13 March 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank
“We called him Nassr, but I think his real name was Mahmoud,” says Ahmed while we were on the bus from the Beit Furik municipality building. Outside the bus window, the walls of the little town just outside of Nablus are plastered with freshly printed martyr posters. The picture shows a middle aged man photoshopped between the Dome of the Rock and the Palestinian flag.
Ali Hannini, the cousin of Mahmoud Hanin who was kiled by Israeli rocket fire.
It has just been a few days since Mahmoud Hanini was killed by an Israeli rocket while in a car in the Gaza Strip.
“He was suspected of being affiliated with a militant group in the West Bank in 2005 and was forced to flee to Jordan and then on to Egypt and Gaza where he worked with the resistance against the occupation,” Ahmed continues.
In the stairwell leading up to the Hanini residence, one of the landings is cluttered up with shoes and a somber song is playing from the apartment. The family is still in mourning. We are shown to the roof where Mahmoud’s cousin, Ali, serves us coffee and dates.
“Things are going to be hard for this family now,” he said.
Mahmoud only had one brother and eleven sisters. It will be economically difficult for them. Mahmoud also had three children in Beit Furik and two daughters in Gaza.
When Mahmoud was killed on Friday, he was in a car with Zuhair al-Qaissi, the leader of the armed wing of the Popular Resistance Committee, the group responsible for the kidnapping of the Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit.
The body of Mahmoud Hanini will remain in Gaza, and his family will have to face the pain of not being able to visit his grave.
“It would be extremely expensive and difficult for us,” says Ali.
In the midst of military escalation in Gaza and the grief at home, the Hanini family still carry some hope for the future.
“We want to say a message to the people of the outside world: that the only thing we long for is peace. We only resist to win our freedom. This is not an issue of a conflict between religions. The issue is that Israel is occupying our lands in violation of international laws.”
The murder of Mahmoud Hanini, Zuhair al-Qaissi, and their driver set ablaze the region as groups throughout the Gaza strip responded by firing nearly a hundred rockets into Israeli territory. Most of these were intercepted by Israeli air defence, but one Israeli was killed by the rockets. Israel in turn responded with attacks against Gaza that since Friday have taken the lives of dozens of Palestinians.
Jonas Weber is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).
11 March 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, Gaza
Ayoub, martyred in an air strike
Twelve year old Ayoub Assalya was murdered today. He was walking to school when an Israeli missile landed next to him. It was seven A.M. He is another casualty of Israel’s latest attack on Gaza. For three days now Gaza has been under bombardment. Eighteen people have been killed. Dozens have been injured.
His funeral was held today in Jabalia, the refugee camp where he lived. We waited outside the mosque for midday prayers to end. The street outside was crowded with people waiting for the funeral. A bus was parked to carry those who could not walk the several kilometers to the cemetery. Ayoub was carried out on a stretcher, a stretcher held by a dozen men, his bloodied face the only thing visible, his body was wrapped in white cloth. His face appeared swollen.
The mourners carried his body east to the cemetery. A sound truck drove along with them. The crowd chanted, “God is great”, “there is no god but god”, and “the martyr is the beloved of God”. Music played and the black flags of Islamic Jihad floated above us. The men walked quickly, down the dusty road out of the camp and towards the cemetery. The day was hot; dust rose under the hundreds of pairs of feet that walked with Ayoub, people used Kleenexes to cover their mouths.
Ayoub, martyred in an air strike
As we approached the cemetery you could see the border. This is the same border where the Israel shot four men yesterday. The four men had been attending the funeral of yesterday’s martyrs. The land leading up the border is barren, there are no trees, Israel bulldozed them all years ago. A giant Israeli gun tower looms on the horizon. These towers dot the border of Gaza, reminding everyone that Gaza is a prison. In the cemetery though, there are trees, trees growing amidst the graves. Perhaps the graves saved them from the Israeli bulldozers. The cemetery is beautiful, white graves under palm trees. Fruit trees also grow here.
As we enter the cemetery we see that there is another funeral already going on. A few hundred people gathered only a hundred meters away from us, burying yet another martyr. Ayoub is buried in a freshly dug grave. His grave is next to six other fresh graves, graves from martyrs of yesterday. They do not yet have gravestones, their names are written on cardboard attached to concrete blocks. They lower Ayoub into his grave and the men start to fill it with earth.
