Israeli settlers tear up olive grove, uprooting 40 trees near Nablus

Saturday March 13, 2010 10:21 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC News

Local municipal officials in the Palestinian Authority reported Friday morning that overnight, a group of Israeli settlers had ambushed a Palestinian olive grove in the town of Qaryut, uprooting and completely destroying 40 trees.

Palestinian woman among her uprooted olive trees (photo life.com)

These olive trees are, in most cases, the only source of income for the Palestinian villagers who own them. Over one million Palestinian olive trees, including some aged over 1,000 years old, have been destroyed by Israeli troops and settlers in the last ten years. Palestinians say the destruction of the olive trees is a direct assault on their livelihood, meant to force them from their native land. In nearly every case, the trees destroyed have been located on land that the Israeli settlers hope to acquire and absorb into the state of Israel.

In the latest incident, a local mayor told the Palestinian News Agency Ma'an that the trees destroyed Thursday night by the settlers belonged to Muhammad Jaber Abdullah, Ahmad Jaber Abdullah and Yasser Hassan.

The area around Nablus has been subject to numerous violent attacks by Israeli settlers in recent weeks, including the shooting of a young boy by settler security guards, and the smashing of windshields of Palestinian cars.

The Israeli settlers near Nablus have even taken to attacking Israeli military jeeps and convoys recently, apparently in response to threats that they would be forcibly removed by the military from the Palestinian land they have illegally seized and occupied. The military, however, has taken no action whatsoever to remove the settlers.

Israeli Police Crackdown On Protesters In East Jerusalem, Eleven Civilians Arrested

Friday March 12, 2010 16:45 by Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC News

Eleven protesters were arrested by Israeli officers are they crackdown of a protest organized by Palestinians in East Jerusalem.

Residents along with Israeli and international supporters marched at the Shikh Jarah, a Palestinian neighborhood of East Jerusalem, protesting homes demolition and evections of local families.

Israeli wants to evict Shikh Jarah and replace it with an Israeli stelment. Today police officers attacked the crowed using batons and tried to stop the protest from happing, witnsses told IMEMC.

Situation remains tense in Jerusalem. Clashes erupted, on Friday afternoon, at Jerusalem’s old city between local youths and Israeli soldiers after the later prevented people for praying.

Local sources said that troops station at the entrance of the al-Aqsa Mosque prevented local youth from entering to pray. Soldiers used batons to move people away, sparking clashes.

A number of youths were mildly injured when soldiers used rubber-coated steel bullets to suppress the crowd, medical sources reported. Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site for Muslims.

Protesters Carry Photos of ISM Activist During Weekly Nil'in Protest One Year On From Injury

Friday March 12, 2010 15:27 by Circare Parrhessia - IMEMC News & Agencies

Dozens of protesters were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation, this Friday, following the weekly demonstration in the central West Bank village of Nil’in, near Ramallah.

Nil’in’s weekly protest continued, this week, with ongoing support from members from the international and Israeli communities. After midday prayers at lands slated for confiscation, the protesters moved forward to the already confiscated lands, where owners attempted to plough.

When the protesters arrived at the gate of the wall, the Israeli military responded to their presence with a volley of tear gas canisters and stun grenades. Following the storming of the protesters, one farmer was detained by the troops.

During the protest March banners and flags were displayed, along with photos of Tristan Anderson. Tomorrow marks the anniversary of Mr. Anderson’s serious injury during an anti-wall protest in Ni’lin.

Mr. Anderson was shot in the head by a tear gas canister by a member of the Israeli military, requiring the removal of part of his frontal lobe, initially, and further surgeries in an attempt to correct ongoing fluid leakage in his brain. Mr. Anderson remains in a critical condition at Sheba Medical Center one year on from his near-fatal wounding, and Israeli daily, Haaretz revealed, this week, that the state of Israel would reopen investigations into the incident.

Mr. Anderson’s attorney, Michael Sfard, complained that the discontinuation of the investigation was “negligent” and revealed major discrepancies between the state’s work and his own shadow investigation, including Israel’s failure to interview the border police that were alleged to have been involved in the incident.

It should be noted that the canister can be fired over 400 meters and weighs 130 grams. Eye witness reports stated that the canister was shot at Mr. Anderson from a distance of approximately 60 meters, and that the firing of gas continued despite the obvious severity of his injuries.

Two Injured, Dozens Suffer Effects Of Tear Gas Inhalation At The Bil’in Weekly

Friday March 12, 2010 15:13 by Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC News

Two civilians were injured as dozens suffered from the effects of tear gas inhalation when Israeli troops attacked the weekly anti wall protest at the village of Bil’in, central West Bank.

As has been the case for the past five years, villagers were joined by Israeli and international supporters and marched, after the midday prayers, towards the lands Israeli took to built the wall.

As soon as the protesters reached the gate of the wall separating farmers from their lands troops stationed their fired tear gas and rubber coated steel bullets at them.

Two local youths, Mohamed Hamad, 18 years old, and 15 year old Mohamed Abu Rahmah, were lightly wounded by rubber coated steel bullets, dozens were treated for tear gas inhalation.

The Palestinian Minister of Culture, Siham al-Barghouthi, joined the protest on Friday at the village of Bil’in.

Two year ago, a combination of the villagers continued protest and legal proceedings managed to get the Israeli Supreme Court of Justice to order a halt to the wall construction.

The court ruled for a re-routing of the wall section built on Bil'in's land. Due to the ruling, the villagers got back 275 of the 600 acres Israel was going to use to build the wall.

In February, after two years of stalling, the Israeli military started to re-route the wall as ordered by the court. Still the army refuses villagers free access to their lands.

Clashes Erupt At Jerusalem’s Old City

Friday March 12, 2010 14:57 by Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC News & Agencies

Clashes erupted, on Friday afternoon, at Jerusalem’s old city between local youths and Israeli soldiers after the later prevented people for praying.


Israeli troops at Jerusalem old city - file photo 2009

Local sources said that troops station at the entrance of the al-Aqsa Mosque prevented local youth from entering to pray. Soldiers used batons to move people away, sparking clashes.

A number of youths were mildly injured when soldiers used rubber-coated steel bullets to suppress the crowd, medical sources reported. Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site for Muslims.

Al-Ma’sara Village, Southern West Bank, Protest The Israeli Built Wall

Friday March 12, 2010 14:41 by Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC News

Villagers of al-Ma’sara, near the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem, protested on Friday the Israeli built wall on villagers’ lands.

The people were joined by Israeli and international supporters. The protest kicked off from the village center and headed towards the wall construction site.

Israeli troops erected a military checkpoint at the village entrance and did not allow people to move any further, troops also took positions at nearby rooftops.

The protest today was organized in honor of International Women's Day. At the checkpoint organizers delivered speeches in Arabic, Hebrew and English. In the speech delivered in Hebrew, an Israeli activist called for the soldiers to put down their weapons.

Later, the protesters moved the military checkpoint and moved towards their lands. Troops stopped them, announced that the area was a closed military zone, and asked people to move back.

The villagers and their supporters refused and staged a sit in at the road. Soldiers tried to stop the chanting of the people by using loud speakers. After a short period of shouting back and forth between soldiers and protestors, organizers ended the protest and promised to come back next week.