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Sharing eyewitness stories of Israelis and Palestinians working nonviolently for a just peace and an end to the occupation of Palestine

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In this moving blog, EA Philippa writes about her meeting with Umm Nasser, who shared her story of family, love, home life - and non-violent resistance, under the challenging conditions of the #Israeli #military #occupation and #settler violence.⠀ ⠀ #Palestine #Ramallah #WestBank #Israel #Farmland #Occupation #Freedom #HumanRights #InternationalLaw #Testimonies #PhotoDocumentary #TravelBlog #Women #HumansofPalestine #PeopleofPalestine
The Israeli military state that the construction of the separation barrier is a security measure and began as a direct response to the attacks by Palestinians against Israeli citizens in the Second Intifada. Israel, like all states have a legitimate right to defence and protection of their population. However, the route of the barrier, built mostly on Palestinian land, was found to be illegal in 2005 by the International Court of Justice. EA Hannah's blog, about Palestinian farmer Jalal, explores some of the ways in which the barrier heavily infringes upon the rights of Palestinians and how the unpredictable rules impact their lives. ⠀ ⠀ "In order to pass through the agricultural gate Jalal must obtain permission from the Israeli government. When the barrier was first built every person in the village was automatically issued with a permit to enter the land, whether or not they owned land there themselves. But each year access to land becomes more difficult. Now Jalal has to be able to prove the land belonged to his grandfather, and that he is the rightful owner. An area of 13 acres can be difficult to farm alone, so Jalal must apply for permits to take workers through to his own land, and these are becoming harder to obtain. If Jalal wants to take his tractor, he must also ask for permission. If he wants to take small plants through the gate, or water pipes for irrigation, or plastic to cover his greenhouses, he must also ask for permission. Sometimes, even if Jalal has obtained permission from the Israeli office, the soldiers on the gate still tell him he is not allowed."⠀ ⠀ Read the full blog at eyewitnessblogs.com⠀ ⠀ #Palestine #Israel #WestBank #Freedom #Occupation #Nonviolence #Separation #SeparationBarrier #Wall #Accesstomovement #accessloliveliehood #Farmland #agriculture #internationalcommunity #internationalhumanitarianlaw #humanrightslaw #internationallaw #Testimonies #HumansofPalestine #PeopleofPalestine #Peace #PictureoftheDay #Photooftheday #photodocumentary #travelphotography
Suhaila and Naim live 100 metres from their farmland. However, because of the Israeli occupation of Palestine, they must travel 20 kilometres to get there.⠀ ⠀ Since 2002 Israel has been building a separation barrier between Israel and Palestine. However, the route of this barrier does not follow the internationally recognised border; 85% of the route runs inside the West Bank, effectively annexing Palestinian land to Israel.⠀ ⠀ In 2015 and 2016, Israel extended the separation barrier through the Cremisan Valley near Bethlehem, cutting Palestinian families off from their agricultural land. Suhaila and Naim, an elderly couple in the area, live around 100 metres from their land, but the barrier now blocks their access to it.⠀ ⠀ #Palestine #Israel #WestBank #Jerusalem #Bethlehem #Freedom #Occupation #Nonviolence #Separation #SeparationBarrier #Wall #Accesstomovement #accessloliveliehood #Farmland #internationalcommunity #internationalhumanitarianlaw #humanrightslaw #internationallaw #testimonies #HumansofPalestine #PeopleofPalestine #Peace #PictureoftheDay
"Suleiman has a sparkle in his eye, a ready smile, and plenty to say! He is a Bedouin, born in 1948 near Abad in the Negev desert, now in Israel. The Bedouins of the Negev lived nomadic lives in tents, following the grazing with their herds. But Suleiman says that “All knew the boundaries of their land.” ⠀ ⠀ He tells us that, when the state of Israel was formed in May 1948, the Bedouin were given the choice of staying in Israel (thereby becoming Israeli citizens, with the usual duty to do military service) or leaving. His tribe, the Jahalin, chose to leave and thus became part of the nakba (catastrophe), when many Palestinians fled and became refugees. Suleiman’s family members still have refugee status. He says: “In some ways nakba was not a big deal for us. We were nomads, used to moving about. We did not have houses or crops. But what we lost was our freedom and our way of life.”⠀ ⠀ In this #Eyewitnessblog, EA Penny tells the moving story of Suleiman, the Palestinian shepherd ⠀ https://buff.ly/2OwWJoY⠀ ⠀ #Palestine #Israel #WestBank #Jerusalem #KhanalAhmar # SouthHebronHills #Negev #Jahalin #Desert #Nomads #Refugees #Freedom #Occupation #Nonviolence #Resistance #Shepherd #Bedouin #Nakba #displacement #internationalcommunity #internationalhumanitarianlaw #humanrightslaw #internationallaw #testimonies #HumansofPalestine #PeopleofPalestine
The Aida #refugee camp, home to about 6,400 people, sits right next to the separation barrier in #Bethlehem. Those who live there experience regular raids by Israeli security forces. Arrests, even of children, are common, and soldiers will sometimes use tear gas, sound bombs and rubber-coated steel bullets. As one dancer put it, “If I’m not in Alrowwad I’d be in a prison like most of my friends, or I’d be killed.”⠀ ⠀ The performances are an opportunity for these young people to share their stories of life under occupation. Motasem says, “They tell us ‘laugh’, ‘scream’, ‘cry’, ‘go there’, ‘stay there’. They keep controlling you and you can’t do anything but when you finish the performance you see yourself as different, like a special person.” Ismael, who is 18, says, “It is something from inside, when you hear the music your insides start working, so when you come here, the thing that’s inside you, you can take it out in a nice way.”⠀ ⠀ In this #EyeWitnessblog, EA Helen visits the Alrowwad Cultural And Arts Society in Aida #Refugee Camp, #Bethlehem and learns how these young #dancers are using the arts as a form of non-violent resistance https://eyewitnessblogs.com/2018/11/07/dance-is-our-resistance/ #Palestine #WestBank #Bethlehem #nonviolence #resistance #occupation #dance #movement #refugees #youth #youngpeople #PeopleofPalestine #HumansofPalestine #peace
After many years of legal contestation over who owns the land, the court found in favour of an Israeli man who says he bought it in 1972. The court then ruled that the family pay 18 years of rent retrospectively to him... The next time we visited the family was living in two canvass tents... In this #EyewitnessBlog, EA Adrian reports on a family who have recently had to surrender their land to an Israeli man and move into a tent. eyewitnessblogs.com #Palestine #Israel #WestBank #eastjerusalem #Jerusalem #humanrights #refugees #displacement

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