Students for Palestine

Mazin B. Qumsiyeh, Ph.D., Special to PalestineChronicle.com

Palestinians and many Israelis are encouraged that civil society in Europe and North America has now engaged in other forms of struggle for peace with justice, including the growing movement of boycotts.

I just returned from my latest trip to Palestine, or at least to the part of Palestine I still have access to as a Palestinian Christian. You see, we Palestinians from the Bethlehem area (the birthplace of Jesus) are now denied entry to over 90 percent of Palestine and even to our capital and major economic center, Jerusalem (which is merely 7 miles from Bethlehem).

Israeli colonies dot the landscape from the Mediterranean to the River Jordan on land stolen from the native people. Six of the 10 million Palestinians in the world are now refugees or displaced people and the remaining Palestinians live in increasingly shrinking and impoverished ghettos (à la South African Bantustans at the time of Apartheid).

In all areas we visited the trend is the same: maximizing geography (under Israeli control) and minimizing demography (Palestinians on their land). Israeli authorities have evolved ingenious ways of ethnic cleansing since the more direct uprooting practiced in 1947-1949, when 850,000 Palestinians were driven out. The details of how this is done differ from area to area. A few examples may illustrate this.

The Gush Etzion block of colonies (Gilo, Har Gilo, Efrata etc) was successful in destroying the Palestinian economy in the Southern West Bank (from Jerusalem to Hebron). Jewish colonial settlers live in subsidized housing built on stolen Palestinian land and drive to Western Jerusalem or Tel Aviv without ever seeing the victims or noticing their plight. But movement of Palestinians is impossible between Arab Jerusalem and its suburbs like Bethlehem and Alkhader or areas farther south. This killed the Palestinian economy on both sides of the apartheid wall. Jerusalem’s Arab old city is a ghost town compared to what it was just 20 years ago. And the unemployment rate in Bethlehem is twice what it was in the US during the height of the Great Depression.

The old city of Hebron, near the Ibrahimi Mosque (the mosque of Abraham), is deserted. Tens of thousands of local Palestinians (and thousands of foreigners) used to flock to this busy commercial district until the few extremist Israeli settlers (with Israeli government support and protection) literally just moved in uninvited. They took over whole buildings or, in some cases, just the upper floors. They go on rampages, making life impossible for the native Palestinians. From the upper story rooms they squat in, they throw trash at the shops and pedestrians below. They routinely shoot at Palestinian civilians and destroy shops.

Thus some 400-500 colonial racists (under the protective eye of over 5,000 Israeli occupation soldiers, many of them from the settlements) control the lives and destroy the livelihoods of tens of thousands of native Palestinians. It is as if 400-500 KKK members where put in the middle of New York’s Harlem and were given permission and protection (with 5,000 white soldiers) to do what they want with the black population.

In this season of fruits and vegetables, villagers still try to sell products from their shrinking land holdings. But this brings much less money than in the old days when they had more land and were free to move and sell their products in large cities like Jerusalem or Jaffa or Nablus (or even to other countries). The cancer of the settlements built on Palestinian lands grows more destructive, while politicians stall with talk of a fictional “two-state solution” and “Israeli [but not Palestinian] security”. Israel’s plan was to do ethnic cleansing and colonization and then use any Palestinian resistance as justification (”security”) for further colonization activities. But Israel’s colonization continued even in times of relative calm (e.g. the seven years between the first largely nonviolent uprising and the more recent and more violent uprising).

All of this is done contrary to International law and with full US military, diplomatic, and economic support. It is also not in the interest of a just peace nor in our US national interests.

While the US infrastructure is decaying, the Israel lobby convinced President Bush to propose giving Israel $30 billion more of our tax money over the next 10 years. If Congress succumbs, as it did in the past, the consequences for US interests can only be dire among 300 million Arabs and 1.5 billion Muslims (not only in increased violence but the erosion of US economic power and interests around the world).

Palestinians and many Israelis are encouraged that civil society in Europe and North America has now engaged in other forms of struggle for peace with justice, including the growing movement of boycotts, divestments, and sanctions (BDS) along the same lines that helped transform Apartheid South Africa. That effort must now be intensified for the sake of all inhabitants, not only of Western Asia but also in the USA and around the world.

-Mazin B. Qumsiyeh, PhD is the author of “Sharing the Land of Canaan: Human Rights and the Israeli/Palestinian Struggle.” He served on the faculties of Duke and Yale Universities.

Linda Ramsden
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Last week, I returned from participating in ICAHD’s summer camp and I am still finding it hard to adjust to life back in England. During my few days there, my emotions went to such extremes, reminding me of a piece of elastic being stretched in every direction, so that even now I feel thin and worn and in danger of snapping and breaking.

Details about what happened during the camp can be seen in the daily reports that are posted on ICAHD’s website, www.icahd.org. They provide snapshots on the progress of the rebuilding of what turned out to be two Palestinian houses and the extra activities ICAHD staff organised from tours to talks, panel discussions and films, all attempting to bring greater understanding to the internationals about the complexities of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. One report, by a young American woman, expressed it well when she wrote about how impossible it is to really translate the feelings that one has about being there and all that we were exposed to. And for me, a regular visitor to the area, there is the added frustration of seeing the situation on the ground continuing to deteriorate while those in power, who could call a stop to this insanity, persistently turning a deaf ear to the implementation of international law.

