Two Palestinians shot dead in Gaza while international volunteers are rounded up in Belata refugee camp
December 16, 2003
Two Palestinians were killed by Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip yesterday as they went to rent a plot of land.
Wael abu Daharuj (26) and his friend Younis Assawerka (29), from the town of Jebalia in the northern area of the Gaza Strip, had traveled to the town of Beit Hanoun to rent a piece of land and begin work cultivating it. According to his family, Younis had already rented a plot of land in the area and had encouraged Wael to rent a plot nearby. This land is located next to the border with Israel.
The Israeli army and media have claimed that the two friends were shot trying to break through the border fence and enter Israel. Palestinian ambulance crews called to the scene said that although Younis’ body was recovered from near the fence, Wael’s body was over 300 meters away. Doctor Moaweah Hassanien, the head of reception in the accident and emergency section of Gaza City’s Shifa hospital said that the two men’s bodies each bore more than 20 bullet wounds, and that it looked as if they had been shot at close range.
The two men’s families furiously refute the Israeli version of events and claim the men have been executed for nothing more than trying to improve their livelihood, which has been destroyed by the military closure. Wael’s uncle, Hassan, told Palestine Monitor that his nephew had used to work in Israel until the closure. Since the beginning of the intifada he had been selling fruit and vegetables at a local market but this had not raised enough money to support his family. Wael had three children aged between two and five years old, and had decided he needed a new project to supplement his meager income.
Younis, who had become a father for the fourth time only three weeks ago, had managed to grow just enough on his rented plot of land to feed his family and earn a little money. He had encouraged Wael to do the same.
International volunteers arrested and beaten in West Bank
Meanwhile in Belata refugee camp near Nablus, three international volunteers were rounded up and interrogated by Israeli occupying forces. An American girl was seized by Israeli soldiers, beaten with the butt of a gun and dragged into a military jeep. When two of her friends went to find her they were also arrested and taken for questioning outside the camp.
The incident represents another attempt to intimidate international activists opposed to the Israeli occupation, and to deter new supporters of the Palestinian cause from coming to the region to work and bear witness to Israeli atrocities against Palestinians. The Israeli troops have repeatedly tried, unsuccessfully, to harass international volunteers working to sustain the truth about Israel’s crimes in the West Bank and Gaza, and maintain international support for the Palestinians.
Article republished, courtesy of The Palestine Monitor: http://www.palestinemonitor.org
Please also see:
With the Media Focused on Saddam, Israel Makes Hundreds Homeless Tuesday, December 16 2003 @ 04:16 PM EST
"PCHR reported that according to eyewitnesses, the victims 'left their houses when they heard the Israeli military vehicles approaching the area .."
By SHARIF HIKMAT NASHASHIBI;
http://www.palestinechronicle.com/story.php?sid=20031216161648242
Ghosts of a Dream
My parents rise up from the grave, demanding to know: How has it come to this? How did a great and persecuted people become the persecutors?
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-op-paley14dec14,0,2498760.story?coll=la-news-comment-opinions
Please read the following report from the International Solidarity Movement.
NEW PALESTINIAN RESISTANCE CAMP TO START THIS FRIDAY
Deir Ballut camp against the wall
For more information contact IWPS:
http://www.womenspeacepalestine.org/
A group of Palestinian, international, and Israeli activists have chosen the
village of Deir Ballut, in the Salfit Governorate, as the site for the next
round of activities in opposition to Israel's continued building of Phase II
of the Apartheid Wall. Building on the lessons of the successful Mas'ha
camp, which brought enormous international attention to the political
motives behind the wall, these activists will create a two-week continual
presence on their land that is threatened by the building of the wall.
Activists have chosen a primary school that is now under construction
approximately in the path of the on-coming wall. The camp will function as
a center for the dissemination of information about the Apartheid Wall, a
planning and strategy forum for resistance to the Wall, and a starting point
for various resistance activities in Deir Ballut and neighboring villages.
The camp's activities will begin on Friday, December 19.
Deir Ballut and the Occupation:
Deir Ballut is an extremely fertile area, which grow a lot of summer crops for the entire Salfit region. Before 1948, the village owned 40,000 dunums of land (10,000 acres). In 1967, 20% of the land of Deir Ballut (or 2,000 acres) was confiscated into Israel. Since then, like so many other villages in Palestine, Deir Ballut has been subjected to almost continual land theft for Israeli settlements, bypass roads, and military bases. The Oslo agreements of 1993 which divided the West Bank into Areas A, B and C caused a huge problem for Deir Ballut and the two nearby villages of Azzawiye and Rafat. The three villages together own 370,000 dunums of land but about 80% of the land falls into Area C, which is under Israeli control.
