Palestine:  Courting Disaster

GB and I went to court on Thursday for what was supposed to be Majd and Abdelateef's hearing. However, there was a slight issue in that the Israeli military had decided that it was a good day to implement full body searches on all of the Palestinian lawyers. Understandably, the Palestinian lawyers were not too pleased about this and decided to go on strike.

We arrived at the court anyway, having heard that we might still be able to see Majd and Abdelateef. The military court complex is a maze of alleyways made of wire cages, turnstiles and is swarming with soldiers. We were initially greeted with the sight of 3 Palestinian men lined up outside of a car with a soldier stood pointing a gun at them. No one else seemed fazed by this - suggesting that it is a regular occurrence.

We entered the first wire cage behind a line of Palestinians and were immediately singled out to be shouted at by a soldier. We had applied and been granted permission days before and were there at the correct time - but of course, the soldiers told us straight away that we were not allowed in. A couple of well placed calls from the striking lawyer and an Israeli activist and we were eventually able to enter.

Turnstiles, queues and metal detectors later, we found ourselves in a courtroom along with Majd and Abdelateef's family - some of whom we had met previously when we visited them in Kufr Qaddoum. As it is a military court, the court itself was also full of soldiers (who took great pleasure in shushing the family and us as we were chatting) - including the judge.

Majd and Abdelateef were brought in - giving me major flashbacks from when we were taken to court. Like us, their handcuffs had been removed as they entered, leaving them just in leg shackles. Unfortunately for them, leg shackles are incredibly uncomfortable - especially if you have a soldier right behind you ordering you to 'go faster!'

The two men looked so relieved to see their family - they immediately broke into smiles and conducted hurried communications through nods, waves and mouthed questions. We waved to them as well and I think that they recognised us from the time that we spent together (the bit that they weren't blindfolded for, that is). They were still wearing the same clothes that they were arrested in - after two days in prison in the same clothes I was thoroughly uncomfortable - I can't imagine three weeks worth of it.

The hearing was short and held in Hebrew, with an Arabic translator. The conclusion was that their full hearing would be delayed once more until Monday - giving us a bit more time to garner international support for freedom for Majd and Abdelateef - so, PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION NOW telling the judge that they should not imprison these men on evidence which has already been shown to be doubtful in our case. 

It seemed appropriate following the hearing to attend the regular Friday demonstration in Kufr Qaddoum today - for the first time since being arrested there, three weeks ago. I was most certainly not without anxiety. For the first time in many weeks, the army had not set up roadblocks or invaded the village before the demonstration. All I could think was that they were trying to lull us into a false sense of security.

GB and I in front of Majd and Abdelateef's house at the demonstration today

The soldiers did end up invading the village many times in the demonstration - prompting cries of 'YALLA' and a lot of running away as they chased protesters - at one point we ended up running down towards the olive groves that we were caught in previously, but luckily we didn't end up having to reenact our arrest. The soldiers also broke into two homes, using them as vantage points to attack the village more easily. We found out at the end of the demonstration that they had entered one home and arrested a Palestinian man and his cousin who had been visiting from Jordan, neither of whom were reportedly at the demonstration. An Israeli activist was also arrested.

I can't see an end to these series of arrests of Palestinians - each time the men (they are pretty much invariably men) are likely to be sentenced to several months of jail-time, probably in a plea bargain situation, as pleading innocent is a sure way to more time in detention, waiting for a trial at which you are likely to be found guilty anyway. 

However, if the Israeli prison system affects these young men as it did me, then after they have been arrested, beaten, processed and eventually spewed out, they will be more active, more revolutionary and more determined. Israel may be creating its own worst enemy.

Palestine: Same soldiers, same lies.

Majd and Abdelateef - the Palestinian brothers who were arrested at the same time as me - have their military court hearing tomorrow. I have therefore spent my evening speaking to their lawyer. On Facebook. Through Google Translate. An interesting method of communication, leading to sentences like "In order that I understand material evidence by the military court initially ratified keep them with arrest"....yeaaah, not sure this is what online translation sites were designed for. 

But, the information that I managed to wrangle from the rather confused conversation is that the lawyer is hoping that there is a possibility that Abdelateef may be freed. He is the older brother, and has never been arrested before - by all accounts, he never goes to the demonstrations at all. The lawyer hopes that he will be able to argue that because we four internationals have been freed, Abdelateef should be also, because the same soldiers are telling the same lies about all of us. 

