INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT
~ PALESTINE ~

August, 2002

Contents

August 29, 2002

IWPS NEEDS VOLUNTEERS FOR THE OLIVE HARVEST IN PALESTINE

International Women's Peace Service (IWPS) joins the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) and Grassroots International Protection for Palestinians (GIPP) to call for international volunteers to help provide accompaniment to farmers whilst harvesting their olives. This campaign will take place between October 12 and November 15, and will begin with training at IWPS in Hares. IWPS will be coordinating protection of farmers in the villages around Hares in the Salfit region of Palestine and working in co-operation with GIPP and ISM.

Throughout the West Bank and Gaza, Palestinian land has been and continues to be confiscated by the Israeli government. Illegal Israeli colonies are built on occupied Palestinian land; more land is confiscated to build roads that encircle Palestinian villages but are not for use by Palestinians; Palestinians are locked up in their towns and villages as Israeli soldiers stand guard; Palestinians are not allowed to access their own property; crops go bad and the Palestinian economy worsens; oppression is ingrained but not accepted.

With international accompaniment, we can help ensure that Palestinian farmers and landowners are not met with brutal and sometimes lethal violence as they attempt to harvest their crop. With your help and participation we will undertake a campaign to highlight to the world the injustice of Israeli occupation that has stolen life, not only from Palestinians but also from Israelis.

IWPS invites applications from established affinity groups of between 5 and 10 people who are willing to come to Hares, Salfit, Palestine for 2 or 4 weeks. We are requesting responsible and committed nonviolent peace-makers who will stay for the complete two or four week period. The estimated costs will be 150$/week. If you are interested in bringing an affinity group to volunteer with IWPS, please contact iwpsvolunteers@yahoo.com Those who wish to come to Palestine as individuals during this time should contact ISM at www.palsolidarity.org or info@palsolidarity.org

*****************

The IWPS house team has been very busy ever since arriving in Hares. They have traveled to the surrounding villages, helped the village resist the ever-present roadblocks, participated in nonviolent direct action at the village of Huwwara, and visited with families whose homes have recently been raided by the IDF. You are invited to read about these activities on our website, www.womenspeacepalestine.org\iwpsreports.htm. What follows are excerpts from a longer interview which appears on our site, along with source material, explaining the problem of the Israeli settlements in the Salfit region and the need for international protection during the olive harvesting season.

Excerpts of an Interview with Issa Samandar, President of the Land Defence Committees recorded by Maren of IWPS-Hares, Tuesday, August 27, Ramallah Q: Can you outline some of the most important features of the Israeli settlement policy?

A: First of all, I want to say that normally settlements and settlers are always put in numbers. Sometimes numbers are good for academic research, but it is better to translate them into real life because sometimes one settler can control thousands of pieces of land, impede the access to water, to land, to all kinds of services to the Palestinians apart from the continuous harassment the Palestinians will be facing. And then, if we talk, for example, about five houses that have been demolished, we have to bear in mind that each demolition involves a family, human beings, each house has a history and that particular night the children need a place to sleep, the family needs a tent - this is real life we are talking about.

You remember during the Oslo process? On the television they were smiling, but on the ground people soon began to see what it was really about. Here we hoped that at least one day would pass where we didn't witness a bulldozer, confiscation of land, demolition of a house. How can you convince a man whose house is demolished that this is peace? This is why we say that the first good-intention step must be from Israel. The people will not believe in peace processes as long as they see the bulldozers on their land. This is why we never talk about peace but about "just" peace. Peace is a very nice word but it has been used so badly, it has been a marketing trick.

Before this Intifada the Israeli governments at least tried to maintain some appearance of legal procedures. They were based on Israeli law or military law. But this period is over, now the settlers and the army can do what they want. In fact, inside the civil administration it is the settlers themselves who are in some of the most important positions. The person responsible for housing licenses is a settler as well as the person responsible for the registration of land. They have become the real planners and organizers. In addition, the IDF now uses what they call "military orders". For example, the villagers of Deir Qaddis, a village close to the Green Line, once had 9000 dunums and are now left with only 1300 and the expropriation of land still goes on. They have three settlements around them. And they will now lose 5000 trees. What have the Israelis done? They have sent them a military order to tell them that they will use 8 dunums of land until 30th of June 2006. What happened was that when they began to work they took 200 dunums and just recently we heard that there are another 900 dunums to be taken and then they will build on it, construct fences and so on. They start, as usual, with one caravan and then they put services like water, electricity, and roads in immediately. The week after, you will find four caravans there, but what is new now is the military order, this is real confiscation of land.

Q: Can you give us some details about the settlement expansion in the Salfit area?

A: Salfit is considered the Governate of Olives, but the villages in Salfit are becoming more and more isolated, the farmers can't go out of their villages and the villages lose more land every day. Salfit is next to some of the biggest settlements and now, even in the West, the idea is spreading that if the Israelis accumulate settlement blocks they can claim the area as part of their state. In my opinion, the first deportation will occur in Salfit.

In the 80s the Israeli Army said that they would confiscate 3000 dunums in Kufr Hares, Salfit and Iskaka, because they wanted to create Ariel, that was meant to be the capital of the north. This was part of the Alon plan adopted by the Labour government that suggested putting settlements in good strategic places in the Jordan Valley and on the top of the hills and not in the midst of the Palestinian population. But all this changed when the movement of Gush Emunim, that unites religious and patriotic fringes, became the strongest settlers' movement after the Likud's rise to power. They are acting as an extra-parliamentary lobby that can count on the support of at least 55 Knesset Members and which controls almost half of all the settlements.5

Later, when Sharon elaborated his "Seven Stars-Plan" in 1991 the policies became more radical. The first goal was to separate the communications and relationships between the Palestinians inside and outside of the Green Line. They confiscated another 5000 dunums. In Salfit the people fought very hard. The last big High Court decision was made during the Gulf War whilst a total curfew was imposed on the Palestinian towns and villages which put the High Court in Haifa completely out of reach. The irony is that even when people manage to get to the courts they are being tried within a very hostile legal system. One of the problems we have to face is that we have four legal systems or sets of laws here, the Ottoman law, the British Mandate law, the Jordanian law and the Israeli law and the Israeli court will always apply the most advantageous law for the settlers. And if for some reason the Palestinians who get to the High Court get a favourable judgement, in reality the military court can and does reverse the judgement. So, if we only fight through the courts we will inevitably lose. We have to use other methods like demonstrations or planting trees as well.

In the area, they have suffered continuous confiscations as step-by-step new settlements are being built, making circles around the Palestinian villages. This means that the farmers cannot go to their land as they risk being shot. And in the Salfit area the situation was particularly difficult as it was an experimental area for the new wave of settlements. There were many problems, lots of people in prison. One time, while an old man was dying, a Palestinian collaborator put his finger imprints on a deed saying that he had sold his land and another time they cut a finger of a dead man in order to get the imprint on the deeds. This shows how they wanted to get the land at any cost.

Q: What do you think could be done by local or international groups?

The farmers in the fields next to the settlements are ready to risk and to fight for their right in order to get the harvest done. They only ask a little support, a tank of water, a minimum of organization - that's what they want: to be organized.

Prevent a Crime Against Humanity
Stop the Expulsion of the Palestinian Cave Dwellers from the South Hebron Hills

After few times in the past, we launch again a letter campaign to stop the expulsion of the cave dwellers south of Hebron. Our efforts resulted in the government's request to postpone deliberations in the High Court of Justice. Their intention was to hold the deliberations when public attention was diverted. We believe that this terrible act of expulsion can only be achieved when there is no public attention. Therefore we appeal to you again to write to Israel's ministers, to Israeli Embassies in your countries, and to your own Foreign Ministries demanding that no expulsion of Palestinians from the South Hebron Hills be allowed. Your assistance is very important to the struggle.

In the first third of the 19th century (1830s), poverty-stricken Palestinian families left their villages in the South Hebron region and went to eke out their livelihoods in the surrounding hills and fields on lands they could afford to purchase on the outskirts of the existing villages living in the numerous and spacious caves spread throughout the area (today the south West Bank). In the generations that followed these families developed a unique culture and way of life based on their sheep herding, agriculture and cave dwelling. the occupation led to expropriation of the palestinian farmer's land due to establishment of military bases, declaration of certain areas as "drilling zones", closed military zones. from the early eighties, the israeli government confiscated more land as it began building settlements in the area. Today this scattered pastoral palestinian population numbers a few thousand - but their very existence is now in danger.

THEY ARE FACING IMMINENT EXPULSION BY THE ISRAELI OCCUPATION AUTHORITIES.

In November 1999 the decades-long harrassment of this population reached a new level when the Israeli army violently expelled some 750 inhabitants (mostly children and women) from their homes and land. Israeli peace and human rights organizations mounted a major public campaign to return the cave-dwellers to their homes, and the High Court of Justice issued an temporary injunction to this effect in March 2000. As a result of the Court ruling things remained relatively quiet until July 2001 when, without any warning, the Israeli army and Civil Administration tore through a wide area with bulldozers - destroying caves and other dwellings, stopping up water wells with rocks and dirt, mowing down crops and livestock, and expelling hundreds of people. Since then Israeli and Palestinian peace and human rights organizations have mobilized in defense of this vulnerable population - but the army and the settlers reign supreme on the ground.

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

IT IS CLEAR THAT THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT ASPIRES TO EXPEL THE POPULATION OF CAVE DWELLERS, TO REINFORCE ITS OWN SETTLEMENTS IN THE AREA, AND TO EVENTUALLY ANNEX THIS TERRITORY TO ISRAEL "CLEANSED" OF ITS PALESTINIAN INHABITANTS.

Lately we have been hearing from Palestinians who have been repeatedly haraassed and harmed by settlers. Their complaints to the police receive no attention and are ignored. Complaints to the military authorities and to the government are no more successful. It must be remembered that even now the settlers continue to build new settlements in the region, as they do in many parts of the occupied territories.

PLEASE WRITE TO ISRAEL'S PRIME MINISTER, DEFENSE MINSTER AND FOREIGN MINISTER, TO THE ISRAELI AMBASSADOR IN YOUR COUNTRY, AND TO YOUR OWN FOREIGN MINISTRY - DEMANDING A STOP TO THE HARRASSMENT AND EXPULSION OF THE PALESTINIANS FROM THE SOUTH HEBRON HILLS, AND WARNING THAT SUCH CRIMES WILL NOT BE TOLERATED IN THE 21ST CENTURY.

A sample letter:

Dear Minister.... I am saddened by the ongoing strife between the Israelis and the Palestinians and by the many victims it has created.

I find it difficult to understand Israel's intention to expell the Palestinian population - many of whom live in caves - from the South Hebron hills. I was amazed to learn that the Barak government expelled 750 residents from this area at the same time that it was promoting the Peace Process. This puts a question mark on the true intentions of the Israeli government. Other expulsions committed by your government between July and October of 2001, as well as the construction of new and expansion of old settlements throughout the period do not lend credibility to Israel's desire for a cease fire and for peace.

I consider the expulsion of Palestinian residents a military act of war against defenceless civillians. This is an act defined as a war crime and it violates the Fourth Geneva Convention.

I appeal to you to prevent this terrible action and to abide by the the Fourth Geneva Convention in all the territories occupied by Israel in 1967.

For more information you can visit the following website: www.southebron.com

Israeli organizations active in defense of the South Hebron Hills Palestinians include: Alternative Information Center (AIC), Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), Bat Shalom, B'tselem, Gush Shalom, Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD), Peace Now, Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, Rabbis for Human Rights, and Ta'ayush - Arab-Jewish Partnership. We do it in cooperation with the Palestinian Lend Defence Committee.

Addresses of protest letters (it is preferable to send faxes):

Israeli Defense Minister, Binyamin Ben-Eliezer
Ministry of Defense
37 Kaplan st.
Tel-Aviv 61909,
Israel
e-mail: mailto:sar@mod.gov.il
Fax: ++972-3-696 2757 / ++972-3-691 6940 / ++972-3-691 7915

CC to:

Israeli Foreign Minister, Shimon Peres
Fax:+972-2-5303704
e-mail: sar@mofa.gov.il

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
Fax:(+972-2) 566-4838 or 651-3955 or 651-2631
e-mail: webmaster@pmo.gov.il

US Secretary of State Colin Powell
Fax: +1-202-261-8577;
"Secretary of State, Colin Powell"
e-mail: secretary@state.gov

US President George W. Bush
Fax: (202) 456-2461
e-mail: president@whitehouse.gov

Conor Writes From Nablus

The game of cat-and-mouse with the army intensifies... We're not exactly sure what is going on here, but the army has become much more aggressive towards the internationals in Nablus. A few days ago three internationals were arrested after trying to bring food to an occupied house. These are homes that the army rolls in and takes over, usually keeping the family in one room in the basement or first floor and locking them in while they trash the house (we've seen campfires built in stairwells and toys and clothes strewn about). Because of the illegal curfew the family are not allowed out of the room and are sometimes locked up for weeks at a time. The checkpoints have become much more intense and impenatrable. When a group of internationals tried to enter through the main checkpoint at Huwarra village they were told that "No internationals, no Palestinians, not even press may enter Nablus. Not even that donkey there may enter." When a group of us went to the demonstration at Huwarra on Saturday we had not even crossed the checkpoint when a jeep drove up and told us all to leave Nablus. "I arrested three of you yesterday and I will arrest you if I need to. You must leave." There were no negotiations. We are very worried because this is what happened in Jenin a few months ago with the massacre/invasion there, closing off the town to press and internationals so that no one would know what they were doing there. (The three arrested, by the way, were released in Jerusalem. They had been charged with "shielding rock-throwing children with your bodies." Can you even fathom that? Charging someone with a crime for preventing soldiers from shooting children who pose zero threat to their armored tanks? No dissent or resistance is tolerated in Nablus. The charges were later dropped--there weren't even any children around when they were arrested--it seems they just wanted them out of Nablus.)

