viernes, 30 de septiembre de 2011

Un palestino asesinado y 26 heridos esta semana, víctimas de Israel-Palestinian civilian killed, 26 civilians injured by Israeli forces this week


Español.-
Según el reporte semanal de el Comité Palestino de Derechos Humanos, en la semana que va desde el viernes 23 de septiembre a hoy 30 de setpiembre, 1 palestino fue asesinado por fuerzas israelíes y 26 permanecen heridos.
Las fuerzas israelíes llevaron a cabo 36 incursiones militares en comunidades palestinas en Cisjordania durante esta semana, arrestando sin cargos a 4 pobladores palestinos, uno de ellos miembro del Consejo Legislativo Palestino.
El pasado viernes 23 de septiembre, las fuerzas israelíes asesinaron a un civil palestino e hirieron a 7 más, incluyendo un niño. Esto ocurrió durante la invasión del pueblo de Qasra, al sudeste de Nablus, bajo el pretexto de proteger a colonos ilegales que usurparon tierras palestinas en Qasra.

Ataques en Gaza:
En la franha de Gaza, esta semana, botes militares de Israel abrieron fuego contra botes de pescadores. Las fuerzas de Israel destruyeron también las granjas de los pescadores y sus redes. Cinco pescadores que viven de la actividad perdieron todo en este ataque de Israel.

Actividad en las colonias ilegales:

La actividad en las colonias ilegales de Cisjordania ha continuado, así también los ataques de los colonos a civiles palestinos y a sus propiedades.
El día 22 de septiembre colonos de Israel, cerca de Ramallah, incendiaron plantaciones de olivos palestinas. Se perdieron unos 40 dunums de tierras agrícolas en producción con alrededor de 100 olivos listos para la cosecha y 40 higueras.
El día 24, colonos de Israel invadieron carreteras,checkpoints y las entradas a los pueblos palestinos, con letreros racistas y posters, agredieron, se burlaron y amedrentaron a la población palestina que encontraban en su camino, sin sufrir ningún tipo de advertencia -los isralitas- por parte de las fuerzas armadas de Israel. El mismo día, colonos de Gilad, al noreste de Qalqiya, invadieron la villa de Fara arrojando piedras a los hogares palestinos.
El 25 de septiembre, colonos de Israel arrancaron 400 árboles de olivo de familias palestinas en Shu'ab en el área de al Kharab.
En otro sitio, sudeste de Nablus, fueron arrancados 150 árboles, mientras, cerca de Hebrón, colonos de Israel atacaron a civilies palestinos, uno de ellos resultó seriamente herido en los ojos, el cuello y los hombros y varios lugares del cuerpo.

HAY MÁS. Leer en inglés, más abajo.

English.-
Israeli forces conducted 36 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank, during which they arrested 4 Palestinians, including a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council.
On Friday, 23 September 2011, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian civilian and wounded another 7, including a child, when they moved into Qasra village, southeast of Nablus, to provide protection to a group of Israeli settlers who raided Palestinian lands in the village.
According to investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately 13:10 following the Friday prayers, Palestinian civilians from Qasra village noticed that a group of Israeli settlers from "Yish Kodish" settlement moved into al-We’ar area (al-Marah 2) in the south of Qasra village. The settlers who were holding Israeli flags gathered on a plot belonging to Dr. Samir Mustafa Ibrahim Hassan who is originally from Qasra village, but currently lives in occupied Jerusalem. Palestinian civilians gathered and walked towards the mentioned area. When Israeli troops who were positioned in a tent that they installed on a hill in (al-Marah 2) area nearly 100-120 meters from the settlers, saw the Palestinians gathering, seven soldiers left the tent and erected a checkpoint. The settlers were gathering just 40 meters behind the soldiers. The Israeli soldiers ordered the Palestinian civilians to go back to the village, but they refused and requested that the settlers leave the Palestinian land. A dispute erupted between the soldiers and the Palestinian civilians.
A few minutes later, more Israeli troops arrived at the scene. An officer stepped down from one of the military vehicles and asked the soldiers to give the Palestinians two minutes to leave the area. He instructed the soldiers to fire tear gas canisters at the Palestinians if they did not obey orders to leave the area. The Palestinian civilians refused to obey the orders. Israeli forces immediately attacked them and fired more than 50 tear gas canisters at them. They fled to the nearest house in the village.
Additional Israeli troops then arrived at the scene and confronted the Palestinians, who threw stones at Israeli forces. The confrontations took place near al-Dowwar and al-Khazan areas in the south of Qasra village. The confrontations lasted for three hours and Israeli forces fired live and rubber-coated metal bullets against the Palestinian civilians. At approximately 16:20, Israeli forces extensively fired tear gas canisters at the Palestinian demonstrators near al-Khazan area and opened fire at one of the demonstrators, directly wounding him. The wounded Palestinian was identified as Isam Kamal Abed Badran, 37. He was hit by a bullet that entered the right side and exited from the left shoulder and was transferred to Rafidya Hospital in Nablus. Badran died despite doctors' attempts to save his life. Another seven civilians, including a child, were wounded in the confrontations.

Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip:

In the Gaza Strip, Israeli gunboats opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats in the Gaza Strip. On Thursday September 22nd, at approximately 07:45, Israeli gunboats stationed opposite to Beit Lahia beach in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats which were near the shore. At approximately 08:00, Israeli forces boats approached the shore and destroyed fishing nets owned by Palestinian fishermen and pulled some fishing nets into the sea. As the Israeli boats approached the shore, Palestinian fishermen fled the area in fear for their lives leaving their equipment and fishing tools in the sea or at the beach. No casualties were reported. Five fishermen lost their nets in the incident.
It should be noted that Israeli gunboats carried out a similar attack on Tuesday morning, 20 September 2011, when they fired at Palestinian fishermen and at their boats, destroyed some fishing nets and pulled some other nets into the sea. Such attacks result in the loss of fishermen's living resources and put their lives at risk.
Israel has continuously closed all border crossings to the Gaza Strip for over three years. The illegal Israeli-imposed closure of the Gaza Strip, which has steadily tightened since June 2007, has had a disastrous impact on the humanitarian and economic situation in the Gaza Strip.
The statistics which were made available to PCHR by the Border and Crossings Department indicate a continued drop in the number of truckloads of Gaza imports and exports.
Israeli forces have continued to impose total ban on the delivery of raw materials to the Gaza Strip, except for very limited items and quantities. The limited quantities of raw materials allowed into Gaza do not meet the minimal needs of the civilian population in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli settlement activities:
Israeli forces have continued settlement activities in the West Bank and Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property.
On 22 September 2011, at least 10 Israeli settlers from “Oufra” settlement, northeast of Ramallah, set fire to olive and fig trees in Wad Zaghoura area in the west of Deir Jarir village. At least 40 dunums of agricultural land, including 100 olive trees and 40 fig trees, were burnt before villagers were able to extinguish fire.
On 24 September 2011, Israeli settlers raised large banners that had racist slogans against Arabs near some checkpoints, intersections and the entrances of Palestinian communities.
On the same day, at least 20 Israeli settlers from “Gilad” settlement, northeast of Qalqilya, moved into Far’ata village, northeast of Qalqilya. They threw stones at houses belonging to al-Tawil family. Israeli forces arrived at the area and evacuated the settlers.
On 25 September 2011, Palestinian farmers in Qasra village, southeast of Nablus, found that Israeli settlers had uprooted 400 trees in Shu’ab al-Kharab area, which is located nearly 1,500 meters away from “Yish Kodish” settlement.
On the same day, Palestinian farmers in Douma village, southeast of Nablus, found that Israeli settlers had uprooted 150 trees in Shu’ab al-Kharab area, which is located nearly 1,500 meters away from “Yish Kodish” settlement.
On the same day, Israeli forces moved into Magharat al-Dab’a village, south of Qalqilya. They handed a notice to Hani Manasra ordering him to stop establishing a greenhouse in the village.
On the same day, Israeli settlers living in settlement communities inside and around Hebron launched a series of attacks against Palestinian civilians. In this context, a Palestinian civilian sustained burns to the eyes, the shoulder and the neck, and bruises throughout the body.
On the same day, during the funeral procession of two Israeli settlers who died in a car accident, which settlers blamed on Palestinian stone-throwing, to the Jewish cemetery near Tal Rumaida neighborhood in the center of Hebron, dozens of settlers attacked Palestinian houses using stones and empty bottles. Windows and doors of two houses were damaged. Israeli forces were present in the area, but did not intervene to stop the attack.
On 27 September 2011, a number of Israeli settlers raised racist banners against Palestinians on Tulkarem-Nablus road and near Ennab checkpoint, east of Tulkarem.
During the reporting period, the Israeli District Planning and Construction Committee approved a plane to construct 1,100 housing units in “Gilo” settlement, south of Jerusalem. The plan included the establishment of a footpath, a school, public buildings and an industrial zone. The units would be established on a 620-dunum area of land, and that those units constitute the first stage of a wider plan, as additional 600 units would be established in the future. It should be noted that the construction of 942 units was approved last August.
On 28 September 2011, Israeli forces handed notices to Palestinian civilians in Battir village, west of Bethlehem, ordering confiscation of 148 dunums of land planted with fruits, olives and vegetables belonging to at least 40 Palestinian families.

