February 18th, 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, Ramallah team | Bil’in, occupied Palestine
On Friday, February 19th, residents of the village of Bil’in will march to celebrate the 11th aniversary of the beginning of the weekly protest against occupation. The small village of inhabitants has for over a decade united Palestinians and internationals to support their cause, following a non-violent, peaceful way of resisting against the illegal stealing and the occupation of their land.
Palestinians take part in one of the nonviolent demonstrations against Israel’s wall in Bilin, September 2006. (Oren Ziv/ActiveStills)
The protests were initiated in 2005 when Israeli forces started uprooting trees on land belonging to Palestinians on the outskirts of the village, claiming they needed to free the route for the future wall that would be built for ‘security reasons’. Residents of the village first tried stopping bulldozers, calling for international and Israeli activists to join and support them, but the land was seized, and the wall was built.
The protests still continued, and every Friday villagers march to the wall to protest its illegal route and the expansion of the illegal settlement of Modin Ilit that is located right behind the wall and build on the villages land. The popular resistance committee also engaged in a legal battle against the presence of the wall on their farmland. Organisations in Israel and around the world supported their cause, and soon the weekly protest became a famous example of civil disobedience and peaceful resistance in Palestine. In 2007, the Israeli court ruled that the wall has to be re-routed. After major delays, a part of the wall was re-routed, marking a small victory for the village who thus regained at least part of their land.
Residents of Bil’in never stopped protesting against occupation since then. During the demonstration, many were injured, and two of the villagers were killed by Israeli forces, Bassem Abu Rahmah, 29 and Jawaher Abu Rahmah, 36, were killed in 2009 and 2010 respectively. Bassem Abu Rahmah, 29 died after being hit by a high-velocity tear-gas canister in the stomach.
Despite the violent opposition of the army during the weekly protests, the villagers are determined never to give up their struggle for their land, justice, dignity and against the illegal Israeli occupation.
Poster for the anniversary of the popular struggle in Bi’lin
18th February 2016 | International Solidarity Movement| occupied Palestine
33-year-old journalist, Mohammed al-Qiq, is on hunger strike since November 25 2015, in protest against his imprisonment without charges or trial in Administrative Detention by Israel. Al-Qiq’s health has deteriorated to the point of facing imminent death. His wife Journalist Fayha Shalash is calling on journalists around the world and activists to act now to save her husbands life, any action will make a difference.
#FreeQeeq #MohammedAlQeeq #StopAD
15th February, 2016 | International Solidarity Movement | occupied Palestine
Today, Palestinians are facing an enormous amount of pressure in their lives due to the growing violence of Israeli forces. They face restrictions of movement, daily harassment, intimidation and attacks at hands of Israeli occupying forces and extremist settlers. ISM is a Palestinian-led movement; our actions are initiated on the invitation of Palestinians, following their lead and wishes. We, as internationals, are needed to monitor human rights violations and show our support for the popular struggle.
Since the beginning of October, Israeli occupation forces increased their abuse of power by carrying out a series of extrajudicial killings of Palestinians, in a manner that is completely unjustified and, in most cases, constituting crimes of war. Israeli politicians have fueled the motivation to kill Palestinians by making open statements encouraging Israeli citizens to become executioners. In addition, Israeli forces are applying measures of collective punishment towards the families of Palestinians who are killed in this unlawful manner. Over 170 Palestinians have been killed since October, many of them children. On February 14th alone Israeli forces shot dead 5 Palestinians, including 3 children, and critically wounded a 14-year-old girl in al-Khalil.
Israeli forces conducting intimidating military patrol as schoolgirls walk down the street in the Old City of al-Khalil
With more volunteers, ISM could more effectively fulfill our commitments to the Palestinian communities we work with, such as walking with schoolchildren and monitoring checkpoints. A larger team also opens up the possibilities of working in more locations and regions where international presence can be useful.
Our presence in Palestine is crucial, because we witness and document what we see and can show the world what is happening on the ground. We do our best to prevent Palestinians from being harassed, and more importantly, we show them we are there in solidarity with them.
In Al-Khalil (Hebron), we need volunteers to walk children to school and monitor checkpoints where students and teachers cross on their way to and from school. Palestinian parents of kindergarten children living in H2 (the area completely controlled by the Israeli military with constant presence of soldiers and settlers) fear to send their children to school without internationals to accompany them. Children in the neighborhoods in H2 routinely face harassment and intimidation from Israeli forces and settlers, and Israeli forces deploy tear gas, stun grenades and rubber-coated metal bullets regularly against schoolchildren at some of the checkpoints ISM monitors.
One of our volunteers walks a group of children to school in al-KhalilYoung schoolboy looks on as Israeli forces body search his teacher just outside their school in al-Khalil
In occupied East Jerusalem, many Palestinian families face the constant threat of having their homes demolished by Israeli forces. As a way of showing support and sharing their story, we go to these families to document their situation and report it in the media. In the old city of Jerusalem, some Palestinian families also face eviction, like in the case of grandma Nora; all part of a plan to replace Palestinians in the old city by Israeli settlers. Part of our job is to make sure that these cases don’t stay unknown to the world by reporting them on our website and sharing it on social media.
In Ramallah and its surroundings, we monitor the Friday popular marches. Palestinian popular committees all over the West Bank organize regular demonstrations where ISM is called to participate. We work alongside popular resistance to the occupation, providing international presence and documentation at protests and actions facing attack by Israeli military forces. Sometimes, Palestinians ask us to accompany them to the military court. We attend hearings of their family members or friends in an attempt to show them that they are not alone.
