Random pictures from Palestine

People have asked me to post more pictures I have taken about what is going on here. So here are some random pictures from the last three months.



Planting trees with farmers from Huwarra village. This farmers fields are located very near the illegal Israeli settlement of Itamar. Settlers often harass him and his family. He will only go to certain parts of his lands with an international presence.

My friend Yousef from Beit Omar. Yousef was arrested two nights ago at 1:30am by the Israeli army. He is being held without charge in an interogation center.


A demolished house in Silwan, occupied East Jerusalem. Israeli authorities destroyed this house a few months ago, displacing a large family. More than 100 houses in Silwan also face demolition, putting 1,052 people at risk of being homeless.


A heavily armed Israeli soldier at a demonstration against the Apartheid Wall in Jayyous village.


Palestinian men holding a prayer demonstration outside of Damascus Gate, occupied East Jerusalem. Israeli authorities closed off Al Aqsa mosque and prevented men from below the age of 50 to pray insideJerusalem's old city.


A mural against the occupation outside of a school in Jayyous village.


Children in Ramallah hold a demonstration for Gaza. They are dressed as concentration camp prisoners in order to emphasize how Palestine is one big prison.

Funeral for Mohammad Khawaje, a Palestinian youth from the village of Ni'lin. Mohammad was killed during a nonviolent demonstration after being shot by Israeli forces. Three other youth have been killed at demonstrations in Ni'lin since August, including a ten-year-old boy.


Youth hold a sign during a demonstration in solidarity with Gaza in Nablus. Israel has indeed created a system of apartheid for Palestinians living in the West Bank, Gaza, and the 1948 Palestinian territories.

My friend Mohammad from Bi'lin village and his children riding a donkey.


My friend Nasser from Sheikh Jarrah, occupied East Jerusalem. Nasser has been ordered to leave his home. Israeli authorities plan on turning his house over to settlers.

Palestinian youth set fire to tires at a demonstration against the Apartheid wall in Bi'lin. Every Friday for the past four years, Bi'lin residents have held demonstrations against the wall. Israeli soldiers often fire tear gas, rubber bullets, and live ammunition at the demonstrators. Hundreds of people have been injured.

Some children in Al-Ayn refugee camp near Nablus.

Sheikh Jarrah residents organize in the face of mass house evictions

I just wrote this article about the last few weeks I've spent in occupied East Jerusalem supporting communities struggling against house eviction and demolition.

Sheikh Jarrah residents organize in the face of mass house evictions

By Tom Patterson

March 26th, 2009

“We are like the roots of a tree. The Israelis may cut us in places, but we will never die. We will not be transplanted from Jerusalem. I will not leave this house,” Maher Hanun tells a crowded room of Palestinian community members supported by Israeli and international solidarity activists. Maher is one of 51 residents of Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem living in two housing units that are facing imminent eviction by Israeli authorities.
The mood is tense as more than twenty-five people pack into a small room in Maher’s house to plan how to fight the house evictions. Palestinian residents, organized under the Sheikh Jarrah Committee, have invited solidarity activists to come and support their struggle. Internationals from more than ten countries and Israelis sit in chairs and on the floor as Maher tells them his story. After his speech, they divide themselves into groups to cover the two threatened housing units. Both the families and the activists gathered in support are determined to stay inside the houses as long as possible when the police arrive to carry out the evictions.

The people living in these housing units, belonging to the Al-Ghawe and Hanun families, are due to be forcibly removed from their homes this week, as the papers from the Israeli court they were served with are valid between the 15th and 22nd of March. The justification the courts have used for these evictions is that the families do not legally own the land. Yet the houses were built under a joint construction project by UNWRA and the Jordanian government in 1956, eleven years before Israel occupied East Jerusalem. The houses were given to the families, both made refugees in 1948 after Palestinians living in what became the state of Israel were expelled and dispossessed in what has come to be called the Nakba, or ‘catastrophe’.

Now these families are threatened with a second Nakba. Israeli settlers that have moved into Sheikh Jarrah have falsified documents claiming ownership of the houses. The Hanun and Ghawe families have presented legitimate documents of their own and an Israeli judge has not yet ruled on the legality of these papers. Yet the eviction orders are still proceeding, even though no official decision has been reached as to whom the Israeli courts recognize as the true owners.


The experience of eviction and dispossession is nothing new for residents of Shiekh Jarrah. Both the Hanun and Ghawe families were forced from their homes in 2002, after which they lived in tents for four months within sight of their former homes. In November 2008, the al-Kurd family was evicted from their home in the middle of the night despite widespread public support and diplomatic pressure from American and EU diplomats on the Israelis to halt their eviction order. The al-Kurd family has erected a protest tent in the middle of Sheikh Jarrah from where they continue to demand the right to return to their homes. The Israeli police have destroyed the tent five times on the grounds that it is “an illegal structure” even though it is built on private Palestinian property.



