Sumud: Freedom Camp continues to be target of Regavim, Israeli military

Sarura, Occupied West Bank — At around 10:30 p.m., on September 4th, the Israeli military arrived yet again to Sarura and Sumud: Freedom Camp. They arrived with police and did not show any official orders for arrest, yet made attempts to arrest a 13 year old. Present at the time were about 20 local community members, mainly children, and 3 internationals.

The local women of the village At-Tuwani managed to prevent the arrest and resisted the soldiers nonviolently, according to witnesses on the ground.

Human rights organization Operation Dove, who was present at the time, reported that the Israeli military then wrote an arrest order on the spot for 13 year old Mohammad Huraini, brother of recently arrested Sami Huraini, and demanded that he be brought to Kiryat Arba detention center the following morning with his father.

According to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, only under extraordinary circumstances are children to be arrested at night time, such as immediate threat or danger. While the Israeli military served a summons for arrest before they left, they initially arrived with the police ready to arrest this child. This is illegal according to international conventions, which the State of Israel is a signatory to.

Furthermore according to Military Court Watch, an organization that focuses on the rights of arrested children in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, around 800–1,000 children are detained each year. Approximately half of all detained children are arrested at night and report physical and psychological abuse during arrest, transfer and interrogation; and over 99% of cases in the military courts end in conviction.

This attempted arrest is the third raid on the Sumud: Freedom Camp in less than a week. On August 30th, several members were detained, including another minor. On September 3rd, Sami Huraini, 20 years old, was detained, interrogated, and later arrested.

According to his lawyer, Sami Huraini’s detention has been prolonged yet another day and the court refused to give him a hearing. It is against the law to hold someone in detention for more than 72 hours.

“These last few days have seen a lot of arrests and arrival of the army in Sarura many times,” said Riyad al Halees, Co-Founder, Combatants for Peace. “We, as the coalition, hope to move forward as we support the Huraini family and the locals on the ground who are carrying the pain of the last few days. We invite all who are committed to come together in joint nonviolent struggle.”

The Sumud: Freedom Camp calls on the immediate release of Sami Huraini, the dropping of the arrest order for Mohammad Huraini, and the halt of targeted political raids on human rights defenders.

Sumud: Freedom Camp is led by the Popular Resistance Committees of the South Hebron Hills, with active support from the rest of the organizing coalition: Holy Land Trust, Combatants for Peace, All That’s Left: Anti-Occupation Collective, and the Center for Jewish Nonviolence.

To make a donation to the Sumud: Freedom Camp Coalition, Bit.ly/DonateSumud

Attempted Arrest of Palestinian, age 13, by Israeli Military was originally published in صمود : مخيم الحريه | Sumud: Freedom Camp | צֻמוּד: מחנה חירות on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Targeted raids in Sarura continue, second time this week

Sarura, Occupied West Bank — At around 10 a.m., on September 3rd, the Israeli military arrested human rights defender Sami Huraini from Sarura.

According to human rights organization Operation Dove, who was present at the time of detention, the Israeli military arrived in plainclothes, in an unmarked vehicle. Locals said the military personnel did not give any explanations or show any orders.

According to family members, Huraini has since been taken for interrogation and is charged with “aggression.”

“What we are witnessing is the intentional targeting of human rights defenders in an attempt to silence the Palestinian call for justice and equality,” said Holy Land Trust’s Communications Director Cody O’Rourke. “At a time when governments are targeting racial justice, anti-fascists and indigenous rights movements globally, it is important for coalitions to cut across movements and address this phenomenon of ‘shrinking spaces’. In 2016 alone, over 280 human rights defenders were confirmed murdered — with many more going unreported.”

This arrest is the second raid on the Sumud: Freedom Camp in less than a week. On August 30th, several members were detained, including a minor.

“Sami has been at Sarura twenty-four hours a day since May. He single-handedly holds the space with a smile on his face welcoming every single person who joins. He just turned 20,” said Sophie Schor, a member of Combatants for Peace. “Every person who has come to Sarura recognizes the warmth that he exudes as he invites someone to stay for dinner, as he sets up the nargileh at night, and as he takes care of the camp and everyone in it. It’s that conviction, discipline, and joy that frightens the State of Israel to the point that they detain and arrest nonviolent activists. It is this determination that leads other governments to arrest civil leaders of grassroots movements that threaten their power. We stand with Sami.”

According to Addameer, a Palestinian organization working on Palestinian prisoner’s rights, since 1967, around 800,000 Palestinians have been arrested. In March 2017, there were 6,300 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, including 500 administrative detainees.

The Sumud: Freedom Camp calls on the immediate release of Sami Huraini and the halt of targeted political raids on human rights defenders.

Sumud: Freedom Camp is led by the Popular Resistance Committees of the South Hebron Hills, with active support from the rest of the organizing coalition: Holy Land Trust, Combatants for Peace, All That’s Left: Anti-Occupation Collective, and the Center for Jewish Nonviolence

As we may have to move forward with lawyers, please consider making a monetary contribution towards peace, justice and freedom: bit.ly/DonateSumud

#WeAreSumud #WeStandWithSami.

Human Rights Activist SAMI HURAINI Arrested from Sumud: Freedom Camp was originally published in صمود : مخيم الحريه | Sumud: Freedom Camp | צֻמוּד: מחנה חירות on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Night raids continue across occupied West Bank

Sarura, Occupied West Bank — At 8:30 p.m., on August 30th, the IDF arrived to Sumud: Freedom Camp where local activists and internationals were staying. According to witnesses on the ground, the army arrived with a large force of 5 vehicles and 8–12 soldiers. They entered the camp and engaged violently with activists and displayed no orders. 4 local Palestinian activists were detained and brought to the Kiryat Arba Police Station for investigation. The youngest is 15. Lawyers are in contact with the Israeli Police, however no charges nor information has yet been released as to why they were detained.

Since the founding of Sumud: Freedom Camp on May 19th, over 500 Palestinian, Israeli, Jewish, and international activists rehabilitated the ancestral caves of the villagers, flattened roads connecting Sarura to adjacent villages, planted gardens, maintained a constant presence on the land, and established Sumud: Freedom Camp as a defiant embodiment of co-resistance to the Israeli occupation followed by justice seekers locally and internationally.

