Israeli Occupation Forces attacked Palestinians outside mosque in Beit Ommar

By PSP

11 October 2006 – Today, at 12pm Israeli soldiers and shebak blocked the mosque in Beit Ommar and attacked people who had come to pray.   Two military jeeps, one hummer and one shebak car, totalling twenty soldiers and four secret service officers, entered and proceeded to block the mosque in Beit Ommar at noon today. People going to prayer were left standing outside the mosque, unable to enter.

 Israeli occupation forces (IOF) stayed for one hour, forcibly checking ID, filming worshipers, and issuing two Palestinians with papers requiring them to attend questioning. The IOF then attacked five Palestinian men, beating them with their rifle butts and fists, causing two of them to bleed from the head, elbows and hands and forcing  them to seek medical assistance.

Family in Gaza attacked by missiles

October 6 2006 – Two cars in Beit Hanoun, Gaza, were hit by rockets from an F16 plane at 11am, severly injuring a family of five, three of them children aged up to fourteen. The official “explanation” for the attack was that the IOF (Israeli Occupation Force) were shooting at terrorists.

The rockets did not hit the cars directly, but started a fire. The family were able to jump out of the cars just in time to save their lives. They suffered profuse bleading on head, hands and legs which required the whole family to seek immediate medical attention. Their current medical condition is unknown.

March of Grapes Brutally Attacked-5 Arrested, Many Injured

By PSP

October 8, 2006- Palestinian, international and Israeli activists joined together to demonstrate against land theft, road closures and economic isolation by bringing two tons of the surplus Palestinian grape harvest to an occupation checkpoint along Route 60. In a display of civil disobedience akin to the North American Boston Tea Party, the demonstrators hoped to dump the surplus harvest onto the road, but were viciously attacked before they were able to reach the checkpoint.

Al-Khadr is a center for vineyards, as is the Bethlehem area in general. Every year its fertile lands yield 11,000 tons of grapes. Not long ago, these grapes were marketed to the entire West Bank, as well as Jordan, Gaza and Israel. Nowadays, with some roads blocked and others closed, and with new decrees restricting the delivery of grapes, the local produce has no market. The prices have dropped so low that the farmers can no longer earn their living. Many are forced to just leave the fruit to rot on the vines. Soon the Apartheid Wall will reach the site of the demonstration, and the Ghettoization of the area will be complete. Where grapes are the prime source of income and unemployment rates soar, this maneuver will effectively strangulate the already fragile local economy.

The wall in the Al-Khadr region will annex 20,000 dunums of Palestinian agricultural land, while the expansion of Betar Illit, Neve Daniel and Elazar colonial settlements will similarly steal additional lands. The Wall in the Al-Khadr and Bethlehem area will also imprison 19,000 Palestinians in between the concrete barrier and the 1967 West Bank border line, known as the “green line.”

For these reasons, local Palestinians, Israeli activists with Anarchists Against the Wall and Tay’ush, as well as international activists with the Palestine Solidarity Project (PSP), joined for a morning of civil disobedience with the intention of dumping a portion of the ample, though unmarketable, grape harvest onto Route 60 in protest. Approximately fifty demonstrators marched on Route 60, blocking northbound traffic, en route to Al-Khadr checkpoint, but were preemptively attacked by Israeli Occupation Force (IOF) police and soldiers. At the scene were numerous armored police jeeps, police transport vans and armored military jeeps. Also on hand was at least one agent with Shabak (Shin Bet), the occupation’s covert intelligence agency, seen filming the IOF’s brutality with a handheld video camera.

Despite the presence of Reuters cameramen and other international media, around thirty IOF soldiers and police quickly attacked the non-violent demonstrators who carried cardboard crates of grapes. With their hands unable to be used as shields, many were beaten causing the grapes to prematurely spill onto the road. As the demonstrators attempted to continue their march, IOF police and soldiers choked, kicked and punched the demonstrators. Some police used military-style ‘pain compliance’ maneuvers, such as applying immense pressure to wrists and other sensitive joints, as well as wrenching back fingers and hands. Activists were thrown, and dragged by their ears, noses, necks and hair, while other police and soldiers forced demonstrators to the ground by leaning their weighted knees onto demonstrators’ heads and necks. Many activists were roughly thrown to the ground and dragged across the asphalt road, ripping their clothes. While attempting to stand up, many were pushed and kicked by the booted IOF police and soldiers.

During the assault, five people were arrested: two Palestinian males, one international female, and two Israeli males. The two Palestinian males, Mohammad Salah, 25, and Ahmed Salah, 30 were detained for carrying boxes of grapes, and while Ahmed was released at the end of the demonstration, Mohammad was not so lucky. Following the demonstration, Mohammad was taken by IOF soldiers to a wooded area near Betar Illit colonial settlement. When the soldiers reached this isolated area, they kicked and beat Mohammad in the head and shoulders. He is currently under care at a Bethlehem-area hospital. The international, an American woman, and the two Israeli men are currently still being held in Israeli custody at Gush Etzion police compound, housed within the colonial settlement of the same name.

