The Resistance

Today's demonstration in Bil'in was joined by a large number of Palestinians, Israelis and internationals. Members of the Fatah party were also present.

The protesters walked together towards the Apartheid Wall, carrying posters of Yasser Arafat, in commemoration of the Fatah leader who passed away six years ago. Speeches were held by members of the Fatah movement, while Israeli soldiers were preparing to attack the peaceful demonstrators in the background.

The speakers were Sultan Abu Al Enanan from the Fatah movement, Kays Abu Leyla from the Executive Committee of PLO and the political office of the Democratic Front and Basel Monsur from the Popular Committee in Bil'in. They all promised to stay strong as Arafat would have wanted them to be and to fight the occupation together.

Even before the majority of the protesters were moving forward, the soldiers started firing tear gas from where they had taken position on the road leading to the village. Immediately the area was covered with tear gas, with canisters flying into the crowd from different directions.

As a response a few youngsters threw stones to the Israeli soldiers, as a symbolic resistance to their violence. The soldiers moved into the field and continued to fire rounds of gas, and also chasing people back into the village. At one point live ammunition was fired, causing fear and the retreat of the protesters remaining in the area.

Also this Friday the tear gas canister sat fire to the ground several places, and was put out by some protesters before it spread. The demonstration lasted for about two hours.

The Popular Committee and the people of Bil'in thanks their international and Israeli supporters for standing side by side with them in their struggle against Israel's occupation.

The Israeli Army raids Bil'in the fourth time in three days Today, the 10 November a raid happened again in the village of Bi'lin. The Army entered at around 8 pm for the second time that day. In the morning, at around 3.00 am, they had already entered the village with five jeeps and searched Ashraf al-Khatibs home.

The soldiers broke down the door of the neighbor's house, and went in. However, they were not able to find who they were looking for in neither of the houses. When people from the village arrived, the 20 soldiers pointed their guns directly in the face of the people, and acted very aggressively. They also broke the door from al-Khatib's house when they entered.

Later, the same night, the army returned to the village, about 9 pm. Soldiers entered al-Khatib's house again, also this time without finding him there. The soldiers then took off and left the village, for the second time that evening. These two raids are the last of until now four raids over the last three days. Ashraf al-Khatib is obviously a target these days. Earlier, the 10. November al-Khatib received a phone call from the Israeli intelligence (Shebak/Shin Bet), where a captain demanded to see him in Ofer Military Prison.

It was made clear that until he shows up for interrogation the army will come to his house frequently. This is a well known tactic used by Israel, to terrorize the village and the families involved to make life unbearable for them.

Today, 09.11.2010 about 3 in the morning the Israeli army entered the village of Bil'in. A number of about 50 soldiers were coming in jeep and by foot. As they arrived to the two targeted houses they ran and took positions outside, while a number of them entered the house of two brothers.

At first the soldiers were hammering on the door of one house, demanding to see 30 year Ashraf al-Khatib. It turned out they went to the wrong house. They then went to another house -- forcing one of Ahsraf's brothers to show them the way to where Ashraf lives. Soldiers then entered that and his brother's family's house, and with the same procedure they woke up the family, again asking for Ashraf al-Khatib. His brother, Haytham al-Khatib, is a journalist from the human right's group B'tselem and was of the ones woken up by the army.

Though they again entered a house where their target does not live, they stayed in there for about 1,5 hour, searching all the rooms. Haytham al-Khatib tells about his 6 year old son's reaction when he woke up and saw tens of soldiers in his house. "He asked me to close the door, because he didn't want to see them." Haytham himself was held back when he wanted to record the raid in his family's houses -- the soldiers simply locked him in a room for more than an hour, away from his children and wife. The children in the houses are aged from 1,5 to 8 years, and this is not the first time they have seen their homes raided at night.

However, after 1,5 hour of searching for the target in three houses, two of them where he doesn't reside, Ashraf al-Khatib was not found.

Five weeks ago Ashraf was shot in his leg with live ammunition by an Israeli soldier in a demonstration in Bil'in. The bullet went through his leg, breaking the bone. Even though he was heavily injured and in major pain, the soldiers tried to arrest him. Luckily he was brought to safety and then to hospital for surgery by fellow protesters. This night the army decided to come and take him in front of his wife and 1,5 year old daughter instead. The soldiers retreated from the targeted houses by foot, walking toward the military road that follows the illegal segregation fence in Bil'in, about 4.30 AM.

