Reports from the anarchists against the wall actions at Bil'in

A collection of some of the recent reports from Israel / Palestine

Every Friday over the last few months both international and Israeli activists (mostly of the Anarchists Against The Wall initiative) joined activists from the small village Bil'in in Friday demonstrations against the separation fence that annex to Israel most of the lands of this village. Regular reports are posted to ainfos on these protests - here we present those send over the last few weeks.

Reports from the anarchists against the wall actions at Bil'in

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Friday 5th August

This Friday too the Israeli army tried to disperse the afternoon demonstration with tear gas and shock grenades. In spite of it, the importance of nonviolent protest against the wall was proved once again. The companions of Bil'in have not disappointed us. This time again, following the tradition of the village comity creativity, we had an artful structure. When we arrived at noon for the joint Friday demonstration, we found ready for it a huge puppet snake symbolizing the fence and occupation - devouring a dove with the colors of the Palestinian flag (symbolizing peace, hope, and other nice ideas).

We started the demonstration as usual from the village center, with 10 of us in the front carrying the structure of the big snake. What a pity that this highly creative fruit of Muhamad of the village comity do not register with the army....

We were few hundreds of Palestinians, Internationals and about 60 Israelis (people from the main regions of Haifa, Jerusalem, and Tel Aviv responding to the call of the Anarchists Against The Wall initiative.

Like the last few of the previous demonstrations, when we arrived at the fringe of the built area of the village we encountered the barbed wire structure blocking the road, the placard defining the area as closed military zone and an army platoon equipped for dispersing demonstration.

The army commander declared as usual that the area is closed military zone and the demonstration illegal... but said he granted us 15 minutes till dispersing - if we respect the non crossing red line marked by the barbed wire.

Few points worth mentioning. The army unit who replaced a week ago the border police company after it was exposed as a source of perjury and deployed to the disengagement of the Gaza strip, is a bit more cautious.

They needed an excuse for the action against us. When the allotted 15 minutes passed while we were chanting and dancing, they first sent small teams to the village fringes trying to provoke stone throwing. When this failed, and the periodic warning of us to disperse resulted in nothing, and the 15 initial period stretched for a whole hour, the army started to attack us. (All this, in spite of the fact that there is no work on the Bil'in fence on Fridays.)

First, they started to push our big comrade Leizer Palas. When it had no influence they started to throw tear gas and shock grenades on the last rows of the demonstrators and to capture people from the front lines. In parallel a score of them pushed forward towards the village trying to disperse us.

The people not arrested regrouped in a line in front of the soldiers line in another confrontation. As the army hope for stone throwing still was not fulfilled, and as we refused to take seriously their threat and physical pushing, and another round of arrests, they had a second thought, and retreated behind the barbed wire "red demarcation line" where our snake was still waiting, and the non violent demonstration was victoriously resumed....

After a while, the snake was returned to the village, the demo was declared ended and the guest activists and village comity had a meeting to sum the action and to plan for the future Fridays.

At the village fringe, there was a short attrition war between soldiers intruders and the stone throwing youngsters but not in large scale like it happened when the demonstrations were viciously dispersed. When the soldiers retreated, things calmed.

Then, 15 of the 17 demonstrators detained during the intensive confrontation - 2 internationals and 13 Israelis were released (after taken initially to visit the route of the fence building....) The other two, were released few hours later, as usual, after being processed at the Givat Zeev police station.

Nir add: "from my point of view, to day demonstration prove again the huge power of nonviolent protest. The fact that the army do all that it can to provoke stone throwing, show how much it wish for it and how much the stone throwing serves the interest of the Israeli occupation authorities."

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Ofer concentration camp, Free Abdallah Abu-Rahmah vigil

Posted 1st August

This Sunday there was a demonstration for the release of Abdallah Abu-Rahmah from Bil'in who are already arrested for more than two weeks for an absurd fabricated charge: attacking a security force person while Abdallah was caged in a demonstration structure... Abdallah is the head of the Bil'in village popular comity against the separation fence. The fence under the pretension of security annex more than half of the village lands to the settlers city Upper Modiin. Since the village started to demonstrate choosing the nonviolence resistance to the occupation and the fence, the Israeli authority decided to supplies it using all means needed: violence against demonstrators, intrusion to the village, and arbitrary arrests on false charges.

A month ago Abdallah was arrested in a joint demonstration against the fence together with his brother Rateb on the false charge of stone throwing. After a week in the concentration camp Ofer, confronted with photographs of video taken by demonstrators, the border policeman admitted he invented the story to justify unprovoked shooting of rubber foam bullet on Rateb. The in exceptional act, the judge released them after viewing the video taken by participant showing the demonstration was with out any violence from the side of the demonstrators.

