Category: Features

Israeli Military Exercise on Palestinian farmers fields

19th December 2016 | International Solidarity Movement & Jordan Valley Solidarity| occupied Palestine

At around 12:30pm December 19th, 2016, the Israeli Occupation Forces blocked  the road leading to Tubas and the north of the Jordan Valley for around two hours.  Dozens of Palestinians farmers and civilians had to wait for an Israeli military exercise to conclude before being able to continue their way.

                         An Israeli soldier blocks and guards the road while Palestinians are waiting for it to open.

From the roadblock, the location of the military training could not be seen, but Jordan Valley Solidarity (JVS) received a call from a resident of the community of Khirbet Yarza saying that the exercise was actually happening in the fields of their community, 20 meters in front of their houses.   The military were also on the land of two other communities, Hamamat Al-maleh and Ras Al-Akhmar , only a few kilometers away.

                     Israeli Military exercise occurring in front of the residents’ houses of the community of Yarza

Around 20 tanks, 2 bulldozers, 5 military trucks, and 10 jeeps carrying soldiers took part in this illegal military exercise.  The tanks and bulldozers seriously damaged the farmers land including breaking the irrigation pipes that were put in the ground.

           A calf stranded between Israeli Military tanks and farmers houses of the community of Ras Al-Akhmar 

                                                        Palestinian land damaged by Israeli tanks and bulldozers

The residents also told us that the Israeli Military didn’t give them any advance notice regarding the time and the location for their operation. Therefore the Palestinians were stranded inside their houses for the whole military exercise period, as they never had the time to evacuate.  No one has been injured but the residents were extremely scared of what could have happen to them and their livestock.  At the same time, Palestinians stopped at the roadblock could only see tanks being carried away by huge lorry to an unclear area.  While waiting, they could hear large explosions coming from the other side of the hills, making them jumpy, nervous and anxious.
                                    A lorry carries two Israeli tanks to the illegal military training exercise area

This part of the Jordan Valley is in Area C  (under Israeli control) and was declared by Israeli Forces a “closed military zone”, meaning that it is forbidden for Palestinian to walk around those lands.  Cars riding on the adjacent road cannot stop and if they do, the drivers risk being arrested and their car confiscated. There are military observation tours all around the Jordan Valley, consequently the arrest and confiscation are a real threat.  The only reason for Palestinians to stop their cars is a military roadblock.

On that day, not only farmers and drivers had their daily activity seriously affected but also the children attending school. The children from villages in this part of Area C must go to Tubas to attend school as there are none in their village due to restrictions imposed by Israel. The students are therefore bussed everyday to Tubas. But today, at the end of their class, they had to walk their way back home as the bus was stopped at the roadblock and could not get through to pick them up.  Most of the children had to walk in that frightening environment for seven to eight kilometers in order to reach their home.

                                                           Palestinians children walking back home from Tubas.

The Israeli Occupation Forces have conducted illegal military exercises around the Jordan Valley for many years. Not only blocking roads at any other moment but also forcing villagers to evacuate their homes for days while proceeding with their military exercises around and inside the villages.  A few months ago, in Yirza, Israeli bulldozers arrived in the village, destroying the connection of the irrigation pipes. The residents repaired the damaged connection but, once again, Israeli military tanks drove around their fields, passing on top of the pipes and destroying them, again.

Over the last few years, citizens all around the Jordan Valley have seen an increase in the confiscation of their land by Israeli Forces. These large patches of land are now used by the Israeli Forces as bases and for training exercises. All along the road at the edge of these lands, we can now see concrete blocks indicating the closed-military-zone, which forbids anyone to trespass on these areas. Therefore, shepherds and farmers have been deprived of their only means to provide for their families.  Other lots were given to Israeli settlers for agricultural development, which only benefit Israeli economy.

                                                               Israeli Military base in the Jordan Valley

Despite the continuous demonstration of control and power by Israel over Palestine, the resilience of the population from the Jordan Valley remains intact.

                                                      Palestinian kids playing football on an open land near Fasayel

7 year old boy targeted in Kafr Qaddum

23th December 2016 |  Popular Resistance Committee of Kafr Qaddum |  occupied Palestine

Today, Friday December 23rd, 2016, the village started its march as usual toward the blocked road. Suddenly 12 soldiers from a special unit of the Israeli occupation force surprised them in an ambush, and attacked and arrested a 7 year old Palestinian child.  Twelve heavily armed soldier’s surrounded the boy, attacking him.  One of them forcefully grabbed the boy from his neck, questioning him about his father.  Three Palestinians were also injured with rubber bullets.

Masked members of the Israeli security forces briefly detain a Palestinian boy during clashes following a demonstration against the expropriation of Palestinian land by Israel in the village of Kfar Qaddum, near Nablus, in the occupied West Bank on December 23, 2016. / AFP / JAAFAR ASHTIYEH

Kafr Qaddum’s weekly protests have been occurring since July 2011 to take back the road that connects their village to the city of Nablus, elongating Palestinians commute by 14 kilometers. These demonstrations are always met by the Israeli occupation forces and/or border police, who throw sound grenades, tear gas, rubber coated steel bullets, and at times live ammunition to prevent the nonviolent protesters from executing their democratic rights.

The young boy was released after one hour, and he told his father, “I was very afraid. I didn’t know what to do. I just began shouting between 12 huge soldiers, and one of them hanged me from my neck and asked me about my father”. The boy continues to experience post traumatic stress, shaking continuously, and sharing more and more of the experience to his family.

Remembering Ziad Abu Ein

13th December 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, Huarra team |  occupied Palestine

                                                                  Ziad Abu Ein- 22-11-1959/10-12-2014

On December 9th,2016, hundreds of people gathered in the small village of Turmas Ayya, north of Ramallah, to commemorate the death of Ziad Abu Ein, a high profile Palestinian politician, Minister and Fatah leader, who died after inhaling tear gas and being violently beaten by Israeli Forces on Dec 10th, 2014.  This event also marked the third year of demonstrations against the uprooting of hundreds of trees by Israeli settlers and the confiscation of land by Israel in Turmas Ayya. The Commission Against the Wall and the Settlements organized this event together with the Abu Ein family. Representatives of political parties as well as dozens of internationals also participated in the tree planting, and reclaiming the land, which followed the midday prayer.

     Men praying in the land nearby the village of Turmas Ayya. Olive trees waiting to be planted.

Not long after the prayer, while people were planting trees, Israeli Forces arrived and started shooting tear gas from up on the hill. The peaceful and non-violent event was once again interrupted by the excessive and brutal use of force by Israeli soldiers.  Once again, tree planting turned into tear gas.                                                                        Tear gas thrown to the crowd

The land of Turmus Ayya is divided by Area B and Area C. The tree planting took part on Area B land, and just above the event in Area C, dozens of “shabab” (teenagers and young Palestinian men) were making small fires while carrying Palestinian flags and protesting against the Israeli occupation force. Within minutes, two jeeps and several armed soldiers appeared. Thus began a stand off where stones were thrown, and tear gas followed beginning with one canister at a time.

                Stand off. Israeli Occupation Forces observing the crowd and the shabab movement.

As the clash continued to stir, more and fast rounds of the gas erupted into the air. The “shabab” starter running downhill and soldiers began to race down chasing the group.

                                                          Palestinian Youths and Israeli soldiers

 

               Israeli Occupation Forces chasing down the hill the Palestinian “shabab”.

Two soldiers managed to catch a fourteen-year-old boy. They pinned him to the ground, punched him while holding down his body, and then picked him up and dragged him back up the hill towards the jeep.

                                     A fourteen-year-old boy being pinned down by Israeli Forces.

                                                   The teenager being arrested and dragged up the hill.

At that point, there were about twenty-five soldiers spread out along the hillside, and a still tension awaiting the next move. Some of the young boys came close to the soldiers and a few more tear gas canisters were thrown up. Eventually negotiations began with leaders of the demonstrations and members of the Turmus Ayya village.  They told the Israeli Forces that they will not leave until they release the boy.  Hours later, he was indeed released; a positive moment in the constant battle for the Palestinian’s basic rights.

This day of remembering Ziad Abu Ein, whose life was taken for the resistance struggle, is the reality that people are still fighting, still standing up for the rights to their land and to a free Palestine.

People disperse after the confrontation and leave behind newly planted olive trees.

After a good day comes a bad day

8th December 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

On 7th December 2016, Israeli forces at Shuhada checkpoint in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron) detained a group of teachers from nearby Qurtuba school, and then in collective punishment closed the checkpoint to everyone. Just after the teachers were finally allowed to reach their school, the Israeli occupying forces detained a father with his young son who were trying to reach a hospital for medical treatment, and in the end denied them to pass.

