Author: Yara - Page 12 - International Solidarity Movement

Idhna: Family faces a third home demolition by Israel

by Sunny

8 May 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

On Monday, May 7 in the southern West Bank village of Idhna, Mohamed Temezi was busy working on his caravan home. Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) arrived unexpectedly and subjected him and his wife Faizah Temezi to a 3 hour ordeal in which they were detained, and beaten. Their new home was threatened with demolition.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) provided the caravan for the Temezi family. They have experienced house demolitions on two previous occasions by the IOF. The first demolition was in 1989 and the second 5 months ago in December 2011. Both took place in the West Bank village of Idhna. Prior to the arrival of the caravan, Mohamed, Faiza, and their son had been living in a tent.

Now the Temezi family may be facing the loss of a third home. Israel issued a demolition order for their caravan dated May 29, 2012.

Currently, Mohamed is subject to weekly visits by the IOF, threatening that if he does not cease building his home that they will forcibly confiscate it. Mohamed tells the IOF that he will rebuild his home if it is destroyed. Their reply, says Mohamed, is that they will simply demolish it again.

The Temezi family complain of regular harassment and taunting during the weekly Israeli army raids.

On Monday, 8 soldiers arrived at Mohamed’s caravan site and threatened him with arrest if he continued to build. Mohamed refused to comply and was detained alongside his wife, inside the caravan.

During the detention, they were both physically and verbally assaulted. Mohamed was struck by a soldier’s personal radio on his scalp on various occasions while being verbally assaulted. At one point, Faizah attempted to safeguard their electric motor which Israeli soldiers were attempting to confiscate. IOF responded by wrapping cable wire around her neck and forcefully pushing her head into the wall.

As the violent behaviour continued, the Israeli soldiers seized all remaining tools in the house as well as 300 metres of cable which the family required for electricity. There has been no electricity in the house since.

After 3 hours, as soldiers left, they again threatened Mohamed of the consequences of continuing his work. The equipment the IOF stole from Mohamed is valued at some 7000 NIS (approximately 1420 Euros or 1830 USD). Among the equipments seized are those required for access to the sewage system.

This is the first time that OCHA has supplied displaced Palestinians with caravans. The project has also assisted three other families in the valley of Idhna. OCHA also supplied Mohamed with two workers and 41,000 NIS for equipment to construct access to basic amenities such as water and electricity.

OCHA have been informed about the incident, however action has not been taken.

Mohamed has been held under administrative detention (no trial, no charge) on 7 occasions for a total of almost four years. The Temezi family say they fear this visit was not the last, and that they do not want to lose their home a third time. This unwanted prospect may become reality on May 29.

Sunny is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed)

Karmei Tsur: Poisoning the vine with Zionism

by Joseph

7 May 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

When Ali Awad visited his orchard on Friday morning before the midday prayer he noticed nothing out of the usual. But eight hours later, when he returned to his land in order to gather grape leaves to sell in the local market, he was shocked to find that his trees had been poisoned. The grape leaves, which Ali depends on substantially for income, had died and shriveled up, making them impossible to sell. Twelve peach trees belonging to Ali’s neighbor were also destroyed.

Ali’s three dunums of farm land, where 28 grape trees have been growing for over 30 years, are directly adjacent to the barbed wire fence which separates the Palestinian village of Beit Ummar from the illegal Zionist settlement of Karmei Tsur.

Horrified and dismayed, Ali called his brother, Muhammad, to come and take pictures of the destruction. Before Muhammad could take any pictures, Israeli Occupation Forces and two older settlers arrived and began to hassle the two brothers, threatening to confiscate Muhammad’s camera. The settlers, one of whom is the mayor of Karmei Tsur, told Ali that his plants were accidentally sprayed with pesticides when Karmei Tsur farmers attempted to destroy the weeds on their land earlier in the day. Ali’s grape trees are located at least ten meters away from the settler’s field, opposite a fence and settlement road.

Ali, whose wheat crop was burned during the night by settlers last year just before harvest time, does not believe that the destruction of his trees was an accident.

