Yesterday, over a hundred Palestinians from the villages of Beit Fag’ar, Um Salamuna, Wadi An-Nis, Al- Masara, Al-Khadr, and Beit Ommar, accompanied by Israeli and international activists, united on land near the Efrat settlement and attempted to block Route 60, the main north-south highway from Hebron up through Jerusalem to the northern West Bank. Though the high-spirited demonstrators were prevented by an enormous show of force by the Israeli Occupation Forces from blocking the highway, their message was seen, and heard, loud and clear. Demonstrators held up banners and signs in Hebrew, Arabic and English protesting the theft of their land by the Israeli government for the construction of the Annexation … Continue reading

On April 15 the village of Nahallin in the Betlehem district held a festival honoring prisoners day. They also commemorated the massacres by the Israeli Occupation Forces in their vllage in 1954 and 1989 when 12 people were killed. Nahallin is a village of 7000 people who will be particularly devastated by the construction of the Annexation Wall. It is surrounded by the settlements of Betar Illit, Etzion, Daniel, and Jaba, all within the Gush Etzion settlement bloc. When the Wall is completed, Nahallin, along with 4 other villages, will be cut off from the West Bank and in limbo, being west of the Wall, surrounded by the settlement … Continue reading

Today, Palestinian, international and Israeli activists destroyed part of the foundation of the Annexation Barrier in Um Salamuna. Demonstrators marched to the site wearing chains around their wrists, symbolizing the imprisonment of the Palestinian people with the construction of the Annexation Wall. They filled cement support structures for the barrier with rocks and then moved on to a low cement wall that was supposed to be part of the foundation of the patrol road being built as part of the Annexation Barrier structure. Activists tore off the metal and wood reinforcements around a cement foundation built earlier this week and set fire to … Continue reading

Today, on Good Friday, demonstrators in Um Salamuna brought a large wooden cross and blocked an Israeli Army bulldozer there to destroy olive groves for the construction of the Annexation Wall. Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists marched to the working bulldozers carrying a cross and sat in front of a bulldozer, non-violently preventing it from working. The cross was both for the observence of Good Friday, the day Christians commemorate the crucifiction of Christ, and as a symbol for the “crucifiction” of the Palestinian people by the Israeli government and their policies of land confiscation and destruction.

Though the demonstrators were completely non-violent and non-confrontational … Continue reading

Today, over 300 Palestinians from the South Betlehem villages including Um Salamuna held their friday prayer on the land being confiscated for the Annexation Barrier and then marched down the main road leading to Efrat, blocking settler traffic, in commemoration of Land Day. There was a minor confrontation with three Israeli soldiers as the march enveloped an army jeep, but there were no arrests or injuries. Peaceful demonstrations were held throughout Palestine and in Palestinian villages inside the Green Line, including Budrus, Tulkarem, Bil’in, Sakhnin and Um Salamuna.

Land Day began in 1976 in the Palestinian-Israeli village of Sakhnin to protest the expropriation of Palestinian lands by Israelis in 1948 and 1967. … Continue reading

People in Um Salamuna celebrated Mother’s Day today by demonstrating against the Annexation Wall which the Israeli government is building on their land. The leader of the Um Salamuna Women’s Organization, Fatima Brijea, told the crowd that the wall was being built with violence, and that this violence would not help to achieve peace. She proclaimed the purpose of today’s demonstration against the wall was to help achieve peace “for our children and their children.” Many children, especially young girls, were present.

The demonstrators marched along the bulldozed path to where the machines were working. Once there, two Palestinian women, one man from … Continue reading

Today, over 300 Palestinians, along with international and Israeli activists gathered on the land of Um Salamuna, south of Betlehem. For nearly 2 months now the people of Um Salamuna have been joining together with people from neighboring villages to demonstrate on their land that has been bulldozed by the Israeli Occupation Forces in preparation for the construction of the Annexation Wall. Um Salamuna and the surrounding villages filed a case in the Israeli Supreme Court months ago protesting the path of The Wall but it was recently denied. For the last two weeks the people of Um Salamuna with Israeli and International activists have been non-violently confronting the bulldozers … Continue reading

Today over 300 people from the village of Um Salamuna gathered after friday’s prayer and marched down the settler road between Efrat and Tekoa settlements to their land. As they marched Palestinians, Internationals, and Israeli demonstrators blocked settlers’ cars and Israeli military jeeps in protest of the confiscation of their land for the construction of the Annexation Wall. People in the march celebrated when Rashid Mahmoud Takatka who was arrested while blocking the bulldozers last tuesday, drove up to the demonstrators, having just been released from prison. The people of Um Salamuna and the neighboring village of Wadi an-Nis, along with International and Israeli activists, have been confronting the … Continue reading

Today 5 internationals and 6 Israelis joined Palestinians to stop the bulldozing on the land of Um Salamuna near the village of Wadi an-Nis. The internationals and Israelis along with 2 Palestinians from PSP climbed on top of a Caterpillar bulldozer when it was stopped for a break. For over 2 hours Israeli and International activists prevented that bulldozer from working. Another bulldozer was stopped when Palestinian, international and Israeli activists stood in front of it for some time.

After 2 hours, 10 soldiers from the Israeli Occupation Forces along with Israeli Military Police and the private security for the bulldozers pulled the international … Continue reading

Over 40 Palestinians from Um Salamuna and Wadi An Nis, joined by PSP Palestinian and international activists, gathered yesterday to resist the bulldozing of their land by the Israeli Occupation Forces in preparation for the Annexation Wall. A group made up of mostly older men and women non-violently blocked three bulldozers from uprooting their olive groves. The IOF used extreme force, beating men and women with rifle butts and wooden and metal batons to move them away from the bulldozers.

The head of the city council, Mahmoud Takatka and his son, Rashid Mahmoud Takatka, were arrested for attempting to stop the bulldozers from destroying their family’s grove. Rashid was badly beaten … Continue reading