A few more thoughts about the flotilla:

First, The MV Rachel Corrie is still on its way to Gaza. Please contact your government and the Israeli embassy in your country and demand that it be allowed to deliver the supplies its carrying.

Second, actions are still going on all over the world to call attention to Israel's attack on the ships. I am so very proud to say that there were over 2,000 people in Chicago, where I live, marching for freedom, peace, and an end to the Israeli military occupation of Palestine. Here's how you can get involved in your area.

Third, we need to call for an independent invesitgation of what happened. You disagree with the claims of the activists? You disagree with my analysis? Great. Than you also want an independent investigation. Let's all get behind it.

(3.5 Can I just say that this attack took place in international waters? I mean, goodness gracious. That's just crazy. Okay, I'll now return to my normal analysis.)

Fourth, remember why the flotilla was delivering supplies in the first place. Israel's siege on Gaza is simply immoral and must be lifted. If you think that civilians shouldn't have been trying to deliver that aid themselves, then you please pressure your government to pressure Israel to lift the siege on Gaza.

Finally, let's take a moment to remember the people who died, the people who were terrified, the people who were arrested, imprisoned, and deported, and the people of Gaza who are still suffering. And let's remember that it's all to common for the Israeli army to respond to demonstrations with force. Let's remember the more than 60 years of attacks on Palestinians.

Now - here are a few links:

"We were aware of the possible danger [in joining the trip] but there are thousands of babies in Gaza. If we had reached Gaza we would have played with them and taken them food." Eyewitness Accounts from the Flotilla (BBC)

Gaza Flotila raid: 'We heard gunfire - then our ship turned into a lake of blood' (Guardian)

Will this change anything? Here's David Hosey from the US Campaign to End the Occupation answering that question:

What do you do when settlers are living on your land, soldiers keep arresting your husband, the Israeli government wont let your village connect to the electrical grid and you want to help more young women in your village go to university?

Apparently, you laugh a lot.

I want to introduce you to a friend of mine. For the purposes of the internet, let's call her Mona. Mona is the head of the At-Tuwani Women's Co-operative and she has knack for laughing in the midst of the most difficult situations. Mona is one of the most talented community organizers I have ever met. She is a woman with compassion to spare and a knack for showing people cares about them. That quality is one of the reasons that Mona has been able organize the woman of her area to participate in what she calls two nonviolent resistances: one to the occupation and one patriarchy. Here's is a transcript from a presentation she recently gave to a group visiting At-Tuwani (and thanks for my friend and colleague F. for her translation!) :

First of all, I would like to welcome you all.

I want to speak to you about the position of the women in At-Tuwani village. First of all, women in this village suffer from very conservative cultural traditions. In regards to education, which is a right of women to have, unfortunately most of the women in At-Tuwani are illiterate. They have only managed to study through third grade. The role of the women is to work on the fields with the men and to have children and care for them. Five years ago, we gathered the women and decided we needed to make a slight change to our lives.

You should that know that women have rights and even though women's rights have not been meet, we have decided to form a women's cooperative. Even though, when we meet and decide what we wanted to do, we still had to consult with the men of the village. At first, they objected very strongly and they said, “Your role is just to care for your homes and your children, and to work in the fields.” We did not accept their rejection and therefore we had to think of activities to do, things that do not get in the way of the traditions and the culture that we live in. So we agreed, as most of the women are quite skilled in embroidery, even though they were not taught it but are skilled because many generations of tradition, we could use that as a starting point.

We came up with the idea of doing embroidery work to improve the economy of the village because of the settlers and the settlements around us and the way they confiscate our land and attack our homes and flocks. All of these was effecting the women of the village and our children. So we had to again bring it to the men of the village because of we had some support, but not a majority. The most important support for me was from my husband, Hafez, and Saber, the mayor of the village. When we started the women's cooperative, CPT and OD were not present here, only Ta'ayush. So we explained to Ta'ayush our idea and what we would like to do. So Ta'ayush decided to support the women by providing the materials, the thread and the equipment we would need to do the work. So we started with seven women in this museum. For a long period of time, even though we were working, we were unable to sell any of our products. The women at that point started to lose the momentum to carry on. But some of us said no, we have to move forward and be hopeful that things can change and carry on.

Then CPT and Operation Dove joined At- Tuwani. I want to thank CPT and Operation Dove for not just making promises but carrying out those promises. For example, they brought delegations here and spoke outside of the village so that more people would come and learn about the situation of At-Tuwani. And through that we were able to sell some of our products and use the profits for girls to continue their education. Now many girls are able to finish high school and there are three girls in university.

To begin with there were 7 women in the cooperative. Now there are 32. And the men have changed their minds and they are very happy and fully in support of the cooperative. They want the women to keep working because they see that we are putting our profits towards the improvement of the village. For example, at times when we need to run the electricity generator for longer hours, the women put in money to make that possible. And whenever men are arrested in the village, the women put forward money to get them out of jail.

