Azzun Update

The Israeli army has imposed a curfew on the village of Azzun which started last Tuesday, August 18th, and is still in effect. Villagers cannot come into or leave the village after 8:30pm which is also about the time that villagers are coming home to eat for the first time in the day due to the fact that the holy month of Ramadan has begun. If residents miss the 8:30pm cut off time, they are unable to make it home for the night. All entrances to Azzun were also closed for two days, making it impossible for any vehicles to come and go. On Monday, Azzun was paritally opened, however the main entrance into the village remains closed. During this time of curfew the Israeli army has also arrested a total of 9 boys and men from Azzun.

‘Iraq Burin: Protesting the Confiscation of Land

August 21, 2009—Two MPTers traveled to the village of ‘Iraq Burin to join a protest against the continued confiscation of village lands, as well as the inability to access their agricultural land. The village is 8 kilometers west of Nablus and the illegal settlement of Har Bracha is located southeast of ‘Iraq Burin. Har Bracha and its outposts are the same communities that have harassed the villagers of Burin, which MPT has written about in past reports.

(Marching to the fields that farmers in 'Iraq Burin no longer have access to because of the nearby illegal settlement.)

One hundred dunums of ‘Iraq Burin land has been confiscated by Israel in order to construct the illegal settlement of Har Bracha. Some of the land that remains in the residents of ‘Iraq Burin’s possession, farmers are prevented from grazing sheep on or harvesting because of its close proximity to the settlement. Villagers have also been harassed by the settlers of Har Bracha.

(Soldiers waiting on top of the hill.)

The demonstration that MPT joined, was the third that has taken place in the village. After the noon prayer, protestors including Palestinian and international activists marched toward their confiscated lands, while holding banners and Palestinian flags. There were approximately 100 Palestinians and 20 internationals present. Upon arrival in the fields near the settlement, soldiers surrounded the demonstrators and shot multiple teargas canisters at the crowd. The procession continued to protest for an hour and then ended the demonstration.

(Protesters gathered on a small hill in the field.)

(Soldiers came over to the crowd to force protesters back.)

No arrests or injuries were reported.

Jenin: From an Armed Uprising to Cultural Resistance

On Tuesday, August 18th, two MPTers visited the Freedom Theatre in the Jenin Refugee Camp. Jenin is the northernmost Governorate in the West Bank. The city of Jenin has approximately 120,000 residents while the Refugee Camp has just over 18,000 people. The story of the Freedom Theatre starts with an Israeli woman named Arna Mer-Khamis who was married to Saliba Khamis, a Palestinian man from Nazareth. In 1988 Arna came to Jenin and began working with Palestinian youth from the Refugee Camp giving acting lessons. According to the Freedom Theatre’s website, Arna wanted to give the children a space to work through the trauma they experienced because of the ongoing conflict. Because of her work she received the Alternative Peace Prize in 1993 and used the money to build a theatre in the Camp.

The first theatre, the Stone Theatre, was destroyed in 2002 during the Israeli army invasion of the Jenin Refugee Camp. In the midst of the Second Intifada the Israeli army sought to crush the armed resistance in the Camp and in the process destroyed half of its housing units and other buildings, including the theatre. They brought in large bulldozers and leveled buildings without warning. Some of those killed during the invasion were former acting students of Arna’s. In 2005 Arna and Saliba’s son Juliano, a then famous actor in Israel, returned to Jenin to begin building a second theatre known as the Freedom Theatre.

The inside of the Freedom Theatre today

Today the theatre complex includes the theatre itself, video editing studios, a film darkroom, a library, two classrooms and a computer lab. The computer lab was donated by an Israeli man whose daughter received a heart from a Palestinian boy who was killed by Israeli soldiers in the Camp in 2005. Classes in the complex are taught by Camp residents, Jenin city residents and international volunteers.

One of the classrooms, decorated by students' photography compositions

There is a specific program for the younger children where they are able to work through their trauma by acting out scenarios that they have lived through. In a culture where “the streets are for the boys,” acting classes also provide girls in the Camp with a safe space to express themselves as well as come together outside of their homes. Both boys and girls in the theatre’s promotional video specifically mentioned that the Freedom Theatre has given them new opportunities for their future.

