Hundreds March in South Betlehem in Support of Workers
May 2nd, 2008Friday, May 2, nearly 300 Palestinian, international and Israeli activists gathered in the village of Al-Ma’asara, South of Betlehem, to demonstrate against the construction of the Annexation Barrier in the region. The demonstration today was in honor of International Workers Day (May Day) and Dr. Moustafa Bargouthi was in attendance and spoke at length about the damage the construction of the Barrier and settlement expansion was having on Palestinian workers. As a case in point, if the Annexation Barrier is completed in the South Betlehem district, it will cut off many Palestinians in the villages from Betlehem itself, the economic, educational, and social center of the district. Farmers in regions where the Annexation Barrier has been completed for years now have been devastated economically by its construction; not able to access their agricultural lands and not able to reach jobs in the cities.
PSP Co-Founder to Spend 6 Months in Prison
April 27th, 2008Wednesday, April 23, 2008, an Israeli Military Court granted the petition by the Israeli military to hold Palestine Solidarity Project Co-Founder, Mousa Abu Maria, in Administrative Detention for 6 months. Mousa has not been and will not be charged with anything; Administrative Detention by definition precludes any recourse through the court system. Mousa is keeping his spirits up. He was happy to see the hundreds of faxes and emails written on his behalf. Though there is one more chance for an appeal, the fact that these decisions are being made by the Israeli military on petitions brought by the Israeli military does not lend itself much hope that a Palestinian justice activist will receive much justice himself.
We are still collecting for his legal fund, please donate via our website at:
http://palestinesolidarityproject.org/donate/
or by writing a check to:
PSP-NY
and mailing it to:
PSP-NYC
P.O. Box 721234
Jackson Heights, NY 11372
Mousa Abu Maria to Be Placed in Administrative Detention, Support for Legal Fund Needed
April 17th, 2008Earlier today, April 17, Israeli military officials decided to place Mousa Abu Maria in Administrative Detention. Though we collected over 300 letters of support from more than 12 countries on 5 continents, the Israeli military seems to have decided that, lacking evidence of Mousa’s involvement in any crime, he should be held in prison without trial.
SUPPORT IS STILL NEEDED!
There will be a hearing to determine how long his stay in detention will be (though this can be renewed indefinitely), after which we will begin an appeal process. The support letters have been collected for submission to the court during this process. Additionally,
PLEASE DONATE TO MOUSA’S LEGAL FUND!
Donate individually, organize a benefit, film screening, or house party or write your own letter of appeal to family and friends. Many of you have met Mousa, stayed in his home, ate meals with him and drank tea with his family. He is in need of your help now.
Donations can be made to:
PSP-NY
and mailed to:
PSP-NYC
P.O. Box 721234
Jackson Heights, NY 11372
or via our website (using paypal):
http://palestinesolidarityproject.org/donate/
Demonstration In Support of Mousa Abu Maria TOMORROW on Prisoners Day
April 16th, 2008Tomorrow at 9 am supporters of Mousa Abu Maria, co-founder of the Palestine Solidarity Project, will gather on the Israeli side of Ofer Military Court to protest his arrest and demand his immediate release. Mousa is scheduled to have a hearing on his detention tomorrow morning, though it is possible the hearing will be canceled altogether if the Israeli Military seeks to put him in Administrative Detention, which they have stated they are “favorably considering”.
Tomorrow is also Palestinian Prisoners Day, when thousands of family members and friends of Palestinian women, men, and children in Israeli jails will gather in Ramallah and other cities throughout Palestine to commemorate the more than 11,000 Palestinians who are currently being imprisoned by the Israeli occupation government, and demand their release.
For more information about the demonstration at Ofer, please contact:
Kobi: 054-219-1547
Demand the Immediate Release of Mousa Abu Maria! Act Today!
April 15th, 2008FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Early in the morning of Friday April 11th IDF troops invaded the home of the AbuMaria family and arrested Mousa AbuMaria. Mousa is a well known nonviolent activist and a co-founder of the Palestine Solidarity Project. He has been a lead organizer in peaceful protest involving hundreds of Israelis and internationals and has been committed to popular, unarmed resistance for several years.
When Mousa was arrested his family was not told of the reason of his arrest or his whereabouts.
When his lawyer managed to locate him it turned out he was being held in military jail but still no reason for his arrest was given. Only days later was his lawyer finally told that he was suspected of membership in a terrorist organization but when his interrogation did not turn up any evidence the prosecution has admitted that there ‘may’ not be enough evidence to put him on trial.
With no evidence against him and a long history of nonviolent activism Mousa’s family should be celebrating his impending release. However, the Israeli military court system that presides over Palestinians in the Occupied Territories does not work that way and the prosecution has said they are considering putting Mousa in Administrative Detention, in which he has no right to trial. For Palestinians, when there is no evidence for a trial, they are simply jailed without one. The decision on whether Mousa will be placed in Administrative Detention will most likely be made TOMORROW.
GAZA: No Ambulance, Call the Radio
April 13th, 2008By Mohammed Omer
GAZA CITY, Apr 12 (IPS) - “I am bleeding uncontrollably, I need an ambulance.” That was not a call to emergency services, it was an appeal broadcast live on radio in Gaza City.
Who knows whether there will ever be an ambulance or not. But this way the ambulance services still hear the appeal broadcast on Al-Iman FM Radio Station, one of few independent radio stations in Gaza. And if the emergency services cannot help, someone else who hears the appeal might.
