International Solidarity Movement

Press Release: Israeli army kills American International Solidarity Movement volunteer during demonstration in Beita, Nablus

Media enquiries: ismtraining [at] riseup.net

During the weekly demonstration in Beita, Palestine, on the morning of September 6th, 2024, the Israeli army intentionally shot and killed an International Solidarity Movement (ISM) human rights activist named Ayşenur Eygi.

The demonstration, which primarily involved men and children praying, was met with force from the Israeli army stationed on a hill. Initially, the army fired a large amount of tear gas and then began using live ammunition. Ayşenur, who we consider a martyr in the struggle, was the 18th demonstrator to be killed in Beita since 2020. She was an American citizen of Turkish descent.

The Israeli forces fired two rounds. One hit a Palestinian man in the leg, injuring him. The other round was fired at international human rights activists who were observing the demonstration, striking a human rights activist in the head. Eygi died shortly after being transported to a local hospital in Nablus.

Fellow ISM volunteer Mariam Dag (a pseudonymn) was on the scene, and witnessed the fatal injury of her comrade. She said:

“We were peacefully demonstrating alongside Palestinians against the colonisation of their land, and the illegal settlement of Evyatar. The situation escalated when the Israeli army began to fire tear gas and live ammunition, forcing us to retreat. We were standing on the road, about 200 meters from the soldiers, with a sniper clearly visible on the roof. Our fellow volunteer was standing a bit further back, near an olive tree with some other activists. Despite this, the army intentionally shot her in the head.

This is just another example of the decades of impunity granted to the Israeli government and army, bolstered by the support of the US and European governments, who are complicit in enabling genocide in Gaza. Palestinians have suffered far too long under the weight of colonization. We will continue to stand in solidarity and honor the martyrs until Palestine is free.”

A friend of the slain human rights activist and fellow volunteer with the ISM who does not wish their name released said:

“I don’t know how to say this. There’s no easy way. I wish I could [say] something eloquent, but I can’t through my sobbing tears…. my friend, comrade and travel partner to Palestine, was just shot in the head and murdered by the Israeli Occupation Forces. May she rest in power. She is now one of many martyrs in this struggle.”

Beita is a village in the West Bank where just weeks ago Amado Sison, another American volunteer, was struck by live ammunition in the back of the leg. Beita has a long history of resistance against Israeli occupation and has been a focal point of violence directed towards Palestinian residents by Israeli forces. Located near several illegal Israeli settlements, the village holds regular demonstrations. Due to escalating aggression by the Israeli forces, residents are currently refraining from marching or chanting, instead gathering together on the land and praying.

In recent years, Beita has seen ongoing demonstrations, particularly against the construction of new illegal Israeli outposts on the lands of the village. For example Evyatar outpost, on Sabih Mountain, has been established on Palestinian land. In June, the Israeli security cabinet approved the ‘legalization’ of Evyatar, causing the people of Beita to strengthen their popular resistance.

Residents of Beita recently restarted weekly Friday demonstrations to resist the further theft of their land. While protests had nearly ceased since October 7th 2023, due to escalating violence from Israeli occupation forces, there was a renewed push on July 5th 2024, when dozens of Palestinians, accompanied by international and Israeli activists, marched from the adjacent mountain, through the valley, and towards the outpost.

In recent months, international activists have experienced a sharp increase in violence from Israeli forces and the occupation must be held accountable for this. The woman martyred today was an activist with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a Palestinian-led organization that provides protective presence and solidarity in the West Bank. The ISM was founded in 2002, and has maintained a steady presence in Palestine ever since, supporting the Palestinian popular struggle against the occupation.

Our comrade is added to the 17 Palestinian protesters already slain in Beita:

**Palestinian demonstrators martyred in Beita**
– Mohammed Hamayyel, 15 (March 11, 2020)
– Islam Dwikat, 22 (April 9, 2020)
– Karam Amin Dwikat, 17 (October 15, 2023)
– Issa Sliman Barham, 40 (May 14, 2021)
– Tareq Ommar Snobar, 27 (May 16, 2021)
– Zakaria Maher Hamayyel, 25 (May 28, 2021)
– Mohammed Said Hamayyel, 15 (June 11, 2021)
– Ahmad Zahi Bani Shamsa, 15 (June 16, 2021)
– Shadi Ommar Sharafa, 41 (July 27, 2021)
– Imad Ali Dwikat, 38 (August 6, 2021)
– Mohammed Ali Khbeissa, 27 (September 24, 2021)
– Jamil Jamal Abu Ayyash, 32 (December 1, 2021)
– Fawaz Ahmad Hamayyel, 47 (April 13, 2022)
– Immad Jareh Bani Shamsa, 16 (October 9, 2023)
– Mohammed Ibrahim Adili, 13 (November 23, 2023)
– Maath Ashraf Bani Shamsa, 17 (February 9, 2024)
– Ameed Ghaleb Said al-Jaroub, 34 (March 22, 2024, died of a bullet wound injury to the head sustained on August 21, 2023)