On Saturday a group of about 30 internationals from GIPP (Grassroots International Protection for Palestinians--a largely European group) and ISM (International Solidarity Movement--my group) traveled to Huwarra, the village right outside Nablus and next to the main checkpoint, for a joint Taaush (Israeli Peace Group)-Palestinian-International demonstration against the occupation and curfew. Huwarra, being right next to the main military base in Nablus, thus bears the full brunt of the occupation. The town has been under almost continuous curfew for TWO YEARS and has had food shortages for about two months. Virtually nothing has been allowed in or out of the town since the beginning of the intifada in 2000. Can you imagine being threatened by a foreign army with injury/arrest/death (snipers) if you left your house for two years? Apparently there was a TV announcement of the demonstration and the last one ended with the arrest and injury of several activists, so were were nervous already when we found out that no one was even being allowed OUT of Nablus today. We then took a route that included three separate legs of taxi drives (one by my friend Ibrahim who is proving ever resourceful) to get around the roadblocks and checkpoints (without crazy/genius taxi drivers and cellphones this movement would not be possible) and a 2 kilometer walk along a settler road--not a very safe route to take.

When we made it into Huwarra we found the march ready to start and, sure enough, it did 3 minutes after we arrived. There were dozens of Palestinians with banners and flags chanting and moving through the streets and we didn't really have time to prepare or get in position. Military police (the most brutal of the military we deal with) showed up immediately, so we tried to position ourselves between the police and the Palestinians, holding up our hands and shouting that this was a peaceful demonstration. There were no rocks thrown or any weapons anywhere in the crowd, but the police jumped out of their jeeps and tossed several bright orange concussion grenades at us (also known as flash-bang grenades--they explode with a loud flash and a boom and it disorients and shocks you--like a mild concussion) and shot several tear-gas mortars into the crowd, including the long range kind meant to be fired in an arc but they shot many straight into the crowd--two wizzed by my head and legs. I had not had time to take my contacts out, and you can be blinded with the gas the army uses if you leave them in so I ducked down an alleyway coughing and choking and frantically pulled out my contacts. I couldn't see for a few minutes but soon there were arms helping me to my feet and someone shoved an onion under my nose--it cuts the gas quite effectively-- and as I regained my senses I found it was a small crowd of Palestinian children helping me, looking quite concerned for this foreigner.

We ran back into the street where the army continued tear gassing and tossing concussion grenades while driving their jeeps through the crowds at intimidating speeds. Once close enough they would toss tear gas grenades out the back of the jeeps, which was bad because those things just explode in a cloud of gas that's very hard to escape. All the while we tried to stay within and in front of the crowd and document the whole thing. I suspect the presence of internationals at the rally kept things from getting quite nasty. As it was it only generated a paragraph in a story buried deep within CNN.com. They know if internationals were killed then it would be a huge story, and in solidarity with the Palestinians we used that priviledge to protect them.

"Yeah," he said. 

"Yeah... Ok. Bye"  "Goodbye."

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF ACTION AGAINST HOME DEMOLITIONS IN PALESTINE *

The people of Nablus, Palestine, joined by international civilians and local Palestinian organizations will hold a candlelight march on Friday August 23rd 2002 and ask all people of the world to join them in a protest against the illegal Israeli policy of home demolitions.

The Global Campaign to Rebuild Palestinian Homes(1), states that "the systematic demolition of Palestinian homes throughout the Occupied Territories, together with the destruction of the Palestinian infrastructure including health records, records of citizenship and ownership of land goes far beyond mere retaliation for terrorist attacks. It is an attack on an entire people, an attempt to make the Palestinians submit to a mini-state under Israeli control."

History
The facts and figures of this brutal Israeli policy are stunning. According to the Israeli Commitee Against Home Demolitions,(2) "in 1999 about 100 homes were demolished, down from 277 in 1998. Yet 2000 demolition orders remain outstanding in the West Bank, another 2000 for East Jerusalem, altogether threatening some 6000 families. The Bedouin population, harassed and being driven into tiny "reservations," is also targeted." The SUSTAIN Campaign, (3) maintains that "since the beginning of the present Palestinian uprising, or Intifada, in September of 2000, the Israeli military has destroyed more than 2650 Palestinian homes, offices, buildings and other civilian structures."

International Observation
Since the end of June the International Solidarity Movement,(4) has had activists in Nablus homes that are slated for demolition. The internationals are living in the intensely oppressive atmosphere that permeates the lives of people who do not know if they will have a home or even be alive to see the next day.

"They [Israeli soldiers] locked the family in a room on the second floor, put all of their furniture in a pile on the first floor, burned it, pocketed the family's life savings, and detonated a plastic explosive on the first floor to weaken the structure so the bulldozer would have an easier time knocking it down. Tiles fell off the kitchen and bathroom walls on all 3 floors, glass broke throughout the home, and huge cracks appeared in the walls. The IDF pulled their bulldozer back though, because someone had called the media and they decided it wasn't such a good idea to bulldoze the home down with the family inside on International TV." July 2002 Marissa McLaughlin (5)

"One of the problems is that the military doesn't always evacuate the other homes, or warn the neighbors of a demolition. Again this is in a refugee camp, the houses are all really close to one another. This can mean neighboring houses also go down- with people in them. The brother of the family some of the other New Yorkers are staying with had the first floor of his home destroyed by tank shelling. He and his son were inside. His son was okay but he broke both of his legs and was wheelchair-bound, now he has canes." August 04, 2002 by Amanda Devecka-Rinear (6)

Israeli Policy
The Israeli government has consistently upheld every facet of this ridiculous and illegal policy. A recent supreme court ruling made it impossible for the families to even have a 2 hour warning prior to demolition. An earlier court ruling highlights the injustice of the situation:

"The state's attorney said that while there was no evidence that the family had been involved in the son's deeds, the house demolition was justified because it would deter other potential terrorists" Ha'aretz Daily (7)

A child witnessing the destruction of his or her home is not going to limit the anger and hatred that will develop for the oppressive regime of the Israeli government.

International Law
"Under the 1949 Geneva Conventions, collective punishments are a war crime."(8) Article 33 of the Fourth Convention states: "No protected person may be punished for an offense he or she has not personally committed," and "collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited."

In World War II, Nazis carried out a form of collective punishment to suppress resistance. Entire villages or towns or districts were held responsible for any resistance activity that took place there. The conventions, to counter this, reiterated the principle of individual responsibility. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Commentary to the conventions states that parties to a conflict often would resort to "intimidatory measures to terrorize the population" in hopes of preventing hostile acts, but such practices "strike at guilty and innocent alike. They are opposed to all principles based on humanity and justice."

The law of armed conflict applies similar protections to an internal conflict. Common Article 3 of the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 requires fair trials for all individuals before punishments; and Additional Protocol II of 1977 explicitly forbids collective punishment."

We Need Your Help...

The people of Nablus ask you to join in solidarity against the brutal policy of home demolition.

Actions can include vigils at major Israeli, US and British embassies, street demonstrations and protests.

We also ask you to support the SUSTAIN(9) campaign against the Caterpillar Corporation.

"Caterpillar D-9 bulldozers have become such an active part of the IDF's activities that the term "D-9" is as common to school kids here as "Apache" or "Cobra" helicopters, or the much more terrifying "F-16" fighter jets. The official IDF website documents their main purpose - home demolition - "The dozers (or, in some cases, pneumatic breakers) then demolish the homes, proceeding from the second floor to the first. The whole operation takes from 30 minutes to three days, depending on its scope and intensity." from The Electronic Intifada (10)

* http://www.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=199216&group=webcast

(1) http://www.rebuildinghomes.org/why.htm
(2) http://www.mennonitechurch.ca/programs/peace/icahd/
(3) http://www.sustaincampaign.org/cat_letter2.doc
(4) http://www.palsolidarity.org
(5) http://www.palsolidarity.org/writings/mclaughlin_july.htm
(6) http://www.palsolidarity.org/writings/rinear_04aug.htm
(7) http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=199752&sw=demolition
(8) http://www.crimesofwar.org/thebook/book.html
(9) http://www.sustaincampaign.org/
(10) http://electronicintifada.net/diaries/archives/00000271.shtml

August 21, 2002

INTERNATIONALS TO ISRAELI ARMY: IF YOU WANT US, COME GET US!
INTERNATIONALS WILL DEFY ISRAELI MILITARY INDEFINITELY

[NABLUS] International civilians are defying the brutal, disgusting, and illegal attacks by the Israeli military on Palestinian civilian homes in Nablus. The internationals are committed to maintaining a presence in these homes for as long as the threat of demolition exists. The internationals inside the Abu Sur and Atiti homes openly challenge the Israeli paramilitary forces to try and stop them from defending human rights.

This refusal to submit to the crushing brutality of the Israeli occupation of Palestine is no small feat; teenage soldiers have repeatedly fired M16's and larger caliber weapons outside the homes, issued personal threats to the activists, and entered homes to destroy personal property. They have also beaten the elderly father of the Abu Sur family.

The homes are being bulldozed in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention's Article 33, which states, "No protected person may be punished for an offense he or she has not personally committed," and "Collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited." This Article of the Geneva Convention was written in response to the Nazi policy of killing completely innocent European citizens in response to the resistance activities of others living in the same towns; the historical precedent helps point out that this act is racist and evil, and urgently needs to be abolished.

Palestinians, internationals, and Israelis alike also raise a point of contention with the refusal of "the only democracy in the Middle East", Israel, to allow the Palestinian civilian homeowners due process in a court of law before bulldozing their homes.

MEDIA CONTACT IN HOUSES:
Josh (US): 067 490 582
Aisa (JAPAN): 055 583 074
Annik (SWITZERLAND): 067 351 971

MEDIA CONTACT IN NABLUS:
Heidi (GERMANY): 059 355 404
Neta Golan: 059 839 220

August 19, 2002

ISRAELI MILITARY TARGETS CHILDREN ARMY ATTACKS ON THE RISE IN JENIN

[JENIN] Mohammad Amin Ali Odi (13 yrs) from Birkin near Jenin refugee camp was just brought to the hospital dead from a gunshot wound to the head. International civilians are at the hospital after having spent another sleepless night in what appears to be the beginning of another major operation in Jenin.

At 11am, August 19, 2002, Mohammad was playing in the street with other young children and Israeli soldiers brutally shot him from a tank. The Israeli military then prevented a Palestinian Red Crescent Society ambulance from reaching the boy, who was reported to be still alive at that time. The PCRS staff returned to the ambulance center and requested the Red Cross negotiate on their behalf. Meanwhile, a private car was able to reach the boy from another direction but due to the military closures had to take a back route to the hospital where the child was delivered dead on arrival.

Internationals witnessed attacks last night in Jenin camp by Israeli special forces and are acting as human shields in the home of the Sabah family. The military has threatened the home with destruction tonight which would make over a dozen individuals homeless. The Sabah family home was the first destroyed in the first Intifada. Hundreds of people are already homeless in the Jenin refugee camp and surrounding city creating a massive humanitarian crisis.

For more information in Jenin contact: +972 (0)
Tobias(SWEDISH) 59 319 450 / 67 437 690
Colm (IRISH) 67 457289
Dave (USA) 67 378 642
Caiomhe (IRISH) 55 975 374

August 16, 2002

"...I arrive here having been forced, along with 8 fellow peace activists from the United States, France and Ireland, out of the Occupied Palestinian Territories. We were physically assaulted and abducted by armed gunmenfrom Israel's para-military Border Police in the heart of the West Bank. Our fate is that of an increasing number of foreign doctors, relief workers, journalists, observers and others in solidarity with the Palestinian people. We face deportation and refused entry when trying to help the Palestinian people, even as Israel escalates its war against them.

This government of Israel does not wish the world to see or know of what its forces are doing in the name of occupation - for silence is the greatest asset of oppression.

In this conflict, all are suffering. I have seen the horror and carnage wrought by both sides. But in this conflict there is only one occupation.

The occupation must end now.

We can be silent no longer."

--Statement given by Adam Shapiro of the ISM upon his arrivalat JFK Airport, NY

The following 2 accounts are quite lengthy, butwell worth the read. The first is actually dated two weeks ago, but things don't change.....

August 1, 2002

Susan Barclay in Nablus

I find a few moments to write not because it is something that I even have the time to do, but more because if I don't write now, I am afraid to lose the precious, tragic stories and sights I have witnessed in the last few weeks.

During the past weeks I lay down to sleep between 2-4 a.m. to the sounds of tanks clunking over the pavement, sporadic shooting - noises of the night that Palestinian ears can distinguish in the flash of a moment -- and a mind bursting with thoughts, scenes and stories that keep me from unconsciousness even longer.

The morning begins with laughter as a friend tells me that he likes to watch Tom and Jerry because it makes him smile. "Why do people watch Rambo? We see that everyday - here it is not TV, it is real." When Internationals first arrive they are often baffled by the military machinery waging this war, but the novelty wears off so very quickly; loss of appreciation frequently goes hand in hand with habit, routine and repetition. Today alone, I saw over 15 tanks, 7 apcs, a number of jeeps, 30+ soldiers armed with M-16s and a Land Rover full of commandos. This is life here. Children 2-3 years old know the words for soldier, tank, shooting, prison, and death; slowly and surely war creeps into their beings.

The children play "war" frequently. One mother told me the other day, "The terribly sad thing is that they always want to be the Israelis, no one wants to be Palestinian, to be controlled, to be the victim. These little children know who has power." Another woman tells me of her discussion with a group of children about life, saying that first children talked about problems they are having - not sleeping, nightmares, constant fear - but then the conversation turned toward dreams and desires. In the midst of talk about parks, toys, and summer camp one girl raised her hand and said: "We need some milk and bread." Despite their disturbing loss of innocence, children still manage to help me leave the mental space of many difficult realities; by playing with my hair, laughing at my Arabic, or simply sitting on my lap, they help me continually find healing, rejuvenation a! nd great hope.