Now, with the threat of removal again hanging over their head, the community members of Sheikh Jarrah are organizing. “Stop ethnic cleansing,” is their main message to the Israeli Authorities and the broader international community. These words can be seen on posters hung in the windows of neighborhood shops, on large banners over the entrances to the Ghawe and Hanun residences, as well as the T-shirts that organizers have distributed in the community.

This past week has seen a buzz of activity in the neighborhood. The Sheikh Jarrah Committee, supported by the Coalition for Jerusalem, the International Solidarity Movement, and other human rights organizations, have utilized a myriad of tactics to fight the eviction orders. Throughout the week, dignitaries from foreign nations, journalists, consulors representing numerous European countries, and even Knesset members, have all visited the homes and the protest tent to express their support for the residents of Sheikh Jarrah. The committee has held press conferences, demonstrations outside of court hearings, and drafted statements condemning the orders.

The Committee view their struggle against eviction as part of a larger struggle against Palestinian dispossession from East Jerusalem. The nearby neighborhoods of Silwan, Beit Hanina, and Shu’fat refugee camps are also facing large-scale house demolitions and evictions from Israeli authorities. In the al-Bustaan neighborhood of Silwan, 88 houses are slated for demolition alone. Al-bustaan residents have erected a protest tent similar to the one in Sheikh Jarrah, and this model of resistance seems to be spreading.



For now, the families and supporting activists wait for the police to come each night. They take shifts to make sure someone is up in each house to alarm the community when the Israeli Authorities arrive. Some of the family members have removed all of their furniture in anticipation of the coming raids, but they continue to sleep on mats in the floor. The message is clear: they will not go quietly in the face of this injustice.

American ISM activist critically injured in Ni'lin demonstration

Updated Press Release follows

For Immediate Release

13th Friday 2009, Ni’lin Village: An American citizen has been critically injured in the village of Ni’lin after Israeli forces shot him in the head with a tear-gas canister.

Tristan Anderson from California USA, 37 years old, has been taken to Israeli hospital Tel Hashomer, near Tel Aviv. Anderson is unconscious and has been bleeding heavily from the nose and mouth. He sustained a large hole in his forehead where he was struck by the canister. He is currently being operated on.

"Tristan was shot by the new tear-gas canisters that can be shot up to 500m. I ran over as I saw someone had been shot, while the Israeli forces continued to fire tear-gas at us. When an ambulance came, the Israeli soldiers refused to allow the ambulance through the checkpoint just outside the village. After 5 minutes of arguing with the soldiers, the ambulance passed."
– Teah Lunqvist (Sweden) - International Solidarity Movement

The Israeli army began using to use a high velocity tear gas canister in December 2008. The black canister, labeled in Hebrew as “40mm bullet special/long range,” can shoot over 400 meters. The gas canister does not make a noise when fired or emit a smoke tail. A combination of the canister’s high velocity and silence is extremely dangerous and has caused numerous injuries, including a Palestinian male whose leg was broken in January 2009.

Please Contact:
Adam Taylor (English), ISM Media Office +972 8503948
Sasha Solanas (English), ISM Media Office - +972 549032981
Woody Berch (English), at Tel Hashomer hospital +972 548053082

Tristan Anderson was shot as Israeli forces attacked a demonstration against the construction of the annexation wall through the village of Ni’lin’s land. Another resident from Ni’lin was shot in the leg with live ammunition.

Four Ni’lin residents have been killed during demonstrations against the confiscation of their land.

Ahmed Mousa (10) was shot in the forehead with live ammunition on 29th July 2008. The following day, Yousef Amira (17) was shot twice with rubber-coated steel bullets, leaving him brain dead. He died a week later on 4 August 2008. Arafat Rateb Khawaje (22), was the third Ni’lin resident to be killed by Israeli forces. He was shot in the back with live ammunition on 28 December 2008. That same day, Mohammed Khawaje (20), was shot in the head with live ammunition, leaving him brain dead. He died three days in a Ramallah hospital.

Residents in the village of Ni’lin have been demonstrating against the construction of the Apartheid Wall, deemed illegal by the International Court of Justice in 2004. Ni’lin will lose approximately 2500 dunums of agricultural land when the construction of the Wall is completed. Ni’lin was 57,000 dunums in 1948, reduced to 33,000 dunums in 1967, currently is 10,000 dunums and will be 7,500 dunums after the construction of the Wall.

