ISMer shot, Huwaida & 2 Palestinians arrested

X-ray image of the large rubber bullet lodged into Ellen Stark's arm.

March 19: “Friday’s demonstration in An Nabi Saleh saw an increase in violence and collective punishment from the Israeli military, as twenty-five demonstrators were injured, windows of cars and homes were intentionally shattered, and three were arrested. ISM volunteer Ellen Stark was shot at point blank range (4 meters) with a rubber bullet as she stood with medics, Popular Committee members and other internationals.

ISM co-founder Huwaida Arraf was arrested while negotiating with the IOF to allow Ellen through the military line to get to the hospital. According to Ellen, “we were standing on Palestinian land, in support of the village who’s land has been confiscated but we weren’t even demonstrating yet. We were standing with medics who were also shot with tear gas.”…Read the rest of this report on the ISM webpage.

I have also just seen a report that the next day – yesterday – Israeli soldiers killed a 16 year old Palestinian the village of Iraq Burin by shooting him in the back and have shot another in the head, when Palestinian boys were throwing stones in response to an army raid on their village, two hours after the army used live ammuntion, tear gas and rubber bullets on a nonviolent demonstration in the village.

From Huwaida:

Dear friends,

Thanks so much for your concern, solidarity and support. I was released last night at around 6:45pm from Neve Tirtze prison in Ramle. Save for minor cuts and bruises, I am OK. I haven’t gotten a chance to see Ellen Stark (the ISM volunteer shot in the arm) yet. I hear she has a broken wrist but is doing OK.

I was arrested on Friday at around noon as I tried to get the Israeli soldiers to stop shooting at people in Nabi Saleh (a small village of about 400 people), especially after ISM volunteer Ellen Stark was shot in the arm. We were in Nabi Saleh for a weekly demonstration by the villagers against the theft of their land. Simultaneous demonstrations were taking place in Jerusalem and in a number of villages throughout the West Bank. In Nabi Saleh, the demonstration took the form of people walking down a hill towards the confiscated land.

“Stop shooting…a woman has been injured and needs medical attention” I yelled at the soldiers, making my way back up the hill to the road they stood on (shooting down at us knowing the rugged terrain we were on made it very difficult to move quickly to avoid their barrage of tear gas and bullets).

March 10, Israel: Civil case on Rachel’s killing

The family of my ISM colleague Rachel, killed in Gaza in 2003 by the Israeli army using a Caterpillar bulldozer (don’t buy those shoes!), are taking Israel to court this week. My friend Alice, who witnessed her killing, testified yesterday. You can see the latest on the trial on here.

Israeli Court Begins Hearing Testimonies in the Unlawful Killing of 23 year old American Activist Rachel Corrie

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Haifa District Court began hearing eyewitness testimonies today, March 10, 2010, in a civil lawsuit filed by Rachel Corrie’s family against the State of Israel for her unlawful killing in Rafah, Gaza. Rachel Corrie, an American human rights defender from Olympia, Washington, was crushed to death on March 16, 2003 by a Caterpillar D9R bulldozer. She had been nonviolently demonstrating against Palestinian home demolitions with fellow members of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a Palestinian-led movement committed to resisting the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land using nonviolent, direct action methods and principles.

From the Guardian: Sent to jail for throwing a single bottle

Do you remember how outraged you felt during Israel’s 08/09 bombing of Gaza civilians? And how, in Gaza, we were begging people in the UK to take action since our government did not? This is what’s happened to some of the UK young people who did. Please visit The Gaza Protesters Defence Campaign to join with their families and supporters determined to fight the sentences, and to back MP Jeremy Corbyn in tabling a motion in the Commons criticising the handling of the protesters.

Yahia Tebani, is awaiting sentencing. 'If I’ve got 'ex-prisoner' on my file, how am I going to get a job?' Photograph: Anna Gordon

Last year, during protests against the attack on Gaza, a mixed group of demonstrators clashed with police. But when the alleged culprits were arrested in dawn raids, nearly all those taken were young Muslims. Originally posted in The Guardian Online.

Badi Tebani and his wife were sleeping peacefully when all hell broke loose. He shudders at the memory. The front door was forced open, and then came the screaming. “Wah, wah, wah, get down, get down, you are under arrest.” Any number of voices. He thought it was a nightmare – that he was back in Algeria in the bad old days before he was granted political asylum in Britain, and that the military had broken into the house. When he opened his eyes, his bedroom was full of police officers. “I have diabetes and high blood pressure,” he says quietly. “It was worse than Algeria, even. I became very depressed.”

It was 5am, April 2009. Badi’s eldest son Hamza, 23, takes up the story. “I woke up and tried to get out of bed. The next thing is three police officers jump on top of me with their knees, and they handcuffed me so hard I screamed. That’s when I really woke up.” Hamza had been sleeping in shorts. When he asked if he could put a shirt on the police said no and opened the window. “It was freezing. I was shaking.”

Ramzy Baroud in UK on 10 day April book tour

Gaza Book Tour in the UK: Ramzy Baroud Available for Talks and Readings

Following a successful book tour in South Africa in February 2010, Palestinian-American author and journalist Ramzy Baroud will be heading to the United Kingdom next, to launch his newly released book: My Father Was a Freedom Fighter: Gaza’s Untold Story.

Vik’s Gaza book now in English

My colleague Vik has now published the collection of his Gaza 08/09 attack articles in English as well as Italian. These were originally written under fire and published every few days in Italian national newspaper Il Manifesto. You can buy a copy of his book in English, entitled Stay Human, via Housmans Radical Booksellers. Vik’s just got back into Gaza last week, with another UK colleague – hurrah – which means he’ll be posting Gaza stories to his blog again, at http://guerrillaradio.iobloggo.com/. However since they’ll be in Italian, you can hear what’s happening in Gaza daily life via Eva’s blog – she’s been there about 18 months now, bless her. All were out accompa