"Israel" Raids Bab al-Shams, Palestinians Vow Return

Local Editor

Palestinians vowed to erect a new set of encampments across the "Israeli"-occupied West Bank Sunday following an overnight raid on the established tent village.

Witnesses said that hundreds of "Israeli" soldiers invaded the two-day-old Bab al-Shams encampment at around 2:30am, destroyed their tents and beat the occupants before forcing them into vans and releasing them in other parts of the West Bank.
"We're going to return to Bab al Shams," Abdallah Abu Rahmeh, a Bab al-Shams coordinator, told Al-Akhbar Lebanese daily. "It seems the army has besieged the village completely so it will be difficult, but we're trying to organize our ranks to return."

Some of the injured were sent to Ramallah for medical treatment.
"The wounded were punched in the face and left with injuries near their eyes," Abir Kopty, an activist who was camped out at Bab al-Shams during the assault stated.
"The "Israeli" court had decided that people could not be removed unless they were a security threat, so "Israel" labeled the protesters as threats to national security," Kopty said.

She added that the activists have regrouped and are discussing a new plan of action. They have promised more protest camps in areas designated by "Israel" for settlements.
"This is not the end of the popular struggle and it will continue in its full strength," read a statement by the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee that organized the camp.

Moreover, the "Israeli" forces attacked media crews and shined bright lights making it impossible for the cameramen to capture footages at night.

Palestinians established the village on Friday, taking the name from Lebanese writer Elias Khoury's book "Bab al-Shams," or "Gate of the Sun," on land slated for the expansion of Zionist settlements in the area known as EI.
The aim was to create ‘facts on the ground' mirroring tactics of the Zionist settlers in an effort to reclaim their land and prevent "Israel" from expanding illegal settlements.
The 250 Palestinian men and women of the community published a statement vowing to remain in the village until the legal landowners were given "their right to build on their land."
"For decades, "Israel" has established facts on the ground as the International community remained silent in response to these violations. The time has come now to change the rules of the game, for us to establish facts on the ground - our own land," they said.

The popular committee said six Palestinians were treated at a Ramallah hospital having been injured during the evacuation.

Palestinian National initiative MP Mustafa Barghouti and eight other community activists were among those detained at the scene, witnesses said.
Meanwhile, "Israeli" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that his orders to seal off the came to prevent clashes.

"I immediately called for the area to be closed off so there would not be large gatherings there that could cause friction and breach the public order," Netanyahu told "Israeli" Army Radio.

He vowed to build "Israeli" settlements in the area. "It will not happen immediately, you understand our bureaucratic process ... We will complete the planning an there will be building there."

Source: News Agencies, Edited by moqawama.org