Mountain of Fire
Nablus Under Lockdown

Not content with the injuries they inflicted yesterday, the Israelis have today become even more violent, and the following incidents occurred just in our small area. They beat, kicked and spat on two accredited photographers for Reuters and AP, knocked over a 65- year-old UK grandmother (me) with a blow in the back from a rifle butt, and beat up one of the young Ambulance Drivers when he was stopped in the mud of Beit Fouriq to change a wheel. Soldiers also injured a baby (who needed hospital treatment) with a blow from a rifle butt, refused for ages to return my passport, kept ten or more ambulances at a time waiting at a newly set-up tank-point (road-block), and generally made a nuisance of themselves. These huge tanks swivel their large caliber shell-firing gun straight at you while you wait in the ambulance, and today, for the first time, I was able to see all the way down the barrel--even considering what is normal here, that was pretty amazing--the mouth of this unbelievable weapon not three feet from my eyes. I also took a VERY close look at the rest of the death-delivering monster, paid for by the Tax dollars of US citizens, and ran my hand along the side from end to end. Inside this metal container soldiers live all day--no wonder they are quite crazy.
[more]

Ambushed in Hebron Hills
Ta'ayush Activists Attacked by Settlers

Last Saturday, January 18, approx. 20 Ta'ayush activists, together with a few members of the CPT (Christian Peacemaker Teams), went to South Hebron Hills region, in order to help Palestinian farmers to plow their land. Ta'ayush activists, who have established long-term relationship with the people of South Hebron Hills, and are working to prevent their expulsion by the Israeli government, arrived in order to assist the Palestinians with the plow mission, in a non-violent way and with great concern to the safety of the Palestinian farmers.

The group arrived in the region at morning hours and were attacked, on their way to the fields, by settlers who were armed with guns and stones. The settlers threw stones and fired their guns in the air, while chasing and beating the peace activists. The settlers also damaged some of the Palestinian farmer's gear; they pushed one tractor down the valley and stole the equipment that was on it. Only after army and police forces arrived on the scene, the group was able to pull back the tractor (which was damaged in thousands of Shekels, according to the estimations). The plowing was not carried out.
[more]

Israelis detain hundreds without trial
Kafkaesque nightmare awaits arrested Palestinians

Nima Abu Alia's neighbours told her from bitter experience not to even bother looking for her son, Eyad, for at least a week. The 23-year-old was snatched on Wednesday from the family home in Deheisheh, near Bethlehem, by an Israeli army squad in the dead of night.
[more]