Category: Photo Story - Page 7 - International Solidarity Movement

Invasion of Jenin Camp – A Photo Journal.

By ISM volunteer D. N.

When I arrived in Jenin, on Tuesday July 4th, the city was a battlefield, the streets were destroyed and burnt, tear gas canisters and bullets lay on the ground, the air was filled with smoke, the sound of live bullets, the screams of young men. The residents were in a state of high alert.

The day before, Monday the 3rd of July, residents were awakened by the sound of the explosion aerial bombardment by drones and Energa anti-tank rifle grenades. More than 2,000 soldiers and about 450 military vehicles invaded the city.

Ashraf Al-Saadi, a resident of the camp told me: “We are civilians. We did not go to the Israeli military sites. The occupation came to us. What did we do!? How do we deserve this?”

Jenin Refugee Camp was destroyed once before in 2002. In 2023 alone, there have been three massacres: In the first the occupation forces killed 12 martyrs, in the second the occupation forces killed 8 martyrs, and in the last most recent massacre the occupation forces killed another 12 martyrs, including 3 high school students.

As I watched the occupation forces turn the streets of Jenin upside down and transform them into a burning battlefield dominated by smoke and blackness, I asked myself: “Will Jenin be able to rebuild and light up again?”.

Ashraf Al-Saadi, told me that since the first hours of the operation, while ambulance teams struggled to reach the besieged houses and the injured inside the camp’s lanes Israeli snipers were deployed heavily on tall buildings on the outskirts of the camp, including in his own home. As we entered Ashraf’s house he explained: “The occupation forces broke into my house, which is part of a building consisting of four floors. We are four families, one living on each floor. The occupation forces detained us all, four families in one room, and seized the rest of the house and used it to monitor the movements inside the camp and to deploy snipers in the house. They damaged the house, broke and vandalized furniture, and stole some money.”

On the second day of the incursion, the Israeli occupation forces closed the entrances to the city, especially the main road of the camp, with jeeps and armored vehicles. This left the camp residents without water or electricity for more than 30 hours. Many families were forced to leave the camp. According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs of the UN 3,500 people were internally displaced during the operation.

A mother cat tries to protect her kittens in the ruins of Jenin camp. Photos by D.N.

I went to Jenin government hospital. In my mind I can still hear the heavy sound of bullets fired by the Israeli occupation forces at unarmed civilians in the vicinity of the hospital, which is only 70 meters away from the camp. Everyone was a target, including the medical teams who were trying to reach the injured and the press teams that were documenting the events the occupation forces were targeting everyone, they did not differentiate.

The destruction caused by the occupation to the houses and infrastructure in the camp includes: 4 buildings completely destroyed, 25 residential buildings partially damaged, and roughly 250 damaged residential units. The number of commercial and service buildings damaged reached around 150 and a mosque was partially destroyed. The Israeli occupation forces completely destroyed the infrastructure, roads, and streets: electricity and water were cut off, and sewage pipes were destroyed.

Women walking by the damaged mousqe in Jenin camp. Photo by D.N,

Turkmen, another camp resident, lives with his family on the ground floor of a building, his brother’s family live on the second floor. In the early hours of the military aggression on Jenin camp his home and his brother’s home were bombed from the air. Both homes were completely burnt. In the burning house, new furniture bought by Turkmen’s eldest son, who was preparing for his wedding next Friday, was charred. ”I was preparing to take my son’s furniture to his new home, but the invasion surprised us and we couldn’t move anything, even our clothes were completely burned.”

UNRWA, The International Relief Agency for Palestine refugees, provided food parcels and medicines to help the camp’s residents.

The camp residents told me that despite being afraid, hungry, thirsty and unsafe they will not surrender to the aggression of the occupation.

But we are left asking: who will condemn the Israeli occupation for its crimes against the Palestinian people in general, and against the Jenin camp in particular?

The Occupation forces that shot infant Mohammad Tamimi in the head invade and injure mourners at his funeral.

6/6/2023, Nabi Saleh, Occupied Palestine

Today, the people of the village of Nabi Saleh bid farewell to the slain infant Muhammad Tamimi, who tragically died after being shot in the head by an Israeli soldier.

Slain infant Mohammad Tamimi’s funeral
Photo by Diana Khwaelid

The villagers of Nabi Saleh welcomed the child with flowers as they paid their respects. His mother, brother, sister, and father shared a final farewell look with baby Muhammad, and his mother embraced him, kissing him for the last time. “I want justice for my son, and for every person who shot at my husband and son to be held accountable,” she said.

The mother of salin infant Mohammed Tamimi Kisses her son for the last time Photo by Diana Khwaelid

According to the Israeli human rights organization B’tselem, two-and-a-half-year-old Mohammed is the 150th Palestinian killed by Israel since the beginning of 2023. Documentation collected by Defense for Children International Palestine shows that 27 Palestinian children have been killed this year.

