Every time I sit and talk to new foreigners coming
either to study Arabic in Beir Zeit, or to spend the summer volunteering in
some NGO or doing some work somewhere, the hell I care, I hear the same old
talks. Ohh I love Palestine and Palestinians, I am so coming next year,
freedom, Love, Peace... CRAP CRAP CRAP and finally BS.
I usually listen to them
talking passionately about the amazing time they spend at this
village or that. "ohh i am sooo in love with tea and Meramyeh and na'a
na'a" they would also talk about the Wara'a Enab they ate the other day
too, and they always finish it with "Ohh, Ahmad living with those people,
sharing food with them, made me understand their pain, I feel like I am one of
them." (seriously, already? You came like a week ago!). I usually
smile, and think "how deep lady gaga’s lyrics are!?"
Most of those people never stayed in Palestine longer
than the usual 3 months, they come in, have a nice trip, and maybe hook up with
either a Palestinian, or an Israeli(you never know) Then they get on an
airplane and get the fuck out of here. Many we never see again(Thank God),
some return;"they come back to liberate Palestine".
Ramallah down town
About a month ago a friend of mine asked me to meet up
in a bar in Ramallah called Bait Annesah, despite my promise to myself not to
step a foot there, I went to see this friend, as she was leaving the next day.
I finally got in the pup,, after convincing the bouncer that I am part of a
group, which was waiting for me inside.
I walked up to sit with my friend, who was already sitting
with a group of Palestinian(i am not sure) Europeans and Americans. The
conversation carried on, while I sat there saying nothing, until one of the so called Palestinian said
"Existence is Resistance, being here is part of resisting the
occupation". I looked to their faces for reaction, I saw nothing but
approval. I said bye to my friend directly, as I couldn't stay any longer;I would
kill someone if I did.
FYI: existence is resistance when your house, land, or even bar under threat of being attacked by settlers or army, when your existence as individual effect the Israeli policies in your area. Existence is NOT resistance if you are sitting in a bar in Ramallah downtown!
This is one of the too many statements I heard from
many of those same pretentious, arrogant white-people, with a big
colonialist and orientalist mentality. And just to help you
understand why I said what I said, I am adding a couple of those statements I heard:
"The Palestinian keep fucking it up." American. "they wont give up!"
"I really can't understand why you people love
violence that much" European. "coffee?"
"Palestine will be much better, if you got rid
those bearded fanatic" European. "who?"
"I can't believe this man, he told me I can't
drink in there, so dark age" European. "OK"
"I dressed as Palestine for Halloween this
year." American. "not going to ask how!"
"I don't think Palestinians understand, what
non-violence means" American. "TRUE"
This post is not directed against a lot of the great
people who got to knowthe Palestinian cause as their own, standing at the front
line in Nabi Saleh, Bilin and Nilin, or spend hours documenting and translating
to expose the Israeli practice against my people. I have nothing but respect
and appreciation for them, this post is against those who think by spending a
week or 2 hanging out in Ramallah bars and expensive restaurants, they
can claim to understand me, my people and my cause. This one is against everyone
who thinks he/she has the right to judge my people, based on their standards.
"Do not judge, and you will not be judged"
Luke 6:37
For four years Yasin Abu Saleh el-Rifai and his wife Iman are fighting an almost doomed battle to save their land. The plot has belonged to his family, the el-Rifai family, for generations and it is his land, by inheritance. His grandfather's tomb is situated there too. The impressive structure of the tomb still stands, but the settlers have desecrated it, removing the bones from the tomb and destroyed the any remains in order to eliminate the evidence. Unfortunately for him, and for many other residents of Anata, some of them members of his family, an Israeli settlement by the name of Anatot (aka Almon) was built on their land in 1982. This settlement has grown over the years and today its fenced-off area includes hundreds of acres of private, taboo-registered Palestinian land, which the Palestinian owners cannot access.
A few words about this settlement: the settlers of Anatot are some of the worst people. It is a secular, extreme right-wing settlement of police officers and army officers, some of them retired. So the law is with them…and far away from the public eye they do what they want, a constant rampage. Sicilian Mafia in Israel of 2011. Netanyahu's personal driver is also a resident of Anatot.
El-Rifai's story is somewhat different from the story of the other Palestinian landowners. He and his wife, an Israeli citizen, formerly Jewish with a "blue" ID are allowed to enter the settlement and they are not denied access to the land. This is not the case for the other landowners, who are not Israeli citizens, and are therefore required to conduct impossible coordination procedures in order to reach their land and cultivate it.
