This isn’t something I had necessarily expected to do on the West Bank. We’re told that the risk level at demonstrations is high; Ayşenur was murdered at one. And I had made a solemn promise to my very anxious friends and family back home that I would calculate these important amorphous abstractions for my actions in the field: the riskiness of my action balanced against its effectiveness. I’m still not sure how the calculation resolves for big demonstrations.
This was different: more of a vigil, and in Ramallah, which is part of Area A where Israeli soldiers, indeed any Israelis, are not allowed in (but nonetheless raid whenever they please). This vigil was one of many all across Palestine to support Gaza and prisoners.
I’ve grappled with this juxtaposition before. It seems to me that once you mention Gaza, all other issues must give way before it. It does and should command all the attention. But how can Palestinians come together and not mention Gaza!
It was a beautiful, unseasonably warm December noon at Manarah Square, where a couple of hundred people – a mixed group of men and women – were gathered, flags flying around them, facing a banner declaring a “Global Day of Support for Gaza” and “Prisoners Rejecting Genocide and Execution of Prisoners” and pictures of young men ranged in front of it – victims of the evils being protested against.
Photo: a sign reading “Global Day of Support for Gaza & Prisoners” followed by “Rejecting Genocide & Execution of Prisoners”
After a few speeches, a truck carrying the loudspeaker set off and we all trooped behind it on a short walk round the block. At this point the crowd found its voice. One boy mounted on the shoulders of another led the crowd around him in slogan shouting, while a group of girls, all of an age and swathed in identical keffiyehs hollered their chants behind them.
I was suddenly joined by Malach, my comrade in my first two weeks here, and now as two internationals together, I suddenly felt I belonged. We strolled while I endeavoured to interview people in English, which all yielded a single sentiment: we’re here to show our support.
Returning to the square, the girls finally noticed me and, practising their English on me, explained this was a school outing. They’d written the slogans out before they came. I just needed to ask them to read them into my phone.
These are the slogans that I’m told they were shouting, and I discover that to translate them is far from easy, partly because the language is freighted with connotations and associations, and partly because they were commonly taken from anthems – songs heavy with symbolism:
“Cross your sword with my sword” (metaphor for fighting jointly).
“A welcome salute from Ramallah to our beloved and unvanquishable Gaza”.
And finally, “With our souls and our blood, we sacrifice our utmost for Palestine”.
On Monday 25 November, about eighty women, mothers, sisters and wives, gathered in Nablus, in the West Bank, to demonstrate in solidarity with the nearly 100 women detained in Israeli jails, along with around 12,000 men, to demand their release and an end to the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Their family members have been in Israeli jails for months or years, yet nothing has been heard from them since 7 October last year.
Women gather in Nablus in support of prisoners and against the genocide in Gaza.
“We want to live in a free country! Out with the occupation forces! They burn Gaza with phosphorus bombs, and tomorrow it’s our turn,” they chanted in one of the city’s main squares while clutching pictures of their loved ones imprisoned.
Woman holding pictures of loved one.
And again: “We will not tire; they are the occupiers and the criminals. They kill the children of Palestine, men and women rise up against this.”
“My son has been in prison for two and a half years,” says Hanan, holding a photo of a smiling young man in his 30s. She has not heard from him for more than a year. “The situation in prison is very bad now,” she says. “We don’t know anything anymore because we have no chance to communicate with them in any way. No institution, red cross or human rights association, no lawyer can reach them to tell us how they are. We are very worried about our sons.” She adds: “I hope my voice will reach the whole world, and that someone will help us.”
Women gather in Nablus in support of prisoners and against the genocide in Gaza.
There are a many, too many stories. Their families brave the risks of arrest and detention to take to the streets, sometimes weekly, to demand the release of their loved ones and demand news.
“My son Samir has been in prison for eight months in administrative detention,” says another woman, a photo of the young man in her arms. “Every time his detention period ends, they renew it for him. The Israeli administration refuses permission to the lawyer and anyone else to visit him. We only hear from him when someone is released from of the same prison.
“My son is sick, and he has no treatment. They don’t give him medicine. They don’t send people for treatment.”
Also in Tulkarem, where every Tuesday dozens of people gather outside the headquarters of the International Red Cross in the hope that their voices will be heard outside the country. A band of young boys with drums and musical instruments set the rhythm for the chants, while family members and representatives of local human rights associations pass the microphone around. “With soul and blood, we will defend our prisoners! Raise your voice for those who have sacrificed their freedom,” they shout together.
“Conditions in prisons since October 7 are completely different. The number of prisoners has more than doubled,” says Ibrahim Nemer, one of the representatives of the Palestinian Prisoners Club of Tulkarem. “There are more than 12,00 political prisoners in jails now.”
