Israeli forces injure and arrest activists while evacuating a Jordan Valley village

Israeli army forces have injured and arrested tens of Palestinian activists on Friday following a raid on the Ein Hejleh village in the southern Jordan Valley.

The Palestinian and international activists said Israeli forces stormed the village after midnight; using sound and smoke bombs and attacked activists and journalists who were covering the Israeli aggression. Several young men were injured and an unknown number were arrested.

The activists set up their encampment on Friday to defend the Ein Hejleh village which Israel had threatened to evacuate and seize.

According to local radio stations; the Israeli forces attacked the nearly 300 to 500 activists and forced them to evacuate the village. Activists said that Israeli forces emptied the village and declared it a closed military area.

Almost two year ago Palestinian activists began to establish villages of tents on land threatened with confiscation; but Israeli forces demolish them and evacuate the protesters by force

Lorry driver responsible for fatal A19 crash sent to Crown court to be sentenced

8 Feb 2014 08:59

Jose Carlos Da Silva Pereira, who is from Portugal, was exceeding the speed limit on the A19 when the tragedy happened

Lorry driver Jose Carlos Da Silva Pereira, above, and police at the scene of the crash on the northbound A19

A lorry driver responsible for a catastrophic crash which killed a much-loved grandfather has been sent to the Crown court to be sentenced.

Jose Carlos Da Silva Pereira, who is from Portugal, was exceeding the speed limit on the A19 when the tragedy happened.

A court heard how the Mercedes Benz heavy goods vehicle driven by Pereira smashed into the back of a Vauxhall Corsa.

It contained church minister Arthur Sanders, who had been travelling alone from the Manchester area to a job interview on August 6 last year.

The 79-year-old pulled over his car on the northbound carriageway of the A19 after receiving a phone call.

While he was stopped, his vehicle was struck by the Spanish-registered left-hand drive HGV driven by 54-year-old Pereira.

Teesside Magistrates’ Court was told how the lorry was travelling at 56mph, while the speed limit for HGVs on the A19 was 50mph.

Christopher Atkinson, prosecuting, told the court how the collision caused “catastrophic” damage to the Corsa, shunting it some distance down the road.

Passing members of the public stopped to offer first aid but tragically Mr Sanders had suffered injuries he couldn’t survive.

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A19 northbound from Crathorne accident

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Mr Atkinson said the Crown’s case was that Pereira had time either to stop his vehicle or manoeuvre around Mr Sanders’ vehicle but he did neither.

During one police interview, Pereira claimed Mr Sanders had pulled out in front of him but the evidence showed this was not the case, said Mr Atkinson.

In a moving victim impact statement, Mr Sanders’ family described how they had been devastated by his death and said the pain would never go away.

They described Mr Sanders as a family man, a “wonderful” father, grandfather and friend who had also served as a minister.

Lesley Goodman, representing Pereira, said it was a mitigating feature of the case that the actions of Mr Sanders had contributed to what happened.

She said Pereira was a 54-year-old man of previous good character.

He had been a professional driver for more than 30 years and had an “impeccable” driving record, the court was told.

She said as a family man with children and grandchildren of his own he could empathise with the victim’s family and had shown genuine remorse.

Pereira, of Rua Cortegaca, Fornelos, Cinfaes, Portugal, was due to be sentenced when he appeared at Teesside Magistrates’ Court yesterday .

He had previously pleaded guilty to a charge of causing death by careless driving .

After hearing both the prosecution and defence cases and a victim impact statement, the magistrates retired to consider sentencing.

But when they returned they apologised to Mr Sanders’ family, saying unfortunately they would have to go through it all again.

They told Pereira that their sentencing powers were not sufficient to deal with the case and they were sending the case to the Crown court.

No date was fixed for the Crown court hearing and Pereira was given unconditional bail.

Turkish PM meets Tunisia’s Ennahda party leader

Tunisia’s Ennahda Party Leader Rashid Ghannouchi met with Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday. Following their meeting Ghannouchi told the Anadolu news agency the two leaders discussed the most prominent issues in the Islamic world and the situation in Tunisia.

Ghannouchi said the talks with Erdogan about Tunisia focused on the steps the country took towards reinforcing democracy which led to drafting a consensus constitution supported by the government. “Tunisia has become a leading model of democracy in the region,” he said.