However, Majd is unlikely to be so lucky. He was arrested once before for going to the demonstration in Kufr Qaddoum and was only released in June this year...so in the eyes of the court, he is already evil and horrible. So although the evidence was doubtful for us, and may also be deemed doubtful for Abdelateef, Majd is another matter. Even though it's the same evidence.

Useful formulas:

Being international + fake evidence = 2 days prison, one week house arrest, then freedom
Being Palestinian + fake evidence  = enough to send you to jail. 
Being Palestinian + fake evidence + previous conviction = DEFINITELY enough to send you to jail. 

GB and I have permission to go to the military court hearing tomorrow. We and the other two internationals who were arrested with us have written a letter to the court, urging them to dismiss the charges against Majd and Abdelateef:

For the attention of Salem court:

We are three British nationals and one American citizen who were arrested in Kufr Qaddoum, on the same day as Majd and Abdelateef Obeid.  

We have serious doubt as to the charges against Majd and Abdelateef, and are concerned that their conviction would be a miscarriage of justice. We believe that Majd and Abdelateef are innocent of the charges against them. We are aware that in the Israeli court system, Majd and Abdelateef may be incentivised to choose a guilty plea. However, we do not believe that this would reflect the truth of the accusations.

We were also accused of throwing stones at the army. We did not throw stones. The judge in our hearing looked at the evidence and determined that the charges that the army made against us were doubtful. We understand that the evidence against us is the same as that which the army have provided regarding Majd and Abdelateef. 

If the charges against us are doubtful, there is reason to believe that the charges in their case are doubtful as well. It would be discrimination to charge Majd and Abdelateef with evidence that the Israeli court system would not charge British and American nationals with.

We urge you to consider the fact that false charges were made against us by the same army unit who are now accusing Majd and Abdelateef, and that these charges have already been deemed doubtful by an Israeli court.  

We urge you not to convict Majd and Abdelateef Obeid.  

Sincerely, Gordon Bennett, Eleanor Clayton, Aimee McGovern and Lauren Siebert

We hope that this will help highlight the discrimination inherent in the Israeli system and inshallah will help Majd and Abdelateef.

I have been spending most of my time recently hanging out in the olive groves. Majd should be there as well - the Palestinian olive harvest has begun, and like any good farmer, he would now be gathering his olives.I hope hope hope that he will be able to come and help his family with the zeytoun soon.

Palestine: Bullets flying

Today I went back to the village of Nabi Saleh, for the first time since I was here in December of last year.

The illegal settlement of Halamish is built on Nabi Saleh land, and in 2009 the village spring was also stolen by the settlers. This act was the final straw for the village, sparking a massive show of unity and defiance, and meaning the beginning of their regular demonstrations. Since then, every Friday, the villagers have tried to walk to the spring. And as a result of the resistance, there has been a crackdown on the village by the army. People are regularly arrested, wounded and some are even killed.

So who still lives here despite all of that??

Well, Nabi Saleh is home to the excellently named and extensive Tamimi family:

It is home to a variety of young Tamimis, boys and girls, who attend the demonstration every week, despite being gassed and shot at.

It is home to strong women who are absolutely key to the resistance here - always at the front of the demonstrations, they appear fearless.

 
It is home to Bassem (below) and Naji Tamimi - except when they are imprisoned for organising demonstrations.

It is home to the young Tamimi men, who throw stones to stop the army invading their village - except when they are arrested in the middle of the night, stolen from their beds.

It was also home to Mustafa Tamimi, until he was killed on the 10th of December 2011 at the Friday demonstration. Shot directly in the face with a tear gas canister fired by an Israeli soldier, he was killed on International Human Rights Day.

Today, all the Tamimis were out on the streets and the tear gas was free-flowing as usual - the Israeli military are oh-so generous in sharing it. Must be rather expensive for them, but they're just such a giving military. Like all gift-givers, they even get rather offended when people try to offer it back to them! (a good trick of the shabab is to throw back the tear gas canisters after they've been shot)

Halamish settlement visible in the background.

A 15 year old boy, Waed Tamimi, was shot by the Israeli military in his side with a rubber-coated steel bullet at the demonstration today - luckily, he wasn't too badly hurt and was able to be treated in the village by Red Crescent paramedics. These kind of injuries happen regularly to the youth of Nabi Saleh, who are trying to protect their land and their families.