At this time, the family will not be granting any interviews. Please contact ISM for media requests at ismtraining [at] riseup.net

Notes for journalists:

Some media reports have repeated false claims that ISM activists threw rocks during the peaceful demonstration in Beita. All eye witness accounts refute this claim. Aysenur was more than 200 meters away from where the Israeli soldiers were, and there were no confrontations there at all in the minutes before she was shot. Regardless, from such distance, neither she, nor anyone else could have possibly been perceived as posing any threat. She was killed in cold blood.
Statement issued by Beita municipality regarding the martyrdom of the foreign solidarity activist on Mount Sabih
Statement from Aysenur’s family

There is no more life in Tulkarm camps

Israeli armored vehicles during the Israeli incursion

West Bank – Tulkarm
By Diana Khwaelid

When you enter the camps of Tulkarm, you realize that thousands of Palestinians have been killed.

Sections of Tulkarm’s refugee camps have been decimated once more, with several martyrs in the latest attack on November 5. Dozens of Israeli military incursions have completely disfigured the camps.
In recent weeks attacks against Tulkarm’s refugee camps have increased. On November 5, dozens of Israeli military armored vehicles stormed the city of Tulkarm and the incursions were concentrated in both refugee camps.

Israel’s objective is the complete elimination of the West Bank’s refugee camps, especially in the north, along with martyring those who defend the people in the camps. This is as long as the refugee issue will be part of the Palestinian struggle for liberation.
The infrastructure of both Tulkarm and Nur Shams Camps, already destroyed by previous incursions, has been further destroyed with dozens of houses and shops completely burned down.
The main power transformers of the camps were destroyed and the sewage pipes were damaged, making for a more dangerous environment in the camp, especially for the sick, the elderly, and children.
Dozens of Palestinian families in both camps have been expelled due to the loss of their homes or extreme fear for their families’ and children’s lives.
Mahmoud Radwan, a 79-year-old from Tulkarem camp who witnessed the destruction of his house, said: “I’m not leaving the camp. I grew up here and I’ll stay here no matter what. How could I give up on my home?”

Mazen Huaiti, a 22-year-old from Tulkarem camp who lives in the Abu al-full neighborhood, which was destroyed by Israeli bulldozers, said: “No matter how long the occupation continues its policy of destroying houses and streets, we will build it again.

“We are steadfast in the camp and faithful. The main goal of the occupation with the destruction of the camps is to eliminate the Palestinian fighters who defend the camps and who confront the occupation during the incursions… The occupation has taken away our strength… but we believe in God and we will take our strength from God.”
The latest Israeli incursion lasted for 13 continuous hours, causing the residents of the camps to wait it out in a state of terror.

A shop was burned down by an Israeli armored vehicle in the Tulkarm camp

A Palestinian woman cleans the remnants of destruction in Tulkarm camp

A Palestinian family witnesses the destruction caused by the occupation

One of the houses how’s have been destroyed in the AL-Manshiyya neighborhood – Nur shams

A child plays with the Soil of the destroyed street in Tulkarem camp

Two Months Later: Solemn Visit to Ayşenur’s Grave

1 November 2024 Didim, Turkey by Sam

The walk to the graveyard where Ayşenur is buried made me feel as though I was back in rural Palestine: the olive groves on either side of the dirt road, the farmers harvesting olives using the same methods I’d seen them use in the West Bank as well as simply the serene beauty of the landscape.

It felt strange visiting her grave when exactly two months ago today I met her for the first time in Ramallah four days before she was brutally murdered by the Israeli occupation forces (IOF), and I almost feel a sense of guilt for being able to visit her hometown in Didim, Turkey while she is unable to. Why was it her who was shot and not me?

