Tag: West Bank

UN chief slams Israel’s West Bank annexation plan

FIGHT FOR THE LIFE OF MAHMOUD SARSAK [2] !

Fight for the life of Mahmoud Sarsak [2]

    • Today
    • 15:00 until 17:00
  •
  • As the world watches millionaire footballers compete for the European Championship trophy, Palestinian footballer Mahmoud Sarsak is close to death as he enters his 85th day of hunger strike, the longest in history.Sarsak, a 25-year-old footballer and student from Gaza, was arrested three years ago as he was trying to meet up with the national team in the West Bank, and has been detained indefinitely without charge or trial ever since.Come and protest against this blatant abuse of human rights on Monday 11th June at 3pm outside the Department of Media, Culture and Sport in a coordinated action with the We Are All Hana Shalabi Network from Scotland who will be protesting outside the British Consulatein Jerusalem.Bring footballs, football shirts and banners for a fun media-friendly kickabout outside the DMCS to raise awareness of Sarsak and the thousands of Palestinian prisonersbeing held under administrative detention and illegal combatant lawsPlease note:
    This facebook was created because Facebook blocked all new activity on our original facebook event for this protest.
    Clearly it was too effective in gaining rapid growing support, so presumably the Zionist trolls made false allegations and facebook just blocked it without any notification or investigation. Please follow details and updates also through emails, twitter and phones.
    *** Phone CONTACTS: ***
    +44 (0)7729779164
    +44 (0)7880 731 865

    Twitter: @palestineplace
    Email: najah383@hotmail.com

POSTED ON BEHALF OF : Public event · By Yael Kahn, Malaka Mohammed and Joel Sharples

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Palestinian hunger striker Hana Shalabi hospitalized

Palestinian protesters hold posters of Hana Shalabi in 2011. (file photo)
Female Palestinian prisoner Hana Shalabi, who has been on a hunger strike since February 16, has been hospitalized.

“Hana Shalabi was transferred this evening to Israel‘s Meir hospital after her state of health deteriorated,” Palestinian Prisoner Affairs Minister Issa Qaraqaa said on Monday.

An independent doctor from Physicians for Human Rights-Israel who examined Shalabi said her life was at risk. The doctor described a weakening of her muscles, weight loss of 14 kilograms, and a very weak pulse.

She has been on a hunger strike since her arrest in the northern West Bank on February 16. She was originally ordered to be detained without trial for six months.

Although Shalabi was among more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners released in October 2011 in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, she was later re-arrested and sent back to prison.

HSH/MF/HGL

POSTED ON BEHALF OF : PRESS.TV
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Charge or Release? Israeli military courts as an enforcement mechanism of occupation

calltoaction
Graphic for Palestinian Political Prisoners’
Day, 17 April 2012

Khader Adnan’s 66 days of hunger strike under administrative detention, without charge or trial, sparked global discussion, outrage, and movement – perhaps the largest ever seen in the long history of the Palestinian prisoners‘ struggle – as Adnan’s courage, steadfastness and strength inspired solidarity the world over. During that time, it was on many occasions expressed that Khader Adnan should be charged, or released. Administrative detention is a particularly appalling mechanism of political detention – based on secret evidence, with no cognizable charges and no opportunity to confront said ‘evidence’ – used arbitrarily by Israel to hold Palestinian organizers for six-month renewable periods.

The abolition of administrative detention (a call which has been taken up by Amnesty International) is a long-term demand of the Palestinian prisoners’ movement – and Israel’s use of this system violates international law. However, it must be noted that “being charged” in the Israeli military courts, the justice system that governs Palestinians in the occupied West Bank of Palestine, is in no way a solution for Palestinian political prisoners. Any trial provided to a Palestinian political prisoner under such a system is fundamentally unjust and a mechanism of perpetuation of occupation. The military courts are not an alternative to administrative detention; instead, administrative detention is one piece of the structure of mass imprisonment and military rule constructed by the occupation. Given the prominence of the “charge or release” conversation in Khader Adnan’s case, it is important to explore what being “charged” in Israel’s military courts means for Palestinians under occupation and apartheid.

