible for war crimes in the West Bank and Gaza," the poster read.

"For humanitarian reasons, the cuts will not be absolute, and we will allow you to use some power for hospitals, the water and sewage systems or residential homes," the poster read.

It is believed that the activists do not plan to perform any real power cut in Israel, but rather aim to raise public awareness of civilian life in Gaza.

Video of the action:
http://www.tv.social.org.il/medini/hafsakat-chasmal-5-12-07.htm
----------------------------------------
FRIDAY DEMONSTRATIONS
=====================

--------- Um Salmuna ---------

Report of an AAtW activist:

"Tens of Palestinians, Israelis and Internationals gathered today at the junction near Um-Salamune.
The demonstrators marched on the road leading to the Jewish settlement of Efrat, protesting against the Apartheid wall that is being built on the land of Palestinian villages.
While anti-occupation slogans were chanted, the march went on for some ten minutes, without blocking traffic.
Tens of Israeli soldiers, later joined by Israeli police and riot police, stopped the march just before reaching the entrance to Efrat, and very close to were the wall is being built. Soldiers announced the area a "closed military zone", and violently pushed demonstrators of the road.
Once the road was already cleared, and demonstrators surrounded on its side, the army declared it would stop all Palestinian traffic on the road as penalty - which it did. Army jeeps and soldiers stopped all Palestinian cars on the road for a fair half an hour, while Israeli cars drove by undisturbed.
For the next hour soldiers kept redefining the invisible parameters of the "closed zone", forcibly pushing demonstrators away. Several Palestinian photographers were arrested, but as far as we know were later released."
-------------------------

== Bil'in 147th Friday demonstration ==

The Friday demonstration marched at noon as usual from the village center towards the route of the separation fence used to robe more than half of the village lands for the building of the settler town Modi'in Ilit.
As usual, with flags, chanting and dancing, we arrived at the foot of the hill on the top of it located the gate to the West of the separation fence.

As usual, the commander of the state force declared the area up the hill a closed military zone. As usual, the more daring of us did not respected it. Slowly, slowly, we "infringed" on the closed military zone. As the main units of the Israeli state forces of the region (and the more belligerent units) where at the 443 apartheid high way demonstration, the resistance was very mild: sound grenades from time to time, pushing hard at times when people tried to advance... and often just low intensity resistance and half hearted blocking our advance.

The demonstration continued this way for nearly an hour till we decided to return to the village. The "casualties till that point was the detaining of two of the AAtW activists.

Just when we started to return to the village, the few youngsters who do not respect our nonviolence tactics and were restrained till that time by the members of the village comity, started to throw stones behind our backs, hitting one AAtW activist head, and provoking tear gas of the state force which hastened our return to the village.

The two detained comrades were released after a shorter time than usual, and we returned to Tel Aviv earlier than usual...

-------- The 443 apartheid highway demonstration -------

As usual the last few weeks, and as will probably continue for long, the Palestinian activists of the villages of the region, internationals of the ISM, Israelis of the AAtW, and media workers, converged in the Tahta village near the 443 highway. At noon, the demonstration started to march towards the high way, but was blocked by a new gate build to block the access to the entrance to the high way. (Which is already fenced from both sides nearly all the part of it which pass in the Palestinian occupied area. The roads of the villages leading to it are closed by big concrete blocks and gates.)

The demonstrators told the state forces what they think about them, and the state force detained for a while few of the Palestinian media workers documenting the action.

After a while the demonstrators returned to the village, and soon, after that the state forces "punished" the village by a violent patrol - with sound and tear gas grenades.

The url for a video of the route 443 demonstration of the previous Friday is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqvhanSkzP8

Palestine-Israel, The joint struggle continue in Bil'in region and in the Bethlehem region 30 Nov 2007

Wednesday direct action at Izbet-Al-Tabib was one of the sporadic joint direct actions against occupation Palestinian villages invite the Anarchists Against the Wall (AAtW) to join. --- "The action at Izbet Al Tabib this morning started out well with a decent number of internationals Palestinians and Israelis. The army also showed up in force and attacked the people after a few minutes. People succeeded to dismantle only part of the road block they intended to. Two Israelis were arrested and taken away to Kdumim police station. The two who were arrested were released after few hours and the army returned to the village with many soldiers and increased the size of the road block".
------------------

On Friday, the first joint action the AAtW activist participated in was in Um Salmuna - the Bethlehem region. Later morning, people marched from the village towards the route of the separation fence. Just when they reached the high way they had to cross, lot of Israeli state force accompanied the march. Some pushing by them was not serious enough to disrupt the demonstration. Near the route of the fence in built the villagers hat their noon prayer, and the demonstrators returned to the village.
-------------------

In Bil'in we had our 146th Friday demonstration. As the more belligerent state force personal went to confront the near by regional demonstration at the 443 apartheid road, we had a very peaceful demonstration. At noon, we marched from the center of the village towards the route of the separation fence. When we arrived at the foot of the hill the gate to the robbed lands on the west side of the fence, he had a surprise. There were only small number of soldiers and border police gendarmes. They declared the rest of the road as closed military zone and threatened us as usual. However, when people slowly moved beyond the forbidden line, they refrained from brutal attack. They threatened and blocked our advance after intruding 30 meters into the forbidden zone but no real physical harassment. After a long while they threatened they will arrest people so we retreated very slowly from the intrusion and then finished the demonstration.

For a while we looked from the hill on the confrontation between the stone throwing youth and the state forces. -----------------

The regional demonstration against the apartheid highway 443 the Palestinians of the region it pass through are forbidden to use, started at noon. The march of demonstration towards the highway was intercepted at the point they tried to block our way and failed on the previous demonstrations. Participant report that the state force used batons "freely" and detained one Palestinian and one Israeli who tried to protect him from brutal attack. As response to the brutal attack, youth who dispersed on the near by hill threw lot of stones on the state force and on the traffic of the apartheid road.

The demonstrators tried to apply pressure to hasten the release of the two detainees, but they were released only an hour after the demonstration ended.

Palestine-Israel, another week end of struggle of the AAtW people 24 Nov 2007

It started on Thursday morning - last work day of the Israeli week. The Israeli comity for dismantling the mass annihilating arms expanded its boundaries. The conference of the sponsors of the Israeli atom bomb in Tel Aviv university was an opportunity for counter action. The comity, the Israeli green peace activists an the people of the anarchists against the wall organized a counter conference. Activists held placards, gave speeches and distributed leaflets to a big queue of audience of the conference as security measures held them for a long time at the entrance of the auditorium....
Next came the already traditional three joint demonstrations against the occupation and the separation fence.

In Bil'in it was the 145th Friday demonstration. It differed a bit from these of the last few months as the whether was on our side... As usual, when we crossed the line at the foot of the hill the gate in the separation fence is on its top, the Israeli state forces showered as with tear gas.. but the very weak Eastern wind blew it to their direction. It was nice to see them retreat up the hill and hear the anxious commander order them to stop shooting and throwing tear gas grenades. Celebrating the small victory two comrades climbed on an temporarily abandoned border police jeep and got punished later when 4 people roughly detained, one had his head banged three times on an army vehicle, another was shot at with a tear gas canister which burned him a bit and broke his hand.

While we were confronting and arguing with the soldiers half way up the hill, a team of the border police advanced along the road to the village in pursuit after the less bold comrades who were retreating to the village, to avenge the lost honer of the state forces. As they could not use tear gas and batons, they shoot people with metal bullet coated with rubber. As results, two of the Israelis needed medical treatment in hospital: one comrade was shot at his head resulting in a light concation, and another was shot at her knee.

After a long verbal arguments and confrontation we retreated slowly back to the village waiting for the release of the detainees before returning home. It is usually done after the end of the confrontation between the state force and the stone throwing kids that usually start their take after the nonviolent demonstration is attacked by the state force... And indeed, so it happened.

During the time of waiting we exchanged information with the comrades who returned from the parallel demonstration at the apartheid road 443 and with the comrades who escorted the injured comrades to the hospital in Ramalla.

The activist that was shot at his head in Bil'in was admitted to a local hospital when we returned to Israel. He was released after an intensive checkup - bruised, in some pain, and shocked but at the late evening started to get over it.