In the wake of her death, numerous well-meaning people have said to me “any one of you could have been killed like Ayşenur was” but I think this misses the point: many Palestinians ARE shot like Ayşenur was, many more are bombed and burnt to death and unfortunately, as Ayşenur herself would say, their deaths receive a fraction of a fraction of the attention her death received.

The grave itself was incredibly peaceful. I was the only one in the graveyard apart from the birds above me, whose chirping added to the serenity of the scene. The peacefulness brought me comfort as it stood in stark contrast to the chaos of the days following her death. Those who attended the protest with her were speaking to journalists non stop for days while the rest of us were doing our best to support them as much as we could and her funeral in Palestine was plagued by diplomatic issues between the Turkish and American governments over where she would be buried. We never got a chance to mourn her in the midst of all this.

Of course, Ayşenur is but one out of hundreds of thousands who have been killed by the IOF in the last year alone. Now, two months after her murder, settler attacks and deportations of foreign activists have ramped up in the West Bank, the north of Gaza has been under siege and has been subjected to massacre after massacre, many parts of Lebanon have been bombed (along with Syria, Iraq and Yemen) and the IOF shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.

It can be easy to feel hopeless and helpless in the face of such monstrosities, but if the Palestinians on the ground haven’t given up the popular struggle for an end to the occupation then we shouldn’t either. I think Ayşenur would have said the same thing.

Rest in power.

The Threat to the Existence of Palestinian Refugee Camps

Nur Shams – Tulkarm By Diana Khwaelid 1 November 2024

Has Israel Succeeded in Implementing the Voluntary Displacement Policy in West Bank Camps?

Israeli forces launched another incursion into the Nur Shams camp in the city of Tulkarm. A military operation by the Israeli occupying forces in the camp led to the destruction of infrastructure that had already been damaged during previous incursions.

The presence of Occupation forces mechanisms.

Almost a month after the last assault on the camp, the occupation returned to launch another military operation, further destroying infrastructure and the camp’s main entrance. Dozens of shops were damaged again after recent rebuilding efforts following the last assault.

Bulldozer used to destroy store fronts and infrastructures.

The camp’s main electricity distribution transformer was targeted, sewage pipes were destroyed, and internet lines were cut during the military operation. The Israeli incursion into the camp and city lasted 13 continuous hours.

The headquarters of the UNRWA office and camp services were also targeted and destroyed just three days after the decision to ban UNRWA offices in Palestinian refugee camps in the West Bank was issued.

One of the martyrs was 30-year-old Hossam al-Mallah, a resident of Tulkarm camp. An Israeli special force infiltrated Tulkarm, specifically targeting his workplace in the camp and fatally shooting him on the evening of Wednesday, October 31. On the same night, Israeli forces re-entered Tulkarm around 3:00 AM, with helicopters stationed in Nur Shams camp.

Three Martyrs in Nur Shams Camp The Nur Shams refugee camp has continued to lose young lives, with the occupation repeatedly targeting Palestinian youth in camps across the northern West Bank. The martyrs include Mutassim Aisha, aged 32; Abdulaziz Abu Samin, aged 22; and Ahmad Fahmawi, aged 18. The Israeli forces killed them without warning.

Farewell to martyr Ahmad Fehmawi, 18 years old.

Medical and ambulance crews were also prevented from entering the camp to transport wounded Palestinians, some of whom died due to the occupation’s obstruction of medical aid. Displacement of Camp Residents Abu Ahmed, a 61-year-old resident of Nur Shams camp, reported that the entrance to his house was destroyed for the sixth time, and his shops were destroyed for the third time during the recent incursion. He said the occupation aims to displace residents of Palestinian camps in the West Bank, especially in Nur Shams camp. However, he added, “The policy of destruction in the camp will not succeed in displacing us. Where are we supposed to go? There’s nowhere else.”

Israeli forces destroy Nur Shams – Tulkarm.

A state of sadness has gripped the city of Tulkarm, especially in the camps, during the funeral of four martyrs who were killed by the occupation in less than 24 hours. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the West Bank has witnessed 766 martyrs since the beginning of the year, with 177 from the city of Tulkarm.

Fighting Until the Last Breath

October 26, 2024 | Tulkarem-West Bank | Diana Khwaelid

What does it mean to bring an entire army battalion with huge military vehicles storming into a neighborhood, to besiege a whole apartment building, in search of a single Palestinian? This is a report of resilience and defiance in the face of the Israeli occupation.

