Category: Reports

Hit-and-run settler kills 15 goats

By Markus Fitzgerald

20 August 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

On Monday, August 6, Mershid (19), son of Muhamad Abdalah Dawabsheh, checked for oncoming cars and started to cross the road between Nablus and Ramallah with his herd of goats. The time was approximately 5 p.m., and he was leading the herd towards the small village of Duma after a day of grazing. An Israeli car appeared as he was walking down the road but instead of slowing down it picked up speed and drove through the herd, killing 12 goats.

Driving through the herd, the front bumper including registration plate was ripped from the car. The Israeli settler stopped his car to retrieve his plate from the ground. As Mershid saw the armed settler he got scared and ran away.

The car registration didn´t leed to further investigation... Photo by Markus Pizgerald. Click for more pictures.The whole incident was witnessed by Muhamad’s nephew, who was standing some 50 metres from the scene. As he started for the herd, the settler saw him, got in his car, and hit another three goats including the leader of the herd (the only male) as he drove off, leaving registration plate and bumper behind.  In all, 15 goats were killed and 2 mortally injured, now hovering between life and death.

As Muhamad arrived on the scene, he called the Israeli police. When no help was offered, he turned to the Palestinian Authority (PA) police. They asked him to come to the police station with pictures of the dead goats and car plate. He refused, arguing it is their job to go to the crime scene to gather evidence.

In the meantime, the Israeli Military arrived at the scene about one and a half hour after the incident. According to Muhamad, the commanding officer seemed uninterested, asking only  if it was his goats killed and if it was his son herding them. When demanding a copy of the report, Muhamad was told to keep quiet and stop asking questions.

An officer from District Coordination Office (DCO) arrived with the purpose of notifying Muhamad that he could not help him. For reasons unknown to Muhamad, the DCO officer refused to help find the guilty settler.  Muhamad was informed that he had to go to an office in the illegal settlement of Bet El if he wanted to pursue the case.

This might seem like an easy venture, but Palestinians are forbidden access to the Israeli settlements built illegally on Palestinian-owned land.

A PA officer arrived to the scene in a private car, but stopped in proper distance when he recognized the Israeli forces presence. He asked Muhamad to go and take pictures with a PA phone as evidence for the police report.

Yet, with experience from similar incidents in mind, Muhamad seriously doubts the results of any such PA report.

The family of Muhamad has been living and farming on the land of Duma for countless generations. One of their main products is goats’ milk and cheese.  The goats are like family to Muhamad and he clarified to International Solidarity Movement volunteers that the loss is just as painful.

Muhamad Abdalah Rashid Dawabsheh. Photo by Markus Fizgerald. Click for more pictures

His herd consists of some 100 goats. Males are sold and females are kept to produce dairy products and offspring. The death of the male means a huge economic loss for the family of 8. The goats have undergone selective breeding for many generations and are considered some of the finest.  For Muhamad, it is impossible to put a price on the lost goats.  They provide a living for the family and, for him, the mere question of pricing and money is an insult to the importance of the animals.

Duma is a little farming village 21 km southeast of Nablus. Muhamad is head of one of two big families in the villages. Until the PA, subsequently to the Oslo-accords in 1994, appointed their own regional strong man, Muhamad was considered the unofficial head of the village.

Duma is surrounded by 3 settlements: Shilo, Ma’ale Efrayim and Migdalim, and Muhamad believes the guilty settler is from one of these settlements. For the last 2 years, the villagers have experienced countless settler attacks. Not a single one has been solved, and Muhamad has little faith that the PA or DCO will act differently in this case.

The village of Duma is considered Area B (Palestinian civil control, Israeli military control), but the enclosing Area C (full Israeli control) makes it a problematic task to farm on considerable parts of the land, belonging to the village.

Yet Muhamad states that he will stay on his land and his sons will farm it when he is gone.

“I was born on this land and have been working with olives and goats here for 40 years. I have other places I could go, but I want to stay here. This is my place, this is where I belong.”

Khan Al Luban: Settlers invade again

By Alex Marley

18 August | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

On Saturday August 11, 2012 the same events of three days earlier repeated themselves in Khan Al Luban. A group of 4 illegal Israeli settlers, from Ma’ale Levona, armed with guns and wooden sticks, came into Khan al Luban at 10:30 p.m. The settlers yet again broke into the house owned by Khalid al-Hamed Daraghmah where international activists and the 2 sons of Khalid were staying.