Recently, the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) prohibited Deir Ballut, Azawiye and Rafat from building an agricultural road to connect the villages, saying that they had already informed the Mayors not to build on 'Israeli land'. The Mayors then demanded to know how much land the Occupation Authorities consider to be 'Israeli land' and were shocked to discover that 345 000 dunums out of 370 000 dunums is either said to be 'Israeli land' or 'Area C'. The three villages only have the right to build on 25,000 dunums, according to the Israeli Occupation authorities. In Deir Ballut, only the village itself plus 150 dunums of land remain in Area A (where Palestinians can build without permits from Israeli authorities). One hundred houses fall into Area C and are not 'permitted'.
Life is made even more difficult because the IOF have set up a checkpoint with an armed concrete watchtower between Deir Ballut and the nearest city, Ramallah. The checkpoint is closed from dusk till dawn which poses a serious problem for night emergencies.
Twenty-two Palestinian families (90 people) live in 14 houses on the other side of the checkpoint which now totally separates them from their village. The residents were not allowed to take part in the Eid feast this year, and schoolteachers are often prevented from going to the village to teach. They worry about what would happen to them in a medical emergency or during a curfew - like the one imposed by the IOF on 8 December 2003. On this day, the IOF moved into Deir Ballut at 5am and closed the checkpoint, trapping dozens of Palestinian cars between the village and Rafat for more than 4 hours. This has happened many times.
To add to the villagers' worries, no-one knows what will happen after the wall is built. The village is in an area that is between the Green Line and the wall, leaving them in limbo as to their status. In the first half of 2003, Israeli soldiers took all the identity numbers of the residents and told them that "after a certain period" they would not be able to get into Deir Ballut without special permission. Most of the second phase of the wall has been communicated in this type of vague language to villagers. A rumour is circulating in Deir Ballut that 'an Israeli guy' told a worker at the Palestinian Ministry of Interior that he 'should be ready to cancel 40,000 Palestinian identity cards because we want to issue those Palestinians with Israeli cards.'
What is not a rumour is that on March 25th, the Mayor of Deir Ballut received a visit from the US State Department. They told the Mayor that they had read an article about the Apartheid Wall and they asked if the village would be prepared to be annexed into Israel. The village flatly refused.
Deir Ballut decides to resist
The Apartheid Wall is a project of massive proportions. It destroys Palestinian land and property, separates villages from their agricultural lands and water resources, and illegally expands Israeli territory. It will take an enormous amount of action from the Palestinian, Israeli, and International communities to pressure Israel to stop building it. The Wall is simply the new face of the continuing illegal Occupation of Palestinian land. In the face of such a huge threat, it is especially important to take action on the ground.
The activists behind the Deir Ballut camp believe firmly that every struggle is led by the people, not by government representatives or political negotiators. The people directly affected by the wall must take steps, with Israeli and International allies, to protest and oppose this wall in strategic and effective ways. It is nonviolent direct action against the wall which will expose its true motives: Zionist expansionism for political and fundamentalist reasons.
Nonviolent civil resistance will help to demonstrate that the wall does damage to Palestinian life. The camp in the village of Mas'ha, a neighboring village to Deir Ballut, existed for over 5 months, and emerged as a center of information and relationship building between activists. Over 1,000 people visited the camp, including hundreds of journalists. Mas'ha camp put the issue of the wall on the world stage. Now it is time to take further steps against the wall in Deir Ballut.
The camp's activities will include resistance activities at the checkpoint, at nearby Wall gates where farmers are prohibited from accessing their land, a day of action for students in local schools, visits by journalists, solidarity visits to and from people from local regions who are affected by the Wall, and a program of speaking and strategy sessions about effective civil resistance techniques.
Activists say Israel hides human rights abuses
Occupiers arrest, deport nonviolent objectors
Efforts of Palestinian-led peace movement, whose members include Americans, Israelis, meet fierce resistance from Sharon government
Laila al-Haddad
Special to The Daily Star;
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/17_12_03/art25.asp
INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT: http://www.palsolidarity.org
"It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance." Robert F. Kennedy
December 16, 2003
Two Palestinians were killed by Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip yesterday as they went to rent a plot of land.