Ghannouchi expressed his hopes that his party will achieve good results during the next elections

Lukas Jutkiewicz aims to end season on high note at Bolton

8 Feb 2014 08:43

Lukas Jutkiewicz will assess his long-term future in the summer after the 24-year-old striker joined Bolton on loan in the final week of the January transfer window

Action Images / John Marsh

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Lukas Jutkiewicz will assess his long-term future in the summer.

The 24-year-old striker joined Bolton on loan in the final week of the January transfer window and will stay at the Reebok for the remainder of the current campaign.

However, he has almost two-and-a-half years remaining on his Boro deal and hasn’t given up hope of establishing himself at the club.

“At the minute I just want to have a strong end to the season and then re-assess things in the summer,” said Jutkiewicz.

“I’ve got this year and two more after it on my contract at Boro but I think I’ve walked into a really good changing room of boys here, there is a togetherness and a willingness to get out of the situation we’re in, so at the moment I want to be a part of that.”

Boro paid Coventry City £1.3m for Jutkiewicz two years ago. Manager at the time Tony Mowbray expected the strapping frontman to develop into a formidable physical specimen capable of terrorising defenders. But his progress has been hampered by injuries which have ultimately taken a toll on his confidence.

Before joining Bolton, Jutkiewicz had scored just one league goal for Boro this season.

Both Aitor Karanka and his current boss Dougie Freedman hope a new challenge with Bolton will give the player a much-needed boost of self-belief.

Jutkiewicz is certainly enjoying himself in the North-west.

“I’m obviously very happy to be here and very excited, so hopefully things will work out for both myself and the club,” he said.

“One thing is that I’ll always give my all on the pitch. I’m a hard-working striker who can hopefully score a few goals for the team.

“I don’t think Bolton are far away from being a very good team,” added Jutkiewicz, who has made two appearances for Bolton, ending up on the losing side on both occasions. I’m surprised that Bolton are down here.

“I knew the quality of the players in that dressing room from having played against them. That hasn’t changed now that I have played with them as well.

“This is an unforgiving league and it’s about learning when to play the dirty side of it, playing percentages, but I’m still surprised to see Bolton down there.”

Meanwhile, former Boro defender David Wheater has returned to full training with the Bolton squad.

The Redcar-born defender has been suffering from a knee problem that had stopped him playing and training regularly but Freedman has confirmed the 26-year-old is back in contention.

He said: “His condition wasn’t right to handle the workload required to play week in, week out, hence at the beginning of the season he was playing a game and then not training. I couldn’t have that.

“He’s been with the sports science department for the past six weeks. Now he’s back fit and in contention. We have got another defender we can benefit from.”

Time to make a stand? See Page 8

Conduct a probe into Aseemanand’s interview: Jaiswal

Union Minister Sripakash Jaiswal today hit out at Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) over alleged terror links while seeking a probe into allegations levelled by Samjhauta blast case accused Aseemanand on the right wing outfit.

“Congress has always sought investigations into the activities of the RSS,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.

When asked about reports that Swami Aseemanand had claimed that RSS leadership “sanctioned” some terror acts, Jaiswal said if Aseemanand has mentioned this in an interview to the media then the allegations should be probed.

15-year old Mariyah…the youngest detainee in Egyptian prisons

The alliance supporting the elected Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi considered the verdict issued on Thursday against a 15-year old student, sentencing her to one year in prison, as “an example of the oppression and injustice executed by the military coup in the name of the law.”

The Juvenile Court in the Dakahlia governorate (in the Nile Delta) issued a verdict on Thursday sentencing the 15-year old student, Mariyah Al-Metwalli Samaha, to a year in prison and a fine of EGP 20,000 (about $2,800) on charges of possession of flyers with the Rabaa sign during her participation in a demonstration supporting President Morsi.

The prosecution charged her with inciting riot, being a member of a banned group (the Muslim Brotherhood), and demonstrating without a permit. Her case was transferred to the juvenile court, according to legal sources.

After the verdict was issued, Mariyah became the youngest Egyptian female sentenced to prison due to her participation in protests opposing the military authorities.

In a statement issued by the Alliance, it described the verdict against the high school student as harsh and “a disgrace to the Egyptian judiciary”, adding that “such sentences will only increase the Egyptian people’s determination to defeat the coup.”

According to legal sources, the verdict issued by the juvenile court in Dakahlia is subject to appeal, which the girl’s lawyer is expected to do.

It is worth noting that an Egyptian court in the city of Alexandria had already issued a ruling sentencing 14 girls supporting Morsi to 11 years and one month of imprisonment last November, as well as sending seven other girls to juvenile detention due to the fact that they were under the legal age of 18, on charges that, according to observers and activists, are baseless.