Israeli Annexation Wall:

During the reporting period, Israeli forces used force against peaceful demonstrations organized by Palestinian civilians and international and Israeli human rights defenders in protest to the construction of the Wall and settlement activities in the West Bank. As a result, 18 Palestinian civilians, including 6 children, and a French human rights defender were wounded. Additionally, dozens of Palestinian civilians and human rights defenders suffered from tear gas inhalation and others sustained bruises.
Following the Friday Prayer on 23 September 2011, dozens of Palestinian civilians and international and Israeli human rights defenders organized a peaceful demonstration in Bil'in village, west of Ramallah, in protest to the construction of the annexation wall. They raised the Palestinian flag and chanted slogans calling for ending the occupation and annexation wall and release of all Palestinian prisoners. Moreover, the demonstrators chanted "194 is the State of Palestine" and released balloons and kites having the colors of the Palestinian flag. They raised banners calling the world for the recognition of the State of Palestine and carried the Libyan uprising flags and an American flag on which (veto) was written. They then moved towards areas of Palestinian land, which the Israeli High Court ordered to be returned to their Palestinian owners. When they reached (Abu Lemon) nature preserve, the demonstrators walked along the wall and released the balloons and kites. The demonstrators also used megaphones to call on Israeli settlers living in “Mitityaho Mizrach” settlement to leave it. Israeli soldiers stationed in the area fired rubber-coated metal bullets, sound bombs and tear gas canisters at the demonstrators. As a result, a number of demonstrators suffered from tear gas inhalation.
Also following the Friday Prayer on 23 September 2011, dozens of Palestinian civilians and international and human rights defenders organized a peaceful demonstration in Ne'lin village, west of Ramallah, in protest against the construction of the annexation wall. They chanted slogans calling for Palestinian reconciliation, adherence to the Palestinian inalienable rights and resistance of the occupation. Additionally, they chanted "194 is the State of Palestine" and other slogans against the American President and his speech at the United Nations that was defended the Israeli occupation. They clashed with Israeli troops positioned near the annexation wall. Israeli soldiers fired rubber-coated metal bullets, sound bombs and tear gas canisters at demonstrators. As a result, a number of demonstrators suffered from tear gas inhalation.
Also following the Friday Prayer on 23 September 2011, dozens of Palestinian civilians and international and Israeli human rights defenders organized a peaceful demonstration in Nabi Saleh village, northwest of Ramallah, in protest against land confiscations and settlement activities. They raised the Palestinian flag, chanted slogans against the USA, called for ending the occupation and chanted "194 is the State of Palestine". When the demonstrators attempted to reach areas of land seized by Israeli settlers near "Halmish" settlement, Israeli soldiers fired rubber-coated metal bullets, sound bombs and tear gas canisters at them. As a result, Jihad Mohammed Tamimi, 22, was wounded by a bullet to the head, and the French activist, Chris Hoppy, 38, was hit by a tear gas canister to the right leg. They were both transported to Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah for medical treatment. A number of demonstrators also suffered from tear gas inhalation and other sustained bruises.
Also following the Friday Prayer on 23 September 2011, dozens of Palestinian civilians from Ramallah and al-Bireh and human rights defenders organized a peaceful demonstration at the entrance of Qalandya refugee camp, north of Jerusalem, in support to the Palestinian leadership’s demand of recognition for the Palestinian statehood by the United Nations. They moved towards Qalandya checkpoint. They set fire to tires and threw stones and empty bottles at Israeli soldiers. Immediately, Israeli soldiers fired at the demonstrators. As a result, 17 Palestinians, including six children, were wounded and transported to Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah. Additionally, dozens of demonstrators suffered from tear gas inhalation. (PCHR keeps the names of the wounded).
At approximately 13:30, following the Friday Prayer on 23 September 2011, dozens of Palestinian civilians and human rights defenders organized a peaceful demonstration in the center of Kufor Qaddoum village, northeast of Qalqilya. They moved towards the eastern entrance of the village, in protest against the permanent closure of the entrance since the beginning of al-Aqsa Intifada. Israeli soldiers fired sound bombs and tear gas canisters at demonstrators. As a result, a number of demonstrators suffered from tear gas inhalation.