The Joint demonstration at the 443 apartheid high way done as a regional joint project was rather peaceful. The state force did not try to block people from the region to arrive at it. Their effort to block the way of the demonstration from arriving at the margin of the high way - where the concrete blocks prevent Palestinians from the near by village to drive their cars to it, was half hearted and overcome easily. (They succeeded to hit some kids but not much more.) When the people stood along the high way, they shouted their opinions for the drivers and passengers using it what are their opinion on the apartheid road.

After the demonstration, Few youngsters who were restrained during the demonstration started after it ended to throw stones on the state forces. These responded with invading the village with jeeps pursuing the kids shooting them with tear gas canisters and rubber coated bullets. However the youngsters evaded the Israeli state force who shortly afterwards left the village.

The organizers of the regional demonstration against the apartheid 443 high way, announced that the demonstration will continue every week and invited Israelis to join in the future demonstrations.

The action in the Bethlehem region was not so spectacular. Activists of the villages Artas Um Salmuna, and from Bethlehem, converged near the Efrata intersection. The alarmed state force were afraid the demonstration will infringe on the high way and prevented the AAtW contingent (blamed to be the instigators of such steps by state spokes) from mingling with the Palestinians - keeping them separated few meters away, till the demonstration ended.

443 highway Friday 23-11-07 - link to video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsT6m5WPp-k

A short movie made during the critical mass in Tel Aviv of November 15. http://clk.atdmt.com/AVE/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/

Bil'in Friday demonstration - 16-11-07 - link to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCNmQKFI46k

Palestine-Israel, The AAtW and the joint struggle this week end 17 Nov 2007

This week we started the week end activity earlier a bit. First activity was the participating in joint struggle of Palestinians of the region the 443 highway pass through. This part of the highway built on lands robbed from the villagers is on the middle of the second high way from Tel Aviv To Jerusalem, that pass through occupied territories of the 1967 war, but the Palestinian villagers are prevented from using it. The villagers of Beit Sira, Safa, Beit Likya, Kharbata Al Masbach, Beit Ur El Tachta and Beit Ur el Foka - joined forces and started struggle against this apartheid road. Naturally, many of the involved wee previously active in the joint struggle of their and neighboring villages, together with the Israeli Anarchists Against the wall, and internationals against the separation fence. Naturally, they invited the internationals an us to participate. naturally we did our best to join the struggle. Naturally the Israeli state forces did their best to block the struggle and more so to prevent the participation of Israelis in that joint struggle. Naturally we tried to over come these blocking, but this Thursday morning we failed nearly completely... but only nearly.

As their logistics stinks, they tried to stop us by checking every car that was passing through the check point on the 443 high way - at the entrance to the Palestinian region. As result of this checking a long queue of cars was formed for about half an hour. If we had tried to achieve it on our own initiative, we could not do that better....

They succeeded to intercept our car and forced us to return to the Israeli side of the region - escorting us towards Tel Aviv. We managed to stop in a near by intersection and before we returned to Tel Aviv, one of us succeeded to evade the police escort an arrived at the demonstration.

At the evening, we had witnessed again the split between super leniency of democracy to the Jews in contrast to the harsh suppression in the Palestinian regions. About 100 people from the city anarchist scene and sympathizers converged in the city central square for a critical mass against the occupation and the war on Gaza. After a while we started (a well publicized and with no permit) an hour and a half of a slow driving - to enable the comrades who had no bicycles to participate. The Samba team with its drums were a nice music to accompany our chants. Slowly we did a big round a bout "tour" in the main streets of the center of Tel Aviv. At each significant intersection we did a few minutes of a whirl riding. And the police were aware of our action as we took all the width of the road lanes in the direction we traveled. Comrades distributed leaf lets and the police officers asked again and again not to obstruct the traffic of the opposite direction.... Only on one of the whirls blocking the intersections one angry police officer asked one of us to show her papers.

----------------------------------------

This Friday, we had a bit bigger Friday demonstrations in Bil'in - about 200 participants, about 100 of them Internationals and Israelis. As usually we marched chanting all the way from the village center towards the route of the separation fence. As usual when we reached the foot of the hill the gate to the west is on it the commander of the Israeli state force declared the remaining space as closed military zone. As usual, comrade started to cross the forbidden line. As usual the state force started to shower us with tear gas canisters.

However, it was not so usual whether, and many of the more experienced, made use of the very slow wind, to evade the tear gas and keep staying near the separation fence. Some succeeded to cross the line and approach the state force where they could not use tear gas on our people. Some of us us regrouped among the olive trees and approached the separation fence on the northern side of the gate - challenging there the soldiers positioned on the other side of the fence, who failed to deter us with tear gas. After hearing them intending to shoot at the two of us wearing colored shirts, we returned to the road, for another intrusion into the forbidden area. The soldier had to use physical force to made the people retreat, and detained 4 comrades.

For another hour, the more experienced of us took the initiative again and again to approach the forbidden zone when the wing cleared the tear gas and retreat only after a heavy shower of tear fas canisters shot at us. The majority of the international guests and many of the others were a hill nearer to the village and had a good view on the arena... to be punished from time to time with long shots of tear gas.

All along the afternoon we could see from time to time people suffocate from a tear gas canister the failed to evade, and few limping as result of direct hit of tear gas canisters shot toward them an from rubber coated bullets - luckily not seriously injury this Friday.

After 2 hours of action, most of the people dispersed and the outsiders left the village. Few of us stayed with few of the village activists waiting and applying some ties to hasten the release of the detainees. When the evening arrived, the 4 detainees (including one international, one Israeli and two of the village comity) were released. We politely declined the invitation to join the evening meal and returned to Tel Aviv.
--------------------------------------------
Joint streggle against the separation fence at Eidna - south Hebron mountain 10-11-07 - link to video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-9C49RyE3c

Palestine-Israel, The joint struggle against the occupation and separation fence - Bil'in, 443, Um Salmuna, Idna 10 Nov 2007

In Friday Israelis of the anarchists against the wall initiative joined grass roots Palestinian activists in three demonstrations. First the nearly legendary demonstration in Bil'in - the 142nd since February 2005. As usual, the Israeli state force prevented the nonviolent demonstrations from even reaching the gate to the West of the separation fence. As usual, the showered the people with tear gas when the first few persons crossed a line two hundreds meters from the gate. In parallel, a regional initiative of the people of the villages near the 443 apartheid road connection Tel Aviv and Jerusalem that cross the Palestinian lands but forbidden for them to use. We did there a third action. The state forces tried to block the roads in many places. There were road blocks that tried to prevent people from Bil'in, Beit Ur and Saffa to arrive at Tah'ta, but they only forced us to use round about paved and unpaved roads.

Then, when we start marching they tried to stop us from reaching the near by road block that prevent the travel from the village yo the 443 road. The few soldiers on the mission were pushed along about 100 meters till we arrived 5 meters from the road and blocked there by police and soldiers. The commander there announced a closed military zone and they tried to push us back detaining after two failures due to dearresting Mohamed Hatib.

When we challenge the commander to show the written declaration of closed zone, we found it was phrased in a way that authorized them only to prevent us to cross the few meters to the road itself. Thus, the pushing ended and we staid there and even Mohamed Hatib was released.

In parallel, few comrades tried to block the 443 with a chain, but failed because of bad logistics.

After about an hour the demonstration was finished. The Friday 9th road 443 demonstration on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLWb1LWqYn0

The third action was in Um Salmuna in the Bethlehem region. There, the state forces succeeded to block the way of the march from approaching the building site of the separation fence. A fourth demonstration at the near by Beit Jalla was canceled as the building site was deserted for a while - works stopped and equipment with machines removed - reason not known yet.

Saturday, was another day of action. Not the first time, activists of the anarchists against the wall joined Palestinian activist in the West of Hebron. Today, we joined People of the village Idna. There the completion of the separation fence two weeks ago was used as opportunity for the Israeli state forces to destroy the summer dwellings of the herders of the village in the wast lands - now behind the fence. The people and the herds were forced to transfer to the East of the separation fence.

In a symbolic act, we forced our way through the barbed wire spools that are bordering the route of the separation fence. We marched along the electronic fence and hung on it few placards. After police and army forces arrived and blocked us from continuing the march we returned to the village.

Israel, Anarchist Against The Wall activist Jonathan Polak arrested 08 Nov 2007

Yonatan Polak of the Israeli Anarchist Against The Wall initiative was Just arrested on the street near his house by detectives.
His house is now being searched, and they want to confiscate his computer. All out there feeling solidarity with our struggle are asked to keep informed and updated.
Yonantan was accused of property damage done on last Friday (2d of November) action in Tel Aviv.
He is now taken to Merhav Yarkon police station.
They confiscated his computer, c.d's, and some hardcore posters (saying it's sedition...)
Our lawyer Gabi is on the case, and there are already people near by for support and to sign bail if needed.

