Saturday, April 26, 2008

Palestine-Israel, busy weekend of joint struggle in Jafa-Tel-Aviv and the occupied territories - 24-25 of April

The anarchists against the wall initiative were busy on Wednesday graffiti in preparation for the Thursday evening joint demonstration. Thursday direct joined action with our Palestinian partners of Bil'in and others of the region in the temporary liberation of an area near Ramalla when new settler point is in development. Later, Thursday evening there was the monthly critical mass ride against occupation that started at the Tel Aviv "Zocolo" and traveled to the big counter demo to the 60 years anniversary celebration of the Zionists of the occupying of Jafa on 1948 in the park built on the ruins of the destroyed al-Manshiya district of the Palestinian Jafa. Friday we split five ways:

One in the Hebron big demo at the Shuhada road and the near by square.

A second in the struggle against the separation fence of south Bethlehem - at Um Salmuna and Al Khader. A persistent struggle for already a year or so. These days, the Israeli state arrested for administrative jailing of 6 months Musa AbuMaria - one of the main organizers of the joint struggle against the separation fence and occupation.

The third was at the apartheid highway 443 - a somewhat new project in the Bil'in region.

The fourth was in Shiftin - a small village near Shukba (in the west of Bil'in). There the action was targeted against a settler quarry which infringe on the village land and dusting the village. During the action, the villagers succeeded to put on fire one of the quarry tractors, before the army came. They soldiers shoot Palestinians and the car of the AAtW activists. Two villagers were lightly wounded - one of live ammunition.

The fifth was the 166th Friday demonstration in Bil'in.... Bil'in become gradually the unofficial focus of the Palestinian non violent popular struggle against the separation fence and occupation. It is a real bi directional process. Activist from Bil'in participate in struggles in locations in the central part of Palestine. Grass roots activists from all over Palestine come to Bil'in to be inspired and start a similar activity at their villages. Even Political activists of the national level feel obliged to come from time to time for meetings and even participate in the joint Friday demonstrations.

This Friday, there was in Bil'in a meeting of political activists of the left spectrum of Palestine with a leftist delegation from Europe. After the meeting they participated in the Friday noon demonstration against the separation fence and occupation.

The demonstration was as usual with a small variation as the guests gave a speech at the square near the gate of the rote of the separation fence.

After the speeches, the unruly kids started to throw stones, which gave the Israeli state force the excuse to shoot on us tear gas and bullets coated with rubber. They also use it as usual to shoot at the video cameras documenting the demonstration.

This Friday's video of David at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhLYrpLxtDI


On Thursday the 24th A "celebration" took place, courtesy of The Etzel Museum and The Menachem Begin Heritage Foundation, commemorating 60 years of the "liberation" of Jafa . Arab and Jewish activists planned a series of actions trying to raise awareness to the absurdity of celebrating the actions of the terrorist organization the irgun (etzel) which is responsible to a series of terrorist attacks during 1947-8.

On the night between Wednesday and Thursday, three activists were detained, accused of poster hanging in the area of Neve Tzedek and Jafa. A short time after that 5 more activists were detained accused in vandalizing public property in the same area. Around 4am the first bunch of activists were released signing a house arrest form for 24 hours.

The second bunch accused of vandalizing were illegally detained for over 8 hours and finally were officially arrested and taken to court, around noon the court decided to release all the five on self bail.


AN INVITATION OF ACTIVISTS FOR PARTICIPATION IN THE ACTION

"Hast thou taken possession and celebrated?"
This coming Thursday, April 24, at 19:00
A "celebration" will take place, courtesy of The Etzel Museum and The Menachem
Begin Heritage Foundation, commemorating 60 years of the "liberation" of Jafa…

It is time to make some noise!
All those who cannot share the joy over the expulsion of Jafa Palestinian
inhabitants of 1948 is invited to join us in a joint Jewish-Arab protest (and
vociferous) event.
At 19:00, near The Etzel Museum, on the ruins of al-Manshiya, Charles Clore Parc.

