Palestinians Film Parody of Israeli Commercial

Last week, this commercial for Israeli cell company cellcom started making the rounds of the blogosphere, with everyone having their two cents to put in about it. Basically the consensus among Palestinians and left-wing Israelis was that the commercial attempted to make light of the occupation and the security wall.



This week, residents of the beleaguered village of Bil'in, about which I have written before, decided to film a response to the commercial to show the world what such a situation is like in reality.

Night Watch in Bil'in

I am sitting here on a rooftop in Bil'in with Sami, Luis, and some ISM activists. It is near midnight and we are waiting for the soldiers to come. They do arrests in the middle of the night- it is standard practice- and these activists try to observe the arrests to prevent brutality and at least film it and act as witnesses when it does happen.

Besides the foreign activists, nearly every rooftop at the edges of the village has a Palestinian look-out watching for the soldiers. Gaggles of pre-teen boys follow us wherever we go, joking with us, practicing their English, and excitedly telling us about themselves and their friends. Their smaller brothers toddle behind, sucking their thumbs.

On nights they do arrests, the lights of their jeeps can be seen on the Israeli-only roads near the wall, on the outskirts of the village. The lights go out and then the soldiers wait, as do we. Between one and three in the morning usually, the soldiers quietly cross the fields and enter this tiny village of 1,700 residents by foot to make what arrests they can.

There are some 150 names on the list of Palestinians to be arrested, but generally the soldiers are only able to make one or two arrests per night. The List has come into the hands of some anarchist Israeli activists and so by now everyone on it knows they're on it. They have begun to take precautions against arrest accordingly by moving locations at night.

One may wonder why nearly 10% of the village's population (and about 29% of the adult male population) is wanted for arrest, and there is an answer. Bil'in holds protests against the wall and the occupation in general every Friday. These protests are peaceful and are attended by international observers and news media, but the villages' participants are persecuted anyway with impunity.

Perhaps #1 on The List is Ashraf Abu Rahma, who has been dubbed the Palestinian Che Guevara for his non-violent but fearless and relentless protests against the occupation. (My previous writings about his travails here) Standing on the roof with me, he asks if I know the story of how he was shot by an Israeli soldier after being blindfolded and handcuffed. Indeed, I remembered vividly the event from last summer since it was captured on camera by 14-year-old Salam Amira. Salam's father was later arrested in what was believed to be an act of retribution for the filming.

Ashraf's character is significantly different from what I expected, given his exploits. He is small, kind, childlike, talkative, and a little goofy. He freely admits he is crazy for doing what he does. He speaks little English and the words he does use are frequently slightly incorrect. For example, he says baby for maybe, five for fine, and, my personal favorite: menstruation instead of demonstration. Everyone in the village knows him and as we walk the streets together, looking for more signs of soldiers, everyone enthusiastically welcomes him to sit with them.

So far this evening, we have seen 8 pairs of headlights converge upon the hill and go out. This means somewhere between 70 and 100 soldiers will probably enter the village tonight. So we await their arrival.

*****

At one in the morning, we left our perch atop the roof of the house and walked to the edge of the village, where the soldiers usually emerge from the field. Our plan was to alert the other members of the mission, by phone, so everyone could follow the soldiers together to observe their behavior. We all sat side by side in the road, under a clouded half-moon, waiting for the soldiers to step out of the shadows.

We chatted in hushed tones, smoked cigarettes, and dozed. The two Israeli activists who had just arrived discussed their passions and taught us Hebrew words. The Palestinian residents of Bil'in taught us Arabic words we didn't know, and the foreign participants taught the others some English words. With a combination of the three languages used, we all made it a merry, if subdued, night.

At 3:50, the muezzin sang the call to prayer and we all agreed that most likely the soldiers would not come now that everyone was up and about. We waited another half hour and then sleepily made our way home.

It may be that the soldiers knew we were there, waiting for them. Certainly they are light years ahead of this grassroots movement in terms of available technology. And it is rumored that the tower perched atop the highest hill in the village holds a camera which captures the village's movements. Throughout the night, the soldiers set small, controlled fires at what seemed random locations around the outskirts of Bil'in. They do this even on nights they don't make arrests, I am told, perhaps to cause confusion among the activists.

