In An Nabi Saleh 50 Palestinian, international and Israeli demonstrators attempted to march to the land taken over by settlers from the nearby Halamish settlement. They were met with large amounts of tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets and attack dogs. After being chased back into the village, 2 Israeli activists were detained and one was beaten in the military jeep before both were released without charge.

Demonstrations also occured in Ni’lin, Biddu, Bil’in and Wadi Rahal against the Annexation Barrier. In Wadi Rahal, in the southern Betlehem District, demonstrators gathered for the first time in over 3 years to protest the resumption of the construction of the Annexation Barrier, which will come within 30 meters of the village school.

In Nabi Saleh the demonstration Friday proceeded as usual and was winding down when soldiers and undercover intelligence officers invaded the village and began grabbing people. An 11 year-old boy, another Palestinian teen, and 2 Israeli activists were arrested and taken to the nearby settlement. Local women attempted to prevent the soldiers from taking the young boy, but were threatened and attacked. He was released later in the evening, and reported being beaten by the military at the police station. The Israeli activists, were also released, as were 4 Israelis and 1 international who were arrested on the road to Nabi Saleh, all without charge.

Several were also reportedly arrested in Bil’in, a lively demonstration against Palestinian expulsion from Sheikh Jarrah, Jerusalem was also held on Friday, and demonstrators in Al Ma’asara reportedly reached their agricultural land during the demonstration, a rare accomplishment in this village which has been demonstrating against the construction of the Annexation Barrier since 2007.
The weekly demonstration in Beit Ommar was canceled for a community event.

Both Ni’lin and Bil’in held demonstrations with international and Israeli supporters despite a declaration earlier in the week that both villages would be closed military zones for internationals and Israelis on every Friday for the next 6 months, in an attempt by the Israeli military to end the demonstrations.

In Al-Ma’asara, the demonstration proceeded as usual, with demonstrators marching towards the barbed wire fencing put in place at the entrance of the village by the Israeli military. This week, however, an unusual breach of the barrier was achieved. An eyewitness described it thus:

“Yesterday was a historic day in Palestine. The Israeli Occupation Forces stood aside powerless as they witnessed a mass Palestinian non-violent action that breached the razor wire, military vehicles and M-16s that had stopped the villagers of al Ma asara from working their fields for years.

In a peaceful commemoration of the seventh anniversary of the death of Rachel Corrie under the tracks of an Israeli bulldozer, PSP, internationals and Israeli activists accompanied local farmers in a demonstration along the main street through the quiet village. As usual there was a strong military presence gathered behind a roll of razor wire that cut off access to the farmland.

Suddenly a flock of Palestinian sheep made a non-violent dash for the razor wire to cheers and whoops from the protesters. In a slickly co-ordinated move, protesters lifted the roll of razor wire and the IOF soldiers watched powerless as the Palestinian sheep rushed past them chanting Baa. It is hoped that other sheep in the international community will now follow this brave lead.”

Another 16 year old was seriously wounded when he was shot in the head, also reportedly with live ammunition.

In Jerusalem on Friday, approximately 3,000 Jews and Palestinians gathered in a soccer field near the entrance to the neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah after the Israeli High Court heard a petition from the protesters who were demanding the right to gather on the street where right-wing Jewish settlers have moved into homes from which Palestinian owners have been forcefully evicted in the last year. The compromise solution from the court was to allow a smaller procession of no more than 300 demonstrators to march from the field to the entrance of Sheikh Jarrah a few hundred meters away.

Regular demonstrations were also held in Ni’lin, Bil’in and Al-Ma’asara, both against the construction of the Annexation Barrier on their agricultural land.

Lawyers with Rabbis for Human Rights, who also supported and participated in the re-planting Saffa campaign investigated the issue and found that the Israeli government claimed it had declared the land “state land” in the 1970’s, and the Palestinian owners, who have documentation dating back to the Ottoman period showing ownership of this land, did not respond when they were informed of the confiscation 30+ years ago. The land now belongs to 4 brothers from the ‘Adi family. Their older relatives clearly state that they had never been told the land was intended to be confiscated, and had been working on it without problems ever since. The Israeli military is required to give notice to farmers if their land is to be taken and given a chance to respond in Israeli courts. While the order to uproot the trees now is based on the “fact” that the land was declared Israeli state land over 30 years ago, without proper notification at that time the confiscation is not valid.

The land, which is located on the hillside next to the built-up Palestinian area in Saffa, was seriously damaged by 2 fires started by settlers last summer. More than one hundred trees were planted in the area 2 weeks ago to replace what was damaged due to the fire. It is these trees, bought with funding by private donors, Rabbis for Human Rights, and Gush Shalom, that the Israeli military is now threatening to uproot. Clearly, the Israeli military, after ignoring Palestinian use of what they deemed Israeli state land for over 30 years, are now trying to punish the farmers of Beit Ommar and Saffa for their work in this area for the past 9 months.

Additionally, by “re-declaring” this area as Israeli state land, the Israeli military seems to be setting the stage for the eventual theft of the entire agricultural land between Saffa/Beit Ommar and the right-wing settlement Bat ‘Ayn, which has been trying to expand onto this land for years. Indeed, the only land now between what has been declared “Israeli” and Bat ‘Ayn itself is the land of Abu Jabber Soleiby, who has come under frequent attack and the victim of property destruction by settlers of Bat ‘Ayn for years. Bat ‘Ayn has also been fighting in Israeli civilian courts to take this land, but has thus far been unsuccessful. However, due to their increased violence beginning in April, 2009, the Israeli military has been declaring the entire valley a closed military zone, preventing farmers from adequately accessing the land. Prolonged declarations of ‘closed military zones’ are often precursors to confiscations, a fact the settlers of Bat ‘Ayn surely know and which they hope to capitalize on in order to expand.

