Chroniques de Palestine- Popular resistance and human rights

To exist is to resist! Rebuilding homes in Anata / Exister c'est resister! Reconstruction des maisons à Anata,

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Paq) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:28:00 +0000

(c) Anne Paq/Activestills.org, Arab al Jahalin, Anata, 26.01.2012

How do you continue your life after your home had been demolished? How do you cope with the uncertainty of having a roof for your children and protect them from the cold and rain?

On the 23rd January, 6 homes of the community of the Arab al Jahalin, members of the biggest Bedouin tribe in the West Bank, in Anata were demolished in the middle of the night leaving more than 50 people homeless, many of them children. More demolitions are coming: more than 2,000 members of the Arab al Jahalin, who are scattered mostly around Jerusalem are threatened with forced displacement; one of the locations "proposed" by the Israeli authorities is a garbage dump in El Azzariya.

I visited the community two days after the demolition. The children and women were helplessly sitting around. The personal belongings were all scattered around. The men were trying to pick up the pieces of their homes and lives and already were starting building up a new home out of woods and tins. Some tents were provided by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) but there is not enough to protect from the rain and cold.
The next day I went back. All the people were busy cleaning and rebuilding. Some volunteers- Palestinians, Israelis and internationals were here helping out. People were not sitting around being miserable, they were up in their feet, rebuilding. This is what Palestinians do, whatever Israel destroys, they get up on their feet and rebuild. Children were also participating, moving the stones around, the women were also cleaning and sorting out the furniture. One home was just finished. More woods structure arrived and we started to erect a second house after a beautiful lunch. Smiles were seen all around, children laughed with the volunteers. A broken bike was still being used by the children, they were carrying it around but could not get on it. I guess they were just pretending that they did not notice it was broken. But can they also pretend that their homes were not demolished?

These children were just so amazing. Today it is raining and I cannot stop thinking about them. I know they are strong, I know they pick up the piece and just go on living, not thinking one minute of leaving despite the fact that they know the Israelis will come back.

"To exist is to resist", and the reverse is also so true: "to resist is to exist". For sure they do: by refusing to be intimidated and thrown into a garbage dump, by rebuilding and not giving up one inch, they become part of the invisible unarmed and resolute army that is standing up against the oppressive regime that is attempting to silently ethnically cleansed them.

They are strong but they should not be alone in their fight. Direct help is needed to ensure they rebuild what they need, more political pressure and actions are also needed to raise awareness about forced displacement. If the international community do not act now, this slow ethnic cleansing is likely to increase in the next months.

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Comment continuer votre vie après que votre maison ait été démolie? Comment faites-vous face à l'incertitude d'avoir un toit pour vos enfants et de pouvoir les protéger contre le froid et la pluie?

Le 23 Janvier , 6 maisons de la communauté Arab al Jahalin d'Anata, membres de la plus grande tribue bédouine en Cisjordanie, ont été démolies au milieu de la nuit en laissant plus de 50 personnes sans-abri, dont beaucoup d'enfants. Plus de démolitions sont à venir: plus de 2.000 membres des Arab al Jahalin, qui sont dispersés principalement autour de Jérusalem sont menacés de déplacement forcé, l'un des endroits «proposé» par les autorités israéliennes est une décharge d'ordures à El Azzariya.

J'ai visité la commauté deux jours après la démolition. Les enfants et les femmes étaient assis, impuissants. Les affaires étaient dispersées. Les hommes essayaient de ramasser les morceaux de leurs maisons et de leurs vies et avait déjà commencé la construction de nouvelles maisons avec des boyts de bois et de la tôle. Des tentes avaient été fournies par le Comité international de la Croix-Rouge (CICR), mais elles ne suffisent pas à protéger de la pluie et du froid.

Le lendemain j'y suis encore retournée. Tout le monde était occupé à nettoyer et reconstruire. Certains bénévoles-une poignée de Palestiniens, Israéliens et internationaux étaient ici pour aider la communauté bédouine. Personne nétait assis la tête entre les mains, immobiles et atterés par la situation. Non ils étaient bien debout sur leurs pieds à reconstruire, et pour beaucoup même le sourire aux lèvres. C'est ce que les Palestiniens font, Israël a beau détruire et les mettre à terre, ils se lèvent et reconstruisent, et cela dure depuis des decennies. Les enfants participaient au travail, en déplaçant des pierres et des gravats. Les femmes s'occupaient aussi du tri des affaires, du nettoyage, certaines déblayaient des gravats avec des pelles.

Une maison venait tout juste d'être terminée que des planches de bois arrivaient et que nous nous sommes sont mis à construire une deuxième maison. Les sourires étaient visibles, les enfants riaient avec les activistes. Un vélo cassé était toujours utilisé par les enfants, ils le déplaçait avce eux, mais ne pouvaient pas monter dessus. Je suppose qu'ils étaient juste en train de prétendre qu'ils n'avaient pas remarqués pas qu'il était cassé. Ces enfants étaient tellement incroyables, mais peuvent)ils aussi prétendre que leurs maisons n'aient pas été détruites?

Aujourd'hui il pleut et je ne peux pas m'arrêter de penser à eux. Je sais qu'ils sont forts, je sais qu'ils ramassent les morceau et continuent à vivre, ne pensant pas une minute de partir en dépit du fait qu'ils savent très bien que les Israéliens vont revenir, et certainement démolir le peu qu'ils leur restent.

«Exister, c'est résister», et l'inverse est également vrai: "Résister, c'est exister». C'est sûr que ces familles existent et résistent: en refusant de se laisser intimider et jetés dans une décharge, en reconstruisant et en ne cédant pas un centimètre, ils deviennent une partie de l'armée invisible qui se tient debout, à mains nues et résolus, contre le régime oppressif qui tente de leur faire subir en silence un nettoyage ethnique .

Ils sont forts mais ils ne doivent pas être seuls dans leur combat. Une aide directe est nécessaire pour s'assurer qu'ils reconstruisent ce qu'ils ont besoin, plus de pression politique et des actions sont également indispensables pour sensibiliser et mettre une fin aux déplacements forcés. Si la communauté internationale ne réagit pas, ce nettoyage ethnique à petit feu est susceptible de s'accélerer dans les prochains mois.

Home Demolition in Anata (1st location), 25.01.2012

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Paq) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:32:00 +0000

(c) Anne Paq/Activestills.org, Anata, 25.01.2012

Arabiya Shawamreh and her husband Salim stand in front of the ruins of their house called Beit Arabiya (“Arabiya’s House”) that the Israeli authorities demolished on Monday, January 23rd during the night for the fifth time are seen in the West Bank city of Anata, Wednesday, January 25, 2012. Beit Arabiya is a home belonging to Arabiya Shawamreh, her husband Salim and their seven children, a Palestinian family whose home has been demolished four times by the Israeli authorities and rebuilt each time by Israeli committee against house demolition (ICAHD) through Palestinian, Israeli and international peace activists, before being demolished again last night. It had been turned for years into a community center. The same night, 7 other homes were demolished in Anata, living more than 50 Palestinians homeless. More info in ICAHD.

In the next days, starting tomorrow, volunteers will gather to help the communities rebuilding the houses. To exist is to resist!

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Arabiya Shawamreh et son mari Salim se tiennent debout devant les ruines de leur maison appelée Beit Arabiya ("Maison d'Arabiya») que les autorités israéliennes ont démoli pour la cinquième fois le lundi, 23 Janvier pendant la nuit dans la ville d'Anata en Cisjordanie, mercredi,25 Janvier, 2012. Beit Arabiya est une maison appartenant à Arabiya Shawamreh, son mari, Salim et leurs sept enfants, une famille palestinienne dont la maison avait déjà été démolie quatre fois par les autorités israéliennes et reconstruite à chaque fois par le comité israélien contre la démolition de maisons (ICAHD) grâce à des militants palestiniens, israéliens et internationaux pour la paix, avant d'être démolie à nouveau la nuit dernière. Cette maison avait été transformée pendant des années en un centre communautaire. La même nuit, sept autres maisons ont été démolies à Anata, laissant plus de 50 Palestiniens sans abri. Plus d'infos sur le site d' ICAHD.

Dans les prochains jours, à compter de demain, des bénévoles vont se joindre aux résidents pour aider les communautés à reconstruire leurs maisons. Exister, c'est résister!

Home Demolition in Anata (2nd location), Arab Jahalin, 25.01.2012

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Paq) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:15:00 +0000

(c) Anne Paq/Activestills.org, Anata, 25.01.2012

Members of the community of the Arab Jahalin are seen near tents provided by the International Committe of the Red Cross after that the Israeli authorities demolished on Monday, January 23rd during the night 6 of their homes in the West Bank city of Anata, Wednesday, January 25, 2012. In total more than 50 Palestinians become homeless. The community has started to rebuild some shelters right away.
More than 2000 members of the Arab Jahalin, which belong to the biggest Bedouin tribe in the West Bank, living primarily in the areas around Jeusalem, are threatened with forced displacement.

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Les membres de la communauté bédouine Arab Jahalin sont vus près des tentes fournies par le Comité international de la Croix-Rouge (CICR) après que les autorités israéliennes aient démoli le lundi 23 Janvier durant la nuit 6 de leurs habitations à la périphérie de la ville d'Anata en Cisjordanie le mercredi 25 Janvier 2012. Au total, plus de 50 Palestiniens sont devenus sans abri. La communauté a commencé à reconstruire des abris immédiatement.
Plus de 2000 membres des Jahalin, qui appartiennent à la tribu bédouine la plus grande de Cisjordanie, vivant principalement dans les zones autour de Jerusalem, sont menacés de déplacement forcé.

Home Demolition in Anata (3rd location), 25.01.2012

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Paq) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:08:00 +0000

(c) Anne Paq/Activestills.org, Anata, 25.01.2012

Alia Fouad Lahali is seen in front of the ruins of her home demolished by the Israeli authorities on January 23rd during the night in the West Bank city of Anata, Wednesday, January 25, 2012. The same night, 7 other homes were demolished in another part of Anata, leaving in total more than 50 Palestinians homeless. 
Alia Fouad Lahali se tient devant les ruines de sa maison démolie par les autorités israéliennes le 23 Janvier pendant la nuit dans la ville de Cisjordanie d'Anata, mercredi, Janvier 25, 2012. La même nuit, sept autres maisons ont été démolies dans une autre partie d'Anata, laissant au total plus de 50 Palestiniens sans abri.  

Palestinian students on hunger strike at Bethlehem university / des étudiants en gréve de la faim à l'université de Bethléem, 23.01.2012

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Paq) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:21:00 +0000

(c) Anne Paq/Activestills.org, Behlehem, 23.01.2012.

This is a post by Linah Alsaafin ( about the student of Birzeit university, she is making good points:

#OccupyBZU to #BZUProtest

It's a sign of the times we're living in when hashtags are perfectly acceptable as titles, and I'm sure there are countless thesis dissertations in progress attributing this as another significant regime-tackling phenomenons of social media. Suffice to say, it is increasingly obvious where people get much of their news from nowadays.

Last week on Tuesday the 17th, a number of students from Birzeit University protested the totalitarian fixtures regarding tuition costs and financial measures introduced at the start of the second semester, which left 1200 students unable to continue their education because of the expensive costs. Dozens walked inside the administrative building, and were subsequently locked in by security. Thus, #OccupyBZU was commenced.

One of my main problems with my time at Birzeit University was the lack of any concrete student activism, overtaken instead by the simulated scenes and atmosphere of a US high school as shown in Hollywood movies. That's all fine and dandy since not everyone wants to be at the forefront of tackling social change or even challenging Captain Israel to an arm-wrestling match, but when the circumstances are crying out for it, there is no excuse left to remain passive. The glory days of BZU were during the first intifada, the late 80's to the early 90's, where students were largely involved in peaceful resistance against the Israeli military occupation. One such demonstration was attending classes in empty buildings in defiance of Israeli military orders. Students were one of the important driving forces behind the mass protests and civil disobedience in Palestinian society. That of course didn't come without its sacrifices; another name for Birzeit University is the Martyrs' University/ جامعةالشهداء due to its thirteen students killed by Israel.

The Oslo Accords can be explained as the reason for the students' growing detachment from politics, despite the student parties within the university itself being derivatives of Palestinian political parties. The second intifada ushered in armed resistance as the primary method of response against Israel's increasingly unbearable occupation, which contrary to the first intifada, isolated sectors of the Palestinian society from being a true popular uprising. Coordination with the other eight universities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip became more difficult. Factionalism reared its ugly face following the US backed civil fighting between Hamas and Fateh back in 2006. Politics on campus became repressive, and used as a platform to trash talk the rival party. Some male students belonging to Hamas' Kutla Islamiyeh bloc were imprisoned by the Palestinian Authority. Instead of the students of the Fateh university Shabeeba group demanding their release, the act was further augmented by incendiary accusations and wholehearted support. These antics only managed to alienate a large number of students who find no representative as they are not affiliated to any political student party, and "student activism" took the role of proudly parroting each respective party's propaganda.

