Ahlan wa sahlan

We got into the West Bank with no hitches.

Unfortunately, I did not get to visit the old city of Al-Quds or Jerusalem, like I promised folks back home I would. I will when I get the opportunity. Around a dozen of us, Internationals -from U.S., Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, and Denmark- and Palestinians who live outside of the West Bank, crossed into the West Bank and were trained to integrate into ISM, the International Solidarity Movement.

Although Israel announced they would close the West Bank to Internationals, there are a surprising number from various countries working in different organizations. ISM's purpose is to support communities that are resisting the Israeli occupation using non-violent direct action. There are many ways to resist an occupation, many strategies, many tactics, and it is up to Palestinians to decide which one's are acceptible and most effective for their own liberation.

Palestinians have invited Internationals to support non-violent direct action through ISM and that seems to make the most sense for us as allies. It is quite a challenge and it very humbling to learn about how Palestinians use non-violent tactics in the face of such virulent aggression from settlers and the Israeli Occupation Forces. You need to participate in it to understand it.

A few blocks from us in Ramallah, there is a memorial for a shaheed, a martyr, who used armed struggle to fight for the liberation of Palestine. He was shot dead on a corner. The Israeli Special Forces who killed him let him bleed to death from his wounds. He could easily have been captured and given the proper medical care but instead he was killed like a dog in the street. The images of this patriot are posted throughout the neighborhood and on the corner he was killed there is a solemn place for remembrance. Being there I thought of Filiberto Ojeda Rios, commander of the Ejercito Popular Boricua - Macheteros. Filiberto, a grandfather and Puerto Rican patriot, was gunned down in the doorway of his home, where he lived with his wife, violently ending 15 years of resistance in clandestinity. Seeing the posters and memorial of this Palestinian martyr helped me recognize that although I have not visited Puerto Rico since Filiberto's death, I am not far removed from those who die for freedom, they are all around us.

Filastine has many Filibertos.