Palestine-Israel, The joint struggle interwoven with the Palestinian hunger strike prisoners

All over the West Bank thousands of people took to the streets in support of the hunger striking prisoners. The third intifada collected momentum. It started with hunger strike of administrative prisoners held without trail, with solidarity demos, and joined by 1500 Palestinian prisoners - both in solidarity with the administrative ones and in demand for improving condition of the incarcerated. There were demos and vigils of solidarity daily - both in the occupied territories and within Israel. The weekly demonstrations made it their central theme. After nearly 80 days for the two longest hunger strikers, it seems their death is imminent after the Israeli highest court of "justice" approved of the unyielding refusal of the state to retreat from their administrative jailing. State forces vacillate between harsh repression of demos and restraining - expression of their uncertainty of the evolving third Intifada and mounting international pressure.

Prisoners support

Abir Kopti and Yonatan Polak on the CNN channel
http://edition.cnn.com/video/?/video/international/2012/05/10/amanpour-palestinian-prisoner-hunger-strike.cnn

Jaffa May 11, 2012

Saturday early afternoon. We were about 100 participated in a vigil around the Clock Tower of Jaffa. About half of the Palestinian community and half of the extreme anti Zionist activists.
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151687813910214.850220.545775213
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.365155423531978

Ma'ale Edomim (settlement town near Jerusalem)

Sunday, in solidarity with hunger striker prisoners, the entrance to the town was blocked for a while.
"‎50 Palestinian Israeli and international activists are currently blocking the entrance Ma'ale Adomim settlement in solidarity with the hunger striking prisoners".
Police has now pushed protesters to the sidewalk, but police cars are still blocking the road
Haitham Al Khatib http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wbm_2K_zQw
http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/533369_10150811738612683_724612682_9796549_1895896813_n.jpg
https://t.co/kaqTcTqa
http://t.co/6IJyszpg

Haifa

On Saturday, roughly a hundred protesters gathered, most of whom were Palestinian with only a few Jewish. The meeting point was on Abbass street in Haifa. The protest demonstrated in support of the political prisoners and against the occupation in general. There were people of all ages and everyone chanted and sang. We marched down Abbass street, through Wadi Nisnas and towards The German Colony. The chanting (which was entirely in Arabic and quite radical) didn’t stop for a second. There were many giant Palestinian flags and many signs in both Hebrew and Arabic. Every protester wore a brown bracelet to show their support for the prisoners. The protest was amazing. The few police officers that were there kept their distance and didn’t interfere. They followed us the entire way.
At some point I thought “Don’t they know that they’re supposed to stop us, act all tough and beat us up? They’re really protecting us here! What’s wrong with them?"
When we got to a street with traffic, they politely requested that we don’t take it, and instead go on the sidewalk. Even when we didn’t really obey they redirected traffic as much as they could. Once when we stepped down to the road, one officer who looked like a volunteer said “Please! Get back on the sidewalk!” but it sounded more as a plea than an angry demand or an order. It felt uncomfortable not to cooperate…
During the walk in Wadi Nisnas, many younger folks joined and were immediately swallowed up by the protest and chanting. At some point we were over 200 people. Towards the end we went to The German Colony, past luxurious restaurants, a road that reminds me of Rothschild Boulevard. The restaurants shook with the protest’s chants!!
We finished in a place that until the day before was a solidarity tent for the prisoners where a few solidarity hunger strikers were staging their own strike since last week but the municipality took it down on Friday. A few Palestinian and Jewish protesters decided to stay there overnight anyway and continue the hunger strike. I was really impressed by the protest and its organization, with the wonderful protesters, the Palestinian Haifa street, and the Haifa police. I really recommend folks come there for future protests!
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.366209976759856&type=1


Al-Arkib

The efforts of Israeli projects to transfer Bedouin citizens to concentrated towns and rob most of their remaining lands continue, and so is the joint struggle against it - focused on the case of Arkib lands.
Hi– first off, thanks to everyone who went down to Al-Arakib this week. It's crucial that we do not stop sending folks, so please please sign up for next week on the google doc! and for those who haven't filled out the google doc yet, please do so if you are able to come at all this coming week.


Beit Ummar

Saturday 12/5/2012. Our protest today was in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners in the Israeli jails and to commemorate the 64th anniversary of Nakbah, 10s of Participants joined the protest including Khader Adnan, International and Israeli solidarity activists in addition to Beit Ommar citizens. Once we arrived to the protest location adjacent to Carmi Tsur Settlement built on Beit Ommar farmers land, more than 30 heavily armed Israeli occupation soldiers attacked the participants using rifle butts, batons, shields, and gas canisters, many were injured among the peaceful participants including Ahmad Abu Hashem (46 years) Secretary of the Popular committee in Beit Ommar after being beaten and then was arrested, Yousef Abu Mareya Beit Ommar Popular Committee spokesman (38 years), Mosa Abu Mareya (34 years) Popular Committee member who was injured in the forehead, Younes Arar (40 years) Popular Committee coordinator who was beaten with a baton on his feet, and an international solidarity activist. More pics will be added later today showing the brutality of Israeli occupation forces.
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151092795935760.541865.531065759


