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IWPS-PALESTINE ANNUAL REPORT NO. 3.August 2005Summary SummaryDespite the clear ruling at the International Court of Justice last year that the building of the Wall on Palestinian land was contrary to international law’, nevertheless the Wall is still enclosing and isolating more and more Palestinian land and most of the villages in Salfit have now been affected. The consequences of losing so much good agricultural land and water, has galvanized the local Palestinian population into organising very many nonviolent protests, marches, demonstrations and attempts to stop the bulldozers working. The repressive and vicious response from the Israeli Army (IA) and the illegal Israeli settlers has included massive property damage, arrests, beatings, injuries and killings that have left the local people even more traumatised. Whilst some Palestinian villages have succumbed to fear, despair and hopelessness, and feel unable to mount any more protests, the spirit of resistance in some of the other Palestinian villages manages to somehow survive. Though they are risking serious injury and death due to the lethal force used against them, they are refusing to let their land and culture be taken quietly, and continue to mount nonviolent protests. IWPS-Palestine provides support and accompaniment on these protests and helps facilitate the presence of other Internationals and of sympathetic members of the Israeli peace movement. We also write up reports about the situation on the ground, providing an insight into the effects of the illegal and criminal Israeli colonisation. These articles and human rights reports can be found alongside power-point presentations and video clips on our website. Whilst the international community has had its attention on the much-delayed withdrawal from Gaza there has been a huge increase in the expansion of the illegal settlements in the whole of the West Bank, especially in and around Jerusalem. The expansion of settlements in Salfit has been especially noticeable and Israeli Government statements in the last few months have been very open and clear about Israeli intentions to not only keep Ariel and the settlements in Salfit ‘within Israel’ but also to considerably expand them. There is little justice to be had through the Israeli Judicial system as several villages in Salfit have been unsuccessful, this year, in their time-consuming and expensive appeals to stop the theft of their land and the building of the Wall on their lands. Most Palestinians do not even make the attempt to use the Israeli Court system, having learnt from bitter experience that the Court rules in favour of Israeli land colonisation time and time again. The 3-year IWPS-Palestine project has now successfully concluded its third year. An extensive evaluation and feedback process, conducted with representatives from most of the villages in Salfit and also from Palestinian, Israeli and International peace, justice and human rights organisations, resulted in a clear message that our work and presence had been very much appreciated. There was much dismay to hear that we might even be considering leaving. We were asked to remain in Haris and to continue the project. We have therefore embarked on a new recruitment and training process to enable the project to continue for at least the next 18months. During the year we managed to complete a major overhaul of the website to enable it to be more easily updated. Our financial situation remains steady and we have enough funds for the next ….. months work. However, we continue to seek funds to enable our work to continue to the end of 2006. Aims and Objectives of IWPS for 2004-20051. To support nonviolent civil resistance by Palestinians and Israelis, and
to create space for people to become more involved in resistance. PersonnelWe have had continuing difficulties getting our volunteers into Palestine as the Israeli State controls all the borders into the country and considers our support of nonviolent resistance and our monitoring of human rights abuses a threat to their national security. Thus we have only averaged 2 Long Term Volunteers (LTVs) and 4 Short Term Volunteers (STVs) each month. We have been fortunate in having around 35 different Short Term Volunteers who have stayed for between 2-10 weeks, averaging 3 weeks, and some of whom have become regular STVs or have decided to become LTVs. At our Annual Meeting we decided that the project should continue for a further 18 months at least. Thus, at the beginning of 2005 we started a major recruitment drive to find new LTVs to replace those who have now finished their three-year commitment and those who are not allowed back into Palestine due to Israeli restrictions on their entry. We received requests for information from around 300 women and have now recruited 19 Provisional LTVs who will all be taking part in a 10-day training in Vorarlberg, Austria and