All the detainees from Bab Al Shams have been released!
15 January 2013 | Bab-Alshams, Occupied Palestine
Following the violent eviction of Bab-Alshams (gateway of the sun) on Sunday around a hundred Protestors returned to the land which the Israeli Occupation Forces call E1. After the acceptance of Palestine as a non-member state to the UN, Israel announced the approval of a plan to expand by building some 4,000 residential units in this area. Such construction would effectively bisect the West Bank, effectively cutting it off from Jerusalem.
The protestors arrived before 15:00 to the surprise of Israeli Police stationed in the area; two groups approached Bab-Alshams from different directions. As protestors moved up the hill Israeli Occupation Forces began to attack the demonstration initially with stun grenades.
Activist’s remained steadfast and refused to leave the land which is privately owned by Palestinians. Israeli police began to outnumber protestors and then began detaining Palestinians violently. Slowly Israeli forces managed to push activists down the hill.
Activists regrouped at the bottom of the hill, sat down and began to sing. The violence of the Israeli authorities then again increased, one women was beaten and suffered a head wound which required medical attention. At least two others were injured one male was bleeding heavily from the wrist, while others were being treated for shock.
At-least 10 people were arrested most of which have now been released. Some remain in detention including an ISM cofounder Neta Golan.
12 January 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Occupied Palestine
Last night more than forty Israeli soldiers invaded the city of Nablus and raided two homes looking for two young men. One of them was arrested during the raid and the other one avoided arrest as he was working at the time of the raid.
At 2.30 am, dozens of Israeli soldiers with several dogs broke into Mead Nijad’s house breaking the door with a hammer and violently interrupting the family’s sleep. As the soldiers entered the house, they ordered everyone to have their hands up; they asked for Emad, blindfolded, handcuffed and arrested him. Immediately after, they took the ID’s of all family members and locked them outside the house on a cold winters night. In the meantime, the soldiers ransacked the whole house causing widespread destruction. They also took with them the young boy’s working tools. As Emad’s mother explains, “if they come with dogs, why do they have to destroy everything? If there is something in the house, the dogs would find it”. Furthermore, no reasons for why they arrested Emad were given; the commander just said “your son has caused problems to the Israelis, if you want to know where your son is, come to Huwwara”. The family still does not know the fate of their son.
In the case of Moaz Darduk (19), dozens of only Hebrew speaking soldiers arrived in his house at 3 am while he was at work and woke his parents up. As they asked for him and his father told the soldiers he was not at home but working, they locked his mother in a room and took his father to his other son’s house just in the next building. The commander, who was the only one speaking Arabic, kept saying to his father “do you know who I am? I am Haroun and I came here to kill your son”. When the commander went back to Moaz’s house he told to his parents “I want you to remember who I am, I am Haroun and I am here to kill your son. If you do not bring your son to Huwwara tomorrow morning at 9.30, we will kill him and return him to you in a coffin”.
Night raids and home searching are common tools used by the Israeli Occupation Forces to arrest Palestinian youth for no reason and as a collective punishment to scare Palestinian families.
On January 14th 2013, Mustafa Abu Jarad (20) was working with a group of farmers on a plot of land around one kilometer away from the border fence at the north of Beit Lahiya, Gaza Strip; when the Israeli army started shooting at them from a watch tower. Due to the heavy gunfire, the group ran away from the site, but came back after a while to resume the farming. On that moment a sniper directly targeted Mustafa, shooting him on the forehead. The bullet went through his head, causing him severe brain injuries. He was taken to Kamal Adwan Hospital, and then transferred to Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City due to the severity of his wounds, where he underwent urgent surgery to remove pieces of his skull embedded on the brain and drain excess blood. He remained stable but unresponsive in the I.C.U. after the surgery. Mustafa died several minutes after this photo was taken.
Although established on privately owned Palestinian lands, Israel forcefully expelled residents of the village in a pre-dawn raid this morning. Six required medical attention.
Shortly before 3 am, hundreds of Israeli policemen and soldiers staged a raid on the newly founded Palestinian village of Bab Alshams (Gate of the Sun), violently evicting its 150 inhabitants. Use of police brutality is even more objectionable in light of the passive resistance offered by the residents. No arrests were made, and all persons detained were released shortly after.
In light of harsh international criticism over the plan to expand the Ma’aleh Edomim settlement, and in an attempt to draw away attention from the case, eviction took place early this morning. Following its arrival at the scene, a massive police force began by removing journalists from the residents’ immediate surroundings and proceeded to drag people away, beating some of them. Six Palestinians later required medical care at the Ramallah Hospital.
Following his release, Mohammed Khatib of the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee said, “We will not remain silent as Israel continues to build Jewish-only colonies on our land. Bab Alshams is no more, but during its short days it gave new life and energy to all who passed through it. Israel continues to act in violation of every imaginable law and human decency. In establishing Bab Alshams we declare that we have had enough of demanding our rights from the occupier – from now on we shall seize them ourselves.”
