11th February 2018 | International Solidarity Movement, Ramallah team | Occupied Palestine
On Tuesday morning, Ahed Tamimi once again was brought before an Israeli military court at the Ofer Military Prison. Despite objections from the Tamimi family and Ahed’s lawyer, all media and foreign diplomats were barred from entering the court room during the trial. The prosecution read the 12 charges against Ahed, to which she declined to respond. The 17 year old, who recently celebrated her birthday behind bars, will remain under administrative detention in Israeli prison. Her next court date is on March 11.
ISM sat down to speak with Ahed’s father, Bassem Tamimi, at the family home in Nabi Saleh to discuss the events of the trial. About the court’s decision to remove the media and diplomats from the court room, Bassem told ISM “[The Israelis] don’t want to show the world it’s just a theatre.” Bassem also told ISM about the poor conditions of Ahed’s imprisonment, but said that his daughter was still strong despite her treatment.
When asked if he had any hopes for the upcoming trial he said “No, they are a state above the law”.
Protesters gather on the closed road in front of the illegal settlement Kadumim
10th February 2018 | International Solidarity Movement, Ramallah team | Occupied Palestine
Yesterday in Kfar Qaddum Israeli armed forces fired live ammunition at peaceful protesters, luckily without injuries. The 8th of February marked 30 years since Kfar Qaddum’s first march during the Intifada, when villager Abed al Baset Jumal was murdered by masked settlers. Locals gathered today in honor of Baset Jumal as well as in protest of a road blockage that inhibits access to their village; this road has been closed to locals since 2003. The soldiers also fired several rounds of rubber coated steel bullets, teargas and sound bombs.
The march started after the Friday prayer, with the local Boy Scout group accompanying protesters with drums up the main road. Israeli soldiers had positioned themselves on the hill between Kfar Qaddum and the illegal settlement of Kadumim, and before any confrontations started with the protesting youth, the soldiers started to fire live ammunition.
Local boy scouts group performs drum line to commence the protest.
Throughout the protest the military fired tear gas, sound bombs and rubber coated steel bullets, but as one of the protesters noted, “live ammunition hasn’t been used in this way for six years – fired so much, without any reason and directly at the protesters.”
A protester is throwing back a teargas canister fired by the Israeli army
Murad Shtawie, who is a community leader and organizer in Kfar Qaddum also told the ISM-ers how during the first intifada 30 years ago, the villagers of Kfar Qaddum had one of their first protests where 28-year old Abed al Baset Jumal was killed by masked settlers. Many protests were arranged in the West Bank during this time, and often met by consistent settler violence. On February 8th 1988, a bus with settlers approached the protest in the east of the village. The settlers were dressed in koffias speaking Arabic, and told the villagers they were on their side. When Abed approached to bid them welcome, one of them pulled a gun and killed him with two bullets – one in the head and one in the neck. The protesters also commemorated this yesterday.
The settler violence is ongoing to present day. About three days ago, settlers from the illegal settlement of Kadumim threw rocks at a farmer north of the village injuring him in the head. He is recovering in the hospital with six stitches.
Israeli soldiers throw sound bombs at the demonstrators.
12th January 2018 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus team | Occupied Palestine
Today in Kfar Qaddum the protesters, marching towards the road closed off due to the illegal settlement of Kadumim, were suppressed by Israeli military. Protesters were met with teargas and rubber coated steel bullets. Luckily there were no serious injuries. Three days ago though, hundreds of settlers from the illegal settlement of Havat Gilad attacked the neighboring village of Far’ata.
When ISMers spoke to the protesters in Kfar Qaddum, they expressed more relief than usual about there being no serious injuries today. “There is so much violence around the West Bank right now, so if something happened here we fear that it would go unnoticed.” says the main coordinator Murad Shtawi. He showed ISM the video taken by his friends in Far’ata where dozens of settlers forcibly enter the village.
Following the funeral of a recently killed settler from the illegal outpost of Havat Gilad, dozens of settlers attacked the nearby village of Far’ata. The settlers from the illegal outpost threw stones at seven Palestinian homes, breaking windows and causing other property damage. The attacking settlers also damaged trees belonging to Palestinian villagers.
Photos from the security cameras in the Far’ata families’ homes.
The illegal outpost of Havat Gilad, founded in 2002, has had numerous incidents of land theft, destruction, vandalism, and violence towards nearby Palestinian villages. The illegal outpost is scheduled for demolition under an international agreement, but Israel has yet to remove the illegal outpost. Outposts, like Havat Gilad, are illegal under Israeli and International law.
