Category: Hebron - Page 63 - International Solidarity Movement

Nisreen Azzeh continues to struggle after the death of her husband, Hashem Azzeh

6th December 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Khalil Team | Al-Khalil, occupied Palestine

The 22nd of November, one month after the passing away of Palestinian activist and dear friend of the ISM, Hashem Azzeh, the team of al-Khalil (Hebron) visited his widow, Nisreen.

Nisreen with her late husband, Hashem Azzeh. Photo credit: Global Research

While sitting in her living room, Nisreen explained how, after her husband’s death, everyday life for her and her family has only gotten worse.

The Israeli army does not allow any visitors into the house. She also says that the army refers to them not by their actual names, but with numbers.

4 days before this conversation took place, Nisreen was coming back home to find the main access to the house closed. The Israeli soldiers had declared it a military closed zone. They asked her, “Why are you so nervous?” To which she replied, “Because the way is closed.”

The soldiers mockingly answered, “Call Mahmoud Abbas and tell him to stop the Intifada.” But Nisreen answered back to this cruel sarcasm, saying that this is H2 area, “which is ruled by Netanyahu.”

Since the main access to her home is now blocked, she is forced to use an alternative entrance where she must climb some very difficult rocks. Nisreen suffers from knee problems, and she can foresee that when the winter and the snow comes, this passageway will be very slippery, putting her in danger of falling.

Both Nisreen and her brother in law are afraid of their children going out alone on the street. They are especially afraid for Raghad, Nisreen’s oldest daughter who is 17, and her cousin, who is 19 years old. Because of their age, both of their parents are scared that the illegal Israeli settlers and Israeli army will shoot and kill them and place a knife next to their bodies, since this is what they have been doing, targeting youth of similar age, almost on a daily basis from the beginning of October. Read more about this here and here.

Therefore, Raghad is not going out of the house alone, and she had to stop walking her youngest sister to school. Now her mother has taken on that task.

Fear of settler violence is part of every day life for the inhabitants of Al-Khalil (Hebron). Nisreen will never forget how she suffered two miscarriages due to settlers’ attacks. During the first miscarriage, she was three months pregnant; the second time, she was four months pregnant.

After one of these miscarriages, which happened in 2003, she had decided to file a complaint to the Israeli Police. After waiting for 8 years, the case was finally brought to court in 2011. The settlers counted with three lawyers, whereas for her it was very hard to pay for all the necessary expenses.

She recalls how, during the first court hearing, the settlers did not show up saying they were sick. During the second court hearing, when the settlers came with three layers, she had presented a video showing how they had attacked her together with her son Younes, who was three years old at the time. The court even requested her to draw a map of the location where this took place. She did so, but the final decision of the court was that she was lying and she lost the case.

In the meantime, Nisreen continues her struggle to provide a life as normal as possible for her children.

For a deeper understanding of Al-Khalil’s daily life struggle, read an interview ISM made to late Hashem Azzeh in 2013 here.

Increasing collective punishment in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron)

3rd of December 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

Israeli forces closed the al-Hareka neighbourhood putting up new roadblocks and completely closing off a whole neighbourhood in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron).

The neighbourhood’s access to the main street has been blocked off with an iron gate for a long time already. Recently, a group of about twenty soldiers arrived to the neighbourhood to further limit the freedom of movement of the Palestinian residents.

Military gate blocking entrance for cars

One resident, a journalist documenting the soldiers putting the new roadblocks that completely barr any access to about 200-300 people living there, was detained by the soldiers for over an hour. Soldiers attempted to stop him from filming this measure of collective punishment, a clear infringement on the freedom of press. In order to reach the main road or leave their houses, people living behind the wall are now forced to walk all the way around and will thus need at least ten minutes more to reach the military gate that is already blocking their entrance.

Children playing on the newly erected wall blocking off the neighbourhood

Watch a video of soldiers installing this new wall:

Or watch video here.

Additionally, soldiers have commanded the roof of a private family home for military purposes and have erected a small military base there. A group of six soldiers is permanently stationed on the family home and “they slept on the roof”, as a school-boy explained.

Israeli forces stationed on a family home

The al-Hareka neighbourhood is bordering the illegal settlement of Kiryat Arba, and thus is often the target of harassment and violence both from the Israeli forces as well as the settlers – often under the protection of the soldiers.

This is yet another measure to intensify the efforts to restrict – or completely stop – Palestinian freedom of movement. Such collective punishment measures have sky-rocketed in the recent weeks and months in occupied al-Khalil, and add to the increasing efforts to further exacerbate everyday life for Palestinians and eventually make them disappear completely.

“We were walking home and they shot at us”

2^nd December 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

On the evening of the 1^st of December 2015, five Palestinian boys were shot at by Israeli forces with live ammunition on their way home to Tel Rumeida. The five boys – between the ages of sixteen and seventeen years – were on their way home, passing through the Jabal Al-Rahma neighbourhood at around 8pm when three soldiers shot at them with live ammunition without any reason. One of the boys managed to run away, while the other four were injured.

