Sunday, January 2, 2011

Incroyable! Israeli Protesters Who “Returned” Empty US Tear Gas Canisters Used At Bil’in to the US Ambassador – Are Being Held on Illegal Possession of Weapons!

Three months before April Fool's day, we have the first Israeli "joke" of 2011. From Joseph Dana's post at +972 here:

Israeli activists protesting the killing of Bil'in's Jawaher Abu Rahmah 'returned' spent tear gas canisters to the residence of the American ambassador to Israel late Saturday evening. Jawaher Abu Rahmah, 36, was evacuated to the Ramallah hospital on Friday after inhaling massive amounts of tear-gas during the weekly protest in Bil'in, and died of poisoning Saturday morning. The tear gas used by the Israeli forces in Bil'in is manufactured by Combined Systems Inc.; a United States company based in Jamestown, Pennsylvania. This is the first protest where empty tear gas canisters have been returned to an ambassador's home.

Approximately 25 five Israeli protesters gathered in front of the residence of U.S. Ambassador to Israel, James B. Cunningham, around 1am local time. The protesters 'returned' loads of spent tear gas canisters collected in the West Bank village of Bil'in. The demonstrators also made noise throughout the ambassador's neighborhood, informing residents of how American military aid to Israel is being used to kill unarmed and nonviolent demonstrators in the West Bank. They chanted, "one, two, three, four stop the occupation stop the war. Five, six, seven, eight end the funding (US) end the hate." This action is one of the first by Israeli activists demanding accountability of a foreign government. Instead of targeting the Israeli public, activists did a symbolic action aimed at the United States. This could signal the future of targeted BDS-style actions (Boycott, Divestment and Sanction) actions by Israeli who witness the destruction of US military aid in the West Bank.

Five demonstrators were arrested in the action and are currently being held in detention. It is unclear when they will be released and on what charges. The action in front of the ambassador's residence completed a day of protest throughout Israel and the West Bank stemming from Abu Rahmah's death. On Saturday evening,hundreds demonstrated opposite the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv. Protesters managed to block Kaplan street, a main artery, for over one hour. Eight people were arrested, including a former Knesset member from the left wing Meretz Party, Mossi Raz.

UPDATE: Nine activists were arrested in total last night. They are being brought before a judge right now on suspicion of possession of firearms (related to used means of crowd disperse found at the scene). The police have told the activists that they intend to extent their arrest. More updates to follow.

6 comments:

eileen fleming said...

This not surprising news fuels my anger.

I was inspired to go to Bil'in [4 times so far], after attending a power point lecture in Gainesville, Florida given by a Palestinian and Jonathan Pollak, an Israeli member of Anarchists Against the Wall/AAtW, who is being sent to jail for his nonviolent activism.

In 2005 Jonathan said:

"There is no price to high to pay for freedom, equality and universal rights. Without justice there can be no peace.



"Negotiations alone will not secure freedom for the Palestinian people. During the negotiations of the so-called Oslo Peace Process from 1993-2000, Israel simply imposed its will on the Palestinians, using its overwhelming military and economic power, and US support. During seven years of supposed peace, Palestinians saw 200,000 new Israeli settlers arrive in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the same number of settlers that had arrived there in the previous 26 years....


"Although Israel marketed the Wall as a security barrier, logic suggests such a barrier would be as short and straight as possible. Instead, it snakes deep inside the West Bank, resulting in a route that is twice as long as the Green Line, the internationally recognized border. Israel chose the Wall's path in order to dispossess Palestinians of the maximum land and water, to preserve as many Israeli settlements as possible, and to unilaterally determine a border.



"In order to build the Wall Israel is uprooting tens of thousands of ancient olive trees that for many Palestinians are also the last resource to provide food for their children.



"The Palestinian aspiration for an independent state is also threatened by the Wall, as it isolates villages from their mother cities and divides the West Bank into disconnected cantons [Bantustans/ghettos]. The Israeli human rights organization B`Tselem conservatively estimates that 500,000 Palestinians are negatively impacted by the Wall.



"Faced with a history of suffering, Palestinians have no alternative but to struggle. The only question is how? Killing diminishes our humanity, and Israel's occupation, which has killed thousands of Palestinians, shouldn't be our teacher. It is time for both sides to refuse killing.



"Though Palestinians have employed nonviolence since 1929, they have seen little evidence that it will help them to achieve freedom. In 2003-2004, the West Bank village of Budrus decided to set an example for how nonviolence can defeat the Wall...



"We believe that, as with Apartheid South Africa, Americans have a vital role to play in ending Israeli occupation - by speaking out, coming to Palestine as witnesses, or standing with Palestinians in nonviolent resistance.