A little later, we heard at least 30 rounds of live ammunition fired by the Israeli army at the demonstrators - the CRACK is unmistakable. We didn't dare go up the road towards the sound because it's rather hard to see the bullets coming (unlike tear gas which is nice and obvious). The word for "live fire" is the same as "snake" or "viper" in Arabic, which seems apt. No one was hurt today (more by chance than by intention I suspect), but the use of live ammunition so freely is ominous.


However, Nabi Saleh is a village which isn't going anywhere, despite Israel's best efforts. The Tamimis still live here. They will continue to resist the occupation as long as it takes.

Palestine: apartheid "justice"

Today, the two other British ex-arrestees and I went to visit the family of Majd and Abed Obeid - the two Palestinian brothers who were arrested with us on the 21st of September. It was difficult. Their mum spent the whole time trying not to cry (thus meaning that I also spent the whole time trying not to cry) - unsurprising as two of her sons are facing lengthy jail terms. We also met Abed's wife - they had been married just one week before he was arrested - the next time she sees her new husband is likely to be in shackles in court.

Majd was first arrested for attending a Kufr Qaddoum demonstration in January this year, and was only released in June, when his family eventually managed to raise the fine for his freedom (Majd is a joint farmer and sweet maker. There's not a lot of money in either of those professions). Since then, he hasn't been to the demonstrations, because of the danger of being arrested again and the crippling cost that it would cause his family.

So how could he possibly have been doing the following, as he has been accused:

1. "Endangering the lives of soldiers" (because stones can break riiiiight through the helmets and flak jackets of soldiers. Sure.), or;
2. "Impeding the work of soldiers" (though I think they actually mean "impeding the occupation of Palestine")

Well, a minor point that the Israelis haven't considered, he was not doing those things. Nor was his brother Abed. Majd and Abed's family all say that they were both at home during the demonstration. Abed, by all accounts, including the mayor of Kufr Qaddoum, never attends the regular Friday demonstration. I will also point out that from their clothing and appearance when they were arrested, they certainly didn't seem as if they had been at a demo - shorts and vests tend to be in short supply, as are flip flops. If you have to run - which you do regularly - then you'll want to be wearing rather more sturdy shoes. They were also neither sweaty nor dirty, which EVERYONE at a demonstration in Kufr Qaddoum in summer absolutely is.

Someone who, unlike Majd and Abed, was actually at the demonstration

According to their mum, Majd had been sleeping, while Abed had been eating lunch with the family.  She told us how three Israeli soldiers had burst their way into the home, pushing her to the ground when she tried to object to their invasion. They dragged Majd and Abed out of the house, threatening to come up with an excuse to arrest their father as well, if he didn't leave the soldiers to their important kidnapping.

So, it was at this point that our stories converged - our eyes met Majd and Abed's across a crowded Israeli military jeep, and we spent the next 7ish hours detained in the police station all together.

So, considering that the evidence and accusations against all six of us were the same, making an auspicious start to a joint story, how and why did our stories diverge once more?

Well, we were treated with grudging respect for our well-being (after the initial beating, natch). Majd and Abed on the other hand were blindfolded, deprived of food and water and kept in the sun at the police station. I can only imagine what happened to them after they were separated from us, in a system in which beatings of Palestinians can only be called regular (check out the Abuse category at Breaking the Silence - and even these are only the testimonies of a few soldiers who have spoken out).

Also, whilst I am now unconditionally free (regained my passport yesterday in a remarkably painless and deportation-free visit to Ariel settlement), having only suffered a 2 day stay in prison and 7 days under pretty luxurious house arrest, Majd and Abed are still in prison. They've had one court hearing, which was used merely as a delaying tactic - extending their detention.

What it comes down to is that we're British and American - whereas they happen to have the misfortune of being Palestinian. In the three-tier system of "justice" that Israel imposes on the Palestinian people, Israelis are top-dogs (according to our lawyer an Israeli wouldn't have even been placed under house arrest), International citizens come second (with women edging slightly higher than men according to GB who, unlike us, didn't get any coffee in prison, TRAGIC) while Palestinians are absolutely at the bottom of the pile.

On the right is Majd and Abed's house - right next to the demonstration, making it very convenient for soldiers to visit/kidnap people from inside whenever they wish...