Palestine-Israel, Long weekend of activities of the Anarchists against the wall (AAtW) initiative 04 Nov 2007

It started as usual with the 142th joint demonstration in Bil'in. There, it it was as usual in the last few months you can find a lot of details in the various web pages like ainfos.ca, anarkismo.net, infoshop.org, israel.indymedia.org. The only unique to this demonstration was the France contingent and the refraining of the state force from sending team to intrude into the woods of the olive trees located between the fence and the village - to provoke intensive stone throwing by the village youth.

The other actions of Friday we participated in were in Tel Aviv. The first was the big demonstration of the asylum applicant from Darfur mainly, who are usually treated as bad as you can expect a racist state like Israel. Activist of the (AAtW) were busy the last two months in organization and giving help to the Darfur asylum seekers from Darfur and other places, with Israelis involved with them.

A comrade who was involved with this demonstration contributed the following text: "Today they are around 3000 asylum seekers and refugees in Israel most of them are African but there are also few from Burma, Iraq and other countries. The state of Israel has no official policy or a law how to deal with them, (though it is bound by some international regulations it try as hard as it dare to evade). Most of them are under the threat of deportation back to there they came from which means death for many of them.

On Sunday morning a proposal will be raised by enlightened Knesset members at the Knesset which suppose to settle the status of refugees and asylums seekers in Israel.
On Friday November the 2nd around 1000 people marched through the main boulevard of Tel Aviv - Rothschild boulevard. Israelis, Eritreans, Sudanese, Burmese, Congolese, Liberians and may other marched against the deportation of refugees from Israel and to legalize the issue and status of refugees in israel. during the march many Israelis joined and it ended at the front of the cinamteque where music played by the refugees and Israeli bands.

The second action was too at the Rothschild boulevard.

In the name of the front for liberation of the public space

Autonomous activists today (Fri. 2.11) removed one of the globes from Rothschild Ave. and returned it to the Stock Exchange in protest against abuse of public space. Last few years the globalization and the neo-liberal capitalist new order found its way into Rothschild boulevard. Various objects pretended to be "art artifacts" were posited along the Rothschild boulevard serving the public relations for big concerns. This time big globuses were distributed along the boulevard.

his Friday, in a direct action, one of the globuses was removed from its place and returned to the near by offices of the share exchange establishment.

The activists warned that if the Tel Aviv Municipality will allow the big concerns to take over the public space and put there advertisement sculptures pretending to be artifacts of art, these will be removed too.

Saturday The joint action of the AAtW with the Palestinian activists against the separation fence and occupation in the Bethlehem region have a bit different quality than the most known one in Bil'in.
----------------------------------
This Saturday, as in few other ocations, the target was road blocks preventing travel of cars within the occupied territories between villages and between roads which Palestinians do travel on with cars. (Internal blocks) as they are usually called.
The target was a road block that cut the traffic from Beit Umar and other villages through the Gabah intersection.

We traveled together - Palestinians, internationals and activists of the AAtW along the villages roads between highway 60 the nearly highway that pass near Gabah. We arrived in the intersection and started to remove the road block. First we moved the concrete slabs to the sides. than we started to move the rocks that where as second line of block.

While we were at it, an armored car with three soldiers pass along the road and intercepted us. They ordered us to stop dismantling the road block... but we just laughed at them, as the only mean that they could force us with was shooting of live ammunition they are not allowed to use when Israelis are among the Palestinians.

When we nearly finished to open a passage through the road block, a military reinforcement had arrived, we decided not to develop a physical confrontation, and mounted our cars to return were we came from. The state force who are instructed to keep in the area a low profile when dealing with road block dismantlers did not even try to arrest any of us. ---------------------------------- Sunday was again a day of action against the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian space. Like two weeks ago the action was near the tunnel under the settlers road 443 the Palestinians of the region are prevented from its use. All the entrances of the Palestinian roads intersected with the 443 road were blocked. Fences were put along nearly all the two sides of the part of the road that pass in the occupied territories - forcing the people to use round about second rate roads between the villages and between them and the regional city Ramalla.

This time there was lot of public advertisement for a demonstration near the tunnel under the 443 the Palestinian can use... This brought lot of participants from the neighboring villages, but also lot of Israeli state forces. These, tried to prevent the AAtW activists from joining the demonstration. Our people were detained in two road blocks. Armored cars guard other entrances to the area so we will not be able to go there by foot.

In spite of the Israeli state forces efforts, activists of the AAtW succeeded to arrive at the demonstration place very late though.

Palestine-Israel, The joint struggle West of Ramalla on Thursday and Friday 26 Oct 2007

1) Thursday - Blocking the 443 Apartheid road from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem*. 2) Friday - the 141st Friday demonstration in Bil'in.
1) An anti-apartheid protest today blocked busy Highway 443, one of many highways that run on occupied Palestinian land but are reserved for Israelis only. Israeli Security forces used force to move the demonstrators. Three of the protesters, two Israeli and one American, were arrested and are being held in an Israeli police post. Blake Murphy, from Boston, is currently being threatened with deportation. [They were released with 30 days restriction from coming to the region and from similar activities.]
The protesters** blocked the highway for over fifteen minutes by organizing a mass sit down in the road backed by six protesters chained into a four meter pipe. Rush hour traffic was backed up for miles before the protesters were removed by force. They distributing a message to the drivers on the highway: We know what it feels like to be blocked. We experience it daily.

The masses of Israelis who regularly travel to Jerusalem via the settlement of Modi'in were surprised this morning to find the highway blocked by non-violent protesters. Despite obvious road blocks at the junctions with roads from the Palestinian villages along the highway, few are aware that for seven years now, Highway 443 has been accessible to Israelis only. Palestinians are forbidden to travel on the highway, even on the 9.5 kilometer-long segment which passes through occupied West Bank territory and is built on land that has been confiscated from Palestinians whose olive trees have been cut down “for the benefit of the local population. [See comment from Israel's newspaper Haaretz, “The Law as Roadkill The Israeli military claims that the prohibition of Palestinian traffic on the main road is temporary and subject to security considerations. But their actions on the ground suggest otherwise. In order to “compensate the communities, the military has confiscated more land for the creation of what they term “fabric of life roads at an estimated cost of 177.9 million shekels (approximately US$44.5 million). These roads will funnel Palestinian traffic under the Israeli road network via tunnels and underpasses connecting communities in nearby enclaves, thus putting the Palestinians out of sight and out of mind for Israelis.

The Israeli Human rights group B'tselem states that the prohibition on Palestinian use of Highway 443 appears to be based on Israel's desire to annex the area along which the road runs. B'tselem explains that if Israel was only interested in protecting the lives of Israelis, rather than annexing the area, it could limit or even prohibit the travel of Israelis on the road cutting through the West Bank and build roads inside Israeli territory, thus providing safe channels of transportation to connect Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. The policy of prohibiting movement on this road is not an isolated case but is part of a general widespread policy [see map]. On 312 kilometers of main roads in the West Bank, vehicles bearing Palestinian license plates are forbidden or restricted access. The creation of a regime of forbidden roads has converted the right to freedom of movement in the West Bank into a privilege that is dependent upon the national origin of an individual. [see International Convention on Apartheid] These roads, in addition to the segregation wall, carve up Palestinian areas into isolated enclaves. This fragmentation is at the root of the West Bank's declining economy.

In an appeal, The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI ) states that the term “Crime of Apartheid, applies to acts that are used as a means for establishing and maintaining domination of one racial group of persons over any other racial group and systematically oppressing them. ACRI states that an accepted systematic policy of discrimination against the Palestinian population constitutes a practice of apartheid as defined by the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid. Separation exists between Palestinians and Israelis in the West Bank in many other aspects of life, as with the two separate legal systems that exist for the two populations.