“Its not unintentional, like they say, they mean to do this,” he said. “They want me to leave my land. My presence is an obstacle to the expansion of the settlement.”

But Ali, whose family has already lost several dunums of their ancestral land to the illegal settlement, steadfastly refuses to leave.

“I have deeds going back to Turkish times, why should I leave? The land is for me, for my family, not for the settlers.”

According to the Israeli organization Peace Now, Karmei Tsur is built on 27% privately owned Palestinian land. The Fourth Geneva Convention forbids the construction of settlements in occupied territory.

Joseph is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).

Following settler attack, Palestinian woman arrested in Al Khalil

by Maria and Roda

7 May 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

A Palestinian woman was arrested by occupation police in Al Khalil (Hebron) yesterday after her home was attacked by settlers.

47 year old Jamila Hassan Abdul Fattah Al-Shalaldeh and her family live with two other familes in a home on Zionist controlled Shuhada Street .

Sunday night at 7 o clock, a group of settlers entered the family home with a large mirror, smashing the mirror on the staircase of the house before fleeing to the street. When occupation police and soldiers arrived (the home is across the street from an army post) the settlers accused al-Shalaldeh of attacking them, and the police took her into custody.

The morning of this attack, a nearby furniture shop owned by one of the other residents of the home was attacked by dozens of settlers. The group stole and destroyed furniture and attempted to knock down the walls of the shop.

The home under attack, like other Palestinian homes in the area, is the target of frequent, violent attacks from settlers and occupation soldiers. One month ago the Israeli army raided the home with an attack dog to force the residents to remove surveillance cameras on the exterior of the building, traumatizing the young children living in the house.

The events of yesterday serve as examples of the violence endemic to the lives of Palestinians living in Israeli-controlled zones of Hebron. The occupation forces protect the settlers as they attack Palestinian homes, property, and people of all ages. Palestinians who resist, even, passively, are punished by the police as the settlers remain free and untouched by the law.

Maria and Roda are volunteers with International Solidarity Movement (names have been changed).

A letter from Khader Adnan: “Their fate is in our hands”

by Khader Adnan

30 April 2012 | Popular Struggle Coordination Committee

In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.

Dear free people of the world. Dear oppressed and disenfranchised around the globe. Dear friends of our people, who stood with me with a stern belief in freedom and dignity for my people and our prisoners languishing in the Occupation’s prisons.

Dear free women and men, young and elderly, ordinary people as well as intellectual elites everywhere – I address you today with an
outpouring of hope and pain for every Palestinian that suffers from the occupation of his land, for each of us that has been killed, wounded or imprisoned by the state of terror, that denies anything beautiful in our lives, even the smile of our children and families. I
am addressing you in my first letter following my release – praying it will not be the last – after Allah granted me freedom, pride and
dignity. I was an “administrative detainee” in the jail of occupation for four months, out of which I have spent 66 days on hunger strike.

I was driven to declare an open-ended hunger strike by the daily harassment and violation of my people’s rights by the Israeli Zionist
occupation. The last straw for me were the ongoing arrests, the brutal nighttime raid on my house, my violent detention, during which I was taken to the “Mavo Dotan” settlement on our land occupied in 1967, and the beatings and humiliation I was treated to during arrest interrogation. The way I was treated during the interrogation at the Jalameh detention center, using the worse and lowest verbal insults in the dictionary. After questioning, I was sentenced to imprisonment under administrative detention with no charges, which proves mine and others’ arrests serve only to maintain a quota of prisoners, to harass us, to restrict our freedom and to undermine our determination, pride and dignity.

I write today to thank all those who stood tall in support of my people, with our prisoners, with Hana al-Shalabi and with myself. I
call on you to stand for justice pride and dignity in the face of occupation. The assault on the freedom and dignity of the Palestinian
people is an assault on free people of the world by a criminal occupation that threatens the security, freedom and dignity of all, no
matter where.

Thaer Hlahalh, who are now on their 61st day of hunger strike, Hassan Safadi, Omar Abu Shalal, Mahmoud Sarsak, Mahmoud Sarsal, Mohammad Taj, Jaafar Azzedine (who was arrested solely for standing in solidarity with myself) and Ahmad haj Ali. Their lives now are in great danger.

