Category: Reports - Page 28 - International Solidarity Movement

Six Palestinian martyrs in less than 24 hours

Six Palestinian martyrs in one day - 19 Septemeber 2023 — Six Palestinian martyrs in one day – 19 Septemeber 2023

Jenin – 20-9-2023

By Diana Khwaelid

An Israeli Special Force unit stormed the Jenin camp in the northern West Bank on Tuesday evening, 19-9-2023, around 20:30 to besiege a Palestinian house. Palestinian fighters were inside the house, which belongs to the Abu Al-Baha family.

Dozens of Israeli military vehicles stormed the camp, and Palestinian fighters confronted the Israeli occupation forces in the attempt to defend the camp and its residents. The Israeli occupation forces damaged one of the houses in the camp, a civilian car belonging to one of the camp residents, and the pylon which distributes electricity in the camp. The electricity in the camp was cut off from the first minutes of the invasion, as the Israeli occupation forces blew up the electricity transformer in the camp. The invasion lasted almost three and a half hours continuously.

After that, fear and tension reigned throughout the camp and its inhabitants, women and children had their share of this situation. Medical staff and journalists were also targeted while inside the camp. Medical personnel were prevented from reaching and assisting the injured.

Four Palestinian martyrs were killed in this military operation, two died upon arrival at Avicenna hospital and two died later because of serious injuries. The martyr Mahmoud al-Arrawi was 24 years old, the martyr Mahmoud al-Saadi was 23 years old and the martyr Tamo SA was 29 years old from the town of Qabatiya, one of the neighbouring Jenin villages. The youngest of them is the young martyr Arafat Omar Khamaisa, 22 years old. At least 30 people inside the camp were injured by live ammunition. They were taken to the hospital for treatment.

In Gaza, Palestinian crowds mourned the body of the young martyr Yousef Salem Radwan, 25, from the city of Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip, who was shot by the Israeli occupation forces after clashes broke out between young men and the occupation forces on the border with the Gaza Strip.

The sixth martyr, 19 year old Dergham Al-Akhras from Aqabat Jabr camp in Jericho was shot dead while he and some young men were in the camp while the Israeli occupation forces stormed the Aqabat Jabr camp this morning. Palestinian crowds in a state of anger and vigilance called and grieved the six Palestinian young men in Jenin, Gaza, and Jericho. These killings have raised the number of martyrs since the beginning of 2023 to 250 in the West Bank, Gaza and Jerusalem.

Palestinians in Qaryut reassert their right to visit their spring, despite IOF violence

On Friday 15th of September the people of Qaryut – a village between Nablus and Ramallah – held a demonstration reasserting their rights over the village spring.

The village is close to the illegal settlements of Eli and Shilo, and every Friday settlers come to wash in the spring. This is a clear act of provocation, aimed at staking a claim on even more of the surrounding land.

There are often clashes between village youth and the settlers at the spring, and the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) protecting them. This week, however, the community had called on other communities to join them in reasserting their rights to the spring. The protest was also over the closure of the main road into the village by the occupation forces. The demonstration began after Friday prayers and marched down from the village toward the spring.

The IOF blocked the road, firing tear gas and rubber coated steel bullets. One man was shot in the face and injured with a rubber coated bullet. Several people were treated by the Red Crescent medical services after inhaling gas.

Settlers could be seen on the hillside watching the army’s repression of the demonstration

The photo above shows the moment a tear gas canister was fired through the window of a building in Qaryut, you can see the gas billowing from inside.

The whole village of Qaryut was flooded with gas fired by the IOF. Canisters rained down onto residents – threatening to cause serious injury

Demonstrators persisted – however – and were eventually able to march to the spring. This video shows them dancing in celebration.

Palestinians from many communities in the West Bank had come to support the people of Qaryut in their demonstration.

Report on the weekly protests in Kafr Qaddum

The Palestinian village of Kafr Qaddum is located 13 kilometres west of Nablus and has a population of roughly 4300 citizens. Eleven thousand dunams of the village’s land (roughly 52% of the total area) are part of area C, under full control of the Israeli Occupation Forces. Saqerobeed, the former mayor of the village told ISM that, for the residents of Kafr Qaddum, this means being banned from accessing the land where their olive trees are planted. Olives are the main source of employment for the locals.