Updates:
Orly Levi, a spokeswoman at the Tel Hashomer hospital, tells Ha’aretz:

"He’s in critical condition, anesthetized and on a ventilator and undergoing imaging tests,” She described Anderson’s condition as life-threatening."

Israeli activist Jonathan Pollack told Ynet:

"… the firing incident took place inside the village and not next to the fence. There were clashes in the earlier hours, but he wasn’t part of them. He didn’t throw stones and wasn’t standing next to the stone throwers.

There was really no reason to fire at them. The Dutch girl standing next to him was not hurt. It only injured him, like a bullet."

The occupation claims another victim

I took the pictures and report below for the International Solidarity Movement. I sat with the martyr's (all of the fallen from the occupation are referred to as martyrs here) family. They are incredibly poor, with 9 family members sleeping in one room. Jamal's father is currently in an Israeli Prison for illegally working in Israel, but he could not find any work in the West Bank and has to provide for his family. Jamal's father found out about his sons death in prison, and he was not allowed to attend his funeral.



Palestinian Youth Killed by Israeli Military Explosive

26 February 2009

On February 26th, one youth was killed and two seriously injured when a landmine, leftover from Israeli military training in the area, exploded near the town of Tubas in the northern West Bank.

The landmine exploded around 3pm, as the three boys were walking home from school in the fields east of Tubas. Fifteen-year-old Jamal Abdel Nasser Al-Fuqaha was killed in the blast, and Mohammed Khalil Al-Fuqaha and his cousin Munir Khalil Al-Fuqaha, both seventeen, were seriously injured and taken to Rafidia Hospital in Nablus. Mohammed was critically injured in his stomach and Munir sustained moderate wounds in his abdomen and hand.

The fields east of Tubas are often used by the Israeli military for training exercises. According to the Palestine News Network, dozens of Palestinians have been injured from landmines left behind by the army in the Tubas region.

Youth shot in Beit Omar following week of army invasions

On the evening of March 4th, Israeli Forces entered the village of Beit Ommar in the southern West Bank, firing live ammunition and critically injuring 15 year-old Mehdi Said Abu Ayyash. At around 9:30pm, soldiers shot Mehdi in the head with live ammunition. He was subsequently taken to a hospital in Hebron, where he remains in a coma attached to a ventilator, with pieces of the bullet still lodged in his head. That same evening, Israeli Forces also arrested two 17 year-old residents of Beit Ommar; Ahmed Mahmoud Abdel Aziz Awad, and Mountasir Ibrahim Bregeith.

This recent military raid follows more than a week of almost nightly invasions. Israeli soldiers routinely enter the village at around 7pm, firing live ammunition, rubber bullets, tear gas and flares. Usually two jeeps of soldiers drive through the streets into the center of town, forcing residents of Beit Ommar to stay inside their homes. The soldiers often get out of the jeeps to fire at groups of youth who clash with the invading military. Israeli Forces have been seen taunting the youth, deliberately trying to provoke confrontations. On several occasions, the army has also entered several homes, checking all of the rooms and the identity cards of male family members. The army usually withdraws from the village by 10pm, though they have also maintained a presence on the streets until the early hours of the morning.

Additionally, Israeli Forces have also been occupying the Mesayef family home for the past several nights. The house is situated near the entrance to Beit Ommar along Route 60, the main road between the cities Bethlehem and Hebron. Between six and ten soldiers have entered the residence around 8pm on at least five nights last week alone. The soldiers often stay until midnight, disrupting family members who must work and go to school the next day. The family, which includes small children, are all forced into one room while the soldiers occupied the others. Palestinian, Israeli, and International activists, including volunteers with the Palestine Solidarity Project, have entered the house to sit in solidarity with the family. On the night of March 2rd, an Israeli activist was badly beaten by the soldiers after he climbed through a window to get inside the house. The following night, two International activists, one Danish and one American, were arrested for being inside the house, which was declared a “military closed zone.” The Internationals were taken to Qiryat Arba settlement where they were questioned and released after signing conditions that they would not be in the southern West Bank for ten days. The Israeli online news agency YNET has published an article on the occupations of the Mesayef family residence, which can be viewed below:

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3681433,00.html

Please support Gaza

My good friend Eva Bartlett, who has been living and working in the Gaza Strip for the last few months, has just begun collecting money for emergency cases in Gaza. Please support this initiative!
____________________
http://ingaza.wordpress.com/2009/03/03/please-consider-helping/

In moving around Gaza, during and post War on Gaza, I’ve met numerous cases who could benefit directly from financial aid. I’m aware that there are supporters of justice for Palestinians and of human rights in general who are asking where to send money.