When the settlers arrived, Khalid’s sons and the international activists asked them to leave the property, but they refused and instead sat down near the spring on the Daraghmah land. After about half an hour, 2 Israeli police cars arrived along with 2 military jeeps after having received a call from the settlers. A few minutes later, 2 more military jeeps arrived at the scene. By then, the Daraghmah land was full of Israeli police, soldiers, and security guards from the illegal settlement. The soldiers entered the house searching for weapons, but as usual they did not find anything.

Click for more pictures. Photo by Marcus Fitzgerald.

Around midnight, the soldiers, police, security personnel, and settlers left the area while Jamal, the oldest son of Khalid, and the international activists remained in the house. Throughout the night settlers stayed on patrol in the street near the Daraghmah house, shouting and honking the horns of their cars.

At 7:30 a.m. the following morning, a border police car stopped near the Daraghmah house on the road leading up to the illegal settlement of Ma’ale Levona. The border policemen then proceeded to break into the house, aggressively asking for passports and other documents. Like the night before, the house was searched and no bag, cigarette package, or piece of clothing went unturned.

Jamal was brutally pushed into one of the rooms by the police officers where he received several blows to the face before he was handcuffed and taken away. Jamal was taken to the Israeli police station of Binyamin, wrongly accused of having hit a soldier. He was released on bail the day after.

The continued pressure of the Israeli occupation forces and illegal settlers remain a a constant threat during both days and nights in Khan al Luban.

Alex Marley is a volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).

Israeli military beats and arrests journalists, suppresses Kufr Qaddoum demonstration

By Marshall Pinkerton and Alma Reventos

18 August | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

On Friday, August 17, 5 were injured and 8 arrested during the weekly protest in Kufr Qaddoum. Israeli soldiers fired tear-gas canisters, rubber-coated steel bullets, and beat protesters with wooden sticks. The village experienced an unprecedented amount of violence during the peaceful demonstration as the village was surounded and invaded by over 100 Israeli occupation forces, leading to several broken arms, the arrests of participants, including 6 journalists, and the asphyxiation of a 60 year-old bystander.

Journalist beaten and arrested by Israeli soldier

Those arriving from outside Kufr Qaddoum were forced to travel around flying checkpoints, posted along the main roads used to reach the village, which would prevent them from their right to participate in the democratic protest.

“Something felt strange about this morning,” Morad Shtayi, Popular Struggle Coordination Committee representative for Kufr Qaddoum said.

Before the demonstration at 11:30 a.m., Shtayi and several other men heard that 14 soldiers had entered houses under construction from the east, where the protest was due to take place.

“We began shouting at the soldiers until they left,” he says.

The demonstration began per usual at 1:15 p.m., with protesters marching down the road leading to Nablus. An Israeli bulldozer was present on the road, with over 30 border police, police, and soldiers standing on the hill to the North. After 15 minutes, Israeli forces descended on the village from the North, firing tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets. Soldiers also began climbing up the valley from the south, followed by several military jeeps and the bulldozer.

“Protesters fled into the village to seek safety, as they faced tear gas canisters and rubber-coated steel bullets shot from distances of less than 10 meters,” solidarity activist Alma Reventos recounts.

Shtayi said witnesses reported soldiers firing live ammunition in the air as they entered the village in search of protesters.

The bulldozer pushed into the village, causing protestors to run head over heels.

Two Palestinians were arrested by border police, Qassam Aahi, 17, and Abdallah Awni. Israeli forces also arrested 6 Palestinian journalists for reporting on the demonstration; Jaafar Shtayi (Associated Free Press), Nidal Shtayi (Chinese Press), Faris Faris (Palestine Today), Bakir Abd al-Haq (TV Nablus), Odai Qudoomi (B’tselem), and Noah Qudoomi (Alfajir Tulkarem). Among the 6 journalists arrested, 2 were beaten, with Jaafar Shtayi suffering a broken arm. The journalists were released several hours later under the condition that they face imprisonment if they attempt to document the demonstrations in Kufr Qaddoum again.

