Author: Yara

Teachers in Hebron give lessons at Checkpoint 56

12 October 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

This morning the pupils and teachers from Qutuba School protested against the treatment of teachers at checkpoint 56. When, for the second day running, the teachers were not allowed to use the checkpoint gate that they usually use, they refused to pass through. In response at 8 AM the school closed, and the pupils came out to take their lessons outside of the checkpoint.

Addressing the children at the beginning of a lesson one teacher said, “Until the teachers are allowed to pass around the checkpoint we will have our lessons here.”

At the same time thousands of Palestinians gathered near the municipality of Hebron in a solidarity demonstration with the hunger striking prisoners. Here there were speeches from the head of the prisoners club, Amjad Najjar and the governor of Hebron, Kamil Hamid. In the square where the demonstration took place there have been tents forming a solidatarity camp for the prisoners for the last one and a half weeks. The demonstration ended peacefully at 10am.

Lessons resume at Checkpoint 56 - Click here for more images

At the same time, away from the demonstration, in the old city, there were reports that some settlers had attacked Palestinians. The settlers reportedly threw stones at the Palestinians, and after a short while the Israeli Occupation Forces arrived. When the Palestinians did not disperse immediately, the soldiers shot tear gas canisters directly into the crowd and made 4 arrests. One of the detained men is Fatel Dendis, 20 who has learning difficulties. After half an hour of unrest the Palestinian Police arrived and dispersed the Palestinian protesters.

In an act of collective punishment the soldiers demanded that all traders in the Old City to close their shops immediately, and offered no indication of when they would be permitted to re-open.

Israeli military “superiors” interfere in Burin’s olive harvest

by Alistair George

12 October 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

The Israeli military ordered villagers to stop picking olives on their own land in Burin, near Nablus, today. The soldiers refused to give a reason for suspending the harvest.

“It is nothing to do with us, we just get orders from our superiors,” they said.

Villagers from Burin were picking olives on their land high up in the hills, near the illegal Israeli settlement of Yitzhar. At around 8 AM Palestinian farmers and ISM activists entered the land closest to the settlement, and after just a few minutes an Israeli security truck was visible on the hilltop next to the land.  Four soldiers arrived in an armoured vehicle at around 8:30 AM and instructed villagers to immediately stop picking olives in the area. They stated that villagers must ask for permission and would only be given three days to finish picking all the olives on their land.  The farmers continued the harvest further away from the settlement.

At around midday, a military vehicle was again seen driving through the olive groves further down the hill, closer to the main road. At one point the vehicle left the track, breaking branches as it maneuvered through the densely planted olive grove.

Ghassan Najjar, 21, is the Director of the Community Centre in Burin.  His father owns the land nearest the settlement. He said that it was common for the Israeli military to interfere with Burin’s olive harvest.

“I was extremely uncomfortable today – I controlled my emotions for my father’s sake and to avoid escalating the situation, otherwise nothing would make me leave my land.”

Settler attacks have been escalating in recent years. This year settlers have already attacked locals four times since April and more than 4,000 trees have been burnt down. Gangs of settlers have fired live ammunition and thrown stones at villagers during olive harvests in previous years.

 

 

Alistair George is an activist with International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).

In Photos: Palestinians unite to support prisoner hunger strike

12 October 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank and Gaza

On Tuesday the 27th of September, an open-ended hunger strike was initiated until the fulfillment of 9 demands by Palestinian prisoners, which include the right to family visits, end to the use of isolation as a punishment against detainees, and profiteering of Israeli prisons from financial penalties charged against prisoners.

Approximately 3000 prisoners are taking part in the strike including all the different political fractions from eight different prisons.

Hebron (click here for more on the story):

On the sixth day of the hunger strike of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, major political factions joined in Hebron and united in support for human rights for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons, victims of Israeli collective punishment tactics.

Hebron Solidarity with Prisoner Strike – Click here for more images

Gaza (click here for more on the story):

Over a thousand Palestinians converged on the International Committee of the Red Cross building in Gaza, Palestine, continuing a tent protest that began outside the walled compound on October 2nd, bolstering a weekly sit-in by the families of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons.

Prisoner Solidarity in Gaza – Click here for more images

Beit Ummar (click here for more on the story):

On the tenth day of the hunger strike of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, a crowd of around a hundred people took to the streets for a planned demonstration in the village of Beit Ummar, Hebron.

Beit Ummar Demonstration in Solidarity with Prisoners – Click here for more images

Ramallah (click here for more on the story):

Over 100 students from Bir Zeit University marched to the gates of Ofer Prison, near Ramallah on October 5th, to demonstrate solidarity with Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike in Israeli jails. It is thought that there are between 9 to 10 prisoners in Ofer prison on hunger strike.

