Archive for the 'Roadblock Removal' Category
Activists Open 10 Year-Old Roadblock, Again
November 4th, 2007
The roadblock between Surif and Al-Jab’a has been there for at least 10 years, well before the second intifada broke out in late 2000. It prevents the nearly 1000 residents of Al-Jab’a from accessing essential resources in Surif such as secondary schools, shops, and medical care. The roadblock also forces the over 30,000 Palestinians in Beit Ommar and Surif areas to use the entrance to Beit Ommar, which is controlled by the Israeli Occupation Forces with an enormous watchtower and gate, to access the cities of Hebron or Betlehem, where the only regional hospitals, universities, and major marketplaces are located. Saturday, Israeli and international solidarity activists from the Palestine Solidarity Project joined Palestinians from Beit Ommar, Surif, Al-Jab’a, and Hebron as they moved the massive interlocking cement blocks and boulders, opening a space for Palestinian vehicles to pass through. PSP has organized actions at this roadblock a number of times in the past year, in defiance of the IOF’s attempts to control Palestinian freedom of movement.
When the activists approached the roadblock, the negative impact on the local farmers’ livelihoods was immediately apparent. Farmers from Al-Jab’a were passing their recently-harvested olives over the roadblock from a truck to family members on the other side, where the sacks were piled up as the driver then began the 45 minute drive through the Gush Etzion settlements, around to Beit Ommar, and back through Surif to the other side of the roadblock to pick them up and transport them on to the markets in Hebron and beyond. After helping the farmers move the olives, activists got to work on the roadblock.
Roadblock Removed in Al-Walaja
September 22nd, 2007
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 along the path of the recently bulldozed trees and then down to the road where the Israeli Occupation Forces had blocked the road with boulders, preventing the people of AL-Walaja from moving freely around their village. With their bare hands, demonstrators moved massive boulders and cleared the road, which was immediately put into use. After the successful removal of the roadblock, demonstrators peacefully dispersed, vowing to return next week.
Activists Return to Dhahariya to Open Road
August 20th, 2007
This Saturday, August 18, international activists joined residents of Dhahariya as they attempted to open a roadblock for a 4th time. The last time the roadblock was opened in may, 3 internationals and 2 Israelis were arrested. This time, Palestinians and internationals marched from Dhahariya to the roadblock, which cuts off 90,000 people from directly accessing Hebron, the district’s main city. When they arrived at the roadblock, demonstrators wrapped the rope around one of the blocks and started pulling together, shouting, ‘wahad, thneen, theleth’ (’one, two, three!’). Soon after they began, an Israeli Occupation Forces jeep arrived with four soldiers. One soldier began videotaping the activists and stood on the block the activists were attempting to move. Not wanting to cause any injury to the soldier, the demonstrators moved on to another boulder and attempted to move it. Several more jeeps with many more soldiers arrived who tried to stop the demonstrators by putting their feet between the rope and the boulder, knowing the demonstrators were taking care to not injure the soldiers. In a final attempt to move one of the boulders, international activists stood in a semi-circle around one of the boulders while others heaved on the rope so that the Israeli army could not interfere. Activists also began removing smaller boulders by hand, not willing to give up.
Bulldozer Replaces Roadblock in Beit Ommar
June 17th, 2007
For the fourth time, the IOF reinstituted a roadblock to prevent traffic from the large vegetable market in Beit Ommar to Route 60, the main highway linking Beit Ommar and other villages to both Hebron to the south and Bethlehem to the north. The Palestine Solidarity Project along with other groups have already removed this roadblock four times. This particular roadblock directly affects and damages the economy of Beit Ommar and the farmers’ ability to make a living, which is why the PSP is so adamant about removing this roadblock. Several times it was removed at night for the activists’ security.
In the process of completing roadblock replacement, the bulldozer and two jeeps accompanying it collided into a water pipe and split it open. Water immediately began to gush out of the pipe, into the main road 60. A Beit Ommar community member noticed this problem and immediately informed a City Council Member who arrived at the scene soon after. When the City Council Member began to assess the situation and attempted to fix the pipe, the soldiers told him to leave. He refused, saying he was a part of the City Council and it was his duty to fix problems that affect families of Beit Ommar having access to their water. Then the soldiers required documentation from the man stating that he was a legitimate member of the City Council. After presenting proof to the soldiers, the soldiers still did not allow the man to continue working. The water flowed for one day before it was fixed, leaving several families without water for that period of time.
