The settlers are used as a human enforcement of Israel’s matrix of control over the Palestinian population and their territories, annexing the most arable land and resources.In the West Bank the apartheid is enforced largely through military might and a system of military law, encompassing over 2,500 individual laws written, enforced and adjudicated by Israeli military personnel on the Palestinian population.
Inside Israel apartheid is enforced on the 5.6 Jewish citizens and 1.5 Palestinian citizens, through equally discriminatory practices including population separation and population transfer.In the southern Israeli city of Ramle, supposedly one of the country’s six racially “mixed” cities, a 4-meter high, 2 km-long separation wall divides the Palestinian area of Jawarishand Jewish area ofGannei Dan.Similar apartheid walls can be found between Jewish and Palestinian areas in Lyd, and also between the two towns of Jisr Al-Zarqa and Qisariya. Whilst citing reasons such as noise control, it is clear the government’s agenda in the construction of these walls is the continued separation of Jewish and Palestinian communities, control over the Palestinian population and an explicit desire to tackle the so-called “demographic threat” posed by rapidly expanding Arab families inside Israel.
The Galilee region, in the north of Israel, remains the most densely-populated area by Israel’s Palestinian citizens. A campaign of Judaization has been in effect since 1950, when Israel’s first Prime Minister David Ben Gurion, enraged by the area’s high Arab population or perceived Arab stronghold, initiated the first settlement project in the region. The town’s population ballooned in the 1990s as new Russian immigrants from the collapsed USSR were funneled directly in to the area.What we see here may look familiar – the ubiquitous red rooves of West Bank settlements. Nazareth Illit, the exclusive Jewish colony built on the farmlands of the Palestinian city of Nazareth in Israel, is one of the government’s many attempts to change the demographic make-up of the region. The annexation of this territory was enabled largely by Israel’s racist “Absentee Property Law” and the Jewish National Fund, responsible for the confiscation of thousands of hectares of Palestinian land in 1948. Now 40,000 Jewish Israelis live in Nazareth Illit, covering twice the land mass of Palestinian Nazareth, whose population stands at over 65,000.Now that the two Nazareths have been absolved in to one municipality, it is the Jewish policy-makers of Nazareth Illit that of course, acquisition the area’s budget. Until recently there were no emergency services available in Palestinian Nazareth, and as a result there is a high rate of petty crime and drug use. Schools receive less than half the funding of their counterparts in Jewish Nazareth, roads and services go unrepaired, and unemployment benefits are all but denied to Palestinian job-seekers.The small Palestinian village of AynMahil has been entirely encircled by the construction of Nazareth Illit, cutting farmers off from land, roads and services, particularly on Shabbat.
These are some of the kids from Al-Araqib, an unrecognised Bedouin village in the Negev, the desert in the south of Israel where I spent some time.Living in an unrecognised village means that although you are an Israeli citizen that pays taxes to the state, the state does not recognise your place of residence, and as a result you have no access to basic services, such as electricity, water or health care.Many of Israel’s Bedouin population faces the options of either forced assimilation in to an isolated housing scheme in the Negev, a policy designed to apparently “domesticate” and control the Bedouin population by Israeli authorities, or scrape out an existence on what land they have left available to them in unrecognised villages. Today approximately 110,000 Palestinian Bedouins live in unrecognised villages in Israel.
This was taken at a demonstration held by villagers in Al-Araqib on the annual celebration of Land Day, when Palestinians across Israel and the OPT celebrate the traditional right to their land – whether or not they can be present on it.