This Friday, January 22, demonstrations were again held against land confiscation, the Annexation Barrier, and the expulsion of Palestinians from East Jerusalem for the settlement of right-wing Jewish settlers.

In Al-Ma’asara, Bethlehem District, approximately 70 Palestinians, Internationals and Israelis marched from the center of town towards the barrier set up by the Israeli military. Tensions were high as a larger-than-usual presence of Israeli soldiers and border police lined the route of the march on the roofs of buildings. The demonstration included the imposed Palestinian government’s minister of agriculture who participated in a symbolic tree-planting near the entrance of the village. Speeches were made in Arabic and Hebrew and the demonstration left peacefully. Not satisfied with the lack of confrontation, the Israeli soldiers followed demonstrators into the village. One man was followed into a shop where he was arrested by the soldiers as he bought chicken. He was released later in the evening.

In Nabi Saleh, Ramallah District, Israeli soldiers invaded the village before the demonstration officially began, arresting 6 Palestinian residents, 3 men and 3 women. The demonstration was held as planned, protesting the recent attempted confiscation of agricultural land by the nearby Halamish settlement.

In Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem, a group of 350 Israelis and Palestinians gathered in a park near the street where several houses have been taken over by a right-wing Jewish settler organization beginning last summer. For the past several weeks, dozens of Jewish Israeli activists have been arrested during the demonstrations, which were beginning with a permitted march from the center of West Jerusalem to the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. This week, the Israeli police refused to issue a permit for the march so organizers decided to begin closer to the occupied street, which, as usual, was cut off by Israeli police. During the demonstration, as participants marched towards the occupied street, Israeli police began arresting participants. 22 people were arrested in all. During the protest, the Israeli police were allowing settlers to gather inside their barricades on the occupied street, where they began attacking Palestinian residents. 2 Palestinians were reportedly hospitalized after assaults by Jewish Israeli settlers. Palestinian residents of Sheikh Jarrah who participated in the demonstration were also arrested after they arrived at their homes. Recent updates from Israeli organizers suggest that at least some of the 22 demonstrators are being charged, and that the Israeli prosecution has requested that 6 be held for the duration of the legal proceedings, a process that is often used against Palestinians during legal procedures but is exceedingly rare against Jewish Israelis.

In Al-Ma’asara a large group of Palestinians, along with international and Israeli solidarity activists again marched from the center of the village to the edge of town, where they were stopped by the Israeli military. The military vowed to end the demonstrations in Al-Ma’asara in 2010, which began in early 2007. In recent weeks they have intensified their presence and began using “crowd-dispersal” weapons, which had not been used since the very early days of the demonstrations, when they were held on the site of the Annexation Barrier construction. This week, sound grenades were thrown into the crowd, forcing the demonstrators to move back. They were then pursued into the village a few dozen meters, before the Israeli soldiers finally left.

Over 300 people marched from West Jerusalem to Sheikh Jarrah again this week. On the way through the Jewish sections of the city, they were met with a wide range of response, from honks and cheers, to people aiming imaginary guns at them and shooting. In Sheikh Jarrah the police were more withdrawn, content to blocking off the street rather than the incredible violence and mass arrests that have met the demonstrations in recent weeks.

Today at approximately 12 noon, settlers from the Karmei Tsur settlement between the Palestinian villages of Beit Ommar and Halhul, blocked Route 60, the main highway between Jerusalem and Hebron, used by settlers as well as Palestinians. They began attacking Palestinian cars on the road, jumping in front of them and forcing them to stop before damaging the vehicles and in at least 5 cases, opening the car doors and beating the Palestinians inside. Shortly afterward, scores of Israeli military and civilian police arrived to escort over 100 Jewish settlers down the highway in a march/jog. The entrance of Beit Ommar was completely closed to vehicle and pedestrian traffic, trapping the residents of Beit Ommar, Saffa, and Sourif inside (a total of nearly 30,000 people). Route 60 was blocked for more than an hour between Halhul and Beit Ommar. One group of settlers marched down the street carrying an Israeli flag, followed by a truck with a sound system blasting music interspersed with insults against arabs. After the truck, another group of more than 50 individuals between the ages of 15-50, many in sports shorts, were jogging down the street as the Israeli military and police cheered them on (while ignoring complaints against the settlers for attacking the Palestinian civilians earlier). In reportedly the most bizarre site, several settlers were seen jogging with running shorts and their M-16 rifles slung across their backs.
This was clearly an overt assertion both of the settlers’ claim to remain in the West Bank (Karmei Tsur is a settlement that most believe would have to be dismantled in any “two-state solution”), as well as the Israeli military’s complete support for their unlawful behavior and presence.

The al-Kurd family is one of dozens of Palestinian families who have had their homes confiscated by Israeli settlers in the neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah. Having lost their homes and personal belongings, many families are currently sheltering with neighbouring families, many living in tents. At least 24 other Palestinian homes in the area are also at risk of eviction, potentially affecting over 450 people. Friday’s events highlight, once again, complete disregard for the rights of the Palestinian residents of occupied East Jerusalem.