Palestine-Israel, Week in and a week out... and the joint struggle seems to start to collect momentum

It takes time till a new village that started to involve in the persistent non-armed popular struggle catch the consistent weekend demonstrations. Beit Dajan seems to be the new addition, but only the coming weeks will tell. This week the hard core is consisted with Beit Ummar, Bil'in, A-Dik, Ma'asara, Nabi Saleh, Ni'ilin, Qaddum, Sheikh Jarrah, to whom are added the South Hebron actions in support of harassed farmers, and the occupied Jerusalem neighborhood Silwan. Qalandia checkpoint which see more often actions had its focus this week too. The escalation of the war drumming in the assaults on Gaza increased the already high tension resulting from the ferment of the whole region.

Beit Dajan

Popular Struggle Coordination Committee reports protesters in Beit Dajan, south-east of Nablus,are gearing up to open the village's main road, which has been closed for the past 10 years.
Demonstration against closing of the road, Beit Dajan, 09.03.2012. PSCC reports that protesters in Beit Dajan are chanting "Peaceful, peaceful". Soldiers shooting tear-gas directly at people from meters away.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beit_Dajan,_Nablus) is a Palestinian village of about 4000 residents located east of Nablus, near the larger village of Beit Furik. Route 557, the village's transport artery to Nablus, has been closed to Palestinian vehicles for over ten years, since the beginning of the second intifada, in order to make it a "sterile" (as in - Jews only) route for the settlers of Elon Moreh and Itamar. Palestinians from the two villages used to use the road when traveling south, so as not to have to enter Nablus, and as a shortcut into Nablus itself. Now, the road is off-limits to Palestinians from the 'awarta junction northwards, and they are prohibited even from crossing it or walking on it except for in the Beit Furik Checkpoint. The checkpoint itself is now open to Palestinian vehicles, after many years of closure, when the Israeli army only allowed Palestinian travelers who fit certain age criteria to cross it by foot. According to Beit Dajan village council head, four local residents were killed by soldiers and settlers around the road.

This was the first demonstration the village is holding against the closure, and it was very well attended, by several hundred men and youth (sadly no women from the village, though a couple of Palestinian female activists from the area attended), four Israelis and some internationals. the spirits were high, and protesters marched towards the gate sealing off their connection to route 557 waving flags, carrying banners and chanting slogans against the settlements, their theft of land and water, and demanding the opening of the road.
One military jeep was waiting as the protest reached the gate, and the Golani soldiers in it began immediately throwing tears gas grenades, demanding that the protesters retreat 200 meters away from the road. One soldier fired several aluminum tear gas canisters on the ground, dangerously close to protesters who were posing no risk to him. Within around 10 minutes several more jeeps arrived with more Golani soldiers and border police officers. They used stun grenades and tear gas against the protesters, and demanded a retreat. It seemed like the organizers were adamant to have a stone-free demonstration, and to decide when to end the protest and how (on their own terms), which they succeeded in doing. In spite of the aggressive behavior of the security forces, the protesters maintained extreme discipline, and not one stone was thrown (though several teargas grenades were returned to their senders). After around 40 minutes the protesters returned to the village in a well-organized way.
The village intends to continue Friday demonstrations every week after noon prayers.

Photo by: Anne Paq/Activestills.org http://flic.kr/p/bBEJPt Picture of Johnatan Pollack, an Israeli activist, of the founders of the Anarchists against the wall initiative, and spoke of the higher coordination comity, confronts an Israeli soldier during the first demonstration against the closing of the main road in the West Bank village of Beit Dajan.
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.386820391328271.98922.136633479680298
presstvmobile http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Lztw08L-Lg


Bil'in

Weekly Demo 09.03.2012 About 10 Israelis and 10 internationals (including one British punk band) joined the weekly Palestinian demonstration in Bil'in against Israeli repression. The demo went on mostly as it did in the last few weeks, with lots of fence cutting and a relative moderation in the use of gas. However, the use of rubber bullets increased markedly, leading to the injury of two demonstrators, and there was at least one occasion of shooting of gas canisters directly at protesters. One demonstrator rode his horse back and forth between the barbed wire fences, apparently to express the demonstrators' spirit of freedom (but not the horse's).
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.386728361337474.98902.136633479680298
Hamde Abu http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1010081867866.1442.1699580860
haithmkatib http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJTCI1f5iYA


Demo in Kafr A-DIK

Dima Dany Zarkh http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150676954499617.414150.710749616


Al-Ma'asara

Dozens March at Al-Ma'asara against the Construction of the Wall. See http://t.co/WsqZAzC1


Nabi Saleh

Peaceful march reached line of soldiers and army jeeps. As soon as the march reached the soldiers, IOF began throwing teargas. Nabi Saleh live-stream shows Israeli Occupation Forces forcibly removing videographers so they can't film IOF attacking unarmed protestors.
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/20980479
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.386716581338652.98899.136633479680298
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.338849476161877.76808.251098394936986
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obWHKVUurCs
Haim Schwarczenberg https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3531543846601.2166112.1212414101
tamimi1966 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTf1zmhEbE4
David Reeb http://youtu.be/2ry9alt26pc
Women leading the Struggle at Nabi Saleh. See http://t.co/o9AGcJzB


Ni'ilin

About 25 villagers of Ni'lin, four Israelis and seven international marched As every week on Friday towards the separation wall who used to rob village land. When they reached the fence some demonstrators attached tire to the wall and set fire to harm the wall. After the fire died activists began - as usual, banging on the wall with huge hammers and a wedge for quarrying rocks. The wall have already a small hole that allows to look to the other side for observers to look through it and warn of what the state force are doing on the other side.
A Palestinian activist speaking fluent Hebrew took turns with an Israeli activist and they used a megaphone to speak to the soldiers. The soldiers tried the skunk water spray to deter the demonstrators but failed as the wind blew it back and drew volleys of stones. The added tear gas was too not effective. After 3 hours the soldiers crossed the wall and drove the demonstrators to the village shooting at protesters. As result, one demonstrator got injured with rubber coated bullet..
Nilinvillage http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fk0Ayw35rI
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=386722484671395
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.326664297381091
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZL4vFFKYmuc
daboosphotogaraphy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGNPuvWw8Y8


Qaddum

About 200 Palestinians with 10 Israelis and internationals Joined Qaddum Weekly Demonstration. The demo which started with high spirits, barricades and burning tireys was met with relatively mild tear gas and repeated efforts of the Israeli state forces to enter the village. The army tried to open the way with a tractor but the intense resistance of the shabab deterred the tractor and the armed force. After about 2 hours the demonstrators marched in a victorious mode to the village.
See http://t.co/r0CvXVzz
Israel Puterman http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzFgoQtF5-A
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.386822074661436.98923.136633479680298


Qalandia checkpoint

International Women's Day at Qalandia checkpoint
Thursday, 60 Palestinian women protesting the oppression of women and the occupation marched from Ramallah to the Qalandia checkpoint. When they approached it, 40 Israeli s and international activists joined them. The more than 100 Palestinian and Israeli women and men were attacked at the Qalandia checkpoint by the Israeli military forces with stinking water and tear gas. As a response, the local shabab threw on them stones. The demonstrators held a whole hour before dispersing.
Several injuries were reported, including one woman who was hospitalized after being shot with a rubber-coated bullet.
daboosphotogaraphy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRjo3SPQ2cI
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.386097594733884.98791.136633479680298
Israel putermam http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0q3WypX1v0

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See http://awalls.org
See Previous reports about the joint struggles of the Anarchists Against the Wall at: http://ilanisagainstwalls.blogspot.com