Category: Features - Page 124 - International Solidarity Movement

PMRS to Israeli forces: Stop attacking our personel!

Repost of an appeal by Palestine Medical Relief Society:

In light of the current climate of tensions in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem particularly which has led to deadly attacks on civilians and the unacceptable systematic use of lethal force by Israeli forces against Palestinians, the Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS) calls for the respect of international humanitarian law and condemns in the strongest terms the excessive use of lethal force by Israeli forces which has resulted on several occasions within the past three weeks in what can only be described as executions of Palestinian men and women. PMRS calls on international non-governmental institutions, as well as all levels of international civil society to demand Israel respect its obligations under international law and pressure the Israeli government to abandon at once its logic of brutal repression and unrestrained use of force against children and young people.

Since the beginning of this month, 31 Palestinians have been shot dead, including several children. PMRS is gravely concerned by the escalation in the killing of Palestinian minors by police, army and settlers, the extra-judicial execution character of many of these killings, as well as the allegations – seemingly corroborated in several cases by videos and witness statements – that Israeli forces and settlers have tampered with several of the killing scenes, planting weapons next to the Palestinian victims in order to justify the murders.

Moreover, an estimated 1,500 Palestinians were injured by live rounds and rubber-coated steel bullets only since the start of hostilities, or an average of 100 a day. This number does not include the injuries resulting from excessive tear gas inhalation and physical assaults.

According to Dr. Mustafa Barghouti: “What we have witnessed during the last two weeks is intentional attacks by Israeli forces on Palestinian health professionals, doctors and first aid providers. That has included beating them, shooting them with live ammunitions and metallic bullets. One victim was Doctor Amer Aqel, who was hit in the eye with one of the rubber-coated steel bullets and lost his left eye. Ten first aid providers from the PMRS have been injured in various ways in Ramallah, Bethlehem, Jerusalem and Nablus. Additionally, several health workers and nurses working with the Ministry of Health and the Red Crescent were also injured. The Israeli army’s behavior does not respect the neutrality of medical professionals. Many ambulances were also hit with tear gas bombs and rubber bullets. Additionally, the Israeli army has been attacking journalists to prevent coverage of what is going on. So far, 41 journalists have been injured. Many have been beaten. One of them, Salah Ziad , working for Pal Media, was hit a live ammunitions.”

The violence of the past two weeks did not happen in a vacuum but rather is the inevitable result of the Israeli ongoing occupation and the ever-growing repression and Human Rights violations that come with it. Colonization, home demolitions, displacement of entire families, the impunity granted to settlers and armed forces, indiscriminate shooting and bombing of civilians… all these have been going on for decades with the international community idly watching by, hiding behind a long-time moribund peace process and the Oslo accords which have been emptied of their meaning and purpose by continuous Israeli violations. In recent decades, European countries have spent millions of Euros of taxpayers’ money to rebuild what Israel keeps destroying with impunity, from Palestinian homes, water supplies, livelihood to their very lives. This has to stop now.

PMRS calls on the international community to demand that Israel cease its serious breaches of Human Rights and humanitarian law at once, failing which, economic and political sanctions should be considered.

PMRS, just as other local and international health organizations has activated its emergency response plan in East Jerusalem and all over the West Bank. First aid teams, ambulances and mobile clinic vehicles are on the ground, ready to deploy to areas of need as they arise. Considering the level of tensions and the absence of any prompt resolution in sight, PMRS has concerns about its capacity to sustain its work during these times of emergency due to low funding and chronic medication shortages. Accordingly, PMRS calls on all international donors to allocate contingency funding and medical supplies to the current emergency.

Ruthless killing of Palestinian youths in al-Khalil (Hebron)

17th October 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

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UPDATE 9pm:

No stop to violence, settlers are taking over the streets
The Tel Rumeida neighbourhood of al-Khalil is on lockdown for Palestinians. Palestinian residents and internationals are not allowed to be on the streets, on their own roofs or at the windows of their houses. Israeli forces on the street are yelling and pointing guns at them if they see anyone. Settlers on the other hand are allowed to freely roam the streets.
Hundreds of settlers came to the spot of the killing of 18-year old Fadel al-Qawasmeh, executed by settlers this morning, to celebrate his death. The settlers, armed with machine guns are intimidating Palestinians living nearby, blocking the streets. Soldiers are not able to protect anyone anymore, a small group of Palestinians wanting to go home from a visit had to run back and lock the door behind them in order not get harmed by the settlers. Two internationals were first stopped by soldiers and ordered not to move and then yelled at to leave as fast as possible as settlers were approaching.
An Israeli ambulance with the dying Palestinian youth shot at Shuhada checkpoint by Israeli forces for allegedly attacking a soldier with a knife, was blocked by the group of settlers. An elderly Palestinian, suffering breathing difficulties had to wait for over an hour to be allowed to be carried away towards an ambulance, as the ambulance was not allowed to pass on segregated Shuhada street.

