Category: Hebron - Page 71 - International Solidarity Movement

ISM mourns the death of longtime supporter and friend, Hashem Azzeh

21st October 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Al-Khalil team | West Bank, occupied Palestine

Long term supporter and friend of ISM, Hashem Azzeh, has tragically passed away today aged 54, following health complications exacerbated by the conditions in Al-Khalil (Hebron). Hashem, who had a long-term cardiac condition, called for an ambulance on feeling discomfort in his chest earlier this afternoon. As Palestinian vehicles are banned within his H2 neighborhood of Tel Rumeida, Hashem had to be assisted to walk the 700 meters from his house to the Shuhada street checkpoint in increasing pain. He passed the soldiers who harass him and his family on a daily basis and was accompanied into an awaiting ambulance. He passed away not long afterwards.

Only yesterday, Tuesday 20th October, Hashem picked olives together with international support from the ISM Al-Khalil team. After just 20 minutes of picking, they were interrupted by illegal settlers, armed with machine guns, who made it impossible to continue the harvest for the day. (See more here)

Within his life time, Hashem was subject to an extreme amount of harassment and abuse. Living in the infamous neighborhood of Tel Rumeida in Al-Khalil (Hebron), illegal settlers not uncommonly threw trash, stones and even human feces at his house and family within. As he described in an interview with ISM in December 2013: ”In general the daily life is really horrible. Our children get harassed on their way to and back from school. We get controlled and searched at the checkpoint every day.” Him and his wife Nisreen also tragically lost two children due to settler violence.

The inability to easily access medical assistance within Tel Rumeida was just one example he gave of the stranglehold effect of Israeli forces and illegal settlers on this neighborhood. “I used to climb a six meter wall to access my home. When my wife was pregnant I had to carry her all the way, when she was about to give birth. It took us three hours to get to the hospital.”

Hashem was an admired friend to many internationals and his house was always open for a cup of tea on the occasions that soldiers allowed passage through the street. He strongly resisted the occupation and undoubtedly inspired many people with his stoic commitment to both his family and his city.

An ISM Al-Khalil team member stated tonight, “it is hard to find the words to respond to these senseless attacks on innocent families at the best of times. As this tragic and avoidable death follows weeks of escalating violence in Al-Khalil, and years of constant harassment of the Azzeh family, we are looking back on Hashem’s words from the past…’the army and the settlers have done a lot to me here. They want me to move but I will never give up, we are still fighting until we get our freedom…‘” Our thoughts go out the family of Hashem who lost a father and husband today, and we continue to stand in solidarity to that end.

An autopsy will occur overnight to determine the exact cause of Hashem’s death and the degree to which the Israeli-delayed medical assistance contributed to his untimely passing. There will be a funeral tomorrow, October 22 at 12pm in Al-Khalil.

He will be sorely missed in Tel Rumeida and around the world.

Settlers call for attacks on International human rights defenders in al-Khalil (Hebron)

21st October 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Al-Khalil team | West Bank, occupied Palestine

”These are not tourists. These are hostile anarchists. Soldiers and residents pay attention, the characters in these photos are here to harm Israelis for anti-semitic reasons. Act accordingly.”

This message, written in Hebrew, was posted by a machine gun-wielding illegal Israeli settler outside the apartment of international human rights defenders in Hebron (al-Khalil) today. The posters show pictures of the faces of members of the ISM Al-Khalil team, as well as other international organisations working in the town. Most of the photos were taken yesterday, October 20th, while they were picking olives with the family of Hashem Al Azzeh in Tel Rumeida.

Illegal Israeli settlers attack Palestinians in al-Khalil on a daily basis with impunity. Settlers have also attacked international human rights defenders in the past.

In the last month settlers and the Israeli military have shot dead several Palestinians whom they claimed had knives. Pictures and videos taken by Palestinian activists and international volunteers have challenged these claims.

A member of the International Solidarity Movement Al-Khalil team today stated that ”the intention of this threat is clearly to intimidate international human rights defenders and to prevent them from continuing to document the acts of violence, abuses and human rights crimes that illegal Israeli settlers carry out towards Palestinians every day in Hebron’.’