Some believe the last week (during which no arrests were made) served to cause the activists to lose interest and leave so that the Israeli military can swoop in and make several arrests in one night, without international supervision to hinder them.

31 Sides to Every Story

I created this slide show as a condensed overview of my time spent in Israel and Palestine this summer. They are pictures from events that happened in several cities and villages throughout Israel and the West Bank. They are pictures of people I know and people I don't know. They record pain and joy, triumph and heartbreak. They show people living their daily lives in the shadow of uncertainty.

When you look at a situation from more than one point of view, your convictions may weaken. Your feelings of indignation, fear, or even hatred toward others may seem less founded. And the more points of view you visit, it will become more and more difficult to pass judgment on anyone. Until eventually you realize that you are the same as everyone else. That when you hurt another person, you are hurting yourself.

The things you don't like about the world, you can think of as cancer. You may want to kill that cancer so that you can live. But it came from you. It is you. And you can only hurt it so much before you kill yourself.

For the full posts of each photo included above, visit these links:

The Holocaust as Political Platform

Hebron: Land of Guard Towers and Minarets

Palestinian Dignity: Contraband Under Occupation

Cease Fire Still Cooking Despite Attacks

Checkpoint Soldiers Given Grudges, Guns

Commander in IDF Abuse Case Held Responsible

There have been developments on The Saga of the Rubber Bullet. Lieutenant Colonel Omri Bruberg has resigned from his post and it is likely that criminal charges will be filed against both the commander and the soldier who shot their bound Palestinian detainee.

Ashraf Abu-Rahma was shot in the foot with a rubber-coated bullet at close range while he was handcuffed, blindfolded, and in IDF custody. The unnamed soldier who shot him claims his commander ordered him to fire.

Ynet says:

The IDF's Judge Advocate General, Avi Mandelblit, also decided that the commander and the firing soldier will face criminal charges of improper conduct. Such offences are considered relatively minor and do not result in a criminal record. The trial is expected to end in a plea bargain.

Humanitarian organization B'Tselem, who publicized the now-famous footage of the incident call the minor charges "shameful."

In response to the decision, Bruberg said: "I’m the commander, I'm responsible, and I'm paying the price. I believe this decision is good for the soldier (involved in the incident,) for the regiment, and for the army as a whole." In a talk he held with his subordinates, Bruberg said he is "proud of the army."

Thoughts About Stone Throwing

A note on stone throwing. My sentiments might be as unpopular to Israelis as they are to Palestinians. But the potential to offend someone when discussing this conflict is limitless.

The latest news about the ill-fated village of Nil'in in the West Bank is about Ahmed Mousa, a 10 year old who was shot in the head by an Israeli soldier. When I originally read about this event, it was from the left-wing Israeli media, which basically expresses sorrow about the boy but also reminds us that he was throwing stones. Then they add a mention of an IDF soldier who was hit in the eye with a rock.

Non-Israeli media makes no mention of stone throwing, or any reason at all for the soldiers' actions.

I was not there and therefore cannot comment on the exact causes of this event, but I can comment on the phenomenon of stone throwing. Every day, and especially after protests, teenage boys throw stones at Israeli soldiers. They are filled with adolescent rage and frustration and their browbeaten parents can neither control them nor offer them a feasible alternative.

So they throw rocks.

Sometimes these rocks fall far from their intended targets and the effort goes ignored. Sometimes the rocks hit the soldiers, and there is retaliation. We must not forget that both the stone throwers and the soldiers are acting in response to the same emotions. They are limited by the same level of brain development.

My sentiment is: those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

But this sentiment is directed not at those who literally throw the stones but the puppeteers behind them: the international media.

It is no accident that every time a Palestinian suffers unduly, an outsider with big opinions is there to publicize it. Each protest in the West Bank villages of Nil'in and Bil'in ends with Palestinian teenagers throwing stones. And this often leads to injuries, sometimes fatal ones. But the international activists who organize these protests make no effort to stop the stone throwing. They stand by with their cameras, waiting for someone to get hurt so they can reinforce the image of the Palestinian as Victim.

