Category: Press Releases - Page 59 - International Solidarity Movement

A new Gaza Massacre: Press Release

14th November 2012 | The One Democratic State Group, Gaza Strip

Besieged Gaza, Occupied Palestine–The Palestinian Students’ Campaign for the Academic Boycott of Israel, University Teachers’ Association and The One Democratic State Group condemn in the strongest possible terms the criminal Israeli attack against innocent Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. More than 7 people have been killed within the last 6 hours, including 7-year-old child Ranan Arafat. Charred bodies of injured children are pouring in to Al Shifa hospital and the other depleted hospitals around the Gaza Strip. This heinous crime also comes one week after the re-election of Barak Obama for a second term. Tel Aviv claims to have been given the green light to annihilate as many Palestinians in Gaza as possible.

Gaza has been enduring Israeli policies of extermination and vandalism since 2006. We reiterate our condemnation of the international conspiracy of silence and Arab impotence in the face of these continuous Israeli crimes. We note that not a single action against Israel has been taken by any Arab country. Will the Arab Spring stand aside and watch while we are being butchered? Empty rhetoric will no longer be accepted. Words of condemnation have to be translated into action!

We also reiterate our call on all civil society organizations and political parties to boycott Israeli embassies and compel their governments to sever their diplomatic ties with Apartheid Israel. This time, Apartheid Israel must not get away with its crimes against the innocent civilians of Gaza. All students and academics should stand in solidarity with their Palestinian colleagues and peers. We ask, what more does the international community need to see to be convinced to act than the dozens of dead corpses of children in Gaza? It is left to civil society and people of conscience to stop the ongoing massacre in Gaza.

Inaction has led us to this point.

ACT NOW BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!

One Democratic State Group

Palestinian Students’ Campaign for the Academic Boycott of Israel

University Teachers’ Association

Israeli army raid four Palestinian villages inside firing area 918, South Hebron hills

3rd November 2012 | Operation Dove, West Bank

By Operation Dove www.operationdove.org

FRIGHTENING NIGHT FOR PALESTINIAN FAMILIES

On the 1st of November Israeli soldiers irrupted in Al-Fakheit, Al-Majaz, At-Tabban and Al-Mirkez, villages of the ‘Firing Area’ 918 in the West Bank. The soldiers surrounded the villages, and internationals’ phones started to ring continuously. One by one the first news from the Palestinians arrived to the internationals and pushed them to move quickly toward the area.
All the roads to reach them were closed by military jeeps and DCO (District Coordination Office, the section of the Israeli military that works for the civil administration in the Occupied Palestinian Territories), as was seen. They called some frightened inhabitants from the villages who told them what happened. The only way to reach the area was to arrive in Jinba and to check from a distance. A lot of military jeeps were also seen moving among the hills.
According to testimonies of Al-Fakheit, Al-Majaz and At-Tabban, collected on the field, around 7:00 pm in every village almost 30 soldiers got off helicopters, pushed the people out from their houses, even children and babies inside the cradles. The soldiers took pictures of each family and each building. They checked also the IDs. The Israeli army gave them a document which accuses the local inhabitants to help illegal workers who travel toward Israel, drugs and arms dealers. They asked a lot of questions about the number of the people in each village, their names, who the owners of cars and tractors are. They also checked in their houses and tents, looking for something. In every village the inhabitants witnessed how the children were scared by the Army behaviour. During the raid, Israeli soldiers threatened the Palestinian inhabitants, urging them to leave their land and ordering them to “shut up” when the Palestinians tried to ask the reason of the night raid.
A woman of Al-Fakheit said that the soldiers surrounded all the houses scaring children and women. At the moment the majority of the men were working in Yatta, the nearby Palestinian city situated in area A. Soldiers asked a Palestinian to show his ID, but he had it in another tent, when he offered to get it the soldiers forbade it to him. While his wife was going to take their ID’s, a soldier drew his weapon on her.
The Palestinian villages of A-Tabban, Al- Majaz, Al-Fakheit and Al-Mirkez are located a few kilometres away from the Green Line. Since the 1970’s a large portion of the area around the villages is used by the Israeli army for military training and it is called ‘Firing Area 918’. On November 1999 all the villages in the area were evacuated and the people deported north past the bypass road 317. They obtained the right to return back to their homes but since then they have continued to receive military aggression and harrassment.
Since 22nd July 2012, after several delays, the State Attorney submitted a response to the Court, based on a position formulated by the Minister of Defense, according to which “permanent residence will be prohibited” in most of the area declared as a firing zone. The result of this decision will be the evacuation of 8 villages and the expulsion of almost 1500 people from their homes. On the 8th of August the High Court of Justice allowed the Palestinian inhabitants to keep on living in this area until the 1st of November, then postponed on the 16th of December.
Some cases of military activities were registered this year in the villages inside the ‘Firing Area’: on January 20th 2012, two children of 11 and 13 years old, were injured by an unexploded device, while they were grazing their flocks on Palestinian land near Jinba.
On August 7th, 2012 at 10:00 am a group of 70 Israeli soldiers raided the Palestinian village of Jinba. The Israeli army reached the place by logistical support of two military helicopters and 6 military vehicles. The battalion entered in Jinba village and threatened the Palestinian inhabitants for one hour and half ransacked their homes, that were found damaged.
On the morning of September 16th, around 8:00 am nearby the Palestinian village of Majaz, a 38 years old man was attacked and injured while travelling on his car. According to Palestinian witnesses, 4 soldiers stopped him on the road and started to beat him and to damage his vehicle. The soldiers detained him for one hour near their hummer.