Demonstrators gathered at night around the fire in the ongoing protest tent opposing the closed military zone in al-Khalil9-year-old girl being rushed from the scene after Israeli forces shot her with live ammunition in the arm during their attack on the weekly Friday demonstration in Kafr Qaddum
In Tulkarm and its surroundings, thousands of Palestinians cross the checkpoints everyday to go to work in Israel. The conditions of the crossing are tiring and humiliating for the workers, who arrive several hours before the opening of the gates and have to stand in line in order to be on time for work. Since October, the university of Tulkarm has also been witnessing many violent attacks on campus from the Israeli forces, in which several students were injured with teargas and live ammunition. The ISM team monitors and reports on these Human Rights violations.
A large part of ISM’s work has always involved documenting the violence and impacts of the occupation and the Palestinian struggle against it, working to produce and share media to an international audience to build awareness and global opposition to Israel’s unjust, illegal occupation.
ISM volunteers work amplifying Palestinian voices of resistance while in Palestine and especially after returning to our home countries around the world.
5 children who were forced out of their home in Jerusalem after it was demolished; the ISM team met with their family to learn and share their story
When you come to Palestine, try to bring a camera and your laptop if you have one, as both are extremely useful for media work. To plan your trip to the West Bank, please read our traveling information. We ask our volunteers to commit for a minimum of two weeks after completing our two day training, but keep in mind that we always prefer to have volunteers stay for longer periods of time.
Please note that we cannot sponsor people or otherwise facilitate anyone’s entry into Gaza; the information contained here and in our travel and training pages applies to our work in the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem.
When you decide to come to Palestine to join ISM, or if you have any further questions not covered in our page on joining us in Palestine, please contact palreports@gmail.com or call the phone number for the training coordinator once you have entered Palestine at 059 530 7448
In solidarity,
ISM Team
ISM volunteers raising Palestinian flag in front of the Apartheid wall.
13th February 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine
On February 13th 2016 Youth Against Settlements in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron) organised a children’s activity in front of Shuhada Street checkpoint.
Children drawing during fun-day organised by YAS
Around 50 children from the neighbourhoods located on the H2 (entirely Israeli military-controlled) side of the checkpoint – Tel Rumeida and the tiny strip of Shuhada Street still accessible for Palestinians – participated in the event organised by the Palestinian group Youth Against Settlements together with Old City resident Zleikha Muhtaseb.
Face-painting
The children have hardly had any chance to play and enjoy time with their friends since their neighbourhoods were declared a closed military zone on November 1st 2015. For the last three months only residents registered with the Israeli military have been allowed to access this highly militarized neighbourhood, where Israeli forces have stepped up their efforts to crack down on Palestinian residents’ everyday lives even more than in the many other neighborhoods suffering under the harsh Zionist occupation. Extremist Israeli settlers from the adjacent illegal settlements meanwhile enjoy complete impunity for their actions.
Girls writing their wishes for the future on balloons
The children gathered at the Youth Against Settlements sit-in tent that was first erected over a month ago in protest of the ongoing restrictions and human rights violations inflicted under the closed military zone. They enjoyed creative activities including drawing, painting, balloons and face-painting.
Children playing with balloons
Israeli settlers, walking inside the closed military zone without any hassle, harassment or ever being stopped, approached the checkpoint from the other side in order to gape at the children playing outside the checkpoint with balloons.
Settlers observing playing Palestinian children through the checkpointChild’s drawingChild’s drawing
The immense psychological effect of the occupation on children living in these neighbourhoods was clearly visible in their drawings. They drew soldiers shooting Palestinians, families living in houses surrounded by barbed wire, imprisoned Palestinians dreaming of Palestinians guarded by a heavily-armed soldier; drawings also featured Palestinian flags and the words ‘I love Palestine.’
Growing up in an environment where the Israeli military occupation, with all its concurrent human rights violations, deadly violence, humiliation and intimidation permeates everyday life, the impacts are hardly surprising. Saturday’s event was a great opportunity for the children of these neighbourhoods to just be children again, to play with their friends, have their faces painted, enjoy childhood.
As the event ended they lined up outside Shuhada Street checkpoint, which the children have referred to as the ‘death checkpoint’ since the September 22nd extrajudicial execution of 18-year-old Hadeel al-Hashlamoun, to wait to be allowed to walk back to their homes within the closed military zone.
Children waiting to cross back into their neighbourhoods under the closed military zone
Before preparing to leave to return to their neighborhoods, the children from Tel Rumeida and Shuhada Street demonstrated their solidarity with the Palestinian journalist and hunger striker Mohammed al-Qeeq on his 81st day of hunger strike against the illegal Israeli practice of administrative detention – imprisonment without charge or trial in an Israeli military legal system which consistently denies Palestinians any right to due process of law.
Palestinian children in solidarity with hunger striker Mohammed al-Qeeq
12th February 2016 |International Solidarity Movement, Ramallah Team | occupied Palestine
Journalist, Mohammed al-Qiq, in his hospital bed on the brink of death. Photo credit: ALRAY Palestinian Media Agency
33-year-old journalist, Mohammed al-Qiq, is on his 80th day of a hunger strike in protest against his imprisonment without charges or trial. Al-Qiq’s health has deteriorated to the point of facing imminent death.
We are making a call to the international community to sign the Avaaz petition to demand the European Parliament to free Mohammed al-Qiq and demand the European Union to suspend its Association Agreement with Israel until it complies with international law.
In addition, we call all people in the world to organize protests on the streets, in front of Israeli Embassies and Consulates, and Public Squares to demand freedom for Mohammed al-Qiq.
Daily protests have been held during the past week, across the West Bank, Gaza, occupied Jerusalem and at the Haemek hospital in Israel, where al-Qiq is being held and has been force-fed.
Today is Mohammed al-Qiq’s 80th day of hunger strike and he is on the verge of death!
