Palestine: Yallah bye.

I'm starting this blog a month since I left the West Bank with no real idea of how to summarise, conclude or make sense of my time in Palestine. Once more, I have been humbled by the steadfastness and solidity of the Palestinian people. Once more, I have felt helpless and angry in the face of the atrocities that the Israeli army, government and settlers commit on a daily basis.

And yet, and yet...somehow I feel more resilient and more prepared to face these injustices. In difficult situations I still compare and contrast with Israeli jail and count my blessings that I'm no longer there (despite being told that this feeling of relief would fade!)

More than anything, despite the hardships, I wish I was still in Palestine, standing with my friends and colleagues from Palestine, from Israel, from everywhere - habibis, I miss you all.

People still there tell me the situation is intensifying - attacks and kidnapping by settlers (naturally, backed up by the army), a boy killed on his 17th birthday - while I was still there, there were whispers (and some shouts) of 'intifada'.

An uprising by the Palestinian people is a difficult thing. They have little power. Every time they react against the Israeli occupation, it is they who are branded as the terrorists, rather than their occupiers with their guns, their political power, their propaganda machine. But, inshallah, Palestine's freedom will come, and soon. (I realise that my excessive use of 'inshallah' (god willing) is ridiculous considering that I am a godless heathen :p )

Now it is christmas eve. I am in Thailand, feeling guilty and useless (though the fact that it's raining a LOT assuages my guilt a little...)

I feel for Majd Obeid, who was arrested with me back in September and is still in prison. I feel for his family, and all the other families who have someone in prison.I feel for the hungerstrikers. I feel for all the Christian Palestinians in Gaza who didn't receive permission to travel to Bethlehem for Christmas (no one between the ages of 16 and 35 is even allowed to apply). I feel for all the families who will have to start 2013 learning to live without a loved one, because this was the year that they became a shaheed (martyr) of the occupation. I feel for those who are cold because their house was demolished or their electricity is controlled and limited by the Israelis. I feel for those whose neighbours are settlers who attack their young children. I feel for Palestine.

Palestine needs people of conscience, who will stand up for justice alongside the Palestinian people in their struggle. Find out more here.

Yallah bye Falasteen, and merry christmas.





P.S. I will most certainly be back.

Palestine: "It's not my problem"

On Saturday, Rushdi Tamimi was shot in the village of Nabi Saleh. He was on a hillside in the village, taking part in a demonstration against the massacre in Gaza (which was escalating massively at that point).

He was shot with live ammunition by an Israeli soldier. He was 31 years old.

After he was shot, he lay on the hillside, surrounded by soldiers. They did not try to help him. Having shot him again and shoved him with their guns, they shot at anyone who tried to come near to help him.

This video below was filmed by someone trying to approach - you can hear being shot at as she shouts "Ana B'tselem" - "I am B´tselem" - B'tselem is a human rights organisation who film abuses by the Israeli authorities.

You can also hear the soldiers, as Rushdi's sister pleads with them to let her take him to a hospital, saying "I don't care". And "it's not my problem". The lack of humanity is chilling.

Rushdi's family eventually managed to take him to get medical help. He died 3 days later in hospital - they couldn't stop him from bleeding. Could earlier medical attention have saved him? Who knows.

Rushdi is the second person from Nabi Saleh who has died fighting the occupation. I was at the demonstration when the first, Mustafa Tamimi, was killed when a soldier shot a tear gas canister directly at his face, making Tuesday my second Nabi Saleh funeral.

There were tears, followed by anger, followed by tear gas.

Because in true bastard form, the soldiers attacked the funeral demonstration with live ammunition, tear gas, rubber bullets and skunk water. You can see pictures from the funeral taken by my comrade Alberto, on his blog here. They demonstrate a complete lack of respect for Palestinian life and a complete lack of remorse for having caused Rushdi's death.

In other news:

• There is now a ceasfire in Gaza. Inshallah it will last, and no more will be added to the 162 people who were murdered by Israel since operation 'Pillar of Cloud' began.   

• 22 year old Hamdi al Falah was killed in Hebron, demonstrating against the attack on Gaza. He was shot four times, once in the head, twice in the body and once in the leg. Friends of mine were at the funeral and said that thousand of people came to protest his death, the occupation and murder in Gaza. They were (surprise surprise) violently repressed by the Israeli army.