Recommendations to the international community:Due to the number and severity of Israeli human rights violations this week, the PCHR made several recommendations to the international community. Among these were a recommendation that human rights organizations, bar associations, unions and NGOs continue their role in pressuring their governments to secure Israel's respect for human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and to demand Israel end its attacks on Palestinian civilians.
The PCHR also called upon the international community to pressure Israel to lift the severe restrictions imposed by the Israeli government and its occupation forces on access for international organizations to the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Ejército de Israel invade Jenin y otros pueblos palestinos- Israeli army invades Jenin and other villages


Español.-
El ejército de Israel invadió, esta mañana (viernes 30 de septiembre de 2011), la ciudad palestina de Jenin en Cisjordania. La agencia de noticias WAFA reportó que una gran fuerza militar, compuesta de varios jeeps invadió el campamento de refugiados de Jenin y otros pueblos palestinos en las primeras horas de esta mañana.
Testigos reportaron que un total de doce vehículos blindados invadieron y arrasaron los barrios del campamento, sus alrededores y otras villas, arrojando granadas.
Los pobladores lograron ocultarse y no hubo heridos aunque sí muchos destrozos.
El ejército invadió otros lugares utilizando más vehículos militares y arrasando las calles durante muchas horas, sin manifestar causa para los ataques, ni efectuar arrestos.

English.-
The Israeli army invaded, on Friday morning, the West Bank city of Jenin. The Palestine News and Information Agency (WAFA) reported that a large military force invaded the city and Jenin refugee camp in addition to some other surrounding villages in the early hours of Friday Morning.
Eyewitness reported that twelve military vehicles swept most of their neighborhoods and streets for five hours and fired grenades and machine gun fire, however no injuries were reported.
The Israeli military has also invaded many other nearby cities accompanied by military vehicles touring the streets and neighborhoods for several hours, no detentions were reported.

miércoles, 28 de septiembre de 2011

Israel aprueba 1100 viviendas más en colonia ilegal entre Jerusalén y Belén-Israel aproves 1100 houses in illegal colony between Jerusalem & Bethlehem





Español.-
Israel “celebra” veto de EU a Palestina con 1,100 viviendas en zona ocupada
Israel aprobó ayer la construcción de 1,100 casas en Cisjordania más allá de la “línea verde”, frontera reconocida internacionalmente de Palestina desde 1967. Esta decisión es una bofetada directa al Cuarteto de Madrid (EU, Rusia, Unión Europea y la ONU) a su propuesta el sábado pasado en la ONU, de reanudar las negociaciones en el plazo de un mes.
La decisión israelí de esta construcción en territorio ocupado, se produce tan solo unos días después del anuncio de Barack Obama, de vetar en el Consejo de Seguridad la solicitud de la Autoridad Nacional Palestina de un estado propio.
Sin embargo, la secretaria de Estado estadunidense Hillary Clinton, dijo que el plan de asentamientos era “contraproducente para nuestros esfuerzos para reanudar las negociaciones directas entre las partes”. También declaró que Estados Unidos se siente “profundamente decepcionado” por tal acción.
ESTATÉGICAMENTE ELEGIDO. El enclave que Israel ha decidido para edificar estas viviendas es Giló, entre Jerusalén este y la ciudad de Belén, fortificando el anillo de colonias judías que rodean la capital. Con esta construcción, Israel cubriría un segmento que impediría una futura comunicación terrestre entre Jerusalén Oriental (zona musulmana y hipotética capital de un futuro estado palestino) con el resto de territorios de Palestina.
El presidente de la Autoridad Palestina Mahmud Abbas, ha puesto la congelación de los asentamientos como condición para volver a las negociaciones, que se derrumbaron hace un año después de que el primer ministro israelí, Benjamin Netanyahu se negara a ampliar una moratoria parcial de 10 meses sobre la construcción.
Richard Miron, portavoz del enviado de la ONU en Oriente Medio Robert Serry, describió la decisión como “muy preocupante”. La actividad de los asentamientos “socava la perspectiva de reanudar las negociaciones y alcanzar una solución de dos estados al conflicto”.