The above serves as an explanation for the disillusionment concerning the possibility for any meaningful act to take place on campus. These protests against financial matters are hardly news. In fact, it is the norm at the beginning of every single semester. They always take the same cycle: Students protest, each student political party writes up a statement, get out their best throaty orator backed with factional music, and proceed to threaten the university's administration with calls of prolonged strikes. The whole thing lasts for a week, with actions escalating then diminishing as fast as if they never happened, without any success achieved. The same Spartan students go from building to building, classroom to classroom, informing the other students that classes have been suspended for the day, right under the nose of the professor. They order the students to leave the classrooms, leave the building, and join them in a demonstration in front of the administration building. Hardly anyone listens, and see this as an opportunity to hang out with friends. The buildings then get put on lock down for an indefinite time period, even if there are students and professors inside. Tires are burned at the gates of the university, the gates themselves get locked with chains brought from who knows where, and the student portal Ritaj becomes useless as it doesn't give out updates for whether there will be classes on this day or not.

The point is that these drastic actions serve as a cry for attention, as their repetitive nature hardly achieve whatever demands the student parties champion out through the state of the art loudspeakers. But Tuesday, January the 17th excited a lot of people, myself included because it was the first time students staged a sit-in overnight. The following morning, more details began to emerge and were shared on Twitter.

It turned out that students, contrary to initial thoughts, did not purposely mean to stay overnight in the administrative building. 76 students merely went inside to protest peacefully, and found themselves locked in by security after the administrative staff vacated the building. Allegedly, one security guard taunted the students by saying, "Let's see who's man enough to stay here for the night." The radiators were turned off, and the students spent the night without blankets or food, shivering as a storm raged outside. For those who had to use the bathroom, they were allowed outside but were prevented from going back in. As a result, 22 students were left inside the administrative building. The following morning, one student's health deteriorated rapidly but the administrative prohibited him from receiving immediate medical attention. The university dean Dr Khalil Hindi issued a media blackout on the whole situation.

The most austere financial measure imposed was that a student's tuition had to be paid in full before the new semester begins, in order for the student to choose his/her own classes. This is outrageous to say the least. Tuition costs are usually paid in money installments twice a semester, in an attempt to alleviate some families' financial stresses. Non-elected Prime Minister Salam Fayyad may have succeeded in transforming the West Bank, and Ramallah specifically into a capitalist consumerism society, but Birzeit University doesn't host only the privileged rich kids. I remember one time taking a group of high school seniors from Jenin on a quick tour on campus, and one of the chaperoning teachers told me he couldn't afford to send his kids to Birzeit Uni because the tuition was more than his monthly salary. The university is suffering from financial losses because the Palestinian Authority owes it money from three years.

10 students from Bethlehem University went on hunger strike also protesting the changed tuition policies, before #OccupyBZU even started. Speaking of "Occupy" (a word I don't like for apparent reasons) the hashtag was changed to #ProtestBZU because the administration accused the students of occupying the building--ignoring the fact that they were locked in-- thus painting the whole sit-in unfavorably as it is in their interests to do so.

The protest seemingly had the support of the majority of the students, those affiliated with parties and those who were not. For once it wasn't an act pulled by Hamas, or Fateh, or the Left (Jabha). Some even went so far as to label it the Birzeit Spring:

More pictures found here

The protest continued for the next couple of days. The gates of the university were still closed, the students still inside the building. The university's workers' union tried to mediate between the demands of the students and the administration but found that the administration ignored the demands and flat out refused to even talk, let alone negotiate with a group of students who were not the official representative. When the student council finally announced their support for the locked in students, the administration still refused to talk. Even after a committee composed of representatives of all eight student parties as well as from the student council was agreed upon, the administration still refused to talk. Their arrogance is a staple in their job description. The bureaucratic system of Birzeit University is one of the worst I've ever had the misfortune to encounter. Other students brought tents and pitched them outside the gate, where they too staged a sit-in. The media blackout was still in place, with everyone getting updates and information from students on site tweeting away. Reports had it that Dr Hindi cut off the internet on campus, an act that Mubarak would have applauded...or in hindsight, maybe not.

Then on Saturday, a press conference was called at 10am. At 12pm was another press conference for the administration. The blackout was lifted. The vice president of the university denounced the protesting students as having an agenda. For their part, the students finally made the financial and academic demands public. This threw the whole protest into a different light, as some of the demands were pretty stupid, to put it bluntly. Speaking to other students, they told me that the behavior of the protesting students was far from angelic in directing their speeches towards the dean, as if he were a despicable despot. Regardless, if you're going to protest peacefully, willing to endure days of cold and mistreatment, then whatever you're protesting for should be worthwhile, practical, and most importantly, in the interests of the students themselves. Many found issue with the academic demands (seems like the sillier points, such as raising the number of times a student was allowed to fail a class before getting suspended permanently from three to five were omitted, see below) while the financial ones were more sensible.

Financial Demands (translated from here)

For every student to have the chance to pay his or her tuition in money installments throughout the semester, especially students who have previous debts and did not have the chance to register for this semester, and for them to register on the back of what they could pay according to their financial status, and to pay the rest of the tuition throughout the semester.

To give preferential treatment to students with special and social needs and students who were prisoners in Israeli jails, and for them to register with ease through what is mentioned in point number one.

For the university to restart the system of accepting cheques as a form of money installments or at least to find a new mechanism for paying tuition costs as agreed upon by the students and the administration.

To give scholarships to sibling students without going through the bureaucratic ladder, regardless of whether these students have already received financial aid or not.

To conduct a thorough survey among all students in order to see who is eligible for financial aid. This way financial aid will not go to students who don't need it, which has posed as an obstacle to the students who are in actual need.

Academic Demands

To open the registration for classes (add/drop week) especially for students who were late in paying their tuition as stipulated in point number one, and to open sections

To reconsider the policy of transferring from one major to the next, which grows more complicated without any justification, without affecting the academic and educational level of the university.

To not give elevated courses to inexperienced or newly graduated teachers and to preserve the quality of academic level

An agreement was reached on Sunday. The administration finally got off its high horse long enough to agree to all of the financial demands, but wouldn't agree to any of the academic ones pointing out it was beyond their reach to make changes regarding this aspect. Normal classes are set to resume on Tuesday, the 24th.

Meanwhile, five students have been hospitalized as a result of the hunger strike they started last Monday. More students have vowed to join in the hunger strike, raising the total to thirty students, seven who have been on strike since last week.

From Ma'an News Agency:

The administration suspended classes last Tuesday, saying it could not ensure students' safety on campus because of the protests, which have included all-night sit-ins.

The student senate, which is leading the protest, said it had tried to end the crisis by offering the university 40,000 Jordanian dinars ($56,400) from the Fatah movement to exempt students from tuition fee increases. It said the university had not responded to the initiative.

Instead of treating symptoms, the source of the sickness must be treated first. Birzeit students may have succeeded in achieving their financial demands, but what about the cause for the rise in tuition costs? It's not all down to the university's miserliness. The Palestinian Authority is in debt, plain and simple. It has done absolutely nothing to build and sustain a homegrown economy, relying instead on overwhelming foreign donor money. Austerity measures have recently been introduced, with citizens required to pay a minimum of a 5% tax increase and a maximum of 30%. The PA takes the billions of dollars it is granted by governments, and hardly invests them in community building projects or in Palestinian society in general, unless you count the mushrooming number of bars and expensive restaurants that cater to the elite. Dissolving the PA would pop the bubble of normalcy under occupation, and there'd be a good chance of Palestinians of finally realizing that their houses, cars, laptops-all on loans- and lifestyles they cannot afford are worth nothing while they are still under Israeli occupation.

So I call on all students in the West Bank to rise up, first against the parasitical PA, then against the occupation once and for all.

Daily life under occupation: Qalandiya checkpoint / Vie quotidienne sous occupation militaire: checkpoint de Qalandiya, 21.01.2012

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Paq) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 09:43:00 +0000

(c) Anne Paq/Activestills.org, Qalandiya checkpoint, 21.01.2012

When I saw the queue inside Qalandiya checkpoint, I just turned around. I just could not bear the thought of being stuck between narrow bars, in the cold. Occupation sucks even more when the weather is miserable.
I am privileged, I am a foreigner and I can leave whenever I want. I had also an alternative way to go to Bethlehem through the back road- 80km longer in kilometers but shorter in time.
I remember Qalandiya checkpoint when I first visited Palestine in 2003, it was only a few road blocks. Now a hill had been leveled so that the Israelis can build one of these huge terminal. It just keeps expanding. The Wall on each side was also completed. It has become the main access to Jerusalem from the North of the West Bank. Huge traffic jam is routine. Sellers, including small children, are trying to make a few shekels a day to bring back to their families. Israeli soldiers are almost unseen, they bark from their bullet proof boots or are hidden in military towers.
The place is just an embodiment of the ugliness of the occupation, a place where the occupier wants to assert its authority over the oppressed. In winter, this is even less bearable.

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Quand j'ai vu la file d'attente à l'intérieur de checkpoint de Qalandiya, j'ai juste fait demi-tour après avpir pris quelques photos. Je ne pouvais pas supporter l'idée d'être coincée une nouvelle fois entre les barres étroites, dans le froid. L'occupation est encore plus insupportable quand le temps est misérable.
Je suis privilégiée, je suis un étrangere et je peux partir quand je veux. J'avais aussi une autre façon d'aller à Bethléem par une autre route: 80 km et donc plus longue mais au final plus court en temps.
Je me souviens du checkpoint de Qalandiya la première fois que j'ai visitée la Palestine en 2003, il y avait seulement que quelques blocs de béton. Maintenant une colline a été complêtement nivelée afin que les Israéliens puissent construire un de ces terminaux énorme. Il ne cesse de s'étendre. Le Mur de chaque côté a également été achevé.
Qalandiya est devenu le principal point d'accès à Jérusalem pour tous les Palestiniens du nord de la Cisjordanie. D'énormes embouteillages sont le lot quotidien de milliers de Palestiniens. Des vendeurs, y compris les petits enfants, essayent de se faire quelques shekels par jour pour ramener à leurs familles en passant le long des voitures, esperant que des vitres vont se baisser. Les soldats israéliens sont presque invisibles, ils sont calfeutrés dans leurs cabines à l'epreuve des balles ou sont cachés dans les tours militaires.

L'endroit incarne toute la laideur de l'occupation, un lieu où l'occupant veut affirmer son autorité sur les opprimés. En hiver, cette laideur est encore moins supportable.

Protest against the renewed negociations / Manifestation contre la reprise des negociations entre le PLO et Israel, ramallah, 21.01.2012

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Paq) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 19:59:00 +0000

Follow Up Protest for #No2Negotiations

by Linah Alsaafin
http://lifeonbirzeitcampus.blogspot.com/

In a blatant demonstration of the Palestinian Authority’s colossal gap between the interests of itself and the people it claims to represent, unelected chief negotiator Saeb Erekat will meet up with his Israeli counterpart Yitzhak Molcho for the fourth round of talks in Amman, Jordan on January 25th. The announcement came barely a day after Palestinians protested against the farcical negotiations in front of the PA compound of al-Muqata’a in Ramallah.

Nevertheless, the group Palestinians With Dignity have been quick to issue another statement out, calling for another protest this Saturday the 21st. It is clear that these protests are not reactionary, and will continue until all negotiations between the occupied and the occupier cease once and for all. Last week saw the arrest of a young man who participated in the protest by the PA security forces. He was attacked and interrogated before being released.

In a true and classical behavior that characterizes Arab repressive governments who are merely puppets of western interests, will violence against protesters by the PA escalate?

Below is the statement [emphasis not mine], with a link to a petition against negotiations at the bottom:

Last Saturday 14th of January, we stood in silence in front of the Presidential Compound (Muqata’a) in Ramallah demanding the immediate stop of the bilateral negotiations between Saeb Erekat and Yitzhak Molcho in Amman. The bitter cold did not stop us from protesting against the return to these fruitless talks. The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) has retreated from its earlier position that they will not return to negotiations, until settlement expansion is halted and all the political prisoners were released; this represents the bare minimum demands of the Palestinian people.

The PLO’s reneging on their promise to the Palestinian people and their return to negotiations implies that the leadership accepts the continued theft and seizure of Palestinian lands, legitimizes the ever-going attacks of the settlers, and furthermore undermines the Palestinian people in whole.

As Palestinians youth, we do not see any benefits from these futile negotiations. We have grown weary of representatives that don’t represent us, a national consensus that does not include us, and an implied future pseudo-state that does not guarantee our rights; specifically the rights of the majority of Palestinians who are refugees and live in exile.

It appears that our message last Saturday fell on deaf ears. The Palestinian leadership is still moving forward with negotiations, despite the Israeli occupation’s expansion of illegal colonies in the West Bank, the continued siege on Gaza, and Israel’s continued practice of the crime of Apartheid against Palestinians.

