ACT NOW ! Put an end to the ‘Closed Military Zone’ in Tel Rumeida and Shuhada Street, Hebron

11th January 2016 | Action Alert

last updated 21st January 2016

*** Arabic version below ***

 

The undersigned organisations are calling on the international community to take immediate action regarding the continuous closure of the Tel Rumeida neighborhood and the part of Shuhada Street that has remained accessible to Palestinian residents since the Ibrahimi mosque massacre in 1994, in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron). For more than two months, Palestinians and internationals have been denied access to this part of the city since the Israeli occupation forces have declared the area a ‘closed military zone’.

The ‘closed military zone’, first declared on November 1st 2015, was designed to include Palestinian neighborhoods while excluding adjacent illegal Israeli settlements. This discriminatory closure is being upheld by continuously renewed ‘military orders’ that lack official signatures or stamps. Palestinian residents were forced to register with the army or else risk being barred from their homes, while Israeli settlers are free to roam the streets without being stopped.

“This is yet another step in pushing Palestinians out of Tel Rumeida and Shuhada street”, says Jenny, from the ISM team in al Khalil.

Such a restriction of movement clearly constitutes a collective punishment on the whole Palestinian community, illegal under international law. Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva convention specifically states that “no protected person may be punished for an offense he or she has not personally committed. Collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited.”

Tel Rumeida resident Abed Salaymeh explains : “soldiers and settlers are making life for the Palestinians intolerable to force them to leave their houses voluntarily. This is a crime under international law. They are targeting activists to silence the truth and stop the truth from reaching the whole world.”

International and local activists are increasingly at risk of direct attacks by Israeli occupation forces and settlers from the illegal settlements in al-Khalil, as activists are specifically targeted for their efforts to document and report on human rights abuses.

Activists are denied access to areas by Israeli occupation forces and face unfounded arbitrary arrests, such as on the 3rd of November, the 26th of November, 27th of November, and on the 28th of November; purely on Israeli forces’ accusations that lack any evidence. Human rights defenders, whose work the United Nations stressed as important, are increasingly threatened even inside their homes and offices or illegally kicked out of them. The closed military zone was expanded and extended until the 31st January 2016.

The Israeli forces’ attempts to silence the Palestinian voice on the events goes hand in hand with the closure of Palestinian radio stations in clear infringement of the freedom of press and opinion, acknowledged in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR) of 1948, article 19: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”

“It is important to document in order to expose Israeli crimes”, explains Imad Abu Shamsiyyeh, a Tel Rumeida resident.

These inhumane measures come after Israeli occupation forces gunned down Homam Adnan Sa’id, 23,  and Islam Rafiq ‘Ebeido on the 27th and 28th of October in the Tel Rumeida neighbourhood. While the Israeli government claims that both were ‘neutralized’ when attacking Israeli forces, many eye-witness statements refute this claim; CCTV footage has not yet been released by the Israeli forces. Since the beginning of October, a total of 163 Palestinians have been shot and left to bleed to death without medical aid in a similar manner in what Amnesty International refers to as ‘unlawful killings‘.

The outlined measures, restrictions, and human rights violations are focused primarily and exclusively on making the Palestinian voice – and in the long run the inhabitants of the area – disappear altogether.

The undersigned organisations call for:

  • An immediate end to collective punishment and the ‘closed military zone’ order in Tel Rumeida and Shuhada Street;
  • Cessation of threats and harassment of Palestinian residents as well as foreign and local human rights defenders;
  • Removal of restrictions on movement throughout the Old City of Hebron;
  • stopping the imposed  military law on Palestinian residents as they are civilians;
  • Suspension of the EU-Israel association agreement until Israel complies with International Law;
  • Removal of all illegal Israeli settlements from Hebron.
  • Reconsideration of the status of “charity” of the Hebron Fund, that allows people to make tax-free donations to an organisation funding the illegal settlement of Israelis in the city of Hebron
  • Cessation of unconditional US Aid to Israel until it complies with international law.
  • Release of the bodies of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces, as provided in article 17 of the 1949 Geneva Convention I “[Parties to the conflict] shall further ensure that the dead are honourably interred, if possible according to the rites of the religion to which they belonged, that their graves are respected, grouped if possible according to the nationality of the deceased, properly maintained and marked so that they may always be found”.

