The International Solidarity Movement would like to announce the re-establishment of a presence in the Gaza Strip. International solidarity activists will be based in Rafah in efforts to show support for non-violent direct action against the Israeli occupation.
As activists from the Free Gaza Movement broke the siege on Gaza in their historic and hugely successful attempt to sail to Gaza from Cyprus, the re-establishment of ISM Rafah was made possible. A number of international solidarity activists aboard the boats made the decision to stay on in Gaza and re-activate an international presence in the area. Since 2003 and the Israeli murders of international activists Tom Hurndall and Rachel Corrie, the ability of internationals to travel into Gaza has been severely restricted, representing just one aspect of the open-air prison that the Israeli state has created in Gaza.
While working in Gaza, the ISM will be supporting non-violent direct action aimed at breaking the Israeli siege on the Strip. Planned actions include:
– Accompanying the fishermen at sea as they assert their right to fish beyond the Israeli imposed limits while documenting Israeli aggression towards these boats.
– Supporting farmers’ direct action to reclaim their lands within the buffer-zone along the green line.
– Supporting non-violent demonstrations at border crossings against the denial of freedom of movement.
– Reporting from the Gaza Strip, bringing human stories from people living under Israeli occupation and siege.
To view original press release published by B’Tselem click here
B’Tselem’s data indicate that security forces have adopted a practice of reckless firing of rubber-coated steel bullets in the West Bank, killing two Palestinians and injuring many more since the beginning of the year.
Photo by B’Tselem
Since the intifada began, 21 Palestinians have been killed by rubber-coated steel bullet fire, a measure that is meant to be non-lethal.The organization has requested Attorney General Menachem Mazuz to stop the illegal firing and prosecute both soldiers and police officers who violate the Open-Fire Regulations and commanders who condone the trigger-happy attitude.
Early this morning, ‘Awwad Sadeq Sror, a mentally disabled father of four from Ni’lin, was severely injured when a soldier fired a cylinder containing three rubber-coated steel bullets at him from short range. B’Tselem’s initial investigation indicates that two bullets penetrated his skull and a third struck him in the chest.
The recent wave of similar cases, which led to B’Tselem’s request, raises the grave suspicion that soldiers and Border Police officers systematically breach the Open-Fire Regulations in their use of rubber-coated bullets, often with the knowledge and approval of officers. The request included a list of 19 cases B’Tselem has investigated in which soldiers and police officers fired rubber-coated bullets from potentially lethal short ranges, although the forces were not in a life-threatening situation. The organization also reported cases in which children were shot and in which security forces fired with the intention of wounding and punishing Palestinians.
B’Tselem knows of only one case in which an indictment has been filed against security forces for breaching the Open-Fire Regulations. The failure to prosecute offenders conveys to soldiers, police officers, and commanders that they will not be held accountable for killing or wounding Palestinians, and encourages a trigger-happy attitude among the forces.
(OFF THE COAST OF GAZA) 1 September 2008 – Israeli Naval vessels are currently firing on unamrmed Palestinian fishing boats and international
human rights workers off the coast of the Gaza Strip. The fishing boats are several miles off the coast of Gaza City, in Palestinian territorial
waters. As of 11am (4am EST) no one had been injured, but live ammunition is still being fired in the direction of the civilian boats.
The unarmed boats went to sea at dawn this morning, in an attempt to fish in their own water. Six international human rights workers from five different countries accompanied the fishermen in the hopes that their presence would deter the Israeli military from firing on the fishermen. In the past the Israeli military has shot and killed unarmed Palestinian fishermen for trying to fish in their own waters.
Accompanying the fishermen are:
Vittorio Arrigoni, Italy
Georgios Karatzas, Greece
Adam Qvist, Denmark
Andrew Muncie, Scotland
Donna Wallach, USA
Darlene Wallach, USA
PLEASE INFORM THE MEDIA IMMEDIATELY, CALL YOUR EMBASSIES IN TEL AVIV, AND CALL THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT. TELL THEM TO STOP FIRING UPON UNARMED FISHERMEN AND UNARMED HUMAN RIGHTS MONITORS.
CALL:
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Tel. +972 2 530 3111
The British Embassy in Tel Aviv – +972 3 725 1222
The US Embassy in Tel Aviv – +972 2 625 5755
GAZA CITY (1 September 2008) – Human Rights Observers from the Free Gaza Movement and the International Solidarity Movement launch campaign to monitor Israeli naval aggression against Gazan fishermen.
According to a recent article in The Guardian, “Under the Oslo accords, which in 1993 were supposed to herald the coming of an independent Palestinian state, Gazan fishermen were to be allowed 20 nautical miles out to sea, where they could catch sardine as they migrated from the Nile delta up towards Turkey during the spring. But Israeli naval ships in recent years have imposed their own, much-reduced limits, sometimes fewer than 6 miles out.” Israel enforces these arbitrary limits with lethal violence. Many fishermen have either been killed or injured as a result. Just 3 days ago 4 such fishermen were attacked and “arrested” by Israeli gunboats.