“They arrived in the dark and began screaming at us in Hebrew, we did not understand what was happening. I saw the security guard from [nearby settlement] Havat Ma’On there with them. They cuffed me and pushed me to the ground,” said Sami Huraini, a local activist from the Popular Committee of Resistance and Combatants for Peace and a member of the Sumud Freedom Camp coalition.

Sumud: Freedom Camp is led by the Popular Resistance Committees of the South Hebron Hills, with active support from the rest of the organizing coalition: Holy Land Trust, Combatants for Peace, All That’s Left: Anti-Occupation Collective, and the Center for Jewish Nonviolence.

“The arrest of young Palestinian activists under the cover of dark happens all the time, but we are not letting this slide by. We demand that the activists are released. The world is watching,” said Sophie Schor, a member of Combatants for Peace.

The coalition stands with the detained activists and is committed to its resistance to the Israeli occupation and the systematic oppression and displacement of Palestinians.

Sumud Freedom Camp: 4 Palestinian Activists Detained, Youngest 15 Years Old was originally published in صمود : مخيم الحريه | Sumud: Freedom Camp | צֻמוּד: מחנה חירות on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

By Sophie Schor

Plato is famous for his allegory of a cave. In it, he employs a metaphor that if you were born in a cave and lived in a cave your entire life, captive and unable to turn your head, only seeing shadows cast on the stone wall, you would know no other reality than that. But if you were to leave the cave and walk under the sun and see the real world outside — not the world of the shadows, rather the world of light and dark — how would you ever begin to describe it to those still sitting in the cave and watching the wall?

How can I even describe the last forty days of Sumud: Freedom Camp and living in Sarura?

Against a backdrop of desert hills, a terraced valley with newly planted olive trees, and the mountains of Jordan peering at us through the hazy distance, we built a movement.

Beginning on May 19th, a coalition of five groups launched Sumud Freedom Camp [Sumud is an Arabic term for steadfastness, resilience, and resoluteness, it is an often invoked term in Palestinian political discourse]. Members of the Popular Resistance Committee of the South Hebron Hills, Holy Land Trust, Combatants for Peace, All That’s Left: An Anti-Occupation Collective, and Center for Jewish Nonviolence came together in an unprecedented joint effort. Since then a community of activists have rehabilitated the ancestral caves of the villagers, flattened roads connecting Sarura to adjacent villages, planted gardens, maintained a constant presence on the land, and established the camp as a defiant embodiment of co-resistance to the Israeli occupation. Two families have returned to Sarura to live. (You can read the full statement by the coalition here)

For forty days and forty nights, over 500 people passed through Sarura, an unrecognized village located in Area C of the West Bank in the South Hebron Hills. Palestinian, Israeli, Jewish, and international justice seekers joined together to carry out a direct act of civil disobedience and solidarity with the Palestinians who live in Firing Zone 918 — a closed military zone of about 30 square miles that was established by the Israeli army in the late 1970s.

For forty days and forty nights, the Popular Resistance Committee of the South Hebron Hills held down the fort and put Sarura back on the map. Young men from the village of Atwani spent twenty-four hours a day in the caves and on the land, leading construction projects, leaning against rock walls smoking nargileh, and teaching us how to dance duhiyye.

For forty days and forty nights, local Palestinians from the nearby villages of Umm al-Khayr and Susiya (both of which are unrecognized by Israel, both are only meters away from settlements, and both currently have standing demolition orders on the majority of their homes) came to Sarura to stand in solidarity with the residents and would quickly set about to building fires and making sweet tea for everyone who visited.

For forty days and forty nights, Israeli and international activists, having been invited by the local Palestinians of Atwani and Sarura, took shifts to be present and to lend the privilege of their passports and their identity to protect the space.

For forty days and forty nights, we spoke a new language: a language of nonviolence, of empathy, of compassion, of commitment, of resolve, of steadfastness.

For forty days and forty nights, we were Sumud.

On the hillside of Sarura, we cleaned out the debris of twenty years since the families had last inhabited their homes. We rebuilt stone walls that had fallen, we built a new garden, we carved a new path into the ridge, we evened out the dirt road. On the hill of Sarura, we did our best to clean out the debris of hate, of anger, of trauma, of fear, of impotence, of stereotypes, of assumptions. On the hill of Sarura, we grew, we healed, we cared, we laughed, we connected, we loved, and we became the agents of change that we needed to become.

The hillside of the settlement Havat Ma’on was an unremitting reminder that we were not welcome there; the non-native trees on the crest of the desert hill seemed to be teasing us — a constant reminder of the quantity of water required for them to grow and which the settlement had in ample supply; the dogs barking at night seemed to be warning us; the flickering lights from the houses made the darkness that much darker; the interlacing antennae of the cell phone station was a reminder towering over us that those living on the opposite hill had access to everything and we had nothing.

One morning I joined Salim for a drive to Yatta to buy breakfast for the group. Salim was born and raised in Atwani, the village next door to the camp which had been hosting and supporting us in Sarura. Salim is 22 and a half (which he likes to add) and is kind, quick to laugh, and one of the most considerate individuals I have ever met. We began talking about life in Atwani, a village located in Area B of the Occupied Territories, about his experiences growing up in a village that had no water, no electricity, and no school. He told me about the community-led nonviolent resistance, which over ten years acquired attention from the PLO and Arafat, and pressured the Israeli army into allowing them to build their homes and their school and be connected to the water and electricity systems. His parents are among the leaders in the community and he watched as his father was arrested almost monthly for disturbing the order and for challenging the system to provide basic necessities for his family. His mother, full of love and smiles and a talented cook beyond compare, is known for standing in a line of other women in front of Israeli bulldozers and preventing them from demolishing a school room.

Salim shared with me the time the Israeli army was looking for him to arrest him because he was supposedly at the scene of an attack on a settler from next door, and he joked about the three times they came to his house looking for him.

The first time, the army officers walked into his house and asked him, “Where is Salim?” to which he replied, “At work.” The second time, they came and asked his mother, “Where is Salim?” to which she told them, “At university” (he was in the house next door). The third time, he woke up to a gun to his head at 2AM and an officer asking him “Are you Salim?”

