After an Israeli settler murdered 29 worshippers while they were praying at the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron in 1994, the UN Security Council published Resolution 904 called for the establishment of an international presence “to guarantee the safety and protection of the Palestinian civilians throughout the occupied territory”.
That international presence became TIPH, which operated–most recently–for 22 consecutive years since the Hebron Protocol of 1997.
In the wake of this exodus of teams critical to thwarting violent attacks against Palestinians by Israeli settlers and soldiers, we ask the international community to come defend Palestinian human rights on the ground here in Hebron. If you’re interested in joining the ISM team in Hebron, please contact us about an upcoming ISM training session in Palestine.
There are 3 primary schools on the street where the tear gas was used:
Hebron School
UNRWA Hebron Basic Boys School
Khadijah School
There are also 4 other schools in the immediate area.
During this time the soldiers also threw three concussion grenades over a wall into the Hebron School. They were unable to see who was on the other side of the wall or where they were at the time.
Tear gas rounds and concussion grenades, Hebron School
The headmaster of Hebron School said that 5 tear gas rounds were fired into the schoolyard in total.
Older school students were still in Hebron School. 30 boys and 5 teachers suffered tear gas inhalation.
Activists also found a spent tear gas round in a garden in the grounds of the UNRWA Hebron Basic Boys School.
Occupations soldiers fire tear gas, Salaymeh
There was no threat to the soldiers or anyone else at the time yet the soldiers continued to fire tear gas into the neighbourhood even the streets were completely empty of people.
They seemed to stop only when they had run out of tear gas.
Tear gas fired outside and inside Hebron School.
The tear gas spread through the neighbourhood into schools and residential buildings along the streets where families live. It was a still afternoon and the tear gas stayed in the immediate area and dispersed very slowly continuing to effect local residents.
Last month 238 tear gas rounds and 51 concussion grenades were fired in this neighbourhood. See the November report on Education in Palestine from Christian Peacemaker Teams:
This latest tear gas assault comes on the tail of two weeks when 6 boys between 10 and 14 years of age were abducted by Israeli occupation soldiers and Border Police.
15th December 2018 | International Solidarity Movement, Al-Khalil Team | Hebron, occupied Palestine
7 children were abducted on 3 different days in the Qeitun and Salaymeh neighbourhoods of al Khalil (Hebron) so far in December. ISM activists were present on these 3 occasions and this report contains video footage from all 3 incidents.
Location: Qeitun / Salaymeh neighbourhoods.
The area where these abductions occurred are in the centre of Hebron a short distance to the south to the Ibrahimi Mosque. Here, the two roads to Tareq Ibn Ziad shopping area are blocked by Qeitun Checkpoint and Salaymeh Checkpoint. Qeitun checkpoint is also know as Abu Rish Checkpoint. Salaymeh is also commonly called Checkpoint 160. To make matters confusing there are also other names and Palestinian and Israeli authorities have different numbering systems for them. For simplicities sake I call the checkpoints and the neighbourhoods to the south of them as “Qeitun” and “Salamyeh”
The town roads running south form the checkpoints are in a narrow part of the valley with one block (about 200m) between them. So the area is very small with steep hills ascending on either side.
Abductions:
4 December, 2018
There were two incidents on the 4th December, on the parallel streets leading from the checkpoints of Salaymeh (checkpoint 160) and Qeitun (Abu Rish).
Abductions by Israeli occupation soldiers by Salaymeh checkpoint:
Soldiers had entered the neighbourhood through Salaymeh checkpoint. One group stayed on the street and the other entered behind houses into back gardens from where they moved close to the school.
A small group of boys gathered by the school driveway after school.
International activists were present and observing the situation from within 5 metres.
No stones were thrown by any of the boys.
The soldiers on the street maintained the children’s attention while the other group entered the back of a garage between the school driveway and a neighbouring house.
The soldiers ran from the garage where they are hiding and ambushed the boys who were standing about 3 metres away.