upon successful completion we hope we will have a strong team to provide continuing support for Salfit villages. At present we have a total of :- Human Rights AbusesIWPS-Palestine is continuing to document human rights abuses that are brought to their attention and to work with other human rights organizations. A database of these abuses is kept and quarterly summary reports and an annual summary report are compiled – Appendix 1 – IWPS Human Rights Annual Summary – July 2004-June 2005. In the year July 2004 to June 2005, IWPS compiled reports on 67 human rights violations in 20 villages. The most frequently documented were military incursions and raids (generally involving multiple violations), detention of civilians, and settler violence against persons and property. The most serious violations, however, included two killings; detention and denial of medical treatment to a seriously ill person; and demolition of homes. Although this report does not include July 2005, there was in that month a sharp increase in serious human rights abuses in Salfit with the re-imposition of targeted assassinations by the Israeli State. Village OutreachVolunteers have now managed to complete the initial survey of all the villages in Salfit – Appendix 2 – Table of Village Surveys. This is part of our work to provide solidarity to the villagers as their land and way of life are strangled by the encroaching illegal Israeli settlements. The brief reports on all 23 villages can be found on the website. We have also continued, as we did last year, to provide support and a presence, when needed, to the villages of Yanoun, Qarawat Bani Zeid and Kufr Ein, outside of the area of Salfit. This has usually consisted of providing a presence for a few days at a time when they have called to ask for us and when we can find no volunteers from other international solidarity groups who can provide immediate support. Olive Harvest 2004For Palestinians, olive trees are a symbol of life and the basis of their cultural and economic existence. The trees symbolize the rootedness of the Palestinians in their land. Many olive trees are uprooted by the bulldozers of the Israeli Army (IA) others are destroyed or appropriated by illegal settlers. Since the start of the construction of the Apartheid Wall on Palestinian land in 2002, confiscation of land and the destruction of trees have escalated. During the Olive Harvest IWPS volunteers, together with other internationals and sympathetic Israelis, accompanied Palestinian farmers to protect and support them. The role of the volunteers was to prevent violence and to enable harvesting by acting as witnesses, negotiating with settlers and security guards, and by persuading the IA to uphold the rights of farmers. In addition, volunteers were able to return to their home countries and give eye-witness reports of their experiences. IWPS organized meetings between farmers, Mayors, Unions and Israelis. The IA and the Israeli District Co-ordination Office (DCO) in the Salfit District showed an interest in working with farmers and keeping settlers under control. The DCO assigned days for picking and if farmers were able to harvest on those days, they would not need so much IWPS assistance. Lack of communication, lack of pickers, family circumstances and Ramadan (begun on 15th October) meant that not all farmers could accept these offers. Olive trees have a good harvest in alternate years and 2004 was one of these. IWPS co-ordinated 3 groups of internationals to support farmers in the Salfit region for a full month: a group of 13 Austrians/Germans/ Swiss (AGS); a group of 7 from Boston USA (USA) and a group of 7 from the UK (UK). For the first 3 weeks the groups moved from village to village and stayed, on average, 4 days in each village. The last week they stayed in 1 village and, as requested, moved to villages each day. Mas’ha & Azawiya – The USA Group accompanied farmers from these villages. Access through the West Gate into the Elkana area was arbitrary—the gates were not open or they were open at a different time from advertised, permits were required, or internationals were denied access. No settler attacks were reported although tear gas was said to have been thrown. Mas’ha North Gate was opened 3 times a day, although not always at posted times. The Group visited the Amer family living behind the fence. M’arda – The AGS Group accompanied farmers for 4 days south of the Ariel fence and encountered problems with a security guard. The UK Group helped on the last day and extended help to families picking along the illegal settler road. The AGS Group documented and photographed the destruction of 4 fig trees and 8 olive trees by the IA. Yasouf – A village meeting was attended by all 3 IWPS groups. Yasouf is close to the aggressive illegal settlement of Tapuach and settler youths there had already set fire to the olive grove of one family. Picking began on the first ‘DCL’ day and IWPS was joined by volunteers from ‘Rabbis for Human Rights’ (RfHR) to concentrate on ‘An Naqaar’. Israeli soldiers and police claimed that Internationals must leave because this was a ‘closed military zone’; they also tried to stop farmers who were not picking in ‘assigned’ areas. RfHR intervened and farmers continued picking. Twice the IA tried to stop farmers and volunteers from crossing the illegal settler road, but access was negotiated. 