Category: Features

Israeli forces raid Al-Ein refugee camp, arrest thirteen

1 November 2009

Family holding photographs of their two sons, Yassar (20) and Ahmad (17), arrested during military night raid on El-Ein refugee camp on 27 October
Family holding photographs of their two sons, Yassar and Ahmad, arrested during a night raid on El-Ein refugee camp on 27 October

Thirteen Palestinian boys were arrested in a raid on Al-Ein refugee camp outside Nablus, Wednesday 27 October. With the exception of one, all boys were aged 17, in their final year of school, and had no previous convictions. Amongst the arrested were two brothers – Yassar, 20 and Ahmad, 17. ISM activists visited the family’s home in the camp.

Yassar and Ahmad’s mother speaks frankly of the sudden, unprovoked attack on their small home in the camp. At 2am, as the family slept, Yassar was awoken by the unmistakable sounds of the Israeli military entering the camp, soldiers knocking on nearby doors and demanding to know the whereabouts of his family. Yassar ran to wake his siblings and parents as he heard a voice at the door saying “this is the house”.

A loud knock came on the door and one of Yassar’s young brothers opened it to face 10 armed Israeli soldiers, faces masked and covered in camouflage paint. The soldiers entered the home, immediately forcing all members to hand over their identity cards. The army remained in the house until 4am, forcing the entire family to stay awake in the small front room as military personnel came and went, checking their IDs, moving through the house but asking few questions. Eventually the ID cards were returned to all the family, except Yassar, who was taken by the soldiers. The family learned soon after that Ahmad, Yassar’s younger brother had been taken from his grandmother’s house nearby, along with six of his friends.

The family is in the dark as to why the two young men were arrested. Yassar had been released 2 months ago after serving 30 months in an Israeli prison, from the age of 17. During his imprisonment his family were not permitted to visit him even once. He served half of his 60 month sentence before being released on parole – now detained again, the family fears that they will not see him for another 3 years or more. Just days before, Yassar had been telling his mother of his plans for the future – to apply for technical college this week to gain certification in a trade, enabling him to leave his employment in a food factory. Now these plans may be put on hold for years to come.

Five months ago Ahmad was briefly detained for questioning by the PA, allegedly because a friend of his had mentioned his name to Israeli soldiers when he was detained at a checkpoint. The PA police subsequently came to Ahmad’s house and told his family that “We can take him now, or the Israelis can come and take him later”. Understandably, Ahmad then surrendered to the PA police. This case illustrates clearly that the Israelis can, and do, give orders to the PA, whose forces then carry out the dirty work within the West Bank for Israel.

Yassar and Ahmad are both being held at Huwwara prison and their mother alone has been granted one visit, on the 1st of November, after being in contact with different legal groups working for the rights of prisoners of the illegal occupation.

There are currently 11,000 Palestinian prisoners detained by Israel, many of them with no access to legal aid, education or their families in Palestine.

Bil’in demonstrates in solidarity with jailed activist: ‘We are all Adeeb Abu Rahmah’

Bil’in Popular Committee

30 October 2009

Adeeb Abu Rahmah was arrested on 10 July this year, and is still held in custody for taking part in organizing the village’s demonstrations. Demonstrators wore masks of his face and called for his release.

Two protestors were injured today, while several suffered from tear gas inhalation during the weekly Friday demonstration in Bil’in.

The demonstration was called by the Popular Committee Against the Wall and began after the Friday prayers. Bil’in citizens were joined by a group of international and Israeli solidarity activists and together they raised Palestinian flags and banners condemning the occupation, racist policy of building the Wall and settlements, land confiscation, road closures and detention and killing of innocent people.

Adeeb Abu Rahmah, a leading activist and organizer from the West Bank village of Bil’in has been held in detention since his arrest during a demonstration on 10 July 2009 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqaO8lFYuM0).

Bil’in’s weekly demonstration against the Wall and settlements was devoted to calling for the release of Abu Rahmah, as well as to protesting the ongoing attempts to eliminate the village’s resistance. Protesters marched on Friday wearing masks of Adeeb, declaring “We are all Adeeb Abu Rahmah”.

Abu Rahmah, who has been detained for over three months, is not suspected of committing any violence, but was indicted with a blanket charge of “incitement to violence”, which was very liberally interpreted in this case to include the organizing of grassroots demonstrations. A judge had initially ruled that Abu Rahmah is released with restrictive conditions, but an appeal filed by the military prosecution had the decision overturned, and he was remanded until the end of legal proceedings. Since the arrest, the defense has appealed this decision four times. Trials often last up to a year and Abu Rahmah is the sole provider for a family of eleven.

Abu Rahmah’s arrest came amidst an Israeli arrest and intimidation campaign that began concurrently with preliminary hearings in a Bil’in lawsuit against two Canadian companies responsible for the construction in the settlement of Modiin Illit. In almost five years of protest, 75 Bil’in residents were arrested in connection to demonstrations against the Wall. Of them, 27 have been arrested in the recent, ongoing arrest campaign. Israeli forces have been regularly invading homes and forcefully searching for demonstration participants, targeting the leaders of the Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements, as well as teenage boys accused of stone throwing. Sixteen currently remain in detention, nine of which are minors.

