Category: Reports

Nur Shams Refugee Camp – An Unbreakable Will

By Diana Khwaelid

We witness an unbreakable will in the Nour Shams refugee camp, located north-east in the city of
Tulkarem, despite being subjected to more than 10 incursions, killings, arrests,
destruction of roads and other infrastructure, shelling, and burning of houses and shops.

Storming the Nour Shams camp
On the evening of Monday December 25th, the Israeli occupation forces stormed
the Nur Shams refugee camp northeast of the city of Tulkarem in the north of the West
Bank.

Dozens of Israeli military vehicles accompanied by troop carriers and 4 D9 bulldozers were used by the occupation forces to destroy infrastructure in preparation for the entry of occupation soldiers on foot.
This Israeli military operation launched by the occupation forces on the camp lasted for more than 9 continuous hours.

Confronting the occupation forces and defending the camp.
Palestinian resistance fighters defended the camp and its residents and confronted the Israeli occupation forces who stormed the camp without warning. Armed clashes occurred between Palestinian gunmen who tried to defend the camp and the Israeli occupation forces who targeted residents and houses with live ammunition.

Destruction of infrastructure and roads.
The main and secondary roads were largely destroyed and neighborhoods of Nour Shams camp, mostly concentrated in the Al Damj neighborhood and Manshiyeh neighborhood. The Israeli occupation forces
destroyed the main roads by using military vehicles to bulldoze land and streets with military-type D9 bulldozers. Agricultural land with farming of crops was also destroyed.

 

Bombing of a house and burning of another.

The Israeli occupation forces targeted two Palestinian houses, one of which was
destroyed by aerial bombardment, and another one that was burned. Everything within it was destroyed from clothes to furniture. Other homes nearby suffered partial damage, such as glass being broken, doors being ripped off. The first house belongs to the citizen Youssef Zandiq one of the camp residents. the second house that was burned belongs to the family of the young man Musa
al-Azeb. The family of the young man Youssef Zandiq said:

“We evacuated the house before it was bombed as no one was inside. Thank God for
everything, we are lucky that there were no human losses.”

Some Palestinian homes were also stormed during the incursion, including the house of the Dahrouki family.
Israeli occupation forces also painted the logo of the star of the state of Israel, as a sign signalling that it will be bombed in the next incursion.
Despite all the violence and destruction carried out by the Israeli occupying forces during the past weeks and months, despite the human and material losses caused by the destruction of houses, roads, agricultural land andshops, the residents of Nur Shams camp still have a strong and unbroken will.

 

 

 

 

Palestinians Demand to Rescind the “State of Emergency in Prisons”

Rally for detainees, Ramallah.

19 December 2023 | International Solidarity Movement | Ramallah

 

This morning, ISM volunteers joined with the relatives, friends and supporters of Palestinian detainees at a rally in Ramallah, one of many held across the Occupied West Bank, demanding to immediately rescind  the “state of emergency in prisons”, introduced by the Israeli authorities in the aftermath of October 7 and which gives the National Security Minister (illegal settler Ben Gvir) unrestrained powers in relation to the conditions in which detainees are held.

Called for and coordinated by the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society, the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees’ Affairs and supported by a wide-range of civic society groups, the rallies highlighted the huge upsurge in the numbers of detainees, and the severe deterioration in the conditions of detention, since October 7 under the emergency provisions.

Over two months, the number of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons has more than doubled to 7,800, with 4,605 Palestinians (including the 30 people arrested last night) detained since October 7. Of these, 260 are children, 150 women and 2800 are held under Administrative Detention (AD). These figures do not include detainees arrested by Israeli forces in the Gaza strip as Israel does not provide any figures on this.

Even before October 7, the number of Palestinians detained under AD was running at a 20 year high with 1,300 so detained. AD is an apartheid tool used by the Israeli Occupation Forces to persecute Palestinians. It allows for detention for a period of six months, indefinitely renewable, by a military court without charge or trial based on secret security grounds which are not made available to the detainee or their lawyer.

With the powers under the emergency provisions, the security minister has installed a brutal, degrading and inhumane prison regime. Detainees are denied access to visits by lawyers and family members and the Red Cross has been denied access to prisons to monitor conditions. Information from lawyers who have managed to speak with their clients provides evidence that detainees are held in grossly overcrowded cells, denied adequate food and medical care and outdoor exercise and association for education and recreation is severely restricted.