This Monday morning, human rights workers from the Free Gaza Movement will accompany fishermen from Gaza City as they venture out to assert their right to fish their own coastal waters. The aim of these internationals will be to record and document the continued harassment of the Palestinian fishermen, and the arbitrary attacks and threats to which they are subjected. It is hoped that their presence will also act as some form of deterrent to these abuses.
The scope of the campaign extends beyond Gaza City all the way along Gaza’s coast. Human Rights Workers may be present on any Gazan fishing boat, at any time from this point onward. The boats on which they are present will not be specially marked.
For more information, please contact:
Gaza: Vittorio Arrigoni, +972 598 826 516
Gaza: Donna Wallach, +972 598 896 420 / FriendsOfGaza@gmail.com
Cyprus: Osama Qashoo, +357 97 793 595 / OsamaQashoo@gmail.com
(GAZA CITY, 28 August 2008) – After having shattered the Israeli blockade of Gaza earlier this week, the Free Gaza and Liberty will depart Gaza for Cyprus at 2pm today. Several Palestinians who have previously been denied exit visas by Israel will join international human rights workers on the journey. Among the Palestinians leaving are Saed Mosleh, age 10, of Beit Hanoun, Gaza. Saed lost his leg due to an Israeli tank shell and is leaving Gaza with his father to seek medical treatment. Also on board are the Darwish family, who will finally be reunited with their relatives in Cyprus.
“I can’t believe we’re finally able to leave for medical treatment,” said Khaled Mosleh, Saed’s father. “This is a miracle of God.”
Nine international human rights workers will remain in Gaza to do longer-term monitoring and accompaniment, and one, Dr. Bill Dienst of Omak, Washington, will attempt to cross over into Israel later today via the Erez crossing.
By freely traveling to Gaza, on Saturday, August 23rd, in two, small, wooden boats, the Free Gaza Movement forced the Israeli government to issue a fundamental policy change regarding their military and economic blockade of Gaza. The Israeli Ministry of Foreign affairs publicly announced that humanitarian and human rights missions to Gaza will no longer be stopped or threatened by Israel. With the end of the Israeli siege of Gaza, Palestinians should be free to exercise their rights without fear of being stopped or killed by the Israeli military.
Yvonne Ridley, a journalist and member for the Free Gaza Movement, summed up her experience in Gaza by saying, “I missed the start of the Berlin Wall coming down by just a few days, but now I know how people felt when they tore down those first few bricks. This has been a huge victory of people over power.”
Since the organizers of the Free Gaza Movement will not be entering Israeli territorial waters, and since they will request an inspection from both the Gaza Port Authority when they depart, and the Cypriot authorities upon their return, they expect no interference on the part of the Israeli authorities when they leave Gaza. By Israel’s own admission, it has no authority to inspect the boats or the passengers when they leave Gaza.
With the collapse of the Israeli blockade, the Free Gaza Movement will quickly return to Gaza with another delegation, and they would like to encourage the United Nations, Arab League and international community to organize similar human rights and humanitarian efforts. The Free Gaza Movement will continue to work to ensure that safe passage between Gaza and the outside world will remain free and open.
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Palestinians leaving Gaza on the Free Gaza & Liberty:
Maha M.S. Darwish, mother
Omar Darwish, age 5
Sami M.J. Darwish, age 14
Ayman M.J. Darwish, age 17
Tawfiq M.J. Darwish, age 18
Khaled Mosleh, father
Saed Mosleh, age 10
International Human Rights Workers leaving Gaza:
Greta Berlin, Los Angeles, USA
Nikolaos Bolos, Athens, Greece
Lauren Booth, London, UK
Maria del Mar, Vilanova i La Geltru, Spain
Musheir El Farra, Sheffield, UK
Eliza Ernshire, London, UK
Petros Giotis, Athens, Greece
Christos Giouanopoulos, Athens, Greece
Derek Graham, Ballina, Ireland
Mary Thompson-Hughes, Los Angeles & London
Fathi Jaoudi, Jendouba, Tunisia & London
Yiannis Karipidis, Komothnh, Greece
Giorgios Klontzas, St. Nicolaos, Greece
John Klusmire, Monterey, CA, USA
The Hon. Anastasios Kourakis, MP (representing Thessaloniki, Greece)
Dr. Paul Larudee, El Cerrito, CA, USA
Dr. Edith Lutz, Cologne, Germany
Theresa McDermott, Edinburgh, Scotland
Sr. Anne Montgomery, New York, USA
Aki Nawaz, Bradford, UK
Thomas Nelson, Welches, OR, USA
Peter Philips, New York, USA
Dr. Vaggelis Pissias, Athens, Greece
Panagiotis Politis, Volos, Greece
Yvonne Ridley, London, UK
David Schermerhorn, Deer Harbor, WA, USA
Huwaida Arraf Shapiro, Ramallah, Palestine
Courtney Sheetz, New York, USA
Kathy Sheetz, Woods Hole, MA, USA
Ren Tawil, Minneapolis, MN
Kathleen Wang, Diamond Bar, CA, USA
International Human Rights Workers remaining in Gaza:
