20th November 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Gal·la López | Gaza, Occupied Palestine
On 19th November 2012, shortly before the end of Israel’s “Operation Pillar of Defense” military offensive against the Gaza Strip, an Israeli missile struck the Hijazi family’s house as they watched TV.
The father and two his children were killed. Other family members were injured. Their house was destroyed, and their lives will never be the same.
Amna Hijazi, the mother and wife of the victims who was amid the carnage of the attack, recalls the details of the day one year later.
19th November 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Gaza Team | Gaza, Occupied Palestine
Families and supporters of Palestinian detainees gather in the Red Cross’ Gaza courtyard every Monday morning. (Photo by Joe Catron)
On Monday morning, families and supporters of Palestinian detainees held a weekly sit-in in the courtyard of the International Committee of the Red Cross’ Gaza office.
The regular event, launched by two detainees’ mothers in 1995, demands the freedom of Palestinian prisoners and an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestine.
18th November 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Maria del Mar Fernandez | Gaza, Occupied Palestine
(Photo by Rosa Schiano)
We attended a photography exhibition last Wednesday in besieged Gaza City. There were many, many pictures, some of which we photographed. I wish were as much of an an artist as the children, between nine and 16 years old, who shot the originals. They were there, among the public, and I was able to talk to some of them. They told me that they, themselves, had chosen what they wanted to express. The black and white photography reflected how life is going in Gaza well. Yet there were many cheerful photos. I was moved as I wandered about among the scores of people at the exhibition. The children watched eagerly for our reactions and comments. I really would have liked to photograph all of them, or to spend more time there. It was amazing. Initiatives like this encourage children to overcome the great difficulties they face in their daily lives under occupation and siege, and under the permanent fear that Israel may launch another military offensive against them.
17th November 2013 | Corporate Watch, Tom Anderson and Therezia Cooper | Gaza, Occupied Palestine
Palestinians demonstrate in the buffer zone East of Gaza City on the anniversary of the signing of the Balfour Declaration. (Photo by ISM – Gaza team)
On 2nd November 2013 Israeli forces fired tear gas at Palestinians demonstrating in the Gaza buffer zone East of Gaza City, by the Nahal Oz checkpoint. A report of the demonstration by an eyewitness can be viewed here. Pictures of one of the canisters fired at the activists are shown below.
Corporate Watch has written several articles about Israel’s use of tear gas in the West Bank. Some of our previous work can be found here and here.
This canister looks a little different to the ones that we have seen in the West Bank, particularly because it is encased in a hard plastic shell. We do not have any evidence to determine which company supplied these canisters to the Israeli military. However, we know that tear gas canisters manufactured by Combined Systems (CSI) in the US and Defense Technologies, previously owned by the British arms giant BAE systems and now owned by the US firm Safariland, have been used by the Israeli police and army in the past.
It is imperative that BDS campaigners take action against companies selling tear gas to Israel.
Combined Systems can be contacted at:
388 Kinsman Road, Jamestown, PA 16134
Safariland can be contacted at:
Ontario Headquaters:
Safariland
3120 E. Mission Blvd.
Ontario, CA 91761
Jacksonville Headquarters:
Safariland
13386 International Parkway
Jacksonville, FL 32218
Gas canister fired at Palestinian demonstrators in the buffer zone on 2/11/13. (Photo by Corporate Watch)The three separate pieces of the canister fired at Palestinian demonstrators in the buffer zone – 2/11/13. (Photo by Corporate Watch)
16th November 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Rosa Schiano | Gaza, Occupied Palestine
Mneifi Abu Abdullah. (Photo by Rosa Schiano)
On Wednesday, 13th November, gunfire by Israeli occupation forces injured a Palestinian farmer near al-Maghazi refugee camp, in the center of Gaza strip.
Mneifi Abu Abdullah, age 25, was working with three other farmers about 600 meters from the separation barrier.
Abu Abdullah is a worker who ears 30 shekels per day in the fields.
Farmworkers near al-Maghazi are used to hearing gunshots. The Israeli military presence is constant in areas along the barrier.
On Thursday, some of Abu Abdullah’s uncles, as well as another farmer present during the shooting, visited his room in al-Shifa hospital.
The witness said he suddenly heard three shots, injuring Abu Abdullah in at his right shoulder, around 2:50 pm. Another bullet struck near his feet.
The farmers transported Abu Abdullah roughly one kilometer before reaching an ambulance that brought him to al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir el-Balah.
The witness added that he had not seen Israeli soldiers, but military vehicles had been moving along the barrier.
On the same day in Deir el-Balah, another farmer, from Abu Daher family, was wounded in his leg by Israeli gunfire and rushed to al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital.
Abu Abdullah is married and has two children. His work in the fields is his family’s only source of livelihood.
He was transferred from al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital to al-Shifa hospital. The bullet entered and exited his shoulder. He needs surgery, as the bullet severed a nerve.
The ceasefire of 21st November 2012 established that Israeli occupation forces should “refrain from hitting residents in areas along the border” and “cease hostilities in the Gaza Strip by land, by sea and by air, including raids and targeted killings.”
However, Israeli military attacks by land and sea followed from the day after the ceasefire, and Israeli warplanes fly constantly over the Gaza Strip. Seven civilians have been killed by Israeli occupation forces since the end of their last major offensive, “Operation Pillar of Defense,” and more than 130 have been wounded.
These attacks on the Gaza Strip continue amid international silence.