Out of 4,489 Palestinian political prisoners currently held in Israeli jails, 309, including Khader Adnan, are held under administrative detention. Imprisonment is a fact of life for Palestinians;over 40% of Palestinian men in the West Bank have spent time in Israeli detention or prisons. There are no Palestinian families that have not been touched by the scourge of mass imprisonment as a mechanism of suppression.

Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jails come from the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Jerusalem, and Israel. All – including the Palestinians of ’48, who hold Israeli citizenship – face deeply unjust structures throughout the process of arrest, charge, trial and sentencing. Far from being an objective, neutral or beneficient system for Palestinians, the Israeli court system is part and parcel of the mechanism of occupation, bolstering and serving as a direct arm of military/state power in enforcing occupation control over Palestinian lives and land.

Over 2,500 military orders govern the West Bank. The “Order Regarding Security Provisions [Consolidated Version] (Judea and Samaria)” grants the Israeli military “the authority to arrest and prosecute Palestinians from the West Bank for so-called ‘security’ offenses,” notes Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association. Another military order, issued in August 1967 and still in place today, criminalizes organizing protests, assemblies or vigils, waving flags and political symbols, and printing political material, and “also deems any acts of influencing public opinion as prohibited ‘political incitement’, and under the heading of ‘support to a hostile organization,’ prohibits any activity that demonstrates sympathy for an organization deemed illegal under military orders.”

The Israeli military retains for itself the right to declare any Palestinian organization ‘illegal’ and thus prosecute membership or association with that organization. Most Palestinian political parties, including Islamic Jihad (which is one of the four largest political parties in Palestine), as well as countless labour unions, student groups, women’s organizations, and other sectoral groups, fall squarely into the category of ‘illegal organizations’ and a large number of Palestinian political prisoners who have been “charged and tried,” are serving sentences for ‘membership in an illegal organization,’ ‘support for a hostile organization’ and similar charges.

In the Israeli military courts, the charge of ‘membership in an illegal organization’ carries no maximum sentence, although “a military court decision instead set… a precedent that the minimum penalty is 24 months’ imprisonment. In fact some Palestinians, such as Ahmad Sa’adat, have been sentenced to as much as 30 years’ imprisonment on such charges. Under Israeli criminal law, the maximum penalty is one year…”

Palestinians facing military courts are often confronted with secret evidence; can be denied access to lawyers for up to 90 days; can be held for up to 2 years “until the end of legal proceedings;” and confront vague and non-specific charge sheets. It should be noted that settlers in the West Bank do not face this system of military courts; they, instead are directed into the Israeli criminal justice system, with much higher protections for the accused and much lower sentencing ranges. Addameer notes one particularly egregious example of this disparity: “On 21 January 2011, Israeli settler Nahum Korman who beat an 11-year-old Palestinian child, Helmi Shusha, to death, was sentenced to 6 months of community service. On the same day, Suad Ghazal, a 15-year-old Palestinian girl accused of attempting to stab an Israeli settler was sentenced to 6 and a half years in prison.”

Israeli military trial judges are active members of the Israeli military; many are former military-court prosecutors, and not all military judges are required to hold completed legal training.

It must be noted that the net effect of “trying” a Palestinian for membership in Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Hamas, or for that matter, Fateh, all of which remain illegal organizations under the arbitrary Israeli military orders governing the West Bank, is to place that person in prison for a minimum of two years for membership in a political party. Rather than encouraging such a structure as an alternative to administrative detention, it is incumbent upon those of us who would stand in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners to recognize that administrative detention is one piece of an entire system that exists in order to buttress occupation and undermine Palestinian existence, resistance, and organization. In order to build solidarity, we must refuse to accept as normal or legitimate the criminalization of Palestinian resistance and politics by the Israeli occupation.

