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From Bristol to the West Bank: the power of internationalism in Palestine

The Palestinian people have shown astonishing defiance and resilience in the face of Israeli violence and persecution. International volunteers, including Bristolians, are travelling to the West Bank to stand in solidarity with them.

A group of individuals riding bicycles in a rural landscape, waving Palestinian flags.

credit: Asbjørn Nielsen

Voices

“They pointed their guns through the classroom windows, and aimed at the students studying inside,” said Aysha*, a teacher at the Wadi Siq primary school. 

It was late September 2023 in the West Bank, and we stood in the school playground watching young Palestinian boys and girls get on the school bus to take them home. 

Me and another volunteer, from Denmark, said goodbye to Aysha, and boarded the bus in the hope our presence might deter attacks from the violent Israeli settlers who had established a new outpost within eyeshot of the school.

That night we joined Palestinian, Israeli and international volunteers in a nightwatch, hoping a combination of vigilance and safety in numbers would deter settler violence. Several nearby villages had already been pushed out, and we wanted to try and avoid Wadi Siq being next. 

I had travelled from Bristol to the West Bank as a volunteer with the Palestinian-led International Solidarity Movement (ISM). I was about to say a sad goodbye to Wadi Siq, and return home. 

Less than 10 days after I returned to Bristol, the villagers were forced out at gunpoint. They left on foot, unable to take their vehicles and many of their possessions.

After the 7 October breakout from Gaza and Hamas attacks in southern Israel, Israeli politicians had been egging on the settlers to increase their violence in the West Bank. As the world’s attention turned to Gaza, Wadi Siq was forcibly displaced. 

Several brave Palestinian comrades who had joined me in that nightwatch were kidnapped by the settlers, beaten, sexually assaulted and tortured. Since 7 October, a total of 19 West Bank villages have been forced to leave, and seven other communities have been partially displaced. 

Defiance and resilience

When I returned to the West Bank this year, the situation had become much worse. The settlers have now been armed by the state, and drafted into the army as reservists. Uniformed settlers can harass and detain Palestinians, and in many communities are literally getting away with murder

Protesters film a group of settlers, one armed with a club, who are harrassing Palestinians in the Jordan Valley (credit: International Solidarity Movement)

In May, I joined ISM in the West Bank regions of Masafer Yatta and the Jordan Valley where the act of farming has become a frontline of resistance against colonisation. Our role was to answer calls from Palestinian farmers and residents who want an international ‘protective presence’. This summer ISM was proud to support the residents of one village, Zanuta, in returning to their land. 

I’ve been a regular volunteer in Palestine since the ISM was established in 2002. In the early to late 2000s, my comrades and I joined demonstrations against Israel’s apartheid wall, a massive land grab which was built on over hundreds of kilometres of Palestinian land. 

As an international volunteer I have joined Palestinians in collectively taking in the annual olive harvest, in defiance of the army and settlers who want to prevent villagers harvesting their crops. 

I’ve walked kids to school in the city of Al Khalil (Hebron), where settlers newly arrived from Texas and Boston threaten students with automatic weapons. I’ve joined flotillas of fisherfolk from Gaza, determined to maintain their livelihood, despite Israeli drones and gun boats

I’ve been lucky enough to feel the collective defiance and resilience of the Palestinian people. Their strength has demonstrated to me that human beings and communities are capable of displaying mutual aid and solidarity, even in the face of genocide. 

Palestinians and international volunteers take in the annual olive harvest in the West Bank, despite settler and army violence (credit: International Solidarity Movement)

Our presence in Palestine can sometimes feel tokenistic, making little difference to the violence of the state. But all in all, I think international solidarity on the ground in Palestine is important. 

The presence of internationals has sometimes deterred violence by settlers, and ISM’s documentation is helpful in supporting Palestinian legal battles and advocacy. But, most crucially, I hope the presence of internationalists shows struggling Palestinians they are not alone. 

Solidarity with the people of Palestine begins at home. In 2004, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) gave an advisory opinion that Israel’s apartheid wall and occupation policies are illegal, and required governments and corporations to end their complicity in these crimes. 

The silence and inaction from states was deafening. So Palestinians turned to ordinary people to support them. 

Palestinian civil society groups launched the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. BDS’ strategy is designed so people all over the world can take action in their communities, workplaces, schools and universities. The outpouring of solidarity since 2005 is a testament to the power of internationalism. 

Bristol takes action

People in Bristol are no strangers to internationalism. In 2009, as Israel’s bombs rained on Gaza, Bristolians occupied the roof of the Raytheon arms company, and sabotaged the nearby Boeing site. 

This year, Bristolians have picketed Israeli company Elbit’s premises in Filton and Patchway. Two actions this summer by Palestine Action have made serious attempts at dismantling the Filton site, leading to 10 people being remanded in prison. Huge demonstrations have taken place on Bristol’s streets, and there are plans to establish an ‘Apartheid Free Zone’ in Bristol, with residents and businesses pledging not to buy or sell Israeli products. 

Many Bristolians have joined ISM’s work in Palestine too. In 2013, for example, Bristolian volunteer Tom Woodhead was deported from Israel, after joining demonstrations in the village of Qafr Qaddum. 

In 2018, along with fellow Bristolians I joined thousands of Palestinians in the successful campaign to protect the village of Khan Al Ahmar from destruction by the Israeli state’s bulldozers. Beyond ISM, radical football team the Easton Cowfolk has sent Bristolians to Palestine for matches with grassroots Palestinian teams.

After my own return, I was saddened to hear that an ISM comrade, a Turkish-American named Ayşenur Eygi, had been shot dead by an Israeli soldier while standing with Palestinian demonstrators in the village of Beita, near Nablus. 

She will be remembered as a martyr. With the seasons turning, ISM is again calling for volunteers to join Palestinian communities in taking in the olive harvest – celebrating their connection to the land, despite intensifying persecution from Israeli settlers.

Tom Anderson is an anarchist writer and organiser from Bristol.

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