Students march to Ofer Prison in solidarity with hunger strike – Click here for more images

Nablus (click here for more on the story):

Protesters converged outside the Red Crescent building in Nablus at 11:30 AM on October 3rd where several speakers, including the Mayor of Nablus and the Chairman of the Popular Committee to Support Palestinian Rights, spoke from a makeshift stage mounted on the back of a truck to call for Israeli to recognise the Geneva Conventions and respect prisoner rights in accordance with international law.  They also called on the international community and Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki Moon, to pressure Israel to end the illegal occupation of Palestinian territory.

Nablus joins West Bank and Gaza in support of prisoner strike – Click here for more images

In Photos: Ad Dhahariya and Shuwika plant resistance

11 October 2011  | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

At 1 PM a demonstration went from the solidarity tent assembled for the prisoners strike in Ad Dhahariya to the nearby village of Shuwika to plant trees. The demonstration was a solidarity action with the prisoners and also a protest against recent settler assaults in Shuweika where 120 olive trees were cut down.

While the demonstrators were planting olive and eucalyptus trees, soldiers and settlers came down from the nearby outpost of Shima’a and threw sound bombs, firing tear gas at the demonstrators.

A few demonstrators went to the valley dividing Shuwika from the outpost to try to remove stones placed by settlers which formed a star of David as a symbol of conquering Palestinian land. They were shot at directly withtear gas from the Israeli Occupation Forces.

Two soldiers descended from the hill and stole the Palestinian flags placed in the valley, burning one flag while confiscating the other.

After an hour of protesting suddenly the soldiers ran towards the demonstrators, pointing their guns while running and chasing the them for one kilometer back to the Shuweika village.

While leaving the protest, a demonstrator said, “This was the first time in Shuweika [where we had] a protest like this, but hopefully it will be an ongoing event like Ni’lin and Nabi Saleh.”

In the past month there has been an increase of settler violence towards the Shuweika villagers. Not only did the settlers from the Shima’a outpost destroy olive trees from the village, but they also threatened and harassed shepherds herding sheep near the valley.

Demonstration in Ad Dhaharriya - Click here for more images

Ramallah continues to rally support for Ofer prisoners

12 October 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

On Tuesday October 11, about 200-300 Palestinian and solidarity activists held a non violent demonstration near the Israeli Ofer prison, near Ramallah, in support of the demands of prisoners on hunger strike since September 27. The action began at 12:00 PM, as those in solidarity joined the parents and relatives of prisoners. The demonstrators held pictures of the captives and chanted slogans for those inside the prison to hear.

After few minutes the Israeli Army and the border police started to throw tear gas canisters directly at the protesters, in an act forbidden by international law. The canisters came from the soldier’s arms and from a new machine which, on the top of the jeeps, could fire from 5 to 15 teargas canisters at the same time. Whenever the demonstrators tried to come back to Ofer’s gate, the militar forces started to shoot at them with canisters and rubber coated steel bullets.

The result was a great number of people injured in their legs, arms, and the belly, besides a lot of cases of asphyxia due to gas inhalation. The new sound arm, referred to as “The Scream,” was also used.

Dozen of white balloons were released by Palestinians. The protest went on until 4 pm.

Ofer prison is just one of the 22 detention centres where Palestinians political prisoners are held under Israeli custody, both in Occupied Palestine and within the 1948 borders.  All detention centres are extremely overcrowded, according to reports by non governmental organizations. In Ofer, Israel also holds child prisoners.

Ramallah continues to rally support for Ofer prisoners - Click here for more images

Palestinian prisoners started the hunger strike in protest against confinement and other forms of torture and abuse, increased by they  Zionist government throughout the years, especially since June 2011.

The strike, started by detainees of PFLP (Popular Front for Liberation of Palestine) yet has now spread to thousands of adherents, including the relatives of prisoners and those in solidarity. In Ramallah alone dozens of internationals and Palestinians continue their own hunger strikes in solidarity.

Israel has affirmed it won’t attend to the detainees’ demands,  while the administration of one prison has made some concessions, but not related to the captives’ priorities.

Demonstrations have been held in a lot of cities through West Bank, Gaza and Israel proper, and permanent tents in support of the hunger strike were installed in the center of Palestinian districts. The prisoner’s health has been deteriorated day by day, and the prison authorities have just increased the repression and the punishment. Palestinians are calling for international support to raise awareness and to show solidarity.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Detainees & Ex-Detainees Affairs, there are 6,000 Palestinian political prisoners in 22 different detention centres inside Israel proper. This number, however, is contested by Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, which informs, in its website, that there are actually 8,383 imprisoned.

Among these there are 285 minors and 28 women, as well as 270 Palestinians under “administrative detention” (without trial and without convictions, for unespecified periods of time). From the detainees,143 have spent more than 20 years in prison, and 20 are at the moment in solitary confinement.