Category: Reports - Page 122 - International Solidarity Movement

School children denied their right to education in Hebron

December 10th, 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, al Khalil team | al Khalil, occupied Palestine

Soldiers blocked the way to the Cordoba school in al Khalil

Today, on International Human Rights Day, school children as well as teachers were denied access to the Cordoba school in Al-Khalil (Hebron). The mixed primary school is located in the neighborhood of Tel Rumeida at the end of the small strip of Shuhada Street that Palestinians are still able to access.

Students and teachers waited for two hours

Since the declaration of the ‘closed military zone’, effective since the 1^st of November in Tel Rumeida and Shuhada Street, the children and teachers have been registered as numbers in order to pass checkpoint 56 and checkpoint 55 on their way to school. On Monday the 7^th of December 2015, the checkpoint 56 has been closed for an indefinite period of time. The children and teachers that need to cross checkpoint 56 – which marks the border between the H2 area of Al-Khalil, under full Israeli control, and the H1 area, supposedly under full Palestinian control – have had to argue with the Israeli forces every morning since then, in order to pass the checkpoint and reach the school.

Settler came to harass children and teachers while they were waiting

After a Palestinian was killed on Wednesday, 9^th of December at checkpoint 55 on Shuhada Street, the children and teachers found the access to the school blocked by barbed wire and countless Israeli soldiers. The Israeli forces have completely locked the way to the school for the majority of children and teachers. The only other way to the school is through a cemetery on the other side of Al-Khalil. The Israeli forces simply ignore the pleas from both school children and teachers to let them pass and get to the school, and don’t give any indication as to when the barbed wire will be removed.

While school children and teachers were waiting in hopes of passing, infamous illegal settler Anat Cohen arrived at the scene and openly, without any apprehension, verbally and physically harassed them. The Israeli forces failed to prevent her from doing so, yet again turning a blind eye on increasing settler violence. Two hours after school was supposed to begin, the children and teachers gave up and the school was forced to remain closed for the day, the childrens’ right to education being simply denied to them.

Watch these two videos of Anat Cohen attacking and intimidating the school-children.

Israeli soldiers occupy Palestinian house to set up military base

December 10th, 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, al Khalil team | al Khalil, occupied Palestine

For the last 15 days the family of Abu Shykri Al-Atrarshi have had no access to the top two floors of their house, which was illegally taken over by the Israeli occupation forces and where they set up a military base.

Ten Israeli soldiers suddenly showed up at the house in the neighbourhood of Abu Sheineh, Al Khalil; they broke in by smashing a window in the door, took the key and demanded that the family vacate the third floor. The soldiers did not have any documentation to explain or justify the incursion nor did they give an explanation to the family why their house was being taken over. Any questions are ignored and the third floor as well as the roof top are now off limits.

Since the soldiers arrived they have broken the windows, and shot holes in the water tank which supplies clean water to the household. They then took all the blankets on the premises and used them to dry the water leaking from the tanks. The family also reported that once the water supply was fixed the soldiers contaminated the water and used the apartment and roof as a toilet.

The soldiers never leave the apartment empty, but a few times per day there is a shift change. This happens at different times every day so there is no knowing when, and the soldiers move in and out as they please anyway. This means there can be soldiers moving throughout the building at any time, terrifying the family- especially the young children who no longer dare to leave the house on their own. The soldiers use the roof as a lookout and also frequently fire weapons such as teargas, from there into the surrounding neighbourhood.

The three story house is home to 13 people, now crowded into two small floors- including a young disabled child. They have no idea how long the soldiers will stay, or if the family will get their house back at all. They contacted the local DCO (District coordination office) who advised them to get a lawyer, which they did. The lawyer has now started the process to take the case to an Israeli court in Haifa, Israel. However Abu Shykri Al-Atrarsh has had no information on when the case will be heard or when a judgement can be expected. This, as in many cases, can take months if not years and in the meanwhile the family is trapped. Abu Shakri believes the army is trying to make the family leave the building altogether, but they are resolutely staying put.

This family now has to try to live their life underneath the very people who have broken into, stolen and disrespected their home. The daily struggle of living under the occupation is hardship enough but having your own home taken from under your eyes, and not being able to do anything about it is absolutely heartbreaking.

ISM today took pictures of the soldiers in the building to help the family evidence their presence there, which is needed for the court case. Every time the family has tried to take pictures themselves the soldiers have taken their phones and deleted the pictures.

More humiliating body-searches in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron)

9th December 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Khalil Team | Al-Khalil, occupied Palestine

On Tuesday and Wednesday, 8^th and 9^th December 2015, Israeli forces bag- and body-searched virtually every male and female adult walking through or past a checkpoint in the Jaber mountain neighbourhood in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron).

In the afternoon on Tuesday, Israeli forces stopped every teacher on their way home from school, forcing them to lift up their shirts and trouser-pants before being allowed to slowly approach the checkpoint where they had to endure a body-search by the soldiers. The school-children from the elementary boys school nearby were watching this humiliating process, as no-one was allowed to pass the checkpoint until all the teachers’ were patted down by the soldiers.

Not only the teachers and the director of the school, but also any other male adult going past the military gate or even past anywhere on the road in the view of the soldiers, were body-searched. As this systematic humiliation of any male adult, and some male youth, kept going on for hours, several people decided to not go past the gate in order to spare themselves this humiliation. Several people, simply going to a shop in order to buy something, passed the soldiers twice within ten minutes and were thus forced to be body-searched twice. Israeli forces forced various adults to even take off their shoes before being allowed to approach them to be body-searched.

Israeli forces body-searching Palestinian man

Female adults were stopped and had to throw their IDs on the street, put their bags down, and step back a few meters, before soldiers would check their IDs and go through the bags.

Israeli forces bag-searching a Palestinian woman

Thousands join the funeral of Malik Shahin, killed on tuesday in Bethlehem

9th of December 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied

On Tuesday, thousands of Palestinians joined the funeral of 20-year-old Malik Akram Shahin in the streets of Bethlehem. Malik was shot dead by Israeli forces on Monday night, during a detention raid in the Dheisheh refugee camp where he lived with his family. He was the fifth martyr in his city alone.

The mourners, wearing the symbolic red and white keffiyeh of Popular Front for Liberation of Palestine – Malik’s political party – held the funeral procession from the Beit Jala hospital to the martyr’s home. Malik is the second person from Dheisheh refugee camp to be killed by Israeli forces since the murder of Motaz Ibrahim Zawara on October 14th during a demonstration in Bethlehem.

According to medical personnel from Beit Jala Governmental Hospital, Malik was killed with an explosive bullet fired at his head, which smashed his skull and exploded into “hundreds of pieces.” Also called ‘dum-dum’ bullets, the use of this kind of explosive ammunition is forbidden by international law and considered as a war crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, of which Palestine is a member as of last April. Medical sources added that considering where Malik was shot in the head with this type of bullet, there was no doubt that the intention was to kill him.

Following Malik’s funeral, clashes took place at the northern entrance of Bethlehem near the Rachel’s Tomb checkpoint; two Palestinians were injured and evacuated to the hospital, while many people suffered from tear gas. As demonstrated by Malik’s death by illegal ammunition, Israeli forces are guilty of serious violations of international law and human rights; such violations have been in constant and troubling increase across the occupied Palestinian territory since the beginning of October.

Closure of major checkpoint in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron)

8th December 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Khalil Team | Al-Khalil, occupied Palestine

Israeli forces on Monday, 7^th December 2015, have closed Shuhada checkpoint in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron) for an indefinite period of time.

This checkpoint marks the border between the H2 area of al-Khalil, under full Israeli control, and the H1 area, supposedly under full Palestinian control. Checkpoint 56 is the major checkpoint leading from the Palestinian market area at Bab al-Zawwiya into the Tel Rumeida neighbourhood and the small stretch of Shuhada Street that is still accessible for Palestinians.

With the closure of this checkpoint, Palestinian residents are facing another crackdown on their most basic rights. Palestinian freedom of movement is already severely restricted by numerous checkpoints and harsh checking procedures at the checkpoints. On November 1^st, Israeli forces also declared the area a ‘closed military zone’, further impinging on their freedom of movement.

Recently closed and blocked off Shuhada checkpoint

The closure of this particular checkpoint leaves the residents, families, children and elderly, but also school-children and teachers from Qurtuba school – forced to pass through this checkpoint on their way to and from school every day – stranded on the wrong side of the now inaccessible checkpoint. Anyone trying to go into this area is thus forced to take a very long detour, in order to navigate both the closed checkpoint and the ‘closed military zone’.

According to Israeli forces, the checkpoint has been closed for ‘renovations’. Information about the duration of the closure differs and ranges between one and two weeks. Still, it is not clear for how long this closure will be restricting Palestinians everyday life.