Nevertheless, we have not been deterred from acting. We demand the Palestinian leadership bears its responsibility in defying all sources of foreign pressure to return to negotiations. Instead of pursuing negotiations at this moment in time, we are in need of a resistance-based strategy. A strategy that begins with the unification of Palestinians and the political, economic, cultural and academic boycott of the apartheid state of Israel. We unequivocally demand that our leadership invests in its people, because when unified, together we can alter the balance of power to our favor.

On Saturday, January 21st at 1 PM we will again protest at the doorsteps of the Presidential Compound (Muqata’a). Join us on Saturday, and let us together stand tall with dignity and full of pride until our demands are met.

Show your support by signing the following petition against negotiations:
http://www.aredaonline.com/petition_against_negotiations

Palestinians for Dignity

Palestinian tweeps on the ground will be using the hashtag #No2negotiations for live updates.

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Un groupe d'activistes palestiniens ont organisé pour la deuxième fois une manifestation contre la reprise des négociations entre l'OLP et Israël qui se déroule à Amman par des rencontres prévues entre Saeb Erekat et son homologue israélien Yitzhak Molcho.
Ces rencontres sont vues comme un recul de l'OLP qui avait assuré qu'il ne serait pas question de négocier tant qu'Israël continue à étendre les colonies. La semaine dernière un des participants à la manifestations avait été arrêté après la manifestation et interrogé pendant plusieurs heures par les forces de sécurité palestiniennes.

Demonstration against the Wall in Al Ma'sara / Manifestation contre le Mur à Al Ma'sara, 20.01.2012

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Paq) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:13:00 +0000

(c) Anne Paq/Activestills.org, Al Ma'sara, 20.01.2012.

The demonstration was again stopped by the Israeli soldiers who closed the main entrance to Al Masara and other villages, preventing the protesters to reach the lands which had been grabbed for the building of the Wall, on 20.01.2012.
The Israeli soldiers pushed back violently some Palestinians who attempted to pass their line. After speeches during which the Israeli soldiers were asked to 'look at themselves in a mirror", the demonstrators ended the protest.
The demonstration occurred after a certain number of arrests of some of the organizers, two of them have still legal proceedings against them. One of the concerns is also the recent announcement by the Israeli authorities of the installation of a gate at the entrance of the village, that gate will prevent the inhabitants of reaching road 60, and then will further isolate those communities.

Palestinians from Al Ma'sara, together with internationals and Israeli supporters started their demonstrations in 2005.

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La marche des manifestants a été une nouvelle fois bloquée par les soldats israéliens qui avaient fermé l'entrée principale de Al Masara et des autres villages, empêchant ainsi les manifestants d'atteindre les terres qui ont été spoliées par Israël pour la construction du Mur, le 20.01.2012.
Les soldats israéliens ont violemment repoussé certains Palestiniens qui tentaient de passer leur ligne. Après les discours pendant lesquels les soldats israéliens ont été invités à «se regarder dans un miroir», les manifestants ont mis fin à la protestation.
La manifestation a eu lieu après un certain nombre d'arrestations de certains des organisateurs, deux d'entre eux ont encore des poursuites judiciaires contre eux. Une des préoccupations est aussi l'annonce récente par les autorités israéliennes de l'installation d'une barrière à l'entrée du village, ce nouveau obstacle à la liberté de circulation servirait d' empécher les habitants d'atteindre la route 60, ce qui les isoleraient encore davantage.

Les Palestiniens de Al Ma'sara, avec des internationaux et des israéliens ont commencé leurs manifestations en 2005.

Articles of the day - VIP PA and Bunker Israel: what a depressing world!

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Paq) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:34:00 +0000

The VIPs' hush money

It's no coincidence that a group of young Palestinians now organizing protests in the West Bank against a return to negotiations is called 'Palestinians for Dignity.'

By Amira Hass

Two people signed the entry permit into Israel that Mahmoud Abbas received from Israel's Civil Administration on January 1 (and which will be in force until March 1 ): 1st Lt. Noy Mitzrafi, commander of the permits office, and Lt. Col. Wissam Hamed, a department head in the Israel Defense Forces' operations directorate. It is this limited permit that Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president and PLO chairman, complained of receiving instead of his normal VIP permit during a closed meeting of his Fatah faction.

The permit also states that Abbas lives in the Gaza Strip (where, as is well known, he has not set foot since 2007 ); that he is "allowed to go into Israel, except for Eilat, and into the Judea and Samaria region [i.e. the West Bank]," but not to drive a car in Israel. It states that his reason for entry is that he is "a senior PA official"; that he may stay overnight only in the West Bank or Gaza, even though the permit is in force from 00:00 to 00:00 (midnight to midnight ). Also, it says he is allowed to move about without a magnetic ID card, but the permit is "valid despite the [security] prevention" - meaning the Shin Bet security service registers him as a security menace, but the permit is given as a gesture of kindness.

The PA says a few dozen other senior officials have also been stripped of their VIP permits since mid-2011 as punishment for the PA's application for admission to the United Nations as a member state. But regarding Abbas' permit, a spokesman for the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories insisted that this was purely a technical error.

Contrary to the interpretation that this was an intentional humiliation of Abbas, for once it's actually believable that this was a mere technical error. Humiliation is part of the system's DNA, and the clerks who implement the system imbibe the techniques of humiliation from the day they enter the army - until they view them as immutable laws of nature.

So what's surprising is neither the error nor the humiliation. What's surprising is that the PA hasn't long since, of its own initiative, renounced this dubious privileged status that the Civil Administration gives its senior officials.

After 17 years of experience, it's not hard to conclude that these ludicrous privileges are an inseparable part of the mechanism of oppression. To be astonished, it's enough to imagine the senior Palestinian official begging the Israeli clerk from COGAT to restore his own and his colleagues' VIP status. Or to be awed by how successful the wizards of the occupation have been at taming the leaders of the colonized with tempting scraps.

On the other hand, there's nothing to be astonished at. Collaborating with the humiliation inherent in VIP status conferred by the occupier is part of the PA's whole concept. Its senior officials lavish praise in their speeches on "popular resistance" (as the preferred alternative to taking up arms ). But in the very sphere where they could easily engage in civil disobedience of their own, they don't do it.

One damning example of this appears in the European Union's report on Area C, the part of the West Bank that is under full Israeli control. The report states explicitly that the PA has neglected Area C (62 percent of the West Bank ) in its national plans and paid very little attention to the population that inhabits it. As one European diplomat undiplomatically told Haaretz: "The PA is asking us for donations to build another luxury building in Ramallah, not for initiatives in Area C." The symbols of power and the comforts of luxury in Ramallah come a priori at the expense of a possible tactic for altering the balance of power with Israel.

Every senior PA official knows that his superiors' acquiescence in resuming negotiations with Israel, preserving the occupation's order in Area C and continuing security coordination with Israel grant him some respite from the foreign rule's routine harassments, a respite denied to rank-and-file Palestinians. The VIP's permit is the hush money he receives for his accomodation with the status quo.

This is by definition a poor opening position to be in vis-a-vis Israel. Even worse, it's a poor opening position to be in vis-a-vis the Palestinian public. It's no coincidence that a group of young Palestinians now organizing protests in the West Bank against a return to negotiations is called "Palestinians for Dignity."

Welcome to the world’s first bunker state ~ by Jonathan Cook

January 18, 2012 by occupiedpalestine 0 Comments

By Jonathan Cook, www.jkcook.net – 18 Jan 2012

Room for Jews only in Israel’s ‘villa in the jungle’

Jonathan Cook

Nazareth – The wheel is turning full circle. Last week the Israeli parliament updated a 59-year-old law originally intended to prevent hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees from returning to the homes and lands from which they had been expelled as Israel was established.

The purpose of the draconian 1954 Prevention of Infiltration Law was to lock up any Palestinian who managed to slip past the snipers guarding the new state’s borders. Israel believed only savage punishment and deterrence could ensure it maintained the overwhelming Jewish majority it had recently created through a campaign of ethnic cleansing.

Fast-forward six decades and Israel is relying on the infiltration law again, this time to prevent a supposedly new threat to its existence: the arrival each year of several thousand desperate African asylum seekers.

As it did with the Palestinians many years ago, Israel has criminalised these new refugees – in their case, for fleeing persecution, war or economic collapse. Whole families can now be locked up, without a trial, for three years while a deportation order is sought and enforced, and Israelis who offer them assistance risk jail sentences of up to 15 years.

Israel’s intention is apparently to put as many of these refugees behind bars as possible, and dissuade others from following in their footsteps.

To cope, officials have approved the building of an enormous detention camp, operated by Israel’s prison service, to contain 10,000 of these unwelcome arrivals. That will make it the largest holding facility of its kind in the world – according to Amnesty International, it will be three times bigger than the next largest, in the much more populous, and divine retribution-loving, US state of Texas.

Israeli critics of the law fear their country is failing in its moral duty to help those fleeing persecution, thereby betraying the Jewish people’s own experiences of suffering and oppression. But the Israeli government and the large majority of legislators who backed the law – like their predecessors in the 1950s – have drawn a very different conclusion from history.

The new infiltration law is the latest in a set of policies fortifying Israel’s status as the world’s first “bunker state”- and one designed to be as ethnically pure as possible. The concept was expressed most famously by an earlier prime minister, Ehud Barak, now the defence minister, who called Israel “a villa in the jungle”, relegating the country’s neighbours to the status of wild animals.

Barak and his successors have been turning this metaphor into a physical reality, slowly sealing off their state from the rest of the region at astronomical cost, much of it subsidised by US taxpayers. Their ultimate goal is to make Israel so impervious to outside influence that no concessions for peace, such as agreeing to a Palestinian state, need ever be made with the “beasts” around them.

The most tangible expression of this mentality has been a frenzy of wall-building. The best-known are those erected around the Palestinian territories: first Gaza, then the areas of the West Bank Israel is not intending to annex – or, at least, not yet.

The northern border is already one of the most heavily militarised in the world – as Lebanese and Syrian protesters found to great cost last summer when dozens were shot dead and wounded as they approached or stormed the fences there. And Israel has a proposal in the drawer for another wall along the border with Jordan, much of which is already mined.

The only remaining border, the 260km one with Egypt, is currently being closed with another gargantuan wall. The plans were agreed before last year’s Arab revolutions but have gained fresh impetus with the overthrow of Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak.

Israel is not only well advanced on the walls of the bunker; it is also working round the clock on the roof. It has three missile-defence systems in various stages of development, including the revealingly named “Iron Dome”, as well as US Patriot batteries stationed on its soil. The interception systems are supposed to neutralise any combination of short and long-range missile attacks Israel’s neighbours might launch.

But there is a flaw in the design of this shelter, one that is apparent even to its architects. Israel is sealing itself in with some of the very “animals” the villa is supposed to exclude: not only the African refugees, but also 1.5 million “Israeli Arabs”, descendants of the small number of Palestinians who avoided expulsion in 1948.

This has been the chief motive for the steady stream of anti-democratic measures by the government and parliament that is rapidly turning into a torrent. It is also the reason for the Israeli leadership’s new-found demand that the Palestinians recognise Israel’s Jewishness; its obsessions with loyalty; and the growing appeal of population exchange schemes.

In the face of the legislative assault, Israel’s Supreme Court has grown ever more complicit. Last week, it sullied its reputation by upholding a law that tears apart families by denying tens of thousands of Palestinians with Israeli citizenship the right to live with their Palestinian spouse in Israel – “ethnic cleansing” by other means, as leading Israeli commentator Gideon Levy noted.

Back in the early 1950s, the Israeli army shot dead thousands of unarmed Palestinians as they tried to reclaim property that had been stolen from them. These many years later, Israel appears no less determined to keep non-Jews out of its precious villa.

The bunker state is almost finished, and with it the dream of Israel’s founders is about to be realised.

Jonathan Cook won the 2011 Martha Gellhorn Special Prize for Journalism. His latest books are Israel and the Clash of Civilisations: Iraq, Iran and the Plan to Remake the Middle East (Pluto Press) and Disappearing Palestine: Israel’s Experiments in Human Despair (Zed Books). His website is www.jkcook.net.

A version of this article originally appeared in The National, published in Abu Dhabi.

Mahmoud Abu Rahma, a human rights advocate attacked by masked men in Gaza / Mahmoud Abu Rahma, un defenseur des droits humains attaqués à Gaza

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Paq) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:54:00 +0000

(c) Photo by: Anne Paq/Activestills.org, Mahmoud Abu Rahma; Al Mezan Center, Gaza, archive photo August 2010.

I am really shocked to hear the news that Mahmoud Abu Rahma, a known human rights advocate in Gaza who works in Al Mezan Center was stabbed by masked men for having written an article demanding accountability for resistance groups and the government and better protection for people. He was even called a collaborator. Mahmoud and Al Mezan have been working tirelessly on behalf of the Palestinians for years through research and advocacy, denouncing human rights abuse and calling for accountability irrespectively of the identity of the perpetrators.

