Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Palestine-Israel, The joint struggle demonstrations celebrated the failure of Israeli divide and rule

The main joint struggles and locations of weekly actions: Beit Ommar, Bil’in, Izbat at Tabib, Silwan, Sheikh Jarrah, Lod, Ma’asara, An Nabi Salih, Ni'lin, South Hebron Mountain - celebrated the crumbling of Israeli strategy of divide and rule. The compromise between Fatah and Hamas ended the split the weekly demonstrations protested against. The uprising of the masses of the Arabs in the region and the approaching September energized the weekly demonstrations and increased the numbers of participant - both Palestinians and Israelis.

Beit Ommar

Saturday demonstration. Three members of the Beit Ommar National Committee against the Wall and Settlements were injured in a demonstration near the Israeli Karmei Tsur settlement
May 7, 2011 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzVz4y1iXzg


Bil’in

Demonstration Attacked with Skunk Water; 15 Year Old Child Arrested
Over the past month, the Israeli army has routinely attacked unarmed demonstrations in Bil’in with ‘Skunk’ water with little regard for the civilian demonstrators. During the weekly demonstration against the wall and occupation, soldiers attacked using tear gas, the ‘skunk’ and arrested one 15 year-old child.

Protesters Dressed as Palestinian Political Leaders in Bil'in

The weekly demonstration in Bil’in this week was carried out under a banner of national unity in honor of the signing of the reconciliation agreement between Fatah and Hamas. Two residents of the village dressed up as PA president Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas political leader Khaled Meshaal and carried a coffin to the demonstration area to show that division is dead among Palestinians.
https://www.popularstruggle.org/sites/default/files/images/Bilin.preview.jpg

Once at the site of demonstration, the Separation barrier, Israeli soldiers quickly attacked the unarmed demonstrators with tear gas and the ‘skunk.’ Soldiers, hiding in the olive groves inside the village, arrested 15 year old Iyad Al Khatib. His location is unknown at the time of this report. The demonstration ended with no other arrests or injuries.

42 Israelis and a bunch of internationals joined Palestinian women, men and children for the weekly demonstration in Bil'in against the wall, land grab and occupation army violence. Two locals dressed up as Fatah and Hamas leaders, escorting the coffin of Palestinian division to burial. When demonstrators reached the fence they were attacked with gas, skunk water and sound bombs. The coffin, which was put on fire, was drenched with the skunk water, sending the message already expressed by prime minister Netanyahu, "we shit on Palestinian unity".. The shabab continued demonstrating along the Wadi to the north of the village, where one 15 year old boy was ambushed and arrested, and another injured his leg. The gas canisters caused several bush fires that threatened the villagers' olive trees.

Bil'in_6-5-11 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQGK1RNX-Dg


Izbat at Tabib

The village of Izbat at Tabib invites activists,internationals and
organizations to support their popular struggle on Sunday 8th May at 2 PM.
The marking will be held on their agricultural land that is threatened by
the creation of the wall. More info about Izbat at Tabib follows...


Occupied East Jerusalem

Silwan

Israeli activists converged with local activists to deter the occupied stets force from harassing the Palestinian activists... and the state force waited till the Israelis left before they started to harass the Palestinian comrades.

Sheikh Jarrah 6/5/11

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1655586000528.118876.1563442697
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.208658292502151.58413.100000739446057
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.170780399646538.44043.159938690730709
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.222682977746725.73686.100000150737581


Lod


Ma’asara
The weekly protest was held on the occasion of national Palestinian unity. Dozens of Palestinians, internationals and Israeli activists marched together chanting in favor of national unity. The demonstrators carried a coffin as a symbolic gesture to bury division between rival Palestinian parties Fatah and Hamas.
Israeli soldiers to the demonstration by closing the entrance to the village and imposing a closed military zone on the area. The demonstrators were blocked from reaching their lands and three people were arrested. The Israeli activists were taken to Gush Etzion police station in the Occupied West Bank. They were released with no bail. Mahmoud Zawhare, the coordinator of the Popular Committee in the village, was taken to an unknown location and released later in the evening on 2000 NIS bail.