•  A 20 month old baby died in Qalandia after soldier fired a tear gas canister into his bedroom. It ignited and he died of the burns.

• Activists helped to remove a section of the Apartheid Wall (the Wall is in both concrete and metal fence form - the 15 metres we removed was from the wire part). The army didn't even arrive in time to stop us. Hah! 

• Activists blocked a settler road and for a second time, a settler drove a car into one of my comrades on purpose - this time it was Palestinian popular struggle organiser Abdullah Abu Rahmeh. He is fine now.

Palestine: “Shut your fucking mouth.” 

I thought I’d seen a lot of Zionist tourists when I wrote about the settler tour last Saturday. That was until I realised that this week was Abraham Day, a Jewish religious holiday. Because of this, thousands (I do genuinely mean THOUUUUUUUSANDS) of fundamentalists religious people turned up, with the belief that the whole of Hebron should be part of Israel (COUGH, green line, COUGH, international law). Oh, sorry, silly me, as I was told many times over the course of the day, these people do have the deeds to the land. They store them all in this book called the Torah apparently. *eye roll*

The majority were just a rowdy mob, rampaging through the Palestinian market, surrounded by 50 or so soldiers. They went through the market for HOURS, hassling shopkeepers, pushing over food and stuff for sale and even attacking some people who were trying to record their bad behaviour. They punched and kicked one Palestinian man who was filming for B'tselem and tried to steal his camera. They grabbed cameras of other international observers. I asked some of them if they knew what effect their 'tourism' had on the Palestinian population (soldiers on their roofs at night, sweeps of the market by 30 soldiers three times in the morning, fear, harassment, abuse) - their response? "Shut up"or "why does that matter?" or silence.

Settlers and soldiers overlooked by Palestinian kids on the roof.

I’ve said it time and time again, but any state that gives a bunch of 18-20year old men brainwashing training, huge guns and the run of a city populated with ‘the enemy’, is pretty messed up. Hebron is like a video game where the aim of the game is to protect the settlers. I can't tell you how unprofessional these soldiers/kids are. I can't count how many times I've been told to "shut your fucking mouth", "shut the fuck up", or received invitations to engage in sexual intercourse with them. *mega eye roll*

Or a new one today, "hope to see you in Gaza."

Since I started writing this blog, several days ago, much has changed here. Operation 'Pillar of Cloud' has begun, or as it would be better known, murder. Gazan Palestinians are essentially trapped in the largest open air prison in the world - blockaded from land, sea and air. In the last 3 days, children have been killed (including an 11month old baby), the majority of deaths are civilian, yet still Gazans who fight back against the occupation are the terrorists. Israeli authorities - wearing a uniform does not legitimise murder or siege or occupation. At 360 km² (about the same area as the UK city of Sheffield, but with a population 3 times the size*) Gaza is one of the world's most densely populated areas, making targeted attacks on 'militants' incredibly difficult. Add to this the fact that half of the population are children - Israeli leaders KNOW that they will kill children and they will kill civilians.Yet they continue. And yes, the besieged people of Gaza continue to resist. I don't advocate killing of anyone, but I do know that the Palestinians have a right to resist the numerous and continuing human rights abuses committed against them by the hugely more powerful (and US backed) Israeli forces. Nothing so far has worked.

On the same day that the attack on Gaza began, we had a demonstration, or several demonstrations really. Hundreds of Palestinian, Israeli and international activists blocked roads to illegal settlements, urging settlers to leave. The regular Friday demonstrations in the Palestinian villages of Nabi Saleh, in Kufr Qaddoum, Bilin etc are amazing and inspiring, but the people that they most inconvenience are often the villagers themselves - this new tactic of demonstrating on settler roads, or in settler supermarkets will remind these settlers and the Israeli forces that their actions are not without consequence. To block the roads, we used chains, we used ourselves - each time, the soldiers arrived and the settlers arrived, attacking with gas, batons as well as with their plain old hands and feet. Our non-violent demonstrations are always met with this type of aggression.

At the last roadblock that we staged, a friend of mine was standing in front of a stopped settler car. Then the car accelerated - directly into him. He was thrown over the bonnet, as the settler sped into the distance and we all stood gaping. An ambulance was called and he was taken to the hospital in Ramallah for x-rays and tests. He was not badly hurt thankfully. Also, none of us were arrested, which was surprising considering the amount of de-arresting that we had to do.

