Category: Hebron - Page 102 - International Solidarity Movement

Nakba Day demonstration in Al Walaja: “Al Walaja is one of the symbols of the past and present displacement”

16th May 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Al Walaja, Occupied Palestine

Yesterday 15^th May, villages from Al Walaja marched for their right of return, on a day marking the 66^th anniversary of the Nakba (catastrophe in Arabic). The demonstration was met with violent repression from Israeli forces with many tear gas canisters fired at the protesters.

In 1948, 70% of the population of Al Walaja was displaced and forced away from their land, as a result of the ethnic cleansing carried out by Israeli forces. After the six day war in 1967, half of the remaining land was occupied by the illegal settlements of Har Gilo and Gilo, leaving the village with only 15% of its original land.

66 years since the Nakba and the land in Al Walaja is in the so called “seam zone”. The seam zone is a term used to describe the land between the Green Line and the Apartheid wall. The seam zone is a closed area for Palestinians and is regulated by a permit system. Palestinians who live, work, and visit the area are forced to apply for a permit to enter the zone, controlled by Israeli authorities. The permit system in the seam zone consists of 12 different types of permits which, need to be renewed frequently and can easily be denied by the Israeli authorities. The apartheid wall (declared illegal by the International Court of Justice in 2004) is also planned to surround the entire village, which will leave the residents with one entry and exit point.

For the Nakba day this year, over 64 associations called for a demonstration in Al Walaja, calling for the right of the Palestinians to reclaim and return to their own land.

“Al Walaja is one of the symbols of the past and present displacement,” said one of the speakers at the demonstration.

Many protesters arrived from different areas in the West Bank, including children the nearby Aida refugee camp

The demonstrators gathered in a large tent at the end of the village, speeches were made, and then the head of the demonstration went downhill to where a metal fence separated an area of the village from the main road.

When the people attempted to pass over this “border”, approximately 20 Israeli Border police officers arrived and tried to stop this action, proceeding to throw stun grenades and fire tear gas canisters at the protesters. Palestinian youths then began to throw stones as several military jeeps arrived, along with approximately 100 Israeli soldiers and border police officers

The Israeli forces climbed up the hill, firing tear gas inside the tent, which was mainly filled with children and elderly men and women. The military forced the occupants out and proceeded to destroy the tent.

Fortunately there were no serious injuries, two journalists and two Palestinian youths were shot with tear gas canisters and received treatment from Red Crescent medics in from Al Walaja, and many demonstrators suffered from tear gas inhalation.

PHOTO STORY: Israeli soldiers continue harassment of schoolchildren in Hebron

15th May 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Khalil Team | Hebron, Occupied Palestine

This morning in al-Khalil (Hebron), one young child threw one stone towards the checkpoint. Four Israeli soldiers then entered through checkpoint 29, provoking the children who were gathered to go to school. Several children then threw approximately four stones towards the soldiers, who then threw one stun grenade.

One of the Israeli soldiers repeatedly aimed his gun at the passing children, some as young as four-years-old.

'I want peace' photo by ISM — ‘I want peace’ photo by ISM

One of the Israeli soldiers drew the Star of David (symbol of Judaism) and a crescent moon (possibly symbolizing Islam), and then wrote, ‘I want peace’.

Then same soldier who wrote ‘I want peace’, then threw a stun grenade at the children as they gathered to go to school.

The Israeli military regularly uses their weapons against school children in al-Khalil (Hebron), especially in the mornings. Yesterday, 14th May, the same Israeli soldiers at the same checkpoint [checkpoint 29] threw two stun grenades and fired one tear gas grenade at the children at approximately 7:30 am. Children are also targeted for detentions and arrests, which ISM has previously documented, some as young as six-years-old.

15-year-old boy assaulted and detained in Hebron

10th May 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Khalil Team | Hebron, Occupied Palestine

Today in al-Khalil (Hebron), Israeli soldiers viciously assaulted a 15-year-old boy while they were attempting to arrest him. The soldiers accused him of attacking 10 settler youth; he was then taken to Tel Rumeida military base and then released after 20 minutes with no charges.

ISM activists witnessed one Israeli soldier pulling the young teenager towards Tel Rumeida military base, as his two sisters frantically tried to intervene. The 15-year-old was held in the military base, on his own, for approximately 20 minutes before being released.

After the incident, ISM activists spoke to the boy’s father, Abu Shamsiyeh, who described the events leading to his son’s detention. He explained that he was in his house when his two daughters ran to him and said that Israeli soldiers were attacking their brother. Abu Shamsiyeh left the house to witness a group of soldiers grabbing his son by the neck and throwing him to the ground. He told the soldiers that his son has problems with his back, and was ignored.

More Israeli soldiers, including a commander, arrived and when Abu Shamsiyeh tried to speak to them, he was physically grabbed and told he was not allowed to accompany his son to the military base, or to continue filming.

Israeli police did not arrest the 15-year-old as they said it was impossible for a boy of his size to attack 10 settler youth.

Abu Shamsiyeh stated that the family, himself, his wife and all five of his children, have many problems with Israeli soldiers and with the settlers from nearby illegal settlements in Tel Rumeida. However, he explained that on Saturdays (the Sabbath in Judaism), the harassment often escalates due to an increase in settler activity and an influx of Zionists tourists.