I know Mahmoud, he was very helpful and welcoming when I was in Gaza and he helped me a lot to better understand the situation. I hope he will have a speedy recovery to be able to continue his essential work. I am afraid that this means that the situation has become even worse in Gaza than last time I visited about one year ago. Can we really expect otherwise when we know how are the conditions in Gaza, when people are squizzed in this tiny piece of land, locked from every side, under constant attack and without any perspective of development? This is of course not to justify any gross human rights violations, including freedom of expression which is for the least we can say often under attack- either in the West bank or Gaza.

Lets stand in solidarity with Mahmoud and all the human rights defenders and activists who fight oppression whenever it comes from!

Here is a link to the article "The gap between resistance and governance" that Mahmoud wrote earlier and that provoked the attack.

Here is the press release of Adalah in solidarity with Mahmoud:

17 January 2012

Open Letter from Adalah to our colleagues at Al Mezan in Gaza condemning the violent attacks against Mahmoud Abu Rahma

We were shocked to hear today about the recent violent attacks over the past two weeks against our colleague Mahmoud Abu Rahma, the international relations director of Al Mezan and an internationally known human rights defender.

We condemn these cowardly attacks. We further condemn the campaign to prevent Mahmoud from voicing his opinion and ideas, and from continuing his work in support of the human rights of Palestinians. We view these attacks as a deplorable attempt to silence Mahmoud and his legitimate struggle to secure a human rights culture in the Gaza Strip.

Adalah's staff and Board of Directors express our deep solidarity with Mahmoud and Al Mezan. We stand against the threats and intimidation that Mahmoud has been subjected to in recent weeks. We also call on the security services in Gaza to find the offenders and hold them accountable, and we wish Mahmoud a full and speedy recovery.

Press release of Al Mezan:
http://www.mezan.org/en/details.php?id=13320&ddname=state%20of%20insecurity&id2=9&id_dept=
9&p=center

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Je suis vraiment choquée d'apprendre que Mahmoud Abu Rahma, un défenseur éminent des droits humains qui travaille dans le Centre Al Mezan a été poignardé par des hommes masqués à plusieurs reprises pour avoir écrit un article demandant que groupes de résistance et le gouvernement soient tenus responsables pour des dommages causés aux civils et une meilleure protection des personnes. Il a même été appelé un collaborateur. Mahmoud et Al Mezan ont travaillé sans relâche au nom des Palestiniens depuis des années par la recherche et le travail de plaidoyer, dénonçant les abus des droits et appelant à la responsabilité quel que soit l'identité des auteurs des crimes commis.

J'ai rencontré Mahmoud lors de mon dernier séjour à Gaza; il a été extrêmement accueillant et m'a beaucoup aidé dans mes démarches et à mieux comprendre la situation. Des attaques de ce type ne font que renforcer mon sentiment d'une détérioration dans la bande de Gaza. Peut-on s'attendre à autre chose lorsqu'on sait que la petite bande de terre, surpeuplée est complètement fermée de toute part sans perspectives de développement? Cela ne justifie bien sûr en aucun cas les violations des droits humains, et notamment la liberté d'expression qui il faut le dire est souvent circonscrite, en Cisjordanie comme dans la bande de Gaza.

Montrons nous solidaires de Mahmoud, de tous les défenseurs des droits humains et des militants qui combattent l'oppression, peu importe d'où elle vient.

Voici un lien vers l'article "L'écart entre la résistance et la gouvernance" que Mahmoud a écrit plus tôt et qui a provoqué l'attaque.

Graffiti, Separation Wall; Bethlehem, 16.01.2011

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Paq) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 15:04:00 +0000

Going through the washing machine, Bethlehem checkpoint; 16.01.2012

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Paq) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:04:00 +0000

(c) Anne Paq/Activestills.org, Bethlehem checkpoint, 16.01.2012.

"Going through checkpoints is like going through a washing washing. Except, you feel dirtier at the end".

Thats what I thought today while I was going through the Bethlehem checkpoint, stuck with a crowd between bars..a very familiar scene. This really put me in a bad mood but all the Palestinians around me were keeping their cool so it helps to bear it. Humiliation, pure humiliation, that's what it is. Can you make me believe that the Israeli army does not have enough people to manage these checkpoints and to make us pass quickly if they want?!
No. we wait and I want to break it all. We can barely see the sky between the bars and the Wall which stands just next to us. Somebody carrying a baby tries to pass through the crowd, he said they are going to the hospital. I forgot to mention that the "humanitarian" lane is not working at all. If you are claustrophobic, agoraphobic, have some heart disease or if you are handicapped, this is simply not for you.

Suddenly we (a group of 50) move forward, go inside the checkpoint where we have again to wait in line for the green light, so that we can go through the second turnstile and go through the metal detector. Some have to remove the shoes, putting their feet on the freezing floor.
Once we all go through; another group of 50 will proceed. Like cattle. During the whole process you barely see the ones who are in control. you see lights- red or green- and cameras. Welcome to big brother 2012. I dont complain, I dont have to go through this checkpoint as I can take the longer route through Beit Jala; a privilege that the Palestinians from the West bank dont have. I am just appalled again by this system Palestinians have to endure everyday; losing precious time away from their loved ones; queuing like cattle going to a slaughterhouse.

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"Passer par les checkpoints, c'est comme passer à la machine à laver. Sauf, qu'à la fin vous vous sentez encore plus sale".

C'est ce je pensais aujourd'hui en passant par le checkpoint de Bethléem, lorsque j'étais coincée entre des barres avec une foule .. une scène très familière au checkpoint.
Cela m'a vraiment mis de mauvaise humeur, mais tous les Palestiniens autour de moi gardaient leur sang-froid alors cela m'a aidé à surmonter ma frustration. De l'humiliation, de l'humiliation pure, voilà de quoi il s'agit. Pouvez-vous me faire croire que l'armée israélienne n'a pas assez de personnel pour gérer au mieux ces points de contrôle et nous faire passer rapidement si elle le voulait vraiment?!

Nous devons attendons et je veux déjà tout casser. Nous pouvons à peine voir le ciel entre les barres et le Mur qui se dresse juste à côté de nous. Quelqu'un portant un bébé essaie de passer à travers la foule, il dit qu'ils doivent aller à l'hôpital. J'ai oublié de mentionner que la voie"humanitaire", censée permettre aux personnes malades de passer plus rapidement; ne fonctionne pas du tout. Si vous êtes claustrophobe, agoraphobe, avez des problèmes cardiaques ou si vous êtes handicapé, ce n'est tout simplement pas pour vous.

Soudain, nous (un groupe limité d'une cinquantaine de personnes) allons de l'avant, pour rentrer à l'intérieur du poste de contrôle ou plutôt terminal tant il est imposant où nous avons encore à attendre en ligne devant une lumière qui oscille entre le rouge et le vert, passage pour passer le le deuxième tourniquet et le détecteur de métal. Certains doivent enlever les chaussures, en mettant leurs pieds sur le sol froid. Tous les hommes doivent enlever leur ceinture. Les bagages sont passés au rayon X.

Une fois que nous sommes tous passés, un autre groupe de 50 peut arriver pour subir les mêmes procédures humiliantes de vérification. Comme du bétail. Durant tout le processus vous voyez à peine ceux qui sont en contrôle, géneralement si vous les apercevez ils sont derrière des vitres blindés et ne vous regardent jamais dans les yeux. Ils aboient des fois des instructions dans des hauts parleurs. Vous voyez des lumières rouge ou vertes et des caméras. Bienvenue au big brother 2012. Je ne me plains pas, je n'ai pas à passer par ce checkpoint trs souvent et j'ai toujours l'alternative de prendre un itineraire plus long pour se rendre à Jérusalem via Beit Jala, un privilège que les Palestiniens de la Cisjordanie n'ont pas.
Je suis juste consternée encore par ce système que les Palestiniens doivent endurer chaque jour; perdant un temps précieux loin de leurs proches; en faisant la queue comme du bétail va à l'abattoir.

What happened in Jericho- a personal account by Mahmoud Zawahra

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Paq) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 17:57:00 +0000

Photo by: Anne Paq/Activestills.org, archive photo of Mahmoud Al Zawahra, during a demonstration in Al'Masara.

Dears,
I would like to thank all of you who stand with us, who have showed amazing support these past three days and demanded our immediate release from Israeli military jail. I hope that we will be able to free Omar Dar Ayoub from Nabi Saleh soon, as well. Although Omar was arrested together with the other four of us on Wednesday, only a short time after finally having been released from military jail as part of the “prisoner swap”, Omar, alone, was remanded until Sunday. We need Omar out NOW, together with all political prisoners.

Unlike Omar, Anwar Abu Mousa, the young woman from Ramallah who was arrested first, ‘Azmi al Shyouhki from Hebron, Khaled Tamimi from Nabi Saleh and I were released Thursday night, after the first hearing of the “case” against us in military court. During the hearing, the prosecution had argued vehemently for the need to extend our imprisonment – on the grounds that, for various reasons, they had allegedly not been able to conclude the interrogations and generally needed more time to prepare the case against us. Fortunately, our lawyer was nonetheless able to secure the release of the four of us – on the condition that we each pay 3000NIS in cash as bail, sign guarantees of another 10,000NIS that we would be forced to pay should we fail to show up in military court, and the signature of a third person also guaranteeing that we will show up (as if there was any way we could evade that in the occupied Palestinian West Bank).

No charges were formally brought against us yet, but during the hearing, the prosecution accused all five of us of having “assaulted” soldiers and of “illegal assembly”. In spite of ample video footage and other evidence to the contrary, the prosecution alleged that ‘Azmi, Khaled and I had pushed soldiers, while Anwar had allegedly slapped one soldier and Omar kicked four of them, as if highly armed Israeli soldiers in an equally armed military unit were likely targets for unarmed and handcuffed Palestinian civilians.

Of course, accusing us of assault is an easy and efficient way for the prosecution to criminalize us, but after all that had happened in the previous 30 hours or so, it was highly surreal to listen to the prosecutor’s allegation. For a moment, it almost sounded like we should organize a campaign of solidarity with the soldiers.

What actually happened is this:
Early Tuesday morning, our convoy set off from the center of Jericho. Our plan was to drive together to Ramallah on “Road 1”, one of the so-called “bypass roads” that Israeli authorities illegally build on Palestinian land to provide infrastructure for the equally illegal settlements.

Although they run right all over the occupied West Bank, in and around our privately owned lands, the “Israeli Civil Administration” claims full control on these roads, but “allows” us West Bank Palestinians to use them alongside the settlers. In practice, this means that Israeli traffic police not only patrols on these roads, but actually claims authority on them, frequently stopping us and issuing arbitrary fines; all along these roads, Israeli settlers wait at bus stops of ordinary Israeli bus companies, only a few meters away from the make-shift bus stops that we are allowed to use; attacks through settlers or pull-overs through Israeli military are common…

We had intended to drive up to Ramallah via one of these roads, and only then use some of those roads that are accessible to Jewish settlers only and from which we are barred. But we didn’t even make it that far.

On our way to Ramallah, before reaching “Road 1” which, according to their bizarre military law, we are allowed to use, we were stopped by Israeli armed forces. We were told that we would not be allowed to continue our trip while displaying the Palestinian flag – an act that, since the “Oslo accords” of 1993, is no longer considered illegal by Israeli authorities. About 300m away, illegal settlers were driving past unhindered, displaying the Israeli flag in the occupied Palestinian West Bank.

As you might have seen in the many videos of that day, we were angered and outraged at this arbitrary denial of our freedom of movement.. We had come to exercise some of those rights that are regularly denied to us, and we were not going to walk away with yet more of our rights stripped away. We refused to turn back or to take down our flags.

In the ensuing argument, Awar was suddenly and very arbitrarily arrested. When Omar tried to prevent this absurd arrest, he, too, was arrested, shorty followed by ‘Azmi. At that point, IOF took both my ID and the ID of my friend Naim Manar, and ordered us to move to the side while they made checked information on us. I realized that they were going to arrest me as well and that my car was stuck on the road, right in front of the soldiers, so I handed the car keys to Khaled Tamimi, and caught a ride back to Jericho. I later learned that they then arrested Khaled (who – after having been released together with us Thursday evening – was rearrested later that night during a raid, together with 17 year old Anan and 20 year old Mahdi, and then again released yesterday evening while Anan and Mahdi remain in prison). The army also prevented anyone else from moving my car.

30 minutes after I left, the Israeli “intelligence” office began calling me on my mobile phone and threatening that I would be put on the “wanted” list if I did not turn myself in immediately. Knowing the limited options available to us in occupied Palestine, I opted to go back in the company of a lawyer.

As soon as I arrived, I was handcuffed and blindfolded and taken to the “DCO” in Jericho where I was kept until I was brought to the settlement in Ma’ale Adumim. After Anwar, Omar, ‘Azmi, Khaled and I were interrogated, we were then transferred to the military prison in Ofer, which marked our official arrest.

This is only one more example for the blatant disregards of any Palestinian rights in the entire Israeli system, including its so-called legal one. Khaled, like so many other Palestinian women, men, and children, remains in military jail because of the arbitrary and criminal politics of an entity that is allowed to act with total impunity. This has to stop!

