Night Watch in Kifl Haris

On Thursday, 6 August 2009, three MPTers were called shortly before midnight because the Israeli military had entered Kifl Haris, a village near the illegal Israeli settlement Ari’el. A family from Kifl Haris requested MPT be present Thursday night because they feared settlers would enter the village and cause violence.

MPT arrived at 12:40am where they were met by Israeli soldiers who questioned MPT’s presence in the village and warned the team that they should be off the streets before 1:00am because settlers were coming to the village to pray. Kifl Haris is the site of three ancient tombs to which religious pilgrimages are periodically made. MPT was informed that Jewish pilgrims come to pray at these specific tombs three to four times a year, sometimes bringing as many as 4,000 pilgrims into the village during the night. The last few times violence has broken out when settlers have come to pray. More specifically, settlers have thrown rocks at Palestinians, burned their cars, and one time shot and killed a 16-year-old Palestinian girl. The family explained to MPT how they live in constant fear of violence from the settlers.

The settlers and their private security car

Approximately 200 religious Jews entered the village around 1:30am, making their way through the streets toward the tombs. Dozens of soldiers positioned themselves along the route of the pilgrimage and drove throughout the village. The pilgrims finished by 4:00am and the soldiers left the village around 5:00am.

No injuries or arrests occurred to MPT’s knowledge.

Azzun: Stories from an occupied village

On Thursday, 6 August 2009 two MPTers along with members of the International Solidarity Movement visited Azzun, a village of 12,000 people in the Qalqiliya governorate southwest of Nablus. While in Azzun MPTers were told several different stories that exemplify the struggles the villagers face under occupation.

MPT first met with a man whose brother was arrested two days prior when the Israeli Army invaded the village and arrested him in the middle of the night. The man has not been charged with any crimes but remains in jail. From Azzun alone 82 individuals have been arrested, with an increased number of arrested in the past 9 years. Twenty of those arrested were under 19 years old at the time of their arrest and of the total number arrested 17 individuals have not yet seen a judge or been sentenced.

Next MPTers met with a woman who was released from jail 10 days prior after 3 years in prison. The woman was arrested two weeks after the Israeli Army killed her brother. Her activism in a local woman's group as well as her brothers' resistance were given as reasons for her arrest during her interrogation. Following her arrest in Nablus the woman was taken to a nearby jail where she was bound with her hands behind her back and had her head covered so she could not see. She was left in this condition outside from 5am to 3pm kneeling in the hot September sun while soldiers/police officers kicked her in the back and head.

Palestinian woman who served 3 years in prison for resisting the occupation

Initially she was taken to a prison for Israeli criminals, rather than a woman's political prison, where she was harassed and mistreated by other prisoners and felt that her life was in danger. She was interrogated for 14 days straight, without food, access to a bathroom or sleep. After the first week of refusing to talk she was beaten by male officers. After one month in the prison she went on an 8-day hunger strike, demanding to be transferred to a female political prison. While in the political prisons she subsequently went on many hunger strikes as she was denied a mattress to sleep on and other hygiene items. She objected to her treatment citing International Humanitarian Law and was eventually given some of the items she demanded. While in prison the only person allowed to visit her was her young daughter who was a year and a half old at the time of her arrest.

The women she was in prison with ranged in age from 14 to 45 years old. The young women were not schooled by the prison so the prisoners organized themselves into different academic subjects in order to provide the education for the younger girls. Whenever the women demanded better conditions based on International Law they were met by the authorities with beatings, teargas in their cells, and solitary confinement. One woman was arrested while pregnant and gave birth to her son in jail. Over a year later she and her young son are both still living in the prison.

She embroidered this artwork while in prison

The last visit MPT made in Azzun was with the family of Nasser, a 16-year-old boy who the family explained was killed by Israeli settlers. Nasser and two of his friends were out on 13 January 2009 when he was shot twice in the head. The shots did not kill him, and while his two friends were caring him away they were attacked by settlers throwing stones at him, one of which hit Nasser in the head, killing him. The Army detained the other two boys, both of which are still in prison without charges. When Nasser's family was told about the incident the Army claimed Nasser had thrown a stone at a settler vehicle, which ricocheted off the car and fatally hit him in the head.

Nasser's body was held for 4 days in Israel, where an autopsy was performed to determine the cause of death. Although Israeli doctors confirmed the Army's story human right's doctors were denied entry to examine the body and confirm the cause of death. The settler involved in the incident was the son of settlement's mayor. The mayor's son was arrested but not charged with any crimes.

