Category: Press Releases - Page 78 - International Solidarity Movement

CPT: Rampaging Israeli settlers invade Palestinian village of Tuba

16 May 2011 | Christian Peacemaker Team

(Tuba, South Hebron Hills, West Bank) Late last night, Israeli settlers invaded the village of Tuba, damaged property, and killed and stole several sheep belonging to the Ali Awad family. Palestinians of Tuba reported that they counted seven masked settlers, who entered and left the village on foot, and saw two cars at the outskirts of Tuba, near the chicken barns of Ma’on settlement.

The rampaging settlers stole seven sheep, killed two, and injured others, including one which lost an eye. In addition, the settlers upended three water tanks, which held a total of 4.5 cubic meters of water. They destroyed fences, punctured a storage tent and three large sacks of yogurt, damaged a goat pen and destroyed the ventilation pipe of an outhouse. They also set loose a donkey, which later returned.

Around midnight on Sunday 15 May, internationals from Christian Peacemaker Teams received a call from a Tuba resident to report the settler invasion and request help in urging the Israeli police to come to Tuba. The police refused to go to the village because no one there could speak to them in Hebrew. Two Israeli soldiers arrived in Tuba on Monday morning, but did not speak Arabic and so could not communicate with the villagers.

The Ali Awad family is considering making a complaint to the Israeli police, despite the fact that all their previous complaints about settler attacks, vandalism or harassment have not yet resulted in any indictments or compensation. On 21 March 2011, a masked settler from the illegal outpost of Havat Ma’on stabbed Mahmoud Ibrahim Ali Awad as the Palestinian traveled by donkey from Tuba to the city of Yatta. Mahmoud Ali Awad spent a week in the hospital recovering from stab wounds on his chest and arm.

Christian Peacemaker Teams and Operation Dove have maintained an international presence in At-Tuwani and the South Hebron Hills since 2004.

Israeli forces violently arrest demonstrators in al-Walaja

15 May 2011 | International Solidarity Movement

At 11 AM on al-Nakba remembrance day, 500 residents from the West Bank village of al-Wallajeh and international supporters marched towards the Israeli Apartheid Wall. The Wall was built to separate the villagers from their original land from which they were expelled in 1948. The demonstration was violently attacked by the Israeli military with rubber coated steal bullets, tear gas and protesters were beaten
with batons and rifles. One youth was hospitalized after being injured by a rubber coated steal bullet .

Eight Palestinians including twins aged 11 and 6 internationals (American, Dutch, German and Canadian nationals) were arrested. The army proceeded to raid the village and invade each house, searching for people who had participated in the demonstrations. The raids as well as confrontations between the army and the village youth are ongoing.

The Arrested Palestinans are:
Mazen Qumsiyah
Basel Al Araj
Ahmed Al Araj
Mohammad Al Araj
Allah And Mohammed Abu Tin 11 year old twins
Tarek Abu Tin
Adel Abu Tin

Al-Walaja is an agrarian village of about 2,000 people, located south of Jerusalem and West of Bethlehem. Following the 1967 Occupation of the West Bank and the redrawing of the Jerusalem municipal boundaries, roughly half the village was annexed by Israel and included in the Jerusalem municipal area. The village’s residents, however did not receive Israeli residency or citizenship, and are considered illegal in their own homes.

Once completed, the path of the Wall is designed to encircle the village’s built-up area entirely, separating the residents from Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and almost all their lands – roughly 5,000 dunams. Previously, Israeli authorities have already confiscated approximately half of the village’s lands for the building of the Har Gilo and Gilo settlements, and closed off areas to the south and west of it. The town’s inhabitants have also experienced the cutting down of fruit orchards and house demolition due to the absence of building permits in Area C.

According to a military confiscation order handed to the villagers, the path of the Wall will stretch over 4890 meters between Beit Jala and al-Walaja, affecting 35 families, whose homes may be slated for demolition.

Injured Jerusalem teen dies of wounds

14 May 2011 | Popular Struggle Coordination Committee

Milad Ayyash, the 17 year-old who was critically injured yesterday in East Jerusalem passed away at the Muqassed Hospital, after all attempts to save his life failed. The killing comes as tensions soar over the upcoming Nakba anniversary.

The violent response of Israeli authorities to the protest marking 63 years since the Palestinian Nakba (catastrophe) took a heavy toll, as 17 year-old Milad Sa’eed Ayyash was mortally injured yesterday afternoon during clashes in the Batten al-Hawwa neighborhood of Silwan.

Ayyash, a resident of the Ras el-Amud neighborhood in East Jerusalem was shot in the abdomen with live ammunition as Border Police officers and settlers clashed with local youth. He was evacuated to the Muqassed hospital with no pulse and in critical condition, where he underwent surgery in a failed attempt to save his life. Ayyash was pronounced dead early this morning.

For more details:
Assaf Sharon (Sheikh Jarah Solidairty Movement): 054-494-6274
Jonathan Pollak: 054-632-7736

The bullet extracted from Ayyash’s abdomen has been found to belong to a handgun. This type of bullet is rarely used by the Israeli police in crowd control situations. The bullet therefore indicates the likelihood that the youth was shot by one of the settlers’ security guards. Last September, Samer Sarhan, was killed by settler security in Silwan.