Join us to liberate Jafa from the expulsion.
Please, bring pots, pans, and other means of distraction

For further details: 054-xxxxxxx and 052-xxxxxxxx
You can read about the deeds of the Etzel in Jafa:
http://yaffastruggl eh.wordpress. com/alternativet our

An alternative tour will start earlier, at 17:30, from Suzanne Dallal square
For details on the tour: 050-xxxxxxx



PART OF THE RELEVANT MEDIA

Rightist one:

Anarchists Arrested for Tel Aviv Graffiti
Police said Thursday that they had arrested a group of five anarchists early on Thursday morning for vandalizing property in Tel Aviv. The five, residents of Jerusalem and Haifa in their 20s, were caught painting walls with slogans against the Israeli occupation.

The five were released on Thursday morning on their own recognizance. They are expected to face charges of vandalism. One of the suspects was caught in possession of illegal drugs as well.

More sympathetic one:

Police arrested photographer while doing his duty [licensed media worker who is also activist]

Photographer of the "Ha'ir" documented spraying of graffiti in protest of the tours of the legacy of the Etsel [A pre Israel rightist Zionist underground terrorists] tours, was arrested and his camera was confiscated though he did not participated in the action.

The youth intended to spray graffiti along the route of the tour in protest as the official tour do not reveal the story of the nearly complete depopulation of the original Palestinian population of Jafa.

The policemen present disregarded the activists but after starting the spraying of "where the Jafa Arabs gone" the plain clothes detectives of Tel Aviv police arrested them. Oren showed them his official journalist card and insisted he is there in his professional capacity.The detectives did not respect it - arrested hi and confiscated his camera.

The detectives refused to verify his claim and took all of them to jail.

When they were brought before the judge in the morning the police prosecutor claimed Oren participated in the "crime". However, the judge verdict was that the "damage of property" by graffiti - as despicable act is still not justifying arrest. He released them on very low bail. As for photographer, the judge claimed that it is an high probability he was there in his work capacity, and released with out any condition.

After his release Oren stated he is working for the media already two years and that day was assigned the task of photographing the protest activity.


It seems like the police targeted these activities using a lot of there resources in order to prevent this joint Arab jewish struggle inside Tel Aviv and Jafa.

During that day the menachem begin foundation held tours in the area of neve tzedek and Jafa. A few activists managed to infiltrate these tours asking questions and handing out flayers. Around 6pm an alternative tour took place on the same route, ending at a demo in front of the "celebration". Activists from the critical mass against the occupation joined the demo and made a lot of noise trying to disturb the so called celebration. The demo was surrounded by heavy presence of riot police. Three activists were arrested and released about four hours later. Two more activists that were outside the police station were detained for a short time.

Haaretz

Palestinian, Israeli activists scuffle with troops in W. Bank

Tags: Settlers, Outpost, Palestinians, Anarchists against the fence.

The IDF yesterday evacuated some 40 Palestinian, Israeli and foreign peace activists who had taken over an abandoned outpost west of Ramallah and hoisted the Palestinian flag over it. After the evacuation, the IDF allowed settlers who used to pray in the synagogue at the Yad Yair outpost to return to it, purportedly to "gauge the damage," military sources said. The protesters say settlers have taken over the site and are setting up an illegal outpost there. (Meron Rapoport)

Ynet

.... Jonathan Polak of the "Anarchists against the wall" said: The reason for that action was because that outpost express the cooperation between the army and the settlers. If we could overtake it with no problem, the army could do it too". He added: A short time after the take over, an army force arrived and shoot bullets "coated with rubber" that hit the car of the photographer team".
In response to the army claimed that it is a closed military zone, and as such need to be evacuated, and said: In spite of that, there are tens of settlers who arrive there every day for prayers.

HEBRON

[The invitation for the activist to join the Hebron action:

On April 25th, On Jewish Holiday of Passover, That symbolize more than any other
thing the meaning of being a free people, we shall conduct a solidarity visit to
Palestinian Families in Hebron who lost their freedom since the first Jewish
settlement 40 years ago in Hebron.
For more details please make contact with Amos: amog@mscc.huji.ac.il
Regards. Bnei Avraham]


MEDIA

Left-wing activists, settlers clash in Hebron

Some 50 activists arrive in city on holiday eve for protest march despite army prohibition; later charge police 'did nothing to stop settler's aggression.' Jewish community slams police 'cooperation with terror supporters'

Scuffles broke out on Friday afternoon between settlers and left-wing activists in Hebron – with both sides denouncing local police forces.