The internationals who, with the best intentions, insert themselves into this conflict are as integral to the problem as the stone throwers and the IDF. They form a triangle that continuously feed the roles of victim, conquerer, and hungry audience. It's a gladiator show.

Without the violence, would anyone be watching?

With nobody watching, would there still be violence?

Many argue that these kids throw stones because it is the only option left to them. But what if it is just the only option anybody told them about? If it is considered fair by anti-Israelis to abduct IDF soldiers to leverage for ransom, why not to shoot teenage stone throwers? The abducted soldiers were combatants, legal targets, but they did not volunteer for service. The stone throwers, then, are also combatants, who by virtue of their perceived lack of options, didn't volunteer either.

The differences between them are weak. Take an IDF soldier, subtract four years and a uniform, and you get a kid with a rock.

Everyone who profits from this conflict, from the Canadian construction firms building settlements to the mainstream media, are doing so at the expense of the region's children.

Camera Captures More IDF Abuse

Remember back in the day when I went to a protest in Bil'in?

Bil'in resident Ashraf Abu Rahme was shot at a similar protest, after he was already handcuffed and blindfolded.



Read more about it here.

UPDATE:
Since the above footage was released by B'Tselem, a government investigation was launched about the incident. The IDF's reaction was predictable.

Haaretz says:

The IDF originally said that Lieutenant Colonel Omri was unaware of the incident and that the door of his patrol vehicle blocked his line of vision. However, the footage seems to counter his claims.

Yawn. Try harder.

Then, when they realized that the footage could in no way corroborate this story, they tried again:

"This is an inappropriate incident which is against the IDF's values," an IDF spokesperson said yesterday. "Army regulations strictly prohibit the abuse of detainees and require their fair and honorable treatment. After examining the footage, the Military Advocate General, Brigadier General Avihai Mandelblit, ordered military police to open an investigation into the incident."

The soldier was arrested, but beyond that I know not.

I doubt this will be the last footage we see about this type of incident:

As part of its "Shooting Back" project, B'Tselem has distributed about 100 cameras to Palestinians throughout the West Bank over the last year.

Separation Barrier Continues Illegally

For those of you who have been following my coverage of The Wall this new development will be interesting.

Residents of the West Bank village of Bil'in protest the separation fence that divides their land every Friday. Back in September of 2007, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that the route of the wall was illegal and that 1,700 meters of it should be removed. This ruling has yet to be followed.

Part of the delay has been caused by expansion of the Modi'in Ilit settlement nearby. The Supreme Court also ruled it is illegal to plan the route of the separation barrier based on constructions that do not yet exist, so it is believed by activists involved that Israeli officials are waiting until the settlement expansion is complete to draw up the new plans for the wall.

Possibly due to the continuing violence and unrest in Bil'in and similar villages, Israeli officials drew up a preliminary plan for the alternate route. However, Bili'n local council head Ahmed Issa Abdallah Yassin says this new route will only return 10% of the farmland taken from the village.

Yassin says this plan is only a delay tactic:

Yassin said that in the meantime, the state is allowing building developers to create facts on the ground and that in another two months time, "they will be able to debate new security stipulations that will be influenced by building projects which will by then be complete, leaving them "no choice" but to rework the fence with these developments in mind."

UPDATE:
In addition to rejecting the proposed route change, Bil'in is suing the Canadian firms that are building in the Modi'in settlement.
Haaretz says:

The village claims the companies have been building in Israel's largest settlement, Upper Modiin, in violation of international law. The construction is taking place on land seized from Bili'in after Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Six-Day War, according to the suit. Among other things, the claim cites the Fourth Geneva Convention, which forbids an occupying power from transferring its own civilians into occupied territory.

Bil'in's attorney, Michael Sfard, says this is the first suit of its kind and calls for the halt of settlement construction and the removal of 30 buildings the company previously built.

Palestinian Dignity: Contraband Under Occupation

Apropos of my last post, about the wall, I went to a protest against said wall. Here is what came of it.



“The Internationals,” we were called. A strange amalgamation of foreigners who arrived on one of the hottest days of the year, so far, to protest the existence of the wall at Bil’in, in the West Bank. We were German, American, French, English, Irish, and Canadian. Our presence did two things: we provided cover for the Palestinian protesters, and we drew the attention of the media. The presence of the media offered additional protection to the protesters, although the filming of the soldiers does not always stop violent attacks.