They detained him in Kiryat Arba detention center for 3 days with no access to a lawyer. He was driving us down a bumpy unpaved road to the nearby bakery to buy fresh pita while smiling and telling this story. “Then they roughed me up.” “What do you mean they roughed you up?” “They beat the shit out of me,” he said still smiling. He shrugged his shoulders and said in Arabic, “ ‘Awdeh — normal.”

This is the normal here.

My heart sank.

I have seen with my own eyes the ways in which the Israeli army prevents Palestinian life from growing and living. For one month I have lived it. That is nothing compared to Salim’s life where every single day for 22 and a half years, he has lived it.

In the Occupied Territories, there are the de jure legal rulings that declare that there is a building freeze in Area C of the West Bank — an effect of Oslo Accords and the supposed freeze on settlements. So it is forbidden for Salim to even build a room on his own land next to his olive trees. Each time he begins stacking cinder blocks to build a wall, the army arrives and knocks them down. Then there is the de facto reality — the practice on the ground that enables Jews to build and live and thrive. Sarura is flanked by Ma’on, Havat Ma’on outpost and the nearby outpost Avigail which was built in 2001. Since the beginning of these settlements, some in the 1970s, they have continued to build and expand. Only three weeks ago Israel approved plans for 2,100 new settlement housing units in the West Bank.

However, for Sarura, it was illegal to build any new structures, even though it is private land and the Palestinian families have the original documents from the Ottoman Empire that give them a legitimate right to live there. It was illegal for us to put up a shade tent at Sarura because it is considered “building”; it was illegal for us to add a door to seal the second cave because that would be considered “building.” Any time a tent was erected, the army would come and dismantle it. Any time we put up the shade, the army would come and surveil us. Jeeps would arrive, tumbling over the rocky road and sit on the hillsides watching us. Once they came with a bulldozer in order to confiscate mattresses, blankets, and food — all the items that were enabling life in an “illegal outpost” according to the only military order that they ever arrived with. Meanwhile, the “illegal outpost” of the Israeli community in Avigail sits on the top of the other hill connected to water, connected to electricity, with a paved road lined with flowers.

Worse than the army was the Regavim security cars that would sit for hours haunting us. Regavim is a settler organization with the goal of “selective implementation of planning and construction laws, encouraging the state to demolish Palestinian homes or public buildings” (article about them here). They fly drones around the caves and the land, watching us, and would join the army each and every time that they arrived to force us to dismantle or leave. Their presence felt more threatening and controlling than that of the young Israeli soldiers who were driving by in their jeeps with the Israeli flag fluttering in the wind.

We had no access to running water. We had no electricity. And every night, we would sit staring at the hillside of Ma’on settlement and see their lights, their gardens with water, their safe gated and guarded community. I began to see through the eyes of Salim — someone almost my age who has grown up in the shadow of a settlement his entire life seeing that they have everything and knowing that he has to walk 45 minutes to a school in a nearby city, which may take him closer to two hours if the army decides to put up a floating checkpoint and harass him; seeing that they have water, and roads, and protection, and access to land for agriculture, which is actually Palestinian land.

I told Salim about the emotions that all this stirred in me, and I asked him, “What do you do with your anger? How do you channel it into something good rather than something bad? How are you still smiling?”

He responded to me, “I’m still asking myself that question too,” and my eyes cloud over in memories that echo with the image of Salim scooping up his three year old sister Tasneem and throwing her high up in the air until she collapsed in a fit of giggles, of his face appearing in the morning and offering me a coffee as I rub the sleep out of my eyes, of his passing me a piece of pita without me even having to ask.

I am back in Jerusalem now, I am letting the experiences sit and settle like the desert dust: those moments where joy and celebration was quickly overshadowed by fear and uncertainty as the army came or a settler appeared on the hillside watching us. Those moments when I heard my heart in my ears and I had to remind myself to breathe and keep calm. Those moments when I would catch the eye of someone from our camp and remind myself that I trust that person with my life and we are in this together.

I have left the cave behind now; the locals from the Popular Resistance Committee are still there with the families of Sarura. We are on call if anything is to happen, and I know that if the army comes, we will gather our friends in Jerusalem, in Tel Aviv, in Bethlehem, in Hebron and drive south immediately. We are giving space and quiet for the families of Sarura to now settle into their homes and their own rhythms in the desert.

I have left the cave behind and am walking in the sun. The images I see are frightening and uncomfortable because I can no longer hide from the devastation of occupation or the blatant inequality and supremacy that exists in this land. I can no longer hold my head high as an Israeli-American and say that this is for the good of all. Throughout my three years of being here, I have engaged in this work, I have exposed myself to the lives of others; I have tried to understand the feeling of waking up at 3AM to cross through Qalandiya checkpoint and be harassed only to get to Jerusalem to work a construction job that still doesn’t feed your family. I have driven past the concrete wall that separates and have tried to imagine what it feels like to wake up every single day and have that be your view. I have tried to breathe in the frustration at not being given a visa to travel or the utter inconvenience of not being allowed to use an airport that is thirty minutes away, rather having to cross a bridge into another country. Yet none of that truly captured what it is to live under the shadows of oppression.

Reality is bright, the sun hurts my eyes, but the people I have met and the bonds we have created strengthen my heart and tell me that we must go on. For a moment in time and space, we all walked outside of the cave and saw a world beyond the shadows. We saw a reality beyond what we ever could have imagined. And we built it together.

This may be the end of Ramadan in Resistance and the end of Sumud Camp as we know it at Sarura, but it is not a moment, it is a movement. Join us at the Combatants for Peace Freedom March next Friday, July 7th, as we celebrate together the lessons we learned at Sumud, follow Sumud Camp on Facebook to see where we go next, and spread the word. This is only the beginning.

We are asking for monetary support to raise money to replace the items that the Israeli Civil Administration confiscated from us [including an electric generator, a projector for a film screening, 47 mattresses, blankets, and the personal car of one of the home-owners].

Every donation helps.

