Chemical Weapons

Maria and I were shot with an Israeli chemical stink cannon mounted on a truck today at the Friday Bi'lin demonstration.

showered, scrubbed with soap after, changed clothes.... still smell like awful. It smells like a chemical combination of shit, sewage, and death... but it sticks to your skin and all your clothes. We weren't so bothered with it at the demonstration (as the tear gas and the soldiers coming out to arrest people is more immediately bothersome), but afterward it is really really annoying.

A video of today's demonstration posted by Hiatham al Katib: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqaO8lFYuM0

The BBC did an article on what it called "skunk" http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7646894.stm

Six of Us Arrested in Military Ambush in Saffa

On July 7, 2009 at approximately 5pm, an Israeli military official called the mayor of Beit Ommar and informed him that settlers had set fire to some trees in the Abu Jabber Soleiby land in Saffa, just under the illegal Bat ‘Ayn settlement. Three international activists, an Israeli activist and a Palestinian resident of Beit Ommar went down into the valley to investigate and document the destruction, and two international activists went to the top of the hill to watch for settlers. When we reached the land two army jeeps were already waiting for us. One soldier approached us and told us to leave. We did not find evidence of a new fire, and began leaving the area. The soldier belligerently harrassed us as he walked us out of the valley, and at one point threw a sound grenade at our feet.

Half-way up the hill soldiers ambushed us from behind, capturing two internationals and the Israeli. I managed to get away with the one Palestinian in the group, and the two of us sprinted up the hill. We reached the top where the farmers were gathered and met up with the two internationals who had gone to scout for settlers. We piled on the tractor and tried to reenter the village, but two army jeeps had blocked the entrance, preventing us from leaving the valley. We climbed off the tractor and tried to pass the soldiers on foot, but the soldiers ran up and tackeled us to the ground. I was wrestled into handcuffs and dragged into the army jeep. One international was hit in the head with a gun and the other kicked in the leg before being brought to join me. We were never shown a paper declaring the area a Closed Military Zone, and were arrested by soldiers rather than policemen, both of which are illegal under Israeli law. We were then told that if we spoke or lifted our heads they would "fucking kill us," and the jeeps drove out of the village while the children pelted them with rocks. We were taken to the police station in the illegal Etzion settlement.

The three activists arrested in the valley were held on the ground until a commander could run up and show them a paper, insisting it was a closed military zone order, though no one was allowed to look at it closely and the group was already detained and not allowed to leave, also in violation of military procedures. A soldier then said to the one Israeli activist, who is married to a Palestinian, “your father didn’t teach you what to do with your pussy so you went and fucked Arabs.” Police arrived and arrested the three of them, parading them through the Bat ‘Ayn settlement before taking them back to theEtzion police station. At one point soldiers stopped the jeep in the settlement and opened the back doors in front of a group of settler youth.

Five of us (all but the Israeli) were first offered release on the condition that we stay out of the area for 2 weeks, and then were eventually released without any conditions. A commander, who was not present until after the arrests, filed a complaint claiming that the Israeli activist had slapped one of his soldiers, though the soldier himself said he wasn’t sure if it was intentional or if he’d been hit while trying to grab her during her illegal arrest. She was taken to a court after 23.5 hours (Israeli citizens can only be held for 24 hours before being brought in front of a judge), and released without conditions. Not pleased with the results, police, in collusion with the prosecution, refused to process her release, causing her to be put back into the Jerusalem prison for more than three additional hours.

The attempt to prevent “left-wing activists” (as we were described in the police reports) from entering the area in the end was totally rejected by the court. But the next day when farmers attempted to enter the land, which has been legally open to them for the last 10 days, they were refused entry by the Israeli military without cause or paperwork.

Israeli forces raid Bil’in, arrest one resident and one solidarity activist

On July 7th at 3:30, soldiers disrupted the tranquility of Bi’lin by forcing their way into several houses. Israeli soldiers came with a list of 10 names for arrest . When Palestinian, international, and Israeli activists arrived at the scene they were subjected to violence and intimidation by the Israeli forces. The homes of Basem Yasin, Akhmed Yasin, Shauket Khatib and Abd AlMuamen Abu Rakhma were raided. Israeli forces arrested Majdi Abdel Muamer Abu Rakhma and an American solidarity activist. The American activist with the International Solidarity Movement had non-violently blocked the entrance to one of the doors when he was attacked by soldiers, forced to the ground, and subjected to pain compliance. It was at that time, that the American activist was arrested and carried by a group of soldiers into a military jeep. When activists and community members responded, they were beaten back with batons and forced to dodge a large number of percussion grenades.