At the time, the ruling sparked criticism from international and local human rights organisations before the ruling was vetoed last December and reduced from 11 years to a suspended one year term, while the seven minors were released

Palestinian women changing the resistance

On January 31 2014, the Popular Struggle Committees participants united as part of the “Melh Al-Ard” (salt of the Earth) campaign with the objective of revitalising the abandoned village of Ein Hiljeh in the Jordan Valley.

The choice of the location wasn’t random; it’s strongly connected to the political requests of the action: stop the on-going effects of the Occupation’s plan and reconfirm the Palestinian sovereignty over those territories in the Jordan Valley (Area C) that Israel want to annex with the assent of the negotiations carried out by US Secretary of State John Kerry.

More than 300 Palestinians from different villages of the West Bank gathered on the first day. An increased participation compared to that of 2013 in Bab Al-Shams, the Palestinian encampment erected on the outskirts of Jerusalem, where Israel wanted to build 35,000 housing units creating a corridor of settlements with the intent of fragmentising and isolating the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

The transformation and appropriation of Palestinian land, implemented by Israel, doesn’t only aim to the establishment of the Zionist idea of “Greater Israel”, it also has a less visible agenda: the control of the Palestinian population and resources.

The Palestinians counteract by refusing the occupant’s authority, reclaiming the Palestinian sovereignty, denouncing the occupation in all its elements and looking for new forms of nonviolent popular struggle.

The aim is to create an alternative grassroots movement able to escape from corrupt government policies but with a national impact. Direct nonviolent actions as Ein Hijleh have a powerful resonance: they raise consciousness and use creative tension as a mean of bringing down an unjust system, replaced by a just and human one.

“Melh Al-Ard” (Salt of the Earth) refers to a phrase from the bible, Matthew 13:5: “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.”

As the communication of the campaign states: “The sons and daughters of Ein Hijleh call upon our people to join the struggle to revive the village and protect our rights, history, culture and land. Daughters and sons of Palestine be the salt of this earth and stay steadfast on it.”

To this invitation, residents of Nabi Saleh responded by leaving their village, still involved in the weekly Friday demonstrations against the Israeli Occupation Forces, to head towards Ein Hijleh. Nabi Saleh is a small village of 500 inhabitants located near Ramallah and belonging to the Tamimi family.

An essential member of the Popular Struggle Committee, it’s one of the most active resistant villages in the West Bank. Positioned in area C, their struggle is against the illegal expansion of the Halamish settlement. In 2008 Ein Al-Qaws was taken over by the settlers, since then Nabi Saleh has been fighting against the Occupation system.

On Friday, Nabi Saleh’s inhabitants challenged the mobile checkpoints that were blocking the main roads to Ein Hijleh. After taking a secondary road and deceiving the Israeli police, they arrived triumphantly singing their way through the palms that surround the ruins of the old Canaanite village.

In the village of Nabi Saleh, the role of women is fundamental to the popular struggle. The commitment of women is recognised and supported because “they are the educators of the new generations. If women aren’t free nor will the new generations be”, Bassem Tamimi, recognised as Human Rights Defender by the EU, said.

Women are the driving force of the nonviolent movement in Nabi Saleh. Every Friday, while chanting slogans and proudly holding Palestinian flags, they daringly lead the march towards the tower at the entrance of the village or towards Ein Al-Qaws.

“Palestinian women are planting the seeds of resistance,” Manal Tamimi says. She explained that the women raise their children in a culture of resistance and they are teaching them not to be victims themselves but to react.

For this reason, despite the uncertainty and danger, the women of Nabi Saleh brought their children to Ein Hijleh. “We want them to learn the spirit of volunteering. It’s important for children to participate to these actions in order to grow aware of their role in the resistance,” Manal said.

Women and children of Nabi Saleh are well aware of how to act in case of raids from the army, they were born and raised under occupation and they’ve had to deal with it daily.

“Let them come. The army comes everyday to my house stepping on my land,” Rouan Tamimi said. Women also join these events to help deter the use of excessive violence towards the activists.

It is pivotal to involve children and women in the construction of the foundations of society in order to assure an inclusive community. The strength of the nonviolent movement is the equality of responsibility, regardless of affiliation, gender or social class. Anyone can give their contribution to the struggle.

The author is a Servizio Civile Internazionale Italia (SCI) volunteer with a Master’s degree in International Cooperation. She is currently living in Nabi Saleh and reporting about the Popular Struggle