People gathering in Tulkarem in support of prisoners held in Israeli jails.
According to Addameer, leading Palestinian human rights organisation on prisoners rights, before Oct. 7 there were 5,000 political prisoners. The number of administrative detentions has also increased tremendously. There are almost 3,400 people in administrative detention, whereas before it was 1,200.
Administrative detention means that a suspect is arrested and held in jail potentially indefinitely, without being told the reasons for the arrest and without the Israeli authorities being required to present evidence against him. Thus, with no possibility of defence.
“There are no longer humane living conditions in the prisons. Everything that the prisoners’ movement had conquered has been taken away,” Ibrahim continues. “TV, books, and there are no more visits for relatives. They don’t give enough food or water … Most of the prisoners have lost dozens of pounds.”
Prisoners are forced to keep the same clothes for weeks, and despite the cold they are not given the necessary blankets. Even shampoo and soap are not provided.
“It’s torture. There is no other way to describe it.”
Ibrahim describes horrific conditions in Israeli jails over the last year. “Most of the prisoners have scabies. They used to go outside two hours a day, now no outside hours are allowed in most prisons. Obviously, this is contrary to human rights.”
A further problem is their legal status. The West Bank has been occupied by the Israeli army since 1967. This would make its detainees prisoners of war, or political prisoners. “Instead, Israel does not recognize this status, but considers them common prisoners, delinquents. If it considered them political prisoners, or prisoners of war, it would have to treat them differently in accordance with international law,” explains Ibrahim.
Tulkarem.
“The military is always invading the cells where they are detained with dogs, beating them. Many prisoners have been killed in prison, the number has increased a lot since October 7, many have died because of torture and the absence of medical care. The conditions are not conducive to life … so that prisoners are just thinking about how to survive …”
According to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society, at least forty prisoners have died in Israeli custody since Oct. 7. But it could be many more. At least 25 bodies have not yet been returned to their families.
“We are back to the prison-system of hundreds of years ago. We know that many people internationally are with us, but that is not enough. Because all governments are supporting Israel with weapons, money, and even soldiers. We need to put more pressure on governments to stop aid and support for Israel and free all political prisoners who are being held,” continues Ibrahim.
He has two sons in prison, and a brother. One son with a one-year sentence; one with a three-year sentence. And the brother with a 21-year prison sentence.
“We are like everyone, yani, like all Palestinian families … but the difficult conditions the prisoners are suffering make families worry about the very lives of their loved ones in prison. The problem is not only that they are detained and the time they have to wait for them to be released, but today every day we fear for their lives.”
Bodies of the martyrs who died while in Israeli jail still held by the occupation.
Music, songs, dancing, prayers and alcohol. This could chracterize a common religious festival anywhere – were it not being used as an excuse for Israeli settlers to attack and raid the Palestinian community, which is already living under segregation since 1997, in the city known as al-Khalil for the Palestinians and Hebron for the Israeli.
As it happens every year, tens of thousands of settlers and Zionists from abroad gathered in the city on Friday, Nov. 22, and Saturday, Nov. 23, to celebrate “Shabbat Chayei Sarah”, coinciding with the Torah reading of the story of Sarah (one of the wives of Abraham). Sarah is believed to be buried in what Israelis call the Cave of the Patriarchs. Commonly known as “Sarah Day”, this event has for years turned into a kind of pogrom against Palestinians living in Al-Khalil.
In previous years, settlers have attacked Palestinian homes, cars and stores, attempted to start fires, and done massive marches which start from the Shuhada Street (almost completely closed to Palestinians), cross check-points and spill into the Palestinian part of the city. The Sarah’s Sabbath is one of those days that worsen the already oppressive living conditions for Palestinians living in al-Khalil, conditions which have become almost impossible since October 7. The entire area was blocked off to Palestinians for the weekend – the check-points were completely closed, preventing passage from one side of the city to the other.
Ben Gvir at the Friday gatheringSettlers at the Friday gathering
Settlers began arriving the day before (Nov. 21); buses from settlements throughout the West Bank and ’48 (Israel proper) brought thousands of young people, families, and military personnel to camp in tents around the Ibrahimi Mosque and Al-Shuhada Street. The celebration began here, around what’s considered a sacred historical monument built over the cavern containing the tombs of Abraham, his wife Sarah, and sons Isaac and Jacob. Al-Shuhada Street has been almost inaccessible to Palestinians for 27 years now; it was closed by the military after the so-called Hebron Protocol in 1997 and the beginning of the geographic apartheid of al-Khalil.