Then at 5:30 on the 27th of July this year, a force of Israeli bulldozers, helicopters and 1,500 police entered the village with one mission: to raze it to the ground. While this is the first time it has occurred in Al-Araqib, the neighboring unrecognised village of TwailabuJarwal has been bulldozed by Israeli forces no less than forty times in the last three years.The Negev is also covered in vast swathes of Jewish National Fund tree-planting initiatives, covering the remains of Palestinian villages destroyed in 1948 – including three dedicated to Australian Prime Ministers. Other Palestinian villages have been built over by new exclusively Jewish colonies. Together, this aggressive campaign of demographic change clearly consitutes part of Israel’s attempts to Judaise the Negev region, through policies of land confiscation and population transfer similar to its tactics in the Galilee.These practices, in addition to outright bureaucratic discrimination in the Nazareth area bear an incredibly striking resemblance to apartheid in the OPT. The role of Jewish residents in Palestinian areas are similar to that in the West Bank, and make it difficult to deny the existence of settlement-like projects inside Israel, raising questions of what consititutes a settlement – is it just within the 1967 borders?
Mohammed
Sadly, I was unable to witness the events that unfolded the day the Al-Kurds house was taken as I was arrested for merely filming the events within the first 30mnI arrived only ten days earlier I’ll never forget my first night in SJ. The streets were dark warmed by the orange street lights and the fires that burnt at either protest tent. Tears were hard to hold back as I met the families who were evicted or facing eviction from their houses. However the neighborhood patriarchs laughter was easily coaxed and warm familial feeling soon gripped meSalih, Nasser,NabilI was only met to be in Palestine for a few months, yet the residents of SJ lived this life each and every day. So, I stayed awake watching for settlers or Israeli military to invade or attack while the youth of the neighborhood dozed next to the fire. I was able to see some wonderful sunrises over the hills surrounding SJ. The morning rays had a way of driving the cold from my bonesSoon the nieghborhood would rouse and I was given tea in the Al-Kurds’ tent listening to the Koran sung on the radio. It was much louder then the booty-bouncin’ beats played by the settlers copy their torah and talmud 5 meters awayAnd then children soon came around to play and joke with us foreignersArrested during the take overMy first nightShort time not living itRefugees, once before, now threatened again
They Resist Eviction and Injustice Our Two CampfiresAl-Ghawi’s Evicted – Aug 2nd 2009 just over 50 years Watch Settlers Go in and out of their home all dayAl-Kurds – Endure the same agony as the Al-Ghawi’s, but never able to live in the home Expanding family, need to build on their property No Permit was given, they built anyway The paid for the front partition as they were putting bars on the windows, told illegal and that they were unable to live. Now settlers occupy the illegal building
Refugees from Nakba, 1948, went to Jerusalem and were given land by the Jordanian government.The UN provided food aid until 1956 when the refugees of SJ traded their food aid for UN Subsidized homesHere the same families lived until the present day.1967 occupation. Permanent residency status with Jordanian (temporary) passportsSome old enough to remember and those descendants of the exiled are threatened to become refugees againHow questions
Settlers are only half of the problem in SJThe settlers cite allegedly forged ottoman era land claimsAuthenticity of no consequence in regards to justiceIsrael picks and chooses what will proliferate the ethnic cleansing from the ottoman-era and the british mandate. Makes up what else it needsViolent M16, Vomit, Sexual Harrassment, theft, Tactics of the settlers – vomit, sex harassment, theft, intimidation –videoISM’s roleVideoing settlers to de-escalateInternational accompaniment not as effective as elsewhereUse allegedly-forged ottoman eraOne-way right of return
The other legal battle is fought with the State of Israel, whose racist laws prevent Jerusalemite’s families from expandingManufacturing a housing crisisBuilding was denied to the Al-Kurds Their home was in Green Zone. Shimon Halzidik 28 other families A common tactic
Municipality order 11555 Stands to turn Silwan into a National amusement parkAfter my arrest Taught English here Worked with WadiHilwah Theatre, Music, Languages, culture thrive?, 220 homes slated for demolitionsDisplace 1500 Palestinians
