Category: Nablus

Israeli forces invade Kufr Qaddoum prior to planned protest

By Ben Greene

14 September | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

The Israeli army and border police blocked a road in the village center. Picture by Ellie Marton

Just after noon on Friday 14th September, Israeli forces invaded the village of Kufr Qaddoum, prior to a demonstration due to begin at 1.15pm. The Israeli army and Border Police blocked a road in the village center, stopping villagers from attending Friday prayers at the mosque – this is the first time that the tactic of pre-emptive invasion has been used to suppress the weekly demonstration in Kufr Qaddoum.

Prayers were held instead outside the mosque, after which chanting commenced as a start to the planned protest. Israeli forces responded immediately with tear gas rounds, advancing further into the village. Further tear gas rounds were fired at head height, directly towards houses in the street where protesters were gathered.

Israeli forces then regrouped in two positions – one group of 11 soldiers on the hill above the village, and a second group on the road leading to the planned site for the demonstration. Israeli forces also brought a bulldozer and a skunk truck to block the road leading the planned demonstration site.

Israeli forces on the hillside sought to isolate groups of protesters by attacking via side streets. The combined effect of the Israeli actions was to cause the demonstration to be pushed into the heart of the village, increasing the danger for civilians.

Following the end of the demonstration, Kufr Qaddoum Popular Committee representative Murad reported that there had been a village invasion at 5pm Thursday 13th September also, by soldiers in jeeps who entered the village and fired tear gas for no reason. He continued, ‘We don’t want to demonstrate for the sake of demonstrating. We don’t want to see our children killed, our houses damaged. Give us our rights. We will demonstrate until then.’

The weekly demonstration in Kufr Qaddoum is to protest against the closure of the main road between the village and Nablus, the nearest city, which is 13 km away. The road closure doubles the distance from Kufr Qaddoum to Nablus.

Israeli tactics at Kufr Qaddoum – invading the village from several sides, meeting demonstrators with immediate excessive force, blocking roads to prevent access, and bringing Border Police to try to arrest international observers – follow a pattern seen throughout the West Bank that aims to systematically deny basic human rights to freedom of assembly, freedom of religion, freedom to protest and freedom of movement, and also violates the obligation of military forces not to use disproportionate force.

Ben Greene is a volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).

Settlers set Palestinian land ablaze in village of Burin

By Alex Marley

15 September 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

In the afternoon of Tuesday, 11 September 2012, settlers from the illegal Israeli settlement of Yitzhar burned farmers’ land containing almond trees in the Palestinian village of Burin.

Around 10 settlers came down from the nearby settlement of Yitzhar and started to burn the trees; when Palestinian shepherds came to investigate the fires they returned quickly to the settlement. They were guarded by security officers as they watched from above.. The firemen arrived within several minutes and were successful in their efforts to control the fires. After one hour the Israeli army, Israeli Disctrict Coordination Offices (DCO) and border police arrived.

Land belonging to villagers from Burin burns as firefighters struggle to put it out.

This small village of approximately 3,000 people deal with a constant threat of settler attacks and Israeli army harassment.  Two illegal settlements and one illegal outpost surround Burin: Yitzhar, Bracha, and Givt Arousa.  The residents of these illegal colonies make it clear that they will do whatever it takes to force the Palestinians out of their homes. Their criminal acts range from burning olive trees, to shooting home made rockets at the village. In 2011, approximately 4000 trees were destroyed, burned and uprooted, by the settlers’ violence.

An almond tree burns

Alex Marley is a volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).

Kufr Qaddoum: Five arrested in early morning raid

By Leila

10 September 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

Palestinian children from the village Kufr Qadoum, whose fathers were detained by Israeli soldiers, carry on the protest: “You Arrested Our Fathers, So We Lead the Demonstration Today”


Five men were arrested in an early morning raid on the town of Kufr Qaddoum Tuesday by Israeli occupation forces.

At 2:30 a.m. on Tuesday, 100 soldiers stormed the village, apprehending 5 men: Moyyad, 57, Aws, 24, Mohammad, 24, Wassin, 23, and Ahmad, 23. The men were arrested for taking part in demonstrations.

According to an eyewitness named Morad, soldiers fired tear-gas bombs as the left the village with the men.

“I saw from my balcony on the third floor,” said Morad on Saturday! “I was with my three year old child. The gas came in my house where my wife and children were.”