Signatories (continuously updated):

Alternative Information Center (AIC)
Architects and Planners for Justice in Palestine (APJP)
Assopace Palestina
BDS Slovenia
Boston University Students for Justice in Palestine
Chico Palestine Action Group
Christian Peacemaker Teams Palestine
Delaware Neighbors Against the Occupation
Dominican Palestine Coordinating Committee
Edmonton Small Press Association
Education Equals Making Community Connection
Football Against Apartheid
Gaza Action Ireland
Health Work Committees
Hebron Defense Committee
Hebron Rehabilitation Committee
Human Rights Defenders Group
Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC)
Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD)
Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) – Finland
International Middle East Media Centre
International Women’s Peace Service
International Solidarity Movement
ISM Italy
Leeds Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Love without Borders
Memphis Voices for Palestine
Merton PSC
Middle East Crisis Support – Woodstock, NY
Minnesota Break the Bonds Campaign
Newcastle Palestine Campaign
Operation Dove – Operazione Colomba
Philly BDS
Popular National Conference for Jerusalem
Rural Women’s Development Society
Sacramento Regional Coalition for Palestinian Rights
South Coast People for Peace and Justice 
The Agricultural Relief Committee (PARC)
The General Union of Palestinian Teachers, Hebron
The Hampton Institute
The Palestinian Farmers Union
The Popular Committee for Palestinian Refugees in Hebron District
The Union of Palestinian Working Women’s Committees
The Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees
Unison Northumberland
Women’s Studies Centre
Youth Center – Palestinian Medical Relief Society

 

If your organisation wishes to support the call, contact us at: palreports@gmail.com

 

 

********************** Arabic version **********************

 

 

نداء عاجل، ضعوا حدا لأمر الاحتلال العسكري الذي يغلق (تل الرميده) و (شارع الشهداء) في الخليل.

إن المنظمات والهيئات الموقعة على هذا النداء تدعو المجتمع الدولي الى اتخاذ إجراءات فورية تجاه الاغلاق المستمر لحي تل الرميده وذلك الجزء من شارع الشهداء الذي بقي متاحاً أمام حركة المواطنين الفلسطينيين عقب مجزرة الحرم الإبراهيمي في الخليل المحتلة في عام 1994. منذ أكثر من شهر منع الفلسطينيون والدوليون من دخول هذا الجزء من المدينة حيث أعلنت القوات الإسرائيلية عنه كمنطقة عسكرية مغلقة.

المنطقة العسكرية المغلقة أعلنت اولا في مطلع شهر تشرين الثاني/ نوفمبر 2015 وتطال السكان الفلسطينيون والأحياء الفلسطينية بينما تستثني البؤر الاستيطانية غير القانونية، هذا الإغلاق المعبر عن التمييز العنصري مفروض بأوامر عسكرية مكتوبة متجددة وتفتقر حتى إلى التواقيع والاختام الرسمية. السكان الفلسطينيون اجبروا على تسجيل أسمائهم لدى الجيش والا فإنهم سيقعوا تحت خطر الإبعاد عن بيوتهم، بينما المستوطنون يحظون بحرية التجوال والحركة بدون قيود.

هذه خطوة إضافية للضغط على الفلسطينيين لمغادرة بيوتهم الواقعة في تل الرميده وشارع الشهداءكما قالت جيني (Jenny) من حركة التضامن الدولية (ISM) في الخليل.