The Jabal Al-Rahma neighbourhood borders with the Tel Rumeida neighbourhood and thus marks the border between the H1 and H2 area in Al-Khalil (Hebron). Both the Jabal Al-Rahma neighbourhood and the neighbourhood of Tel Rumeida have been subjected to house raids and increased violence, harassment and closures since the beginning of October. The Tel Rumeida area has turned into lawless zone with the declaration of it being a “closed military zone” on November 1^st, in which heightened harassment, violence and humiliation increasing daily. On the evening of the 1^st of December “we were walking home and they shot at us” explains one of the boys. This happened in the Jabal al-Rahme neighbourhood, in the H1 area of Tel Rumeida – supposedly under full Palestinian control.

When the soldiers started shooting, some of the residents of the Jabal Al-Rahma neighbourhood reacted quickly and tried to help the injured boys. Two of the boys immediately had to be evacuated to Alia Hospital in Al-Khalil (Hebron) where they had to spend the night. Both of them were shot with live ammunition into the legs and foot respectively. One boy immediately had to be brought to Al-Ahli hospital with serious injuries to both his stomach and legs. He had to undergo two surgeries to remove four bullets and is still in critical condition. The fourth boy was shot into the chest and then taken by the soldiers, before anyone could offer any first aid and bring him to a safe area. So far, it is unclear how severe his injuries are and where the soldiers have taken him.

The soldiers made use of their fire arms without there being any threat to them or anyone else and thereby severely injuring minors and unlawfully kidnapping one of them. Despite these illegal and highly immoral actions, they don’t have to face any consequences for their actions, whereas the families of the boys have to deal with the additional hardships of the impunity of Israeli forces.

Arbitrary arrest of local activists as settlers lay siege to soumud house in Hebron

28th November 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

Yesterday night, Israeli forces arrested two activists from the local activist group Youth Against Settlement in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron). Illegal settlers, under the protection of the Israeli forces, then layed siege to the YAS center, the Soumud house, trapping everyone inside.

Illegal settlers close to the Soumud house. Photo credit : Youth against settlements

Israeli forces stormed the house in the evening around 7 pm, and arrested 16-year old Ahmad al-Azzeh, accusing him of ‘having a knife’. Soldiers also arrested Issa Amro under the accusation of ‘disturbing the soldiers’ and ‘hiding a terrorist in his house’. Issa Amro was detained in a bathroom for more than four hours, with his hands cuffed behind his back and blindfolded. He was interrogated for long periods of time. Whereas Issa Amro was released after more than 5 and a half hours, Ahmad al-Azzeh’s arrest was extended for another 4 days. He has been arrested merely on a soldier’s accusation of ‘seeing him with a knife’. This ridiculous allegation is clearly a means to intimidate the whole group and on the long run force them to leave the area.

Israeli forces arresting Issa Amro. Photo credit : Youth against settlements

After the arrest, settlers from the nearby illegal settlement approached the Soumud house, protesting and demanding Israeli forces to close it immediately. Groups of settlers have been outside the center the whole evening, and even brought mattresses to sleep in front of the house’s door the whole night. Everyone there, thus, was trapped inside without a possibility to leave. The whole time, Israeli soldiers present in large numbers allowed the settlers to do as they pleased, without ever intervening. A group of about 30 settlers camped outside the Soumud house, thus laying a siege to it and forcing everyone inside to spent the night there. As of Saturday, 28th November 10:30am, settlers are still outside the center.

The local activist group, Youth Against Settlements, has constantly been targeted by the Israeli forces for their non-violent resistance to the Israeli occupation. Only a month ago, Israeli forces took over the center for military use, destroying their media equipment. Settlers have repeatedly attacked the group members and wrongfully accused them of crimes.

The Palestinian civilians of Queitun are locked up by massive roadblocks and skunked for no reason

27th November 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

In the early morning of November 26th, 2015, just a few hours after training some 50 new soldiers for house-invasions, the Israeli occupation army put three massive roadblocks in Sida, a connecting street in the Qeitun neighborhood of Hebron H2 (Israeli controlled). Two of these roadblocks were built with huge watchtower elements of steel reinforced concrete, placed horizontally and put in place with heavy concrete blocks, nearly impossible to remove.

There was no incident in Qeitun that could give any credibility for placing these roadblocks. There is absolutely no security reason for doing this.

Its purpose is clearly to block the traffic in this important connecting street. We can only guess about their further plans.

It has already been announced that the remaining few meters on the north-west of Shuhada Street will be annexed for extending checkpoint 56. In all likelyhood the Israeli state wants to take over the remaining south-eastern part of this historical busy shopping street as well. First by blocking it for all car traffic, and next turning it into an Apartheid Jews-only street, as is Shuhada Street now.

Shuhada Apartheid street. Red: no Palestinians allowed. Purple: No Palestinian cars allowed

That remaining south-eastern part of the Shuhada street is currently the main shopping street of Qeitun, and vital for the economic and social life of this Palestinian neighbourhood.

Further incidents on this thursday 26 November:

From 8 o’clock in the morning, a batallion of the Israeli occupation army was occupying rooftops alongside the newly locked down Sida street. It is not certain though if they will permanently stay there.

At 2 pm the same day, a skunk water truck went on the main street of this neighborhood and emptied its chemical container in the streets, also targeting houses and rooftops alongside the street. Again without any security reason. Just to make life hard and unpleasant in this Palestinian neighborhood of Hebron H2. Please watch video below to get an idea of what happened.

The following day the Israeli occupation army was back in the same neighborhood entering homes, assumably to set up rooftop observation posts alongside the Sida street. While doing this, they scared away civilians with tear gas and bullets.