Palestinians from Jerusalem, in particular those from East Jerusalem occupied in 1967, face a dual system of law, usually being held for interrogation under the military system before transfer to the Israeli civil system for trial, but under the category of ‘security prisoner.’ Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, prior to 2005, were subject to the same military orders as prevail in the West Bank. Following the 2005 “disengagement,” Palestinians from Gaza abducted by the Israeli military are now held as ‘unlawful combatants,’ and subject to an administrative detention scheme with no six-month limits.  Palestinian political prisoners who are citizens of Israel are charged as ‘security’ offenders in the Israeli civil system, depriving them of rights afforded to criminal defendants. ‘Security offenders’ may be held for 60 days without being charged and denied access to a lawyer for three weeks. They are subject to the same interrogators from the Israeli Security Agency as are prisoners from the West Bank and Gaza – and thus the same tactics of abuse and inhumane treatment amounting to torture.

The Israeli court systems – certainly the military system, but also the civil ‘security’ system – are no solution for Palestinian prisoners. Instead, those systems are mandated to enforce the rule (and the illegitimate “law”) of occupation and apartheid. 

Khader Adnan is the latest in a long line of heroes and heroines of the Palestinian prisoners’ movement. Over the years, many of them have used the hunger strike – Adnan the longest – as a powerful weapon of dissent and resistance, placing their bodies on the line to confront the occupation within its own prisons. Most recently, in October 2011, hundreds of prisoners engaged in ahunger strike for over twenty days demanding the end of isolation and solitary confinement. Many of those prisoners have been held under administrative detention; many thousands more through the ‘trials’ and ‘convictions’ of the Israeli security regime. All of those prisoners need continuing support and solidarity, and the growth of such solidarity is one way in which Khader Adnan’s hunger strike, and his courage, will continue to challenge and confront the occupation.

An international coalition of prisoners’ rights and Palestine solidarity organizations have called for global mobilization for April 17, Palestinian Prisoners’ Day (and what will be the day of Adnan’s release.) Such a global mobilization is also an opportunity to link the struggle of Palestinian prisoners in mutual solidarity with political prisoners elsewhere, from Leonard Peltier to Ricardo Palmera to countless others in the jails of the U.S., Canada, and the world.  This includes Palestinian political prisoners in international jails; the 65th day of Khader Adnan’s hunger strike was also the 9th anniversary of Dr. Sami al-Arian’s arrest. Al-Arian remains under house arrest in Virginia today, years after he was acquitted on the majority of charges – and convicted of nothing – by a jury, because he refuses to be forced into becoming an informant on the Palestinian community.

 

POSTED ON BEHALF OF : by on February 23, 2012

 

The call to action for April 17 states:

“We must not allow Khader’s struggle to pass, like so many before his, as one more brave stand crushed by the armed might of the Israeli apartheid regime, unremarkable and inconsequential. Rather let this historic moment mark the beginning of a revitalized global movement for Palestinian prisoners, their rights, their families, and their struggle. Together, we can make it so.”

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Israeli propaganda officer boasted of taking UK Labour Students partying in Tel Aviv, deletes Tweet

Submitted by Asa Winstanley on Wed, 01/18/2012 – 15:50

Update, 16:30 GMT: Just after this story was published, fellow EI blogger Jala Abukhater pointed out to me that Vinson appears to have de-activated his entire Twitter account.

Since the story of the Labour party students officers who took an all-expenses-paid trip to Israel and its illegal West Bank settlements broke last week, they have been coming under increasing pressure from student activists. It has caused a strong negative reaction in the wider student body in the UK, which is generally sympathetic to the Palestinians, and critical toward Israeli war crimes and apartheid.

I understand that party members in one local Labour Students group are planning a no-confidence vote in an officer who took the free propaganda tour.

But strong evidence has now emerged the delegation spent a night clubbing in Tel Aviv with a spokesperson for the Israeli occupation army in the West Bank.

Captain Barak Raz, an Israeli spokesperson who energetically posts army propaganda on Twitter and Facebook, wrote that “partying is always fun too” and he had been “Honored 2b taking out young political leadership [sic.]” concluding with the hashtag #telaviv. The tweet was a reply directed at delegation member Joe Vinson, who had written of being “very glad” to meet Captain Raz.

