12th August 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Anna, Nablus Team | Kafr Qaddum, Occupied Palestine
Yesterday afternoon, we received a call from the village of Kafr Qaddum asking for our intervention because the Israeli soldiers had stormed the village and erected a flying checkpoint.
Road where Israeli army set up the flying checkpoint (Photo by ISM)
On the road to the village we got another call saying soldiers had left, but we decided to reach Kafr Qaddum to take some pictures and report what had happened.
We met one of the organizers of the Popular Committee who told us that at 2,30 pm, three Israeli army jeeps full of soldiers coming from the East, crossed the village and erected a flying checkpoint at the West entrance.
“To be honest that’s the alternative entrance – he says- as the historical and real access to Kafr Qaddum (whose name means “ancient agricultural village”) is the main road where Palestinians are denied access because of the Quedumim settlement.”
They stopped all cars, checking the people’s IDs and questioning them with the intention to intimidate and ask information about the shebabs involved in the protests. Some of the people were taken into the jeeps before being questioned.
After one hour the soldiers left and then residents held a demonstration to protest the army harassment. The army immediately arrived again but could not invade the village as youths had set up burning tires barricades across the road. During the demonstration, confrontations erupted and soldiers shot large amounts of tear gas canisters in all directions directly at the protesters.
Road after Palestinian youths erected burning tires barricades (Photo by ISM)
After a while, residents finished the protest and Israeli soldiers retreated from the area. One of the organizers stated, “We will stop the demonstration now but Kafr Qaddum won’t kneel down, we will keep on protesting and resisting against the Israeli oppression, and for the reopening of our street.”
12th August 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Kafr Qaddum, Occupied Palestine
In June 2013, a photo depicting Suriah Mahmood from Kafr Qaddum won first prize in a photography compitition in Qatar. International activists met Suriah to talk to her about non violent Palestinian resistance and the village of Kafr Qaddum.
Suriah Mahmood in her house in Kafr Qaddum (Photo by ISM)
The people of Kafr Qaddum have organised non-violent marches every Friday, with men and women sharing roles in the demonstration according to Suriah Mahmood, a prominent woman from Kafr Qaddum. Women participate in the demonstration by directing the ‘shabab‘ – the young men of the town. The women tell the shabab demonstrators where to move and where the soldiers are hiding in ambush as they attempt to injure and arrest people.
‘We’ve suffered a lot over the decades, for the long distance and the time it takes to reach Qalqiliya and Nablus.’ The monetary cost doubles for travel due to the distance and checkpoints, not to mention the psychological costs of having a checkpoint to the entrance of the village, making people continually worry they are going to be detained, arrested or harrassed. The village suffers as they have to use longer and even more circuitous routes when the checkpoint is closed. These hardships are then multiplied again when the army invade the village. ‘I go out onto the street when the army chase shabab into the village. Something in my heart and emotions, activate me quickly, telling me to go out the house and protect the shabab from the army.’ Suriah has joined demonstrations along with other Palestinian women from Kafr Qaddum, although the demonstrators are typically male Palestinians along with some male and female international and Israeli activists.
‘I think to myself, who takes part in the demonstrations? The shabab are our brothers and sons from Kafr Qaddum. I think it is my duty to go out to make trouble for the soldiers to make them busy so they are unable to continue to chase the shabab. I again feel something internal in my heart. Sometimes I throw stones or block in front of the soldiers. I shout to make the soldiers nervous and crazy and can’t control my emotions because I think it’s the role of Palestinian women to stand with our brothers against occupation.’
Photo of Suriah Mahmood that won the photography competition (Photo by Alaa Badasreh)
On Friday 2nd August the army invaded the village and shot teargas in all directions, some of the teargas canisters entering houses. ‘My husband and son’s wife and my grandchild Yakub, suffocated alot and suffered for two hours. Asma the wife of my son fell unconscious. I began to cry , shout and called an ambulance to make first aid. When the army left the village, the teams of first aid were allowed to do their job and help those suffocated in the house.’
When asked about what Suriah hopes for in the future for her village she replied, ‘I hope for a chance to come to the Palestinian people to be free and have peace in the land without having the army to storm the village. I hope to re-open the historic road that existed before the occupation. I hope that all over the world governments rule to protect people from occupation. I think decades of occupation is enough and it is time to live happy and free.’
