Category: Press Releases

Second day of clashes Palestinian youth protest Gaza killings in Al Khalil

Saturday 31 March 2018, International Solidarity Movement al-Khalil/Hebron, Occupied West Bank, Palestine.

Palestinian youth protested the killings in Gaza at Checkpoint 56. The Israeli soldiers fired teargas, stun grenades and live ammunition. Beginning at 8AM Palestinian youth took to the streets of al-Khalil/Hebron to protest the killings and injuries inflicted by the Israeli military on the non-violent demonstrators in Gaza during the Great Return March. They protested outside Checkpoint 56. The Israeli soldiers took to the rooftops overlooking the area and threw more than fifty stun grenades and more than thirty teargas canisters at the youth during the day.

Toward the end of the afternoon a contingent of soldiers, as always in full battle dress: helmets, bulletproof vests, automatic rifles and ammunition, attempted to cut off the youth at the rear. Failing that, the soldiers illegally went far up in H1, the Palestinian controlled part of town. There they fired stun grenades, teargas and live ammunition in the heavily traveled commercial area of town before returning to their base having accomplished nothing. The confrontation between the protesting youth and the Israeli soldiers continued with more stun grenades and teargas.

Later in the evening, the youth were warned that the soldiers were once again attempting to cut them off in the rear. When the soldiers arrived on the scene, the youth had scattered. The returning soldiers stopped and roughly searched a youth in the nearby market letting him go when it became apparent that he was an innocent bystander. Retreating further, the soldiers grabbed, searched and showed two additional youth who were sat calmly on stairs to the watching rooftop soldiers, they claimed to identify the older of the two. The soldiers released the younger of the two boys. Four soldiers then violently wrestled the nineteen-year-old boy to the ground, handcuffed him behind his back and two soldiers hauled him off and through Checkpoint 56 surrounded by the rest of the Israeli soldiers. International Solidarity Movement volunteers who had been on the scene during the day testified that this boy had not been part of the demonstration but was an innocent bystander grabbed by the frustrated soldiers.

The actions of the soldiers throughout the day with the use of lots of stun grenades, teargas and even live ammunition is an example of the continuing use of excessive force by Israeli occupation forces.

 

Israeli occupation forces fire huge amount of tear gas in al Khalil (Hebron)

Friday, 23rd March, 2018 Occupied Palestine, al Khalil (Hebron team)

Clashes between Palestinian youth and occupation forces continued from around midday until dusk in al Khalil on Friday. Throughout the afternoon, Israel forces threw stun grenades and fired tear gas to supress Palestinian youth.

Before midday Israeli soldiers with their automatic weapons and tear gas launchers positioned themselves on the rooftops of Palestinian houses near check point 56 which controls foot traffic between Shuhada St in the Israeli controlled H2 area and the Palestinian suburb of Bab al Zawiyeh.

The “shebab” (Palestinian youth) soon began to express their resistance to the occupation by throwing stones at the soldiers on the roof. The soldiers responded with sound bombs when the shebab were close enough and increasingly through the afternoon with tear gas. The day was still with little wind and the tear gas hung in the air with no wind to disperse it.

Towards evening soldiers repeatedly entered the streets from checkpoint 56 and fired large amounts of tear gas and threw some stun grenades. Around 40 tear gas canisters were fired and the gas could be smelt for hours afterwards. The suburb has families with children living in apartments who are exposed toxic gas.

Frequent exposure to tear gas can cause various physical effects including losses of consciousness, miscarriages, trouble breathing, asthma, coughing, dizziness, rashes, severe pain, allergic dermatitis, headaches, neurological irritability and even blunt trauma from being hit by tear gas canisters as well as psychological trauma.

See also the ISM you tube video of tear gas on the day:

Palestinian protestors march to the apartheid wall to confront Israeli occupation in Nil’in

23/03/2018 International Solidarity Movement, Occupied Palestine

This Friday afternoon Palestinians gathered in the olive groves in the West
Bank town of Nil’in before marching to the apartheid wall to confront the
Israeli occupation.

