Palestinagrupperna i Sverige

14 July 2008

At 1:30 a.m. on 10 July 2008, Israeli soldiers pulled up by a seven-apartment building in the Hawuz district of Hebron where members of the Amro, Abu Khalaf, Husseini and Butran families live. Through a loudspeaker, soldiers called out the names of men inside and ordered them to come out. The building’s owner, Samir Mohammad Amro, recognized the commander, who told him, ”We need to look for weapons and we will turn this house upside down.” Soldiers then threw five sound bombs into the building, causing general panic among the seven families—including twenty-six children—and ransacked the apartments, saying they were looking for weapons. They flipped couches and chairs over and slashed the cushions with knives (but not in such a way that the gashes would have revealed hidden weapons.) After pulling framed verses from the Quran off the walls in all of the apartments, soldiers stepped on them, smashing the glass. The soldiers also brought dogs and produced a machine that dug through the sewers.

The military forced all the men in the building to stand outside and demanded they strip to their underwear, refusing to allow family members to bring blankets to cover the men. One man from the building told CPTers that the soldier pointing his rifle at him kept dropping off to sleep and he was afraid the soldier would accidentally pull the trigger. Soldiers beat one man, Ashraf Abu Khalef—who was already suffering from neck problems—into unconsciousness. When they left at 4:30 a.m., they took Abu Khalef into custody on a stretcher. Soldiers also stole Euros, Shekels and Jordanian Dinar from the families in an amount totaling about $1,000, as well as most of the families’ cellphones and computers.

One family member was visiting from Germany with her children. The mother told CPTers Tarek Abuata, Kathleen Kern and visitor John Mark Stratford that her fifteen and sixteen-year-old daughters had said, ”We’ve only seen this in the movies.” One boy repeatedly soiled himself out of fear.

Despite the fact that almost no one among the families had slept that night, they served coffee, tea and juice to the CPTers, Stratford and an Italian woman who came to document the invasion. The assembled people generally agreed they were still in shock—and that that was why they could behave calmly and crack jokes. Some of the discussion turned to places Palestinians could go in the world where they would not have to live with terrors such as midnight home invasions. ”Find countries we can live in and we will go,” one man said, but then he added, ”If we go to the moon, Israeli soldiers will follow us with their guns.

Video footage showing the aftermath of the invasion and interviews with family members is available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEYD0aFgq5I

Photos of the wreckage are available at: http://cpt.org/gallery/08-07-10-Home-invasion-in-Hawuz

Date report written on: July 11th, 2008
The International Women’s Peace Service, Haris, Salfit, Palestine.
Tel:- (09)-2516-644.
Email:- iwps@palnet.com

On Friday July 11th, IWPS volunteers joined the villagers of Jayyus, other international activists, Israelis and local Palestinian government officials in a peaceful demonstration against the Apartheid Wall. Jayyus, located in the Qalqilya district of the West Bank, was one of the first villages to be affected by the construction of this ”separation barrier”: over 78% of Jayyus’ land (9,800 dunums), as well as 2,000 olive trees were confiscated by Israel for the construction of the wall in 2002.

Farmers who wish to access the fields lying beyond it must now apply for difficult to obtain permits and pass through one of three gates in order to reach their land. This has caused numerous financial problems in the village’s families, as most are now cut off from their main source of income, agriculture.

Due to a 2006 ruling by the Israeli high court stating that settlements were to be a considered a security priority, Israeli army officials were asked to draw up new routes for the separation wall. The new plans for Jayyus still mean a loss of 6000 dunums of land, and further disadvantage the village by not including access gates to the fields which would remain behind the wall.

The Jayyus community has until July 28th to respond to this new proposal, but the message they sent Israel as they stood in front of one of the gates today was loud and clear: remove all sections of the Apartheid Wall!

Jayyus is calling for international support in removing the Apartheid Wall from its land as well as from all of the occupied Palestinian territories.

 July 9th marked the 4th anniversary of the International Court of Justice’s hearing, which deemed the wall illegal. Israel has yet to remove any part of it

For more information, please contact the mayor of Jayyus, Mohammed Taher Jabber, by phone at 0599-886861 or via email at baladietjayyous@yahoo.com

Uttalande från Niâ’lin Popular Committee Against the ApartheidAs of today, Tuesday 8th of July 2008, the military curfew in Niâ’lin has been lifted. In response to statements released earlier today by an Israeli army spokeswoman claiming that ”There were discussions between the villagers and the army commanders and they decided to lift the curfew,” and that ”The villagers promised not to protest and to keep the village quiet” (Reuters 7/8/08), the Niâ’lin Popular Committee Against the Apartheid Wall wants to clarify the following:

The Popular Committee, who is representing the Niâ’lin municipality, political parties, institutions and organizations in Niâ’lin, has not been in any discussions with any Israeli army commanders and has not made a promise to the Israeli army that there will be no more protests.

