On Thursday, April 17th, 2012, Emad Ahmed Abu Hashem (age 22) and Mohamad Za’aqiq (age 19) were arrested at the entrance of Beit Ommar. Around 9am soldiers tried to arrest Emad, but did not succeed, and at 11am special forces arrived and took both men to an unknown destination. Charges are still unknown. These arrests are the 67th so far in Beit Ommar this year, and 24 of these are of children under 18. Emad (pictured below with his daughter) is a married man with two infants at home, and is the only source of income for his family.

The … Continue reading

On Wednesday, April 11, 2012, on the second day of the Bil’in conference in Hebron, the international activists experienced first-hand the nature of the Israeli occupation.

After a nice and quiet lunch nearby the Mosque, two international volunteers from PSP were heading back, but three of the people from the popular committee in Bil’in, among them the the popular resistance coordinator, were held aside and told they were arrested.

The internationals gathered around demanding that the Palestinians be set free. The soldiers were too few to break through the crowd, so they called for backup.

When the border police came they violently broke through the crowd and arrested the … Continue reading

On Saturday, April 14, 2012, Palestinian, Israeli and international activists joined the weekly demonstration in Beit Ommar by the separation fence between Beit Ommar and the settlement Karmei Tsur. Karmei Tsur settlement is illegal according to the Geneva Convention and is built on stolen Palestinian land. The fence prevents Palestinians from accessing their land.

At today’s demonstration, protesters attempted to remove the barbed wire that was on Palestinian land in front of the separation fence. Demonstrators carried posters saying, “no more child arrests” and “free the Palestinian prisoners”. Soldiers arrived after a few minutes with a map showing that the the protesters were in a closed military zone and threatened to … Continue reading

On Tuesday, April 10, 2012, Iyad Al-Alamy was released from administrative detention. He was arrested from his home during a night raid at 2:30am on November 12, 2011. Eyewitnesses saw 5 jeeps of Israeli soldiers conduct the early morning raid. Iyad was seen blindfolded and handcuffed as he was being led to an army jeep. Iyad was 23-years-old when he was arrested, and is an active member of the National Committee in Beit Ommar, as well as the Palestine Solidarity Project. Iyad has been arrested on two other occasions, once for three months and another time for two months.

… Continue reading

Over the course of the past month, the Israeli army has arrested seventeen Palestinians from their homes in Beit Ommar, a village in the southern West Bank. Israeli Forces raid the village almost every night, often making arrests and ransacking homes. The raids have often targeted Palestinian minors, and activists and organizers involved in popular resistance initiatives against the Israeli occupation. Of the seventeen arrested, ten are under the age of 18.

During a raid, Palestinians are frequently taken from their homes without any explanation given as to why they were being arrested. Most often they are taken in jeeps to the Gush Etzion settlement, which houses a jail and … Continue reading

On Saturday, March 31, 2012, Palestinian, Israeli and international activists held the weekly demonstration in Beit Ommar, by the fence separating the town from the illegal Karmei Tsur settlement. Karmei Tsur is built on stolen Palestinian land and makes it impossible for the farmers of Beit Ommar to access parts of their land. The settlement is highly secured by military forces and fences. Today’s demonstration was in honor of Land Day, which was yesterday, March 30, and in solidarity with the Palestinian prisoners on hunger strikes.

Israeli soldiers started throwing sound bombs at the demonstrators within the first five minutes of … Continue reading

Today, March 30th, 2012, demonstrations took place all over Palestine commemorating Land Day. On March 30, 1976, thousands of Palestinians gathered to protest Israeli government plans to confiscate 60,000 dunams of Arab-owned land in the Galilee. Israeli forces killed six Palestinians that day, and wounded and jailed hundreds. Palestinians continue to mark this day to protest the ongoing expropriation of Palestinian land.

In Beit Ommar, a peaceful demonstration took place at the entrance of the town, which is located on Route 60. Before reaching the gates of the town, which were closed by the Israeli military to keep people from … Continue reading

On Sunday, March 25, 2012, four international activists from PSP went to Ofer military court to follow up on the eight Beit Ommar youths who were arrested recently. They were warned ahead of time by Israeli activists that the security at Ofer military court tend to do their utmost to keep others from entering. Thus, despite being registered to attend the hearing, the PSP activists were made to wait outside for nearly an hour, missing the entire session.

Going through security, the Israeli security guards asked each person if they spoke Hebrew, then if they spoke Arabic. The first of the internationals to go through was an American woman. She answered the questions, admitting that she spoke no Hebrew, but she … Continue reading

More than 300 Palestinians are now in administrative detention. Administrative detention is arrest and detention of individuals by the state without trial. Within the West Bank any local Commander can issue an administrative detention order, it is valid for six months and can be renewed by the appropriate authority. There is no limit to how many times the administrative detention can be renewed.

Five boys from the popular committee in Beit Ommar are now under administrative detention. Here is a list of the boys in administrative detention and how many times this has been renewed.

Ayman Hussein Za’Qeeq – Administrative detention renewed 3 times.
Iyad Jameel Almy – Administrative detention renewed 3 times.
… Continue reading

“Freedom is more important than our lives.”

The words come from Hana Shalabi, on hunger strike for 38 days.

On Monday, March 19, 2012, there was a demonstration in Hebron in support of her and others in administrative detention.

18th of October 2009 Hana was released after more than two years in administrative detention, connected to the prison exchange (1027 Palestinians for Gilad Shalit).

16th of February this year, 50 soldiers with dogs showed up at her door, arresting her once again, without charge or further explanation.

She went on hunger strike immediately, in protest against the violent and chargeless arrest. After one week her lawyers received a court order … Continue reading