Category: Hebron - Page 148 - International Solidarity Movement

In Photos: Palestinians unite to support prisoner hunger strike

12 October 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank and Gaza

On Tuesday the 27^th of September, an open-ended hunger strike was initiated until the fulfillment of 9 demands by Palestinian prisoners, which include the right to family visits, end to the use of isolation as a punishment against detainees, and profiteering of Israeli prisons from financial penalties charged against prisoners.

Approximately 3000 prisoners are taking part in the strike including all the different political fractions from eight different prisons.

Hebron (click here for more on the story):

On the sixth day of the hunger strike of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, major political factions joined in Hebron and united in support for human rights for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons, victims of Israeli collective punishment tactics.

Hebron Solidarity with Prisoner Strike – Click here for more images

Gaza (click here for more on the story):

Over a thousand Palestinians converged on the International Committee of the Red Cross building in Gaza, Palestine, continuing a tent protest that began outside the walled compound on October 2nd, bolstering a weekly sit-in by the families of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons.

Prisoner Solidarity in Gaza – Click here for more images

Beit Ummar (click here for more on the story):

On the tenth day of the hunger strike of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, a crowd of around a hundred people took to the streets for a planned demonstration in the village of Beit Ummar, Hebron.

Beit Ummar Demonstration in Solidarity with Prisoners – Click here for more images

Ramallah (click here for more on the story):

Over 100 students from Bir Zeit University marched to the gates of Ofer Prison, near Ramallah on October 5th, to demonstrate solidarity with Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike in Israeli jails. It is thought that there are between 9 to 10 prisoners in Ofer prison on hunger strike.

Students march to Ofer Prison in solidarity with hunger strike – Click here for more images

Nablus (click here for more on the story):

Protesters converged outside the Red Crescent building in Nablus at 11:30 AM on October 3rd where several speakers, including the Mayor of Nablus and the Chairman of the Popular Committee to Support Palestinian Rights, spoke from a makeshift stage mounted on the back of a truck to call for Israeli to recognise the Geneva Conventions and respect prisoner rights in accordance with international law. They also called on the international community and Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki Moon, to pressure Israel to end the illegal occupation of Palestinian territory.

Nablus joins West Bank and Gaza in support of prisoner strike – Click here for more images

Seven school children injured over tightened “security” measures in Tel Rumeida

11 October 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

Tightened security at Tel Rumeida checkpoint cause an impromptu demonstration by the schoolchildren, resulting in seven injured children, and injuries to the headmaster. Teachers of Tel Rumeida’s school were told they must begin to pass through metal detectors and present their bags for search, despite the permission they have had for the past 7 years to pass through a separate gate. The rules have also been changed for those suffering heart complications, and pregnant women, who carry permits that normally would allow them to avoid the metal detectors. The children of the school emerged, chanting slogans and holding posters. Finally, the children exited the checkpoint to be with their teachers, and began classes on the sidewalk. Seven children reported injuries and six went to hospital. The head master of the school also reported injuries from soldiers aggressively handing her.

In Tel Rumeida, Hebron, around 7:30 Tuesday morning, the teachers of Tel Rumeida’s boy and girl school of grades 1-10 refused to submit to checks, instead beginning a silent demonstration by remaining outside the gate where they were refused entry. 9:00 am, the school children marched out of the school to the inward side of the checkpoint, demanding their right to education. Israeli military soldiers at times pushed the children. An Israeli police man grabbed two girls, about 12 years old, and dragged them out through the checkpoint, causing an uproar. He continued to grab outspoken children and pull them out of the checkpoint. Seven children ended up in the hospital with injuries from aggressive handling by soldiers. Some were pushed against a stone wall. A female settler drove through the demonstration, aggressively pushing both adults and children with her car. She drove around, and returned to drive through again. Many of Tel Rumeida’s inhabitants claimed that she pushes pedestrians with her car on a regular basis while driving through the streets that Palestinians can only walk on.

Demonstration of teachers and students in Tel Rumeida - Click here for more images

Before the children emerged from the school, a soldier was asked why restrictions are enforced only on the Palestinian residents, despite the violent reputation of the settlers. He replied, “I also don’t agree, but I have a mission to protect the Jewish people. I don’t want to be here.” Their batallion was newly transferred to this area, and soldiers said that their commander had come the day before and changed the rule. As the kids began the demonstration, the head of the school health department, Mohammed Abutherei was detained in a police jeep for at least half an hour because he was unable to control the over 100 children. “Police threatened that if I did not control the students, Tel Rumeida would no longer have a school” said Abutherei.

For the past seven years, teachers, those with heart complications, and pregnant women have passed through a gate without a metal detector.

Several of the teachers exclaimed that they will continue to hold classes on the street until the checkpoint’s rules are reverted. More protests are being planned.