The village of Bil'in has suffered from frequent night raids over the last few years, and a number of villagers have been taken for interrogation and imprisoned for their non-violent resistance to the occupation and segregation wall on Bil'in's land.

On the anniversary of the Balfour declaration 02.11.1917, faithful Bil'in insist to stay and continue the struggle against the occupation.

Today the people in Bil'in were joined by internationals and Israelis to protest against Israel's illegal Wall that is cutting through the village's farmland. The protesters were carrying posters of Bilin's Abdallah Abu-Rahma, asking for freedom for all political prisoners. The Popular Committee sends their greetings to Adalah N.Y, the New York Campaign for the Boycott of Israel.

The about 100 protesters walked towards the fence dividing Bil'ins land in two, where the Israeli army waited on the other side. People were shouting slogans in Arabic and English, demanding the Wall to fall, and asking Israel to end the occupation. The soldiers responded with large amounts of tear gas, dispersing the group.

There was some symbolic stone throwing, and instead of removing themselves from the village's land, the soldiers shot tear gas and threw stun grenades against the young Palestinian boys. Many people suffered from inhaling tear gas. The hot tear gas canisters set fire to the olive fields several places, and after a while the fire brigade had to come to put it out. During the demonstration the soldiers came into the village, lining up in brigades, continuing to shoot tear gas and throw stun grenades.

The protesters were forced back into the village. The Popular Committee was bringing out a message to Adele New York, which has been campaigning for divestments from Israel's illegal settlements. The committee expressed that they are thankful for the organization's hard work. Last week, Africa Israel, the flagship company of Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev, announced this week that it is no longer involved in Israeli settlement projects and that it has no plans for future settlement activities.

Among the protesters were two representatives from Michigan Peace Team, who before the demonstration handed over a prize to the Popular Committee of Bil'in. Michigan houses the city with the largest Palestinian population in the United States, and the Palestinian Cultural Committee in Michigan and MPT decided together to give an award to Bil'in.

This is meant as recognition of the long struggle against the Wall and the sacrifices they have suffered, including the death of Bassem Abu-Rahma, who was shot and killed during a demonstration last year. The Michigan groups praise Bil'in for their non-violent resistance, and for inspiring other villages to follow their example. The head of the Popular Committee Iyad Burnat and the three other members, Samer Burnat, Basil Monsur, and Haytham al-Khatib represented Bil'in to receive the prize. The demonstration lasted for about 1,5 hour.

The Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) held a nationwide awareness-raising day to expose the contamination of the global diamond market with Israeli “blood diamonds” ahead of the annual meeting of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KP) in Jerusalem on November 1st.

To launch the Boycott Israeli Blood Diamonds campaign activists from the IPSC in Cork, Galway, Limerick, Wexford and Waterford activists from the IPSC handed out thousands of leaflets and collected petition signatures to while in Dublin, a blood-stained Marilyn Monroe even turned up to endorse the campaign saying "the fact that Israeli diamonds are sold as 'conflict free' means that diamonds can no longer be considered a girl's best friend!" Outlining the rationale for the actions, IPSC National Chairperson Freda Hughes said: “Israel is the world’s top diamond exporter with exports worth over $19 billion in 2008, accounting for over 30% of Israeli exports.

Recent investigations by the UN have concluded that Israel committed war crimes in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead in 2008/09 and during the attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla earlier this year, while the brutal occupation of Palestinian land by Israel continues. The Israeli state which oversees these crimes and the military which carries them out are funded by revenue from these same diamond exports. In the view of the IPSC and the Palestinian Boycott National Committee (BNC) this Israeli diamonds should be unequivocally categorised as blood diamonds.”

The Kimberley Process is supposed to prevent the trade in “blood” or “conflict” diamonds. However, the KP stipulates that only “rough diamonds used by rebel movements” can be categorised as conflict diamonds – therefore it regards all other diamonds as “conflict free” regardless of what human rights violations they are funding.