Donate here: https://bit.ly/DonateSumud

Leaving the Cave was originally published in صمود : مخيم الحريه | Sumud: Freedom Camp | צֻמוּד: מחנה חירות on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

الصمود: معسكر الحرية — دعوة للاحتفال

الصمود: معسكر الحرية
صارورة الضفة الغربية المحتلة — بعد أكثر من شهر من المقاومة المشتركة، العصيان المدني، والعمل المجتمعي اللاعنفي
مخيم الصمود والحرية اختتم المرحلة الأولى من المعسكر في صارورة في نهاية شهر رمضان و بداية عيد آلفطر .
المضي قدما، والعمل على الحفاظ على صارورة سيتم من قبل الأسر، والمجتمعات المحلية، ولجان المقاومة الشعبية في تلال الخليل الجنوبية، مع الدعم النشط من قبل بقية التحالف .

نحتفل بالنجاح اللاعنفي المستدام والعمل الذي قمنا به والتشارك في مخيم الصمود منذ تأسيس مخيم الصمود في 19 مايو. إحياء صارورة باعتبارها منطقه مستقلة هو غايتنا في تحقيق ولايتنا على الوقوف مع الأسر دعوتهم في تقرير المصير، تفعيل حقهم في العيش، وسبل العيش، والسلامة من خلال العمل اللاعنفي المباشر. في مواجهة ثلاث غارات عسكرية واستمرار المستوطنين الاعتداء.
مخيم الصمود: معسكر الحرية يضم المجتمع المشترك حيث كل أولئك الذين يؤمنون بحقوق الإنسان والحقوق المدنية الفلسطينية معا في السعي لتحقيق سلام عادل مستقبل يقوم على الحرية والكرامة للجميع. على مدى أكثر من شهر من العمل المشترك نحن قمنا فيها بتأهيل كهوف الأجداد من القرويين، حافظنا على وجود التضامن المستمر على الأراضي، وتصليح الطرق التي تربط صارورة بالقرى المجاورة والحدائق المزروعة.
، تم خلق مخيم الصمود: معسكر الحرية باعتباره تجسيدا للتحدي المشترك والمقاومه للجيش الإسرائيلي الاحتلال.

بعد رمضان سيستمر التحالف بين كل المؤسسات وكل المنظمات التي تتألف منها للحفاظ على التضامن المستمر
مع الأسر لدينا فإن النجاح المحتمل يثير ردود فعل من الجيش والمستوطنين الإسرائيليين، ولذا فإننا سوف تستمر في تقديم الدعم والمناصرة في الأيام القادمة. نحن في محادثة نشطة حول طرق هذا النجاح .ويجب أن يستمر البناء عليها كجزء من جهود المقاومة مستمرة واللاعنف الإبداعي في المنطقة.

نحن ممتنين ونشكر ونقدر لجميع الذين جعلوا الصمود: معسكر الحرية وطنهم ولجميع أولئك الذين قدموا دعما حاسما من جميع أنحاء العالم. وسوف نستمر في التماس دعمكم في الأيام المقبلة. وسوف نستمر في الدعوة إلى تفكيك إطلاق المنطقة . سنواصل مقاومتنا للاحتلال الإسرائيلي والقمع المنهجي وتهجير الفلسطينيين. صارورة على الخريطة الآن وإمكانيات العصيان الشامل المدني توسعت، وبناء المجتمع، والنضال المشترك، والعمل التضامني في الطرق التي سوف يتردد صداها حتى ينتهي القهر للشعب الفلسطيني، والاعتراف بحقوق الإنسان والحقوق المدنية للجميع بشكل لا لبس في

The Popular Resistance Committees of the South Hebron Hills
Combatants for Peace
Holy Land Trust
All That’s Left: Anti-Occupation Collective
The Center for Jewish Nonviolence

Sarura, Occupied West Bank — After over a month of shared resistance, civil disobedience, and nonviolent community action, Sumud: Freedom Camp concluded the first phase of the encampment in Sarura with the end of Ramadan and the beginning of the Eid-al-Fitr. Moving forward, the work to sustain Sarura will be led by the families, the local communities, and the Popular Resistance Committees of the South Hebron Hills, with active support from the rest of the coalition.

We celebrate the success of the sustained nonviolent work that we have engaged in since the founding of Sumud: Freedom Camp on May 19th. The revival of Sarura as an autonomous community is the fulfillment of our mandate to stand with the families in their call to self-actualize their right to home, livelihood, and safety through nonviolent direct action. In the face of three military raids and continued settler antagonism, Sumud: Freedom Camp stands as a shared community space where all those who believe in Palestinian human and civil rights come together in pursuit of a just future founded on freedom and dignity for all. Over more than a month of joint action we successfully rehabilitated the ancestral caves of the villagers, maintained a constant solidarity presence on the land, flattened roads connecting Sarura to adjacent villages, planted gardens, and created Sumud: Freedom Camp as a defiant embodiment of co-resistance to the Israeli occupation.

Following Ramadan, the coalition and each of its constituent organizations will maintain ongoing solidarity with the families of Sarura. Our success will likely elicit reactions from the Israeli military and settlers, so we will continue to provide support and advocacy in the days to come. We are in active conversation about ways this success can be sustained and built upon as part of ongoing resistance efforts and creative nonviolence in the region.

We stand in deep gratitude and appreciation to everyone who made Sumud: Freedom Camp their home and to all those who provided critical support from around the world. We will continue to solicit your support in the days to come. We will continue to call for the dismantling of Firing Zone 918. We will continue our resistance to the Israeli occupation and to the systematic oppression and displacement of Palestinians. Sarura is on the map and the possibilities of mass civil disobedience, community building, shared struggle, and solidarity work have expanded in ways that will reverberate until the oppression of the Palestinian people ends, and the human and civil rights of all are recognized unequivocally.

‘צומוד: מחנה חירות’
הזמנה לחגיגת ההתנגדות המתמשכת

סארורה, הגדה המערבית הכבושה — לאחר יותר מחודש של התנגדות משותפת, אי ציות אזרחי ופעולה לא אלימה קהילתית, ‘צומוד: מחנה החירות’ מסכם את השלב הראשון של המאהל בסארורה עם סוף הרמדאן ותחילת עיד אל — פיטר. בהמשך, העבודה בסארורה תובל ע”י המשפחות, הקהילות המקומיות וועדות ההתנגדות העממית של דרום הר חברון, בתמיכה פעילה של שאר הקואליציה.