We are all responsible and we will all lose if we anything happen to them. Let us take immediate action to pressure the Occupation into
releasing them immediately, or their children could never forgive us.

Let all those free and revolutionary join hands against the Occupation’s oppression, and take to the streets – in front of the
Occupation’s prisons, in front of its embassies and all other institutions backing it around the world.

With deep appreciation,
Khader Adnan

In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of
Allah.

Dear free people of the world. Dear oppressed and disenfranchised
around the globe. Dear friends of our people, who stood with me with a
stern belief in freedom and dignity for my people and our prisoners
languishing in the Occupation’s prisons.

Dear free women and men, young and elderly, ordinary people as well as
intellectual elites everywhere – I address you today with an
outpouring of hope and pain for every Palestinian that suffers from
the occupation of his land, for each of us that has been killed,
wounded or imprisoned by the state of terror, that denies anything
beautiful in our lives, even the smile of our children and families. I
am addressing you in my first letter following my release – praying it
will not be the last – after Allah granted me freedom, pride and
dignity. I was an “administrative detainee” in the jail of occupation
for four months, out of which I have spent 66 days on hunger strike.

I was driven to declare an open-ended hunger strike by the daily
harassment and violation of my people’s rights by the Israeli Zionist
occupation. The last straw for me were the ongoing arrests, the brutal
nighttime raid on my house, my violent detention, during which I was
taken to the “Mavo Dotan” settlement on our land occupied 1967, and
the beatings and humiliation I was treated to during arrest
interrogation. The way I was treated during the interrogation at the
Jalameh detention center, using the worse and lowest verbal insults in
the dictionary. After questioning, I was sentenced to imprisonment
under administrative detention with no charges, which proves mine and
others’ arrests serve only to maintain a quota of prisoners, to harass
us, to restrict our freedom and to undermine our determination, pride
and dignity.

I write today to thank all those who stood tall in support of my
people, with our prisoners, with Hana al-Shalabi and with myself. I
call on you to stand for justice pride and dignity in the face of
occupation. The assault on the freedom and dignity of the Palestinian
people is an assault on free people of the world by a criminal
occupation that threatens the security, freedom and dignity of all, no
matter where.

Please, continue in exposing this occupation, boycotting and isolating
it internationally. Expose it’s true face, the one that was clearly
exposed in the attack of an Israeli officer on our Danish cohort.
Unlike that attack, the murder our people is a crime that goes by
unspoken of and slips away from the lens of the camera. Our prisoners
are dying in silence. Hundreds of defenders of freedom are on hunger
strike inside the prisons, including the eight knights, Bilal Diab and
Thaer Hlahalh, who are now on their 61st day of hunger strike, Hassan
Safadi, Omar Abu Shalal, Mahmoud Sarsak, Mahmoud Sarsal, Mohammad Taj,
Jaafar Azzedine (who was arrested solely for standing in solidarity
with myself) and Ahmad haj Ali. Their lives now are in great danger.

We are all responsible and we will all lose if we anything happen to
them. Let us take immediate action to pressure the Occupation into
releasing them immediately, or their children could never forgive us.

Let all those free and revolutionary join hands against the
Occupation’s oppression, and take to the streets – in front of the
Occupation’s prisons, in front of its embassies and all other
institutions backing it around the world.

With deep appreciation,
Khader Adnan

Another water cistern demolished, another violation of Human Rights

by Joseph

3 May 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

On Wednesday 2nd May 2012, in the town of Al-Baqr, the Israeli occupation forces destroyed yet another water cistern.

The water cistern measuring 16 metres in width and length, and 8 metres in height was used to irrigate approximately 40 to 50 dunams of land. The land was used for the purpose of farming. The farms were mainly used for growing grapes, and various other vegetables.

The water cistern, owned by Yihya Jaber, was demolished approximately six and a half hours after the ordeal had begun at 7am in the morning. As ISM volunteers arrived at the scene, we could see the excavator being used to pick up the soil and filling in the demolished cistern. As we approached the scene, three Israeli soldiers told us not to go any closer.