The use of cruel and collective punishment measures such as cutting off water, heating and electricity for long hours is common. Beatings and threats start at the point of arrest and continue within the detention centres.  As noted by Amnesty International in its report of November 8, torture is routinely used. Six detainees have been killed in the Israeli detention centres since October 7, with the suspicion that these deaths were as a result of neglect and torture.

The Israeli occupation authorities are committing serious offences against detainees, offences which are in breach of international law. Under international law, torture and other ill-treatment committed against protected persons in an occupied territory is a war crime. The detention of protected persons outside the occupied territory, as is the case of Palestinian prisoners from the OPT held in Israel, is also a violation of international humanitarian law as it amounts to forcible transfer.

Relatives and advocates for the detainees made it clear at this morning’s rally that Israeli authorities must immediately reverse the inhumane emergency measures imposed on Palestinian prisoners and grant them immediate access to their lawyers and families. Israel must also allow the International Committee of the Red Cross to carry out urgent visits to prisons and detention facilities and to monitor conditions. All Palestinians arbitrarily detained must be released.

Tulkarm Bids Farewell to 5 Palestinians Killed in an Israeli Military Operation.

18 December 2023 | International Solidarity Movement | Nour Shams refugee camp

By Diana Khwaelid 

An Israeli military operation lasted for more than 10 hours in the Nour Shams  refugee camp.

Destruction of infrastructure 

     Dozens of military vehicles stormed the city of Tulkarem on the evening of Sunday, December 16, as they targeted the Nour Shams camp east of the city. The Israeli occupation forces bulldozed the main entrance in Tulkarem and  destroyed the infrastructure using one of their D9 military vehicles, as they had  previously done with previous incursions. It also destroyed the water network and  sewage pipes and cut off electricity and the internet. 

Palestinian resistance fighters defended the camp. 

     There were strong clashes between Palestinian Resisters and Israeli occupation  soldiers, who confronted the occupation forces after they stormed the camp, for  more than 10 continuous hours. The occupation forces also bombed two houses one with drones and the other with an anti-armor missile. 

A state of fear 

     A state of fear and terror prevailed in the homes and neighborhoods of the  camp’s people, both children and women, a long and bloody night described by  the camp’s residents, following the Storming of the camp. The sound of  explosions and fire was enough to bring terror to the hearts of Palestinians. 

Obstructing the movement of medical crews and ambulances. 

     The Israeli occupation forces obstructed the movement of medical personnel,  whether the medical teams of the Red Cross or the Palestinian medical relief and  volunteer teams to move easily inside the camp to transport the injured, and the  occupation forces obstructed the movement of ambulances and arrested a 16  year-old boy from inside an ambulance on its way to the hospital.

5 Palestinians killed, dozens injured. 

     According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, 5 Palestinians were killed in the  Nur Shams refugee camp, and more than 10 injuries reached the (Thabit Thabit) government hospital in the city, whether by shrapnel due to drone, or fire live  bullets . 

The five martyrs are: Walid Zahra, Asaad Zahra, Ghaith Shehadeh, Mahmoud  Jaber and Jihad Amarna.

A state of sadness and shock of loss. 

     Hundreds of Palestinians mourned the bodies of the five martyrs, and their  families took a last farewell look at them, in a state of great sadness and shock women, men, and children participated in the funeral and chanted words of  patience and patience to them and chanted patriotic words in the form of the  Camp people in the face of the occupation until the liberation of Palestine.

 

Photo credit: ISM/Diana Khwaelid

Blocking Paths to the Holy

Children sit outside of Al Aqsa Mosque after being denied entry. Photo Credit: ISM

Israeli soldiers and police once again blocked the majority of worshippers from entering Al Aqsa Mosque on Friday, December 15th. Among those excluded were many young children who attempted to enter but were prevented by Israeli soldiers and police. The soldiers and police also pushed and beat many people away from the gates of Al Aqsa, down Via Dolorosa, out Lion’s Gate, and beyond, including shoving some women. At least one journalist was severely beaten as well and required medical attention.

An Israeli soldier violently assaults a Palestinian women attempting to attend the Mosque for prayer. Still from Video Credit: Silwanic.net

     Israel has laid siege on Al Aqsa Mosque since October 7th. In multiple locations throughout Al Quds (the Arabic name for the city of Jerusalem meaning “the holy”), groups of people once again got as close as they were able to the Al Aqsa Mosque, laid down their prayer mats and prayed. 