12th August 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Khalil Team | Hebron, Occupied Palestine
On Sunday, 11/08/2013, at approximately 4 o’clock in the afternoon, two activists from Youth Against Settlements (YAS) were arrested. Twenty-one-year-old Abd AlMajeed Bassam Amro, and twenty-year-old Ali Talib Amro were playfully throwing olives at each other when an Israeli soldier came up to them and accused them of throwing stones at his colleague. The colleague in question initially denied having any knowledge of this, but after a brief period, many more soldiers came to the scene and the two youths were arrested and handed over to the police. The police interrogated the youths and rejected to even hear the testimony of eyewitnesses supporting them. The police found enough grounds to charge them based on the accusations of a single soldier, and Ali and Abd AlMajeed were sent to Atsion prison later that night.
Two members of the ISM, as well as many other locals were present as the incident unfolded. Ali and Abd AlMajeed chose to hold their ground and defend themselves against the soldier’s accusations, putting their trust in reasoning with the Israeli forces, hoping that the testimony of many eyewitnesses to the event would be enough to counter the claims of the soldier. Sadly, this was not the case. The soldier accusing the youths called for backup, and within a few minutes, 9 soldiers in total were present. They discussed the incident among themselves for a while and then decided to arrest the youths. The boys were blindfolded as they were led from the scene and handed over to the police.
The two members of the ISM who were present at the scene, immediately approached the police vehicle where Ali and Abd AlMajeed were being kept blindfolded, and demanded that their testimony as eyewitnesses in defense of the accused be heard. The presiding officer asked them to follow in a taxi to Aljabri police station where the youths were being taken for interrogation and ask at the gate to be admitted in to provide evidence.
At the gate of the police station, the eyewitnesses were made to wait for two and a half hours, while the investigating officer initially denied that the youths were being kept in the station. Eventually admitting that the boys were indeed being held there, the witnesses were then told to wait while he considered whether or not he needed to hear their testimony. After a while, the officer told them to go home and that he would contact them if needed, to which the eye witnesses pointed out that the interrogator did not know neither their names nor their phone numbers. Finally, the interrogator came out and told the eyewitnesses to go home, the interrogation was over. “Are you releasing them then?” was the reply of the eyewitnesses, to which the interrogator answered: “no, they’re going to prison.” When questioned as to why the other side of the story was not heard at all, the investigator answered that he required only the word of the soldiers in this case. Later that night the boys were transferred to one of the worst reputed jails in the West Bank, Atsion prison between Hebron and Bethlehem.
Unfortunately this kind of story is by no means a special case in occupied Palestine. Palestinians are tried under military law, granting them little or no rights. In fact the only thing the Israeli occupation court system needs in order to reach a conviction is the testimony of one eyewitness, in many cases the testimony of the very person making the accusation. Twenty-one-year-old Abd AlMajeed father is currently in prison following a conviction of 7 life sentences. He, like his son, was arrested on the testimony of the person accusing him. He had allegedly shot a gun at one of the 400 illegal settlers living in the Tel Rumeida area.
The arrest of the two YAS activists comes less than a week after Israeli soldiers were filmed assaulting a twelve-year-old boy and about 9 days after a seventy-one-year-old woman died because the occupation forces would not let the ambulance through Hebron’s many checkpoints. Neither of these incidents has had any consequences for the soldiers involved.
10th August 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Anna, Nablus Team | Kafr Qaddum, Occupied Palestine
Tear gas spread throughout the village (Photo by Al Masira Kafr Qaddum )
I came to Palestine last Tuesday and joined the weekly protest held on Friday the 8th of August in Kafr Qaddum. The demonstration represented non-violent resistance against the land grab and for the freedom of movement in the village. Kafr Qaddum was my first demonstration in Palestine in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for freedom, self-determination, human rights and international law.
In the past years the village has gone through several attacks by Israeli soldiers and police who raid the village in the night, threatening the population. Even children under 18 years old are menaced with arrest and when arrested, are beaten along with other Palestinians.