The Building that was surrounded and destroyed by Israeli forces.

On October 26 at 3:20 a.m. the Israeli occupation forces stormed the city of Tulkarem, north of the Western apartment. This time, forces were stationed in Al-Salam Lane, a neighborhood located between the Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps.

Israeli military vehicles during the storming.

Israeli special forces known as Al-Yamamah were accompanied by three wheeled bulldozers and Israeli heavy military vehicles of type D9, D10. These forces, accompanied by soldiers, besieged a residential building in the Al-Salam neighborhood for 10 hours continuously, after receiving security intelligence about the presence of a Palestinian inside one of the residential apartments in building. Three Palestinian families, most of them women and children, were living inside the building.

The Palestinians who were living inside the building felt a state of fear and panic, especially the women and children. One of the residents of the building said, “My children are still under the influence of fear and shock even after the withdrawal of the army and the end of the Israeli military operation.”

One of the Residents of the targeted building.

The Israeli occupation operation focused on besieging the building, bulldozing the main entrance to the building, and evacuating the Palestinian families who were living inside, so that the building could be surrounded from all sides, with the addition of aircraft from above.

During the strike of Energa-type shells on the building which led to its burning.

The five-floor building was subjected to partial and total destruction throughout, and all this to kill the 29-year-old Palestinian Islam Odeh, from the Tulkarem camp. The Israeli occupation forces proceeded with a march onto the floor where he was located, and launched Energa-type missiles to murder him, but he kept fighting until the last moment and never gave up; he succumbed to an Israeli bullet in the end. That final bullet hit Islam Odeh directly in the head, and he fell as a martyr.

The shoes of the martyr, Islam, found in the location of his murder.

According to the Palestinian Civil Administration, the Israeli occupation forces killed the young Palestinian Islam, and have retained his body.

A Palestinian firefighter tries to put out the fire started by Israeli forces.

Palestinian medical and Civil Defense crews rushed to the site of the building immediately after the end of the military operation and the withdrawal of Israeli forces, in order to secure the building and dispose of any remnants of explosives and Israeli military equipment.

A Palestinian tries to clear the destruction from inside the building.

This operation imposed heavy material losses for the owner of the building, and heavy losses as well for the owners of cars destroyed by the occupation while at the entrance to the building, cars which belonged to the residents of the building.

There was a difficult psychological impact on the family of the Palestinian martyr Islam Odeh after receiving the news of their son’s elevation.

Father of the martyred Islam Odeh grieves.

There was also a profound psychological impact on the family of the martyr, Islam Odeh, after learning of their son’s death.

According to the Shirin Abu Aqla Observatory in Tulkarm alone, the number of martyrs since the beginning of 2024 has reached 173 so far.

Remembering Ayşenur

Beita – October 25, 2024

International volunteers have continued to return to Beita following the murder of Ayşenur, a member of the International Solidarity Movement, despite the Israeli army violently suppressing the peaceful demonstrations.

On Friday 25, the day began with tense confrontations from Israeli forces, which forced Palestinians and volunteers to evade soldiers and tear gas. After the army retreated, however, a group of international volunteers were finally able to gather at Ayşenur’s memorial. This moment was deeply emotional, honoring a young life stolen abruptly amid a broader struggle for freedom in Beita and all of Palestine.

Since 2021, this village in the West Bank has faced sustained aggressions, resulting in the Israeli forces killing 17 Palestinians. Known for its long-standing history of resistance against illegal Israeli settlement expansions, Beita has become a focal point of suppression. Residents of Beita continue to protest the seizure of land on nearby Jabal Sabih, a hill where settlers have established an illegal outpost (which recently became a settlement), strategically overlooking the village. Life on this land is integral to the community of Beita, and residents now protest at the hill weekly.

For many in Beita, the losses of recent years are a painful reminder of the enduring costs of occupation. The Israeli government has largely dismissed these protests as a “security” issue, but locals see them as a necessary stand against forced displacement. For Palestinians, the establishment of new settlements not only usurps their land but also deepens the sense of injustice and alienation felt under military occupation.

In this solemn space, surrounded by memories of Ayşanur and others lost in the struggle, volunteers and others sought comfort in the belief that she, like those before her, is at peace – and as one volunteer put it, “on her way to Jannah.”