2 settler attacks occurred during this period; a teacher was beaten; an elderly farmer was hit by a rock, thrown by a settler. Salfit – The AGS Group met with the Mayor and farmers prior to the first day of harvesting to underline that, although living with particular farmers, the group could only support those picking in dangerous areas. There were still problems the first 2 days as farmers had not properly understood. A meeting of family heads clarified IWPS priorities and volunteers went to the fields near the fence, enabling those trees to be harvested. Security guards tried to prevent picking and the Group was able to negotiate on the farmers’ behalf. Deir Istya – Farmers with land close to Revava were offered help, but decided not to pick olives during Ramadan when volunteers were available. Jamma’in – A meeting with the Palestinian harvest co-ordinator had agreed a joint picking with Yasouf for the An Naqar area, but he did not organize his farmers. RfHR helped for several days with areas below Tapuach and IWPS accompanied a family for 2 days, whose mule had been stolen by settlers. IWPS visited a Jamma’in family to record a settler attack the week before. Hares – A family with land near Barqan asked for help, but they were not found to be in danger. Kifl Hares – A family with land inside Ariel was offered help but it was not needed. In summary, the OHC was largely successful with most IWPS aims being achieved. 27 volunteers from 6 countries were recruited, interviewed and trained. They assisted with olive harvesting in the Salfit area and also helped in Nablus and Qalqilia. Living and working with families, visiting problem areas, meeting Palestinians, Israelis, and other Internationals gives volunteers a broad range of experiences to draw on when they return home to report on their experiences. Palestinian Olive Oil ExportIWPS-Palestine in Austria is a partner in the import of Palestinian olive oil into Austria and Germany. It has now also encouraged and succeeded in importing zatar, which found great interest among the customers of the "Welt Laden" (World Shops). Karin (from Austria) is a Long-Term Volunteer with IWPS-Palestine and was instrumental in making all the initial contacts and facilitating this project. Other IWPS volunteers have followed her lead and have helped facilitate the import of olive oil into their own countries and this has included Japan and the UK. The following example of Zaytoun in the UK shows how IWPS-Palestine acts as a catalyst. Cathi Davis was a short-term volunteer with IWPS-Palestine where she was alerted to the growing poverty of the olive farmers in Salfit. She found out how IWPS volunteers from Austria were co-ordinating with PARC to find a market for the olive oil and a way out of poverty for the producing communities in the West Bank. On her return to the UK she linked up with Heather Gardner, who had also worked in Palestine, and they began to investigate bringing in olive oil to the UK from the West Bank. They joined up with Saleh Achhala and Atif Choudhury who provided essential support in research, marketing, IT and customer contact and, forming ‘Zaytoun’ (www.zaytoun.org) they began by bringing in 200 bottles from Sindyanna, who works with ’48 Arabs who suffer discrimination within the state of Israel. This was followed up by contacting PARC who provided their first big shipment. Since April 2004, Zaytoun has brought in 43,500 litres (43.5 tons) of Palestinian oil to the UK and expect to bring in a further 10 tons before 2006. They source from PARC, UAWC, PFTA and Sindyanna. IWPS continues to provide invaluable background information in the form of its human rights reports – these stories make up the campaigning and educational material that accompanies olive oil sales. Zaytoun customers joined the IWPS 2004 Olive Harvest team, and more are to join the 2005 team. The experience of working side by side with the farmers whose harvests are threatened works very well to support sales and information about their olive oil in the UK. Bulldozed olive trees from Marda, where the 2004 team worked last year, feature on Zaytoun postcards, with information about the destruction. This year some of the same team will revisit the village and bring back more information about how it has changed due to the Wall construction. There is a vital link between the producers in Palestine and consumers in the UK, which IWPS, through olive harvest co-ordination and ongoing reports, helps to keep alive. This link is the essence of fair