Hello there
Well I'm back home and already missing it out there, colleagues are being attacked in Hebron as a result, I guess, of the Israeli High Court Order, which the soldiers are already breaching. Palestinian contacts that we have out there are being attacked by polce and soldiers are detaining and blindfolding internationals out there.
Everyone I've spoken to who can be put in the broadly 'pro-Israeli' category, when I've shown them the evidence of Hebron has said 'well I don't agree with that and most Jews don't'. However for these people are not using their own resources to be there, if it was simply themselves wanting to be there they would have been chucked out a long time ago. The whole mechanism of the state is used to protect these people and keep them there. The army is the most obvious, but so are the fact that various ministries subsidise these settlements etc. etc. Israeli, which to the best of my knowledge, has the most proportional system of government in the world. It wouldn't take much to make sure that parties that support these initiatives in Hebron were voted out of power.
Internationals will keep going there and protecting the local Palestinian population, not just in Hebron but all over Palestine. No doubt its only a matter of time before another international is hurt or killed . One day hopefully these particular Jewish settlers here will be removed from Hebron. God knows where they will move - most Jews in Israel are not particuarly keen to have them living next door and Palestinians even less so!
Showing posts with label arrest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label arrest. Show all posts
Monday, January 1, 2007
Back home
Hello there
Well I'm back home and already missing it out there, colleagues are being attacked in Hebron as a result, I guess, of the Israeli High Court Order, which the soldiers are already breaching. Palestinian contacts that we have out there are being attacked by polce and soldiers are detaining and blindfolding internationals out there.
Everyone I've spoken to who can be put in the broadly 'pro-Israeli' category, when I've shown them the evidence of Hebron has said 'well I don't agree with that and most Jews don't'. However for these people are not using their own resources to be there, if it was simply themselves wanting to be there they would have been chucked out a long time ago. The whole mechanism of the state is used to protect these people and keep them there. The army is the most obvious, but so are the fact that various ministries subsidise these settlements etc. etc. Israeli, which to the best of my knowledge, has the most proportional system of government in the world. It wouldn't take much to make sure that parties that support these initiatives in Hebron were voted out of power.
Internationals will keep going there and protecting the local Palestinian population, not just in Hebron but all over Palestine. No doubt its only a matter of time before another international is hurt or killed . One day hopefully these particular Jewish settlers here will be removed from Hebron. God knows where they will move - most Jews in Israel are not particuarly keen to have them living next door and Palestinians even less so!
Well I'm back home and already missing it out there, colleagues are being attacked in Hebron as a result, I guess, of the Israeli High Court Order, which the soldiers are already breaching. Palestinian contacts that we have out there are being attacked by polce and soldiers are detaining and blindfolding internationals out there.
Everyone I've spoken to who can be put in the broadly 'pro-Israeli' category, when I've shown them the evidence of Hebron has said 'well I don't agree with that and most Jews don't'. However for these people are not using their own resources to be there, if it was simply themselves wanting to be there they would have been chucked out a long time ago. The whole mechanism of the state is used to protect these people and keep them there. The army is the most obvious, but so are the fact that various ministries subsidise these settlements etc. etc. Israeli, which to the best of my knowledge, has the most proportional system of government in the world. It wouldn't take much to make sure that parties that support these initiatives in Hebron were voted out of power.
Internationals will keep going there and protecting the local Palestinian population, not just in Hebron but all over Palestine. No doubt its only a matter of time before another international is hurt or killed . One day hopefully these particular Jewish settlers here will be removed from Hebron. God knows where they will move - most Jews in Israel are not particuarly keen to have them living next door and Palestinians even less so!
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
detained
Well today I was detained by the army and police. The soldiers were not doing their duty as set by Israeli courts to escort the children through the Tel Rumeida settlement and I filmed this from the roof of our apartment. The soldiers called me down and said this was not allowed I was in big trouble etcetera etcetera. I asked why and I was told it was because I could see what their cameras could see! Complete rubbish and no rule saying this I'm sure, they were just making trouble. Anyway I wait around, and ask what exactly I am under, and I'm told I am being detained and if I try and run away i will be arrested.