The brother of Maohhamed Tamimi Kissing his brother for the last time, Picture by Diana Khwaelid

During the funeral, confrontations broke out between the village youth and the occupying military that surrounded the village. Later that afternoon, while mourners were gathered at the grandparents’ home, the occupation forces invaded the village for the third time since Mohammad was shot, beating and shooting villagers, injuring six people.

The video below was taken by Neriman tamimi before she was beaten and injured by Israeli soldiers invading her village after leathaly wounding toddler Mohammad tamimi

Among the injured is Maher Tamimi, whose brother Qusai was tragically shot dead by the occupation forces last September. Maher sustained a gunshot wound in the pelvis, with the bullet entering his intestines. Renowned human rights defender Neriman Tamimi was targeted by a soldier, who struck her in the face with a rifle, and another mourner was hit in the face with a rubber-coated steel bullet.

Reknown human rights defender Neriman Tamimi hospitilized after being hit in the face with a rifle by an Israeli soilder

Ayed Abu Eqtaish, accountability program director at DCIP, stated: “Unlawful killings of Palestinian children have become the norm as Israeli forces become increasingly empowered to use intentional lethal force in situations that are not justified. This is a war crime with no consequences.”

In response to Mohammed Tamimi’s killing, South African MO Nkosi ZMD Mandela, the grandson of the late Nelson Mandela, released a statement demanding accountability. He stated, “We are appalled by this level of inhumanity and the ongoing crimes against humanity, and we call for immediate charges to be brought by the International Criminal Court against Netanyahu.”

The video below was taken by AlQuds TV

Families Not Firing Zones: Defiance in Masafer Yatta

16 October | International Solidarity Movement | Masafer Yatta

For the last 42 years the Israeli occupation forces have been slowly but surely grinding the region of Masafer Yatta into dust. Now, in 2022, the various injunctions, petitions, hearings and a halfhearted international condemnation have amounted to nothing. The Israeli army has again successfully pushed through their application to forcibly transfer some 1,200 Palestinians to make way for a military firing zone. This is ethnic cleansing happening before our eyes.

At the gates to the valley lies the village of Khallat Al Dabaa, a well established resilient community. Persistent and violent Settler attacks, deliberate police negligence, military harassment, and the imminent threat of eviction makes life here increasingly difficult. A large portion of the Masafer Yatta valley has been designated a live firing range for military training dispute the existing residents. This is means displacing and demolishing the homes of 215 Palestinian households that have lived in these hills for generations, now under constant threat of eviction. In Khallat Al Dabaa, 20 structures have received demolition orders. The order demands that they personally destroy their own homes. Adding salt to the wound The residents had until the 29th of September and as they did not comply they will be charged for the cost of demolition. All the while the military training persists. Dropping bombs and firing live ammunition. Demolition and violence has been the only certainty for the communities of Masafer Yatta.

The Aldababseh brothers Jeber, father of five, Mohammed, father of twelve, and Amer, father of four, have had their homes demolished five times each over the past four years by the Israeli occupation forces. The vital school, the generators, the water pipes and five wells were also destroyed. Water pipes now have to be hidden from the army and settlers. Jeber said to ISM: “If they demolish everything we will rebuild, we have nowhere else to go. This is our home and this will be our grave.”

In a show of defiance from the local community and the activists on the ground, The ISM, together with the families of Khallet Al Dabaa has been painting large bold clear statements on the walls of the houses. Statements asking questions such as: “Where will I sleep”, “where will they stop”.
One statement reads “this is a home just like yours”. This is aimed directly at internationals asking them to draw a parallel with the situation here and their own lives. Your home is somewhere you will thrive in, sleep in, raise your family and somewhere you should feel safe. We want the international community to question what lengths they might go to protect their own home. This writing is not for the Israeli soldiers who come here for “military training”. The apartheid soldiers come here to evict, demolish and terrorise the community. It is unrealistic to think that this work will stop them in their tracks. This work is here to highlighting the human cost of this forcible transfer and raise international awareness. It’s is a call to action. The time is now. We must support these communities before they are eradicated. You can do this by either joining us on the ground here or from afar sharing and circulating as much information as you can. Solidarity can come in many forms.
In clear bold black and white text one statement reads: “LET ME LIVE MY LIFE” this has proven to be a daily challenge here and across the West Bank. We know this will contribute to a better appreciation of this urgent situation.

Making a stand and saving the village of Khalat Al Dabaa is specifically essential because Israel’s brutal occupation will not stop here. The local resistance committees and the ISM activists on the ground have resolved to do everything they can to help these communities survive this ordeal. If this village goes, it paves the way for the rest of the Masafer Yatta valley and the West Bank to be erased from the map.

Mahmoud Darwish sums up why the people stay, and how they have the strength to resist.