After the grave is full and a slight mound has formed over Ayoub’s small body one man keeps shoveling earth onto it, others tell him, “khalas”, enough, he doesn’t stop. The man shoveling dirt ignores them, he continues to shovel, finally, someone puts his hand on his arm and leads him away. He is led away, it is final, Ayoub is dead, the funeral is over. The mourning will continue for many years.
Nathan Stuckey is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement
We, the Advisory Board of the Global March to Jerusalem, are alarmed and deeply troubled by the continuing repression of Palestinians in Jerusalem and by the deliberate and systematic attempts to expel and reduce the Christian and Muslim Palestinian population of the city as part of the policy called “Judaisation,” which is being applied to every part of historic Palestine.
This policy is inconsistent with all relevant United Nations resolutions on Jerusalem and contrary to the most basic principles of international law. Its purpose is plainly to ethnically cleanse Jerusalem of its non-Jewish population and transform a once proud symbol of international tolerance and religious and cultural diversity into an exclusionary and racist enclave.
Jerusalem is our common universal heritage. It is the centre of spirituality and ideological significance for all of the monotheistic religions, and a beacon of emancipation and hope for the downtrodden. This historic city is venerated across the world for enhancing the spiritual heritage of all humanity; it has been a symbol of unity and equality, with a message of love, mercy and compassion.
However the entire world is now witnessing a threat to the sovereignty, sanctity and inviolability of Jerusalem. The plan is not only to destroy the Muslim and Christian presence, but also to change and dismantle the social structure of Jerusalem, obliterating its indigenous Arab identity and changing the character of the city.
The people of the world have therefore taken it upon themselves to prevent this abomination, by mobilizing themselves in every part of the world and representing all religious, humanitarian, and cultural backgrounds in a global march to Jerusalem (GMJ) aimed at guarding the City of Peace from becoming a wasteland of intolerance. We therefore lend our names to support the convergence of people from all countries and continents of the world to Jerusalem, and to the nearest points to which they are able to approach, both inside Palestine and at the Palestinian borders with Jordan, Egypt, Syria and Lebanon, as well as in their own countries, in a peaceful march towards Jerusalem.
We therefore support this effort, and encourage all of humanity to support it, by making the pledge set forth below, that all participants in the Global March to Jerusalem have agreed to accept.
We assert the importance of Jerusalem politically, culturally and religiously to the Palestinian people and humanity as a whole. We call for the protection of the Holy Places and all archeological sites and consider all the efforts done to change its Arabic & cultural identity as a crime against humanity. We call on all international institutions to do their duties towards the city.
The defense of Jerusalem and its liberation are a duty of all free people around the world and we call on all institutions, organizations, and individuals to participate in this duty.
We condemn the Zionist campaign of ethnic cleansing in Jerusalem and the rest of Palestine including all ongoing policies intended to change the demographic and geographic situation in the city and aimed at its Judaisation. We also condemn the continuation of the Zionist occupation forces in building the apartheid wall that aims to expropriate more Palestinian lands and convert the occupied areas into shrinking cantons isolated from each other.
We support the right of the Palestinian People to self-determination, to liberate their lands and to live on them in freedom and dignity like all other people on earth.
We support the non-negotiable & inalienable rights of the Palestinian People, including their families, to return to their homes and lands from which they were uprooted.
We reject all racist laws that distinguish between people based on ethnicity or religion and call for their cancellation and criminalization.
The Global March to Jerusalem does not represent any one faction or political party, but we call for participation of all social forces, political factions, and ideologies.
The Global March to Jerusalem is a global peaceful movement, which does not use violence to achieve its goals.
