9th November 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Huwara Team | occupied Palestine
On October 30th 2015, Israeli forces shot at one of Fadi’s ambulances which resulted in the windows of one of the ambulances being broken alongside other damages.
Ambulances are crucial for first aid response in demonstrations and confrontations with the Israeli forces.
As Israeli aggression towards Palestinians escalates during confrontations, medical aid such as that provided by Fadi’s Ambulance is essential for the safety and medical aid of the demonstrators.
With over 7,000 reported injuries by the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the month of October alone ranging from live ammunition, teargas asphyxiation, injuries from plastic coated steel bullets (which are often referred to as rubber bullets, but can have been fatal in the past) and now the attacks on ambulances by Israeli forces; the work of medical crews on the field is more vital than ever!
Medic crews on the field carry an injured demonstrator despite soldiers’ harassment
Fadi’s Ambulance consists of two ambulances and 60 members of on the field aid crews. 52 members are pure volunteers, which means they do not receive a salary for their assistance on the field.
Due to the severe damage suffered on the ambulances, both to the exterior and the interior of the vehicles, we are asking the global community to help in raising money in order to be able to continue our jobs in tending to the injured people on the ground. The money will go to the maintenance of the cars as well as covering the deficiencies in medical aid, including the basics such as, gauze, cotton, alcohol. Other needed materials include oxygen cylinders, and a machine to test the oxygen saturation levels in the blood. Fadi’s Ambulance covers confrontations in eight different places and others when needed. Our work is being hindered due to lack of supplies, and although we have dedicated volunteers who have also been attacked just like our ambulances, we too need your support to rebuild our equipment which is crucial for our work.
Medics respond within seconds to demonstrators when they get injured.
First aid crews are always present in demonstrations and many of them work as volunteers.
Please consider making a donation through our online account or Paypal and write an e-mail to palreports@gmail.com , describing ‘Fadi’s Ambulance’ in the subject, detailing your name and donation amount in the message.
If you can’t donate, but wish to support the medic crews on the field, share this widely with all your friends, family and all the people who care!
8th November 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine
The International Solidarity Movement (ISM) urges the international community to take immediate and urgent action against the Israeli occupation forces’ recent declaration of the Tel Rumeida neighborhood and Shuhada street in downtown Hebron as a closed ‘Closed Military Zone.’
On November 1st, the occupation forces instructed all Palestinian residents to ‘register’. Since November 3rd, all non residents, including human rights workers, doctors, teachers, plumbers, and others are barred from entry.
This declaration comes amidst a month long escalation claiming the lives of over 70 Palestinians across the West Bank and Gaza – one third of them in Hebron. Many of the extrajudicial killings in Hebron are occurring in the areas now evacuated of all internationals who had been monitoring and reporting what they witness.
As of November 3rd, all international human rights monitors in Tel Rumeida have been evicted from the area under threat of arrest and subsequent deportation. Although the order is being issued for one day, and renewed daily, the occupation forces have told residents and evicted human rights workers that it will be in force for the long term.
Israeli forces are targeting not only international human rights observers, but also Palestinian activists. On Saturday, November 7th, Israeli forces commandeered the local activist group Youth Against Settlements’ center and turned it into a military base for 24 hours. They completely destroyed the media center, stole several dozen electronic devices, and took Palestinian activists as hostages. A YAS spokesperson has been illegally held in prison for over a week already. Israeli forces also raided other Palestinian homes, trapping families inside, while settlers freely roamed the streets and chanted “Death to the Arabs!”
“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”, explains Tel Rumeida resident Abed Salaymeh. Other international human rights observers have been directly targeted by Israeli forces through arrests, evictions and settler violence. Such conditions facilitate further extrajudicial killings in this neighborhood, as well as further takeovers of Palestinian homes by Israeli settlers.
The ISM calls for:
– An immediate end to the ‘Closed Military Zone’ order on Tel Rumeida and Shuhada Street
– Cessation of threats and harassment of residents and foreign human rights activists
– Removal of restrictions on movement throughout downtown Hebron
– Removal of all illegal Israeli settlers from Hebron
We call on civil society worldwide to support the above demands and do all they can to pressure the Israeli government to cease its severe human rights abuses against the Palestinian people, including joining the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
For more information, please see:
B’Tselem Press Release, Nov. 6, 2015: “New restrictions on movement in Hebron and area disrupt lives and constitute prohibited collective punishment”
B’Tselem, Oct. 20: “Footage from Hebron: Israeli military enables 5-day settler attack”
Friends, the last month has been a morbid display of Israeli force in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The number of killings, injuries, and arrests of Palestinians is rising so rapidly that it is becoming increasingly difficult to clarify one extrajudicial execution from another. Two of these murders of unarmed youth occurred directly in front of our apartment in Tel Rumeida. In spite of escalating violence and amid a Zionist media storm, Palestinian resilience and resistance continues.