The fabled city of David is thought to be below Silwan, just out side the walls of the old city Excavations began in the 70’s, with it the destruction of the Palestinian Culture Unbeknownst to the residents Excavations in the beginning were scientific, careful and done with the consent of the Palestinians in silwan Fruit and lemonade sales to archaeologists and internationals Reference to the signThe times they are achangin’ Now, cultural imperialism translate into a theft of homes, avarice and racism reference the sign showing what Silwan will look like when it is the “city of david”
The Excavations now are done in a sloppy and hasty manner This brings into question scientific value of the research These excavations have resulted in the collapse of many streets and foundations of homes Israel has done nothing to alleviate these problems School children have had to walk in holes made by these zealous zionist researchers and in some cases jump over them on their way to and from school. Homes and streets collapse is not enough.Silwan under constant occupation by Settler security, Jerusalem Police Department, and the IOF Fully automatic assault rifles, surveillance cameras, and soldiers are familiar sight for the residents of Silwan, “protecting” the tourist visiting “city of David” recreation park, these tourists are completely unaware of the Plight of the indigenous residents of the area, nor that their tour is the cause of the strife
Hasty excavations and High security aren’t the only problems facing Silwan Settlers have minipulated residents and laws to usurp land and homes The founder of Elad, racist settler org, David Be’eri befriends Musa Abbisi who lived near an entrance to the tunnels thought to be the from the City of David Brought tourists through his home after exploring the excavation site. Purchased Tea and refreshments Through the relationship, David Be’eri was able to exploit the racist laws of Israel to deem Musa’s home “absentee” Property He was evicted and Elad settlers occupied his home in 1991 A common tactic used by Israel and Settler Organizations In Silwan if any of the male descendents move from the house in which they were born, the home is declared “absentee property” and becomes property of the state of Israel. Sold for a nominal price to settler orgs Their inability to relocate causes a severe housing crisis compacted by the law that declares it illegal for residents of Silwan to build more than four story additions on their homes, if Israel grants them permits to build
Despite, the laws that create massive housing and humanitarian crisis for palestinians, settlers live extra-legal lives of comfortBeit Yonatan is easily recognizable because it is the tallest building in Silwan Draped with a long Israeli flag, it has become a symbol of the injustice in the community 7 stories tall, it was built illegally The State of Israel ordered the inhabitants evicted and the building razedNirBarkat, Mayor of Jerusalem, refused to comply, hired an expensive team of lawyers, expired all legal processes, yet still will not evict the squat While settlers have carte blanche to break every law (a poignant case for whom the laws apply), Palestinian residents have their homes demolished by bulldozers often there is no warning or a very brief one
Despite Israel’s monopoly of force violence and power Silwan still finds the strength to resist Demonstrations are met with rapacious violence Tear gas, home evasions, rubber-coated steel bullets and arrests These have resulted in numerous injuries and loss of vision Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan are mere micorcasms for what is happening in Palestine but specifically East Jerusalem
Qaladiya is the glaring example of the injustice in E. JeruIf there were demonstrations in and around Bethlehem on Fridays, some of us would travel through Jerusalem to get to the south It was a terrible scene People stripped of their dignity, masses of bodies funneled through a 1 by 10 meter cage, bodies crammed and squished only to be further humiliated by Israeli soldiers demanding them to lift this garment or take that one off It was ugly and the anger emanating from those people hurrying to pray was misdirected Aimed those next to them, competing to get through as fast as possible Never did I see them berating the 19 year-old children laughing at their degradationThe impacts of the wall extend far beyond religious freedom more than ninety percent of the OPT that are trapped between the Green Line and the Wall are in East Jerusalem And as the closure of the West Bank became a perpetual reality, the economic ripples could be clearly seen. Unemployment rates rise to 30% and poverty levels have the potential of increasing to 70% In the beginning though qalandiya was a place that my solidarity seldom took me
