settlers and Israeli military interrupt the Olive Harvest. (Photo: Badia Dwaik)
Saturday was the gathering of many students from Al-Quds Open University, local families and Youth Against Settlements for the annual olive harvesting in Tel Al-Rumeda, Hebron.
The event was held in the land surrounding the Al- Sumood Centre on the beautiful hill overlooking the city. The coordinator of the youth movement and member of the council of students Murad Amro, invited the collection of students, who arrived in their droves, donning Palestinian state scarves and optimistic excitement.
Youth Against Settlements (YAS) are a grassroots organisation who’s main objective is to engage the community in non-violent resistance, actions and to support and protect the local community and families against the abuse and provocations they endure daily from the settlers and Israeli Occupation Force (IOF), who are illegally residing in the centre of the city. YAS involve the locals in many community events, from teaching international languages, training in media to life skills and protests, one of which involved changing the name of Shuhada to Apartheid Street.
Olive harvesting is an ancient tradition and one which not only benefits Palestinians through stimulating local economy and supporting families in their steadfastness, but furthermore since the occupation of the country, it has political value. Since 2000, 1.3 million olive trees have been burnt, cut down and destroyed, so therefore it is of upmost importance for locals and internationals to support the families and to protect their land from such attacks.
settlers
Today started in a celebratory tone, a peaceful and defiant gathering of students and activists from YAS with families from the local community. Upon congregating in front of the centre, they were quickly dispersed into groups, each focussing on the olive trees in the surrounding area, a social event which included many men, women and children. However this was stopped short when the settlers arrived on their land with the IOF.
The abuse the Palestinians endured today was tantamount to that which the locals put up with daily, but the most important factor is that they were not isolated. The abuses included but were not inclusive to the following:
– A group of settler children gathered to throw stones at a family collecting olives from the bottom of the hill. Upon confrontation by a member of YAS, the head of the settlements Baruch Marzel snatched the Palestinian flag from him, threw it to the ground and stamped on it.
– The activist who confronted him endured a torent of abuse. When others tried to film this, they were aggressively shoved away by the army and told to shut up and leave.
– The IOF in one instance confiscated an internationals passport, taking it from her sight and not explaining why.
– Baruch Marzel ordered an Israeli police officer to confiscate the youths ID’s and detain them outside for fifteen minutes without explanation. When confronted by international ISMers and activists they responded by stating that having a gathering on the land was illegal. One officer commented that according to them he was God and to shut up and go away as they are on his land.
– The IOF followed a student, provoked him and performed a body search, when internationals intervened, they pushed them away and wouldn’t allow the photographers to film them.
– Two young settlers entered the Palestinians land. A member of YAS asked the soldiers to take them away as it is forbidden to enter without permission. The children refused and fought the soldiers.
– They invited Baruch Marzel to provoke the youths in a non-direct way which ultimately would prevent them from olive harvesting.
In the midst of these violent and abusive acts by the IOF and settlers, the youths showed their steadfastness, optimism and sense of community in the face of their oppressors, by not pertaining to provocations but rather engaging in non-voilent resistance, from singing to upholding a sense of camaraderie and recording these abuses.
YAS will announce all upcoming actions and olive harvesting in the coming days. Please check the website www.youthagainstsettlements.org or facebook youth against settlements.
Badia Dwaik is Deputy Coordinator of Youth Against Settlements.
http://qumsiyeh.org/mahmouddarwish/
Record!
I am an Arab
And my identity card is number fifty thousand
I have eight children
And the ninth is coming after a summer
Will you be angry?
Record!
I am an Arab
Employed with fellow workers at a quarry
I have eight children
I get them bread
Garments and books
from the rocks..
I do not supplicate charity at your doors
Nor do I belittle myself at the footsteps of your chamber
So will you be angry?
Record!
I am an Arab
I have a name without a title
Patient in a country
Where people are enraged
My roots
Were entrenched before the birth of time
And before the opening of the eras
Before the pines, and the olive trees
And before the grass grew
My father.. descends from the family of the plow
Not from a privileged class
And my grandfather..was a farmer
Neither well-bred, nor well-born!
Teaches me the pride of the sun
Before teaching me how to read
And my house is like a watchman’s hut
Made of branches and cane
Are you satisfied with my status?
I have a name without a title!
Record!
I am an Arab
You have stolen the orchards of my ancestors
And the land which I cultivated
Along with my children
And you left nothing for us
Except for these rocks..
So will the State take them
As it has been said?!
Therefore!
Record on the top of the first page:
I do not hate poeple
Nor do I encroach
But if I become hungry
The usurper’s flesh will be my food
Beware..
Beware..
Of my hunger
And my anger!
Mahmoud Darwish could express the essence of life in Palestine better and in less words than anybody else.
The settlers remind me of the holy crusaders.
Religious people that with the support of the IDF of that era, (Templars), could do what they wanted to.
The crusaders had idiot leaders (kings) and the settlers have idiot leaders (Yahoo, Knesset++).
The kings ordered their army and the elite soldiers (templars) to march into the desert to find and fight Saladin. They were told: how can we loose when we carry The True Cross?
The cross did not help the crusaders at the Battle of Hattin.
Will superstition be the end of israel? At the Battle of Teheran?
When Saladin won he killed all the religious soldiers, but let their leaders like Lionheart live. He then sendt all the civilians and their idiot leaders (Evil Saladin) back to europe.
If a new Saladin comes along, i hope he will not be that mean to Europe…
Please send Yahoo to America…..
If there are any Americans in that group of armed vigilante squatters, then the president should execute them with rockets fired from drone aircraft. Any Americans involved with the militant expansion of Israeli territory should be declared enemy combatants and subject to immediate extrajudicial assassination.
This is the first i have heard of YAS and it is really good news there’s more and more youth organizing going on in palestine. i saw a photo of the guy smashing the palestinian flag on ISM’s website from the link here yesterday. it reminded me of the israeli boot on the palestinian flag in the ‘a child’s view from gaza’ exhibit. and how is the image of this settlers acts not seared into a child’s mind? and then they claim it is propaganda. they claim the kids didn’t see these things or didn’t really draw the pictures.
i look forward to reading more about your group. please keep us informed and updated about what you’re doing.
in solidarity
annie