Settlers marching through Palestinian neighborhoods
On Friday evening, groups of settlers carried out night marches in the Jaber neighborhood and Palestinian-inhabited areas near the Kiryat Arba settlement, chanting slogans and insults against Arabs and Palestinians. Also present was Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, leader of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, who was celebrating Sarah’s Sabbath surrounded by worshippers in the afternoon and leading a group of settlers in chanting anti-Arab slogans in the evening. Ben Gvir is one of about eight thousand inhabitants of the huge illegal settlement of Kiryat Arba, known for its extremist and violent views. That settlement was also the hometown of Baruch Kopel Goldstein, the Israeli-American terrorist who in 1994 opened fire on hundreds of Muslims praying in the Ibrahimi Mosque, killing 29 people and wounding 125. Ben Gvir is known to keep an image of the terrorist in his living room.
On Saturday, a number of youth groups gathered in one of the main outposts inside the city, the Beit Romano settlement. After gathering beyond the gate that closes al-Shuhada, they began throwing stones and shouting insults and slogans against Arabs. In years prior, the military allowed and facilitated a march that invaded the old city, forcing Palestinian merchants to close their stalls and barricade themselves in their homes for fear of settler violence.
Settlers chanting slurs towards Palestinians
This year that particular march was not held, perhaps because of the current political situation. “Fortunately, there was little violence this year,” confirmed B., a member of a local human rights association. “But life in al-Khalil is becoming more and more difficult,” B. continued. “We live in apartheid, and since October 7 things have gotten even worse. They open and close the city as they want. After the beginning of the conflict, for ten consecutive days we were forced indoors with one hour a day when we could go out.”
Settlers in Shuhada St
Hebron is in fact a divided city, a Palestine in miniature: metal turnstiles, walls and at least 28 check-points separate the Israeli-controlled H2 zone from the Palestinian Authority-held H1. Some 33,000 Palestinians live in the Israeli state-controlled zone, which in addition to dividing families and communities, forces thousands of people to pass through lengthy security checks on a daily basis and endure mistreatment, abuse and arbitrary closures of entire neighborhoods. OCHA’s September 2023 survey found that there were a total of 80 blockades inside the city (including the 28 “constantly-staffed” checkpoints), but since October 7 they have reportedly increased to 113 in the Old City and 180 throughout Hebron.
Settlers in Shuhada St.
This is a true internal apartheid imposed upon Palestinians in the West Bank. Painting a picture of what apartheid is like in Hebron, B. narrated: “From my home in the Jaber neighborhood (H2 area), it would take me five minutes to walk to the mosque. Now I don’t go there anymore, I would have to go through eight checkpoints, between road closures and check-points. Their goal is to tire us out, to get us out of these neighborhoods.” He spoke of “voiceless displacement”, the silent removal of Palestinians because of the continued abuse, violence, and economic hardship Palestinians are forced to endure.
“Since 2000, since the beginning of the walls and check-points, more than 580 stores have been closed due to military orders, and more than 1,800 stores have suffered huge economic repercussions or closed due to the limited mobility of people in the city,” B. added. In addition to the suffering associated with harassment and endless waiting at check-points, there are raids, arrests, and arbitrary detentions. “I too have been forced in prison, like almost everyone in Palestine… That’s the Zionist ideology’s way of doing things,” related B. “They do things gradually, they try to change the demographics of the neighborhoods. They make people leave quietly because they force them into a non-life. And then they take everything.”
There are about 700 settlers living in the Old City, protected by 2,300 soldiers. “For every settler there are three soldiers: that gives the idea of the situation,” said B., speaking of the completely militarized city. And now the settlers have donned a uniform and become military themselves, resulting in increased violence toward Palestinians. “Al-Khalil is the only city in the West Bank where settlements are also inside the city. And they are trying to enlarge the settlements all the time.”
Al-Khalil: a city, a small Palestine.
Empty Old City of Al-Khalil due to blocks and restrictions
For the past two weeks, the Israeli army has been conducting the largest military operation in the northern West Bank, causing the displacement of dozens of families from the Jenin Camp, Nur Shams Camp, and Tulkarem camp. This comes following Israeli calls to evacuate the camps, raising concerns about the repetition of the Gaza scenario in the West Bank.
“Gaza scenario”
Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz said on August 28 that the threat in the West Bank must be dealt with in the same way as the Gaza Strip, coinciding with the start of the West Bank operation.
Katz explained in a tweet on his X page that the Israeli army is launching an intensive military operation in the Jenin and Tulkarm refugee camps for Palestinian refugees against what he called “the Iranian Islamic terrorist infrastructures that have been established there”.
He added that Iran is working to establish what he described as, “a terrorist front against Israel from the West Bank, based on the Gaza and Lebanon model, by financing and arming saboteurs and smuggling advanced weapons through Jordan.”
Katz also called for a temporary evacuation of the population there, and for any other necessary steps to be taken, justifying this by saying that: “This is a war on everything and we must win it.”