This time, I actually witnessed a quite new four-story apartment block being demolished. The IDF tried to prevent us from viewing this violation of the 4th Geneva Convention but we found a way to get a glimpse of the three bulldozers a work. And while at the camp, news reached us of a British woman, married to an Israeli Palestinian from the village of Ein Rafa who had her house demolished in what is Israel proper. I learned more about how demolitions impact on family life, especially the women, and the desolation, anger, powerlessness and fear that result. Some families never recover as the demolition of a home becomes the demolition of a family.

And yet there are now some Palestinian women learning to raise up to challenge the displacement which they experience and the systems of domination and militarization that are being imposed over them. They need us to help them tell their story. Let us hope that we will find more of British society willing to listen.

The camp finished with a dedication ceremony at the site of the new Hamdan family home. There was an exciting, energetic performance by the Anata Dabka dance group, who hold their regular practice sessions at Beit Arabiya, thus ICAHD’s peace centre is providing yet another service to the local community. During the speeches, I spoke about how through ICAHD UK’s contact with British politicians, ICAHD’s work and the issue of house demolitions is being spoken of in the Houses of Parliament as we work here to raise awareness, calling for the end of the occupation and a just and sustainable future for both Israelis and Palestinians.

To celebrate the end of the camp, a lamb was roasted in true Palestinian tradition. Campers gathered in the dimly lit tent to share their reflections on what proved for many a life-changing experience. One of them, a Jewish Canadian, ended by singing his rendition of “I am the Very Model of an ICAHD Camp Participant”. Descriptive of our time together, it made us laugh but then brought tears to our eyes as we realized that we are truly part of a growing movement that seeks to change history.

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Hebron – Ma’an – A gang of Israeli settlers set two Palestinian homes ablaze in the old city of Hebron on Sunday evening and a settler car ran over a 22-year-old Palestinian citizen, Noman Fawwaz Nazir, on Al Shohada Street, in the city centre.

Dozens of Israeli settlers gathered in the old market place in the centre of Hebron after the Israeli police distributed orders to evacuate two shops occupied by Israelis over six years ago.

Palestinian security sources informed Ma’an’s correspondent that a group of Israeli settlers stormed a mosque in the old market place and set fire to the building. They then set ablaze the home of local citizen Andurrahman Sammouh and another Palestinian house.

The settlers prevented the fire service from reaching the burning buildings.

Medical sources stated that Noman Fawwaz was admitted to Al Ahli Hospital, where he is being treated for the wounds sustained after being hit by a settler vehicle.

On the eve of the meeting to be held between Palestinian President Abbas and Israeli PM Olmert, director of Peres Peace Centre, Ron Bandak, called for the two leaders to find solutions to the problem of settlers in Hebron and evacuate them from the area.

Bandak told Ma’an’s correspondent in Hebron “we believe in partnership with the Palestinians and they cannot be strong unless they have their own state.”

Later on Sunday evening, dozens of Israeli settlers attacked the Palestinian homes near the Israeli settlement of Kiryat Arba. They threw Molotov cocktails and stones at the buildings. Israeli soldiers seized five assailants, but there remains an atmosphere of high tension in the city.

Introduction: Each year, hundreds of Palestinian children from the Occupied Palestinian Territories are arrested, interrogated, and imprisoned by the Israeli military authorities. Since 1992, Defence for Children International/Palestine Section (DCI/PS) has represented many of these children in Israeli military courts, monitoring the conditions of their detention, and intervening with relevant institutions and government bodies in order to improve their situation.

What DCI/PS has witnessed repeatedly through their work with Palestinian child prisoners, and what has been confirmed by other human rights organizations working within the areas under Israeli occupation, are widespread and systematic violations of international law designed to safeguard the rights of children deprived of their liberty.

While international law states that child imprisonment should be used as a measure of last resort, the Israeli occupation forces view it as a matter of routine, arresting around 750 minors in 2002. Over the course of 2002, draconian laws were used with greater frequency against children, including Administrative Detention orders which allow for detention without published evidence and military order 1500, which means that children can be detained for up to 12 days (previously 18) without a court appearance or legal consultation. In 2003, these military orders continue to be invoked against children, with around 400 arrests to end-September. At the end of 2003, military order 1500 was altered so that children can be detained for up to eight days without a court appearance or legal consultation.

When children are arrested they are usually taken to adult military detention centres and interrogation centres. There are no specialist juvenile facilities, courts or personnel within the Israeli system apart from Telmond prison which houses around 70 of 350 child prisoners. Frequently, we hear of cases where children are forced to sign confessions, where they are beaten and handcuffed, or subjected to positional abuse, or shabeh (see factsheets for more). Meanwhile, children deprived of their liberty are often denied access to healthcare and education, adequate nutrition, hygiene and recreation time. Family visits are a rare privilege due to travel restrictions on the Palestinian population and frequent detention within Israeli military bases or settlements. Not surprisingly, psycho-social studies indicate that the impact of imprisonment and the horrific experiences suffered by child prisoners has a significant impact on their future development as individuals.

However, the statistics suggest that the situation continues to deteriorate unrelentingly, with an increased number of arrests, an increase in cases against younger children (14 and under) and a marked trend towards longer sentencing. For instance, the longest sentences of over 3 years were not used at all in 2001, but in 2002, 17 children were sentenced to detention of between 5-10 years.

The information provided on this website is based on DCI/PS’s experience in working with Palestinian child prisoners. It is designed both to raise awareness of the issue as well as to mobilize people to engage in advocacy efforts to bring about Israel’s compliance with international law.