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Today, 17^th October, 2015, Israeli forces and Israeli settlers in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron) murdered two Palestinian youth within three hours.

In the morning, Israeli settlers from the illegal settlements within al-Khalil, walked past the 18-year old Palestinian youth Fadel al-Qawasmeh in segregated Shuhada street, cursing him as an ‘Arab’ and then pulled a gun shooting him from point blank range. The settler fired four shots at the Palestinian youth from his pistol, one shot directly in the head. This execution was entirely unprovoked. Israeli soldiers rushed to the scene, but prevented a Palestinian ambulance from treating the critically injured Palestinian youth who was lying on the ground bleeding. Whereas the area around the execution was immediately closed for Palestinians and international observers by the Israeli forces, settlers at all times were allowed to freely stroll alongside the scene of the murder, with soldiers taking pictures with their private phones.

Israeli settlers standing right next to the scene of the execution

Later on, Israeli forces blocked all entrances to a Palestinian house nearby where activists where trying to document. In the meantime, settlers from the nearby illegal settlement of Beit Hadassah, watching from down on the street close by a checkpoint where enjoying tea and biscuits, brought from the settlement, with the soldiers and the police. After Israeli forces washed off the blood from the street, they broke into the house where Palestinians were filming before, with 11 children, the youngest only a year old, present. Heavily armed Israeli soldiers searched the house and confiscated all phones and cameras. Once they left the house, they were checking all the photos and videos taken after the execution of Fadel, and showed them to the settlers nearby.

Israeli settlers and soldiers sharing tea at the scene of the execution of Fadel al-Qawasmeh

Israeli soldiers having tea brought by settlers

Palestinians and international human rights observers trying to document this violent attack on a family home were repeatedly forced by Israeli forces to move away from the incident, whereas the settlers were allowed to freely walk around and curse and hurl insults at them, even threatening them that they will be the next to be killed. One Palestinian man was forced by Israeli soldiers to pass through a checkpoint even though soldiers were throwing stun grenades right outside the checkpoint. 23-year old Abed al-Salaymeh was detained in Tel Rumeida for one and a half hours, after soldiers prevented him from going back to his home in segregated Shuhada Street. Different soldiers repeatedly ordered him and internationals to either move up the hill from the checkpoint, or when further up to move back down, all the time prohibiting him from going back to his house. Once up the hill, he was detained for one and a half hours, with soldiers freely admitting that this is because he ‘annoyed’ them before. Settlers passing by were threatening him and internationals that ‘tomorrow they would be the ones to be killed’.

Israeli forces blocking the entrances to a Palestinian house

Only three hours later, Israeli forces shot and killed 16-year old Palestinian teenager Bayan Eiseleh at the Ibrahimi mosque. Her parents, rushing to the scene of her killing, were brutally attacked and beaten by Israeli forces. International human rights observers trying to document this senseless killing were detained by Israeli forces and then one of them was arrested for ‘taking pictures and posting them online’. She is still being held at the police station in the illegal settlement of Kiryat Arba.

Senseless Israeli violence against demonstrators in Gaza

17th October 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Gaza team | Gaza, occupied Palestine

At yesterday’s demonstrations in Nahel Oz (east of Shijaia) and Erez Border (Beit Hanoun), 2 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces and almost one hundred were injured.
Yahiya Abd al-Qader Farhat, 24 years old, and Mahmoud Hatim Hmeid, 22 years old were killed by Israeli forces. More than 90 persons have been injured, including journalists and paramedics. Ambulances and paramedics were repeatedly directly targeted by the Israeli forces.

Israeli army jeep with device to shoot tear gas, directed at Palestinian demonstrators

Demonstrators as seen through clouds of tear gas

Injured person carried away to an ambulance

Demonstrators with Palestinian flags at the border wall

Medics carrying an injured person to an ambulance

Ambulances and medics targeted by Israeli forces

Ambulances and first aid personnel suffering from tear gas directed at them by Israeli forces

Palestinian and international civilians to resist revenge home demolitions

16th October 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Al-Khalil team | Nablus area, occupied Palestine

Palestinian civilians joined by International solidarity activists will gather tonight, Friday 16, October 2015, at the Nablus city homes of Yahya Hamad, Karam Al-masri and Sameer Al-kosa after Israeli forces threatened revenge demolitions within 24 hours.

Yesterday night, hundreds of Palestinians gathered outside the house to protest the illegal practice of house demolitions and managed to prevent Israeli forces from demolishing the house. Tonight, they will be joined by internationals from the United States, Australia, France, Italy, Ireland, the United Kingdom and Holland.