If Nasser were still alive today, he would be starting his final year of high school this fall.

A picture of Nasser hanging in his family's living room

August 5 2009-Update

Two MPTers returned to the village of Bil'in Wednesday night to join several other international activists and Palestinians in their efforts to resist the occupation. MPT has been to Bil'in many times, but was called back to the village because two nights prior, the Israeli Forces came into and raided the village of Bil'in, arresting a total of 7 Palestinians and damaging several Palestinian homes. While MPT stayed the night in Bil'in, they sat on roof tops to keep an eye on the Israeli roads, watching for Israeli military vehicles heading towards Bil'in. They also patrolled on foot, looking for soldiers hiding behind trees as they sometimes do prior to incursions. While MPT was there, no Israeli Forces entered the village.

Grape Harvest Begins in Saffa

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

At 8:00 am an MPTer went with Palestinians and other internationals to accompany Abu Jabber Soleiby and his family to his land in Saffa, near the illegal Bat Ayin settlement, between Bethlehem and Hebron.

Palestinian Village of Saffa

After the farmers had been in the valley for about an hour harvesting their first grapes of the year, one Israeli military jeep arrived between the settlement and the Palestinian agricultural land.

First Israeli Army Jeep Arrives

The farmers, satisfied with their small collection of grapes, decided to head back to the village.

Heading Back to the Village

After returning to the edge of the Palestinian village, well away from the illegal Israeli settlement that has been the source of violence in the area, the Palestinians and internationals were stopped by approximately 15 Israeli soldiers who blocked their return to Saffa.

Israeli Army Blocks the Road

Soldiers asked what the internationals were doing with the farmers in the valley, insisting that soldiers were always there in the past to protect the farmers when the Bat Ayin settlers came to harass them. Abu Jabber Soleiby showed his scars and bruises from previous settler attacks in rebuttal, and insisted that when settlers and soldiers were both present without internationals during past attacks, soldiers protected the settlers, not the Palestinians.

Abu Jabber Talks with Soldiers

After threatening two internationals with arrest and 20 minutes of negotiation, the soldiers allowed the farmers and their supporters to continue into the village.

Soldiers Allow Farmers to Pass with their Grapes

MPT was informed that just over three weeks ago, settlers set fire to hundreds of valuable fruit and olive trees on this Palestinian land. Combined with the cutting of over 125 trees in June and an earlier fire, settlers from Bat Ayin settlement have destroyed nearly all of the land that provides income for 125 extended family members of Abu Jabber, Hamad, and Abdullah Soleiby.

Scorched Earth

International and Israeli accompaniment of farmers in Saffa has been necessary to prevent violent attacks by settlers on the elderly farmers of the Soleiby family. Farmers have come under attack on several occasions in the past four months while attempting to farm in the valley on their own, including an attack in April that left 81-year-old Abdullah Soleiby with a cracked skull.

East Jerusalem Part II: Resisting Eviction

Three MPTers joined the Hanoun and al-Ghawi families along with Palestinians, internationals and Israeli activists outside of the Hanoun home the night of their eviction in order to protest the forced removal of 53 people from their homes. The demonstration lasted 2 hours and 45 minutes during which time internationals, Palestinians and Israeli activists were arrested and injured.

The Hanoun’s house was blocked off by a police barricade of 30 Israeli border police and 3 Israeli police officers. Settlers occupying the house sat on the front steps videotaping demonstrators. Other settlers drove through the demonstration yelling at the protestors while one settler stood in the middle of the street snapping pictures of the demonstrators.

During the demonstration one police officer ordered the border police to arrest internationals first. The border police and police officers formed a line and started walking towards the protestors, at which time demonstrators linked arms in solidarity. The police appeared to randomly select on international activist from International Solidarity Movement to arrest. While soldiers pulled on the individual’s arms and legs from opposite directions MPTers along with other internationals, Israeli activists and Palestinians struggled to de-arrest the individual. The border police pushed the demonstrators away and eventually arrested the ISM member. Although the police arrested an international as a scare tactic demonstrators did not leave the area.

