Until its forcible eviction Saturday night, Palestinian activists built and maintained a new protest camp in E1 to protest Israeli occupation and settlement expansion, directing their message to visiting U.S. President Barack Obama. Photos by: Ryan Rodrick Beiler, Anne Paq, Yotam Ronen, and Oren Ziv As U.S. President Barack Obama's plane was landing at Ben Gurion Airport on Wednesday, Palestinian activists returned to the E1 area to establish yet another protest village in the tradition of Bab Al-Shams and other similar actions in recent months. Organizers named the new camp "Ahfad Younis" after the main character in the novel Bab Al-Shams ("Gate of the Sun") which…

After several days of small-scale demonstrations ahead of Obama's visit, Palestinians organized two larger events Wednesday morning as the American president landed at Ben-Gurion Airport. About 500 people rebuilt 15 tents on privately owned lands in the new village-outpost of "Bab Al-Shams," located at the heart of the much controversial E-1 area, where Israel intends to build thousands of new settler houses, isolating Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank and cutting it in two. Bab Al-Shams was originally set up a few months ago, and dismantled by Israeli police several days later. Activists in the new Bab Al-Shams held…

Palestinian activists create a new village, Al Manatir, on private Palestinian land near the West Bank village of Burin threatened by nearby Israeli settlements. Israeli forces violently evacuate the area, resulting in arrests and injuries. In the early morning hours of Saturday, February 2, Palestinian activists erected a new protest village in the spirit of Bab Al-Shams on a hilltop overlooking the West Bank village of Burin. Named Al Manatir, the new village's location was selected to protest the expansion of nearby Israeli settlements and the violence and harassment Burin's residents frequently face from settlers. According to the action's organizers, Hundreds…

In third such project in as many weeks, hundreds of Palestinians erect new neighborhood of Burin, calling it Manatir. The activists and village residents were quickly attacked by IDF soldiers and local settlers. Update: After hours of clashes where IDF troops reportedly shot live bullets, tear gas and rubber-coated bullets inside the village of Burin, the army completely cleared the new neighborhood of Al Manitar. At least five Palestinians were arrested throughout the day and an unknown number were injured. See pictures of Border Police dispersing activists here. Some 300 Palestinians from the village of Burin and the popular committees against…

'What made Bab Al-Shams significant was the fact that it asserted that Palestinian activists would not simply react to injustices the occupation laid at our doorstep, but that we were determined to create our own realities on the ground.' By Irene Nasser Last week, I witnessed a remarkable victory for Palestinian unarmed civil resistance. Over a frigid January weekend, I joined hundreds of Palestinians in establishing Bab Al-Shams (literally ‘Gate of the Sun’), a new Palestinian village, erected on private Palestinian land near Jerusalem in the territory known as E1, which Israel has controversially slated for future settlement growth. The…

For two days on a freezing West Bank hilltop, the Bab Al-Shams village stood as a symbol of Palestinian nonviolent resistance to the planned expansion of settlements that would cut the West Bank into two and deny territorial contiguity to any hypothetical Palestinian state. Photos by: Hamde Abu Rahma, Ahmad Al-Bazz, Anne Paq, Yotam Ronen, and Oren Ziv On the morning of Friday, January 11, Palestinian activists from the various Popular Struggle Committees established a tent camp on a hilltop in an area east of the West Bank known as E1, calling it the Bab Al-Shams (Gate of the Sun) village. The land in…

The consequences of the the Israeli government decision go beyond the action against the Palestinian community in Bab Al-Shams. By evicting the residents, Netanyahu has made a mockery of the Israeli High Court and, in turn, the rule of law. In the early hours of Sunday morning, hundreds of Israeli soldiers stormed the newly-founded Bab Al-Shams village, evicting Palestinian and international activists. The eviction took place despite an injunction by the High Court of Justice. However, Palestinians at the site were notified ahead of time that they will be removed regardless of the decision. The Bab Al-Shams village was created…

UPDATE, 8:30 a.m.: Mass police and army forces evacuated Bab Al-Shams overnight, following a statement made by the prosecuter general stating that the outpost is an immediate threat to the security of the region. Hundreds of soldiers and police detained the dozens of activists present, who resisted the eviction non-violently, and put them on busses to Qalandiya checkpoint. The tents have remained in Bab Al-Shams, and authorities are waiting on the High Court to rule on whether or not they too can be brought down. The heart of the legal controversy is whether or not Bab Al-Shams was built on…

In response to the Israeli government's plans to build 4,000 housing units for Jewish settlers in the E1 area, Palestinians set up a new tent village called Bab Al-Shams (Gate of the Sun). Police attempts to dismantle the new village were thwarted by a temporary warrant issued by the High Court of Justice. Some 250 Palestinians, organized in part by the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee and activists from several villages in struggle against the wall and settlements, arrived at the area known by Israel as E1 early this morning, and started work on their new village. Activists state that the…