Two weeks ago Abdallah was arrested again - charged with the absurd act of assaulting a policeman. A real ridiculous charge as Abdallah was together with others within a metal structure modeling the fence, with their hands locked in the structure - preventing any attack...

In spite of the evidence refuting the charge, the judge of the military court - who wanted at first to release him again, accepted the contest of the prosecution and locked him till the end of the deliberations.

The demonstration was a day before the expected verdict on the contesting of the decision to keep him locked till the end of the trial.

In front of the Ofer concentration camp demonstrated 50 people of the village Bil'in together with internationals and Israeli activists of the Anarchists Against The Wall initiative.

See the pictures: https://israel.indymedia.org/newswire/display/3558/index.php Including photographs of the structure Abdallah is within it. Free translation of article by Oren Ziv

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Surprise surprise - they shoot for only one reason

Posted 30 July

Like the other Friday noons of the last few months, tear gas and shock grenades - was the lot of few hundreds demonstrators who came for a nonviolent protest against the building of the separation fence on the lands of the village Bil'in. To day, 29th of July 2005, few hundred people of Bil'in and about 100 of the Israelis Against The Wall initiative and others (including internationals) a demonstration against the robbery of more than half of the lands of Bil'in for the settlement Kiriat Sefer and the separation fence was carried. This was on the background of intensified confrontation in the Media between the demonstrators and the spoke persons of the Israeli army and border police on the other side. They do lot of efforts to demonize the demonstrators. They claims that state forces are "forced" to use means for dispersing demonstrations (tear gas, shock grenades, rubber bullets and their like) because the demonstrators in Bil'in are "ruthless" and through stones on soldiers.... But they fail to convince even the state and other public media.

For these who still needed, this day demonstration proved again that the violent starts from the army and border police.

Today demonstration had two main motives:

The first, reminding people the fact that under cover of the mist of disengagement (in Gaza Strip) continue, and with full intensity the project of colonial settlement in the West bank of the Jordan. This subject was represented with a special model of a house of settlers transported from Gaza to the West bank, while part of the demonstrators around it had Sharon masques on their faces.

The second, was a solidarity act with Abdallah Abu-Rahma, the chairman of the popular comity of Bil'in already two weeks jailed in the concentration camp Ofer, after he was falsely accused of attacking a border policeman. (Previous week the military judge had to release him from jail after a similar accusation was refuted. The present military judge - probably under higher level orders, refuse to release him in spite clear evidence.)

Amongst the hundreds of demonstrators - including the 80 Israelis, many had on their shirts the slogan: "I am Abdallah Abu-Rahma" in Hebrew, English, Arabic, Russian, France, and Spanish.

The march from the center of the village was orderly as usual, till we arrived to the fringe of the village built area. There, as usual in the last few Fridays, the army put a portable barbed wire fence and a placard on it stating it is a closed military zone, with a map including in it all the region up to the Jerusalem-Modiin road.

When we arrived there we stopped with the soldiers on one side of the portable fence and us on the other. No stone was thrown and no shooting occurred yet - just the usual declaration of the army commander on the illegality of the demo and the presence of Israelis.

Few minutes after the model of the "house" was moved to the side of the road, without passing the line, the army started an intensive shooting of shock and tear gas grenades, folded the portable fence and invaded the village - pursuing the part of the demonstrators who run for it. At this assault three demonstrators were detained... to be released a bit later.

These of us on the front refused to disperse, sat down, and confronted the soldiers with words about their unprovoked assault.

We continued the demonstration for a while till the demonstration was officially finished and we started to regroup to the village.

At this stage, the army provocation succeeded to provoke the 50 or so youngsters who refrained till that moment from being provoked, and the usual attrition war of stones versus rubber bullets and tear gas continued for an hour or so.

At the end, the Israelis and international had a meeting with the village comity to discuss the demonstration.

It seems that the exposure in the media of the deceitful behavior of the usual border police unit (company 22) resulted in its replacement with another army unit. Last Friday made it clear that they only mildly differed from the older unit (less unprovoked assaults, less arrests, less injuries, less false accusations).

Free translation of Nir report "they shoot without reason" Pictures: https://israel.indymedia.org/newswire/display/3553/index.php

Thursday, Media, Confrontation between the (Israeli) security forces and demonstrators at Bil'in

The army and border police are clashing with Palestinians and activists of the Anarchists Against Fences in the Bil'in village. The spokesperson of the Israeli army say that demonstrators entered a closed military region and thus means for dispersing demonstrations were applied against them.

Palestinians: 6 hurt in anti-fence protest

Palestinian sources say six people sustained light injuries during the demonstration against the continued construction of the West Bank security fence in the village of Bil'in, west of Ramallah.