Meanwhile, activists tried blocking the jeeps from leaving by erecting makeshift barricades in the street. The Israeli occupation forces responded with a number of percussion grenades and then rammed their jeeps through. They forced their way up the street and to several other houses. While there, they arrested a young man and issued nine summons to families of youths who were not present. This was done without explanation or warning. In the process of storming other houses, the soldiers were again confronted by activists and community members who refused to be dispersed even after repeated percussion and flash bang grenade attacks by soldiers. The jeeps had to make an escape through a second set of erected barricades and they exited into the night with their victims inside.

A video taken of the raid by Haitham: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ko9uoacB3YE

20 Year Old Resident of Beit Ommar Arrested in Night Raid

Yunis Al Alami, a 20 year old resident of Beit Ommar, was arrested by the Israeli army at 2 AM this morning in a military house raid. 3 jeeps carrying approximately 12 soldiers arrived at his home in the middle of the night, arresting him without warrant, charges or explanation. No one knows where he was taken, or when he will be released.

Yunis is a student at Hebron University, and life-long resident of Beit Ommar. He was arrested in front of his parents and siblings, including three children. His 22 year old brother, Ahmed Al Alami, was arrested a year ago under similar circumstances, and is still being held without charges in Administrative Detention.

The arrest is just one more incident in a series of political arrests of Palestinian youth by the Israeli military in Beit Ommar, including several that lead to Administrative Detention, where individuals are held without charge or trial indefinitely. There are currently over 750 Palestinians being held in Administrative Detention. Most prisoners in Administrative Detention are males between the ages of 16 and 30, and are held anywhere from 6 months to several years. They are never told what they are accused of, and are only taken in front of rubber-stamp military courts where evidence is presented in a closed courtroom without the presence of defendant or their attorney. Many are tortured and held in solitary confinement for weeks or months on end.

The practice of Administrative Detention, as used by the Israeli government, is a blatant violation of human rights, and illegal under international law. The prospect of arrest from your home is just one more frightening reality of the occupation, and one more reason for Palestinian families to grieve.

Bi'lin Invaded....Again!

At approximately 4:15 in the morning of July 5th, one hundred Israeli soldiers invaded the Village of Bi'lin. They stormed several houses, terrifying the inhabitants and dragging 2 youths out of their beds (Rebhe Abu Rahma, 20, and Mahmoud Issa Yassein, 17).

Upon request the soldiers would not tell their families where they were taking them or the name of an officer in command. Palestinian and international presence questioned the soldiers and dearrested several people who were documenting the kidnappings. One soldier saw fit to try choking me during the process, until I yelled "WHY ARE YOU CHOKING ME!?!" and then he wandered off.

This is the third week of night raids in Bilin village. Israeli soldier have conducted night raids almost every night and have arrested eleven village youth during this period.

a video that a Bi'lin community member (Haitham) took: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TszWgbXehY

South Side Story II: Susya

Yesterday took an unfortunate, though not unexpected, turn for the worse. We had barely been picking for 45 minutes in the Saffa valley when the army came and forced us to leave. They gave no explanation, and refused to acknowledge their promise to protect the farmers. We were not able to pick a
full harvest, and the Soleiby family was once again forced to suffer the loss of income (see previous post - “South Side Story: Beit Ommar). The army’s behavior is not in the least bit surprising. Violence, lies and broken promises are trademarks of the Israeli military.

I did not go into the fields this morning (there were already enough internationals), so I will use the extra time to tell another story – the story of Susya. Susya is a mountainous region just south of Hebron, near Yatta. For over 170 years a small population of farmers and shepherds has inhabited the region. The village is surrounded on all sides by settlements, most notably Maon, Yatir and Susya. The closest settlement, Susya, has intentionally claimed the name of the entire region, making its goal of total annexation unbearably clear. The settlement is a mere 20 years old, populated primarily by Americans (many from the New York/Brooklyn area). They are some of the most vicious extremists in the region, and have carried out a policy of terrorizing the Palestinian population in hopes of driving them from their homeland.