Activestills pic of us de-arresting Mohammed Khatib, protest organiser.

Still, I can't keep away from the news of Gaza - another death, another air strike, the possibility of a ground strike is looming. Israeli reserve forces have been called up. We are so near in the West Bank, and yet so far - life here is a million miles away from life in Gaza. I run out of words to say what I mean, but I do know we're not gonna "shut our fucking mouths", whatever you do. Palestine is not that easily shut up.

Love and solidarity to Gaza - see demonstrations that you could join around the world here.

*Sheffield/Gaza population comparison in honour of Amy Man.

Palestine: Tourism - settler style

When I visit a new city, personally I prefer to explore it on my own - I find it the best way to engage with a new place, wandering the streets at my leisure, finding the city's secrets myself. Despite this, I do understand that some people prefer guided-tour style tourism, where you can really learn some history and interesting titbits of information about a new area.

But, I do rather reject the idea of visiting in a group of more soldiers than tourists. Especially when the city you are visiting is part of the occupied West Bank and you are an Israeli settler. This is what happens every week in the city of Hebron. For the last two weeks, I have had the pleasure of tagging along on the tour, because in the past, there have been attacks and harassment of Palestinians by the 'tourists' and by the soldiers 'protecting them'.

Before the settlers have even arrived, the soldiers 'secure the area'. This area that desperately needs to be secured is where Palestinians are getting on with their lives. It's their market, it's their homes, it's their shops. The 'securing of the area' often consists of breaking into houses, pointing guns into doorways and around corners and climbing onto Palestinian roofs. GB and I followed three soldiers who had climbed onto someone's roof - just as the soldiers were walking past, a little girl opened the door of her apartment. Not who I would like to find walking down my stairwell - unsurprisingly, she speedily shut the door again.

Just hypothesising, but I suspect that if that had been a young man who had shut the door, the soldiers would immediately have suspected wrongdoing and taken some action against it. The past few days, I have seen innumerable Palestinian 20-something men stopped and detained by soldiers. I ask why these men are being stopped - the soldiers admit they aren't looking for anything, they are just following orders. This is so often the case of these soldiers, pawns in the Israeli occupation. They don't know what they are doing, nor why. (Not that this excuses them of their actions. We've heard the line 'I was just following orders' before.)

So after the soldiers have finished invading people's houses and harassing people before the tour, it's time for the settlers to arrive. They come out of the illegal settlement right in the middle of Hebron city centre. Then they go directly to a Palestinian playground. Imagine 40 soldiers and a tour group arriving into a playground where you played as a kid. Imagine all the soldiers are heavily armed. Imagine that they do not care what happens to you, they care only for the tourists that they are 'protecting'.

In Hebron, some of the kids are so used to it that they try to carry on with their game of marbles. The soldiers clear them out of the way. Other kids stop and stare, or run away. The group of smartly dressed settlers wander through the park, hearing Zionist version of the history of Hebron - at one point, the Christian Peace Team and B'tselem (other observers watching the tour) get a mention by the tour-guide as busybodies who want to stop them enjoying their day out. (Benefit of ISM not having uniforms - we don't get name dropped by settlers as much!) Many of those on the tour are women younger than me. Their glares at me are piercing.

Continuing the tour, the soldiers shove their guns around corners as the tour group enter the winding paths of the souq. They stop Palestinians from walking past the settlers, only occasionally letting them edge by, squashed between the soldiers' guns and the walls. They are required to wait until the tourists have passed them - anyone who tries to pass on their own streets is liable to be pushed back by the soldiers.

Eventually, they retreat back into the settlement and lock the gates behind them.

Recently Israeli television channel referred to Palestine solidarity activists as 'hate tourists'. That label would be more correctly applied to these settlers. 

yallah bye settlers

P.S. finally, a tribute to my fallen comrade GB who will no longer feature, due to his yallah-bye-ing outta Palestine. Sad day.

Palestine: Arresting

Protesters in the supermarket

Good news first  - Abed from Kufr Qaddoum was released on the 24th October. Boom! The judge hasn't yet let us know exactly why he was released, but it seems likely that it was because GB and I were released - despite having the same evidence against us. Today marks the start of Eid, the biggest Muslim festival, so he has been released just in time to celebrate with his family.