Yesterday as we got off the service (shared taxi), soldiers started firing tear gas and sound bombs directly at protesters. They had invaded the village and chased after Palestinians and several international and Israeli activists throughout the village. Even though I knew the answer I asked two international comrades who were there with me: ‘has the demo begun?’ – ‘No, that’s the pre-demo.’ I can now easily reply to anybody asking me the same. Actually, since early that morning soldiers and police (with at least three jeeps) had entered the village, scaring people and filling the air with so much gas people could hardly breathe.
After one of the first clashes between the Palestinian youth and the soldiers had begun, everyone started running everywhere trying to protect themselves as best as possible. I ran like a hare, taking shelter in a Palestinian house where I was welcomed by a beautiful Palestinian woman dressed in white. A Palestinian man (I understood later he was her son, living in Dubai and returned to the village for the Eid holiday) and a bunch of children all of different ages, from three to 11 years old were also in the house.
I went up onto the roof where children behaved as “special watchers” running from one corner to another following the soldiers’ movements and screaming when they were throwing tear gas canisters and alerting the shebab (Arabic word for Palestinian youth) hiding in different areas of the village. I was offered a cup of coffee which I accepted with joy, longing for something strong and needing to drink so much because I couldn’t make enough saliva.
Soldiers invading the village, shebab defending it (Photo by Al Masira Kafr Qaddum)
Kafr Qaddum is a small village situated near the top of a hill facing the illegal settlement of Qedumin, which was established on Palestinian land and has been expanding to take over more privately owned Palestinian land. Furthermore the road to Nablus from the village was shut by the army with a roadblock in 2003 and this obstruction means an extra 14 kilometres distance to travel out of the village. The journey is emblematic of the restriction of movement imposed by the Israeli authorities on Palestinians in the West Bank.
The man started questioning me about the international presence in the village, showing he was curious about us, especially about why we decided to leave our own countries and come to Palestine struggling beside Palestinians in support of “another population’s cause”. He was puzzled but happy when I replied that it is our duty to act and stand up for Palestinians and that we speak out for them not only because as internationals we think they all have a right to resist, but as we are all human beings, we should take part in this cause for freedom and speaking out against ongoing violations of human rights amongst many oppressions that the Palestinians have been subjected to for more than 60 years. As we are generally Europeans or Western citizens coming from countries that strongly support Israeli apartheid through economic, cultural and institutional ties, we have the duty to speak out and stand up for international law and the human rights of Palestinians, with the best of efforts.
After the conversation, I joined comrades once again as the struggle was still going on. The demonstration ended but this time the soldiers and police were stopped from arresting protesters but not from injuring people. Children aged 4, 6 and 7 years old and a 75 year old woman suffered badly from tear gas inhalation when it was thrown and shot directly into their homes.
This is the daily life for Palestinians. This is their enduring resistance. Long live Palestine!
10th August 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Ramallah Team | Ni’lin, Occupied Palestine
Yesterday at around 1pm, Palestinians together with Israeli and international activists marched through the olive groves towards the annexation wall on Ni’lin’s land.
Protesters marching to the wall (Photo by ISM)
Demonstrators approached the area of the wall chanting slogans against Israel’s apartheid policies and the annexation of land for the illegal Israeli settlements. Israeli forces, located behind the wall, shot numerous amounts of tear gas canisters and sound bombs at people as they approached.
Demonstrators reaching the wall (Photo by ISM)Israeli forces shot multiple rounds of tear gas canisters at protesters (Photo by ISM)A Ni’lin resident flies the Palestinian flag as tear gas rains down (Photo by ISM)
After an hour of continuous shooting of tear gas canisters, Israeli forces crossed through the gate in the wall and chased protesters up the hill shooting more gas canisters and rubber-coated steel bullets.
In the distance, the black figure of an Israeli soldier who has come out from behind the wall in an attempt to intimidate protesters. Behind him are the illegal settlements (Photo by ISM)
The protest finished at around 3pm when Israeli forces retreated. Two Palestinian demonstrators needed medical treatment after being shot with rubber coated steel bullets.
For five years the people of Ni’lin have been demonstrating against the Apartheid Wall that has taken 2500 dunums of Ni’lin land.
