The 2nd of July 2018 is four years to the day since the kidnapping and murder of Mohammed Abu
Khdeir, a 16 year old Palestinian boy from Shu’fat in East Jerusalem. The shocking nature of his
murder and its context, occurring only 6 days before Israeli bombing campaigns in Gaza, make it a
painful memory for Palestinians.
Mohammed was waiting for friends to eat the pre-dawn meal in Ramadan and was outside his home
at 3.45 in the morning. He was dragged into a car by two or three settlers. He screamed “father, save
me!”. The four settlers who took part (two of whom were minors) then proceeded to beat
Mohammed, covered him in petrol and set him on fire while he was still alive. The autopsy confirmed he had inhaled the burning material confirming he was still alive when he was set on fire and that he suffered internal as well as external burns covering 90% of his body.
Relatives of Mohammed Abu Khdeir hold pictures of him outside his home in Jerusalem (photo: the Guardian)
While many in the Israeli government expressed condolences the violence against the boy’s family
was not yet at an end. His cousin Tariq, a US citizen, was beaten and arrested by police in east
Jerusalem only a few days later. He recalled “they hit me, and they kept hitting me and then I fell
asleep and then I woke up in the hospital.” The police said there he had been involved in violence
but journalists noted that there was no mention of this accusation at the court hearing. He was 15 at
the time.
While the killers were eventually sentenced (although the minors may be released in under 15 years)
the horrific incident must not be viewed as an isolated outbreak. Instead it should be located within
a collection of sentiments coming from the settler community, the military, the media and the
government of Israel. The inevitable result is terrorism against Palestinians. From Mohammed’s killer
Ben-David to the settlers who spat at the Abu Khdeir family when they arrived in court, to even the
Israeli government, the Palestinians and their children are “little snakes” and “Wild Beasts” and
legitimate targets for violence. At 16 Mohammed Abu Khdeir was training to be an electrician.
Mahmoud Sawalhi is an 11 year-old boy from Gaza who was shot in the head and the shoulder with live ammunition by an Israeli sniper on the 14th May Great Return March protests. A bullet passed through his eye and out of the top of his head, and he lost both his eye and part of his brain. His heart stopped twice in the ambulance on the way to the hospital in Gaza, and he fell into a coma for 6 days. You can watch this short video showing Mahmoud in hospital the day after he was shot.
Mahmoud in hospital in Gaza in the first days after he was shot. Image given with permission by Mahmoud’s family
Three days after he was shot, Mahmoud was transferred to a hospital in Ramallah, where he has some cousins, but he doesn’t know them very well because of the travel restrictions between Gaza and the West Bank. He had only met his cousin Samar once before when she visited Gaza for a day a year or so earlier. He didn’t recognise many of the faces he saw around him when he regained consciousness. Mahmoud’s immediate family were not allowed to travel from Gaza to the West Bank to be with him at the hospital and so he was parted from his parents and close family for over two weeks while his condition was critical. The process of getting permission to cross from the Israeli authorities was difficult, and at first Feda waited 7 hours at the Erez crossing before being turned back, despite having a permit for travel to the West Bank. The Israeli authorities then eventually allowed Mahmoud’s mother Feda to travel to be with her son in hospital, and she is still here with him.
Last Wednesday Mahmoud had an operation to remove the remaining part of his eye in the socket to prepare for a possible replacement from a donor. His condition during and after the operation was critical, and the medical team knew there was a high risk of infection. He suffered from a fever after the operation, but has since stabilised and his condition is now better. ISM visited Mahmoud and his family in hospital a few weeks ago and again today. His mother told us ‘I just want him to be a normal boy again, I just want him to be a normal child again.’ Mahmoud is doing much better than when we saw him last, but he is likely to have severe brain damage and need a great deal of support during his long-term recovery. We asked him what he wants to do when he gets out of hospital and he says ‘I want to go to the beach’. Before he was shot, Mahmoud loved to swim in the sea.
Mahmoud in his hospital bed in Ramallah in the week before his operation.