Beit Kahlil: Tear gas flies as Israel demolishes home

6 October 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

Demolitions in Beit Kahlil - Click here for more images

At 5:00 AM on the morning of the 6th October, approximately 30 armed soldiers came to demolish a house in Beit Kahil. The IOF woke up the family living in the neighbouring house and informed them about the demolition and declared the entire area a closed military zone. When he arrived, Omar Ahmad Hussan Abdel Din, the owner of the house, informed the soldiers about his lawyers appeal to the Israeli Court for getting the demolition order postponed until he had an official response to his application for building permission, but with no effect.

A member of the Abdel Din family said, “Why do we need a permission from Israel to build this is Palestine and Palestinian land? Though this is considered area C by the Israeli authorities, I do not recognise their authority, and anyways it is their bureaucratic way of stealing land.”

While a bulldozer was demolishing the Abdel Din house residence, the neighbourhood tried to prevent the demolition by throwing stones. The soldiers prevented them getting any way near by using sound bombs and shooting tear gas grenades. During the protest one of the tear gas canisters broke the window and entered a house resulting in three women and four children being taken to the hospital and treated for tear gas inhalation. An additional 2 people were injured by the tear gas cannisters, requiring 1 person who needed 3 stitches.

The village of Beit Kahil is divided by a valley with the road running to Hebron. In 2009 the houses on the one same side of the valley as an Israeli military base got demolition orders at once. Including the house of Omar Abdel Din, demolition orders were given to around 15 houses which are inhabited by around 100 citizens.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r–KuGzPVww

One of the neighbours said, “Obviously when we saw the Occupation Forces and bulldozers we were shocked and feared that they would demolish all our houses.”

In 2011 14 houses were demolished in the Hebron area, leaving 104 Palestinian homeless including 50 minors. Area C and B are the areas where Palestinians need to seek permission from Israeli authorities to build, accounting for 83 % of the West Bank.

According to the Israel Civil Administration, more than 93 % of the applications for a building permission are refused, and many Palestinians do not even bother to ask permission to build knowing they will be refused.

Youth arrested in Hebron over cereal

2 October 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

On 2 October in Al Khalil (Hebron), the Israeli army and police arrested 2 Palestinian children based on petty, unfounded accusations whilst allowing settlers to employ violence with complete impunity. 13 year old Khaled Abu Snaeneh and 15 year old Said Abu Aisha were arrested and detained for over 4 hours at Kiryat Arba police station.

At 2:45 soldiers came to the Abu Aisha house in Tel Rumeida to investigate a complaint made by settlers that Palestinians had stolen some boxes of expired cereal from their backyard. A group of around 30 settlers gathered around the house shouting at both the Palestinian residents and the police and army. Under pressure from the gradually increasing number of settlers surrounding the house Israeli police made the decision to arrest the two young boys, solely on the evidence of being accused by the settlers.

Ibrahim Abu Aisha explained that the boys arrested had not taken the cereal as they were working at the time the incident took place.

Several Palestinians reported that Baruch Marzel from the Tel Rumeida settlement kicked 30 year old Fawaz Abu Aisha requiring him to go to hospital. Despite the visible bruising on Fawaz’s leg and attempts to complain to the police they refused to take any action on this assault. Marzel has a history of assaulting Palestinians and was formerly a spokesperson for the Kach party before it was made illegal in Israel as a racist, terrorist organization.

After being driven to Kiryat Arba police station and detained for 4 hours, the boys were not charged but still forced to pay a fine of 200 shekels each.

Hebron in solidarity with prisoners on hunger strike for rights

3 October 2011| International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

Approximately 3000 prisoners are taking part in the strike including all the different political fractions from eight different prisons.

On Sunday solidarity tents with the prisoners were positioned in the center of all the main cities in the Palestinian occupied territories, and there are plans for actions such as demonstrations and public street theater throughout the entire week in Hebron and the rest of the territories in support of the prisoners strike.

Amjad Najjar the media spokesperson for the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society and head of the Palestinian Prisoners Club in Hebron said, “The strike is a reaction towards the collective punishment imposed on the prisoners that have been further increased after the UN bid for Palestinian statehood. The strike is a reaction towards the humiliation that the Palestinian prisoners are exposed to.”

Najjar elaborated that the conditions for prisoners are much worse in present days, and it is one of the negative byproducts of the Oslo agreement, since prisons are placed outside regions Palestinians have access to, complicating the possibility of family visits. He continued to explain that payment for visits by families as well as fines against all prisoners have developed a prison industrial complex from which Israel is profiting.

The hunger strike in Israeli prisons is a political method used through history to gain certain rights and traces back to the first Intifada. In May and June two prisoners, Attif Uridat Said and Yussif Aleskaffi, who both have medical issues conducted a hunger strike for 34 days in protest of Israel’s denial of medical aid for Palestinian prisoners.