video from Al-Walaja direct action video 25.04.2010

Action against building of the Wall in Al Walaja / Action contre la construction du Mur a Al Walaja, 25.04.2010

(c) Anne Paq/Activestills, Al Walaja, 25.04.2010

Around 50 Palestinians and internationals had managed to stop the work of the bullozers for several hours in the village of Al Walaja, on 25.04.2010. The Israeli soldiers tried to remove people from the area, but demonstrators managed to stay until they were violently dragged one by one. The Israeli soldiers also used stun grenades and tear gas canisters directly at people, as well as pepper spray. One Palestinian got arrested and several were injured. Once completed the Wall will totally surround the village.

Environ 50 Palestiniens et internationaux ont réussi à arrêter les bullozers pendant plusieurs heures dans le village d'Al Walaja, le 25.04.2010. Les soldats israéliens ont tenté d'expulser violemment des gens de la zone, mais les manifestants ont réussi à rester jusqu'à ce qu'ils ont été violemment traîné un par un. Les soldats israéliens ont également utilisé des grenades assourdissantes et des bombes lacrymogènes directement sur des personnes, ainsi que du spray de defense. Un Palestinien a été arrêté et plusieurs ont été blessés. Une fois achevé le Mur va totalement entouré le village qui va encore perdre plus de terres.

Action against building of the Wall in Al Walaja / Action contre la construction du Mur a Al Walaja, 25.04.2010

(c) Anne Paq/Activestills, Al Walaja, 25.04.2010

Action against building of the Wall in Al Walaja / Action contre la construction du Mur a Al Walaja, 25.04.2010

(c) Anne Paq/Activestills, Al Walaja, 25.04.2010

Protest continues in Beit Jala / La resistance a la construction du Mur continue a Beit Jala continue, 23.04.2010

(c) Anne Paq/Activestills,org, Beit Jala, 22.04.2010.

Arrested for daring visiting a Palestinian family and having eating falafel!

Arretes pour avoir ose rendu visite a une famille palestinienne et mange des falafels!

Protest continues in Beit Jala / La resistance a la construction du Mur continue a Beit Jala continue, 23.04.2010

(c) Anne Paq/Activestills,org, Beit Jala, 22.04.2010.

Around 30 Palestinians and internationals protested against the bulldozing of lands in Beit Jala, for the building of the Wall, on 22.04.2010. The Israeli soldiers prevented the group to visit the family affected. Earlier during the day, the Israeli army bulldozed a land around the house of a Palestinian family, destroying a kindergarden, and trees which had been replanted two weeks before. Some internationals and Israeli activists who tried to stop the work of the bulldozers were beaten up and pushed back outside the area. Demonstrators refused to go and stayed for more than four hours on the road, claiming their right to visit the family.
A group of six managed to bypass the soldiers and reach the house, but they were all arrested. Israeli soldiers pushed back the rest of the group with batons.

Environ 30 Palestiniens et internationaux ont protesté contre la destruction au bulldozer des terres de Beit Jala, pour la construction du Mur, le 22.04.2010. Les soldats israéliens ont empêché le groupe de visiter la famille affectée. Plus tôt dans la journée, l'armée israélienne a repris la construction du Mur avec des bulldozers qui ont detruit la terre autour d'une maison d'une famille palestinienne, un jardin d'enfant, et les arbres qui avaient été replantés deux semaines avant. Certains activistes internationaux et israéliens ont essayé d'arrêter le travail des bulldozers mais ils ont été battus et repoussés hors de la zone. Les manifestants ont refusé de s'en aller et sont restés sur place pendant plus de quatre heures, en faisant valoir leur droit de visite à la famille.
Un groupe de six a réussi à contourner les soldats et sont parvenus à la maison, mais ils ont tous été arrêtés. Les soldats israéliens ont repoussé le reste du groupe avec des matraques.

Trees uprooted in Al Walaja/ Massacres d'arbres a Al-Walaja, 22.04.2010

(c) Anne Paq/Activestills.org, Al-Walaja, 22.04.2010.


I was called in the morning on my way to Ramallah with the bad news that the Israeli army has invaded the village of Al-Walaja, and that bulldozers were working full speed deeper inside the village's lands. I could not reach the village before late in the afternoon. I discovered with horror that dunums of the lands had been bulldozed. Many trees were lying around, uprooted. One of the Palestinian owners was walking around aimlessly, obviously still in shock. It feels like visiting a cemetery. I could better understand the route of the Wall that will furthermore annex more lands to the Israeli side that the ones already lost in 1948 and 1967. Walking around in other parts of the village, the landscape was breathtaking, and it was all the more painful to think that soon, that view will be destroyed by the Wall.


