19th September 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Gaza Team | Khuzaa, Gaza Strip, Occupied Palestine
It only depends on us that this mother’s cry of pain does not drown in the silence.
“My paralyzed daughter was murdered by Israeli soldiers and I couldn’t save her” she told us, looking at us with clear eyes veiled with tears of pain, the other of a paraplegic girl, just 18 years old, massacred in her wheelchair by Zionist occupation forces during the ground invasion in Khuzaa, in southern Gaza Strip.
“My paralyzed daughter was murdered by Israeli soldiers and I couldn’t save her.”
The mother’s voice is like her eyes, clear and painful, sad and intense. In her tone there is much suffering – although she is a victim of the zionist atrocities – there is also a lot of guilt for failing to rescue her daughter from a terrible death under the fire of one of the most powerful armies of the planet: the Israeli Occupation Forces.
“My daughter asked me not to leave her, but she was in a crater formed by a bomb explosion in the middle of the street and I couldn’t move her from there, I didn’t have the strength to carry her in my arms, and the Israeli soldiers were coming back, shooting with tanks, guns, with everything. Crying I told her that I had to leave her and prayed to God.”
What happened next is so cruel and vicious as the crime itself: an officer of the Israeli forces communicated by telephone with the family to say the girl was with them in one of the houses that they had occupied n Khuzaa “Come and get her, she is unharmed”, said the officer. The family was so happy that one brother decided to leave the house where they were sheltering with the intention of picking up the girl, but when he opened the door, multiple shots from the occupation forces began to impact the house.
The Zionist’s macabre game is repeated, they call again to tell the family to look for the paralyzed teen and again they open fire when one of the brothers tries to leave the house to rescue his sister.
“This kind of inhuman mockery of Palestinians is common from the Israeli Army”, explain various witnesses of the Zionist crimes. Not content just to kill with impunity, they also like to torture their victims, tease them and laugh at the suffering of the families.”
It hurts, but is not surprising, knowing that she had never been safe in the hands of the occupying forces, she had been murdered in cold blood and she lies near her wheelchair with multiple gunshots in her limbs, heart and head, when she was found days later by her family in an advanced state of decomposition on the main street of the devastated village of Khuzaa, southern Gaza Strip, a place where life is worthless, where the slaughtering of Palestinians is a coward game without consequences for this criminal army.
21st August 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Ramallah Team | Occupied Palestine
Update 6th September:
We are making an urgent call for volunteers to come and join us to support Palestinians in their daily resistance towards the Israeli illegal occupation of their land.
Just this last Wednesday, a 75 year old woman was brutally attacked by Israeli soldiers as she tried to defend her son from being kidnapped, in the village of Salem. The same soldiers then attacked and kidnapped 8 shepherds from that area. The shepherds of Salem struggle everyday to access their fields and do their work, and they urgently need our help to accompany them and secure a safe environment to prevent the soldiers from harassing and attacking them.
Likewise, in the Jordan Valley, Palestinian bedouins are suffering from massive house demolitions every week, leaving them homeless in extremely harsh conditions. There is an urgent need for international presence to prevent more destruction of houses, theft of land and construction of illegal settlements, and to call out for international actions and campaigns, as we did in Susiya.
And now that the season for olive harvest is soon to come, we also ask you to join us in October to pick up olives with the farmers. October is the time when the olives are ripe and ready to be harvested, but the Israeli authorities only permit farmers a very limited amount of time to do all this work, and they depend on our help to harvest as many olives as possible, since this is their main source of subsistence. Moreover, our international presence during harvest is crucial to prevent soldiers and illegal settlers from attacking the farmers during their work. This is why your presence makes a real difference.
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During the months of July and August, there has been an escalation of violence from illegal Israeli settlers and the Israeli army towards Palestinians.
ISM is sending an urgent call for volunteers to join us in Palestine. Check the join us section of our website or email ISM at palreports@gmail.com for more information.
On a weekly basis, people throughout the West Bank are being arrested without charges, houses raided during the night, new houses have been demolished, settler violence has increased in the city of Hebron and in other villages, and the Israeli navy has increased the number of attacks towards Gazan fishermen.
On August 1st, the infant Ali Dawabshe was brutally murdered with an arson attack to his house perpetrated by illegal Israeli settlers in the village of Duma. His father, Saad Dawabshe, died one week after from severe burn injuries. Both his mother, Riham, and his 4 year old brother, Ahamd, remain hospitalized with severe burn injuries all over their bodies, with high risk of dying.
Baby Ali’s bedroom in ashes, with his pictures
Since the end of the last Zionist massacre against Gaza there have been 1312 reported attacks against Gazan fishermen.
Since then, 22 boats have been stolen; 26 fishermen have been injured; one fisherman, Tawfiq Abu Riela, has been assassinated; 28 boats have been disabled by bullet fire; 2 big fishing boats have been sunken by rocket fire, one in Deir El Balah at 300m from the coast and one in Gaza City at 5 miles; 51 fishermen have been kidnapped while working and 3 fishermen remain prisoners until now.
Fishermen’s boats in the coast of Gaza.
The team in Hebron has reported an increase of night raids by Israeli forces and attacks by illegal settlers, which is terrorizing Palestinians living in Hebron. Two days ago, on August 20th, a group of French extremist Zionists intimidated and attacked international activists and local Palestinians. This group of extremists, called Kahane, which is considered a terrorist organization under Israeli law, was received with signs of sympathy by the soldiers.
The extremists proudly held the infamous yellow flag of Kahane groupThe soldier handcuffed and blindfolded a Palestinian young man
At approximately 5:00 am, on Wednesday, August 19, the homes of the Totah and Totanji families were demolished by the Israeli army in the neighborhood of Wadi al Joz, in East Jerusalem. This neighborhood has been under threat of demolition since December, 2014, despite the fact that there are no accountable papers presenting a demolition order, nonetheless, the army has been slowly carrying out this plan. Neighbors live in constant fear that anytime their homes will be torn down.
Nureddin Amro sitting on the rubble of his home, which was demolished on March 31st this year (photo credit The Washington Post)
In very similar conditions, the village of Susiya has been suffering from enormous fear by the threat of mass demolition orders issued by the Israeli government since 2012.
Village of Susiya
ISM also needs volunteers to join the 2015 olive harvest campaign.
ISM volunteers join Palestinian farming communities each year to harvest olives in areas where Palestinians face settler and military violence while working their land. Your presence can make a big difference, with Palestinian communities stating that the presence of international volunteers reduces the risk of extreme violence from Israeli settlers and the Israeli army.
The olive tree is a Palestinian national symbol, and the Israeli military systematically prevents agricultural fruition, in order to make life for Palestinians more difficult. The Israeli occupation provides a platform for Palestinian rights to be violated in an array of ways; the attack on agriculture is at the forefront.
Already documented this year, and to list a few cases; the trees have suffered settler sewage runoff , sabotaging fires, and being uprooted. Olive trees comprise of an essential 14% of the Palestinian agricultural economy.
We support Palestinians’ assertion of their right to earn their livelihoods and be present on their lands. International solidarity activists engage in non-violent intervention and documentation and practical support, which enables many families to pick their olives.
The campaign will begin during the last week of September and will last around 5 weeks. We request a minimum of 10 days commitment from harvest volunteers once they have finished their training, but stress that people staying for a longer period of time are needed as well. We ask that volunteers start arriving around the 20th of September, so that we will be prepared when the harvest begins.
Training
We request volunteers who join us any time of the year to commit for a minimum of two weeks after completing training, but stress that people who can work with us for longer periods of time are needed as well. In the case of the olive harvest campaign, we ask volunteers to commit with ISM for a minimum period of 10 days after completing training. The ISM will be holding mandatory two day training sessions which will run weekly on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Please see the join ISM page or contact palreports@gmail.com for further information.
20th August 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil Team |Hebron, Occupied Palestine
Last Tuesday Palestinian lawyers went on a hunger strike. Hatem Shahin, vice-president of the Palestinian Bar Association for lawyers, explains why thirteen of the Association’s members decided to take this radical step: “The main goals are to break the isolation of the Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike as well as to send a message to the entire world. Palestinian voices need to be heard”. Therefore the Palestinian lawyers gathered in central Hebron to carry out their action.
The lawyers form a human chain around the poster of Mohammed Allan
Whereas the immediate motivation for the strike is the grave situation of Mohammed Allan, it is also a protest against the illegal practice of administrative detention. Administrative detention allows Israel to detain almost exclusively Palestinians without charge or trial for a maximum of six months which can be renewed indefinitely. The alleged high security risk of the concerned prisoner to the Israeli settler-colonial state is emphasized to legitimize the application of administrative detention. This practice “is the most extreme measure that international humanitarian law allows an occupying power to use against residents of occupied territory” as the prisoner support and human rights association Addameer puts it. Under international law administrative detention should only be used “against protected persons in occupied territory for ‘imperative reasons of security’ (Fourth Geneva Convention, Art. 78)”. However, Israel applies this procedure frequently ever since the Nakba of ‘48 which resulted in the construction of the Israeli state. Administrative detention leaves the prisoners and their families and friends in a prolonged state of uncertainty and isolation. “We do not feel respected as human beings because of this treatment”, expresses former administrative detainee Badran Jaber. “We live lonely in front of the occupying power”.