On the 30th of September two Palestinian shepherds from Halaweh village were detained and threatened by the Israeli army while grazing their flock in the area of Massafer Yatta, West Bank.
The two shepherds claimed that soldiers beat one of them, sequestered their mobile-phones and pushed them away from their own land maintaining to be a military zone. Moreover the soldiers ordered to the Palestinians not to come back there, threatening that otherwise they would have killed all the flock.

The Israeli Army keeps persecuting its isolation policy aimed to restrict Palestinians’ freedom of movement in that area.

Nevertheless the Palestinian communities in the South Hebron Hills are strongly involved in affirming their rights and resisting to the Israeli occupation choosing a nonviolent way.

Operation Dove has maintained an international presence in At-Tuwani and South Hebron Hills since 2004.

Pictures of the villages: http://snipurl.com/25hogy8

UPDATE – Freedom for international activists!

30th October 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

UPDATE: 2nd November 2012

Great news – Elyana and the other international activist have been released! Thank you so much to everyone who made a donation to make this possible.

The judge ruled that their detention and the attempted deportation was illegal which sets an excellent precedent we hope to carry in future cases. Israeli authorities must be shown that they do not have a license to deport activists with impunity. Elyana and the other activist are still fighting their case and will be called back to court in the coming days.

“Being inside I found myself wondering, “What does it really mean to be free?” Are we ever free, or do we just forget the inherent oppression of this culture when we don’t have the metal bars in our face to remind us? For the Palestinians perhaps it is not so easy to forget when there are reminders (if not literally behind bars) at every checkpoint, every military Jeep, every Israeli flag, every wall, every map that shows (or rather does not show) the disappearance of their beloved country. Now that I am on the outside I find myself wondering, “What will it take for Palestine to be free?” –Elyana Belle

PLEASE DONATE – w ww.palsolidarity.org/donate

Previous reports on the 2 Internationals’ arrests:
https://palsolidarity.org/2012/10/urgent-funds-needed-international-activists-threatened-with-illegal-deportation/
https://palsolidarity.org/2012/10/bassem-tamimi-injured-and-arrested-with-3-others-at-boycott-israel-protest/

A judge today gave a verdict that two international activists should not be deported, deeming illegal the decision by Israeli police to hand them over to immigration authorities despite the fact that another judge had ordered them to be released.

Elyana and the other activist will be freed on Thursday – if we can raise the 10,000 shekel bail for them (€1984/£1600/$2570). As well as needing these funds urgently, there are also extensive legal fees to be paid for the two activists (around 14000 NIS/€2780/£2240/$3600). Because of this, once more we need your help with a donation. Thank you so much to everyone who has donated already, but this is a continual battle. The Israeli system of deporting activists without charge must be challenged legally if it is to end.

Palestinian demonstration organizer Bassem Tamimi, is not as lucky as the two international activists – he is not free and is facing a jail sentence of likely more than two years. It is hoped that the judge’s decision to free the two activists, who are from the US and Poland, will help in Bassem’s case as he is facing the same charges – a legal precendent for this occurred in Kufr Qaddoum recently.

Elyana has been threatened with solitary confinement during her time in immigration detention and has been mistreated physically and verbally by guards. She said today “I really see now the sharing of this struggle. This is a fight for all of us – Palestinian, Israeli, American, Italian, British, whatever. We are all fighting against this system of oppression.”

Please help us in this struggle with a donation today – www.palsolidarity.org/donate

In Solidarity, ISM Palestine

URGENT – FUNDS NEEDED – International activists threatened with illegal deportation – UPDATED

25 October 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

DONATE HERE: https://palsolidarity.org/donate/

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UPDATE 26th October: international activist Elyana Belle, currently fighting an illegal deportation order, reports on her arrest and detention:

During her arrest, Elyana received blows to her head and injuries to her neck by four Israeli police officers who dragged her from the scene of the non-violent demonstration. Her hands were bound from the point of her arrest until many hours later in the evening – she is still suffering from limited circulation to her hands. She has been shackled hand and foot during transportation.