trade. Salfit Women and GirlsPart of IWPS’s mandate is to support women’s organizing in the Salfit region. We have met with groups of women throughout the Salfit region and beyond, and since September 2003 we have primarily been working with a group of women organized and led by Fatima Khaldi of Qarawa Bani Hassan and Um Fadi of Haris. The group started as “Women Against the Wall,” joining actions and demonstrations against the Wall in the Salfit region, as well as planning their own women-led demonstrations. Women Against the Wall also prioritized education among women throughout the region, specifically about the projected path of the Wall and its potential effects. At a time when the Wall path was still being kept secret by the Israeli government, the group’s meetings and presentations, as they traveled from village to village, were extremely important. The group worked to try to develop a pre-emptive and proactive movement in the Salfit region that would be ready for the Wall once it began being built. In February 2004, the committee held a mass nonviolent demonstration against the Wall in Mas’ha village, the only Salfit town in which the Wall had been completed, on the International Day against Occupation and War. This was believed to be the first Palestinian women-led, women-only demonstration in the region during the second Intifada. The committee also made links with Palestinian women living inside Israel (1948 Palestinians) for the first time, thus increasing resistance to the Wall. The women from inside Israel hired two buses to attend the demonstration but were blocked on the road out of Israel by the IDF. As the destruction for the Wall started in the villages of Azzawiya and Deir Ballut, Women Against the Wall consistently organized small groups of women to join nonviolent demonstrations. The women came from many different Salfit villages, whereas men in the demonstrations tended to only be from the villages that were hosting the actions. The women reached across village lines and faction lines to ensure the largest participation possible. Still, the brutal response by the Israeli military, as well as disapproval by women’s husbands and families, began to scare women away. Women Against the Wall organizers began to realize that they were battling not only the occupation but their own society’s social norms, and the consequences that both the occupation and the social norms have on women who have internalized the effects. They changed their name to “Women for Life” and supplemented their demonstrations and anti-Wall work with educational workshops designed to empower women and develop their leadership and strength. Workshops in the past year have included leadership development, gender, democracy, legal training, English, Hebrew, sustainable growth, and more. The group has also begun working with Israeli women from Machsom Watch (Checkpoint Watch) to try to market their embroidery and other goods inside Israel. This will help women survive economically in a time when their husbands have lost their jobs and their land is harder and harder to access. Women for Life held elections within their group in June 2005, choosing a core group of 7 women to make decisions about the group’s activities. This core group meets weekly with Fatima Khaldi still the director of the group. In July 2004, Women for Life ran a 2-week summer camp for girls ages 12-18 years in Deir Ballut. Girls from the villages affected by the Wall attended, including from Deir Ballut, Azzawiya, Rafat, Mas'ha, Sarta, Biddya and Haris. Around 100 young women and girls attended everyday for two weeks. In addition to arts and crafts, health education, dancing, singing and outings, the girls participated in lectures and discussions about the Wall. As a result of the camp many of the young women formed a group called “Flowers Against the Occupation.” Flowers Against the Occupation has been meeting about once a week since summer 2004, with workshops in English, art, banner making, and more. They participated in another summer camp in July 2005, this time in Rafat. The camp had daily lessons in dabke (Palestinian folk dance), art, and drama, as well as themed lectures and programs each day about the Wall, the Nakba, girls’ health and confidence, violence against girls and women, and more. The group continues to grow. IWPS has supported all the aforementioned activities of the women and girls groups, both by securing funds for the projects and by attending, documenting, and publicizing events and activities. The nature of our financial support has changed over time, and continues to change. Most recently we changed from giving certain amounts of money for the organizer, for transportation, and for phone expenses, to giving one lump sum to the group and letting them distribute it as desired. August 2005 will be the last month that IWPS will finance the group directly. We are not an employment agency and also do not want the group