English.-
Israel approved on Tuesday the construction of 1,100 settlement homes on annexed land in the West Bank, complicating global efforts to renew peace talks and defuse a crisis over a Palestinian statehood bid at the United Nations.
Israel's decision was met by a chorus of Western criticism including a call from Britain to "revoke" it, while its close ally, the United States said it was "deeply disappointed" with what it saw as a "counter-productive" step.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas applied at the U.N. on Friday for full Palestinian membership, a move opposed by Israel and the United States, which urged him to resume peace talks.
Abbas has made a cessation of Israeli settlement building a condition for returning to negotiations which collapsed a year ago after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to extend a 10-month partial moratorium on construction.
The so-called Quartet of international mediators -- the United States, the European Union, Russia and the U.N. -- has called for talks to begin within a month and urged both sides not to take unilateral actions that could block peacemaking.
Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, said the new housing units represented "1,100 'noes' to the Quartet statement" urging a resumption of frozen peace talks.
The new homes are to be built in Gilo, an urban settlement that Israel erected on land it captured in the West Bank in a 1967 war and annexed unilaterally as part of its declared capital, Jerusalem.

martes, 13 de septiembre de 2011

Israel apunta a desmantelar la escuela de Ras Al Auja en el Valle del Jordán-Israel Targets Vittorio Arrigone School in Embattled Jordan Valley







Español.-
Mientras muchas escuelas alrededor del mundo acaban de iniciar el ciclo lectivo, una de ellas, apenas finalizada su edificación y acondicionamiento en una de las áreas más sufridas del Valle del Jordán en Palestina, está siendo desmantelada por el ejército de Israel. Se trata de la escuela Vittorio Arrigoni, ubicada en el poblado de Ras Al Auja en el Valle.
La escuela Vittorio Arrigoni tomó su nombre del activista italiano del Movimiento Internacional solidario (International Solidarity Movement), quien fuera asesinado en Gaza en abril de este año. El edificio escolar fue construido por la comunidad de Ras Al Auja y voluntarios del Jordan Valley Solidarity Campaign (Campaña de Solidaridad con el Valle del Jordán). Se empezó levantando una estructura de arpillera y allí funcionó, en un reducido habitáculo, una carpa escuela. Luego se manufacturaron ladrillos de adobe, se levantaron las primeras paredes y se completí el trabajo con dos estructuras donadas que también fueron recubiertas de adobe. La escuela estaba destinada a niños a partir de los 13 años en una de las áreas de Cisjordania más castigadas por la ocupación ilegal del gobierno israelí. Desde que Israel ha invadido y extendido su colonización desde 1967, la población palestina descendió de 320000 habitantes a 56000, mientras que las 36 colonias ilega From the time that Israel seized control of the area in 1967 until the present, theles y agrícolas de Israelíes se encunetran, el 50% en tierras usurpadas al Valle del Jordán.
Ras Al Auja es una comunidad beduina a 7 km al oesta de la ciudad más populosa Al Auja. Ambas sirven de ejemplo para demostrar la devastación que está ejerciendo Israel de los pueblos palestinos, sobre todo de los beduinos. Hasta que el Valle del Jordán fuera ocupado ilegalmente por Israel, Al Auja fue, durante miles de años, un lugar famoso por su manantial, un oasis. La gente hacía visitas recreativas y turísticas a Ras Al Auja para bañarse, pescar o sentarse bajo los plátanos que solían crecer allí. En 1972, la compañía de agua israelí, Mekerot, que ha monopolizado el servicio de agua en Cisjordania, cavó dos profundos pozos en Al Auja, cortando el fluido de agua que llegaba hasta los poblados. "Estos pozos succionan el total del agua de las napas, el manatial está seco. Toda el área se convirtió en un desierto cruzado por canales secos que apenas se humedecen con las lluvias dos semanas por año.
La familias que viven esta zona han tenido que recurrir a utilizar tractores y remolcar tanques para llevar agua que deben comprar a la compañía israelí. Agua de su propia tierra usurada por Israel a precios irrisorios e inconcebibles producto del ignminioso capricho del estado colonialista. Cada palestino debe limitar la cantidad diaria de agua que necesita para beber, bañarse, cocinar, ir al baño, mientras tanto, los colonos ilegales de Israel, pueden dejar correr el agua a su antojo y de manera gratuita para disfrutar de todo el confort, incluidos jardines, parques, piscinas, utilizando cada colono israelí, 33 veces más agua que cada palestino.
El problema no es sólo para los palestinos, quienes ya sufrieron el destierro al ser echados de sus tierras durante la Nakaba, wen 1948 cuando fueron expulsados de Beer Sheva, sino que el problema se agrava porque su economía se sostiene de la atividad agrícolo ganadera. La tierra está seca y ya no hay productos de la tierra y los animales mueren de sed. Cada palestino solía tener un promedio de 100 cabras que pastoreaban en las colinas de los alrededores de Ras Al Auja y Al Auja y que bebían del manantial. Ahora, las colonias de Yitav, Niran y ‘Omer’s Farm’ han colonizado todas las laderas que rodean a los pueblos palestinos, hay bases militares, zonas militares de entrenamiento de tiro que apuntan especialmente a las comunidades y controles de checkpoints. ‘Omer’s Farm’, en particular, ha perdido la mitad de sus hectáreas de tierras confiscadas por Israel en cinco años. Una sola familia de colonos israelíes se ha adueñado violentamente de esas tierras palestinas y son guardados con cuidado por una base militar israelí establecida en la colina, también sobre tierras usurpadas. Algunos hombre de Al Auja, palestinos, han visto reducidas sus posibilidades de sobrevivir, únicamente trabajando para empleadores isralíes quienes los contratan para trabajos pesados en las tierras que antes le eran propias y les pagan sueldos de hambre. El área no es muy diferente a los campos de concentración donde los nazis ponían a trabajar a los judíos, similar también a los campos de trabajo del apartheid sudafricanos.
En marzo de este año, voluntarios del Jordan Valley Solidarity junto con miembros de las comunidades de Al Auja, iniciaron la construcción de la escuela Vittorio Arrigoni para cubrir las necesidades educativas de 130 familias. En el transcurso de dos semanas, voluntarios cosieron sacos de arpillera y con ello levantaron una tienda donde un grupo de mujeres inició las clases con 30 niños, la mayoría de ellos con edades entre los 5 y los 8 años. Trabajaron los currículos básicos de matemáticas, inglés, árabe, geografía e historia. Antes de que esta escuela fuera levantada, los niños debían caminar 7 km cada mañana hasta la escuela de la ciudad de Al Auja, exponiendo a los niños a los abusos de los colonos israelíes, ya que debían pasar cerca de dos colonias, y es común que los colonos los ataquen, los golpeen o inciten a sus perros a agredir a lastimar a los pequeños. Muchos padres habían incluso desistidos de enviar a sus hijos al colegio.
25 de abril, Luisa Morgantini, vicepresidenta del Parlamento Europeo, Majed Al Fityani, gobernador de Jericho, 50 voluntarios italianos que visitaron ese día el lugar, más miembros de la comunidad, más los voluntarios de la Campaña con el Valle del Jordán, pusieron la piedra fundamental en esta escuela cantando Bella Ciao. y la Internacional Socialista.