Protesters claim soldiers had sprayed them with tear gas and fired rubber bullets at them without provocation. (Ali Waked)

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Repression of joint struggle continue

Posted 23 July

Like every Friday of the last few months, international and Israeli activists (mostly of the Anarchists Against The Wall initiative) joined the small village Bil'in activists in the Friday demonstration against the separation fence that annex to Israel most of the lands of the village. This week, the Israeli state forces tried harder to prevent us - the Tel Aviv activists from arriving to Bil'in. The forces were waiting for us at main points... but we got out of the bus in an unexpected point and made our way through the hills to the road of the neighboring village Safa. State forces succeeded to intercept only about third of us, and the rest found transportation to Bil'in. There, we joined the preparation for the demo - including putting on white shirts with relevant content printed on and masks of Cundelica Rice and her president Bush.

We started to march from the center of the village towards the fence building site (which is not really active Fridays) to the confrontation with the Israeli state forces - army, border police and special police forces who wait for us lately at the last buildings of the village.

When we arrived there, the barbed wire blocking and the announcement of closed military zone (for non local people) was as usual. So we all set down (except the people photographing the confrontation) and heard the commander repeat the statement that the demonstration is illegal, that it is a closed military area, and that we had 10 minute till arrests will start... and he kept his words.

In escalation from previous demonstrations, the border police started at first with kicking and hitting people with batons before starting to lift us and arrest us one by one - including people who were only documenting the conflict with their cameras {usually not arrested on previous times. They took and detained about 40 of us at a near by building in construction. Part of the escalation was a gradual handcuffing of most of the detained people till only few of us remained uncuffed.

The rest of the demonstrators were dispersed by teargas and shock grenades mostly, with rubber bullet shooting on the few tens of youngsters who as usual, responded with stones to the dispersing of the demonstration.

As we were been taken to the fence building site for further procession a higher commander arrived. He decided to de-escalate the conflict a bit and the 10 or so of us not yet handcuffed were released at the unfinished building while the rest - about 30 were taken to the fence site.

The main internet website of the daily newspapers reported on the confrontation - including report on injured demonstrators.

One of them reported: In the demonstration participated about 400 people, among them Israeli citizens and international activists. Participant put on masks with the faces of Bush and Cundelica Rais with an orange ribbon (similar to that of the Israeli settlers) - "as protest of the blindness brought by the separation plan and the overlooking of Israel activities in the West bank."

Another report in the Media: "... One of the Israeli demonstrators - Jonathan Polak claim that he was hit by a border policeman who also broke his leg." [Later found the bone was not broken..]

The Media brought also the police lies: "The police said that there are about 100 people demonstrating in the village, 8 of them detained for interrogation. No knowledge about injured demonstrators.

Another report of Haaretz daily on the Internet: "Five injured and five detained for interrogation in Bil'in. In the demonstration held every Friday, participated hundreds of people - Palestinians, internationals, and Israelis. Demonstrators claim the soldiers shoot tear gas and rubber bullets."

As background they added: The demonstrations in Bil'in are carried for few months as protest to the fact that the separation fence is built on the lands of the village and will separate them from from most of their fields [mostly olive orchards]. At this place, every Friday demonstrate people of the village together with Israel leftist activists, Israeli Arab parliament members and Palestinian parliament members [a bit of exaggeration as these dignitaries do not come too often...]. At these demonstrations, were the first times that people of the [Palestinian Muslim] Hamas, headed by Yusef Hasan, their top leader in the West bank demonstrated side by side with Israeli activists.

Another report - about a two hours later confrontation between the stone throwing youngsters that confront the Israeli state forces after they disperse the nonviolent demonstration: "The confrontation in Bil'in resumed. Two were seriously injured. The Palestinians report that two Palestinian youngsters were seriously injured with rubber bullets - one in his head and one in his belly. The two were taken to an hospital in Ramalla.

And Bil'in is not alone. This Friday, people of the Israeli Anarchists Against The Wall initiative were invited to a joint struggle in a Northern village. "Seven activists of the left were arrested while trying to enter a 'military closed region'. The Summeria region police arrested seven Israeli activists of the left that entered the village Asira Akhbaliya traveling in Palestinian cabs into a closed military zone. The seven were taken for interrogation to the Ariel police station. [The declaration of temporary 'closed military zone' is the way to block Israelis to participate in joint demonstration with Palestinians. This is done regularly (with partial success) because the presence of Israelis in joint demonstrations with Palestinians force the army to use 'milder' ways of repression.]

Another report in the internet site of the daily: The vice-brigadir commander hit video photographer documenting the hitting of demonstrators.

The channel 8 documentary director Shai Carmely-Polack who works on documenting the the demonstrations of Bil'in claim that he was hit yesterday (Friday) by Shai Malka - the vice regiment commander of the Macabim regiment, while trying to document the beating of detainees in the place where they were brought to. ... When the the vice regiment commander arrived at the compound he released Shai Carmely-Polack who was detained earlier for the absent of official reporter card [confiscated from him in a previous demonstration]. However, as he resumed photographing the beating of detainees in the compound, the commander himself jumped on him from behind and strangulate him to stop the documenting.

