Tuesday evening in an incredibly rare reversal, an Israeli military court released Yousef, one of PSP’s key Palestinian activists. After spending about a month in prison without charges in ‘administrative detention’, Yousef won his appeal. The appeal, which was argued by a fantastic, committed Israeli attorney, was based on the fact that Yousef was engaged in non-violent, popular resistance to the Israeli Occupation, which should be allowed. Several Israelis who have worked with Yousef this past year as a member of PSP wrote letters of support to the court, in which they verified his participation in peaceful struggle. After three days of deliberation, in which the military judge made the surprising move of actually re-interviewing the … Continue reading

For several days in a row, the Israeli Occupation Forces have been invading Beit Ommar, wreaking havoc and terrorizing the villagers. On Tuesday at approximately 4am soldiers in jeeps and Amoured Personnel Carriers entered Beit Ommar and immediately began shooting out the street lights in the main road, creating panic for people on their way to the mosque for morning prayers. The soldiers also shot several tear gas canisters into nearby homes and shot live ammunition at civilians. They then cut the power to entire center of the village, which remained off for several hours. Later tuesday evening, soldiers again entered the village, this time just before the villagers were set to break the daily Ramadan … Continue reading

This Friday, September 21, Palestinians from the village of AL-Walaja were accompanied by international and Israeli activists as they stepped up their campaign against the confiscation of their land and the construction of the Annexation Fence, which will surround their entire village. Once again, the Israeli Occupation Forces tried to prevent international and Israeli activists from participating in the demonstration, and once again they were unsuccessful. People gathered under the trees near the site where Israeli-owned Caterpillar bulldozers have been uprooting fruit and pine trees to clear the way for the Annexation Fence. After a short speech by a sheikh and leader from the women’s organization, the group marched … Continue reading

This friday Israelis and internationals again joined the people of Al-Walaja in their struggle against the construction of the Annexation Fence on their land. The Israel Occupation Forces have gone to great lengths to prevent these non-violent demonstrations from occuring, including setting up roadblocks all around the village and on at least one occasion claiming that the entire village was a closed military zone. Not to be dissuaded, about 100 people gathered in the small village and marched towards the path of the Fence. Israeli army and border police blocked the march and demonstrators linked arms in a show of peaceful defiance. They then surrounded a military police jeep, … Continue reading

Long-time committed PSP activist, Yousef, was kidnapped from his home at approximately 2 am by Israeli Occupation Forces two weeks ago. The Israeli intelligence services, Shabak, has demanded that he be held in prison for 4 months for “security purposes”. This policy of Administrative Detention, whereby Palestinians can be arrested and held in prison for sometimes years at a time without any trial or defense in court, is used by the Israeli government to imprison Palestinian activists simply for their activism or political beliefs. It is a policy that is in complete contravention to international law and all basic legal rights to defend oneself against the state’s accusations. Yousef and his attorney are not allowed to … Continue reading

Sunday, September 2, Palestinian, international, and Israeli activists, including people from PSP and Anarchists Against the Wall blocked the entrance to the Karmi Tsur settlement. Karmi Tsur is an illegal Israeli settlement built on the land of Beit Ommar and Halhul, two Palestinian villages in the Hebron district. One year ago the settlement built a new fence around it, annexing more Palestinian land. In April, 2007 activists cut open this illegal fence and this Sunday part of their own dismantled fence was used to block the entrance to the settlement.

Activists chained the section of the fence across the entrance of the settlement. A … Continue reading

On Friday, August 31, international and Israeli activists joined the people of Um Salamuna in their weekly demonstration against the Annexation Fence being built on their land. This week, the march took a new path, walking up into the land of Hassan, a farmer who will lose most of his land to the illegal settlement of Efrat if the Annexation Fence is completed. This was the first time in over 3 months that Hassan has been able to access his land, which is close to the settlement and on the other side of the where the Fence is being constructed. As demonstrators began walking up into Hassan’s vineyards, the Israeli … Continue reading