Morad said that soldiers have arrested at least 100 people and have damaged at least 5 homes in the last year. It was at that time that residents began a weekly demonstration to protest the 12-year closure by Israeli occupation forces of the most direct road from the town to nearby Nablus city.

The road was closed during the Second Intifada and has remained closed to Palestinians. It runs by 3 illegal Israeli settlements, Mitspe Kedumim, Eshkubiyot, and Kdumim South and is open for settlers to use.

Because of the road closure, the 5,000 residents of Kufr Qaddoum must travel 15 kilometers south and east to reach Nablus, a journey that once took one and a half kilometers to complete.

The Palestinians for Kufr Qaddoum have faced on-going harassment by occupation forces. They have also lost 4,000 dunams or about 1,000 acres of land to the illegal settlements near the village. They face restricted access to their agricultural lands by Israeli soldiers and cameras.

Leila is a volunteer at the International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed)

Kufr Qaddoum resists

By Paddy Clark

31 September 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

click to see more photos

Firas Nahar Jama, 15, was arrested after Israeli soldiers invaded the village of Kufr Qaddoum during the weekly demonstration.

Mahmood Nasir Batahan (10) was taken to the hospital after being hit by a tear-gas canister. Two others were treated on the scene after inhaling large amounts of tear-gas.

The purpose of the weekly demonstration in Kufr Qaddoum is to protest the closure of the main road that connects the village with the city of Nablus. The road, which passes alongside the nearby illegal Israeli settlement of Kedumim was closed for Palestinian access and is only open to illegal Israeli settlers. As a result, the journey to the nearest city has increased from 15 minutes to 40 minutes.

Kufr Qaddoum has also lost 4,000 durums of land to the 5 illegal Israeli settlements that surrounds the village. Farmers seeking to reach their lands face threats, attacks, and arrests. Some of the Palestinian-owned agricultural land has been declared as ‘closed military zones’, and Israeli settlers regularly sets fire to them.

Paddy Clark is a volunteer with Jordan Valley Solidarity.

Foreign Press Association demands investigation of incident in which soldiers beat journalists

By Emily Greenzweig

20 August 2012 | Haaretz

The Foreign Press Association (FPA) is demanding an investigation of the incident in which soldiers beat journalists.

The FPA contacted the Prime Minister’s Office and the Israeli army following the incident in which journalists were beaten with sticks. Minister of Public Diplomacy: Expresses doubt concerning journalists who compare Israel to a dictatorship.

The Foreign Press Association today contacted the Prime Minister’s Office and the Israeli army, demanding an immediate investigation into the incident last Friday in which foreign and Palestinian journalists who arrived to cover the protest demonstrations against land confiscation in Kufr Kadum, near the settlement of Kedumim in Samaria, were beaten.

In a video documenting the incident, soldiers are seen calling on the journalists to halt, advancing toward them with sticks and then beating several of them. As a result of the soldiers’ violence, the hand of a photographer with AFP was injured and he required medical treatment.

A notice published by the FPA says that it “expects immediate and public action by the self declared ‘only democracy in the Middle East’ following Fridays premeditated beating of clearly marked, identifiable members of the press by the IDF. The ‘soldiers’ shown attacking our colleagues are acting like a bunch of thugs. The images we see here are usually associated with failing dictatorships. Their actions are simply criminal assault and it should be treated that way by the Israeli authorities.”

The head of AFP in Israel told Haaretz that “to our sorrow this is not an isolated incident. The journalists and photographers who arrive are detained and sometimes beaten and this prevents them from doing their job. It is very sad and bad, and is part of the weekly thuggery of the military forces.”

The Israeli army spokesperson said in response that “the event is known by the IDF and is being investigated by the commanders. As a rule, the IDF respects and permits the free activities of journalists in the area in order to ensure ongoing freedom of the press even in areas possessing a confrontational character. On the face of it this appears to be an exceptional event and the investigation continues.”

The Minister of Public Diplomacy responded to the letter of the FPA that “the actions of the IDF as seen in the video were brought to our knowledge and at this stage are being examined by the IDF. I found that the language used by the FPA in its response is worrisome, unprofessional and inappropriate to an organisation representing the media. I cast doubt on the ability of journalists, who cynically compare Israeli democracy with dictatorial regimes and refer to Israeli democracy as “self-declared,” to present an objective picture to their readers.”