English.-
As schools around the world begin another year of instruction, one school, near to completion in one of the most grief-stricken and resilient areas of occupied Palestine, has suffered a massive set-back because the Israeli military has carried away its infrastructure- the Vittorio Arrigone school, in the small village of Ras Al Auja in the Jordan Valley.
The Arrigoni school, named after the Italian International Solidarity Movement activist killed in Gaza this April, began in February as a small tent school in the village of Ras Al Auja, and began evolving into a more permanent mud-brick and caravan structure in April. Built jointly by the Ras Al Auja community and the activist group Jordan Valley Solidarity, the school, once built, will educate young children up to the age of 13 in one of the areas of the West Bank hardest hit by the Israeli occupation. From the time that Israel seized control of the area in 1967 until the present, the resident Palestinian population has decreased from 320,000 residents to 56,000, as 36 primarily agricultural Israeli settlements, housing 6,400 settlers, have been constructed on 50% of the Jordan Valley’s land.

Ras Al Auja is a Bedouin community seven km west of the larger community of Al Auja. Both serve as paradigmatic examples of the devastating impact of Israeli occupation on Bedouin in the Jordan Valley. Until Israel’s occupation, Al Auja was for millennia an oasis, famous for its ever-flowing spring. As it says on the website of Jordan Valley Solidarity, “people would come to Al Auja from all over to swim, fish and sit among the banana groves that once grew there.” In 1972, the Israeli water company Mekorot, which has monopolized the West Bank water, dug two deep water wells in Al Auja, cutting off the flow of water before it reached the village. “These wells lowered the water table, drying out the spring. Today the area is a desert, crossed with dried-up canals that see water one or two weeks every year during the rainy season.”
As is commonplace for the larger West Bank Bedouin communities, families must use tractors and mobile water tanks to bring water to their homes and villages, at considerable personal expense. The estimated amount of water that one Palestinian in the Valley consumes per day, for drinking as well as all other activities, is some 70 litres. This is the amount of water it takes to flush a toilet. Jordan Valley settlers, on the other hand, enjoy free access to water and, from the comfort of their heavily subsidized, modern settlement homes, individually consume about 33 times as much water as their Palestinian neighbors in the Valley.
To make matters worse, the families of Al Auja and Ras Al Auja, who settled there after expulsion from Beer Sheva during the 1948 Nakba, used to have “over 100 sheep or goats each, which they grazed on the mountains and watered at the spring”. Now, the settlements of Yitav, Niran and ‘Omer’s Farm’ have colonized the surrounding mountains, an army military checkpoint borders Ras Al Auja to the south, and two enormous settler-only water towers cast a grim shade over the dry Al Auja spring. ‘Omer’s Farm’, in particular, has stolen half the land of Ras Al Auja in the five years of its existence. It consists of a single family, on a hilltop, surrounded by stolen farmland, heavily guarded by the Israeli military.
The men of Al Auja, according to Jordan Valley Solidarity, “are reduced to surviving by working in Israel’s illegal settlements, earning a pittance. The area feels like little more than a work camp, reminiscent of the townships of apartheid South Africa, with all the men away during the day in the settlements.” The Bedouin now work for settlers, to farm land that the latter stole from them. While they were previously self-sufficient farmers, the residents now wage-laborers making scarcely enough to get by.
In March 2011, Jordan Valley Solidarity joined with community members to construct a school for children of the 130+ families of Ras Al Auja. Over the course of two weeks, volunteers sewed sack cloths together to construct a makeshift tent school, where women from the community began to teach 30 children, mostly aged between 5 and 8, a basic curriculum of math, English, Arabic, geography and history. It was vitally important to establish a school in Ras Al Auja, says Jordan Valley Solidarity coordinator, volunteer and driving force ‘Jane’, who has been involved with this project since its inception, because “if you don’t have education when you’re a small child, that means that when you go to school you’re behind already. Education is a basic human right. These people have a right to education in their community.”
Before construction of this school, the children of Ras Al Auja were forced to walk 7 kilometres each morning to the school in al Auja. As the foot path trailed right next to two Israeli settlements, exposing children to regular physical and psychological settler harassment, many parents were wary of sending their young children to school. In addition, numerous fathers are off working in these very Israeli settlements, thus unavailable to assist their children in the mornings. Numerous children, therefore, were left without an education until later years.
