18 octobre 2012

30 minutes d'espoir: Des Palestiniens et internationaux bloquent la route 443 pour protester contre la violence des colons, 16.10.2012

Above: Israeli soldiers attempt to arrest activestills photographer Yotam Ronen

(c) Anne Paq/Activestills.org, Road 443, West Bank, 16.10.2012

It was quite an impressive direct action today which took the Israeli army completely by surprise. A group of Palestinians with internationals managed to block road 443, which cuts through the West bank without being accessible for Palestinians. It is also known as "apartheid road" as it is used mostly by Israeli settlers. The traffic was effectively blocked for around 30 minutes.

The Israeli soldiers pushed back the protesters very violently using pepper spray and sound bombs directly on the people. Photographers and cameramen were also targeted and one photographer from activestills was taken away violently but at the end was not arrested. One Palestinian was arrested and was release shortly after, but was beaten up when far from the cameras. Some settlers were very upset: they were delayed for 30 minutes while Palestinians have not been able to use this road for 5 years! One settler attacked an Israeli cameramen.

Today action was to raise awareness on "settlers terrorism". I don't think that the term is exaggerated. There has been a sharp increase of settlers' attacks against the Palestinians and since the beginning of the olive harvest, hundreds of olive trees have been destroyed by the settlers. Settlers do try to put in place a climate of terror so that Palestinians leave from the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

An action like today demonstrates that Palestinians are not leaving anywhere and are far from giving up the struggle for their rights. It also shows that whatever means the Israeli authorities are using to know every move from Palestinians, especially the ones involved in the popular struggle, they cannot manage to anticipate every move. That the Israeli army can still be surprised is really somehow a very good news.

30 minutes can sound very ridiculous in regard to the extend of the occupation and colonization but they represent something priceless: hope.

Report by PSCC:

Palestinians block Israeli-only road in the West Bank: ‘Israeli daily life can’t continue on as normal while Palestinians suffer under settler terror’

About 50 Palestinians joined by number of international activists blocked today the Apartheid Road 443 (known as Modi’in, which passes on West Bank lands, connecting Tel Aviv to Jerusalem). The road was blocked for about 30 minutes to Israeli and settler traffic.

Soldiers and Border Police who arrived on the scene physically attacked protestors and journalists, and used pepper spray and sound bombs. One Palestinian protestor was detained and beaten. He was released an hour later.
The direct action today was organized in light of the increasing settler terrorism against Palestinians and their properties during the current olive harvest season, including the torching, uprooting or setting fire to olive trees, the theft of harvested olives, and the attacking of Palestinian families while picking olives.

Mohamad Khatib, of the PSCC emphasized, “We organized this action today to stress that as long as Palestinians suffer under the daily practices of the occupation and settler terror, Israeli daily life can’t continue on as normal.”
Khatib added, “We call on people of conscience around the world to support the Palestinian struggle by engaging in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign against Israel, and to take serious actions to boycott companies that are complicit with the Israeli apartheid, such as Veolia, which operates transportation routes that use Road 443, which is built on Palestinian lands.”
Background, Road to nowhere: During the occupation of the West Bank in June 1967, the Israeli army destroyed the villages of Yalu, Beit Nuba and Amuasse in the Latrun enclave. "Canada Park" and a number of settlements were built on their lands.
Most of the residents of these three displaced villages currently live in villages near Highway 443, such as Beit Liqya, Beit Sira and Beit Ur. In the eighties, thousands of acres were confiscated by Israel along the road, claiming that the road will serve as the main traffic artery for these villages to Ramallah.

However, the road has been closed for years to Palestinian vehicles. Following the High Court ruling on Route 443, a small section of the road was opened last week for Palestinian traffic, but is still nearly useless for the villagers, as access to Ramallah from it is prohibited, turning it into a highway to nowhere for Palestinians.

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Aujourd'hui a eu lieu une action directe assez impressionnante qui a pris l'armée israélienne complètement par surprise. Un groupe de Palestiniens avec des internationaux ont réussi à bloquer la route 443, qui traverse la Cisjordanie sans être accessible pour les Palestiniens. Elle est également appelée la "route de l'apartheid», comme elle est principalement utilisée par des colons israéliens. Le trafic a été effectivement bloqué pendant environ 30 minutes.

Les soldats israéliens n'ont pas tardé à arriver et ont repousser les manifestants très violemment en utilisant du spray au poivre et des bombes assourdissantes directement sur les personnes. Les photographes et les cameramen ont également été ciblés et un photographe de ActiveStills a été emmené violemment mais à la fin n'a pas été arrêté. Un Palestinien a été arrêté et a été relaché peu de temps après, mais a été battu loin des caméras. Certains colons étaient visiblement très en colère et sont sortis des voitures: ils ont été retardés pendant 30 minutes alors que les Palestiniens n'ont pas été eux en mesure d'utiliser cette route pendant 5 ans! Un colon israélien a aussi attaqué un caméraman israélien.

Aujourd'hui, l'action visait avant tout à protester contre le «terrorisme des colons". Je ne pense pas que le terme soit exagéré. Il ya eu une forte augmentation des attaques des colons contre les Palestiniens et depuis le début de la récolte des olives, des centaines d'oliviers ont été détruits par les colons. Les colons essaient vraiment de mettre en place un climat de terreur en Cisjordanie et à Jérusalem Est afin que les Palestiniens partent.

Une action comme celle d'aujourd'hui démontre que les Palestiniens ne sont pas pas prêts de partir et sont loin d'abandonner la lutte pour leurs droits. Elle montre également que malgré tous les moyens énormes déployés que les autorités israéliennes utilisent pour connaître chaque mouvement des Palestiniens, en particulier ceux qui sont impliqués dans la lutte populaire, elles ne parviennent pas à tout anticiper. Que l'armée israélienne puisse encore être surprise, c'est vraiment en quelque sorte une très bonnes nouvelle.

30 minutes peut paraître bien dérisoires par rapport à l'occupation et la colonisation, mais elles représentent quelque chose d'inestimable: l'espoir.