Mahmoud Zwahra
Al-Ma'sara village - Bethlehem -

UPDATE: Oma Tamimi who was arrested with Mahmoud is still in jail!

Singing under the rain- Demonstration in Nabi Saleh / Chantons sous la pluie- Manifestation à Nabi Saleh, 13.01.2012

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Paq) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:19:00 +0000

(c) Anne Paq/Activestills.org, Nabi Saleh, 13.01.2012

The brave activists from Nabi Saleh and their supporters were not deterred by the heavy rain and held their weekly demonstration against the occupation and the settlements. After all, the occupation does not stop with the bad weather.
The Israeli soldiers were again inside the village, waiting for them to suppress the demonstration. The activists as they were standing and chanting slogans were showered with a foul-smelling liquid sprayed by a powerful water-canon. Despite the rain, the skunk and the cold, the spirit of the activists was high. They joked by making each other hugs although they were covered by the infamous liquid. They will return next week.

The village of Nabi Saleh is targetted for its resistance. Again last night the Israeli soldiers raided the village, arrested three persons including Khaled Tamimi who was just released from prison the day before. Not even, he was released at 7pm, only to be re-arrested at 2am!

See below Ma'an news article:

Israeli forces detain 3 in Nabi Saleh

Published today (updated) 13/01/2012 14:03

(MaanImages/Rami Swidan, File)

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces raided Nabi Saleh village in the central West Bank early Friday, detaining three Palestinians, officials and residents said.

Dozens of soldiers closed the entrance to the village, declaring it a closed military zone, and raided several houses using police dogs, witnesses told Ma'an.

The forces damaged a number of homes and harmed residents in the raids, locals told Ma'an.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said forces detained three Palestinians "involved in violent and illegal riots."

Nabi Saleh, northwest of Ramallah, hosts weekly protests against land confiscation for an illegal settlement, and Israel has cracked down on its residents, carrying out night raids and arresting accused stone-throwers.

The villages' popular resistance committee said the overnight raid shows Israel cannot face the peaceful popular protests in Nabi Saleh.

In early 2011, Israeli forces photographed all the children in Nabi Saleh during night raids on homes, an operation captured on film by a resident working for the Israeli peace organization B'Tselem. Many minors were later arrested in the village.

In December, 28-year-old Nabi Saleh resident Mustafa Tamimi died after he was struck in the face by a tear gas canister fired by Israeli forces.

The people of Nabi Saleh remain steadfast and will continue peaceful resistance to Israel's occupation, the committee said in a statement Friday.

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Les activistes courageux de Nabi Saleh et leurs partisans n'ont pas été découragés par les fortes pluies et ont tenu leur manifestation hebdomadaire contre l'occupation et des colonies. Après tout l'occupation ne s'arrête pas avec les intempéries.
Les soldats israéliens étaient à nouveau à l'intérieur du village, attendant les activistes pour réprimer la manifestation.
Alors que ceux-ci étaient simplement debout et chantaient des slogans, ils ont été douchés avec un liquide nauséabond (ici surnommé le skunk) pulvérisé par un puissant canon à eau.
Malgré la pluie, le skunk, et le froid, l'esprit des manifestants est resté élevé. Ils ont plaisanté en se faisant des hus les uns aux autres alors qu'ils étaient couverts par le liquide infâme.
Ils seront, c'est sûr, de retour la semaine prochaine.

Le village de Nabi Saleh est ciblé pour sa résistance et subit des punitions collectives. Encore une fois la nuit dernière, les soldats israéliens ont envahi le village, ont arrêté trois personnes, dont Khaled Tamimi qui était juste sorti de prison la veille. Encore moins: Khaled a été relaché à 19h, seulement pour être arrêté quelques heures plus tard, à deux heures du matin!

New demolition in the Jordan Valley / des nouvelles démolitions dans la vallée du Jourdain, 12.01.2012

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Paq) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 17:08:00 +0000

(c) Anne Paq/Activestills.org, Khirbet Humsa, Jordan Valley, 12.01.2012

Remains of animal shelters are scattered around after the Israeli army demolished an animal farm of 5 structures in Khirbet Humsa in the Jordan Valley on Thursday, January 12, 2012. The demolition affected 3 Palestinian families of 14 people.
Many lambs left without shelter are likely to die from the cold.
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Les ruines d'abris pour animaux sont dispersées après que l'armée israélienne ait démoli une ferme constituée de 5 structures à Khirbet Humsa dans la vallée du Jourdain. La démolition a affecté 3 familles palestiniennes de 14 personnes. Beaucoup agneaux se retrouvant sans abri sont susceptibles de mourir de froid cette nuit.

The slow strangling of East Jerusalem / le long etranglement de Jerusalem Est, 11/01.2012

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Paq) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 18:32:00 +0000

General view from Al'Isawiya on the site of a new "national" planned by the Jerusalem municipality, which will confiscate lands from Al'Isawiya and At'Tur villages/
Une vue générale sur la zone qui sera confsiquée aux villages de Al'Isawiya and At'Tur pour le nouveau "parc national"

Al'Isawiya is now totally squeezed between the Wall, settlements, Hebrew university and an Israeli army base: there is no space any more for the residents /
Al'Isawiya est désromais totalement coincé entre le Mur, des colonies, l'université hébraïque et une base militaire israélienne: il n'y a plus de place pour les résidents.

A resident of Al'Isawiya village stands on an earth mound erected by the Israeli authorities the day before to obstruct access to some of lands confiscated to be part of a new "national park"; planned by the Jerusalem municipality, Al'Isawiya/
Un résident du village de Al'Isawiya se dresse sur une butte de terre érigée par les autorités israéliennes la veille pour entraver l'accès à certaines des terres confisquées faisant partie d'un nouveau «parc national»; planifiée par la municipalité de Jérusalem, Al'Isawiya

A Palestinian resident of At'Tur stands in front of his home that is under threat of demolition as a result of a new "national park"; planned by the Jerusalem municipality, At'Tur, East Jerusalem, Wednesday, January 11, 2012. His home was already demolished three times. 9 homes are directly threatened with demolition in this area/
Un résident palestinien de At'Tur se tient devant sa maison qui est sous la menace de la démolition à la suite d'un nouveau «parc national»; planifié par la municipalité de Jérusalem, At'Tur. Sa maison était déjà démoli trois fois. 9 maisons sont directement menacée de démolition dans cette zone.

Israel moves to build East Jerusalem park, despite pending final approval

Jerusalem Planning and Building Committee approved the park, to be located on land belonging to the villages of Isawiyah and A-Tur, pending objections that can be submitted until next month.

By Nir Hasson Haaretz

The Jerusalem municipality and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority have begun work on a planned national park, even though the project still needs final approval. Residents of the Arab village of Isawiyah say the earthworks in East Jerusalem are designed to prevent them from reaching their agricultural land.

Last month, the Jerusalem Planning and Building Committee approved the park, to be located on a slope of Mount Scopus. It would include land belonging to the Arab villages of Isawiyah and A-Tur, pending objections that can be submitted until next month.

The approval has been slammed by left-wing organizations and local people, who say the park's true purpose is to prevent the villages from developing further. They say the area does not include archaeological or natural phenomena that would justify the creation of a national park.

While the local residents and the organizations - including Ir Amim, Solidarity, Emek Shaveh, Bimkom and Rabbis for Human Rights - are preparing a publicity campaign against the park, Jerusalem municipality tractors, trucks and bulldozers have begun work. The residents say the operations aim to block a dirt road leading from the villages to agricultural plots.

The Israel Nature and Parks Authority, whose inspectors are overseeing the job, say the work is nothing more than a sprucing up of the area at the request of the municipality. Still, the site is marked by significant earthworks, including the moving of huge amounts of sand and the blocking of a dirt road.

"I told them that if they want to clean the place up they should have gotten rid of the debris somewhere else, not move it from one place to another," said Darwish Darwish, an Isawiyah resident.

Last week, Bimkom issued a report criticizing the declaration of national parks in East Jerusalem as a way for the government, municipality and Israel Nature and Parks Authority to block Palestinian development and construction. Bimkom says that in some cases there is no justification to declare the areas national parks, and that these declarations dramatically affect the lives of East Jerusalem residents and landowners.

For its part, the Israel Nature and Parks Authority said the work was "enforcing" the municipality's policies against illegal use of the area for dumping construction debris.

The authority said "the plan for a new national park on the slope of Mount Scopus is subject to the usual procedure. For dozens of years now, the area has been defined as an open space that should be preserved."

According to the authority, "the Israel Nature and Parks Authority is not a political body and is only concerned about preserving nature in the areas under its control. The declaration of the area [as a park] safeguards the last segment of the Judean Desert that begins on the Mount Scopus slope, and its importance stems from its view onto the desert, heritage landmarks and desert vegetation."

The Jerusalem municipality said that "the area has been used for some time now as an illegal dumping ground, in a way that damages the residents' quality of life. The action carried out, with the Israel Nature and Parks Authority and the police, has blocked the way for trucks that have dumped illegally."

The municipality said it "carries out such operations in all parts of Jerusalem. The area is of utmost archaeological value and includes sites such as antiquities, caves ... and burial sites from the era of the Second Temple."

5 Palestinian arrested during car protest against Apartheid roads / 5 Palestiniens arrêtés pendant une manifestation en voitures contre l'apartheid

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Paq) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 19:11:00 +0000

(c) Anne Paq/Activestills.org, archive photo of Mahmoud Zwahre being arrested, Mahmoud was arrested today for being part of a protest against the apartheid road system in place in the West Bank./ Photo d'archive de Mahmoud Zwahre lors d'une précédent arrestation, Mahmoud a été arrêté aujourd'hui pour sa participation à une protestation contre le système routier d'apartheid mis en place en Cisjordanie.

5 Palestinians were arrested today during a car protest against the Apartheid road system which is in place in the West bank, whereby there is a whole system of settlers-only roads connecting settlements to Jerusalem, grabbing more Palestinian lands.
Among the 5 is Mahmoud Zwahre, from Al-Masara, a prominent Palestinian activist member of the popular struugle coordination committee. Mahmoud was arrested after he was ordered by the Shin Bet ny phone to surrender himself in a military base for participating in the car protest. His car was confiscated.
They are also two Palestinians from Nabi Saleh, Omar and Khaled Tamimi. One of them Omar just got released two weeks ago, Anwar a Palestinian young woman and Azmi Shyukhi, a Palestinian from Hebron.
The car protest did not manage at the end to even go out of Jericho as the Israeli soldiers erected a checkpoint to prevent them to head to the settlers roads. One cameraman was assaulted by the soldiers.
This is showing once again that any type of protest is suppressed Israel.
At the time of writing the five Palestinians are still being interrogated in the police station in Male Adumim; one of the biggest settlement.

Follow up updates and call for action to demand immediate release of the Palestinians arrested for standing up for their rights.

UPDATES: All 5 are being transferred to Ofer prison; Mahmoud is charged with fleeing "legal detention" and the others with assault.

Maan news article:

Drivers protest Israeli-only roads in West Bank

Published today (updated) 10/01/2012 19:34

A protester sits next to Israeli soldiers and border police officers as they block
the way outside Jericho Jan. 10. (Reuters/Ammar Awad)

By Jenny Baboun

JERICHO (Ma'an) -- Around 60 people from across the West Bank on Tuesday tried to drive from Jericho to Ramallah on an Israeli-only road to protest Israel's restrictions on Palestinian movement.

Popular resistance committees organized the motorcade of around 50 cars to protest the network of roads in the West Bank designated for the exclusive use of Jewish settlers.

Committee spokesman Bashir Tamimi told Ma'an the protest aimed to send a message that the roads were built on Palestinian land and to protest settler attacks on Palestinians and holy places.

Protesters drove to the Jericho checkpoint with Palestinian flags on their cars, where they were met by dozens of Israeli soldiers who refused to let them pass.

Tamimi said forces detained five people, including a 15-year-old girl.

An Israeli military spokesman said the protesters were "behaving violently." Asked to elaborate, the army official said they were "acting in a manner that they needed to be detained."

Around 43 percent of the West Bank is off-limits to Palestinians because Israel has allocated it to settlers. Israel has erected over 500 checkpoints and roadblocks in the West Bank, impeding Palestinians' movement in order to ease travel for settlers, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says.

In 2011, five Palestinians were killed -- including two children -- and 1,000 injured by settlers or security forces in incidents related to the settlements, the UN agency said in a report released Tuesday.

Settlements are illegal under international law.

