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

9th September: PSP joined residents of al-Nabi Saleh for their weekly demonstration. Around sixty protesters – comprising local residents, Israelis, and international activists – marched towards the area of several local springs which have been stolen by the nearby illegal settlement of Halamish.

The march left from the village, centering around a small group carrying a ‘coffin’ for “the soul of the Oslo accords”. The demonstration was a symbolic funeral for the Oslo accords on the seventeenth anniversary of its signing. The route of the march took the protesters to the edge of the village, planning to descend the hill into a valley close … Continue reading

On 1st July 2011 demonstrators from Shuqba, Ni’ilin, and other surrounding villages in the Ramallah District gathered for the 4th demonstration in recent weeks. The group included about 50 Palestinians, 2 Israelis, and 3 Internationals. A rock quarry that was constructed as part of an Israeli settlement on Shuqba farmland formerly containing olive trees was the target of the demonstration. As the participants descended down a steep rocky hill adjacent to the quarry, Israeli military began to fire volleys of tear gas into the crowd. Dozens of canisters were fired over the course of an hour, igniting fires that scorched large swaths of land surrounding the quarry and continued to burn even after the demonstration ended.
… Continue reading

A crowd of around thirty protesters gathered in al-Ma’asara today in protest of the direct negotiations that began Tuesday between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The demonstrators marched from the center of the village to the main road waving Palestinian flags and carrying a large banner that read “No Peace Show, We Want Justice, Freedom and International Law.” The protesters were met at the main road by five army jeeps filled with Israeli soldiers who immediately began throwing sound grenades at their feet. The soldiers pushed the demonstrators back about 30 feet, throwing dozens of sound grenades and some tear gas into the crowd. Demonstrators chanted against the … Continue reading

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