Majd and Abed are facing a lifetime of this persecution. They are aged 20 and 23 - both younger than me, but having faced infinitely more difficulty already. Their stories are typical of the Israeli attempts at quashing resistance in Palestine - apparently 75% of young Palestinian men have served time in Israeli jails, for their part in the resistance.

Guilt or innocence just don't matter in these cases. All the Israeli authorities need is for ONE SOLDIER to say that they saw a Palestinian throw stones and it's taken as absolute fact. Majd and Abed were easy targets, and it really doesn't seem to matter to the army whether they were there or not.

I look forward to a day when wrongful arrests (like Majd and Abed's) or arrests for the wrong reasons (like arresting anyone, ever, for attending a demonstration) are over. Inshallah, we will stand in court with Majd and Abed when they are next seen, in solidarity with them and their family.

You can read the full (and rather more official) report of Majd and Abed's arrest here.

Palestine 2012: Captivating. 

So. It’s been a rather busy few days. I’ve had a few new experiences…I’ve been beaten, arrested, taken to court, most likely blacklisted from returning to Israel and threatened with rape and deportation. Well that’s a few things to tick off the ol’ ‘Life Goals’ list I guess…

Went to a demonstration at Kufr Qaddoum on Friday the 21^st September for the second time – a slightly more manic experience this time. Within a few minutes of arriving, the tear gas was free flowing, and we had already run away from the soldiers once, when they chased a group of us down the road – I can only assume to catch us for the terrible crime of walking in a Palestinian village. Eventually the soldiers retreated slightly further out of the village, allowing the protesters to take their desired route, towards the road to Nablus which is now only allowed for Israeli settlers – Palestinians are not allowed to use it. 

During the demo on several occasions I saw soldiers raising their guns to shoot – whether this was tear gas, rubber bullets or live ammunition, I don’t know. Me or the other internationals stepping into their line of sight, with a raised camera made them lower their guns – this may have got on their nerves a little. Demonstrations are always more restrained when internationals are present, so we were probs hampering their ability to have a really good firing range session.

The soldiers, just pre- them chasing us for the first time.

After some to-ing and fro-ing, GB and I made our way to the front. We thought the demonstration had pretty much finished, but saw that a bulldozer was being brought into the village, so were keen to document any damage that it did. We were taking pictures, when we heard the call of the shabab, who were suddenly running. They called for us to run as well...but a line of soldiers already loomed ahead of us.

Ducking down a side-road, we ran into someone’s front garden, choked with tear gas. Peering over a wall, we saw soldiers breaking the windows of a house – seemingly for no reason, as they walked away straight afterwards. It was then that they spotted us….

Three soldiers broke off from the main group. They ran. We ran - through rubble-filled and muddy olive groves. I could hear the soldiers gaining behind me but didn’t dare turn around. I was fuelled only by the hope that they would be too heavy and slow to catch us (all those guns must weigh you down!) Eventually though, they gained enough and I felt hands land on me. 

GB, gentleman that he is, did not continue running (needless to say, he was ahead of me at this point. Note to self: do more sports). He came back for me and we executed a perfect de-arresting strategy, grabbing hold of each other and dropping to the ground, in an attempt to stop them from taking us. They immediately started grabbing at my camera and GB’s phone, prying at our fingers. They were absolutely focused on removing these from us – I can only say that if you’re that desperate to hide evidence of what you’re doing, you must KNOW THAT IT’S WRONG.

I don’t know how long we lay there. It’s a blur of kicks, punches, hands all over me, my keffiyeh being dragged tight around my neck, my hair being pulled, glimpses of GB’s face as they tried to strangle him. At one point I looked up and saw a foot being raised above my head – the effort of self-control that the soldier seemed to have to make to draw back his foot without stamping on my face terrifies me.

During my training to come to Palestine, we were taught to scream in situations like this, to attract attention of people nearby who might be able to help, and to try and stop the attack. We did practice screams – at the time, mine was decidedly a scream. Muted and tamed, it was hardly audible. Turns out however, that under the right circumstances, I can SCREAM (the pain in my throat and GB’s ears the next day is a testament to this.) The soldiers did not like this, but unfortunately no one was near enough to come and help us, or at least to document what was happening.  