The people of this land are in dire need of humanization. As I become closer to the Palestinians living in Nablus and simultaneously start seeing the same soldiers and developing a rapport of sorts, I can't help but feel that the situation, this ongoing, long going war is profoundly tragic.

One afternoon we were attempting to get food and medical supplies to an occupied house in an area where the Captain has threatened us with arrest. There is an apc at the bottom of a small hill about 300 feet from the house, where the soldiers demand that the Danish man and I are to stay, while Doctor Rassem and Feras Bakri go to the house to treat the child. Perhaps this is so we don't see the state of the home, or perhaps they suspect we are journalists, or perhaps it is simply about power and control - in any case, our goal is to care for the child and both Feras and the Doctor feel comfortable going without us. I watch as the ambulance heads up the hill and begin a conversation with the soldiers about "problems" in Nablus and how they feel about being here.

These two young men were insistent on the fact that they want to go home, that they think over 95% of Palestinians are good, that they want peace for their children: "I just don't want my children to ride the bus in fear," Michel says. They talk about going out, dancing, not having showered in days and sleeping on the floor. They say they only shoot armed people. I ask about a recent death in Balata refugee camp where a 24 year-old was shot in the head by soldiers in a jeep. Maybe he had a gun they say; maybe rocks, I reply.

They share hopes for the future and claim that there is a violent cycle that is incessantly repeating itself here - suicide bombing, invasion, bombing, invasion - I ask how they think they are helping end the problems and they say "By being here - no bombings in 20+ days." "And when you leave?" I ask. "Or do you plan to stay forever?" They seem completely ignorant of their role in creating further bombings, blind to the fact that they are only rendering a population more desperate, more hopeless, and more deprived each and every day, pushing people towards the "nothing to lose" state that a suicide bomber has invariably reached.

And then it is time to change shifts and three new soldiers pull up in an apc and these two men, Michel and Avi climb into the new apc and head into town to do I can imagine what. These interactions put faces to these monstrous military machines; I think of the apcs that only a few hours earlier terrorized an adjacent neighborhood; during house searches soldiers took one man and beat him for over 30 minutes. I saw him this morning and now I see Michel and Avi beating any one of my Palestinian friends and I am left in total confusion. These are just young men beating, shooting, and terrorizing other young men because they see the "enemy." Seeing humanity makes the destruction of life seems so senseless, so unbelievable. I think that is part of our work here, each one a tiny thread weaving humanity into hearts, souls, minds, and moments and trying t! o shelter the remaining flickers of hope from the wild wind of war.

One of my dearest friends Khowla was walking by my side the other night, discussing dreams and talking about her youth. "When I was young I had so, so many dreams. I wanted to be a lawyer, to study biology, to go to university, travel, and learn about everything. But Susan, when you see the situation go from bad to worse again and again and again, all your dreams get broken." She is only 21. There is still so much time, I say as I squeeze her hand.

The director of the Ministry of Education, Juman Karaman, welcomed us into her home a few days ago; she lives in a home adjacent to one that is occupied, where we were headed. She explained how very far behind the students were due to constant closures and called this second term "a complete catastrophe". Final exams were scheduled for June 17th -July 4th, but Nablus was invaded on June 20th; exams were put on hold and students have been in the state of exam preparation ever since.

When curfew is lifted for a few hours - which has happened for a total of 30 hours in the 42 days (in Israeli prisons the detainees are given more than an hour/day recreation) - students rush to the school and take an exam. They are currently waiting for another curfew lift, to finish their exams, studying now for over a month, and never knowing what day they will have to perform.

Juman believes that education is not really about how much time students spend studying, but rather about quality. With the constant closures and the closing of surrounding villages, teachers were habitually confronting tanks, apcs, and soldiers en route to their schools. She asked us to imagine the state of a teacher who finally arrives at school, after having journeyed 1-3 hours in constant fear, wading through life threatening circumstances; "How well can this person teach?" As for the students, she added: "After hours of shooting, nerves worn very thin, constant uncertainty and fear, how can they possibly learn?"

Over one month imprisoned in their homes - today is the 42nd day of curfew; people are restless, frustrated, lethargic, angry, humiliated, and saturated. They are using the small amount of money they had, unable to make anymore, and the financial situation is ever increasingly dire. I was having tea yesterday with a man who mutters: "Maybe I can carry 10 kilos, 20, or 50, but eventually I will break. Everyone has a limit."

We are in an occupied house and talking to the man now living in the basement with 30 or so soldiers on the top three floors. These 30+ soldiers mean 5 apcs are parked out front, mesh covers the windows like giant spider webs, and the night reverberates with incessant shooting and loud music - the family has not slept well in over 25 days. The soldiers ask his children how they are, and the children say "Not good." The father says to me, "I want to tell my children about peace, but how can I when we are living like this? They don't believe it."

During the last week, the city of Nablus had been rather quiet during the day and many people had been breaking curfew, coming out of their homes to open a shop or buy a few things. The night is still plagued by military operations, the sounds of tanks, gunfire, and surreptitious movement. The villages have been the focal point of the military during the past days, as they claim to be hunting the "terrorists" responsible for this or that suicide bombing or settlement incident. "They use the same stories again and again, killing the same terrorists three, four or five times," the press tells me a few nights ago. The villages lie to the southwest of Nablus, little clumps of homes nestled in olive groves and rolling hills, accessible only by thin dirt roads.

This week, they spent three days going village to village looking for anywhere between 3-8 men. They killed three men the first day and denied the ambulance access to the bodies. A group of us went out to Sara village and attempted to get the ambulance in just to take the bodies but they told us we had to wait until they had finished their operation. Our refusal to leave was met with physical force: kicking, hitting and shoving 20 nonviolent activists come to simply take the dead.

The next morning I went with the ambulance to get the bodies, as the Israeli army had finally given their okay. We wandered up a hill to an olive grove and found a very large group of men there, being searched and sorted into two groups. They had come to see the bodies and help and ended up being subject to search and arrest. They were separated into two groups, those 15-50 (over 75 men) and the very young and very old (over 45 people). ID's were taken and the men all sat on the ground waiting as about 20 soldiers milled about and the paramedics waited for the final okay to head up 100m to the bodies. As we watched this process, counting the men and asking the soldiers questions, we saw another group of over 60 men being led down the hill towards the paved road.

We are finally allowed to go get the bodies and as the medical team moves up the hill, the men who had been sitting down get up and follow en masse. We all arrive at three mounds covered by off-white tarps that are removed by the paramedics. People crowd to see who the dead are and chaos reigns as people move from one to the other. One man has a large hole in his head and his brain is literally oozing out. The second has no leg from the knee down and several large bullet wounds in his chest and groin. A third has an enormous hole in what was his forehead, and we all see that his brain is completely missing. No one knows the men, thus they think they must be workers who pass through the villages to avoid checkpoints and soldiers; they are certainly not terrorists. I ride in the ambulance to the morgue at Rafidia hospital, sitting in the back next to the b! odies, overcome by the smell, by death. We return to the Union of Palestinian Medical Relief (UPMRC) center where I sit for a moment, trying to catch my breath and find a few words; awoken from my somber silence by a call to tell me that soldiers have left Sara and are now in Tell. We have to move.

During this time, three internationals have gone with the men, the 60 or so, who were rounded up and kept on the paved road. They had been led through the hills and back roads two by two, all their ID's taken and eventually large trucks come, handcuff and take the men to a local military base. The three ask to be arrested with them, but the soldiers don't want any internationals today. They return to Sara village on foot and while talking with locals hours later, hear cheering and find that the large majority of these men have come back. The leave to meet us in Tell, a village 1 km from Sara.

Tell is in the same situation - foot soldiers wandering in the fields, snipers on the hills, tanks, apcs, and jeeps patrolling. I ask a soldier at a tank "What are you doing today?" "There are three terrorists free." "But you killed three men yesterday". "There are many." We continue down the road towards Tell and come across an apc, two large trucks, and soldiers forcing handcuffed Palestinians inside. This is the Tell round up - taking all the local men for interrogation. We walk towards them, but they are leaving, and so we deal with what they have left behind: 9 donkeys, dozens of jars of traditional yogurt, and scattered possessions. We set off with the donkeys and belongings towards Tell to meet the other internationals and the medical team that has gone to deliver vaccinations. The military operation in Tell seems to be coming to a close; the jeeps and apc! s have left and so we return to Nablus, leaving a few behind to sleep in the village.

The next morning, we get news from the next village, Iraq Boreen, 1 km from Tell, 2 km from Sara. The IDF is still looking for their terrorists and has rounded up all the local men at a school/women's center in town. There are already internationals in the village and those of us in Nablus head off to the village. We begin the long walk out the small dirt path towards the village and see dozens and dozens of soldiers wandering through the olive groves below the village that sits on a breathtaking butte; we are denied entry into the village by soldiers at a junction and told to wait. We do wait, just until a bus arrives for some soldiers; we use this distraction as a chance to walk right past them, despite their echoing, "Stop, stop."

In the village we find that the large majority of the men have been released but the remaining men cannot get their ID's back. It is clear that one of the three jeeps is ready to leave with the ID's so volunteers sit on the ground to block its path. We are able to thwart the jeep movements for a while and create quite a scene that the Palestinians support, saying whether we go or stay they will have problems, so we might as well stay. The jeep and soldiers eventually manages to remove enough Internationals to pull forth; they return the ID's to the men and leave us talking to the Palestinians. We split in two, some staying the village, some walking back into Nablus.

We have been doing a lot of roadblock removals during the last few days. The Israeli army has closed every single village repeatedly and the internationals staying in Iraq Boreen heeded the locals call to remove these road blocks. A group of nearly 40 of us headed out to Tell, Iraq Boreen and New Nablus and removed three roadblocks one morning. It was incredibly beautiful to watch this simple success - working for a few hours and then watching as water trucks, vegetables and taxis begin to pass - encouraged by the sound of our clapping and the smiles of resistance.

Palestinians at the Iraq Boreen roadblock then asked us to come to Salem village, where we helped remove three other roadblocks. We left a few people in the village who called an hour or two later to say that an apc and tank had come and a bulldozer was reported to be on its way. We moved quickly and had internationals there in time to block the bulldozer. 5 people sat on the ground and the bulldozer was unable to re-do the roadblock; the jeeps however did come and the soldiers began threatening arrest. After 30 minutes they begin taking the men, one by one, quick cuffing each one (with plastic handcuffs) and blindfolding them. They were put in the back of an apc and taken to Huwara military base (released hours later from Huwara after refusing to say anything). We stayed in the area until they left knowing they would bulldoze during the night. The day after we! came again to remove the road block and will continue this resistance as long as the Palestinians want to do so.

The quiet has been replaced with the familiar sound of tanks, jeeps and shooting again. The bombing yesterday at Hebrew University in Jerusalem has led to a greater military presence and 4-5 people were injured today from tank machine gun fire, one of them this morning right in front of my eyes in Balata refugee camp. What are they doing? One might think the Israeli army targets certain people, or roams the city with a military aim. The reality is that a very large part of their work is about terror.

This morning in Balata, they came in jeeps and began tear gassing everyone in sight for over an hour. Balata is one of the only places in Nablus that actively resists the Israeli army and succeeds - the children and young boys throw stones and impede the tanks from entering into the camp regularly. Our role this morning was not to negotiate or approach the tanks but rather to be witnesses, and attempt to discourage shooting by putting our bodies on the line. Two tanks are sitting in an open field at the southern entrance of the camp; the children and boys are 50m from them with us. We make ourselves visible and watch as the children and boys throw stones and push the tanks back.

The tanks play cat and mouse for over two hours with the youth, racing forward and shooting in the air, rushing the crowd and letting out huge smoke clouds, then pulling back as the children race back out to throw stones. After over two hours of this we retreat back 3-4 m to some shade and sit as most the Palestinians mill about, seeming tired of these games. All of a sudden there is tank machine gun fire directly overhead us and shrapnel hits a 17 year-old boy in the head. I turn and see blood pouring down this young man's face, 1m in front of me. Everyone runs with him to a nearby clinic and the Internationals watch them go and turn towards the tanks that begin to retreat. What kind of military operation is this? All day they have been wandering the streets, firing at will and terrorizing. Things are closed again despite the fact that today marks the 14t! h day straight without any lift of curfew - two weeks without even an hour to go outside.

Israeli, American made F-16's bombed Gaza and we watched Aljazeera news, as the numbers of those dead and injured rose ever higher, reaching over 170 (155 injured and 15 killed) by 2:30 a.m. when the news broadcast ended. I sat with 7 young Palestinian men at the UPMRC center watching the people shift through the rubble looking for more and more bodies, and then flashes of the hospital in total chaos. Horribly, graphic images flashed across the TV screen, especially of children no longer recognizable as human, but I was most touched by the young man next to me, as I watched one tear roll down his cheek, and felt that I too, was going to cry.

Israel had agreed to pull out of the cities in the West Bank as part of recent negotiations and Hamas and Islamic Jihad had just called for an end to suicide bombings that night. Midnight rolls around and Israeli forces bomb an apartment building without any prior warning and with complete and total disregard for the lives inside, with the very intention of destroying them. The morning after, Hamas, Fatah, PLFP, and Islamic Jihad state loud and clear: Israel is not ready for peace, does not want peace. Suicide bombings are sure to follow. Can the world not see that Israel does not want peace? I can only imagine how this horrible incident is being spun in the U.S. Incessant stories about a Hamas member with little to no mention of the entire BUILDING of civilians. I bet no one in the U.S. saw the mangled children being shelved away at the hospital morgue,! the father who went mad as he watched his son die on the hospital bed, the young boy with a severely charred leg, or the mother lying covered in blood, an oxygen mask over her face and child on her lap. What kind of a war is this? "They are trying to make life as unbearable as possible," a friend tells me yesterday, "Economically, medically, psychologically, and physically." That night we saw the creation of hell on earth--hatred, evil, fear, and terror. "Where is the peace?" someone says..but everyone is silent.

