Category: Press Releases

Ethnic cleansing continues: Bedouin village Al Araqib demolished for the third time

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Bedouin village of Al Araqib demolished for the third time

10 August 2010

Al Araqib, NEGEV

The Bedouin village of Al Araqib in Southern Israel was destroyed for the third time in two weeks this morning, Tuesday August 10th, by Israeli civil administration forces.

At approximately 5.45 this morning around 50 Israeli police and 15 border police arrived in jeeps to guard 3 caterpillar bulldozers who razed the Palestinian Bedouin village near Beersheva, Negev to the ground in just over one hour.

Six or seven makeshift houses which had been rebuilt by the families (following the two previous demolitions on July 27th and August 4th) were bulldozed, leaving the families, including women and children, homeless again on the eve of Ramadan.

Two ISM activists and about 20 Israeli activists witnessed the demolitions, having arrived at 3 in the morning. Villagers had called for support, after they began to suspect the impending return of the bulldozers, following the arrival of Israeli officials the day before who surveyed the rebuilt structures and seemed to be taking count.

One man, helped by Israeli and international activists, can be seen in the video below trying to dismantle his own house before the bulldozers got to it – in order to save the materials from destruction – but was prevented from doing so by Israeli police.

Police were aggressive and violent to both the Bedouin and the demonstrators. They arrested one Israeli activist, Gadi Algazi, for participating in nonviolent resistance to the demolitions. They also stole the water tank, which – combined with the fact that fasting will take place during Ramadan, will make re-establishing the village even harder.

Despite this, the families, helped by activists, began to rebuild shelters for themselves with what materials they could salvage, as soon as Israeli forces departed. The state of Israel calls the village ‘unrecognized’ and says the houses were illegal.


Contact:

ISM Media office: 054-618-0056

Aida, ISM activist witness: 059-738-2292
PHOTOS: International Solidarity Movement

VIDEOS:  http://www.youtube.com/user/ISMPalestine

Masked settlers attack international peace activists in Hebron

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6 August 2010

Al-Buwayra, HEBRON – This morning, in a second day of violence in the village of Al-Buwayra, near Hebron, two international peace activists were attacked by three Israeli settlers wearing black masks.

Both were left seriously injured and have been hospitalized following the unprovoked attack.

Peter after the attack which left him with a probably broken nose

The settlers knocked Canadian Peter Cunliffe (pseudonym), 26, to the ground then beat him in the face and body using metal poles and wooden sticks. He is being treated for a probable broken nose and serious back injuries.

Danish peace activist Koba Soernesen. 23, is currently having his left foot examined as he is unable to stand.

He said: “We were sitting under a fig tree where we often sit, when they appeared out of nowhere, from the direction of the settlers’ area. Peter didn’t see them coming. They continued to beat him when he was on the floor, but I was able to fend them off a bit with my leg.

“They also stole my bag with my passport and camera in it.”

Both are currently receiving treatment in Hebron hospital.

The attack comes after violence erupted in Al Buwayra yesterday following the evacuation by Israeli authorities of an illegal Israeli outpost near the Kiyrat Arba settlement. Peace activists based in the area have been trying to prevent settlers setting fire to olive trees and documenting cases of attacks on Palestinians by settlers.

On 25th July two other peace activists, from the Christian Peacemaker Team, were attacked by settlers in Al Buwayra during a massive settler gathering at an illegal Israeli outpost.

Contact
ISM Media Office: 054-618-0056

Available for interview: Koba Soerensen (English & Dansk): 052 821 0047

British student injured by Israeli army illegally firing tear gas canisters at protesters

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British student injured by Israeli soldiers illegally firing tear gas canisters directly at protesters

An Nabi Saleh, West Bank

31 July 2010

Kidd is one of many who have been injured at An Nabi Saleh where Israeli soldiers frequently flout international law by firing directly at protesters
Kidd is one of many who have been injured at An Nabi Saleh where Israeli soldiers frequently flout international law by firing directly at protesters

A British student was injured yesterday (30 July 2010) when she was hit in the leg by a tear gas projectile fired directly at her, when Israeli soldiers violently repressed a peaceful protest in the West Bank.

Ellie Kidd, 23, from North London, is currently unable to walk due to the damage inflicted by the tear gas canister fired from approximately 50 metres away.

It is illegal to fire tear gas directly at human beings but Israeli soldiers frequently ignore the requirement to fire it up into the sky, instead firing directly at groups of peaceful protesters.

Kidd had joined a protest in the Palestinian village of An Nabi Saleh, 30 km northeast of Ramallah, where residents have since January 2010 been protesting against the theft of their land by the neighbouring illegal Israeli settlement of Halamish*.

Kidd was with around 15 other international and Israeli peace activists, whose presence at other demonstrations such as Bil’in has in the past discouraged the military from using such extreme force to repress demonstrations. However protests at An Nabi Saleh have from the start been dealt with using grossly disproportionate force** and numerous people have been injured in the last six months***.

A tear gas projectile of the kind illegally fired directly at protestors at demonstrations in An Nabi Saleh and elsewhere
A tear gas projectile of the kind illegally fired directly at protestors at many demonstrations

Kidd said: “The demonstration had barely even begun when Israeli soldiers started firing tear gas canisters directly at us. I heard the first shot and turned around but there was no time to move out of the way. The Israeli army has no respect for international law, or even for Israel’s self-professed laws****, let alone respect for Palestinians who should have a right to demonstrate against the theft of their land without risking injury or death.

