Category: Features - Page 131 - International Solidarity Movement

Once again, Israeli forces prevent Palestinians’ freedom of religion

25th September 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

Today, Israeli forces stopped, searched and harassed Palestinians on their way to Ibrahimi mosque and in the vicinity on the second day of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha for Friday prayers in Al-Khalil (Hebron).

Crowds of worshippers were flocking to the mosque around noon. Before being allowed into the mosque they have to pass through metal detectors manned with Israeli forces. Even though the majority of the people passed from the Palestinian market and through a checkpoint already, only a few meters afterwards they are forced to pass through yet another checkpoint. Small children, boys and girls clung to the hands of their parents when passing through the checkpoint.

Palestinian teenagers have to leave their ID with soldiers before entering the mosque

In total, 27 young adults were stopped and ID-checked on their way to Friday prayer, and forced to leave their ID with the Israeli forces before being allowed to enter into the mosque. Another two were detained for about fifteen minutes before finally being allowed to pass. All IDs had to be collected at the end of the prayer from the same soldier, delaying Palestinians on their way back home for yet another five to ten minutes during which soldiers where trying to find the right ID for each person.

Israeli soldier trying to find the right ID to give back after prayer

Five teenagers were bluntly refused access to the mosque, denying them their right to exercise their religion. Whereas three of the boys left, two of them after being yelled at and pushed by an Israeli soldiers; two other teenagers were forced to perform their Friday prayer outside the mosque in the street.

One man, just passing on the street next to the checkpoint, talking to a friend entering to the mosque, was confronted by soldiers. One soldier ran towards him from the checkpoint, demanding him to stop and questioning him about the content of his bag. The man was forced to immediately open his bag, containing meat for lunch with his family, all while soldiers were shouting at him. They then forced him to pull up his shirt and trousers. Bystanders were watching anxiously, as only three days ago, the murder of 18-year old Hadeel Saleh Hashlamoun at another checkpoint in Al-Khalil shocked the community.

Palestinian man searched by Israeli soldiers

During the Jewish holidays this past month, many restrictions have been imposed on Palestinians living close to the Ibrahimi mosque. On several days, the checkpoint leading to the mosque was kept completely closed the whole day, denying entry to Palestinians and preventing them from free movement. With the Jewish holiday of Sukkot starting this Sunday, many more restrictions on Palestinian movement are expected.

Hadil Salah Hashlamoun honoured by thousands in Al-Khalil

23rd September 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

Today, 23rd September 2015, thousands of mourners gathered for the funeral of murdered teenager Hadil Salah Hashlamoun. The teenager was brutally gunned down in cold blood by an Israeli soldier at a military check point.

Tensions were high as Hadil’s body was taken from Al Hussein Mosque, through the streets of al-Khalil. Thousands paid their respects to the fallen martyr, and joined her final journey as she was taken to her final resting place.

The promising student who had been passing peacefully through a checkpoint early on Tuesday morning is believed to have been shot several times. Eye witnesses state that an Israeli soldier approached her and began shouting at her in Hebrew, which she was unable to understand, it is at this point that she was shot dead.

The teenagers funeral passed off peacefully, as per the wishes of her devastated family. After the funeral, a demonstration was organised later in the day at Bab iz-Zawwiya and attacked by occupying Israeli military firing hundreds of stun-grenades, tear gas and rubber coated steel bullets into the crowd. Several injuries were reported.

Israeli Forces Murder Female Student at Shuhada Street Checkpoint: “They could have arrested her so easily but they didn´t.”

22nd September 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

A Witness Recounts the Final Moments of 18-year-old Hadil Salah Hashlamoun’s Life.

This morning in the Tel Rumeida section of al-Khalil (Hebron) the sound of multiple rounds of live ammunition screamed out from the Shuhada Street checkpoint 56.

Standing at the checkpoint around 7:40 this morning, 34 year old Fawaz abu Aisheh ushered a few children from the scene where Israeli forces screamed in Hebrew at the terrified Hadil who was on her way to school. “They were screaming at her, ´Move back! Move Back!´ I knew she couldn´t understand so I intervened in Arabic and she listened to me immediately and I took her from the entrance to the exit of the checkpoint.”

In the photo, Hadil, in burqa, stands with Fawaz just off the foreground. “I tried to talk with her, she was terrified. She knew nothing.” Fawaz pleaded with the soldiers, who were multiplying quickly, to allow him to take her away from the checkpoint, to explain to her what was happening, to de-escalate the situation. “She listened to me immediately when first I spoke with her, but they moved me away and continued to scream at her in Hebrew which she obviously didn´t understand.”

