1- International Activists to Dismantle Gaza Strip
Roadblock - ISM Release - 2- Please Protest against
violence by the Israeli Army against a British
humanitarian worker. 3- Please Take action for Omar
-ISM coordinator under adminstrative detention 4-The
demolition of the market in Nazlet Issa village near
Tulkarem - Lissa Nessen 5- Excuse me, Do you mind
walking to your death? - Amer Abdelhadi 6-Articles
worth looking at (Ghassan Andoni)
1- International Activists to Dismantle Gaza Strip Roadblock
At 10 am on Saturday International Activists will attempt to dismantle the roadblock on Saleh ed-Deen Road (the Western Road) between Rafah and Khan Yunis.
The Moraj area, through which the Saleh ed-Deen Road passes, is straddled by an outgrowth of the Gush Katif Settlement (one of the largest in the Occupied Territories) and is where the Israeli Army bases a large portion of the tanks and bulldozers they use for military incursions and demolitions throughout the cities and refugee camps of the Gaza Strip.
The army has declared the Moraj Area a closed military zone, cutting communications between Rafah and the Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis and forcing ambulances to take a circuitous eastern route which extends the journey from 7 minutes to up to half an hour.
The activists of the International Solidarity Movement based in Rafah have chosen the road block as a target for their protest because it represents an outrage of the Geneva Convention, United Nations Resolutions 194 and 242 and the human rights of the indigenous Palestinian population of the Gaza Strip.
For further information contact Olivier on 055 874 693.
Michael Shaik ISM Media Coordinator Phone: +972-2-2774602 Cell: +972-67-628439 web: http://www.palsolidarity.org ============================================================================= 2- Please Protest against violence by the Israeli Army against a British humanitarian worker.
On Tuesday 21 January, Anne Gwynne, a 65 year old British humanitarian worker in Nablus saw two Palestinian photographers being beaten and kicked by Israeli soldiers. When she went to their assistance and tried to persuade the soldiers to cease their violence they began to kick her and hit her in the back with their rifle butts. While the violence inflicted upon Anne is mild compared to that inflicted upon Palestinian civilians on a daily basis, it represents a serious threat to the safety of all international humanitarian activists working in the Occupied Palestine and must not go unchallenged. Should the soldiers of the Israeli Occupying Army believe that they can assault and intimidate international activists with impunity the whole mission of the ISM will be imperiled. Please contact your Member of Parliament and demand that the Foreign Office issue a formal protest to the Israeli government deploring this violence by the Israeli Army against a British humanitarian worker and calling upon them to respect the non combatant status of international humanitarian volunteers working in the territories. You can access the email of your MP at http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/alms.htm#s. Please also forward this message to your friends and anyone you know who is concerned about human rights in Occupied Palestine. For soldiers to assault a 65 woman under any circumstances is an outrage. Her assault by the soldiers of an Army that is illegally occupying and colonizing the West Bank represents a threat to all humanitarian volunteers working in Palestine.
Michael Shaik ISM Media Coordinator Phone: +972-2-2774602 Cell: +972-67-628439 web: http://www.palsolidarity.org ============================================================================= 3- Please Take action for Omar -ISM coordinator under adminstrative detention.
Dear All,
Here is the latest news of Omar for those who have kept up with his situation please excuse the repartition in the main report aimed at those who are just coming on board. Amnesty International has taken up Omar’s case and you will eventually be able to read about him at . http://web.amnesty.org/web/web.nsf/pages/IOT_detention
Three human rights groups have tried to visit Omar at Ofra with no success. Addameer, the Mandela Institute and the Red Cross have all been denied access to the prisoners in recent attempts.
TAKE ACTION
Please write to the Israeli authorities (See Addresses at the bottom) describing what has happened to Omar as an example, but urging them to immediately and unconditionally release all administrative detainees held on account of their non-violent political opinions or activities, and to release the others unless they are to be charged with a recognizable criminal offence and promptly tried in a proper court of law in accordance with internationally accepted standards for fair trial.
Personal details:-
Name; Omar Ibrahiem Saud Titi Identity number 940 388 978 Age: 30 Birthday May 5 1972, Marital status: Single Address: to be supplied later Family mobile telephone number; 00972 (0) 55694175 Arrested December 23 2002 at 3-30pm.
At the time he was accompanying international peacekeepers at a checkpoint going in to Azmut village. The IDF soldiers took and checked his ID as they do with all Palestinians entering or leaving the village. After holding him for some time they said that he was a wanted man and arrested him, blindfolded and tied his hands behind his back before putting him in to the back of an APC. I heard from his lawyer at Addameer that he had been beaten up by the soldiers that had arrested him while being transported in the APC.