PCHR calls for investigations into incidents in Yatta town

8th May 2014 | Palestinian Center for Human Rights | Yatta, Occupied Palestine

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) calls upon the Attorney General to seriously open an investigation into incidents that took place in Yatta town near Hebron on Monday, 05 May 2014. The incidents included beatings, arrests, house raids, and destruction of civilians’ belongings by security services. PCHR calls upon the government in Ramallah to take serious steps to compel members of security services to respect the rule of law and human rights principles that are guaranteed under the Palestinian Basic Law and international standards.

According to investigations conducted by PCHR and testimonies of victims and eyewitnesses, at approximately 09:00 on Monday, 05 May 2014, a force from the Preventive Security Service (PSS) intercepted a Chevrolet Cavalier red car near Mothalath al-Mazra’a area in Yatta town in Hebron because of raising Hamas’ flags. Mohammed Awdatallah Abu Fanar (22) was driving the aforementioned car with his wife Hanadi (20), his two daughters, and three young relatives: Noor Ismail Abu Fanar (14), Asem Mosa Abu Fanar (14), and Zakareya Ismail Abu Fanar (17). They were on their way to participate in a set-in organized in solidarity with their relative, Zaid Ismail Abu Fanar, in his father’s house in Fatouh area in the town. Zaid Ismail Abu Fanar is one of the administrative detainees in Israeli prisons, who have been on hunger strike since 24 April 2014. PSC officers ordered the aforementioned persons to get out of the car, but the driver, Mohammed, moved away quickly when Noor got out. The PSC officers chased Abu Fanar’s car via a Volkswagen mini bus to about 3 Kilometers until they reached Fatouh area. The PSC bus hit Abu Fanar’s car several times from the back in an attempt to stop it until Abu Fanar’s car crashed into the wall. The PSC officers got out of their car, took Mohammed out of his car, and started beating him severely with their legs and rifles. His wife, Hanadi, tried to defend him, but they pushed her. As a result, she fell to the ground and fainted. Some civilians tried to intervene in an attempt to push the PSS officers away from Abu Fanar family, but they opened fire to disperse the civilians who threw stones at the PSS members. As result, the PSC car was crashed.

A joint force of security services comprised of the PSS, the National Security Force, and Special Police raided Fatouh area in Yatta town accompanied by a bulldozer. They raided and searched a number of civilian houses, from which they arrested a large number of civilians. Hana Saher Awad was beaten up by the security members after they raided and searched her house without a warrant. Members of the force crashed a number of Mercedes cars belonging to civilians in the area, including a 608 Mercedes white bus belonging to Ismail Sameh Abu Fanar. In addition, the bulldozer caused damage to a number of unlicensed cars which are used by mechanics for spare parts.

On the same day, at approximately 22:00, a joint force raided Ismail Abu Fanar’s house in Zeif area in Hebron, where the solidarity tent is set up in solidarity of his son Zaid. They dispersed all people in the tent by firing live bullets in the air and tear gas canisters. Abu Fanar was beaten up with a torch by the security officers.

On Tuesday, 06 May 2014, four civilians were released while 20 ones have been so far in custody.

In light of the above, PCHR:

Calls upon the Attorney General to open a serious investigation into those incidents, especially that civilians were beaten and some belongings were damaged; and
Calls upon the government in Ramallah to take serious steps to compel members of security services to respect the rule of law and human rights principles that are guaranteed under the Palestinian Basic Law and international standards.

Daily Harassment in the Qeitun area

6th May 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Khalil Team | Hebron, Occupied Palestine

Residents of Qeitun area of Al-Khalil, near Shuhada St. are presented with a very different kind of daily routine than other areas of the occupied West Bank. Israel occupation forces not only raid houses and harass people on a daily basis, but also use the local population as part of their military training.

On Tuesday, the 29th of April, the Israeli army was training for the erecting and working of a flying checkpoint, pulling over cars on the main road of the area which leads to the military base, also called Qeitun. During this training the commander was instructing the soldiers how to stop and search drivers and their cars.

Two days later, on Thursday 1^st of May at 11:30pm, ISM activists were called out to witness the Israeli army performing a massive operation of night raids, with approximately 100 soldiers. When the activist got to the area, the army had detained an 18-year old. The youth was released 30 minutes after the arrival of the activists. Many of the local people, still in their nightdresses, were out in the streets while the soldiers were inside their houses.

At around 1:00am the soldiers left the area and had what seemed like a quick evaluation of the whole operation, making it difficult to know whether it was an actual military operation or just some sort of training, similar to the flying checkpoint training that took place two days earlier. For the people of Qeitun there’s no actual difference between “training” and a live military operation of the occupation forces.

In an ISM visit with a family of the Qeitun area, they report that the soldiers have been starting the raids as early as 9pm and had raided a total of 50 houses. They also reported that during one of the raids the soldiers had broken into a house with such violence that an elderly woman with a heart condition, had gone into coma and had to be rushed to the hospital.

The family reported that the area experiences night raids at least two or three times a week. Israeli soldiers enter and harass the locals on a daily basis and the army has arrested two minors during the last month.

During the second intifada almost all families living in the houses located near Shuhada St. were forced out by the Israeli army, allegedly for security reasons, making this part of the area a ghost town.