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	Home About us News from Palestine Contact Email Subscribe Donate Current Delegation Summer 2005 Past Delegations Olive Harvest 2004 Freedom Summer 2004 Past Campaigns Events Photos Videos (ISM) Rachel Corrie Links Speakers Be a Delegate Press faq Actions!		2004 OLIVE HARVEST Ahmed's report Ahmed is a Boston-area delegate working in Palestine with the International Solidarity Movement (www.palsolidarity.org). (report dates below are educated guesses by the editor) Dec 2/3 2004 Nonviolent Demonstrations at Beit Ula Dec 4th 2004 Funeral for Resistance Leader in Balata Camp Nov 9th, 2004 report from Nablus Nov 11th, 2004 report from Nablus, Balata Refugee Camp Nov 13th, 2004 report from Ramallah 02-03 December, 2004 Nonviolent Demonstrations at Beit Ula by Ahmed Beit Ula, Palestine For two days, the Palestinian village Beit Ula [near Hebron, West Bank] held demonstrations against the construction of the annexation barrier that is taking much of their land. International and Israeli activists joined the villagers in their non-violent protest against this manifestation of Israel's occupation and theft of Palestinian land. On the second day, the protesters successfully caused the halting of the that day's construction of the annexation barrier. On the first day of protest, some 50-60 Beit Ula villagers, 20-25 international activists, and 10 Israeli activists approached the construction site of the annexation barrier with the purpose of stopping construction and erecting a tent on land threatened by the construction. Soldiers and border police prevented the tent from being carried to the site and also attempted to arrest several of the protesters. Although internationals were able to de-arrest some Palestinians, soldiers managed to arrest two of the villagers. Many internationals were also arrested and released at the protest, but one, John from Ireland, was still detained until Sunday when he was released. Another pair of internationals, John from Boston, and Simon from England, were handcuffed together before being released. On the second day, Beit Ula residents, with international and Israeli activists (10-15 together)decided to approach the site in order to halt construction. Prior to making the approach, the Friday prayer was held near the area of construction. Although Israeli forces fired tear gas at the protesters, it landed far away from them and the protesters were able to approach the site. By the time we reached, the construction equipment (in operation when we arrived) halted construction and returned to their compound inside a barbed wire fence. The annexation barrier being built by Israel in the West Bank threatens to annex 1000 dunums of Beit Ula. Photos by AP & Reuters attached: beit ulla wall Beitu Ulla wall protest beit ulla tree Dec 04th 2004 Funeral for Resistance Leader in Balata Camp 2 Badawi.jpg image/jpeg 33.76 KB ------------------------------------------------------------------ Balata Refugee Camp, Nablus On the night of Tuesday, November 30, a short, rapid burst of gunfire was heard in the Balata refugee camp. Because of the rapidity of the gunfire and the shortness of its duration, we suspected that it was more than one machine gun firing at once, and that they were not the guns typically used by Palestinian fighters. It was discovered the next morning that a Fatah political leader, Nasser Badawi, had been assassinated. Although Israel has not officially taken responsibility, The Jerusalem Post has reported that Israeli special forces were responsible. The next morning a funeral march was conducted in Nablus and the Balata refugee camp. A massive crowd of people jammed Market Street in the camp as people came to pay their respects to the latest martyr, whose body was carried in the street. The funeral prayer was held at a mosque in the camp following the noon prayer. The assassination was among other aggressive actions taken by the Israeli army that night. A home in the Balata refugee camp was ransacked before the army threw an incendiary grenade into it. Several shops in Nablus were also reported to be destroyed. next journal: Once again, I woke up in the Balata refugee camp to the sound of an impassioned speech coming from the nearby mosque. One phrase that I recognized and understood was repeated several times, "inna lillaahi wa inna ilaihi raaji'oon." It translates to "Indeed we belong to God, and indeed to him we shall return," but what it means is that another Palestinian is dead, most likely martyred by the Israeli army. I can only imagine what it's like for Palestinians to hear that type of announcement often enough that they become used to it. I certainly haven't reached that point. It is an unsettling, helpless feeling to be in the city or camp the night something like this happens, but not present to prevent, document or witness it. photo: Palestinians carry the body of Nasser Badawi during a funeral in the Balata refugee camp near the West Bank city of Nablus December 1, 2004. REUTERS/Abed Omar Qusini Nablus Nov 9th, 2004 The past four nights Israeli army jeeps have come into Nablus. The army killed one 23-year old man and injured several others during these operations. There does not appear to be any purpose to the operations besides making a military presence in Nablus before Arafat's impending death. The group here has tried to make a presence where there is army. Except for one night, however, we have not been able