A police officer threatened to pepper spray her, before forcefully grabbing her and shoving her into a car to be transported to immigration detention – after a judge had ordered that she and the other international activist be released. Elyana was laughed at and ignored by Israeli authorities when she repeatedly demanded her right to be able to contact her lawyer by phone. Thankfully, she has now had access to legal advice.

For the first hours of her detention, Elyana was held with Bassem Tamimi, organizer of the regular demonstration in Nabi Saleh. She reported that he was suffering major damage to his ribs, and could not breathe or speak without severe pain. Elyana demanded to be taken to a hospital so that Bassem would receive the medical attention that he required – he was eventually treated and bandaged.

Elyana has chosen to fight the unjust and illegal deportation that Israel has begun against her, so will remain in immigration detention until she can be seen by the court. Saeed Yakeen, one of the Palestinian men arrested at the peaceful demonstration has now been released. Bassem Tamimi remains in prison, as does a Polish activist, who is also facing deportation.

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Israeli authorities are threatening to deport two international activists, arrested yesterday at a non-violent action at a settlement supermarket, despite a judge ruling that they should be released. They are currently being held in immigration detention.

Earlier today, defense lawyers were informed that a judge had ruled that they should be freed without charge, but this ruling was ignored by Israeli police, who handed the two activists to the Ministry of Interior, to begin the deportation process. They could be flown back to their home countries within hours, despite never having been charged, let alone convicted of any crime. They have also been repeatedly denied contact with their lawyer.

Substantial legal costs have already been incurred. If they choose to fight this unjust deportation, then these will be even higher. We urgently need funds to challenge the Israeli tactic of deporting solidarity activists to prevent our work in the West Bank.

Freedom for international activists can also be key in legal processes for Palestinians who are arrested at the same time. Previously this month, four ISM activists and two Palestinian men were arrested. One of the Palestinian men was released just yesterday, following a judge’s decision that to keep him in prison after the international activists had been freed would be unjust and discriminatory.

Please donate now so that we can continue our work supporting the Palestinian cause.

DONATE HERE: https://palsolidarity.org/donate/

In Solidarity, International Solidarity Movement

Palestinians and Internationals at the peaceful direct action in an Israeli supermarket near the illegal settlement of Shaar Binyami where the 2 Internationals were arrested along with 2 Palestinian men.

Dozens of Palestinians and internationals protest at Rami Levy Supermarket near the illegal settlement of Sha´ar Benyamin on October 24th. This direct action aims to highlight the Boycott-Divestment-Sanctions (BDS) Campaign that seeks to promote a boycott of Israeli goods.

Bassem Tamimi injured and arrested with 3 others at Boycott Israel protest

24 October 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

VIDEO from the action:

Four people, including Bassem Tamimi, the head of the Popular Committee of Nabi Saleh, were arrested by Israeli police today as Palestinians staged a peaceful direct action in an Israeli supermarket near the illegal settlement of Shaar Binyamin, north of Ramallah, calling for a boycott of Israeli goods. Two Palestinians were injured and removed in ambulances. Before he was arrested, Tamimi’s ribs were reportedly broken.

Two of those arrested were international human rights activists. One is an American and the other is from Poland. The American activist was dragged away by four Israeli officers.

Starting at around ten this morning, Palestinians and international activists gathered in the parking lot of Rami Levi supermarket, which is frequented by Israelis from the surrounding illegal settlements. The activists entered the market and walked up and down the aisles, holding Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) placards and waving Palestinian flags.

Demonstrators left the market voluntarily when the Israeli army arrived on the scene. As activists exited the building, about forty police, border police and soldiers were waiting in the parking lot. There, the Israeli authorities attacked the demonstrators and fired sound bombs at them.

Even though the demonstrators remained non-violent, soldiers punched, dragged and choked them. As one Palestinian man was pulled away from the soldiers by other demonstrators, to prevent his arrest, his walking stick was taken away as he lay on the ground – following this, he could not walk without assistance. A sound bomb was thrown just metres from the head of another Palestinian man who was already unconscious following attacks from the authorities.

Bassem Tamimi is the head of the popular committee of Nabi Saleh, a village that has suffered drastically from the creation and expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank. Halamish settlement was created less than 1km away from Nabi Saleh, stealing a great deal of the villages’ land, as well as a spring that provided a vital water source for the village. Tamimi was released from prison in April of this year after spending 13 months in an Israeli prison for being accused of “taking part in illegal gatherings.” He was released on bail in April in order to take care of his elderly mother who had suffered a stroke.

The action today aimed to highlight the BDS campaign (www.bdsmovement.net ), which calls for a boycott of Israeli goods.

The status of the detained demonstrators is currently unknown, they remain held in the police station of the illegal settlement of Shaar Binyamin.