Category: Action Alerts - Page 27 - International Solidarity Movement

Help us work towards justice in Palestine

Please donate for our work to continue through out 2013!

The International Solidarity Movement is stepping into its thirteenth year of solidarity with the Palestinian people. What started as a few activists participating in actions against the Israeli occupation has developed into a movement of constant growth and change.

Despite our growth and change, our deep commitment to justice and freedom has remained constant. We remain dedicated to supporting Palestinians in popular resistance and acting as witnesses to the occupation and other crimes. This has all been made possible by the financial support of thousands of individuals like yourself.

Throughout the Gaza Strip, international activists have accompanied farmers at their request in the “kill zone” near the Israeli separation barrier. Israeli troops have fired tear gas and continue to use live ammunition against farmers accompanied by internationals. They frequently injure and kill farmers, workers, or children who go to school in areas near the fence. International activists have also accompanied fishermen being attacked in Palestinian territorial waters off the Gaza Strip. They have been some of the few to witness and produce regular reports on those abducted, injured and killed, as well as the destruction and confiscation of boats and fishing equipment.

Throughout 2012 we have continued to stand with Palestinians in the West Bank against unremitting settlement expansion and settler attacks. We have been invited by Palestinian communities to provide a constant international presence in areas at high risk of attack by the Israeli military and settlers, such as the home of the al-Daraghmah family on the road to the settlement of Ma’ale Levona in Khan al-Lubban, or in villages such as Burin and Asira al Qibliya near to the settlements of Itamar, Yizhar and Bracha as well as Susiya next to the settlement of the same name. We took part in the olive harvest and accompanied farmers to their fields for the 11th year in a row, working in high-risk areas where farmers are often attacked or refused the right to enter their lands. Our activists continue their presence in the firing zone 918 in the South Hebron Hills where eight villages are in eminent danger of demolition. We continue to take part each Friday in popular demonstrations organized by Palestinian communities against the theft of their lands and water resources in the villages of Bil’in, Kufr Qaddum, Nabi Saleh, and Nil’in.

In 2013, we are facing new challenges in our struggle against the isolation and displacement of the Palestinian people. We hope to expand our work in Gaza as well as continue expanding in the West Bank.

For our work to continue, we need your help. Please go to our web page and make a donation. Your contribution will go a long way in making sure all this can happen. Any amount is greatly appreciated.

In addition, please consider joining the ISM in 2013. Thank you.

Six solidarity hunger strikers in Hebron

By Team Khalil

18 February 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Hebron, Occupied Palestine

Six Solidarity Hunger Strikers in Hebron.

Six people in Hebron go on hunger strike in support of Ayman Ismail Sharawna who has been on hunger strike in prison for 235 days.
These include Ayman’s mother, Zohra, and three brothers, Jihad, Abed al Rahman and Ismail Shawarna. Joining the family members are Nahil Abu Eisha and Etaf Masalmeh. They are all on an open ended hunger strike to publicise the unjust treatment of Ayman and the other Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. A tent has been erected in the centre of Hebron, near Al Manara, as a focal point for the campaign in the city.
Ayman Ismail Shawarna 38, and a father of nine children, from Deir Samet, Dura, near Hebron went on hunger strike on 1-7-2012 to protest his continued illegal detention in an Israeli prison. Ayman has been on hunger strike for 235 days and his condition is critical. Ayman was released from prison in the Hamas-Israeli prisoner swap in October 2011. He was re-arrested by the Israeli authorities on 31-1-2012 in a breach of the deal and held in administrative detention without charge ever since.
Nahil Abu Eisha, a teacher at Cortoba school in Tel Rumeida, Hebron, was arrested and jailed by a military court for two years when she was twelve years old. She was released after one day when forced to pay a fine of 2,000 Jordanian dinars, about 10,500 shekels.
Etaf Masalmeh from Dura has a brother who has been in an Israeli prison for thirteen years.
Abed al Rahmen Sharawna, one of the six solidarity hunger strikers, said “His family saw him (Ayman Sharawna) two months ago and since then has not been allowed to see him.” Abed explained “They want to show the world what is happening too the prisoners, that he is not alone and they have the same feeling as him in prison.” Abed demanded the Israeli authorities give him his belongings as he is sleeping on the floor with no change of clothes or a blanket. Ayman cannot walk and does not have a wheelchair. The solidarity hunger strikers hope the Israeli authorities will do something but fear they will do nothing for Ayman. Abed said “We will try to do something for him. We are on hunger strike untill we get our demands.”

Thirsting for Justice Campaign Teach-in for Palestinian water rights World Water Day – 22 March 2013

19 February| Thirsting for Justice

On World Water Day show your support for the Palestinian struggle for water justice, organize a teach-in to learn the facts about the context and take action in support of this basic human right.

The Thirsting for Justice Campaign calls on supporters worldwide to observe World Water Day 2013 (22 March) by organizing community teach-ins[1] to gain an accurate and factual portrayal of the challenges Palestinians under Israeli occupation face in their daily lives when accessing clean water and to promote discussion on actions in support of Palestinian water rights.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Palestinians and internationals in the West Bank will be taking part in a “walk for water justice” in the Jordan Valley to mark World Water Day, an initiative of the Thirsting for Justice Campaign and the Jenin Freedom Theater.

To join the teach-in action:

1. Register intent by writing to us on info@thirstingforjustice.org. You will receive a resource pack, which contains all the information you need to organize this action.

2. Discuss with us your ideas. We will endeavor to answer your queries and support you in the organization of the teach-in. Watch our video: http://youtu.be/wva8lYEVGCk

3. Send us the details for your teach-in so we can advertise it on our website and social media. You can organize the teach-in at any time during the month of March.

