Today, twenty-five Palestinian, international, and Israeli activists peacefully marched towards an Israeli Apartheid fence built on Palestinian land in the village of Beit Ommar. When they reached the fence, several activists attempted to pull the fence down as an act of symbolism against the occupation and apartheid system in Palestine, while others peacefully demonstrated on the other side of the fence on Route 60. After ten minutes of trying to bring down the fence and protesting, several Israeli military jeeps arrived and the activists stopped pulling on the fence, and joined the others on the other side of the fence on the road.

… Continue reading

More evidence has emerged this week that Israel and its settlers are preparing to use extreme violence in response to peaceful Palestinian protests this Septemeber.

The International Middle East Media Center reports that extreme right-wing settler groups have prepared plans to attack peaceful Palestinian protests following the UN vote on statehood in Septemeber (original article here). In a chilling echo of the Israeli rhetoric used before the Cast Lead attacks on Gaza in 2008, an eight-page document urges settlers to “transform September from a threat to a historic opportunity to change the rules of the game”.

In this document, the settlers themselves acknowledge that the demonstrations are likely … Continue reading

Volunteers from PSP today joined residents of Ni’lin in their weekly demonstration against the apartheid wall. Around twenty protesters marched from the village to the illegal wall, and a short speech was given, denouncing the theft of Ni’lin’s land.

The Israeli military stationed in a guardtower behind the wall responded with several dozen volleys of teargas, which left some protesters suffering from teargas inhalation. One of the cannisters also set light to an area of the olive grove. Thankfully, protesters managed to extinguish the blaze.

This week’s demonstration is part of Ni’lin’s … Continue reading

This past Saturday, Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists peacefully demonstrated in Al Walaja protesting the Israeli High Court’s decision to allow the construction of the separation barrier that would annex half of Al Walaja’s land to Israel.

Al Walaja is an agricultural village and most of the families there depend on these fields for their income. The annexation of Al Walaja land will therefore be devastating to its residents.

The demonstrators marched peacefully holding signs condemning the occupation and the apartheid system. Israeli soldiers presented a closed military zone order to the activists, but the order was outdated. They then presented a closed military zone order for August … Continue reading

23 August: Beit Ommar resident Majde Za’aqiq – a 38 year old elementary school teacher – today remains imprisoned in an Israeli jail, after an Israeli military court yesterday took the decision to extend his detention without any charge or trial date.

Majde was arrested on Saturday, when Beit Ommar’s peaceful demonstration against the illegal settlement of Karmei Tsur was attacked by the Israeli military (report here). He was taken by the military – along with an international activist who has since been released – from a car, as he was leaving the demonstration. An entirely fabricated accusation of throwing stones was given as the reason for … Continue reading

13th August: Around 40 demonstrators – comprising residents of the village of Beit Ommar, and Israeli and international activists – gathered for a demonstration against the illegal Karmei Tsur settlement.

The demonstrators, carrying flags and banners commemorating the anniversary of the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, were met by a large and heavily armed military presence. As the protestors marched through Beit Ommar fields, the soldiers reacted violently, pushing several protestors to the ground, and others down steep rocky drops.

After a short speech, the protestors decided to … Continue reading

Settlers from Bat Ayin settlement have attempted to seize more land belonging to the village of Saffa.

This week, it was discovered that settlers had begun construction of a building foundation on the land of local farmer Thelgy Addy. Stones have been piled on top of one another forming what appears to be the bases of walls, and one of the stones was marked with a green symbol. Around the stones, the settlers had posted stakes at a distance of 500 meters.

When this construction was discovered, the stakes were pulled up in order to combat the theft of more land. Settlers will often begin taking over more land by … Continue reading

Demonstrations began again this week in Deir Qaddis, a small town in the Ramallah district, against the expansion of the Nili settlement onto village land. Residents, joined by Palestinian activists from nearby Ni’lin and Budrus, as well as Israeli and international solidarity activists, have successfully stopped the bulldozers destroying village lands in successive demonstrations. On Wednesday, June 15, two residents, aged 22 and 24 were shot with live ammunition by Israeli forces who invaded the village following protesters retreating after having stopped the bulldozers for nearly an hour. While a small group of residents and activists sat in front of a bulldozer, Mohammed Amireh, member of … Continue reading

Earlier this week, a group of 12 Israeli women smuggled 8 Palestinian women and 4 children into Israel, in defiance of Israeli law. The trip was an act of civil disobedience intended to spark debate about Israel’s system of segregation that denies Palestinians access to most of historic Palestine. This was the 6th trip the group has organized in the past year.

The group assembled in the West Bank, split into several cars, and drove to Jaffa. All vehicles passed through the Israeli checkpoints unhindered. The group enjoyed a pleasant afternoon along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and in a nearby park … Continue reading

Thursday, March 10th, 2011, 7am: Responding to an international call to action, Palestinian solidarity activists in Chicago renamed street signs on downtown street corners commemorating a Palestinian youth killed two years ago by the Israeli military. The activists used ladders just as morning rush hour commuters were starting to arrive in Chicago’s loop, and replaced street signs that read “Honorary Ben Gurion Way” with “Honorary Mehdi Abu Ayyash Way.”

According to the activists, David Ben Gurion, the first Prime Minister of Israel, was responsible for drafting policy which intentionally drove Palestinians from their homes and disallowed them from returning. The activists also gave out … Continue reading