Mohammed Khatib, spokesperson for the Palestinian Anti-Apartheid Movement said: Israel wants to legitimize apartheid and call it peace. This is the first in a series of popular non-violent protests against the Israeli system of apartheid. anti-apartheid activists block highway 443 Thursday morning, protesting the Israeli-only road which traverses occupied Palestinian land. A major highway, it is inaccessible to Palestinians. anti-apartheid activists block highway 443 Thursday morning, protesting the Israeli-only road which traverses occupied Palestinian land. A major highway, it is inaccessible to Palestinians.anti-apartheid activists block highway 443 Thursday morning, protesting the Israeli-only road which traverses occupied Palestinian land. A major highway, it is inaccessible to Palestinians.anti-apartheid activists block highway 443 Thursday morning, protesting the Israeli-only road which traverses occupied Palestinian land. A major highway, it is inaccessible to Palestinians.

Photos available at: http://www.palsolidarity.org/main/2007/10/25/blocking-the-road-to-apartheid-palestinian-nonviolent-protestors-are-blocking-highway-443/ https://israel.indymedia.org/newswire/display/7712/index.php

-------------- Bil'in ----------

As usual, Israelis of the anarchists against the wall initiative arrived at Bil'in a little before noon - traveling from Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. At noon, we joined the demonstration that started as usual with a march towards the route of the separation fence. As usual the road leading to the gate was blocked with a spool of barbed wire and the commander of the Israeli state force declared the area west of the spool a closed military zone warning with retaliation if any one will cross the line. As usual, after a while when we stayed there two participants defied the order and as retaliation a heavy barrage of tear gas grenades were showered on us.

After few regrouping and defying the tear gas a kind of truce was arrived and we were allowed to regroup at the road near the barbed wire, while units of the state force were engaging with shooting and tear gas youngsters who were throwing stones on them.

After about hour from its beginning, the end of the nonviolent demonstration was declared and the state force gave us a "far well" shower of teat gas to hasten our walking to the village.

Defying it, we lingered for additional hour in the "war zone" of the stone throwing and shooting... and two internationals were injured by bullets coated with rubber.

=========================
* Submitted by member of the Bil'in village popular comity
** Participants were Palestinians from Bil'in and the region, Internationals, and Israelis of the anarchists against the wall initiative.

US/Mexico/Palestain/Israel, Joining the struggles 21 Oct 2007

Dear Friends, I'm writing to inform you about an upcoming action taking place this coming November along the US/Mexico border. Collectives from throughout the borderland area of US/Mexico are planning a No Border Camp, a convergence at the border where people from both sides of the border can come together, meet, exchange, plan, educate, have fun, and live like there's no border. There will be several workshops, events, and actions planned, which will highlight issues such as the militarization of the border, neo-liberal capitalism and migration control. More about the whole week's worth of events can be found here:
http://www.noborderscamp.org/ ---- I'm writing you specifically, not only because I've previously spent several months in Palestine, and have joined in demonstrations at Bil'in, and because I believe that AATW* would be interested in hearing about what their comrades are doing to tear down other walls, but also because on Saturday November 11th, on the day of global action against the wall, we would like to virtually plug in to whats going on in Palestine.

We're thinking of setting up a streaming simulcast internet-video, to link our struggles together, at least via the web!

There would certainly be a number of technical issues to figure out. But first, I just wanted to contact you with information about our action, and see if you'd be interested in linking in some way.

Yours in solidarity,

S.
========================================
* Israeli Anarchists Against The Wall

Palestine-Israel, the joint struggle radiate from Bil'in to Bethlehem region and more. 20 Oct 2007

This was the 140th joint Friday demonstration in Bil'in against the separation fence and occupation. Joint struggles against the separation fence were in other villages before the struggle started in Bil'in 32 months ago, or in parallel to it. However, it seems some things changed the last few months. Activists from other villages come to Bil'in not only to participate in solidarity, but to learn how to do it in their places. The most prominent of these are the relation between activists and the struggle in the Bethlehem region - in which there are already for months Friday demonstrations against the separation fence in building and other direct actions. Few months ago, we had a whole buss of people of the Bethlehem region who came to the Friday demo in Bil'in. Today, a contingent of 20 people from the Bethlehem region - including 15 cyclists, came to share with us the fumes of the tear gas grenades and canister of the Israeli state force.

As usual, we started at noon - Palestinians from Bil'in and Bethlehem region mainly, few internationals, and Israelis of the anarchists against the wall. All the way on the road towards the separation fence, the presence of the "guests" influenced the demonstration. The content of the slogan people shouted was richer than usual, and few of the Bil'in activists had a moving circle dance all along the way to the foot of the hill the gate in the separation fence is on.

As usual, after a short converging at the blocked road while hearing the threat of the state force not to cross it, some participants did cross it. Though a man with his small child on his shoulders was at their front, the Israeli state force showered us with tear gas grenades.

Today the whether was clearly against us. There was little wind if at all and the direction was the worst to us. Thus, most of the people participated in the non violent demonstration had to regroup back to the fringe of the built area of the village, leaving the scene for the usual after demo confrontation between the stone thrower youth and the state force.

Though the demo was shorter than usual, the moral was high and people had non formal discussions about the future of the struggle in Bil'in and beyond it.

Video of the demonstration:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGeVvlM3LAY

-------Um Salmuna - Bethlehem region -----

This Friday the demonstration in the Bethlehem region was near Um Salmuna. In the late morning, about 50 people - Palestinians from the regions, Israelis from the AATW and others from Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, and internationals converged at a vineyard near the road leading to the village and a near by Israeli colonialist settlement. Just in time, a similar size of Israeli state force "joined" the demonstrators and started to order them to move their cars away, and to start going adding pushing to hasten it.... Their commander even harassed physically a reporter of Roiters agency.

The demonstration marched towards the route of the separation fence in building, to a location East of the Israeli colonialist settlement Efrata and there filled with earth a chanel which was dug as part of the structure of the separation fence.

As part of the Israeli state force policy to minimize the media exposer applied often in Bethlehem region, they refrained from preventing the "earth work" the construction company will undo easily after the weekend.

Afterwards the demonstrators marched some more along the route of the separation fence before ending the demonstration.

Palestin-Israel, Video clips of Bil'in demonstration at 5 October 06 Oct 2007

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPJXawL9lEQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JitcxoDZ_w

The joint struggle of the Israeli anarchists against the wall and the Palestinians in Bil'in and Um Salmuna. 05 Oct 2007

In Bil'in, the Friday demonstration has in the back ground the last night army intrusion into the village, the arrest of one, the shooting and grenades throwing, and the stone throwing that injured the nose of an Israeli officer. Surprisingly, the state force were holding fire when we arrived at the barbed wire spool marking the closed military zone of the hill the gate in the separation fence is on it. They even held the fire when the camera persons and few comrades crossed the spool of barbed wire and set two meters in front of it. However, when one of the comrade started to walk forward, they started to shower us with tear gas grenades. When this was a sign for the stone throwers to start their confrontation with the soldiers, the state force released all their pent anger and advanced up to the fringe of the built area of the village.

---------------------------Um Salmuna---------------

This Friday, the demonstration against the separation fence and occupation in the Bethlehem region was near the village Um Salmuna. In the late morning the demonstrators marched to the road, crossed it, and even crossed the route of the separation fence in building. However, when they advanced "too fare" towards the colonialist settlement Efratah, the Israeli state force stopped them, and the demonstration ended. The Israelis of the AATW continued from there to the early afternoon demonstration in Bil'in. ("Two in the price of one" as we call it in Israel....)

Israel, Tel Aviv, Alt. Media, Somebody has to start shouting 02 Oct 2007

September 27. Evening. Here we are again standing outside the Defence Ministry and protesting the army's deadly actions in Gaza. In fact, we could have demonstrated nearly every other day, because every day brings its own ration of nasty news from Gaza. And it had become markedly worse since Ehud Barak became Israeli Labour Party leader, and Defence Minister, and with considerable energy is establishing his credentials as the toughest of hawks. Hardly a week passes without Barak making yet another threat of "a major military operation into the Gaza Strip". Meanwhile, he is authorizing daily "minor incursions" into the Strip, with an increasing death toll. And also meanwhile, the economic siege and blockade of the Gaza Strip becomes ever more tight.

The brilliant idea of cutting off the supply of water and electricity to the Gaza Strip's 1,500,000 poverty-stricken inhabitants brought on a sharp protest from UN Secretary General Ban, and a more muted one from the US-led diplomatic "Quartet".