The women here feel that they have two types of nonviolent resistance: one is against the occupation and one about men. For example, at first the men objected to our work, but slowly they came to see it differently. I see this as our victory. We did it without posing difficulties or causing problems in family or separations in marriages. Gradually, the idea grew.

In terms of the rest of the village, another example of our nonviolent resistance is the building of the school. Initially, the Israeli government forbid it and the Israeli army was arresting the teachers as they were coming to build the school. Despite that, we continued with it. The teachers and the architect would work on the building in the evening and the women would work in the day to make the cement for the school. Whenever the military used to come to see if there were men working on the site, they would see only women. So, they would just pass by. First we built three classrooms. Then we built another nine and now our children have access to further education.

When the Israeli army said that the school was under demolition order, we said ,“Fine. You can do that. We will rebuild it.” The same happened with the mosque up the hill. They demolished it and we rebuilt it. The same thing happened when we built the clinic. The men would work at night when the army was not watching carefully and during the day the women would work.

Now we also have nonviolent resistance about electricity. When Tony Blaire visited Tuwani he said “We have to bring electricity to Tuwani.” The Israeli authorities informed Tony Blaire that it was not forbidden for them to get electricity. The electric company started to work to put up the pylons and the power lines, but then they were forced to stop and haven't started again. On a winter day in December, we noticed that that was a lot of activity at the bottom of the road, while they were putting up the electric pylons. The whole village went down to the main road and saw that the army had brought bulldozers and police and everything necessary to take down the pylons. They said that they wanted to enter the rest of the village to take all of the pylons. The mayor of the village told us to block the road with stones. The military whenever they saw a man from the village wanting to speak with them, they were ready to arrest them. So the women said to the men, “You stay at home where you are so you are not arrested and we will go in front of the military and deal with them.” It was a very cold, rainy winter day. All of the women went down in front of the army jeeps, arm in arm, with our children in front of us, and forbid the army from entering the village. The commander order the soldiers to throw tear gas to frighten the women away. They were also revving the engines of the jeeps to scare us, but we said “We're really cold! The warmth from the jeep is good!” Then they opened the door of the jeeps and we were surprised to see many female Israeli soldiers with their army gear. They were ordered to face the women of the village. The military women came towards us. They were ordered to start beating us. We said, “Come on! We're ready! We're not wearing the gear that you're wearing. All we are asking for is our rights and all we are asking for is electricity.” One of the women soldiers guested to the commander, saying “No.” Then she returned for the jeep. The women of the started saying to woman soldiers, “Come, are you afraid? Are you afraid to talk with us? Come and talk with us!” But I said that I believe that they returned to the jeep because they knew what they were doing was wrong and that we weren't asking for much. The soldiers took down two pylons but they weren't able to enter the village to remove the rest of them. God willing, we will be continue our struggle to get electricity. Whether by solar power or by something else, we will continue.

And that's the way it's done:

♫ "Suddenly a flock of Palestinian sheep made a non-violent dash for the razor wire to cheers and whoops from the protesters. In a slickly co-ordinated move, protesters lifted the roll of razor wire and the IOF soldiers watched powerless as the Palestinian sheep rushed past them chanting Baa. It is hoped that other sheep in the international community will now follow this brave lead.”

Hope this puts a smile on your face. It certainly put one on mine. Thanks to @USCampaign

Rooted

This morning, I got up while the morning midst still hung in the air and accompanied our friend Jamal* as he and his sons plowed their land near Avigail settlement. Fancy terms aside, that meant sitting on the hillside, my video camera in hand, and hoping settlers would leave the farmers in peace. This was the third day that they had been plowing their land and so far neither Israeli settlers nor the the Israeli army had attacked or threatened the farmers or tried to stop the work. I didn’t know if the lack of violence should make me feel confident or worried that today would be the day.

“It’s amazing how those prickly bushes stay put, isn’t it?” said my teammate. She gestured towards one of the small zatar bushes that dot the hillside. We watched as Jamal’s sons ran the plow over the scrub. Sure enough, the bush didn’t move an inch. It stay rooted to the ground.

Yesterday, I visited the village of Susiya. A of the group for whom I was translating asked our host to explain what his land meant to him. “We eat from our land. We drink from our land. We live from our land,” he answered. “This is where our ancestors lived. Our land is very, very important to us.”

The Palestinian people of South Hebron Hills are like zatar bushes. Their roots run deep. Whatever the Israeli army or Israeli settlers may do to them, they plan to stay put.

*Name changed

Details of Israelis soldiers attack on the Raba'i family and arrest of Musab Raba'i:

This morning, Thursday 7 January, 2010, Israeli soldiers attacked and injured Palestinian shepherds from the Musa Raba’i family, as they grazed their sheep in Humra valley, near the village of At-Tuwani in the South Hebron Hills. The soldiers also attacked the two CPTers accompanying the shepherds and broke a video camera. Before leaving the area the soldiers arrested one of the shepherds, Musab Musa Raba’i.