Given the conditions in Gaza where medical services have been overwhelmed with injuries deliberately inflicted by Israeli forces, Mahmoud was lucky to be transferred for treatment outside of Gaza. A WHO report for April showed that only around a third of those injured by Israeli forces in the Great Return March demonstrations were allowed to cross to Palestine, much lower than the general approval rate of 60% for medical crossings earlier this year. In 2017 the approval rating for medical exit permits from Gaza was the lowest since 2008, at around 54%, and that year 54 Palestinians died after the denial or delay of their permits by Israel.
Since the Great Return March protests began on 30 March this year, over 135 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza. Head of government hospitals in Gaza, Abdullatif al-Haj, has told press that there are severe shortages of medicines. The total number of injuries is reportedly over 13,000, with over 350 seriously injured, and over 2000 children injured. Israeli forces have also been targeting medical personnel themselves. On the day Mahmoud was shot, 17 medical personnel were shot with live ammunition by Israeli snipers, and one was killed. On Friday 1st June a 21 year old medical volunteer, Razan al-Najjar was shot in the chest while treating the wounded near the fence. The sheer number of injuries in Gaza has overwhelmed the already troubled hospitals, which is why many of the seriously injured apply for a medical permit to be treated in East Jerusalem or the West Bank.
Mahmoud was one of these cases to be allowed to cross to Ramallah, but he will be forced to return to Gaza with his mother Feda as soon as his critical treatment is over. Mahmoud’s family are worried about the treatment needed for his recovery and rehabilitation longer term. It is likely that he will have lasting brain damage and psychological problems caused by his injuries. At the moment he can speak and interact, but in a limited way, and he is not expressing himself well. His family are particularly worried about his chances for rehabilitation once he returns to Gaza, because of the poor resources and medical capacity in the occupied Gaza strip.
Mahmoud’s family are appealing for international support to help in his long-term medical treatment. Maybe you can help with the following:
• His family would like advice from anyone who can offer medical consultation on the best course of rehabilitation for Mahmoud now. • If he has to return to Gaza, his treatment will suffer, and his family do not have funds to support the complex rehabilitation he needs. Specifically they are asking for financial assistance to help cover the costs for rehabilitation equipment and treatment. • Please contact Mahmoud’s cousin Samar: samar.sawalhi@hotmail.com if you can help in any way.
Mahmoud resting during our visit today. His family are worried about his long term recovery, particularly the brain damage he has suffered, and prospects for his rehabilitation.
Translated by Badee Dueik and interpreted for written article by ISM members
Abdullah and Saleh live with their families in the Tel Rumeida area of occupied Hebron, under Israeli control. They are both twelve, and have been best friends for around four years. They are the youngest members of Human Rights Defenders (HRD), a collective of Palestinian activists who use journalism and video to expose the daily crimes committed by the Israeli occupation forces and Zionist settlers in Al-Khalil. We talked to them about their work, their motivation and their experiences on the job.
Saleh and Abdullah, both 12
How did you become involved with Human Rights Defenders?
Abdullah: I love doing this. I had my camera with me most of the time anyway to film my friends, but I started filming for HRD about a year ago. Our dads [Badee Dueik and Imad Abu-Shamsiya, both prominent members of Human Rights Defenders and local activists] taught us how to catch violence from the army and humiliation of Palestinians by soldiers and settlers on video.
Saleh: I’ve been documenting the crimes of the occupation since I was about eight. Step by step, I learnt how to use the camera by filming the soldiers. Our dads helped with the technical side like editing, gave us ideas about how to make films or where to film from, and taught us how to protect each other.
And how do you protect each other?
Saleh: One of us is always filming the other. In February, we were filming soldiers detaining Palestinians by the Ibrahimi Mosque, taunting and humiliating them. Then they arrested Abdullah, but I managed to get away and made sure to film the whole thing. This helped with the arrest because we knew where they took Abdullah, and it was proof that he hadn’t done anything wrong. There was no media around – I was the only one there, so if I hadn’t filmed it we don’t know what might have happened.
Abdullah: Before that, in October, I was arrested and kept for a day by the soldiers, and Saleh filmed that too. I was on the way to visit my grandparents, when they arrested 18 kids including me because they said we had been throwing stones. My dad was in Ireland at the time, and only found out when he saw the video of me being taken on our facebook page.