Shortly after 1:00 pm some 50 activists convened at the Gross Square in the city to join Palestinian residents for a protest rally under PLO flags and banners. Local witnesses said demonstration participants assaulted a Jewish resident.

[They marched along the Shuhada main street that court verdicted must be open for the Palestinians too... but it is not respected by the army].

When IDF officials informed the protesters that the gathering was not authorized, they refused to leave the scene and lay down across one of the city's roads. One of the rally organized has been detained for questioning by the police.

Activists also tried to block the main route leading to the Jewish section of the city, preventing residents from accessing or leaving their homes. Police troops were alerted to the scene after the confrontation deteriorated into a brawl and separated the opposing sides.

The activists were then escorted to a bus, presumably to leave the city, but its passage was blocked by a group of settlers, forcing the driver to return to the police station.

Eventually the bus departed in the direction of Jerusalem with a police escort, but not before it was pelted with eggs by right-wing activists.

"The police did nothing to stop the settler's attacks and chose instead to arrest the leftist activists instead and take them to the police station," said the outraged activists, adding that they had also been attacked with rocks and were delayed for a lengthy period of time at the police station.

Meanwhile the Committee of the Jewish Community of Hebron also had harsh words for local law enforcement. "Police here regularly allow anarchist groups, extreme left-wing activists and terror supports to stage provocations here in the city. Today the police allowed them to block the only road into the Jewish sector. We denounce this act and demand the provocations stop, they should be kept away from Jewish communities."

Friday, April 18, 2008

Palestine-Israel, The anarchists against the wall persist in the joint struggle against the separation fence and occupation 18-4-08.

This Friday, AATW contingent participated in the demonstrations south of Bethlehem with the addition theme of solidarity with Musa Abu Maria arrested lately (see below). After the demonstration in Um Salmuna the comrades visited Musa in jail and later visited his family at the village Beit Umar. The other main activity was the 165th Friday demonstration in Bil'in. WE marching with the local activists and internationals from the center of the village to the gate of the route of the separation fence with banners and placards chanting all the way. We converged near the route and few comrades forced the gate open as a symbolic defiance. After a while state force added to the warnings some warning shots hoping to provoke the unruly youth to start trowing stones...

It took about 40 minutes till the youth responded to the challenge and enabled the state force to respond as usually with lot of tear gas canisters and shooting of bullets coated with rubber... and dispersed the nonviolent demonstration.

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

Musa AbuMaria persecuted

Early in the morning of Friday April 11th IDF troops invaded the home of the AbuMaria family and arrested Mousa Abu Maria. Mousa is a well known nonviolent activist and a co-founder of the Palestinian Solidarity Project. He has been a lead organizer in peaceful protest involving hundreds of Israelis and internationals and has been committed to nonviolence for several years.

When Mousa was arrested his family was not told of the reason of his arrest or his whereabouts.

When his lawyer managed to locate him it turned out he was being held in military jail but still no reason for his arrest was given. Only days later was his lawyer finally told that he was suspected of membership in a terrorist organization but when his interrogation did not turn up any evidence the prosecution has admitted that there 'may' not be enough evidence to put him on trial.

With no evidence of against him and a long history of nonviolent activism Mousa's family should be celebrating his impending release. The Israeli military court system that presides over Palestinians in the Occupied Territories does not work that way and the prosecution has said they are considering putting Mousa in Administrative Detention, in which he has no right to trial. For Palestinians, when there is no evidence for a trial, they are simply jailed without one. The decision on whether Mousa will be placed in Administrative Detention will most likely be made TOMORROW.

