This week: Palestinians demonstrate against the Israeli separation wall and U.S. foreign policy, construction and demolition of Palestinian homes, Afghan asylum seekers struggle in Europe, a funeral for a Palestinian who died in Israeli custody, a hearing on the Prawer-Begin Plan, animal rights activists in Tel Aviv, and Palestinians seek water access in the Jordan Valley.
A Palestinian youth during the weekly protest against the wall in the West Bank village of Bil’in, November 1, 2013. One Palestinian youth was shot in the leg with live ammunition during the demonstration and evacuated to Ramallah hospital. (Photo by: Hamde Abu Rahma/Actviestills.org)
A construction worker in the new city of Rawabi, between Ramallah and Nablus in the northern West Bank. The Rawabi project, which includes homes for at least 25,000 residents, and perhaps in the end even 40,000, is the first planned Palestinian city of its kind and the largest privately-funded development project in Palestinian history. (Photo: Yotam Ronen/Activestills.org)
During a visit by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Bethlehem-area activists confronted Palestinian Authority police during a protest against U.S. policy in the midst of negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian leaders, November 6, 2013. The demonstrators accused the U.S. administration of bias and criticized continued aid for Israel despite ongoing violations of international law, particularly settlement expansion and human rights abuses under the occupation. (Photo: Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills.org)
Afghan asylum seekers living in a abandoned school for the past week, Brussels, Belgium, November 1, 2013. Hundreds of Afghan asylum seekers live in the abandoned school building in difficult conditions. They have been protesting for months, demanding asylum and protection from Belgium. Belgium has been involved in the Afghan conflict for 10 years. Without papers, Afghan asylum seekers cannot work or find decent housing. They are around 2.7 million Afghans who continue to live in exile and some 450,000 are internally displaced. (Photo: Anne Paq/Activestills.org)
Hedviga Hankova and her daughter Perla in their room where they live with three others, inside GESU, an ancient convent occupied by 200 migrants who are under threat of being evicted following an order from the mayor of Saint-Josse, Brussels, Belgium, November 1, 2013. Hedviga, 28-year-old, is from Slovakia and is unemployed. She came to Belgium eight years ago and joined her companion in GESU six months ago because she could not afford housing after losing her social benefits. Hedviga has two children. Many families live in the building, some since it was first occupied by migrants three years ago. (Photo: Anne Paq/Activestills.org)
Afghan asylum seekers under a banner reading “Aref, victim of asylum policy,” during a demonstration against European migration policies, Brussels, Belgium, November 1, 2013. Aref was a 22-year-old Afghan who was shot dead two weeks ago in Kaboul. He was living in Belgium but was forced to go back to Afghanistan after his demand for asylum was rejected four times. (Photo: Anne Paq/Activestills.org)
Palestinians, Israelis and international activists march during the weekly protest against the occupation in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh, November 1, 2013. (Photo: Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)
The funeral of Hassan Toraby, 22, who died at an Israeli hospital in Afula after allegedly being denied essential medical treatment in prison. Sara, West Bank, November 5, 2013. Toraby suffered from Leukemia, and was not provided urgently needed specialized treatment. Toraby was from the village of Sara, near the northern West Bank city of Nablus. (Photo: Ahmad Al-Bazz/Activestills.org)
Members of the Abu Tarbush family survey their possessions removed from their house, which had been demolished by Israeli authorities several days earlier, near the Israeli military checkpoint controlling access between Bethlehem and Jerusalem, November 1, 2013. Israeli authorities demolished the house on October 27, 2013, leaving 14 people homeless. The women of the family are living with relatives while the men live on the demolition site in tents supplied by the Red Cross. According to the family, they had a 99-year agreement to rent the house from the Orthodox Church, to which the land belongs. They plan to remain on the site until the church helps them to rebuild their house. (Photo: Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills.org)
The Internal Affairs and Environment Committee in the Israeli Knesset in Jerusalem, during a hearing regarding the Israeli government’s c-Begin Plan, November 6, 2013. The plan, if implemented, will displace tens of thousands of Bedouin citizens from their homes in the Negev desert. Nearly all residents in the unrecognized Negev villages will be evicted and forcibly relocated to planned communities. (Photo: Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)
Animal rights activists stand in silence holding dead chickens and chicks while wearing T-shirts that read, “Their Life is in Our Hands.” The performance called for the boycott and closing of Israeli meat company “Zoglovek,” after a TV investigation revealed harsh treatment of animals in the company’s meat production. Tel Aviv, Israel, November 1, 2013. (Photo: Keren Manor/Activestills.org)
Palestinian activists confront Israeli soldiers blocking the path of the weekly demonstration against the occupation and separation wall in the West Bank village of Al Ma’asara, November 1, 2013. If built as planned, the wall would divide the village from its agricultural lands. (Photo: Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills.org)
A water tank set up by Palestinian residents of Hadidia collects excess water dumped by a nearby Israeli pumping station. The tank is the primary source of water and takes about three days or more to be filled, Jordan Valley, West Bank, November 01, 2013. Palestinians in the Jordan Valley suffer from lack of access to water. According to the Jordan Valley Solidarity Campaign, women, men, and children in the area survive on around 20 liters of water per person per day. The World Health Organization recommends 100 liters of water/person/day, and in illegal Israeli settlements in the Jordan Valley, average water consumption is 451 liters/person/day. (Photo: Ahmad Al-Bazz/Activestills.org)
Israeli army soldiers monitor the destroyed village of Khirbet Makhoul, Jordan Valley, West Bank, November 01, 2013. Khirbet Makhoul was demolished four times in October, 2013, by the Israeli army, which also prevented humanitarian aid organizations from delivering tents and other materials to residents. (Photo: Ahmad Al-Bazz/Activestills.org)