Category: Nablus - Page 34 - International Solidarity Movement

Four injured at weekly demonstration in Kafr Qaddom

14th February 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Kafr Qaddom, Occupied Palestine

At approximately 10:00 a.m. on Friday, the Israeli army positioned themselves on top of the hill overlooking Kafr Qaddom and on the closed road that leads to the illegal settlement, Qedumim.

As they did last week, the Israeli army attempted to portray themselves as peacemakers with a megaphone asking residents to go to their homes. This recurrent event is for the Israeli government’s new promotional film about the presence of the army in the West Bank.

Shortly thereafter, the residents of Kafr Qaddom burned tires and the Israeli army started shooting a large amount of tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets from the top of the mountain and from the road. One sniper with live ammunition was also placed on a large boulder among the olive trees. Residents responded with stones and were repeatedly forced back down the road by a bulldozer and the teargas. Many suffered from teargas inhalation and the canisters were often shot at head level which can cause serious injuries.

One person was hit in the neck by a rubber-coated steel bullet and was carried out of the demonstration unconscious and taken to the hospital. His condition is now stable. Another person was injured by a rubber-coated steel bullet in his leg and two persons by high-velocity teargas canisters in their legs.

The village of Kafr Qaddom has been holding a weekly Friday demonstration for over two years. The demonstrations in Kafr Qaddom are held in protest against the continued occupation of Palestine and for the right to access the land stolen by the illegal settlement of Qedumim. In addition, the village’s main road to Nablus has been blocked, adding 14 kilometers to the journey, which has caused two deaths when ambulances were not able to reach the village in time.

UN presence at Kafr Qaddum demonstration leads to theatrics by Israeli forces

31st January 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Kafr Qaddum, Occupied Palestine

In stark contrast to other Fridays, the weekly demonstration of Kafr Qaddum, in Qalqilya district, on 31^st January, 2014, was met with a cynical display of theatrics, in which Israeli forces attempted to portray themselves as peacemakers. The presence at the demonstration of a representative from the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights led to unprecedented behavior by the soldiers.

For the first time since the demonstrations began in July 2011, an Israeli officer with a megaphone made several polite requests for demonstrators to return to their homes. A female officer was also brought forward and appeals were made to the protesters not to throw stones as there was a woman present. A smaller than usual amount of tear gas was used, although several protesters were hit by canisters aimed at body height.

The weekly demonstration held at Kufr Qaddum is notorious throughout the West Bank for the high level of violent repression employed by Israeli forces. In addition to violence during the demonstrations, Israeli forces carry out regular night raids and random arrests in the town.

Protesters demand access to the road connecting the town with Nablus, which has been closed since 2003. An Israeli court ruled in November 2010 that the road should be reopened, although the military continues to block it. The illegal settlement of Qedumin, whose construction involved the theft of 4000 dunums of land from the town of Kafr Qaddum, lies along this road.

Local residents and international human rights activists spoke with the UN representative, who informed them that UN OHCHR visits in the West Bank must always be coordinated through the Israeli military high command, thus explaining the unusual behaviour on the part of the soldiers.

Weekly protest at Kafr Qaddum met with exceptional violence

24th January 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Kafr Qaddum, Occupied Palestine

On Friday 24^th January, 2014, the weekly demonstration in Kafr Qaddum, in the Qalqilya district, was repressed by excessive force, to a much greater extent than on most Fridays.

By 11:00 a.m., clashes had already broken out between local youths and Israeli soldiers and border police on the outskirts of the village. The demonstration was not due to begin until 12:00 p.m.

During the demonstration, Israeli forces fired high-velocity tear gas canisters at head height, as well as rubber-coated steel bullets. Five people were injured as a result.

A further seventeen people were treated for tear gas inhalation as canisters were fired both at protesters and into residents’ houses. Among those treated were an elderly woman and a two-month old baby.

In addition, Israeli border police detained one Palestinian for the duration of the demonstration. The man was in Kafr Qaddum on a social visit to his fiancée, and was captured in an ambush by Israeli forces. He was later released.

The people of Kafr Qaddum responded to the repression with stones.

