Palestine-Israel, a new year of joint struggle against the occupation fence and occupation

Bil'in, Ni'ilin, Tel Aviv... and more

The first autumn rains started the olive picking season. Joining the picking hindered by the separation fence and colonial settlers colored the actions that the Anarchists Against the Wall activists were involved with. In Ni'ilin it was the resumption of the usual struggle after the lower profile during the picking. In the Hebron region and other areas, the picking continued. Activists were detained and released. Tuesday we had a successful benefit in Tel Aviv. In Bil'in, Friday saw the usual noon demo, and the evening wedding hafla of Rani Burnet who is usually at the head of the Friday demos in his wheel-chair. In Umm Salamuna, the demo merged with olive picking. Saturday evening exhibitions. [Italiano]

---

A new year of joint struggle against the occupation fence and occupation

The first autumn rains started the olive picking season. Joining the picking hindered by the separation fence and colonial settlers colored the actions that the Anarchists >gainst the Wall activists were involved with. In Ni'ilin it was the resumption of the usual struggle after the lower profile during the picking. In the Hebron region and other areas, the picking continued. Activists were detained and released. Tuesday we had a successful benefit in Tel Aviv. In Bil'in, Friday saw the usual noon demo, and the evening wedding hafla of Rani Burnet who is usually at the head of the Friday demos in his wheel-chair. In Umm Salamuna, the demo merged with olive picking. Saturday evening exhibitions.

THE BENEFIT

Haaretz, the third biggest daily which is the liberal capitalist voice, reports in its cultural section:

Benefit party in Tel Aviv against the separation fence, by Noia Kochavi

On Tuesday, there will be at the Barzilay club in Tel Aviv a party with the name "Musical-Radical" aimed to collect money for the legal expenses of the ongoing activity against the separation fence Israel build on the west bank. In the party with entrance fee of 30 shekel will play the music some of the prominent local D.J.s among them Radiotrip, Uri Lichtic, Sensy Sound, Skilaton, Nasty Habit, and Abuya sound. At the gig will be a table for selling shirts and CDs the income of which will be contributed to the same cause. The organizers of the party ask to regard it as a source of inspiration and enhancement of the activists and not as an escapist happening.

NI'ILIN

On Monday evening we had to shout for nearly an hour standing on the route of the separation fence in building till an Israeli State forces car "came to receive our protest..." As big stones were arranged across the route and youngsters threw stones at them, they just shot a few tear gas canisters and went away...

Wednesday was a demo while works were still being done on the route and the State forces succeeded in blocking our way. After the works had finished for the day and the machines went to their night compound, the State forces went away and some comrades approached the route and did things to the equipment.

At night, the State forces arrested four of the activists of the village popular committee and Thursday the struggle continued while general strike was declared in the village. And of course a demo and a confrontation on Friday too, where the State forces prevented a mass prayer near the route of the separation fence or even at an open space in the village.

BIL'IN

After it was anounced by the State system that they would yield to the highest court verdict that the separation fence be moved in order to return some of the village land (but still haggle about how much) - the confrontations at the gate of the separation fence eased a bit. On recent Fridays they have not tried too hard to prevent us from entering the route of the separation fence. A few symbolic tear gas grenades and some shock grenades that do not deter the more experienced participants. Last Friday when we returned to the village, we took with us one wing of the gate (which the State forces did not bother to take back or punish us for). This Friday, we arrived at an agreement that they would not try to make us go as long as we would refrain from touching the electronic fence...

The following is excerpt of a report by a member of the village popular committee against the separation fence:

"... protest was launched today after the Friday prayer in Bil’in and was joined by international and Israeli activists to allow Palestinians to pick olives from the trees on their land. A delegation of journalists and students from Belgium joined the demonstration in solidarity with the village in their struggle against the Wall and settlement building, their name: Students for a just peace in the Middle East. and another group from the Ireland solidarity movement with the Palestinian people. in addition to this, a group from Denmark and another one from England.

The demonstrators marched in the village chanting against the discriminatory policies of the occupation [with a women of the village leading the chants].

EXHIBITIONS

This evening there was an opening of two politically oriented art exhibitions at the "house of the art people - Beit Ha'omanim" in Tel Aviv. One of them was a group exhibition in which the Active Stills collective activists of AAtW had their space. The other one was an exhibition of an established painter who is one of the activists who document the demonstrations of the AAtW with his videocamera. (Most of them are on YouTube - part of some even find their way onto TV news.)

His exhibition included some drawings of scenes of the struggle - including the gate to the separation fence in Bil'in. In the courtyard of the building, there was a happening with some talks and music - a lot of the radical left of the metropolis attended.

In the fringe of the crowd, a non-formal get-together included high school total refusnics of "three generations". One, the first political total refusnik (of the first Israeli libertarian communist organization, Matspen), one of the famous refusnic 5 group that served two years in jail few years ago, and one of the new refusnic group members of which are now in struggle and serving time.