Category: Photo Story

In Pictures: Sheikh Jarrah

16 September 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

The ultimate aim of the Zionist organizations is to convert Sheikh Jarrah into a new Jewish settlement and to create a Jewish continuum that will effectively cut off the Old City from the northern Palestinian neighborhoods. On 28 August 2008, Nahalat Shimon International filed a plan to build a series of five and six-story apartment blocks – Town Plan Scheme (TPS) 12705 – in the Jerusalem Local Planning Commission. If TPS 12705 comes to pass, the existing Palestinian houses in this key area would be demolished, about 500 Palestinians would be evicted, and 200 new settler units would be built for a new settlement: Shimon HaTzadik.

Olive Revolution in pictures

29 August 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

On the final Friday of Ramadan, Palestinians and supporters alike peacefully marched towards Jerusalem from four directions in a symbolic attempt to enter Jerusalem, which has been illegally annexed by Israel, preventing fasting Muslims from worshiping during the final holy days of Ramadan. Yet more than just to protect the freedom of worship or even the freedom to access Jerusalem, Palestinians demonstrated the harshness of geopolitical obstructions meant to defy an identity tied to the history of the land. And just as symbolically, the Israeli military attempted to defy the everlasting humanity of Palestinians with a show of force, flying teargas, and typical oppression.

Snapshots of Al-Qawasmi home, ripped apart by Israeli military

22 August 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

Hussein Al-Qawasmi was arrested 10 days ago. Yesterday Qawasmi was escorted back to his home by Israeli soldiers, who claimed there were explosives as well as a memory stick and other forms of information. The family home was ransacked and a section of it was destroyed.

Two sons have been arrested, 2 have been killed, and one is exiled.

His brother Hassan is also held in jail while another family member, 16 year old Abdel Razaq was taken to the Russian Compound, an Israeli court, in West Jerusalem after he returned from his travels outside of the West Bank. He is currently in prison, but his location is unknown. None of the family members were able to reach him.

The mother of Hussein saw her son handcuffed, blindfolded, and beaten as she tried to approach him. The soldiers pushed her back. She suffers from heart conditions and was severely affected and needed medical attention. The soldiers would not allow an ambulance to come, and when she tried to walk down to the road to go to reach the ambulance they blocked her way. Only after the soldiers had left around twelve thirty she was taken to the hospital at that moment in an ambulance full of injured protesters.

She was taken to intensive care in Al Mazan hospital where she remains.

The explosion in the yard blew up all of the windows of the house and burned the grape vines. There was shrapnel found in the yard and the neighboring house was also damaged.