Eventually though, they grabbed my camera and GB’s phone. They succeeded in dragging us apart and made us stand up, pushing us back up towards the road where their mates were waiting. The soldier who was my ‘escort’ told me “you know, I like women, I don’t want to treat them like that” – err, easy solution to that. Just don’t. GB’s soldier was telling him “you must really care to be here” – too late to make friends now guys. Friends don’t beat other friends while they’re lying on the floor begging you to stop.  

We were taken to a military jeep – inside waiting for us were two other ISMers and two young Palestinian men. Bad news. Sure it’s bad that GB and I and the other two ISM women were arrested. But the real bad news is for the Palestinians. 

While we tried to keep our spirits up, the two men, Majd and Abdelateef, were quiet. They kept their heads down. Their hands were tightly ziptied – I had been asked as I got into the jeep if I was going to make any trouble – replying that I was not, my hands had been left free. I asked for water and was given it. I asked questions of the authorities and demanded to know where my confiscated property was – I was answered (sure, the answers were entirely unsatisfactory, but still, they deigned to give me a response at least.) The Palestinians were given nothing, told nothing. They seemed small and defeated – knowing I’m sure what is in store for them.  

More and more, the unequal treatment materialised. The Palestinians were blindfolded – we were not. The Palestinians were made to sit apart from each other – we were not. The Palestinians were made to sit in the burning hot sun – we were not. The Palestinians were deprived of food and water – we were not.

I hope that our intervention made some little difference – the men were moved from the sun after our continuous complaints. We offered them our water and food, to the anger of the soldiers. At one point the soldiers ordered take-away and then took great relish in throwing away their substantial leftovers in front of us all. We were given a plum each – generous. Better than the big pile of nothing that Majd and Abdelateef were offered.  When I tried to give one of the guys a plum, the soldiers yelled at me immediately.

We were fingerprinted, interrogated and photographed. We were told that we had knowingly been in a closed military zone (this is when the Israeli army decide that any area, whether it’s a Palestinian village or not, is closed for access except for the military. They’re such land hogs – come ON Israel, can’t we all share?) – when I had asked the soldiers about this, they had refused to show me any paperwork backing up the claim. One guy eventually waved a sheet of paper vaguely in my direction, saying ‘oh, it’s all in Hebrew’, refusing to show me a date on it, or a map of the actual closed area or any indication that they were talking anything but absolute bollocks. In fact he seemed pretty damn keen to stop me looking at it at all – entirely against their own bloody rules (which I challenge the basis of anyway, but hey.)

The next accusation was that we had thrown stones at soldiers. I’d like to see some proof of that, it’d have to be a pretty good photoshop job, as the last stones I recall throwing were into Coniston Water in the Lake District, and unless the Israeli army were there masquerading as fish under the water, I’m pretty damn sure I’ve never thrown a stone at a soldier. Also, as my friend Paul knows, my poor brittle bones would crumble under the weight of the stone as I tried pitifully to lift it from the ground.

After many hours, we were all taken away to different places. The Palestinians to one prison, the women to another and poor GB all on his own to a third prison. As we were suddenly posing a pretty terrible threat, they decided to shackle us all hand and foot. Imagine my pride in British industry when I examined the handcuffs and found that they had been made in back in Blighty. Also as a warning to other possible miscreants, do try not to get leg shackled EVER. It is PAINFUL.

We were searched regularly, strip searched occasionally, our belongings were pored through and listed, we were deprived of sleep, passed through a ridiculous system of bureaucracy that was entirely inefficient, humiliated and then more than anything, BORED. Hours would go by without anything happening except a million more cockroaches coming to visit.

Until in the middle of the next night, we were taken to court – our hearing was held in Hebrew – which I know one word of, which is ‘shalom’ – meaning ‘peace’, or ‘hello’. Surprisingly enough, I didn’t hear much of that word being used. Thankfully, an Israeli activist was willing to translate for us, so we didn’t come out entirely clueless. The conclusion was that we were to be held in prison for another night, and then if they needed more time to investigate all our naughtiness, we were to be held under house arrest for one week, not somewhere within the occupied territories.

So. That’s where I’m writing this from – a flat in Tel Aviv, very kindly donated by another Israeli activist, as were clearly deemed dangerous enough to warrant further investigation. Yet another activist has acted as our guarantor – if we poke even our little toes outside of this building, he’ll be billed three thousand pounds by the Israeli authorities. Another activist brought us food, and yet another took our documents on a memory stick to be emailed out to the world, as we haven’t had regular internet. We’ve been treated with such kindness and generosity by the community here, especially members and friends of Anarchists Against the Wall.