هذه القيود على الحركة تشكل بوضوح عقابا جماعيا لكل المجتمع الفلسطيني وتعد خرقا فاضحا للقانون الدولي. تنص المادة (33) من اتفاقية جنيف الرابعة على أنه لا يجوز معاقبة أي شخص محمي على مخالفة لم يقترفها هو شخصيا. تحظر العقوبات الجماعية وبالمثل جميع تدابير التهديد أو الإرهاب

يقول المواطن الفلسطيني عبد السلايمه الساكن في تل الرميده: “الجيش والمستوطنون يعملون على جعل حياة المواطنين الفلسطينيين لا تطاق من أجل دفعهم لأن يتركوا بيوتهم بشكل طوعي. هذه جريمة وفق القانون الدولي. انهم يستهدفون النشطاء من أجل طمس الحقيقة ومنع وصولها للعالم“.

يعيش النشطاء الدوليون والمحليون في خطر متزايد جراء الهجمات المباشرة من القوات الإسرائيلية والمستوطنين غير الشرعيين، انهم مستهدفون بسبب ما يقوموا به من توثيق ونشر لانتهاكات حقوق الإنسان.

النشطاء يمنعوا من الدخول إلى مناطق بأوامر قوات الاحتلال ويواجهون خطر الاعتقال التعسفي، مثلما حصل في 3 تشرين الثاني/نوفمبر الماضي وأيضا في 26 و 27 و 28 من ذات الشهر دون وجود أي أدلة لدى الجيش على اتهاماتهم الباطلة الموجهة للنشطاء. المدافعون عن حقوق الإنسان والذين يقومون بعمل تؤكد على أهميته منظمة الأمم المتحدة يواجهون مخاطر متصاعدة حتى داخل بيوتهم ومكاتبهم ويطرَدون منها بصورة تعسفية وغير قانونية.

تحاول السلطات الإسرائيلية إسكات الصوت الفلسطيني خلال الأحداث الجارية تزامنا مع إغلاقها لمحطات إذاعية فلسطينية في خرق فاضح لحرية الصحافة والرأي والمقرة في الاعلان العالمي لحقوق الانسان لعام 1948 والذي ينص في المادة 19 منه لكل شخص الحق في حرية الرأي والتعبير، ويشمل هذا الحق حرية اعتناق الآراء دون أي تدخل، واستقاء الأنباء والأفكار وتلقيها وإذاعتها بأية وسيلة كانت دون تقيد بالحدود الجغرافية“.

التوثيق مهم جدا لفضح الجرائم الإسرائيليةكما قال عماد أبو شمسية المواطن الفلسطيني من سكان حي تل الرميده.

تأتي هذه الإجراءات غير الإنسانية عقب قيام القوات الاسرائيلية بإطلاق النار وقتل كل من همام عدنان السعيد نحو 23 عاماو إسلام رفيق اعبيدو في 27 و 28 تشرين الأول/أكتوبر في حي تل الرميده، وكانت الحكومة الإسرائيلية حينها قد بررت عمليتا القتل بأنهما جاءتا ردا على هجمات حسب ما ادعته، في حين نفى شهود عيان هذه الإدعاءات ولم تقم قوات الجيش بنشر تسجيلات كاميرات المراقبة خاصتها والمثبته في المكان لتأكيد ما تدعيه.

منذ بداية شهر تشرين الأول/اكتوبر أطلقت النار على ما مجموعه163 فلسطيني تركوا ينزفون من دون تقديم اسعافات أولية لهم أو علاج طبي حيث وصفت منظمة العفو الدولية ( Amnesty International ) ذلك بالقتل خارج نطاق القضاء.

الإجراءات الاحتلالية المذكورة المناقضة لحقوق الإنسان هدفها إخماد الصوت الفلسطيني وفي المدى البعيد هدفها إجبار سكان المنطقة الفلسطينيين على الرحيل والإختفاء بشكل كامل.

إن المنظمات والهيئات الموقعة على هذا النداء تطالب بما يلي

الوقف الفوري لسياسة العقاب الجماعي بحق الفلسطينيين في حي تل الرميدة وشارع الشهداء وإنهاء الأمر العسكري بإغلاقهما.