Kafr Qaddum has held weekly demonstrations since July 2011 to protest against the closure of the road leading to Nablus, as well as the broader issue of the occupation itself. In recent months, the town has seen an escalation in the number of night raids and arrests of its inhabitants.

One Palestinian and one international activist arrested in peaceful protest in the Jordan Valley

18th January 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Jordan Valley, Occupied Palestine

A Palestinian activist and an international were arrested today whilst peacefully protesting in the Jordan Valley. The international activist is falsely charged by Israeli forces with endangering people’s lives on the road, assaulting a soldier and trying to grab his rifle.

The march held in Jiflleck Adam Junction saw around 60 people gathered to protest against the ongoing demolition of Palestinian houses in the area. The protesters started their demonstration by chanting against the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and in opposition to Benjamin Netanyahu.

When the march was almost over and protesters were walking back to the buses, a group of 15 Israeli soldiers standing nearby followed the crowd and initiated clashes.

Two international activists attending the march were pushed to the ground and handcuffed by Israeli forces while successfully preventing the arrest of a Palestinian youth. One of the activists managed to escape from detention, but the other one was blindfolded and forced to kneel for over an hour on the ground.

Before scattering the protest, the military arrested the Palestinian youth, 20-year-old Ahmad Walid, whose arrest had been previously thwarted; he and the international activist were taken in a jeep to Male Akon Military Base and later transferred to Shomron Police Station in the illegal settlement of Ariel where they are currently being held.

Overall, around 40 Israeli soldiers, police and border police were present during the non-violent demonstration in which 60 people demonstrated peacefully.

Illegal settlers attacked a mosque in the village of Deir Istiya

16th January 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Deir Istiya, Occupied Palestine

In the early morning of Wednesday the 15^th January 2014, at 3:45 AM, the muezzin of the Deir Istiya village went from his home to the Abu Bakr mosque west of the village in order to prepare for the first prayer. He found the entrance to the mosque on fire. He immediately brought water from his home in order to douse the flames. When the fire was under control, he announced over the loudspeaker of the mosque for all the villagers to come and see what had happened.

The villagers witnessed graffiti in Hebrew lettering at the entrance of the mosque; they also found gasoline containers which had been used and empty spray paint canisters. The graffiti said: “Our blood has been shed and we will take revenge for Qusra,” “ In memory of Qusra” and “Arabs Out”. In February 2013, Settlers had attempted to burn the same mosque which was built in 2005. The guilty parties were never found.

The Israeli border police and Israeli soldiers arrived at the scene at 6 AM. They took pictures of the mosque, including the graffiti and the burned entrance. They took the gasoline containers and spray paint canisters into evidence. On the land between the west of the village by the mosque and the settler road the police found a mobile phone which is believed to belong to one of the settlers, lost on his or her escape. This was also taken into evidence.

The evening before the incident, Israeli forces entered the village of Deir Istiya; they then set a curfew not allowing any of the villagers to leave their homes after 10 PM; the residents then witnessed the soldiers shooting flares and throwing stun grenades. Nobody knows exactly when the Israeli army left the village. The residents believe that the Israeli soldiers prepared everything for the settler attack to avoid eye witnesses on the streets.

On the settler road by the junction to the illegal settlements of Revava and Yakir, there is an Israeli army jeep parked at all times in order to protect the settlements; there is also a camera tower, which monitors the street, the field up the hill and to the mosque on the edge of the village of Deir Istiya. However, when a villager arrived at the mosque that morning, he noted that the army jeep was not in its usual position; he speculated that the soldiers left that area in order to allow the settlers free access.

Due to the surveillance camera which monitors the street, in addition to the evidence collected at the scene: the mobile phone, the gasoline containers and the spray paint canisters, it would appear to be straightforward to find the criminals who burned the mosque.

Villagers believe that the Israeli forces do not want to find the settlers responsible.

On the 7^th January 2014 Palestinians from the villages Qusra, Jalud and Qaryut defended themselves against attacking settlers. The settlers were beaten and held until the Palestinian DCO handed them over to the Israeli army. Because of the graffiti on the mosque, the villagers of Deir Istiya believe that it was a revenge action from a group of angry settlers.