Hundreds of Israeli peace activists demonstrated on Friday, January 16, in solidarity with the residents of the village of Ras al-Ain al-Auja in the occupied West Bank many of whom were forced to flee due to military and settler violence and those who remained in danger due to threats from the occupation. During the demonstration, racist MK Zvi Sukkot (Religious Zionist) arrived to confront the protesters and was blocked by them.

“End the War, end Occupation”, peace activists demonstrated on Friday, January 16, in solidarity with the residents of the village of Ras al-Ain al-Auja (Photo: Partnership for Peace)

MK Ofer Cassif (Hadash) said journalists, “We went to the Jordan Valley with hundreds of Israelis who refuse to remain silent in the face of settler violence, in solidarity with the Ras Ein al-Auja community, which is fighting against its forced displacement. We cannot allow another ethnic cleansing to happen.”

According to Partnership for Peace, an outpost has been constructed in the heart of the village, turning settler terror, backed by the occupation army, into a daily reality for its inhabitants. Fearing their lives, dozens of families have already left Ras al-Ain al-Auja. Over the past three years, nearly 7,000 Palestinians have been displaced across the West Bank.

Also on Friday, occupation forces raided the home of the Abu Hamam family in al-Khalayel on the outskirts of al-Mughayyir (east Ramallah) and arrested three US activists and one Irish activist after a settler trespassed on the family’s land. As the arrests were happening, Israeli forces shot and killed 14-year-old Muhammad Saad Sami Naasan in front of al-Mughayyir mosque, right after prayer. Two activists have been released with a ban from the West Bank, while a US and an Irish citizen will face deportation hearings tomorrow at Ben Gurion, showing the arbitrary conditions of the arrest.

All four international solidarity activists were arrested under false accusations of assault of a minor and conduct to violate public peace while one is accused of use of poison to commit a crime and two are accused of attempt of injury to an animal. 

One of the US activists stated: “I have chosen to travel to Palestine as it has increasingly become difficult to watch the ongoing genocide and racist violence by Israel against the Palestinian people. I have always believed in international solidarity, and this is one way that I am able to participate in this moment, in hopefully moving towards a free Palestine and a free world. I don’t believe any one individual can do everything, but I do believe we all can do something to contribute towards a free world.”

On December 30, three international activists were surrounded, thrown to the ground, handcuffed, and forcibly taken from the village. They were held for hours at a military base without being traceable before being transferred to a police station. On December 18, Israel deported two US activists, Irene Cho and Trudi Frost, after they spent a week in jail challenging their unlawful arrests and deportation orders. The two were arrested on December 12 near al-Mughayyir after Israeli forces served a one month long military area order encompassing an area which did not include the Abu Hamam residence, where the activists were staying. Several military raids took place the following days as the forces looked for solidarity activists. Meanwhile, settlers are allowed to roam the area, attacking and harassing Palestinian communities with complete impunity. 

Related: https://maki.org.il/en/?p=33160