Israel dismantles Palestinian tent city built at start of Obama visit
Four arrested for resisting police as they forcefully remove dozens of activists from encampment erected to draw attention to their protest against settlement construction; activists pledge to step up protest measures.
By Jack Khoury and The Associated Press | Mar.24, 2013 | 10:14 AM
Israeli security forces early Sunday dismantled a Palestinian outpost erected during U.S. President Barack Obama's recent visit to Israel to protest plans to expand a settlement in the corridor connecting the West Bank and Jerusalem.
Some 200 police officers descended on the tent city before dawn and forcibly removed about 40 activists who set up camp in the controversial E-1 area between East Jerusalem and the settlement of Ma'aleh Adumim.
Police said no weapons were used in the operation, which was launched after the activists refused to clear the area. Four people, including two women, were arrested for violating military orders and resisting the cops.
The activists vowed to step up their protest measures in the coming days.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-dismantles-palestinian-tent-city-built-at-start-of-obama-visit.premium-1.511593
= new reply since forum marked as read
Until its forcible eviction Saturday night, Palestinian activists built and maintained a new protest camp in E1 to protest Israeli occupation and settlement expansion, directing their message to visiting U.S. President Barack Obama.
Photos by: Ryan Rodrick Beiler, Anne Paq, Yotam Ronen, and Oren Ziv
As U.S. President Barack Obama’s plane was landing at Ben Gurion Airport on Wednesday, Palestinian activists returned to the E1 area to establish yet another protest village in the tradition of Bab Al-Shams and other similar actions in recent months. Organizers named the new camp “Ahfad Younis” after the main character in the novel Bab Al-Shams (“Gate of the Sun”) which was the namesake of the original protest village in January of this year.
At first, a small force of Israeli Border Police watched as hundreds of activists gathered on a hillside across the valley from the Israeli settlement Ma’ale Adumim. Like all Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, Ma’ale Adumim is illegal under international law. However, as evening drew near, Israeli forces surrounded the tent village. According to Ma’an News:
An Israeli military spokeswoman said hundreds of Palestinians established “an illegal settlement” and that security forces were in the area “to maintain order.” She said soldiers arrested the driver of a truck loaded with equipment including tents. Mohammad Khatib, a spokesman for the activists, said soldiers handed protesters a document declaring the area a closed military zone.
The action, while continuing the theme of similar protests against the Israeli occupation and settlement expansion, focused much of its message on the visit of U.S. President Barack Obama. According to a statement by the action’s organizers:
http://972mag.com/photos-israeli-forces-demolish-palestinian-camp-built-to-protest-obama-visit/68150/