On 23 June 2009, the Canadian court heard the preliminary arguments for a suit brought by Bil’in against two companies registered in Canada (Green Park International & Green Mount International). The village is seeking justice against the construction of settlements on its lands under the 2000 Canadian Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Statute, which incorporates international humanitarian law into Canadian federal law. Some of the people arrested in the latest wave of arrests have reported being questioned in regards to this suit during their interrogation.

Israeli forces demolish tent of evicted family in Sheikh Jarrah

28 October 2009

On Wednesday 28 October, around 50 armed police and border police cordoned off a road in the Palestinian neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem and, as ordered by the Jerusalem Municipality, demolished a tent, where the Gawi family has been living since they were forcibly evicted from their home on 2 August 2009. The destruction occurred despite the presence of a delegation of members of the European Parliament led by Vice President Luisa Morgantini.

Sheikh Jarrah 27 October 2

At 10.15am, the Israeli forces surrounded the tent where a member of the Gawi family was preparing breakfast holding her two year old daughter. Supported by only a few people who were present in the area at this time, she tried to gather at least some of the family’s belongings and verbally protested the violent destruction of their only shelter as the police tore the tent down and confiscated everything that was left. A few mattresses and bedding were thrown in a pile on the pavement, while the tent and other belongings were loaded on a truck. Within minutes, after the police left, the family with the help from the neighbours erected another tent, providing at least minimum shelter for them.

By the time the Israeli forces completed the demolishion, a group of about 80 activists, journalists and Palestinians arrived, along with a group of UN workers and members of the European Parliament, to express solidarity witht the evicted family. The Israeli police returned and issued a warning over the loudspeaker that anyone who doesn’t leave the area within five minutes will be arrested. They then ripped down the newly erected marquee, loaded it on a truck and left.

Sheikh Jarrah 27 October 3

At the end the members of the Gawi family thanked friends and supporters for their solidarity and called on all human beings to stand with them in their resistance. The Gawi family, together with the Hannoun family, who are also living on the street nearby after they were evicted from their home, have vowed to continue their struggle to regain their houses from the Israeli settlers and intend to erect another tent whilst they continue to sleep opposite their home and in full sight of the illegal settlers who often abuse and harass them.

Background

The Gawi and Hannoun families, consisting of 53 members including 20 children, have been left homeless after they were forcibly evicted from their houses on 2 August 2009. The Israeli forces surrounded the homes of the two families at 5.30am and, breaking in through the windows, forcefully dragged all residents into the street. The police also demolished the neighbourhood’s protest tent, set up by Um Kamel, following the forced eviction of her family in November 2008.

At present, all three houses are occupied by settlers and the whole area is patrolled by armed private settler security 24 hours a day. Both Hannoun and Gawi families, who have been left without suitable alternative accommodation since August, continue to protest against the unlawful eviction from the sidewalk across the street from their homes, facing regular attacks from the settlers and harassment from the police.

The Karm Al-Ja’ouni neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah is home to 28 Palestinian families, all refugees from 1948, who received their houses from the UNRWA and Jordanian government in 1956. All face losing their homes in the manner of the Hannoun, Gawi and al-Kurd families.

The aim of the settlers is to turn the whole area into a new Jewish settlement and to create a Jewish continuum that will effectively cut off the Old City form the northern Palestinian neighborhoods. Implanting new Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank is illegal under many international laws, including Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

The plight of the Gawi, al-Kurd and the Hannoun families isjust a small part of Israel’s ongoing campaign of ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people from East Jerusalem.

Israeli police arrest Greek diplomat in Sheikh Jarrah

26 October 2006

On Monday 26 October 2009 at 4pm, a group of about 40 – 50 international and Israeli citizens, taking part in a tour organised by the Alternative Information Centre visited the Palestinian neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah. They gathered outside of the house of the Gawi family which was recently forcefully evicted from their house, only for it to be taken over by settlers.

Israeli police units summoned by the settlers occupying the Gawi family house, arrived at the scene and responded to what they claimed was an illegal demonstration by clearly disproportionate violence. In an attempt to disperse the crowd, the police arrested four participants of the tour – an Israeli rabbi, Yehiel Grenimann from Rabbis for Human Rights, a Greek diplomat, Tina Strikou and two international activists.

At first, only one police unit arrived to the area and started pushing the crowd away from the Gawi family house, to the other side of the street where the family has been living since they were forcefully evicted on 2 August 2009. Those who refused to move or moved slowly were violently pushed by the police. Two more police units arrived later and, using a loud-speaker, made an announcement in Hebrew, apparently an order to leave the area or to move to the sidewalk opposite to the Gawi family house within 5 minutes.

The police then started to collect passport information from the remaining visitors. When Tina Strikou, a Greek diplomat, protested that the police didn’t have the right to do this and demanded they return her passport, she was forcefully taken into custody.

A couple of minutes later, an Israeli rabbi Yehiel Grenimann from Rabbits for Human Rights, who was standing in the middle of the street was pushed back towards the sidewalk by a police officer. When he gently resisted, the police forcefully arrested him. He lost his glasses and a shoe while the police dragged him into their car. An international activist who was filming the arrest of the rabbi from close range became the third person to be arrested and taken away from the scene.

