Sunday, March 8, 2015

International Women's Day in Palestine: Thousands march against Israel's occupation.

Dear friends,
as noted in my previous post, today is International Women's Day (8 March 2015).  Today, as in previous years, women in Palestine have marched against Israel's occupation and apartheid policies.

Please find below two reports, with photos, from the joint Palestinian-Israeli march against the occupation which took place on Saturday 7 March to mark International Women's Day.

in solidarity, Kim


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07/03/2015  Maan News


(MaanImages)

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) – More than 30 Palestinians, mostly women, were injured as Israeli troops forcibly dispersed a peaceful march marking International Women's Day at Qalandiya checkpoint between Jerusalem and Ramallah on Friday.

Israeli soldiers fired tear-gas canisters, stun grenades, rubber-coated bullets, and pepper spray at hundreds of women to prevent them from reaching the checkpoint. Fourteen of the 30 injured were evacuated to hospitals.

The rally began at Qalandiya refugee camp and marched toward the nearby checkpoint. Witnesses say more than 1,000 women joined the rally along with Palestinian political leaders.

When the rally neared the checkpoint, Israeli soldiers barricaded themselves behind the steel gates and attacked female participants in the face with pepper spray as they approached.

As defiant women refused to move back, Israeli soldiers showered them with tear gas and stun grenades, forcing them to move.

A Ma'an reporter present at the event explained that altercations broke between Israeli soldiers and journalists after the soldiers "deliberately" fired tear gas at the journalists.

A heavy traffic jam then ensued on the main road in both directions causing bottleneck backups near near Qalandiya checkpoint, where vehicles travel between Ramallah, Bethlehem, Jerusalem and Hebron.

Palestinian lawmaker representing the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine Khalida Jarrar said the rally was a message from Palestinian women confirming that they would continue to struggle against Israeli occupation until Palestinians achieve freedom and independence.

Palestinian women "have always been a major component of the struggle against Israeli occupation and won’t give up this national duty," she added.

Similarly, secretary-general of the Palestinian Democratic Union Zahira Kamal said Palestinian women hope to send the message that they reject and would continue to resist Israeli occupation, emphasizing that Palestinian women "urge the Palestinian leadership not to resume negotiations with Israel."

Palestinian law should be in agreement with international women rights conventions, particularly the Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

Palestine became a signatory to CEDAW on April 2, 2014 as the PLO continued efforts to join several international conventions and treaties.

President Mahmoud Abbas signed letters to join nearly 20 international treaties in December 2014 -- including the Rome Statute that guarantees accession to the International Criminal Court -- after the UN Security Council rejected a resolution supporting an end to the Israeli occupation.

 




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Ahead of International Women’s Day, Israeli and Palestinian women demonstrate against the occupation. Israeli security forces use tear gas to break up the protest.

Text by Yael Marom: +972 Magazine
Photos by Anne Paq, Ahmad Al-Bazz / Activestills.org

 Palestinian women march toward the Qalandia checkpoint separating Ramallah and Jerusalem. Israeli soldiers broke up the joint Israeli-Palestinian protest against the occupation, a day before International Women’s Day, March 7, 2015. (Anne Paq/Activestills.org)
Palestinian women march toward the Qalandia checkpoint separating Ramallah and Jerusalem. Israeli soldiers broke up the joint Israeli-Palestinian protest against the occupation, a day before International Women’s Day, March 7, 2015. (Anne Paq/Activestills.org)

Roughly 500 Israeli citizens (of both Jewish and Palestinian backgrounds) along with around 1,000 Palestinian women (from the West Bank), demonstrated on both sides of the Qalandia checkpoint Saturday afternoon. The protest was meant to demonstrate Israeli-Palestinian solidarity in opposing the occupation, ahead of International Women’s Day on Sunday.