One day after the solidarity hunger strike was started by the Palestinian lawyers, the news is received that Israel’s High Court suspends the detention of Mohammed Allan. His health severely deteriorated which led him to be hospitalised in Barzilai Medical Centre in Ashkelon, southern Israel on Friday the 14th of August. After a medical examination it was found that Mohammed Allan now suffers from brain damage. Given his current medical condition, he does not pose a security threat any more and thus administrative detention is not legitimized according to the court’s ruling. However, it is unclear whether the brain damage is permanent and, should his medical condition improve, whether administrative detention will be re-applied.
Mother and brother of Mohammed Allan embrace after the court’s ruling
The news of Mohammed Allan’s release has been met with enthusiasm, relief and a sense of victory by supporters within occupied Palestine and beyond. However, critics also point out that the attainment of freedom through the application of extreme damage to oneself can hardly be called justice. Furthermore, the interest in Mohammed Allan’s struggle should not deviate attention from the 180 Palestinian prisonerswho are on hunger strike since the 11th of August 2015. Therefore, because of the uncertainty of a potential re-application of administrative detention should Mohammed Allan’s health improve, the continuing struggle of Palestinians inside Israeli prisons and the ongoing illegal occupation of Palestine, the road to justice is still a long way ahead.
ISM spoke with lawyers, supporters and a former administrative detainee in Hebron. Watch the video below.
19th August 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Ramallah Team | East Jerusalem, Occupied Palestine
Update 22nd August:
The lawyer of the Totah and Totanji families has been in touch with Israeli Authorities, and has found out, that there is no demolition order on the Wadi Joz neighborhood. There has only been given a cleaning order on Wadi Joz, so the wave of home demolitions is illeagal according to Israeli law. The lawyer will now take the case to court, and hopefully there will be no more demolitions in Wadi Joz.
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Wave of home demolition worsens in Wadi Joz
Nureddin Amro sitting on the rubble of his home, which was demolished on March 31st this year (photo credit The Washington Post)
On Wednesday August 19, at 5:30 AM, Israeli occupation forces began demolishing a three-story home of the Totah and Totanji families in the Wadi Joz neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem.
“A large number soldiers and policemen are blocking main road in Wadi Joz right now. There is no electricity because they demolished the neighbor’s house and the power network. They kicked the families and people into the street, in the middle of this hot weather, showing no humanity. Stated Nureddin Amro, a resident of the Wadi Joz, “They want to confiscate the entire neighborhood”.
On March 31, 2015 Israeli forces demolished most of Nureddin Amro’s house and that of his brother, Sharif Amro, both of whom are blind and live with their families, including 7 children under 14 years of age and their mother who is 79 years old. There was no demolition order against the houses and no prior notice. Israeli forces barely waited for the family to leave the rooms that were going to be demolished and physically attacked the family. Some property belonging to the Totah family was also destroyed that day. Since then, the Amros and Totahs have lived in constant fear of further demolitions. Other homes in the neighborhood are also slated for demolition.
Today’s demolition comes just after the largest-scale destruction of Palestinian dwellings in nearly three years.
Wadi al-Joz is located directly outside the Old City of Jerusalem in a vulnerable area with three demolitions in the last two-and-one-half weeks. Land near this neighborhood was already annexed by the Israeli authorities to create a national park encompassing an illegal Israeli settlement.
15 August 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Beit el Baraka, Occupied Palestine
Since two months concerned Palestinians demonstrate against the sale of the Presbyterian church in Beit el Baraka to right-wing activist Aryeh King. Beit el Baraka is a site on the road connecting al-Khalil/Hebron to al-Quds/Jerusalem and near Al Arroub refugee camp. Aryeh King is said to refurbish the church and the surrounding area in order to establish a new illegal settlement.
A Palestinian child protests in front of Israeli soldiers near Beit El Baraka
Today was the 16th demonstration against the sale of the church and the threat of a new settlement. Twice a week they march on the road leading from Beit Ummar to Beit el Baraka and the church. The group of protesters consisted of men, women and children explicitly identifying as Palestinian Christians or Palestinian Muslims. They carried banners and Christian crosses and chanted slogans to defend the right of Palestinians to their own land.
Israeli soldier confront a nonviolent Palestinian protestor near Beit El Baraka
There was an excessive army presence and the many soldiers outnumbered the non-violent protesters by far. As the group marched towards the Presbyterian church their passage was blocked by the army. When they crossed the street in order to continue the demonstration and the march in the fields the army speeded to further block the movement of the demonstrators.
Beit El Baraka residents plan to continue their nonviolent protests in the coming weeks.
No weaponry was used and the peaceful protesters retreated to Beit Ummar and the surrounding villages. They will be back the coming weeks to continue to resist new illegal settlements that enable to annex Palestinian land beyond the internationally recognised borders (the ‘Green Lines’) of Occupied Palestine and ‘48.