Wael abu Daharuj (26) and his friend Younis Assawerka (29), from the town of Jebalia in the northern area of the Gaza Strip, had traveled to the town of Beit Hanoun to rent a piece of land and begin work cultivating it. According to his family, Younis had already rented a plot of land in the area and had encouraged Wael to rent a plot nearby. This land is located next to the border with Israel.
The Israeli army and media have claimed that the two friends were shot trying to break through the border fence and enter Israel. Palestinian ambulance crews called to the scene said that although Younis’ body was recovered from near the fence, Wael’s body was over 300 meters away. Doctor Moaweah Hassanien, the head of reception in the accident and emergency section of Gaza City’s Shifa hospital said that the two men’s bodies each bore more than 20 bullet wounds, and that it looked as if they had been shot at close range.
The two men’s families furiously refute the Israeli version of events and claim the men have been executed for nothing more than trying to improve their livelihood, which has been destroyed by the military closure. Wael’s uncle, Hassan, told Palestine Monitor that his nephew had used to work in Israel until the closure. Since the beginning of the intifada he had been selling fruit and vegetables at a local market but this had not raised enough money to support his family. Wael had three children aged between two and five years old, and had decided he needed a new project to supplement his meager income.
Younis, who had become a father for the fourth time only three weeks ago, had managed to grow just enough on his rented plot of land to feed his family and earn a little money. He had encouraged Wael to do the same.
International volunteers arrested and beaten in West Bank
Meanwhile in Belata refugee camp near Nablus, three international volunteers were rounded up and interrogated by Israeli occupying forces. An American girl was seized by Israeli soldiers, beaten with the butt of a gun and dragged into a military jeep. When two of her friends went to find her they were also arrested and taken for questioning outside the camp.
The incident represents another attempt to intimidate international activists opposed to the Israeli occupation, and to deter new supporters of the Palestinian cause from coming to the region to work and bear witness to Israeli atrocities against Palestinians. The Israeli troops have repeatedly tried, unsuccessfully, to harass international volunteers working to sustain the truth about Israel’s crimes in the West Bank and Gaza, and maintain international support for the Palestinians.
Article republished, courtesy of The Palestine Monitor: http://www.palestinemonitor.org
Please also see:
With the Media Focused on Saddam, Israel Makes Hundreds Homeless Tuesday, December 16 2003 @ 04:16 PM EST
"PCHR reported that according to eyewitnesses, the victims 'left their houses when they heard the Israeli military vehicles approaching the area .."
By SHARIF HIKMAT NASHASHIBI;
http://www.palestinechronicle.com/story.php?sid=20031216161648242
Ghosts of a Dream
My parents rise up from the grave, demanding to know: How has it come to this? How did a great and persecuted people become the persecutors?
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-op-paley14dec14,0,2498760.story?coll=la-news-comment-opinions
Please read the following report from the International Solidarity Movement.
NEW PALESTINIAN RESISTANCE CAMP TO START THIS FRIDAY
Deir Ballut camp against the wall
For more information contact IWPS:
http://www.womenspeacepalestine.org/
A group of Palestinian, international, and Israeli activists have chosen the
village of Deir Ballut, in the Salfit Governorate, as the site for the next
round of activities in opposition to Israel's continued building of Phase II
of the Apartheid Wall. Building on the lessons of the successful Mas'ha
camp, which brought enormous international attention to the political
motives behind the wall, these activists will create a two-week continual
presence on their land that is threatened by the building of the wall.
Activists have chosen a primary school that is now under construction
approximately in the path of the on-coming wall. The camp will function as
a center for the dissemination of information about the Apartheid Wall, a
planning and strategy forum for resistance to the Wall, and a starting point
for various resistance activities in Deir Ballut and neighboring villages.
The camp's activities will begin on Friday, December 19.
Deir Ballut and the Occupation:
Deir Ballut is an extremely fertile area, which grow a lot of summer crops for the entire Salfit region. Before 1948, the village owned 40,000 dunums of land (10,000 acres). In 1967, 20% of the land of Deir Ballut (or 2,000 acres) was confiscated into Israel. Since then, like so many other villages in Palestine, Deir Ballut has been subjected to almost continual land theft for Israeli settlements, bypass roads, and military bases. The Oslo agreements of 1993 which divided the West Bank into Areas A, B and C caused a huge problem for Deir Ballut and the two nearby villages of Azzawiye and Rafat. The three villages together own 370,000 dunums of land but about 80% of the land falls into Area C, which is under Israeli control.
