15th of December, 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus team | Nablus, occupied Palestine
On the night of the 10th of December, the Israeli forces raided the Palestinian cultural Centre Tanweer, near the old city of Nablus, and stole hardwares, wifi keys and a laptop after searching the whole centre. The organisation lost all of their data from the raid.
When the volunteers arrived at 11 am the next day, they found the door broken and everything spread on the floor. Volunteers from the centre have been working on getting the place back into shape since then, but much of the furniture and computer equipment have been severely damaged. The Rachel Corrie computer room, established in 2011, was as well raided and the computers are at the moment unusable. The team is thinking of launching a fundraising campaign to help replace the lost equipment.
The volunteers’ coordinator has been arrested around three weeks ago during a night raid, as well as about seven of the organisation’s volunteers. Tanweer is not involved in any political activism; it’s a cultural center working to educate the youth from the old city of Nablus and therefore the volunteers don’t understand the reason for this targeting of their work.
The coordinators, along with Palestinian volunteers, organise activities, support classes, computer courses and any cultural events. “You attack a cultural center, it means that you don’t want people to be enlightened”, said Mustafa Azizi, one of the volunteers.
Night raid in Tanweer Center in Nablus. Photo credit : Ziad Ameireh.Night raid in Tanweer Center in Nablus. Photo credit : Ziad Ameireh.Night raid in Tanweer Center in Nablus. Photo credit : Ziad Ameireh.Night raid in Tanweer Center in Nablus. Photo credit : Ziad Ameireh.Night raid in Tanweer Center in Nablus. Photo credit : Ziad Ameireh.Night raid in Tanweer Center in Nablus. Photo credit : Ziad Ameireh.Night raid in Tanweer Center in Nablus. Photo credit : Ziad Ameireh.Night raid in Tanweer Center in Nablus. Photo credit : Ziad Ameireh.Night raid in Tanweer Center in Nablus. Photo credit : Ziad Ameireh.night
On Friday the 11th of December, hundreds of protesters gathered in the village of Silwad, Ramallah area, in a demonstration demanding the return of the body of Anas Bassam Hammad who was killed on December 4th by Israeli soldiers. After the Friday prayer, the protesters marched towards the eastern entrance of the village near road 60 when Israeli forces attacked the demonstration using tear gas, live ammunition, rubber-coated steel bullets, hollow point bullets and foam tipped bullets.
Protesters marching towards the eastern entrance of Silwad village.
22 Palestinians were injured according to International Middle East Media Center (IMEMC), seven of them injured with hollow point bullets – also known as “dum dum” – which detonates on impact causing severe damage and therefore are declared illegal under international law.
A young man was seriously wounded when shot in his abdomen having his liver penetrated by bullet fragments which afterwards came out through his back. Another young man suffered a moderate injure after being shot in his abdomen.
Injured youth carried towards ambulance by locals.
In addition, sources state that fifteen Palestinians at the demonstration were shot with rubber-coated steel bullets and many suffocated after tear gas inhalation.
In the village, a family of five suffered the effects of tear gas inhalation, after having a gas bomb fired by Israeli forces into the home of the family. A young female family member was severely injured in the retina of her eye as a consequence of the tear gas.
Demonstration attacked with tear gas shot by Israeli forces.
Furthermore, medics were targeted as Israeli soldiers opened fire towards a Red Crescent ambulance, damaging its windshield. Another ambulance was searched by Israeli forces while taking a wounded Palestinian to the hospital.
Palestinian journalists were also targeted with the wide range of weaponry, wounding a Palestine TV-reporter. In addition, many journalists suffered from tear gas inhalation.
Soldiers preparing to shoot at protesters in the village of Silwad.
The refusal of the Israeli government to return the dead body of Anas Hammad to his family follows a common pattern of violating both Israeli and international humanitarian law. Israel continues to evade it’s obligation to return the bodies of dead Palestinians to their respective families.
Locals gathering in the Friday prayer before the demonstration.
December 4th, 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Gaza team | Gaza strip, occupied Palestine
There were many protests this Friday again in Gaza. According to the information provided by the ministry of health, 10 people have been injured in the Khan Younees area, mainly in El Farahin. 11 people have been injured in the Central Area. At the Karni border crossing (Shijaia) were demonstrations as well were 14 people were wounded. In addition to that, 7 were injured in the north.
In total, 42 were injured in the Gaza Strip today, most of them by live ammunition shot by snipers. At least one is in serious condition.
