Words from Palestine

As we have been very busy with our work on the ground there hasn’t been time to keep up with writing about it! However, today will, hopefully, afford some time to give readers information on what has been happening with IWPS in Palestine.

On July 10 we joined Palestinians and other internationals at the weekly Saturday demonstration in the village of Iraq Burin, protesting the theft of village land and water by Zionist settlers . This is the same village where 2 young Palestinians were executed during a demonstration on March 20, 2010.

The village of Iraq Burin is situated on what I can best describe as the cliff of a high mountain. One has to see it to appreciate the spectacular geography. There is only one road leading up to the village and the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) had set up a road block at the beginning of the incline to the village. Palestinians asked us to accompany them to a demonstration at this roadblock. We were informed that the village had been declared a “closed military zone” and we would not be able to enter the village for the demonstration.

We met in Nablus and traveled the short distance to the road block in a big pink bus with about 50 Palestinians and internationals. We attempted to pass the road block but were threatened with arrest so we held a peaceful rally and sit in on the road for about 2 hours.
Afterwards, most of the demonstrators returned to Nablus but I and my team mate bypassed the road block by moving out of site of the soldiers and walking up the mountain. Several other activists had already done the same, and they assisted us in staying on a rough donkey path via cell phones. However, the terrain was extremely difficult and we lost the path about three quarters way up the mountain. Nonetheless, we made it (a bit winded and dehydrated!) to the village in time for the demonstration.

As we accompanied the villagers down through their land toward the spring that they have used for agriculture and potable water for hundreds of years and are now denied access to, we were met with a considerable amount of tear gas from the IOF.

The land is very dry now and tear gas canisters caused a brush fire which villagers had to put out amidst being fired at with more tear gas. One young man was injured, either by falling on the rugged terrain or being hit by a tear gas canister. He was carried away from the scene but later was walking on his own. Other than that there were no serious injuries.

The IOF maintained the checkpoint through out the day. We were prepared to spend the night in the village if the villagers felt threatened, but they were calm and didn’t feel an international presence was required.
The previous week 3 internationals were arrested as they left the village through the main road, so we left the village the same way we entered, down the donkey path.