Cocktails in Tel Aviv

In one of her now deleted tweets another Labour Students delegation member from around the same time, Ruth Brewer, mentioned “enjoying cocktails in Tel Aviv” (screenshot in previous article) although none of the students seems to have written about doing so with the Captain. She also boasted of a “short cut through the West Bank”. Palestinians are routinely forced to queue for hours on end at Israeli checkpoints in the West Bank.

I emailed Joe Vinson on Friday with a link to the tweet, and asked if what the Captain had written was true. Sometime between then and Monday afternoon, the tweet was deleted. But by then I had already taken the screenshot above.

Calls and voice mail to Vinson’s office enquiring if he had asked Captain Raz to delete the tweet have not been returned. Vinson previously described Captain Raz’s presentation to them as “unbiased”, despite the fact that he’s openly employed to do PR for the Israeli army.

With Many Thanks to : Asa Winstanley’s blog

THIS IS ALSO A COPY OF THE STATMENT RELEASED BY THE REPUBLICAN NEWS REGARDING THE MAVI MARMARA MASSACRE

Mavi Marmara
Image via Wikipedia

  Tuesday-Sunday, 31 May-5 June, 2011

>>>>>> Feature: The Mavi Marmara massacre, one year on
——————————————————————-
 As peaceful demonstrators continue to die at Israel’s border, a look
 back at a notorious massacre of international human rights activists.
——————————————————————-
 A year ago last week [May 31], the Israeli military intercepted the
 International Freedom Flotilla in international waters as it headed for
 Gaza.

 On board the various boats making up the convoy were pro-Palestine
 activists from all around the world, including Ireland. They were
 attempting to break the illegal siege of Gaza and were carrying
 shipments of humanitarian aid which they intended to deliver to the
 besieged strip.

 What followed was a massacre. Nine activists on board the Mavi Marmara
 were murdered by Israeli troops, while many more were seriously injured.
 Those who survived were kidnapped and forcibly brought to Israel against
 their will where they were interrogated, beaten and tortured in many
 instances. Their passports were seized and other properties stolen. This
 was an act of naked unprovoked aggression, international piracy and
 state terrorism.

 So, a full year on from the massacre aboard the Mavi Marmara, many
 questions remain to be answered.

 What efforts are being made by the ‘international community’ to bring to
 justice those who ordered and carried out this slaughter and other
 Israeli war crimes?

 What efforts are they making to bring an end to the inhumane and illegal
 siege of Gaza?

 What efforts are they making to force Israeli compliance with
 international law, whether in relation to illegal settlements, its
 apartheid wall or political repression?

 What efforts are they making in relation to the kidnapping, internment
 without trial and abuse and torture of prisoners, including hundreds of
 children?

 Twelve months on and the answer to all the above is a shameful ‘none’.

 The reality is, despite Israel’s claims to have eased the siege last
 year and despite the opening by Egypt of the Rafah crossing last week,
 Israel continues to illegally blockade Gaza. While the opening of the
 Rafah crossing is welcome, it relates solely to the movement of people
 and does not address the core issue of free movement of goods to and
 from Gaza or the movement of people between Gaza and the West Bank,
 which Israel continues to ban.

 A UN report published in March this year said that Israel’s restrictions
 continue to prevent any improvement in people’s lives and violate
 international law [Click here to read the report in full].

 According to the report, “As an occupying power, as well as in every
 instance in which it exercises control over Gaza and its population,
 Israel is bound by international humanitarian and human rights law
 obligations.

 “This legal framework prohibits Israel from imposing restrictions that
 are detrimental to the rights and needs of the population and which are
 not strictly required by legitimate security needs. Such restrictions
 may amount to collective punishment, which is prohibited under any
 circumstances.”

 The report adds: “Israel must fully lift the blockade. This includes a
 removal of restrictions on the import of construction materials and the
 exports of goods, as well as a lifting of the general ban on the
 movement of people between Gaza and the West Bank via Israel.

 “Additionally, Israel must remove to the fullest extent possible the
 current restrictions on the access of people to areas in the vicinity of
 the perimeter fence and to sea waters along Gaza’s coast. When resorting
 to the use of force, it must ensure that civilians and civilian objects
 are not targeted, and that all necessary measures are adopted to prevent
 or minimize the negative effect of attacks on the civilian population
 and its property.”

