The teacher and Popular Committee Member, Majde Mahmoud Za’aqiq is still imprisoned. Za’aqiq was arrested on August 20, 2011 as he was leaving Beit Ommar’s weekly unarmed demonstration. Israeli soldiers pulled Majde and a Spanish solidarity activist, out of their car and placed both under arrest. The accusation of throwing stones, was fabricated. No stones were thrown by any of the non-violent demonstrators.
Read Madje’s story here .

Za’aqiq has been detained for 3 month and is charged for one more month. This is part of the Israeli apartheid strategy to suppress the Palestinian non-violent peace activism. Madje was subjected to a bail of 5500 shekels … Continue reading

On November 15th, 2011, six Palestinian activists were arrested for boarding Israeli settlement buses in the West Bank district of Ramallah. The activists, calling themselves the Freedom Riders, drew inspiration from the 1961 Freedom Rides in the United States, in which young black and white civil rights activists challenged the segregated transportation system across southern states.

Settler buses run by the companies Egged and Veolia, connect Israeli settlements which are built on stolen Palestinian land in the West Bank, and deemed illegal under International Law, with cities within Israel proper. Palestinians are not allowed to ride these buses, one of many separate … Continue reading

Majde Za’aqiq, a 38-year-old school teacher from Beit Ommar and a long-time member of both the Palestine Solidarity Project and the Center for Freedom and Justice, has been imprisoned by the Israeli Authorities for nearly two months and is currently hunger striking against inhumane prison conditions. The mass hunger strike, now in its third week, has seen the participation of hundreds of Palestinian political prisoners in multiple prisons. The strikers are demanding an improvement in their conditions, including the ending the use of solitary confinement by Israeli Authorities to isolate and break the spirits of the prisoners.

Majde Za’aqiq was arrested on August 20, 2011 as he was … Continue reading

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

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

Demonstrators were assaulted in Beit Ommar today, as Israeli military forces attacked the village’s demonstration against the recent rapid expansion of building work in the illegal Karmei Tsur settlement.

Fifty demonstrators, consisting of local Palestinians, Israelis, and international solidarity activists marched from the village and attempted to protest at the nearby settlement fence. The protest was met by dozens of Israeli soldiers who prevented the Palestinians from marching across their own land. The soldiers proceeded to push numerous demonstrators to the ground. One Israeli had his ID taken by the soldiers and was later arrested, while another Israeli activist was detained. The soldiers then declared the area a Closed Military Zone, … Continue reading

A PSP activist who was arrested during a demonstration organized by the July 8th Welcome to Palestine initiative was released on bail Tuesday, after spending a week in immigrant detention refusing to be deported. While his deportation case may be re-opened, for now Chuck has been released on a $1,300 bond.

Two internationals and three Israelis were arrested and beaten in Beit Ommar today, when fifty demonstrators from the Palestine Solidarity Project (PSP), the Welcome to Palestine campaign, and residents of Beit Ommar convened at the secondary fence around Karmei Tsur settlement to protest the annexation of Beit Ommar land.

Thirty of these international solidarity activists were part of hundreds of internationals who attempted to enter Ben Gurion airport on July 8, declaring that they wished to visit Palestine. Only this small group succeeded in entering Palestine.

As the demonstrators walked towards the fence, Israeli soldiers lined the field and declared the area a closed military zone. After ten minutes, they began … Continue reading

Around 2 pm on 27 June 2011, Yousef Abu Hashem was arrested from the Container checkpoint between Bethlehem and Abu Dis. As of 12 pm on June 28, PSP has no further information about when he will be released or charged. Yousef is the son of Beit Ommar National Committee member Ahmed Abu Maria.

Yousef has been arrested from the same area before. In May 2010, the military invaded Yousef Abu Hashem, 17, suffered complications from severe tear gas inhalation and was taken to the hospital after losing consciousness.

On Nakba Day, 15 May 2011, the Israeli military occupied six houses in Beit Ommar, and Yousef was shot in the leg with … Continue reading

On Saturday June 25, about 50 Palestinian, Israeli and international activists gathered in Beit Ommar to demonstrate against the Israeli Karmei Tsur settlement, which has annexed hundreds of dunams of Palestinian land. As demonstrators attempted to enter land belonging to Beit Ommar farmers, Israeli soldiers announced that the area was a closed military zone and said they would not allow anyone to pass. Several Palestinians and internationals then attempted to circumvent the military blockade. At this point, at least 6 soldiers assaulted Mohammed G., a 22 year old Palestinian man from Surif. During attempts to rescue him from the attacks, two international activists were also arrested. … Continue reading