 At dawn on the 23rd of May 2004 a Palestinian farmer walked towards his
fields in Nil’in but was met with the sight of Israeli bulldozers uprooting
and clearing away olive trees. It is worth noting, that olive trees are an
important part of a Palestinian farmer’s income. The population of Nil’in
immediately started mobilizing in resistance against Israeli plans to seize
and destroy the land resulting in 2500 dunums being returned back.
Palestinian residents of Nil’in have been protesting non violently every
Friday since Israeli forces began the construction of the illegal apartheid
wall in 2008. The wall was built directly through the agricultural land of
Nil’in, preventing Palestinian farmers from access. The apartheid wall has
helped to facilitate the theft of 4000 dunum’s of Palestinian land, where
the illegal settlement of Hashmona’im now stands.

Protestors march towards the illegal apartheid wall.

Today after Palestinians had finished Friday prayers they marched towards
the apartheid wall. Israeli activists and International activists were also
present for the demonstration – it was an extremely hot day. Palestinian
youth proceeded to light a fire beside the apartheid wall before throwing
stones.

Friday prayers before the protest

An Israeli activist was shouting through a megaphone in Hebrew addressing
the Israeli forces in an attempt to demoralize them. International
Solidarity Activists asked what the Israeli activist was saying in Hebrew
and he told us that every time there is a new brigade of soldiers the
commander tells them why they are here, to protect the settlers and
‘defend’ Israel from the terrorists, meaning Palestinians. The Israeli
activist said that he was telling them that they are not protecting Israel
being stationed here inside the West Bank beyond the 1949 green armistice
agreement line. He also said that oppressing and using collective
punishment on Palestinians is a violation of Judaism and that settlers
living in the illegal settlement, were also violating Judaism living on
stolen Palestinian land.

An Israeli activist addresses the Israeli forces.

Although the soldiers came in their jeep behind the wall they did not come
through the gate to use weapons of violence against the protestors, which
is very unusual. After the protestors made their stand against the
occupation they returned back to the town. However Israeli forces have been
known to systematically target non violent protestors in Nil’in with the
use of tear gas, stun grenades, live ammunition, and collective punishment
against the Palestinian population of Nil’in.

Protestors at the illegal apartheid wall.

International solidarity activists sat down before today’s protest
underneath an olive tree with Hassan Moussa, who is the principal of the
elementary boy’s school in Nil’in.

Hassan Moussa stated that ” During the building of the apartheid wall in
2008 to 2009 Five Palestinians were killed in 12 months by the Israeli
forces. The first Martyr was Hassan Moussa’s nephew Ahmed Mousa, just 10
years old, and was shot in the back of the head with live ammunition”.
“When Palestinians went to bury Ahmed Moussa the next day, Israeli forces
attacked the residents of Nil’in critically injuring a Palestinian man
after firing three rubber coated steel bullets at his head within close
range. After three days of being in a coma the Palestinian later died of
his wounds”.

A Palestinian protestor looks over the land belonging to Bi’ilin and the illegal settlement of Hashmona’im.

Hassan Moussa then went on to say that “the only solution we have is to
remain steadfast and to keep raising our voices against this illegal
occupation”.

“We don’t want more violence or more blood spilled – we want peace”.

 

A Tribute: “I am here because I care.” – Rachel Corrie

“I am here because I care.” – Rachel Corrie – A tribute!

Rachel Corrie served with ISM – International Solidarity Movement in Gaza in 2003 where she was crushed by an Israeli military bulldozer while protecting the home of a Palestinian doctor. She was 23 years old. Today is the 15th anniversary of her death.

Interview with Rachel in Gaza:

The young Rachel Corrie, “Because I care…”

See also live footage of Rachel’s death (content may disturb):

In the live footage the Caterpillar D-9 bulldozer driver’s radio transmission graphically illustrates the dehumanising reality of the military occupation of East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the siege of Gaza:

“I think the object got hit….”

“Yes, I saw him I think he is dead.”

Rachel’s death was tragic and brought the world’s attention to the suffering ad deaths of the thousands of Palestinians.

Please don’t think that the situation in the West Bank and Gaza are any different today. The ethnic cleansing of Palestine continues every day.

We should not allow this to become normailised in our thinking.

Palestine may not be the leading news story in Western media but random ID checks, body searches, delays, restrictions of movement, detentions, arrests, collective punishment, destruction of property including olive trees and agricultural crops, theft, home invasions, deprivations of infrastructure, bureaucratic and economic occupation, the siege of Gaza and aggressive military attacks continue constantly.

The challenge Rachel has brought to all our lives is to get out of our comfort zones and act on our convictions.