We had a demonstration the next day calling for a boycott of Israel, until they end their apartheid strategy and occupation of Palestine - where better to have this but in a settlement supermarket? We arrived with a group of Palestinians, Israeli and international activists in the carpark of the Rami Levi superstore, which is in the illegal Israeli settlement of Sheer Binyamin, just north of the Palestinian city of Ramallah. Bearing our flags and 'boycott occupation and its products' placards, we marched down the aisles chanting "1234 occupation no more, 5678 Palestine will be a state", between the cereals and sweets. Surreal - the shoppers were shocked.

The army inevitably arrived, as we were leaving peacefully. The whole group left the supermarket and started walking to the exit of the settlement. Soldiers at this point decided that they wanted to stop us, cutting off the exit - they essentially wanted to arrest us for being a part of a flashmob. No one had committed any crimes, not even going so far as to knock down a pyramid of tins or steal a penny sweet.

However, we were forced to spend the next half an hour or so trying to prevent arrests from occurring. To stop this, we were 'de-arresting'. This is just as 'sophisticated' as it sounds - if the soldiers are trying to take someone, we try to take them back. It's not a violent way of resisting, but often provokes violence from the Israeli forces. The police were grabbing anyone and everyone - I can't count how many we prevented being arrested. A man who was passed out on the ground had a sound grenade thrown metres from his head.

The police pounced on us, grabbing my friend Elyana from next to me, while we were stopping another ISMer from being arrested. Four of them dragged her away while another group immediately shoved me back, preventing me from getting past. They were brutal, dragging at her clothes, yanking her in different directions and hitting her, while I could do nothing but watch, shell-shocked (every day here just adds to the anger that's piling up in me).
 
Another activist from Poland was arrested under similar circumstances, while trying to de-arrest Bassem Tamimi. Bassem was only released from an Israeli prison in April, having spent 13 months there, accused of 'taking part in illegal gatherings'. He is an organiser of the resistance against the Israeli occupation in the village of Nabi Saleh. The Israelis HATE him - as demonstrated by them breaking his ribs as they did successfully arrest him. Another Palestinian man was arrested - but in a happy reversal, was released the next day.

The Palestinians were separated from the international activists after their arrest. I spoke to Elyana today and she told me that a judge ruled that she and the other activist should be released (well duh, they didn't do anything) - but the police didn't much like this decision and decided to go rogue. Instead of setting them free, they decided it would be much better to threaten them with pepper spray and bundle them into the waiting immigration authority vehicle (circling like vultures). The Israeli authorities use this tactic to try to bypass their own (albeit often atrocious) legal system and deport activists without trial. Elyana was denied contact with her lawyer. Hearing how easily the police bypassed the system makes me realise genuinely how lucky GB and I were not to be deported.

So, for Eid celebrations today - Abdelateef is at home, reunited with his family and new wife. So is the other Palestinian who was released yesterday. Elyana and the other activist are currently in a dirty cell near Ben Gurion airport, awaiting a trial. Bassem is in another cell, nursing his broken ribs. Majd from Kufr Qaddoum is separated from his freed brother, in yet another cell. And this is just a glimpse - hundreds more Palestinian political prisoners are being held in Israel for their actions against the occupation.

So overall, it feels pretty hard to say Eid Saeed (happy Eid).

Palestine: The essence of discrimination

Yesterday I was described as a foreign troublemaker and hooligan - someone who had come to Palestine to throw stones at demonstrations. Not by an extremist settler, an Israeli soldier or the Daily Mail, but in fact by the very lawyer who got me freed after I was arrested at Kufr Qaddoum. Why on earth would he be so mean?

Well. It was all for the acceptably important aim of freedom for Abdelateef Obeid, who had a court hearing to determine whether his detention could continue or whether Israel should set him free. His brother Majd's case is still pending. The hearing was at Ofer military court, where we spent hours being told that we had to wait, and then were shouted at at the last minute because this had made us late for the hearing.*eye roll*

Queues at Ofer

Having eventually made it into the court, we found Neri, the Israeli lawyer who had represented us in the civilian court in the middle of the night four weeks ago, managing to get us released without conditions after our house arrest. This time, rather than defending us, he was telling the court that we were foreign agitators, and that in their eyes, our "crimes" were infinitely worse than Abed and Majd's.

He argued that:

• We had gone to great lengths to come to Palestine to cause trouble - flying from our home countries, paying out of our own pockets, travelling to the village etc. 
• They had been in their home village - they don't have a choice but to live here.