Their 'blue' ID cards have not spared el-Rifai and his wife a great deal of agony. In recent years Anatot's settlers have been doing all they can to try to expel them from their land. The land that appears to be barren in the clip was once full of olive trees. Settlers ran over el-Rifai's wife with a mini-tractor, the two were beaten on several occasions, requiring hospitalization. Yasin was also stabbed. Their share of misery has also included the uprooting of all fruit trees on the plot, destruction of agricultural equipment, contamination of the water well by throwing carcasses and garbage into it, burning the cave which is located within the confines of the plot, constant uprooting of any newly-planted trees, threats against the two as well as physical assaults on them. Countless complaints have been submitted to the police, but nothing has been done to stop the abuse. El-Rifai and his wife have not given up, and against all odds they are trying to hold on to their land. Yasin, desperate to find some support, contact activists through the Internet a few months ago.
b. Activist Tal's account:
On Friday, a group of Israeli activists from various groups came down to sit with Yasin on his land, drink coffee, eat something, plant a few symbolic trees, and raise a Palestinian flag on his plot. We were certainly not looking for trouble. We were a small group, women and elderly people among us.
As we were sitting there, eating and laughing, Yasin received a call on his mobile phone, and the settlement's security officer threatened him that "people want to come up and beat you to a pulp, if that's what you want, keep the flag there". The phone call was recorded. You can listen to it here:
Afterwards, seven police and military vehicles appeared on the main road. They stood there for half an hour. Then a few civilian (privately-owned) cars drove up to them, and there seemed to be an exchange going on. All of a sudden, all the military vehicles disappeared, except for one police car, and within minutes tens of private cars gathered on the road. Around 50 people came out of these cars, led by an army officer and a border police, who were not trying too hard to stop them...The rest is history. They came up to us, cursed us, beat us with stoned and clubs and iron rods, plundered. Yasin was thrown to the ground, his head cracked open with an audible bang (he's not a young man, and he suffers from a heart condition and diabetes). He lay motionless on the ground for a few minutes, his wife holding his head and trying to stop the bleeding. We formed a protective ring around him, so that the bloodthirsty settlers don't reach him. At that time I thought he was dead. I yelled "get an ambulance", but no one paid attention. Miri (an activist) saw another activist, Edo, being beaten right next to a police officer, the settlers taking his camera. The officer was speaking on his phone. She approached him and said: "They stole Edo's camera and now they are hitting him!". The officer's nonchalant response was "you're interrupting my conversation". I stood there trying to prevent the attackers from reaching Yasin. A police officer came and took me away saying he's doing it to protect me. None of the officers protected Yasin. None of the attackers were pushed back or detained. Three of us were arrested on false charges and released later that evening because there was no case against them. The settlers chased us with their cars, causing damage to our cars, all the way up to West Jerusalem. Police officers who drove along, escorting us, did not think something had to be done about that. An entire spectrum of Anatot settlers, children, youths, women, the young and the elderly participated in the attempted lynching. No one would have cared if we had been killed there. Only the police who would have had to account for this…
c. Activist Guy's account:
Three months ago, we, Taayush activists, received an appeal from the couple. They were almost desperate and they asked for our help. We came down there, another activist and I, and we met a lovely couple, whose sole request was not to be driven off their land and not to suffer physical abuse and damage to property.
Due to various constraints, it was difficult for us to help at the time, but we did try to enlist various activists and groups. In recent weeks, activists have come down a few times and planted new trees, but each time, after a short while el-Rifai found them uprooted.
Today, Friday 30.9.11, a few of us decided to come and visit the couple. We numbered around 15 people. we brought work tools with us, such as hoes. Needless to say, we were welcomed with open arms and much love.
A short time after our arrival, we saw the settlement's security vehicle stop on the main road. It seemed that the security officer didn't like our presence there and called the police. A Border police team arrived, but they didn't intervene or interfere. Gradually, more and more settlers gathered on the main road, approximately 200 Meters in front of the hill where we were working. By noon, more than 20 settler cars could be spotted there. Then we saw two of them going up towards us, and I immediately called the police and alerted them to the danger. Below us, on the main road, we were able to see a few police cars, but they didn't prevent the two settlers from approaching us. When they came near us, they cursed and threatened us. Other settlers began to go up the hill towards us, dozens of them...
I called the police again, I warned them that bloodshed was imminent, I begged them to send the policemen who were present uphill, towards us, but to no avail. The settlers came up to us, and attacked us. This was simply an attempted lynching. I was punched a few times, knocked down to the ground, and when managed to lift myself up, I saw a border police officer. I ran to him and begged him to protect me, to save me, I practically hung onto him. But they just kept hitting, not heeding his calls to step back. They broke one of the cameras which I was holding, snatching it and throwing it to the ground and trampling over it. More punches and I am screaming and seeing the end. Again, I find myself on the ground, again lifting myself up and starting to flee, my glasses are gone and I don't know where I'm running, and I do see the settlers approaching me, and screaming at me. I ran towards the road and saw a police officer. Weeping and distraught, I asked him to save me.
He took me to the car and somehow I along with another activist managed to escape and exit the settlement.
But what about the rest?
They continued to be beaten, and the attempted lynching went on. Three of us are still at the hospital, one with a head injury, and I came out of all this, miraculously, with just one arm broken and lots of bruises.
for more data:
1. A preliminary report with two clips and photos was published on Mondoweiss yesterday:
I barely knew Abu Haneen, I had the pleasure of
meeting him a couple of times.I was even detained with him by the Israeli army
at Attara checkpoint at one point. After that, I met Abu Haneen a couple of
times, either at a protest at Qalandia or in Nabi Saleh. The last time I saw
him was at last Friday’s protest in Nabi Saleh. We barely talked then, I
remember how I was showing him some of the pictures I took earlier that day, how
we shared a couple of laughs before we went our separate ways at the
end of the day.