J'ai été appelée dans la matinée pendant que je me rendais a Ramallah pour etre prevenue que l'armée israélienne avait envahi le village de Al-Walaja, et que les bulldozers etaient en train de travailler à plein régime plus à l'intérieur des terres du village. Je n'ai pas pu arriver au village avant la fin de l'après-midi. J'ai alors découvert avec horreur que des hectares de terres avaient été rasées au bulldozer. Beaucoup d'arbres etaient etendus par terre, déracinés. Un des propriétaires palestiniens se promenait sans but, de toute évidence encore sous le choc. Javais l'impression de visiter un cimetière.
En me promenant, j'ai pu un peu mieux comprendre l'itinéraire du mur qui va annexer encore plus de terres du village du côté israélien, en plus de celles déjà perdues en 1948 et 1967. En faisant le tour du village, le paysage était à couper le souffle, et il était d'autant plus triste de penser que bientôt, ce point de vue sera complement détruit par le mur.

Sewage poured by settlers into Palestinian agricultural lands, Beit Omar, 21.04.2010

(c) Anne Paq/Activestills.org, Beit Omar, 21.04.2010

Settlers from Gush Etzion Kibbutz poured sewage into the agricultural lands of Beit Omar on 21.04.2010. The sewage is likely to destroy the trees and get into the underwater. 70 dunums are affected.

Les colons du Kibbutz de Gush Etzion ont deverse leurs egouts dans les terres cultivees des Palestiniens de Beit Omar. Les arbres, essentiellement des vignes, vont surment perir, et la nappe phreatique est aussi menacee.
35 hectares sont affectees.
c'est ainsi que les colons ont fete le jour d'independance.

Demo against the Wall in Al Masara / Manif contre le Mur a Al Masara, 16.04.2010

(c) Anne Paq/Activestills.org, Al Ma'sara, 16.04.2010

Around 100 demonstrators participated to the demonstration against the Wall in Al-Ma'sara, on 16.04.2010.
A large group of Palestinian scouts joined the march. The demonstration was dedicated to the Palestinian prisoners. The
march of the demonstration was blocked by Israeli soldiers who put once again barbed wire of the main road. A ceremony was performed on the road to remember the prisoners from Al-Ma'sara.

Une centaine de manifestants ont participé à la manifestation contre le mur à Al-Ma'sara, le 16.04.2010.
Un groupe nombreux de scouts palestiniens se sont joins a la marche . La manifestation a été dédiée aux prisonniers palestiniens. Comme d'ahabitude, la
marche de la manifestation a été bloquée par des soldats israéliens qui ont mis une fois de plus les barbelés au travers de la route principale. Une cérémonie a été effectuée sur la route pour commemorer les prisonniers d'Al-Ma'sara.

Demo against the Wall in Al-Walaja/ Manif contre le Mur a Al-Wasara, 16.04.2010

(c) Anne Paq/Activestills.org, Al-Walaja, 16.04.2010

Around 100 inhabitants from Al-Walaja together with internationals demonstrate against the building of the Wall on 16.04.2010. The demonstrators walked towards Har Gilo settlement in front of which the Wall will be built. Some Palestinians hanged some Palestinians on the fence surrounding the settlement. After the demonstration, the Israeli army invaded the village and arrested three Palestinians.

Une centaine d'habitants d'Al-Walaja avec des internationaux ont manifeste contre la construction du Mur le 16.04.2010. Les manifestants ont marche vers la colonie de Har Gilo en face de laquelle le Mur sera construit. Certains Palestiniens ont reussi a mettre des drapeaux palestiniens sur la clôture entourant la colonie. Après la démonstration, l'armée israélienne a envahi le village et arrêté trois Palestiniens.



Press articles:
Friday protests continue, Walaja homes raided
Published yesterday (updated) 17/04/2010 12:16
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Bethlehem - Ma'an - Following an anti-wall protest in Al-Walaja on Friday, Israeli border police entered the village and surrounded the home of a detained Palestinian, trapping at least 40 people in the home for two hours.

The home of 40 year old Hatem Al-Araj was host to women and children when it was besieged. Witnesses said troops withdrew after two hours without incident, and said it was unclear what they wanted with those in the building.

Village council representatives said the Al-Araj home was a gathering place for locals and internationals who had earlier participated in an anti-wall rally, where they had protested the latest site of wall construction, which cuts off large swaths of land from the Al-Walaja and Beit Jala areas, west of Bethlehem. Lands from the Cremisan Monastery will also be confiscated.

One representative explained that solidarity groups traveled to the homes of prisoners being held by Israel, to offer their support in honor of Prisoners Day, which was marked on Thursday.