Friday witnessed harsh Israeli responses to protests across the West Bank and Jerusalem. Soldiers and police carried out dozens of arrests including many in East Jerusalem. Dozens of injuries were recorded throughout the day.

The violent reaction of Israeli security forces to Nakba demonstrations yesterday is proof of Israel’s inability to handle Palestinian civil resistance in means other than military. As September looms, it seems as if Israel chooses to tread the same path of neighboring regimes, such as Egypt and Syria, by shooting unarmed protesters in its attempts to quash dissent.

American woman hospitalized with head injury and three international activists arrested in West Bank protest

1 May 2011 | International Solidarity Movement

Injuries suffered by a 60 year old female American activist.

Sandra Quintano, An American 60 year-old women working with the Michigan Peace Team, was evacuated to an Israeli hospital this afternoon, after Israeli soldiers caused her a serious head injury as they demolished a protest tent in the West Bank village of Izbet al-Tabib near Qalqilya. A Swede and two British activists were arrested during the protest. To download a video of the incident, click here.

Israeli soldiers, accompanied by bulldozers and other heavy machinery entered the village of Izbet al-Tabib south of Qalqilya earlier today, to demolish a protest tent set up only yesterday by the villagers and begin the construction of a fence that would cut the villagers off from Highway 55 and of their agricultural land.

During the eviction of the tent, the soldiers violently arrested two British activists and a Swedish activist. They also caused a bleeding head injury to a 60 year-old American woman. She also suffered blows to her wrist, which is suspected to be broken. She was evacuated to an Israeli hospital.

Nonviolent protester after being injured by Israeli soldiers.

The violent arrests were made solely under the pretext of declaring the area a “closed military zone”. However, the soldiers and Border Police officers carried out the arrests without having shown any document declaring the area as such, as the law requires them to do. The three are still in custody and are currently held at the Ariel police station.

During today’s protest, Bayan Tabib, the head of the village council, has received a promise from an Israeli Civil Administration officer, that the fence will only be erected on the far end of Highway 55, thus not cutting off the village’s access to the road or their land. Tabib attributed the promise to today’s protest, saying the “The protest today is the only reason that they agreed to move the fence.”

The village of Izbet al-Tabib, which consists of 45 structures and is home to 247 residents, was built in the 1920’s and is located entirely in area C according to the 1995 Interim Agreement (Oslo II). Israeli authorities do not recognize the village and 32 out of its 45 houses, as well as its school, have been served demolition orders in recent years. Izbet al-Tabib is the fifth poorest village in the West Bank and villagers have already lost 45% of their land due to the construction of Israel’s Separation Barrier.

Volunteer in Gaza with the ISM

The International Solidarity Movement is appealing for activists to join our team in the besieged Gaza Strip. We are hoping that this coming month’s Freedom Flotilla along with the Italian Stay Human convoy will bring an influx of activists into Gaza who will help carry on the important work that Vittorio Arrigoni was an essential part of before his death.

After being barred from Gaza in 2003 following the murders of Rachel Corrie and Tom Hurndall, ISM Gaza was reinstated in August 2008 when ISM and other volunteers traveled aboard the historic, siege-breaking voyage of the first FreeGaza Movement boat. ISM has maintained a constant presence in Gaza since that time, for over two years of Israel’s crippling siege.

ISM volunteers refused to leave when Israel began bombing Gaza in December 2009. During the devastating 23-day assault, activists accompanied ambulances and provided vital testimony to the international media.

Daily life in Gaza is a harrowing struggle. Israel’s siege has made rebuilding bombed structures virtually impossible, and thousands of Gazans continue to live in tents. The siege deeply restricts Gaza’s food supply, but Israel also prohibits Gazans from producing their own food. In stark violation of international law, Israel enforces a three-nautical-mile fishing blockade. The Israeli-imposed ‘buffer zone’ swallows up a third of Gaza’s farmland, which lies along the Israeli border. Farmers are routinely shot and killed simply for working their land well inside Gaza’s borders.

ISM Gaza volunteers accompany farmers and demonstrators in the ‘buffer zone’, as well as working to strengthen the link between Gazan students and the international Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. Visit https://www.palsolidarity.org/main/category/gaza/ to watch videos and read reports by ISM Gaza.

As the international community becomes more critical of Israel’s policies, it is vital to have individuals on the ground that can attest to the conditions inside the open-air prison of Gaza. Their voices lend strength to efforts abroad, as BDS campaigns gain momentum and freedom flotillas become pandemic.

Those interested in joining the ISM Gaza team are required to attend a preliminary training in their home country and have communicate with the volunteers in Gaza prior to arrival. Entering Gaza is an arduous process that requires some time to be spent in Egypt.

Also recommended:
– Previous experience with organizing / activism, preferably in the Middle-East
– A historical understanding of the Palestine and some knowledge of the current political situation
– Arabic language skills
– respect for Palestinian traditions and values
– Ability to stay in Gaza for an extended period of time (over a month)

For more information about where to attend a preliminary training or other questions, please email gazaism@gmail.com