Beit Sahour, West Bank: Civil society organizations and residents of the Occupied Palestinian Territories will gather at Ush Ghrab in Beit Sahour this week to nonviolently oppose a new Israeli settlement at the site.

Ush Ghrab, meaning “crow’s nest” in Arabic, served as an Israeli military base from 1967 until 2006. Today, private confiscated land has been returned to its owners and the rest of Ush Ghrab has become public land under the authority and jurisdiction of the Beit Sahour municipality.

The authority is using the public land as a park, and has plans to build a children’s hospital elsewhere on the site. However, groups of armed Israeli settlers have visited the site since May, vandalizing it with anti-Palestinian graffiti (see photo) and saying they intend to build a new settlement there.

This week, people in Beit Sahour and the surrounding towns and villages will join together in activities of nonviolent resistance at Ush Ghrab:

At 7 p.m. Wednesday (Oct. 15), people will gather in the park at Ush Ghrab, where they will hear a history of the areas around Beit Sahour and Israeli settler activities followed by discussion of forms of resistance to those activities. There will also be a concert with music by the Edward Said Conservatory band members.

On Thursday (Oct. 16), starting at 11 a.m., families can participate in nature walks, bird-watching, and tree-planting activities at the site. At 2 p.m., religious congregations will hold prayers for peace, followed by marching band performances. Some Israeli settlers are also expected to arrive at Ush Ghra around 1 p.m., but the protesters will avoid any confrontation.

The Alternative Information Center (AIC), which has promoted this week’s events at Ush Ghrab, is a partner of The Advocacy Project (AP). Rianne Van Doeveren, an AP Peace Fellow who volunteered with AIC this summer, also worked extensively at the site.

Read Rianne’s blog.

Watch a video detailing the history of Ush Grab: