Category: Features - Page 86 - International Solidarity Movement

Apartheid restrictions against Palestinians

23rd March 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied West Bank

The Israeli government has announced that as of Wednesday the 23rd of March, until Sunday the 27th of March, all roads leading into or out of the occupied Palestinian territories, be it either the West Bank or Gaza will be completely closed for Palestinians.

The Erez crossing, given the Israeli governments forced closure of the Rafah crossing with the outside world, is the sole remaining pedestrian crossing connecting the Gaza Strip with Israel and the occupied West Bank. It will be closed from Wednesday to Sunday morning, again leaving the population of the occupied Gaza Strip, often referred to as the ‘biggest open air prison’, as the Israeli government effectively controls all the land borders, the sea and even airspace, is thus again locked inside the walled-off territory without any possibilities to leave.

Checkpoints connecting the occupied West Bank with Israeli-controlled territories, manned by Israeli forces – a common obstacle for Palestinians that get delayed, harassed, intimidated, questioned and detained, or even denied to pass here – will be entirely closed for Palestinians. Whereas Palestinians holding the green ‘West Bank-ID’ are only allowed to cross these checkpoints with special permits issued by the Israeli forces, that are almost impossible to attain; Palestinians living within Israel and the illegally annexed East Jerusalem will thus be prevented from using these checkpoints. This leaves any Palestinian from these areas working or attending university studies in the occupied West Bank without any possibility to reach their places of work or education, infringing on their basic human rights of education and movement – yet another restriction on day to day life that Palestinians are subjugated to under the illegal Israeli military occupation. Additionally, flying checkpoints are expected to pop up and checkpoints within the occupied West Bank and at the entrances of Palestinian cities also.

Passage through these checkpoints, it has been announced, will be limited to Christians holding permits for the holidays, ‘special humanitarian cases’ (definition of this term depending on Israeli government), foreigners and Israeli citizens. This clearly illustrates that this closure is intended on only affecting the Palestinian population (with very few exceptions like humanitarian cases and permit-holders). Israeli settlers, living in illegal settlements throughout the occupied West Bank in contrast will be allowed to freely pass into and out of the occupied West Bank.

Thus the enforced closure is only partly – based purely on the ethnicity, allowing illegal settlers and Israeli citizens free passage while barring Palestinians. This clearly qualifies as an apartheid measure taken by the Israeli government to impose yet more restrictions on Palestinians in order to facilitate the free movement of settlers. The United Nations Apartheid Convention defines apartheid as ‘inhuman acts committed for the purpose of establishing and maintaining domination by one racial group of persons over any other racial group of persons and systematically oppressing them’.

Palestinians, during this enforced closure, are yet again discriminated against based solely on the fact of being Palestinians, and their basic human rights as well as international law – supposed values guarded by the whole international community – are trampled on by Israeli forces.

Demolitions in Khirbet Jenba, South Hebron Hills

23rd March 2016 | B’Tselem | South Hebron Hills, occupied Palestine

This morning, the Israeli Civil Administration demolished a home, shed and an animal enclosure in Khirbet Jenbah, in the Masafer Yatta area of the southern Hebron Hills. The authorities also confiscated solar panels donated by an international aid agency.

Photos from Today’s demolition. Credit: Nasser Nawaj’a, B’Tselem

Residents view this move as a message from the state ahead of a High Court hearing tomorrow, 23 March 2016, at 11:30am, when Israel’s High Court of Justice will hold a hearing on a petition filed by the residents of Masafer Yatta against the Israeli Authorities’ intention to expel them from their homes due to the establishment of “Firing Zone 918.”

The hearing will be the first held in the case since the two-year mediation process between the parties failed. Immediately after the mediation attempts ended, Israel destroyed 22 homes in the communities of Khirbet Jenbah and Khirbet al-Halawah.

Please note B’Tselem is not part of the proceedings but we will be able to assist visitors with interpretation. Please contact me by SMS for further details.

Photo blog: Visit to Masafer Yatta, as the efforts to expel its residents escalate

Schoolboys stopped from walking home as Israeli forces expand checkpoint

22 March 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

On 21^st March 2016, Israeli forces at Salaymeh checkpoint in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron) stopped Palestinian schoolboys on their way home, preventing them from passing through the checkpoint.

Israeli forces stopping school-boys on their way home, denying them passage — Israeli forces stopping schoolboys on their way home, denying them passage

Around noon, as a cluster of schools near the Salaymeh checkpoint finished classes for the day and boys began flocking out onto the street Israeli forces blocked their way, effectively preventing them from reaching the checkpoint and continuing on their way home. Israeli forces did not give any reason for blocking the road leading from the schools. Though at the time a new checkpoint was being installed at the Salaymeh checkpoint site, people traveling in the opposite direction were allowed to pass without any hassle. After some time, Israeli forces finally let the boys pass and continue on their way home after a day of school. They were still present throughout the day during the time construction was taking place, and invaded a family home in order to use the rooftop as a military post to observe the area.

Israeli forces threatening to shoot tear gas at school-boys denied passage on their way home — Israeli forces threatening to shoot tear gas at schoolboys denied passage on their way home

The ‘renovations’ come after 21-year-old Yasmin al-Zarou was gunned down and critically wounded on 14th February 2016 at Salaymeh checkpoint. Recent expansions of checkpoints, such as the transformation of Shuhada checkpoint at the end of December into an even more oppressive metallic monstrosity, have shown how these supposed improvements make passing through the checkpoints an even more arduous, humiliating, threatening and time-consuming experience. At Salaymeh the Israeli military is constructing a closed-off structure where once Palestinians passed by simply walking through a metal detector, creating a space where the Israeli border police continually stationed there can stop those attempting to cross and search and harass them out of sight of any onlookers. By expanding checkpoints in al-Khalil, Israeli forces also take over more private Palestinian land for structures whose main purpose seems to be the further intimidation and humiliation of Palestinians in an attempt to minimise their movement in these areas.

Israeli Forces push their way into girls school

21st March 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

On Sunday, 20^th March 2016, Israeli forces raided the al-Faihaa girls school in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron), using the staff in the school as human shields.

In the morning, three heavily-armed soldiers in full combat gear entered the premises of the school when the girls were still going to their classes. Al-Faihaa girls school is located near Ibrahimi mosque, on a road that connects Shuhada Street, which Palestinians are completely banned from using, with the biggest illegal settlement on the outskirts of al-Khalil, Kiryat Arba. Only settlers are allowed to drive on that road, while Palestinians are banned from driving any kind of cars, including ambulances, there, and often face harassment and violence from settlers.

The soldiers entered the girls school and locked themselves in the directors room with the director, the caretaker and another female teacher, preventing them from leaving the room. They then proceeded to go through the video camera footage of the girls school, accusing them of allowing Abdullah …….., a Palestinian gunned down at the nearby Queitun checkpoint the day before, pass through the school premises. As the girls school has repeatedly been threatened by Israeli forces that their main gate will be permanently shut if people other than teachers and students use it, the gate is now always locked shut except for when students are passing through for school.

An activist and caretaker look on as a soldier proceeds to check security camera footage

Israeli forces kept the director, a teacher and the caretaker hostage in the director’s room, preventing them from leaving the room and anyone else from entering for about an hour. They then left the school while the other teachers were trying to make sure that the girls stayed in their class-rooms in order not to scare them any more due to the presence of the soldiers.

The right to education in al-Khalil is often trampled on by Israeli forces, that routinely raid schools, detain, search or even arrest students at checkpoints, or shoot tear gas at them.

Targeting of children and civilians in Ni’lin

19th March 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Ni’lin, occupied Palestine

On 18^th March 2016, Palestinian villagers of Ni’lin protested against the Israeli land-theft and illegal settlements and the continuous violence Israeli forces use to stifle the weekly non-violent protests. Villagers commemorated Rachel Corrie, an American activist killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, and Tristan Anderson, an American activist left with severe permanent physical and cognitive impairments after being shot in the head with a high-velocity tear gas canister in Ni’lin.

Children holding banners commemorating Rachel Corrie

Israeli forces again used excessive force, inundating not only the protestors, but the whole village in tear gas. Whereas the last two weeks Israeli forces showered a public park with a playground in tear gas, causing several cases of excessive tear gas inhalation of small children playing there; this Friday they deliberately targeted civilian homes inside the village with tear gas, as well covering the public park in tear gas. The heavy iron tear gas canisters broke windows of 7 houses and the shops in the center of the village, causing civilians to suffer from the effects of tear gas inhalation. As family homes were targeted with tear gas, dozens of children and elderly had to be treated for tear gas inhalation. 8 people, including an 87-year old man had to be treated for excessive tear-gas inhalation. Throughout the West Bank, Israeli forces have increased the use of long-range tear gas canisters, that can reach up to 1000m and are silent when shot. These kind of tear gas canisters increase the risk of serious and / or deadly injuries as they can’t be heard and are iron-clad and thus extremely hard. Furthermore 2 people were treated after being hit and injured with rubber-coated steel bullets during the protest.

Tear gas clouds inside the village Photo credit: Saeed Amireh — Tear gas clouds inside the village

Medics treating an elderly man suffering from excessive tear gas inhalation

Luckily, no one was directly hit with one of the tear-gas canisters shot into Palestinian family homes. On the 12^th of March, a 17-year old boy was shot in the neck with one of these heavy tear-gas canisters, causing a skull fracture. He had to undergo surgery and only after a week in intensive care his condition is now stable.

Banner commemorating Rachel Corrie next to a Palestinian flag in the fields of Ni'lin — Banner commemorating Rachel Corrie next to a Palestinian flag in the fields of Ni’lin

The continuous targeting of civilians, families and children by the Israeli forces is not only common in the village of Ni’lin, but also throughout the occupied West Bank.