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5 Palestiniens ont été arrêtés aujourd'hui lors d'une protestation en voitures contre le système d'apartheid en place en Cisjordanie, où il y a tout un réseau de routes réservées aux colons, reliant les colonies à Jérusalem,annexant toujours au passage toujours plus de terres palestiniennes.
Parmi les 5 arrêtés se trouve Mahmoud Zwahre, d'Al-Masara, un membre important du comité de coordination de la résistance populaire. Mahmoud a été arrêté après que le Shin Bet lui ait ordonné par télephone de se rendre pour sa participation à l'action. Sa voiture a été confisquée.
Deux Palestiniens de Nabi Saleh, Omar et Khaled Tamimi, ont aussi été arrêté. L'un des deux Omar vient de sortir il ya deux semaines de prison. Anwar une jeune femme palestinienne et Azmi Shyukhi, un Palestinien de Hébron ont également été appréhendés.
Le cortège de voitures n'a même pas réussi à sortir de Jéricho où les soldats israéliens avaient installé un checkpoint pour les empêcher de se rendre vers les routes des colons. Un cameraman a été agressé par des soldats israéliens.
Cela montre une nouvelle fois que tout type de manifestation et de contestation du système d'oopression qu'il impose aux Palestiniens est réprimée par Israël.
Au moment d'écrire les cinq Palestiniens sont toujours interrogés dans le poste de police de Male Adumim , l'une des plus grandes colonies se trouvant près de Jérusalem.

Suivez les mises à jour et les appels pour exiger la libération immédiate des Palestiniens arrêtés pour avoir défendu leurs droits légitimes.

43% de la Cisjordanie n'est plus accessible aux Palestiniens à cause des colonies et des routes qui les relient!

MISE A JOUR; tous les 5 sont sur le point ou ont été transférés dans la prison de Ofer. Mahmoud est accusé d'avoir fui une "détention légale" et les autres sont accusés d'avoir agressé les soldats.

See video from today:

Direct action against the building of the Wall in Al-Walajeh / Action directe contre la construction du Mur à Al-Walajeh, 08.01.2012

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Paq) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 13:20:00 +0000

(c) Anne Paq/Activestills.org, Al-Walajeh, 08.01.2012

Today there was a direct action organized in Al-Walajeh village, located close to Bethlehem. The action was carefully organized and kept secret to surprise the Israeli army and manage to get to the bulldozers which in Al-Walajeh are destroying the natural beautiful landscape for the sake of the building of the Wall, i.e. take more lands. Of the original 18,000 dunums, once the Wall completed, Al-Walajeh will be left with only 2,000 dunums. There will be one entrance/exit of the village controlled by the Israeli army.

In protest, a group of Israel activists sit in front of a caterpillar bulldozer which was working on building the route of the Wall and managed to stop it for about one hour. The Palestinians with whom the action was organized were also present but a bit further. Palestinians who will be arrested for this kind of action is likely to spend months in jail, for the Israeli activists they should be released after a few hours.
An Israeli army did arrive at the scene but did not do anything. They waited to have back u to face the very frightening 9 unarmed activists who were sitting. Finally two more jeeps arrived.
The Israeli officer gave the activists 5 minutes to go. As they did not move an inch, the 9 Israeli activists were forcibly dragged by Israeli soldiers and arrested one by one. They are now in Atarot police station.

The action highlights the critical situation of Al-Walajeh village. It shows also that direct action can actually stop the land grab, if only for one hour, that's already something.

Once completed the village will be totally surrounded by the Wall, isolating it from both Jerusalem and the West Bank. Hundreds of trees had been uprooted and the villagers will lose access to their lands.

In an ideal world, thousands of activists will come to stop the bulldozers in Al-Walajeh and elsewhere in Palestine. But right now this is what we have, keep trying and building momentum is extremely important. More action will take place. Bulldozers building the Wall should not be stopped for one hour, they should be stopped forever!

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Aujourd'hui une action directe était organisée en étroite du village d'Al-Walajeh, situé près de Bethléem. L'action a été soigneusement organisée et tenue secrete afin de surprendre l'armée israélienne et d'atteindre les bulldozers, qui à Al-Walajeh détruisent le paysage naturel magnifique pour la construction du Mur de Séparation, c'est à dire prendre plus de terres. Sur les 18 000 dunums d'origine, une fois le Mur terminé, Al-Walajeh sera laissé avec seulement 2000 dunums. Il y aura une entrée / sortie du village contrôlé par l'armée israélienne. Inutile aussi de rajouter que le Mur est construit loin de la Ligne verte mais bien sur les terres du village.

En signe de protestation, un groupe d'activistes israéliens, en concertation avec le comité local du village contre le Mur, est venu s'asseoir en face d'un des bulldozer Caterpillar qui travaillait sur le site de construction de la route du Mur Ils ont réussi à l'arrêter pendant une heure environ. Les Palestiniens avec lesquels l'action avait été organisée étaient également présents, mais un peu en retrait. Les Palestiniens qui seraient arrêtées pour ce type d'action sont susceptible de passer des mois en prison alors que les activistes israéliens sont géneralement libérés après quelques heures.
Une jeep israélienne est arrivée sur les lieux après quelques minutes mais les soldats n'ont rien fait. Ils ont attendu d'avoir du renfort afin de faire face aux 9 activistes très effrayants non armés qui étaient assis! Deux autres jeeps sont arrivées.
L'officier israélien a donné aux activistes 5 minutes pour partir. Comme ils n'ont pas bougé d'un pouce, le 9 activistes israéliens ont été traînés de force par des soldats israéliens qui les ont alors arrêté un par un. Ils sont maintenant au poste de police Atarot.

L'action met en lumière la situation critique du village d'Al-Walajeh . Elle montre aussi que l'action directe peut stopper l'accaparement des terres. Même si une heure d'arrêt dans la construction du Mur peut paraître dérisoire, c'est toujours mieux que rien, et c'est toujours une voix qui dit: NON, qui resiste et qui peut provoquer des échos inatendus.

Une fois que la construction du Mur sera finie, le village sera complètement entouré par le Mur, l'isolant de Jérusalem et la Cisjordanie. Des centaines d'arbres ont déjà été déracinés et les villageois n'auront plus accès à leurs terres. Il faut agir maintenant.

Dans un monde idéal, des milliers de militants viendraient arrêter les bulldozers à Al-Walajeh et ailleurs en Palestine. Mais maintenant, les forces de résistance sont limitées, il faut cependant continuer à essayer , et créer un élan est extrêmement important. Plus d'actions de ce type devraient avoir lieu prochainement. Le travail des bulldozers oeuvrant à la construction du Mur ne doit pas être interrompu pendant une heure, ils doivent être arrêtés à tout jamais!

Demonstration against the Wall in Bil'in / Manifestation contre le Mur à Bi'lin, 06.01.2012

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Paq) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 17:08:00 +0000

(c) Anne Paq/Activestills.org, Bil'in, 06.01.2012.

The weekly demonstration in the West Bank village of Bil'in was dedicated to Jawaher Abu Rahmah, a Palestinian resident from Bil'in, who died last year following massive tear gas inhalation during the demonstration.

The large group of protesters walked towards the Separation Wall which is built on the lands of Bil'in to protect the nearby settlement of Mod'ilin Illit, also built on the village's land.

The visual effect was greatly enhanced by a lots of Palestinian youth wearing masks made of hats with the colours of the Palestinian flag.

The Israeli soldiers started to throw tear gas on protesters. One Israeli soldier also shot live ammunition towards a Palestinian protester who managed to pass the barbed wire line in front of the Wall. As the protesters were actually walking back, Israeli jeeps crossed the Wall to chase demonstrators, attacking them with tear gas and bullets. Palestinian youth started to throw stones at the jeeps, the Israeli soldiers continued shooting. Some brave Palestinian demonstrators came closer to prevent the soldiers from shooting. At one stage, a protester even jumped on one Israeli soldier to stop him shooting, another one also managed to throw a tear gas canister inside a jeep. Amazing footage can be seen in Haitham Katib's video below. The Israeli soldiers finally withdrew, leaving four protesters injured. It is quite again a miracle that today no one was killed or seriously injured. Jawaher did not have that chance; she was killed by the tear gas, which has become a lethal weapon in the Middle East.

-----Français-------------------------------------------------------------------------

La manifestation hebdomadaire dans le village de Bil'in en Cisjordanie a commémoré Jawaher Abu Rahmah, une habitante palestinienne de Bil'in, qui est décédé l'année dernière suite à l'inhalation de gaz lacrymogènes pendant la manifestation.

Le grand groupe de manifestants se dirigea vers le Mur de séparation qui est construit sur les terres de Bil'in pour protéger la colonie voisine de Mod'ilin Illit, également construite sur les terres du village.

L'effet visuel de cette manifestation était grandement renforcé par une bon nombre de jeunes Palestiniens portant des masques faits de bonnets aux couleurs du drapeau palestinien.

Les soldats israéliens, confortablement installés en hauteur derrière le Mur, ont commencé à jeter des grenades lacrymogènes sur les manifestants. Un soldat israélien a également tiré à balles réelles en direction d'un manifestant palestinien qui a réussi à passer la ligne de fil barbelés devant du Mur.

Alors que les manifestants repartaient en direction du village, des jeeps israéliennes sont passés de l'autre côté du Mur pour chasser les manifestants, les attaquant avec des gaz lacrymogènes et des balles. Les jeunes palestiniens les ont accueillis avec des pierres, les soldats israéliens ont continué à tirer de plus belle. Certains manifestants courageux s'approchèrent alors des soldats pour les empêcher de tirer.

A un certain stade, un manifestant a même sauté sur un soldat israélien qui s’apprêtait à tirer, le soldat sous le choc l'a mis en joue mais n'a heureusement pas tiré. Un autre jeune Palestinian a également réussi à jeter une bombe lacrymogène à l'intérieur d'une jeep! Ces images incroyables peuvent être vues dans la vidéo ci-dessous Haitham Katib. Les soldats israéliens se sont finalement retirés, en laissant derrière eux quatre manifestants blessés.

A nouveau aujourd'hui, c'est un miracle que personne n'ait été tué ou gravement blessé. Jawaher n'a pas eu cette chance, elle a été tuée par les gaz lacrymogènes, qui sont devenus une arme mortelle dans le Moyen-Orient.

Demolition in Jericho, Jordan valley / Démolition à Jericho, Vallée du Jourdain, 05.01.2012

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Paq) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:41:00 +0000

r
(c) Anne Paq/Activestills.org, Jericho, 05.01.2012

Israeli forces demolish 2 Jericho homes
Maan news

Published today (updated) 05/01/2012 15:45

JERICHO (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces demolished two homes belonging to Jerusalem families in a village near West Bank city Jericho on Thursday.

Bulldozers accompanied by military patrols tore down the homes in al-Duyuk, west of Jericho, also destroying the electricity connection to the site, residents told Ma'an.

Forces told the owners the houses were built without a permit in Area C, which Israel fully controls under the 1993 Oslo Accords.

Encompassing 60 percent of the West Bank, Israel only allows Palestinians to build in 1 percent of Area C, on land which is already heavily built up.

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Une nouvelle démolition a eu lieu aujourd'hui près de Jéricho. Deux maisons, appartenant à des familles de Jérusalem réduites en miettes en quelques minutes par l'armée d'occupation israélienne.
Les soldats, en grand nombre, ont empêché les journalistes de documenter les démolitions en les poussabt et en declarant la zone militaire fermée.
Une fois partis, les voisins et enfants se sont précipités vers les ruines.
Quel triste spectacle de début d'année de voir ces enfants jouer dans les ruines.

Another child kidnapped by Israeli Special forces / Un autre enfant kidnappé par les forces speciales israéliennes

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Paq) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 07:56:00 +0000

Photo via Maannews net agency.

Yes this is the face of Muhammad Ali Dirbas, a Palestinian child abducted last night by the undercover Israeli special forces last night in Al-Esawiyya town, in occupied East Jerusalem! He was detained for several hours before being released! He is six year old.
This is not an incident, children are routinely arrested, detained, harassed, forced into confessions by the Israeli occupying forces; Just check the website of DCI Palestine for updates.
The same night two other children were also kidnapped in Silwan, East Jerusalem

Oui c'est le visage de Muhammad Ali Dirbas, un enfant palestinien kidnappé la nuit dernière par des forces spéciales israéliennes en civil à Al-Esawiyya, à Jérusalem-Est! Il a été détenu pendant plusieurs heures avant d'être libéré! Il a six ans. Après sa libération, Muhammad a déclaré que les officiers de police avaient tenté de l'intimider.
Ce n'est pas un incident ni une erreur, les enfants palestiniens sont régulièrement arrêtés, détenus, harcelés, forcés à des aveux souvent fabriqués par les forces d'occupation israéliennes. Il suffit de vérifier le site Web de Defence for Children International-Palestine pour les mises à jour. Voir aussi sur cette page les arrestations depuis début 2012.
La même nuit, deux autres enfants ont également été appréhendés à Silwan, à Jérusalem-Est

This policy is not new- see below a photo I took in 2005 in front of Anata School / Cette politique n'est pas nouvelle-voir ci-dessous une photo que j'ai prise en 2005 en face de l'école d'Anata

This 8 year old Palestinian child was detained for more than 6 hours / Cet enfant palestinien âgé de 8 ans a été détenu pendant plus de 6 heures, 2005, Anata.

