Author: ISM Media Group

Mysterious arrests in Awarta

3rd February 2009

Thursday 29th of January, about one hundred illegal Israeli settlers entered the small village Awarta close to Nablus at about 11pm. The soldiers forced the villagers not to move by stating that they would kill everyone who did so. This lasted until dawn the next day.

On Tuesday 3rd of February, between 1.45am and 3am in the morning, various groups of Israeli soldiers broke into a total of five different houses in the village of Awarta, close to Nablus. During the confrontations 3 young men were arrested without reason. Two others where demanded to go to the Israeli military camp Huwwara the following day without explanation. At around noon the same day the two were immediately arrested when entering the camp. Neither of them where told why they where arrested, nor what charges they face.

Around 1.45 am in the morning approximately 30 Israeli Israeli soldiers surrounded the house of the Qawareeq family and silently broke into the sleeping family’s home. The soldiers asked for one of the family’s’ 21 year old son, Hindawi, who at the time was sleeping in the house of his nephew. The family, frightened by the sudden wake-up from several armed foreign soldiers in their home, were not told why the soldiers wanted their son. During the time the soldiers where searching for Hindawi, they entered Hindawi’s older brother Suliman’s room, who is suffering from a serious case of cancer. While searching his room, the soldiers found and stole, the family’s 4 mobile phones, on which had the emergency numbers for the sick boy’s doctors. Suleiman asked the soldiers not to take the phone because of their importance with regard to his health issues, but the soldiers did not care. While leaving the house, the soldiers also brought the family’s computer which among other things contained crucial information with regard to Suliman’s very complex medical schedule.

About 30 minutes later, the 30 Israeli soldiers marched to Hindawi’s nephew’s home, and forcefully broke into their small house, causing severe damage to the house’s front door and window. The soldiers where shouting and screaming to scare the family upon arrival. The soldiers turned everything in the house up side down, searching inside every closet and underneath every table. They found Hindawi sleeping in the guest room, and arrested him immediately, without letting him get his winter coat or clothes. Hindawi was accidentally carrying some of Suliman’s important medical papers brought from Ramallah. During the soldiers visit in the house they also threatened the family’s 14 year old son violently.

At about 3 am in the morning, another group of Israeli soldiers silently broke into the house of the Shurrab family. The father in the house woke up because he heard some strange noises from the childrens’ bedroom. When he woke up, he saw several soldiers blocking the door of their bedroom, preventing him to enter the childrens’ room to see what was happening. The soldiers beat him in the stomach, and shouted loudly at the mother. When the parents finally managed to enter their childrens’ room, they witnessed several soldiers beating up their 4 sons in their early twenties in their bedroom. Later the soldiers started to ask about the family’s 22 year old son Samer Jafar Shurrab who is recently living and studying in Nablus. They were asking the family intricate and detailed questions about Samer. When they realized that he was not in the house, the soldiers gave the father a document, demanding Samer to go to the Huwwara camp the following day. Samer was immediately arrested upon arrival at the camp around noon the same day. The soldiers destroyed the house’s front door lock mechanism, and broke a window.

At the same time, around 3 am in the morning, an additional group of soldiers also entered the house of the family Darawsheh in the village. The father in the house woke up because of some strange sounds outside, and realized that the house was surrounded by soldiers and military jeeps. The soldiers demanded to speak to his son, Baha’ Edeen Fazi’ Darawsheh, and the soldiers and Baha’ spoke alone in the house’s kitchen for about 20 minutes. 10 minutes later, the soldiers blindfolded Baha’s eyes and put on handcuffs on his hands, taking him away. The family were not told why the soldiers arrested their son.

At around 2am in the morning about 15 soldiers broke in to the house of another family in the village. The soldiers demanded that all family members were to undress completely including the women. They refused, and all the other family members were locked in a room while the oldest brother of the house had to show the soldiers every room and open every closet. He was told that if they were to find more people than what he told them, they would kill him and the additional persons. The soldiers were looking for the family’s son Hani Suleiman Quawareeq, and when they realized that he was not in the house, the family was told to inform Hani that he had to visit the Huwwara camp the following day. Hani was arrested when he went to the camp around noon. Again his family does not know why.

Israeli forces attack Ni’lin

3rd February 2009 | Ni’lin

On the 3rd of February the Israeli Occupation Forces attacked Ni’lin, shooting teargas and entering the outskirts of the village. The incursion disrupted life as people were going to the medical clinic, working or attending their land and as the army withdrew they shot live ammunition at the people who went to protest their presence.

At noon the army came through the olive field approaching the village of Ni’lin. Soldiers started firing teargas at the medical clinic where people were going about their daily business. People were forced to run to the clinic or turn back during the attack. Construction workers building the new school near the clinic were targeted making the situation dangerous as they were on scaffolding or on the roof if the gas affected them. The military action prompted people in the village who heard the attack to organize a protest to their presence and gathered at the medical clinic. The army shot more gas, then occupied the medical centre, chasing and shooting the demonstrators as they escaped down the hill through the cemetery. From the medical clinic the army continued to shoot teargas into the village before they withdrew.

A woman had been in the olive field with her goats and became trapped behind the army during the attack on the village. Three women, including an international activist, went to make sure she would be able to return to the village safely. After finding the woman they started walking back. The group was stopped by the army with soldiers were waving with sound bomb,s threatening to use them if the women continued the path back to the village.