Friday, April 11, 2008

Palestine-Israel, In spite of injuries by state force - the joint struggle continues. 11-4-08

In spite of repeating injuries by shooting, the activists of the Anarchists Against the Wall initiative keep coming to the joint struggle together with the Palestinian villagers and internationals. This weekend "only" three demonstrations - Um Salmuna, Bil'in, and apartheid highway 443. On Friday morning a team came from Tel Aviv for the south of Bethlehem struggle against the apartheid. The demonstration against the separation fence at Um Salmuna was very peaceful... However, after the demonstration the state force harassed the Israelis who wanted to travel to the next noon demonstration - at the El Khader village. After a short detention and involvement of both the police and regional commander the comrades were released. As the same units of the state force were supposed to be present at El Khader, the comrades preferred to come instead to the Bil'in early afternoon demonstration.

In Bil'in, we had the 164th Friday demonstration. As usual we marched from the village center to the gate of 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 Illit. In spite of the verdict of the Israeli Highest court of "justice", more than half a yer ago, to move the fence westwards in order to return back about 1000 dunams (one square kilometer), nothing is done yet to follow that verdict.

In spite the de-escalation of the suppression of the demonstrations lately, after the unruly youth who do not respect the nonviolent mode of the action start to throw stones, the state force starts to shoot on both the stone throwers and the nonviolent demonstrators.

They do it in contradiction of the official limits on shooting of even rubber coated bullets from too short distance. As result, the rubber coated bullets do penetrate the body of the victims. This Friday, like that of a month ago, a comrade got shot above the knee and because of too short range the bullet penetrated his feet. (It was a 71 years old activist who persistently document on video the Friday demonstrations in Bil'in and other joint actions the AAtW participate in. It was not the first time the state force fire hit and injure him, or "just damage his video". They often concentrate their fire of media workers.)

Till now, in addition to lot of injuries by bullets "rubbed by rubber" that eventually healed, three of the AAtW activists in action got permanent damages from illegally shoot bullets which hit their heads. One got a brain damage and two lost part of their vision in one eye.

(Palestinians participants in the same demonstrations suffered much more... Few even got killed before the official directives forbidden opening fire with life ammunition while Israelis participate too.)

A video of today's Bil'in demonstration at

http://youtube.com/watch?v=mN55YOH4Q58

I.

Friday, April 4, 2008

Palestine-Israel, the joint struggle against occupation and the separation fence continue

The main actions the Israeli Anarchists Against the Wall participated in were in Qaddum (Wednesday) and the Friday demonstrations - Against the separation fence and occupation in Bil'in (the 163rd), and these of the Bethlehem region - Um Salmuna, and El Khader. We also were invited by the regional comity to the demonstration against the Apartheid highway 443 connecting Tel Aviv to Jerusalem but pass through Palestinian occupied and confiscated lands (The Palestinians of the region are forbidden to travel on).

QADDUM

Following is a mail distributed as a call for action - A call to action: Help the village of Qaddum!

Settlers are evicted from their illegal settlement on Qaddum lands TODAY. People are needed to come this afternoon, evening, and tomorrow. The army is declaring a closed military zone, and only our people will be allowed in.

If you can make it – please contact A. ASAP (A detailed background can be found below)

Settlers have recently taken over lands of the Palestinian village of Qaddum. Unlike certain similar cases – here the Israeli army is willing to admit that the lands are privately owned, and is willing to evict settlers from a house they've occupied on the land. But the settlers keep coming back.

(However, this was already done superficially several times, the teens who are staying there just go few hundreds meters away and after a while return. I.S.)

At the invitation of the land owner (to the AAtW) we plan to take over the house and keep it for a limited period after the settlers are next evicted.

To do this we'll need a great deal of help from as many volunteers who can get to the house and stay in it in shifts. We'll also need license and/or car owners to help with getting people to and from the land.

To join, and for more details, please contact us at - qaddum.outpost@yahoo.com

Or call S. or H.

Background:

The village of Qaddum is located between Quliquilia and Nablus, near Al-Funduq. Since the beginning of the Intifada in 2000 access to some of the village's lands has become virtually impossible due to there vicinity to the Israeli Settlement of Qdumim.