Bil'in

Weekly demonstration: "Friday day of Anger" in support of Palestinian prisoners. As usual, about 15 activists with the anarchists against the wall initiative joined about dozen internationals and tens of Bil'iners, in the demo against the land robbery using the fences and walls and against occupation. While marching, we chanted and held pictures of the hunger strikers most in danger. When we arrived at the separation wall the Israeli state forces were surprisingly restrained - even when few of the shabab who were bored by the long waiting for the first shooting, started the stone throwing. Few ineffective spraying of skunk water failed due to friendly northern wind direction. Only after few daring ones started to run between the barbed wire spools "protecting" the wall and the wall, the state forces started the usual massive shooting of tear gas. As the vegetation between the trees was already dry, the tear gas canisters set fire to the dry grass and threatened the olive trees in the area. Some soldiers crossed the wall to our side but no serious confrontation was developed. After demonstrators and fire men extinguishing the fires the participants returned to the village.
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.432099660133677.106390.136633479680298
haithmkatib http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2BUTAhdGkHI

Nabi Saleh

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.432299613447015.106437.136633479680298
http://t.co/WZwTegO1
David Reeb http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHjuBoP46_s


Ni'ilin

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.432252906785019.106428.136633479680298


Kufr Qaddum

In the village of Kufer Qaddoum, south-east of Nablus, hundreds went out to demonstrate despite a tight siege laid over the town from all sides. In their attempt to quell the protest, Israeli forces used tear-gas, rubber-coated bullets and a high-pressure water cannon hosing a foul-smelling liquid, which Israel calls the Skunk. About an hour into the demonstration, a group of soldiers shot live ammunition towards the protesters from a fairly short range, but did not manage to hit anyone.
Friday weekly demo: Soldiers just shot live ammo at a larger than usual demo in Kufer Qaddoum. No injuries. Village is under tight siege since the morning.
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.432174853459491.106410.136633479680298


Sheikh Jarakh

‎Friday http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.390763084300634.86253.100001008382622


Walaja

"Dear all, in solidarity with the hunger strikers and in memorizing the Nakba there will be a demonstration in Al Walajeh on Friday 11-05-2012 at 12:00. gathering point will be by the mosque at the entrance of the village. please join us and circulate this email as much as possible."
Palestinians of all over the west bank demonstrated in solidarity with the hunger striking prisoners.
Friday March of return Nakba 64 protesters sing by the spring call against the ghetto walls closing on all sides of the village.
About 1,000 protested today at al-wallaje against the occupation, the Apartheid wall and 64 years for the nakba, protesters of the Fatah youth came from all over Palestine, some came from as far as Jenin. 10 Israeli activists and few internationals joined them. "We went down to the wall route and a group of protesters went down the hill to what was the village of al wallaje until 48, now only ruins and waved flags and singing anti-occupation songs, then we continued to the old spring, we washed our faces and drunked from the running spring water, then the soldiers came, but after we talked to them they agreed to let us protest peacefully, so the soldiers wet back to the road and we protested peacefully around the spring, and after a while we went back to the village, the main protest stayed on the wall route and had some gas and stone throwing with the soldiers, the protest ended peacefully.
Lior Ben Eliahu http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3011163169110.155230.1563442697
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.365134896867364
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.365155423531978
Elifelet Sara Derbarmbdicare http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150885645237859.439189.734442858
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.432166093460367.106405.136633479680298
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilXwdpzL170
http://t.co/4nm7zH9s
The Wall, 10 years on / part 7: A village turned prison http://972mag.com/the-wall-10-years-on-part-7-a-village-turned-prison/45348/

Tel Aviv

Tuesday, about 3 hundreds of victims of racism and discrimination in housing and radical activists demonstrated in center of city with lot of red and black flags.
http://youtu.be/tw8PHRgT4nw



Social Justice

Thousands "celebrated" the international 12th May day of returning to the streets. In Israel there were marching demos in Jerusalem (thousands) Haifa (more than 1000) and the biggest in Tel Aviv. In Tel Aviv more than a thousand marched from the poor Southern neighborhood to the city square were there was activity all late afternoon and evening with thousands of participants. About 15,000 were there for long, before people started to march towards the ruling party offices (in spite police resistance). Smaller demos were in other towns.
A small anarchist-communist group "Ahdut" (unity) held our colors and distributed bulletins and journals. http://unityispa.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/cimg0119-copy.jpg
ilyiwy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQH8XA0_y-Y
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.446295885398335.115001.274242409270351
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Don’t say we did not know #310

On Monday, 23rd April, 2012, IDF forces came to the Palestinian village Hilet El-Warde, near Bani Na’im (in Hebron Governorate). The forces demolished two cowsheds, three rooms where workers live, and a water reservoir.

On Wednesday, 2nd May, 2012, IFD soldiers went to Baq’a near Hebron , and demolished a water reservoir; the second time the IDF has demolished a water reservoir there.

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On Wednesday, 2nd May, 2012, government representatives accompanied by police went to Khirbet El-Batal, an unrecognized Bedouin village near Mishmar HaNegev.

They demolished the home of a newlywed couple.

Questions & queries: amosg@shefayim.org.il

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