وقف التهديدات والمضايقات ضد السكان الفلسطينيين، وكذلك ضد نشطاء حقوق الإنسان المحليين والدوليين في تل الرميده وشارع الشهداء.

إزالة الحواجز والقيود على الحركة المنتشرة داخل البلدة القديمة من الخليل.

وقف العمل بالقوانين والأوامر العسكرية الاسرائيلية على السكان الفلسطينيين المدنيين.

إيقاف اتفاقية التعاون بين الاتحاد الأوروبي وإسرائيل حتى تلتزم اسرائيل بالقوانين الدولية.

إزالة كل البؤر الاستيطانية غير الشرعية من الخليل.

إعادة النظر بمكانة الخيريالتي يحظى بها صندوق الخليل (Hebron Fund) والذي يتيح الفرصة للأفراد من عدة دول بتقديم التبرعات التي تخصم من ضرائبهم للمنظمة التي تمول الاستيطان في الخليل.

وقف المساعدات الأميركية غير المشروطة المقدمة لإسرائيل حتى تنصاع للقانون الدولي.

إعادة جثامين الفلسطينيين الذين قتلتهم القوات الإسرائيلية لذويهم وفقا لما تنص عليه المادة (17) من اتفاقية جنيف الأولى لعام 1949 والتي ورد فيها على أطراف النزاع التحقق من أن الموتى قد دفنوا باحترام وطبقا لشعائر دينهم إذا أمكن، وأن مقابرهم تحترم وتجمع تبعا لجنسياتهم إذا أمكن وتصان بشكل ملائم، وتميز بكيفية تمكن من الاستدلال عليها دائما

الموقعون:

حملة مقاطعة اسرائيل في سلوفينيا

حركة التضامن الدولية
غزة اكشن, ايرلاندا
الحركة الاسرائيلية ضد هدم البيوت
الحركة الاسرائيلية ضد هدم البيوت, فنلندا

لفرق المسيحية لصنع السلام/ فلسطين

لجنة التنسيق الدومينيكان فلسطين

اتحاد لجان العمل الصحي

لجنة الدفاع عن الخليل

لجنة إعمار الخليل 

مركز الشرق الأوسط الدولي للإعلام

خدمات نساء السلام الدولية

حملة التضامن مع فلسطين/ ميرتون/ المملكة المتحدة

مجموعة دعم منكوبي الشرق الأوسط/ وودستوك/ نيويورك

حملة مقاطعة اسرائيل في مينوسوتا/ الولايات المتحدة

حملة التضامن مع فلسطين في نيوكاسل

منظمة حمامة السلام/ ايطاليا

هيئة مؤتمر القدس وشدوا الرحال

الاغاثة الزراعية

اتحاد المزارعين الفلسطينيين

اللجنة الشعبية للاجئين في محافظة الخليل

اتحاد لجان المرأة الفلسطينية

نقابة العمال يونيسوننورث أمبرلاند/ المملكة المتحدة

مركز الدراسات النسوية في الخليل

المدافعون عن حقوق الانسان

الاتحاد العام للمعلمين الفلسطينيين/ الخليل

اتحاد لجان المرأة العاملة الفلسطينية

حركة التضامن الدولية, ايطاليا

منظمة ادمنتون للصحافة الصغيرة

حب بدون حدود

مهندسون ومزارعون للعدالة في فلسطين

مركز تدريب الشباب المجتمعي/ الإغاثة الطبية

معهد هامبتون

الرجاء التواصل معنا على:

palreports@gmail.com

في حال رغبة مؤسستكم بمساعدتنا في نشر ندائنا

 

URGENT Update: Help Hamzeh start 2016 with his family!

30th November 2015 | International Solidarity Movement | Ramallah, occupied Palestine

Hamzeh’s family has managed to raise 1880 shekels! This is over half of the amount needed so that Hamzeh can come home in seven days! We still need 564.5 dollars to pay his fine to release him.

Hamze Marwan Abdomousa
Hamze Marwan Abdomousa

Hamzeh was taken from his home in Amari refugee camp by Israeli forces on February 5th, 2015. He was forced to accept a plea bargain despite denying the charges leveled against him by Israeli military court. Now his family must pay the fine or he will remain in prison for another four months.

‘This fine goes beyond the financial means of my circle of family and friends,’ Hamze explains. ‘My financial situation is very difficult, and has worsened by the fact that I have been unemployed for the past 2 years. I was forced to leave school at grade 9 to begin working and help my family. My family still depends on me for financial support, and my imprisonment has exerted an enormous burden on them. I ask all people who understand me to support me and my family.’

If 50 people give 11.29 $ each, or if 100 people give 5.65 $, or 200 people give 2.83 $, Hamzeh will go free. If you’re broke, you can be creative: Pass your hat around friends and family, make a soup kitchen tonight and invite everyone to donate a little!

 

Please donate here!: https://palsolidarity.org/donate/ 

 

Also, please send us an email to palreports@gmail.com with “Free Hamzeh” in the subject line to let us know your donation is for Hamzeh, or if you want information about other ways to donate.

Hamze Marwan Abdomousa
Hamze Marwan Abdomousa

Any donation is greatly appreciated; If we all put our efforts together we can fulfill Hamzeh’s desire and right to freedom!
Please share his story with your friends and family, in your social media and with all the people who care.

UN : “Stop unacceptable harassment of human rights defenders in occupied Palestinian Territory”

December 18th, 2015 | UN Press release | al Khalil, Occupied Palestine

UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders Michel Forst. Photo: MINUSTAH
UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders Michel Forst. Photo: MINUSTAH

GENEVA – United Nations independent experts today expressed grave concerns at continued reports that human rights defenders are being subjected to physical attacks, harassment, arrest and detention, and death threats, particularly in Hebron in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), in an apparent bid by Israeli authorities and settler elements to stop their peaceful and important work.

“Amidst a charged and violent atmosphere over past months in the OPT, Palestinian and international defenders are providing a ‘protective presence’ for Palestinians at risk of violence, and documenting human rights violations,” said the UN Special Rapporteur the situation of human rights defenders, Michel Forst.

“The continued harassment of human rights defenders in the OPT, who are exercising their rights to freedoms of expression and association, is simply unacceptable. It should cease immediately,” Mr. Forst stressed.

Earlier this month, a group of UN human rights experts urged the Israeli Government to ensure a protective environment where human rights defenders in the Occupied Palestinian Territory can work without unlawful restriction and without fear of retaliatory acts.

“We recently addressed concerns to the Israeli Government regarding retaliatory acts by Israeli authorities against members of one organisation based in Hebron, Youth Against Settlements, after its Centre was subjected to raids and settlers allegedly called for it to be closed,” noted the UN Special Rapporteur the situation of human rights in the OPT, Makarim Wibisono.

“The Centre has now effectively been shut down as a result of the Israeli military declaring the surrounding area a military zone,” Mr. Wibisono said. “We urge Israeli authorities to lift this military order.”

The experts’ statement has been endorsed by the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Mr. Juan E. Méndez, and by the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Mr. Maina Kiai.

Read our action alert calling for an end of the closed military zone in al Khalil.

ISM calls for internationals to volunteer in Palestine

14th December, 2015 | International Solidarity Movement | occupied Palestine
Today, Palestinians are facing an enormous amount of pressure in their lives due to the growing violence of Israeli forces. Israeli politicians have fueled the motivation to kill Palestinians by making open statements encouraging Israeli citizens to become executioners.
Since the beginning of October, Israeli occupation forces have started to exceed their abuse of power by carrying out a series of extrajudicial killings of Palestinians, in a manner that is completely unjustified and, in most cases, constituting crimes of war.
In addition, Israeli forces are applying measures of collective punishment towards the families of Palestinians who are killed in this unlawful manner. In many cases, the army does not return their bodies to their families, preventing them from carrying out their funerals. Furthermore, Israel has been demolishing the houses of these families, leaving many people homeless.

When you come to Palestine, there are many things you can do.

