This Friday, February 12, 2010 once again saw demonstrations against the Annexation Barrier in Ni’lin, Al-Ma’asara, and Bil’in, and against settlement expansion and dispossession in Nabi Saleh and Sheikh Jarrah, Jerusalem.

In Al-Ma’asara, approximately 30 Palestinians were accompanied by 10 international and Israeli solidarity activists as they marched down the main past Al-Ma’asara village, connecting villages east of Betlehem with the main throughway, Route 60. They were quickly stopped by Israeli soldiers at the edge of Al-Ma’asara, where they declared the area a closed military zone. The demonstrators insisted they were trying to reach the site of the Annexation Barrier, which was partially constructed on Palestinian land in 2007-2008 but has not been completed or worked on … 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

(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

This Friday another village added a demonstration to the regular mix across the West Bank: Nabi Saleh in the Ramallah district had a demonstration of over 300 people who managed to block the road near the Halamish settlement, which has stolen land from the village and continues to encroach on village agricultural land. More than 20 people were reportedly injured by rubber-coated steel bullets, including veteran popular resistance leader Ayed “Abu Ahmed” Morrar, from Budrus. The group was also assaulted by settlers from Halamish, who threw stones and fired live ammunition in the direction of the demonstrators, who despite the violence of the settlers and soldiers, managed to block the road for more than 2 hours.

In Al-Ma’asara a … 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

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

This week, after a break for the month of Ramadan, the demonstrations against the Annexation Barrier, being constructed on the agricultural lands of Wadi An-Nis, Um Salamuna, and Al-Ma’asara, began again from the edge of Al-Ma’asara. The tone was more somber than usual, as the procession commemorated the loss of local organizer (and personal friend of PSP coordinators) Qaher Al-Din. Qaher was killed in a car accident, along with the driver and a French journalist, as he gave the foreign national a tour of the illegal settlements surrounding Al-Ma’asara. At this week’s demonstration residents of Al-Ma’asara, joined by friends of Qaher and international and Israeli activists, … Continue reading