 As you read this, the former Bosnian Serb military leader Ratko Mladic
 is in custody awaiting extradition to face charges of war crimes
 committed during the Balkans wars. The International Criminal Court has
 said that the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has a case to answer for war
 crimes committed by his troops bombing civilian areas. The US and
 British military are currently involved in a bombing campaigning of
 Libya supposedly to protect Libyan civilians and bring Gaddafi to
 justice for his alleged crimes.

 But no such effort has been made to bring Israel’s leaders to justice
 for their crimes. In fact, much effort has been made to bolster the
 zionist regime and protect their war criminal leaders. The British
 government introduced measures to prevent the arrest of Israeli leaders
 when in Britain, while Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu only
 recently addressed the US Congress, where he was treated to a hero’s
 reception despite the atrocities he is responsible for.

 Despite condemning the attack on the flotilla last year, the European
 Union has steadfastly refused to break off diplomatic and economic links
 with Israel, with moves currently underway to start upgrading those
 links even further. The Dublin government, despite saying there would be
 “serious consequences” for Israel if they harmed any Irish citizens,
 have also refused to take any meaningful action against them. Both the
 previous and current administrations in Leinster House refuse to
 countenance shutting down the Israeli embassy and severing all
 diplomatic and economic links with the zionist state.

 It is this shameful lack of action in defence of the rights of the
 Palestinian people by governments and other institutions whose duty it
 allegedly is to uphold human rights and international law that forced
 activists to organise last year’s flotillas and other such actions.
 Indeed, a second flotilla will now set sail for Gaza in late June. This
 will comprise of more than 1,000 activists, including an Irish ship with
 many Irish activists onboard.

 Outlining the reasons for the second flotilla, Irish Ship to Gaza
 coordinator Fintan Lane said: “Israel has no right to treat the people
 of Gaza as inmates in what has become the world’s largest prison. This
 amounts to collective punishment, and as such is a violation of
 international humanitarian law. Irish Ship to Gaza is part of a
 broad-based, grassroots international movement of concerned citizens who
 are committed to peacefully uphold the fundamental rights of the
 Palestinian people in the face of continuing inaction by our
 governments.”

 Already, Israel has issued threats to use military force once again to
 prevent the flotilla getting through to Gaza. With this threat of
 piracy, kidnapping and other violations of international law, as well as
 the events of last year in mind, you would think that the ‘international
 community’ and governments around the world would be intervening to hold
 the Israelis to account and ensure safe passage for this humanitarian
 flotilla.

 Their response, however, has been truly shameful. Rather than ensuring
 Israel complies with international law and insisting that they will be
 held to account for their crimes if they attack the flotilla, various
 governments and institutions such as the UN have ceded to pressure from
 Israel and are instead trying to prevent the flotilla from being able to
 depart for Gaza at all.

 It is the warped logic of ignoring the crimes of the perpetrator and
 shifting the blame onto the victim of those crimes. Indeed, if the UN
 took meaningful action and ensured the ending of the siege there would
 be no need for this or any other flotilla.

 The bottom line is that the Palestinian people continue to live under a
 brutal military occupation. Peaceful protests continue to be attacked by
 Israel. Palestinian civilians continue to be murdered by Israeli troops.
 Palestinian land continues to be stolen as illegal settlements and the
 illegal apartheid wall continues to be built.

 While Palestine remains occupied, it is our duty as Irish socialists and
 republicans to give whatever practical support and solidarity to the
 Palestinian people.

 Over the coming weeks let us all redouble our efforts and help to end
 the siege of Gaza, to bring an end to the apartheid Israeli regime and
 to secure freedom at last for the Palestinian people.

 For more information on the upcoming flotilla, go to
 www.irishshiptogaza.org.

 For more information on the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign
 (IPSC), go to www.ipsc.ie.