At around 10:30am Palestinian shepherds were grazing their sheep on privately owned Palestinian land when they saw Israeli settlers observing them from the outpost of Havat Ma’on. A short time later an Israeli army jeep came to the area. After stopping to speak with one of the settlers, three Israeli soldiers approached the shepherds and ordered them to leave the area. The shepherds explained that it was their land, but agreed to move further down into the valley. The soldiers followed them and grabbed at one of the shepherds, so they all tried to quickly leave the area with their sheep. A second army jeep came to the area and a further three soldiers joined in the attack escalating the violence. Soldiers hit the shepherds with their rifle butts, pushed them and while some soldiers forcibly held them to the ground others kicked them.

Other members of the family came to the area, and the women tried to intervene, hoping to deescalate the situation. However, the women were also forcefully pushed to the ground. CPTers trying to video tape the violent attack were roughly pushed and a soldier grabbed at and broke one of the video cameras.

Other villagers came to the area and tried to calm the situation by talking with the soldiers, but the soldiers ignored all pleas for calm and instead fired percussion grenades and tear gas into the small group of women and children gathered nearby on the hillside.

Israeli police reported to the scene after receiving numerous calls from internationals, but arrived as the soldiers were leaving the area. The police told CPTers that there would be a military investigation into the actions of the soldiers.

During the incident a spokeperson from an Israeli Human Right Organization called the local Israeli Army Brigade Operations Room and the Israeli Army Coordination Office to find out what was happening. She told CPT “I called several time and they had no information and no idea that something was going on in At Tuwani.”

Additional information: At the time of writing Moussab Mussa Raba’i is still detained at Kiryat Arba police station. One elderly woman, Umm Juma’ Raba’i, and a young woman, Umm Ribhi Raba’i, who is 2 months pregnant, had to be taken to hospital, suffering from the effects of tear gas inhalation. Three of the shepherds, Kamaal Raba’i, Majde Raba’i and Juma’ Raba’i were hospitalized for their injuries, and a young boy, Ramze Jamaal Raba’i, had his tooth broken.

Soldiers attack Palestinians in At-Tuwani, Arrest One

Yesterday in At-Tuwani, after they consulted with a settler, soldiers attacked Palestinians grazing their sheep. When members of the shepherd’s family came to the scene, soldiers attacked them as well, pushing Palestinians, including an elderly woman, to the ground. They smashed a video camera carried by a college of mine who was recording the attack. In the end, soldiers arrested one of the shepherds, a very dear friend of mine.

I know all too well how it feels to have my friends locked away, to wonder what might be happening to them in jail, to not know when they will come home. It feels like drowning, like knowing you simply must up for air.

But as familiar as this feeling is, I don’t know what to say about it. There is no way to believe that my friend will be treated justly. He is locked away in the jail of the occupying power and he’ll leave only when the Israeli authorities decide to let him go. There is no one to whom we can plead. We wont even be allowed to attend his trial.

Thousands of Palestinians are suffering in Israeli prisons. Today my friend became one of them. And I just want him to be able to come home.

Re-Post: Planting Patience



Check out my teammate Sam's new blog post about At-Tuwani's latest act of nonviolence. You'll be glad you did.

Protesting Olmert on University of Chicago Campus



"Shame, Shame, U of C, Palestine will be free!" Yesterday afternoon (October 16th), I stood in the rain in a crowd of two hundred who had gathered to protest Ehud Olmert's speech on the University of Chicago campus. The message of the demonstration was simple and clear: Ehud Olmert should be giving a speech at the Hague, not an academic institution.


Olmert, of course, was Israel's prime minister during Israel's bombing of Gaza last December. The United Nations recently found that Israeli authorities committed war crimes during their attack and has condemned the ongoing siege of Gaza.


And we in Chicago do too!

As a part of the demonstration, fifty students (hear that, 50!) attended Olmert's speech and countered what he had to say. I'm told that Olmert was hardly able to finish a sentence - when he talked about peace, students talked about his occupation and when he talked about academic freedom, students asked him where was academic freedom when he bombed universities in Gaza. (You can check out some great live-blogging from inside the hall from Ali Abunumiah here.)


This young woman whose name I didn't catch (and I'm so sorry about that!) told those of us outside that she stood up during Olmert's speech and held up the names of all of the people killed his bombing of Gaza. She clutched the names in her hands again when she spoke to us - over a thousand killed and Olmert responsible for them all.


It's always energizing to be apart of a demonstration like this. American Muslims for Palestine and the rest of the coalition that organized this event, including several student groups, did a wonderful job and deserve your support in the future! But I found myself moved as I thought o how Israeli authorities respond to nonviolent demonstrations like this one when they take place in the west bank.