"We are confident that Israeli occupation will one day be defeated, as were other US government supported repressive regimes - Apartheid South Africa, Pinochet`s Chile and racial segregation in the United States. There is no price too great to pay for freedom, and nothing will deter us from achieving this goal."


much more @
http://wearewideawake.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1933&Itemid=240

eileen fleming said...

This not surprising news fuels my anger.

I was inspired to go to Bil'in [4 times so far], after attending a power point lecture in Gainesville, Florida given by a Palestinian and Jonathan Pollak, an Israeli member of Anarchists Against the Wall/AAtW, who will soon be in jail for his nonviolent activism.

In 2005 Jonathan said:

"There is no price to high to pay for freedom, equality and universal rights. Without justice there can be no peace.



"Negotiations alone will not secure freedom for the Palestinian people. During the negotiations of the so-called Oslo Peace Process from 1993-2000, Israel simply imposed its will on the Palestinians, using its overwhelming military and economic power, and US support. During seven years of supposed peace, Palestinians saw 200,000 new Israeli settlers arrive in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the same number of settlers that had arrived there in the previous 26 years....



"The Palestinian aspiration for an independent state is also threatened by the Wall, as it isolates villages from their mother cities and divides the West Bank into disconnected cantons [Bantustans/ghettos]. The Israeli human rights organization B`Tselem conservatively estimates that 500,000 Palestinians are negatively impacted by the Wall.



"Faced with a history of suffering, Palestinians have no alternative but to struggle. The only question is how? Killing diminishes our humanity, and Israel's occupation, which has killed thousands of Palestinians, shouldn't be our teacher. It is time for both sides to refuse killing.



"Though Palestinians have employed nonviolence since 1929, they have seen little evidence that it will help them to achieve freedom. In 2003-2004, the West Bank village of Budrus decided to set an example for how nonviolence can defeat the Wall...



"We believe that, as with Apartheid South Africa, Americans have a vital role to play in ending Israeli occupation - by speaking out, coming to Palestine as witnesses, or standing with Palestinians in nonviolent resistance.



"We are confident that Israeli occupation will one day be defeated, as were other US government supported repressive regimes - Apartheid South Africa, Pinochet`s Chile and racial segregation in the United States. There is no price too great to pay for freedom, and nothing will deter us from achieving this goal."


much more @
http://wearewideawake.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1933&Itemid=240

eileen fleming said...

This not surprising news fuels my anger.

I was inspired to go to Bil'in [4 times so far], after attending a power point lecture in Gainesville, Florida given by a Palestinian and Jonathan Pollak, an Israeli member of Anarchists Against the Wall/AAtW, who will soon be in jail for his nonviolent activism.

In 2005 Jonathan said:

"There is no price to high to pay for freedom, equality and universal rights. Without justice there can be no peace...


"Faced with a history of suffering, Palestinians have no alternative but to struggle. The only question is how? Killing diminishes our humanity, and Israel's occupation, which has killed thousands of Palestinians, shouldn't be our teacher. It is time for both sides to refuse killing.


"Though Palestinians have employed nonviolence since 1929, they have seen little evidence that it will help them to achieve freedom. In 2003-2004, the West Bank village of Budrus decided to set an example for how nonviolence can defeat the Wall...


"We believe that, as with Apartheid South Africa, Americans have a vital role to play in ending Israeli occupation - by speaking out, coming to Palestine as witnesses, or standing with Palestinians in nonviolent resistance.

"We are confident that Israeli occupation will one day be defeated, as were other US government supported repressive regimes - Apartheid South Africa, Pinochet`s Chile and racial segregation in the United States. There is no price too great to pay for freedom, and nothing will deter us from achieving this goal."


much more @
http://wearewideawake.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1933&Itemid=240

Unknown said...

Au contraire,très croyable!

dickerson3870 said...

RE "Israeli Protesters Who “Returned” Empty US Tear Gas Canisters Used At Bil’in to the US Ambassador – Are Being Held on Illegal Possession of Weapons!" - Haber
SEE: Israeli Handling of the Media Increasingly Brutal, by Mel Frykberg, IPS News, 07/23/10
(pertinent excerpt)...Abdullah Abu Rahme from the head of the Popular Committee Against the Wall in Bilin village near Ramallah continues to languish in detention following his arrest in December last year.
Some of the allegations against him include incitement for planning the peaceful protests and "being in possession of arms." The latter referred to his collection of used teargas canisters and spent bullet cartridges, fired by Israeli troops at unarmed protestors, [and made] into a peace sign...
SOURCE - http://www.alternet.org/authors/9620/

John Welch said...

Perhaps Americans can return some canisters to the company in Pennsylvania?

I know nothing about CSI, but Jamestown, PA can't be all that big.

It would be one way to tie the gas cans back to their makers here...a more direct connection than BDS.