Reporter: "Army response has not arrived yet".

"Polack's photographs caused lately the release of a Palestinian brought to military court as they exposed the lies of the border police witness."

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Follow up: At the end of the day, no one stayed the night in jail. From the 30 people handcuffed and taken to temporary detention point, only three were taken to the Givat Ze'ev police station - One Palestinian and two Israelis. The two Israelis were processed and released on bail conditioned on refraining from returning to the fence in Bil'in for two weeks.

Surprisingly, as the video photographs were presented during the procession of the Palestinian, he was released too.

The two injured Palestinian youngsters taken to Hospital, were treated and are out of serious trouble.

The rest of the bruises will probably heal till next Friday demo in Bil'in.

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Seven activists arrested in a middle of the week early morning action

Posted 21 July

The army come to guard the rote of the fence in building only when work day start. This enable early morning actions involving special metal structures that prevent quick dispersal by the Israeli state forces - see pictures at. https://israel.indymedia.org/newswire/display/3524/index.php Seven were arrested in Wednesday morning demonstration against the fence. It is already five months that the struggle of the people of Bil'in against the expansion of the Israeli settlements Kiryat Sefer and Matityahu on their lands, and against the building of the separation fence on the lands they work on. 2.3 million square meter of their 4 million (1000 acres) arable land were confiscated. The Israeli state forces - army, gendarmes and police continue all that period to suppress the nonviolent demonstrations of the villagers [to whom join regularly international activists, Israelis of the Anarchists Against The Wall initiative and others] Suppression done with lot of means at demonstrations and in other times at other day and nights hours in the village in response to demonstrations and other actions.

Prolonged arrest times of villagers activists with absurd claims are the norm. Three of them are arrested these days with clearly fictitious claims.

At demonstrations, in addition to physical harassment the Israeli state forces add shooting of massive amounts of tear gas and shock grenades, and various kinds of "rubber bullets". https://israel.indymedia.org/usermedia/image/1/large/13_1.jpg

Wednesday morning people of the village went out to one of the midweek early morning protest activities with a special metal structure welded for this demonstration. Within it "fortified" themselves one Palestinian, four internationals, and two Israelis of the Anarchists Against The Wall initiative.

Muhamad Hatib, from the organizers of the village people committee: "The joint fortification was intended to symbolize the fact that fences an walls will not succeed to prevent the joint activity for peace. We added the flags of the various Palestinian parties in order to call all the parties to stop the internal confrontations and to invest the energy in the struggle against the occupation and the fence".

The metal construction with was placed on the fence works route at 05:00 wit 7 activists in it. When the bulldozers arrived at 06:00 they were prevented from continuing the destruction of the lands of Bil'in. Only after an hour the forces of the border police succeeded to dismantle the construction, and using violence arrested all those fortifying in it with bogus claim of "assaulting policeman". The included pictures show clearly the nonviolent mode of the protest.

https://israel.indymedia.org/newswire/display/3524/index.php Original of L.P. in Hebrew was enlarged a bit....

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Addition: The Police blame the arrested with assault on policeman. They claim that while fortified in the metal structure, the demonstrators kicked the belies of the border police gendarmes who came to take them away. If you look at the pictures you will see how absurd is this claim - as the whole bodies of the 7 demonstrators is within the structure - fact that prevent them from kicking outside it even if they wanted. [So said the Judge the two Israelis were brought before him...]

The officer on duty at Givat Ze'ev police station wanted to release the four internationals on condition they will not return to the "scene of crime", the Israelis were brought before a judge, the decision about the treatment of the Palestinians was delayed... And the internationals refused to sign the releasing papers commitments of distancing them till the the release of the Palestinian activist.

The two Israelis: "So, we were brought before a judge that after looking at the pictures gave a verdict of one month of ban from the route of the fence at Bil'in for participation in a forbidden assembly. As for the assault on policemen he wrote: "It can be seen clearly that it was the the border policemen that applied force against the defendants.... In the case before us there are substantial doubts as for the assault on policeman and interference in policeman activity...".

At the time of the report: The Palestinian was transferred to the Ofer concentration camp for Palestinians. The four internationals got 15 days ban from visiting the route of the fence in Bil'in, but they still have not decided if to sign the commitment as they may stay put in solidarity with the Palestinian comrade.

In numbers: 6 at the morning, 7 arrested (4 internationals, 2 Israelis, 1 Palestinian), about 20 state hooligans with batons, lot of bruises (faces, backs, and other places), 12 hours of detention and 30 days ban from the location (for the Israelis)... and one occupation.

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