The villagers in Kfar Qaddum have been protesting the effects of the illegal settlement Kadumim since 2011. Apart from the land theft, which is still ongoing, in 2003 the villagers lost their main connection with Nablus increasing their commute to almost an hour instead of previous ten minutes.
20th of December 2017 | Samidoun, Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network | Occupied Palestine
UPDATE: Bassem Tamimi, Ahed’s father, has also been arrested by Israeli occupation forces as he went to the court where his daughter and wife are held. Samidoun are updating the alert below and urge people to join the call to free Ahed and Nariman!
UPDATE: Nariman Tamimi, Ahed’s mother, has also been arrested by Israeli occupation forces as she went to the Benjamin occupation police station to support her daughter, reported Bassem Tamimi on Facebook. We are updating our alert below and urge people to join the call to free Ahed and Nariman!
Ahed Tamimi, 16 years old and a prominent activist in the occupied Palestinian village of Nabi Saleh, whosecourage along with that of her family in standing up to armed Israeli soldiers, land confiscation and settlement construction stealing the resources and even the well of their village has become world-renowned, was seized by occupation soldiers who invaded the Tamimi family home on the morning of 19 December 2017.
Ahed’s father, Bassem, posted on Facebook that Ahed was targeted for arrest after she was attacked by Israeli media after she protested occupation soldiers in Nabi Saleh who shot a 14-year-old boy in the head with a rubber-coated metal bullet; the boy, Mohammed Tamimi, is in a medically-induced coma. Tamimi reported that the soldiers violently invaded the home, hitting Ahed’s mother, Nariman Tamimi, and siblings, and confiscating phones, cameras, laptop and other electronics. Ahed was taken away by the occupation soldiers to an unknown location.
Ahed’s visa to the United States in early 2017 was put under “administrative review,” when she was to participate in a tour across the U.S. with writer and activist Nadya Tannous and Black liberation activist and minister Amanda Weatherspoon on Palestinian-Black solidarity and joint struggle. The lengthy delay and effective visa denial meant that Ahed was unable to join the tour live.
Photo: Rumbo a Gaza, 2017
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network denounces the arrest of Ahed Tamimi and Nariman Tamimi, the latest of over 450 Palestinians arrested by Israeli occupation forces following U.S. President Donald Trump’s declaration of recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Issa Qaraqe of the Palestinian Prisoners Affairs Commission stated that approximately half of those detained, like Ahed, Abdul-Khalik Burnat and Fawzi al-Junaidi, are children. There are hundreds of Palestinian children jailed by Israel and frequently subject to beatings, abuse, and interrogations without parents or lawyers present in violation of the law. We urge people of conscience around the world to take action to demand freedom for Ahed and her fellow detained and jailed Palestinian children in occupation detention centers, interrogation centers and prisons – and for Nariman Tamimi and all detained and imprisoned Palestinians.
The resistance of the Palestinian people has never been quelled by arrests or repression, and it must be clear that we, around the world, stand alongside the Palestinian people as they defend Jerusalem and their entire land and people under attack. This includes standing with detained and jailed Palestinian prisoners in their struggle for liberation for themselves, their people, and their occupied homeland.
TAKE ACTION:
For supporters in the US: Call your member of Congress to support H.R. 4391, the Promoting Human Rights by Ending Israeli Military Detention of Palestinian Children Act. Tell them specifically about Ahed’s arrest, and urge them to act for her release. Click here to tell your member of Congress to support the bill. Tell them to pressure Israel to free Ahed and other detained Palestinian kids.
For international supporters: Call your government officials and demand action for Ahed Tamimi and other Palestinian child prisoners, and freedom for Nariman Tamimi.Call your country’s officials urgently:
Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop: + 61 2 6277 7500
Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland: +1-613-992-5234
European Union Commissioner Federica Mogherini: +32 (0) 2 29 53516
New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully: +64 4 439 8000
United Kingdom Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson: +44 20 7008 1500
United States President Donald Trump: 1-202-456-1111
Call your nearest Israeli embassy and let them know that you know about the detention of Ahed Tamimi in Nabi Saleh and other Palestinian child prisoners. Demand Ahed, her mother Nariman, and the other detained children be immediately released. Contact infomation here: https://embassy.goabroad.com/embassies-of/israel
Join one of the many protests for Jerusalemand distribute this post and other news about Ahed and the Palestinian prisoners. Get others involved in the struggle for Palestinian freedom! Build the campaign for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel and complicit corporations like HP and G4S.
