Saturday, May 10, 2008

Palestine-Israel, The week of 60 anniversary of the Nakba.

This week the Israeli Anarchists against the wall added appropriate activities to the on going struggle against the separation fence and occupation. Tuesday night, activists prepared a reminder to the celebrating people who visit the forested areas what the woods are covering. Added on Friday to the usually joint demonstrations - together with Palestinian partners, in Bil'in (West of Ramalla) and Um Salmuna (South of Bethlehem), was the mocking salutation for the Israeli national pride. It was done with the second "national erection parade" in Tel Aviv. Saturday was another special action at the Shufa village - to which the AAtW people were invited by the Israeli "Combatants for Peace".

In Israel, the overwhelming majority of the 80% of population which are Jews, are celebrating every year in May, the 1948 massacres and the transfer of the Palestinians from 75% of Palestine. The masses of people are going out to the woods to have meat on the grill. Many of these woods are covering the ruins of most of the more than five hundreds Palestinian villages occupied in 1948. Activists prepared for them notices by decorating the entrances of some of the woods: see at: https://israel.indymedia.org/newswire/display/8986/index.php

"Yesterday night, activist sabotaged signs in several JNF (Jewish National Fund) forests that are planted on destroyed Palestinian villages in order to remind the many visitors who are expected to come tomorrow, to celebrate the day of independence, the Catastrophe of the Palestinians that was caused by the Jewish state".

The 167th Friday demonstration in Bil'in was as usual. In addition to the various flags and chants, special chants and placard were about the 60 years for the Nacba. A video clip of this Friday demo is at:
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Um Salmuna and Al Khader May 9 2008 by kobi snitz
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The army acted in the reflexive way it is accustomed to act: by collectively punishing the village. The weekly demonstration at Um Salmuna drew a small crowd of Palestinians Israelis and internationals. The demonstrators marched towards the village's lands but as usual were stopped before even leaving the village. A force of about 30 soldiers was present to deny this right to people who have few other rights. The simple demands of the protesters- to march to the land, were ignored by the Border Police force and the regular soldiers who were assigned to demonstration. A stand off of lasted for about an hour, during which the children of the village attempted to remove the barbed wire place in their way and the soldiers threatened them. Soldiers also threatened with arrest those members of the popular committee who tried to walk around the barbed wire.

The constant disregard for the rights of the people of the village has not deterred them from constantly making the same demand for over a year. The army acted in the reflexive way it is accustomed to act: by collectively punishing the village. The road leading out of the village was closed to traffic and For good measure, soldiers also occupied a house and placed snipers on its roof.

The situation was similar at the demonstration at Al Khader which coincided with the Friday prayer. Large amounts of soldiers, a road closed to traffic and determined demonstrators who will be back next week to continue to resist their imprisonment.
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The second national erection parade in Tel Aviv
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The celebration of the 60 anniversary of the declaration of the Israeli state was even more repulsing then the previous ones. The label of "national erection" convey our despising of national pride and more so the Israeli one. On the Previous parade we had a three meter long and erect male organ on a bicycle court in the head of the parade along the Rothschild bulvard.

However, this Friday the demonstrators had a big surprise. Just before the time to start the parade, a team of the special task force of police attaked the erected organ... detained two comrades... and after sreading the erected organ disapeared leaving behind two policemen who just observed how the parade blocked intersections on its way. The detained comrades were released on the condition they will refrain for two weeks from passing the Rothschild bulvard....


Invitation to the action in Shufa
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At 12pm on Saturday 10th May, Israeli and international activists will
join Palestinians in the village of Shufa, near Tulkarm, to dismantle
the Israeli roadblocks that divide the two parts of the village.

The demonstration is organized by the municipality of Shufa as part of
An Nakba commemorations. Israelis from the activist group, Combatants
for Peace, Palestinians from throughout the West Bank, and
internationals, will join with residents from the village of Shufa and
Tulkarm to protest against the act of collective punishment that
divides Izbit Shufa from the rest of the village.

Buses will leave Tulkarm at 11:30am to remove roadblocks closest to
Izbit Shufa, whilst activists coming from Israel and Shufa "proper"
will work on the roadblocks nearest to Shufa "proper." .

The one kilometer-long main road of Shufa was closed with four
roadblocks three years ago, preventing Shufa "proper" from being
accessed by car - the stretch can only be traversed by foot. The
1200 residents of Shufa also lack the electricity and phone lines that
are available to the 800 residents of Izbit Shufa, because the path of
the lines passed through "Area C:, too close to the illegal Israeli
settlement of Avne Hefez, and so were cut by Israeli authorities in
2001. These are examples of the collective punishment imposed on
Shufa.

The Illegal settlement has taken over 2500 dounums of the village land
- a number which will rise to 5000 dunams if residents continue to be
denied access to their lands by the Israeli army, as they currently
are.

The village of Shufa is an extreme example of the ways in which the
Israeli occupation denies freedom of movement and other basic rights
for Palestinians under pretext of providing security for the illegal
Israeli settlements - thus creating an undeniable system of apartheid.
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The direct action in Shufa today.
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Invited by the organizers, "Combatants for Peace" activists of the AAtW joined
the action. going around road blocks we arrived near the road blocks of the village, and joined Palestinian activists from Tulkarem, and together we arrived at the road block, Most of the other Israeli and Palestinian participants were verbally confronting the Israeli state force near a second road block. For an hour we worked on the dismantling of the first road block and after finishing it joined the other near the second one. When we tried to pass the state force to the other side of the road block, they responded to our pushing with shock grenades and barrage of rubber coated bullets injured 10 (5 of the AAtW contingent.

After a while, the state force let us pass the road block and the Israelis returned home...

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