Yesterday, while the PA was manipulating the
Palestinian masses at AlMannara, some activist took matters into their own
hands and marched towards the Israeli wall and checkpoint at Qalandia,
announcing it loud and clear "We don't want to see you anymore". The
Israeli army responded in the only ways it knows: violence. While they were
attacking the crowds with gas, Rubber bullets, beating and undercover police;
the Palestinian youth responded with the oldest weapons on earth, stones.
Note the beating of an unarmed man in the first few seconds
As a result of the clashes some young kids were injured including 13-15 years old Ahed Wahdan who lost his eye, other young men were arrested by the undercover Israeli Police including AbuHaneen.
Ahed carried away by a foreign Journalist
Although we are aware
of the consequences ofgoing into protests and confronting the colonialist army;
many will be thrown to jail, and many others will be taking to Hospitals either
dead or with serious injuries. Yet, it still hurts every time we hear
the news about a fallen or a captured fellow activist
The path is long and hard, but we have no choice. Its
either this, or living on our knees; we can’t do that,our knees hurt.
The Confrontation with the Israeli army in Naksa day at Qalandia in Sunday, and after the Israeli took over the streets in no time with their tear gas, concussion grenade, and rubber bullets. the Palestinian protesters were forced back to the same old position, the same one as May 15, Nakba clashes.
Well, I have nothing to say about it, The pictures below will tell more,
But the protest took a different direction, a group of protesters gathered around the soldiers, the Protesters were chanting and holding signs, and every time the soldiers throw tear gas, they would gather again as soon as the gas fade away, at this moment boarder police went down to confront the protesters, pushing "usually with their bodies, never saw a soldier use his hands." the protesters back -who had their hands behind their back-. the police used the means they know the best, they used tear gas at least twice, they stopped after they gassed themselves"somehow the commander who throw the gas canister, just miss calculated the wind, so he teargassed his men, rather than the protesters, I have some respect for this commander, as he returned to his men, although the gas was everywhere, to check on them.!"
After the second gassing, the police called the Skunk water Canon (it is chemical blue/greenish liquid that smell like sewage water. it stick on clothes and skin, not easy to remove). as soon as it's arrived the protesters rushed to confront it, as soon they stood in front of it, the canon opened fire!! "to be more accurate, open water" refreshing them in the very hot sunny day! I got some of this refreshing liquid as well, a week later I still smell it.
The protesters stood against the truck for a while, they were pushed, and pepper sprayed before the police finally push them aside letting the trucks enter, to wash the street of Qalandia refuge camp.
The protester stood doing almost nothing for a while before a military jeep showed up, 2 protesters tried to block it's way, the soldiers at this point responded violently they stormed the 2 protesters, they arrested one, dragged him and forced him inside the jeep. The protester who escaped the arrest said "we shall not let this Jeep leave as long as this guy inside", the protester tried to block the path, but the soldiers were aware this time and forced everyone away.
One of the protesters tried to b lack the way, but not for long, he was chased and brought to the ground for a while, protesters and medics argued the Israeli police to let him go in an ambulance eventually, claiming he was badly injured.
Seeing all this made me think-for the first time- about the power of peaceful resistance in Palestine, the soldiers most of the time stood there a bit confused as for the first time, they are dealing with Palestinian protesters with no stones in their hands, they wanted to use the same old means, I could see the urge in the border police face to shot, yet he couldn't, their was no excuse to use such power, over an obviously unarmed civilian.
The soldier, and border police are used to deal the stones throwers, young men who can be easily listed under combatant, that can cause harms to the soldiers(the list of people who can be considered as a threat on the soldiers life is wide). In other hand Israeli police is more capable to suppress peaceful protest, but they don't operate in the west bank,....... maybe they will sometimes soon.
Yet, you can easily note, how noneffective the peaceful protest was(so the stone throwing), the soldiers could easily arrest them all in minutes, their were only 20 protester.. "maybe less" they were scared, or at least not welling to be arrested. after the water canon stand, there was no more action only 2 people were left to meet their fate, with the Jeep stand.
Those activist failed to understand, peaceful resistance is just like the armed one, need planing, need attacks plans as much as it need defiance mechanism, it's not enough to walk down the street with your hand behind your back, this can be stopped in a tear canister.
The people who adopt the peaceful resistance must maintain the same qualities an armed fighter poses, they must be willing to be arrested, beaten, and even shot dead to achieve their purposes. those qualities I didn't see among most of the activist who stood there.
In the end as someone believe in armed resistance, I think those peaceful resistance advocate have something to offer, we must give them the chance.. in the end, it can't get worse.
Final note, you can't throw stone and do/claim peaceful protest at the same time... those 2 don't work very well together.
Best
A
PS: The Palestinian as people still maintain their right to use any mean necessary to achieve their purposes of Independent state on their righteous land, and the return of the refugees.
