[Imc-uk-features] antimilitarism/palestine feature

[thewallmustfall at riseup.net]

this has been proposed for southcoast

can i also propose it for antimilitarism/palestine

 Brighton Residents Visit Palestine

BrightonTubas | 22.10.2007 17:28 | South Coast
A delegation of ten people from Brighton arrived in the Tubas region of
occupied Palestine this weekend. The delegation is part of the project by
the Brighton-Tubas Friendship and Solidarity Group . The group's aims are
to highlight Israeli war crimes against Palestinians in the region, raise
awareness about life under occupation and create practical solidarity
links between grassroots organisations in Brighton and Tubas region.

The Jordan Valley, part of which is situated in Tubas region, has been de
facto annexed by Israel. The Israeli occupation forces using land
expropriation, house demolitions, militarising vast swathes of land and
enforcing a system of pass laws reminscent of apartheid South Africa are
attempting to make life impossible for the Palestinians. The aim is to
bleed Palestinians out of the valley, leaving those who remain there to
provide a workforce to serve the needs of the Israeli agricultural
companies who profit from land stolen from the indigenous Palestinian
population.

Daily Reports from the delegation in Palestine

Brighton-Tubas Friendship and Solidarity Group| Stop the Wall n Palestine
| Boycott Israeli Goods Campaign |

Report of Demolition order issued on Fasayil school

Reports of recent actions against Carmel Agrexco: 1 2 3 4 .

This Summer the group helped to fund the building of a school in the
village of Fasayil in defiance of Israeli military restrictions.
Volunteers from Brighton also went out to help construction. Palestinians
in Fasayil are prevented from building any new structures by the
occupation force's military administration.

Back in Brighton there is a sense of disbelief and outrage that this could
happen, but for the Palestinians there is no disbelief. This is the grim
reality of everyday life in the Occupied West Bank, and has been for
decades. The interminable onslaught of the Israeli occupying forces has
deprived Palestinians of their land, homes, livelihoods, education,
resources and freedom of movement; there is simply no area of Palestinian
life that has not been shattered by the occupation. The response to the
latest demolition order in Fasayil is typical of the quiet strength and
courage of the Palestinian people – ‘They can knock our school down as
often as they want. We cannot stop them from doing so. We will build the
school again and again and again. They cannot destroy our determination to
give proper education to our children. Our childrens’ education is our
future. They will not succeed in their attempts to drive us from our
land’.

There are currently ten people from Brighton in Tubas, the second large
delegation this year. The group will consolidate links already made with
organisations such as the Tubas Red Crescent, agricultural cooperatives,
students’ unions, Tubas womens’ group, local trades unions and schools.
Its aim is not charity but solidarity. When asked, Palestinians say that
what they want is for their stories to be heard, for the truth of their
situation to be taken to the outside world. On a recent visit to Brighton
by three Palestinians from Tubas they stated unequivocally that while
money is needed to run any campaign, they are not interested in attempts
to make this occupation more comfortable for Palestinians, but in an end
to the occupation.

The delegation will build on projects begun with many of the above
organisations, as well as documenting the daily human rights abuses
against Palestinian civilians by the Israeli army. Information will be
gathered on the activities of Carmel Agrexco, Israel’s largest exporter of
produce to British supermarkets from illegal settlements in the West Bank.

The Brighton Tubas Friendship and Solidarity Group was set up in March
2006. As well as organising delegations to Palestine, the group sells soap
and handicrafts from a women’s group in Tubas, has hosted a group of
Palestinians from Tubas in Brighton, has funded and helped to build a
school in the Jordan Valley and plans to send a nurse to work in the area
in December.Personal blogs will be written by the group during their
visit.

On their return they will be giving presentations and film shows
documenting the realities of life under military occupation in Tubas. To
read the blogs go to www.brightonpalestine.org/blog

BrightonTubas
- e-mail:: thewallmustfall at riseup.net
- Homepage:: http://tubas.brightonpal