Category: Features

Israeli forces continue to bomb Gaza: 13 year old boy dead and 18 injured

19 August 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, Gaza 

Israel’s price tag campaign is not waged only by the settlers in the West Bank; it is also waged against the people of Gaza.  It isn’t exactly clear what the Gaza Strip is paying the price for. In contrast to Israeli propaganda, people are killed in Gaza all the time.  This has been a bloody week.  An 18 year old mentally disabled man was shot to death on Tuesday, another young man was shot in the leg on Tuesday.  Perhaps the price must be paid simply for existing.

Overnight Israeli warplanes pounded Gaza.  Nine people have been murdered in Gaza since yesterday. 13-year-old Mahmoud Abu Samra was one of the killed, he and 18 others were injured in one bombing attack in Gaza.  The Abu Samra family lives near the former intelligence services headquarters in Gaza City.  Their house was destroyed by an Israeli bomb last night at 12:30 A.M.  Their house was completely destroyed, one of their neighbors houses was also destroyed, one more, heavily damaged.  Thirteen people from three families live in these houses.  All of these families are refugees, expelled from their homes in 1948, and now, in a repeat of history, once again their houses are destroyed.  When we arrived family members were picking through the rubble, trying to salvage what could be salvaged.

The Abu Samra house was completely destroyed.  All that is left standing is a bathroom with the door torn off, a sink, and a broken mirror in it.  Mahmoud is dead, the latest causality in the Israeli assault on Gaza.  Neighbors and relatives pick through the remains.  A shattered computer monitor sits on a pile of rubble.  Israel bans the import of concrete into Gaza, so the house will probably live on in another house after the rubble is recycled.  Mahmoud is dead, he was buried today.

Next to the Abu Samra house is the Al Helal Sporting club.  It is one of the few places for young men to hang out in the neighborhood.  When the bomb hit it was packed with young men trying to escape the heat, entertaining themselves playing football and watching TV.  Many of the injured were young people from the neighborhood at the club.

We spoke to Seham Awad, a forty five year old mother of two.  She and her nephew were picking through the rubble.  Thankfully, her son is away at university studying, her daughter is married and no longer lives with her.  Her ex-husband is in an Israeli prison, seven years into a twelve year sentence.  She is unemployed and lives on charity and help from her neighbors.  She is a resourceful woman though, her backyard, maybe 25 square  meters, has been turned into a garden.  It is overhung by a shattered trellis for passion fruit vines.  She grows vegetables on the rest of her land, in old tires that have been turned into planters, on every square meter of land vegetables grow.  Her house is small, only two rooms, now both destroyed.

Her house was also destroyed during Cast Lead, she received no help rebuilding, only some mattresses and household supplies.  She lives without windows; only sheets cover the holes in the walls that would be windows.  Perhaps, this was lucky last night, there was no shattered glass to cut her.  After the attack, she slept in the garden, on mattresses placed in the back corner.  She is undefeated, after her house was destroyed in Cast Lead she rebuilt as best she could, concrete blocks, an asbestos and tin roof, and no windows.  She expected that her house would be destroyed again, she was right.  As she said, “I expect little from life, I planted this tree, now it is big, it provides shade, that is enough.”  When asked what she would do now, where she would go, she said, “I will stay here, I will rebuild again as best I can, where else can I go?”

Her neighbors, the Abbas family was not so lucky.  Their father, Abu Akmed was injured in the bombing.  This family too is picking through the rubble, praying for their father.  Their home, heavily damaged was all that they had.  In the back a horse still lives in a small shed.  Abu Ahmed, like most men in Gaza, had no job–they’re just simple refugees trying to rebuild their lives.  Nine people crammed into a small concrete block house, now, mostly destroyed.  Out their front door you can see the old security headquarters in Gaza, heavily bombed during Cast Lead and now abandoned.

Behind the Abbas family lives Hajjer Abu Duwani.  She is a fifty five year old mother of twelve.  She is a small woman; she looks older than her years.  She doesn’t really have a house, just two tin sheds that she lives in.  A chicken coop takes up one end of her land; on the rest of it she tries to grow vegetables.  She has no job; she depends on the help of her children to live.  Shrapnel from the bombing hit her.  She has an ugly hand sized bruise on her leg, another bruise on her arm, and her head was cut with shrapnel.  She is happy, at least she is alive, Mahmoud, her thirteen year old neighbor is dead, the houses of her other neighbors destroyed.