An hour and a half into the demonstration a Rabbi came to the home in order to give his blessing to the occupying settlers. Half and hour later the Israeli forces declared the area a closed military zone and threatened to arrest everyone in 5 minutes. Approximately 10 demonstrators, including 3 MPTers, sat nonviolently across the street from the home, linking arms in solidarity with one another. One MPTer was sitting arm in arm with an Israeli activist who said, “they [the police and border police] do not have enough space in their van to arrest us all, so they’ll arrest some of us and beat the rest of us.” Shortly after this comment border police charged the demonstrators where they sat, pulling at individuals in an attempt to arrest them. Border police also prevented videographers and photographers from documenting the arrests and beatings.

MPT struggled to interposition themselves between soldiers who were punching a man in the head and choking him with a banner that read “Solidarity with Sheikh Jarrah”. One Palestinian man was pulled into the air by his neck and then thrown onto the ground, where the border police continued to beat him. The border police pushed MPT and others away from the scene, trying to disperse the crowd. When the police had taken away the people they decided to arrest, MPTers were pushed down the road by a female officer. Although MPTers told her that they were leaving she continued to push them. Although the border police attempted to arrest all three MPT members, no one from MPT was arrested and the injuries they sustained were minor in comparison to others’.

The Israeli Soldiers approaching the demonstrators

Two MPTers hold a banner during the demonstration

A video of the demonstration is available on YouTube

Current Events in Northern Palestine

Update:
Israeli Forces bulldozed and confiscated more land near the villages of Burin and 'Iraq Burin, to expand the Israeli settlements of Bracha and Yizhar.

Night raids in and around the village of 'Azzun 'Atma resulted in six arrests of Palestinians. One man was from 'Azzun 'Atma, another from 'Isla, and four others from Jayyus. Houses were ransacked and damaged in the process of these arrests.

East Jerusalem Part I: Update on Sheikh Jarrah Home

On Sunday, 2 August 2009 at 5:30 am the Hanoun and al-Ghawi families were evicted from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem. In total 53 people were evicted, 19 of which were minors. MPT’s summer team members spent two nights at the Hanoun family’s home earlier last week in order to provide a protective presence and international support.

The Israeli police forcibly entered the homes by throwing bricks through windows and blasting open doors. The police closed off the entire neighborhood prior to evicting the families. When the families refused to leave their homes they were forcibly removed by gunpoint. While the Hanoun family was being forced from their home the eldest child was injured by a police officer, his arm is now in a cast. The family’s possessions were removed from their house and put in storage, all of which the family is responsible for paying for. While their belongings were outside on the sidewalk settlers began moving their belongings into the Hanoun household.

During the eviction, 8 internationals who were staying with the family in order to provide a protective presence were arrested and one Israeli activist. The only international that was not arrested was forced from the home and prevented by the police officers from getting his wheel chair. As expressed in his quote from the International Solidarity Movement website:

Jody McIntyre, a British solidarity activist:

I woke up to the sound of a brick through the front window. By the time I could get up, I was being pushed out the door by Israeli forces. They wouldn’t allow me to take my wheelchair and were physically violent towards me and the others in the Hannoun house. The unjust policies of the Israeli government are not just written documents, they affect real families. The government has made the Hannoun and al-Ghawe families homeless, and their only crime is being Palestinian in a system that is racist against them.

The next morning 6 of the 8 activists were released on the condition that they would not return to the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood for three weeks, 1 activist is being deported while another refuses the conditions and has gone on a hunger strike in protest.

Although the families were given the land by the United Nations and Jordanian government because they were refugees after 1948 the Sephardic Community Committee have claimed rights to the land dating back to the Ottoman Empire. This claim has been criticized internationally as Palestinian refugees have proof of land ownership dating before 1948 that Israel does not recognize as legitimate. The Hanoun and al-Ghwi families were also evicted from their homes in 2004 and lived in tents for 4 months before being allowed to return. The Israeli Court ruled that the Hanoun family could remain in the house by granting them a protected tenant status. However, the settler group filed an appeal, which they won, say that the family had violated the agreement.

In the process of these house evictions a tent which another family was living in after being evicted from their home was also destroyed. The United States, European Union, United Nations, and United Kingdom have all publicly criticized the evictions. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Monday, “The eviction of families and demolition of homes in East Jerusalem is not in keeping with Israeli obligations and I urge the government of Israel and municipal officials to refrain from such provocative actions," (Al Jazeera)

Two more homes in Sheikh Jarrah are scheduled to be demolished in the near future.

