School in a Cage
From a meeting the headmaster of the coeducational High School in Burin We arrive in the schoolyard, surrounded by big metal fences. Young boys are playing basketball. A loud “How are you? What is your name? Where are you from?”…
Olive Harvest – Impressions of Burin
During the last days we have been picking olives with different families in Burin, a Palestinian village south of Nablus. Our time in the fields was spiced with cooking Arabic coffee and frying eggs over small fires, eating homemade hummus…
Yitzhar Settlers Attack Urif Olive Harvesters
IWPS in Palestine 2017 Urif is a Palestinian village located 13 kilometres south of Nablus. Urif has the bad luck to have an unwanted neighbour; the Yitzhar illegal settlement, with radicalized Jewish Orthodox residents known for their brutality toward all…
Death of Fouad Eid, a Wonderful Activist and a Friend
A few days ago devastating news arrived via Facebook about the violent death of a young guy form Burin called Fouad Eid. I met Fouad in Palestine in October’15 when he coordinated the international presence of ISM/IWPS volunteers in…
Volunteer voices: The olive harvest
My daughter says “you are writing about the olive harvest again”. Firstly, for me that is what I am doing most days, but secondly it is a key economic, social and cultural event for Palestinian communities at this time of…
The battles of Burin
People in Burin have a very difficult life surrounded by the illegal settlements Yitzhar and Bracha. What I was not aware of until yesterday, when we again returned to help with the olive harvest, was that there is also an additional, small…
Hares boys: an update
On the 28th of January 2016, five teenage boys from Hares were officially sentenced to 15 years imprisonment following an accident in which a settler’s car was involved. The only evidence to convict these 16-year old boys was confessions written…
Infamous settler causes disruption in Urif
Last Tuesday both the IWPS team and ISM team were harvesting olives in separate areas when we received a phone call telling us that there had been trouble with settlers from the illegal settlement Yitzhar and Israeli Occupation Forces…
Home Invasions in Deir Istiya
Whatever the orders were, there was no justification for a home invasion of this manner, against the quiet civilians in Deir Istiya. The Israeli military is there to remind Palestinians that they are not safe in their own homes.
West Bank Traffic Stops
Fadi was on his way home to Hares from a job interview in Jericho earlier this week, when he was pulled over by Israeli police for a minor traffic infraction – momentarily crossing the centre line of a highway shared by Palestinians and illegal settlers. While one may reasonably expect a verbal warning or small fine for such a minor violation, that wasn’t the case. Instead, Fadi was arrested and taken to a police station in Ari’el settlement, where he was detained for several hours. In addition, both his vehicle and his drivers permit were impounded, meaning that he has neither the right nor the means for transportation, until his possessions are released in a month’s time.
Two Injured with Live Ammunition during the Fifth Anniversary of Protests in Kufr Qaddom
Today, the last Friday in Ramadan, marked the fifth anniversary of Kufr Qaddom’s demonstrations. The Israeli military were present in the village and firing rubber coated bullets prior to the start of the demonstration. The soldiers continued to use full force against protestors, using high velocity barricade penetrating tear gas grenades, and live ammunition. Two young men were injured with live ammunition. One 15-year-old boy took a .22 Caliber bullet to the stomach. He entered surgery in Nablus at approximately 3 PM to remove the bullet. In addition a 19-year-old was hit in the lower leg. The injury is not serious, but still a cause for concern: the young man in question had been released from jail less than a month ago, after he was arrested for his participation in the weekly protests.
Deir Istiya: No Room to Move
Deir Istiya continues to face restrictions on movement, and access to agricultural roads. Today, villagers reported continued construction on the settler road that surrounds the village, and the introduction of a flying checkpoint at the village entrance.
Water Apartheid in Qarawah Bani Hassan
Qarawah Bani Hassan, Sarta and Biddya, with a combined population of approximately 30,000 people, depend on one 8 inch pipe, designed to deliver 145 cubic meters of water per hour. During the winter months when water tables are higher, the water flows at full capacity, ensuring coverage to the entire network. However for the past two months, the amount has been restricted to between 50 and 70 cubic meters per hour. With such a small amount in the pipes, the pressure is too low for the water to reach many of the houses at the end of the system. Qarawah, which sits at the highest elevation out of the three villages, suffers the most from the low water pressure: no house in the village has received water in over a week. The most remote properties have gone dry for over a month.
Ramadan Tov: Don’t Eat Israeli Products for Iftar
“Ramadan Tov” read the posters, held by supporters of the Palestinian internal boycott, about forty of whom had gathered for a demonstration in the West Bank town of Salfit. The poster featured a picture of an Israeli soldier, in full combat gear, holding out a tray filled with household goods: Ein Gedi bottled water, Tnuva yogurt, Tapuzina juice. The use of the word “Tov”, Hebrew for “happy”, underscored the meaning of the posters: if you buy food for Ramadan from Israeli companies, the profits would go back into Israeli society, and tax coffers, and eventually benefit the occupying army.
IWPS returns to Deir Istiya
An IWPS team is back on the ground in Deir Istiya. The jasmine trees are blooming, and the grapes are almost ready to eat! However not all is well. On our first night back, Rizziq abu Nasser, a local poet, activist, and friend of the IWPS laid out the three biggest challenges in Deir Istiya today.
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