Gather with signs and megaphones somewhere like At-Tuwani and Palestinians are met by Israeli soldiers. Those soldiers will likely declare the area a closed military zone and threaten everyone with arrest. Palestinians are beaten, shot, and tear-gassed in demonstrations like the one we took part in.


And that's why it is so important that we raise our voices and tell the world that we don't support apartheid, whether it's in South Africa, in Palestine, or when it's representatives come for a visit to our college campuses. We stand for peace and justice!


Here's is the local news coverage from channel seven. It's pretty fantastic for mainstream news, I think. Take a look and then send them an email thanking them for doing such a great job.

"Nasser Says Hello"

"Nasser says hello," the woman said as she stood in my doorway and
smiled. I was barely able to choke out, "Say hello to him too."
Nasser, the woman's husband, is in prison. He was arrested on July
20th during a peaceful demonstration in At-Tuwani, the village where
he lives. He did nothing wrong, nothing but build a house on land he
owns. A Palestinian need do nothing more to be treated like a
criminal.

For the last month Nasser's family has been waiting for him to come
home. Nearly every week, an Israeli judge considered Nasser's case
and Nasser waited to be told when when he would be released from jail.
"There will be another hearing next Thursday," the judge said each
time. "Maybe then he can come home," I say to myself. But Nasser's
family is still waiting.

Last week, Nasser's family was told that he could come home if Nasser
paid a fine of 15,000 shekels, an impossibly large sum for someone
from a village that has been impoverished by the confiscation of their
land. The court never spoke with any of the Palestinians who witnessed
Nasser's arrest. My colleagues with Christian Peacemaker Teams video
tapped the entire incident, but our tapes were never entered into
evidence. The court just levied the fine and, frantically, the
village of At-Tuwani gathered the money together. Last Monday, they
tired to deliver it to the court, only to be told that the court would
only accept the money on Sunday. Come Sunday the court asked for
another 5,000 NIS. And Nasser's family continues to wait for him.

There are more than 11,000 Palestinians just like Nasser. They wait
in Israeli jails not knowing when they will see their families. This
is how Israel treats Palestinians going about their everyday lives -
building houses for their families, grazing their sheep, or going to
work. Meanwhile, the Israeli police refuse to prosecute Israeli
settlers for violent crimes. Time and time again, my colleagues and I
document settler violence against Palestinians and show our video
tapes to the Israeli police. Still, the police refuse to prosecute
settlers even when presented with overwhelming evidence. Conversely,
it takes only the word of a settler to land a Palestinian in jail.

Ramadan has now begun and Nasser's eldest son told me that Nasser is
fasting in prison. "But there isn't good food for him when he breaks
the fast," he explained. "Nasser really wants to come home." I
didn't know what to say, but the look on my face must have said it
all. "You're just like Adam," Nasser's wife said, laughing. Adam is
Nasser's youngest child. He is four years old. "He wants his father
too."

"It is possible" wrote renowned Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, "for
prison walls to disappear."Yes, Adam and I both want Nasser to come home.
Even more than that, I want an end to the brutal occupation that
separates so many parents from their children.

Israeli cellphone company Celcom released a new commercial recent that depicts the occupation as no big deal. "We all just want to have fun" soldiers say as they play soccer with across the Wall, with another group of players we never see. (Who are they? Palestinians? More soldiers? Settlers? How ever they are, they're invisible in this commercial.) It's pretty sick, but don't take my word for it. Watch it yourself:



The village of Bil'in has released a response to this commercial. They have in protesting the Wall that runs on their land for the last for years. Here's what really happens when the Israeli army returns the ball:



By the way, that's tear gas you see, which explains the masks and hazard suits Palestinians are wearing. I can tell you from experience that it's nasty stuff.

A Tale of 7 Houses (Part Two)

DCO officer posts stop-work order on new Palestinian house

On the 20th of July, DCO delivered stop work orders for nine Palestinian structures around the village of At-Tuwani. These orders were delivered to seven new houses (the ones I was talking about in the previous entry), one cave, and one cistern. But it wasn't easy for the DCO to deliver the order. They were met with nonviolent resistance:


Palestinian children surrounded each house and chanted loudly, attempting to make it difficult for the DCO to leave the orders at each house and making it difficult for the DCO and soldiers to use their radio and phones. Palestinians sat in protest in front of the military and DCO and prayed together on their land.


They argued their case with the DCO. One made an especially important point - the DCO and soldiers should be delivering demolition orders to the illegal buildings in the Israeli outpost of Havot Ma’on, which is expanding every day.

Over the course of the day, the Israeli soldiers committed several abuses (in addition to delivering the stop-work orders, of course):

- Soldiers hit child.

- Soldiers shoved a Palestinian man to the ground.

- Soldiers arrested a Palestinian man for "threatening a soldier." What was he actually doing? Laughing at him. He is still being held.

