Photo: Cars torched in Qusra, West Bank

Photo: Cars torched in Qusra

A Palestinian woman, Um Yusef, stands next to her son’s car, which was allegedly torched by settlers in an attack in the early hours of 21 February 2013 on the village of Qusra, near Nablus. In total, four cars where destroyed and one seriously damaged. The attack was a severe blow to Qusra residents which came just a day after the Israeli army demolished power lines supplying the east of the village. Now her son’s car has been destroyed, Um Yusef doesn’t know how she will be able to get around the village.  Photo: EAPPI/A. Marmy

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EAPPI factsheet on Israeli demolition of Palestinian homes

EAPPI factsheet on Israeli demolition of Palestinian homes

New EAPPI factsheet on demolitions available for download at http://bit.ly/XkdCSV

886 Palestinians in East Jerusalem and the West Bank were left homeless in 2012 due to demolitions by Israeli authorities. Factsheet includes case studies from the Jordan Valley and South Hebron Hills.

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EAPPI Settler Violence Factsheet

EAPPI Settler Violence Factsheet

New! Download the PDF at http://eappi.org/en/resources/factsheets.html (see top link)

An assault on an elderly shepherd was among over 350 settler attacks on Palestinians and/or their property in 2012.

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EA Blog: Access to Education… Through a Tunnel

Posted on February 6, 2013 by

by Maureen, Jayyus Team

“Everyone has the right to education.”  Article 26 (1), Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948  (ratified by Israel.)

International humanitarian law and international human rights law are central to the work of EAPPI.  One of our tasks is to monitor children’s access to education.  We stand at checkpoints or gates where children have to cross on their way to and from school.  We watch to see that soldiers behave appropriately towards them.  Where it’s necessary, EAs walk with children through checkpoints.  But I recently came across a new problem for children in simply getting to school.

Last week I was with our EAPPI team in Jerusalem for a few days.  We visited Ka’abne, a small Bedouin village of about sixty people, near Adam settlement, not far from A Ram, between Jerusalem and Ramallah.  We went because we had heard that they had received a stop work order; if they took no action, this could quickly be followed by a demolition order, and then by the demolition of the tent in which some of them were living.

As we spoke to the adults, the children were playing round about us.  It was natural to ask about their school.  Mohammed, the man who had received the stop work order, told us that his children, like the other kids in the village, go to a school on the other side of a busy main road, which cars speed along.  We watched the traffic on the road; it would be dangerous for an adult to attempt to cross it, let alone a child.

‘How do the children go to school?’ we asked.  ‘They go through the tunnel,’ Mohammed said.  He and his brother told us that the tunnel was only 60cm high.  To be honest, I was sceptical.  That seemed very little.  So we went to have a look.

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With Mohammed at the entrance to the tunnel. Photo: EAPPI/K. Dimond

As you can see from the photos, the tunnel is very small indeed.  Going through it, the children have to crouch all the way along.  With a school rucksack on your back it must be really difficult.  My fellow EA, Keith, and I reckoned that the tunnel was about twelve metres long.

It’s not just the size that’s a problem.  It’s really more of a culvert than a tunnel.  When it rains, the tunnel has several inches of water in it.  One of the children told me that his teacher had sent him home from school one day because his trousers were so wet.  The children said that in the summer there are snakes, which is especially frightening for the little ones.

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Coming through the tunnel. Photo: EAPPI

The children were full of fun, and a couple of the boys grinned as I was hauled out and up from inspecting the tunnel.  Mohammed’s son, Abdullah, told us that his ambition is to be a lawyer.  He said that he likes school.  ‘But I don’t like the tunnel,’ he said.

The Fourth Geneva Convention 1949 explicitly states that an Occupying Power assumes responsibility for ensuring the provision of services to the population of the territory it is occupying.

The children I met in this small community, like children everywhere, have the right to education.  Don’t they have a right to better access too?   And doesn’t Israel have a responsibility to ensure that access?

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Abdullah, one of the children who goes through the tunnel each day to and from school. Photo: EAPPI

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EA Blog: Education and Ecology in Bethlehem

Posted on February 1, 2013 by

By Susan, Bethlehem Team

There was a wonderful atmosphere of content happy children when recently I visited SIRA [Swedish International Relief Association] School for children with learning difficulties.

This school first opened in 1968 as a home for ‘epileptic children’. Now with local clinics and modern medication the need for that kind of care has moved from the school into the community.

70 children assessed with learning difficulties now attend the school.  Apart from 3 admin staff [volunteers from Sweden] all 10 teachers and other staff are locals, mostly graduates of Bethlehem University. There are 10 students in each class with an emphasis on strengthening the child’s self-confidence and developing reading and writing skills.

It was good to hear that some students return to their local school and the remainder on leaving school are found work or occupation training. eg  a trade apprenticeship. There is  follow up on ALL students. The school principal told me ” Our student don’t become unemployed.”

Girls at the Swedish International Relief Association School

Girls at the Swedish International Relief Association School

Following the Swedish educational practice, creative activities like art, cooking, music and woodwork are an important part of the school day.