For some time after that Omar's ware-a-bouts ware rather vague as the IDF would not reveal his whereabouts. At first we believed that he was in Ofra as fellow prisoners in Hawwara had told us he had been taken there, and Addameer had been given papers informing them that he would be appearing in court on the 5th January at Ofra.
Addameer’s lawyer Mohammed Hussein asked for an adjournment due to the prisoner’s strike and his unavailability on that date. The Case was adjourned until the 7th January but they did not bring Omar to court at the appointed time and the hearing did not take place. It now seams that Omar was still being held at Hawwara military base in solitary confinement until the 7th when he was transferred to Ofra to late to appear in court.
Omar eventually appeared in court on the 13th January and was given 6 months Administrative detention he had spent three weeks in detention. In a travesty of justice the military judge said that in the secret dossier that he was given there was ample evidence that Omar was active and that he posed a danger to the security of the area, and that he had no hesitation in giving him the full 6 months. When the lawyer pointed out that Omar was working with the "International Solidarity Movement" ISM and this was a political decision to prevent Palestinians working with peace groups rather than anything to do with security the military judge became angry and unhelpful refusing to listen to any more arguments. The layer said that Omar was well and understood the situation and was handling it well. That he understood why he was being detained and that it was a political decision.
We had hoped that the lawyer could give Omar 150 shekels for spending, which is allowed by the military prison authorities, but the request was refused. This means that Omar still has no money for cigarettes and other things that are sold to the prisoners by the solders that guard them! He says that the solders that first arrested him abused him, and that this happened while being transported in the APC.
But since then he has not been mistreated either at Hawara or Ofra. While he is at Ofra it is imposable for anyone other than a lawyer to visit him. But if he is transferred to Ansar III then family members with Jerusalem ID and travel papers might be allowed to visit. The lawyer also asked about his health and although he did mention his chronic stomach complaint he said he did not need to see a doctor. It is unlikely that we can get any medicine in to him as the military say that their doctors will look after the prisoners and supply any treatment that is necessary. Addameer the prisoners support and human rights association whose lawyer represented Omar in court on the 13th Jan say they will appeal the case and if Omar is willing eventually take it to the High Court.
1175 Palestinians are currently placed under administrative detention, while at least six thousand individuals have been placed under this detention since April 2002. Administrative detention, or internment, entails the imprisonment of individuals, without charge or trial, initially for a period up to six months but possibly renewable indefinitely.
Administrative detention was renewed for 63 % of prisoners in 2002. In most cases, the renewal occur in the last few hours of the detention, in a few cases detainees were rearrested again immediately after their release and before they could reach their homes and meet their families. The judges in these cases are military commanders of specific ranks, who are entitled to issue administrative detention orders against individuals alleged to form danger to the public security or public interest of state of Israel.
Administrative detention was used in Palestine during the British Mandate under Articles 108 and 111 of the Defense (Emergency) Regulations of 1945. These regulations give a military commander the power to issue an administrative order without limiting its duration, nor prescribing rules of evidence, nor restricting the power of the commander.
These regulations were implicitly repealed by the British at the eve of termination of their Mandate on Palestine in 1948 and were not part of the law in force in West Bank during the Jordanian rule. Regardless of this fact, The Israeli occupation authorities insisted on using these regulations as part of the local law.
Please continue to write, e-mail, fax and phone your protest to the Israeli authorities and contact your local Israeli embassy asking why they are using these illegal behaviors. =======+++===== Here are the details that you will need for Omar
Omar Titi, ID number 940 388 978, born 5th May, 1972. Arrested on 23rd December, near Nablus at a checkpoint into Azmut. Currently held at Ofra Prison
ADDRESSES
Ariel Sharon Prime Minister and Minister of Immigration Absorption Office of the Prime Minister 3 Kaplan Street P O Box 187 Kiryat Ben-Gurion Jerusalem 91919, Israel Fax: +972 2 651 2631 Telex: 25279 MPRES IL E-mail: rohm@pmo.gov.il
Uzi Landau Minister of Public Security Ministry of Public Security (Police) Kiryat Hamemshala PO Box 18182 Jerusalem 91181, Israel Fax: +972 2 584 7872
Meir Sheetrit Minister of Justice Ministry of Justice 29 Salah al-Din Street Jerusalem 91010, Israel Fax: +972 2 628 8618 E-mail: sar@justice.gov.il
Eli Yishai Minister of the Interior and Deputy Prime Minister Ministry of Interior 2 Kaplan Street PO Box 6158 Kiryat Ben Gurion Jerusalem 91061, Israel Fax: +972 2 670 1628 E-mail: sar@moin.gov.il
Elyakim Rubinstein Attorney-General/Legal Advisor to the Government Ministry of Justice 29 Salah al-Din Street Jerusalem 91010, Israel Fax: +972 2 628 5438
Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) tel: (00972) 36 080 339 Fax: 00972 36 080 343
=========+++======== This appeal is presented by: Dave Rolstone, Hamdden, Efailwen, Clynderwen, Pembrokeshire. SA66 7UZ Tel. :- 01994-419-678 Mobile:- 078166 12957 e-mail :- boats@hamdden.co.uk ============+++========= ============================================================================= 4-The demolition of the market in Nazlet Issa village near Tulkarem - Lissa Nessen
Sunday morning we received a call about demolition orders for the market in Nazlat Issa, a Palestinian village north of Tulkarem on the Green line. The location of Nazlat Issa along the Green Line has allowed for a vibrant center for economic activity because of the frequent visits to local businesses by Palestinian Israeli customers and the easy transportation of goods into Israel.