Landowner being arrested

Despite Israeli settler and soldier harassment to discourage the growth of the village of At-Tuwani, Palestinians remain committed to asserting their right to develop their land. I'll do my best to keep you updated on what's going on here. In the meantime, check out this video for another look at this protest. You can also see our press release here.

A Tale of 7 Houses (Part One)

The last few days in Tuwani have been both thrilling and depressing. Thrilling because Palestinian nonviolent resistance in Tuwani is intelligent, courageous and persistent. Depressing because the consequences for this resistance are still high. And because the Israeli government still just doesn't get it - the Palestinians of the South Hebron Hills aren't going any where, wherever the army and settlers do to them.

Starting on the 16th of July, Tuwani residents built 7 new houses in Humra Valley, just outside of At-Tuwani on land owned by the residents. No one had any illusions about the risk they were taking. They knew that the houses would likely be destroyed by settlers or demolished by the Israeli army, but they built any way because they wanted to say to the world that this was their right, that they owned the land and should be able to access it and build on it.

We spend the day accompanying the building, which mainly meant carrying blocks and standing around awkwardly since we were the only people in the area who didn't know anything about construction. But the atmosphere was jubilant. Residents hoped that this would help them secure their land and tell their story.

But the night of the 17th, just what everyone expected happened.

Settlers came and destoryed one of the half-finished houses (photo above.) They also cut an olive tree in half, which saddened the family much more. (Remind you of anything? Maybe one fo the reason that Havot Ma'on and Ma'on should be dismantled?)

The DCO also told everyone that they would need to stop construction. Read the next entry for the continuing story. It gets worse, sadly.

Just for background, here's the press release we put out:

On the morning of 17 July, a Palestinian family from the village of At-Tuwani discovered that their newly constructed house was destroyed during the previous night. In addition, the family discovered an olive tree located near the new house cut in half. The family believes that Israel settlers from the Ma’on settlement and Havot Ma’on outpost are responsible for the vandalism. Despite being threatened by both settlers and officers from the Israel military District Coordinator (DCO), the family plans to rebuild the house.

On 16 July Palestinian residents of At-Tuwani began construction on six new small houses on land owned by the village. During the construction, Israeli settlers from Havot Ma’on outpost shouted at Palestinians working on the houses. Officers from the DCO told Palestinian land owners that the construction was illegal and threatened to arrest the workers. In addition, an officer told one At-Tuwani resident that everything he owned would be destroyed if he did not stop building. Despite these risks, Palestinians say that they plan to continue construction to assert their right to build on their own land.

While the Israeli army restricts Palestinian building, Ma’on and Carmel settlements and Avigail and Havot Ma’on outposts in the area continue to expand. Members of Christian Peacemaker Teams have documented continuous settlement expansion since 2004.

For photos of the demolished house, visit: http://cpt.org/gallery/album289

For photos of recent settlement expansion, visit: http://cpt.org/gallery/album288

Everything I know about Nonviolence I learned in At-Tuwani


While I was cleaning out some files, I found a document I started a year ago. It's a list of the things I've learned about nonviolent resistance from the people of At-Tuwani and while it's very far from being comprehensive, I thought it might be interesting. I think that I had intended to the describe events and people that taught me these lessons and I could still do that if I get requests to do so. But I think this is pretty interesting as it is.

Drink your tea. The soldiers will probably still be there after you're finished. If they aren't, there was no need to go any way.

There’s always time to be polite.

When you thinks things are bad, ask a haji* and she’ll tell you that they could be worse.

Having a gun doesn't make you strong. It certainly doesn't make you brave.

If it's really important, have the women and children demonstrate. When all else fails, send in the hajis.

Nonviolence is risky.

Persistence is powerful.

The real victims of this occupation are people who give into paranoia and hate.

*Elderly woman (women)

From Bil’in: "We refuse to die in silence."

A world-class drama is unfolding in Canada. The Palestinian village of Bil’in is taking two Quebec-based corporations, Green Park International and Green Mount International to court on charges that they are committing war crimes by building on Bil’in farmland as agents of Israel for the illegal settlement of Modi’in Illit. The corporations, assumed to be shell corporations located in Quebec for tax reasons, have been trying to stave off this case by procedural ploys -- including a challenge to the jurisdiction that will take place in the Montreal Courthouse on June 22, 2009. Mohammad Khatib, a Bil’in leader, the Israeli lawyer, Emily Schaeffer, and the Canadian lawyer, Mark Arnold, are traveling across Canada to explain the significance of this case and to raise funds for the court costs.

Video clips of Bil’in’s nonviolent struggle to maintain the confiscated 60% of their remaining farmland bring to mind the ferocious attacks on blacks and integrationists during the most violent civil rights strife in the United States and the beatings of Mahatma Gandhi’s followers in India. The men, women and children of this small village have carried out peaceful demonstrations every Friday after prayers for over two and a half years -- 134 times so far -- to be beaten, shot at, and gassed by Israeli forces. It is apparent from the footage that Khatib, a father of very young children, faces the possibility of being killed at every demonstrations.

Mohammad Khatib’s courageous leadership marks him as an obvious Palestinian leader of the future; many regard him as a giant in their midst. Khatib came to believe in nonviolence both for humanitarian and strategic reasons. Khatib makes the point that Bil’in’s fight is not against Jews -- indeed, many Jewish Israelis march with them -- and he feels their common humanity. Strategically, he wants to expose Israel’s claim that it needs to use violence against Palestinians "for security" as a sham; every week, the world can see -- if it looks -- shocking Israeli brutality against defenseless people. Can this strategy work? Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals notes that nonviolence is only effective under two circumstances: when there is media coverage and when there is no policy of assassination. Neither of these conditions is met in this case. A leader of the neighboring village of Nil’in was killed on June 13, 2009 in what is regarded as a targeted assassination. And unlike the compelling media coverage that turned the tide of public opinion for Martin Luther King’s and Gandhi’s confrontations with brutality, Bil’in’s is virtually invisible to most of the public; one has to use the Internet (www.bilin-village.org) to see these horrifying weekly Israeli attacks.

When asked why the village is putting itself through such torture for its survival, Khatib comments: "we refuse to die in silence". Why are they resorting to a Canadian court? The villagers need to hope. They were hopeful in 2007 when Israeli courts ruled that the developers had no permits to build on their land and that the wall’s route should avoid their farmland. Unfortunately, that win did not translate to changes on the ground. The expectation is that a successful challenge here could also benefit other Palestinian communities similarly affected. It is hoped that this lawsuit will encourage both Israel and Canada to comply not only with their obligations under international law -- particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention -- but with their own laws which support it.

The Fourth Geneva Convention obligates all signatories to enforce its provisions. Under Article 146 all signatories -- which include Israel and Canada -- are under a contractual legal obligation to prosecute those responsible for committing any "grave breaches" against (in this case) Palestinian civilians in the occupied territories, which include: wilful killing, inhuman treatment, wilfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health, and extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly. UN officials and peace activists have long appealed to the international community to fulfil these obligations. The World Council of Churches, in appealing to its members to approach their governments, noted that until these obligations are met, we will all continue to be complicit in these violations of human rights. Palestinians must be supported by the public’s demands that their governments enforce these important provisions.

Arnold compares this situation to others such as the war on Vietnam, the US civil rights movement, and the struggle against South African apartheid. He believes that as in those cases, this blatant injustice cannot last.

An Open Letter to President Obama from Christian Peacemaker Teams: Call on Israel to Stop Its Violence against Palestinians

Dear President Obama,

On Tuesday June 15^th, you said of the protests in Iran, “When I see peaceful dissent being suppressed, whenever that takes place, it is of concern to me and it is of concern to the American people.” For the last 13 years, Christian Peacemaker Teams have witnessed the brutal suppression of peaceful dissent here in Palestine. In the city of Hebron and the village of At-Tuwani, CPT supports vibrant Palestinian nonviolent resistance to Israel’s military occupation. Every day, Palestinians hold nonviolent demonstrations and defy curfews and closed military zones. They rebuild demolished homes and work their land despite the threat of arrest and attack. Though their struggle is largely ignored by the media, we find inspiration in the way Palestinians are working for justice and peace.

We are deeply troubled by the way Israeli authorities respond to this nonviolent resistance. On April 22, 2006, Israeli police beat and arrested the mayor of At-Tuwani village and his brother for doing no more than holding a peaceful demonstration against the illegal Israeli wall. CPT has documented the Israeli army demolishing the homes of nonviolent resistance leaders, harassing them at checkpoints, and targeting them for arrest.

Too often, Israeli forces respond to nonviolent resistance with lethal force. In the past nine months, Israeli soldiers have killed four residents of the village of Ni’lin during demonstrations against the Israeli wall. Ahmed Mousa, age 10, was shot in the forehead with live ammunition on July 29, 2008. Yousef Amira, 17, was shot twice with rubber-coated steel bullets in next day. On December 28^th 2008, 22-year-old Arafat Rateb Khawaje was shot in the back with live ammunition. The same day, Mohammed Khawaje, 20, was shot in the head with live ammunition. On March 22^nd 2009, American demonstrator Tristan Anderson was shot in the face with a tear gas canister. He still lies in the hospital in critical condition. Each of these incidents raises a simple question: why do Israeli soldiers respond to unarmed protestors with deadly force?

When Israel arrests, attacks and kills Palestinians who practice nonviolent resistance, it is saying to the Palestinian people, “No matter your methods of struggle, no matter the justice of your cause, we will not share power with you.” In this context, it is a grave mistake to call, as you did in your Cairo speech, for Palestinians to abandon violence without calling on Israel to do the same. To speak as though there is no Palestinian nonviolent resistance movement is worse than naïve; it gives Israel permission to continue to ignore their cries for justice and freedom.

In his recent speech, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outlined his conditions for peace with Palestine. He described a future Palestinian state that would not be a state at all. Its borders and airspace would be controlled by others. It would be demilitarized while Israel remained free to continue building a nuclear arsenal. This is not a plan for peace. It is a demand that Palestine submit to Israeli domination.

As Prime Minister Netanyahu makes these demands, his government continues to suppress Palestinian nonviolent resistance. Unarmed demonstrators in N’ilin are still met with tear gas and live bullets. In Hebron and At-Tuwani, children on their way to school are still attacked by Israeli settlers and settlements continue to grow. We ask you, President Obama, to demand that Israel stop its campaign of violence against the Palestinian people. We echo the Palestinian nonviolent resistance movement’s calls for justice and human dignity. Only justice will lead to peace.

In Hope,

Christian Peacemaker Teams-Palestine

A couple of months ago I had the great pleasure of watching Palestinians successfully graze their sheep near Avigail settlement, on land where they are regularly attacked and harassed. The joy I felt in seeing my friends and partners grazing on their land was overwhelming. Sitting on the hill and eating lunch together felt like having a party.

As the day drew to an end, one of the Palestinian leaders excitedly explained to me the strategy he had used in dealing with the army and settlers that morning. Mahmoud told me how, even though the army had declared the area a closed military zone, he firmly stood up for his rights. He explained how he pretended to slowly begin to comply with the military order, all the while challenging the soldiers and insisting on his right to graze his sheep. Eventually, he said, the army lost control of the situation and gave in. When he finished his description, Mahmoud turned to me and grinned. "I read in a book that this is called nonviolence," he said, laughing.

When President Obama called on Palestinians to practice nonviolence, I laughed just like Mahmoud. Palestinians like Mahmoud have never needed to be told about nonviolence. The English word may be unfamiliar but the steadfast, daily acts of resistance known as nonviolence are nothing new. In the South Hebron hills, Palestinians face Israeli soldiers and violent Israeli settlers who are illegally expanding their settlements and attacking Palestinians, including children walking to school. In response to this profound injustice, Palestinians are organizing demonstrations, refusing to comply with military orders, filing complaints against settlers, and courageously working their land despite the risk of arrest and attack. They don't need President Obama to tell them to practice nonviolence.

From the British Mandate to the first intifada, to the loose-knit but powerful community-based movement of today, Palestinians have practiced nonviolent resistance for the last 60 years. Certainly, it's inaccurate to omit armed resistance from Palestinian history, but it is equally false to claim that Palestinians are unfamiliar with nonviolence. President Obama missed the point in his Ciaro speech - Palestinians do not need to admonished towards peacefulness. It's radical settlers and Israel's government who do.

Instead of preaching to Palestinians, Obama should insist emphatically on the dismantlement of illegal Israeli settlements and law enforcement against violent settlers, like those living in the South Hebron Hills. After decades of Israeli military occupation, it is time for a US president to call on Israel to stop its violence towards Palestinians.

Life Itself

Soldiers were swarming. The army sent two jeeps to order around two shepherds who were grazing their sheep in Humra valley, but there wasn't quite enough to keep all of those young men with guns busy. A few soliders sat in the jeeps or talked on their cell phones, but others took initiative, find ways to harass the shepherds. They took photographs, demanded IDs, ordered Palestinians not to stand on the road, made snide remarks, threated, begged, and vainly tried to heard the sheep down into the bottom of the valley.

Meanwhile, the commander argued with the landowners. "You can't graze here," they claimed. "Show us a map," asserted the shepherds and landowners. "This is our land."

"We set the rules," ordered the soldier, refusing to show them a order from the DCO.

"And we have rights," replied the Palestinians.

The stand-off continued. The army did everything in its power to order make the shepherds leave. But the sheep kept grazing, munching away on thistles and zaatar oblivious to what was happening around them. Eventually, while the landowners continued to make their case to the army, the shepherds slipped away voluntarily, the day's grazing finished. But they didn't leave their land until a tiny black and white sheep was born. Out from of its mother, the lamb came. It cried out as it took its first breaths and a shepherd glently lifted it up by the front legs and carried it away.

Life cannot actually be controlled or occupied. Resistance isn't a choice - it's life itself. The Israeli goverment, it's army, and Israeli settlers are fighting a battle they cannot win.

Ten Reasons that Havot Ma'on Outpost and Ma'on Settlement Have Got to Go;

As I said last week, I'm complying a list of ten reasons why Havot Ma'on Outpost and Ma'on Settlement should be dismantled. And since this is a urgent situation, without further ado, her's reason number two.

Reason Two: As long as Havot Ma'on and Ma'on remain, Palestinians in the village of Tuba have no usable road to their village.