The army entered the village again on the outskirts, shooting teargas and throwing sound bombs in the streets closest to the olive field. At around 5pm the army moved back and demonstrators succeeded in reaching the construction site of the illegal Apartheid Wall before the army dispersed them with teargas and fired live ammunition in the air. The demonstrators were moving back to the town and were on a large hill in the olive field where they were joined by two Israeli activists. The army continued shooting teargas as they pursued the demonstrators and then started shooting live ammunition as it was becoming dark. Demonstrators and international activists lay flat on the ground in fear of being hit before they managed to make it back to the village at 5.45pm.

The village of Ni’lin has been resisting the construction of the illegal Apartheid Wall since May 2008. The Wall will annex much farmland and make Ni’lin accessible only by road through a tunnel. Ni’lin has suffered greatly from the construction and the occupation as four youths were killed during demonstrations. The continual use of live ammunition against demonstrators shows Israel’s contempt for non-violent resistance to the occupation.

Israeli kidnaps five young men from the village of Bil’in near Ramallah

Ghassan Bannoura | IMEMC News

Five young men from the village of Bil’in located near the central West Bank city of Ramallah were kidnapped on Wednesday by the Israeli military.

Troops stormed the village then raided several houses and searched them.

During the search troops took five men away, including: the brothers, Ali and Haitham Hamdan Abu Rahma, and Hosam Mohamed Hamad, Qasim Hassan Hamad, Fahad Jalal Al-Khatib, and they took the detainees to unknown place.

Since nearly four years, Bil’in village is the scene of weekly nonviolent protest against the Israeli illegal wall being built in the West Bank

Israeli forces abduct youth in Nablus area

4th February 2009

A 17 year old youth, Noaf Yasir Issa, from Salim village near Nablus was arrested Wednesday (4th February) night by Israeli occupation forces and transported to Huwarra military base where he is currently being detained. To date, his family has not been told of any charges against him. Noaf has never been previously arrested.

A neighbor told the boy’s mother that Noaf had walking on the roadway behind the family’s house and had then been seen imprisoned within a military jeep. Shortly thereafter, the Israeli military approached Noaf’s family residence and demanded to know his whereabouts, despite already having him in custody.

According to the family, about 12 soldiers entered the house and ransacked all of the rooms, opening drawers and closets and scattering their contents on the floor. Minor damage was also done to some furniture. The soldiers also confiscated a toy plastic knife from a children’s game set.

The invasion of the Issa home took place around midnight. All of the remaining nine children and their mother were confined to one room of the house while the soldiers were present. After approximately one and a half hours, the soldiers and their five or six jeeps left the premises.

Israeli military incursions into Salim happen on an almost nightly basis. During the last few weeks there have been a number of arrests of young men of the village. These assaults appear to be intended to intimidate and humiliate the local residents as well as to coerce information from the arrested parties.

South African dock workers union decides not to offload Israeli ship

Congress of South African Trade Unions
Congress of South African Trade Unions

Congress of South African Trade Unions

In a historic development for South Africa, South African dock workers have announced their determination not to offload a ship from Israel that is scheduled to dock in Durban on Sunday, 8 February 2009. This follows the decision by COSATU to strengthen the campaign in South Africa for boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Apartheid Israel.

The pledge by SATAWU members in Durban reflects the commitment by South African workers to refuse to support oppression and exploitation across the globe. Last year, Durban dock workers had refused to offload a shipment of arms that had arrived from China and was destined for Zimbabwe to prop up the Mugabe regime and to intensify the repression against the Zimbabwean people. Now, says SATAWU’s General Secretary Randall Howard, the union’s members are committing themselves to not handling Israeli goods.

SATAWU’s action on Sunday will be part of a proud history of worker resistance against apartheid. In 1963, just four years after the Anti-Apartheid Movement was formed, Danish dock workers refused to offload a ship with South African goods. When the ship docked in Sweden, Swedish workers followed suit. Dock workers in Liverpool and, later, in the San Francisco Bay Area also refused to offload South African goods. South Africans, and the South African working class in particular, will remain forever grateful to those workers who determinedly opposed apartheid and decided that they would support the anti-apartheid struggle with their actions.

Last week, Western Australian members of the Maritime Union of Australia resolved to support the campaign for boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel, and have called for a boycott of all Israeli vessels and all vessels bearing goods arriving from or going to Israel.

This is the legacy and the tradition that South African dock workers have inherited, and it is a legacy they are determined to honour, by ensuring that South African ports of entry will not be used as transit points for goods bound for or emanating from certain dictatorial and oppressive states such as Zimbabwe, Swaziland and Israel.

COSATU, the Palestine Solidarity Committee, the Young Communist League and a range of other organisations salute the principled position taken by these workers. We also take this opportunity to salute the millions of workers all over the world who have openly condemned and taken decisive steps to isolate apartheid Israel, a step that should send shockwaves to its arrogant patrons in the United States who foot the bill for Israel’s killing machine. We call on other workers and unions to follow suit and to do all that is necessary to ensure that they boycott all goods to and from Israel until Palestine is free.

We also welcome statements by various South African Jews of conscience who have dissociated themselves from the genocide in Gaza. We call on all South Africans to ensure that none of our family members are allowed to join the Israeli Occupation Forces’ killing machine.

In celebration of the actions of SATAWU members with regard to the ship from Israel, and in pursuance of the campaign for boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel, and our call on the South African government to sever diplomatic and trade relations with Israel, this coalition of organisations has declared a week of action beginning on Friday, 6 February 2009. The actions will be organised under the theme: FREE PALESTINE! ISOLATE APARTHEID ISRAEL!