According to Israeli economist Shir Hever: “The diamonds industry helps Israel fund its war machine, which is used on a daily basis against defenceless civilians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, to the tune of approximately $1 billion annually.” Ms Hughes continued: “The IPSC is highlighting this important ethical issue, and have started a campaign aimed at pushing the Kimberley Process to widen its definition of conflict diamonds to include all diamonds that fund human rights – be they polished or unpolished diamonds, or used by state or non-state actors. Without such a definition, the KP is merely a charade aimed at fooling consumers into thinking that they are making ethical purchases.” Ms Hughes concluded: “EU law provides for adequate and proper labelling of food produce, whereby the origin and country of manufacture of all food products is mandatory. When it comes to diamonds the European consumer is not being provided with the most basic labelling information. Consumers are being denied their statutory right to make informed choices with regard to diamonds and as a result jewellers, knowingly or unknowingly, are selling Israeli blood diamonds and misinforming customers by declaring they are “conflict free” diamonds.”

As the European Union is a member of the Kimberly Process, the IPSC has written to, and received positive responses from, Irish MEPs on this matter. The IPSC has also written to the Retail Jewellers of Ireland urging their support for a review of the KP.

Bil'in, Palestine Free for all prisoners Today's demonstration against the wall, organized by the Popular Committee of Bil'in, was joined by about many local residents , Israeli activists and internationals. As the group moved peacefull y towards the site of the wall, they chanted to free Palestinian political prisoners,. Demonstrators carrying the Palestinian flag crossed through the gate to confront the awaiting soldiers with the simple question, "What are you doing here?" When the soldiers tired of the presence of people demanding access to the agricultural lands belonging to Bil'in farmers, they began firing tear gas. The hot gas canister ignited fires in the dry olive orchards, which residents hurried to extinguish to protect the trees from damage.

For a while it was possible to avoid the gas, but eventually it became too much, and the demonstrators had to retreat to the village. It is a victory for the people every time they mobilize, without guns, to demand justice – an end to a wall that separates them from their ancestral lands and from the possibility of living peacefully with Israel. After demonstration ended the israils army attacke bilin village by throwing tear gas and sound bumps direction of houses,the people Confronted them over the half an hour.

At today's demonstration in Bilin, Iyad Burnat, head of the popular committee against the wall and members of popular committee basel mansor and sameer bornat welcomed two representatives from Norway who joined in the non-violent demonstration along with other internationals and Palestinians against the illegal apartheid wall. They were Stine Renate Haheim, a member of parliament and Torunn Kanutte Husvik both members of the Norwegian labour party. For over 6 years the residents of Bilin along with internationals have been demonstrating against the illegal wall, with many injuries, arrests and the deaths of some non-violent protesters.

I went on a tour to photograph the Apartheid Wall that was built on the territory of the Palestinian village of Bil'in, located in the West Bank. After a ruling of the highest Israeli Court, the path of which the first wall had been built had to be changed and now the Israel has to build a new wall: the new wall is a set of concrete cubes ranging in length up to eight meters tall.

The old wall was an electric fence with barbed wire which would send an electric shock at the slightest touch. This first wall was set up by Israel on Palestinian land and has been extremely dangerous (in some cases deadly), not only to human beings but also to animals and other wildlife. Many animals lost their lives after running into the fence and being instantly electrocuted.

The Palestinian resistance has been ongoing and consistent for the past five and a half years. The people insist on continuing this resistance and do not want to give up their rights to their land. They refuse to be silent about the theft by Israeli companies building illegal settlements on Palestinian land. The people also refuse to be silent about the destruction of their olive trees; these trees are not only considered a living for some but a symbol of strength for all Palestinian people … This "Non-Violent" Resistance that started in most Palestinian areas after the building of the Wall and the building of illegal settlements in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip will continue and will not cease.

This new kind of resistance has an unprecedented amount of support from Palestinian, Israeli and international activists and volunteers alike. After the changes of the route of the old Wall in Bil'in, 1000 dunums of land located behind the wall will be returned to the respective owners in the village. When I arrived at the Israeli side of the new Wall, I saw a strange thing. This wall is not only racist in its completion but also in its composition. I am familiar with the cubes on the Palestinian side of the Wall, but I discovered that on the other side the Wall is decorated with beautiful motifs. So people on the Israeli side of the wall do not feel the same as people on the Palestinian side of the wall.

To me it seemed that if one did not know what the real purpose of the wall was, from the Israeli side it looks like a decorated highway partition....however, on the Palestinian side it's concrete cubes stacked one above the other, which is ugly and not pleasant and looks exactly how the wall of a maximum security prison looks like. This type of racism is applied by the Israeli government on Palestinians. This and other types of scams deceive people and does not show them the truth. It paints a picture that is beautiful on the outside but on the inside, in reality, is grim.