This adorable 70 year old man from a nearby village greeted me the morning after. He asked me only: "Did you see the children?" referring to Gaza. I say "Yes" and watch as tears well up in his eyes and continue speaking for him. Imagine everything that he has seen in this lifetime and yet still, the loss of life, the death of innocent people, the killing of children makes small streams of salt-water flow from his soul.

Sharon and the Israeli government are not going to end this war; it is not in their interest to do so, as they may actually be forced to share this land. The cycle of violence seems to have no end in sight. We, all of us in the international community, must put pressure on our governments to TAKE ACTION NOW. There are many ways for you to help wipe this man's and this land's tears away. Make one call, send one email or letter today.

The sounds of machine gun fire, tanks and occasional explosions echo through the windows from the streets in the heart of Nablus as I go to send this - it is only 11 p.m. Don't wait until tomorrow to do something - the time is now. This simply must end.

August 13, 2002

Adam Stumacher Writes From Beit Fureek, Near Nablus

The town of Beit Fureek lies a mere seven kilometers from Nablus, but under military curfew they might just as well be separated by an ocean. According to Atef Hanini, the town's mayor, not a single resident of this town has been to Nablus for two months now. Previously much of the town's working population was employed in Nablus, so they are now unable to get to work (though of course were they by some miracle able to get to the city, they would find all shops and businesses closed due to curfew as well). However, the real crisis in Beit Fureek is not unemployment, but water.

Every ounce of water for this town of 12,000 residents must be brought by truck from Nablus. The Israeli authorities have refused to tap into the water pipeline that passes less than five hundred meters from city limits. There is also a spring close enough to this town that the residents can hear its gurgling (when their ears are not filled with the sounds passing tanks or M16 rounds). This spring has enough water that it could meet the needs of all the town's' residents, plus the residents of the nearby town of Beit Dejan, which faces the same water crisis. But one hundred percent of the water from this spring is diverted to Israeli settlements in the Jordan valley. So the water tanker has become the tenuous lifeline for this whole community.

The town owns a total of five water trucks. The trouble is, the trucks are only occasionally let through the nearby Israeli army checkpoint. In theory, they are allowed to pass back and forth to Nablus between the hours of 10 AM and 2 PM. But soldiers often detain the trucks so long at the checkpoint that even completing one run per day can be a challenge. Sometimes, when turned around at the checkpoint, desperate truck drivers fill up from non-sanitary water sources, which has led to a serious problem with amoebic dysentery in the town (which has almost no access to medical care, again due to the curfew).

Beit Fureek had been averaging eight tankers of water per day since April, while Hanini assesses the community's basic survival need at twenty five or twenty six tankers per day. But when I visited the town on August 13, extremely strict enforcement at the checkpoint for the past couple of days meant that only one water truck had arrived in the town over the past 48 hours.

Some residents have been without water in their homes for over 40 days now. The only way this community survives is by sharing whatever limited resources they have with their neighbors. Lack of water has severely damaged the town's agricultural output. Farmers have stopped watering their crops, and most of the town's livestock has been slaughtered because there is insufficient water to keep both animals and humans alive. In short, the people of Beit Fureek are being murdered, very slowly and systematically, by the conditions of occupation.

But the killings are not always so slow. I spent the night in the home of Hassan, an extremely eloquent and erudite engineer in his late twenties. He told the story of his late uncle, Mohammed Zamout. Mohammed was seventy years old last October when he went to help in the town's annual olive harvest. This is an extremely dangerous activity, as the town's olive groves are close to an Israeli settlement (the grove has been there for generations, but the settlement lands were stolen since 1967). At the end of the day, when all the people of Beit Fureek returned to their homes, Mohammed's absence was noted by his family. They searched all night, but were unable to find his body until they returned to the olive grove the next morning. This seventy year old man had been shot, his arms were cut off below the elbows, his legs severed below the knees, one eye was pulled out of his socket, and his skull was crushed by a rock. Israeli authorities eventually arrested a settler by the name of Gurham for this crime, but Gurham pleaded temporary insanity and was acquitted, never serving a day of jail time.

Every person you meet here in Palestine has a story to tell, and every story leaves you unable to breathe. You want to curl into a ball and cry, or thrash on the ground and shout at the top of your lungs, but you cannot. You offer your condolences, sip your coffee, and pledge yourself to fight this injustice.

Dr. Martin Luther King once said that we should not rest until justice flows like water. But for the thirsty Palestinian people, the tanks are still detained at the closest checkpoint.

Adam

August 15, 2002

International Solidarity Movement (ISM)
Grassroots International Protection for Palestinians (GIPP)

INVITATION:

YOUR PRESENCE IS NEEDED FOR THE OLIVE HARVEST IN PALESTINE

Resisting the Occupation by Insisting on Life

Throughout the West Bank and Gaza, Palestinian land has been and continues to be confiscated by the Israeli government. Illegal Israeli colonies are built on occupied Palestinian land; more land is confiscated to build roads that encircle Palestinian villages but are not for use by Palestinians; Palestinians are locked up in their towns and villages as Israeli soldiers stand guard; Palestinians are not allowed to access their own property; crops go bad and the Palestinian economy worsens; oppression is ingrained but not accepted.

Since October 2000, hundreds of thousands of Palestinian trees have been bulldozed, uprooted or set ablaze by Israeli soldiers and settlers - 200,000 of these olive trees. Olive trees are a symbol of the life of the Palestinian, and their destruction by Israeli forces is an attempt to de-root the Palestinians from their land.

The economic impact of Israeli policies on the olive sector has been massive  over 10 million dollars lost to damage in the past two years, and millions more to Israel's barring farmers from their land. And these policies are designed to have impact not just now, but for years to come  olive trees produce for generations.

This year we are calling on you to join us for the olive harvest in Palestine.

With international accompaniment, we can help ensure that Palestinian farmers and landowners are not met with brutal and sometimes lethal violence as they attempt to till.

With your help and participation we will undertake a campaign to highlight to the world the injustice of Israeli occupation that has stolen life, not only from Palestinians but also from Israelis.

The Olive Harvesting Campaign, part of the people's nonviolent resistance to the occupation, will be from October 15 - November 15, 2002. Orientation and training will be held on October 13 and 14. Please register to join us at www.palsolidarity.org . For more information, please contact info@palsolidarity.org or see: www.palsolidarity.org, www.rapprochement.org , www.palestinemonitor.org .

The olive is the lifeline of the Palestinian people. Come to Palestine and help Palestinians endure by joining them in concert with their land.

Important Notes:
1 - It is recommended that you stay for at least two weeks, though if this is not possible, your presence anytime throughout the duration of the campaign is appreciated.
2 - It will cost you approximately $150 per week for food, accommodation and travel in Palestine
3 - Training and orientation is mandatory for participation More information available on website - www.palsolidarity.org

Appeal: Outbreak of Hepatitis A in Palestine

I am writing in appeal for international assistance in what could be a dire humanitarian crisis. The residents of Salem, a village near Nablus in the West Bank, are facing a severe outbreak of Hepatitis A. According to Dr. Ghassan Hamdan of the Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees in Nablus, there have been 95 confirmed cases in this village since the outbreak first began two weeks ago. Additionally, there are 9 confirmed cases in Iraq Bureen, a nearby community, and other unconfirmed reports of further infections in neighboring villages. Thus far, all 104 confirmed infections have been children.

Dr. Hamdan asserts that recent damage to the village's infrastructure is the most likely cause of the problem. Israeli military forces, while using bulldozers to place a roadblock on the main access road to Salem, have broken open sewage lines, possibly contaminating the area's water supply. Another example of infrastructure damage is the dumping of garbage from nearby Israeli settlements in areas where villagers grow their food. Additionally, 58 consecutive days of curfew in the Nablus area have led to poor overall sanitary conditions, malnutrition, and lack of access to medical care, greatly exacerbating the situation.

Due to lack of funding, the Medical Relief in Palestine is unable to provide the necessary vaccinations for the village's residents. Dr. Hamdan warns that, while the prognosis for Hepatitis infections among children is generally positive, if the epidemic continues it may spread to infants and to the elderly, with potentially devastating effects. Therefore, the need for help in this situation is urgent.

The major needs in this crisis are funding for the vaccine and assistance with transporting the medication to the Nablus area. The Israeli siege which restricts Palestinian movement, both within and between Palestinian towns, makes it almost impossible for local Palestinians to transport medical supplies and move in other emergency cases. We believe that the direct intervention of international aid organizations is crucial in addressing humanitarian crises in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Our teams of international volunteers and activists, along with our Palestinian partners, will continue to work around the siege to provide aid to those in need. Please consider helping us.

Any organization or individual wishing to help with this crisis should contact the Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Organizations in Nablus at +972-9-238-7174. You can also contact Susan Barclay in Nablus at +972-59-877-091 or +972-55-829-680.

Thank you very much for your attention in this matter. Sincerely,

Adam Stumacher
Volunteer
International Solidarity Movement

August 14, 2002

TULKAREM: A WEEK OF EXTREME VIOLENCE

By Rebecca Murray

I have just spent the past week in Tulkarem. Tulkarem straddles the line of the West Bank and Israel, where you can see the lights of Netanya and the sea in the distance. But the city is completely isolated, and this imprisonment heavily enforced by the surrounding Israeli military.

This is a city where extreme violence carried out by the Israeli military on all Palestinian citizens is hushed up. Journalists are strictly forbidden from this 'military zone'.

Apaches this past week have been flying low over the city day and night, firing into Tulkarem camp and city with routine frequency. Tanks have occupied the center and outskirts of the city, also firing often. And the soldiers in jeeps, many of them Druze, drive around constantly, shouting that if they see anyone on the street they will shoot.

The military is very busy arresting and shooting at civilians, on many occasions children as young as seven years old. Journalists have been threatened with arrest unless they get out of town immediately, their film confiscated on site. This week Ha'aretz reporter Gideon Levy's car was fired upon with no provacation (a bullet straight in the center of the windshield), the only thing saving his life being the bullet proof glass.

COLD BLOODED EXECUTIONS

On Tuesday, August 7th, the military executed one of the men on their "wanted list", Ziad D'ayas, 28 years old, in cold blood. They also murdered two Palestinian civilians in the vicinity, afterwards claiming they too were "wanted". This official military statement is an absolute untruth.

One, Mahair Jesmawi, 17 years old, was a student who had just learnt moments before he had just passed his end of the year school examinations. Elated, he stepped out briefly onto the street and was killed. The other was Mohammed Saidz, 24 years old, a mechanic working in his shop who had the bad luck to be happened upon by soldiers going after Ziad. He was shot and died a slow death after ambulances were prevented from retrieving him.

This military action was conducted in a particulary gruesome way. According to eyewitnesses in neighbouring buildings, it started around 9 am that morning. Snipers, and soldiers, many in plain clothers surrounded the area of the mechanic's roof where Ziad was sleeping. They proceeded to aim and shoot, hitting Ziad in his leg and neck. Ziad fell off the roof into the shop, breaking his limbs but still alive. They then proceeded to bash him all over his body with their guns, before firing 9 dum dum bullets directly into his head, killing him instantly. Their dogs were set on the body, and acid was poured on his arms, legs, and stomach.

Ambulances were prevented from moving for five hours that morning. One tried to retrieve the three bodies that the military held in a small field outside the mechanic's house, but the ambulance was fired upon and had to turn back. Finally, a civilian car rushed the bodies to the government hospital as soon as the soldiers left the the vicinity.

I viewed the bodies as they came in. Ziad's body was grotesquely tortured, limbs broken, and his skin peeled off in huge sections from the acid. His head was half blown off. Mahair, the 17 year old student, was shot in the head. And Mohammed, the mechanic, had a bullet in his torso.

Meanwhile, the houses in the area of the murders were emptied of families, as the soldiers went through each one, damaging furniture, stealing money on two occasions. A group of roughly thirty men were arrested and taken to Israel, including two wounded by live ammunition.

THE HOSPITAL AND AMBULANCES UNDER SIEGE

The ambulance dispatch center is next to Tulkarem's government hospital. On three occasions this past week both the hospital and ambulance entrance have been blocked by tanks and jeeps. Apparently this is quite normal.

On these occasions, soldiers scream at the hospital gate keepers to close the gates. Once, to punctuate their point, the soldiers fired live ammunition through the gaps in the gate, towards the emergency room entrance, hitting a car in the process. Thankfully, the car had no occupants at the time.

On these three occasions the Red Cross has been informed by the military that the ambulances cannot move AT ALL. Shooting at moving ambulances is unfortunately not uncommon in Tulkarem.

A DECIMATED AMBULANCE

Three days ago, the ambulance center wanted to deliver an ambulance that had been decimated by tank fire on March 7th, to the main ambulance center in Ramallah.

The attack on this particular ambulance resulted in the death of the driver, Ibrahim. The vehicle was shot upon without warning by a tank as Ibrahim was heading back to the hospital after delivering a patient. He was killed by numerous bullets to the head. His passenger, a medic called Sophia, was pushed down onto the floor of the ambulance by Ibrahim moments before he was killed, so luckily escaped with only shrapnel all over her body.