But while we’ve essentially been here in the lap of luxury, Majd and Abdelateef are still in prison. They’re waiting for a hearing in a military court - which naturally all Palestinians are sentenced in, rather than a civil court. We’ve been told that the evidence presented against all six of us is exactly the same. However, while we’re likely (INSHALLAH) to be released rather than deported at the end of this week of house arrest, the Palestinian men are likely to receive at least five to seven months in prison. Before trial, they can also be held indefinitely under a system of ‘administrative detention’ (another gift from the British mandate, THANKS) – this can last for years with no charge, with no evidence produced, with no chance to appeal their imprisonment.

Our lawyer told us that if we’d been Israeli we wouldn’t have even been placed under house arrest. The racism implicit in this system is appalling.

The arrests of Palestinians are just another way to quash any sort of resistance to the occupation – what better way to stop a demonstration than by putting all the attendees in prison. In Kufr Qaddoum and most of the other demonstration villages, there are regular night-time raids, where youth are snatched from their beds by soldiers. Not the nicest wake-up call, a soldier looming over you, helmeted, smeared in camouflage paint, pointing a gun at you and ordering you out of your home.

I would really appreciate if anyone could write to the Israeli authorities about what is happening to Majd and Abdelateef – You can write to the Minister of Public Security, Yitzhak Aharonovitch, at sar@mops.gov.il, and the Military Advocate General, Brigadier General Danny Efroni at avimn@idf.gov.il, calling for:

• The immediate release of Majd Obeid (23) and Abdelateef Obeid (25), or for them to be promptly tried in a hearing which meets internationally recognized fair trial standards;
• An end to ill-treatment of Palestinians in detention;
• An end to the harassment and arrest of international and local human rights defenders.

If you can, you can also make a donation to ISM here or Anarchists Against the Wall here. The legal fees to keep activists safe in the West Bank are crippling, and for the organisations to continue their uber-important work, they need help. 

A letter from Gordon Bennett, Ellie Clayton and Aimee McGovern – currently under house arrest in Tel Aviv.

A letter from Gordon Bennett, Ellie Clayton and Aimee McGovern – currently under house arrest in Tel Aviv.

As many of you may already know, we are currently volunteering in the occupied Palestinian Territories with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) – a non-violent Palestinian-led solidarity organization. Much of the work that we do is documenting human rights abuses, taking pictures and videos, writing reports and carrying out direct action, such as attending demonstrations. Hence our presence in the village of Kufr Qaddoum on Friday the 21^st of September.

As Friday’s demonstration progressed, it became clear that the army were targeting international observers for arrest - a tactic regularly used by the Israeli authorities to prevent human rights abuses being reported in international media. The three of us were eventually beaten and arrested after taking pictures of the demonstration.

What followed was a 48 hour ordeal of detention - being split up, strip-searched, shackled hand and foot, denied access to prescription medication and imprisoned in cockroach-infested cells with no idea of what was going on.

We were eventually brought to court, where we were charged with fabricated offences – throwing stones at soldiers and knowingly being in a ‘closed military zone’. No evidence was brought against us, because there was none. After 48 hours, we were released to 24/7 house arrest in this flat in Tel Aviv, where we await a decision as to whether we’re to be deported at the end of the week. We’ve been told by the British consulate in Jerusalem that this is not a punishment they have heard of being used before for British nationals, so for this reason we are unsure of our status.

Thankfully for us, during this ordeal ISM and Israeli activists from Anarchists Against the Wall (AATW) have provided us with legal assistance, a translator, transport, accommodation and support in Tel Aviv. They’ve also acted as guarantor for our conditions of house arrest – if we were to take even one step outside of this building, our friend would be charged 3500 pounds. Without their help, we would likely have been held for seven days in prison and then deported immediately.

Both ISM and AATW are working on tiny budgets and regularly have to face these kind of crippling financial costs to maintain their work against the occupation in Palestine. Donations are desperately needed to allow both organisations to continue. The three of us would like to appeal to our friends and families to make a donation to support their ongoing work.