The ambulance dispatcher announces he cannot get the ambulance to the man. An Israeli bulldozer is blocking the road, and an Israeli tank on a hilltop has been firing at the ambulance, he says. Nobody can say if anyone else got to help the man. But at least his SOS could have been heard.
Appeals again went on air after the Friday attacks on Bureij refugee camp, where the death toll climbed to 16 by the weekend. The deaths included six children among nine people killed Friday. Again, ambulance crews confirmed they could not reach many of the injured. But the appeals were made on radio for all to hear.
A man called from east of Jabaliya refugee camp asking for an ambulance for his wife about to deliver. The radio host asked his location, and that of Israeli tanks. “I can’t look from the window to see,” he said. “They will shoot me if I do.”
PSP Co-Founder Arrested at 4 am
April 11th, 2008This morning, Friday April 11, at 4 am Israeli security forces (Shabak) raided the home of Mousa Abu Maria and kidnapped him. Mousa co-founded the Palestine Solidarity Project and has been a supporter of non-violence for several years. Mousa was last in the custody of the Shabak in 1999 when he was held for more than 3 months and tortured after which he spent more than a week in the hospital. His current location is not known but we will send updates as soon as new information is available. Please consider making a donation to PSP to cover his anticipated legal costs.
Non-Violent Resistance in South Betlehem Continues
April 5th, 2008
A larger than usual crowd gathered this Friday, April 4, in South Betlehem to protest the ongoing construction of the Annexation Barrier on the lands of Palestinians from Al-Ma’asara, Um Salamuna, Wadi Rahaal, and Wadi An-Nis. People from Um Salamuna and Al-Ma’asara were joined by international and Israeli activists this Friday with the intention of marching from the villages to the current construction site, near the Efrat settlement.
As the group gathered and prepared to move down the road, however, the Israeli Occupation Forces set up an ad hoc barrier, stringing barbed wire across the road to try to prevent the march from proceeding. Though the barrier was breached a few times, the Palestinians and their supporters resolved to sit behind the fence to demonstrate their non-violent stance while making their condemnation of the confiscation of Palestinian land for the construction of the Barrier clear. An Israeli supporter was taken from the group and detained for about an hour by Israeli police and soldiers before being released. No injuries were reported. Members of the community made impromptu speeches condemning the Israeli government’s actions. The people of this region have been waging a weekly non-violent struggle against the construction of the Barrier on their land for over a year and have vowed to continue to do so until construction is stopped and the portions already built are torn down.
Land Day Commemorated in Betlehem District
March 29th, 2008
Today, international and Israeli activists joined more than 200 Palestinians from the village of Al-Khadr and surrounding villages in their weekly demonstration against the construction of a series of Apartheid structures, including the Annexation Barrier, a settler by-pass road, and by-pass tunnel. Today residents commemorated Land Day, traditionally observed in Palestine on March 30.
Participants gathered near the main thoroughfare, Route 60, and held their midday Friday prayer near the site where the Annexation Barrier is currently being built. The Wall in this area will cut off or destroy 90% of Al-Khadr’s land in Israel’s most recent policy of land confiscation. They then marched towards the highway where Israeli Occupation Forces had blocked the street with razor wire. 9 military jeeps and 1 armored personnel carrier were stationed near the entrance to the area. Soldiers announced that if anyone touched the wire they would be shot. Leaders of the Popular Committee of the area spoke about the connection between the construction of the Annexation Barrier and the first Land Day.
Land Day is held in honor of 6 Palestinian Israelis who were killed in a demonstration in Sakhnin (near Tel Aviv) in 1976. That demonstration was against the ‘appropriation’ of Palestinian lands in Israel. Since that time, Land Day has been a time for Palestinians and their supporters around the world to unite in demonstrations against the theft of their lands by Israel.
CPT: Palestinians Rebuild Demolished Homes In Qawawis
March 28th, 2008From Christian Peacemaker Teams
Palestinians from the South Hebron Hills gathered today in the village of Qawawis to begin rebuilding homes destroyed by the Israeli military on March 19.
Villagers from At-Tuwani, international human rights workers and the families of Qawawis worked throughout the morning to clear rubble, which blocked the entrance to a cave home in the village. Israeli soldiers initially refused to allow the work to continue but a District Commander arrived later in the morning and confirmed that the family did have the right to remove rubble from the home.
Israeli soldiers using a bulldozer destroyed three homes and an animal enclosure in the village on March 19. Since the demolition the family, including a baby and several small children, have been sleeping under a makeshift tarp next to the destroyed home. Israeli forces also destroyed eight structures in the villages of Imneizil, AdDeirat and Umm Lasafa on the same day.
The Israeli military has repeatedly demolished homes and other structures in the South Hebron Hills in recent years. In Qawawis Palestinian homes were destroyed by the Israeli military in 2005. The homes were rebuilt, and then demolished again in February and in April of 2007. Palestinians living in the South Hebron Hills area are routinely denied permits to build, and are subsequently threatened with demolitions.
According to Amnesty International Israel has demolished at least 7000 Palestinian homes since 1967. Not only does international law forbid such actions, but the Fourth Geneva Convention requires Israel as an occupying power to protect the civilian population under its rule and provide for its welfare. Collective punishment is explicitly forbidden in Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and the demolition of houses constitutes a grave violation of Article 53.