Can I go to the loo? I promise when looking out the window I'll keep my eyes closed so I can't see what your military cameras can see. When I came down again I asked them to explain the rules
"Shut up this is controlled military zone yeah? We don't need to explain ourselves"
"So how am I supposed to know if you don't explain what I can and cannot do"
No reply. When delving further I got to the usual
"These are the orders"
"It always is isn't it."
Anyway the police turned up (45 minutes later) the soldiers and police argued, largely I suspect, over the fact that, of course, I hadn't done anything wrong. The police asked for my passport and for the camera, which was in the apartment. I said they could only see the tape and I wanted my passport back first. They accused me of wanting to run away, whenI pointed out that there was only one entrance to the block of flats I asked how they expected me to do this? By jumping off the roof? I felt quite confident at this stage as if they arrested me they wouldn't have anything to go on. Anyway I showed them the footage which is perfectly legal - I didn't film any military checkpoints.
I then asked if the police would now tell the soldiers after seeing this footage of them neglecting their duty to tell them to do it.
"No, its not your job to tell them what to do"
"Well why don't you tell them?"
"Its not your job to tell them"
"Yes so I want you to"
ad nauseam
Anyway then moved onto whether I can film from roof
"Yes"
"Will you tell the soldiers that? They don't seem to think so"
"Well they don't know the rules"
"Maybe you can refresh them on the rules of taking the kids up and the fact I'm allowed to film from the roof"
"No"
So I did, the soldier comes over, they argue, and then I'm told I'm not allowed to film from the roof
"Even in the direction of the city? There are some nice landscape views?"
This was allowed then it wasn't, and so on and so forth.
When I asked if I can have this in writing they said they could take me down the police station and get it in writing. Needless to say I declined this offer and decided that I wouldn't push the matter anymore!
Anyway, final outcome is we are allegedly not allowed to film from the roof, if we do I will get arrested. I felt tempted to go do it straight away but common sense prevailed.
It was only after that that I felt really rather angry, I thought it was a complete joke and its simply one soldier just trying to feel important. But anyway I'm now in Jerusalem for a night and have met up with some very interesting people from university for a well earned drink and interesting talk. Some more touristy things tomorrow hopefully! And then back to it all. Though possibly somewhere else, worringly the soldiers all know my name, some are being very very polite as well. I can't help but feel suspicious!
Can I go to the loo? I promise when looking out the window I'll keep my eyes closed so I can't see what your military cameras can see. When I came down again I asked them to explain the rules
"Shut up this is controlled military zone yeah? We don't need to explain ourselves"
"So how am I supposed to know if you don't explain what I can and cannot do"
No reply. When delving further I got to the usual
"These are the orders"
"It always is isn't it."
Anyway the police turned up (45 minutes later) the soldiers and police argued, largely I suspect, over the fact that, of course, I hadn't done anything wrong. The police asked for my passport and for the camera, which was in the apartment. I said they could only see the tape and I wanted my passport back first. They accused me of wanting to run away, whenI pointed out that there was only one entrance to the block of flats I asked how they expected me to do this? By jumping off the roof? I felt quite confident at this stage as if they arrested me they wouldn't have anything to go on. Anyway I showed them the footage which is perfectly legal - I didn't film any military checkpoints.
I then asked if the police would now tell the soldiers after seeing this footage of them neglecting their duty to tell them to do it.
"No, its not your job to tell them what to do"
"Well why don't you tell them?"