Activists intervened challenging the soldiers about their actions and asking what the boys had done. 1 child managed to escape. but two were abducted and taken to Salayme checkpoint.
[Photos]
Abduction by Israeli occupation soldiers by Qeitun checkpoint:
Concurrent to the abduction at Salaymeh, Israel Border police entered the Qeitun neighbourhood.
They established up a “checkpoint” approximately 200 metres outside the “Alhajryt” Boys School checking IDs and body searching a Palestinian against the fence.
They then moved back towards Salaymeh before pushing down the street to capture someone. The only boy in the vicinity was standing outside the Alhajryt School with one of his teachers.
Again activists were close by when the ambush occurred. The child did nothing to justify his abduction.
The boy’s teacher refused to leave him and they were escorted together to the Qeitun checkpoint.
The following video documents this abduction:
5 December, 2018
Three Abductions at Qeitun
Border Police entered the area outside Quetun checkpoint, clearing the area of traffic.
Two of them took position at the intersection closest to the checkpoint. Once again this seemed to be to hold the children attention.
Another group of Border Police ambushed a group of children form behind in coordination with the first group who ran down the street. The second group seems to have set their ambush by entering through buildings from above the street.
The boys were taken to the Qeitun checkpoint.
The following videos shows the boys being taken away:
11 December, 2018
Abduction at Qeitun
Border police entered the Qeitun neighbourhood through a gate next to al Faihaa School and opposite the “bus checkpoint” by the Ibrahimi Mosque.
They proceeded through the olive trees to a factory building in the centre of the block and hid there for more than 30 minutes until the school children finished school.
After an unsuccessful attempt at emerging onto the street without being spotted near to Qeitun checkpoint they came out onto the cross street between Salaymeh and Qeitun.
They tried an initial sprint to the intersection but there were no children there.
They then wandered aimlessly around but were unable to provoke anyone to throw stones at them.
A man was randomly stopped, taken from his car, ID checked and body searched.
They then returned to the intersection with road from Qeitun checkpoint and managed to provoke a few small stones to be thrown.
The commander then ordered two of the soldiers to sprint down the road in another attempt to capture someone.
The only boy they could find was a 10 year old standing outside a shop holding the hand of his 4 year old brother. They were surrounded by adults.
Activists were on the street on both sides of the shop and witnessed no stones being thrown.
Activists tried to intervene and repeatedly asked for a reason for the boy’s abduction but were ignored as the boy was forcefully taken.
He can be heard calling, “Achi! Achi! [My brother. My brother!] as he is taken away. Leaving his younger brother without a family member.
The Border Police escorted the boy to he police station by the Ibrahimi Mosque via the same route they entered the neighbourhood through the gardens olive groves.
See the following video:
Summary:
All four incidents on these three days, 4th, 5th, and 11th December 2018 have several things in common:
The Israeli Border Police and the Israeli occupation soldiers all acted with the intent of abducting Palestinian school children.
Once they had succeeded they left the area immediately showing that this was their objective from the beginning.
The presence and behaviour of the soldiers and Border Police was provocative and invited an excuse for abduction.
None of the children abducted on these days was throwing stones. Nor was there any significant unrest or stone-throwing on any of these 3 days.
International activists were close at hand on each occasion abductions occurred.
One boy was 14 but the rest were younger.
The children were never accompanied by a parent of family member and no attempt was made to locate one.
Conclusions:
The abduction of innocent children especially in these circumstances is violations of natural justice, humanitarian and international law.
If the intent of these abductions was intended to be one of deterrence then it can only be construed as a form of collective punishment or psychological intimidation in order to subdue any form of resistance to Israeli occupation.
If this was a civil matter the Palestinian authorities would work with the children as in any other country deal with such issues.
The root of the problem is the occupation itself. The systematic oppression of the Palestinian people whom the children are part of is the problem that needs to be addressed.
The abductions yet are another aspect of this systematic oppression that perpetuates itself as long as the occupation continues.