My time in Sheikh Jarrah was short After 3 weeks spending nearly 16 hours a day with the residents. I was arrested for the 2nd time Demonstrations from the beginning Drum tutorials, children 11thdecember, devolved into police riot, pepper spray arrests, beatings into the occupied partition – describe Hours in the cold Strip search, palestinian I saw, his culpalbility Before the Court, Guards making plans, Israelis sneaking internationals into court room The judge’s discussion, withdrawal of arrest, judge leaves, devolution in court room lecterns crashing, lawyers shouting, sitting, thrown into cell, shackled, thrown into van kidnapped Deportation, Interrogation, invitation Tel-Aviv, no money, no phone, no conditionsNext week No conditions, whatever story I want to tell Confused for Israeli, 4 hours in jail without charge, m16 testicals no strip search, Israeli telling me about democracy in Israel They came and took me first, no passport, no ID, civilian car Interrogation, “terminal”, Ramlegivon 16 men, 2 toilets, 2 tv’s, size, cockroahces, food exercise, lockdown, degradation of men If these men had been jewish??? Indefinite sentences, my privilege, they were not enemies of the state
The Prison sentences the Palestinians endure are also indefinite, but much more brutal Torture is institutionalized practice in Israel, legalized through high court proceedings. Therefore, Agents administering torture have full impunity None of these agents have ever been convicted of abuse of power unsurprising as those who conduct the investigations are the same people who administer the torture Manifests itself in beatings, sleep deprivation, humiliation, isolation, position contortion These “interrogations” can last up to six months in which time the detainee is not legally required to have a charge for his or her detention After which time, the detainee can be put in administration detention This detention is not retributive, but preventive. It happens under the suspicion that the detainee may commit a crime in the future. Administrative detention last 6 months but can be renewed an infinite number of times The longest time spent in Adminstrative detention was 8 years and the current longest time spent is 3 years 40 % of the male palestinian population has been in prison for varying lengths of timeEmprisonment a tool of control 16 year-old boys – Fallacious charges, stone-throwing, other boys giving names under torture
Compared to the conditions of prisons for palestinians, I was spent my incarceration in luxury The are usually forced to sleep in dirty bedding that is infested with bugs or rodents The food they eat is almost always inadequate (clear violation of the Geneva conventions) they are forced to buy food from the canteen, if they have money, rely on other prisoners’ solidarity and ability to share food or on their families to bring them foodFamily visits are inhibited by another Israeli breach of the 4thgeneva conventions which states that is illegal to move prisoners outside their countries to “serve” sentences As many palestinians and their families aren’t allowed to travel outside the West Bank family visits, even to bring food to a starving family member, are a rare occurrence. Adminstrative detention is renewed by a military tribunal every six months Those who preside over the process lack any legal background and these processes regularly fall outside the realm of what is legal under international lawUpon my release from my 2nd and short arrest, I went to an ISM meeting to discover that one of the main Palestinian organizers in Nablus had been kidnapped and placed into this vile system
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The hilltop village of NabiSalih sits about 20km northwest of Ramallah. In Jan 2010 the halmish settlement usurped the spring that provide sustenance to their village and its crops Israel ruled that this was illegal and the Residents of An NabiSalih are entitled to use the spring, despite this they are met with vehement repression whenever they attempt to reach the spring. This repression comes mainly from the Israeli armyAs Bridget said home demolitions are set to begin in ANS The village is populated by the Tamimi clan, most of the have light eyes, not rare in palestine, but uncommon and striking to see it in so many in such a small village One of the homes set to be demolished is Bassem’s. His family always welcomed we ajanab warmly on days of demonstrtatio. After some night raids in the village, I spent my first night there before the day of a demonstration. As the night wore on, Bassem asked with his piercing blue eyes that had seen 2 intifadas “did you bring your track suit?” standing in his black track suit, I began to think I had broken some taboo by not having a track suit with me. “no, I must have forgotten mine tonight” I was given a black track suit that mirrored his with a striking similarity The next morning I awoke to his wife cooking breakfast for all the Israeli and international activists that would soon descend upon their village to stand in solidarity with their struggle. While at the same time encouraging their eldest son while he made his first slingshot
