An update from the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) mailing list:

1. International Activists Set Free After Tree Chaining
2. From Hanna's journal

 
An update from the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) mailing list:

1. International Activists Set Free After Tree Chaining
2. From Hanna's journal

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1. Update: International Activists Set Free After Tree Chaining

05 May, 2005

Six International peace activists arrested in the West Bank Village of Bil'in for chaining themselves to imperiled olive that were uprooted to make way for The Annexation Wall, were set free today.

On 4 May, residents of the village of Bil'in near Ramallah organized a non-violent protest against the annexation Wall where they were joined by Israelis and Internationals in chaining themselves to the olive trees while others demonstrated.

Bil'in farmers had received notice the previous day that eighty five olive trees would be uprooted to make way for the illegal Wall and called for International and Israeli support. After a stand off that lasted four hours, the Israeli military using excessive force, cut the chains and dragged away twelve of the non-violent protesters. They arrested 6 Internationals and 5 Israelis. All the Palestinians who were initially detained were released. All 5 arrested Israelis were released after agreeing not to return to Bil'in for 15 days.

The deportation hearing scheduled for the six International Activists this morning never took place.

Instead, after holding them for over 26 hours, the police made an offer reportedly from the Israeli Ministry of the Interior that they be released under the condition that they would not enter a closed military zone. All but one of the internationals save one agreed, and all were released.

When asked why he participated in the protest by chaining himself to an olive tree, released activist Gabe Gao from the United States, who is of Jewish and [?] descent, said: "The International Court of Justice has ruled that Israel's Separation Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is illegal and must be dismantled. The confiscation of Palestinian land and destruction of Palestinian property has nothing to do with 'security'. It is the responsibility of the international community to pressure Israel to adhere to international law. Since my government is not taking action, I feel it is my moral obligation to act in opposition to this crime."

The activists report being beaten and treated with excessive force during their arrest by Israeli Boarder Police and the Israeli Defense Force citing video and photographic evidence (available upon request). Greek activist, Maria, requested medical attention for a blow to the head and injuries to her legs and arms sustained during the arrest. Instead She was brought to an interrogation room and repeatedly insulted with racial slurs. She received medical treatment only after 12 hours and repeated requests. Initially she was informed by Israeli ambulance drivers that the fee for thorough treatment would be 350 NIS, but eventually she was treated without charge. The Greek consulate is intervening in order to obtain her medical records which the Israeli police have refused to release.

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2. From Hanna's journal

04 May, 2005

As I'm getting ready to send this, I'm reading that two more Palestinian children have been killed by the Israeli army (at a demonstration against the Wall in the Ramallah village of Beit Liqya). I wonder how much longer this one-sided cease-fire can last...

For photos from this week, visit
http://community.webshots.com/album/337455763xTGXyd.

I just got back from visiting with my friend Um Fadi, who is preparing for tomorrow's local elections in which she is running. There are 33 people in Hares running for 9 seats on the village council, and then that group of 9 will vote for a mayor among them. At least 2 of the representatives must be women, and only 5 women are running, so Um Fadi has a decent chance of winning (besides, she's great, so I don't know why anyone wouldn't vote for her!). In Hares, like a few other villages, everyone is running independently, with no stated political party affiliation.

I spent an hour or two chatting with her and her kids, sharing jokes and riddles, and practicing different languages. The youngest kids (8 and 11 years old) began to tell me all the words they knew in Hebrew: "meshugea" (crazy), "hamoor" (donkey/ass), "kelev" (dog), "bo" (come), "lech la'baytah" (go home)... I started to notice a pattern, and indeed, they confirmed that these are the most common words Israeli soldiers yell at Palestinians. Suddenly, 8-year-old Ali said in English, "Stop your game!" "Did the soldiers say that to you?" I asked. No. A few years ago, Um Fadi explained, soldiers were standing at the entrance of the village throwing gas and sound bombs into the village. One international was at Um Fadi's house, and stepped out into the doorway to yell at the soldiers, "Stop your game!" The soldiers responded by throwing a sound bomb in her direction. The kids still remember the phrase.

Today I was on my way home from another visit to the university in Zebabdeh, Jenin, when a soldier stopped the taxi at a flying checkpoint. He looked at my passport and began asking questions: "Where are you going?" "Where do you live in Israel?" "Where will you sleep tonight?" I couldn't tell if I should worry about saying the right thing or if he was just making small talk, but I answered curtly and vaguely. He started looking at other people's IDs but kept talking to me: "What's wrong? You don't like soldiers?" "It's difficult for me to talk to you when you have a gun," I replied, stealing my colleague Anna's line. I was glad to see that several Palestinians in the car understood what I had said, and nudged each other smiling. "You think it's my gun?" asked the soldier. "It's the government's gun, the government gives it to me, I don't choose it." "You can refuse," I replied. "If I came here with no gun," he said, "there would be no me."

He then looked at one of the Palestinian men in the car and asked, "nachon?" ("correct?" in Hebrew). "Nachon," replied the man absent-mindedly. "You don't have to come here at all," I said. "You can stay in Israel." By this time he wasn't paying attention to me anymore.

I've traveled a lot this week, demonstrating, visiting, meeting, and relaxing. Last Thursday the village of Bil'in held a demonstration against the Wall. It started peacefully, even joyfully, as a Palestinian van blasted music and villagers carried the biggest Palestinian flag I've ever seen. There was also an impressive display of tear gas canisters, bullets, and other weapons that had been used by soldiers against villagers in previous demonstrations, and were now arranged on the ground to spell phrases like "No to The Wall." We began to march towards the bulldozers. The wind was against us, so the tear gas quickly wafted our way. Then strange things began to happen. I turned around and saw what looked like two Palestinians fighting with each other. There was a crowd between me and them, so I didn't see the rest, but according to eye witnesses and media footage, two men had begun throwing stones at the army. The Palestinian organizers tried to stop them, and quikly realized that something was awry. Indeed, as the men tried to stop the stone-throwers, the stone-throwers turned around, grabbed men, and arrested them. The stone throwers were undercover cops, apparently part of a unit used previously only to break up prison demonstrations.

After the main part of the demonstration ended, groups of Palestinian kids were collecting the weapons. I saw BBs for the first time at one of these actions, and then I saw a strange little plastic orange ball with a white powder inside. "Salt," the boys were saying. Apparently, the soldiers had shot these salt pellets directly at people, causing welts and burns on people's bodies.

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(this update was originally circulated via the ISM's palsolidarity mailing list -- minor editing, formatting and links were applied before its posting here)

[PHOTO from http://community.webshots.com/photo/337455763/337481645ALMKOD]