Despite the threat the international volunteers intend to stay in al-Khalil.

The posters in al-Khalil calls for violence against internationals

Machine gun armed settler taking the Pictures of the international volunteers — Illegal settler photographing the international volunteers assisting olive harvest, armed with machine gun. Tuesday, 2oth October 2015

Al-Khalil (Hebron) settlers disrupt Palestinian family’s harvest

19th October 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Al-Khalil team | West Bank, occupied Palestine

Recently weakened by heart attack and subsequent surgery, Hashem made his way slowly down the hill from his home in the Tel Rumeida section of al-Khalil to meet with the group of internationals from whom he requested assistance in picking what was left of his harvest of olives after settler theft.

Though no such law exists, the internationals were disallowed to get through the simple stretch of two minutes walk to get to Hashem’s land. After taking a back way to the property, Hashem was seated, trying to catch his breath after pointlessly walking down the hill only to be yelled at smugly by the near dozen Israeli forces to leave.

Within twenty minutes of the harvest’s commencement for the two trees left bearing fruit after settlers picked the area clean in recent weeks, a settler armed with an m-16 machine gun descended into the olive groves from the settlement up against Hashem’s property and began approaching the family members and volunteers, taking close up photos of them. Two settler women shouted abuse at the harvesters from the yard and window of the settlement.

A settler woman laughs as she and two others harass Palestinian farmers and international monitors.

Israeli forces and Israeli police arrived on the scene and rather than interrogating the armed man who was visibly and audibly harassing the family and volunteers picking, they approached Hashem and ID checked him while one of the women continued to shout abuse unabated, “Why are you stealing our olives! Go back to Germany and pick olives!” An all-purpose attack against anyone questioning settler violence, harassment, theft and brutality is that you are, without question or reason, a Nazi and you should go back to Germany.

Israeli forces, rather than end the abuse and let Hashem’s family, already the constant recipient of vicious settler abuses, harvest in peace, the family and international monitors were asked to hurry up and finish the harvest so they could be on their way. This wasn’t a difficult request to grant as there were nearly no olives left to harvest after the theft.

Machine gun armed settler photographs a Palestinian woman as she tries to harvest on her land.

Hashem’s struggles with settler abuse during his harvest in just the latest in a string of torment against Palestinian farmers, many whose only income is wrought from the olive harvest. In Burin, masked settler terrorists set fires to Palestinian farmer’s trees and property, splitting open the head of a British foreign national monitoring the harvest from close range with a stone and smashing the windows of a Palestinian farmer’s car.

Israel, who is purportedly addressing security concerns, has done nothing to help the situation. They have managed to exacerbate the escalating situation by sending additional Israeli forces into al-Khalil and enacted bag and body search protocol for Palestinians passing by on Tel Rumeida streets on their way to school, work and home.

Settler and Soldier harassment continues for the Daana Family

19th October 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Al-Khalil team | West Bank, occupied Palestine

Members of the Daana family sat up into the early morning hours behind their home as explosions, gunshots and the whine of teargas canisters being fired rang out throughout the evening. In front of the family home where 16 children live, including a 13 day old infant, broken glass and large stones are strewn about; evidence of the night of violence they endured after settlers from the illegal Kiryat Arba settlement vandalized the fence separating them from Palestinian homes and went on a rampage.

Internationals from the ISM Khalil (Hebron) team joined the family after a night of settler terror injured ten Palestinians in the neighborhood. 13 year old Abdullah Nasser Daana’s chest was bandaged after a settler-thrown molotov cocktail smashed into his body. When his cousin Basil Khaled Daana, 16 rushed to his aid, settlers threw large stones at him, striking him violently just above his ankle. Ambulances were prevented from getting to the injured who had called the Mosques for help during the attack, prompting the Mosque loudspeakers desperate late night calls for assistance for the besieged family.

16 year old Basil Daana's injuries from settler-thrown stone while aiding his injured 13 year old cousin. — 16 year old Basil Daana’s injuries from settler-thrown stone while aiding his injured 13 year old cousin.

