Today in the morning, we went to a protest that was organized by the South West Bank Popular Committee. The protest was on the land of the village of Beit Ummar, against a plan of Israeli settlers to move into a compound that belongs to a Presbyterian Church.
First I will describe some of the history of Beit Ummar as told to me by Younes. In the second section, I will describe the demonstration.
BEIT UMMAR BACKGROUND
Younes Arar, one of the organizers as well as the co-ordinator of the South West Bank Popular Committee, told me a bit about the situation and the history of Beit Ummar. The compound includes a hospital as well as a small church, which is on Beit Ummar land. In 1986, the Swedish Episcopal Presbyterian Church bought it from an American church that is based in Philadelphia. In 2008, the Swedish church sold it to a billionaire who is sympathetic to the settlers, named Moskowitz.
The Palestinians in the village were not consulted about this move, and they are strongly opposed to this.
Why would that be?
According to Younes, the moving in of the settlers is going to mean the people of Beit Ummar are going to lose a lot of their land, much more than the territory taken up by the compound.
The first phase will be the hosting of 40 families in the compound. As they move in, they will need a road connecting them to other settlements. It is feared that the road 60, which is currently being used by the villagers will be chosen, and this will mean that they will have to be deprived of it, and use an old, damaged road. It will also mean that Palestinians in other parts of the West Bank, who also use it, will be cut off from one another.
According to Younes, the plan of the settlers is not only to move into the compound but also take land from behind and in front of the property, about 3000 dunums. The village would be split into two, and people living there would be separated from one another.
Does this sound paranoid?
Unfortunately, such things have happened before. The people of Kfar Kaddum are protesting today because several years ago, they were deprived use of their road, so the settlers who moved in nearby could travel to other settlements. People in Nabi Saleh today are getting teargassed and shot and arrested for trying to access a well that the settlers took from their village.
The people of Beit Ummar unfortunately also have experienced such problems from settlers. In 1984, the Carnie Tzur settlement was built south of Beit Ummar. Since then, it has doubled and expanded around 7 times of its original size, and moved into the village's land.
Kfar Etzion, another settlement, and one that is an expansion of Gush Etzion, also expanded many times, into Beit Ummar land also.
When settlers expanded into Beit Ummar in the past, much of the farmland was declared a "closed military zone". This means that it is off-limits to everyone but the Army. In reality, the people who are made cut off from it are Palestinians... the Israeli settlers are allowed to go on it.
Farmers who protest this theft of their land face teargas, beatings, and arrests.
Some have faced worse. On January 28, 2011, Youssef Ikhlayl, a seventeen year old Palestinian youth, was helping his father cultivate the land, along with a friend of his. An armed settler opened fire on them with a gun, and Youssef was shot in the head. He died later in a hospital in Hebron. His friend was shot in the arm and wounded. The people who shot him were released by an Israeli military court.
TODAY'S DEMONSTRATION
The demonstration today was organized by the South West Bank Popular Committee. Some of its members include Younes Arar and Youssef Abu Maria and Hassan Brijieh. Younes and Youssef are from Beit Ummar village and Hassan is from Al Massare village, but they are active in villages all across the West Bank, organizing demonstrations against the Israeli occupation and abuses, as well as providing legal aid to Palestinians.
Today they formed the Beit Al Baraka Defence Committe. Its purpose is to provide legal aid to Palestinians, organize protests in the villages, as well internationalize the issue... the more awareness raised, the better. The committee includes not only Palestinians, but also internationals and Israelis. One of the men who is part of this committee is Koby, an Israeli man who is part of the group Anarchists Against the Wall. He is committed to working in solidarity with the Palestinian people, and there are other Israelis like him. We met him in the village, and he took part in the demonstration with us.
What made his presence so interesting is that, when you enter the village, you will see a sign put up by the Israeli Army that says: "This road leads to a Palestinian village. Entrance to Israeli citizens is dangerous". I asked Koby what he thought of this, and he replied that it can be dangerous for soldiers who come in to arrest and hurt people, but as an Israeli who stands in solidarity with the Palestinians living there, he has never had problems. When I asked Younes what he thought of the sign,, he merely answered "it is bullshit".
Younes and Youssef and Hassan and four other Palestinians, as well as Koby and some journalists and a few members of ISM, walking on the side of the highway, tried to march to the compound. Usually there are many more Palestinians taking part, but this close to Eid many did not come.
On our way to the compound, we were stopped by about a dozen heavily armed Israeli soldiers and Border Police. They had a military jeep behind them. What they were expecting, I have no idea.
We walked up to them, and Youssef and Hassan gave a speech. Hassan made it clear to the soldiers that what they are doing is illegal, and that Muslims and Christians as well as Jews are opposed to what is happening. He called on them to take off their uniforms and stand with us. Youssef ended the protest, making it clear to the soldiers that the Palestinians, not them, were in charge of when the protests begin and end. He promised they will be back soon.
Although they blocked us from going forward, the soldiers did not attack anyone this time. This has not always been the case, only a few months ago they attacked and broke Youssef's arm. After a few minutes of speeches and waving Palestinian flags and signs, we left. According to the organizers of the demonstration, there will be more like it coming up soon.
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