אנו חוגגים את הצלחת הפעילות הבלתי אלימה המתמשכת שעשינו מאז הקמתו של ‘צמוד: מחנה החירות’ ב -19 במאי. החייאת סארורה כקהילה אוטונומית היא הגשמת המנדט שלנו לעמוד עם המשפחות בקריאה להגשמת זכותם לבית, לפרנסה ולביטחון באמצעות פעולה ישירה לא אלימה. מול שלוש פשיטות צבאיות והמשך ההתנגדות של המתנחלים, ‘צומוד: מחנה החירות’ עומד כמרחב קהילתי משותף, שבו כל המאמינים בזכויות האדם והאזרחים הפלסטינים מתאחדים למען עתיד צודק המבוסס על חופש וכבוד לכולם. במשך יותר מחודש של פעולה משותפת הצלחנו לשקם בהצלחה את מערות האבות של התושבים, שמרנו על נוכחות סולידרית מתמדת על הקרקע, כבשנו כבישים שחיברו בין סארורה לכפרים הסמוכים, נטענו גנים, ויצרנו את ‘צומוד: מחנה החירות’ כהתגלמות מתריסה של התנגדות משותפת לכיבוש הישראלי.

לאחר רמדאן, הקואליציה וכל אחד מארגוניה המכוננים ישמרו על סולידריות מתמשכת עם משפחות סארורה. ההצלחה שלנו צפויה לעורר תגובות של הצבא הישראלי ושל המתנחלים, ולכן נמשיך לספק תמיכה גם בימים הקרובים. אנו נמצאים בשיחה פעילה על הדרכים לשמירת ההצלחה ולהבנתה כחלק מאמצי התנגדות מתמשכים ואי-אלימות יצירתית באזור.

אנו מוקירים תודה והערכה עמוקה לכל מי שעשו את ‘צומוד: מחנה החירות’ לביתם, ולכל אלה שהביעו תמיכה חשובה כלכך מרחבי העולם. אנו נמשיך לבקש את תמיכתך בימים הבאים. אנו נמשיך לקרוא לפירוק אזור הירי 918. נמשיך בהתנגדותנו לכיבוש הישראלי ולדיכוי ולעקירה השיטתיים של הפלסטינים. סארורה היא על המפה, והאפשרויות של אי-ציות אזרחי המוני, בניית קהילה, מאבק משותף ועבודת סולידריות התרחבו באופן שיהדהדו עד שיסתיים הדיכוי של העם הפלסטיני, וזכויות האדם והאזרח תהיינה מוכרות באופן חד-משמעי ושיוויוני.

The Popular Resistance Committees of the South Hebron Hills
Combatants for Peace
Holy Land Trust
All That’s Left: Anti-Occupation Collective
The Center for Jewish Nonviolence

Sumud: Freedom Camp was originally published in صمود : مخيم الحريه | Sumud: Freedom Camp | צֻמוּד: מחנה חירות on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Sarura, Occupied West Bank — After over a month of joint civil disobedience, Sumud: Freedom Camp concluded its first phase of work in Sarura. Despite presence from the Israeli military, over 50 local and non-local activists celebrated the return of two families to their homes on Eid al-Fitr, Monday June 26th. Moving forward, the work to sustain Sarura will be led by its families, local communities, and the Popular Resistance Committees of the South Hebron Hills, with active support from the rest of the organizing coalition: Holy Land Trust, Combatants for Peace, All That’s Left: Anti-Occupation Collective, and the Center for Jewish Nonviolence.

Since the founding of Sumud: Freedom Camp on May 19th, over 500 Palestinian, Israeli, Jewish, and international activists rehabilitated the ancestral caves of the villagers, flattened roads connecting Sarura to adjacent villages, planted gardens, maintained a constant presence on the land, and established Sumud: Freedom Camp as a defiant embodiment of co-resistance to the Israeli occupation. Two families have returned to Sarura.

“We celebrate the first phase of the Sumud: Freedom Camp because two families returned to their lands, restored two caves, and rehabilitated roads,” said Riyad Halees, Co-Founder, Combatants for Peace. “Together, this coalition proved that the joint non violent struggle could be a way to resolve conflict, reconcile and advance our shared values, and challenge the status quo.”

Following June 26th, the organizing coalition will maintain ongoing solidarity with the families of Sarura. The revival of Sarura as an autonomous community fulfills the coalition’s mandate to stand with the families in their call to self-actualize their right to home, livelihood, and safety. In the face of three military raids and continued settler antagonism, Sumud: Freedom Camp stands as a shared community space to come together in pursuit of freedom and dignity for all.

The coalition will continue its resistance to the Israeli occupation and the systematic oppression and displacement of Palestinians. The coalition’s Invitation to Celebration in Ongoing Resistance stated, “Sarura is on the map and the possibilities of mass civil disobedience, community building, shared struggle, and solidarity work will expand until the oppression of the Palestinian people ends, and the human and civil rights of all are recognized unequivocally.”

صمود: مخيم الحرية يحتفل بالعودة الناجحة للأسر قرية صارورة ويختتم المرحلة الأولى من العمل خلال عيد الفطر

قرية صارورة، الضفة الغربية المحتلة 26–06–2017 — بعد أكثر من شهر من العصيان المدني المشترك، اختتم صمود: مخيم الحرية المرحلة الأولى من عمله في قرية صارورة واحتفل بعودة عائلتين إلى ديارهما في عيد الفطر. ومن أجل المضي ستتولى الاسر والمجتمعات المحلية ولجان المقاومة الشعبية في تلال الخليل الجنوبية، زمام المبادرة في المحافظة على استمرار صارورة والعمل هناك بدعم نشط من بقية أعضاء ومؤسسات التحالف المنظم والذي يتألف من كل من هولي لاند ترست، مقاتلون من اجل السلام، وكل ذلك اليسار: جماعة مناهضة الاحتلال، ومركز اللا-عنف اليهودي.

منذ تأسيس صمود: مخيم الحرية في 19 أيار، قام أكثر من 500 ناشط فلسطيني، إسرائيلي، يهودي، ودولي بإعادة تأهيل كهوف القرويين وتسهيل والطرق ا التي تربط صارورة بالقرى المجاورة وأيضا زراعة والحدائق للحفاظ على وجود دائم على الأرض، إنشا صمود: معسكر الحرية لتجسيد المقاومة المشتركة للاحتلال الإسرائيلي. لقدم تم بنجاح وإعادة عائلتان إلى قرية صارورة.