During the siege of the Al-Araj home, witnesses said Israeli forces raided several others, detaining three young men for allegedly throwing rocks at Israeli forces.

Those detained were identified as:

Mu’tasem Hajajlah, 20
Rami Ad-Daras, 17
Mohammad Hajajlah,17

During the raids the entrance to Al-Walaja was blocked off, and soldiers prevented meida personnel from accessing the area.

An Israeli spokesman for the border police was unavailable for comment by phone.

Dozens inhale tear gas in Bil'in, Ni'lin and Al-Ma'asara

Ramallah – Ma’an – Dozens were hurt after inhaling gas in the village of Ni’llin west of Ramallah on Friday.

Residents of Bil'in and Ni'lin violated the Israeli military orders of declaring the lands abutting the separation wall a closed military zone on Fridays between 8:00 am-8:00 pm from March until August.

The protesters in both locations carried Palestinian flags and chanted slogans in solidarity with the Palestinians in Israeli prisons, marking Palestinian Prisoners Day.

In Bil'in, members of the Fatah party participated in the rally, where dozens inhaled tear gas, including Fatah Central Committee member Sultan Abu Al-Enein.

Fatah officials had gathered in the village before the march to commemorate the 22nd anniversary of the death of the Fatah leader Kahlil Al-Wazir.

Protests also went ahead in Al-Ma'asara, with no injuries reported.

Palestinians across the West Bank continue to protest the construction of Israel's separation wall, and the continued building of Israeli settlements, both of which see the confiscation of Palestinian lands within the 1967 borders; an area the international community sees as the borders that will one day be a Palestinian state.

Volvo and caterpillar are building the Wall / Volo et Caterpillar construisent le Mur, Al-Walaja, 12.04.2010

(c) Anne Paq/Activestills.org, Al-Walaja, 12.04.2010

Bulldozers are seen working on the lands of the village of Al-Walaja on 12.04.2010.
The bulldozers are working in front of Har Gilo settlement, a few meters away from Palestinian houses.When completed, Al-Walaja village will be totally surrounded by the Wall.


Les buldozers construisent le Mur sur les terres du village de Al-Walaja. Ils sont en train de travailler devant la colonie de Har Gilo, a quelques metres seulement des maisons palestiniennes. Une fois acheve sur cette portion, le Mur va totalement entoure Al-Walaja. Des campagnes internationales existent contre Caterpillar et Volvo, dont les equipements sont utilises pour commettre des actes contraires au droit international.

Military order targets tens of thousands for deportation

Report: Military order targets tens of thousands for deportation

Bethlehem - Ma'an - Two signed military orders awaiting implementation give military officials broad and almost total control over the deportation of Palestinians whose residency status in the West Bank is called into question.

Specifically, the Hamoked Center for the Defense of the Individual alleged that the order will be used to deport residents of Gaza from the West Bank, and will likely also target foreign passport holders and non-Palestinian spouses of West Bank residents.

The center said tens of thousands of Palestinians and West Bank residents could be caught up in the net of the orders, which Israeli journalist Amira Hass said in a Sunday report were "expected to clamp down on protests in the West Bank."

The new orders, by substantively changing the definition of an “infiltrator,” HaMoked said in a statement "effectively apply [the term] to anyone who is present in the West Bank without an Israeli permit," noting "the orders do not define what Israel considers a valid permit," and that "the vast majority of people now living in the West Bank have never been required to hold any sort of permit to be present therein."

The amendments apply to a 1969 order issued following the start of the Israeli military occupation of the West Bank and Jerusalem. The order was first amended in 1980, when an infiltrator was defined as "a person who entered the Area knowingly and unlawfully having been present in the east bank of the Jordan, Syria, Egypt or Lebanon following the effective date."

In the latest order, an "infiltrator" is defined as: "a person who entered the Area unlawfully following the effective date, or a person who is present in the Area and does not lawfully hold a permit.”

The presumption that the orders will be used to clamp-down on Palestinians participating in popular protests against land confiscation and the construction of the separation wall follows a series of failed measures by the Israeli army to stifle the increasingly broadly supported actions.

In March, Israeli forces entered the villages of Ni'lin and Bi'lin to post orders declaring the zone typically used as a protest site a "closed military zone" from that day until August. Once an area is declared a closed zone, Israeli forces say they have the power to make arrests. Protest sights are often declared closed zones as demonstrators gather.

The pending orders also recall the case of Bethlehem University student Berlanty Azzam, a Gazan Christian only one semester away from graduation. The business administration student was pulled from a shared taxi on the Ramallah-Bethlehem road because her ID card had her registered as a Gaza resident. Berlanty had left Gaza on a legal permit three years before and traveled to the West Bank to study.