Palestinians pray surrounded by soldiers blocking their entrance to Al Aqsa. Photo Credit: ISM

     At the same time that police and soldiers are denying worshippers entry to Al Aqsa Mosque for Friday prayers, they are desecrating other Mosques, such as the Mosques in Jenin where soldiers have spray painted Mosques, threw trash in them, and sang songs over the loudspeaker used to broadcast the call to prayer.

Graffiti on Mosque in Jenin. Photo Credit: ISM

Attacks on places of worship are against the rules of war, but thus far Israeli army and police have targeted mosques and churches in Gaza and the West Bank and done so without repercussions from international political bodies such as the International Criminal Court or United Nations.

Worldwide Pressure Escalates with Global Strike for Gaza

     Striking Palestinians across the occupied West Bank have been joined by millions in countries across the world for the Global Strike for Gaza, which was announced by a coalition of major Palestinian factions. The cadence of the strike declarations accelerated rapidly throughout the day in demand of an immediate ceasefire and an end to the genocide in Gaza.  

     The global strike action was coordinated in response to the dashing of efforts toward an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.  Comfortably seated with his arm stretched high, US Ambassador Alternate Representative of the US for Special Political Affairs in the United Nations Robert A. Wood  lit a fire of rage and condemnation across every continent following his signaling that the United States would use its veto power to kill a UN resolution, supported almost thoroughly through the UN security council, to block an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.  

     Entire nations shut down.  A strike was born.  

Sign on shop in Jordan announcing closure due to strike. Photo Credit: (MEE/Mohammad Ersan)

Occupied West Bank:

     Across the territory, shops fell silent.  Schools remained closed.  Government offices shut down.  Masses gathered in Ramallah’s Al-Manara Square for what was, by many accounts, the largest crowd gathered in protest in the area in some time.   Palestinian children made art work and protestors carried a banner naming Gaza’s martyrs while large protests occurred simultaneously in al Khalil.  Shops in occupied East Jerusalem remained shuttered through the day as the global strike action flashed across the planet with several countries joining in nationwide efforts to deal economic blows to the heart of the powers who profit from the continuation of occupation force’s genocide in Gaza.  

Silence in the streets of Nablus. Photo Credit: [Zain Jaafar/AFP]
Lebanon:

     Secretary-general of Lebanon’s Council of Ministers, Mahmoud Mekkiya delivered the announcement to the nation; all governments and national institutions would be shuttered in solidarity with the global call out.  In reports out of major Lebanese cities, “workers downed tools” and the call for global strike was supported in calls for nationwide solidarity by the ministers of education and culture and several heads of finance.  People across Lebanon engaged in the strike in solidarity with Gaza as well as southern Lebanese villages which have also been impacted in occupation forces bombardment.  

Jordan:  

     Streets were bare across Jordan as a stunning show of solidarity surged through “the transportation sector, aviation, trade, banks, ports, as well as schools and universities.”  Thousands gathered in the streets of Amman and across Jordan in massive protests.  Handmade signs announcing solidarity strikes were placed across hundreds of shops as the nation grinded to a halt in a powerful cry to end the continued atrocities being committed in Gaza.  

Photo Credit: English News.cn (Photo by Mohammad Abu Ghosh/Xinhua)

Turkey:

     In observation of the strike, the country saw abandoned streets throughout the day, with images circulating across social media of empty streets and gated shops in the typically bustling city of Istanbul.    

Photo Credit: Palestine Online @OnlinePalEng

     While many countries held full nationwide shutdowns in honor of the strike call, others which did not, saw massive protests in major cities across the world.  Entire communities vocally joined the strike in solidarity.  #StrikeForGaza was trending across social media, businesses announced individual shutdowns, millions across the world did not report to work or school and millions more refused all financial transactions for the day, no physical purchases, no shopping, no online orders.  Boycott actions are a powerful tool to cost companies standing on the side of genocide, occupation and apartheid millions of dollars in profit.  Momentum continues to build for an end to the bombardment which has now claimed nearly 20,000 lives.  Thousands of the missing lie among the rubble.  

     One day prior to the global strike, the world marked the 75th anniversary of International Human Rights Day as the bombs continued to fall on Gaza.