Saqerobeed, who served as the mayor of the city for six years, told us:

The army gives us permission to reach this land only twice a year; one week during olive harvest season and two other days during the year to take care of the land, which is not enough”. He also explained how settlers often go to these Palestinian lands and destroy the olive trees or impede the harvesting of these.

Other than being denied access to their land, Palestinians in Kafr Qaddum have been banned from using the main road of the village since 2003, one which easily connects it to Nablus. This is because of the presence of a settlement, which was built by the extreme right-wing Zionist group Gush Emunim in 1975 and has been enlarging ever since.

Reaching Nablus used to take only 15 minutes by car, but the trip now takes at least 40 minutes due to this permanent roadblock.

Soldiers shoot at demonstrators in Kafr Qaddum

After bringing this issue to an Israeli court multiple times throughout the years with no result, the citizens of Kafr Qaddum began organising weekly demonstrations in 2011, taking place every Friday.

For the past 12 years, the Israeli Occupation Forces have violently repressed these protests by shooting tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets, and live ammunition. On the 12th of August, a 15-year-old boy lost an eye after being shot with a rubber-coated steel bullet. A week after, seven more Palestinians were hit with the same ammunition, one of which led to hospitalisation. The number of people suffering from suffocation due to tear gas reaches the dozens every week, and this includes many children.

During the demonstration of the 1st of September, for instance, the IOF arrived to shoot tear gas canisters outside of a shop where people were sitting while drinking coffee, forcing them to run away immediately. Moreover, 175 people have been arrested for attending these demonstrations, leading the villagers to pay more than half a million shekels of bail-out money over the years. It is also routine for the IOF to place one or two snipers in an abandoned building adjacent to the site of the demonstration.

Four attempts at negotiations with the IOF have taken place, the last one in 2014. The community offered to halt the weekly demonstrations if the road was re-opened. During his time as mayor, Saqerobeed participated in these and recounted how, during the last negotiations, they had come close to reaching the goal of re-opening the street. Even though an agreement had been made and the demonstrations were due to be halted, the IOF still refused to open the road.

When asked about the steadfastness with which the villagers attend this demonstration, the ex-mayor said:

We believe in this form of protesting because there is no one helping us from outside. If we ask for help to NGOs and human rights organisations, or other countries, no one will do anything so we do it alone. We will continue even if we lose people to jail, we all pay the price of this, because the alternative is to accept the way things are right now, which is impossible for us.

Demonstrators in Kafr Qaddum

Photos by Diana Khwaelid

Steadfastness in the face of occupation: A report on the attack on Nur Shams camp

Photos and text by Diana Khwaelid for ISM

Residents of Tulkarm – and in particular the Nur Shams refugee camp – woke up to a sad morning on Tuesday 5th of September.

Destroyed buildings in Nur Shams, 5th September 2023 — Destroyed buildings in Nur Shams

Dozens of military vehicles, troop carriers, and three Caterpillar D9 military bulldozers accompanied by an Israeli police vehicle stormed the Nur Shams refugee camp – east of Tulkarem City at 3:00 AM.

According to residents of the camp, power lines, water pipes and communication lines were cut off from the first hours of the invasion. The attack continued for almost four hours.

There were also violent clashes between Palestinian resistance fighters in the camp and the Israeli occupation forces that lasted for almost four continuous hours.

Confrontations also broke on most of the main roads leading to the camp. Palestinian youths confronted the occupation forces and military vehicles, and the Israeli occupation forces fired live bullets directly and indiscriminately. Stun grenades and gas were fired at the Palestinian demonstrators.

The Israeli occupation forces completely destroyed five shops, three inside and two outside the camp.

Dozens of Palestinian houses and dozens of cars were damaged inside the camp, and the windows of the Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Mosque, the main and largest mosque in the camp, were shot at.

The main street leading to the camp and the main streets of the city were completely destroyed.