The ambulance center had to negotiate with the soldiers at Tulkerem's checkpoint to transport this badly damaged ambulance through. When a soldier saw the 30 odd bullet holes in the windshield and body of the vehicle, as well as Ibrahim's blood and hair smeared on the inside of the driver's door, he asked me what happened. When the story was told, the soldier's response was, "they must have been fired upon by their own people". "No, it was definitly an Israeli tank," I said. [caught on film, eyewitness accounts, as well as the medic's account] "Well... then they must have been terrorists," the soldier adamantly replied.

SUMMER CAMP FOR KIDS CONTINUES UNDER FIRE

The summer camp for children is popular, but often caught up in the violence. The kids have been in the downtown camp on numerous occasions when the tanks come in to the downtown area and start firing.

The kids who attend (roughly 7 - 10 years old) are from both the city and the camp. Every morning the kids, escourted by the teachers run single file along the sides of buildings to reach the summer camp. The same routine happens upon their return home.

Running to the homes of the kids one afternoon we came across a tank and had to duck into a nearby house. The kids were terrified, one 8 year old girl sobbing with fear uncontrollaby. The tank opened fire outside the house as we cowered on the floor.

Thankfully, there was a small kitten lounging on the floor. We used it to divert the kids' attention from the blasts outside, playfully pulling the kitten's tail and saying "look,look." They focused on the kitten and the small girl stopped crying. We left when when the street fell silent again, and ran to their houses.

TO SUM UP

It is hard to conclude this essay of what was witnessed this bloody week in Tulkarem. The violence was so strong, and details brutal. For more information please call:

Rebecca @ +972-55-558-954

August 13, 2002

The Effect of Closure on the Village of Iraq Bureen

By Ellen O'Grady

Since July 26 I have been living in and witnessing the effects of the Israeli military closure on the village of Iraq Bureen and its 900 inhabitants. Iraq Bureen is located three miles outside of the city of Nablus ontop of a terraced mountain 880 meters above sea level. Since the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Intifada and more forcefully since the Israeli invasion into the West Bank, Israel has imposed a closure on Iraq Bureen which impedes movement into and from the village. The closure of the village, which is implemented through military outposts, checkpoints, road blocks, physical barriers, tanks, planes, and helicopters, enables the Israeli army to completely control and restrict movement of people and goods.

The road leading from Iraq Bureen to the surrounding towns and the city of Nablus is closed by a six foot tall rock and dirt barrier constructed by the Israeli army. The road and the surrounding valleys and mountain paths are constantly watched over by an Israeli military camp and military posts on the neighboring mountains. Those who risk breaking the closure by walking around the roadblock or through the valleys risk both being arrested and being shot at. Many take the risk in order to care for and support their families. For example, people break the seige in order to transport food to Nablus for the needed income, to work in neighboring villages for the needed income, to transport water and food and fuel from Nablus to Iraq Bureen, and to go to Nablus to receive medical care.

MEDICAL CARE DENIED

Over 70% of the Palestinian population live in rural areas, such as Iraq Bureen, which do not provide hospital services. Closure therefore severly restricts the population from health care facilities. The inablitity for the people in Iraq Bureen to reach hospitals and clinics has severly affected pregnant women, sick children and people requiring treatment for things such as cancer, kidney failure, and diabetes.

On the night of August 6 Hiyam Q's baby died while she was in labor in her home. It was a late pregnancy, the baby was very big and could not be delivered vaginally. Had she had access to a hospital a ceasarean section could have been performed and most likely the child's life would have been saved. (The UNWRA reprts that among its patients there has been a 58% increase in the number of still births since the military closure. Other medical organizations reprt a 100% increase in home deliveries.)

In the past two weeks I have accompanied Palestinians breaking the closure in order to help them reach medical care safely. I have walked with three sick children and their families to reach hospitals and clinics in Nablus. And with Salwa an old woman with sores on her hands and face who is suffering from untreated Diabetes. Doctors at St. Luke's hospital in Nablus report a 49% decline in general patients, a 73% decline in specialty services, and a 53% decline in surgeries.

KILLED FOR BREAKING THE CLOSURE TO WORK OUTSIDE IRAQ BUREEN: THE STORY OF ADNAN AND MAMOUD

After six months without any work two laborers from Iraq Bureen, Adnan and Mamoud, and a friend and co-worker of theirs from the village of Tell broke the closure to work in a town North of Nablus. They worked for two weeks painting and putting down tile. Before their expected return Adnan called his sister to tell her they would be leaving the next day and be home in two days. The day after the phone call was made the three men were shot and killed by the Israeli Occupation forces in a field in a nearby town. They lay in the feild for two days without being discovered. On the third day the Israeli media reported the killing of the three men, claiming in the report that the three were suspected terrorists, a claim that has no evidence to support it. An ambulance was permitted to reach the three bodies and take them to a hospital in Nablus. The bullet holes were as large as fists suggesting they were fired upon from a plane or tank. Adnan had a large hole through h! is stomach and eight bullet holes throuh his right leg. Mahmoud had a bullet through his mouth and the top of his head had been cut open. Both of their faces were blue and pocked with gravel from being dragged from the location of the killing. Nothing supports the claim that the men conducted violent activites against Israel. All evidence supports that they were laborers returning from work.

I visited and sat with the two families in Iraq Bureen. The family of Mamoud showed me the interior decorating work he had done on their home, including a relief of painted roses on the ceiling and a border of flowers painted on the wall.

The families of Mamoud and Adnan fear that the Israeli military will soon come to destroy their homes. Since 1967, the Israeli authorities have partially or wholly demolished close to 10,000 Palestinian homes. Often these house demolitions are used as punitive measures (e.g., against the families of suspected terrorists). Nearly every day in the past week we have heard the explosions and demolitions of homes in Nablus and the village of Tell. There has been increased tank activity around Iraq Bureen; people here fear there homes will be next.

AGRICULTURE UNDER SEIGE

The majority of the people in Iraq Bureen depend on the sale of cactus fruit, milk and yogurt to support their families. These past eleven days the cactus fruit should have gone to markets in Nablus. Because of the closure and a strict curfew on Nablus there has not been access to markets and much of the fruit is beginning to rot. The small amount of fruit that has reached Nablus has been carried in buckets by farmers and their donkeys who were able to evade the military blockade. This is getting more and more difficult as the presence of tanks and military blockades around Iraq Bureen and Nablus has increased over the past two weeks.

I have spoken with nine farmers who had been trying to get to Nablus with their cactus fruit this past week and who had been stopped by Israeli soldiers and forced to sit with their faces bowed down to the ground for more than four hours in the hot sun and never permitted to sell their fruit.

From the top of Iraq Bureen I have watched tanks stop and turn back farmers and their donkeys on the road leading to Nablus.

HUNGER AND MALNUTRITION

As a direct result of the closure there are families in Iraq who have no food or money and are surviving on olive oil. I sat with the mothers of two families, Iman and Miriam. Iman has a husband who suffers from a mental illness (dissociation) that is treated through medication. However since the closure he has not been able to recieve his medication. Since the invasion the medication is not even available in Nablus, only in Israel. As a result he has been mentally unstable and unable to provide for the family. The husband of Miriam also suffers from a mental illness. Until the seige, the family of her husband had been providing for her. Now, the family of her husband has little money for themsleves and so Miriam's children go without food and sleep much of the day to try to escape their hunger.

Many families in Iraq Bureen are getting by just on bread and olive oil and are suffering from malnutrution. The Palestine Bureau of Statistics recently relased a survey on nutrition and found that 63.8% of those surveyed faced difficulties on food supply since the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Intifada. 45.5% are suffering from chronic malnutrition. 36.9% are suffering from mild chronic malnutrition.

WATER UNDER SIEGE

Iraq Bureen is one of many villages suffering from a severe water shortage as a result of closing the Palestinian territories. There is no water source in Iraq Bureen so the village depends on water tankers to come and fill people's wells. Normally water tankers come every week during the summer months. Under the closure they cannot reach the villages. This forces people to break closure, bring donkeys down to a river and collect what little water they are able to with plastic containers.

POWER SHORTAGE

Iraq Boreen is one of over 130 West Bank villages that has electricity supplied for only a fraction of the day. Electricity in IB is generated by a motor powered by benzine. Normally the motor runs for seven hours. Under the seige there is often only enough diesel fuel to run for three hours a day.

*********************

Closure is in direct violation of internationl humanitarian law. Under the conditions incurred by the closure, people of Iraq Bureen and throughout the occupied territories are suffering from a lack of access to food, fuel and water and access to basic health care. Breaking the closure puts people at risk for being detained and arrested as well being shot at and killed. The people here are in a state of emergency. We must do everything we can to end this seige and the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

August 12, 2002

STOP DEMOLISHING HOMES!
International activists try using their bodies

By Matt Horton

[JENIN] Last night at around 2am Israeli soldiers surrounded the home of 26-year-old Ala'a Sabah and ordered the entire family out of the house - Alaa's 9-month pregnant wife, his parents, four sisters, 2 brother-in-laws, and his sisters - 5 children (between the ages of 4 and 12). Soldiers then locked all of the women and children in one room of the house while they interrogated the men.

Ala'a Sabah is "wanted" by the Israeli Army, as are/were hundreds of Palestinians who dare to be active in the freedom struggle. Since Ala'a was not (and doesn't dare to come) home, the Israeli soldiers took his 60-year-old fragile father, Mohammad Sabah (who had recently undergone open-heart-surgery) and his two brothers-in-law, to the Salem military base. Though the three were released this afternoon, they were forced to sit in the hot sun all morning without the luxuries of food or water, and the soldiers warned the family that they would be coming back tonight to demolish the family home.

Twenty-three year old, Irish national Caiohme Butterly is currently staying in the house, and along with the women of the home, says that they are committed to staying in this home and protecting it if the soldiers come to demolish it.

On August 6, 2002, the Israeli Supreme Court decided that the homes of Palestinian "terror suspects" can be destroyed by the Israeli military and government without prior warning. Israel needs to be reminded that destruction of property in occupied territories is forbidden under article 53 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. It constitutes collective punishment, which is explicitly prohibited by article 33 of the same convention, which labels collective punishment a war crime. Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states: "No protected person may be punished for an offense he or she has not personally committed," and "collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited."

The United Nations and states signatory to the Fourth Geneva Convention do not seem to be taking action to stop this blatant violation of international law. Civilians are. A number of foreign peace activists are staying in Palestinian homes slated for demolition by the Israeli military and government, in Jenin, Nablus, and Bethlehem.

For more information, please contact Huwaida at +972-67-473-308.

In Jenin - Caiohme (pronounced Qweeva): +972-55-975-374 I
In Nablus - Paul: +972-59-370-173 I
In Bethlehem - Mike: +972-59-377-281

Account by Matt Horton

Since I last wrote, I have been staying in Al-Fara' Refugee Camp in the home of the family of a suicide bomber. The following describes the family and the situation well:

Al-Fara' camp is located between Nablus and Jenin in the region of Tubas. The camp like other refugee camps is crowded and impoverished. Despite closure and upwards of 65% unemployment, the people in the camp were well organized and in good spirits.

It was difficult to stay in the house of the al-ghoul family because they were facing much pain. Their son had blown himself up in an operation on 18 June 2002, 10 days after the middle brother was married. The only steadily employed brother lost his job soon after and now their house is going to be destroyed.

They were living with relatives, but because the camp is already crowded enough, it was a difficult situation. In addition, their house was not yet destroyed so their problem had not yet reached a resolution and the pain of the demolition was being drawn out and the inevitable delayed. They kept a smile on their face, but it would occasionally break and tears would come to their eyes suddenly. One morning the father, a man of over 60 years, broke down crying in front of us. He was a refugee from Haifa in 1948 and now he was a refugee again. His whole life of struggle for his family to live better than him was about to be destroyed.

Our request was to sleep in the house at night and do what we could to save it or at least the neighbors houses when and if the military came. In the day we were basically on vacation. There was no army to be seen, the weather was nice and the land was beautiful. The camp is in the midst of a rural farming area and sits at the head of the Fara' valley. The Fara' valley has its source in a natural spring which flows into the valley making it green like a small nile river valley. One day we were invited to a house in the valley and walked through orchards of limes and fruit, tomato fields and even a few palm and banana trees.

We also met with people in the UN emergency medical clinic in the camp which serves over 100,000 people from as far away as Jerhico. There is no hospital in the area, and while it is only a 20 minute drive to either Nablus or Jenin hospitals by ambulance, these days it takes about 4 hours due to closure (if the ambulance is allowed to pass the checkpoint).

In the past two weeks, a number of homes have been destroyed in the Tubas region. For the sake of documentation and the get a better sense of what might happen to the Al-Ghoul house, we visited the houses and the families. The following is a report we made about two destroyed houses:

Report on Recently Demolished Homes in the Tubas Region

11 August 2002

Prepared by:
Members of the International Solidarity Movement in Al-Fara' Refugee Camp.

Town of Ak-Kaaba: Masri Home

Ezzeddine Masri was a member of Hamas who made an operation killing himself and 22 israelis at the Sbarro restraunt in West Jerusalem on August 9th 2001. His action was in retaliation to an attack on a Hamas Office in Nablus on August 1, 2001. The public office was exploded by apache missiles. 8 people, 2 Hamas leaders, 4 office staff and 2 children (ages 6 and 8)walking by on the street, were killed. The Israeli Occupation Forces arrived at the Masri home at 2am on Sunday, August 4th 2002, nearly 1 year after the operation in West Jerusalem. Their force consisted of 2 tanks, 8 jeeps and more than 200 soldiers. The soldiers kicked in the door to the house awaking Ezzeddine's parents and 4 children (each under 4 years). They asked a neighbor to knock on the door of the adjacent house. The Occupation Forces arrested Ezzeddine's father and three brothers. The family had 20 minutes to leave the house and the soldiers asked all of the neighbors to leave the area

The house was exploded at about 5am. 4 neighboring houses were damaged by pieces of the house and by the concussion from the explosion itself. A large piece of the roof from the house flew over 50 meters, landing on the roof of a neighboring house and smashing a large hole in the roof. Doors were shaken from their frames, a car was destroyed, windows were shattered and there were holes in the exteriors of the neighboring houses. The stable of the Masri house was also completely destroyed leaving 20 sheep dead.