Saleh: We use the videos as evidence – proof that it’s the soldiers who are committing the crimes, not us. We film to expose the violations of international law by the occupation.
Have you had to deal with any other problems when you’ve been filming?
Abdullah: In December, my uncle was sick and needed to get treatment at the hospital, so my other uncle went with him. At the Zaher roundabout, the army wouldn’t let them pass and began to beat my sick uncle. When my other uncle tried to protect him, the soldiers beat him too but he managed to get away. Then they took my sick uncle to the military checkpoint, and I went to film the situation. They told me to leave but I refused – I was not doing anything illegal. So they arrested me and kept me for seven hours.
Saleh: The last time they detained Abdullah was in February when he was taken for three hours. All the adults went to march through the souq to the Ibrahimi mosque, and Abdullah and I went to represent HRD. We were filming people being humiliated, body searched and stopped. The soldiers told us to leave but we stayed to carry on filming, so they followed us and arrested Abdullah, which I filmed.
Abdullah: My dad asked the soldiers why they had arrested me. They told him it was because I was filming them, and my dad said, ‘I taught him to do that’.
Saleh: We use these small Panasonic video cameras, like all the HDR members, because they are less obvious. But the soldiers and police often confiscate or break them, which is another problem we have to face.
Saleh shows us the video cameras that HRD use
Your job can be dangerous. We’ve witnessed both of you suffering from tear gas inhalation during demonstrations at different points in the past, for instance. How do you cope with that?
Abdullah: It’s scary. Yes, I do get scared when they fire tear gas, which makes us cry, and throw stun grenades as well as firing rubber coated steel bullets and live ammunition at the Palestinian people who have nothing to protect themselves with.
Saleh: It’s dangerous but we try to protect ourselves by keeping a distance between us and the soldiers, and using the zoom on the cameras. We also try to protect the ISM volunteers by filming them.
Tell us more about what you have seen and caught on camera.
Saleh: One day the soldiers were humiliating students on their way to school in the Jaber neighbourhood by the Mafia checkpoint. Amir [another young member of Human Rights Defenders whose father, Aref Jaber, is also a local activist and part of HRD] was filming the evidence at a distance. When the soldiers saw they were being recorded they released the boy who was being searched and detained.
Abdullah: The culture of of kids being able to document the crimes of the Israeli Occupation Forces really scares them. The new law [the Knesset is currently considering a law banning the photographing or filming of soldiers, punishable with up to 10 years of prison] proves what we’re doing is working, that it’s making a difference. A kid can break Israel’s image with just a camera.
Saleh: The camera is our peaceful weapon.
Abdullah uses his camera outside his house in Tel Rumeida
What do you want to do when you’re older?
Saleh: We both want to be journalists, so we can continue to expose the crimes of the Israeli occupation. I want to work with international media, like Al-Jazeera, because it reaches more people.
Abdullah: Me too. We want to show the whole world – Arabs, Israelis and the international community – the evils of the occupation.
Saleh: I still want to work for HRD too.
Abdullah: But HRD isn’t international, remember.
Saleh: I’ll do both!
How do you get the best shots?
Saleh: Hold your filming wrist with your other hand and keep your arm holding the camera close to your body, to keep it from shaking.
Abdullah: Remember the rule of thirds – use the grid on the camera to balance what’s in the frame and leave space above the head of the person you’re filming to show where the incident is happening. We can also climb up walls and onto roofs to get a better view because we’re smaller than the others – so it can be an advantage!
Saleh: The main thing to remember is to stay safe: keep away from the soldiers and the violence.
The boys show us how to keep the camera steady
You are some of the youngest activists in the whole of Palestine! Can you tell us more about that?
Abdullah: We feel like it is our responsibility to show the international community the reality here, and one day we hope to go abroad to tell the world what is happening. I love doing this.
Saleh: Me too. It is an important message that we want to tell the world – there are kids here who are trying to show you what is happening. The occupation is not only an issue for the adults but also something the children have to suffer from right when they are born. We are documenting the daily injustices committed by Israeli forces, and this proves that even kids can use non-violent resistance to fight the occupation.