Without giving us any clear instructions of where we were allowed to stand, we attempted to find an accurate view of this illegal demolition. With the permission of a local Palestinian family, we were able to see the carnage from their terrace. As we looked down, the cistern was almost nonexistent and the source of livelihood for many of the Palestinians in Al-Baqr was reduced to rubble and dirt.

The families looked on helplessly.

The soldiers had completely surrounded the scene preventing anybody from approaching the cistern while it was being destroyed. At approximately 1pm the the Israeli soldiers had finished what they came to do, they abandoned the scene taking away their digger and tipper.

Another water cistern demolished, another violation of Human Rights.

As the scene was abandoned the families come out, staring blankly in despair to what is left of a structure they so desperately relied on. It was one of a series of blows delivered to the Palestinians of Al-Baqr as the tally of water cisterns demolished by the Israeli occupation in Al-Baqr alone, rose to 8 just in the space of the last two years. The illegal destruction of this water cistern will affect the lives of 30 to 40 Palestinians.

The demolition in Al-Baqr was not the first time the Israeli occupation forces had destroyed this water cistern.

It was first demolished in 2010. Just like the demolition of 2010, Jaber had recieved only two to three weeks notice about it from the Israelis. Jaber and the local Palestinians whose livelihood depends upon these water cisterns, were informed that the reason for why the demolitions were taking place was due to the fact that neither of the families had a permit for the water cistern. According to Dr Shahaad Attili, the minister of Palestinian Water Authority, water cisterns do not require a permit from the Israeli Civil Administration, thereby rendering the pursuit of a permit as another useless exercise.

Despite it being unnecessary to be in possession of a permit, it is common knowledge that it is near impossible for Palestinians to obtain permits for land illegally occupied by the Israeli Government. On both occasions that Jaber had applied for permission, they were turned away on the grounds that “It is Israeli Land” or “It’s too close to the security road,” or “It’s an agricultural area,” and finally “It’s too close to the settlements.”

The cost for applying for a permit is approximately a thousand shekels, and now the cost of complaining about the demolition is normally between a total of 15000 NIS. Even if he does manage to afford this fee, which is highly unlikely, it will most likely be a futile battle against the discriminatory and apartheid policies of Israel.

In the past two years according to Daikonia, over 44 water cisterns hve been destroyed in land falling under Area C, affecting the lives of over 13,500 people and displacing 127. In the past month alone, a total of 7 water cisterns have been destroyed in West Bank with yet more structures under threat.

This is a clear violation of the Israeli-Palestinian joint agreement from 2001, the “Joint Declaration for Keeping the Water Infrastructure out of the Cycle of Violence.”

It is also important to note that Israel has denied the applicability of the Fourth Geneva Convention by occupying Palestinian land but have accepted the applicability of the Hague Regulations. Under Article 43 of The Hague Convention Israel, as an occupying power over both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, has the ultimate responsibility to ensure that public order and safety are upheld in the territory it occupies, including securing the welfare of the population. Its impossible to see how Israel is securing the welfare of the Palestinian population when they are illegally destroying water cisterns that will cause them severe hardship.

The village of Al-Baqr remains under constant threat of demolition. Not only the remaining water cisterns, but the houses face the same consequences as they are considered “illegal.” This adds more burden to the strains of Al-Baqr.Even for electricity, all families are required to purchase cards which offer a limit of kilowatts lasting only two to three days. The closest hospital is also 25 kilometers away, shorter routes to the hospital have been made inaccessible for Palestinians by Israeli occupation forces. It is also very difficult for children to get to schools everyday as they have to travel long distances.

As demolitions continue in Al-Baqr the illegal Zionist settlements populated by migrants to stolen land continue to expand, the two nearest settlements being Harsin and Kariat Arba. Two years ago the main road leading into the town was opened up so the settlers can come and gawk at the plight of Palestinians. However the Israeli Government refers to these outings as “tours.”

Joseph is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).