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

On 6th September, at 11:00 am, a group of Israeli soldiers and police attacked a group of fifteen local farmers who were selling local fruits at the entrance to Beit Ommar village, on the Route 60 highway. The soldiers then proceeded to confiscate and destroy 15 large stalls of the locals’ produce (consisting of tomatoes, plums, grapes and peaches) without citing any reason or justification. Farmers estimated the cost of the damage at around $10,000. More worrying for the vendors is the possibility that Israel intends to permanently prevent them from selling their fruit on Route 60, the main highway connecting Jerusalem … Continue reading

Saturday 3rd September: At around 11am, residents of Beit Ommar witnessed an unmaned Israeli surveillance plane enter the village, and fly at a very low altitude over areas of the town.

The plane appeared only a few hours before the town’s weekly protest against the illegal settlement of Karmei Tsur, and circled low over buildings where Palestinian and international activists were gathering.

Unmaned planes such as the one spotted over Beit Ommar are often used in order to gather photographic evidence and intelligence on Palestinian villages and popular resistance activities. This is the first time such measures have been used against Beit Ommar’s peaceful protests.

After circling several … Continue reading

More evidence has emerged this week that Israel and its settlers are preparing to use extreme violence in response to peaceful Palestinian protests this Septemeber.

The International Middle East Media Center reports that extreme right-wing settler groups have prepared plans to attack peaceful Palestinian protests following the UN vote on statehood in Septemeber (original article here). In a chilling echo of the Israeli rhetoric used before the Cast Lead attacks on Gaza in 2008, an eight-page document urges settlers to “transform September from a threat to a historic opportunity to change the rules of the game”.

In this document, the settlers themselves acknowledge that the demonstrations are likely … Continue reading

Today in Beit Ommar, around twenty-five demonstrators marched towards the illegal Israeli settlement of Karmei Tsur in protest of the imprisonment of Beit Ommar school teacher Majde Za’aqiq. Demonstrators held signs protesting Majde’s imprisonment, advocating Palestinian membership of the UN, and ending the occupation.

Israeli soldiers followed both in front of the demonstrators, and behind in a jeep. The demonstrators continued to march peacefully, until thirty Israeli soldiers blocked the demonstrators’ from marching through their own fields. Younes, one of the popular committee organizers, then gave a powerful speech condemning the theft of … Continue reading

Majde Za’aqiq, a 38-year-old teacher from Beit Ommar and member of the organizing committee for the Center for Freedom and Justice, was yesterday (Tuesday) denied bail by an Israeli military court in Ofar, West Bank.

In response to the lack of evidence presented by the prosecution, the judge ruled that the trial be delayed by up to 100 days in order to allow the prosecutor more time to gather evidence. The judge then refused Majde’s application for bail.

Following an unsuccessful appeal today (Wednesday), Majde now faces the possibility of spending several months in prison before any trial takes place.

On hearing of the military court’s decision, the popular committee of … Continue reading

The past year has seen a rapid increase in child arrests in Beit Ommar, as the Israeli army escalates this tactic of occupation. Last week, PSP visited the family home of one of these children.

Mohamad Ibrahim Abu Maria is a 16-year-old high school student from Beit Ommar. His case is one which sounds all too familiar in Palestine. Seven months ago, the Israeli army arrested him from the passenger’s seat of his father’s car. He is still in jail today, and has yet to be tried for any offence. Mohamad’s father, Ibrahim Abu Maria, told us more about his story.

Mohamad, who plans to study engineering at university after … 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

This week PSP visited with the family of Mahmoud, a 16 year old school student and local Community Centre volunteer from Beit Ommar. Two weeks ago Mahmoud was arrested whilst helping women and children to escape an Israeli military attack on a party to commemerate Palestinian prisoners at Beit Ommar’s public park. Mahmoud’s parents Yusuf and Sahir, along with his sisters Suhair and Hikmat, tell us of the trauma they have suffered since his arrest.

Mahmoud’s father, Yusuf, told us of his response to hearing that his son, who had been helping out at the commemoration, was arrested. He draws a breath and looks into the distance. “This has never happened to any of my children before” he … Continue reading

23 August: Beit Ommar resident Majde Za’aqiq – a 38 year old elementary school teacher – today remains imprisoned in an Israeli jail, after an Israeli military court yesterday took the decision to extend his detention without any charge or trial date.

Majde was arrested on Saturday, when Beit Ommar’s peaceful demonstration against the illegal settlement of Karmei Tsur was attacked by the Israeli military (report here). He was taken by the military – along with an international activist who has since been released – from a car, as he was leaving the demonstration. An entirely fabricated accusation of throwing stones was given as the reason for … Continue reading