26th March 2017 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine
Dozens of Palestinians gathered in Tel Rumeida, al Khalil, to protest against the annual AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) conference held in Washington, DC. Lacking the freedom of movement to protest in DC, the people of Hebron still want their voices to be heard.
24th March 2017 | International Solidarity Movement, Ramallah team | Al-Mughayyir, occupied Palestine
On 24th March 2017 the popular resistance in Al-Mughayyir, north-east of Ramallah, held a demonstration against a new illegal outpost which was established approximately 10 days ago by Israeli settlers who set up caravans on Palestinian land. Basic buildings and infrastructure have already been built along with a new access road, all of which are protected by barbed wire and the constant presence of Israeli soldiers. Live ammunition was fired at Palestinian protesters injuring five, according to a Palestinian news agency.
The protest, which mobilized the people of four nearby towns and other popular struggle committees, was quickly repressed by Israeli forces, who fired teargas, live ammunition and rubber-coated steel bullets at demonstrators, injuring several Palestinians in the process.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1me_pTDS3E
The action started with Palestinian demonstrators – who were joined by international and Israeli activists – gathering at the bottom of the hill where, according to local sources, the new outpost may eventually give way to a new settlement. At around 11:00, shortly after the demonstration had started, the Israeli forces stationed at the illegal settlement began firing teargas canisters in an attempt to disperse the demonstrators.
The clashes continued with some attempts made by the Palestinians to get closer to the illegal outpost. However, Israeli forces began throwing stun grenades and firing at demonstrators with both rubber-coated steel bullets and live ammunition. Tear gas was fired by Israeli forces throughout the demonstration and Palestinians responded to the aggressors by throwing stones and returning tear gas canisters towards the soldiers.
At around 12:30 the Israeli forces established a new strategic position at the bottom of the hill, intensifying their use of live ammunition. From here, a soldier with a sniper rifle fitted with a silencer fired at protesters with live ammunition. ISM activists witnessed three Palestinians sustaining injuries from live ammunition during the clashes. Though the demonstration began to disperse at around 13:00, Israeli forces continued to fire tear gas whilst the protesters fled the hill and back to their villages. Israeli forces flanked the road back to Al-Mughayyir.
This new illegal outpost is being established on Palestinian land shared by the villages of Al-Mughayyir, Abu Falah and Kufr Malik and will possibly serve to replace the recently evicted Amona illegal settlement. Despite heavy repression by Israeli forces, Palestinian resistance to the illegal annexation of their land continues. The UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (2013) recently documented settler violence against the residents of Al-Mughayyir.
23rd March 2017 | International Solidarity Movement, Ramallah Team | Kafr ad-Dik, Occupied Palestine
On 21st of March, Palestine celebrated their Mother’s Day. A group of Palestinian and international activists visited the village of Kafr ad Dik in the Salfit municipality. The activists delivered roses to the mothers and relatives of political prisoners and sat down with them to hear their stories. The action was organised by three Palestinian groups: Target Association for Rural Development – Burin; Handala Center for Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners; and, Retaj Foundation for Women.
The following is a summary of their stories, a glimpse into the 6,500 political prisoners (January 2017) that are imprisoned in Israeli prisons.
This action was the first day of a longer campaign to show solidarity with the families of those imprisoned by the Israeli state. The act of imprisonment places a huge strain on families, both emotionally and financially – it is important for us to show them that they are not forgotten.
I’m OK.
Actually, personally, my family and I are well, Alhamdililah! But I can feel the intensified fire under our feet.
I know the feeling. And I know the explosion that comes after it.
This week alone the Israeli apartheid government has escalated its actions, bombing Gaza daily while tightening the already lethal siege around it, announcing that the PLO fund that provides support for families of Palestinian martyrs is illegal, while killing more young boys and men, escalating land theft through settlement construction and land confiscation, and promoting a law that will regulate that theft, announcing that colonial settlers will invade al Aqsa under armed guard during Ramadan while making the call to prayer from mosques illegal … The ground under our feet is burning.
I have felt this before. And I can only conclude that those in charge of the apartheid authorities know what they are doing. I have seen them do it before. They must know the Palestinian people will not just decide to roll over and die quietly. They must want a violent reaction in response to these actions, and I have no doubt that they will get one. Young people with no hope of being allowed to live with their dignity intact and with nothing to lose will sacrifice their lives in the hope that this situation will change for others.
And the apartheid authorities will then respond by doing what they do best: a torrent of death and destruction that they can then display at the international arms trade exhibitions, with clinically proven, effective weapons, tested live in the modern battlefield of urban warfare, on a besieged and imprisoned population. They will show your military and police force, “We got them where it hurts, we destroyed essential public infrastructure and killed x people in x days and, the best part is, we got away with it. If we can do it, you can do it too. All you need is a smart system of security cameras and a fleet of killer drones. All for the discount price of …” and your countries are literally buying this.
Now tell me again why BDS makes you uncomfortable?
21st March 2017 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil Team | Hebron, Occupied Palestine
In the early morning of the 21st March a group of Israeli forces carried out ID checks and body searches on young Palestinian men and children on their morning commutes through the souk (old market) of Hebron.
Two ISM activists were walking to a checkpoint to monitor and report on violations of freedom of movement when they encountered large numbers of Israeli soldiers in the souk. Local Palestinians were ordered at gunpoint to throw their ID cards on the ground for inspection, and many were subjected to body searches and made to sit in the road. One boy was ordered to remove his shoes and toss them towards the soldiers before being made to sit on the cold ground for over fifteen minutes.
Cars were also stopped, delayed, or diverted. One Palestinian shop owner was forced to leave his van whilst he and it were both searched by Israeli forces.
The incursion lasted for over an hour before the Israeli forces returned through the gate which leads to the military base, having searched over fifteen Palestinians and delayed many more. Incursions such as this highlight the restrictions on freedom of movement faced by Palestinians in Hebron and across the West Bank every day.
