On Friday, May 11, 2012, Palestinian, Israeli and international activists gathered outside Ofer prison in Ramallah to protest in solidarity with the Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike. Over two hundred activists came and joined the demonstration. Israeli soldiers shot countless canisters of teargas at the demonstrators, as well as skunk water and rubber-coated and plastic-coated bullets. The activists set over a dozen tires on fire, creating a thick wall of smoke that made it difficult for the soldiers to see the demonstrators, so the soldiers shot into the crowd at random. Over 20 people were taken into the ambulances, and at least one was taken to the hospital.

On Thursday, March 22, 2012, PSP activists joined the families and supporters of the children who were killed in a school bus accident last month, on February 16, 2012, outside of Ramallah. Leila Ghannam, the governor of Ramallah, was also in attendance to show her support. Six children, between the ages of four and six, were killed in the crash, along with a schoolteacher, after a truck collided with the school bus in poor weather conditions. At the time of the accident, the bus caught fire and Palestinians who had been driving by stopped to try to put out the fire with small fire extinguishers. According to witnesses, Israeli soldiers … Continue reading

Yesterday, Thursday, March 8th, 2012, people from the Palestine Solidarity Project took part in two demonstrations in solidarity with women’s day.

[caption id="attachment_5005" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="water level can be seen from recent flooding"][/caption]The first activity was in Al-Walaja. The town of Al Walaja is a town on the 1967 ceasefire border. In 1948, most of Al-Walaja was annexed by Israel, and depopulated. A small portion of Al-Walaja remained on the Palestinian side. Currently, the Israelis want to build a wall, and a family’s house will be separated from the Palestinian side, so the army dug a tunnel for the family to be able access their house. This caused the house to have … Continue reading

RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Medics say a Palestinian protester died Friday during surgery after being shot during clashes with the Israeli army near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

Talat Ramia, 25, suffered a gunshot wound to the chest and five others were injured, medics at the Palestine Medical Complex said. Ramia died during surgery, they said.

Israeli forces were firing tear gas and both live and rubber bullets at protesters gathering near the Qalandia checkpoint after hearing rumors of a raid on a holy site in Jerusalem.

An Israeli army spokesman said the incident was under investigation.

On Sunday, December 18, 2011, 550 Palestinian political prisoners were released from Israeli prisons as part of the second phase of the prisoner exchange for Gilad Shalit. Thousands of loved ones gathered all day long outside of Ofer prison in the Ramallah district of the West Bank to await the release of their friends and family members.

During the day the families celebrated with dances and speeches. At a certain point, Israeli Forces attacked the gathering shooting tear gas, rubber bullets, and using the Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD), otherwise known as the scream. LRAD emits high pitched frequencies that have the capacity of leaving those affected dizzy, nauseous, and at times incapacitated. At least … Continue reading

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

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

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