In the last couple of days, residents of Sheikh Jarrah have seen a rise in harassment form the police and Israeli authorities, as well as violence and provocative actions from the side of the settlers occupying houses which belong to the Gawi and Hannoun family. Last Tuesday 20 October, a group of settlers attacked several members of the Gawi family, mainly women and children. The attack resulted in seven Palestinians injured and six detained. On Sunday 18 October 2009, the police and municipality workers came to the tent where the Gawi family lives and verbally ordered them to remove the tent before Sunday 25 October 2009.

Furthermore, on Tuesday, 27 October, the second hearing of the Sabagh family from Sheikh Jarrah will take place. Similar to the families Al-Kurd, Gawi, and Hannoun, the Sabagh family is also under the threat of eviction.

Background

The Gawi and Hannoun families, consisting of 53 members including 20 children, have been left homeless after they were forcibly evicted from their houses on 2 August 2009. The Israeli forces surrounded the homes of the two families at 5.30am and, breaking in through the windows, forcefully dragged all residents into the street. The police also demolished the neighbourhood’s protest tent, set up by Um Kamel, following the forced eviction of her family in November 2008.

At present, all three houses are occupied by settlers and the whole area is patrolled by armed private settler security 24 hours a day. Both Hannoun and Gawi families, who have been left without suitable alternative accommodation since August, continue to protest against the unlawful eviction from the sidewalk across the street from their homes, facing regular attacks from the settlers and harassment from the police.

The Karm Al-Ja’ouni neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah is home to 28 Palestinian families, all refugees from 1948, who received their houses from the UNRWA and Jordanian government in 1956. All face losing their homes in the manner of the Hannoun, Gawi and al-Kurd families.

The aim of the settlers is to turn the whole area into a new Jewish settlement and to create a Jewish continuum that will effectively cut off the Old City form the northern Palestinian neighborhoods. Implanting new Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank is illegal under many international laws, including Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Israeli Forces kill Palestinian near Awarta

23 October 2009

A 29 year old man was killed by the Israeli Occupation Forces yesterday, Thursday 22 October, outside Awarta village in the southern region of Nablus. Mohammad Abed Ar-Rahman Qawariq suffered a violent death when he was thrown from his car as it was rammed by a military jeep.

Mohammad, 29 years old, was born and lived in Awarta and worked as a labourer in Israel. He leaves behind a widow and two children, one of 2 years and one of 3 months. At 4pm yesterday he drove to meet his family in their olive groves along a small road (used exclusively for farming purposes and until now has always been accessible to Palestinians) to the east of Awarta and passed two Israeli military jeeps. According to eyewitnesses, the jeeps took off after him, the first immediately attempting to ram his car from behind. The chase continued only about one kilometer further down the dirt track before soldiers fired four shots at the car’s tires, forcing Mohammad to slow quickly or come to a complete standstill, at which point he was rammed a second time by the jeep. This second collision launched Mohammad through the windscreen of his car to where he lay on the ground, convulsing and evidently still alive, as blood poured from his head.

Approximately 20 Palestinian farmers, who were working nearby and heard sounds of the crash, approached the area and witnessed Israeli soldiers, having exited the jeeps, kicking Mohammad’s legs and screaming for him to get up whilst he lay helpless on the ground. As the farmers drew nearer hoping to help him, they were forced back at gunpoint while the soldiers refused to administer first aid themselves. When asked what had happened, the soldiers repeatedly claimed to have ordered Mohammad to stop, and when this was ignored they forced him. One hour passed before an Israeli military ambulance arrived on the scene, and attempted unsuccessfully to resuscitate Mohammad. A Red Crescent ambulance arrived a few minutes thereafter from Awarta. The senior military officer present then refused to claim knowledge of the criminal act taken place, and when an army paramedic inquired as to who had been driving the jeep he was rebutted and ordered not to ask. Red Crescent paramedics subsequently attempted a second resuscitation but after an hour of intentional IOF neglect it was much too late to save Mohammad, and he was declared deceased at the site of the crash.

This senseless act of murder highlights the dangers faced constantly by Palestinians trying to live their lives under the illegal occupation of their lands. The Israeli Occupation Forces do not hesitate to handle even the slightest irregularity on the side of the Palestinians civilians with the use of excessive force, and when obvious crimes, such as the one perpetrated this Thursday occur, there is little if any hope that it will lead to a criminal investigation. It has been proven time and time again that the Israeli establishment considers the paranoias of its soldiers and settlers to be much more important than the lives of the Palestinians. Awarta has suffered more than its share of harassment and suffering, this year as well as previous ones, and it is no coincidence – It is surrounded by Israeli settlements. When looking out from atop the village, one sees the settlements of Itamar to the east, Yitzah to the west and Bracha to the east. All of these are illegal under international law and are trying to swallow up more of the Palestinian land around them, making necessary the Israeli army’s presence to protect these criminal land grabs. The tragic killing of Mohammad was but one of the more extreme results of this situation.