Sport and fun exercise are also important and I was included in mid-morning play time where the kids played on playground equipment, shot hoops , played with soccer balls, chased each other around and climbed the Olive trees.  The local school grounds here are usually small walled areas of concrete with no play equipment. At Sira school there was grass, soil and soft surfaces along with the basketball court.

Parents are, I  quote ‘educated in what it means to have learning difficulties in order to create an understanding for their own child’s challenges’.  Also parents are regularly included in school activities. I was excitedly told  about a Dad who learnt to make pizza at school and now enjoys making it for the family. Arab men don’t usually cook at home.

The principal of the school has an interesting story.  While still a teenager she married and had children. Then when her children went to Kindergarten she became inspired to train as a pre school teacher, later going to university.  Then on to postgrad studies overseas. She is a bright, breezy and enthusiastic person. Someone who inspires and encourages others.

An EA from Korea shaking hands with students.

An EA from Korea shaking hands with students.

Another story of vision and hard work:

Recently some of my friends following a centuries-old walking track, walking the seven kilometers from Jerusalem Zoo to the village of Battir near Bethlehem.

This village is beautiful and fighting for survival and working to maintain its ancient heritage and environment. Last year the village won the UNESCO prize for ‘Safeguarding and Management of Cultural Landscape’. Members of Battir Eco Landscape Museum are working  towards gaining World Heritage status for the area.

Hassan explaining the Eco Museum

Hassan explaining the Eco Museum

In the village I met Hassan who spent 6 yrs in Egypt studying Engineering before returning to Battir. Since then he has continued to study agriculture, ecology and subjects related to his passion for restoring and recording the heritage [ buildings,terraces, farming practices  an Olive press] in the area.  Hassan and his team from the Eco Museum are working hard for their community.

The Ottomans built  a train line from Jerusalem to Jaffa over 100 yrs ago with a station at Battir. This train is now an Israeli [and tourist] only train. Palestinians are not permitted on the train.  The railway station has been destroyed by Israeli military. Where once it was used regularly to take produce for sale in Jerusalem and beyond now produce can only be sold locally.

A Palestinian shepherd and his goats in Battir.

A Palestinian shepherd and his goats in Battir.

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EA Blog: Bus Stop Blues

Posted on January 23, 2013 by

by Derek, Yanoun Team

Seeing the familiar apoplectic Facebook posts in response to a strike by tube train drivers in London this Christmas I was reminded of my first visit to Yanoun. We alighted from a service (minibus taxi) at the Za’atar junction, a busy roundabout on the edge of the city of Nablus, and our Brazilian guide Alex, from the preceding EAPPI group in Yanoun, gave us our first lesson in the transport politics of the West Bank.

“Settler bus stop” he said, pointing to an empty shelter with a bench, set back  from the junction on a paved area, with two large concrete blocks in front of it. “We will wait there.” He continued, pointing to a group of Palestinians stood in the road about 30 feet ahead. As we walked around the shelter, I took in the guard tower positioned behind it.

Though I was a little slow to gather the implications of this set-up, it sank in eventually. Jewish Israeli Settlers (in this instance mostly from Tappuah settlement, which overlooks Za’atar) in this area have their own bus stops, which Palestinians are restricted from using, with the threat of force used to ensure compliance. Thus the Palestinians wait on the busy road itself, unprotected from the elements, to catch buses or taxis.

EAs pass the bus stop at Za'atar Junction. The manned guard tower overlooking the stop is visible in the background.

EAs pass the bus stop at Za’atar Junction. The manned guard tower overlooking the stop is visible in the background.

As we learnt, this single clear contrast is the tip of the iceberg. There are effectively two transport systems in the West Bank, but not two parallel systems that work along similar lines. Rather at every turn transport is less reliable, less safe and less comfortable for the Palestinian population than for the Israelis who inhabit the settlements. For example, according to a report by the Israeli peace group B’Tselem:

“In October 2010, there were 232 kilometers of roads in the West Bank that Israel classified for the sole, or almost sole, use of Israelis, primarily of settlers.”

The right of Palestinians to freedom of movement in the West Bank is severely constrained, not just by segregated busing and roads, but by measures such as checkpoints, permits and the separation barrier, 85% of which is not on the 1967 armistice line but inside the Occupied Territories.  The situation is fluid, and 2012 saw the lifting of some movement restrictions in the West Bank. However as B’Tselem points out:

“the military continues to treat Palestinians’ freedom of movement as a privilege rather than as a right.”

There are a number of bus services that exclusively serve settlements and facilitate the movement of Settlers between the occupied territories and Israel, effectively discriminating against Palestinians and bolstering Israeli support to Israeli settlements that are illegal under international law.

Numerous UN resolutions and the 2004 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on Israel’s wall in the West Bank have confirmed that settlements violate Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention — which states that

“The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies”.

The declared goals of these measures are security for Israelis, both those inside Israel and the 500,000+ settlers living illegally in the West Bank. Even taken at face value, such a comprehensive regime of measures affecting a specific population constitute collective punishment, also illegal under the fourth Geneva Convention. A 2004 advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice rules that:

“The construction of the wall being built by Israel, the occupying Power, in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including in and around East Jerusalem, and its associated régime, are contrary to international law.”

