Press Release - Collective Punishment In Al Masra'a After Peaceful Demonstration

The Palestinian village of Al Mazra’a al Qibliya in the occupied West Bank was the
scene of a vicious attack by armed Israeli settlers this weekend following a demonstration participated in by the Brighton Tubas Friendship and Solidarity Group (see  http://brightonpalestine.org/blog/?p=217)

Israeli settlers entered the village, which the day before had staged a non-violent
protest at the theft of ancestral lands by the settlement.

Lucy Collins from Brighton who had just spoken to villlagers rom Al Masra'a said 'On saturday the settlers came back into the village. They uprooted and burnt olive trees, destroyed crops, attacked houses and broke windows. The settlers caught some of the villagers and beat them with sticks and bars.

'On Sunday the army came to the village and arrested the mayor and another member
of the village council. They also arrested thirteen other people, four of whom were
university students, two of whom were children under fifteen. They have also denied the village the right to harvest their olives as an act of collective punishment.'

It is common for villages like Al Mazra to suffer collective punishments at thehands of Israeli military or settlers in retaliation for any form of protest at the theft of Palestinian land. This level of intimidation makes it nearly impossible for Palestinians to tend and harvest their crops, as their fields lie fallow Israeli settlers simply steal this land and attack any Palestinian who dares to complain.

This phenomenon of confiscating so-called ‘uncultivated' Palestinian land is
widespread and often results in the annexation of the land by the illegal Israeli
settlements. It is important to note that this is a process being sanctioned by the
State of Israel.

For more details contact Tom Hayes on 07846506710 or Sarah Cobham (in Palestine on+972525029690) or email  thewallmustfall@riseup.net

www.tubas.brightonpalestine.org.

Personal account of the demonstration at Al Masra’a

 http://brightonpalestine.org/blog/?p=208

More details about Al Masra’a Al Qibliya:

 http://www.palsolidarity.org/main/2007/10/26/action-alert-non-violent-demonstration-at-al-mazra-al-qiblya-to-protest-illegal-confiscation-of-palestinian-land/

www.brightonpalestine.org/blog

NOTES FOR JOURNALISTS

1. Al Mazra’a is surrounded by seven illegal Israel settlements known collectively
as Talmund B. The settlements have been steadily expanding. In the last few years they have expropriated 14,000 denums of Palestinian land (4 denums= 1 acre) and uprooted Palestinian olive trees. The settlement also monopolises water resources in the area. Settlements like Talmund B are illegal under international law. However, the Israeli state encourages the growth of settlements by subsidising colonisers who move to the occupied territories.

2. The Brighton-Tubas Friendship and Solidarity group is a grassroots network aimed
at fostering and strengthening links between grassroots groups in Tubas, Palestine
and Brighton, UK.

3. 10 people from Brighton arrived in Palestine on October 20th. The delegation
includes students, health workers and representatives from Brighton branches of
Amnesty International and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. The group will contact
grassroots organisations like the Tubas Red Crescent, agricultural cooperatives,
students’ unions, Tubas Women’s Group and local trade unions.

4. Over the Summer the group helped to fund and sent volunteer to build a school in
Tubas region in defiance of Israeli military restrictions on building. The Israeli
army recently issued a demolition order on the school.

5. Sussex University Students Union twinned with Al Quds Open University in Tubas in
June this year. The city branch of UNISON in Brighton and Hove is twinned with a
union branch in Tubas.

6. A nurse from Brighton is planning to travel to Tubas to work as a volunteer.