The Freedom Theatre has just concluded its first year of post-secondary acting school. Currently there are 9 students, 2 of which are women, in the school. It is the only acting school in the northern West Bank and one of its productions, Fragments of Palestine, is scheduled to tour in Europe in the coming months.

The theatre in Jenin is one example of how Palestinians are resisting Israel’s cultural occupation. People who work and/or participate in the Freedom Theatre believe that a third intifada is coming, a nonviolent uprising which should use art and culture to create social change.

To visit the Freedom Theatre’s website: http://www.thefreedomtheatre.org/

Bil'in Update

Two MPTers returned to the village of Bil’in for night watch on Saturday, August 15^th. Although the military did not enter Bil’in during the night, they did arrest a young boy earlier in the evening at around 6pm. The boy was playing with a friend in the field when the Israeli military reportedly saw him via the cameras they have stationed throughout the village. One boy was arrested while the other boy he was playing with was able to run away.

East Jerusalem: 53 People Homeless and Counting

MPT returned to occupied East Jerusalem for an action protesting the eviction of the Hanoun and Al-Ghawi families from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah. The demonstrators marched from Damascus Gate outside the Old City to the settler-occupied Hanoun home in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.

MPT joined Palestinians, Israeli activists, and other internationals in front of the Hanoun home. Upon arrival at the home demonstrators noticed hired security officers stationed inside the gates of the occupied homes. Settlers stood in the gate and on top of the roof laughing at the demonstrators and one settler danced in rhythm to the protestors’ chants, led by 3 Palestinian women. Protestors displayed signs created by the Hanoun, Al-Ghawi family and other residents of Sheikh Jarrah. One police officer and 4 Israeli soldiers were present at the demonstration.

Palestinian woman leading protest chants

Settlers watch the demonstration from the Hanoun house

After demonstrating in front of the Hanoun home for approximately 35 minutes the leader of a local Palestinian committee asked protestors to proceed to the Al-Ghawi home. More hired security was present at the Al-Ghawi home and settlers occupying the Hanoun home came down to the Al-Ghawi home. After 25 minutes in front of the Al-Ghawi home the committee leaders thanked protestors for their presence and announced that a similar action would take place the following week. After the demonstration formally ended some dialogue was exchanged in Hebrew between the occupying settlers and the Israeli activists. Sheikh Nasser, one of the evicted Palestinians, spoke at length with an Jewish American tourist, explaining the situation in Sheikh Jarrah.

Following the protest MPTers were approached by a Palestinian man living in Sheikh Jarrah whose family is next in line to be evicted. This man goes between the Hanoun and Al-Ghawi family daily to stand in solidarity with them as his family faces a similar situation. He further explained to MPT that he thinks Israel is taking the neighborhood in a piecemeal fashion so as not to draw too much attention to the process.

A hired security officer stands guard as he allows settlers into the Al-Ghawi home

Sheikh Nasser speaking with a Jewish American tourist

On Sunday the former Governor of Arkansas and possible 2012 Presidential candidate, Mike Huckabee, joined Israeli settlers and their supporters for a dinner in East Jerusalem, held at the Shepherd Hotel, which is located in Sheikh Jarrah and is a site for more projected illegal settlements. An excerpt from the New York Times article on Huckabee’s visit to the area, “His three-day trip, focusing on visits to settlements and meetings with settler leaders, puts him in direct opposition to President Barack Obama and positions him even to the right of Israel's own hawkish prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.”

Picture of Huckabee on his trip (courtesy of Haaretz)

To read about Huckabee’s visit in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz visit:

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1108071.html

For the full New York Times article visit:

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/08/17/world/AP-ML-Israel-US.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=mike%20huckabee&st=cse

Azzun Atma: a Village Surrounded

(Demonstrators stand in front of the checkpoint into 'Azzun 'Atma)

Michigan Peace Team was invited to a demonstration outside the West Bank village of ‘Azzun ‘Atma, in the Qalqiliya district on Friday, August 14th. Movement in and out of ‘Azzun ‘Atma, is completely controlled by the Israeli military. Palestinians wishing to enter the village can only due so if they have a special permit and live in the village. The village is located in what is known as the “seam zone”, which is any area between the green line and the separation barrier. Neither the seam zone area nor the wall make a uniform line, instead they jut deep into the West Bank where settlements are located. Along the path of the Wall, Palestinian lands have been annexed and movement is restricted. The Qalqiliya area is a prime example of the incohesive geography of the West Bank due to the Wall, illegal Israeli settlements and checkpoints. There are four illegal Israeli settlements surrounding ‘Azzun ‘Atma (see map below) and according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the separation barrier is projected to completely surround the village.