In Al-Khalil (Hebron), we need volunteers to continue walking children to school and monitor the three checkpoints were the children cross two times a day, on their way to school and back home. Our presence there is crucial because we witness and document what we see and can show the world what is happening on the ground. We do our best to prevent Palestinians from being harassed, and more importantly, to show them we are there in solidarity with them.

One of our volunteers walks a group of children to school in al-Khalil
One of our volunteers walks a group of children to school in al-Khalil

In Jerusalem, you will document human rights violations and report them in the media. You will be present in checkpoints such as Qalandya, the Shufat Refugee Camp, and nearby villages. You will monitor violence from settlers and police in the old city during the day, and the monthly settler march were settlers roam in the streets of the old city at night. During these marches, Palestinians are forced to close their shops and face the danger of being attacked.

In the area of Jerusalem, you will also monitor schools and hospitals. In addition, there are many child arrests that need to be covered in the media, where you will visit the families and write their stories. In Jerusalem there are also many home demolitions and evacuations that you will need to document and report in the media.
In Tulkarem, which has recently seen regular violent attacks from the Israeli army towards university students inside the campus while they are studying and attending exams, we need volunteers on the ground to continue documenting these crimes of war and create awareness on the situation. Watch video of army’s incursion here.

Furthermore, in Tulkarem, the army is threatening to permanently close gate 623 that gives access to farmers to their land, in other words, to their sustenance for living. This gate needs international human rights defenders to monitor on a daily basis from 7:00 to 8:00 in the morning.
In Nablus, several houses have been demolished since October. We need to continue being present and reporting on these human rights violations when they arise. You will visit the families who suffer from being left homeless, and write their stories.
In the city of Ramallah we receive calls from prisoners’ families to attend military court hearings, in the Ofer military prison. We believe that being present in these hearings can put pressure on the Israeli authorities and decrease their abuse of power when giving sentences to Palestinian political prisoners.
Moreover, all throughout the West Bank, in cities and villages, the popular committees organize regular demonstrations were the ISM is called to participate.

As ISM is a Palestinian led movement all our actions are initiated on invitations from or initiative of Palestinians following their lead and wishes.
When you come to Palestine, try to bring your computer with you and a camera, as you will need it for the media work. To plan your trip to the West Bank, please read our traveling information.
We ask our volunteers to commit for a minimum of two weeks after completing our two day training, but keep in mind that we always prefer to have volunteers stay for longer periods of time.
When you decide to come to Palestine to join us, or if you have any further questions, please write us to palreports@gmail.com.
In solidarity,
ISM Team

 

ISM volunteers raising Palestinian flag in front of the Apartheid wall.
ISM volunteers raising Palestinian flag in front of the Apartheid wall.

ACT NOW ! Put an end to the ‘Closed Military Zone’ in Tel Rumeida and Shuhada Street, Hebron

December 13th, 2015 | International Solidarity Movement | Action Alert

The undersigned organisations are calling on the international community to take immediate action regarding the continuous closure of the Tel Rumeida neighborhood and the part of Shuhada Street that has remained accessible to Palestinian residents since the Ibrahimi mosque massacre in 1994, in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron). For more than a month, Palestinians and internationals have been denied access to this part of the city since the Israeli occupation forces have declared the area a ‘closed military zone’.

The ‘closed military zone’, first declared on November 1st 2015, was designed to include Palestinian neighborhoods while excluding adjacent illegal Israeli settlements. This discriminatory closure is being upheld by continuously renewed ‘military orders’ that lack official signatures or stamps. Palestinian residents were forced to register with the army or else risk being barred from their homes, while Israeli settlers are free to roam the streets without being stopped.

“This is yet another step in pushing Palestinians out of Tel Rumeida and Shuhada street”, says Jenny, from the ISM team in al Khalil.

Such a restriction of movement clearly constitutes a collective punishment on the whole Palestinian community, illegal under international law. Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva convention specifically states that “no protected person may be punished for an offence he or she has not personally committed. Collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited.”