Two Israelis and one Palestinian were arrested by Israeli soldiers at the end of the weekly unarmed demonstration in the village of al Ma’asara near Bethlehem. The Palestinian is the Popular Committee leader of the village and he was released later in the evening on 2000 NIS bail.


An Nabi Salih

Getting to Nabi Saleh is not easy. The army closes all entrances very early on a Friday, the day which has seen demonstrations taking place for the past two years. This forces Israeli and international activists that wish to join the unarmed and largely nonviolent demonstrations to park kilometers away and hike through valleys and up small hills to reach the village.
Israelis soldiers were inside the village long before the demonstration began on Friday, creating an uncomfortable air of uncertainly amongst villagers. Adding to the uncertainty were the aggressive comments of one particular group of soldiers who had taken over a rooftop in the middle of the village.
“Soon,” one of the arrogant soldiers barked at an elderly villager in horribly accented English, “I will make your house go boom.” It was not clear if the solider meant that he would blow his house up or attack it with tear gas and stun grenades. Regardless, the elderly man was clearly shaken by the soldier’s violent comment.
Men and boys emerged from mid-afternoon prayers determined to continue the demonstration despite the military presence. Roughly 12% of the village’s male population, out of a total population of 500, have spent time in Israeli military jails for demonstrating. Bassem and Naji Tamimi, the Popular Committee leaders of the village, are currently in jail. They have not been sentenced, however based on similar situations in Bil’in, they will be in jail for the next year or two. Their crime: leading unarmed demonstrations which bring Israelis, Palestinians and internationals together to resist occupation.

Within minutes, soldiers from three directions opened fire on the demonstrators. Tear gas filled the air as stun grenades went off with disorientating thunder in all directions. Most ran to the relative safety of houses but it did not help. Soldiers began firing tear gas at the houses themselves. Children, some as young as four or five years old, were choking inside their own homes and had nowhere to run. This lasted for roughly five hours as the soldiers established an undeclared curfew over Nabi Saleh.
As the sun began to set, soldiers relaxed their curfew. Due to the relentless teargas, there had been no clashes between stone throwing Palestinian youth and soldiers. The general store re-opened and a relative calm descended on the village despite the presence of a dozen heavily armed soldiers in the village center. Occasionally the soldiers opened fire and covered the area again with tear gas. Everyone then sought refuge inside homes with the windows covered by great big rugs to keep the tear gas out. After half an hour, people slowly emerged from their homes and calm returned.
As the soldiers were finally preparing to leave for the night, the infamous ‘Skunk’ truck rolled into the village, prompting a rush of excitement from the young men of Nabi Saleh. In an act of provocation, the truck drove around the village threatening each house with its pungent chemical mixture. Village youth responded by throwing stones at the armored truck which in turn provoked a violent reaction in the form of tear gas and rubber bullets from the patrolling soldiers. Clashes continued between soldiers and youth until 8 pm when the last solider returned to the settlement/army base of Halamish.

6/5/11 http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150230751791803.361037.770301802
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150108982266349.311214.575181348
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfaDZU4W57g


Ni'lin

The weekly demo against the wall in Ni'lin celebrated the agreement between fatah and hamas. Following the Friday noon prayer, the protesters carried a symbolic coffin to represent burying intra-Palestinian divisions, and flew joint Hamas and Fatah flags. Around 30 Ni'lin residents and 5 Israelis then marched to the wall. A small group of youth threw stones over the wall, and soldiers fired teargas. No injuries were recorded.

During The Ni'lin Town-Struggle Against The Annexation Wall, dozens suffered from inhaling the Poison tear gas,The Israeli occupation army used life ammunition against th...
Ni'lin Town-Struggle Against The Annexation Wall/06.05.2011 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHlSSmvGfxY


South Hebron Mountain region

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150168451063244.301943.642813243

See http://awalls.org
See Previous reports at: http://ilanisagainstwalls.blogspot.com

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