16th December 2018 | International Solidarity Movement, Al-Khalil Team | Hebron, occupied Palestine.
At 1pm, 4 Israeli occupation soldiers entered Salaymeh neighbourhood, Hebron.
Activists were present from 12:30 pm and did not witness any stones thrown or other provocation.
The soldiers fired 21 tear gas rounds in under 5 minutes into the street outside the 3 schools and into two schoolyards.
Another video account of this incident [480p VIDEO] or [HD VIDEO]
There are 3 primary schools on the street where the tear gas was used:
- Hebron School
- UNRWA Hebron Basic Boys School
- Khadijah School
There are also 4 other schools in the immediate area.
During this time the soldiers also threw three concussion grenades over a wall into the Hebron School. They were unable to see who was on the other side of the wall or where they were at the time.
The headmaster of Hebron School said that 5 tear gas rounds were fired into the schoolyard in total.
Older school students were still in Hebron School. 30 boys and 5 teachers suffered tear gas inhalation.
Activists also found a spent tear gas round in a garden in the grounds of the UNRWA Hebron Basic Boys School.
There was no threat to the soldiers or anyone else at the time yet the soldiers continued to fire tear gas into the neighbourhood even the streets were completely empty of people.
They seemed to stop only when they had run out of tear gas.
The tear gas spread through the neighbourhood into schools and residential buildings along the streets where families live. It was a still afternoon and the tear gas stayed in the immediate area and dispersed very slowly continuing to effect local residents.
Last month 238 tear gas rounds and 51 concussion grenades were fired in this neighbourhood. See the November report on Education in Palestine from Christian Peacemaker Teams:
This latest tear gas assault comes on the tail of two weeks when 6 boys between 10 and 14 years of age were abducted by Israeli occupation soldiers and Border Police.
See our last report from al Khalil:
Child Abductions by Israeli Forces in Hebron, 4-11 Dec, 2018.
Read also:
After School in Hebron, A Journal – 6 boys detained by Israeli forces in 2 Days