Call from Gaza: open the Rafah crossing permanently and unconditionally

Today, a call demanding the re-opening of the Rafah Crossing between Egypt and Palestine has come from Gaza. It is propelled by support from Egypt and has been endorsed by dozens of organizations, citizens’ groups, associations and coalitions in many countries, as well as by distinguished international personalities.

The call to action underscores the Geneva Conventions which entitle all people to freedom of movement and protection from collective punishment such as the arbitrary closure of the Crossing. Fulfilling a demand of the Egyptian revolution, supporters urge their governments to re-open the gates that have turned Gaza into an ‘open air prison’.

The Rafah Crossing is Gaza’s only exit to the external world. Israel’s continued siege of Gaza includes closure of its six other crossings

Building on the momentum of a year’s international activism to break the deadly siege of Gaza, supporters of the call to action include Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Laureate; Richard Falk, Professor of International Law Emeritus, Princeton University; Ronnie Kasrils, former South African Chief of Intelligence and Justice Minister; Egyptian novelists and activists Ahdaf Soueif and Radwa Ashour; author Tariq Ali and others.

To sign the petition
Signatories will be updated on further actions in support of this campaign as they are announced.

Call From Gaza: Open The Rafah Crossing Permanently And Unconditionally

Besieged Gaza, Occupied Palestine

Article 13 of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights clearly states that:

  1. Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
  2. Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

This article follows others that unequivocally recognizethe inherent dignity and equal and inalienable rights of ALL members of the human family, which naturally includes Palestinians.The inalienable right to freedom of movement of the more than 1.5 million Palestinian men, women and children who make up the population of the Gaza Strip has been denied by successive Israeli governments and the Mubarak regime which imposed a barbaric siege. Mainstream human rights organizations describe the Gaza Strip as the “largest open-air prison on earth.”

This deadly siege should have ended when the revolutionary Egyptian movement ousted Hosni Mubarak and his murderous regime during which Egyptians in their millions made clear that their emancipation and the freedom of Palestine were their joint and connected goals.

This raised the hopes of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, 1948 Palestine and the shatat (diaspora), as well as millions of others around the world, that the Egyptian government and the Supreme Military Council would finally break the blockade ofGaza, as Egyptians clearly wanted. We expected the Rafah Crossing to be treated as a sovereign border between two states, as open as all other Egyptian border crossings, including those with Libya, Sudan and Israel. This would ensure the dignity and free movement of Palestinians, and all travelers, to and from the Gaza Strip.

Former Egyptian Foreign Minister, Dr. Nabil Al-Arabi, made very encouraging initial statements that the previous Egyptian government’s treatment of Gaza was “disgraceful” and that the Rafah Crossing would be opened permanently. On 25 May 2011, Egypt’s official Middle East News Agency announced the permanent opening of Rafah.The former rules at the Crossing were to be reinstated, thus allowing Palestinians with passports to cross into Egypt every day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. except for Fridays and holidays. According to a statement issued by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Palestinian women and children would be able to leave Gaza without restrictions, while men between the ages of 18 and 40 would have to obtain visas to enter Egypt. Thus more than 60 per cent of Gazans would be able to cross without requiring visas.

This decision of the government post-revolution was implemented for just two days: 28-29 May 2011, and this Rafah Crossing policy was in reality retracted without any formal announcement. The current number allowed to pass each day has been reduced to an arbitrary figure of between 160-300 travelers.

The sudden about-turn comes in the midst of the worst medical crisis that Gaza has ever suffered. Most operations have been put on hold as needed basic supplies are not available. Thousands of students have lost the opportunity to further their studies abroad because they have not been able to travel to their universities. Residency permits for Arab and foreign countries of thousands of other Gazans expired when they couldn’t leave Gaza.