Nazlat Issa is one of the 15 villages northernnorhtern West Bank) that will be situated between the Green line and the wall Israel is building to physically separate Israel from the Palestinians. Nazlat Issa and the other villages will be isolated within Israel, completely separated from friends and relatives, social services, work, schools, medical care, etc... in neighboring villages, unable to enter Israel or enter the West Bank - stuck in a virtual no-man's land, in somewhat of an Israeli prison, reinforcing Israeli control and siege.
Israeli authorities have ordered the demolition of nearly 200 shops and six homes in Nazlat Issa. The reason given by Israel for the demolition orders is "lack of building permission".
Many Palestinians echoed my thoughts on the real motivation. The Israeli government is destroying the fabric of Palestinian society on many different levels. Through the systematic methods of "enforcing" occupation, through land confiscation, illegal Israeli settlement construction and expansion, bipass roads, curfews, closures, home demolitions, restrictions on movement, etc... Israel is creating unbearable living and economic conditions. There is power behind creating such conditions under which people are forced to move (transfer?)...
Monday, the Israeli army came and saw international and Israeli peace groups present as well as the hundreds of Palestinians working to pack up their merchandise in boxes and put their things on trucks to send off to their homes in the village. Mothers, daughters, brothers, sons, friends. The whole family was there working to clear their things out... a dental office, a pharmacy, a produce market, a hardware store, a butcher, a toy store, a falafel stand, a glass shop, a shoe store...Amidst the thunder, lighting, and rain, shopowners and their families packed things up and even started taking down the walls of their buildings. As it got dark and the military and media dwindled, the internationals headed back to have some food and find our sleeping arrangements for the night. We met with a group of local men and discussed the possible hypothetical situations and actions of the following day. After much discussion, and word of 5 arrests in the village, we split up into working groups. I was in the early morning lookout group, so I went to bed shortly thereafter.
Tuesday morning, I went down with Radhika and Dunya (my little affinity group)... 6:30 AM when we arrived down at the market area, there were 6 military jeeps present and bulldozers were arriving on flat-bed trucks. The soldiers came up to us where we were standing under a balcony trying to keep dry from the rain. They notified us that the street that we were standing on where the shops were was a 'closed military zone' for the day. He showed us the order (a photocopied "fill in the blank" sort of a sheet) which confirmed that the entire village of Nazlat Issa and the village next to it, Baqa Ash Sharqia was a closed military zone. We made some calls to the house where we had stayed to notify the other internationals to come.
Women were walking their children to school, cars were driving through the "closed military zone," and I notified the soldiers who had "kindly" asked me to leave that I would leave when they stopped allowing Jewish settlers coming from inside the West Bank through the checkpoint into Israel. They told me that in 5 minutes they were going to impose the military order.
Little by little more internationals came, more bulldozers came, some press, and soon following them came some shopkeepers to continue to remove goods. The military started pushing people out of the area. Radhika, Dunya, and I headed into a shop to help the frantic family wrap up their goods and begin to box things up.
I tried to think of it as meditation...Picking up the glass bowls, pitchers, vases, glasses Wrapping them in the paper, Putting them in boxes. I began to wonder what it was like for my family in Poland The men with the guns were coming, and the time was not known...I began to wonder what future this destruction will bring. I don't know if they saw me broken, the tears in my eyes. I felt my heart breaking as the woman by the door bowed her head and lowered her eyes, with shoulders fallen down like teardrops. My heart has been broken before...Many brush off the pain. The ache has dispersed through my body.
