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.