Abdullah: We record examples of what kids have to go through under this military occupation from our own point of view, like child imprisonment. Our videos can be used in the international criminal court. We upload our material to YouTube and then we can make documentaries, which many media platforms use.
Is there anything else you want to tell the people who will read your interview?
Saleh: We would like to encourage more children in Palestine to get involved by learning how to document the brutal occupation and expose the violence happening every day.
Abdullah: We want to ask international kids around the world to pick up a camera as a peaceful weapon to use against any injustice, however small.
A bemused neighbour watches as the boys enjoy being in front of the camera for once
All videos featured were filmed by Abdullah or Saleh for Human Rights Defenders.
View more of Human Rights Defenders’ work and follow here.
Sign the petition calling on Israel’s parliament to oppose the bill criminalizing the documentation of soldiers here.
This is a call for all those who believe in justice, equality and freedom to come to Palestine and support the Palestinian struggle for liberation.
Palestinian women flying kites at The Great March of Return in Gaza (Mohammed Asad, via Mondoweiss)
The International Solidarity Movement is looking for volunteers from now until the end of August to join the Summer of Return campaign. Volunteers will assist actions across Palestine that raise global awareness of the Great March of Return, large-scale popular protests in Gaza, consisting of thousands of demonstrators each Friday demanding to implement their right to return to their land and homes. While the brutal siege of Gaza has transformed the strip into an open air prison camp, it is almost impossible to enter the isolated strip. However solidarity actions with the Great March of Return are taking place across Palestine. Volunteers will support nonviolent actions of popular resistance against Israeli occupation and apartheid. Human rights defenders will also offer accompaniment to Palestinians and their communities who face daily harassment, risk of physical violence and arrest by occupation forces and settlers.
Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip attempted to cross the highly fortified fence separating the enclave (Al-Jazeera)
Since the start of the Marches, at least 135 unarmed protesters have been shot dead and more than 14,000 wounded by Israeli forces (UNOCHA), including children, medical staff, journalists, and the disabled. Gaza’s health system has been pushed to the brink of collapse, as hospitals struggle to handle an influx of serious and life-threatening injuries. Palestinians under siege in Gaza are marching home to the villages and cities from which they were expelled. They are marching out of the concentration camp that Israel has transformed Gaza into. They are marching to claim the international human right of refugees to return. Because of this, the Israeli occupying forces are murdering them in cold blood. The courage and sacrifice of this March demands all to stand up and end Israeli impunity and apartheid..
Palestinian youth play during the mass rally on April 11, 2018 (Xinhua/Stringer)
The ISM is a Palestinian-led movement which is committed to non-violent action. We will provide further information on our principles and other necessary information in a two day training course in our Ramallah office from the 2nd to the 4th July and from the 2nd to the 4th August.
12th June 2018 | Mondoweiss | Nabi Saleh, occupied Palestine
This interview with Bassem Tamimi was recorded on May 4, 2018 in the occupied village of Nabi Saleh, by International Solidarity Movement activists.
His daughter Ahed Tamimi, 17, is serving an eight-month prison sentence for slapping an Israeli soldier on the family’s property on December 15 of last year, after Israeli soldiers shot her cousin in the face.
Bassem reflects on his daughter’s choice:
‘I think more than 300 times they raided inside my house… They took my electronic devices several times. They broke the windows several times. They shot most of my children several times. My son was arrested two times. My wife was arrested five times. I was arrested nine times. I was tortured and be paralyzed for a period of time. My wife was shot in her leg, two years she couldn’t walk. My home is under a demolition order. After all of that somebody asked, why Ahed slapped a soldier? She must slap the soldier. Sometimes I feel there is a triple standard or more than in dealing with the Palestinian issue.’
Also check out Tamimi’s comments on the two-state solution (a project of the Israeli left, and the Israeli left has disappeared) and the heart of the issue: a colonization project. Till the colonization project ends, the Palestinian resistance will not cease. And notice at the beginning when he shows visitors the surveillance balloon over Nabi Saleh.
‘You see that balloon watching us? It’s a camera for watching everything.’