Tel Rumeida resident Abed Salaymeh explains : “soldiers and settlers are making life for the Palestinians intolerable to force them to leave their houses voluntarily. This is a crime under international law. They are targeting activists to silence the truth and stop the truth from reaching the whole world”.

International and local activists are increasingly at risk of direct attacks by Israeli occupation forces and illegal settlers, as they are specifically targeted for their efforts to document and report on human rights abuses.

Activists are denied access to areas by Israeli occupation forces and face unfounded arbitrary arrests, such as on the 3rd of November, the 26th of November, 27th of November, and most recently on the 28th of november; purely on Israeli forces’ accusations that lack any evidence. Human rights defenders, whose work the United Nations stressed as important, are increasingly threatened even inside their homes and offices or illegally kicked out of them.

The Israeli forces’ attempts to silence the Palestinian voice on the events goes hand in hand with the closure of Palestinian radio stations in clear infringement of the freedom of press and opinion, acknowledged in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR) of 1948, article 19: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers”.

“It is important to document in order to expose Israeli crimes”, explains Imad Abu Shamsiyyeh, a Tel Rumeida resident.

These inhumane measures come after Israeli occupation forces gunned down Homam Adnan Sa’id, 23,  and Islam Rafiq ‘Ebeido on the 27th and 28th of October in the Tel Rumeida neighbourhood. While the Israeli government claims that both were ‘neutralized’ when attacking Israeli forces, many eye-witness statements refute this claim; CCTV footage has not yet been released by the Israeli forces. Since the beginning of October, a total of 112 Palestinians have been shot and left to bleed to death without medical aid in a similar manner in what Amnesty International refers to as ‘unlawful killings‘.

The outlined measures, restrictions, and human rights violations are focused primarily and exclusively on making the Palestinian voice – and in the long run the inhabitants of the area – disappear altogether.

 

The undersigned organisations call for:

  • An immediate end to collective punishment and the ‘closed military zone’ order in Tel Rumeida and Shuhada Street;
  • Cessation of threats and harassment of Palestinian residents as well as foreign and local human rights defenders;
  • Removal of restrictions on movement throughout the Old City of Hebron;
  • stopping the imposed  military law on Palestinian residents as they are civilians;
  • Suspension of the EU-Israel association agreement until Israel complies with International Law;
  • Removal of all illegal Israeli settlements from Hebron.
  • Reconsideration of the status of “charity” of the Hebron Fund, that allows people to make tax-free donations to an organisation funding the illegal settlement of Israelis in the city of Hebron
  • Cessation of unconditional US Aid to Israel until it complies with international law.
  • Release of the bodies of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces, as provided in article 17 of the 1949 Geneva Convention I “[Parties to the conflict] shall further ensure that the dead are honourably interred, if possible according to the rites of the religion to which they belonged, that their graves are respected, grouped if possible according to the nationality of the deceased, properly maintained and marked so that they may always be found”.

Signatories :

BDS Slovenia

Christian Peacemaker Teams Palestine

Dominican Palestine Coordinating Committee

اتحاد لجان العمل الصحي Health Work Committees

Hebron Defense Committee

Hebron Rehabilitation Committee  لجنة إعمار الخليل  

International Middle East Media Centre

International Women’s Peace Service

Merton PSC

Middle East Crisis Support – Woodstock, NY

Minnesota Break the Bonds Campaign

Newcastle Palestine Campaign

Operation Dove – Operazione Colomba

Popular National Conference for Jerusalem

The Agricultural Relief Committee (PARC) الاغاثة الزراعية

The Palestinian Farmers Union

The Popular Committee for Palestinian Refugees in Hebron District

Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees اتحاد لجان المرأة الفلسطينية

Unison Northumberland

Women’s Studies Centre امركز الدراسات النسوية في الخليل

Youth Center – Palestinian Medical Relief Society مركز تدريب الشباب المجتمعي

If your organisation wishes to support our call, contact us : palreports@gmail.com