"Its not your job to tell them"
"Yes so I want you to"
ad nauseam
Anyway then moved onto whether I can film from roof
"Yes"
"Will you tell the soldiers that? They don't seem to think so"
"Well they don't know the rules"
"Maybe you can refresh them on the rules of taking the kids up and the fact I'm allowed to film from the roof"
"No"
So I did, the soldier comes over, they argue, and then I'm told I'm not allowed to film from the roof
"Even in the direction of the city? There are some nice landscape views?"
This was allowed then it wasn't, and so on and so forth.
When I asked if I can have this in writing they said they could take me down the police station and get it in writing. Needless to say I declined this offer and decided that I wouldn't push the matter anymore!
Anyway, final outcome is we are allegedly not allowed to film from the roof, if we do I will get arrested. I felt tempted to go do it straight away but common sense prevailed.
It was only after that that I felt really rather angry, I thought it was a complete joke and its simply one soldier just trying to feel important. But anyway I'm now in Jerusalem for a night and have met up with some very interesting people from university for a well earned drink and interesting talk. Some more touristy things tomorrow hopefully! And then back to it all. Though possibly somewhere else, worringly the soldiers all know my name, some are being very very polite as well. I can't help but feel suspicious!
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Update and note on soldiers
The police have let Mary go after 4 hours, after threatening to deport her and arrest her. Which is good. Mary quite rightly was trying to make sure the children were allowed through the olive groves. This route is actually the route that they are legally obliged to take and actually to tell me that it is Israeli land is wrong. I don't think the settler children are even allowed there. Apparently they have set fire to bits of the field but this went out. I'll have a look tomorrow and find out what happened.
On another note the soldiers around here, with one or two exceptions, have been much much politer recently than they were to start with. I feel most of the time we have a mutual dislike of the settlers. This is a definite improvement but I still dread to think that if these are 'not bad' what the worse are.
On another note the soldiers around here, with one or two exceptions, have been much much politer recently than they were to start with. I feel most of the time we have a mutual dislike of the settlers. This is a definite improvement but I still dread to think that if these are 'not bad' what the worse are.
What a day
Well what a day!
EAPPI the organisation that usually takes the school run in the morning was not here so we took the children to school at 7am which is a little early by my standards! We thought it passed off without incident but it turns out a teacher was hit by a rock and has now gone to hospital, the rocks that were thrown include this one with my hand by the side to show how large it is. In the afternoon from the same window as the rock and apples were thrown eggs were thrown at me and the children as I walked them home. The soldiers are quite good here and asked if I had seen the woman who threw it. They dislike being here I think for the most part.
Before this though we had gone up the hill as there were problems, Israeli children are currently on holiday and were having some kind of picnic going on in the olive groves which the Palestinians used to own but the Israelis seem to have 'acquired'. Anyway some of the children walking home from another school normally pass through this to get home. Today, however they were not allowed and despite us trying they had to go the very long way around which takes a lot longer. We phoned the police who said they should be allowed through but they were not allowed - the soldiers are scared of the settlers in effect and wouldn't allow the children through. We also called the DCO who said they would 'sort it out' but being the DCO didn't. The children's picnic was quite a site, about 50 children and 8-10 soldiers at any one time plus one settler who had a gun. Quite what this does to you growing up in this situation (and for the Palestinian kids who watched) I don't know.
On top of that I sat at a checkpoint with other activists for about 40 minutes with aman they were detaining for no reason that I could work out, apparently he 'wanted to be there'.
Now Mary, the local 75 year old activist has been detained, we are not sure if she is going to be arrested yet - on the charges of hitting a policeman apparently! We've called the police, the embassy and a few other groups to see what is happening but more news when it comes.
It strikes me that most of the soldiers don't really want to be here, in fact I would think that the majority of Israelis don't really want this settlement. Anyway Hanukkah is upon us, the children are on holiday and I'm sure this is going to the case for the next few days. I think its only a matter of time before someone here gets killed, not this week or next week but in the long run I think this place will simmer over, probably at a time when Israeli-Palestine violence is higher than it currently is now instead of the idiotic Palestine on Palestine violence at present.
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