The New York Times this Friday included a large article on page 4 of the front section about the “new” anti-wall demonstrations, which they erroneously say began in Bil’in but have now spread to 4 other villages. In response to questions by the Times reporter about the nature of the protests, and whether they could be considered non-violent, an Israeli spokesman reportedly said, “these are not sit-ins with people singing we shall overcome”. Well, minus the old gospel song, that’s exactly what people in Nabi Saleh did this week during their Friday demonstration. Only after the Israeli military fired on the demonstrators, did youth respond by throwing stones…. Continue reading

(Photography from Palestine Solidarity Project. Video of Nabi Saleh from Activestills Collective, Video of Sheikh Jarrah from Yisrael Putermam)

This Friday, January 22, demonstrations were again held against land confiscation, the Annexation Barrier, and the expulsion of Palestinians from East Jerusalem for the settlement of right-wing Jewish settlers.

In Al-Ma’asara, Bethlehem District, approximately 70 Palestinians, Internationals and Israelis marched from the center of town towards the barrier set up by the Israeli military. Tensions were high as a larger-than-usual presence of Israeli soldiers and border police lined the route of the march on the roofs of buildings. The demonstration included the imposed Palestinian government’s minister of agriculture who participated in a symbolic tree-planting near the entrance of the village. … Continue reading

Kobi Snitz, a long-time activist with the Israeli group Anarchists Against the Wall, and a personal friend of PSP, begins a 20 day prison term for an arrest in 2004 in which he tried to prevent a home demolition in the Palestinian village of Kharbatha, in the Ramallah District. He is the first Israeli activist to be tried, convicted, and forced to serve time for demonstrating in the Occupied Territories. His statement (from yesterday) is below:

‘Tomorrow I will start a 20 day prison term. It is a result of an attempt to prevent a house demolition in kharbatha. As you probably know 20 days is nothing compared to the time many Palestinian teenagers have to do. Unlike them, … Continue reading

On Friday, Palestinian residents of the Ramallah-District village of Ni’lin, accompanied by Israeli and international activists, totaling around 100 participants, met after noon prayers and marched towards the newly-constructed concrete wall in the agricultural fields of the village. One group of demonstrators began defacing the wall, and taking apart the barbed-wire fence adjacent to it, both illegally constructed on Ni’lin land and preventing the residents from reaching their privately-owned agricultural land.
Israeli soldiers responded with tear gas and sewage-smelling spray for several hours. Later in the afternoon, when much of the demonstration had dispersed, Israeli soldiers inexplicably resorted to using live ammunition. A young reporter with Press TV from Ni’lin, Mohammed Amireh, was grazed in the leg with … Continue reading

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) strongly condemns the willful killing of a 15-year-old Palestinian child by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF). The attack occurred Monday, 31 August 2009, near the entrance of al-Jalazoun refugee camp, north of Ramallah.

According to investigations conduced by PCHR, at approximately 21:30 on Monday, 31 August 2009, IOF troops stationed at a military observation tower inside “Beit Eil” settlement, north of Ramallah, opened fire at five Palestinian children who were near al-Jalazon UNRWA School, located near the southeastern entrance of al-Jalazoun refugee camp. One of the children, 15-year-old Mohammed Riad Nayef ‘Elayan, was wounded by three bullets to the chest. An ambulance from Sheikh Zayed Hospital in Ramallah attempted to reach the … Continue reading

7th of August 2009 was the first organized water convoy to the West Bank, highlighting the dire water shortage in Palestine. The water convoy took place in Qarawat Beni Zaid, a village in the Ramallah Governorate. This village, along with the neighboring villages of Kufr ‘Ayn, Deir Ghassani, Beitrima and Nabi Salah have not had running water since March 15th. During the past hot summer months, the average resident of these villages has consumed 37 liters of water per day, one sixth of the average provided to Jewish settlements in Israel and the occupied West Bank (235 liters a day). Organized by Israeli, Palestinian and international NGOs, … Continue reading