Palestinians and international solidarity activists are being increasingly targeted in our work of supporting this resistance. Explicit aggression towards Palestinians and internationals in Hebron (Al-Khalil) has increased drastically. Threats, intimidation, verbal and physical abuse by soldiers and illegal settlers has become a daily occurrence in our work.
On the 2nd of November one of our volunteers was taken from his home, assaulted and arrested. The following day, two international activists were arrested while monitoring human rights abuses against school children at the Shuhada street checkpoint. That afternoon, the rest of our team was evicted from our Hebron residence by Israeli forces, without the agreement of the landlord, under threat of arrest. This was carried out on the pretense that we had not been registered as residents during recent procedures surrounding the recurrent Closed Military Zone orders.
A concerted effort is being made to intimidate and drive out all international presence from Hebron. In addition, the impunity of illegal settlers and Israeli forces has created conditions conducive to more violence and attacks throughout the West Bank. Within the past month, there have been several attacks on internationals working in the northern region of Nablus. While acting as a protective presence accompanying olive farmers during the harvest period, several of our volunteers were attacked by illegal settlers just one week ago.
We are receiving increasing requests by schools, farmers, villagers and residents abutting settlements for accompaniment and monitoring. In Gaza, we continue our work of recording atrocities and the resilience of the Palestinian population, in practical solidarity work on the ground. We maintain that our presence throughout the occupied territories is both lawful and more essential than ever.
To continue our work, we need help. WE NEED PEOPLE AND WE NEED MONEY! As you might imagine, our communications, travel, and legal costs are sky-rocketing during this tense time. We anticipate an increasing need for funding to both maintain our presence here and to address our need for legal representation, both for our Palestinian contacts and those of us coming from abroad. We welcome new volunteers, and we welcome financial support in whatever capacity it can be offered.
7th November 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Huwara Team | Tulkarem, occupied Palestine
Updated on November 18th
Yesterday we went to Tulkarem and finally met Ammar, together with his friend Warda. We had a long conversation, where Ammar told us how good he feels to be out of jail and all the things he wants to do in the future. Although his life is very hard, he appears optimistic and tells us he is planning to get a job and save money. He wants to take a course to become a hairdresser, because this is something he already practiced in the prison. When he gets a job as a hairdresser, he wants to continue saving money to build a house in his village. One day he wants to get married and have children.
When he was released, the people of Beit Lid waited for Ammar to celebrate in the streets of the village. Photo credit ISM
We asked him what his life was like in the jail and he said, “There’s nothing prisoners want more than to be free.” Ammar explained to us that going to jail for your country is not a bad thing and, in the end, for him the freedom of his country is more important than his personal freedom.
His three friends are still in jail and he doesn’t know when they will be released. And although he can’t see them, their families get to visit them every two weeks.
His friends were very happy to see him back. Photo credit ISM
Ammar and his friends. Photo credit ISM
He also told us how he made new friends in the jail and how they support each other emotionally when they are having a difficult time. Everyday, they were allowed to leave their cell and stay a while in a common room with other prisoners, spending time together. They did not have access, though, to an area that was open to the air.
It is important to remember that, even though Ammar has finally been released, there are still things he cannot do, which in turn means he doesn’t enjoy full freedom. The court decided that if he is to be found near any illegal Israeli settlement, participates in any demonstration, or is seen walking through any checkpoint, he would be imprisoned for another five years. Therefore, he feels he cannot move with total freedom and needs to be careful.
But despite these restrictions, he is very happy to think how he will start building his future.
*******
Updated on November 10th
Ammar has been released and the people of his village were waiting for him to celebrate on the streets. He is back with his loved ones and has returned to live in his brother’s house. Ammar is very happy to be free again and is planning to find a job.
Here are some pictures his friends sent us to show you!
Ammar with his aunt
Ammar’s friend welcomes him back
The receipt for Ammar’s fine
Updated on November 8th
We have great news! Ammar has been released from prison and we want to thank all of you for your wonderful support! After having spent one year in jail, Ammar is finally back home with his family and can resume his normal life.
Therefore, we have decided to finish Ammar’s campaign tonight. Ammar, together with his family and friends, greatly appreciate your efforts, we could not have done this without you !!
*******
In September 2014, four young men from the village of Beit Lid near Tulkarem were arrested by the Israeli military. After interrogating the four friends, two confessed under torture that they witnessed 22-year-old Ammar Khalid throwing stones and destroying a fence of the illegal Israeli settlement of Anab, which is built on their village’s land. Although Ammar denied this accusation, and no evidence has been presented to support it, the Israeli military court dictated that one witness is already enough to impose a prison charge, and that other evidence is unnecessary.
