Category: Press Releases - Page 79 - International Solidarity Movement

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

More than 40 international and local organizations launch Civil Peace Service Gaza

22 April 2011 | Civil Peace Service Gaza

On Wednesday 20th of April, at 11:30 (local time), more than 40 international and local organizations launched a human rights monitoring mission to report potential violations in Palestinian waters.

Deploying an international third-party nonviolent Civil Peace Service in Palestinian territorial water is not the initiative of a single organization, but a project done with the effort of many.

It comes as a response to the needs expressed by Palestinian fishermen and identified by local organizations such as the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, an organization with consultant status in the United Nations, and the Union of Agricultural Work Committees. These groups denounce the continuous attacks suffered by Palestinian fishing boats even inside the limits imposed by Israel, which are reduced to three nautical miles from the original 20 nautical miles established in the Oslo Accords (1994).

The launch of the Oliva, the boat that will carry on the mission, was part of the activities of the 6th International Conference about Palestinian Popular Struggle in Bi’lin, organized by the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee. Large number of international and local media covered the event. High representatives of the United Nations Development Program, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and more than twenty European consulates were present for the launch.

The Oliva will start its mission next week. It will have an international crew, trained in human rights monitoring and international law, and will be equipped with video cameras and radios to maintain permanent contact with the land team.

The initiative results from coordinated efforts between civil society organizations in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and internationally.

Colonel Pinhas (Pinky) Zuaretz to testify in Corrie trial Wed, April 27th

20 April 2011 | Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice

In a breaking development, an Israeli court has granted the State’s request to move the testimony of former Brigade Commander Pinhas (Pinky) Zuaretz to next week, Wednesday, April 27, nearly one month prior to his originally scheduled appearance. A 5-page affidavit for the witness was only issued by the State on Sunday. Attorney Hussein Abu Hussein who represents the Corrie family initially opposed the State request and filed motion for reconsideration citing due process violations.

Colonel Zuaretz was the commanding officer of the Gaza Division’s Southern Brigade in 2003, when American peace activist Rachel Corrie was killed. Troops under Zuaretz command were responsible for the military’s actions resulting in Rachel’s killing in Rafah, Gaza that day. Zuaretz is the highest ranking officer called as a government witness in the civil trial, and possibly, the highest ranking Israeli military officer ever to face cross examination in a civil suit regarding the actions of the Israeli military against civilians in Gaza during the second intifada. His testimony is expected to shed light on the Israeli military’s failures as an occupying power to protect civilian life and property in the region.

WHO:
Oral testimony and cross examination of former Israeli Military Southern Brigade Commander, Colonel Pinhas (Pinky) Zuaretz, by plaintiffs’ attorney Hussein abu Hussein.

WHAT:
Corrie vs. State of Israel, Ministry of Defense; a civil case charging the Israeli military with the responsibility of killing Rachel Corrie in violation of Israeli and international law.

WHEN:
Wednesday, April 27, 2011, 12:00 (noon) – 16:00

WHERE:
Courtroom of Judge Oded Gershon, 6th floor, Haifa District Court, 12 Palyam St., Haifa, Israel.

Please visit the Trial Update page of the Rachel Corrie Foundation website for updates, changes to the court schedule, and related information.