Last night the state appealed to the High Court to withdraw an injunction prohibiting the eviction. The state argued, among other things, that the very existence of the village may occasion rioting, despite its remote and isolated location. The state further argued that the village was established by the Committees to Resist the Wall (a body which does not exist), also behind a blockade of Route 443 in October 2012. This claim, backed only by an affidavit signed by an Israeli police chief, has never been supported by any indictments or arrests for the questioning of individuals.
The village of Bab Alshams was established last Friday by Palestinian activists, on privately owned Palestinian lands, in an area between East Jerusalem and the settlement of Ma’aleh Edomim, which Israel refers to as E1. After the acceptance of Palestine as a non-member state to the UN, Israel announced the approval of a plan to expand the Ma’aleh Edomim settlement by building some 4,000 residential units in this area. Such construction would effectively bisect the West Bank and effectively cutting it off from Jerusalem.
11 January 2013 | Jabalia, Gaza Strip, Occupied Palestine
The fragile ceasefire announced on 21st November, following Israel’s eight-day offensive on Gaza, was yet again violated by the Israeli military today after a fatal attack on a group of Palestinian civilians east of Jabalia. 19 year-old Anwar Al-Malouk, a law student from the Shajaia district of Gaza City was shot dead and 21 year-old Omar Wadi from the Jabalia refugee camp, north of Gaza City, was injured as he came to Anwar’s aid.
Omar Wadi (21) sitting in his house in Jabalia refugee camp, still recoverig from wounds in both legs after being shot by Israeli soldiers on January 11th 2012, while he was in the “Buffer Zone”. He was injuried by the shrapnel of a hollow-point bullet when he was trying to help Anwar Almalouk (19), who was shot in the stomach. Anwar would later die while being transferred to the hospital.
At about 2.30pm on 11th January, Omar was in a local cemetary visiting the graves of friends killed under the occupation. He noticed a group of around 30 Palestinians a few hundred metres away to the east, between the cemetary and the fence marking the eastern border of the Gaza Strip.
From the cemetary, which was over half a kilometre from the border fence, Omar approached the group to investigate the situation. Four Israeli military jeeps were positioned on the other side of the fence and around 12 Israeli soldiers were present, firing tear-gas canisters towards the group of Palestinians.
At this point, the group was at a distance of approximately 100 metres from the fence but then fled a further 100 metres back, amid the tear-gas attack. By around 4pm, Anwar had been separated from the group and remained alone about 40 metres from the fence, when he was shot by the soldiers and fell.
Three of the group, including Omar, went back to assist Anwar. Omar says he acted instinctively at the sight of a fellow Palestinian in danger and didn’t consider his own safety – despite not having previously known Anwar. As he arrived to where Anwar lay, he was hit in both legs by shrapnel from a hollow-tip bullet which exploded on impact with the ground nearby and showered metal fragments in his direction.
The two others managed to evacuate Omar and Anwar from the scene to safety but Anwar had sustained a serious gunshot wound to his abdomen and died en route to hospital. Anwar had to be driven from the area to the main road in a toc-toc, where he was then transferred to an ambulance. Unfortunately, by this time he had already passed away in the toc-toc.
At Kamal Adwan Hospital in Jabalia, Omar was treated for ankle injuries. He has since been released but the shrapnel remains embedded in his bones. As an outpatient of the osteological department, he must return next week for assessment regarding the possibility of surgery to remove the shrapnel. It is understandable that Omar was terrified during the attack. He has been traumatised by the experience and has not been able to sleep due to reliving the memory of it.
An X-ray showing the piece of shrapnel embedded in Omar´s leg (white spot).
Omar has two brothers and six sisters. His 18 year-old brother, Mohammed, was seriously injured during an Israeli incursion in the east of Jabalia five years ago when he was only 13 years old. Mohammed underwent treatment in Egypt for four months and is still receiving treatment in Gaza to this day.
The young mens’ father expressed concern about Omar ever visiting the cemetary again, whilst their mother said she feared one day all her sons would be killed. The Wadi family yearn for a genuine ceasefire yet anticipated from the outset that Israel would never respect it. Omar’s principal hope is that Israel’s crimes against Palestinians will end.
Anwar was the youngest son of the Al-Malouk family and the only one still living at home due to his older brothers being married. His 55 year-old mother hopes he is now at peace.
The first Palestinian killed after the ceasefire announcement was also named Anwar. On 23rd November, just two days into the agreement, Anwar Qudieh was shot dead, this time in the rural area of Abassan, east of Khan Younis in the south of the Gaza Strip.
There have been numerous Israeli attacks against Palestinian civilians in Gaza during the ceasefire. One can only imagine the response had it been the other way around.
