Al Kurd family and YWCA reaction

Al Kurd family owns their house in East Jerusalem since the 1950s. Now Israel claims that it owns the land and therefore its Palestinian residents should be evacuated. A few years ago, the state of Israel confiscated half the house and placed Israeli settlers in it. Then they sent notices to 27 other houses eviction orders. Last week the Israeli police came and evacuated Al Kurd family in the early morning hours and placed the family out in the streets.

Read more details.

The family built a tent and lived in it since then. On Wednesday 19th, the Israeli forces came and bulldozed the tent and confiscated its furniture: a few mattresses and plastic chairs. The house is located opposite to the YWCA and their students visited the tent in a solidarity action and were there later during the time the tent was bulldozed.

Israel’s Eden Springs taking hits from successful boycott campaign

From Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign http://www.scottishpsc.org.uk/

Israeli water cooler company Eden Springs has closed its East of Scotland depot after losing, according to a well placed industry insider, ‘hundreds of contracts’ across Scotland.  Among the major losses in recent months, in an industry that is generally expanding, are contracts with East Lothian and West Lothian Councils and Caledonian MacBrayne Ferrries, the sole link between the mainland and Scotland’s many islands.  Heriot –Watt University in Edinburgh has also cancelled  and Stevenson College, the Scottish Council of Voluntary Organisations, as well as a number of Scottish trade union and student bodies have all voted to boycott Eden springs explicitly on the grounds of their violations of international and human rights law.

The closure of Eden Springs East of Scotland depot at Loanhead (Edinburgh) and the loss of so many contracts is widely recognised within the industry to be due in part, according to the same source, to a determined publicity campaign by the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign.  This campaign is in response to the appeal from Palestinians, and is supported by the main Israeli peace group, Gush Shalom, who oppose Eden Springs’ violations of international and human rights law in the occupied Golan Heights.

Eden Springs has been keen to conceal its status as an-Israeli owned company.  Another industry insider, who wished to remain anonymous, reports that Eden Springs manager, Graham Carruthers, has been canvassing customer responses to a name change as one way to limit the damage done by increasing association of the brand with Israel and its crimes.  In view of the gravity of the crisis that Eden Springs faces in Scotland, Mr Carruthers has also been handling personally all calls to the sole remaining Scottish depot in Blantyre that relate to Eden Springs’ Israeli connection.

Contact campaign@scottishpsc.org.uk for more information and resources on getting rid of Eden Springs from your school, university, college or workplace.

Dear all,

Emad Burnat from Bil’in is still in a serious condition in hospital. We will keep everyone updated when there is any more news.

In solidarity,

ISM Palestine

Bi’lin: Israel’s Wall puts Palestinian farmer and his children in hospital.

At 5:20 pm on Saturday Bi’lin Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements member, Emad  Burnat, was admitted to hospital in very serious condition after his tractor flipped over against Israel’s Wall. The wall – which in Bil’in is composed of metal fence and barbed-wire – cuts through the village’s farmland.

The video documenter of the Bi’lin’s anti-wall struggle was returning with his children from plowing his fields when he was forced to detour down a steep hill in order to return to the village because the wall separates his home from his land. Loosing control of the tractor on the sharp decline, it overturned directly into the metal mesh and razor wire.

While his children were taken to hospital in Ramallah, the army medic who treated Burnat decided to send him to the Tel Aviv hospital out of fear that he wouldn’t make to Ramallah alive. None-the-less, it still took the ambulance an hour to arrive at the checkpoint and Burnat had to be transferred from a Red Crescent to an Israeli ambulance before being taken to Tel Aviv.

“While this is a tragic accident, the blame can be laid directly at the feet of Israel’s occupation and land confiscation by the wall, which forces a dangerous burden and risk on Palestinian farmers,” says popular committee chairperson and Brother of Emad, Iyad Burnat.

“Israel’s checkpoint system only adds to this hardship by preventing the speedy medical attention to Palestinians when necessary,” he added.

At present Burnat’s spleen has been removed and doctors have yet to stitch up his wounds because his liver is still bleeding. Doctors are exercising cautious optimism, reporting that he arrived at the hospital in time and was a healthy man. Burnat’s children were treated for mild injuries.

Thank you for you continued support,

Iyad Burnat- Head of Popular Commitee in Bilin
Head of Friends of Freedom and Justice in Bilin

Email- ffj.bilin@yahoo.com
Mobile- (00972) (0) 547847942
Office- (00972) (2) 2489129
Fax- (00972) (2) 2489129

www.bilin-ffj.org