Today, because the new school in Ras Al Auja only educates children aged 7 to 13, those children over 13 lucky enough to continue their education still need to take this daily trek to the Al Auja Secondary School, where they can study for the Tawjihi (matriculation exams). Mossem Zubaidat, a volunteer with Jordan Valley Solidarity who also works with the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education, relates how “there is no transport to take them to the village, so they use their legs to go to school in summer and winter. It is hard for them to put the bag on their back and walk all the distance...We need to build the school because in Ras Al Auja the people live in boxes, not in houses, they live in tents! We are certain to build a school there, it is our land and we can build a school anywhere!”
The Israeli army does not agree. The Area A, B and C zoning system was established for the West Bank after the 1993 Oslo Accords to designate areas of full Palestinian control, joint Palestinian civil and Israeli military control, and full Israeli control, respectively. Because 95% of the Jordan Valley, including al Auja and Ras al Auja, falls under Area C (50% because of Israeli settlements and 45% because of military training grounds and nature reserves), this means that almost nowhere in the Valley can the Bedouin build any permanent structure without requiring an Israeli permit, which is expensive to apply for and almost impossible to obtain. Between January 2000 and September 2007, Israel issued almost 5,000 demolition orders against Palestinian structures in the Jordan Valley. Of those, 1,663 demolitions were carried out – Israeli bulldozers tore down houses, schools, animal shelters and even entire villages.
The stated purpose of Israel’s vise-like grip on ownership and control of the Valley is to hold a security buffer space between Israel and Jordan, necessary to defend the country; in reality, however, Israel covets the Valley because (1) the West Bank, which could serve as a future Palestinian state, is thereby surrounded on all sides by Israel; (2) the West Bank is thereby cut off from economic interaction and communication with Jordan, and the rest of the Middle East; and (3) in the words of the soon to be published Jordan Valley Solidarity factbook To Exist Is To Resist, the Jordan Valley’s “abundance of water resources, fertile soil and natural minerals offer competitive economic advantages in agriculture, industry and tourism. It also constitutes a geographical “reservoir” of land where the Palestinians could establish housing projects and public facilities.”
Israel’s policy of constant settlement expansion, pervasive military checkpoints, destruction or closure of Palestinian roads (the last few years have seen 17 new roadblocks and 4 new checkpoints in the Jordan Valley), construction of Israeli-only bypass roads and physical intimidation, harassment, and outright demolition of Bedouin villages in Area C is evidence of a conscious attempt to gradually exterminate a Palestinian presence in the Jordan Valley, to cement Israeli control and solidify a long-term Israeli presence that remains illegal under international law. Jane explains the role of Jordan Valley Solidarity in resisting the Israeli occupation: “By supporting communities to construct infrastructure for basic services, we support them to stay in their communities, on their land- because the Israelis want them to leave the Jordan Valley, or to make them move into the 5% of the land which is in area A or B to create an Israeli state with Palestinian ghettoes.” The establishment of a school in Ras Al Auja, like countless other projects in the Valley, is not primarily a gesture of humanitarian aid, but rather a symbol of international solidarity. “The aim of lack of education is to drive people from their land. What that means is that the right to education for people is really important...as a basic human right, it’s not something that can be taken away from children...Therefore our motto is ‘to exist is to resist’, and the people in Ras Al Auja are existing and resisting just by being there, and being on their land is their resistance, so we support them in their resistance...together, [we are] using their own land that the people live on to create a fact on the ground to resist the Israeli occupation.”
It was in this spirit of resistance that, in April, it was decided that a tent school, though an important first step, was too small and impermanent to meet the community’s needs. Accordingly, over 100 international volunteers and community members began constructing two permanent mud-brick classroom buildings. After the death of Italian International Solidarity Movement activist Vittorio Arrigoni in Gaza that April, the Ras Al Auja community, which personally knows the vital role of international activism, requested to name the school Vittorio Arrigoni. From the Jordan Valley Solidarity website- “Vittorio was, and will remain, a great symbol of resistance. To give his name to one of our schools is an honour, and we will do our best to make this school another example of resistance against the occupation.” On 25 April 25t Luisa Morgantini, former Vice President of the European Parliament, Majed Al Fityani, Jericho Governor, 50 Italian volunteers, members of the local community, and Jordan Valley Solidarity volunteers laid the first brick of the Vittorio Solidarity school while singing ‘Bella Ciao’ and the Socialist International anthem.