Bil'in - Ramallah: Three protesters were injured from tear gas inhalation today at the weekly Bil'in demonstration against the Apartheid wall. The march, called for by the Popular Committee Against the Wall in Bil'in, included dozens of Palestinian villagers, alongside Israeli and international solidarity activists.

The participants in the march waved Palestinian flags, and held pictures of prisoners of the popular resistance, whilst chanting slogans condemning the Israeli policies of occupation, settlement and the repression of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. The demonstrators also chanted in condemnation of Israel's policy of ethnic cleansing Palestinians from Jerusalem, as can be seen in Silwan and Sheikh Jarrah, as well as calling for the siege on Gaza to be lifted.

The Popular Committee Against the Wall in Bil'in also denounced the persecution of its activists, led by Abdullah Abo Rahma and Adeeb Abo Rahma. It considers the trials against them biased as they are defenders of their land which was illegally annexed by the Apartheid wall. The Popular Committee considers the struggle against the wall a legitimate and legal one and calls upon the international community and international human rights organizations to stand next to the leaders and activists of the Popular resistance.

The march headed towards the wall, where the Israeli Occupation Forces were waiting. When protesters attempted to cross to the land behind the wall, which belongs to the villagers of Bi'lin, the Israeli army fired sound bombs, tear gas and rubber coated steel bullets at the crowd. This led to the wounding of three marchers, including 8-year old Lama Abdullah Abo Rahma who suffered from severe difficulty in breathing. Mohammed Shawkat Al-Khateeb,17, and Ahmed Abdel Fattah Bernat ,17, were among the worst affected of dozens of others suffering from tear gas inhalation.

Before the march delegations from Spain, France and Britain met with the members of the Popular Committee Against the Wall and settlement at the headquarters of the International Solidarity Movement in Bil'in. The delegations listened to a detailed explanation by the Popular Committee about the experience in Bil'in of non-violent popular resistance in the past five and a half years and the role of international solidarity in the popular resistance in Bil'in.

Bil'in, Palestine -Today's demonstration against the wall, organized by the Popular Committee of Bil'in, was joined by about 100 local residents, Israeli activists and internationals.

As the group moved peacefully towards the site of the wall, they chanted to free Palestinian political prisoners, including Abdulah Abu Rahme and Adib Abu Rahman who were arrested last year for their leadership of the poplar resistance in Bil'in.

Abdullah's two young daughters marched with the crowd, carrying posters calling for the release of their father. Demonstrators carrying the Palestinian flag crossed through the gate to confront the awaiting soldiers with the simple question, "What are you doing here?"

Among the internationals were groups from University of Oslo in Norway, from Germany, Japan and the United States and from France.

When the soldiers tired of the presence of people demanding access to the agricultural lands belonging to Bil'in farmers, they began firing tear gas. The hot gas canister ignited fires in the dry olive orchards, which residents hurried to extinguish to protect the trees from damage. For a while it was possible to avoid the gas, but eventually it became too much, and the demonstrators had to retreat to the village.

It is a victory for the people every time they mobilize, without guns, to demand justice – an end to a wall that separates them from their ancestral lands and from the possibility of living peacefully with Israel.

On the first Friday demonstration of the olive harvest, two journalists were injured and dozens suffered from tear gas and rubber bullets in Bil'in. The Bil'in Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements organized the weekly demonstration against the illegal apartheid wall on the first Friday of the olive harvest. Many international solidarity groups, Israeli peace activists and Palestinians from other towns participated.

The demonstration began after midday prayer and lasted two hours. Demonstrators held the Palestinian flag as well as posters for the release of Bil'in political prisoners. Some of the demonstrators held a banner with the phrase "We stay here like the roots of the olive trees." On the way to the gate the demonstrators chanted slogans against the wall and the settlements in Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan, and against the Israeli house demolitions in Hebron today, which killed two people while still inside their homes.

When the demonstrators reached the gate, they were unable to enter their land to collect their olives. The military shot rubber bullets and tear gas. The soldiers subsequently entered the gate to try to arrest the demonstrators but they were unsuccessful as a result of other demonstrators' intervention. Two journalists were injured. Abas Al Momani was injured in the back by a tear gas canister. Haron Amaira suffered from extreme tear gas inhalation. Dozens of other demonstrators suffered from breathing tear gas poison.