انطلاقا من اليوم الاثنين 26.06.2017 سيحافظ التحالف على الدعم و التضامن المستمر مع أسر صارورة. إن إحياء صارورة كمجتمع مستقل يأتي من منطلق التزامنا بدعم جهود الأسر المحلية للحفاظ على منازلهم وأراضيهم التي شردوا منها وسبل العيش والسلامة. في مواجهة ثلاث غارات عسكرية واستمرار عداء المستوطنين، صمود: مخيم الحرية يقف كمجتمع مشترك للجمع معا في السعي لتحقيق الحرية والكرامة للجميع.

وسيواصل الائتلاف مقاومته للاحتلال الإسرائيلي والقمع والتشرد المنهجيين للفلسطينيين. وجاء في دعوة التحالف للاحتفال في المقاومة المستمرة أن “صارورة على الخريطة وان إمكانيات العصيان المدني الجماعي وبناء المجتمع والنضال المشترك والعمل التضامني ستتوسع حتى ينتهي قمع الشعب الفلسطيني وتصبح الحقوق الإنسانية والمدنية معترف بها للجميع بشكل لا لبس فيه.”

اقتباسات للنشر:

“وبدعم من صمود: مخيم الحرية، تمكنت عائلتي من العودة إلى ديارنا وأن نستمر في مقاومتنا للاحتلال الإسرائيلي. ستواصل عائلتي البقاء في صارورة وسنبقى ثابتين على مطلبنا و حقنا في السكن. سوف تنضم صارورة إلى النضال اللا-عنفي في تلال الخليل الجنوبية “- فضل عامر، المقيم، صارورة

“صمود: مخيم الحرية هو عمل وحركة رائدة. لقد أظهرنا فعالية المقاومة اللاعنفية والنضال المشترك. معا، أجرينا التغيير ويجري التغيير. ومعا سنواصل التغيير بطريقة إيجابية “. — حافظ حوريني، منسق لجان المقاومة الشعبية في تلال الخليل الجنوبية

“اننا نحتفل ولا نختتم ا اننا نبدأ بداية جديدة مع التزام اكبر بالصمود نضال واللا-عنف مع الاسر في منطقة تلال الخليل الجنوبية ونحن ندرك ان هجمات من لا يريدون للفلسطينيين استعادة حقوقهم في المنطقة لن تنتهي، وبالتالي سيظل موقفنا قائما “. — سامي عوض، مدير صندوق الأراضي المقدسة

“نحتفل بالمرحلة الأولى من صمود: مخيم الحرية لأن عائلتين عادت إلى أراضيهما، واستعادت كهفين، وأعادت تأهيل الطرق. وقد أثبت هذا التحالف أن النضال المشترك غير العنيف يمكن أن يكون وسيلة لحل الصراع والتوفيق بين قيمنا المشتركة وتعزيزها، وتحدي الوضع الراهن “. — رياض الهليس، المؤسس المشارك لمقاتلون من اجل السلام

“ أكثر من شهر من النشاط المشترك بقيادة الفلسطينيين كان كفيل بإعادة إحياء قرية صارورة وعززت مركز المقاومة اللا-عنفية في تلال الخليل الجنوبية. ان قيمي كيهودي تدفعني ان أظل ملتزما بالتضامن النشط، مع أسر صارورة والمجتمعات الأوسع في منطقة إطلاق النار 918. “- ناتاشا وستيمر، عضو، كل ذلك يسار: جماعات مناهضة الاحتلال

“نحن نستوحي من صمود الحركة الشعبية الفلسطينية غير العنيفة التي قادتنا إلى هذه اللحظة من الانتصار. كيهود نعرف أهمية الحرية والتحرير لجميع الناس ونحن نقف مع شركائنا الفلسطينيين والإسرائيليين في هذا الكفاح من أجل الكرامة ونحن قد بدئنا للتو “- إيلانا سومكا، مؤسس ومدير، مركز اللا-عنف اليهودي

צמוד: מחנה חופש חוגג את הצלחת שובם של משפחות לסארורה בסיומו של השלב הראשון של עבודה בסארורה באיד אל פיטר

סארורה, הגדה המערבית הכבושה — לאחר למעלה מחודש של התנגדות עממית משותפת צמוד: מחנה חופש מסיים את השלב הראשון בסארורה. למרות ביקור הצבא, יותר מ50 איש וחגגו את חזרתן של שתי משפחות לביתן באיד אל פיטר, ביום שני ה26 ביוני. בהמשך הפעילות התמיכה בסארורה תנוהל על ידי המשפחות במקום, הקהילה המקומית והועד להתנגדות עממית בדרום הר חברון בתמיכה פעילה של הקואליציה המארגנת:

: Holy Land Trust, Combatants for Peace, All That’s Left: Anti-Occupation Collective, and the Center for Jewish Nonviolence

מאז הקמתו של צמוד: מחנה חירות, יותר 500 פליסטינים, ישראלים, ובינלאומיים שיקמו את מערות התושבים שהיו בשימושם דורות רבים, יישרו כבישים המחברים את סארורה לכפרים הסמוכים, שתלו גינות, קיימו נוכחות קבועה בשטח והקימו צמוד: מחנה נופש מתריס המגלם התנגדות משותפת לכיבוש הישראלי. שתי משפחות חזרו לסארורה.

לאחר ה-26 ביוני הקואליציה המארגנת תתחזק בקביעות סולידריות עם המשפחות בסארורה. ההתחדשות של סארורה כקהילה עצמאית עומדת בקנה אחד עם המנדט של הקואליציה לעמוד שכם אחד עם המשפחות בקריאתן למימוש זכויותיהן לבית, לאפשרות מחיה ולביטחון. אל מול שלוש פשיטות של הצבא ועויינות מתמשכת מצד המתנחלים, צומד: מחנה חירות עומד במרחב הקהילתי במאמצים להשגת חופש וכבוד לכולם.