"What is our crime?" Ezzeddine's uncle asked.

The Red cross visited the house and promised a tent which has yet to arrive.

The father and three brothers were released after 4 days of detention in Ofr detention camp, a newly established prison camp that consists of large tents. They were beaten and interrogated. One of the brothers, who showed us marks from beatings and lacerations from handcuffs, estimated that there were about 7000 palestinians held in Ofr currently.

Town of Tubas: Fukha Home

Mazen Fukha, 28, a member of Hamas was arested by the isreali occupation forces on Tuesday, August 6th 2002 under the auspices that he was suspected of helping bombers. His family has not been in contact with him and does not know where he is being held until the date of this report.

36 hours after Mazen was arrested, 4am on Thursday, 8th August 2002, the Israeli Occupation Forces came to the Fukha Home, owned by Mazen's father. They arrived with 16 jeeps and more than 200 soldiers. They told the 9 people in the house (Mazen's father, mother, sister, wife, brother and 4 children) to exit the house immediately. The people refused because some of the women were without proper clothes. The soldiers entered the house and told the family that they had 20 minutes to leave the house.

As they tried to save some things from the house, neighbors offered to help, but were scared away by shots fired in the air. Both Mazen's father, Muhammad Sulieman, and his 18 year old brother, Ma'an, were arrested. The women of the family and many of the neighbors were told to go to the municipality building 500 meters up the road.

At 5:45 am, the army exploded the house with dynamite. Rubble from the house landed hundreds of yards from the house. All of the glass in the neighbors houses shattered and many of their door frames were broken from the blast.

Some neighbors were still in their homes and a man who did not understand what was happening approached the house after the soldier had left. He was knocked to the ground by the blast but did not sustain serious injuries.

The family was surprised by the operation because their son has not even had a trial following his arrest. He has not been convicted of anything let alone his entire family.

Mazens mother said: "I was born here and my grandfather and his grandfather. Why do the people from Europe and Russia have the right to live here and we do not? How does someone from Russia have the right to explode my house?"

The Red Cross visited the house and gave the family a small tent. The family does not know where either Mazen, his father, or his brother are being held.

Witnessed By:

Colm Breathnach, Dublin, Ireland 067-457-289
Matt Horton, Los Angeles, USA 067-349-442
David Jarmula, Brooklyn, USA 067-378-642

August 12, 2002

INTERNATIONALS CHAIN THEMSELVES TO HOME UNDER THREAT OF DEMOLITION

[NABLUS] International civilians are going to lock themselves down inside the Atiti family home in Balata refugee camp tonight in an attempt to prevent the illegal demolition of the house. The Israeli military has promised to return to the home tonight to destroy it.

Last night the Atiti family had their home sprayed with bullets by Israeli soldiers. The four internationals who were sleeping in the home that night were detained along with the male neighbors and taken to the Huwara military base. They were all eventually released.

Israel is engaging in a brutal form of terrorism. Under the 1949 Geneva Conventions, collective punishments are a war crime. Article 33 of the Fourth Convention states: "No protected person may be punished for an offense he or she has not personally committed," and "collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited."

"We are here in defense of humanitarian law and the right of all people to live without harassment by foreign occupation."

For more information in Balata contact:

Josh (USA) 067 490 582
Paul Larudee (USA) 059 370 170
Adam & Mey (USA) 067 396 178
Don (UK) & Paul (UK) 067 481 761
Lisa (UK) 056 361 893
For more information on the International Solidarity Movement contact:
Huwaida 067 473 308
ISM Office 02 626 4844

"Individuals have International duties which transcend the national obligations of obedience. Therefore individual citizens have the duty to violate domestic laws to prevent crimes against peace & humanity."
Nuremberg War Crime Tribunal, 1950

August 11, 2002

Update on deportees

The nine international activists that were snatched by the Israeli military and police last Wednesday in the Palestinian village of Huwarra and have been sitting in prison, had a closed hearing this morning at the Ramle prison. They all contested their deportation and offered to leave 'of their own free will.' Israeli officials and the French, Irish and American embassies seem to be eager to get the activists out of here and the process of shipping them out began this afternoon. They will all be gone by Wednesday, August 13.

The deportation orders for the international activists have already been issued. Our lawyer on this case, Ms. Gaby Laski, will appeal this order in court, even after the activists have departed. The Israeli government charged the internationals with 1) 'blocking roads' and 2) 'ignoring military orders'. These activists were part of a Palestinian-organized non-violent direct-action protest against the siege and curfew imposed on their village and across the Occupied Palestinian Territories by Israeli forces. This is reason enough for the Israeli government to want the activists out of here. This is not the first time they have imprisoned and deported foreigners for speaking out against grave violations of human rights and international law being committed by the Israeli government. The Israeli government has been systematically denying entry into Israel, to human rights workers, pro-peace activists and fact-finding commissions. Most recently Israel denied entry into the country to a US congressional staff delegation accompanied by Jews for Peace in Palestine and Israel and the American Muslims for Jerusalem.

Those that have been calling and pressing government officials with regards to the specific case of these internationals, please demand that your government takes a stand on Israel's policy of abusing, detaining, deporting and denying entry to human rights workers and observers into the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Since Israel controls all borders in and out of the Palestinian Territories and thus outside access to the Palestinian people, such policies are dangerous and worthy of condemnation in the strongest terms. Our money and our silence goes into supporting the crimes being committed by the Israeli government against the Palestinian people and into maintaining a violent occupation that has and continues to take many, many lives. Those that have not yet written a letter or made one phone call, please do.

Below I include a sample letter and contact information.

Meanwhile, the international activists that are still here are desperately trying to get information out about what's happening here and trying to provide some sort of protection to the people by virtue of their presence. We will send a sample personal account in a separate email. Please keep up your support!

In solidarity & struggle
INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT

Sample letter written by US citizen:

TO THE US CONSULATE IN JERUSALEM:
Dear Ms. Dilworth and/or others in American Citizen Services:

URGENT ATTENTION REQUESTED

I would like to know what the Consulate is doing on behalf of the three Americans who were rough-handled and arrested by theIDF while they were PEACEFULLY DEMONSTRATING in Huwwara on Aug. 7 and are now being readied for deportation from Israel?

The three Americans are: Adam Shapiro, Brooklyn, NY; Charles Williams, Central Vermont; Javier Cortez, Los Angeles, CA.

As an American, I expect my country to stand for "liberty andjustice for all." Instead, I see it supporting to a brutal regime that's fixed on the oppression (35 years of it) and now destruction of the entire Palestinian people. Israel and the US keep urging non-violence, and yet when Palestinians andinternational volunteers resist non-violently, Israel attacks. The Occupied Palestinian Territories are not Israel's land, and yet they have full control over them. Like Dwight D. Eisenhower said in 1957: To let an occupier determine the terms of occupation and how to end it is to turn back the clock on international law (it's also ludicrous).

Enough is enough. Israel is clearly not fighting a war againstterrorism. They are waging one. (Did you know that Huwwara has been under 24-hour curfew for about TWO YEARS?)

These courageous American citizens -- and all internationals who've joined the non-violent Palestinian resistance -- shouldbe given every possible support by the Consulate, the Embassy,the State Dept., Congress, and every other steward of my taxpayer dollars.

I look forward to hearing from you how you are handling this matter.

Thank you, and sincerely,
Name (contact info)

For US citizens:
United States Embassy in Israel
Tel: +972-3-519-7575
Fax: +972-3-517-3227

United States Consulate in Jerusalem
Tel: +972-2-622-7230/50
Fax: +972-2-624-9462
Ask for American Citizen Services – Alison Dilworth
e-mail: jerusalemacs@state.gov

US Department of State
Bureau of Near East Affairs
Office of Public Affairs
Tel: 202-647-5150
Tel: 202-736-4995 Kim Richter
e-mail: secretary@state.gov
e-mail: askpublicaffairs@state.gov

Call/fax/write your congressional representatives! – www.congress.org for contact information.

For French citizens:
Embassy of France in Israel
Tel: +972-3-520-8300
Fax: +972-3-520-8340

French Consulate in Jerusalem
Tel: +972-2-625-9481
Fax: +972-2-625-9178

Israeli Ministry of Interior
Tel: +972-2-629-4701
Fax: +972-2-629-4750

Call/fax/write your Members of Parliament!

For Irish citizen:
Embassy of the United Kingdom
Tel: +972-3-725-1222
Fax: +972-3-527-8574

August 8, 2002

ALLOW PALESTINIAN FARMERS TO GET TO THEIR LAND!

From the Palestinian village of BEIT UMMAR

In June 2002 Israeli settlers from the nearby settlement of Karme Tzur unilaterally expanded their borders and built a road, destroying dozens of fruit trees, and preventing the Beit Ummar farmers who own the land from reaching it. On July 9, members of Christian Peacemaker Teams accompanied Palestinian farmers hoping to harvest their plums; they were blocked by armed Israeli settlers and soldiers.

This month the grapes in this same area will be ready for harvest. At stake are about 1500 tons of grapes during the next two months. Also at stake are Palestinian rights to go to their land -- in this one case, about 125 acres. At a time when curfew and closure are already choking the economy, preventing the harvest and marketing of produce puts more families closer to starvation.

The situation in the village of Beit Ummar is replicated throughout the West Bank and Gaza.

ACTION

Please fax or send postcards to your Ministry of Foreign Affairs/State Department, to the PM/President and/or your MP/Representatives and Senators. Ask them to inquire of the Israeli government what provisions they are making to protect Palestinians from Israeli settlers during the coming grape harvest. Ask for a reply regarding the vinyard of Abu Jabr -- see his story below. For groups, pre- printed postcards are available from Christian Peacemaker Teams.

SAMPLE TEXT FOR POSTCARD AND FAX

I am concerned that Palestinian farmers who own land adjoining Israeli settlements in the West Bank are being harassed and assaulted by settlers when they go to their fields. Christian Peacemaker Teams has told us about the problems of the Abu Jabr family and other farm families from Beit Ummar who own land on the north side of the Karme Tzur settlement. The grape harvest is approaching and these families will be impoverished if they are not allowed to harvest their grapes. Please ask our embassy staff to investigate and to report to you what steps the Israeli military administration will be taking to protect these farmers in the coming grape harvest. I will be looking forward to hearing from you what information you are able to obtain.

Thank you,
(sign with your name and address)

ADDRESSES

Canada: Prime Minister Jean Chretien, House of Commons, Ottawa ON K1A 0A6 Fax 613-941-6900

Minister of Foreign Affairs Bill Graham, House of Commons, Ottawa ON K1A 0A6 Fax 613-996-3443

You can mail your MP at the House of Commons address, or find their fax number by looking them up at http://www.parl.gc.ca/common/senmemb/house/members/MemberList.asp? Language=E&Parl=37&Ses=1&Sect=hoccur

USA: President George W. Bush, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20500 Fax 202-456-2461

Secretary of State Colin Powell, 2201 C Street, NW, Washington, DC 20520 Fax: (202) 261-8577

Senator _____, US Senate, Washington, DC 20510 Representative ______, US House of Representatives, Washington DC 20515

For fax numbers, go to http://congress.org/ and enter your zip code

CASE: Muhammed Abdel Hamed Jabr Asslebi (Abu Jabr), Beit Ummar Abu Jabr has documents confirming his ownership of an 11 dunam (3 acre) parcel of land between the Palestinian villages of Halhoul and Beit Ummar west of the Hebron-Jerusalem road. In 1984, Israelis established an illegal settlement, Karme Tzur, on land adjacent to his property. Between 1996 and 1998 the Israeli government built bypass road #60, some of it following the Hebron-Jerusalem road, and other parts on land confiscated from Palestinian farmers. Additional roads were built to serve as access roads to Israeli settlements, including Karme Tzur. Palestinian access roads to the Hebron-Jerusalem road were blocked.

In early 1999 settlers moved the fence between Karme Tzur and Abu Jabr's land, in effect confiscating three dunams of his eleven. A lawyer with the Hebron Land Defence Committee took Abu Jabr's case and the case of other affected farmers to the Israeli courts. Six months later the court ruled in his favor. The fences were moved back to the pre 1999 location, with Israeli military personnel witnessing and enforcing.

During the six months while he was awaiting the court decision Abu Jabr experienced many incidents of settler harassment when he tried to work his land. On one occasion a settler named Schlomo, assisted by his dog, physically attacked Abu Jabr. Abu Jabr made a complaint at the Kiryat Arba Israeli police headquarters and was able to identify Schlomo. Upon returning to his land that day, he saw that 25 plum trees, 70 grape vines, and a stone field boundary wall had all been destroyed.

During 2000 and 2001, following his success in the court, Abu Jabr worked on the land and harvested his fruit with few problems. But in June 2002 the Karme Tzur settlement, with Israeli military cooperation, built a road on property belonging to Halhoul and Beit Ummar farmers. They uprooted trees and vines and established a border approximately 300 meters outside of the existing border. Both armed settlers and soldiers guarded the land and prevented farmers access to their land. In recent weeks the Israeli settlers have added lights along the road. This illegal confiscation more than doubles the acreage of Karme Tzur.

All of Abu Jabr's 11 dunams are within this new confiscation. All of his plum harvest, which would have been about a ton, fell from the trees and rotted on the ground. In late July he told members of CPT that he snuck back to his property like a thief to carry one carton of plums to his family.