The current system requires every potential traveler to register online with the Gaza Ministry of Interior and confirm this registration with the Ministry of Transport. The number registered to cross as of the end of June exceeds 20,000, and with the daily rate of travelers at the Crossing restricted to a maximum of 300, the possibility of crossing before mid-September is almost nil.

Those who travel via Rafah face inhumane conditions: standing for long hours in the heat, then escorted by police to Cairo airport, and then waiting in a holding cell until departure. No other citizens in the world have to endure this humiliation, uncertainty and indignity by another country when they choose to exercise their right to leave their own country.

Palestinians demand freedom of movement now

These restrictions should no longer be imposed on Palestinian people. It is an offense to the immense ongoing struggles of the Egyptian people in pursuit of human rights for the present Egyptian authorities to so quickly break promises made to them.

Under the Geneva Conventions we are all entitled to freedom of movement and protection from collective punishment such as the arbitrary closure of the Crossing.

Our demand, therefore, is the permanent and free movement of Palestinians, without distinction or limitation of any kind, through the Rafah Crossing.

  • Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU)
  • University Teachers’ Association in Palestine (UTAP)
  • Palestinian Students’ Campaign for the Academic Boycott of Israel (PSCABI)
  • General Union of Youth Entities (GUYE)
  • Palestinian Youth Against Israeli Apartheid (PYAIA)
  • Arab Cultural Forum
  • One Democratic State Group (ODSG)
  • Popular Struggle Coordination Committee, Palestine
  • Campaign for the Right to Enter the Occupied Palestinian Territory
  • Karama Campaign for the Free Movement of Palestinians
  • Palestine Justice Network
  • Palestinian Center for Rapprochement Between People (Beit Sahour)
  • Al-Rowwad Center (Aida Refugee Camp)
  • Coalition of the Youth of the Revolution, Egypt
  • People’s Socialist Alliance Party (PSAP), Egypt
  • Democratic Workers Party, Egypt
  • Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights
  • The Free Egyptian Movement
  • National Front for Justice and Democracy, Egypt
  • Popular Democratic Movement for Change, Egypt [HASHD]
  • ElNadim Centre for the psychological rehabilitation of victims of violence and torture, Egypt
  • Hisham Mubarak Law Center, Egypt
  • Arabic Network for Human Rights Information
  • Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression, Egypt

We, the undersigned, stand in solidarity with this demand for basic human rights of the people of Gaza and Egypt:
Click to add your support

  • Tariq Ali, author and activist, UK
  • Radwa Ashour, author, Egypt
  • Mona Baker, St. Jerome Publishing, UK
  • Oren Ben-Dor, School of Law, Southampton, UK
  • Phyllis Bennis, Institute for Policy Studies, US
  • Haim Bresheeth, University of East London, UK
  • Martin Caton, Member of Parliament, UK
  • Richard Falk, Professor of International Law, Princeton University, USA
  • James C. Faris
  • Bill Fletcher, Jr.,BlackCommentator.comeditorial board, USA
  • Keith Hammond, University of Glasgow, Scotland
  • Nelly Hanna,American University in Cairo, Egypt
  • Richard Hudson, FBA, London, UK
  • Colin Imber
  • Najaty Jabary, Medico, Spain
  • Fanny and Sonja Karkar, Australia
  • Ronnie Kasrils, former South African government minister, author and activist
  • Muhammad Ali Khalidi, York University, Toronto
  • Erwin Lanc, Federal Minister of the Republic of Austria,
  • Yosefa Loshitzky, London, UK
  • Ian Macdonald, QC, UK
  • Mike Marqusee, author, UK
  • Nur Masalha, St. Mary’s University College and SOAS, University of London, UK
  • Hajo Meyer, Holland
  • Christl Meyer, Women In Black, Vienna, Austria
  • Gail Miller, Women of A Certain Age, U.S. Ship To Gaza
  • Fanny-Michaela Reisin, International League of Human Rights-FIDH, AEDH;
  • German Section (President), Jewish Voice for a Just Peace (EJJP Germany)
  • Dalia Said Mostafa, University of Manchester, UK
  • Mai Perez Apraiz, Empresaria, Spain
  • Steven Rose, Open University, UK
  • Ibrahim Jabary Salamanca, Empresario, Spain
  • Pilar Salamanca, Escritora, Spain Waltraud Schauer, Austria
  • Suleiman Sharkh, University of Southampton, UK
  • Lidon Soriano, Spain
  • Ahdaf Soueif, author, Egypt
  • Baroness Jenny Tonge, UK
  • Waltraud Torossian
  • Desmund Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town, South Africa
  • Peter & Joan Unterweger
  • Angela Waldegg, Austria

Organizations:

  • Al-Awda, Palestine Right to Return Coalition
  • Al-Awda New York: The Palestine Right to Return Coalition
  • Americans Against the War, France
  • American Muslims for Palestine
  • Arab Resource and Organizing Center, USA
  • Artdialog, Italy
  • Artists Against Apartheid, South Africa
  • Association Des Universitaires Pour le Respect du Droit International en Palestine, France
  • Australians for Palestine
  • Bay Area Coalition to End Israeli Apartheid, USA
  • Bethlehem Group, Glasgow, Scotland
  • Black Alliance for Just Immigration
  • BRICUP- British Committee for the Universities of Palestine
  • British Writers in Support of Palestine (BWISP)
  • Canadian Boat to Gaza Campaign
  • Caribbean Labour Solidarity, UK
  • Catalyst Project, USA
  • Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), USA
  • Center for Encounter And Active Non-Violence, Austria
  • Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (CAIA)
  • CODEPINK, USA
  • Collectif Judéo Arabe et Citoyen pour la Paix- Strasbourg, France
  • Comitato Varesino per la Palestina, Italy
  • Comite De Solidariedade Com A Palestina, Portugal
  • Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU)
  • Davis Committee for Palestinian Rights, USA
  • En Nuestro Nombre No- Tucumán, Argentina
  • Farrah France-Strasbourg, France
  • Frantz Fanon Foundation, France
  • Frauen in Schwarz (Wien) – Women in Black, Vienna, Austria
  • Free Palestine Movement
  • Friends of Deir Ibzi’a, USA
  • Gaza Foundation-Rotterdam, Holland
  • Global Compliance Research Project
  • Global Exchange, USA
  • Global Women’s Strike, (GWS)
  • Goldsmiths College (University of London) Students’ Union, UK
  • Grassroots Global Justice Alliance, USA
  • Hadeel Palestinian Fair Trade, Scotland
  • Handicap Solidarité- Strasbourg, France
  • Headlines Theatre, Canada
  • International Forum for Secular Bangladesh, UK
  • International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network, France
  • International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network, UK
  • International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN), USA
  • Independent Jewish Voices, Canada
  • International Payday Men’s Network
  • International Solidarity Movement
  • International Solidarity Movement – Northern California, USA
  • International Solidarity Movement – Chicago, USA
  • Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC)
  • Israel Divestment Campaign (California), USA
  • Italian Peace Research Institute – Net for Civil Peace Corps, Italy
  • Kritische Jüdische Stimme (Österreich) – Critical Jewish Voice (Austria)
  • Jews for Boycotting Israeli Goods (J-BIG), UK
  • Jüdische Stimme für gerechten Frieden in Nahost, EJJP (Jewish Voice for a Just Peace in the Middle East) , Germany
  • Jewish Voice for Peace, USA
  • Jews Say No! USA
  • Justice for Palestinians, USA
  • LA BDS for Justice in Palestine
  • Labor for Palestine, USA
  • Leeds Palestine Solidarity Campaign, UK
  • Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, USA
  • Merseyside Jews for Peace and Justice, UK
  • Middle East Children’s Alliance
  • Middle East Crisis Committee Of Connecticut, USA
  • New York City Labor against the War, USA
  • Netherlands Palestine Committee (NPK)
  • NION – Not in our name – Jews opposing Zionism
  • Our Developing World, CA, USA
  • Palcrafts Charity, Scotland
  • Palestine Action Group, Corvallis, Oregon, USA
  • Palestine Solidarity Campaign, UK
  • Palestine Solidarity Committee, South Africa
  • Palestine Solidarity Alliance, South Africa
  • Palestine Solidarity Committee (PKR)-Rotterdam, Holland
  • Peace for Life, Johannesburg
  • Red Internacional Judía Antisionista (IJAN), Argentina
  • Red Thread, Guyana
  • RESCOP, the Spanish network of organizations in solidarity with Palestine:
    • Asociacion Al Quds (Malaga)
    • Asociacion Hispano Palestina Jerusalen (Madrid)
    • Asociacion Paz Ahora
    • Asociacion Paz con Dignidad
    • Castello per Palestina
    • Coordinadora de apoyo a Palestina Rioja (La rioja)
    • CSCA (Comite de Solidaridad con la Causa Arabe)
    • Ecologistas en Accion (Madrid, Valladolid)
    • Grupo de ONG por Palestina (Plataforma 2015 y Mas y Federacion de Asociaciones deDefensa y Promocion de los Derechos Humanos- Espana) + ACSUR
    • ISM Cataluna/Valencia
    • Interpueblos (Cantabria)
    • Izquierda Anticapitalista
    • Komite Internazionalistak (Euskadi)
    • MEWANDO (Euskadi)
    • Mujeres en zona de conflicto (MZC)
    • Mujeres por la Paz- Accion solidaria con Palestina (Canarias)
    • Palestinarik Elkartasuna (Euskadi)
    • Plataforma Palestina (Ibiza)
    • Plataforma Solidarida con Palestina (Sevilla)
    • Red de Jovenes Palestinos
    • Red de Judios Antisionistas (IJAN)
    • REMCODE
    • Sodepau
    • Sodepaz
    • Sodepaz Balamil- Valladolid
    • Talua Per Palestina (Baleares)
    • Xarxa d’enllaC amb Palestina (Barcelona)
    • Xarxa Solidarida Palestina (Valencia)
  • Right to Return, (DAR), France
  • Sabeel-DC, USA
  • Sacramento Regional Coalition for Palestinian Rights, USA
  • Scottish Friends of Palestine
  • Scottish Palestine Solidarity Committee (Edinburgh)
  • Siege Busters Working Group
  • Silicon Valley De-Bug, USA
  • SOAS Palestine Society, UK
  • Stop Agrexco Roma
  • Stop the Jewish National Fund Campaign, UK
  • South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU)
  • Trade Union Friends of Palestine (ICTU), Ireland
  • Un ponte per, Italy
  • US Campaign for the Academic Boycott of Israel
  • US Citizens for Peace & Justice
  • US Palestinian Community Network
  • Vic to Gaza first Convoy, Italy
  • War Times/Tiempo de Guerras, USA
  • Washington Interfaith Alliance for Middle East Peace, USA
  • WESPAC Foundation, NY, USA
  • Women in Black- Strasbourg, France
  • Women of Color in GWS
  • Women for Justice and Peace, UK
  • Women for Palestine, Australia
  • 14 Friends of Palestine, Marin, California, USA

Ramadan begins with the killing of two Palestinians

2 August 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

At 3am Qalandia refugee camp was invaded by the Israeli army. Approximately 300 soldiers raided the camp, shooting live ammunition directly at people,  killing two Palestinians. The two young men, Mutasin Issa Udwan who was 22 years old was declared to have passed away when he was shot in the head. Ali Khalifa, 23,  was shot in his stomach and died on the way to Ramallah hospital.

 

According to the military it was a “routine search and arrest” operation, in fact the Israeli army also arrested two palestinians Wajih Ayman Al-Khatib and Anas Manasrah.

Witnesses said that the snipers were positioned on roofs and shot directly at anyone who was exiting the houses.

At noon thousands of people from the camp attended the funerals of the two young men and proceeded to march through the camp to the cemetery to bury their declared martyrs.

IDF shoots live ammunition at ISM activists at sea

24 July 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, Gaza

On Saturday the ISM crew for CPS Gaza rode out on the trawler that rescued us during the second attack on the Oliva on Thursday, July 14th.  As I mentioned before, the Oliva project is currently on an indefinite hiatus.  Nils, Joe and I went to the port at 7:10 am and we rode out to sea around 7:30.  There were 3 adult Palestinian men on the boat and two young boys.  Joe, Nils and I sat on the deck of the ship’s bow and the captain and other passengers stayed in the middle and back of the vessel. Around the 2 to 2.5 mile point we spotted the Israelis coming towards us from the north.  When they were still about a mile’s distance from us I called them over the radio and said that we were “Unarmed international observers on board, 2 United States citizens and one Swedish citizen.”  I repeated this a number of times but they continued to approach us at a high speed.  Joe and I were on the bow of the boat when we noticed that the Israeli Navy was now about 100 meters from us and had fired 2 shots into the water.  We retreated to the center of the boat where the steering cabin is and I repeated again over the radio that we were “unarmed international observers.”  This did nothing to sway their actions and they fired live rounds both in the water and directly at the boat for around 15 or 20 minutes.  Joe returned to the front of the boat and tried speaking to them over the megaphone, repeating the fact that we were internationals and that the boat had no hostile or military intentions and the captain and his crew were just going to fish.  By this point the trawler had reached the 3-mile limit.  The captain desperately wanted to go further out to 4 or 5 miles because the 3-mile area is completely overfished and he said “it’s better to return home than to even bother fishing here.” While the shooting was still taking place, we decided to have Nils speak to them over the radio so they could hear someone with a Swedish accent.  We were holding out desperate hope that our status as internationals would save the boat and allow the men to fish.  At one point the gunboat retreated slightly—only to double-back and continue harassing us.  Nils repeatedly said over the radio, “Israel, why do you do this?  We are peaceful people, we mean you no harm.”  After at least 30 minutes of creating turbulence and shooting live rounds at us the boat retreated again, this time for good.  I jumped back on the radio and told them to “let us go, we are not hostile and the captain only wants to fish.”  The Israelis responded and claimed that we were past 3 miles and were somewhere between 4 and 5 miles out to sea and insisted that I tell the captain to go back to the 3 mile mark.  The captain said that we were basically 3 miles, then he corrected that we were 3 miles and about 700 meters.  He asked me to tell them that he wouldn’t go past this point and only wanted one hour to fish here because there wouldn’t be any fish within the 3-mile limit.  He said they need to fish for food for Ramadan and there would be no food if we were to move further in to shore.   I said this to them in English several times awaiting a response since it had only been a few minutes since they had communicated with us directly.  After this the captain and his friend took the radio and begged them in a broken mixture of Arabic and Hebrew to let the boat stay where it was for one hour—just to fish—just to get food for Ramadan.  It was heartbreaking to watch.  It’s perverse that the Palestinians should have to beg for this right from an illegitimate occupying force.  Although it seemed that the Israelis weren’t concerned with the status of the international passengers as they were shooting at us, I have to assume that it would have only been worse had we not been on board.  The captain seemed used to this procedure and was firm in his decision to stay at sea to fish—in the face of Israeli violence.  After about 10 minutes had passed and the captain was still on the radio begging to be allowed a few extra hundred meters for just one hour, the gunboat left and another warship equipped with the water canon took its place.  The intensity of the water pressure seemed stronger than ever and the hit the boat for 20 or 30 minutes before we were able to get away.  Unfortunately at this point the captain saw no use in staying out there and brought the ship back to the port.  While we were riding back I leaned over the edge of the bow and saw the new bullet holes from the day’s attacks.

When I went out today, one of my intentions was to observe the situation in the absence of the Oliva, and after this experience I can say two things with confidence.  My first conclusion is that this harassment is a frequent, if not daily occurrence for Palestinian fishermen.  The second is that Israel’s claim that the Oliva is a “constant provocateur” has not a shred of validity (not that it did before, but this confirms it) as the Israeli Navy is equally if not more violent without the Oliva and its observation crew at sea.

A longer version of this report originally appeared on Against Empire, the blog of International Solidarity Movement – Gaza Strip member Alexandra Robinson.

Escalation of attacks by the Israeli navy on the CPS Gaza boat

23 July 2011 | Civil Peace Service Gaza

Footage of the second water-cannon attack by the Israeli navy against the Civil Peace Service Gaza boat “Oliva” on Thursday, July 14, 2011. The camera used was lost in the sea when the crew evacuated the “Oliva,” recovered in a fishing net, and returned on Wednesday, July 20.