הקואליציה תמשיך בהתנגדות לכיבוש הישראלי, לדיכוי המתמשך ולדכוי הפלסטינים. בהזמנה לחגיגות ההתנגדות המתמשכת צויין כי “סארורה על המפה והאפשרויות התנגדות אזרחית המונית, בנייה קהילתית, מאבק משותף ועבודה משותפת יתפשטו עד שדיכוי העם הפלסטיני יסתיים ותהיה הכרה מלאה בזכויות האדם והאזרח לכל.

Sumud: Freedom Camp Celebrates Successful Return of families to Sarura was originally published in صمود : مخيم الحريه | Sumud: Freedom Camp | צֻמוּד: מחנה חירות on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

#WeAreSumud

انا عوده الهذالين من قرية ام الخير
انا هنا في قرية صارورة لانو وضع القرية يمثل جميع القرى في جنوب الخليل هذه ليست أول قرية ولا ثاني قرية تهاجم من قبل الجيش والمستوطنين
في ام الخير نحن نعاني من العديد من الأشياء خصوصا عمليات الهدم ، كل شي ممنوع في ام الخير ،لذلك انا اتيت الى صارورة مع المتضامنين من كل أنحاء العالم لنحاول معا حماية حقوقنا ،
انا سعيد وفخور لكوني جزء من هذا وخصوصا اننا قابلنا اصدقاء جدد وتعلمنا الكثير هنا

I’m Awdah Hathaleen, I’m from Um Al Khair. I’m 22 years old and I’m here in Sarura because Sarura represents all of the South Hebron Hills, this is not the first or the second village to be attacked by the army and settlers.

In Um Al-Khair, we suffer from a lot of things including demolitions. [As an unrecognized village] everything is forbidden to us. So I came here to support Sarura to try and protect our rights together with the people here, including international activists. I feel very happy and proud to be here with the people. It’s something amazing. We’ve made many new friends and I’ve learned a lot.

שמי עאודה אל-חת׳אלין ואני מאום אל ח’יר. אני בן 23 ואני נמצא כאן, בסרורא כי סארורא מייצג את כל דרום הר חברון. זה לא הכפר הראשון או השני שמותקף על ידי הצבא והמתנחלים. באום אל ח’יר אנו סובלים מדברים רבים, כולל הריסות בתים. ככפר בלתי מוכר, הכל אסור לנו. הגעתי לכאן כדי לתמוך בסארורא ולנסות להגן על זכויותינו יחד עם האנשים שכאן, בהם אקטיביסטיים בין-לאומיים. אני שמח וגאה להיות כאן, עם האנשים האלה. זה מדהים .הכרנו חברים חדשים רבים ולמדתי הרבה.

Awdah Al-Hathalean was originally published in صمود : مخيم الحريه | Sumud: Freedom Camp | צֻמוּד: מחנה חירות on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

#WeAreSumud

انا طارق الهذالين من ام الخير عمري ٢٣ سنه . انا هنا في خربة صاروره لأنه يخصني ذلك .انا حاليا ادرس اللغة الإنجليزية في جامعة الخليل .بعد اكمال تعليمي اريد ان اصبح معلم لغة إنجليزية في المدرسة المجاورة لخربة ام الخير . انا اعاني في قريتي من نفس الأوضاع التي تعانيها صارورة . نحن واجهنا عمليات الهدم وكذلك هنا ، وكذلك هنا اخطارات هدم ونحن لدينا الكثير من الاخطارات .هناك مستوطنين بالقرب من مخيم الصمود وكذلك انا اسكن بالقرب من المستوطنين .ولان وضعنا نفس الوضع في مخيم الصمود انا هنا

اريد أن اشجع قدرة الاطفال في ام الخير على تعلم و تحدث اللغة الإنجليزية لأننا لدينا الكثير من القصص التي يجب أن تنقل الى العالم.اريد ان يصبح الطلبة جيدين جدا في تكلم اللغة لانني لن اعيش للابد لذلك اريد أن يكمل الاخرون الصراع خصوصا الجيل الصاعد ، انا اؤمن بالمقامة بدون عنف لان الحروب لا تجلب الا حروب وموت ومصائب للناس .ولان المقاومة بدون عنف هي الطريق الجميل والامن في استرجاع العدالة والحرية لكل شخص.
طارق الهذالين، ناشط محلي من ام الخير.

My name is Tariq and I am from Um Al Khair. I am 23 years old and I am in Sarura because I care. I live in a very similar situation to Sarura and the Sumud Freedom Camp. We have demolitions- they had demolitions. We have demolition orders, we’ve had too many. There are settlers living near Sumud camp and I live 3 meters away from settlers [in Carmel]. And because our situation is so similar I am here.

I study English at Hebron University. After I finish my studies, I want to be a teacher in the nearby school, in the village near us. I want to encourage the students’ ability to speak English because we have so many stories that should be told to the world and the international community. I want the children of my community to be very good English speakers in order to tell our stories. I’m not going to live forever, so I need people after me to continue in the struggle. I believe in nonviolent resistance because war brings only war and death and misery for people. Nonviolence will give us our rights and bring justice and freedom for everybody.

שמי טאריק ואני מאום אל ח׳יר. אני בן 23 ואני נמצא בסארורא כי זה חשוב לי.
אני חי במצב שדומה לסארורא ומחנה החירות צמוד. אצלנו יש הריסות, אצלם יש הריסות. להם יש צווי הריסה, לנו היו יותר מדי. יש מתנחלים שגרים ליד מחנה צמוד ואני חי במרחק שלושה מטרים ממתנחלים (בכרמל). אני כאן בגלל הדמיון בינינו.

אני לומד אנגלית באוניברסיטת חברון. אחרי סיום הלימודים אני רוצה להיות מורה בבית הספר המקומי בכפר השכן. אני רוצה לעודד את היכולת של התלמידים לדבר אנגלית כי יש לנו המון סיפורים שהעולם והקהילה הבינלאומית צריכים לשמוע. אני רוצה שלילדים בקהילה שלי תהיה אנגלית טובה כדי שנספר את הסיפורים שלנו. אני לא אחיה לנצח, ואני צריך שאחרי יהיו אנשים שימשיכו במאבק. אני מאמין בהתנגדות לא-אלימה כי מלחמה מביאה רק מוות וסבל, ובהתנגדות לא-אלימה נשיג את זכויותינו ונשיג צדק וחירות לכולם.

