19th February 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine
On 19th February 2016, as Palestinians were on their way to the Friday prayer in Ibrahimi Mosque in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron), Israeli forces stopped, delayed, body-searched and harassed them.
Palestinians passing by heavily-armed Israeli forces on their way home from Friday-prayer
Like every Friday, Palestinian men, women and children made their way through the haze of checkpoints, turnstiles, past heavily-armed Israeli forces to attend the Friday noon prayer in Ibrahimi Mosque in the Old City of al-Khalil.
Heavily-armed Israeli soldier closely watching Palestinians pass on their way home from Prayer
The Ibrahimi mosque is the third holiest site for Muslims, and has been divided into a part for Muslims and a part where Palestinians are prohibited, and a synagogue was installed. This division took place in the aftermath of the Ibrahimi mosque massacre on 25th February 1994, where extremist settler Baruch Goldstein killed 29 and wounded more than 120 Palestinians when he opened fire at worshippers for the Ramadan Friday noon-prayer.
At most of the checkpoints, Palestinians were confronted with hostility by the Israeli forces; stopping, searching and questioning them; making them late for the prayer. As Israeli forces kept locking the turnstile at the checkpoint leading from the Palestinian market – where in the morning, settlers were throwing rocks and glass bottles at Palestinians – to the mosque, long queues of mosque-goers were forming. The ‘security checks’ that kept prolonging the wait were then repeated just two meters after the checkpoint, as Palestinians are forced to pass another checkpoint before entering the mosque.
Israeli forces aggressively body-searching young Palestinian man
Around the corner, close to the Islamic Court, where on 13th February 2016 19-year old Kilzar al-Uweiwi was gunned down by Israeli forces and ultimately died from denial of medical help by the Israeli forces, Israeli forces aggressively body-searched many young Palestinian men and teenagers. Others were forced to lift up shirts and trouser-legs after being yelled at by Israeli forces to stop.
International human rights defenders documenting this, were harassed by Israeli forces who tried to block their view, both with their bodies, by standing right in front of them, as well as with pieces of cardboard, all while pushing their own private phones in their faces to film them while insulting them.
Israeli forces preventing observers from documenting
At one point, when Palestinians were on their way home after the noon-prayer – and had already passed two checkpoints up the road, Israeli forces at the court checkpoint ordered everyone to stop, yelling and pointing their guns at them. Israeli forces detained a number of teenage boys on the side of the road, while ‘picking out’ more boys out of the group of people coming from the mosque and ordering them to wait with the others. The safety-pin of these soldiers – supposed to prevent accidental fire and intended to be an additional safety – was pulled out, swinging around loosely in the wind.
19th February 2016 |Birzeit University | Birzeit, Ramallah, occupied Palestine
Birzeit University administration, Workers’ Union, and students organized a sit-in in solidarity with its former student and head of students council, Journalist Muhammad Al-Qiq, who has been on hunger strike since November 25 against his imprisonment without charges or trial.
Protestors called for immediate and unconditional release for Al-Qiq and all prisoners as key to the realization of justice and comprehensive peace. They demanded all academic institutions and international organizations to work together to promote and implement campaigns of boycott and sanctions against Israel and its illegal measures against Palestinians.
“Palestinian journalists have always been on the frontline, and Al-Qiq is now experiencing forceful and abusive measures from the Israeli occupation because he practiced his normal right of speech and freedom of expression”, Abu Hijleh added.
On behalf of the Workers’ Union, Salem Thawaba demanded that officials should urgently interfere to end Al-Qiq’s torture. He stressed on the importance of unity and reconciliation for Al-Qiq whose health has deteriorated to the point of facing imminent death.
Representatives from the students council assured the students movements will never stop its solidarity events to support Al-Qiq and all prisoners who are going through a legal struggle on behalf of the whole nation for the sake of the Palestinian cause.
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.