Al Ma'sara: a double wedding

July 31^st 2009

Four MPTers returned for another demonstration against the Separation Wall, settlements, and Israeli-only roads in the village of Al Ma’sara near Bethlehem. The demonstration was unique because it was also a wedding celebration for two Palestinian couples who live in the village. MPT joined local Palestinians, Israeli activists and other internationals in a march from the village, towards the area that the military closes off with barbed wire each Friday afternoon. The protest started at 5pm and lasted approximately 2 hours.

click to enlarge

click to enlarge

The march, which included the two couples getting married, was met by a combination of about 20 Israeli police, border police and soldiers. The protesters were stopped as usual in front of a barbed wire fence put up by the military. Locals gave several speeches, some that included thanking internationals and Israeli activists for joining them in their struggle.

Israeli police videotaping demonstrators

Soldiers arresting Israeli activist

The brides and grooms rejoin the demonstration by driving around to where the soldiers were and crossing over the barbed wire fence

One of the grooms gives the soldiers a peace sign

Israeli police officers took pictures and video footage of the protesters as a form of intimidation. The demonstrators remained non-violent, although the Soldiers violently pushed a photographer and arrested three Israeli activists. The brides and grooms exited the demonstration, and then returned from Al Ma’sara land on the opposite side of the barbed wire fence constructed by Israeli Forces. The brides and grooms did their best to celebrate their day while still non-violently resisting the occupation.

The wedding party dancing during the demonstration

a young Palestinian activist

Grant, Adam and Talia all home safely

Just an update to anyone who may have missed it, to say that Grant, Adam and Talia are all back in the United States!

East Jerusalem: the threat of violence and eviction

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Tuesday, 28 July 2009

This past week MPTers spent Tuesday and Wednesday nights providing international presence at a home that is currently under an eviction order in the predominantly Arab neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah in occupied East Jerusalem. The status of Jerusalem has been one of the most controversial issues in the Israel/Palestine conflict since both Palestinians and Israelis want the city for their capital. According to an article in Haaretz, the United States government includes Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem when calling for a freeze on settlements.

This particular home, which houses three families, has had an eviction order for 37 years and is continuously involved in court proceedings. Shortly after the Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967, an Israeli settler organization presented the owners of this home with what the Israeli Court has now proven to be falsified documents from the Ottoman Empire claiming the land. This house is one of the homes that the U.N. built along with the Jordanian government for Palestinian refugees from the 1948 war. Although the owner is not a political activist, he told MPT that this issue has affected him his whole life and he is determined to keep the home that he and his three children were born in. The family has decorated the front of the home with banners proclaiming, “We will never leave our home”.

In the past months, the eviction order deadline has become imminent and so internationals have been keeping a continuous presence since March, at the request of the family. Internationals provide support and a peaceful presence to de-escalate the continuous settler attacks and harassment. Israeli police, including undercover officers, habitually drive by the home, intensifying the fear of eviction. Since the home could be demolished at any time, the family must always be present and on alert. This house is just one of the 28 homes under the threat of eviction and demolition by Israel in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. One of the homes has already been demolished.

While MPTers were present at the home, an intoxicated settler came to the house and attempted a forced entry. The owners of the house told him to stay away while internationals positioned themselves around the rest of the house to ensure that he could not enter. The settler kept asking about the signs on the home while trying to look inside. In the past, settlers have forced Palestinians from their homes in order to occupy the property. The settler eventually left.

This tent is inhabited by a family that was evicted from their home and is now harassed by settlers

A half an hour later, MPTers and other internationals were notified that the same settler had gone to a nearby tent that is now the home of a Palestinian woman who has been evicted from her house. The settler attacked the woman with a rock, hitting her over the head. An ambulance was called after she went unconscious for sometime. MPT was informed the next night that all the local hospitals and doctors refused to treat her unless she would change her story, and not speak of any settler attacking her. This woman is now suffering from internal swelling in her head, along with constant head pressure.

The first night MPTers stayed the night, a car of 3-4 young settler boys, aged 14-16, drove by at 4am, stopping in front of the house and throwing objects at the family, yelling and making obscene hand gestures. Approximately two hours later, local municipality officials stopped in front of the home to harass and intimidate the family.

The second night MPTers stayed at the house, unidentified police officers pulled up to the house, stopped, got out, and talked amongst themselves, intimidating the family.

No arrests or evictions occurred while MPT was in Sheikh Jarrah.