The injustices of these arbitrary abductions only reinforces the resolve of Palestinians to resist the occupation and fuels reactions from the Palestinian youth who endure such things.
5th December 2018 | International Solidarity Movement, Al-Khalil Team | Hebron, occupied Palestine [Updated December 6]
For two days running, Israeli occupation soldiers and Border Police ambushed young children aged 10-14 years after school in Hebron.
Tuesday, 24thDec. 2 boys were detained at Salaymeh checkpoint after being ambushed by a group of soldiers sneaking around in gardens and through a garage before bursting out behind the boys who were standing in a driveway. The boys were not throwing any the stones but were just randomly grabbed by the soldiers as they ambushed them. ISMers were only meters away and security camera footage confirms that the boys were merely standing in the driveway at the time. Two of the boys were aged 11 and one 10. One can only imagine the terror young boys experience when suddenly kidnapped by soldiers of the occupying army!
A border policeman abducts a young boy from the street after ambushing children near Hebron School. (Photo Christian Peacemaker Teams)
The Israeli Zionist forces are renowned for their cruelty even to minors: imprisoning children as young as 12 through their military courts and prisons system in which there are no rights for Palestinians. The youngest ever Palestinian child prisoner was released just days ago after a three-year prison sentence from 12 to 15 years of age.
The inhumanity of Israel is fully understood by Palestinians growing up under occupation. Collective punishment and psychological cruelty through torture and macabre tactics such as withholding bodies of Palestinians who have been killed or died during imprisonment are universally understood by Palestinians and well documented by international as well as local observers/researchers. …and there is no justice system to protect Palestinians.
Imagine what goes through the mind of a 10-year-old child suddenly grabbed by an armed solder from an occupying army and dragged from his neighbourhood! Fortunately, the boys were released after being detained for more than an hour inside the checkpoint.
Today also (December 5), 3 boys were abducted aged 14, 11 and 9. The boys attend two of the local schools and were kidnapped from the street around 300 metres from Qeitun checkpoint. They were standing in the street talking about 3 metres from an ISM activist when they were ambushed by Israeli Border Police.
The two younger boys were released later today, but the 14-year-old was taken away. According to the headmaster of the Hebron School, Khalil Abu Sunaineh, the older boy could face up to 6 months imprisonment. The military court does not need to give evidence to support any accusation on the grounds that it is “classified information”. There is a 98% conviction rate.
The headmaster showed us pictures on the wall of the school hallway, over 70 pictures taken over the last two years show child arrests, tear gas, concussion grenades both inside the school and on the street outside. They are the tip of the iceberg. He has been at the school for 14 years!
A gallery of soldier invasions of the school, abductions, concussion grenades and tear gas in the school and on the street outside.
He also told us that the soldiers and border police sneak around in the middle of the night mapping the neighbourhood and planning their ambushes. We’d witnessed this ourselves during the day. It was creepy enough in the daytime seeing soldiers just walk around in people’s gardens, exploring every alleyway, entering apartment buildings at will and ascending to the rooftops. It must feel violating to live under these circumstances.
Israeli forces justify their actions because some Palestinian children throw stones at them. To the uninformed this may seem a valid argument on the surface. However, it’s important to remember that the Israelis are the occupiers and have absolutely no rights under international law to defend themselves from the people they occupy. They are the aggressors. They are not civil enforcement officers of the Palestinian community.
This argument also holds no water because usually in any specific situation the Israeli forces are the aggressors who initiate conflict.
Even if we accepted this erroneous argument, the children who were detained on these two days were not throwing stones. To detain, or arrest and imprison them, for what someone else has done at any time at all is unjust and a form of collective punishment.
What justification can there possibly be for concussion grenades, toxic tear gas (228 tear gas rounds and 51 concussion grenades were fired in the Salaymeh / Qeitun neighbourhoods in 15 school days between November 4 and November 27, 2018 (including 34 tear gas rounds in one day!))? [Statistics from Christian Peacemaker Teams] This is on top of the usual intimidation, child abduction and invasion of streets and schools by armed soldiers in residential neighbourhoods!