Then, some people are saying: "they teach hate to their kids"! This is right but "they" are the brutal occupiers, not the Palestinians. Stop blaming the victims!
Ensuite, certaines personnes disent: «ils enseignent la haine à leurs enfants"! Ceci est juste, mais «ils» sont les occupants brutaux. Arrêtez de blâmer les victimes!

See below the article from Maan:

Israeli forces 'detain 6-year-old' in Jerusalem

Published today (updated) 04/01/2012 10:32

Muhammad Ali Dirbas, 6, was detained by
Israeli forces in Jerusalem on Tuesday, his
relatives said. (MaanImages/HO)

JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- An undercover Israeli force briefly detained a 6-year-old boy in East Jerusalem on Tuesday, relatives said.

The child's grandfather Dawood Dirbas told Ma'an that Israeli officers raided al-Isawiya and local youth threw stones at the military vehicles.

He said his grandson Muhammad Ali Dirbas was going to the shop when Israeli forces apprehended him and took him to a police station in Salah Addin street where he was interrogated for four hours.

On his release, Muhammad told a Ma'an reporter that police officers tried to scare him "but I am not afraid of them, and they must leave our land."

Residents of al-Isawiya told Ma'an that Israeli forces and undercover police raided the town, firing stun grenades and tear gas as they tried to detain children.

UPDATE: The #IsraeliArmy arrested today 4 January ANOTHER CHILD: Muhammad Mahmmoud Abdel Qadir 14 years old from Al 'Isawiyya. See updates here.

MISE A JOUR: L'armée israélienne a arrêté encore aujourd'hui un AUTRE ENFANT de 14 ans Muhammad Mahmmoud Abdel Qadir d'Al 'Isawiyya. Voir les mises à jour ici.

Demonstration against the occupation and settlements in Kfer Qaddum/ Manif contre l'occupation et les colonies à Kfer Qaddum, 30.09.2011

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Paq) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 14:22:00 +0000

(c) Anne Paq/Activestills.org, Kfer Qaddum, 30.12.2011

Two demonstrations to finish the year.

Protests in the West bank are not only still going on but spreading. More villages are joining the popular struggle such as Kfer Qaddum, located between Qalqiliya and Nablus. Kfer Qaddum started to organize regular protest in July 2011 to demonstrate against the blocking of the main road east of the village which used to linked it to Nablus.  This road was blocked because it passes in front of the nearby settlement of Qedumim.
The demonstration was quick. We walked towards the line of the Israeli soldiers but we could not get closer as they blocked the road with barbe wire. After a few minutes of chanting and standing, some youth started to throw stones, and everybody ran away, soon to be showered by tear gas. Some youth did come back, as the tear gas until for some mysterious reasons, the Israeli soldiers had enough and withdrew, still leaving some on top of mountains to make sure the youth would not walk towards the settlement. They walked a bit further and came back, looking satisfied enough to end the demonstration for this week.
If this particular demonstration was not too eventful, in other times the Israeli army did invade the village, and arrested some villagers. You should not assess a demonstration only when you go one time. However, I might say that I also got used to Nabi Saleh and the strong presence of women activists, most of them Palestinians. So it feels strange to go back to demonstrations where there are no Palestinian women at all participating. I do hope the Nabi saleh model would spread.

As it was still early I managed to make it to Nabi Saleh before the end. It was great to join this familiar crowd with so many Palestinian women involved. When I arrived, clouds of tear gas were already covering the fields. It was quite a familiar sight and the demonstration seemed to be over. But suddenly the Israeli soldiers who wanted to chase the youth who were still throwing a few stones, invaded one home, terrorizing the children, throwing sound bombs all around. and they also kicked the photographers and journalists (including me). The Israeli soldiers were so nervous, shouting and pushing people around, as they were doing the most important mission of their lives: yes, and it was invading a Palestinian home with women and children inside.

They finally left, not before firing a few more tear gas canisters.

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Deux manifestations pour finir l'année.

Les manifestations en Cisjordanie ne sont pas seulement toujours en cours, mais elle se propagent. De nouveaux villages se joignent à la lutte populaire, comme Kfer Qaddum, situé entre Qalqiliya et de Naplouse. Kfer Qaddum a commencé à organiser des protestations régulières à partir de Juillet 2011 pour manifester contre le blocage de la route principale à l'est du village qui reliait le village directment à Naplouse.   L'accès de cette route a été bloquée aux Palestiniens car elle passe près de la colonie voisine de Qedumim.

La manifestation a été assez rapide. Nous avons marché vers la ligne des soldats israéliens qui attendaient les manifestants, mais nous n'avons pas pu nous rapprocher à plus de 100 mètres d'eux car ils avaient bloqué la route avec du fil barbelé. Après quelques minutes de chant, certains jeunes ont commencé à jeter des pierres, et tout le monde s'est mis à courir, bientôt arrosé par les gaz lacrymogènes. Certains jeunes sont revenus, comme les gaz lacrymogènes. Au bout d'un moment, pour des raisons mystérieuses, les soldats israéliens en ont eu assez et se sont retirés, en laissant cependant quelques soldats sur le haut des collines pour s'assurer que les jeunes ne marcheraient pas en direction de la colonie. Ils en ont pris la direction mais sont revenus, visiblement assez satisfaits pour finir la manifestation.

Si cette démonstration particulière n'a pas été trop animée, dans d'autres instances à Kfer Qaddum l'armée israélienne n'a pas hésité à envahir le village, et a arrêté certains villageois. On ne doit pas juger une manifestation après une seule participation. Mais je dois aussi avouer que j'ai pris l'habitude des manifestations à Nabi Saleh; marquées par la forte présence des femmes activistes, la plupart des Palestiniennes. Alors il m'a semblé vraiment étrange de revenir à des manifestations où il n'y a pas du tout des femmes palestiniennes qui participent. J'espère vraiment que le modèle de Nabi Saleh va se propager je pense que cela rendrait la résistance populaire plus forte.

Comme il était encore tôt, j'ai réussi à me rendre à Nabi Saleh avant la fin de la manifestation. J'étais heureuse de me joindre à ce groupe qui m'est devenu familier avec tant de femmes palestiniennes impliquées. Quand je suis arrivée, des nuages de gaz lacrymogènes étaient déjà pésents à l'entrée du village. La manifestation semblait touchée à sa fin. Mais, soudain, les soldats israéliens qui voulaient attraper les jeunes qui étaient encore en train de jeter quelques pierres, ont envahi une maison, terrorisant les enfants, en jetant des grenades assourdissantes tout autour. Ils ont également bousculé les photographes et journalistes (dont moi), en les empêchant de les suivre dans la maison. Les soldats israéliens étaient si nerveux, hurlant et poussant les activistes et photographes. Ils se comportaient comme ils conduisaient la mission la plus importante de leur vie et aue leur vie était en jeu alors que rappelons le: ils étaient en train d'envahir une maison palestinienne avec des femmes et des enfants à l'intérieur.

Ils sont finalement partis, mais pas sans pas tirer quelques grenades lacrymogènes supplémentaires.

Nabi Saleh demonstration, 30.12.2011

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Paq) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 20:48:00 +0000

Palestinian shebabs in Nabi Saleh became extremely skilled with throwing back tear gas canisters to the Israeli soldiers: impressive!

Les shebabs palestiniens à Nabi Saleh sont devenus extrêmement habiles pour relancer les grenades de gaz lacrymogènes à leurs envoyeurs, les soldats israéliens: impressionnant!

Here is one which did not explode, the Palestinian showed it to the Israeli soldiers before throwing it back some minutes later.
En voici une qui n'a pas explosé, le Palestinien le montre aux soldats israéliens avant de leur relancer quelques minutes plus tard.

One of the medic who was just injured by a tear gas canister
Un des secouristes qui vient d'être blessé par une grenade lacrymogène.

Also very impressive to see Palestinians broadcasting live from the demonstrations! Together with Tweeter, you can follow what is happening.
Les Palestiniens utilisent maintenant la technique du "livestream", avec un laptop, une connexion internet et une webcam, il est possible de diffuser en direct. Grâce à cette technique, et à Tweeter, on peut vraiment suivre ce qui se passe instantanément.

A Palestinian family is seen with at the back the Israeli settlement of Halamish just a few minutes after their home had been invaded by the Israeli soldiers during the demonstration.
Une famille palestinienne pose avec à l'arrière la colonie israélienne de Halamish quelques minutes après que leur maison ait été envahie par les soldats israéliens lors de la manifestation.

(c) Anne Paq/Activestills.org, Nabi Saleh, 30.12.2011

After two demonstrations and 5 hours of transportation, I am definitely too tired to write anything! will try tomorrow

below is account by Linah Alsaafin:

Nabi Saleh’s Balloon Release for Gaza

Submitted by Linah Alsaafin on Mon, 01/02/2012 - 17:54

Demonstration against the occupation, Nabi Saleh, West Bank. 30.12.2011

My friend Amra Amra informed me that the Chicago Movement for Palestinian Rights were planning on commemorating the third year since the massacre on Gaza, which Israel dubbed as Operation Cast Lead, by releasing balloons with the name of each child killed attached- a total of 344. One of the coordinators asked if we could possibly emulate the same action in Palestine.

After some initial planning, we decided to take the balloons to the village of Nabi Saleh, as opposed to Qalandiya checkpoint, which separates the rest of the West Bank from Jerusalem. It was easier to coordinate with the villagers and a lot less hassle, especially on such short notice.

Friday morning came. Along with a handful of other friends/activists, we got the balloons and managed to stuff them all in the back of a ford (mini-bus). As we got closer to Nabi Saleh, I was sick with worry about what the soldiers manning the yellow gate at the entrance to the village would do once they saw the balloons. I was scared they would open the back door and let the balloons fly away. I reached behind me and gripped the strings tightly. From experience, I know their maliciousness knows mercy. We decided on a story: We were going to Beit Rima (the village just after Nabi Saleh) for a kid’s birthday party. I nicknamed it, Operation Susu’s Birthday.

It was such a ridiculous situation. Ridiculous that we should be holding our breath just because of some balloons, ridiculous that these young soldiers had the power to do anything to us, ridiculous in that we were sitting uncomfortably with the balloons batting our faces, necks and shoulders, threatening to engulf us. This is occupation, when the gravity and tension weigh up against the absurdities and unnecessities, creating a split personality-one full of apprehension and anger, the other just seconds away from a good dose of hysterical hyena laughing.

Thankfully, nothing happened. They demanded to see the ID of the driver and the person sitting in the passenger seat. They opened the door and peered at each and every one of us. One soldier said, “Balloon?” but we ignored him. Then we passed. We all breathed audibly. We jumped out of the ford and walked through the village with the balloons. Kids outside in the cold morning were exclaiming, “I want a balloon!” We told them to come find us just before the protest started, still a few hours away. We went to one of the welcoming houses, and downstairs inside a room we got busy with work. We cut the papers with the names of the children of Gaza killed into strips, hole-punched them, and tied them to each balloon string. There were a lot of pictures taken, kids were careful not to be overly exuberant, and we had a great time. The kids asked what the strips of paper were, and we told them about the commemoration of the Gaza massacre.

One medic, a regular in Nabi Saleh who’s well-known by the villagers, took a stab at black humor. “So when you all get killed,” he told the children in the room, “We’ll remember your names by flying some balloons.”

“Don’t joke about this kind of stuff,” I snapped. The kids however wanted to know more.

“Is Mustafa’s name tied to one of the balloons?” 9 year old Rand asked, referring to Mustafa Tamimi, the young man killed after an Israeli soldier fired a tear gas canister directly at his face a few weeks ago.

“Mustafa was 28 years old,” the medic replied. “Did he look like a kid to you?”

We talked about what was the best way to include the balloons in the protest. Should we have the kids go down the road in front of the soldiers before the demonstration began? The soldiers wouldn’t fire tear gas at them, right? Of course they would. We’ve all witnessed it more than once. The army fires tear gas at children singing and chanting. The parents shook their heads. It’s safer if the kids were with the protest crowd; that way at least there will be people to protect and shield them once the Israeli occupation forces intensified their sadistic suppression of the villagers’ basic rights.

We decided to visit another favorite house of ours in the village. As we were making our way down the road we watched powerless, meters away, as two Israeli jeeps came hurtling up the road, before it kidnapped two international activists who were taking pictures of the village and of where Mustafa had fell.

Protest time: Amra and I got the balloons, and I gave one to a kid so he could entice the other ones to come our way. They came running. They were so enthusiastic. It was perfect timing, as the demo passed by and swept them along. We went down the street chanting. We turned the bend and continued to where the soldiers with their jeeps and skunk truck were waiting for us. The kids were interspersed in the crowd, some in the front, most in the middle. We waited for the sky to rain tear gas. A few canisters were fired (a few being abnormal; usually dozens are fired from the onset). Instead, the skunk truck rumbled forward, its nozzle spraying that nasty stuff. We all ran back, and I noticed all the kids had scampered, using their common sense. Their ages were between 14 to 5 years old.