to make it to the area in time. It has been difficult to reach the areas because of conflicting information about army presence, difficulties in assembling the group and reacting quickly, and travel time. Palestinians seem unsure of what the situation will be after Arafat's death. It is likely that the occupation forces will increase the number of operations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and that they will further restrict movement. Whether or not there will be civil unrest between factions is uncertain. Nablus, Balata Refugee Camp Nov 11th, 2004 Announcement of Yassir Arafat's death came this morning, soon after I heard helicopters flying over Balata. The mosque near the ISM apartment broadcast (via loudspeaker) speeches interspersed with recitation of the Qur'an from 6:30 to 11:20 (the time of the noon prayer). There were more speeches in the afternoon. It is expected that most stores will be closed for mourning for three days. Approximately 400 people came to a one-hour demonstration in Nablus's city center at 12:00 PM. Several people were carrying flags praising Arafat and flags of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade and possibly other resistance movements. Several speeches were made punctuated by gunfire into the air. I taped and photographed some of the demonstration. The demonstrators we spoke to all had positive things to say about Arafat. One young man, Fauzi, had a positive outlook for the future of Palestinians after Arafat. He was confident that new leaders would emerge and that Palestinians would eventually gain their freedom. Our own coordinators had varied reactions to Arafat's death. Muhammad had been hoping for Arafat's death for over a week, though he expressed disapproval of possible candidates for the next president (although he seemed to like the imprisoned Marwan Barghouti). Sameh, another coordinator, said that he felt worse now than he did about his own father's death. I was surprised at my own reaction to the news. Arafat earned a great deal of criticism for corruption, poor management, and signing the one-sided Oslo accords, and I agree with much of it. However, I felt a deep sadness for the Palestinian people when I heard of his death, and not only because of the uncertainty that his death brings. He began working for Palestinian freedom over 50 years ago and his place is a nonpareil in the Palestinian struggle. No one else galvanized Palestinians the way he did. He faced opposition from Arab leaders as well as Israel and the United States, and still led his people to make the question of Palestine a matter of pressing international concern. Despite my concerns, I also feel that Arafat's death can be a tremendous opportunity for new Palestinian leaders to emerge. Ramallah Nov 13th, 2004 I left Nablus to Ramallah to attend Yassir Arafat's funeral. At the Huwwara checkpoint, about five of us internationals along with five Palestinians, already there, were stopped by Israeli soldiers. At first, the soldiers were unwilling to let anyone through. However, it did not take much convincing to let us all through, including the Palestinians. All it took to convince them was to tell them that there was a small number of us and they could close the checkpoint after we were all through. Unfortunately, once we were through this checkpoint, the taxi we hired was not allowed through the next checkpoint. The soldiers denied all Palestinians entry, though they let us through. This created a moral dilemma for us: whether or not to allow the soldiers to give us a privilege they weren't allowing Palestinians. Since we did not know where we were, or of an easy way to get back, we decided to go through and let it eat our consciences. It angered and frustrated me that Palestinians were not allowed to attend the funeral of their president, but I was. Whatever you think of Arafat, he was the central and most important figure in the Palestinian political scene for decades - and many of his own people were not allowed to go to his funeral. By the time we arrived in Ramallah, the streets were already full of people heading to the Mukada to pay their respects to Arafat. The atmosphere was more of a political rally than a funeral - and a most impressive rally at that. Factions that are often at odds with each other came together to celebrate Arafat's contribution to Palestine. The media tried to portray the scene as chaotic or frenzied, but I think this perception misses the essence of the gathering. Palestinians came together for a triumphant call to continue resistance against occupation in honor of the man who symbolized that resistance. Cheers resounded once helicopters were seen above. An area was cleared in the Mukata for the helicopters to land. Paths were made for dignitaries and for the casket. As the casket was carried to the imam and then to the burial site, people rushed to get a glance at it. There were men huddled around it as if to protect it, but it gave the impression that they had the sincerest affection as they hugged the casket. One man was overcome with emotion and was led away crying (the only person I saw crying, actually). One came away from the funeral feeling that the spirit of the Palestinian people was not at all weakened by Arafat's death. Here they were: their leader for decades had died without it being clear who or how they would be led in the future, yet, whatever fears they may have felt inside, they still displayed their strength.