Both the settlements and the measures taken to protect and sustain them violate the human rights of Palestinians. This reality is unavoidable, even when one wishes to do something as simple as catch public transport. Whatever the tube’s shortcomings, I know which system I prefer.

The 'Settler' bus stop at Za'atar. A Palestinian man waits by the roadside in the far distance.

The ‘Settler’ bus stop at Za’atar. A Palestinian man waits by the roadside in the far distance.

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EA Blog: “Do They Hate Us?”

Posted on January 21, 2013 by

by Johan, South Hebron Hills Team 

Last week, the Ecumenical Accompaniers were invited to participate in Shabbat celebrations in Jerusalem. We went to the Kehilat Yedidiya synagogue, where we sat in for the evening prayer. Kehilat Yedidiya is a congregation that is used to welcoming visitors from all faiths.

Deborah Weissmann, former Chair of the Council on Jewish-Christian Relations, is a member of the synagogue and welcomed us with a smile:

-It has been a hard week with lots of snow in Jerusalem, and people are tired on a Friday evening. If you fall asleep during the sermon, you won’t be alone!

The prayer consisted of Kabbalat Shabbat – welcoming the day of rest. The entire congregation joined in the singing, and the atmosphere was solemn, yet relaxed. Children were playing in the aisles, and people prayed in their own rhythm.

Inside the synagogue. Photo: Kehilat Yedidiya

Inside the synagogue. Photo: Kehilat Yedidiya

The service was a very nice experience. Still, the highlight of our evening was to be invited to Shabbat dinner after the service. I thus had the privilege of joining a Jewish family in their home in the Talpiyot neighborhood of Jerusalem, along with two other EAs. Our hosts had also invited some other friends and their children to share the evening with us.

Before the dinner we washed our hands in silence, and our hosts blessed the wine and the challah, the bread. They also sang to welcome the Shabbat angels into the house: According to some Jewish rites, two angels accompany every person home from the synagogue on the eve of Shabbat. The dinner itself was a feast consisting of many tasty, home-cooked dishes.

We had already realized that our host and his friend were politically liberal. They were genuinely interested in our experiences as Ecumenical Accompaniers in the West Bank, and they also asked about what we do back home. Since I just graduated from university, the question of where I studied came up.

-The American University in Cairo? Wow! Bruce, one of our host’s friends, said.

-What was it like to study there?

-Well, I learned a lot about the Arab perspective on Israel and Palestine. So, it’s also good for me to come here and hear the other side of the story.

-I’m glad to hear that. Bruce nodded. All of a sudden, his daughter burst out:

-Do they hate us?

That question hit me right in the stomach. She hadn’t said anything until then. She basically wanted to know whether my Lebanese, Palestinian, and Egyptian friends hate her. If they hate her for being Israeli. I wasn’t prepared for such a question, and what do you answer to that? I thought for a second about the word “hate”. A strong, harsh word which didn’t belong in that house, in such pleasant company. The word “hate” left a gloomy atmosphere around the table.

I though it was sad that she, a 21-year old girl with her entire life ahead of her, asked this question first and foremost. I hesitated.

-Tell us the truth, everyone said,

-We probably know it already. And don’t worry, we can handle to hear it from you.

Bruce continued: Do your Arab friends perceive Israel as a Western, colonial power, or as the Jews returning to their home?

-I know students in Cairo who don’t think that Israel fits into the region as things stand today, I finally replied, -To them, Israel ripped apart the common cultural and social fabric that was the Middle East before, and now they don’t know what to think about the country. There are so many painful stories. In Cairo, I met Lebanese who were teenagers during the war in 2006, I met Palestinians who grew up in refugee camps…

- And the hatred exists. Unfortunately, it does.

Our hosts and their friends nodded and understood. We sat in silence for moment.

The rest of the evening we often returned to the topic of the occupation, the settlers, and the clashes we have witnessed between soldiers and Palestinians. Our new Israeli friends appreciated that we told our stories, and they understood the problems the Palestinians face in the West Bank. Our host had even worked on human rights issues in the Occupied Territory before. We had a great night and enjoyed unforgettable hospitality, but I was reminded that politics are never far away when you talk to Palestinians and Israelis.

And on my first Shabbat, I faced some difficult questions. As I make more friends on both sides of the conflict, the tough questions become even more difficult.

The solution must be peace. Hatred is not perpetual; it can and must be changed. If 1948 tore up the Middle East, a just peace can sow it together again, with Israel as a natural part. My host in Jerusalem agreed. His friends agreed. I know that many in Israel and Palestine, and elsewhere in the Middle East, agree. As Israel gears up for elections next week, this message is more important than ever.

Shabbat shalom, and have a nice weekend.

From Acre, Israel (pictured) to Beirut is only about 110 kms. Photo: J. Roko

From Acre, Israel (pictured) to Beirut is only about 110 kms. Photo: J. Roko

Posted in EA blogs, Israeli peace groups | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments