BETHLEHEM NEWS VOLUME 2 SATURDAY NOV 1, 2008

BETHLEHEM NEWS VOLUME 2 SATURDAY NOV 1, 2008

CORRECTION to error in last report:
By the end of 2007 there were 120 illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank excluding East Jerusalem. ( see www.btselem.org)
There are another 16 illegal Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem ( The Civic Coalition to defend Palestinian Rights in Jerusalem) with ongoing property confiscation. Additionally, there are 220 illegal "outposts" (www.arij.org. Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem). Outposts typically spawn from the illegal settlements, many of which began as outposts themselves.

NARRATIVE: Olive picking in Hebron:

On October 31^st we traveled to Hebron and met up with ISM (International Solidarity Movement - see * below for more) volunteers to accompany farmers in the olive harvest.

By shared taxi and on foot we arrived at our Palestinian farmer's field sandwiched between a large multistory home illegally occupied by Israeli settlers and the formidable and illegal Israeli settlement of Qiryat Arba. (see** below for more) In order to reach the field we had to pass by the occupied home, easily identified by the dozen or so Israeli flags, through an adjacent Palestinian cemetery. Most of the head stones had been smashed and covered in blue paint as a result of settler vandalism. (see *** below for more)

Almost as soon as we arrived, Israeli police showed up and said we had to leave. We were a group of 8 internationals (ages 20ish to 60ish) along with extended Palestinian family members, including young children. The police said the farmer could stay but we had to go. As a few of us engaged with the police the rest continued to pick. Stating that he had orders from above, the head policeman demanded that we get down from the trees. We asked for the paper stating we had to stop. He then said the army was coming. We asked, "Do you really think we are some kind of threat?" They said "No." Then the head policeman stated we had to leave for our own safety. "Safety from who?" we asked.

We never received an answer but of course the only threat to our safety and that of the farmer would have come from the Israeli settlers. Somewhere in this exchange one of the police told us that the only place he could feel safe was in here in Israel. The cruel irony being that he was the one heavily armed and he was not in fact in Israel but standing on Palestinian land.

A couple of us challenged the police about what Israel is doing to the Palestinians and how this is being viewed negatively by more and more people throughout the world.. We noted that apartheid and occupation did not make anyone safer. Finally, certainly more annoyed than convinced, they told us to just go pick our olives. Which we did!

The police stayed for an hour or so chatting and smoking in their group. The army never came. The sun was pleasant, we were given a delicious meal in the field prepared by the family and we managed to harvest 8 or 9 trees before we had to head back to Bethlehem.

WHY ACCOMPANY AN OLIVE HARVEST?
Olive farmers and their families face increasing obstacles with each year's harvest. Israel's persistent construction of the illegal apartheid wall steals and/or separates Palestinian farmers from their lands. Farmers with land that has not been destroyed or confiscated by Israel (for settlements, the apartheid wall or by-pass roads) can face time consuming detours and/or be forced to apply for permission from the Israeli military to reach their land. Farmers and their families also face violent and erratic behavior by some Israeli settlers. The idea of accompaniment – similar to accompaniment projects in Central America - is to provide an international presence of witness and hopefully deterrence of attacks or harassment.

FOR MORE:

*ISM maintains a house/office in Hebron where international accompaniment of the harvest (as well as other activities of nonviolent resistance to the occupation) is coordinated by Palestinians.

**All Israel settlements in the West Bank (including Jerusalem) violate international law. Given the name "settlers," they could be more accurately described as "colonizers" or "invaders," they receive subsidies by the Israeli government (with the help of US tax dollars) to live in these illegal settlements. http://www.btselem.org/english/Settlements/Migration.aspand

***We hope to be able to blog soon so that we can share our pictures