Despite the unprovoked and extreme violence from the IOF, the demonstration was a great success. The primarily settler-used roadway of Route 60 was colored green and purple with the crushed remains of grapes and cardboard cartons. Passing settlers were able to witness the violence that their presence “necessitates,” and many reacted by honking their horns, photographing the demonstration, and one man was even seen proudly waving a peace sign. Though the grapes never reached the mouths of consumers, they were purchased from the farmers and given a political purpose on the road-a stretch of route 60 bordering Al-Khadr checkpoint, as well as a currently under-construction terminal checkpoint, and a small length of the Apartheid Wall already built and waiting to be connected to the Bethlehem portion.

Two Roadblock Removal Actions in Three Hours

October 6, 2006—This afternoon, Palestinian, international and Israeli activists carried out two non-violent demonstrations focused on two illegal roadblocks in the Betlehem region. Roadblocks in al-Jab’a and Beit Ommar were chosen, and the barrier in Beit Ommar was successfully opened. Large forces of occupation soldiers amassed at both demonstrations, and brutally beat many present.

Following Friday prayers in the village of al-Jaba, thirty five internationals and Israelis, and more than forty Palestinians, marched from the village mosque to the earth mound roadblock. The internationals represented the Palestine Solidarity Project (PSP), the International Women’s Peace Service (IWPS), the Christian Peace Makers Team (CPT), while the Israelis were from Ta’ayush, and Anarchists Against the Wall. This demonstration marks the third time in three weeks that demonstrators met at the al-Jaba’a roadblock to dismantle it. Last week, the demonstrators were successful in their efforts and were able to open the roadblock. This week however, soldiers and police with the Israeli Occupation Force (IOF) preempted the action and attacked demonstrators.

When the non-violent demonstrators reached the roadblock separating the village of al-Jab’a from the village of Surif, they were met with numerous IOF army jeeps, police jeeps and one car of Shabak officers, the Israel’s secret intelligence service.

With the IOF present, the activists used shovels, pick axes, and hoes to remove rubble, dirt, and heavy boulders forming the roadblock. Following forty-five minutes of roadblock removal, the IOF accelerated their threats of force. Because of the IOF’s massive presence, and their high quantity of weapons at the ready, the demonstrators decided to disperse rather than begin a confrontation with heavily armed soldiers. As they started up the hill to al-Jab’a, the IOF attempted to arrest one Palestinian man but he was successfully de-arrested by international and Israeli activists.

After leaving the al-Jab’a roadblock only partially removed, and not wanting to waste the remainder of the day, some of the Palestinians, along with the entire international and Israeli group traveled to the village of Beit Ommar to remove a second roadblock, consisting of four concrete blocks weighing two tons a piece. This time the activists were able to arrive undetected, and work for a short while before IOF soldiers and police responded. The demonstrators used thick ropes and metal carabineers to harness the blocks, and utilizing the strength of more than forty people, moved three of the blocks, opening the road. By opening this road, residents of Beit Ommar have direct access from their vegetable market to the main road via tractor, making it possible again transport produce to markets.

After moving two of the concrete blocks, soldiers with the IOF arrived. More than forty IOF soldiers and police assembled, along with six army jeeps, one Hummer, two police jeeps and one army transport. Quickly the soldiers began to attack the non-violent demonstrators. During these attacks, the following injuries were sustained:

• Palestinian man, struck in the abdomen with a rifle butt, piercing the skin.
• Swedish woman, deliberately pinned between a concrete block and an army jeep. She jumped away and narrowly escaped being crushed. She was later assaulted, and thrown against a concrete wall.
• Swedish man, punched in the head and thrown to the ground via his head, injuring his neck.
• English man, struck several times on the forearm with a rifle butt, causing severe swelling.
• Danish woman, struck in the head with a rifle butt and stomped in the feet, causing immediate bruising and swelling.
• Swedish woman, bitten on the forearm by a soldier, causing localized swelling.
• Besides these specific injuries, many demonstrators present were punched, choked, pushed, thrown to the ground and otherwise assaulted by soldiers. International activists witnessed at least three Palestinian men being beaten. During these encounters, IOF soldiers attempted to arrest three Palestinians but international and Israeli activists successfully de-arrested the Palestinians through non-violent intervention.
• After these initial attacks, IOF soldiers focused on a Palestinian home bordering the roadblock. IOF soldiers threw at least one sound grenade, and fired what appears to be a rubber-coated metal bullet through the window of the Palestinian home. When the shot was fired, several women and children were peering out of the windows at the soldiers, but were luckily not hit by the bullet or glass.
• The roadblock in Beit Ommar was removed and the road opened, though it was soon blocked by four army jeeps who attempted unsuccessfully to replace the concrete blocks. The IOF soon learned how heavy the blocks were, as their armored jeeps were unable to budge the barriers. Palestinians, along with international and Israeli activists will continue to remove tools of the Occupation which create closures and restrict the free movement of the Palestinian people.