Ayed Abu Harb, 21, the eldest of his brothers, and a resident of the camp, was shot in the head while on one of the roofs of the camp’s houses. He was martyred.

Iyad Mustafa Abu al-Rab was shot directly in the head and wounded. Iyad is 37 years old, married and the father of two children. Eyewitnesses said that he was not doing anything, he had witnessed the invasion that took place in the camp and was standing and watching, but the Israeli occupation does not distinguish between fighters and civilians.

Iyad Abu al-Rab is now lying wounded in Ibn Sina Hospital in the Jenin city for treatment.

The Israeli occupation forces also prevented medical personnel from reaching the camp to treat and transport the injured, and the medical relief staff and ambulance crews were attacked when they were outside the camp.

The residents of Nur Shams refugee camp, children, women and men, lived in a state of terror that lasted for four continuous hours. The sounds of bullets and explosions continued until the Israeli occupation withdrew from the camp at approximately 7:15 AM.

Palestinian and international activists and officials condemned what happened and what the occupation did in Nur Shams camp. They blamed the Israeli occupation and said that it was the occupation that started the attack against civilians in the camp.

The people of the camp mourned the young martyr Ayed Abu Harb, and took him to his final resting place. His family took a last farewell look at him. Meanwhile, the occupation forces continue to kill
Palestinians, and the occupation does not differentiate between anyone.

The people of the camp expressed their anger and steadfastness in the face of the occupation despite everything they are subjected. One resident said: “We continue to resist the unjust and deadly occupation. Our weapons are a legitimate right to defend ourselves, our homes and our land.”

“The Palestinian cause is a cause for all free people in the world, regardless of their cultures, backgrounds, religions, or ethnicities” – an interview with Archbishop Atallah Hanna

Archbishop Atallah Hanna in front of the separation wall, Jerusalem. Via MEE/Micheala Whitton

On Wednesday, August 23, ISM volunteers met with Archbishop of Sebastia, Atallah Hanna, to discuss solidarity with the Palestinian struggle and the conditions of Palestinian Christians under the occupation. The Archbishop is an outspoken critic of the occupation and has been arrested in the past and had his passports seized by the IOF for his work. During our meeting with him, he answered the following questions.

What are the conditions for Christian Palestinians under the occupation?

The situation of Christians in Jerusalem and in Palestine generally does not differ from that of the rest of the Palestinian population. Christian Palestinians are both Christian and Palestinian; they suffer just like the rest of our Palestinian population. In fact, the occupation, with its injustice, oppression, and its targeting of the children of our Palestinian people, does not distinguish between a Palestinian Christian and a Palestinian Muslim. We all suffer from the occupation and its practices. The occupation targets us all, yet in the face of it, we remain steadfast as we hold onto our homeland. We are true defenders of the justice of our cause. I would like to take advantage of this occasion to salute all those in solidarity and all our friends who have come from different parts of the world to express their solidarity and support for the Palestinian people. Thank you.

What is your view on religious unity in the Palestinian resistance?

Christian and Muslim Palestinians are one people fighting for the same cause. We respect all religions, cultures, and peoples. We do not harbor hatred for Jews, and we are not enemies of Judaism. Instead, we reject Zionism and racism. We respect all monotheistic religions and all humans, regardless of their religion or cultural background. I believe that the force that must unite us is our love for Palestine and our fight for its liberation. The Palestinian issue/cause is not just for Palestinians; it is a cause for all free people in the world, regardless of their cultures, backgrounds, religions, or ethnicities. We reject religious fanaticism, we reject hatred, and we demand dedication to cultural diversity, forgiveness, and the acceptance of pluralism so that we are all united in our defense of Palestine.

What can internationals do to support the Palestinian cause?

I believe that your presence in Palestine [ISM] is a message in itself—a message of solidarity that affirms the justice of the Palestinian cause. Of course, we appreciate your efforts and your volunteering. It is essential that upon your return to your countries, you carry the message of the Palestinian people to your own communities. What we desire are friends from around the world, people who understand the justice in our cause. We hope that you can become ambassadors for Palestinians in your countries and the nations to which you belong.