On Friday March 5, 14 year old Ehab Barghouthi was critically injured during a demonstration in Nabi Saleh against the theft of agricultural land by the Israeli settlement Halamish. Witnesses say he was shot from less than 30 meters away in the forehead with a rubber-coated steel bullet, which entered his skull just above the right eye. He underwent surgery in a hospital in Ramallah, his prognosis is still unknown. Several youth have been killed with these so-called “non-lethal” weapons, when shot from short range by the regular-issue M-16s the Israeli military uses to fire both live ammunition and rubber-coated bullets.

In Jerusalem on Friday, approximately 3,000 Jews and Palestinians gathered in a soccer field near the entrance … Continue reading

Though pouring rain and even hail fell throughout the West Bank yesterday, demonstrations against land confiscation, the Annexation Barrier, and settler expansion in East Jerusalem continued on Friday.

In Nabi Saleh, which has been demonstrating for several weeks against a move by settlers from the nearby Halamish settlement to take over a a spring and other privately-owned Palestinian agricultural land, several dozen residents, along with Israeli and international solidarity activists, again marched from the village towards the land being annexed by the right-wing settlers. They were confronted by Israeli forces, who used tear gas, sound grenades, and rubber-coated steel bullets to deter the crowd. The army then invaded the village, using a jeep-mounted tear-gas launcher that shoots … Continue reading

The New York Times this Friday included a large article on page 4 of the front section about the “new” anti-wall demonstrations, which they erroneously say began in Bil’in but have now spread to 4 other villages. In response to questions by the Times reporter about the nature of the protests, and whether they could be considered non-violent, an Israeli spokesman reportedly said, “these are not sit-ins with people singing we shall overcome”. Well, minus the old gospel song, that’s exactly what people in Nabi Saleh did this week during their Friday demonstration. Only after the Israeli military fired on the demonstrators, did youth respond by throwing stones…. Continue reading

In Sheikh Jarrah this Friday, January 15, Israeli and international solidarity activists attempted to converge and march on the street of Sheikh Jarrah where the Ghawi and Hanoun families have been living in tents since their eviction from their homes to allow right-wing settlers to move in, in August 2009. The Israeli police refused to give a permit for the march this week, citing the music concert by Palestinian hip-hop group DAM the night before as being “enough”. Participants still insisted on their weekly demonstration and gathered near the entrance to the street which had been closed off by large numbers of police officers. After approximately 20 minutes of holding signs and chanting, the police declared the … Continue reading

A short re-cap of this Friday’s demonstrations:

in Ni’lin this week, dozens of local residents were accompanied by solidarity activists in their regular demonstration against the Annexation Barrier cutting through their agricultural land. While the demonstration passed much as usual, with demonstrators confronted with tear gas shot by the Israeli military beyond the concrete barrier, one young man was lightly wounded when shot in the leg with what is reportedly a ruger rifle, shooting .22 caliber bullets with a suppressor, making the shots much quieter and slightly slower. It is because of this element that the Israeli Military has consistently argued that the use of the ruger as a “crowd dispersal” weapon is appropriate as it is “non-lethal”, though … Continue reading

Demonstrations across Occupied Palestine this Friday had remarkable energy, despite the winter weather. In Ni’lin, more than 100 Palestinians were joined by Israeli and international activists in their routine march towards the Annexation Barrier. They were met with a barrage of tear gas and the return of the use of .22 caliber Ruger rifles, which the Israeli military claims are “crowd dispersal” weapons and “non-lethal”. Several Palestinians have been killed by these bullets which are only .003 inches smaller than the regular live ammunition used by the Israeli army in M-16s (they claim the .22 ruger is non-lethal because of a suppressor used on the guns, the logic of which has been rejected by human rights organizations … Continue reading

This Friday, demonstrations against the Annexation Barrier continued with more vigor after the successful dismantling of sections of the Wall in Ni’lin and Qalandia last week. In Ni’lin, the Israeli military forces seemed at first to be content with allowing the local demonstrators, accompanied by Israeli and international activists, to approach the concrete barrier, responding with a relatively small amount of tear gas. As the demonstration wore on, however, the soldiers seemed to have been waiting for the protesters to grow more bold. Suddenly, the army began opening fire with live ammunition, coming through the barrier and backing the demonstration back into the village. No … Continue reading

On Friday, the residents of Ni’lin once again dismantled a section of the concrete wall constructed on their land by the Israeli military. Though Erroneously reported by some organizations as the first time this has happened, the residents of Ni’lin had also torn down the wall in September.
This week’s demonstration and dismantling held special importance for Palestinians, as it coincided with the 20th anniversary of the dismantling of the Berlin Wall in 1989. The Annexation Wall in Palestine, which is approximately 70% complete and is being built mostly on privately-owned Palestinian agricultural land throughout the West Bank by the Israeli military … Continue reading

In Al-Ma’asara, Palestinians were joined by their regular Israeli and international solidarity activists in a march towards the lands belonging to the residents of Al-Ma’asara, Um Salamuna, and Wadi An-Nis. Though there hasn’t been any construction on the actual barrier in nearly a year, the scar of the patrol road that is part of the matrix of the barrier in rural areas can be seen from the edge of the village. As has become routine in Al-Ma’asara, the Israeli army blocked the procession from advancing beyond the edge of the village and onto the main road that runs past their agricultural land. Children from the village … Continue reading

The weekly protest against the wall in Ni’lin was the first one held during the olive harvest season. This is also the first harvest season since the completion of the wall on Ni’lin land, and the village is waiting to see whether the occupation forces will fulfill their stated commitment to allow the villagers access to their land across the Barrier.
Families who still have remaining olive trees that haven’t been confiscated through the construction of the Annexation Barrier have begun the work of picking the olives. Ni’lin families with olive trees beyond the wall haven’t been allowed to cross over to harvest them yet, as the army has requested a list of names from the municipality.

The protesters marched … Continue reading