(Qalqiliya area. Click to enlarge)

(Close-up of 'Azzun 'Atma area)

MPTers joined around 25 Palestinian activists and 3 Israelis near the checkpoint into ‘Azzun ‘Atma to protest the increased restriction of movement for Palestinians living inside and around the village. Palestinians gave speeches, some of which were directed at the soldiers who had come out of the checkpoint once the demonstration began. Soldiers drove their jeep out of the checkpoint, parking it in the road and making it harder for cars to enter the village. During the protest, soldiers told one of the demonstration leaders that the action was obstructing traffic for people entering the checkpoint. The Palestinian man replied that the action may be obstructing traffic for 5 or 10 minutes, but the checkpoint has been obstructing it for 2 years.

(Checkpoint into the village with an illegal Israeli settlement in the back.)

(Residents of 'Azzun 'Atma must go through an Israeli checkpoint to enter their own village.)



(Soldiers complained that the demonstration was disrupting traffic into the checkpoint.)

Villagers of ‘Azzun ‘Atma do not normally joined the demonstration outside their village for fear of reprisal, such as having their Jerusalem permits taken away. Many depend on access to Jerusalem for their jobs that support their families. Several soldiers took pictures of the activists during the protest, which is one form of intimidation used to discourage the actions from continuing. When one MPTer took out her camera to photograph a soldier who was taking pictures of the demonstration, the soldier immediately put his camera away. To support their neighbors in ‘Azzun ‘Atma, Palestinians from the town of Qalqiliya and the surrounding villages organize and put on the demonstrations every other Friday. One activist told MPT that although the demonstration has started out small, he hopes it will grow in the future.

(Soldiers stood across from the demonstration for the duration of the action.)

(A soldier taking a picture of the demonstrators.)

Loretta and Nancy Home Safely

Summer Team Members Loretta and Nancy have returned home safely from their time in the West Bank; thank you to all of our summer teamers for their incredible work!

Azzun Part II: the effects of occupation

Two MPTers and members of the International Solidarity Movement returned to the village of Azzun, to hear about their current situation under the occupation. Of the 12,000 residents in Azzun, 71 adults and an additional 22 children under the age of 18 are in jail. There are also 12,000 refugees from Azzun living outside of the West Bank, who were displaced during the 1948 war.

(click to enlarge this map of the area)

In addition to the individual problems villagers of Azzun face, there are also a number of issues the village faces as a whole because of the occupation. Israel’s separation barrier and illegal settlements have confiscated 9,000 dunums of village land. Currently a greenhouse and a kindergarten are scheduled to be demolished.

The illegal settlements surrounding the village, Zufin to the northwest, Alfe Menashe to the west and Ma’ale Shomerom to the east have created a number of problems. The sewage and garbage from the illegal settlements have polluted Azzun’s water tables. Bir Zeit University conducted water tests and found high levels of lead. Employees at the Office of Agriculture in Azzun told MPT that they believe there is a correlation between the high level of lead found in the water supply and the high number of residents diagnosed with stomach, breast and throat cancer.

In addition to Azzun, the nearby village of ‘Izbat at Tabib is under threat of losing half of its residents’ homes (23 out of 45 homes are scheduled to be demolished). The suspected reason for the demolitions in ‘Izbat at Tabib and Azzun, is the construction of an Israeli-only road which would connect the surrounding settlements to each other and to Israel proper. This road would also cut through the main road to the Palestinian city of Nablus, forcing vehicles to drive out of the way in order to enter this urban center. Recently, villagers of ‘Izbat at Tabib have been denied access to their agricultural lands while settlers accompanied by the army, have been increasingly seen perusing the area for hours at a time.

Qurawat Bani Zeid: Let the water flow