I called Drew who told me that all the Palestinians were being cleared out of "the zone" and that Radhika Dunya and I were the only internationals left in the area. Just then the electricity was cut, so the bulldozing could begin. We continued with the light from the open door, until the light was blocked by 6 soldiers, with their guns pointed standing outside the doorway telling us to leave, to lock the door and get out of the area. Not defeated just a little undone, we walked out of the shop. One of the men who we were with handed me the keys to his shop, and told me his brother was still inside and I needed to go give him the keys. I didn't quite understand, but I turned around and took one step back from where we had come, and a soldier grabbed my arm. He told me, "I told you to walk away". I said, "DON'T TOUCH ME! THERE IS A MAN AND THE SHOP... I AM GOING BACK TO GIVE HIM THE KEYS!" Another one pushed me came from behind and started pushing me the other way and told me "I don't really care about any man... and I told you to walk away!" At this point I screamed and began to cry, "What is the matter with you? There is a man in the shop who is afraid to come out! His brother asked me to get him out of the shop! I have his keys! Please don't grab me!"
I search for the fear and the kindness in their faces. A slight ease in the grip, "Let go of me!" Their grip loosened and I was free...He told me he doesn't think, he just does what he's told to do. I can still hear him cursing at me as I wander off.
Hysterically crying, I walk to shop. I met the man and escorted him back out to where the soldiers had left me. Now a military police man joined up with the soldiers. He came up to the hysterically crying me... He grabs my arm from behind and tells me its time to go... This is when I really lose it. "I don't know about you, but I'm a Jew, the way you are treating these people makes me sick... and I can't believe what you are doing! My grandmother was forced out of her home in Poland under the threat of weapons by the Nazis. What is happening here makes me SICK!" This violence makes me believe that this violence is what they need to be in control.
Under heavy military protection and in just under 4 hours, 60 shops, 1/3 of the market of Nazlat Issa was destroyed. The jeeps left, the bulldozers left, the media left... Operation Wanton Destruction was completed. ============================================================================= 5- Excuse me, Do you mind walking to your death? - Amer Abdelhadi
Palestinians under curfew did not feel relieved after the Israeli High court issued a restriction order to ban soldiers from using civilians as human shields unless permission is granted by the person(s) performing the human shield themselves. The Israeli media never mentioned that the soldiers do not USUALLY seek permission to make people walk in the firing line and enter places that are likely to blow up either by booby traps made by Palestinians or by the army themselves. “It is like asking a woman if she agrees to be raped before the actual action is made. She can never say no at gun point nor would she ever grant permission†Someone said.
Nonetheless, the usage of civilians as human shields continued, business as usual. Samer Sharif was abducted in the street while trying to reach the nearest shops to buy bread for his family. Samer, just under 20, together with a 16 year old boy were made to climb on top of the army jeep hood and hold on tight to the frame of the front windscreen. They were told that they will help to stop stone throwers from throwing stones at the jeep.
The soldiers, who accelerated the jeep at a high speed, started shooting from a little hole made for the purpose just behind where the boys were horrifically hanging. The screams coming out of the boys never slowed down the soldiers who were enjoying the scene and laughing loudly about it.
The boys’ nightmare ended as soon as two reporters preparing to use their cameras to document the ordeal appeared on the scene. The soldiers beat up the reporters and specifically threatened to take their eyes out if the scene was shown anywhere media.
Samer was then taken to a near by school, beaten up very hard using machine guns butts, legs, hands and sticks before he was released. He walked a few meters before he fell unconscious. Samer didn’t know what happened to the other boy that shared the horrible experience with or how he got to hospital. Samer suffered several concussions all around his body, medical sources said.
The decision by the high court did not mean much to Palestinians as the death toll of innocent civilians kept rising. The same court had previously issued a restraining order to stop the army from using civilians as human shields after many human right organizations took the matter to the public.
“When did they ever ask permission to do anything†someone said “I do not think they need a permission when they are holding you at gun pointâ€.
The curfew that started on June 20 is still enforced on the city of Nablus. The Israeli army is using new tactics such as ripping the nails out of innocent men by appliers. The use of excessive force is rising all the time. The world is watching, yet has done little.
Amer Abdelhadi
Radio Tariq Al Mahabbeh TMFM 97.7 Nablus Under Siege ============================================================================ 6-Articles worth looking at (Ghassan Andoni)
1-Nablus: 'Mountain of Fire' Under Total Lockdown http://palestinechronicle.com/article.php?story=20030123081314274
2-Without Justice, There Can Be No Peace http://palestinechronicle.com/article.php?story=20030123073623976
3-Peace Now: NIS 2.2 billion went to settlements in 2001 http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=255125&contrassID=2&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0
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