Recently, the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) prohibited Deir Ballut, Azawiye and Rafat from building an agricultural road to connect the villages, saying that they had already informed the Mayors not to build on 'Israeli land'. The Mayors then demanded to know how much land the Occupation Authorities consider to be 'Israeli land' and were shocked to discover that 345 000 dunums out of 370 000 dunums is either said to be 'Israeli land' or 'Area C'. The three villages only have the right to build on 25,000 dunums, according to the Israeli Occupation authorities. In Deir Ballut, only the village itself plus 150 dunums of land remain in Area A (where Palestinians can build without permits from Israeli authorities). One hundred houses fall into Area C and are not 'permitted'.
Life is made even more difficult because the IOF have set up a checkpoint with an armed concrete watchtower between Deir Ballut and the nearest city, Ramallah. The checkpoint is closed from dusk till dawn which poses a serious problem for night emergencies.
Twenty-two Palestinian families (90 people) live in 14 houses on the other side of the checkpoint which now totally separates them from their village. The residents were not allowed to take part in the Eid feast this year, and schoolteachers are often prevented from going to the village to teach. They worry about what would happen to them in a medical emergency or during a curfew - like the one imposed by the IOF on 8 December 2003. On this day, the IOF moved into Deir Ballut at 5am and closed the checkpoint, trapping dozens of Palestinian cars between the village and Rafat for more than 4 hours. This has happened many times.
To add to the villagers' worries, no-one knows what will happen after the wall is built. The village is in an area that is between the Green Line and the wall, leaving them in limbo as to their status. In the first half of 2003, Israeli soldiers took all the identity numbers of the residents and told them that "after a certain period" they would not be able to get into Deir Ballut without special permission. Most of the second phase of the wall has been communicated in this type of vague language to villagers. A rumour is circulating in Deir Ballut that 'an Israeli guy' told a worker at the Palestinian Ministry of Interior that he 'should be ready to cancel 40,000 Palestinian identity cards because we want to issue those Palestinians with Israeli cards.'
What is not a rumour is that on March 25th, the Mayor of Deir Ballut received a visit from the US State Department. They told the Mayor that they had read an article about the Apartheid Wall and they asked if the village would be prepared to be annexed into Israel. The village flatly refused.
Deir Ballut decides to resist
The Apartheid Wall is a project of massive proportions. It destroys Palestinian land and property, separates villages from their agricultural lands and water resources, and illegally expands Israeli territory. It will take an enormous amount of action from the Palestinian, Israeli, and International communities to pressure Israel to stop building it. The Wall is simply the new face of the continuing illegal Occupation of Palestinian land. In the face of such a huge threat, it is especially important to take action on the ground.
The activists behind the Deir Ballut camp believe firmly that every struggle is led by the people, not by government representatives or political negotiators. The people directly affected by the wall must take steps, with Israeli and International allies, to protest and oppose this wall in strategic and effective ways. It is nonviolent direct action against the wall which will expose its true motives: Zionist expansionism for political and fundamentalist reasons.
Nonviolent civil resistance will help to demonstrate that the wall does damage to Palestinian life. The camp in the village of Mas'ha, a neighboring village to Deir Ballut, existed for over 5 months, and emerged as a center of information and relationship building between activists. Over 1,000 people visited the camp, including hundreds of journalists. Mas'ha camp put the issue of the wall on the world stage. Now it is time to take further steps against the wall in Deir Ballut.
The camp's activities will include resistance activities at the checkpoint, at nearby Wall gates where farmers are prohibited from accessing their land, a day of action for students in local schools, visits by journalists, solidarity visits to and from people from local regions who are affected by the Wall, and a program of speaking and strategy sessions about effective civil resistance techniques.
Activists say Israel hides human rights abuses
Occupiers arrest, deport nonviolent objectors
Efforts of Palestinian-led peace movement, whose members include Americans, Israelis, meet fierce resistance from Sharon government
Laila al-Haddad
Special to The Daily Star;
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/17_12_03/art25.asp
INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT: http://www.palsolidarity.org
"It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance." Robert F. Kennedy