ISSUED ON BEHALF : IRISH REPUBLICAN NEWS
   http://republican-news.org

Commemorating three years of struggle In Ni’lin. جمعة هدم الجدار-نعلين

English below:

تتشرف اللجنة الشعبية لمقاومة الجدار والاستيطان -موقع نعلين بدعوتكم للمشاركة في
المسيرة المركزية السلمية الحاشدة يوم الجمعة الموافق 27.05.2011 تحت عنوان مسيرة الحرية وهدم الجدار,ودلك بمناسبة دخول بلدة نعلين عامها الرابع في المقاومة الشعبية ضد جدار الضم والنهب العنصري.
…
حيث ستقام صلاة الجمعة بالقرب من جدار الفصل العنصري تحت اشجار الزيتون لنثبت للمحتل اننا لن نتخلى عن شجرة زيتون واحدة ولا شبر من اراضينا.
سيكون تاريخ بناء الجدار على ارض نعلين هو نفسه تاريخ هدمه.
كما وسيشارك في المسيرة قياديون شعبيون واعضاؤ لجان مركزية , وسيقوم المتظاهرون بهدم الجدار الاسمنتي كما هدموه اول مرة في عام 2009.
ستنطلق المسيرة الساعة الثانية عشر والنصف ظهرا. نرجو من الجميع المشاركة
ودمتم دخرا لوطنكم وبلدكم الحبيب نعلين

لمحة صغيرة عن نعلين:
عانت بلدة نعلين على مر الزمان مند عام 1967 وحتى الان تم بناء خمسة مستوطنات غير قانونية على اراضيها وكدلك شارع 446 العنصري الدي قسم البلدة الى نصفين,لم يقف اهالي البلدة مكتوفي الايدي وكانوا يقاومون كل هده العمليات البشعه التي تهدف الى سرقة الارض وتهجير اهالي البلدة.دفعت البلدة ثمنا باهظا نتيجة مقاومة المحتل حيث سقط الشهداء والجرحي من خيرة ابناء هده البلدة.وكدلك كان مجموع مساحة اراضي البلدة ما يقارب 58000 دونم لم يتبقى منها الا 8000 دونم,كلها تم مصادرتها بحجة الامن وبناء المستوطنات الاسرائيلية الغير قانونية.

في عام 2004 بداجنود الاحتلال ببناء الجدار الفاصل على اراضي البلدة فهب اهالي البلدة رجالا ونساء ,اطفالا وشيوخا للتصدي للجرافات الصهيونية ,ونجح اهالي البلدة بعد عراك طويل في ايقاف عمل الجرافات وبناء الجدار لمدة اربع سنوات واستعادوا بعض الدونمات من اراضيهم.

في 27.05.2008 عاد جنود الاحتلال بسياسة عنفية لم يسبق لها مثيل من اجل بناء الجدار العنصري على اراضي البلدة
,وكان واجبا على اهل البلدة التصدي والدفاع عن اراضيهم فبدأوا بتنظيم الاحتجاجات السلمية المشروعه.ومن جهة اخرى واجه الجنود المسيرات السلمية بعنف شديد جدا لم يسبق له مثيل,بداية بمنع التجوال ثم الاعتقالات الليلية ثم احضار القناصة والاقتحامات والمداهمات للبلدة ليلا ونهارا ثم قتل خمسة من خيرة ابناء هده البلدة.
دفعت نعلين ثمنا باهظا جراء تصديها لاله القمع العسكرية الصهيونية حيث سقط مئات الجرحى الدين اصيبو برصاص القناصة الاسرائيليين
وسقط ايضا خمسة شهداء من ضمنهم طفل لم يتجاوز عمره 10 اعوام اسمه احمد موسى,هدا وتم اعتقال اكثر من 350 شخص من ابناء البلدةغالبيتهم ممن يشاركون في المسيرات السلمية,وقد تم رفض تصاريح غالبية رجال وشباب البلدة واصبح الفقر والبطالة يسودان البلدة,
الا ان كل هده الممارسات لم تكسر من ارادة اهالي نعلين حيت استطاعوا قص الجدار الالكتوني وهدم الجدار الاسمنتي المقام على اراضيهم,فقام الاحتلال باعتقال قيادات اللجنة الشعبية من اجل القضاء على استمرارية المسيرات الا انهم فشلوا في دلك.
وتستمر المقاومة…حتى نيل الاستقلال ودحر الاحتلال