Should any of you want to send money to any of the cases I’ve blogged about, I can promise that I won’t keep a penny/Shekel, but will pass all of it on to the intended recipient as requested. I’ve already used some of my own money for cases, but its far inadequate.

Some examples where a little money can make a large difference (depending, of course, on one’s concept of a ‘little money’):

-a new delivery van for Amer al Helo, the father whose baby girl and own father were shot dead in front of him. Formerly, he supported his family via his work delivering bread. The van was bombed, burned, during Israel’s assault on Gaza. His former van cost $15,000. I’m asking around to see how much a replacement van would cost, if available.

-rent for a small apartment for the Safi family, whose father is paralysed (of natural causes, a stroke) and whose home was destroyed (unnatural causes, the F-16ing of a 6 story house next door, which collapsed on and destroyed their own house). They’ve been crowding into a relative’s 2 room house but are on the verge of being expelled as the relative doesn’t have room for his own family.

-money for medecine for Maher Habashi: he needs 130 Shekels worth (roughly US $ 31, Cdn $39) of tablets every 10 days and tube of cream every other day at 60 Shekels (US $14.50, Cdn $18). Per month, then, he’s spending nearly 1300 Shekels (~US$310, Cdn$400) per month on medicine alone, not to mention the lost-income to his family’s regular daily needs.

-financial aid to the families of Mohammad al-Buraim and Anwar al-Buraim, farmers in the Khan Younis region who come from very poor families. Anwar, killed on 27 January by Israeli soldiers while he was farming, was the sole breadwinner of his family. Anwar’s cousin Mohammed, shot on 17 February by Israeli soldiers while farming in the same area as Anwar, is one of many children from a very poor family.

-financial aid to the family of Rafiq abu Reala, a fisherman shot in the back on 14 February by Israeli naval soldiers who attacked the small fishing craft just two nautical miles off Gaza’s coast. The exploding ‘dumdum’ bullets which broke into numerous tiny pieces lacerated his spine and punctured one lung. Rafiq’s family, including his pregnant new bride, were dependent on the income he added to the extended family. The fishing industry has been greatly destroyed by the Israeli-imposed siege, by the War on Gaza which damaged numerous fishing vessels, and most of all by the continual presence of Israeli gunboats patrolling Gaza’s waters and shooting on unarmed fishermen. This limits their ability to fish in deep waters, or at all, and means a much-diminished income.

Another means of directly impacting families if you are only able to give a limited amount for a limited time is to donate to me purchasing blankets to distribute to some of the areas I’ve been (that said, there are 1000s of families suffering from the cold, without adequate blankets and shelter. But one family at a time is better than nothing). I’m trying to find the average price for the remaining blankets in Gaza but based on what I’ve see thus far they will be around 150 Shekels (roughly just under $40). I will update this if a better price comes along.

I also welcome ideas from outside: if you have suggestions on how your donations should be spent, please let me know, I’ll see if it is possible to follow through on (depending largely on the availability of materials here).

I have a colleague here who is doing the same type of documentation and work as I. She also has put a call-out for funding for emergency cases [please note that her original call-out was in order to be able to stay on in Gaza to continue her work but now is for medical and poor cases] and has put her bank account details up for donations. For the sake of convenience, the easiest way would be either to deposit into her account with the amount, intended recipient (and any other details regarding the distribution of funds –eg. would like photo, to buy XXX) noted in an email to me.

Or

Money could be sent via Western Union which I can access [with an email to me to tell me the expected amount and name of sender and access number].

The McIlveen Fund (a multipurpose fundraising account with another signatory besides me)
The Co-op Bank (UK)
Account number 65244050
Sort Code 08 92 99

For international transfers, the following is needed:

International Bank Account Number: GB92CPBK

and the Swift/BIC code: CPBKGB22

Bank is: The Co-Operative Bank,
Address — 1 Balloon Street, MANCHESTER. M60 4EP. ENGLAND

If they ask for a reference, please give your name unless you prefer not to, so we can check anything later if needed.

Arrested yesterday

So yesterday me and another ISMer were arrested in Beit Ommar after we entered a house occupied by soldiers to sit with the family inside. After about 40 minutes, the soldiers forced us to leave the house and called the Israeli police. One soldier stuck his hand in my pocket and stole 100 shekels (about $25). When the police arrived, me and a Danish volunteer were forced into a jeep and driven to the police station at the illegal Israeli settlement of Kiryat Arba in Hebron. For several hours, we were interrogated by both the police and the Shabak (Israeli intelligience agents). At around 2am, we signed conditions that we would not be in the southern West Bank for ten days, or we would face deportation. After this, we were driven in a police car to Jerusalem and we were not allowed to return to Beit Ommar to get our things. My money was also never returned to me.