This protest occurs every Friday in Bil’in. At last week’s protest, local Ibrahim Bornat was shot in the thigh. Video of this event can be seen here. Ibrahim’s brother Rani was also shot by an Israeli sniper at another protest eight years ago, and remains paralyzed from the neck down.

Before the protest began, the Internationals were given a short speech about what to expect and how to stay safe. We were advised that the IDF first uses sound grenades, then tear gas, then rubber bullets, and finally, live fire. The most severe of these counter measures are reserved for those who throw stones, so we were advised not to stand between stone throwers and the IDF. We were also asked not to throw stones ourselves because the non-Palestinians in charge of our group strictly believed in non-violent protest. However, it was acknowledged that several young Palestinians stay after the Internationals have gone to throw stones at the soldiers.

Most of these counter measures are employed to keep people away from the fence and the 50 feet and five layers of barbed wire that separate the Israeli military from the unarmed protesters.

It all went as planned. We marched to the wall together, some marching up front to see “the action,” some staying in the back to be safer. When we reached the first layer of the fence, we stopped. Most people had stopped much farther back than this and only a small mixed cluster of Palestinians and Internationals came all the way to the edge. The media took their position on the top of the hill. The protesters chanted and banged rocks against the fence. An ear-piercing squeal was emitted from the IDF that lasted about ten minutes. Some people plugged their ears, some kept banging rocks on the fence.

After this, the first of the sound grenades was launched. They caused only a small boom, comparable to the missiles that fell on Ziqim, but without the explosion. By this time the protesters had opened two of the gates leading to the Israeli side but had not crossed over. They were still 50 feet from the closest Israeli and less than ten from where they’d started. But this was far enough for the IDF. They began, as we were warned, to launch tear gas canisters, which landed unpredictably throughout the landscape. Sometimes only one or two at a time. Sometimes they came down in thick volleys, their smoke trails in the air looking like dancers perfectly in tune to each other.

Everyone tried to avoid the gas clouds as best as they could, except the most die-hard protesters, who stayed behind in the thickest smoke, perhaps immune to its potency after so long.

We retreated slowly, only going far enough to be out of smoke range. But then they would fire more tear gas and we would be pushed still farther away.

After almost everyone had begun the trek back to the village, we stragglers noticed a few fires burning in the olive grove closer to the wall. Someone yelled, “Help me! Help me put them out!” But the IDF was firing tear gas heavily into the area on fire, which made it difficult to get close enough to put the fire out. Not that we had any realistic way of doing this.

We pushed slowly toward the fire anyway, and the soldiers on the other side of the fence yelled in Hebrew, “If you come any closer to the fence, we’ll shoot.” One man yelled back in English, “We’re not! We’re trying to put out the fire!” and followed with a string of obscenities in Arabic. But at that point we couldn’t turn back anyway. The IDF had begun to drop tear gas behind us. We were completely surrounded by white clouds of gas and the gray smoke from the fire was actually a welcome contrast to the stinging of the tear gas.

The fire had a woody smell, like a fireplace, because the olive trees were burning. Somewhere in the distance another fire was burning, this one with thick, black smoke. Nobody knew where or why.

I was one of the last to reach the crest of the hill, over which I could not see the wall anymore. I left behind me only the teenage boys who halfheartedly threw stones and yelled their anger to soldiers who did not respond.

Two days later, as I reflect on this event, I think what was the result? It’s possible that the media presence prevented violence this time, but what about next time? The residents of Bil’in and similar villages live with this every day. They struggle to maintain dignity in the face of near total domination.

Bil’in FFJ says:

The action of the Israeli Army against the whole of Palestinian Society betrays their rhetoric about security as the purpose of their occupation and instead shines light on what seems to be their true aim; the slow removal of the Palestinian people from their land by any means possible. This includes terrorizing the population through forced transfers, economic starvation, house demolitions, unwarranted arrests, and unchecked killing of the civilian population. This ethnic cleansing is cemented as a reality through the Israeli policies of land confiscation, settlement expansion, and the control of water resources which are the true aims of the Apartheid wall and system of occupation.

Bil’in homepage here.