Without appearing before a judge, Berlanty was bound, blindfolded and driven directly to the northern Erez crossing at Gaza and told to re-enter the Strip. Human rights lawyers challenged the deportation, saying Israel had no right to determine where Palestinians lived, particularly when they were moving from one Palestinian-controlled area to another.

The second amendment, the HaMoked statement said, will allow the Israeli military to "prosecute and deport any Palestinian defined as infiltrator in stark contradiction to the Geneva Convention," and noted that "there is a possibility that some of the deportees will not be given an opportunity for a hearing before being removed from the West Bank.

According to the orders, the deportation may be executed within 72 hours whereas it is possible to delay bringing a person before the appeals committee for up to eight days from issuance of a deportation order.

repression against human rights organisations continues-

The IOF Raids Michigan Peace Team (MPT) Office South of Nablus
Subject: [longtermers] The IOF Raids Michigan Peace Team (MPT) Office South of Nablus




At two o'clock this morning, the Israeli Occupation Army (forcefully entered a house in Howarah Town, South of Nablus. The house, which was empty at the time, is used as an office for the Michigan Peace Team.
http://www.michiganpeaceteam.org

According to some neighbors, who were watching the scene from their windows during the raid, tens of Israeli soldiers forcefully broke the garden gate and the main door and entered the house using sound bombs. The soldiers caused damage to the furniture of the house and confiscated pro-Palestinian banners and posters.

The raid tonight follows the recent Israeli campaign to end Palestinian nonviolent popular resistance, which takes the form of raids, arrest of local activists and organizers, such as Adeeb and Abdullah Abu Rahmah, as well as arrest and deportation of international activists, involved with Palestinian popular resistance, such as the recent unlawful detention/deportation of Eva Nováková, a Czech citizen, Ariadna Jove Marti, a Spanish journalist, and Bridgette Chappell, an Australian student in the Beir Zeit university.

Nael Al-Ahmad, a resident of Howarah, described the unjustified raid as a failed attempt to crash the grassroots movement against the Occupation and to hide and bar access to information from the international community about the Israeli inexplicable crimes against the Palestinian people.

Ali OMAR

Video from Al Masara demo, 02.04.2010

demo against the Wall in Al Masara / Manif contre le Mur a Al Masara, 02.04.2010

(c) Anne Paq/Activestills.org, Al Ma'sara,02.04.2010

One Detained, Journalists Injured, Cars Damaged As Troops Attack Anti Wall Protest Near Bethlehem
by Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC News

One international supporter detained by Israeli troops, three journalists were injured and cars damaged by military fire at the weekly anti wall protest at Al Ma’ssara village near the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem.

Israeli troops attacking an anti wall protest in the West Bank - file photo 2010
Israeli troops attacking an anti wall protest in the West Bank - file photo 2010

About 200 villagers along with Israeli and international supporters marched from Al Ma’ssra village on Friday after the midday prayers. People were on their way to lands owned by local farmers the arm is planning to take over to build the wall. Troops stopped the crowed at the village entrance using a barbed wire checkpoint.

Local organizers delivered speeches at the checkpoint in both Arabic and English; as the protest was about to end local youth hurled couple of stones at troops. Solders responded by shooting sound and tear gas bombs at the crowed. Troops also attacked journalists covering the event.

Mussa Al Sha’er, photojournalist for AFP, Abed Al Hashlamon, EPA, and Amer Amed, a camera man for Pal-Media were lightly wounded. Two cars sustained damage due to the army fire. One of the cars are owned by Dr. Mazin Qumssia, a local organizer.

Troops also detained two international supporters; half an hour later one of them were released while the other was taken to a police station in a nearby Israeli settlement.

Environ 200 Palestiniens, Israéliens et internationaux ont participé à la manifestation contre le Mur a Al Ma'sara, le 02.04.2010. La manifestation etait dediee a la commémoration du Jour de la Terre. Comme chaque semaine, les soldats israéliens ont bloqué la marche avec des barbelés mis sur la route principale. À la fin de la manifestation, quelques pierres ont été lancées du village. Les soldats israéliens ont immédiatement attaqué la foule, lançant des bombes sonores directement sur les personnes. Trois journalistes ont été légèrement blessés, et deux internationaux ont été violemment arrêtés. Les deux ont ete relaches dans la journee

demo against the Wall in Al Masara / Manif contre le Mur a Al Masara, 02.04.2010

(c) Anne Paq/Activestills.org, Al Ma'sara,02.04.2010