A Call has been launched to maintain vigil outside of the targeted buildings and prevent the occupation forces from carrying out the demolition process.
The house of Sameer Kosa family in Al Dahiyya, the house of Yaha Hamad family in at Rojeeb st, and the house of Karam Al-masri family in North mountain are all under threat of demolition tonight on allegations of their involvement in the killing of a settler couple from the illegal settlement of Ithamar against earlier this month. All are Palestinian prisoners whose families will endure the collective punishment measures which have been Israel’s long established practice.

Marie, an international activist from the US staying in the house: ‘Punishing a family for something that one of their members has allegedly done, is just not acceptable, this is illegal and should not happen in any country which respects human rights and considers itself democratic’.

Watch a video of the events of last night, where you can hear Palestinians chanting when the army arrives (despite the low quality of the image, the sound illustrates the amount of people present) :

Israeli forces encroaching on every-day live in occupied Jerusalem

16th October 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | al-Quds (Jerusalem), occupied Palestine

The Old City of al-Quds (Jerusalem) in the last few weeks has witnessed an explosion of Israeli forces’ presence, supposedly for ‘security reasons’. But having a closer look at – or just opening your eyes for – the multitude of restrictions, hindrances and fears aroused by this, proves that all of this has nothing to do with ‘security’ – but everything with instilling fear in the Palestinians still resisting the manifold ways the Israeli forces are trying to expel them not only from the Old City of Jerusalem, but all of Jerusalem in general.

Just two days ago, on Thursday 14^th of October, Israeli forces shot and killed a 20-year old Palestinian youth. Immediately after he was shot, bystanders were forced to move back by Israeli forces, while the young man was lying on the ground bleeding to death, with no-one administering first aid. Whereas Israeli settlers from settlements within East Jerusalem, illegal under international law, where allowed to get closer to take trophy-photos of yet another killed Palestinian, Israeli forces suddenly stormed towards a group of Palestinians, threatening to beat them with their rifles and batons. Palestinians, thus, were between a rock and a hard place: run and risk being shot multiple times with live ammunition for the simple act of running away from a heavily armed trigger-happy militarised force that just killed another Palestinian, or walk away slowly and be attacked by the same army. Being forced away, Palestinians held on to their phones in their hands – prevented to take photos of the Israeli forces’ crimes – with fear high that if someone reaches into a trouser-pocket or bag to take out anything, including a phone, they would receive multiple fatal gun-shot wounds by the Israeli forces closely watching every movement of the Palestinian bystanders. Israeli settlers, on the other hand, were free to approach the body of the youth, who, in the meantime has died without ever receiving any medical attention, to take photos. The Palestinian Red Crescent Ambulance Crew right outside Damascus Gate was physically pushed back to the ambulance and then forced to leave by the Israeli forces.

With the recent escalation of killings of Palestinians in al-Quds (Jerusalem) by Israeli forces, this is hardly an exception. This in itself, is already a message: when the killing of a Palestinian youth is no longer something ordinary, but something that just happens, something that will not be investigated under any circumstances, something that enjoys wide acceptance and often even provokes cheering by Israeli bystanders, – is it something that became ‘normal’? Various news networks have decided that instead of bringing their equipment over and over again, it’ll be easier to leave it at Damascus Gate all the time. Sanitation workers were ordered by the Israeli forces to clean off the blood of the Palestinian youth from the ground to erase every spot of the crime just committed. Police barriers are kept outside Damascus Gate, ready to close off the entrance at any time.

Sanitation workers ordered to clean off the blood from the ground

The Old City of al-Quds (Jersualem) is ‘fortified’, at least two, or groups of four to ten Israeli forces, are at every corner or alleyway. Every-day life for Palestinians was forced to a halt, while Israeli forces are comfortably occupying plastic chairs kept outside of shops for tourists to rest, languishing on porches where people used to play cards, or sit in front of locked shops closed in fear of the constantly rising threat of settler and police violence against Palestinians. The omnipresence of Israeli forces and restrictions, though, seem to be geared only towards Palestinians. The persons asked to pass through the metal detectors set up in the Old City are always Palestinians, ordered to lift up their shirts and trousers, take off their shoes and empty their bags even after passing through, from time to time with their children looking on in horror, children’s faces distorted by fear. For Palestinian children, there’s no place to be a child and play, with an occupying army, waiting just around every corner, shouting at children for accidentally exploding a balloon they were playing with in their parents’ shop. Parents try to keep an eye on their children at all times, simple tasks like sending them out to buy bread might result in them going missing and a frantic search – just to find out that the Israeli police arrested minor children and did not even bother to inform their parents. There is no regard for Palestinians basic human rights, or even respect for them as human beings. Whereas Israelis and tourists are free to roam the streets of the Old City, Palestinian residents are often stopped at any or even various of the checkpoints, forcing to explain again and again that they are residents, arguing for being allowed to do the most normal thing in life: trying to go back home.

Watch a video of Israeli forces body-searching Palestinian youth in Jerusalem (video credit: Ramallah city)