18-year old Palestinian student moments before being shot to death by Israeli forces Photo credit: Youth Against Settlement — 18-year old Palestinian student moments before being shot to death by Israeli forces
Photo credit: Youth Against Settlement

The scene, plainly described by Fawaz, seemingly had any number of alternatives to close-range, rapid fire, kill shots into a Palestinian female teenager´s body. After the fact, Israeli forces claimed the woman had a knife on her person. Fawaz challenges this contention. “She was covered completely, there was no knife showing at any time. Even if she did have a knife he could have arrested her so easily. I was there… I could have talked to her, she cooperated with me in that very first moment. I asked her to move and she moved but after that I begged him to let me talk to her but they took me away from her and started pointing their weapons at me. After they shot her more and more soldiers arrived. There were still 3 or 4 kids a few meters from the checkpoint so I moved the kids away. ”

As if the incident weren´t wholly disturbing in itself, beyond the shooting, Israeli soldiers were seen laughing, smiling and talking casually with one another as Hadil clung to life while rapidly losing blood to the concrete. Israeli settlers similarly stood in circles photographing Hadil. Fawaz noted that the Palestinian ambulance had arrived within five minutes to rush the dying girl to the hospital, yet Israeli forces blocked them from getting to her, choosing rather to let her bleed openly for forty minutes in the street until an Israeli ambulance arrived. In that agonizing period of time, an Israeli soldier was seen dragging the dying young woman by her feet.

18-year-old Hadil Salah Hashlamoun died of her wounds only after arriving at a hospital in Jerusalem. The question of whether she would have lived had she been permitted the right to be treated immediately by the quickly arriving Palestinian ambulance rather than left to bleed out for an eternity of forty minutes may never be answered.

If humanity, in any measure, exists within the occupying entity, it was shockingly absent today at the Shuhada Street checkpoint.

Israeli soldiers attempt to falsely arrest internationals

22nd September 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

Last night Israeli soldiers threatened to arrest internationals, who were present during the arrest of 3 Palestinian boys in Tel Rumeida, al-Khalil (Hebron).

After the 3 boys were brought to the military base, internationals went back into the house in Tel Rumeida. Ten minutes later about 15 soldiers surrounded the house and half a dozen of them walked up the stairs to the main door, demanding them to open it, because they wanted to arrest the internationals.

Even though the internationals repeatedly asked to see a warrant on the arrest, soldiers kept refusing to show any legitimate reason for their arrest. The soldiers only verbally accused the internationals of entering a closed military zone. When the internationals refused to open the door as soldiers cannot arrest internationals, they kept banging on the door, shouting and threatening to bring the police to have them arrested. Upon the embassies requests, the internationals asked for the commanders name which was outright refused by soldiers in front of the door.

After about one and a half hours, the soldiers called the police and a policeman arrived, He did not talk to the internationals at all, and left after less than half an hour. In the meantime, soldiers started accusing the internationals of consuming drugs in the apartment without any real reason or evidence. After yet another half hour soldiers again called the police, and came to the door with a policeman that did not speak any English. Instead of translating what the Policeman was saying to the internationals, the soldier just kept up the same conversation as before, with only one sentence being translated to the policeman. The soldiers refused to let the policemen talk to the international’s lawyer and did not give the internationals any information on how to contact the police station or military base, who send out the arrest warrant. After the policeman left the soldiers threatened the internationals to break down the door of the house.

In total, soldiers stayed outside the apartment for about four hours, threatening internationals with arrest, leaving only with the threat of the police arresting them the next morning.

Three Palestinian boys violently arrested at night in Hebron

21st September 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Al-Khalil Team | Hebron, Occupied Palestine

Monday the 21st of August three boys were arrested in the Tel Rumeida area of Hebron, occupied Palestine. The boys were arrested at 8:45 pm and taken to the military base in Tel Rumeida.

Two of the boys were arrested after allegedly having a fight with ‘Jewish boys’. The two boys – Awne Abu Shamsiyye, 17, and Tarek Salhab, 17 – where both dragged up a hill by soldiers, the first handcuffed, the latter one with his arms twisted behind his back by a soldier. The three boys from the illegal settlement in Tel Rumeida however, did not even get stopped or questioned by the soldiers.Instead, they stood watching the arrest and harrassing the boy’s families and Palestinian families living in the neighbourhood.

Boy blindfolded and handcuffed by Israeli army.

Nizar Salhab, only 16 years old, was accused of hitting a soldier, and thus handcuffed and blindfolded by soldiers in front of Gilbert checkpoint. He was forced to wait standing on the sidewalk unable to see anything for almost an hour. His family and friends then helped him remove the blindfold, only a few minutes before the army took him to the military base in a jeep.

One of the boys being dragged up the hill by a soldier.

Even though soldiers claimed to have video-evidence for all the accusations, Awne was released after about two hours in the military base. The two other boys instead were taken to the police station and only released after about 5 hours.

Random arrests of Palestinian chlidren is a common occurence in al-Khalil (Hebron). Palestinian families constantly have to live with the fear of their children being arrested or kidnapped and disappeared, with soldiers not informing families of these kind of events. The three boys yesterday, fortunately, were released – but still this only happens rarely and still, they were detained for a long time without any evidence or valid reason.