Trees Not Walls: Villagers Mobilize Against Apartheid

[Resistance]

http://www.unobserver.com/layout5.php?id=1357&blz=2

On Thursday 22 January 2004 at 12 noon the villagers of Budrus will again march against the building of a Wall in and around their village that will isolate them from their agricultural lands and imprison them in their cantons, turned ghettos. One hundred olive tree saplings, donated to the village of Budrus by Rabbis for Human Rights, will be planted by members of the community with the support of international and Israeli peace activists.

The saplings will be planted where the Israeli military has uprooted nearly 100 olive trees belonging to the villagers and in the proposed path of the Apartheid Wall. The construction of the Wall in this region will destroy the economic well being of the community, and put the daily lives of students, farmers, and business people at risk.

[Resistance]

1. more info

http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0401/S00163.htm

Sixty Internationals and Israelis joined over 250 Palestinians and marched down to stand in front of the machines flattening the village's farmland for the path of the Wall. Upon sighting the crowd, the earthmovers digging up the land stopped working and pulled back. The villagers set to work planting 50 of the 500 olive trees (previously reported as 100) donated to the village by Rabbis for Human Rights.

As the villagers were planting the trees on their land, the Border Police arrived and announced to the Israelis in Hebrew that Israelis had 15 minutes to clear the area so the Border Policemen could then "deal with the Palestinians". If the Israelis did not leave, they would be arrested. The villagers, not wanting their supporters and guests to be hurt, asked everyone to retreat for the day.

[number6]

2. I'll take trees over walls any day !

;)

[Resistance]

14. got that right

:thumbsup:

[Muddleoftheroad]

15. Trees don't exactly provide protection

I love trees. Too bad the Peace Fence is what's needed.

[DevilsAdvocate2]

3. Can't say I blame the Israelis

"...and put the daily lives of students, farmers, and business people at risk."

What about the suicide bombers who put Israeli citizens' lives at risk, as opposed to just their daily lives? While I feel for the innocent victims, I think the protection of innocent life from suicide bombers takes precendence, especially since the wall encompasses primarily Israeli territory. Israelis are not obligated to allow Palestinians into their country.

[tinnypriv]

4. "Primarily Israeli territory"

Please consult a map.

[DevilsAdvocate2]

5. I have

Thank you :)

[tinnypriv]

6. Care to share?

:D

[JasonDeter]

7. Give a Palestinian terrorist a gun and an Israeli soldier a gun

and them both clear sight at an Israeli citizen and a Palestinian citizen and no one watching to hold them accountable and see who dies.

[Resistance]

8. not a hopeful picture

for either the Israeli citizen or the Palestinian citizen, in your scenario.

[JasonDeter]

9. Please. You know thats not true. The Israeli would be the one shot.

And not by the Israeli soldier. And the Israeli soldier would not just murder the Palestinian.

[Resistance]

28. Israeli soldiers murder Palestinian civilians all the time

Anyone paying the slightest bit of attention to Israel's barbarism can see this.

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

10. Deleted message

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[Resistance]

12. in fact

more deaths (roughly 3 times more) from Israeli soldiers than from Palestinian terrorists - true?

[Muddleoftheroad]

13. Terrorists hide in civilian population centers

Such numbers are inevitably until the Palestinians do something about that.

[kalian]

23. Like Sharon hides in the Knesset...?

[Muddleoftheroad]

27. Ah quip day

Sharon is the elected leader of a democratic state that has made peace with enemies that wished peace. Arafat might try that combo sometime.

[Gimel]

16. Deaths of Palestinians

are not only from Israeli soldiers. About 10% are inflicted from their own side. Bombers blow themselves up. They have strict enforcement of death sentence for suspicion of collaboration, etc.

[bluesoul]

17. 90% are still

killed by the IDF. And they don't count in the suicide bombers when there is talk about Palestinian civilian and other deaths (BTSelem). IDF still does most of the killings, regardless who the victim is...

[Gimel]

18. And more than half

are armed militants. That is by the B'tselem account also.

[bluesoul]

19. Still more Palestinian civilians are killed

then Israelis...

[Gimel]

20. There are causes

Israel would not have en ganged on the operation in the territories if it wasn't for the suicide bomber campaign in 2002. In 6 weeks time, about 250 civilians were murdered. That would have continued without stop. If your house is burning down, you put out the fire.

[Resistance]

21. oh

so the Defense is that for every Israeli civilian killed, Israel then has the right to murder 3 or 4 Palestinian civilians (as well as destroying their homes).

Thanks for clearing that up.

[Gimel]

22. Has the right

to go after the murderers and the organization terrorist leaders, the members of the organizations who plan and carry out the attacks.

[Resistance]

25. Going after murderers is understandable

Murdering innocent people and demolishing homes the way Israel continues to do is not.

[kalian]

24. And what...95% of the Israelis are reservists...

so, doesn't that make them "targets" as well...?
Your logic is rather crude...

[Gimel]

26. Far off in your estimation

Only men under 50 continue to serve in reserve units. When they are not on duty, they have the status of civilians. That's international law. Women generally do not serve after marriage, so that cuts down the percentage of reservists in the total population to maybe 20%.


By the way, I'm not referring to half of all Palestinians being militants. In the context of the discussion, it is half of all Palestinians killed by the IDF that are armed militants.