Below is the link to the Maan Palestinian news agency's article about our detention:
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=36220

Below is the call-out that went out over PSP updates half an hour after we were detained.

This evening, March 3, 2009, two internationals working with the Palestine Solidarity Project and the International Solidarity Movement were arrested by Israeli forces during a home occupation in Beit Ommar. For the last five days the Israeli military has been invading and occupying a home, forcing family members to confine themselves to one room in the house for hours at a time. When six international solidarity activists working with PSP and ISM approached the soldiers and demanded to know the purpose of their presence, they were verbally abused and beaten. However, at least two of the internationals managed to enter the home to check on the welfare of the residents.

At one point during the confrontation soldiers forcibly removed the internationals. Dozens of soldiers as well as border police arrived on the scene as "reinforcements"and subsequently arrested two internationals that were pointed out by the other soldiers as having had worked in Beit Ommar for the previous week. They were removed to the settlement of Kiryat Arba for confinement and interrogation. Updates will be issued as they become available, giving both the status of the activists in confinement as well as opportunities to provide support.

Please consider donating to PSP's legal fund atwww.palestinesolidarityproject.org/donate.

A Day in the Life: An Account of a Palestinian Teen Arrested by Israeli Forces

A few days ago I interviewed 16-year-old Ahmed Awad about his experiences being arrested by the Israeli military and held in two separate prisons for a week.

The report I typed up from the interview can also be viewed here:

http://palestinesolidarityproject.org/2009/03/02/a-day-in-the-life-an-account-of-a-palestinian-teen-arrested-by-israeli-forces/

On February 17th, Israeli soldiers arrested 16-year-old Ahmed Awad from the village of Beit Ommar, in the Hebron district of the southern West Bank. Ahmed was held for a week in Gush Etzion and Ofer prisons, where he was beaten, interrogated, and was put in a cage outside in the rain. The following is his account of his treatment at the hands of Israeli Forces.

At 3:00am on the morning of February 17th, 15 soldiers invaded the village of Beit Ommar and entered the residence of Ahmed Awad. Ahmed is a vocational student who studies window welding. He also suffers from Mediterranean Fever, a condition that thins his bones and leaves him chronically weak. The soldiers forced Ahmed, his two brothers, and his father to take off their shirts and lower their pants as they searched the house. Ahmed was then told that he was under arrest for allegedly throwing stones at Israeli Troops several days before.

Ahmed was blindfolded and handcuffed with plastic ties. The soldiers made him stand outside of his residence for more than an hour in the pouring rain before taking him to the military tower at the entrance of the village. Ahmed was once again made to stand in the rain for half an hour before he was forced into a jeep and taken to Husan village. At Husan, Israeli Forces had arrested around 15 youth. Ahmed was taken outside the jeep, where soldiers began to beat him for five minutes. He was punched in the eye, kicked, and slapped in the face.

At approximately 10am, Ahmed and the other youth from Husan arrived at Gush Etzion prison. Ahmed was separated from the other boys and placed in a one square meter cage outside for twelve hours in the rain. During this time, Ahmed kept telling the soldiers that he had a medical condition requiring doctor’s attention but he was ignored.

Ahmed was transferred to Ofer Prison in the Ramallah district the next day. Upon his arrival, he was allowed to see a doctor, who gave him his usual medication. Ahmed was placed in section 6 in the prison, where prisoners live in tents even though the weather in the winter months is very wet and cold.

After three days, Israeli Forces began interrogating Ahmed. They accused him of throwing Molotov cocktails and stones, charges that Ahmed denied. The intelligence agents interrogating Ahmed were not able to produce any pictures or evidence that supported these claims, though they did show him a picture where he was simply standing in the street during a demonstration. The agents then attempted to make Ahmed sign a paper stating he threw stones. When he refused, one agent grabbed his wrist and tried to physically force him to sign his name, something that Ahmed successfully resisted. The agents then asked Ahmed to become a collaborator and give the army information about the other youth in the village. They promised him a month-long vacation in Israel, money, and a girlfriend if he cooperated. When Ahmed continued to refuse, the interrogation ended after an hour and a half.

Ahmed was returned to Section 6 in Ofer. Israeli Forces did not try to interrogate him again. At 7pm on February 14th, Ahmed was released from prison without conditions or charges.