Nabi Saleh weekly demonstration, Dec. 30, 2011 | Facebook

We didn’t get to release the balloons all at the same time like planned, but it didn’t matter. I realized how silly this part of the idea was. The soldiers don’t differentiate between child, man, or woman. Getting the children together in a group to release the balloons at the same time in front of the soldiers was indeed a powerful and symbolic image, yet owing to the aggressive reality on the ground, it was not a feasible idea. It was impossible to replicate an identical event amidst the IOF, dodging tear gas canisters fired at our bodies, and running away from the skunk water. Still, the most important thing was that we got our message across, and that the kids had a blast.

That’s about how far the balloons went..the demo was ugly with a lot of tear gas, multiple arrests, skunk water sprayed numerously, and a couple of violent house raids which terrified the children inside. Sometimes I’d look up, my chest constricting, and see the clouds of tear gas hanging over our heads, other times it would be clumps of balloons floating away. It made me think of ten year old Ahmad Mousa from Nilin, shot and murdered by Israel in 2008. It made me think of 5 year old Jana singing Bombing Gas to the tune of Jingle Bells.

We don’t teach our children to hate.

That’s all.

Will Jane Birkin play in Tel Aviv and by doing so will support Apartheid, occupation and colonization? / est ce que Jane Birkin jouera à Tel Aviv ?

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Paq) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 14:26:00 +0000

BDS news: Europeans, Moroccans urge Jane Birkin to respect boycott call

Submitted by nora on Thu, 12/29/2011 - 00:30

Activists across Europe and North Africa with the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement are urging Jane Birkin — British-born French singer, actress and proponent of human rights in Burma, Chechnya, Haiti and Japan — to respect the Palestinian-led call for the cultural boycott against Israel and not perform in Tel Aviv in January.

In addition to a public statement to Birkin on 13 December by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), BDS France/Belgium and BDS Maroc (Morocco) have posted a joint letter to Birkin, encouraging her “not to be indifferent to the Palestinian call for cultural boycott.”

This week, BDS Catalunya drafted a letter, entitled “No balance with apartheid,” and posted it to their Facebook page. The letter, translated into English, Spanish, Catalan and French, states in part:

Dear Jane Birkin,

We have heard that you intend to give two concerts in Tel Aviv on January 13 and 14, 2012 in spite of the fact that in 2004 the Palestinians made a call to international artists asking them not to perform in Israel … We are aware that you intended to sing both in Israel and in the Occupied Palestinian Territories as you did in your 2003 tour but that your attempts to rent a hall in Ramallah have been unsuccessful because the local cultural organizations refuse to cooperate with your policy of equating the occupied and the occupier.

Seven years after the 2004 Palestinian call for a cultural boycott of Israel, it is no longer acceptable to maintain this position. Your only remaining option is to sing in Israel but giving these concerts in Tel Aviv would mean normalizing the occupation, colonialism and apartheid that is causing so much suffering to the Palestinian people.

… BDS Catalunya are writing to you because we know that just three days before your first concert in Tel Aviv you will be performing in our capital city, Barcelona. The concert will be held on January 10, 2012 at 9 pm in the emblematic Palau de la Música, one of the gems of Catalan modernist architecture. While we are pleased and proud that an artist of your calibre is coming to our city, it shocks us to think that only three days after singing in Palaude la Música a person like you, who is committed to defending human rights – as they know in Burma, Haiti and Chechnya – may be used by Israel to cover up the terrible crimes committed against the Palestinian population. We hope this letter will help to change your mind.

The BDS Catalunya group wishes you a pleasant stay in Barcelona but feels obliged to inform the people here in Catalonia about the negative implications that your two concerts in Israel may have for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people. We will be at Palau dela Música on January 10 to inform your audience of these implications and to ask you once again to cancel your concerts in Israel.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BDS France interpelle l’artiste Jane Birkin qui prévoit des concerts à Tel Aviv

publié le vendredi 16 décembre 2011

Vous pouvez vous aussi lui écrire à l’adresse ci-dessous.

Jane Birkin

C/o Agence Cinéart

36 rue de Ponthieu

75008 Paris

Paris, le 5 décembre 2011

Chère Jane Birkin,

Au mois de janvier vous avez l’intention de donner deux concerts à Tel Aviv et vous êtes actuellement en train de finaliser la recherche d’une salle pour jouer à Ramallah. Aujourd’hui la campagne BDS France (Boycott – Désinvestissements- Sanctions) souhaiterait vous rencontrer pour discuter avec vous des enjeux de ce mouvement pacifiste et international.

Vous connaissez bien le conflit israélo-palestinien et vous vous êtes rendue plusieurs fois dans les territoires occupées avec votre tournée « Arabesque » ou lors de la présentation de votre film « 36 vues du pic saint Loup ». Ces visites vous ont permis de constater que l’on ne pouvait pas mettre sur un pied d’égalité Israël et la Palestine, qu’il y a avait bien un oppresseur, l’Etat israélien, qui refuse de respecter le droit international ; et un opprimé, le peuple palestinien qui vit sous apartheid, qui subit quotidiennement la colonisation, la privation des besoins les plus élémentaires, et dont une grande partie est toujours réfugiée aux quatre coins du monde.

Ce constat implique également une différence de traitement : jouer en Israël sera interprété, que vous le vouliez ou non, comme un soutien à cet Etat, qu’un concert en Palestine ne fera pas oublier. Lorsque Leonard Cohen en 2009, a voulu poursuivre la même démarche, les Palestiniens ont tout simplement refusé de le recevoir à Ramallah suite à son concert à Tel Aviv. Et Amnesty International qui cautionnait au départ ce concert, s’en est retiré après discussion avec la société civile palestinienne.

Le mouvement BDS est né suite à l’appel de cette société civile palestinienne en 2005 pour lutter de façon pacifique contre la politique d’apartheid d’Israël, il regroupe maintenant des dizaines de milliers de personnes à travers le monde qui refusent de considérer Israël comme un Etat démocratique tant que celui ci ne respectera pas le droit international.

Parmi celles-ci, de nombreuses personnalités de vos deux familles artistiques ont choisi de ne pas se produire en Israël tant que cet Etat ne changera pas sa politique. Parmi les cinéastes, Ken Loach, Jean-Luc Godard, Meg Ryan, Dustin Hoffman ou Mike Leigh. Parmi les musiciens, Natacha Atlas, Vanessa Paradis, Roger Waters, Brian Eno, Annie Lennox, Carlos Santana, Elvis Costello, Gil Scott-Heron, Gorillaz, les Pixies, Massive Attack, Gilles Vigneault ou Lhasa, entre autres, ont récemment annulé leurs prestations artistiques dans différentes villes israéliennes.

Jane Birkin, vous êtes une femme engagée, nous espérons que vous annulerez vos concerts à Tel Aviv et que vous rejoindrez ces nombreux artistes qui boycottent Israël tant que cet état ne respectera pas le droit international.

Nous restons à votre entière disposition pour tout supplément d’information. D’ici là, vous trouverez toutes les informations sur notre site : www.bdsfrance.org

Cordialement,

La Campagne BDS France

CICP

21 ter rue Voltaire

75011 Paris

campagnebdsfrance@yahoo.fr

Best wishes from the Israeli Ministry tourism in the midle of the checkpoint!/ Des voeux du Ministère Israelien du tourisme au milieu du checkpoint!

noreply@blogger.com (Anne Paq) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 16:55:00 +0000

(c) Anne Paq/Activestills.org, Bethlehem, 27.12.2011.

Yes they dare to do it again! Every year Israel is trying to show a friendly face to the thousands of tourists and pilgrims who visit Bethlehem around Christmas. So this year again we are greeted by a big banner put in front of the checkpoint and another poster inside a checkpoint!

In the same checkpoint where thousands of Palestinians are humiliated everyday! just watch this video that I do-directed some years ago to understand what the bethlehem checkpoint is really about:

They even dare to wish "peace" when they are the ones who bring misery here and continue the dispossession of another people, grabbing more lands everyday. Just in Bethlehem, the Palestinians from Bethlehem can only access 13% of their original land!

I would like that someone correct on the banner: "we wish you a merry Christmas and happy new year " by :
"we STEAL you AGAIN a merry christmas and happy new year".

That will be much more accurate!

---Français---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oui, ils osent le faire à nouveau! Chaque année, Israël tente de montrer un visage amical pour les milliers de touristes et de pèlerins qui visitent Bethléem autour de Noël. Alors, cette année encore, nous sommes accueillis par une grande bannière mis sur les très accueillants grillages qui entourent le checkpoint et une autre affiche à l'intérieur même du poste de contrôle!

Dans le même checkpoint (ou plutôt terminal tant il est imposant) où des milliers de Palestiniens sont humiliés tous les jours! Il suffit de regarder cette vidéo (sous titres français) que j'ai co-realisé il ya quelques années pour comprendre ce que le checkpoint de Bethléem représente vraiment pour les Palestiniens:

Le gouvernement israélien ose même nous souhaiter «paix et prospérité» quand il est responsable de la misère ici et continue à déposséder les Palestiniens de leurs droits, saisissant plus de leurs terres par la force au quotidien. Juste à Bethléem, les Palestiniens n'ont plus accès qu'à 13% de leurs terres d'origines.

Je voudrais que quelqu'un rectifie sur la bannière: "nous vous souhaitons un joyeux noël et une bonne année" par:

«Nous vous volons ENCORE un Joyeux Noël et une bonne année".

Ce serait beaucoup plus exact!

Chroniques de Palestine- Popular resistance and human rights

To exist is to resist! Rebuilding homes in Anata / Exister c'est resister! Reconstruction des maisons à Anata,

Home Demolition in Anata (1st location), 25.01.2012

Dictionnaire

Home Demolition in Anata (2nd location), Arab Jahalin, 25.01.2012

Home Demolition in Anata (3rd location), 25.01.2012

Palestinian students on hunger strike at Bethlehem university / des étudiants en gréve de la faim à l'université de Bethléem, 23.01.2012

#OccupyBZU to #BZUProtest

Daily life under occupation: Qalandiya checkpoint / Vie quotidienne sous occupation militaire: checkpoint de Qalandiya, 21.01.2012

Protest against the renewed negociations / Manifestation contre la reprise des negociations entre le PLO et Israel, ramallah, 21.01.2012

Follow Up Protest for #No2Negotiations

Demonstration against the Wall in Al Ma'sara / Manifestation contre le Mur à Al Ma'sara, 20.01.2012

Articles of the day - VIP PA and Bunker Israel: what a depressing world!

The VIPs' hush money

It's no coincidence that a group of young Palestinians now organizing protests in the West Bank against a return to negotiations is called 'Palestinians for Dignity.'

Welcome to the world’s first bunker state ~ by Jonathan Cook

Mahmoud Abu Rahma, a human rights advocate attacked by masked men in Gaza / Mahmoud Abu Rahma, un defenseur des droits humains attaqués à Gaza

Open Letter from Adalah to our colleagues at Al Mezan in Gaza condemning the violent attacks against Mahmoud Abu Rahma

Graffiti, Separation Wall; Bethlehem, 16.01.2011

Going through the washing machine, Bethlehem checkpoint; 16.01.2012

Dictionnaire

What happened in Jericho- a personal account by Mahmoud Zawahra

Singing under the rain- Demonstration in Nabi Saleh / Chantons sous la pluie- Manifestation à Nabi Saleh, 13.01.2012

Dictionnaire

New demolition in the Jordan Valley / des nouvelles démolitions dans la vallée du Jourdain, 12.01.2012

The slow strangling of East Jerusalem / le long etranglement de Jerusalem Est, 11/01.2012

Israel moves to build East Jerusalem park, despite pending final approval

Jerusalem Planning and Building Committee approved the park, to be located on land belonging to the villages of Isawiyah and A-Tur, pending objections that can be submitted until next month.

5 Palestinian arrested during car protest against Apartheid roads / 5 Palestiniens arrêtés pendant une manifestation en voitures contre l'apartheid

Direct action against the building of the Wall in Al-Walajeh / Action directe contre la construction du Mur à Al-Walajeh, 08.01.2012

Demonstration against the Wall in Bil'in / Manifestation contre le Mur à Bi'lin, 06.01.2012

Demolition in Jericho, Jordan valley / Démolition à Jericho, Vallée du Jourdain, 05.01.2012

Another child kidnapped by Israeli Special forces / Un autre enfant kidnappé par les forces speciales israéliennes

Demonstration against the occupation and settlements in Kfer Qaddum/ Manif contre l'occupation et les colonies à Kfer Qaddum, 30.09.2011

Nabi Saleh demonstration, 30.12.2011

Dictionnaire

Nabi Saleh’s Balloon Release for Gaza

Will Jane Birkin play in Tel Aviv and by doing so will support Apartheid, occupation and colonization? / est ce que Jane Birkin jouera à Tel Aviv ?

BDS news: Europeans, Moroccans urge Jane Birkin to respect boycott call

BDS France interpelle l’artiste Jane Birkin qui prévoit des concerts à Tel Aviv

Best wishes from the Israeli Ministry tourism in the midle of the checkpoint!/ Des voeux du Ministère Israelien du tourisme au milieu du checkpoint!