On December 22, after Friday prayers, over 50 Nabi Saleh residents held their weekly demonstration along with Israeli and international solidarity activists. The group peacefully marched though town and towards the Ein al-Qaws (the Bow Spring), which rests on lands belonging to Bashir Tamimi, the head of the Nabi Saleh village council. The spring was used historically as a source of water for the village until being illegally fenced off by Halamish settlers in 2009.

While the protesters were demonstrating peacefully hundreds of yards away from the spring the Israeli military fired dozens of tear gas canisters at them. As demonstrators returned to the village, Israeli military forces illegally shot tear gas canisters directly at them from close range. The … Continue reading

On Saturday, December 11, 2011 around 40 Palestinian villagers in Beit Ommar held their weekly demonstration land close to the Israeli settlement of Karmei Tsur. The villagers were joined by a group of Hebron University female students and they were also supported by Israeli and international solidarity activists.

This week’s demonstration decried the murder of Mustafa Tamimi, a 28-year-old Palestinian activist from the village of Nabi Saleh, who was shot in the face from close range with a tear gas canister fired by Israeli Forces during an unarmed demonstration two days before. Mustafa died of his wounds early … Continue reading

Update: Mustafa Tamimi, who was shot in the face from close range in a demonstration in Nabi Saleh Friday, has died. His funeral will be held tomorrow morning, proceeding from Ramallah to Nabi Saleh.

On Friday, December 9, 2011, Mustafa Tamimi, a 28-year-old Palestinian activist from the village of Nabi Saleh, was critically injured by Israeli Forces after he was struck in the face by a tear gas projectile. Mustafa was injured during Nabi Saleh’s weekly unarmed demonstrations against the Israeli settlements on village land. These weekly demonstrations are aften met with severe repression by Israeli Forces, who use exessive force resulting in the injuries of dozens, as well as mass arrests.

For video, watch below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJ5DipqScyE&sns=em

According to witnesses, … Continue reading

From Electronic Intifada:

On 24 November Israeli occupation forces demolished two homes, a mosque and a barn, killing livestock, and arrested two young women in the village of Umm Fagarah, in the South Hebron Hills in the occupied West Bank.

The incident was caught on video by Operation Dove, an Italian organization that has maintained a presence in the area since 2004.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILiVe1WPafA

The description of the video states:

At 10 am two bulldozers arrived in the village, escorted by five military vehicles. Without showing any demolition order, the army demolished two houses, a mosque, a barn and a structure containing the generator.

Forced to kneel

During the video, two young Palestinian women can be seen being forced to kneel on the … Continue reading

On November 15th, 2011, six Palestinian activists were arrested for boarding Israeli settlement buses in the West Bank district of Ramallah. The activists, calling themselves the Freedom Riders, drew inspiration from the 1961 Freedom Rides in the United States, in which young black and white civil rights activists challenged the segregated transportation system across southern states.

Settler buses run by the companies Egged and Veolia, connect Israeli settlements which are built on stolen Palestinian land in the West Bank, and deemed illegal under International Law, with cities within Israel proper. Palestinians are not allowed to ride these buses, one of many separate … Continue reading

Majde Za’aqiq, a 38-year-old school teacher from Beit Ommar and a long-time member of both the Palestine Solidarity Project and the Center for Freedom and Justice, has been imprisoned by the Israeli Authorities for nearly two months and is currently hunger striking against inhumane prison conditions. The mass hunger strike, now in its third week, has seen the participation of hundreds of Palestinian political prisoners in multiple prisons. The strikers are demanding an improvement in their conditions, including the ending the use of solitary confinement by Israeli Authorities to isolate and break the spirits of the prisoners.

Majde Za’aqiq was arrested on August 20, 2011 as he was … Continue reading

Saturday 24 September 2011: Late on Friday night the Israeli army once again entered Beit Ommar. Two military jeeps positioned themselves inside the town – one near the route 60 highway, and another across the entrance to the town.

From these positions, Israeli soldiers sporadically fired tear gas into residential areas of the town, with several cannisters landing in gardens and next to homes.

These attacks came without any provocation, or any response from Beit Ommar residents. In addition to the tear gas fired into empty gardens, soldiers also fired several rounds along an entirely deserted main street.

In addition to the tear gas, … Continue reading

This week PSP began its annual farmer accompaniment program. Around dawn, international activists joined Beit Ommar farmers in harvesting grapes on land close to the illegal settlement of Kfar Etzion. In a busy but sucessful morning, volunteers assisted the famrers in picking and packing over fifty crates of grapes, which will be sold through the local farmers’ market.

Such accompaniments are neccessary as Beit Ommar farmers face the constant threat of harassment and violence from setllers and the Israeli military. Settlers regularly attack famrers trying to work in fields close to the five … Continue reading

21st September: For the past two days, Israeli military forces have repeatedly entered the town of Beit Ommar, advancing along the main street and firing teargas and concussion grenades. Groups of soldiers ranging in number from six to twenty-five occupied the road close to the entrance to the town for hours at a time, occasionally closing the army-installed steel gate, which closes the town to Palestinians.

Last (Tuesday) night the military also fired flares over the village and the neighbouring Al Arub refugee … Continue reading

17th September: Residents of Beit Ommar were joined by Palestinians from across the West Bank, Israelis, and international activists for their weekly demonstration at the illegal settlement of Karmei Tsur.

Around 70 demonstrators marched from the center of the town, carrying flags of various UN member states alongside those of Palestine, and the Libyan Revolution. Protesters from Beit Ommar were joined by Palestinian activists from Al Arub refugee camp, Hebron, Yatta, and Ramallah, who chanted slogans in support of the Palestinian bid for statehood.

The march was halted … Continue reading