The grapes will be ready to harvest in August and September. Half of Abu Jabr's land is planted with grapes. He usually sprays the grapes in June and July. He expects the quality of the grapes will be greatly reduced because he has been unable to spray. Still, he hopes to be able to harvest and market what he can. He is afraid that failure to access his land now will mean that it will be annexed to the settlement of Karme Tzur permanently. Loss of his land is the loss of everything for him.

August 6, 2002

Statement from Salah Afifi from Ramle Prison

The March on Huwara, Nablus Palestine

A meeting at the Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees center informed us of an invitation from the mayor of Huwara village to participate in a peaceful march. Huwara is a farming village that lies on the road from Nablus to Ramallah, a route well travelled by Palestinians even during these difficult times. Our presence was required to act as protection for Palestinian farmers and villagers and to document Israeli reaction to the peaceful protest that would be undertaken against the civilian Palestinian populace. Despite the exclusive media coverage of aggressive Palestinian actions, the majority of people I have met in the West Bank are crying out for a peaceful solution to the occupation.

Recently at an Israeli checkpoint a middle aged Palestinian woman approached our group. She explained her situation, typical for those living under Israeli occupation. For the fifth consecutive day she had been refused access to the village of Huwara, her home and family. Israel maintains she is a risk to its national security. This is not the first such case I have encountered and certainly not the worst. Six days earlier while at Calandia checkpoint, near Ramallah, I confronted an Israeli soldier who was refusing a pregnant woman and a mother with a severely handicapped infant passage from Jerusalem to Ramallah.

Many soldiers I have encountered have the shame of their actions etched on their faces. They go as far as to motion me to one side, away from superiors and admit they realise they are committing senseless acts of harassment and worse. There are many undocumented cases of women giving birth at checkpoints after having been refused access to medical facilities. Some cases have resulted in fatalities. Soldiers claim they have no choice. One whispered, "I just want to go home." It is not the short prison sentence they seem to fear for refusing to serve in the Occupied Territories but being ostracized from family and friends. At times I felt they demanded forgiveness from me to help them absolve themselves from the crimes they commit. I found it impossible to respond as they carry out their orders with deadly accuracy.

The morning of the seventh I made my way to the outskirts of Nablus where I met with 30 or so international volunteers. Peoples spirits were high at the first direct action undertaken by collective groups in that area since the beginning of the recent Israeli incursion. The fact that the people of Huwara had been subjected to curfews lasting as long as 48 days made us more determined to join them in their march on the checkpoint. The military installation that serves Huwara and Nablus was an hours trek. As we travelled I noted the complete destruction of the Ministry for Agriculture, decimated during the previous Israeli assault in April. The rubble is indicative of Israel's attempt to completely dismantle all forms of Palestinian authority. Farming has been the main source of income for the Palestinian people for centuries, a fact exploited by Israel in its method of collective punishment. 50% of Palestinians now live under the UN poverty line, 2$ the average daily budget per person.

At the Huwara checkpoint four soldiers manned the fortification. As we approached they were completely surprised by our sudden presence and immediately denied us passage. Our numbers allowed us to dismiss their threats and we calmly passed through. The ten minute walk between our party and the village was met with imprisoned voices from the people of Huwara cheering us and welcoming us from roadside houses. My gut feeling was that very few Palestinians would risk coming out of their homes in defiance of Israeli curfew orders. For them that would be risking their lives. As Israeli shots rang out one hundred and fifty Palestinian villagers came into view and our parties began to merge. A group of internationals had made the journey north, coming from Ramallah, which brought the internationals number to forty.

There was only seconds in which to exchange greetings. A quick strangers warm handshake and a thousand thanks in peoples eyes. The Palestinians and ourselves realised that this was the point of make or break for the march on Huwara. Israeli forces were approaching from two directions firing live rounds and no doubt calling for reinforcements. I joined a group of six that was given the unenviable task of forming a human shield 30 meters ahead with the remaining internationals flanking and dispersing amoung the marchers. Israeli forces were regrouping ahead and experienced members of ISM urged us forward, the theory being that the closer we kept to the soldiers the harder for them to use their arsenal. The tactic was working. We got close and pushed on at all times composed, calm and peaceful. The frustration resulting from years of oppressive control was overwhelmingly evident from the emotional Palestinian voices behind us and the extreme violence and intimidation on behalf of the soldiers thrusting rifle butts into our chests and pointing barrels in our faces. At one particular instant a soldiers magazine released from his weapon and landed at my feet. There was an unexpected moment of humour as our eyes met. He bent down to retrieve it and I stepped calmly forward leaving him and a group of Palestinians behind. He quickly scurried back behind his lines, not one arm raised in violence towards him.

The final standoff occurred after soldiers retreated in jeeps, regrouped, and escalated the violence. Rubber bullets were fired into the crowd, numerous sound grenades, and tear gas managed to overwhelm us. The soldiers opposing number swelled with reinforcements. They successfully managed to pull a number of Palestinians and internationals away. The mayor stepped forward and just as we had accepted his invitation to join his people we retreated at his request. During the retreat, occupation forces vehicles thrust forward breaking up the crowd and dragging people away. Many internationals felt a responsibility to maintain our protection for Palestinians and nine of us now face deportation.

None of us express regret but see the people of Huwara's courageous march a complete success worthy of the consequences.

Salah Afifi
Ramle Prison, Israel

August 10, 2002

Protecting a home: Jennie writes from Dheisheh

Hello to you all from the heart of Palestine.

I'm writing to you from Deheishe refugee camp in the West Bank where I have been since Tuesday. It has been an extremely powerful experience so far; so hard to communicate in an email, so I will do more of this when I return. I am keeping a journal for this purpose--to help sort through my thoughts and record what is happening here, so my energy is focused where it needs to be--in the present situation. The pain is so great.

We are staying with a family to protect their home from being destroyed--we more than likely won't be able to prevent this, but our presence is showing solidarity with them and creating a bit of hope, at some level anyway. The family calls me daughter and have welcomed me into their 'beit' (home). I so wish to come back here, but it looks as though I will be deported if the soldiers come--it is their policy for Internationals--they don't want anyone who might create a better situation for the Palestinians here, even if it's only providing a piece of hope. The news, and details I must save for when I return and have more time, because curfew is coming, and we must be off the streets before the soldiers come. They shoot indiscriminately at people, children, women, and from a distance, I could appear Palestinian. Last night they fired on a group of little boys in the street for walking after curfew started. Little boys--and they fired from an armed tank.

As for the people, culture and such, I am sooooo welcomed and love it back. The food is delicious, and the people's hearts so big, so generous even with nothing to share. They ask me when I am coming back... Indeed I have considered another trip back together if I don't get deported. The presence of Internationals is desperately needed--they help to prevent heinous crimes against the Palestinians--the degree of which I have not been aware of previously with the exception of the SS Nazis, S. Africa, Tibet & Istanbul. It is hard to communicate the degree of these, and I will be writing up the stories I have gathered upon my return. There is just too, too, much. Every person has so many stories...

Regarding restriction of movement for Palestinians, this goes for Americans or Internationals as well--soldiers don't double check in the dark--they shoot first. 'Curfew' is imposed daily, and they shoot anything in the streets. Palestinians movements are always restricted and watched. That is just another part of life here; there is so much... I don't know where to start... I can only do what I can there; sometimes the Israelis even shoot Americans (a 'mistake' of course) intending to hit a Palestinian, and although the hatred for the American Gov't is strong here, the people are very peaceful (I cannot emphasize this enough!!!!) and wish us well--are glad of our presence here. It gives them hope that someday there may be peace. There are a small number of Palestinians who have been pushed over the edge--I hesitate to communicate this, because there is TOOOO much misinformation in the American media already about all of them being terrorists--but to put it into perspective, they just snapped from seeing to much violence--living through too much. I wonder if Americans experienced this degree, this EXTREME human rights abuse, how far we could hold out peacefully?

My family and the people I stay with will ensure my safety--indeed I have walked through the camp with one or a couple of people and felt completely safe, and I am not concerned about it. The family I am staying with is being punished for something they had no idea about--last March their daughter went into Jerusalem with a bomb in a market place, they said she snapped after watching her neighbor get shot on the street outside her home by Israelis in an Apache, this is not the first thing I'm sure--coming after her family's home--20 people, 6 families. Collective punishment is what that is called, and it is illegal according to the Geneva Convention. Their son has been in prison since May for the crime of being her brother with no release date in sight.

I have been a little sick this morning; not sure how much is nerves, how much is related to the sugar (they give us a lot of 'shai' -- tea with a lot of sugar) and how much is due to drinking the local water which is broken--the Israelis regularly destroy the water pipes and the supply is contaminated. The GSE I have helps, but this is still so stressful... Hard to say. The soldiers threaten to come each day--we return home and have a night with the family each day and then eat, visit, discuss the situation here, and life as a Palestinian, and such...and then wait until around 2am, which is their favorite time to start bombings. If we can make it until daylight, we are safe. The family's furniture is all gone, in preparation for the home demolition. If they do succeed in blowing it up, they will destroy at least 10 other homes that are in close proximity or share walls--this is a modest estimate. It is hard to be strong sometimes, but as an American, I have a certain degree of protection against them, especially if the US Consulate and Embassy are receiving word about our staying there, and a few of the other human rights observers here (there are 7 in our group--4 at the other home) have a network that has been hounding the Consulate and Embassy about our safety and asking details, and such. The US Consulate & Embassy don't want to help the Internationals here who are interested in human rights; they are very lax about responding and only do what is expected by law--the bare minimum with respect to their obligations.

I will give you the numbers once again just in case. They are: US Consulate-- 011 972 2 622 7230 (last part 250 if emergency) & the US Embassy-- 011 972 3 519 7575. Bug 'em. It's their job and they pretty much suck at it, although I'm sure the affection the United States Gov't has for Israel has something to do with that. God forbid we should want to stop such blatant human rights abuse.

In the event that the soldiers come, we are probably going to be physically removed from the house, even though we will try to stay together by locking arms. Then when the military holds us, or detains us (as they can't arrest us--that's the police's job) they will turn us over to the police and from there we can face up to 24 hrs in jail before we get a chance to speak to anyone from ISM (International Solidarity Movement, the peace org. I'm here with) or anyone else for that matter. We will try to resist deportation, but that's up in the air. If so, the ISM office will contact my partner Nate, and set the legal protection wheels in motion. They will work hard for us, and I will do everything in my power to be released freely--we have done nothing wrong, unless you consider protecting a family's home something wrong--and sent back with my plane tickets on the 18th from Tel Aviv. I will do my best not to be deported so I can come back sometime. (smiles)

I feel vulnerable at times, but only when the soldiers come. Otherwise, it has been a life changing experience, and my heart is so full, it comes out through tears sometimes. The pain is so great.... I don't know where to start....

Gosh, I have to go because my group is waiting to meet before beating the tanks that come with curfew. I wish you all the best, and ask that you consider what is happening here, and the information you receive through the media is heavily biased. I will provide you all with the stories of this trip if you'd like when I return; the time for the computer lab is limited and the connection slow.

Until I see you all again I remain your friend in peace & love.

Salaam.
Jennie

August 5, 2002

Statement from Activists in Ramle Prison

We can all vividly remember the five day long siege of the city of Nablus and the atrocities committed by the Israeli occupation forces as we sit in jail and wait to return to loved ones.

We condemn the excessive use of force in what was at all times a peaceful demonstration defying the unjust imprisonment of the farmers of Huwara. The attempt to expel humanitarian workers, activists and denying media coverage only reinforces our belief that Israelis so called "war on terror" is a smokescreen for the continual oppression of the Palestinian population.

We are now even more determined to expose the brutality of occupation.

Signed,
Benoit Granet - France
Pierre Coulon - France
Phillipe Armaug - France
Adam Shapiro - Brooklyn, NY
Charles Williams - Vermont
Javier Cortez - Los Angeles, CA
Salah Afifi - Dublin, Ireland
August 5, 2002

August 08, 2002

AMERICANS PREPARE TO STOP AMERICAN
MADE BULLDOZERS IN BETHLEHEM

[BEHTLEHEM] Israel is continuing its illegal policy of home demolitions tonight in Dehaishe refugee camp in Bethlehem. Six American civilians are acting as human shields in two of these homes protecting over 40 Palestinian civilians from homelessness.

Last night internationals witnessed the horrifying destruction of a multi-family dwelling, just one of two homes demolished in the early hours of the morning.

The Americans, from Boston, Seattle, New York and Michigan, are committed to staying in the homes. They have stated that they will not leave until forcibly removed by the Israeli military.

The International Solidarity Movement is dedicated to ending the occupation and not even the fear of deportation, which the Israeli Ministry of the Interior is using as a threat, will deter the acts of these courageous individuals standing against the injustice of the brutal Israeli regime.

For more information in Dehaishe contact:

Suzan +972 (0) 67 371 581
Jenny & Ronise +972 (0) 59 307 081
Chris +972 (0) 67 387 881
Carl +972 (0) 67 429 668
Sherry +972 (0) 67 341 467
landline +972 (0) 2 277 6139

August 8, 2002

Update

Thank you to all who are mobilizing on behalf of the peaceful protestors that were abused and arrested by the Israeli authorities yesterday in the Palestinian village of Huwwara. The two Palestinian young men that were taken were beaten then released last night:

Ahmed Omar Abelaziz: 19 years old from Huwwara
Walid Ata Baker: 37-year-old glass factory worker from Jama'een village

The nine foreign activists spent the night in jail in the illegal settlement of Ariel. This morning they were moved to the Ramle prison and are awaiting their deportation. Their only crime is speaking out against injustice and grave violations of international law being committed by the Israeli military and government. Again, they are:

Anne-Cecele Alligne - France
Benoit Granet - France
Pierre Coulon - France
Phillipe Armaug -France (very sick and needs medication that was left behind in Nablus)
Saquima Armaug-Khimoum - France
Adam Shapiro - Brooklyn, NY
Charles Williams - Central Vermont
Javier Cortez -Los Angeles, CA
Salah Afifi -Dublin, Ireland

I include the appropriate numbers and talking points again, below. Many thanks for your support. Despite the overwhelming violence and odds, we will continue to organize to resist the brutal Israeli occupation and to highlight to the world that the occupation is the root source of the violence in this region. We call on all good people to join us.