So, the government (so far?) did not cut off the water and electricity. But they did make a legally binding legal declaration that "Gaza is a Hostile Zone". This had the practical effect of making Bank Hapoalim, Israel's largest, cut off all contacts with the Palestinian banks in Gaza, with devastating results (among other things, making it impossible to transfer money to those Gazans who still get some support from their former bosses). Sherri Arison, multi-millionaire owner of the bank and an eager devotee of "New Age" mysticism, has just a short time ago spent a lot of money on an advertising campaign on the theme that "Peace Begins Inside Yourself"...)

For those who want to, it is not difficult to know what is happening in Gaza. Plenty of detailed of reports are available online. But very little gets to the Israeli public by the commonly used media outlets. (With a few honourable exceptions, such as the Channel 10 TV News, which featured items on critically ill patients desperately waiting for permission to get treatment in Israel, and on the new wing of Gaza's Shifa Hospital whose construction was stopped since building materials are not allowed in through the border passes).

Anyway, most Israelis have little sympathy for Gazans, even if and when happening to hear of their plight. Since Sharon's "Disengagement", official Israel has taken a pose of injured innocence, massively disseminated by politicians and columnists and editorial writers and taken up implicitly by most of the public: Israel has withdrawn from the strip and dismantled its settlements, and the perfidious Palestinians responded with the shooting of Qassam missiles. Therefore, "they brought it upon themselves". Full stop.

Complicating factors are hardly ever mentioned, such as the direct casual relations between the killing of Palestinians (some 700 in the past year, according to the recent proud boasting of PM Olmert) and the retaliatory shooting of missiles (which cause destruction and panic but only rarely kill).

Everybody who listens to Israeli news broadcasts would unavoidably know of the anguish of the inhabitants of Sderot, especially the town's children - who never know a moment of true rest, ever ready to rush to shelter when the dreaded alarm sounds.

This never-ending anxiety in Sderot is all too real, even if there are very few actual casualties. Yet the same media which covers it in heart-rending full-page articles makes hardly any mention of Palestinian children, who live in at least as much fear and who stand a far greater risk of being blown to bits. The 16-year old boy crushed last week under the threads of an Israeli bulldozer, which was engaged in "removing" orchards which "may give cover to Quassam-shooting squads", got a bare laconic remark from the army - "unfortunate collateral damage, he should not have been there".

On the eve of the Jewish New Year, two weeks ago, there was a surprise from Ismail Haniyeh - Gaza-based Hamas leader and Prime Minister of one of the two rival Palestinian governments. Through international mediators, Haniyeh proposed to discuss with the Olmert Government the instituting of an immediate and bilateral ceasefire, and offered to impose such a ceasefire on the smaller groups such as the Islamic Jihad (which do most of the shooting).

Haniyeh's offer was not so much rejected as brushed aside. Indeed, there was an immediate, noticeable notching up of both the military offensive on the ground and the economic offensive through the banking boardrooms (simultaneously with the continuing talks with Abu Mazen and his team).

At least, the group of mainstream dovish writers headed by Amos Oz and A.B. Yehoshua was aroused to action, prominently publishing a call for an immediate ceasefire with Hamas.

And so we come to this day, Thursday, September 27, at noon, in the lazy midst of the Sukkot Holiday, when some of us were tempted to put off the radio and cut ourselves off from the world for a bit. But the urgent phones broke in: "Did you hear? Eleven dead in Gaza! Eleven! We must do something!"

And the sickeningly familiar routine was on once again: hasty consultations between peace groups, to determine place and time, and then hours of phone calls, composing and sending of email action alerts and press releases, placing of announcements on relevant websites and online forums, drawing of signs and placards, and then off to downtown Tel-Aviv. (At some moment during these hours the number of dead Gazans rose to twelve.) And there we are - the activists of Gush Shalom which initiated the action, and Anarchists Against Fences, and Women's Coalition for Peace, and Hadash Young Communists, and the veteran Latif Dori of Meretz, and quite a few people with no specific organizational allegiance. Altogether, some 120 people turned up.

On the one side, the new Defence Ministry Tower with the distinctive helicopter landing "saucer" on its roof - built at considerable expanse and inaugurated in a festive ceremony last year. On the other side, the Azrielli Twin Towers with their giant shopping mall, Tel Aviv's pride, the very symbol and acme of the rich, uncaring, corporate Israel which emerged in the past two decades. In between, the Begin Road, a major artery through which thousands of cars speed at all hours, and us waving signs and flags and banners and chanting in unison at the top of our voices and some making wild hand gestures at the passing cars and pedestrians: "Blockade - NO! Ceasefire - YES!" - "No Tanks and No Qassams - Ceasefire Now!" - "End the Bloodshed - Ceasefire Now!" - "The Blockade on Gaza is a War Crime!" - "End the Economic Strangulation of Gaza!" - "There is No Military Solution in Gaza!" - "Ceasefire in Gaza and Sderot!" - "Hamass Is a Partner for a Ceasefire!" - "I Am a Gazan, Too!" - "In Gaza and Sderot, Children Want to Live!" - "Barak, Barak, hey hey hey, How Many Kids Did You Kill Today?" - "Israel and Palestine, Two States for Two Peoples!" - "Israel and Palestine, a Brotherhood of Peoples!" - "All the Ministers are War Criminals" - "Ehud, Ehud, You Are Expected at the Hague!" - "Ehud, Ehud, Both of You Are Expected at the Hague!" - "The Occupation is a Disaster, Peace is the Solution!"

Two motorcycle riders who passed at great speed tried to grab a Gush Shalom Two-States flag from a demonstrator. A few minutes later, a young woman was rather dangerously leaning out of an open car window to call "Good luck, I am with you!".

The police which appeared soon afterwards - one patrol car, followed by another two - held short negotiations, and were satisfied with the promise that we would go away after an hour. The parked patrol cars actually created a traffic-free zone beside the pavement, in which press and activist photographers could stand and take photos of the straggling line of protesters. And the police did politely lead away the middle aged man who shouted, his face contorted "Why are you allowing these traitors..."

Towards the end, a short dialogue with a bypassing older couple:

The man: What are you demonstrating about?
Activist: Did you not hear? Eleven people killed today in Gaza.
The woman: Eleven? Of ours?
Activist: We are the ones to blame.
[A short silence.]
The man: Yes, the government, but this will not help.
Activist: Probably not, but somebody has to start shouting.

By Adam Keller

Palestine-Israel, Bil'in, Wallage, The joint struggle continue 28 Sep 2007

The 138th Friday demonstration was as usual the last few weeks with small variation. It followed the previous Friday spontaneous demonstration. Last week, the Israeli anarchists against the wall activists, were supposed to mainly participate with delegation of activists of Bil'in in the Kutsin Friday demo. Though not a big crowd of villagers and Israelis, with few internationals and Palestinians from the region, it was a happy demonstration. The chanting and sporadic dancing were colored by the recent victory in the partial at the highest court that ordered to move the fence to the west and exclude the cultivated lands of Bil'in. When we arrived at the foot of the hill the gate to the other side of the fence is located, there was the usual barbed wire spool across the road, the declaration of the near by state force commander about the area beyond the barbed wire a closed military zone, and the usually threats.

As usual when we arrived at the block most of us dispersed among the olive trees and advanced towards the near by separation fence. The state force threw the tear gas and shock grenades, but failed to disperse us. Many of us came two near to the soldiers so their grenades became useless, and they were forced to start physical confrontation. The legs of about 6 of us were injured but we refused to leave them to the army treatment and the commander there gave in and ordered the stopping of brutal harassment. After a while, the demonstration was declared finished and we retreated few hundred meters - living the battle ground to the stone throwing youth, observing it for a while before going back to the village.

------------------------------

The Friday demonstration in Wallage - south of Jerusalem.

The Ramadan period had its effect. The less than 50 participants decided to avoid arrests and physical confrontation with the Israeli state forces. The demonstrators marched along the present fence of the colonial settlement, in a peacefull procession.

Palestine-Israel, The Friday joint actions against occupation, roadblocks, and separation fence: Kutsin + Wallage 21 Sep 2007

This Friday we had two actions - One in Kutsin, and one in Wallage. The Kutsin one have shown the serious regard of the state secret services for the "awful" anarchists against the wall initiative and the efforts they make to evade confrontation. As we warned people who registered to the Friday demonstration that there are high probability for arrest (based on last Saturday experience) the secret services miss understood and concluded that we are planning for a very high profile activity.. They prepared a regional commander decree that the area near Kutsin is a closed military zone. they put an armored car on the local road to intercept us. They ordered us to return to Israel, and black mailed us to accept that by threatening the Israeli Palestinian minibus driver with administrative problems. To be sure we will not digress on the way to Israel, we were followed by a police car, secret service car and army armored car too for a while.