4. Send us your report-back with details of what was agreed among participants during the meeting so others can be inspired by your work. See the action sheet we prepared in the resource pack with suggestions on what you could do to reach decision-makers and get them to act.

Learn more about the campaign for Palestinian water rights on our website www.thirstingforjustice.org and look for us on Facebook and Twitter.

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[1] Teach-ins are educational forums where people come together to focus on a single topic and build a common understanding about an issue. Teach-ins are meant to be practical, participatory and oriented towards action. Their main goal is to educate people and work towards change.

Resist the land grab: donate a tree

29 January 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus, Occupied Palestine

For more than a decade the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) has supported Palestinians during the olive harvest, a task which continues to be challenging.

We regularly support farmers by accompanying them to fields and planting olive trees in areas of high risk of settler attacks and army harassment. As part of our continuous support to the grassroots struggle, we are going to plant olive trees in the villages around Nablus, starting now. For this, we need your support.

Hundreds of thousands of olive trees are located near illegal Israeli colonial settlements, making the trees as well as the farmers a sure target for settler violence. On average, around 10,000 trees are destroyed each year. Before the olive harvest had began in 2012, farmers had to deal with the devastating effects of arson. According to the United Nations, more than 870 trees were vandalised in the first week of October’s harvest.

Working near settlements is much more than a source of livelihood: it is a form of non-violent resistance. Planting and harvesting olives is a continuous affirmation of Palestinians’ historical, cultural and economic connection to their lands and a rejection of Israeli efforts to seize them.

Villages around Nablus have seen an increased level of violence and harassment by settlers and the army. ISM activists in Nablus have spent recent months working in villages around Yizhar, the most violent settlement in the West Bank. The village of Urif has been under regular attacks by settlers and army, including settler attacks around the school which is located on the very edge of the village. Madama has also seen some extremely violent scenes involving shepherds being assaulted whilst working their lands around the settlement. Asira, another village which surrounds Yizhar, has just been the victim of yet another outrageous land grab. The village of Burin gets attacked from settlements on two sides. We want to help these villages resist by planting olive trees around the most dangerous land around Yizhar settlement.

We want to start by planting around 1000 olive trees and for this we urgently need your help. An olive tree costs $4 to $11, depending on it’s size (the bigger the tree the sooner olives can be harvested). The more money we can raise, the more and bigger olive trees we will be able to plant. Any amount you can donate helps. Please donate now so that we can start start planting. All funds raised will be used entirely for the purchase of new trees.

Please help spread the word. Join the event on Facebook.

Help release Mamun Nasser from Israeli prison

Update on 8 Feb: Mamun is now home with his family!

Thank you to all contributors who donated so far! We have received $950 and managed to borrow the other $150 for Mamun’s bail. If you can, please donate. Any amount helps. In the event that the bail money will returned at the end of Mamun’s trail, it will go towards the ISM legal fund to support similar cases. Thank you!

5 January 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Madama, Occupied Palestine

Shepherd Mamun Nasser has spent almost two months in an Israeli military prison after he was severely beaten by settlers while tending to his sheep. Military court has agreed to his release if the sum of 4000 NIS is paid for bail. Mamun’s family can not afford this amount. Help us raise the funds to secure his release.

On 17th December Mamun Nasser was tending his sheep on a hillside in his village land close to the illegal settler colony of Yizhar. Settlers sought out Mamun and handcuffed him then beat him. His brothers, two of his sisters and his mother who were first to arrive to his aid found Mamun surrounded by settlers covered in blood with most of his face severely swollen. As they attempted to get Mamun from the settlers Israeli soldiers arrived and opened fire shooting live bullets at his family, with one bullet passing through his sister’s dress. Mamun’s brother Amir wasn’t so ‘lucky’ and was hit in the leg. As word of the attack on Mamun spread more villagers arrived and fought to try to free Mamun. In the process a settler was hit by a stone and wounded.

Mamun was arrested by the military and taken away while family and friends managed to carry Amir to an ambulance. Mamun was first taken to Huwwara military base on 17 December and then transferred to Megiddo prison the next day and charged with assaulting both the settlers and soldiers. He has spent almost two months in military captivity. Then on 22 January, Mamun’s brother, Amir, who was shot in the original incident was also arrested by the military when he returned home after a days work.

According to statistics by OCHA (the United Nation’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs), Yizhar is the most violent settlement in the whole of the West Bank having recorded over 70 incidents in 2011 alone. One OCHA report reveals how “90% of monitored complaints regarding settler violence filed by Palestinians with the Israeli police in recent years have been closed without indictment”. In the case of Mamun and Amir, it was not the attackers who were brought in front of a judge but them, the victims of the attack have since remained imprisoned.

This incident is only one example of collaboration between settlers, soldiers and military courts. Settlers from Yitzhar and other settlements regularly attack Palestinians whose land they confiscate. When Palestinians try to defend themselves from these attacks the soldiers take over, attack the Palestinians and kill, injure or arrest them thus keeping them off their land.

The Military courts are willing to release Mamun provided the sum of 4000 NIS ($ 1100) is paid for bail and on the condition that he does not return to the land where he was attacked until the end of his proceedings. Mamun’s family can not afford to pay this amount. Please help us raise the funds needed to secure his release now. Please donate here and send us an email saying how much you were able to raise/donate. Thank you!

Video: Settlers and soldiers attacking Madama. It shows collusion between settlers and soldiers in Madama the day Mamun was arrested.