NO SUCH DISCUSSIONS HAVE TAKEN PLACE WITH THE VILLAGE.

The Popular Committee wants to stress that the people of Niâ’lin village will not give up their right to defend their basic human, economic, and social rights and therefore will not relinquish their right to protest against the confiscation of their land.
                    
The people of Niâ’lin are also not willing to give up their right to stand up against the construction of a Wall that has been declared illegal by the International Court of Justice.  

The village will not be quiet! The demonstrations organized in Niâ’lin were always of a peaceful, nonviolent nature. Each time, the unarmed demonstrators were met with severe force and heavy violence from the side of the Israeli army (often before even reaching the construction site), injuring many Palestinian, international and Israeli participants, even attacking and injuring journalists and medical workers.

The Niâ’lin Popular Committee would like to draw attention to the following facts regarding the disproportionate use of force by the Israeli army and Border Police since the beginning of the construction of the Wall (May 2008):

a) 160 people were injured by rubber coated steel bullets during the protests, including children

b) Hundreds of non-violent protesters were brutally beaten by the Israeli army during the protests

c) 26 people were arrested

d) A Palestinian Medical Relief Society ambulance was shot at. The driver counted 18 bullet marks on the outside of the van and two of the ambulance windows were shattered, with several bullets found inside the van

e) Many people in the protests suffered severe respiratory problems due to the heavy use of tear gas

f) Tear gas canisters were shot directly into the crowds, aiming at people and injuring dozens

g) The Israeli army started using a new tear gas machine, shooting 30 tear gas canisters at the same time

h) The Israeli army used live ammunition on several occasions

i) There were numerous incidents where the Israeli army invaded the village in the middle of the night after a protest, shooting tear gas and rubber coated steal bullets at and into homes where families were sleeping, and also arresting several people during these military incursions into the village

The curfew imposed on Friday 4th of July 2008 was yet another measure in line with the severely disproportionate tactics that the Israeli army is using to slam down the protests and silence the people of Niâ’lin, who are merely trying to defend their land and lives through nonviolent measures. The Niâ’lin Popular Committee against the Apartheid Wall strongly condemns these aggressive and unprovoked Israeli military policies that have been declared illegal under international law. The Popular Committee specifically condemns the recent curfew and siege on Niâ’lin, which caused excessive damage and severe injuries in a village that is already being strangled due to the construction of the Wall.

                    The Ni’lin Popular Committee draws your attention to the casualties and damages caused by the 4-day curfew and siege on Niâ’lin:

a) The Israeli army injured more than 50 villagers with rubber coated-steal bullets, three of them were seriously injured by live ammunition. They are currently undergoing treatment in different hospitals in Ramallah

b) Hundreds of people suffered from respiratory problems due to teargas inhalation. Teargas was shot at and into the houses. Villagers, who went on their rooftops or gardens in order to try to communicate with family and neighbors, were immediately attacked with tear gas and rubber coated steal bullets. Even standing too close to the window meant risking being shot at. The firing of teargas and rubber coated steal bullets at the windows has caused irreconcilable damage to the houses in Ni’lin

c) During the first three days of the siege ambulances were not allowed access into the village, the injured remained untreated

d) The body of a deceased villager was kept for four hours at the entrance of Niâ’lin before they let the remains into the village for burial
    
e) A woman in labor was not allowed to leave the village and was forced to deliver the baby at home 

f) A twelve year old boy was kidnapped from his home by the Israeli army, who kept him hostage for 2 days

g) The army invaded approximately 20 houses, breaking personal property in the house and beating women, children and men

h) The army used bulldozers to dig up newly paved roads, thereby wrecking parts of the municipal sewage system and destroying a large portion of the villages infrastructure. In order to strategically control the whole area of the village, they entered the girls school, breaking the school’s windows and doors

i) Shops and businesses were closed during the curfew and people could not get to work, depriving the people of Niâ’lin from their much-needed income
   
j) Three journalists were detained for several hours while trying to report on the situation of Niâ’lin

The Niâ’lin people are calling for local, regional, and international support to sustain solidarity with the village. This support is very much needed. The Popular Committee would also like to take this opportunity to thank everybody who participated in the demonstrations and for all the efforts individuals have put into advocating for Niâ’lin, contacting political representatives, and drawing worldwide media attention. We cannot express enough our feelings of deep gratitude for all of these efforts and the coming efforts too!