For the past 20 years the settlers, in conjunction with the Israeli government, have been systematically encroaching on Palestinian land, terrorizing and displacing the inhabitants. In 1996 the Israeli army blew up 10 homes, and in 1998 demolished 113 tents. In 1999 the Israeli government declared the village an archeological sight, claiming it was built on the ruins of an ancient synagogue. They annexed 150 dunams of land, destroying every home in the village. The population dropped from over 2,000 to under 400 inhabitants, who set up tents in between the settlement and the archeological park.

The tents, and the farmland surrounding them, are regularly attacked by the settlers. The few families remaining in Susya have had their trees cut and burned, their water supplies poisoned, and their tents lit on fire. Many have been directly assaulted be settlers. 2 weeks ago (the day before I went), settlers lit fire to one of the tents with two people sleeping inside. Both suffered smoke inhalation, but neither were seriously injured.

The army has declared the stretch of land between the tents and the settlement a Closed Military Zone, despite the fact that it is legally owned by a family of Palestinian shepherds living at the edge of Susya. The family relies on the land for grazing, and is hence forced to confront Israeli soldiers on a daily basis (much like in Beit Ommar).

International activists are currently staying in Susya about half the time. We would like to have people there full time, but we are spread thin in the Hebron area. I spent 3 days there, and every morning at 5:30 AM would go with the shepherds into the fields where the sheep graze. Soldiers would come to the top of the hill and tell us to leave, and we would argue with them. The arguing bought time, and by the time we were finished the sheep had eaten their fill.

The largest obstacle facing the people of Susya is water. Most of the cisterns used to catch rain water were destroyed by the Israeli military in 1999, during the major settlement expansion. The remaining cisterns are now filled with purchased water. Most of the water in the Susya area is used by the settlement, which is filled with artificially lush greenery. In general, Settlers in the West Bank use 5 times more water than Palestinians.

In May of this year, an activist organization helped install wind turbines in Susya. They are currently being used to power electric butter churners, which has increased the community’s butter production (and income) exponentially. They could not put the turbines on top of the hill because they would be in sight of a nearby military base, which the residents feared would provoke military retaliation. They are less efficient in the valley, but are still tremendously useful.

The people of Susya are some of the most beautiful I’ve ever encountered. From the moment I set foot there I felt like part of the family. I learned to milk sheep, to dance dabka, to churn butter, and am hoping to learn to make flat bread the next time I go (which will inshalla be quite soon). I am also starting to be able to communicate with people in Arabic, which is proving to be incredibly important. The ability to speak English seems invariably to correspond with class (and often with gender). Communicating in Arabic allows me to talk to the people least often heard – namely, poor Palestinian women.

Well, I think that’s more than enough for now. I will try to write again very soon though. There are many more stories to tell.

Bi'lin demo July 3rd, 2009

So today's Bi'lin demo was a little crazier than normal. Joe and I both attended after spending all night out on patrol for Israeli soldiers "Jaish." We marched down to the wall like normal and got the normal amount of tear gas. Then some ISMers and some members of the popular committee were able to squeeze in the front gate area and make their way to the main seperation fence. The soldiers of course came out in force in riot gear and with buckets of grenades to attack them.

The demonstrators then told the Israelis that they were occupiers and that they were attacking unarmed protesters. One ISMer even went so far as to sit down in front of the soldiers gate as a sign of defiance to the tear gas and other weapons being employed against us. They responded with brute force.

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Hp18vRmnQ - a video I took of what they did to us in between the 2 barriers)

an even better video taken by Haitham http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IS229YmbKwU


When the Red Crescent van went closer to deal with people who had been hurt, the soldiers pelted it with tear gas rounds till it was forced to move back. Three people were lightly injured including 2 internationals and a Palestinian man. Dozens were treated for teargas inhalation.

As for the intensity, it was a first for me for a lot of things today:

It was the first time I experienced such a large amount of tear gas that I lost track up direction (up and down) and fell on my chest choking. It was the first time I had schrapnel from a percussion grenade cut through my shirt and cut my skin. Lastly, it was also the first time I kicked a tear gas canister back at the soldiers. The soldiers had buckets of grenades so they just kept launching them in volleys at us in addition to the ones their comrades were firing from grenade launchers and the massive 15 + that were launched from the top of their jeeps.

At some point we pulled back and began forcing their main gate to the initial wall open. (I took this picture right before going in with another 5 people to help push) The soldiers responded by teargassing us. We still managed after much effort to force the gate and the barbed wire totally open and off the hill. This left the area open to the main wall as pictured below).