Since the middle of June, over a dozen youth from Beit Ommar under the age of 18 have been arrested, most of whom live near the illegal Israeli settlement, Karmei Tsur. In one instance, a 7 year old boy was also given a summons to present himself to Israeli security in the Etzion settlement, an incident the Israeli military reportedly now says was a “mistake” and that the summons was meant for another, older boy of the same age. This week a 12 year old boy will also be attending a military court hearing after being arrested last month.

As a campaign of harassment and intimidation, all of these arrests occur in the middle of the night, when often-masked … Continue reading

At approximately 2am Wednesday, December 3, 25 Israeli military jeeps, carrying over 100 soldiers, entered the village of Beit Ommar in the Hebron District. They then set up three checkpoints inside the village, one on the north-west side of town near the city council building, and two in the center of the village. The soldiers split into 3 groups and began invading homes and destroying property. They broke into the homes of Ahmed Abu Maria, a PSP volunteer, Ahsan Abu Ayyesh, Sa’id Abu Ayyesh, the father of Mehdi Abu Ayyesh who … Continue reading

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

On Friday, July 10, more than 200 people from the village of Ni’lin and their Israeli and international supporters marched towards the Annexation Barrier, which cuts through the agricultural land of Ni’lin. This week, participants managed to reach the fence itself, and quickly began dismantling it, 5 years after the International Court of Justice declared it illegal under international law. Tear gas was fired at the group but the dismantling continued for some minutes.
Suddenly, from the group of youth throwing stones, 10 undercover Israeli military personnel, dressed as stone-throwers, began arresting people. Two residents … Continue reading

Mohammed “Hamude” Abu Maria, long-time committee member of the Palestine Solidarity Project, was released from Qetziot prison after 8 months of Administrative Detention, where he was held without charge or trial. Hamude was welcomed home Wednesday afternoon by fireworks and dozens of friends and community members, as well as by his three children, 8 year-old Thikra, 5 year-old Qais and 3 year-old Shahed, as well as by his wife, Feryal.

Hamude was the last of three PSP committee members to be arrested and held in Administrative Detention, a tactic used to intimidate and attempt to quell PSP’s anti-occupation work. While PSP continued its struggle throughout the imprisonment of three of its key organizers in the last year, we are … Continue reading