“I’ve seen the army fire directly at Palestinian children as young as five. It’s time the British government and the rest of the world stopped ignoring the war crimes that are committed here by Israel every day.”


For more information contact:

Israeli soldiers have viciously repressed protests at An Nabi Saleh since they began in January 2010
Israeli soldiers have viciously repressed protests at An Nabi Saleh since they began in January 2010, including firing straight at groups of children

ISM Media Office

palreports@gmail.com

0546 180 056

Notes for Editors:

* The illegal Halamish (Neve Zuf) settlement, located opposite An Nabi Saleh, has illegally seized nearly half of the village’s valuable agricultural land. In January 2010, hundreds of the village residents’ olive trees were uprooted by settlers.

** The An Nabi Saleh demonstration is routinely met with dozens of soldiers armed with M16 assault rifles, tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets and percussion grenades. This is despite the fact that the District Coordination Office has confirmed that the spring which the villagers try to reach each week is on Palestinian land.

*** On the numerous injuries inflicted at Nabi Saleh, see for example:
http://popularstruggle.org/content/over-25-injured-nabi-saleh-demonstration
http://popularstruggle.org/content/six-injured-soldiers-attack-nabi-saleh-demonstration
http://popularstruggle.org/content/border-police-critically-injures-14-year-old-nabi-saleh-demonstration

**** In December 2009 an Israeli court decision awarded the property rights of the land to An Nabi Saleh residents, but this ruling has been ignored by soldiers and settlers.

Israel bombs central Gaza City: seventeen injured

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Israel bombs central Gaza City; seventeen injured

Gaza City, Gaza Strip

31 July 2010

An injured man in carried to an ambulance - Photo: TILDE DE WANDEL
An injured man in carried to an ambulance - Photo: TILDE DE WANDEL


At around 11:30pm last night (Friday 30 July 2010), ‘The Arafat Compound’ Police College in central Gaza City was bombed by Israeli F-16s, in the area of ‘Al Montada’ injuring seventeen people, three of them seriously. Three children were also among the injured.

Those first at the scene described building debris scattered everywhere and burned out cars still parked on the street. One man had severe injuries to the eyes and head as a result of being hit by shrapnel from the bomb.

The enormous impact of the bomb was felt by ISM volunteers sitting in a nearby café.

Adie Mormech, a British volunteer in Gaza with ISM said: “The blast caused buildings far from the epicenter of the explosion to shake and windows were smashed. When we arrived at Shifa hospital the scene was chaos. Family members were not allowed inside to visit while the patients were being treated. Intermittently more of the injured arrived amidst a mass of waiting media.

A father carries his injured child to a hospital bed - Photo: TILDE DE WANDEL
A father carries his injured child to a hospital bed - Photo: TILDE DE WANDEL

“Others arrived at the hospital with psychological trauma caused by the enormous impact of the bomb – some were confused to the extent that they couldn’t describe whether they had an injury or not.”

One Gazan resident described the power of the bomb as a rocket weighing more than a ton, the likes of which had not been seen frequently since the horrific three week bombardment over the New Year of 2009, known as Operation Cast Lead.

For many in Gaza, last night’s attack was a traumatic reminder of the onslaught during Operation Cast Lead when three hundred F-16 bomb attacks took place during the first 2 minutes of the campaign. The operations terrorized the entire population of the Gaza Strip and killed over 1400 people, including over 400 children.
Israel’s attack late Friday night followed a rocket that landed in Askelon, Southern Israel. that caused no injuries, and is suspected to have been fired by a small militant faction in Gaza.

As well as reports of other bombings near the Gaza City port there were also rocket attacks on Deir el Belah and Rafah.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

Adie Mormech, Gaza: 05977 176 96

ISM Media Office, Ramallah: 05461 800 56

palreports@gmail.com

Swedish peace activist arrested, witnesses say charge of assault is ‘baseless’

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21 July 2010

Correction, 27 July 2010: Marcus’s surname was originally wrongly spelled ‘Rednanver’ but has now been corrected.

A Swedish peace activist was arrested in Hebron last night and stood trial today in Jerusalem.

Nursing student Marcus Regnander was accused of assaulting a soldier at a peaceful demonstration in Hebron 10 days ago. Witnesses say the charge is baseless and that he has been targeted by police arbitrarily. The judge ordered that he be detained and questioned for a further two days.

At approximately 11PM last night (20 July 2010) Regnander and another Swedish man were passing a checkpoint near Tel Rumeida when soldiers forcefully detained him, confiscated his passport and called police.

Regnander was not told where he had been taken but believed it was a police station near Hebron.

Officials at the Court of Peace in the Russian Compound, Jerusalem, heard his case at 12.30 this afternoon. Following the judge’s ruling he was led wasy in handcuffs and shackled at the ankles. He told friends who attended the hearing that he had not been fed since he was arrested.

He will be released on Friday 23rd at 12 noon unless the police investigation can produce new evidence.

For more information contact:
ISM Media Office – 0545581494 or 0546180056
palreports@gmail.com