Tariq Hathaleen was originally published in صمود : مخيم الحريه | Sumud: Freedom Camp | צֻמוּד: מחנה חירות on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

#WeAreSumud

My name is Amna Farooqi, I’m 23 years old, I’m Muslim, and I’m an American activist. I’ve been studying, working on, and involved in activism dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for the last 5 years. I think that this delegation and this whole campaign of the Center for Jewish Nonviolence, and the work that has been done with the other partners in Sarura, everyone is actually doing something really interesting and exciting.Being here and supporting Sumud and Palestinian resistance has been really exciting and meaningful and that’s why I’m here because I think it disrupts the occupation a little bit.

انا آمنة فاروقي، عمري 23 سنة، انا مسلمة، وايضا ناشطة أمريكية. على مدار الخمس أعوام الماضية، كنت أدرس و اعمل و انخرط في انشطة تعنى بالصراع الفلسطيني -الإسرائيلي. انا اعتقد ان وفد وحملة المركز اليهودي للاعنف ، والعمل الذي تم مع الشركاء الاخرين في سارورا ، وكل من ساهم بأشياء مهمة وقيمة ، وتواجدي انا والدعم الذي قدم من قبل الجميع ، انه لأمر في غاية الأهمية والتشويق ويحمل معاني كبيرة. بسبب كل هذا انا هنا، واعتقد اننا قد ازلنا جزء من الاحتلال، ولو كان بسيط

שמי אמנה פארוקי, אני בת 23, מוסלמית ואקטיביסטית אמריקאית. במשך חמש השנים האחרונות למדתי, עבדתי והייתי מעורבת באקטיביזם הקשור בסכסוך הישראלי-פלסטיני. אני חושבת שהמשלחת והקמפיין של Center for Jewish Nonviolence והעבודה שנעשתה עם שותפים אחרים בסארורא, כל אלו עושים משהו מעניין ומרגש. ההגעה לכאן והתמיכה במחנה צמוד ובהתנגדות הפלסטינית מרגשת ומשמעותית עבורי, ואני כאן כי אני חושבת שזה מצליח קצת להפריע לכיבוש.

Amna Farooqi was originally published in صمود : مخيم الحريه | Sumud: Freedom Camp | צֻמוּד: מחנה חירות on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Sumud: Freedom Camp of Palestinians, Israelis, and Diaspora Jews Resisting Occupation Enters Its Fifth Week

Sumud, meaning steadfastness, progresses towards goals of sustaining displaced Palestinian families in their legal homes.

Sarura, Occupied West Bank — Launched on May 19, 2017, Sumud: Freedom Camp is an unprecedented coalition of Palestinian, Israeli, Jewish, and international justice seekers engaged in direct action in the South Hebron Hills. The Camp is led by local families and supported by a coalition including the Popular Resistance Committees of the South Hebron Hills, Holy Land Trust, Combatants for Peace, All That’s Left: Anti-Occupation Collective, and the Center for Jewish Nonviolence. The Camp stands in solidarity with Palestinian families in their call to return to their legal homes, which they have not been able to live in for 20 years. The camp stands for the dismantling of Firing Zone 918, an end to the systematic displacement of Palestinians, and a future of dignity, freedom, and equality for all.

Accomplishments

The Camp has maintained a consistent presence in Sarura since its launch, and the Aamer family has returned to their homes after 20 years. Muhammad Aamer, one of the returning residents in Sarura, states, “All of this gives one the strength to remain on your land and to not be afraid of the army and what they do.” During the holy month of Ramadan, Sumud: Freedom Camp is leading a month of ongoing community building, civil disobedience, and spiritual growth. Over the past month, the Camp has continued renovating Sarura’s caves, flattened roads, planted gardens, shared iftars, and established a shared community space. Despite presence of both military and settlers in Sarura, the families and community continue to remain steadfast in their nonviolent efforts to sustain themselves on their lands.

June 16th was a major work day for camp, where activists supported families by rehabilitating land and clearing out caves. A multilingual nonviolent communication training was also held to both build skills for challenging military and settler harassment and to engage the Sumud community in practices of nonviolence in every level of activism, including communication. The day ended with a celebratory Iftar and work continued the following morning. Close to 200 people from across Palestine and Israel attended.

50 Years of Occupation

Members of Sumud: Freedom Camp also marked 50 years of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza this week. The Camp is located on land belonging to the village of Sarura in the occupied West Bank. Its inhabitants were displaced from their lands in the 1980s and 1990s due to settler violence and Israeli occupation policies. The land itself was declared part of Firing Zone 918.

Sumud stands for the dismantling of Firing Zone 918. Communities across the Firing Zone face disruptive and violent Israeli military policy and ongoing settler harassment. Just up the hill from Sarura is the village of Tuba. Their youth have faced violence on their walks to school for years. In recent weeks, a tent outpost was set up by violent settlers from the Chavat Ma’on outpost, blocking the road that children take to school. Operation Dove reports that anyone who approaches the tents are harassed or attacked.

Sumud stands for an end to the systematic displacement of Palestinians. The struggle to remain in one’s home continues on both sides of the green line. Al Araqib, an unrecognized Bedouin village in the Negev, was demolished for the 114th time on Wednesday. Further, temporary housing structures in Umm al Hiran, another unrecognized Bedouin village in the Negev, received demolition orders to be completed within the next 48 hours. The residents of Umm al Hiran and Al Araqib are holding steadfast, demanding their right to remain in their homes. Both of these villages have a long history of resistance to Israel’s attempt to build over their lands with forests and Jewish towns. Sarura stands with these struggles.

What’s Next?

Sumud means steadfastness. The coalition will continue work collectively in Sarura to finish the work that was committed to together. There will be a work day on Friday, June 23 where the camp will continue work to rehabilitate caves and roads, as well as engage in workshops, and share the Iftar together.

Sumud: Freedom Camp of Palestinians, Israelis, and Diaspora Jews Resisting Occupation Enters Its… was originally published in صمود : مخيم الحريه | Sumud: Freedom Camp | צֻמוּד: מחנה חירות on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.