Examples of tear gas being used in the Saleymeh / Quetun neighbourhoods.
These are children! Such actions are totally unacceptable on minors.
Do such actions promote peace? Do they not actually sustain and deepen the inhumane occupation of the Palestinian people?
Do they not also inspire rejection of the immoral occupation, and provoke further resistance against such oppression?
Fortunately, Palestinians usually choose non-violent resistance rather than violence, leaving Israelis with the moral predicament of enforcing the immoral and illegal occupation and the international community with the shame of their inaction.
Addendum:
These are part of a much larger continual attack on Palestine’s future by targeting children and their education: The following links show the extent of these attacks in just one week of November and other articles by Palestinian and international commentators are given for reference:
It was 7am when we woke up after a night under the stars, in the village of At-Tuwani, surrounded by arid hills and olive groves. It’s the kind of place you’d want to sightsee, or drink tea with the locals, admire the work of weaving and embroidery by the women of the village. But few people still come here. In the 80’s Israeli settlers took up residence on a hill opposite At-Tuwani, and the years that have followed have been a living hell for the inhabitants.
The night before, we were accompanied by Bilal and Mahmoud, two young people who grew up coping with the violence of settlers, and Israeli soldiers. From Mahmoud’s house we observed the hill of the settlers. He told us that he’s already been in prison, just like Bilal; his house attacked, his olive trees cut. A few days before we arrived, we learned that his brother was nearly killed by a settler. In this village no one ever really sleeps. Phones are on at all times, the inhabitants always ready to rush out of bed in order to defend their village. To defend the village is to defend their herds from mutilation, their houses from destruction, and their culture from erasure. Most importanly, they are defending their right to live on the land they have occupied for centuries.
The night of the sky was clear and we saw shooting stars succeed one another, but it was not stars we had our eyes on, but the hill, where torches blazed between the trees facing us. Mahmoud shined his light on the trees, and silhouettes appeared before us- they were settlers, of course. “They won’t come near as long as we watch them” he told us, “Although armed, they can be quite cowardly.”
Shaking our torches is a way of showing our presence to settlers, to let them know we are awake, and watching. Because of our presence, when Bilal returned home, he was able to go straight to bed. For reasons such as this, the presence of internationals is important for the inhabitants. Recently, an Italian organization that were active in the village for some time had just left because of a lack of resources. Bilal is obviously tired, and I could tell that he wanted us to stay for several more days.
As we waited on Mahmoud’s roof, wrapped in blankets, I asked Mahmoud how the settlers are able to play, what seems to be almost a game every night, without tiring. “They do not work,” he answers, “they can sleep during the day because they receive a salary from the Israeli state.” The daily life of the inhabitants of this village seems to be so unbearable, and I can not help but admire the likes of Mahmoud and Bilal- the strength they have to endure. Of course, he has been resisting since he was born, and probably will for the rest of his life.
As footsteps startled us, silhouettes appeared again, this time approaching the house. When my heart began to beat faster, I thought to myself this must be only an ounce of what they experience here.
However, it was soldiers, not settlers, that appeared. Oddly, we are relieved. The truth is that they aren’t as dangerous as the colonists. Their presence is supposedly for protection; for both the Palestinians and the settlers, despite reports that settlers and soldiers collude, even to kill inhabitants at times. “Why are you up there?” One of the soldiers had asked us. Mahmoud answered in Hebrew (which he learned in prison) that he had the right to be on his roof, that he’s watching over his olive field for the settlers. “We’re here, do not worry,” the a soldier replies. After leaving, Mahmoud explained that they came to find out how many of us there were in order to report to the settlers. “We can not trust them.”
After some time, it became clear that the settlers were going to hold off their assault that night, and Mahmoud was finally able to go to bed as well. The next morning we had to wake up early to accompany children to school. It’s the Israeli army’s duty to protect these children from similar attacks, but if they complied with that assignment, our presence would not be necessary.
