In Al-Walaja Thursday, May 6, a small group of Palestinians, internationals and Israelis surprised the bulldozer operators destroying agricultural land for construction of the Annexation Barrier and managed to avoid Israeli forces and block the bulldozer’s progression for nearly half an hour before being violently pulled out of the way. 3 Palestinians were seriously injured, with 2 reported broken limbs.

In Ni’lin on Friday, May 7, residents, also joined by Israeli and international activists, marched towards the now-completed barrier that cuts through their agricultural land. The copious amount of tear gas shot as usual was less effective, mostly blowing harmlessly out of the area. The demonstration lasted … Continue reading

A peaceful demonstration at Karmei Tsur this afternoon calling for the release of Ahmed Abu Hashem, detained in a night raid on Thursday in Beit Ommar, was broken up by Israeli soldiers throwing stun grenades and shooting tear gas and rubber coated bullets at the protesters and children present. A member of PSP and the National Committee of Beit Ommar, Eyad Jamil Al Alami, was arrested by soldiers for carrying a placard calling for the release of Ahmed Abu Hashem and taken away to a military jeep. Mousa Abu Maria was struck in the ribs by a stun grenade which exploded on contact causing bruising. Dozens of protesters, including Israeli and international activists, suffered tear gas inhalation as they … Continue reading

Just before 1am Friday morning 8 Israeli military Armoured Personnel Carriers entered Beit Ommar and began a series of raids into Palestinian homes. An international eyewitness of the first arrest of Yousef Sabarneh reports:

“At 00:50am a convoy of 8 Israeli Armoured Personnel Carriers and jeeps screeched to a halt outside the home of the Sabarneh family in Beit Ommar. Armed soldiers surrounded the house and spotlights from the military vehicles lit up the 3 story house. The family were given 2 minutes to leave the building by an Israeli soldiers shouting in Arabic over a loudspeaker. After the warning expired stun grenades were thrown through the closed windows of the first floor where the family had gathered. Shortly afterwards … Continue reading

11 Arrested, Including 2 Palestinians from PSP, in Saffa Protest Against Settlement Expansion

Saturday afternoon a group of around 50 farmers and residents of Saffa attempted to remove a stone and concrete structure erected on their land by settlers from Bat Ayn. The farmers were accompanied by members of PSP, the National Committee of Beit Ommar, Israeli activists and members of the international press.

On arrival at the structure, which was being guarded by 3 jeeps of soldiers of Israeli army, the Palestinians began to take the structure down. The soldiers forced the farmers away from the site into nearby trees where a number of the group sat down and refused to move from their land. … Continue reading

Update: at approximately 1:30 pm Monday, after calls from several people in the Palestinian Government, Mousa Abu Maria was kissed on the head by the head of the police in Hebron, apologized to, and released from custody. The police claimed they didn’t know who he was when they illegally arrested him the night before. They would not explain why he and Younis Arrar from the National Committee of Beit Ommar were on their list of people to arrest and claimed they were looking for car thieves during their operation in Beit Ommar overnight.

While Salam Fayyad and other PA minsters march in Bil’in declaring their support of the Popular Resistance, the Palestinian police have continued to repress any such … Continue reading

Update All 15 detainees, including the 10 Palestinians who were held for 5 days in military prison have been released. At a hearing at Ofer prison for the 10 Palestinians in an unusual ruling, the judge admonished the Israeli police for arresting “non-violent” protesters.

video and photos from ActiveStills

On Sunday, March 28, approximately 200 Palestinians, Christians and Muslim supporters along with international and Israeli solidarity activists, marched from the center of Bethlehem towards the Gilo checkpoint, a massive terminal checkpoint in the Annexation Wall dividing Bethlehem from Jerusalem. The demonstrators were demanding access to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, where Christians traditionally hold a procession on the Sunday before Easter.

The demonstrators successfully and non-violently crossed the checkpoint by overwhelming the … Continue reading

During this week, Friday demonstrations were held in Nabi Saleh and Sheikh Jarrah, Jerusalem against settlement expansion, and Bil’in, Ni’lin, Al-Ma’asara, and Budrus against the Annexation Barrier and in commemoration of the 7 year anniversary of the death of Rachel Corrie.
In Nabi Saleh, an international from the International Solidarity Movement was shot from close range in the arm with a rubber-coated steel bullet, breaking her wrist and causing her to be hospitalized. Additionally, three Palestinians, one holding Israeli and American citizenship (ISM co-founder Huwaida Arraf) along with 2 male residents of Nabi Saleh were arrested while trying to prevent the Israeli military from firing on people helping to evacuation of the injured international.
Arraf was released the next … Continue reading

In Sheikh Jarrah, the weekly jovial march of Jewish Israelis and Palestinians met at Damascus Gate of the Old City and marched to Sheikh Jarrah, protesting the eviction of the Hanoun, Ghawi and Al-Kurd families, all Palestinians who had lived in the neighborhood of East Jerusalem since the 1950s who were forcibly removed by the Israeli government (one home of the Al-Jurd familiy in July, 2008, the Hanoun and Ghawi households in August, 2009) to allow Jewish families to move in. The families have been living in tents in protest outside of their homes since the eviction. More recently, a group of settlers moved into an annex of another home of the Al-Kurd family, creating even more friction … Continue reading

(Photography from Palestine Solidarity Project. Video of Nabi Saleh from Activestills Collective, Video of Sheikh Jarrah from Yisrael Putermam)

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. … 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