This Thursday, 10th of July 2008, a monumental protest is organized for the 4th anniversary of the ruling on the Wall of the International Court of Justice. The protest will start at 11 am in front of the municipality of Niâ’lin.

                    For online information, please refer to the following links:
                    http://www.palestin emonitor. org/spip/ spip.php? article439 or
                    (…)

Efter att ledarskribenten på Göteborgsposten Gert Gelotte reste ner till Palestina med Svenska Kyrkan säger han att han inte längre kan ”påverka verkligheten med sitt eget önsketänkande.” 
Gelottes resa resulterade i en artikelserie som riktade skarp kritik mot Israels kolonisering av Palestina. Detta uppskattades inte av GP Israelvänliga ledning som idag nekar honom att skriva fler Israelkritiska texter.    

Läs bloggaren Spanarns inlägg med länkar till Gelotts artiklar + radiointervju.

INLEDARE torsdag, 3 juli 2008 | 09:59

http://www.fria.nu/artikel/73912
Att arbeta som journalist i Palestina är farligt, i synnerhet om du är palestinier och arbetar i Gaza. Den israeliska ockupationen hindrar journalister från att arbeta fritt på flera olika sätt, främst genom rörelserestriktioner för inhemska reportrar. Israel motarbetar även internationella journalister i deras jobb att bevaka vad som händer på ockuperad mark, bland annat genom att neka israeliska presskort som är ett måste för att bli insläppt av soldaterna i vägspärrarna. Sedan ett och ett halvt år tillbaka är det inte tillåtet för israeliska journalister att besöka Gaza, ett förbud som i första hand drabbar ockupationskritiska journalister, eftersom det är de enda som besöker palestinskt område.

I början av juni i år lyssnade jag till flera föredrag av den 23-åriga reportern och bloggaren Mohammed Omer från Gaza. Han var i Sverige en vecka innan han åkte vidare till London för att ta emot Martha Gellhorns journalistpris, uppkallat efter den kvinnliga journalisten och krigskorrespondenten Martha Gellhorn (1908–1998). Mohammed Omer kallade sitt föredrag Welcome to Hell och visade ett bildspel med mycket starka bilder från vardagen i Gaza och farorna med hans jobb som fotograf och reporter där. Han visade hur han själv varit nära att dödas av israelisk militär vid ett flertal tillfällen och hans bilder visade blödande kollegor i pressvästar. Bildspelet avslutades med en bild på den 23-åriga Reutersfotografen Fadel Shana som tidigare i år sköts ihjäl av israeliska soldater när han satt i sin bil som var tydligt markerad med PRESS.

Mohammed Omer återvände till Gaza i torsdags förra veckan och möttes då av israeliska säkerhetstjänsten Shabak som brutalt misshandlade honom och de krävde bland annat att få hans prispengar på motsvarande 30 000 kronor. Mohammed Omer säger själv att de hade full koll på vad han hade haft för sig i Europa och att de sade att han skulle ”åka tillbaka till sina inflytelserika vänner i Europa”. Istället för att åka med den holländska diplomateskorten som väntade för att ta honom genom Israel, fördes Mohammed Omer medvetslös till ett sjukhus i Jeriko. I dag är han tillbaka i Gaza och har mycket ont i bröstet efter misshandeln, han har svårt att äta och är förstås orolig över vad som ska hända honom. I Gaza har journalister demonstrerat till stöd för Omer och Israels försök att tysta en kritisk reporter har uppmärksammats i Europa, främst av journalistförbund och solidaritetsorganisationer.

Reportrar utan gränser, som var värdar för Mohammed Omer under hans Sverigebesök, säger att de ser allvarligt på det som hänt och i ett uttalande fördömer de den israeliska arméns agerande och kräver att den svenska regeringen riktar en diplomatisk protest mot Israel.

Om regeringen och för den delen även oppositionen menar allvar med att de värnar yttrandefriheten så borde det vara självklart att öppet och kraftfullt fördöma Israels agerande mot den fria journalisten Mohammed Omer och andra palestinska reportrar. Nyhetsbevakningen från Gaza är i dag mycket begränsad och de som tar på sig uppdraget gör det på liv och död. Med internationellt stöd blir de lite tryggare. Men än har inte Reportrar utan gränser och andras vädjan till regeringen haft någon framgång. Det här borde vara enkelt för Reinfeldt och Bildt, en diplomatisk protest har jag inget hopp om men nu har de i alla fall en chans att bryta den pinsamma tystnaden kring Israels brott mot internationella lagar och mänskliga rättigheter.

Anna Wester