At the same Time, a delegation of Palestinian activists from Bil'in, and villagers of Kutsin demonstrated and marched on the road we took together on last Saturday action - the so called "forbidden road" leading to the road block and the military camp near it. (Last Saturday the state force arrested 13 of us, injured 5 and hit people harshly for marching on the forbidden road.) Surprise surprise, though no Israeli was among the demonstrators, the state forces did not interfere with the march, and when they arrived at the road block they found it open.....
---------------------------------

The Friday demonstration in the village Wallage - near Bethlehem, was a variation on previous Fridays' actions.

The main point of the demonstration was the combining of the struggle against the separation fence in building, with the road blocks - the older means of restriction of freedom of the Palestinians in the occupied territories. (with the usual success... as the policy of the state forces is to allow the removal of road blocks during the demonstration and restore them soon afterwards.

Following is the report of a comrade who participated in the demo. The article in Hebrew with pictures is at:
https://israel.indymedia.org/newswire/display/7504/index.php "Like in every Friday of the last few months, this Friday too, tens of Palestinian peace activists, Israelis* and internationals, arrived for the demonstration against the separation fence which is being built in the Wallage village near Har Gilo.

As the previous demonstration that was at the route of the separation fence was dispersed with high level of violence - with nine injured demonstrators, this week the people choose the way to the main entrance road to the village. With joint efforts, they succeeded to remove the road block and enabled free traffic to the neighboring Palestinian village.

The separation fence which is built on the lands of the village to separate between it ind the colonialist settlement Har Gilo, will encircle the village completely leaving only one entrance under control of the Israeli soldiers. The passage through that entrance will be allowed only inhabitants of the village and will isolate the people of Wallage from the rest of the west bank.

https://israel.indymedia.org/newswire/display/7504/index.php
==========================
* Mostly organized by the anarchists against the fence initiative.

Palestine-Israel, the week end joint struggle against the separation fence and occupation 15 Sep 2007

On Friday we had two joint demonstrations against the separation fence. one was a continuation of the celebration in Bil'in the partial victory against the route of the separation fence - the Israeli highest court was forced to partially accept the petition of Bil'in against the present route. About 100 Palestinians from Jericho (including the mayor) arrived a bit late for the original plan as they were stopped time and again in road blocks on their way. Thus, after the noon prayer, they joined the Bil'in villager, the internationals, and a small team of the Israeli anarchists against the wall (AATW) in a march on the road to the route of the separation fence. When we were still a long way from the usual point of confrontation with the Israeli state force, we heard their threat to assault us if we come too near... As the 100 guests included also women, and kids, the popular comity decided to stop earlier than usual and have the public meeting there.

When all the participants arrived, speeched and explanations were given. After it ended, the nonviolent demonstrators and the guests returned to the apartment we always meet in and more explanation were given to the guests.
---------------------------------

The other Friday demonstration was at the village Wallage. There at noon, 100 of the villagers together with 25 Israelis of the AATW initiative, and about the same number of internationals, approached the area the separation fence is built on. After the mid day prayer of the villages, the demonstrators invaded the route of the fence holding hands and defying the state forces who try to drive them away. There were lot of pushing and pushing back, throwing of tear gas grenades and shooting where they fell to prevent the throwing these back on the soldiers. The gendarmes complained why the reservist soldiers were nearly not active and got one of them to start throwing stones confrontation. After the border gendarmes were issued batons and their starting to use it, the demonstrators dispersed. When the state force drove away they passed near the anarchist car and vent their frustration from the confrontation by breaking its rear window.
========================

On Saturday we had a sample of another joint struggle against the occupation - demonstrations and temporary removal of road blocks that force Palestinians of the occupied West bank to use round about roads and paths instead of the main roads. A planed demonstration and action in the village Sarra was canceled, so the contingent of the AATW who used round about path up the hill to arrive at Sarra had to use another round about rote to get to the demonstration and action in the village Qusin.

Arriving there, we marched together up the road leading to the locked gate on the main and easy road to the near by Nablus. Though there is a military camp near the locked gate, located near a sign forbidding Israeli from passing as it mark Palestinian area A. people succeeded to break the chain locking the gate. After a short celebration all the people started to return to the village.

The state force of the near by camp got organizes a bit late. They came in few cars and tried to block the way of the demonstrators to the village and to punish us on using the road near the camp.

In their efforts they shoot us with tear gas grenade and tried to destroy cameras and video equipment..... but were prevented from doing it. Most of the village people use the hill paths to escape from the state force harassment but two of them, 5 internationals and 6 of the Israeli AATW were detained.

After using round about path the 4 of us who were not arrested arrived at our car and started to participate in the publicity of the action and the support of the people detained. At a certain point we were informed the detained were arrested and will be taken to the regional Ariel police station.

We traveled there and were in time to say hallo to the comrades when they were taken from the military car into the police station for procession.

There we could see the harsh treatment of the two Palestinian comrades who were with tied hands and covered eyes - treatment the others were not suffering.

Gradually, the Israeli and the internationals were released subject to accepting the restriction not to enter closed military zone during the following 15 days signing self bail of 3000 shekel each.

Palestine-Israel, Bil'in, Selected comments by the representative of the People's Committee in Friday victory demonstration 11 Sep 2007

THANKS TO THE ISRAELI (COWARDLY) HIGH COURT
selected comments by the representative of the People's Committee of Bil'in, Basel Mansour, to the Israeli coalition against the fence and especially to the members of the Anarchists Against The Wall initiative, that participated in the Friday demonstration in the village after the decision by the Israeli High Court] Lovers of peace, friends of freedom and justice... our partners in the struggle and in the creation of this partial victory -- I bless you in the name of our Palestinian people, in the name of the residents of Bil'in, that you came to know, and that came to know you, and that you stood by their side ever since they began their opposition to the fence and the settlement that squats on a large part of their land. You came to us without considering the consequences -- the Zionist occupational government attempts to implant the deceptive and distorted idea that the Palestinans are your enemy and want to kill you. By way of this shared journey, we proved the opposite and together we demonstrated the truth -- that Israelis can stand beside Palestinians and live with them in peace and security, and even struggle with them against injustice and occupation, on the fundamental basis that this occupation is an enemy of humanity.

You succeeded in overcoming the army's roadblocks in order to arrive here through a difficult mountanous path and were vulnerable to its shooting attacks. In this way many of you were wounded by bullets that originated from the unmerciful occupation army -- and not from Palestinians, that the occupation attempts to distort and portray as a vicious animal that wants to devour Israelis or throw them into the sea.

You were braver than your fearful government. You participated in the struggle actively and in every way -- morally, physically, in the courts and in the media. In the battlefield, you were on the frontlines, calling with us for freedom, in your belief that only the manifestation of justice will guarantee the creation of peace and security for our two peoples, and not the building of walls and the expanding of weapons warehouses.

You have been real partners -- awake with us late at night, in confronting the almost daily invasions of village homes by the army; together with us you opposed many attempts to arrest, and you yourselves were injured and arrested -- and you conveyed the true picture to the Israeli society. You disputed the positions of the government and the army in every arena -- until the entire world was a witness to this special connection that was created on the land of Bil'in, that united the conversation and the meeting between cultures, creeds and religions. A connection like this must be victorious, history must immortalize it.

Honourable audience, one of the biggest difficulties in this campaign was how to organize and manage the connection with the Israelis in solidarity, after our Palestinians people have always suffered injustice from the Zionist occupation. This was done while Palestinians aspire to lives of freedom, respect, and culture, and the mobilization of the most amount of Israelis possible and international representatives to stand up to the injustice. Once the Israelis in solidarity understood all of this, they became dedicated to the work and became real warriors that earned the trust of all. They contributed much by revealing the true face of the occupation -- its tactics, its lies and its organized terror against Palestinians -- in opposition to those that attempt to normalize and whitewash the occupation.

These people were always willing to take upon itself whatever was asked of it by the People's Committee, and more than this, often took the initiative, offering ideas and suggestions. In this way, they demonstrated that they were true fighters -- not only fans or friends, or cogs in the machine of the occupation. They are heroes in the non-violent campaign of the brave.