25 year old Emid Sayeed Daana, whose wrist is bandaged after being injured by a stone looks up sharply after the sound of settlers screaming over the fence begins; one of many times throughout the evening this would occur. “They are shouting dirty things at us.” His words exhibit the commonality of this type of harassment the family gets on a constant basis with explosions randomly punctuating the typical miseries of life under military, and settler, occupation, “This is normal for us. The teargas, the gunshots. Where is the life? Where is the freedom.”

13 year old Abdullah Daana was injured by settler-thrown molotov.

His family is constantly on edge, waiting for the next attack. “If there are 15 of us inside the house, 15 are also outside to keep an eye out, to look out for them.” Emid, who in a rare quiet moment, shows us his diploma for studies in media, went on to express, “We cannot all be inside the home, if we do, the settlers will come through the fence and enter our families home. And the teargas from the soldiers. You see we can barely breathe here, we have a 13 day old baby inside. Teargas could kill a baby that young.”

Throughout the evening, intermittently with the deafening blasts of stun grenades, teargas filled the air, sometimes almost unbearably so which caused several members of the family to cover their faces or rush inside to escape it. In the late night hours, a hurled bottle crashed on the ground in front of the home.

One family member slept outside with two internationals to be on watch for the next attack. The settlers did not breach the fence again this night, yet every hour that passes with a family living in fear, is an hour of violence being committed against them. In the escalated chaos of the past two and half weeks in the West Bank, another Palestinian family navigates the continued crisis of a human rights crushing occupation.

Settlers lay siege to Wadi Alhussein neighbourhood in Hebron (Al Khalil), Daana family under threat

18th October 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Al-Khalil team | West Bank, occupied Palestine

Sunday 18 October

The Hebron (Al Khalil) neighbourhood of Wadi Alhussein is tonight, Sunday 18th October, under siege as armed settlers rampage through the streets with support of the Israeli forces. International human rights activists are currently standing in solidarity in the home of the Daana Family who have already suffered several physical attacks in the past few days.

As of 9.40pm, three people have been injured in the Daana house, including one young child, due to attack by fire bomb, and ambulances are being prevented from delivering aid. Tear gas has been fired extensively between Palestinian houses and many stun grenades have been used in the area. The situation is anticipated to escalate overnight as settlers from the adjacent illegal settlement of Kiryat Arba are continuing to gather around Palestinian family homes.

Hebron (Al Khalil) has been in a state of borderline lockdown by Israeli forces for over 24 hours now, following the murder of Palestinian 18 year old Fadel Al-Kawasmeh by illegal settlers on Shuhada street yesterday morning. Following this Bayan Ahmad Aseeleh, 16, was shot by Israeli forces outside the Ibrahimi Mosque on allegations that she attempted to stab a soldier. Settlers were then witnessed dancing on the site of a third shooting and lying in front of the ambulance carrying Tarek Al-Natsheh who died soon after.

Immediately following this, a group of approximately 200 settlers tore down the fence between the Kiryat Arba settlement and the H2 neighbourood of Wadi Alhussein, throwing stones and fire bombs at Palestinian houses. Ten Palestinians were injured in the attack, including 13 year old Abdullah Nasser Dana, who was hit in the chest with a molotov cocktail, and Basil Khaled Dana, 16, who was hit in the ankle with a stone while helping Abdullah. 25 year old Emid Sayeed Dana, who was hit with a stone on the wrist, said earlier today ‘I think they will come again tonight.’ An unidentified Palestinian was also shot with live ammunition by a settler.

Dezeray, an international activist from the US who has been living in Hebron, is currently in the Daana house. She stated: ‘this situation is an absolute violation of peoples’ basic rights. The Daana family are just one example of daily life for Palestinians and the escalating settler violence of the past few weeks.’

Italian human rights defender Orion added, ‘Israel must be held accountable for soldiers’ extrajudicial attacks on Palestinians, as well as their support of settlers’ arbetrary attacks on innocent Palestinian families.’

The Daana family have been victim to attacks by illegal Kiryat Arbar settlers in the past, including a 2008 fire bombing of the house. In 2003 they were detained in their home for a week, with food being delivered by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society. They have also had 5 horses poisoned by settlers in the past 10 years.

Nine families are living in the house, with 50 people, the majority of which are women and children.