Signed,
The Advisory Board of the Global March to Jerusalem (partial listing of names)
Shaikh Dr. Abdul Ghani al-Tamimi, poet and preacher; chairman of the Palestine Scholars Abroad
Abdullatif Arabiyyat, Former Speaker of the Jordanian Parliament
Swami Agnivesh, Founder, Bonded Labour Liberation Front and World Council of Arya Samaj, former member of the Indian parliament and former chairperson of the UN Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery
Ahmad Obeidat, Former Jordanian Prime Minister & Head of the National Front for Reform
Dr. Ahmed Mohammed attia Bahar, Vice President, Palestinian Legislative Council
Tan Sri Anthony Francis Fernandes, Malaysian entrepreneur; founder and CEO, Air Asia
Dr. Anton Shuhaiber, Gaza Christian Association
Arnold Hottinger,Swiss journalist and publicist; former Middle East correspondent for the Neue Zürcher Zeitung.
H.E. Atallah Hanna, Archbishop of Sebastia, Patriarchate of Jerusalem
Bouguerra Soltani, Algerian Government Minister and party leader for the Movement of the Society for Peace
Dr. Cornel West, Professor of African American studies. Princeton University; philosopher, writer and civil rights activist
Datuk Yasmin Yusoff, Malaysian actress and television host
David Hartsough, Director, Peaceworkers, San Francisco
Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Laureate
HE Dr. Dzukelly Ahmad, member of the Malaysian parliament
Evelyn Hecht-Galinski, Jewish German author, activist and publicist
Dr. Francis Boyle, Professor of International Law, University of Illinois
Dr. Franco Cavalli, oncologist and former leader of the Swiss Social Democrat Party parliamentary group
George Galloway, former Member of British Parliament and Founder of Viva Palestina
Dr. Ghada Karmi, Writer and Co-Director, Centre for Palestine Studies, University of Exeter
Gretta Duisenberg, Founder and Chair, “Stop the Occupation” (Netherlands), Free Gaza Movement Board Member
Dr. Hammam Said, Head of the Jordanian Consultative Council of the Muslim Brothers
Hilarion Capucci, Archbishop of Caesarea, Greek Melkite Church
Ibrahim Nasrallah, Jordanian-Palestinian Poet & Novelist
Dr. Jeremiah Wright, Pastor Emeritus, Trinity United Church of Christ, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Prof. Judith Butler, writer and philosopher, University of California, Berkeley
Laith Shubeilat, Former Jordanian Parliamentarian
Lalita Ramdas, Chair, Greenpeace International
Admiral Laxminarayan Ramdas, Magsaysay Peace Award Recipient and anti-nuclear advocate
Dr. Leo Gabriel, Austrian socioanthropologist, journalist and documentary filmmaker; member, World Social Forum International Council
Fr. Louis Vitale, Order of Franciscan Monks; Pace e Bene; nonviolent resistor
Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb, Jewish Renewal Movement
Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohammed, former Prime Minister of Malaysia
Mairead McGuire, Nobel Peace Laureate
Marzuki Alie, Speaker, Indonesian House of Representatives
Marwah Daud Ibrahim, Indonesian feminist, writer and Member of Parliament
Medha Patkar, Leader, National Alliance of People’s Movements; Recipient, Right Livelihood Award, Goldman Environment Prize & Amnesty International Human Rights Defenders Award
Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, Secretary General, Palestinian National Initiative and President, Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees
Neta Golan, Co-Founder, International Solidarity Movement
Dr. Norman Paech, former Member of the German Parliament; professor of law, emeritus, University of Hamburg
Sheikh Raed Salah, President of the Islamic movement within the 1949 Ceasefire Line
Justice Rajinder Sachar, Former Chief Justice, Delhi High Court, Member, UN Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities. Senior Advisor & Counsel, People’s Union for Civil Liberties
Ronnie Kasrils, South African national liberation leader and former cabinet minister
Seema Mustafa, Syndicated columnist & former political editor, Asian Age
Prof Siddique Hassan, Director, Vision 2016 and Assistant Amir of the Jamat-e-Islami, Hind)
Subhi Ghosheh, Chairman, Jordanian Beitul-Maqdes Forum
Syeda Hameed, Columnist, The Indian Express, and Member, Indian National Planning Commission
HE Tony Pua Kiam Wee, member of the Malaysian parliament
Tujan Faysal, First elected woman Jordanian Parliamentarian
Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat, Former Chief of the Naval Staff of India
Mrs. Wardina Safiyyah, Malaysian actress and television host
Dr. Yacoub Zaiadeen, Former Jerusalem Representative to the Jordanian parliament
Sheikh Yousuf Jumaa, former Palestinian Minister of Awqaf and Religious Affairs; former preacher of Al-Aqsa Mosque
Dr. Zakaria Agha, M.D., member, Palestine Liberation Organization Executive Committee; former chair, Gaza Strip Medical Association
Dr. Zeenat Shaukat Ali, Author; Vice Chairman and Founder Trustee of SAGE Foundation; Professor of Islamic Studies, St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai
On February 20th, International Solidarity Movement put out a call for the international community to express their solidarity with the people of Al Khalil (Hebron) and the cause to open Shuhada Street. Individuals from all over the world took part in this symbolic campaign, which came just as locals in Al Khalil launched a week of activities and rallies to invoke the resilience of Palestine and its resistance against apartheid in their communities. Marking the 18th anniversary of the Ibrahimi Mosque massacre, which claimed the lives of dozens of Palestinians at the hands of extremist Zionists and the Israeli Occupation Forces that protect them, Al Khalil is restless and still marching as Zionism looms in the heart of the city in illegal settlements that house malice and violence.