After she was done cooking she would join us each day in the demonstration ANS is one of the smallest villages in Palestine ~ 400 residents yet the participants in the demo usually numbered around 100 those to young and those who were passed the age of demonstrating would watch those in the streets
Despite the best efforts of us in the streets trying to reach the stolen spring we’ve never made it the IOF would use brutal means to halt the demonstration Many times they invade a home and use its rooftop as a sniper position to shoot rubber-coated steel bullets from distance so short they are illegal under international law They would also invade and shoot tear gas canisters through windows inside homes The young and old would have to escape through their second-story windows In an attempt to stop the invasions the villagers assisted by Israelis and internationals would build barricades consisting of boulders, dumpsters and scrap metal in order to inhibit the israeli military from invading As I was setting down boulder one time I looked up to see a 40 mm tear gas canister flying at my head I had enough time to move but it burnt my arm as it passed Another woman was shot in the leg, nearly breaking her shin over the next few days a hematoma developed that enveloped her whole leg
Many are not as lucky as she or I were In complete disregard for international law the IOF has a history of abusing tear gas rather than using it for its intended crowd dispersal device, they use it as a lethal projectile During a demonstration against the flotilla attacks on Gaza, emilyHenochwitz, an american Israeli woman watched as two tear canisters sped passed either side of her. The third found her left eye and it had to be removed. Many Palestinians, Israelis and internationals have either been killed or maimed by this practice, however the IOF employs it with great regularityRepression takes many forms And takes place inbetween the demosOrganizers in An nabisalih threatened with home demolitionsNot the only form of repression used against organizers in the OPT
In spite of these gross and public violations of human rights and international law, the manufacturer of Israeli Tear Gas has no intention of halting sales CSI makes this tear gas. An american corporation supplying everyone from police depts to the American military.If the tactics used by the Israeli military were empolyed in the states public outcry would run rampant and the violation would be condemnedHowever, this is another example of the amorality of neoliberal global capitalism taking precedent over respect for international law, human rights and morality.Many coporations take advantage of lax laws in foreign countries to produce products whose production requires toxic chemicals that are illegal in the country in which the corporation is basedLike Dow chemical exploiting the ineptitude of policy-makers in Bhopal, CSI takes advantage of Israel’s massive consumption of tear gas with disregard for how it is deployed nor the grave consequences this has for those on whom it’s usedBut Multinationals don’t merely exploit palestine as market to use its products of repression They use it as a testing ground for new weaponsThe LRAD system causes nausea, pain and confusion. It made its debut in Bil’in years ago, but was used for the first time in North America in Pittsburgh in 2009 poignantly the demonstrators were rallying at the against the masters of globalization, the G20. Tactics, techniques and tools of repression are being developed and exported in and from IsraelHow do these human rights violations manifest themselves?Tear gas bullets
An Attempt at bottom up democracyNo organization in some far off city telling villages how to resistStructureDifferent PartiesLocal, organic, decentralizedEach village has one that directs the resistanceTranslates into demonstrations, direct actions, steadfast resistance
They’re expanding!At least one new demonstration each month after I was released from prisonThe Bethlehem areaBeitJalaFollowed by WalajaAl Ma’sara demonstrating for yearsGetting to together to coordinate actionsYouth Against Settlements - HebronOpen Shuheda StreetThe dots of resistance on our map were convergingPressure release DemosOld CityQalandiyaEast JerusalemRamallah
Inside Israel the very same apartheid is manifested through different legal and bureaucratic strategies. Dahamash is an unrecognised Palestinian village between Lod & Ramle.It is categorised as a Green Zone or agricultural area, which has enabled the mayor ofRamle to issue 70 demolition orders to residents of Dahamash, in relation to the new Jewish-Israeli neighborhood of Ramle set for construction nearby.
The Global IntifadaCan’t stay contained in PalestineBDS - Direct Actions, Demonstrations, etc
WinsBudrusBi’lin/jayousEveryday that Palestinians farm, remain in their homes or remain in protest is a successSteadfastness is the most important and heartening part of the resistanceIraq Burin, 30 dunams, settlers have stopped attackingMe
