Kim Bullimore
Since early June, almost-daily peaceful protests in the Salfit district of the West Bank have been hit by teargas, stun grenades, live ammunition and rubber bullets by Israeli occupation forces. The residents of Salfit are trying to save thousands of olive trees, on which their livelihoods depend, and stop the construction of the "Ariel loop" of the illegal apartheid wall being built by Israel.
The Ariel loop of the wall will cut deep into the occupied Palestinian territories in order to surround the illegal Israeli colony of Ariel, located between Ramallah and Nablus.
Over 600 dunums (1500 hectares) of land, including up to 10,000 olive trees, from the village of Marda will be lost. In 1978, Marda village had 3600 dunums of its arable land stolen when Ariel colony was created. Since then, a further 300 dunums have been confiscated for the construction of settlement bypass roads.
The peaceful demonstrations, coordinated by the Popular Committee Against the Wall, have been repeatedly attacked, with dozens of Palestinian residents, Israeli and international peace activists arrested, injured or hospitalised.
According to Hannah Mermelstein from the International Women's Peace Service, which works in the West Bank, the Israeli occupation forces have repeatedly fired on peaceful demonstrators, on one occasion firing more than 30 canisters of teargas in less than three minutes.
Mermelstein claims that between 800 and 1000 trees have already been destroyed by Israeli military bulldozers and Israeli occupation forces have brutalised and beaten protesters, including children.
The residents of Marda have been joined by Israeli and international peace activists, as well as other Palestinian residents from surrounding villages. On June 4, demonstrators chanting "One, two, three, four — stop the oppression, stop the war" were able to halt destruction of the olive groves and their land by taking control of an Israeli settler bypass road for several hours.
The Israeli military responded to the protests with new roadblocks at the entrances of Marda and surrounding villages, imposing curfews and lock downs in an attempt to prevent residents from reaching their land. On June 10, peaceful demonstrators were prevented from reaching the olive groves when Israeli occupation forces began firing teargas from the slopes of Ariel settlement. Three peace activists were arrested and five Palestinians, including children, were injured by rubber bullets or live ammunition.
On June 13, Israeli occupation forces opened fire on Palestinian children trying to reach their family olive groves. Soldiers also shot teargas towards the village mosque and into a sewing factory, where dozens were working. Four people were hospitalised due to gas inhalation, while another three sustained injuries from rubber bullets.
Expressions of solidarity can be sent to the Popular Committee Against the Wall via the International Women's Peace Service at <http://www.iwps@palnet.com>.
From Green Left Weekly, June 22, 2005.
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