Israeli settlers have built Ma'on settlement and Havot Ma'on outpost on both sides of the only road to the village of Tuba.

The Ma'on Settlement, Havot Ma'on Settlement Outpost, and road that runs between them.

This road, which you can see in the center of the photograph between the settlement and the outpost, was built by Palestinians. It is the most efficient way for residents of Tuba to travel to At-Tuwani and is the only way that vehicles can access the village. As you might imagine, this road is incredibly important to the village's quality of life.

However, since the establishment of Havot Ma'on and Ma'on, Palestinians have been unable to use this road. Settlers have threatened and beaten Palestinians who have tried to use it so frequently with such complete impunity that currently the only Palestinians able to use it are school children - and they require a Israeli army escort to do so.

Because Tuba residents have no road, when a woman is pregnant, she must decide if she will walk to the city of Yatta through the hills - where she could be beaten by settlers - well before her due date or stay in the village and give birth in her home. Because they have no road, accessing health care is difficult for everyone in the village. Because they have no road, Palestinians are unable to bring water to their village during the summer time. In other words, because the residents of Tuba are unable to access the only road to their village, they are denied their basic human rights. As long as Havot Ma'on and Ma'on remain, it's difficult to imagine this situation changing.

But don't think for a moment that Palestinians are passively accepting this situation. In August 2009, Palestinians children and their parents held a demonstration to highlight the importance of this road. Though they were harassed by the army and followed by settlers, they walked all the way to Tuba and home via this road. This photo below shows the march, one of the most moving sights I've ever been privileged to witness.

The August 2nd 2008 Children's March to Tuba walking along Tuba's only road

At the time, a friend of ours told me that march was the first time in eleven years that Palestinians had used that road.

How can you help this situation? That's not an easy question to answer. First, you can let people know about this situation. Write about it. Link to this article. Tell your government representatives and demand that they do something. Write an editoral. Tell your friends. But I also believe that they best way to support Palestinian access to Tuba's road is to support the one group of Palestians who are currently using it: the school children. I wrote about there situation only last week and they still need your support. Take some time to contact the Israeli army and pressure them escort the children properly. All of the details you need to do so are right here.

That's reason number two. Eight more on the way.

AT-TUWANI REFLECTION: "Resistance will not be tolerated"-from Gaza to At-Tuwani

by CPT Tuwani team members

At the time of this writing, casualties in the ten-day Gaza conflict have reached approximately 699 Palestinians and ten Israelis, according to news reports. Here in at-Tuwani, in the West Bank's South Hebron district, we witness Palestinians' mourning and outrage over Israel's latest military actions. At the same time, we witness army collusion with settlers' harassment and attacks of Palestinians.

On Sunday, 4 January 2009, two team members observed a confrontation between Israeli military forces and a group of around twenty Palestinian youth outside the Palestinian town of al-Birkeh ("The Pool" in Arabic). Army and police jeeps had parked along the dirt road between at-Tuwani and Yatta, and the Palestinian youth were shouting at soldiers and police from a hillside above. A white truck with Israeli license plates approached a police jeep and two settler men got out, one armed with an automatic rifle. They spoke with the Israeli police, then drove up toward the Palestinian youth, who quickly ran off toward al-Birkeh. Some Israeli army jeeps pursued the youth up the road toward the town.

The CPTers heard the sound of gunfire and percussion grenades sporadically. Then, after twenty minutes, the Israeli settlers again spoke with the soldiers and then drove away. The following day, Palestinian residents of al-Birkeh told us they had seen armed Israeli settlers in the town the previous morning.

This event should be considered within a broader context. Popular Palestinian outcry against the killing in Gaza has resulted in heavier deployments of Israeli troops and, in central Hebron, U.S. and E.U.-sponsored Palestinian police. Both there and in the rural South Hebron Hills, Israeli settler civilians continue to demonstrate through words and actions their commitment to a Palestinian exodus from the region. The Israeli army and police institutionalize that commitment by guarding the settlers wherever they wish to move.

Even though at-Tuwani remains devoid of protests and the villagers have focused by necessity upon the basic work of survival--plowing fields, digging cisterns, educating youngsters--local army and settler behavior compound the message that from Gaza to the West Bank, "Control is ours; no resistance will be tolerated."

Gaza: I have three words

The sinking feeling I've had in my stomach over the last ten days turned into nausea this afternoon as I listened to news about Gaza.

I'm left with only three words in response to this tragedy: boycott, divestment, sanctions.

The argument that it a boycott will hurt normal Israeli businesses (and, really, the feelings of normal Israelis) now seems to carry no weight whatsoever. When the Israeli government is making a policy out of destroying Gaza's infrastructure, keeping a population hungry, terrified, and trapped, BDS seems kind. And in fact it is: opposing apartheid is the loving thing to do.

So, that's all I've got: boycott, divestment, sanctions. Now more than ever.