In solidarity & struggle,

THE INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT
www.palsolidarity.org

For US citizens:
United States Embassy in Israel
Tel: +972-3-519-7575
Fax: +972-3-517-3227

United States Consulate in Jerusalem
Tel: +972-2-622-7230/50
Fax: +972-2-624-9462
Ask for American Citizen Services – Alison Dilworth

US Department of State
Bureau of Near East Affairs
Office of Public Affairs
Tel: 202-647-5150
Tel: 202-736-4995 Kim Richter

Call/fax/write your congressional representatives! – www.congress.org for contact information.

For French citizens:
Embassy of France in Israel
Tel: +972-3-520-8300
Fax: +972-3-520-8340

French Consulate in Jerusalem
Tel: +972-2-625-9481
Fax: +972-2-625-9178

Israeli Ministry of Interior
Tel: +972-2-629-4701
Fax: +972-2-629-4750

Call/fax/write your Members of Parliament!

For Irish citizen:
Embassy of the United Kingdom
Tel: +972-3-725-1222
Fax: +972-3-527-8574

Some talking points:

- (For US citizens) M16 rifles used to shoot at and beat the peaceful protestors, over a dozen of which were US citizens, are supplied by the US government and paid for by US citizen taxpayer money.

- Internationals are frequently taken by force out of Palestinians cities, towns and villages and forced to leave the country  are deported. Since Israel controls all borders and access to the Occupied Palestinian Territories and the Palestinian people, this policy is meant to suffocate the Palestinian people and deny them access to the outside world.

- Internationals are treated violently, arrested and deported for marching nonviolently against oppression and for freedom, in a country that receives so much money from our various governments and sells itself as a democracy.

- Foreign civilians are in the Occupied Palestinian Territories trying to do what the United Nations and signatories to the Fourth Geneva Convention should be doing to uphold Palestinian rights under international law. What are our governments doing in this regard and what are they doing to protect the well-being of their citizens that are working for freedom, justice and human rights in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories?

For more information, please call:
Huwaida - +972-67-473-308
ISM office - +972-2-626-4844
PCR - +972-2-277-2018
Jerome (for French) - +972-55-974-262

August 7, 2002

Update & Action Alert

The nine foreign peace activists (5 French, 3 American and 1 Irish) that were arrested in the village of Huwwara today are being held at the prison in the illegal settlement of Ariel. They have all been issued deportation orders and to the best of our knowledge will be transferred to the Ramle prison tomorrow to await their deportation.

Today's march in Huwwara was a peaceful civilian protest against siege, curfew, occupation and terror. Signs held by Palestinian children read, 'Occupation is the worst kind of terror' and 'Give us Freedom, We will bring the food and medicine.' Unarmed civilians, old and young were gassed, shot at, beaten and arrested by Israeli soldiers and police for protesting collective punishment and other grave violations of international law being committed by the Israeli military and government.

Unfortunately, Palestinians, who often try to protest alone and otherwise attempt to make their voices heard, are met with brutal, sometimes lethal violence, and international silence. The Israelis are not held accountable to anyone for the life and well-being of the Palestinian people, a people living under Israeli military and civilian occupation. Today, dozens of foreign civilians joined hands and voices with Palestinians to call for a lifting of siege and curfew and an end to the occupation. The Israeli military and police viciously attacked the peaceful demonstrators and the Israeli government is now deporting these international voices of freedom and conscience. Why?

This is nothing less than an attempt by the Israeli government to hide what they are doing to the Palestinian people and to silence all witnesses and protests to their illegal policies. The foreign civilians that are slated for deportation, are being deported for speaking out-exercising freedom of speech in a country that considers itself 'democratic'.

Please contact the following numbers on behalf of the foreign peace activists in Israeli custody. Don't forget to remind these representatives that we must all stand together against occupation and injustice:

For US citizens:
United States Embassy in Israel
Tel: +972-3-519-7575
Fax: +972-3-517-3227

United States Consulate in Jerusalem
Tel: +972-2-622-7230/50
Fax: +972-2-624-9462
Ask for American Citizen Services – Alison Dilworth

US Department of State
Bureau of Near East Affairs
Office of Public Affairs
Tel: 202-647-5150
Tel: 202-736-4995 Kim Richter

Israeli Ministry of Interior
Tel: +972-2-629-4701
Fax: +972-2-629-4750

Call/fax/write your congressional representatives! – www.congress.org for contact information.

For more information, please call:
Huwaida Arraf - +972-67-473-308
ISM office - +972-2-626-4844

August 7, 2002: For immediate release

INTERNATIONALS BRUTALIZED AND ARRESTED BY MILITARY FOLLOWING NON-VIOLENT DEMONSTRATION

[NABLUS] Internationals and Palestinians have been brutalized and arrested following a non-violent protest at the Huwara checkpoint near Nablus.

Adam Shapiro (USA) and an unknown Palestinian man were being held in a jeep on a settler road. Half of the demonstration group decided to stay and block the jeep from leaving with the innocent civilians. Half decided to march back peacefully chanting and singing.

Those that stayed where attacked by settlers and settler police. The peace activists were thrown into thorn bushes and Huwaida Arraf (USA) was thrown so hard she hit her head and was left unconscious for a short time.

The group, which retreated, was assured by the military that they would be allowed to retreat but then where attacked by the military and arrests were made. At this time the soldiers focused in on individuals and began beating and taking people from the group. They have taken Palestinians Ahmad Omar Abdel Aziz 19 and Walid Ata Baker 37 a glass factory worker.

French nationals Pierre Coulon, Anne-Cecele Alligne, Benoit Granet, Phillipe Armaug, Satuima Armaug-Khimoum, Americans Adam Shapiro, Javier Cortez, and Charles Williams, and Irish national Salah Afifi have been taken to the Ariel settlement police station.

For more information in Nablus contact:
Huwaida      (USA) 067 473 308
Susan       (USA) 055 829 680
Jon             (USA) 058 781 646 / 067 429 663
Sal             (UK) 067 486 159
Alissandro       (ITALY) 050 265 114
Thomas Sommer (FRANCE) 050 314 886

UPDATE: The Israeli army has taken Adam Shapiro and an unnamed Palestinian civilian man in a jeep. Over 10 international activists are blocking the army jeep and settler traffic and are now being pulled away. We are deperate to secure the release of the two men who have committed no crime. International Solidarity Movement August 7, 2002

August 7, 2002: For immediate release

NON-VIOLENT PALESTINIAN AND INTERNATIONAL DEMONSTRATION MET WITH ISRAELI ARMY BRUTALITY

[NABLUS] Several hundred Palestinian and international civilians are coming under brutal attack by the Israeli army as they non-violently march in the streets of Huwara. The soldiers have responded with live fire, tear gas, and sound grenades. Witnesses report the Israeli soldiers are beating Palestinians and international civilians with fists and rifles.

The civilians are courageously breaking the Israeli imposed curfew and defying the policies that are destroying their lives in a peaceful fashion.

The International Solidarity Movement is a Palestinian-led movement of Palestinian and International activists working for Palestinian freedom and an end to Israeli occupation. We utilize nonviolent, direct-action methods of resistance to confront and challenge illegal Israeli occupation forces and policies.

We oppose the collective punishment and will continue to be a resource for the people of Palestine to aid in their struggle against the vicious policies of the Israeli army and government.

Video footage of the protest is available.

For more information in Huwara:
Huwaida or Adam
052 642 709
067 473 308

August 7, 2002: For immediate release

ISRAELI MILITARY'S BRUTAL EXECUTIONS CONTINUE

[TULKAREM] Israeli soldiers executed three men in Tulkarem center today in a disgusting and brutal fashion.

Rebecca Murray (UK) reports that no medical teams have been allowed to function but that after the military stopped strafing the city with apache helicopters residents where finally able to retrieve the bodies of Ziad D'ias (28), Hamad Saidz (18), Maher Jeshmawi (17).

Murray went to the hospital and can confirm that the men were tied up and drug along the street to the point where they had no skin in some places. The men were shot in the head at point blank range resulting in large amounts of their heads being blown off. It is unclear if they were killed prior to the torture.

This is another example of Israel's illegal execution policy. It is unlawful to execute an accused person without giving him a fair trial first. Two bodies of law applyhumanitarian law, which applies in an armed conflict, and human rights law, which applies even where the laws of war do not.

For more information in Tulkarem contact:
Rebecca Murray +972 (0) 55 558 954 or (0) 67 437 690

August 6, 2002: For immediate release

INTERNATIONALS PROTECT HOMES AFTER ISRAELI COURT UPHOLDS ILLEGAL DEMOLITION

[NABLUS] Four international civilians are protecting a home in the Al Fara refugee camp that is facing immanent demolition. This family is a participant in the current court case.

The Al Ghoul family of twelve live in a three story building located less then five meters away from their nearest neighbors. There are 10 other homes so close by that other families are beginning to move furniture out in preparation for the destruction the Israeli military plans to wreak on one civilian family. Over 70 people will be affected and many made homeless by this act of collective punishment.

Today the Israeli High Court of Justice rejected a petition demanding that Palestinian families' whose homes are scheduled for demolition be given advance warning so that they can appeal the decision.

Under the 1949 Geneva Conventions, collective punishments are a war crime. Article 33 of the Fourth Convention states: "No protected person may be punished for an offense he or she has not personally committed," and "collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited."

The International Solidarity Movement is opposed to this illegal policy of the Israeli government and army.

For more information in Al Fara Refugee Camp contact: +972
Colm Breathnach         (Ireland) 0 67 457 289
Jon Eberhart            (USA) 0 67 338 935
David Jarmula           (USA) 0 67 378 642
Matt Horton             (USA) 0 67 349 442

For more information on the International Solidarity Movement contact: +972
Huwaida 0 52 642 709

Palestinian Center for Rapprochement Between Peoples
2 277 2018

August 6, 2002: For immediate release

INTERNATIONALS PROTECT HOMES AFTER ISRAELI COURT UPHOLDS ILLEGAL DEMOLITION

[BETHLEHEM] Tonight seven American civilians with the International Solidarity Movement will be staying in two houses in Deheishe refugee camp in Bethlehem in an effort to protect the families from illegal collective punishment by the Israeli army.

One dwelling is home to 12 people and the other is a 5-story apartment building that houses 5 families. A total of 54 Palestinian refugees will become homeless if these demolitions proceed.

The international activists are committed to using their bodies to protect these homes and families for as long as their presence is required.

Today the Israeli High Court of Justice rejected a petition demanding that Palestinian families' whose homes are scheduled for demolition be given advance warning so that they can appeal the decision.

Demolition of civilian homes is a war crime. Under the 1949 Geneva Conventions, collective punishments are a war crime. Article 33 of the Fourth Convention states: "No protected person may be punished for an offense he or she has not personally committed," and "collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited."

The International Solidarity Movement is opposed to this illegal policy of the Israeli government and army and will continue working to stop it.

For more information from inside Deheishe contact:
+972
Chris or Carl:  067 387 881
Sherry:                 067 341 467
Jennie or Ronine        059 307 081
Mike            067371583

August 6, 2002

Palestinian and International Civilians to Participate in Dramatic March near Nablus

[NABLUS] Tomorrow August 7, 2002 at 9am local Palestinian organizations including the UPMRC and many Palestinian civilians from nearby villages will gather with over 40 members of the International Solidarity Movement and the Grassroots International Protection for Palestinians (GIPP) for a protest march at Huwara. Huwara has suffered greatly due to the heavy military presence and the humiliating checkpoint that has contributed to the destruction of local transportation and commerce.

August 2, 2002

ISRAELI ARMY CARRYING OUT COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT IN NABLUS

International Activists Trying to Defend Homes and Families
[NABLUS] International activists are currently stationed in homes due to be demolished as part of the Israeli Army's policy of collective punishment. The Shakhshir family home is under threat of demolition as the Israeli Army moves throughout the city of Nablus demolishing the homes of Palestinian martyrs (shaheeds).

Seven international activists (6 Americans and 1 Irish) are now stationed in the Shakhshir family home in the Al-Aryone neighborhood of Nablus. The home is that of Ammar Shakhshir, who died on March 17, 2002. Israeli forces wish to demolish this home as revenge, a flagrant violation of the Geneva Conventions and international law banning collective punishment. Ten members of two families reside in the home, including the head of the family who is disabled due to a stroke. Among the famliy members are 5 children.

As of 9 PM, 4 homes had already been destroyed, with families thrown out of their residences by Israeli soldiers rampaging through the city. International activists witnessed Israeli tanks deployed on every corner of the Old City, while troops conducted house-to-house searches and used Palestinian civilians as human shields. (Footage available).

Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states "No protected person may be punished for an offence he or she has not personally committed. Collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited. Pillage is prohibited. Reprisals against protected persons and their property are prohibited."

Over two dozen international activists are currently stationed throughout Nablus, including in the Old City and Palestinian Medical Relief Centers bearing witness and trying to stop Israeli atrocities. We call on the United Nations and governments signaorty to the Fourth Geneva Convention to take immediate action to stop Israel's violations of international law.

For more information contact:
Jonathan ISM 972 (0) 58 781 646
Susan ISM 972 (0) 59 877 091
Dr. Ghassan Hamdam UPMRC 972 (0) 52 844 608

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Photo credits: Photos courtesy Ben Scribner, International Solidarity Movement.