Teachers from the Qurtuba school are forced to go through the Shuhada checkpoint every day in order to reach their job.  On this particular day, the soldiers who are permanently stationed there, refused eight teachers to get to their students, holding them for more than 1.5 hours.  Qurtuba school, thus, had to start their day with the majority of the teachers absent.  Not only are teachers and students at the whim of the occupying army as to when and how they commute, they also have restricted access to the staircase connecting Shuhada Street with the school during school hours. The actual staircase leading to the school has been closed by Israeli forces as part of their attempts to ethnically cleanse Shuhada Street.

The teachers refused to leave and give up.  Instead, they waited outside the checkpoint demanding to be allowed to reach their school.  Israeli forces in an act of collective punishment closed the checkpoint, denying anyone else to pass. Thus, residents were stuck outside the checkpoint as well, adding to the number of people attempting to reach their homes or school. A man asking the soldiers to allow him to pass was told by the soldiers, that he could only pass if the teachers leave. Finally, after more than 1.5 hours, the teachers were allowed to pass, except for one female teacher, whom they kept inside the checkpoint box, claiming that she was not a teacher. The director of the school countered that she was recently updated to the list, and that the soldiers clearly missed adding her, and in the end, all the teachers were allowed to pass. This kind of arbitrary detainment of teachers, and at times also school-students, is not new to the Qurtuba school.

Israeli forces discussing with teachers, seen from the other side of the checkpoint

One man trying to pass during that time kept telling the soldiers that he just needed to bring several kilos of rice home.    Soldiers told him that he’ll have to wait till the situation with the teachers is resolved, and that “you have a good day, you have a bad day”. When he was finally allowed to pass once the teachers were gone, one of the soldiers, (first making sure that the Palestinian would not understand), insulted him in Hebrew calling him a ‘son of a bitch’.  When the man complained to another soldier, he was told to leave.

After that, Israeli forces detained a father with his son, as they were trying to reach a nearby hospital. The man lives in this area, and passes this checkpoint daily without any problems. On this day though, Israeli forces decided that his name is not on their list of ‘registered Palestinian residents’ – meaning that he was not given a number, which would allow him to pass. Therefore Israeli forces kept him waiting with his son, locked up in the exit of the checkpoint, with the turnstile locked, even after the man explained to them that he was taking his son to see a doctor. In the beginning, soldiers said that ‘there’s no hospital’ in this area and they don’t know a hospital there. Even when the man showed them a paper of the hospital, they would still not allow him to pass. When approached by internationals, the occupying forces insisted that they were ‘doing everything they can to let him pass’, while keeping the turnstile, that would allow him to pass, firmly locked. Israeli forces furthermore were adamant that they were not denying the boy medical treatment, as he would get it – eventually.  Instead of asking whether his treatment was urgent or not, the soldiers deemed themselves qualified to decide this.  They firmly insisted, that they can’t let him pass ‘yet’.

In the end, the boy and his father were denied from reaching the hospital, as one of the soldiers blamed the father, stating that it’s the father’s fault for even bringing his son to the checkpoint, rather than going another way.  This other route, that he was speaking of, was the longer and more expensive way around adding about 20 minutes to his trip.   This is a ridiculous attempt to move the attention from their lack of consideration for even allowing children to reach a hospital. This is a place where an occupying army can put the fault on the civilian (who thus far had no problems ever passing this checkpoint) bringing his sick son on the quickest way possible to treatment.  This then leaves the occupied population in the hands of a force that can determine their needs and lives.  In a city where every Palestinian is at the pure mercy of the occupying forces, expecting even the tiniest bit of humanity to be extended to them – futile.

Join now: ISM-Training in England!

6th December 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, England support group | England

ISM-England is offering a training for interested ISM-volunteers in Sheffield on 18th and 19th of February ! If you’re interested in joining the team on the ground in Palestine, make sure to reserve the date and join the training.
Any volunteer is required to participate in training before joining activities in Palestine. This training will prepare you for the solidarity work with communities in Palestine, give you a first impression, connect with people that have been in Palestine, and give you the chance to have all your questions answered!

Even if you’re not interested in joining activities in Palestine, but feel passionate about human rights for Palestinians, contact ISM England and get involved in advocacy work at home.

For any questions, signing-up for the training and more information please contact ISM England on training.ismlondon@riseup.net.