martes, 6 de septiembre de 2011

Fuerza aérea Israelí bombardea Gaza-Israeli air forces bombers on Gaza


Español.-
Jets de guerra israelíes bombardearon este lunes 5 de septiembre una área cercana a la Compañía de Electricidad de Gaza, al oeste del campamento de refugiados palestinos Al Nusseirat.
El bombardeo produjo una serie de incendios y destrozos en la zona pero no hubo heridos. Los equipos palestinos de rescate se apresuraron a entrar en escena acompañados de autobombas que trataban de sofocar las llamas.
Durante la noche y madrugada de este martes 6 de septiembre, la fuerza aérea israelí mantuvo en vilo a la población palestina de las zonas residenciales de Gaza, disparando flamas de fuego. La población está en pánico ya que temen que sus barrios sean bombardeados sorpresivamente por misiles.

English.-
Israeli war-jets bombarded, on Monday night after midnight, an empty area close to the Electricity Company, west of the Al Nusseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
The bombardment led to several fires in the area but no injuries; rescue teams rushed to the scene while firefighters contained the resulting fires.
On Monday at night, the Israeli Air Fires fired flares over a nearby residential area leading to panic among the residents who feared that the army is preparing to fire missiles into their neighborhoods.

sábado, 3 de septiembre de 2011

Colonos israelíes invaden pueblo palestino cerca de Nablus-Israeli colons attack Palestinian village near Nablus


Español.-
Docenas de colonos armados invadieron el pueblo de Jaloud al sur de la ciudad de Nablus ubicada al norte de Cisjordania. Atacaron hogares y residentes ordenándolos que abandonen el lugar.
Ghassan Douglas, a cargo de la Autoridad Palestina y lo relacionado con los asentamientos, informó que los colonos amedrantaron a los residentes, violentaron e invadieron hogares y profirieron amenazas exigiéndoles que abandonen sus tierras y casas.
Hubo enfrentamientos entre ambas partes; los soldados de Israel llegaron a la escena y arrojaron gases lacrimógenos y bombas hacias los pobladores palestinos; amuchos palestinos debieron ser trasladados a centros sanitarios con síntomas de intoxicación por la inhalación del gas.
Una situación que se reitera tal como podemos ver en el video de una invasión similar en marzo del presente año.



English.-
Dozens of armed Israeli settlers invaded Jaloud village, south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus, attacked residents and homes, and demanded the indigenous Palestinian villagers to leave.
Ghassan Douglas, in charge of the settlements file at the Palestinian Authority in the northern part of the West Bank, stated that the armed settlers attacked several homes and dozens of residents, while threatening them and demanding them to leave their homes and lands.
Clashes were reported between the local residents and the invading settlers; Israeli soldiers arrived at the scene and fired gas bombs and concussion grenades at the
Palestinian villagers; several residents were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation.
Repeated situation as we can watch in the video of March 12th this year.