3rd of December 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team| Hebron, occupied Palestine
On Wednesday 2nd December, in Dheisheh refugee camp, Bethlehem, a mass tribute for 28-year-old Motaz Ibrahim Zawara, took place. Motaz was killed by Israeli forces the previous day when he was shot with live ammunition in his chest during a demonstration at the northern entrance of Bethlehem, near the Rachel’s Tomb checkpoint.
Between eight and nine hundred of Palestinians, wearing the red and white keffiyeh – the symbolic color of Motaz’s political party, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – were gathered to pay a last tribute to the young man. Two others families of martyred Palestinians were present – those of Khaled Jawabra killed the 26th November in Al-Aroub refugee camp and the family of Kifah Obied, Motaz’s childhood friend killed by an Israeli sniper on 2001. ISM activist at the scene described “it was moving to see the other families there as well. It was a clear moment of witnessing the shared mourning of Palestinians families, grieving the pain of losing a child.”
The three mothers of the martyrs with the pictures of their son
Only weeks before his murder, Motaz had decided to return from his travel in France out of concern for his brother Ghassan, who had began a hunger strike in Israeli jail to protest against his illegal administrative detention. “My brother is in prison, he made a hunger strike, his life is in danger. I do not want him to die without me being there” he repeated to his friends who asked him why he left France.
Finally, Motaz died before his brother. Ghassan was released after eighteen months of illegal detention by Israeli forces last Monday night. Before going home, he spent his first moments of freedom at his brother’s grave-site, to pray with his family.
Motaz’s brother, Ghassan
During the tribute on Wednesday, in a vibrant and powerful speech which had touched all of his relatives and friends, Ghassan evoked the pain of his brother’s absence, his empty bed and the deep injustice of the death of Motaz who loved life.
Motaz’s family listening the speech of Ghassan
Motaz’mother in font of a poster of her son
According to friends ,”Motaz was happy when he was facing to the sea, it gave him a sense of freedom, lightless that he hadn’t before.” according to his friends.
December 3rd, 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Huwwara team | Nablus, occupied Palestine
Wednesday night, at 1 am, Israeli forces came to the neighborhood of Dahia, in Nablus, to demolish the house of the family of Raghib Elawi, who was accused of participating in the Itamar killings a month ago. Local witnesses say that around 300 jeeps entered Dahia and its surrounding areas to seal the area. Soldiers came in great number and started evacuating the neighboring houses at 1:30 am. They forced men, women and children out of their homes in the middle of the night with their guns pointed at them. Women complained that soldiers entered the houses without minding them not wearing their hijab, before being rushed out of their houses at gunpoint. All the families had to sit down and wait outside, in the cold, without talking. At around 4 am, the home of Raghib was demolished using explosives.
Elawi house: 1st floor belonging to Raghib and his brother and buttom floor belonging to their parents.
The apartment of Raghib Elawi’s family is located on a four floor building, the two top ones still being under construction and not inhabited. Raghib’s apartment had been emptied when they received the warning for the demolition two days ago. Next to Raghib’s apartment was the home of his brother, living with his wife and three daughters. They had moved the furniture to the side to avoid it from being damaged from the explosion but the wall between the two brother’s apartments collapsed during the demolition, making both places inhabitable. Two families including 6 children now find themselves homeless. All of them are currently staying at a brother’s house, a very precarious situation for all the them especially at this time of the year.
Children forced to witness house demolitions.
The demolition has not only affected the Elawi brothers, it also affected their parents, whose apartment is on the bottom floor of the same building. Windows shattered, doors broke, walls have been damaged, most of the furniture is ruined and the whole place is now filled with rubble. It will be a long time before anyone can live there again.
The local mosque, located 100 meters from the house, was damaged in the explosion, deeply affecting locals. On one side, all windows were shattered and broken glass covered the floor.
This morning at sunrise, many people were in the street attempting to clean up their houses before starting the day. They all will have to bare the consequences of this collective punishment, especially families with children who will now have to go through the beginning of winter without windows or doors to keep them warm. Furthermore, the usage of dynamite (TNT) in the house demolitions causes severe collateral damage on neighboring houses and thereby extends the collective punishment, which is already illegal and declared a war crime by international law.
Window frame in neighboring house severely damaged from the explosion
Raghib Elawi was accused of being involved on the 1st of October in the killing of two illegal Israeli settlers driving a car near Beit Furik. He was brutally arrested by Israeli forces in the night of the 4th of October while he was recovering from a surgery. The trial in his case still hasn’t taken place as the hearing was postponed, yet without being found guilty, his home has already been destroyed. This violates international law stating the right of being presumed innocent until proved guilty according to the law.
Three homes of Palestinians, believed to be involved in the same killing, were demolished on November 14th, leaving several families homeless.
Locals watching and showing their support to the Elawi family.