علَى هَذِهِ الأَرْض مَا يَسْتَحِقُّ الحَياةْ

We have on this land that which makes life worth living.

Mosques, churches, protests: Gaza on the Balfour Declaration’s 102nd anniversary

3rd November | Wafa Aludaini | Gaza, Occupied Palestine

Gazans march in protest on the 102nd anniversary of the Balfour Declaration.

On the 102nd anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, churches rang bells and mosques called for prayer at the same time, while tens of thousands of Palestinians entered the buffer zone this Friday between the besieged Gaza Strip and Israel in the massive weekly Great March of Return protest.

This 81st week of protests was called “Down with the Balfour Declaration!”. It marks the 102nd anniversary of the British declaration announcing support for the establishment of a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine. Palestinian masses now are calling on Britain to not only apologize but also rectify this major historical disregard for Palestinian self determination and statehood.

Palestinian children at the 81st week of the Great March of Return in Gaza.

Ali Salim, 55, stated that the Balfour Declaration, in fact, is the cause and source of all the Palestinian tragedies and sufferings since then: “The 102nd anniversary means 102 years of displacement, expulsion, massacres, and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people.”

Khawla Khalil added, “We came here today to confirm our rights, and our rejection of Balfour! These days, we are experiencing the declaration through Trump’s Deal of the Century, when he recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.”

Palestinian women holds a key, symbolizing the right of return for Palestinian refugees, at a protest in Gaza on Friday, November 1st.

Duaa Abdellateef — spokesperson for the Women’s Committee adjunct to the Committee for the Great Return March — said the weekly marches will continue until Palestinian rights and demands are met.

“We will defeat all the local and international conspiracies that aim at liquidating our Palestinian national cause, including the ethnic cleansing of Jerusalem, disregard of the internationally recognized right of return, and the proposed Israeli annexation of the West Bank.”

On Thursday afternoon, October 31^st, mosques in Gaza called for prayers at precisely the same time local churches rang their bells, marking the 102nd anniversary of the Balfour Declaration. The public statement was intended to show all faiths in Gaza renewing their rejection of the British empire’s edict. The coordinated actions by mosques and churches across Gaza were organized by the Great Return March’s higher committee.

One of the churches in Gaza which took part in the coordinated actions for the 102nd anniversary of the Balfour Declaration.

Wafa Aludaini is a journalist and activist in Gaza who writes a weekly column for ISM on the Great March of Return.

20 arrested as activists raise Palestinian flag in settlement

Over a hundred Palestinian and international activists entered an illegal Israeli settlement and raised the Palestinian flag on Saturday, October 26. Settlers and Israeli Occupation Forces responded violently to the peaceful protest, firing tear gas and flash grenades and arresting at least 20 people, including nine internationals and seven journalists. One activist from the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) had his passport and Israeli visa seized by soldiers.

The illegal settlement outpost at the focus of the activists’ protest is located near Khirbet Tell El-Himma, at the north of the Jordan Valley and is considered illegal by Israeli law since it was built after the Oslo Agreements in 1993. However, the illegal outpost, built on privately owned Palestinian land, is supported by the Israeli state, which provides it with utilities and military protection. The illegal outpost covers around five hectares, equivalent to five football pitches, for just 10 settlers. Nearby Palestinians have faced intimidation tactics including violence, weapons and even guard dogs at the hands of the settlers who have also tried to disrupt their agricultural harvests. Recently, the settlers began construction work to expand the outpost.

Activists raise the Palestinian flag at the illegal settlement outpost. Photo: Activestills.org

Saturday’s protest was aimed at denouncing the illegal Israeli settler’s seizure of land and resources and claiming Palestinians’ right to their land. Shortly after the activists entered the outpost, singing songs and raising the Palestinian flag, they were bombarded with tear gas and flash grenades by Israeli forces. When that failed to disperse them, the soldiers began assaulting and arresting protesters. 20 people, including nine internationals, were arrested while others had their passports and Israeli visas seized and confiscated. One ISM activist had his passport and Israeli visa confiscated and it has not yet been returned, over 48 hours later. According to the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, seven reporters were arrested, including journalists from the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation (PBC), which denounced the Israeli army for attacking its colleagues while covering a peaceful march.

Illegal Israeli settlers assault non violent protesters at the action on Saturday, October 26th. Photo: Activestills.org

Activists from ISM and other organizations succeeded in preventing the arrest of two injured Palestinians by Israeli forces, who then confiscated the ambulance’s ignition key, refusing to let it leave. Activists were forced to leave the area to ensure the return of the ambulance ignition key and medical treatment for the injured Palestinians.

All activists have now been released and their legal documents returned. A number of international activists were banned from the Occupied West Bank and will be forcibly deported.

The direct action took place on the 3^rd and final day of the ‘United in Struggle’ national conference which aims to unite the Palestinian struggle around a national strategy to resist Israeli settler colonialism and strengthen the role of BDS.