join our peaceful huge demonstration commemorating the third anniversary of the start of the popular struggle in Ni’lin town. ni’lin is entering the forth year of struggle against the annexation wall,the march will be called the march of freedom and tearing down the annexation wall,it comes as a call to renew the call for the third uprising(Intifada). the friday prayer will be in the fields near the annexation wall to show the stead fast near our olive trees and lands,then moving forward the march to tear down the annexation wall and intering to our lands.

Back ground about ni’lin:

From the historical point of view, a large past of the town was annexed as a result of the newly-created Israeli state in 1948.since then,the town has been suffering boundlessly caused by the Israeli flargent violation to the human rights conuention and the international law as well. These violations includes grapping the land, building unlawful settlements and housing them with illegitimate immigrants. Dozens of Ni’lin’s people were killed,hundreds were injured and arrested while they were struggling for the honour of their country.
In 1967,the Israeli’s theift of land continued for building settlements in the southern past of the town. Despite the people’s belief of pacifism, they defended their land and resisted the grap. Although the israeli’s were subtle and influential, they couldn’t delude the international puplic opinion and the Palestinians are currently waging a diplomatic struggle in the international institutions to stop annexing the land and building settlements.
During the 1st intifada in 1980,the town took part and consequently lost a number of it’s freedom viterans and many were detained after long chasing and had juhilant reception after release. In 1990,the Town kept on protesting against building the settlements and the 446 street which divided the town into two separated parts. Our people paid with their life for their attempt to repulse a threat to our very survival.
In 2004,Israel disclosed it’s intention to build the apartheid-wall on our land for security reasons as they claim. In fact, it is meant to grap our land, suffocate our life and finally force people to transfer. This aggressive plan was met absolute rejection and peaceful protests by the people fo ni’lin regardless of their sex and age. The Israeli army did it’s almost to crack down those protests through the massive assault of tear gas,rubber-coated steel bullets and live ammunition,but all end in vain.
In 2008, the Israeli army took order from the Israeli supreme court to build the wall and suppress any disapproval or protest. The town immediately re-formed a larger committee for following the case lawfully,leading and organizing non-violent demonstrations on the ground. They again felt that their existence as at stake and struggle with their faith, will and determination. The army from the beginning dealt with the town very differently using aggressive,brutal and barbaric methods so as to stop the protests. Forexample, in one year and two months, they killed five of our dear and near ones namely Ahmed Mousa 9 years old, yousef Amireh 17 years old, Arafat khawaja 23 years old,muhammed khawaja 18 years old and Aqil srour 36 years old. They also band their fathers and other relatives from work permits.

A carfew was imposed on the town for three days. Vandalism and sadism deliberately inflicted on the people but their faith remained unshakened. Moreover, the army used to climb the top roofs and shoot tear gas canisters in random which caused fire in several houses and many people got suffocated from gas inhalation. They also used to terrorize and humiliate the families during the mid-night invasions aimed at arresting the activists and sentence them to long detention and paying indurable fines or bales.the wage for vengeance was clearly shown in detaining the committee leaders and charging them with incitement. That also reflected the army’s hooliganism and failure in suppressing our will and just struggle. No doubt, hundreds of people god injured and some were left handicapped and paralyzed but never loose faith. On the contrary, the town became more powerful,more united and more determined to live in peaceful existence with dignity and freedom. Finally, our people deeply express their deep sense of gralituele to the Israeli peace activists and the international solidarates whose role was clear in fostering and supporting our eagerness for self-determination. They also joined our protests and witnessed our painful and detesiorating living conditions. They therefore conveyed our message that calls for practical and immediate support from the free world. We have a joint-target, that is to end the ages of occupation and tyranny and have freedom,justice,equality and ever lasting peace instead.

 
Time
Tomorrow at 23:30 – Saturday at 02:30
Location
Ni’lin Town بلدة نعلين

 
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