The 1,000 Palestinian women marched from the Qalandia Refugee Camp toward the checkpoint that separates Jerusalem and Ramallah, attempting to reach the Israeli side. As the women approached the checkpoint Israeli security forces fired tear gas, stun grenades and sprayed pepper spray at them in order to forcefully disperse the protest. Dozens of the women were wounded, at least 10 of whom were taken for further medical care.

On the Israeli side, hundreds of women — from Nazareth, Haifa, Tel Aviv, Shefa-’Amr, Jerusalem and more — held signs reading: “Equality yes, racism no”, “Enough have died for the occupation”. They also chanted to tear down the separation wall. The three women candidates on the Joint List, Aida Touma-Suliman, Haneen Zoabi and Nabila Espanioly, also took part in the demonstration. Israeli security forces prevented those on the Israeli side from approaching the checkpoint’s gate.

 Palestinian women approach the fence leading to Qalandia checkpoint separating Ramallah and Jerusalem. Israeli soldiers broke up the joint Israeli-Palestinian protest against the occupation, marking International Women’s Day, March 7, 2015. (Anne Paq/Activestills.org)
Palestinian women approach the fence leading to Qalandia checkpoint separating Ramallah and Jerusalem. Israeli soldiers broke up the joint Israeli-Palestinian protest against the occupation, marking International Women’s Day, March 7, 2015. (Anne Paq/Activestills.org)

 Palestinian women march toward the Qalandia checkpoint separating Ramallah and Jerusalem. Israeli soldiers broke up the joint Israeli-Palestinian protest against the occupation, a day before International Women’s Day, March 7, 2015. (Ahmad Al-Bazz/Activestills.org)

Palestinian women march toward the Qalandia checkpoint separating Ramallah and Jerusalem. Israeli soldiers broke up the joint Israeli-Palestinian protest against the occupation, a day before International Women’s Day, March 7, 2015. (Ahmad Al-Bazz/Activestills.org)

 A Palestinian woman suffers from tear gas inhalation during a demonstration against the occupation held one day before International Women's Day, at Qalandia checkpoint, West Bank, March 7, 2015. (Anne Paq/Activestills.org)
A Palestinian woman suffers from tear gas inhalation during a demonstration against the occupation held one day before International Women’s Day, at Qalandia checkpoint, West Bank, March 7, 2015. (Anne Paq/Activestills.org)

 A Palestinian car is engulfed by tear gas used by the Israeli army to repress a women demonstration against the occupation one day before International Women's Day, in front of the Qalandia checkpoint, West Bank, March 7, 2015. (Anne Paq/Activestills.org)
A Palestinian car is engulfed by tear gas used by the Israeli army to repress a women demonstration against the occupation one day before International Women’s Day, in front of the Qalandia checkpoint, West Bank, March 7, 2015. (Anne Paq/Activestills.org)

Joint List candidate Aida Touma-Suliman said that protesting along the separation barrier with Jewish and Arab women is the right way to take an active part in the struggle for women’s rights and against the occupation. “Instead of wasting money on settlements and occupation, we, women citizens of the State, deserve to benefit from those budgets in order to improve our lives. The women on the other side of the fence deserve to live lives free of occupation and checkpoints.”

Fida Tabouni, who took part in the demonstration, said, “You can’t talk about women’s rights without talking about the occupation. You can’t talk about International Women’s Day without discussing women Palestinian prisoners. For us, to talk about a patriarchal society is also to talk about a militaristic society.”

Another protester, Iris Stern Levi of the Coalition of Women for Peace, said: “There is an entire nation behind this wall, and we are responsible for that, whether passively or actively.”

Responding to the wounding of Palestinian women at the demonstration, MK Dov Khenin said: “The message of peace and hope was received with tear gas.” Asking what the Israeli security force were so afraid of, Khenin added, “we represent hope. The women here today are spreading such a strong message that it will succeed.”

Yael Marom is Just Vision’s public engagement manager in Israel and a co-editor of Local Call, where this article was originally published in Hebrew.

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