As international citizens, we are provided with some legal protection under Israeli law. Palestinians, on the other hand, are not. Two Palestinian men were arrested at the same time as us, facing the same charges. They are still awaiting trial, but there’s no way they’re going to get the chance of moving to house arrest after just two days inside - Israel’s ‘administrative detention’ regime for Palestinians can mean being held indefinitely without charge for months or years. It’s a regime that has been criticized time and again by human rights organisations.

Please write to the Israeli government: the Minister of Public Security, Yitzhak Aharonovitch, at sar@mops.gov.il, and the Military Advocate General, Brigadier General Danny Efroni at avimn@idf.gov.il, calling for:

·         The immediate release of Majd Obeid (23) and Abdelateef Obeid (25), or for them to be promptly tried in a hearing which meets internationally recognized fair trial standards;

·         An end to the policy of administrative detention for Palestinians;

·         An end to the arrest and trial of Palestinian minors as adults;

·         An end to ill-treatment of Palestinians in detention;

·         An end to the harassment and arrest of international and local human rights defenders.

You can make a donation here which will be used to help cover our legal fees, and to support ongoing work by ISM and AATW. This link is for the ISM donation site, so PLEASE write a note on the Paypal page for all or part of the donation to go to AATW. Alternatively, if you would prefer not to use Paypal, email us to make a pledge to either organization and we can provide you with bank details to make a transfer and we will pay it directly to AATW or ISM.

Also, please share this letter as widely as you can!

Shukran! (Thank you!)

Gordon, Ellie and Aimee. 

Palestine: Sticks and stones will break your bones. 

The last few days has made me very familiar with the hospital in Nablus.

First there was Akram, who we visited after he had been attacked by settlers. He was farming his land with his family when he heard shouts from settlers telling him to get off 'their' land (naturally, the settlers are from an illegal settlement, which is in fact on Palestinian land.) He urged his family to go back to the house, leaving him isolated - and when he heard a shout in Arabic, he went to see who it was, concerned for their safety with the settlers around.

Turns out these settlers knew some Arabic. Having lured him further away from his home, they proceeded to beat him unconscious, with sticks, stones, fists and feet. He passed out eventually, at which point the settlers ran for it.

Luckily, he regained consciousness a little while later. Luckily, he had his phone with him. Luckily, he was able to identify to his brother whereabouts in the fields he was.

If not for this luck, he could have died. He had been left for dead. His arm was broken. His face was broken. He couldn't really speak or move when we saw him. He had to be taken to hospital by car, despite the possibility that he had a broken neck, as ambulances take too long to get to villages in the West Bank - slight problem with roadblocks, checkpoints and roads destroyed by the Israeli authorities.

Akram in hospital

Then two days later, we were back in the hospital. This time to see Maher, who had been had been walking home one evening with his brother and cousin. Within sight of their house, six settlers jumped out of the olive trees at the side of the road. Three of them were holding M16 semi automatic rifles.

Two blocked the road back to the house. The others started beating the men - again, with sticks, stones and fists and feet. 

Maher in hospital

Luckily, they didn't use their guns (this time). Luckily, Maher's brother managed to escape, get back to the house and call for help. Luckily, this scared the settlers away. Maher told us "ten more minutes and they would have killed us."

Often in cases like this, the families will call the Palestinian police after an attack. They will then call the District Coordination Officer, who in turn will call the Israeli army, who have a responsibility to protect the Palestinians from attack. Let's see how this goes eh?

In Akram's case this led to the army arriving on the scene, where more settlers had arrived after Akram had been taken to hospital - rather than stopping the settlers from attacking the village, the army JOINED IN, shooting tear gas and rubber bullets at Palestinians in the middle of the night while they tried to protect their families. (Jeez, it's hard enough to dodge in the daytime, I can't imagine a demo in the dark...)

In Maher's case the call led to the army arriving and asking questions, saying that they would try and find the attackers. Ooh, finally the army doing something right! Yay! One slight problem - they were in the wrong village. Despite being told this repeatedly by the people they spoke to there, they have not been to the correct village or spoken to Maher or his family. As you can tell, they're trying reaaaallly hard to track down those attackers.

As the Human Rights Watch 2012 report on Palestine says:

“The Israeli government generally took no action against Israeli settlers who destroyed or damaged mosques, homes, olive trees, cars, and other Palestinian property, or physically assaulted Palestinians.”

 It seems to be only luck which is on the Palestinian side. There is no justice from the Israelis- and until there comes an end to impunity for these horrific attacks, I can't see an end to them.