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

This morning when residents of Um Salamuna went out to work their land, they were greeted by soldiers from the Israeli Occupation Forces who informed them that they would not be allowed on their land today because Israeli engineers had to survey it and mark the path for the pending construction of the Wall. Two engineers, accompanied by six soldiers and two private security guards tramped through the family’s grape orchard marking the Wall’s proposed path with blue spray-paint.

The residents of Um Salamuna had a pending court case in the Israeli Supreme Court contesting the path of The Wall. The IOF was ordered not to commence any work on … Continue reading

For the second time in a month activists from Anarchists Against the Wall blocked one of Tel Aviv’s busiest streets using razor wire taken from the segregation wall in the West Bank village of Bil’in. In a replica of an action on December 28th, the activists brought Rothschild Street in downtown Tel Aviv to a standstill this afternoon at around 3 pm.

Activists placing the razor wire in Rothschild Street in Tel Aviv

Two rolls of razor wire were stretched across the street parallel to each other in a formation reminiscent of that of the wall. Red signs reading: “Mortal Danger-Military Zone. Any person who passes or damages the fence endangers his life”, also from the wall itself, were hung on … Continue reading

Today, the people of Um Salamuna and Wadi An-Nis were again accompanied by International and Israeli activists as they demonstrated against the theft of their land for the construction of the Apartheid Wall. Every week for the past 5 weeks the people of this area have been praying on their land in defiance of the Israeli governments’ attempt to confiscate it. The people of Um Salamuna and the surrounding area plan to continue their demonstrations using a variety of tactics in an attempt to prevent the loss of their lands.

Today, PSP and other international and Israeli activists joined over 400 people in celebrating the wedding of Mohamed Brajegeli from Wadi an Nis, a village near Um Salamuna, on the land that is being confiscated for the construction of the Apartheid Wall and terminal. The people from Wadi an Nis and Um Salamuna have been demonstrating here weekly, with hundreds of people peacefully gathering.

Men and Women of all ages came to today’s demonstration, including elderly farmers who will be losing all of their agricultural land either by the bulldozers or by annexation to the illegal settlement Efrat, nearby. The people … Continue reading

Yousef Abu Maria was first arrested in June 2006 for organizing non-violent demonstrations against the Apartheid Wall in Beit Ommar. After nearly 2 months he was brought before a military court and “sentenced” to 6 months in prison (including “time served”). He was not tried in a court, nor was he given an opportunity to defend himself. This is because Yousef is being held in Administrative Detention, an extra-legal option for the Shabak (Israeli intelligence) to hold Palestinians indefinitely without trial. Last week, when Yousef was scheduled to be released, the Shabak requested in a military court that he be held an additional 6 months as a “security risk”. It is nearly impossible … Continue reading

Today, PSP committees from Beit Ommar, Al-Jab’a and Al-Khadr, as well as International and Israeli activists joined over 300 people from Um Salamuna to demonstrate against the continued confiscation of their land by the construction of the Apartheid Wall. The people were addressed by the head of the Village Council and other PSP committee members about the impact The Wall will have on theirs and other villages. The men and women then prayed on the land and marched peacefully back to the village.

Um Salamuna will lose over 700 dunums of land, much of it expropriated to the illegal settlement Efrat. It is clear that the path … Continue reading

On January 15, 2007 the Israeli Army began construction on the Apartheid Wall in Um Salamuna. The Army says The Wall is being built in the area to protect the illegal settlement Efrat which was constructed on Um Salamuna’s land over a decade ago. The Wall is not being constructed along the edge of the settlement land, but rather snakes through the land of Um Salamuna on an incomprehensible path, taking 300 dunums of agricultural land and cutting off at least one resident’s house from the rest of the village.

At 9 in the morning, the PSP commmittee of Um Salamuna along with other residents went to … Continue reading