Palestine-Israel, a new year of joint struggle against the occupation fence and occupation

Autumn first rains started the olive picking season. Joining the picking hindered by the separation fence and colonial settlers colored the actions the anarchists against the wall activists were involved with. In Ni'ilin it was the resuming of the usual struggle after the lower profile during the picking. At the Hebron region and the other areas the picking continued. Activists were detained and released. Tuesday we had a successful benefit in Tel Aviv. In Bil'in, Friday had the usual noon demo, and the evening wedding hafla of Rani Burnet who is usually at the head of the Friday demos on his wheel-chair. In Um Salmuna the demo was merged with olive picking. Saturday evening exhibitions.

THE BENEFIT

The Haaretz the third important daily which is the liberal capitalist voice report in the cultural section:

Benefit party in Tel Aviv against the separation fence by Noia Kochavi

On Tuesday, there will be at the Barzilay club in Tel Aviv a party with the name "Musical-Radical" aimed to collect money for the legal expenses of the ongoing activity against the separation fence Israel build on the west bank. In the party with entrance fee of 30 shekel will play the music some of the prominent local D.J.s among them Radiotrip, Uri Lichtic, Sensy Sound, Skilaton, Nasty Habit, and Abuya sound. At the gig will be a table for selling shirts and CDs the income of which will be contributed to the same cause. The organizers of the party ask to regard it as a source of inspiration and enhancement of the activists and not as an escapist happening.

NI'ILIN

On Monday evening we had to shout for nearly an hour standing on the route of the separation fence in building till an Israeli state force car "came to receive our protest..." As big stones were arranged across the route and youngsters threw stones on them, they just shoot few tear gas canisters and went away...

Wednesday was a demo while works were still done on the route and state force succeeded to block our way. after the works finished for the day and machine went to their night compound - state force went away and some comrades approached the route and did things to the equipment.

At night state force arrested for of the activists of the village popular comity and Thursday the struggle continued while general strike was declared in the village. And of course a demo and a confrontation on Friday too where the state forces prevented a mass prayer near the route of the separation fence or even at an open space in the village.

BIL'IN

After it was anounced by the state system that they will yield to the highest court verdict that the separation fence will be moved to return some of the village land (but still bargain how much) - the confrontations at the gate of the separation fence eased a bit. The last Fridays they do not try too hard to prevent us from entering the route of the separation fence. A few symbolic tear grenades and some shock grenade that do not deter the more experienced participant. Last Friday we took with us when we returned to the village one wing of the gate (which the state force did not bother to take back or punish us for that). This Friday, we arrived at an agreement they will not try to make us go as long as we will refrain from touching the electronic fence...

Following is excerpt of a report of member of the village popular comity against the separation fence:

"... protest was lunched today after the Friday prayer in Bil’in and was joined by international and Israeli activists to allow Palestinians to pick olives from the trees on their land. A delegation of journalists and students from Belgium joined the demonstration in solidarity with the village in their struggle against the Wall and settlement building, their name: Students for a just peace in the Middle East. and another group from the Ireland solidarity movement with the Palestinian people. in addition to this, a group from Denmark and another one from England.

The demonstrators marched in the village chanting against the discriminatory policies of the occupation [with a women of the village leading the chants].


EXHIBITIONS

This evening there was an opening of two politically oriented art exhibitions at the "house of the art people - Beit Ha'omanim" in Tel Aviv. One of them was a group exhibition in which the active stills collective activists of AAtW had their space. The other one was an exhibition of an established painter who is one of the activists that document with his video camera the demonstrations of the AAtW. (Most of them are on Utube - part of some find their way to TV news.)

His exhibition included some drawings of scenes of the struggle - including the gate to the separation fence in Bil'in. In the courtyard of the building, there was an happening with some talks and music - lot of the radical left of the metropolis attended.

In the fringe of the crowd a nonformal get together included total high school refusnics of "three generations". One, the first political total refusnik (of the first Israeli libertarian communist organization Matspen), one of the famous refusnic 5 group that served two years in jail few years ago, and one of the new refusnic group members of which are now in struggle and serving time.