Tornado Alley (PROG)

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Israeli forces open fire on Apartheid Wall protestors, wounding five
Report, ISM, 28 July 2003


Moving towards the fence despite tear gas thrown by Israeli
soldiers (Photo: ISM, 2003)

Today activists from the International Solidarity Movement, working with local Palestinians and Israelis succeeded
in opening a small but symbolic hole in the Wall of Apartheid in the village of Anin, west of the city of Jenin.


Israeli soldiers waiting for
marchers to approach
(Photo: ISM, 2003)

The Israeli Occupation Forces responded by opening fire with rubber bullets on members of the International Solidarity Movement who were taking part in a non-violent demonstration against the Israeli Apartheid Wall [termed the "security fence" by the Israeli authorities].

Five ISM activists were injured by the rubber bullets fired at close range by the IOF from behind the fence the activists were attempting to tear down. Two were hospitalised. Several other Israeli and ISM activists were injured by sound grenades exploding in close proximity, or by tear gas canisters fired directly at their bodies.


Thomas is injured (Photo: ISM, 2003)

The demonstration was called by local Palestinians from Anin and the surrounding villages, of whom approximately 250-300 participated together with 50 ISM and 30 Israeli activists. The goal of the demonstration was to symbolically force open the gate in the Apartheid Wall, which separates the village of Anin from over 11,000 dunams/2,750 acres of its land.

chart]electronicintifada.net/artman2/uploads/1/ism6.jpg
(Photo: ISM, 2003)

Activists withstood tear gas and rubber bullets long enough to force open the gate. The activists had intended to also pull down segments of the fence. However, due to the injuries the group sustained this action had to be aborted.

The officially stated reason for building the ’security fence’ is to prevent the unauthorised passage of Palestinians out of the West Bank. However, the route of the so-called ’security fence’ does not follow the internationally recognised pre-1967 borders of the State of Israel. The Israeli authorities refuse to publish the official path of their ’security fence’.


Palestinian villagers talk to
soldiers behind barbed wire
(Photo: ISM, 2003)

However, research carried out by the Israeli human rights group, B’Tselem, the planned route for the fence will isolate a number of Palestinian villages and rob a great many more of their farmland. Thereby, enabling the acquisition of even more Palestinian land by the Israeli state. B’Tselem estimates that the Apartheid Wall will cause direct harm to at least 210,000 Palestinians in 67 cities, towns and villages.

The action in Anin is one of many planned by Palestinians living in the affected areas to oppose this internationally condemned injustice being perpetrated on the long suffering Palestinian people in the name of security.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article1759.shtml

Activist confronts Netanyahu at Washington conference
Press release, CODEPINK, 10 November 2009


CODEPINK activist Midge Potts.

The following press release was issued by CODEPINK on 9 November 2009:

At the Annual Conference of the United Jewish Federations in Washington, DC, during the plenary session by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, CODEPINK peace activist Midge Potts stood up with a banner that said "End the Siege of Gaza" and shouted "Stop the blockade of Gaza, Shame on you, Netanyahu." She was dragged out of the meeting by security guards.

"When I heard that Netanyahu was speaking in Washington, DC, I felt compelled to do something," said Potts, a Navy veteran, resident of Springfield, Missouri and candidate for US Senate. "Netanyahu's Washington visit comes just after our Congress overwhelmingly passed a resolution rejecting the Goldstone report, a UN report that aimed to hold Israel accountable for its actions during the 22-day invasion of Gaza that left over 1,400 dead. As an American whose government is giving free rein to Israel's war crimes and is paying -- through our taxes -- for the bombs and bullets that are killing Palestinians, I had to stand up. I hope my symbolic action will show the people of Palestine that there are many Americans who believe in human rights for all and are determined to change our government's policy to reflect these values."

During his talk, PM Netanyahu lauded the Israeli army, saying it was "as moral as any army on earth" and thanked both President Obama and the US Congress for rejecting the Goldstone report. "It is appalling to us, as peace activists, that Israel committed such atrocities against the people of Gaza and that the US Government is trying to cover up those crimes. As defenders of human rights, we must stand up and demand accountability."

As part of CODEPINK's commitment to human rights, it is working with a broad coalition to organize, in the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, a massive march on 31 December from inside Gaza to the Israeli border. The March calls on Israel to lift the inhumane siege that is keeping 1.5 million people imprisoned. Already, participants have signed up from 32 countries. They include writers (American Alice Walker), actors (Syrian Duraid Lahham), members of Parliament (from France to the Philippines), diplomats (from Japan to the Netherlands), as well as doctors, lawyers, professors and students.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10886.shtml