A-Infos (en) Palestine-Israel, The joint struggle West of Ramalla on Thursday and Friday

1) Thursday - Blocking the 443 Apartheid road from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem*. 2) 
Friday - the 141st Friday demonstration in Bil'in. ---- 1) An anti-apartheid 
protest today blocked busy Highway 443, one of many highways that run on 
occupied Palestinian land but are reserved for Israelis only. Israeli Security 
forces used force to move the demonstrators. Three of the protesters, two 
Israeli and one American, were arrested and are being held in an Israeli police 
post. Blake Murphy, from Boston, is currently being threatened with deportation.
[They were released with 30 days restriction from coming to the region and from 
similar activities.] ---- The protesters** blocked the highway for over fifteen 
minutes by organizing a mass sit down in the road backed by six protesters 
chained into a four meter pipe. Rush hour traffic was backed up for miles before 
the protesters were removed by force. They distributing a message to the drivers 
on the highway: “We know what it feels like to be blocked. We experience it daily.”

The masses of Israelis who regularly travel to Jerusalem via the settlement of 
Modi’in were surprised this morning to find the highway blocked by non-violent 
protesters. Despite obvious road blocks at the junctions with roads from the 
Palestinian villages along the highway, few are aware that for seven years now, 
Highway 443 has been accessible to Israelis only. Palestinians are forbidden to 
travel on the highway, even on the 9.5 kilometer-long segment which passes 
through occupied West Bank territory and is built on land that has been 
confiscated from Palestinians whose olive trees have been cut down “for the 
benefit of the local population.” [See comment from Israel’s newspaper Haaretz, 
“The Law as Roadkill”
The Israeli military claims that the prohibition of Palestinian traffic on the 
main road is temporary and subject to security considerations. But their actions 
on the ground suggest otherwise. In order to “compensate” the communities, the 
military has confiscated more land for the creation of what they term “fabric of 
life” roads at an estimated cost of 177.9 million shekels (approximately US$44.5 
million). These roads will funnel Palestinian traffic under the Israeli road 
network via tunnels and underpasses connecting communities in nearby enclaves, 
thus putting the Palestinians out of sight and out of mind for Israelis.

The Israeli Human rights group B’tselem states that the prohibition on 
Palestinian use of Highway 443 appears to be based on Israel’s desire to annex 
the area along which the road runs. B’tselem explains that if Israel was only 
interested in protecting the lives of Israelis, rather than annexing the area, 
it could limit or even prohibit the travel of Israelis on the road cutting 
through the West Bank and build roads inside Israeli territory, thus providing 
safe channels of transportation to connect Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
The policy of prohibiting movement on this road is not an isolated case but is 
part of a general widespread policy [see map]. On 312 kilometers of main roads 
in the West Bank, vehicles bearing Palestinian license plates are forbidden or 
restricted access. The creation of a regime of “forbidden roads” has converted 
the right to freedom of movement in the West Bank into a privilege that is 
dependent upon the national origin of an individual. [see International 
Convention on Apartheid] These roads, in addition to the segregation wall, carve 
up Palestinian areas into isolated enclaves. This fragmentation is at the root 
of the West Bank’s declining economy.

In an appeal, The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI ) states that the 
term “Crime of Apartheid,” applies to acts that are used as a means for 
establishing and maintaining domination of one racial group of persons over any 
other racial group and systematically oppressing them. ACRI states that an 
accepted systematic policy of discrimination against the Palestinian population 
constitutes a practice of apartheid as defined by the International Convention 
on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid. Separation exists 
between Palestinians and Israelis in the West Bank in many other aspects of 
life, as with the two separate legal systems that exist for the two populations.

Mohammed Khatib, spokesperson for the Palestinian Anti-Apartheid Movement said: 
“Israel wants to legitimize apartheid and call it peace. This is the first in a 
series of popular non-violent protests against the Israeli system of apartheid. 
”anti-apartheid activists block highway 443 Thursday morning, protesting the 
Israeli-only road which traverses occupied Palestinian land. A major highway, it 
is inaccessible to Palestinians.
anti-apartheid activists block highway 443 Thursday morning, protesting the 
Israeli-only road which traverses occupied Palestinian land. A major highway, it 
is inaccessible to Palestinians.anti-apartheid activists block highway 443 
Thursday morning, protesting the Israeli-only road which traverses occupied 
Palestinian land. A major highway, it is inaccessible to 
Palestinians.anti-apartheid activists block highway 443 Thursday morning, 
protesting the Israeli-only road which traverses occupied Palestinian land. A 
major highway, it is inaccessible to Palestinians.

Photos available at:
http://www.palsolidarity.org/main/2007/10/25/blocking-the-road-to-apartheid-palestinian-nonviolent-protestors-are-blocking-highway-443/
https://israel.indymedia.org/newswire/display/7712/index.php

-------------- Bil'in ----------------------

As usual, Israelis of the anarchists against the wall initiative arrived at 
Bil'in a little before noon - traveling from Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. At noon, we 
joined the demonstration that started as usual with a march towards the route of 
the separation fence. As usual the road leading to the gate was blocked with a 
spool of barbed wire and the commander of the Israeli state force declared the 
area west of the spool a closed military zone warning with retaliation if any 
one will cross the line. As usual, after a while when we stayed there two 
participants defied the order and as retaliation a heavy barrage of tear gas 
grenades were showered on us.

After few regrouping and defying the tear gas a kind of truce was arrived and we 
were allowed to regroup at the road near the barbed wire, while units of the 
state force were engaging with shooting and tear gas youngsters who were 
throwing stones on them.

After about hour from its beginning, the end of the nonviolent demonstration was 
declared and the state force gave us a "far well" shower of teat gas to hasten 
our walking to the village.

Defying it, we lingered for additional hour in the "war zone" of the stone 
throwing and shooting... and two internationals were injured by bullets coated 
with rubber.

=========================================
* Submitted by member of the Bil'in village popular comity
** Participants were Palestinians from Bil'in and the region, Internationals, 
and Israelis of the anarchists against the wall initiative.
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