Honourable audience, recently a decision was taken by the body called the Israeli High Court of Justice, to cancel sections of the fence in Bil'in and to return a small amount of the stolen lands. This decision was taken after a long campaign with the participation of peace workers from every land, and the shooting injuries of almost a thousand demonstrators, in addition to tens of arrests and many more assaults.

We went to this occupational court not out of faith in it, but to prove that these courts are nothing but tools of the occupation. They are like a soldier that shoots you in the head and kills you, and then wraps your head in a white cloth, to be portrayed as a first aid worker. In its decision, this court proved to be cowardly and causes injustice, and we turn your attention to the fact that our campaign was against the principle of the wall and not opposition to its route.

Therefore we will continue in our struggle, until the occupational government destroys the wall and the settlements in all of Palestine, and we will build together, with our bodies, real bridges of love and security and peace, in order to conquer the wall and we will crush all of the plans of the occupation until we reach the ocean that knows no border -- and on its safe shores, we will sing the song of freedom and peace, together -- far from the injustices of the occupation and its roadblocks and barriers.

Blessings and respect to all of the Israelis, each and every one individually, that believe in peace and our legitimate rights, and welcome to Bil'in.

Palestine-Israel, Bil'in celebration of the struggle against the occupation and the separation fence. 07 Sep 2007

Tuesday morning, even the highest court of Israel that usually support the occupation and the settler colonialist project, had to declare that the two kilometer route of the separation fence cutting the lands of Bil'in as illegal. On hearing the verdict, a preliminary celebration was occurring all day till late evening. This Friday, we intended a bigger celebration at the time of the regular demonstration. More than hundred Israelis of the anarchists against the wall and the coalition against the fence, from all regions of Israel made the way to Bil'in. Still not sure what the state force do, and if they will not try to block our way, we took to the roads earlier. As we arrived earlier without any problem, we start the preliminary celebration together with local activists and participants from the region - including Palestinian dignitaries who came from time to time to the Friday demonstration.

At noon, we started the usual route from the village center to the route of the separation fence. At the head of the procession was driving a car with sound system. After it the demonstrators with lot of Palestinian flags - dancing and singing with slogan shouted in between. In the march participated nearly all the grown up males of the village with a significant minority of females who nearly never participated in the Friday demonstrations.

As we approached the route of the separation fence we have seen that the state force were not deployed in the area between the village and the fence. Indeed, they did not try to prevent us from approaching the gate of the route of the separation fence.

After the people converged at the open area in front of the gate, lot of speeches were carried, including that of the heat of the Palestinian authority, and a member of the village comity which among his words was a prise of the anarchists against the wall that were not only coming to help but were a real partners all along the 30 months of struggle.

After the end of the speeches, people started to sing and dance for a long while before continuing with it all the way back to the center of the village.

Arriving there, the celebration and dancing continued while the Israelis were gradually mounting the transportation back to Israel.

All along the demonstration people talked about the continuance of the Friday demonstrations in Bil'in at least till the present route of the fence will be destroyed.

P.S.
All along the last few days both the Israeli and international media was telling the story of Bil'in struggle and partial victory - often including the description of the part played in it by the anarchists against the wall.
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Pictutes from to day demo-celebration:
http://picasaweb.google.com/ylerer/BilInPartyDemonstration?authkey=JKlySvfbAEw

Ireland, Anarchists Against The Wall Fundraiser by Workers Solidarity Movement - WSM 06 Sep 2007

Info night and fundraiser for the AATW Event - Friday, Sep 7 2007 Anarchists Against the Wall (AATW) was formed in 2003 as the highly controversial apartheid wall meant to separate Israelis and Palestinians began construction, and is made up of both Israelis and Palestinians" They have already seen some significant victories. The AATW have been involved in the struggle of the village of Budrus, whose land was to be almost completely confiscated by the Israelis. Through local mobilisation, struggle and popular resistance, Budrus managed to push the path of the wall almost completely off its land instead of vainly appealing to the Israeli courts.

Victories like these have seen local resistance grow immensely in popularity and the AATW is present at any local struggle where its presence is requested.

The army and the Israeli government are however trying to prevent Israeli activists from joining the resistance in any way they can, stopping short of pointing the business end of a rifle at them. Under current law, it's possible to indict people for simply taking part in a demonstration.

Over the years, AATW activists have been arrested hundreds of times and have had over a hundred indictments filed against them. Legal bills now come to over €25,000.

One immediate act of solidarity open to us is to help them with these costs. So we hope you can come along...

FRIDAY, September 7th Seomra Spraoi, 4 Mary's Abbey (off Capel Street/opposite Rhodes restaurant) 8.30pm Film 9.30pm Music Admission €5 (€4 for the unwaged) http://www.awalls.org

Also check out italian fdca site for other english language updates http://www.fdca.it/wall/media/wall_english.zip

http://www.wsm.ie

Palestine-Israel, Celebration, Israeli Supreme Court verdict of today: the Route of the separation fence in Bil'in is Illegal 04 Sep 2007

This morning at 09:00 was expected the verdict of the Israeli Supreme court on the petition of the Bil'in village about the war crime of the building of the separation fence used to rob most of the lands of the village. The Supreme court that is used to give a "justice" rubber stamp to the occupation and the settler colonialist project can do it only if it is following some kind of logic. Using that kind of logic forced the supreme court to restrict the war crimes of Israel in the occupied territories. The joint struggle in Bil'in of the village popular comity together with the Israeli anarchists against the wall initiative, forced the highest court to intervene. After two and a half years of refusing to give a prompt verdict, it had to follow its own principles of justifying the separation fence, and ordered the settler colonialist establishment to retreat a bit.

In a verdict released today (Sept 4, 2007) in the petition of the village Bil'in against the separation barrier (HCJ 8414/05), by Judges Beinish, Prokachya and Rivlin, the Supreme Court ruled against the current route of the barrier and ordered the State to prepare within reasonable time a proposal for an alternative route, which will leave the agricultural lands of Bil'in on the "Palestinian" side of the barrier. The Court said that the current route was designed to allow the construction of the two stages of the Matityahu East neighborhood in the settlement Modi'in Illit - both the Western stage (where building took place) and the Eastern part (not yet built). The Judges ruled that the Eastern part is not a consideration to be taken while deciding about the route of the barrier. Exceptionally, the Judges also wondered about the security considerations guiding the planners of the wall - saying that the route of the barrier in Bil'in stretches in topographically inferior areas, in order to allow the construction of the full area of the Matityahu East neighborhood.

The Court decided that until the barrier is completed in the new route, the gate in the barrier is to remain open daily between 6:00 am and 20:00 pm.

The preparation which were done in order to face a negative verdict of the highest court were easily adapted to the positive verdict. The celebrations started with the party given late morning to the international and local media. Activists of the village and of the region involved with the struggle in Bil'in continued the celebration in the streets and in the municipality building. On the afternoon the main contingent of the anarchists against the wall arrived from the near by Israeli Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, and the celebration collected momentum. With music and dancing we converged first in the center of the village and then the hundreds of us Palestinian women, men, teenagers and kids, Israelis of the AATW continued the procession all along the road leading to the route of the separation fence. At the gate to the other side of the route, instead of the belligerent soldiers and border guards who attack us each Friday demonstration, there were few soldiers just guarding the gate.

After few sweet minutes of celebration there, we changed direction and did the dancing and singing all the way back to the center of the village.

After the evening prayer, few of the long time activists traveled to have a party at the near by city Ramalla.

All the TV channels reported in the evening main news program about the verdict and the celebration of the long struggle.

Palestine-Israel, The entrance to Karmei Tzur settlement blocked with razor wire, 02/09/2007

A group of 15 Palestinian, Israeli and international activists have blocked the entrance to Karmei Zur Settlement today. The entrance to the Karmei Tzur settlement, which is built on the lands of the Palestinian villages Halhul and Beit Umar, was blocked by a group of about 15 Palestinian, Israeli and international activists. To block the road activists chose to symbolically use razor wire that was taken from the fence that circles the settlement, and prevents Palestinians from accessing their land. A sign reading "Mortal Danger-Military Zone. Any person who passes or damages the fence endangers his life", which was taken from the wall in the area, was hung on the razor wire.

