9th November 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Ramallah Team | Beit Hanina, Occupied Palestine
Yesterday, to mark the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall today, a direct action took place in Beit Hanina, a neighbourhood in Jerusalem.
ISM and international volunteers supported the Palestinian-led action, which involved demolishing a section of the Apartheid wall using a sledge hammer and a pick-axe.
In an International Court of Justice decision in 2004, the Apartheid wall was declared illegal and in direct contravention of international law.
2nd November 2014 | International Solidarity Movement | Ramallah, Occupied Palestine
Today during a protest at Qalandia checkpoint, an Italian ISM volunteer was shot in the head with a rubber-coated steel bullet.
The injury is just two centimetres above her left eye.
Photo by IWPS
Giulia, the ISMer, stated, “I was just standing on the side of a street, and the military was firing tear gas at the protesters. I was photographing the army when I felt the bullets strike me, one in the head, and another in my leg, and then all I could see was blood.”
At least one other Palestinian teen was hospitalized after being shot with a rubber-coated steel bullet.
Giulia was immediately transferred to Ramallah Hospital for medical treatment, requiring stitches for her injury.
Approximately 100 people attended the demonstration, where Israeli forces fired stun grenades, tear gas canisters, and rubber-coated steel bullets.
The protest was called today to commemorate the 97th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration.
27th October 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Ramallah team | Silwad, Occupied Palestine
Yesterday a funeral was held for 14-year-old Orwa Abd al-Hadi Hammad, shot dead by the Israeli military on Friday, in the small village of Silwad close to Ramallah.
Orwa was shot dead by Israeli forces on Friday, during a demonstration at the edge of the small village of Silwad. The demonstration was about the Israeli military occupying the edge of the village to protect a road used by Zionist settlers from the the illegal settlement of Ofra.
Orwa was a US citizen. His funeral was delayed until Sunday so his father would be able to travel from the United States to attend the funeral. The funeral procession consisted of thousands of men, waving flags and chanting through the narrow streets of Silwad, while carrying Orwa’s body on a stretcher. In the procession were parents of other children shot by the Israeli military. All shops in the town were closed and posters honoring the victim were posted everywhere.
The procession moved from the mosque to the funeral sight in the center of the village. At the end of the somber service the relatives’ grief turned into frustration towards the Israeli occupation and the loss of the young boy.
Later, young men gathered at the spot where Orwa was killed, near where the Israeli military base is placed on the edge of the village. As 50 – 100 mourners, among them relatives of the deceased, residents of the village and internationals, burned tires and chanted, the Israeli military began to fire rubber-coated steel bullets and many tear gas canisters.
After more than an hour the Israeli military withdrew, just before entering the center of the village. Four ambulances left the scene carrying people wounded by the rubber-coated steel bullets and overcome by tear gas inhalation.
28th September 2014 | International Solidarity Movement | Ni’lin, Occupied Palestine
On Friday the 26th of September, Palestinians, Israelis and ISM activists demonstrated against the illegal settlements and apartheid wall that exist on land belonging to the Palestinian village of Ni’lin.
The demonstration started with a peaceful march towards the apartheid wall. However, the unarmed protesters were unable to get further than 300 meters outside of their village before the Israeli border police and military began to shoot excessive amounts of tear gas directly at them.
The soldiers forced the protestors into the village and continued to be very aggressive towards them. Several tear gas canisters were fired towards the village. One tear gas canister landed inside a house forcing a mother and her six-month-old child to flee. An ambulance arrived to treat a second woman from the same house for excessive tear gas inhalation. The tear gas canister that landed inside the house set fire to the TV causing the house to quickly fill with smoke in addition to the tear gas.
The Israeli soldiers and border police advanced further towards the village school. One ISM’er stated, “I was observing an Israeli soldier approximately 50 meters from the school, when two other soldiers suddenly appeared around the corner. We were completely peaceful and our faces were not covered, however, the soldier proceeded to raise and point his gun at us.”
A few local boys went to the school and threw small stones at the intruding soldiers and border police officers. The Israeli military forces fired live ammunition at the group of boys. Shrapnel from a bullet hit one Palestinian in his back and created an open wound. He received treatment from the Red Crescent present at the demonstration, but did not have to go to the hospital.
According to locals the Israeli military are moving closer and closer to the village every week. Villagers expressed their fear to the ISM’ers that the Israeli soldiers will soon enter the village during a future demonstration.
19th September 2013 | International Solidarity Movement | Occupied Palestine
Every week, several villages across the West Bank demonstrate against the Israeli occupation of Palestine. This week, ISM activists attended protests in the villages of Bil’in, Ni’lin, and Nabi Saleh.
During the demonstration in Bil’in, Israeli soldiers shot mass amounts of tear gas at peaceful protesters. Many Palestinians and internationals suffered from excessive tear gas inhalation. An Israeli activist, and a Labour Party Councillor traveling withChi Onwurah, the British Member of Parliament for Newcastle, were arrested.
In Ni’lin, north of Ramallah, the Israeli military shot tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets at protesters. The army began shooting unprovoked at Palestinians and internationals as soon as the Friday prayer had finished and people and children as young as five year olds were walking in the area. Several Palestinians were still praying when the military attacked.
The Israeli military shot approximately ten tear gas canisters at a time and also fired rubber coated steel bullets and stun grenades. No one was injured in the demonstration today. For the past weeks the military has moved closer to the residential area of the village, locals have raised concerns that the army will soon enter the village during a demonstration.
During the Nabi Saleh demonstration protesters attempted to reach the gate at the entrance to the village which Israeli forces use to close the village off from the rest of the West Bank. Israeli forces fired many rubber-coated steel bullets at demonstrators and used excessive amounts of tear gas. Several people were injured by rubber coated steel bullets. Many protesters also suffered from the effects of the tear gas, which resulted in a Palestinian women being taken to hospital for tear gas inhalation, she was later released.