to feel constrained by their perception of what we want them to do with the money, so instead we have helped them write grant applications and secure funding for themselves. They will receive a grant from the Global Fund for Women in the coming month. IWPS will still provide small amounts of money for anti-Wall and anti-Occupation organizing upon request, and will continue our relationship with the group, attending meetings and actions when invited. Apartheid Wall CampaignConstruction of the Apartheid Wall began in June 2002. In September 2002, when the IWPS presence in Hares was only a few weeks old, IWPS became involved in documenting, reporting and working together with local communities and Israeli, Palestinian and International activists to oppose the Wall's construction. Then, together with local Palestinian and Israeli peace groups, IWPS coordinated a five-month long camp in Mas’ha village between April and August 2003, on land designated for bulldozing land for the Wall construction. This activity meant that thousands of people could visit Palestine and see the ongoing land destruction for the first time. In August 2003, the camp was moved to protect the Amer family home in Mas’ha, which Israeli authorities had designated to be separated, alone, from the rest of the village. The Apartheid Wall was to be built through the Amers’ sheep-shed and the Amers were to lose all their land to the military road. Nonviolent resistance to the destruction of the Amers’ land culminated in mass arrests of Israeli and international peace activists, and the virtual imprisonment of the family thereafter behind the Wall on one side (the Mas’ha side) and three fences on the other sides (the Elkana settlement side). Since August 2003, IWPS has visited the family frequently and also managed to secure dozens of interviews with international television news crews for the Amer family who have become a symbol of the injustice of the Apartheid Wall. Mas’ha was the only Salfit village immediately affected by “Phase
1” of the Wall, which culminated at the end of 2003. Other villages began
to see the Wall work encroaching upon their land, and decided to act. Deir Ballut
held a week-long peace camp in a new school that had been under construction
until the army forbade them from building anymore, saying that the Wall would
be built through the site. The path of the Wall has since been changed through
consistent demonstrations and court cases, but the village is still forbidden
from completing the school construction. After the International Court of Justice Ruling on the 9th July 2004, and after a series of local court cases filed by villages, Israel's own Supreme Court temporarily halted the building of the Wall in the Jerusalem and Salfit areas, whilst an inquiry was carried out on the impact of the Wall on Palestinian villages. From the middle of July, resistance to the Apartheid Wall in the form of demonstrations, ceased in the Salfit area, awaiting the decision of the Israeli Supreme Court. Various injunctions were issued and lifted throughout the end of 2004 and beginning of 2005, but for the most part, Wall construction had stopped in the Salfit region. IWPS again began to support other regions in their struggle against the Apartheid Wall, attending demonstrations in Bil’in (Ramallah), Beit Awa (Hebron), and Bethlehem. In May 2005, a court ruled that Wall work in the Salfit region, around the “Ariel loop,” could continue temporarily until a final court decision was made. Almost immediately, the bulldozers arrived in Marda for the first time, and began to clear a path for the Wall 20 kilometers east of the Green Line. During the first week of work, more that 1,000 trees were uprooted from the village of Marda, which is situated below the settlement. Since then hundreds more trees have been uprooted along the projected path, leaving barren soil. It is estimated that 1,000 dunams of Marda’s land will be destroyed to clear a path for the fence, and over 4,200 dunams of Marda’s land will be rendered inaccessible on the Ariel side of the wall. The village decided to resist, and the Popular Committee Against the Wall in the Salfit region called for a massive demonstration. The villages of Marda and Kifl Haris called all others to join with them to walk along the main road (505) that has been taken over by settlers and the army. Hundreds of people marched from Marda to Kifl Haris, including leaders from the popular resistance movement in the Ramallah village of Bil’in, and representatives from the Palestinian Authority. Since then, villagers’ attempts to reach their trees that are being destroyed have been met with violence from private security forces as well as the army. Resident farmers, accompanied by international and Israeli activists, attempted to peacefully ascend the hill on several occasions during the first two weeks of work, and were met with gunfire, tear gas, and sound bombs. The army also declared