Flyers that were left on the road, reminded settlers that while their freedom of movement is being shortly and symbolically interrupted, the daily Palestinian reality, greatly to settlers convenience, is such of checkpoints, roadblocks, fences, apartheid roads and military occupation.
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Copied from the http://awalls.org - the web site of the Anarchists Against The Wall

Palestine-Israel, The joint struggle in Bil'in, Wadi Nis and Wallage (south Bethlehem), and Sarra (south Nablus) 01 Sep 2007

In Bil'in - the most persistent location of struggle against the occupation and the separation fence, it was the 134th Friday demonstration. As usual, it consisted of Palestinians from the village and the region, Israelis of the anarchists against the wall initiative, and internationals. As usual, after the noon march from the village towards the route of the separation fence we arrived at the foot of the hill the gate to the other half of the village lands is located on. As usual the commander of the state force declared from a distance that the barbed wire spool crossing the road at the foot of the hill mark the forbidden military zone - threatening with punishment who ever cross it. As usual, after converging there we started to cross the line. But, as it happened in the past with the shock grenades, we learned to evade the tear gas ones and after a short confrontation many of us crossed the forbidden line and were too near to the state force for them to use tear gas on us.

After they detained two Israelis and one international activists they took their time. For a while we had there a verbal conflict only, and later the state force started to push us physically back - adding batons work that injured me and two other comrades of the village activists. The refusal of the comrades to yield to the pressure of the state force till the injured ones will be taken care of made the state force stop their offensive. After we were treated by the medics team of the ambulance, we returned to the village - leaving the space to the usual confrontation between the state force and the stones throwing kids.

The comrades detained were taken to the regional police station and were released 5 hours later with two weeks restriction from participation in the Friday demonstrations at the separation fence of Bil'in.

Links to video clips from previous Friday demonstration:
http://mishtara.org/blog/?p=235
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wo9PnuyGaYU&mode=user&search

Link to video clip from this Friday demonstration:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6s7D7GTKRo

===== Sarra =====

The second joint struggle Friday demonstration was at the village Sarra in the region south of Nablus. Following is a text describing the situation there and a call for this Friday demonstration:

"On the 25th August, Israeli Occupation Forces entered the village of Sarra to close a roadblock that had been previously opened. The Monday before, (20th August) international activists joined Palestinian villagers in removing a road block that turned a 5 minute journey to Nablus into half an hour. There was to be another demonstration the Friday after, but it was canceled because the local mayor said the DCO had told him they would open the roadblock permanently on Saturday.

The activists that were ready to join the demonstration were dubious over the generosity of the military and saw it as a potential tactic to avert the demonstration, and it turned out it was. The soldiers came on Saturday, forcing a Palestinian villager to use his tractor to close the roadblock. After the soldiers left, the man re-opened the roadblock. Then the soldiers came again, however this time at night. From one in the morning to 2:30am they entered homes and interrogated the inhabitants, occupied houses and kicked out the families inside, confiscated knives and CDs from houses, pushed people around and shot live ammunition into the doorways of shops and homes, as well as into the water tanks above the homes.

International Human Rights Workers went the day after to take pictures of the damage and speak to the people living there. The people spoken to were convinced that trusting the Israelis was no longer an option. They had shown their goodwill by canceling a demonstration at the suggestion the roadblocks would be opened and had been penalized for their good faith. They Israelis had shown that they were interested in only one thing, the continued harassment of Palestinians in the open air prisons their towns are becoming.

Many people now are ready to demonstrate non-violently this Friday, August 31, at 1:00pm, after the prayer. They are calling on all people who are interested in joining their struggle against injustice to join them on this day. People are talking about bringing signs and Palestinian flags, and as we are organizing people from all around the area we are limited only by our creativity."

The Israeli anarchists against the wall initiative was invited weeks ago to join the struggle at Sarra as partners. A contingent of our comrades participated there in this Friday demonstration.

It was a big demonstration with few hundred participants. The peak of the demonstration was the removal again of the blocks of the road blocks. The state forces used a "small dose" of tear gas and detained three Israeli activists who were taken to Ariel police station and released at the late evening.

======= South of Bethlehem 31.8.07 =====

A comrade reported:
"We started the day in Wadi Nis - about 40 internationals, 30 Palestinians and 5 Israelis of the AATW. in the opening speech of the demonstration it was said that it marks the sixth yearly commemoration of Mustafa Abu-Ali by Israel, and as the occasion fit give respect to the memory of all the other Palestinian martyrs murdered in the extermination actions of Israel.

We marched from the village towards the road marking the route of the separation fence, on its sides week after week other components of the advancing fence appear.

The Israeli state force positioned near by did not approach us and we crossed the route where the fence will be built along it, to the confiscated Palestinian lands on the North-West side of it. We passed between grapes carrying vines and the peasants invited us to eat from them.

After a short time border police and army approached us and blocked our way. The villagers explained that we are going to peace of land located near the settler colony Efrat, the Israeli court recognized the ownership of it by one of them. The army and police insisted that we cannot pass there as the area is declared a closed military zone and the demonstration must disperse during the following minutes. (During the short confrontation settlers from the Efrat colony congregated behind the soldiers.)

We responded to the demand by siting down and continued eating grapes. After an exchange of give and take, the organizers decided that the demonstration already delivered the message, and agreed that we return to the village following statement of the state force that the owner of the land will be allowed to go by himself to check the condition of the land near the settlement.

When we returned to the village we heard that a demonstration in the near by Wallage is about to start.... so many of the participants - Palestinians, Internationals, and Israelis took cars and try to go there but only part of us arrived as the others were blocked in the roadblocks.

The demonstration in Wallage started by prayer on the main road of the village. During the prayer, a team of border police entered the village and confiscated tires they found under a tree. After the prayer we marched - few dozens of the village people with Israelis, internationals and Palestinians from the other demonstration - up the hill on which were parked machines used for building the fence. The state force which previously intervened in Wadi Nis stopped us on our way declaring again that the area is a closed military zone. Here again the villagers informed the state force that an Israeli court recognized the ownership of the land by a local Palestinian. We also set down on the ground holding hands in preparation for non violent resistance and chanting slogans against the separation fence and the occupation.

The army drove away the media workers (mainly photographers) in preparation for a violent eviction. At that stage there started a dispute among the municipality comity members about the continuation of the demonstration, and at the end it was decided to refrain from confrontation with the state force and to yield to their demand to return to the village".

Palestine-Israel, The joint struggle against occupation and the separation fence - Bil'in and Wallage. 24 Aug 2007

It was at noon of the hottest Friday in the pick of the summer. It was also after a direct action in the region in which a new vineyard planted by a settler colonialist outpost, on field of a village near Bir Zeit was uprooted by Palestinians, internationals, and few Israelis. This may be the reason the 133th Friday demonstration in Bil'in was smaller than the usual. In spit of the heat, all along the march from the center of the village towards the route of the fence, people had a lively chain of slogans chanted. When we arrived at the foot of the hill the gate in the separation fence robing more than half of the village lands, the commander of the Israeli state force declared the region beyond a spool of razor wire stretched across the road as forbidden militarized zone. As usual he warned us not to cross it. As usual after the more daring participants converged there for a while we started to go beyond this obstacle.

Few of us went through the olive trees wood, and reached the route of the separation fence, but after a while had to retreat because of tear gas grenades thrown on us. Others defied the tear gas grenades at the wire spool obstacles and even dismantled the spool and dragged it towards the village. Others, just stayed there challenging the soldiers verbally and even advanced few meters beyond the forbidden line. May be because they were exhausted by the hot whether, or some change in policy, the state force was much less belligerent than usual. They threatened the people not to advance any more but let them stay where they advanced. After the first wave of grenades of tear gas shower they used them only sporadicly. They even refrained from sending teams of soldiers to engage the few stone thrower kids....

After the hour and a half we ended the demonstration with 5 lightly injured and 3 detained (two of the Israeli anarchists against the wall and a reporter of Shin Hua - the Chinese official news agency).

Not long later, the detainees were released and we returned to Tel Aviv.

==== South of Bethlehem - Wallage ===

The Friday demonstration at the South of Bethlehem region, against the separation fence in building was at the village Wallage. In a kind of escalation, the state forces blocked the road and prevented the Israeli anarchists against the wall initiative activists from driving to the village. As usual in such cases, the activists parked the cars near by and found a walking path to the demonstration. Though the missed the main part of the demo, the still was in time to "enjoy" the noise of two shock grenades the Israeli state forces used to mark the end of the demonstration.
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Ilan S.
http://ilan.shalif.com/anarchy/glimpses/glimpses.html

See also http://awalls.org