Settlers are trying to move to Oush Grab
On the day we commemorated Nakba in Beit Sahour (see my previous story) a group of about 50 settlers came to Beit Sahour, as they said themselves, to prepare the old military base that has been abandonned by the Israeli army in 2006, for a new settler outpost.
As soon as local Palestinians and internationals knew about the settlers, they went to the place, known as Oush Grab, but they were kept away by the Israeli army. The settlers left after a few hours of making racist graffitis inside the old military base. The next day on Friday and also on Saturday some settlers returned to prepare the place for a couple of Jewish families to move there (see this article on their own news website: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/126195
And from the Palestinian IMEMC: http://www.imemc.org/article/54865
Saturday night, after the AICafe event in the Alternative Information Center, we gathered with a group of locals and internationals to discuss what we can do about this situation. A group of internationals has been working in the vicinity of the old military base over the past year, organizing activities for Palestinian youth. They built a climbing tower there and the Municipality has started the works on a public parc. I have written about the Paidia games and activities before on my weblog and in my online photo album you can see our youth group from Lighting Candles in the Paidia program!
We dont want any violent confrontations with settlers, nor do we want to get arrested. But we do want the settlers to know that this space is not available for them. This place is in use with the local community of Beit Sahour.
We have organized a couple of activities over the past week, to show our presence on that site. A picknick, a day of painting over the ugly racist graffitis, an AICafe event on location and last Friday a Paidia games program.
As we arrived Friday at 9.30am we saw four settlers, one with a big gun and one with a shofar (a ram’s horn) that she was blowing couple of times. Wecontinued our way towards the military base and passed by them, saying’good morning’ and ignoring them for the rest. They were very confusedand asked each other (in American English!) if we were maybe tourists.When they figured out we weren’t tourists, they started telling eachother ‘they are taking over the place! they are taking over the place!!’
The settlers then called the army and soon soldiers appeared on the top of the military base. We continued playing games while more soldiers arrived. Finally we decided to move to the climbing tower to do some climbing activities. The soldiers were quite confused about our presence there and the fact that we were not protesting, but just having our activities at the old military base.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&Do=&ID=29461
The Municipality of Beit Sahour has now called for an official meeting with all NGO’s, schools, churches and active individuals of the town, to set up a stirring committee and to organize ourselves for the near and far future.
See some photos in my online album: http://www.flickr.com/photos/24471684@N07/sets/72157604072599879/
And read more about the history of Oush Grab and our intentions with that site:
Oush Grab is a new public park built on land owned by the Beit Sahour Municipality. The site is a former Israeli military camp, left by the occupation forces in April, 2006. Before 1967 it was used by the Jordanian army as a military base. The Jordanians bought the land from Palestinian owners; the land within this original border is now under the jurisdiction of the Beit Shaour municipality. When the Israeli army took over the camp, they expanded the borders to include some private land neighboring the camp. This private land has now been returned to the Palestinian landowners and is not reflected in the municipal master plan. The top of the hill, where the old military buildings are still located, is the only part of the area still under Israeli military order. This means the municipality is not allowed to build or develop the space, though it lies within the original Jordanian border and is public land. The Beit Sahour Municipality, the NGO Paidia and other local NGOS, were able to lift the military order on the remainder of the camp. The development as a public garden and recreation area is vital for the social, economic and physical wellbeing of the community. As we know, the Bethlehem area suffers from a lack of open spaces where children can safely play and picnic.
On Thursday May 15th, about 50 settlers attempted to take over the site of Oush Grab. According to the many settlers anxious to speak to the press, they are hoping to build a new settlement outpost in the old military buildings at the top of the hill. On Friday morning they returned to mark the buildings with graffiti and to hang flags. According to the settlersx92 website, they intend to come to Oush Grab frequently this week.
The possibility of a new settlement outpost, or any kind of sustained military presence at Oush Grab poses more than an immediate security threat to the community. It threatens the existence of the new public park as well as the access of private landowners to their farms. It threatens to destroy the safe, open and public space many organizations have worked so diligently to create.
So, what can we do? The goal is to further integrate Oush Grab, specifically the top of the hill, into the local community by holding weekly events and barbeques at the site. In this sense our actions are not simply a reaction against the settlement, but an expression of the different possible uses for the site. Movies, concerts, art projects, hiking and dance parties are all part of the opportunity. By approaching local organizations and the Popular Committes we can build a groundswell of support. We have to do things the settlers and the army will not expect, things that they donx92t know how to react to.
As we move forward we have to remember that this proposed settlement/outpost is not only an act of injustice, it is also illegal. And while the settlers donx92t have much of a sense of humor, they certainly can be dangerous.