Most affected by new movement restrictions was the land of Badria Amar. Badria's land is at the foot of Qdumim, and since the road that went near the settlement was closed access to the land has become very difficult. The family has therefore hardly reached the land in the passing years.

Several months ago the land and a small empty house on it were taken over by settlers from Qdumim, who dubbed their new outpost "Shvut Ami" ("My People's Return"). Badria, the NGO "Yesh Din" and Adv. Michael Sfard began a legal struggle over the land. The army acknowledged the fact that the land is privately owned, and agreed to evict the settlers. However, its actual course of action has since been to evict the settlers back to Qdumim, let them go, and allow them to walk the 10-minute distance back to the "outpost".

This little game has been played out some 10 times already, and each time requires more stress being laid upon the army for it to agree to re-evict. The army refuses to make sure the settlers don't return to the land, which is why the land owner and the village council turned to us and invited us to take over the house ourselves once it's next evicted, and to keep hold of it for a while so as to send a message to both the army and the settlers. The village's support is guaranteed, although many in the village fear going to the land themselves due to the nearness of the settlement.

Each time the settlers build extensions to the house and start laying out infrastructure for water and electricity – and each time the army re-demolishes them. In one of these demolishes a part of the original house was damaged, and the army promised to fix the damage in coordination with the land owner. This means that the army has to evict the settlers AND in fact give us at least a day's notice on this. At first the army was hesitant about this, fearing they cannot control the tension between us and the settlers. However - this eviction is happening now.

We are now planning to get to the land, attempt to hold a joint ceremony with the village celebrating the re-take-over of the Palestinian land, and start holding continuous presence there.

As mentioned above – we need a great deal of help in order to maintain this presence. Please spread this message to as many people as you can, so that we can seriously deal with the challenge at hand, and reaffirm Palestinian ownership of the land.

WEDNESDAY ACTION

After "coordination" with the Israel occupying administration, part of our activists were allowed to enter the area the house is on - as the place was declared a closed military zone. Afternoon, when we arrived, the state force at the entrance checked our ID to see if we are on the list of permits. Then, they let us enter but refused to allow the car with the equipment.

When we entered the area we have seen that some of the settlers youth had already returned. We applied some pressure on the commander of the state force and the made the teens live the howse and move a hundred meter away.

Gradually, the teens summoned settlers adults to their help. At the beginning the state force detained two of them but soon released them and stop blocking the others who came soon. These, seeng the state force do nothing, started to pressure us to go away - first with words and soon with pushing. Due to bad balance of power - us only 8 and they nearly 100, we decided to go away.

Another round is expected as there was a legal scandal and each state force agency blaming the other for the lousy functioning of theirs and promising that next time they will do their job.

Qaddum event - link to video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jq_33tSp6JE

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BIL'IN

In Bil'in, we experience again the gradual deescalation of the Israeli state forces suppression of the Friday demonstrations.

This time, after the non violence demonstrators arrived at the gate of the route of the separation fence, they announced as usual the area as closed military zone and warn us not to touch the fences. In spite of it, few comrades opened the gate to the route the electronic fence run in its Middle. A warning shot initiated the stone throwing of the youngsters who do not share with us the non violent mode. For a while, there were some minutes of shooting of the state force - mainly tear gas canisters. The majority of us stayed near the fence, but when the state force renewed with intensity its shooting we returned to the village.

Al along the confrontation, the state force remained (the first time ever) on the other side of the route the fence is on, and did not come to our side to harass the stone throwers and the non violent demonstrators who stayed near by.

THE APARTHEID HIGH WAY 443

The previous verdict of the Israeli high court of "justice" that authorized years ago the confiscation of the Palestinian lands for the 443 road was based on its being also for use by the Palestinian villages along it.

However, for years the villagers were not permitted to use it. When it was brought before the Israeli high court of "justice", it changed its opinions and authorized the de facto preventing the use of the road by the villagers.

Following the recent very negative high court decision, the demonstrations that started few months ago but did not continue whole waiting to the decision, started again. The AAtW was called to renew the joint struggle and we did.

see
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/966013.html