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

BETHLEHEM -Israeli forces notified villagers near Bethlehem that their land will soon be confiscated, local residents said Wednesday.
Land owned by 40 families in Battir village – 148 dunums of vegetable, fruit and olive groves – is earmarked for confiscation, villagers said.

According to the notices received by villagers, the area is close to the train line to Jerusalem and next to the East Jerusalem settlement of Gilo, in which Israeli authorities approved the building of 1,100 new homes on Tuesday, sparking international condemnation.

The notification of the Israeli Ministry of Finance’s intention to purchase the lands said the acquisition was for military and security purposes.

Battir resident Nidal al-Zaghir said: the land confiscation “will be a great loss for the … Continue reading

RAMALLAH, West Bank—The Palestinian bid for United Nations statehood, whatever its outcome, is already helping reshape Palestinian attitudes to expect less of negotiations—which most feel have failed to deliver after nearly two decades—and embrace a more confrontational stance toward Israel.

That could mean challenging Israel using boycotts, demonstrations and international diplomatic forums more aggressively—ideas that are gaining currency among young Palestinians. In a year when peaceful demonstrations have radically altered the political landscape of the Arab world, they increasingly embrace notions of nonviolent resistance.

Still, many observers say that tensions are building in the Palestinian areas—especially in the West Bank, where Jewish settlements continue to grow and chafe against Palestinian communities. Even peaceful confrontations, they worry, could escalate and set off another … Continue reading

9th September: PSP joined residents of the Al Ma’sara village in Bethlehem district for their weekly demonstration against the Israeli occupation. Around fifty Palestinian protesters – accompanied by Israeli and international activists – marched from the town and attempted to cross an Israeli-built road to access their fields.

The march was met by around 25 Isreali soldiers, who prevented the villagers from crossing the road to reach the Palestinian fields. Protesters chanted in support of Palestine’s Spetember bid for statehood at the UN, and demanded an end to the occupation. The entirely peaceful protest was then pushed back by the heavily armed soldiers, who … 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

This past Saturday, twenty-eight Israeli women visited Beit Ommar at the invitation of the Beit Ommar Women’s Committee. The event was organised to give the women a chance to eat together, mingle, and discuss the challenges that citizens of Beit Ommar face on a daily basis.

Iman Abu Maria started the discussion by illustrating the situation in Beit Ommar. She highlighted the problems caused by the five illegal settlements which surround Beit Ommar, including the regular settler assaults on Palestinian farmers cultivating their own land.

The issue of escalating violence from the Israeli military was also discussed, both in terms of the growing number of nighttime raids carried out in … Continue reading

On the morning of Tuesday, February 22, 2011, Israeli Forces, along with the Israeli Civil Administration and several settlers, used two bulldozers and chainsaws to destroy Palestinian olive trees in Al-Jab’a, a small village to the north of Beit Ommar. All of the trees on 200 dunums of land were cut down. Additionally, several irrigation walls on these lands were bulldozed.

The trees belong to several Palestinian farmers, including Mousa Hamdan Abu Loha, Azat Abu Latifa, Ibrahim Mahmoud Abu Loha, Ahmad Sobhia, and Mohammad Abed Al-Latif.

The land where the trees were destroyed were located alongside the Israeli settlement of Bat Ayn. Settlers from Bat Ayn were seen felling trees with chainsaws while soldiers operated the … Continue reading

More than 100 mostly international solidarity activists convened in the streets of Al Ma’asara on Friday, July 23rd, to march against the construction of the Annexation Barrier in neighboring Um Salamuna. The group, made alive by drummers and a chorus of anti-occupation chants, made its way onto the main road toward the now inaccessible Palestinian land. Military jeeps immediately sped down to block the alternate route. Soldiers jumped out, detained a journalist and photographer, and forcefully pushed the nonviolent demonstrators off of the road. As the crowd stood on the side of the road, soldiers attempted to arrest an international and began throwing … Continue reading

Wad Rahhal
A peaceful demonstration took place in Wad Rahal this afternoon (Friday 11th June 2010). A group of around fifty activists both Palestinian & internationals marched with banners & flags from the community centre to the edge of the settlement, where they were met by the IDF whom prevented them from progressing further. Several participants made anti-occupation speeches in Arabic, Hebrew & English. The group chanted with good volume & was then told that they must disperse. The demonstration ended how it began, peacefully. There were no arrests or injuries.

Al-Ma’asara
Later Friday, a small group of activists from Al-Ma’asara marched towards their village lands. In a symbolic protest, one … Continue reading

On May 24th at around 9:00 a.m. the people of Nahalin woke up to see Israeli Bulldozers razing their land. The occupation forces targeted an area of about 5 dunums, called Jabal Abu Alqruun, in what is believed to be part of a plan to bulldoze and take over 2000 dunums belonging to this village south-west of Bethlehem. Some trees in the area were destroyed last year and were replanted. These new trees, along with dozens of older trees, clearly used and cared for for decades, were all uprooted.

The proprietors of the land have been identified as Nahalin residents Daoud Mahmood, Jameel Mahmood, A’ali Muhammad Taha … Continue reading