Brighton Students support Jayyous

A bulldozer entering Jayyous. Photo courtesy of ISM.

The U.K., including and especially its students, seems to be active in protesting the human rights abuse that Israel systematically inflicts on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, or far more active than groups in Australia and the U.S. Here is a report from the International Solidarity Movement website.

At around 6:30 this morning a group of students from Brighton locked themselves to Carmel Agrexco, the Israeli state owned export company, to protest against their complicity in the illegal annexation of the West Bank and the repression of students in the Palestinian village of Jayyous.

This action has been done in response to a callout for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel, after the events of 18th February and onwards in Jayyous. On this day, occupying Israeli Defence Force soldiers invaded the town of Jayyous, where regular protests have been held against the building of the apartheid wall, which will annex 5,585 dunums (558.5 hectares) of land from the town, much of which is to be used for the expansion of the illegal settlement, Zufim.

75 soldiers and 25 army jeeps invaded the town in the early hours of the morning, conducting house to house raids: throwing sound-bombs at houses before forcing families out at gunpoint and ransacking their houses. At least 75 people were arrested, the vast majority students, including the entire student Stop the Wall Committee. Those arrested were taken to a school that the army had turned into a detention centre. Most of the people were blindfolded and handcuffed and all were forced to sit in stress positions. They were not allowed to eat, drink or talk to each other as they were taken in for interrogation one by one. They were held for as much as 19 hours and 15 young men were taken to Huwarra military base on unknown charges. Bulldozers were then brought in which created blockades at the entrances to the town and the population were put under curfew for 18 hours.

Since then, the village has been invaded two further times, on the second time a half-day curfew was imposed on the town. Residents have also been threatened with home demolitions. Read more.

In the meantime, Obama talks about the possibility of negotiating with the moderate arm of the Taliban (something that ex-CIA operative, Robert Baer, suggested when I saw him speak). Hamas has a moderate arm, too, and is democratically elected, maybe Obama could try talking to them, too. Despite this olive branch, it seems that he might send forces into Sri Lanka. Why? Who knows. Because he can? If it is for humanitarian reasons, as claimed, surely they could have sent forces in to Gaza to evacuate the women and children, and civilians in general, who had nowhere to flee. Some are saying it will be tantamount to an invasion, if the LITE forces are still fighting.