Ultimately, his friends were released, but Ammar was charged with one year of prison and a fine of 2.500 shekels (approximately $650) which must be paid by November 13th, otherwise, the military will keep him imprisoned until the fine is paid.
Ammar is an orphan; although his parents are gone, he has many friends desperately trying to raise the money to free him. However, his financial situation is very bad, and an amount of 2.500 shekels is very difficult for his loved ones to collect. Without our support Ammar will remain in military detention.
Ammar is not alone in his struggle against the Israeli military, the campaign of violence against the people of Palestine has surged in the month of October, with at least 64 Palestinians killed, over 7,200 injured, and approximately 650 detained by Israeli forces.
It is essential that we pull together our efforts and resources to support Ammar. He is one young man suffering under the effects of the Israeli occupation, and one is too many. We must do all we can to help Ammar gain his freedom from Israeli imprisonment.
Once you send a contribution, it is important that you write to us to palreports@gmail.com, adding ‘Free Ammar’ in the subject, to give us the details of your name and the amount so that we can ensure to collect the money appropriately for Ammar.
If you cannot give money, but still want to support Ammar, please share this with as many people as possible.
5th October 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Al-Khalil team | West Bank, occupied Palestine
Abed al-Rahman Shadi Obeidallah, 12 was still in his school uniform when he was rushed in a civilian car to Beit Jala hospital from Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem today. The boy, from from a Al Kahder village, was shot in the heart during confrontations at Aida camp as violence explodes across the West Bank prompting the Red Crescent to declare a level 3 state of emergency across the occupied Palestinian territories. Another boy was shot in leg with live ammunition during the attack.
Abed al-Rahman Shadi Obeidallah, 12, just before being shot to death by Israeli forces in Bethlehem
Denouncing Israeli violations against humanitarian international law, the Palestine Red Crescent Society staff have endured 14 attacks on their emergency vehicles as Israeli forces and settler violence has sharply surged in a bloody three days. Attacks on PRCS have included medics being beaten by soldiers in Jerusalem, Israeli forces beating an ambulance crew with batons in the old city of Jerusalem and after one attack on an emergency crew in Jabal Al Taweel (Al-Bireh), two medics were injured. Israeli forces attacked an ambulance in al-Issawiya village in occupied East Jerusalem, before arresting an injured Palestinian who was being treated inside the ambulance. An ambulance windshield was also shattered by settlers in Burin village in Nablus. Burin underwent a frightening attack by settlers which left much of it in flames.
Reportedly 465 Palestinians have been injured thus far, including 28 shot with live ammunition and 68 injured with rubber coated steel bullets. Hundreds of others have been overcome by teargas that Israeli forces have been showering over villages and in cities where Palestinians have gathered to demonstrate against their murdering of several Palestinian youths since this past Saturday.
Young Palestinians martyrs recently murdered by Israeli forces.
Fadi Samir Mustafa Alloun, 19, from the East Jerusalem village of al-Issawiya, was shot to death by Israeli forces after allegedly attempting to stab a group of Israelis. 18-year-old Huthayfa Othman Suleiman was shot in the chest during clashes and died in the operating room. In a particularly heinous attack, Yousef Bayan al-Tabib, just six years old, was standing on the side of the road when a settler reportedly stopped his car, shot the child in the stomach, and fled the scene.
Across the occupied Palestinian territories, there have been reports of settlers slaughtering Palestinian’s sheep, attacking Palestinian cars with stones on roads and carrying out violent attacks on villages. As for Israeli forces, soldiers disguised as Palestinians assisting an injured Palestinian into a hospital in Ramallah, disabled security cameras and proceeded to arrest a Palestinian undergoing medical treatment. This is similar to other hospital raids in recent days where a variation of this tactic was repeated.
As for the Israeli government, Netanyahu today made an inflammatory statement to wage a “harsh offensive” against Palestinians; Zionist opportunism at its most typical. Collective punishment is the usual expectation when it comes to the illegally occupying force dealing with the civilian population whose land they are occupying. Israel launched three air strikes in the besieged Gaza strip targeting alleged Hamas ‘terror’ sites after two rockets were fired from Gaza, hitting nothing and injuring no one.
News reports of shootings, injuries, murders, arrests and raids continue to flood in as the situation unfolds at a lightning quick pace. For Palestinians enduring the brunt of Israeli incited race hatred and promoted retribution for the shooting of two Israeli settlers last week, the cavalierly imposed restrictions on al Aqsa Mosque, which have sparked outrage and violent confrontations- and the ensuing chaos, are yet another violent incursion into their lives.
