Category: Press Releases

Young Palestinians being arrested by Israeli soldiers in Yabad

photo by kbnews.eu (kbnews.eu/images/Yabad-vs-IOF.jpg)

December 25th 2017  International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Occupied Palestine | Yabad | North Palestine.

Around Yabad there are two big Israeli settlements. In the last few weeks the repressive action by the Israeli army on Yabbad’s Palestinian people has escalated. Several Teenagers have been arrested, they were taken out from their homes on night raides. Raiding his house, the Israeli army arrested 18-year-old Ahaned Abubakar at night on 13 December at 1 am. The father of Ahaned told us that fifteen Israeli soldiers were crowding around the house and
occupied the roofs of neighbouring houses. After breaking through the door with a crowbar, they got into
their house and sarched all the rooms in the first floor, waking up the wife and the five kids traumatically. They took away Ahaned without giving any explanations. Until today, the Ahaned family haven’t received any information about the reason for his arrest and the length of detention in Jalami prison. Ahaned’s father told us that in the last night
he woke up startled at 1 am, exactly a week later the Israili army’s raid. The whole family
is still in shock, the mother and Ahaned’s four younger siblings are living in pain with their brother’s absence. Abdele, the 4-year-old brother didn’t understand what was going on during the house raid. So his father told him that his brother Ahaned
went to visit relatives in Jordan, but since the night of the brother’s arrest Abdele wants to sleep in his parents bedroom.

Another two fathers of Yabad told us about the recent arrest of their 15-year-old kids, by
similar night raids of the Israeli army. Just like Ahaned’s family they don’t know about the reason for their kids arrest and the length of administrative detention in the jail, that could take up to six months.

The arrests of kids and teenagers are the latest strategy of the Israeli occupation force, focused to prevent whatever protest action and targeted to get information and control over life and houses of Palestinian people. Especially in Yabad where two settlements have been set up.
The kids and teenagers arrested without an official explanation or any opportunity to collect their personal belongings. They are normally being held incommunicado, in cramped and poorly lit cells. They are subject to continous interrogations by the Israeli Army which aims at getting as much informations about their families and the people of the villageas possible. Since it’s an administrative detention, subject to military law, they cannot have legal assistance and visits by their relatives. The innocent kids and teenagers arrested are subjected to traumatic experiences, carrying out a strong and preventive repressive action.

Kfar Qaddum demo marking 100 years since Balfour suppressed by Israeli military

3rd November 2017 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus team | Occupied Palestine

The weekly demonstration had around 30 participants, with three of them being international women. As usual, the demonstration takes place to protest the closing of the road leading to Nablus. This measure was explained to satisfy “the need of security” for the Kedumin settlers that illegally have occupied the hill in front of the village. The road, which previously took ten minutes to Nablus now takes up to 40 minutes.

The march started with children and adults showing signs denouncing the Balfour agreement, which recently reached its 100 year anniversary. Following this anniversary, protests has been taking place all over the West Bank and Gaza.

As the protestors got closer to the gate built by the settlers, a jeep with six armed soldiers arrived. The leader of the nonviolent movement in the village, Murad held a short speech. This was followed by the soldiers arriving with their rifles. They shot rubber coated steel bullets and launched sound bombs.

Fortunately no one was injured. Nor when the soldiers, after a drone had hovered over the demonstration for a long time, made two ambushes trying to capture and arrest the protestors by encircling them and running behind them trough the olive groves. The soldiers didn’t manage to reach the protesters.

Before the ambushing Murad invited three soldiers up on the top of a hill to throw away their uniform and live in peace without guns, as they are told lies by their government and above all he spoke to the Afro-Israeli soldier pointing how Israelis coming from Africa are the most neglected and isolated in the Israelian social classes. An ISMer at the demo said: “The three soldiers listened a lot. But we know how many of the soldiers are indroctinated since they are children. But we will never stop spreading the words of freedom.”

Israeli armed forces and settlers harassing farmers in As Sawiya

31st October 2017 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus team | Nablus, Occupied Palestine

On Sunday the 29th of October 2017 – near the Palestinian village As Sawiya – Palestinians and Internationals harvesting olives were met by the Israeli army. Three ISM’ers joined two Palestinian women harvesting in their family land. The family has been facing major problems in the area because of an illegal Israeli outpost close to the village, which is a part of the illegal settlement Eli.

