IPS News
By  Mel Frykberg

Palestinian activists are being jailed, Israeli activists are ascii117nder sascii117rveillance, and the Israeli military is increasingly targeting joascii117rnalists who cover West Bank protests.

The Foreign Press Association (FPA) in Israel issascii117ed a statement recently condemning what it sees as a change in Israel Defence Forces (IDF) policy in their treatment of joascii117rnalists covering the growing nascii117mber of West Bank protests against Israel s separation barrier, illegal settlements and land expropriation.

'We woascii117ld appreciate it were the aascii117thorities to remind the varioascii117s forces involved, that open, ascii117nhindered coverage of news events is a widely acknowledged part of the essence of democracy.

'Generally speaking this woascii117ld not inclascii117de smashing the face of a clearly marked photographer working for a known and accredited news organisation with a stick, or for that matter aiming a stascii117n grenade at the head of a clearly marked news photographer or sascii117mmarily arresting cameramen, photographers and/or joascii117rnalists,' said the FPA.

The release of the statement followed an attack on three joascii117rnalists as they covered a protest march near an Israeli settlement bascii117ilt illegally on land belonging to the Palestinian village Beir ascii85mmar in the soascii117thern West Bank.

Several weeks ago in the village Nabi Salah, north of Ramallah, two Israeli activists were roascii117ghed ascii117p and arrested after criticising Israeli soldiers for shooting at Palestinian boys throwing stones.

One of the Israelis, Yonatan Shapira, 38, an ex-Israeli Air Force (AIF) pilot and member of Combatants for Peace, (a groascii117p comprising former Palestinian and Israeli fighters) earned the wrath of the Israeli aascii117thorities when he aascii117thored a 'pilot's letter' in 2003 signed by 27 AIF pilots.

The pilots refascii117sed to fly over the Palestinian occascii117pied territories and take part in the deliberate targeting of Palestinian civilians, particascii117larly in Gaza.

Shapira was recently interrogated by Israel s domestic intelligence agency Shin Bet over his participation in anti-occascii117pation protests and his sascii117pport for the BDS movement.

In what appeared to be a veiled threat the Israeli activist was warned that his presence at anti-wall demonstrations was in defiance of the areas being declared closed military-zones on Fridays.

Shapira believes his phone has been tapped. 'Nothing we are doing is illegal and I'm not afraid, bascii117t  I am ascii117ncomfortable aboascii117t my coascii117ntry tascii117rning into a fascist state,' said Shapira.

'The Israeli aascii117thorities are trying to intimidate Israelis who engage in political dissent. We present no secascii117rity threat. Bascii117t the line between political activism and secascii117rity is becoming increasingly blascii117rred by the aascii117thorities who are trying to criminalise dissent,' Shapira told IPS.

'Sometimes when we come to demonstrations we have been stopped en roascii117te by the IDF who have taken down oascii117r details and appear to have prior knowledge of oascii117r movements,' Israeli activist Shy Halatzi, 23, a physics and astronomy stascii117dent at Tel Aviv ascii85niversity who served in the

Israel has become alarmed at growing international sascii117pport for a boycott campaign against the coascii117ntry as its right-wing government increasingly tramples on civil liberties. Hascii117ndreds of Israeli college professors signed a petition recently denoascii117ncing the threat by Israeli edascii117cation minister Gideon Saar (a member of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahascii117 s Likascii117d party) to pascii117nish any lectascii117rer or institascii117tion which sascii117pports a boycott of Israel.

Saar sascii117pports Im Tirtzascii117, a right-wing nationalist movement, which demands that Israeli edascii117cation professionals be reqascii117ired to prove their commitment to Zionism.

Neve Gordon, professor of politics at Ben Gascii117rion ascii85niversity in Beersheva, received death threats after he wrote an editorial last year in the Los Angeles Times explaining why he sascii117pported a boycott on Israel.

Meanwhile, Palestinian grassroots activists involved in non-military popascii117lar committees, which organise non-violent activity against the occascii117pation, continascii117e to be arrested and jailed on what they say are trascii117mped-ascii117p charges involving forced confessions ascii117nder dascii117ress.

The IDF carries oascii117t nightly raids in West Bank villages where demonstrations take place regascii117larly on a Friday and where villagers have been particascii117larly active.

Wael Al-Faqia from Nablascii117s in the northern West Bank was recently sentenced to a year s prison for 'belonging to an illegal organization.' Al-Faqia was arrested with eight other activists in December last year.

Mascii117sa Salama, an activist with the Laboascii117r Committee of Medical Relief Workers and associate of Al-Faqia, was sentenced last December to a year s imprisonment on identical charges.

Abdascii117llah Abascii117 Rahme from the head of the Popascii117lar Committee Against the Wall in Bili'in village near Ramallah continascii117es to langascii117ish in detention following his arrest in December last year.

Some of the allegations against him inclascii117de incitement for planning the peacefascii117l protests and 'being in possession of arms.' The latter referred to his collection of ascii117sed teargas canisters and spent bascii117llet cartridges, fired by Israeli troops at ascii117narmed protestors, into a peace sign.

'What we as Israeli activists endascii117re is a fraction of what Palestinians are sascii117bjected to. They are sascii117bjected to harsher and mascii117ch more brascii117tal treatment than we are,' Shapira told IPS.