Nakba Day protests confront Israeli forces

May 20, 2013

The Nakba, literally, “the catastrophe,” is the name given to the massive deportation of more then 700,000 Palestinians from what became the State of Israel in 1948. Activists throughout historic Palestine marched, rallied, and confronted Israeli forces to commemorate that tragedy and to resist the ongoing Nakba–the continued displacement of Palestinians from their land. As a recent Badil statement asserts: “Instead of an event relegated to history, the Nakba continues into its 65th year… Ongoing forcible displacement targets Palestinians residing on both sides of the Green Line: in the 1967 occupied territory and on the Israeli side of the “1949 Armistice Line”, as well as those living in enforced exile. . . .

Israelis demolish Palestinian houses on the Mount of Olives

May 4, 2013

On Wednesday April 24, Israeli authorities demolished three Palestinian houses in the At Tur neighborhood on the Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem. The pretext, as usual, was that the owner had built illegally, though he had spent months applying for permits from the Jerusalem Municipality and provided all requested documentation. One of the structures demolished was an addition built to house the youngest generations of the 45-member Jaradat extended family, illustrating one of the basic quandaries facing East Jerusalem Palestinians: As families grow and children get married to start families of their own, where can they live if . . .

Palestine Marathon promotes ‘Right to Movement’

May 4, 2013

Under the banner of “Right to Movement”, 500 Palestinian and international athletes completed in the inaugural Palestine Marathon through the streets of Bethlehem, April 22, 2013. Article 13 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “Everyone has the right of freedom movement and residence within the border of each state.” Here, runners pass the Israeli separation wall on Hebron Road, once the main road from Jerusalem in the north through Bethlehem to Hebron in the south, now blocked by the wall surrounding Rachel’s Tomb and an Israeli military base. . . .

Rubber-coated steel bullets

April 15, 2013

A week ago this evening, my friend Mohammad Al-Azza (known to friends as Mousa) was shot in the face as he photographed Israeli forces invading Aida Refugee Camp near Bethlehem. At the time he was photographing the soldiers from a balcony, far from any stone-throwers or other potential “threats”. He has since undergone three surgeries to remove the bullet and reconstruct his shattered cheekbone. He was shot with a rubber-coated steel bullet, a weapon intended for crowd control, but frequently lethal—including three months ago when 15-year-old Salih al-Amarin was killed by such a bullet that penetrated his skull just a few meters from the spot where Mohammad was shot. . . .

Palestinian Christians bring protest to Palm Sunday procession

March 25, 2013

The annual Palm Sunday procession from the biblical town of Bethphage begins in a church that’s right next to a demolished Palestinian home. The signs of occupation don’t stop there: Israeli soldiers along the route, Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem—illegal under international law—and the bold protests of Palestinian Christians who will not accept the petty “privileges” granted by the occupier as a substitute for justice. See the full photo essay on +972, but here’s a snippet:

This Easter season, early reports indicate that Palestinian Christian communities from the northern West Bank had to cancel their Palm Sunday celebrations in . . .

Protest village greets Obama visit

March 21, 2013

As U.S. President Barack Obama arrived at Ben Gurion Airport, Palestinian activists returned to the E1 area to establish yet another protest village in the tradition of Bab Al-Shams and other similar actions in recent months. Organizers called the new village “Ahfad Younis” after the main character in the novel Bab Al-Shams (“Gate of the Sun”), the namesake of the first protest village in a wave of such actions this year. Activists targeted the area because of Israeli pledges to build some 4,000 new settlement units there, to which Western nations, including the U.S., have continually voiced their objections but taken no other substantive action . . .

Watching ‘Les Miserables’ in Palestine

March 16, 2013

It’s always dangerous to romanticize, well, anything. The reality of any liberation struggle is always more complex than the soaring themes of music and art. But I couldn’t help but feel chills of emotional resonance watching Les Miserables, especially “Do you hear the people sing?” while editing photos from Friday’s protests against the separation wall in Al Ma’sara and Beit Jala. . . .

Obama’s Coming to Bethlehem – Why Am I Not Excited?

March 11, 2013

I just found out the President Obama is coming to Bethlehem. Apparently the last time a U.S. president visited Bethlehem, the streets were shut to traffic—including pedestrians—well before and after the visit, so this could significantly disrupt life as usual here for a while. If that’s the case, I’m not expecting to catch a glimpse of him, let alone express my disappointment with his once hopeful, but now-faded vision. Also, WTF with the whole extrajudicial-execution-by-drone policy? It’s probably too much to hope that he would see this mural on the Israeli separation wall of his campaign slogan, also faded, . . .

A Brutal Arrest in Hebron

March 11, 2013

Following a recent demonstration against the occupation in Hebron [click here for the full photo essay on AIC], I witnessed an extremely brutal arrest of a young Palestinian man by the Israeli military. Another friend actually witnessed the beating the soldiers gave this guy before hauling him away. I just saw the aftermath, and heard his faint cries of “Allahu akbar” (God is greater) before he fell unconscious as they took him into a nearby military base next to an Israeli settlement in the heart of Hebron. The circumstances that led to his arrest are unclear, but such brutality is commonplace . . .

They Shoot Children, Don’t They?

March 1, 2013

Friends evacuate 13-year-old Mohammad al-Kurdi, who was injured by live ammunition shot by Israeli forces during clashes in Aida Refugee Camp in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, February 25, 2013.

In my last post I mentioned recent shootings in the Bethlehem area of two Palestinian teenagers severely wounded by Israeli forces. I was present for one of the shootings, which took place in Aida Refugee Camp. I was on a rooftop overlooking the situation, and posted this account along with a photo essay for the AIC: “In the West Bank town of Bethlehem, youth threw stones and Molotov cocktails at the separation wall surrounding Rachel’s Tomb near Aida Refugee Camp. Israeli forces responded with tear gas, rubber bullets, and eventually, live ammunition. One boy, 13-year-old Mohammad al-Kurdi, was struck in the back and leg causing hemorrhaging in his liver and lungs.” . . .