Inside the Tulkarem refugee camp
Israel’s grand plan
Since the launch of the large-scale military operation in the northern West Bank, which began on August 28, Israel has aimed at eliminating all Palestinian militants in the camps in the north of the West Bank, to facilitate the access of Israeli settlers to these areas and settle in them, as in the case of Masafer Yatta, the Jordan Valley area in Tubas, the villages of Nablus, Ramallah, and Hebron.
The Palestinian camps in the West Bank, specifically in the North west Bank, are a hotbed of terrorism for Israel.
Al-Balawneh neighborhood in Tulkarem camp
Breaking the popular incubator in the camps
Has Israel succeeded in breaking the popular incubator in the Palestinian camps?
During its military operation two weeks ago, the Israeli occupation forces destroyed the northern West Bank camps and turned them from a vital camp to a place where it is no longer possible to live; the northern West Bank camps have turned into a block of rubble and the infrastructure has been destroyed.
Fortunately, the Palestinians in the camps are aware that Israel’s first goal in destroying the camps, including houses, infrastructure, and shops, is to break the popular incubator and turn the Palestinian civilians living in the camp against the Palestinian fighters who have chosen the path of resistance and defend the camps in every way.
Palestinians from inside Jenin, Nur Shams, and Tulkarem camps who lost their homes and private property had the same opinion.
They said: “The occupation will not make us turn against the resistance, and if they demolish my house, I will build another house better than it.”
The footprints of an Israeli soldier during the storming of one of the Palestinian houses in the camp
For the Palestinian community, the Palestinian camps are the representation of steadfastness and challenge, because they are Palestinians who have been displaced from Palestinian cities that have been occupied since 1948 to the West Bank, they paid the price for their stay in Palestine, and the occupation continues to pursue them until now in destroying their place of residence in refugee camps.
For the Palestinian refugees in the West Bank camps, Israel has failed in all its attempts and will never succeed in displacing them from the camps. However, there are dozens of families who have emigrated from the camps because of fear for their families and because there are special cases of illness.
These are the remnants of the occupation – a military bag with food inside for Israeli soldiers in one of the Houses of the Tulkarm campMap of the Al Hammam neighborhood used by the occupation soldiers during the military operation in the camp
Amjad Nashat Abu Alya, 16, was killed by Israelis on Friday 29 during a demonstration in the village
of al-Mughayyer. Amjad died in a hospital in Ramallah after being shot in the chest. Eyewitnesses
said he was running to safety after throwing stones when a settler shot him in the back. He is the 7 th
killed in the village.
On Friday, Palestinians gathered in al-Mughayyer and walked towards the edges of the village, to the
main road used also by settlers. The situation heated up when armed settlers arrived and started
clashes with Palestinians. Soldiers of the Israeli Occupation Forces, who were watching, intervened
and started throwing gas bombs, to which Palestinians responded by throwing stones. The settlers
sided with the soldiers and were throwing stones and shooting on the crowd. There was heavy fire
by soldiers too, with stun grenades, rubber bullets and live ammunition.
Rayan, 25, a second-degree cousin of Amjad, told the ISM that Amjad was a “normal” guy, but he got
“very emotional” and more involved in the fight when his cousin and friend, Ali Abu Alia (15), was
killed while observing a protest in 2020. “He was always the first to attend protests.”
The day before the protest, Amjad had met with one of his friends who had just been released from
an Israeli prison and they decided to attend the protest.
Friday protests are held in many villages in the West Bank as resistance to the occupation. The
peaceful protests are violently met by soldiers and police, to which Palestinians, especially the young
ones, respond by throwing stones. The al-Mughayyer protest was attended by 300- 400 people
according to Al-Jazeera. Ten people were injured by gas, and other two by rubber bullets and live
ammunitions, according to Palestinian media.
Al-Mughayyer is surrounded by a military base and two illegal Israeli settlements: Adei Ad,
established in 1998, and the more recent Malachei Hashalom, from 2015. Villagers have been
protesting the expansion of this settlement. Things have recently exacerbated as settlers regularly
block the main road, a major artery needed for villagers’ livelihoods. Settlers also broke in the village
on several occasions, set two mosques on fire, burned cars and did a major raid in 2019 with several
injured and a Palestinian killed.
According to Defence for Children International – Palestine (DCIP), part of an international NGO for
children’s right, there have been 16 child fatalities in 2022.
“When the settler shot him, he did it with the intention to kill,” Rayan said.
“We lost a young guy for nothing. The situation is terrible, and we have no hope. It is a common
thing for us to lose people to the occupation or have them in prison,” Rayan said.
Amjed funeral was held on Saturday 30. Thousands attended the procession along the nearby
villages and gave farewell to the body.