• We had stronger evidence against us - two soldiers "saw" us throw stones* and then arrested us.
• They had allegedly been seen by one soldier, from the top of a hill, through binoculars. This soldier then sent some other guys to arrest Majd and Abed. They went into a house and pulled them out. The soldier who "saw" them through the binoculars IDed them HOURS later as the same men he had glimpsed. Yeahhh, sounds plausible.

• We had no alibi. I was totally at the demonstration, wooh!
• They have a full alibi - their father says that he won't allow them to attend the Friday demonstrations because it is too dangerous. Their whoooole family say that Majd and Abed were at home, Majd asleep and Abed eating lunch.

• We are not involved directly in this struggle. Our lives are not affected - so throwing stones would be baseless.
• They have VERY legitimate grievances against the Israelis - so throwing stones is part of their right to resist.

So, pointing at us, the lawyer argued that despite the weight of evidence against us, we were brazenly continuing our EVIL WRONGDOING, while Majd and Abed are still in prison. He said that to allow this situation continue would be "the essence of discrimination". 

All the prosecutor could come up with to counter this was clutching at a straws - he said that the three internationals sitting in the court (GB, Lauren and I) might in fact be other IMPOSTER internationals, and that maybe actually the real internationals had been given life imprisonment or some other appropriate punishment, considering the weight of the evidence against us.

The judge looked sceptical but decided to give the prosecution another day to investigate this possibility...the court was supposed to deliver a judgement  today at 5pm, but of course, they did not.

More limbo for the Obeid family - it's now another day since the hearing and there has still been no verdict.


*I can't be bothered to say this every time...I didn't throw stones. I've been doing a lot of olive picking, but it still hasn't increased my arm strength so that I could throw more than about a metre.

Palestine: 'You are not the same as them'

Majd and Abdelateef had a second hearing on Monday. Having spoken to the lawyer, we knew that he was planning to argue that as GB, Lauren, Aimee and I had been freed, Majd and Abdelateef should be also. Because naturally, if the evidence is questionable enough to set us free, then the same evidence should also be questionable enough to set them free.

We arrived at the court bright and early, but found Majd and Abdelateef's family already inside, already waiting. They spent the (many) hours that followed in the burning sun, standing next to the gate, craning their necks for a glimpse of Majd and Abdelateef. Abdelateef's wife (they were married one week before he was arrested) was there, nervous but hopeful.

Abed's wife and his and Majd's family, desperate for a glimpse of the brothers.

Hopeful, because the family told us excitedly that they were expecting Abdelateef to be able to go home with them. This is what the lawyer had expected as well. When Majd and Abed arrived in court, I saw Majd gesture at himself resignedly, as if he was staying put, but then grin and point at Abed and point outside. They all expected that with the international comparison, that Abed at least would certainly be free.

As it is Majd's second 'offence' (hahahaha) he was resigned to spending some time in jail, although I had hope that as the evidence was so clearly flawed, the charges might be dismissed and that we could all go skipping into the sunset together, while the Wall crumbled in the background and Israelis and Palestinians (riding on the backs of unicorns, natch) hugged, creating rainbows and magic pixie dust, which destroyed racism, and created world peace. 

Turns out we were all disappointed. Or to choose a better word in the case of Abed's wife; devastated.

The hearing was in Hebrew. It lasted for about an hour and a half. Majd and Abed's grins of the first minutes turned slowly to confusion and then frowns - this was our only gauge of what was happening. At the end, the lawyer asked the court translator to speak to us and explain what had happened. With the hugest grin on his face, the soldier (in a military court, everyone's a soldier) explained that Abed would not be freed and that Majd was likely to get at least 6 months- more than the expected worst case scenario.

To explain these decisions, he went on to say that "the judge says that you are not the same as them". Still grinning. He found terribly amusing that the fact that I was born British and they were born Palestinian is enough for them to be still in prison while I am free.

Majd and Abed's hearing was the last of the day - as we were leaving, a load of soldiers walked past us, carrying human shaped shooting targets, and we waited for our lift with the sound of shooting ringing in our ears.

Tomorrow is the brother's next hearing, so we're going to a different court. We're going to try to live tweet any progress (language/soldier issues aside...) on the ISM twitter account, so follow @ISMPalestine here: www.twitter.com/ismpalestine

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.