a curfew and invaded the village. Due to the intense repression by the army, farmers largely ceased trying to reach the bulldozers. Peaceful demonstrations continued, organized by the Popular Committee Against the Wall in Salfit, but they were primarily located within the village and did not attempt to interrupt the work of the bulldozers. Marda youth, frustrated with the seeming helplessness of the situation and determined to resist, continued to ascend the hill for several weeks. The army again responded with violence, provoking stone throwing. Clashes ensued on an almost daily basis until Tuesday, July 5, when the army launched a targeted attack on the youth, by invading the village as young men were descending the hill after a clash. Many boys have been detained and arrested since this date. Recently three boys were sentenced for 3-4 months on charges of stone-throwing, and another three boys are being held without charges after being abducted from their homes on August 2. IWPS has joined demonstrations when asked, and has been especially instrumental in responding to army invasions and documenting daily arrests and human rights abuses in the village. Land destruction and confiscation has also began elsewhere, at various spots along the Ariel and Qdumim loops, or the “fingers” as they are called by the Israeli government. Resistance continues in many forms – nonviolent demonstrations, legal battles, and the simple refusal of Palestinians to leave their homes and land. Mikarov and work with IsraelisAn attempt to organize a "mini-Mikarov" for women was not carried out due to a decision by the Palestinian women concerned who decided that they preferred to work with Israeli women in a more limited way for now. IWPS-Palestine has, however, maintained connections with the original participants and trainers and supported some of their initiatives over this last year. For instance, some of the Israelis involved in the original project have now organized the Critical Tours Project and although they do not spend the night in villages they have taken up many of the ideas that were envisioned in the original Mikarov project. Being Israeli they are much more effective at this work and IWPS is happy to support their activities. Various other Israeli women (mainly those involved with MachsomWatch) who had been affected by the Mikarov project, began to go "deeper" into the W. Bank and convened a group that visits villages and documents human rights problems, follows up on people injured at demonstrations, and organizes solidarity visits to targeted areas, rather than only going to the checkpoints. The IWPS House in Haris has continued to be a point of contact and many Israeli groups have begun their trips into the W. Bank at our house, for some it has been their first entry into a Palestinian village. Publications and ResourcesThis year, IWPS-Palestine produced 18 House Articles (an average of 1.5 per month) see Appendix 3 – Summary of House Articles in Year 3 2004/5. These are posted to the website and a selection are also emailed to IWPS supporters when they sign up by emailing iwps-pal-reports-subscribe@lists.riseup.net. All House Articles were put on the web and were supplemented by many more personal accounts by volunteers that can be found on the Blogs page of the website. We also produced 65 Human Rights Reports (averaging 5.5 per month) all of which are posted on the website, see Appendix 1 – IWPS Human Rights Annual Summary – July 2004-June 2005. Various presentations (see below) were also made and are available through the website. "Ashamnu" is a multimedia presentation by Hannah, using photos from IWPS's work in Salfit to illustrate the "West Bank Vidui" or penitential prayer written by Jewish IWPS volunteers for the Jewish Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) in Autumn 2004. With audio of a 9-year-old Palestinian girl singing "We Shall Overcome" in English. "Israel: an Apartheid State?" is a PowerPoint presentation by Kate, analyzes the occupation of Palestinian lands by Israel in terms of the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights definition of the crime of apartheid. Funding and Annual AccountsWe go into the 4th year of the project in a healthy financial state with current net assets at £87,556 (£78,606 in cash and £8,950 in equipment). The new budget for the fourth year (August 1st 2005 to July 31st 2006) is attached as Appendix 4 - IWPS-Palestine Budget for Year 4 Aug ’05 to July ’06 and you will see that it is for £86,471. We thus have enough financial resources to cover the next 11 months. We have now finished the original 3-year project. We had estimated at the very start that the 3-year project would cost £173,000. In fact we spent a total of £138,006. The third annual set of accounts is attached as Appendix 5 - IWPS-Palestine Accounts for 3rd year Compared with Revised Budget.
Appendices
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