The group of Palestinans and Internationals walked for half an hour to reach the olive trees since the road next to the olive trees is for settlers and the Israeli army only. After picking for around an hour a group of five boarder police officers, three soldiers from the Israeli army accompanied by settlers from the nearby outpost stormed up to the group demanding to see their ID’s. “They were very threatening and did not give any reason for taking our passports. We were just five women picking olives,“ an ISM’er says.

The Israeli border police demanded that the Internationals would leave the land immediately, showed the passports to the settlers and scanned them. “The settler stood on the olives and smiled at us, he even asked us if we were afraid of him,“ another ISM’er says. The Palestinians had been prevented from pruning the trees earlier this year which made the olive picking more difficult since it is an important part of the olive groves.

 

After a while the army agreed that the Palestinians were allowed to harvest their olives until three o clock the same day and that internationals were not allowed in the area the following day. The armed forces stayed close to the group harvesting for the rest of the day, and kept watching them and sometimes circled trees.

The day before a group of Palestinians and Internationals had also been prevented from picking olives in the area that is owned by the Palestinians.

Israeli Armed Forces use Live Ammunition in Al-Khalil and Detain Two Boys

06th October 2017 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, Occupied Palestine

On Friday the 06th of October, around 30 Israeli soldiers entered the H1 area of Al-Khalil with three armoured military vehicles.

The Israeli armed forces entered the area at around 2.00pm, using sound grenades and tear gas around the central hub of the city leading up to the Manara roundabout. The vehicles drove back and forth between two roundabouts firing tear gas and sound grenades randomly.
Bystanders and street vendors were affected by tear gas. Live ammunition was also used.

Throughout the rest of the afternoon and into the evening soldiers were stationed around the city which many interpreted as a provocation.
In the evening at around 6.00pm, two boys aged 17 and 16 were detained by the soldiers and taken to the nearby police station by Israeli police despite attempts by family members to have them freed. They were accused of throwing stones at soldiers and were detained without providing any evidence to their accusations.

This is one of several occasions the Israeli armed forces have entered the H1 area of Al-Khalil, using weapons and vehicles to counter small protests on Fridays.

Support ISM long-term volunteers in Palestine

5th October 2017 | International Solidarity Movement

Since 2001 the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) has operated on the occupied Palestinian West Bank and in the Gaza Strip – since the second Intifada of 2001.

As a Palestinian-led movement in solidarity with the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people, we have facilitated the deployment of thousands of volunteers to serve as international observers and activists.

DONATE HERE

ISM opposes the illegal occupation of the West Bank and the siege of Gaza by Israel, through non-violent resistance and civil disobedience actions such as daily school patrols to escort children crossing through military checkpoints in Hebron. ISM participates in weekly demonstrations against the occupation to de-escalate violence committed by the Israeli army against the Palestinians with the use of cameras and documentation, and if need be by the bodies of the international activists.

ISM also operates a media office that seeks to direct the attention of the world to the human rights situation in Palestine, and which publishes daily reports and documentation of attacks upon the population in the West Bank and Gaza. ISM contributes significantly to assist the Palestinians struggle for their rights, on their own terms and through non-violent means.

Every summer the number of volunteers rise, and the ISM is able to cover several cities at once, and assist in the olive harvest before the coming winter.

However with the fall in temperature the number of volunteers likewise dwindle and often only a handful of activists maintain an ISM presence in Palestine.
This not only diminishes our ability to effectively document the human rights abuses committed in the West Bank but also weakens the organisation since new members are not given the opportunity to interact with and learn from experienced volunteers staying over longer periods and familiarising themselves with the locals, the Arabic language and the level of oppression.

As a rule we never fund expenses for volunteers, but recognize that three months without an income and covering travel expenses is more than most people can afford.

Therefore, we would like to facilitate the deployment of two or three long-term volunteers on the West Bank for a minimum of three months starting in the late autumn and again from December to spring. We see this as an investment and not as a way to pay people for volunteering.

The money collected would be used to cover their travel expenses, and most of the living costs for the volunteers deprived of an income during their stay. We see this as a valuable investment to not only strengthen the presence of active international volunteers, but also as a way to pass on valuable experience.

Once the money has been raised we will announce a call for applicants committing to a minimum three months of volunteering, one of the conditions being earlier volunteers experience with the ISM.

Any remaining funds will be donated to the International Solidarity Movement to fund media work, legal aid and basic logistics necessary to run the organisation.

DONATE HERE