On 23.6.01 Ta'ayush set out on its fifth expedition since the
start of the Al-Aqsa Uprising, taking food to besieged villages in the West
Bank as a mark of solidarity with their inhabitants, and in protest against
the worst blockade the region has seen to date.
150 Arab and Jewish activists took some 40 cars and two trucks loaded with staples
and clothes from Kafr Qassem into the West Bank. The destinations: Brouqin and
Kufr ed-Dik in the Salfit region.
Earlier that week, Ta'ayush activists had been informed by the inhabitants that
Israeli military had blocked all access to and from the villages, by pulling
up the asphalt on the road, digging deep trenches, and piling high soil ramparts
at the entrances to Brouqin, and on the access route between Brouqin and Kufr
ed-Dik.
The two villages lie southeast of Kafr Qassem. Our shortest route would have
been to turn south off the so-called 'Cross-Samaria road' and then east to Kufr
ed-Dik, after which the convoy would have continued east to Brouqin. However,
when the convoy reached the relevant junction, it was stopped by police and
army forces, and instructed to continue east toward Hares, and then to double
back to Brouqin. The reason: the road west of Kufr ed-Dik was closed both to
us and to all Palestinians, since it passed two Jewish settlements (Alei Zahav
and Pedu'el), and was defined as a 'military zone'.
The convoy complied, traveling eastward and doubling back toward the village
of Brouqin - only to be confronted by a giant
soil rampart, several metres in height, length and breadth. After a short exchange
with the army and police, they agreed not to enter the village or hinder our
action, and even ordered a stray 'security vehicle' belonging to Jewish settlers
from Ariel to leave the premises. Shortly after both the army and the police
were gone, too.
Activists, prepared in advance, used picks, shovels and bare hands, attempting
to level the barrier. At length, a precarious and steep path was fashioned in
the artificial hill. Our cars cautiously edged over the barrier into the village. But the trucks could not possibly pass.
 
 
50,000 NIS (12,500$) worth of food had to be taken in. The
activists formed a chain - Israelis with Palestinians
- and laboriously passed sugar, flour, rice, canned
food clothes and Hebrew-Arabic children's magazines from hand to hand, up the hill and
down the slope and then loaded into private cars and
vehicals brought in from the village.
 
 
The activists continued, some in their cars, and some
on foot, to the village center, where representatives
of both village councils welcomed us and spoke against
Israeli occupation and violence, and in hope for a
true 'Ta'ayush': a just partnership between Israelis
and Palestinians. Representatives of Ta'ayush answered
with a demand to end the oppression and occupation.
 
  
 
Because the action had taken so many hours, we decided
not to attempt the next barrier, which cut Brouqin off
from Kufr ed-Dik, and agreed with the inhabitants of
the villages that they would pass half of the food on,
at their own pace.
The convoy then returned without disturbances to Kafr
Qassem.
Several points are worthy of mention in this action:
The situation in these villages is representative of
the entire West Bank. While speaking of a cease-fire
and claiming to have alleviated the pressure on the
Palestinian population, the government has implemented
a silent policy of tightening the closure to choking
point. The fact that even after working to level the
barrier, only private cars could pass, and trucks
bearing essential merchandise were unable to cross
into the village is worrying in the extreme, and
contradicts Israeli claims that 'humanitarian
products' pass freely into Palestinian centers of
population.
The leveling of the barrier was allowed by the
military for two, and only two reasons: the fact that
a large group of 150 Israelis demanded to do so, and
the fact that foreign press (both the Associated Press
and Reuters) was covering the action. There is no
doubt that similar attempts by Palestinians alone
would have been prevented.
Israeli media has consistently ignored the most recent
tightening of the siege over the past fortnight.
Saturday's action was no exception. Although all
newspapers, TV and radio channels were informed more
than a week in advance, although footage and
recordings were available from AP and Reuters, and
although Channel 2 even sent a cameraman to record the
activities - willing journalists met reluctant
editors, and the event went unremarked by Israeli
media. This is in sharp contrast to Palestinian press
on both sides of the Green Line, which emphasized the
action on TV, radio, as well as the two daily
newspapers Al-Quds and Al-Ittihad. Al-Jazira broadcast
the action at least twice that day.
This closing of lines in the attempt to represent
wall-to-wall Israeli consensus was also apparent in
the portrayal of the Israeli Left on a Channel 2
documentary the previous day (22.6.01), which
portrayed the Left as a small and marginal group.
Donations for this action were collected jointly by
Jews and Arabs in Tel-Aviv, Kafr Qassem, Ar'ara,
Jerusalem, Bar'am and Ara. Our convoys continue.
|
