Category: Features - Page 95 - International Solidarity Movement

Children living in closed military zone enjoy day of fun under the shadow of the occupation

13th February 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

On February 13^th 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.

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 1^st 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.

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 checkpoint

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 'closed military zone' neighbourhood — 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

Mohammed al-Qiq on the verge of death: sign Avaaz petition to demand his freedom NOW!

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!

WE MUST ALL SIGN AND SHARE THIS PETITION AND TAKE ACTION NOW!

Call for Action! Protest to demand Mohammed Al-Qeeq’s freedom!

11th February 2016 | International Solidarity Movement | Palestine

33 year old jopurnalist, Mohammed al-Qeeq, in his hospital bed is today near death. — 33-year-old hunger-striker political prisoner, Mohammed Al-Qeeq, is today nearing death.

URGENT CALL FOR ACTION – Palestinian journalist is nearing death on hunger strike for freedom.

33-year-old Mohammad Al-Qeeq’s health condition is deteriorating rapidly. He has lost over half his body weight, and is unable to see or talk properly; there is imminent threat to his life. An independent doctor visited Al-Qeeq at HaEmek hospital in Afula on Thursday 4 February and said that he appears to be close to death, reported Physicians for Human Rights – Israel (PHR-Israel), who organized the visit. Although Al-Qeeq refused to be examined, visible signs point to severe ill-health.

This is the time for action; this is to time to mobilize for freedom. We call on you, our friends and comrades in the struggle for justice and freedom to act now. Protest at an Israeli consulate or embassy or public square and demand freedom for Mohammed al-Qeeq. Contact government officials and demand that they break their silence on Al-Qeeq and support for Israeli violations of Palestinian rights.

Al Qeeq is from the West Bank village of Dura near Hebron, where he worked as a TV reporter for the Saudi news channel “Almajd.” His wife Fayha Shalash says Israeli soldiers raided their home in Ramallah on the night of November 21, 2015 blowing up the house door and waking up the family, blindfolding Mohammad and arresting him. Al-Qeeq was taken in for interrogation at Israel’s Kishon (Jalame) detention center north of the West Bank. He was not allowed to make contact with either his wife or his attorney for 20 days.

Shalash says her husband is being held without charge or trial for doing his job as a journalist. She says her husband chose to refuse his arbitrary detention and continue to raise his voice by refusing food and refusing to be detained by Israel as punishment for his opinion. Mohammad began refusing food on the 25th of November 2015, protesting the conditions of his interrogation and unlawful detention. Al Qeeq told his lawyer he was interrogated and accused of media incitement, and that interrogators threatened to rape him and assault his wife if he does not confess to incitement. Al Qeeq said the interrogators told him that he had two options: to confess to incitement or face up to 7 years in administrative detention. He had no option but to go on hunger strike.

Ashraf Abu Snaneh, Al-Qeeq’s lawyer, says Israel is using administrative detention as a peg to silence the journalist and is forbidding him from due legal process. “If the Israeli security apparatus has evidence against Mohammad they should bring it forward to court and at least give him the right to fight for his innocence at court, but holding him on so-called secret files is unfair and unlawful.”

ACT NOW TO SAVE HIS LIFE ACT NOW FOR FREEDOM AND JUSTICE

Home demolition in Beit Hanina forces family to move into Shuafat Refugee Camp, East Jerusalem

10th February 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, Ramallah Team | East Jerusalem, occupied Palestine

Yesterday evening, we went to visit 55 year old widow, Kifaya Rishek, after her home in Beit Hanina, occupied East Jerusalem, was demolished on the 27th of January.

After losing her house in Beit Hanina, where she lived together with her five children and 16 grandchildren, Kifaya has now moved with her family into a smaller 5th floor apartment in the Shuafat Refugee Camp, East Jerusalem.

The Shuafat refugee Camp is completely surrounded by an Apartheid Wall and its residents must cross the Shuafat checkpoint in order to access the city of Jerusalem.

Her son, Ashraf, who used to live with her in Beit Hanina, now rents another apartment for 1.500 shekels a month in the same Camp, where he lives with his 4 children and wife. His brother, Murad, also had to find a new place to live and moved with his wife and four children into the Old City.

Kifaya’s son Sherif pays the rent for the new home where the rest of them live together, costing him 1.700 shekels a month. Kifaya feels very sad as this place is not really her own. In their old house, the children had a patio where they could play outside. Kifaya recalls how much she misses her garden, with all the trees and plants she took care of for years, and today are all destroyed along the house.

The children remember that the night before the house demolition they had asked Kifaya to clean their patio because they were expecting snow to fall and they wanted to play with clean snow in the morning. Since people never know when a house demolition will actually happen, that morning they woke up instead with the Israeli police breaking into their home with dogs, kicking everyone out. To this day, the children say they are scared that the police might come again and raid and destroy their home.

From left to right: 10 year old, Tala; 8 year old, Bader; 3 year old, Fajer; 12 year old, Adel; and 5 year old, Mira.

Apart from the new expenses of paying house rent, the family must cover other costs such as taxi transportation for their children to go to school. Just for 10 year old, Tala, alone they must pay a taxi driver 600 shekels a month to take her to school. The Camp has no proper public transportation, leaving many families with no choice but paying taxis.

10 year old, tala, made this drawing in school, showing her home before the demolition and afterwords. — 10 year old, Tala, made this drawing, showing her home before the demolition and afterwords in rubble.

Another difficulty for Kifaya is that she must pay 120 shekels every time she takes her 11 year old granddaughter, Malak, to physiotherapy at the ALYN Hospital. Malak suffers from a physical disability in her legs. Although she receives special disabilities insurance, certain things in her treatment are not covered, such as the machines and her special boots, costing Kifaya another 1.000 shekels every time these need to be renewed as she keeps growing.

11 year old, Malak, has a physical disability in her legs and must take treatment in the ALYN Hospital.

Her new home is tighter and general life in the Shuafat Camp is very difficult. The Israeli Municipality, which is responsible for its services, does not provide sufficient water and electricity, and does not pick the garbage from the streets.

The Israeli Minucipality is responsible for services such as picking the garbage, but they refuse to do so and the streets are always dirty. — The Israeli Municipality is responsible for services such as picking the garbage, but they refuse to do so and the streets are always dirty.

Just as in Kifaya’s case, Jerusalemite Palestinians who come to live here do so in order not to lose their Jerusalem ID’s, which basically allows them to continue living in Jerusalem.

Israel’s policy of house demolitions, together with the ever growing living costs in Jerusalem, are all part of a broader plan to force Palestinians to leave the city or, as a last resource, move into the over crowded Shuafat Refugee Camp.

The streets in the Camp are in very bad conditions with holes and traffic jams are seen everyday.

Intimidating military patrol of Palestinian market

9th February 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

Tuesday, 9^th February 2016, Israeli forces patrolled the Palestinian market in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron), harassing and intimidating residents.

Israeli forces ontheir patrol through the Palestinian market

A group of soldiers marched through the souq, the main Palestinian market since the closure of Shuhada Street for Palestinians after the Ibrahimi mosque massacre in 1994. Any male adult or youth was stopped on their way to work and forced by the Israeli soldiers to lift up their shirts and trouser-pants, as well as throw their IDs on the ground. After throwing their IDs on the ground Israeli soldiers ordered the men to move back, so they could pick up the IDs from a ‘safe distance’. Most Palestinians were dismissed after this humiliating procedure, whereas some of them were detained for minutes or violently body-searched.

Violent body-search of Palestinian young man

International human rights defenders documenting the Israeli forces violations of basic human rights of Palestinians, were intimidated and harassed by the Israeli soldiers in an attempt to prevent them from documenting. Soldiers took photos of the internationals with their private phones held right in the volunteers faces and as an initmidation tactic ID-checked them.

Israeli forces taking photos of human rights defenders with their private phones

During the more than one hour patrol Israeli forces repeatedly pointed their assault rifles at the internationals as well as Palestinians.

Israeli soldier 'ordering' Palestinians to stop by pointing his gun — Israeli soldier ‘ordering’ Palestinians to stop by pointing his gun

Not only adults were surprised and shocked by the sudden presence of heavily-armed soldiers right outside their houses, but also children on their way to school and work. Some children, scared by the soldiers, turned around rightaway after spotting the soldiers and ran back home instead of continuing their way to school or kindergarten. International human rights defenders walked several scared children past the soldiers so they could safely reach their schools and kindergarten.