Photos in Solidarity – Click here for more images
As Palestinians and their supporters marched through Hebron on February 24th under the fire of tear gas and bullets shot by the cowardly Israeli Occupation Forces, which arrested protestors merely for their peaceful defiance of Israeli Occupation, the steadfastness of the people united and their message to Open Shuhada Street, was not only echoed in the ancient roads of Al Khalil, but throughout the world. Thank you for your show of support for the liberation of Shuhada Street. Together may we one day walk the roads of Al Khalil, without fear of harassment by Zionist settlers, without the profiling and discrimination by so called Israeli police, and without the shadow of Israel’s hateful weaponry, staining the old stones of Al Khalil’s soul.
20 February 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank
Beginning this week local organizers in Al Khalil (Hebron) and supporters have organized a series of events to commemorate the Baruch Goldstein Massacre and demand the re-opening of Shuhada Street, once the commercial heart of Al Khalil, now off limits to locals, Palestinians in general, and even international supporters following the massacre that claimed 29 Palestinian lives.
While one street may seem insignificant or small, the segregation, economic strangulation, violence, and oppression that Shuhada Street suffers is a microcosm of Zionist policy. As extremist settlers continue to harass and violently attack Palestinians and internationals, and the Golani Brigade continues to show no accountability or concern for international law, it is all the more essential that this street be the symbolic avenue of freedom for Palestinians.
An illegal Zionist settlement pollutes the very heart of a historic piece of Al Khalil now overtaken with settler violence, racial epithets, and sadly, pure hatred for Palestinians and their supporters.
The residents of Al Khalil, Palestinian activists, and International Solidarity Movement call on the international community to display their support in a project that will showcase international solidarity for the opening of Shuhada Street.
As such we ask that the international community submits a photo of solidarity to International Solidarity Movement. This photo will be of a major street or landmark of your hometown with a display or sign of solidarity for Shuhada Street. Diversity in support for human rights can humanize the victims of Zionist oppression in Al Khalil and elsewhere.
Get creative with your slogans and locations! Please note that multiple photos from the same location will not all be published, so local organizing in deciding a location in your community is suggested, or the ISM media team will select 1 photo from each location.
In order to participate, please submit a photo to palreportskhalil@gmail.com and keep in mind the following guidelines:
In the subject line of your email please be sure to write “Open Shuhada Street Photo Campaign”
Photos should not be a maximum of 1 MB
A poster, sign, clothing or any other visual statement supporting the opening of Shuhada Street should be visible in the photo along with the landmark or major street
It is not necessary for individuals to be a part of the picture, as your privacy is honored, however if individuals can please indicate their names (if they wish to be identified)
Please include a location of the photo (example: Hollywood sign, Hollywood, California) in the email
Include the date when the photograph was taken in the email
If the visual is written in a language other than English, please write the statement in the body of the email in order to be translated.
Photos are original and not edited or borrowed from another entity
Please submit photos no later than April 2nd
ISM Palestine looks forward to receiving your photographs. Stay tuned for a publication on April 4th on palsolidarity.org.
