Articles tagged with: Betlehem
Apartheid Wall, Features »
On Wednesday, March 3, the Israeli military accompanied 2 bulldozers onto privately-owned Palestinian land in the village of Beit Jala, north of Betlehem. Olive, walnut and other fruit trees were being uprooted in preparation for the continued construction of the Annexation Barrier (also referred as the Apartheid Wall), which had been halted in almost all of the West Bank for over a year.
A group of Beit Jala residents, led by Leila Awad, a landowner who believes she is under threat of eviction because the Barrier will be built within 5 meters of her home, protested the bulldozing. They were joined by Israeli and international solidarity activists, as well as Palestinians from PSP as they attempted to block the … Continue reading
Beit Ommar, Betlehem District, Features, Saffa »
On Saturday, February 13, 2010, a group of farmers from Beit Ommar and Saffa were accompanied by members of the Beit Ommar popular committee, Palestine Solidarity Project under the new Center for Freedom and Justice of Beit Ommar, and international and Israeli solidarity activists to march into the valley below Saffa, which has been under threat of confiscation through settler violence and the Israeli military declaring the entire area a closed military zone in perpetuity.
PSP had organized a series of tree-plantings along with Israeli anti-occupation activists last month. The Israeli military attempted to prevent the tree-plantings and went so far as to announce they would … Continue reading
Apartheid Wall, Betlehem District, South Betlehem, settlement expansion »
On Wednesday, December 9th volunteers from PSP joined other international and Palestinian solidarity activists and farmers in Um Salamuna to continue the planting of olive and almond trees. This planting project is an effort to reclaim the land around South Bethlehem in an attempt to prevent the surrounding settlements from expanding into and occupying it. This project began in early November and has been very successful, despite repeated harassment from local settlers and the Israeli military. However, on Thursday, December 3rd settlers uprooted and burned several dozen olive trees that had been recently planted. When the landowner complained to the Israeli Police, he was told that it … Continue reading
Betlehem District »
As a close to a week of demonstrations, informational sessions, and visits to various communities in the Betlehem District, the “House of Abraham” group, sponsored by the Lutheran Church of Beit Jala, along with the Beit Jala Prisoners Society and leading muftis throughout Palestine, including the high Mufti of Jerusalem, marched arm in arm through the streets of Beit Jala signifying both their opposition to Israeli Occupation and the need for unity within Palestinian communities. They were followed by drumming scout troops, representatives of the Prisoners Society with banners reading “imprisoning youth is against international law”, and hundreds of youth from summer camps sponsored by the House of Abraham from Hussan, Deheishe Refugee camp, Beit Jala and Beit Ommar. … Continue reading
Betlehem District, Gaza »
Israeli forces closed down the northern section of Hebron on Saturday, declaring the entire half of the city a “closed military zone” as soldiers occupied five houses and forced shop owners, at gunpoint, to close early.
“No sooner had Israeli soldiers handed me a warrant saying that military forces planned to occupy my home did 20 soldiers storm the house,” said 42-year-old Bassam Al-Ja’abary, whose home was one of the five taken over by Israeli soldiers.
“Then they climbed up to the roof and prevented my family from leaving,” he added.
His and the other four houses are located in the Wadi An-Nasara neighborhood, close to the home of the Rajabi family home, which Jewish settlers occupied in March 2007.
Other homes belong to … Continue reading
Betlehem District »
On October 30, over a dozen Israeli Occupation soldiers invaded the Al-Arroub Technical College and University and began pulling students from their classrooms, blind-folding them, handcuffing them, and marching them out of the buildings and towards the military watchtower at the entrance to Al-Arroub refugee camp across the street. Several students, between the ages of 15 and 23, were taken into an area beneath the watchtower surrounded by high concrete walls where they were beaten severely about the head and stomachs, out of sight of the photographers who had gathered. The president of the school was told that the arrested students were wanted for throwing … Continue reading
Apartheid Wall, Betlehem, Betlehem District »
Hundreds of residents of Betlehem and surrounding villages, including a large contingent from Beit Ommar, were joined by International and Israeli activists as they marched towards the Annexation Wall that cuts deep into the land of Betlehem, near Rachel’s Tomb. Local clergymen gave speeches about the significance of Betlehem in the wider Palestinian cause and called particularly on the international Christian community to support Palestinians under occupation and called for the removal of Walls from their land and hearts. The demonstration was organized by a wide coalition of groups in Betlehem, including Christian congregations, prisoner associations, and other social and welfare groups. The speakers emphasized unity and the commonalities between … Continue reading
Betlehem District »
For the original article on Electronic Intifada click here
“Mr. President:
I don’t know if you will read these words or not, or if I will be alive if you do. But I do hope that these words, which come from the heart, reach your heart, Mr. President, and that you can find the hope and strength that our people — your people — still have. We do not give up our rights. We will never give up our rights. Peace can be built with justice. Real peace can be built with real justice, anything else is just a joke in the face of history.
My name is Abdelfattah Abdelkarim Hasan Ibrahim Mohamad Ahmed Mostafa Ibrahim Srour Abusrour. I am still a … Continue reading
Betlehem District »
The signs are all there. For the past five nights small teams of Israeli soldiers have entered Beit Ommar, stayed for a few hours wreaking havoc on the village, and then left. It is a pattern the residents have become all too familiar with. These smaller-scale invasions, whose beginning coincided with an attack on a settlement just down the road and the subsequent killing of a Palestinian man by Israeli soldiers in Tekoa village, are often the precursors to a large-scale daytime invasion. In similar invasions 2 young men have been killed by Israeli forces in Beit Ommar in the last 8 months alone.
On Friday night, September 12, at approximately 2 am, Israeli Occupation … Continue reading
Betlehem District »
On Thursday, July 10, the residents of Ni’lin demonstrated again, in defiance of the Occupation forces’ crackdown on protest.
Earlier this week, Ni’lin was subjected to a four day siege and curfew, which failed to break the ongoing popular action to stop the construction of the Wall on village land.
Palestinian, Israeli and International activists headed towards a bulldozer. Soldiers opened fire with teargas and rubber bullets, before attacking with batons. Reportedly 25 people have been injured, three of them seriously.
Activists from AATW and PSP were close to the bulldozers when they were viciously attacked with batons by IDF soldiers, your PSP correspondent personally witnessed a soldier breaking his baton while hitting an AATW activist on the leg, just below the knee. The soldiers continued to beat the three of us on the ground, breaking another baton in the process. Faced with such brutally two of us carried the most injured away, then another soldier threw tear gas canisters towards us while we retreated.
Several other activists were hit with batons and some soldiers were seen to be using sticks from the ground (perhaps after breaking their batons).
It is clear that the Occupation forces are adopting a strategy of escalating violence. However, faced with the isolation and land theft of the Wall, the people of Ni’lin will continue to resist – there is no other choice.
Continue reading