In addition to the arrests, 2 Palestinians were beaten and a 60-year-old woman fell unconscious after border police repeatedly fired tear-gas inside the village. Rani Suliman Ali, 30, had his arm broken and was kept for a period from seeking medical treatment by Israeli checkpoints outside of the village. Mohannad Shtaiw, was beaten on the back with wooden sticks, and taken to Qalqiliya hospital. Israeli forces finally left the village at 3:30 p.m. with those arrested.

The purpose of the weekly demonstration in Kufr Qaddoum focuses on the closure of the main road that connects the village with Nablus. The road, which passes alongside the nearby illegal Israeli settlement of Kedumim, was closed to Palestinian access. As a result, the journey to Nablus has increased from 15 minutes to 40 minutes. This has resulted in hardships because many residents travel daily to Nablus for work, studies, or health care. Kufr Qaddoum has also lost 4000 dunums of land to the 5 illegal Israeli settlements that surround the village. Farmers seeking to reach their lands face threats, attacks, and arrests. Some of the Palestinian-owned agricultural lands have been declared ‘closed military zones’, and Israeli settlers regularly burn them. This demonstration follows 2 weeks in which several young men were arrested from Kufr Qaddoum during night raids by Israeli forces.

Marshall Pinkerton and Alma Reventos are volunteers with the International Solidarity Movement (names have been changed).
Video and pictures taken from www.facebook.com/AlMasira.KufurKaddom

Call to action: Olive Harvest 2012

18 August 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

At a time of increasing settler violence in the West Bank, the International Solidarity Movement is issuing an urgent call for volunteers to participate in the 2012 Olive Harvest Campaign at the invitation of Palestinian communities.

The olive tree is a national symbol for Palestinians. As thousands of olive trees have been bulldozed, uprooted and burned by Israeli settlers and the military – (over half a million olive and fruit trees have been destroyed since September 2000) – harvesting has become more than a source of livelihood; it has become a form of resistance.

The olive harvest is an annual affirmation of Palestinians’ historical, spiritual, and economic connection to their land, and a rejection of Israeli efforts to seize it. Despite efforts by Israeli settlers and soldiers to prevent them from accessing their land, Palestinian communities have remained steadfast in refusing to give up their olive harvest.

The olive tree is a national symbol for Palestinians. Photo by Jonas Weber, ISM.

Palestinian and ISM volunteers join Palestinian farming communities each year to harvest olives, in areas where Palestinians face settler and military violence when working their land. Your presence can make a big difference. It has been proven in the past to deter the number and severity of attacks and harassment. The presence of activists can reduce the risk of extreme violence from Israeli settlers and the Israeli army and supports Palestinians’ assertion of their right to earn their livelihoods and be present on their lands. International solidarity activists engage in non-violent intervention and documentation and this practical support enables many families to pick their olives. In addition, The Olive Harvest Campaign also provides a wonderful opportunity to spend time with Palestinian families in their olive groves and homes.

The campaign will begin on the 8th of October and run until the 15th of November.  We request a minimum 2 week commitment from volunteers but stress that long-termers are needed as well.  We ask that volunteers start arriving in the first week of October, so that we will be prepared when the harvest begins.

Training

The ISM will be holding mandatory two day training sessions which will run weekly on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Please contact palreports@gmail.com for further information.

Ongoing campaigns

In addition to the olive harvest, there will also be other opportunities to participate in grass-roots, non-violent resistance in Palestine.

ISM maintains a constant presence in Hebron, where settler harassment and violence is a regular occurrence. Lately, Israeli army violence has escalated for Palestinians living in proximity to the illegal inner-city settlement. Israeli forces have used the Palestinian neighborhoods for military training and two videos surfaced lately of soldiers brutally assaulting a young man and a child. The annual demonstration for the opening of Shuhada street has also been brutally oppressed by Israeli military forces. Weekly, illegal Israeli settlers are brought on a tour of the Palestinian old city in Hebron, supported by the Israeli army. Every week, the Palestinians are put under curfew and shops are forced to close so that settlers can take a stroll. ISM maintains a presence on these tours for purposes of prevention and documentation, as Palestinians are often assaulted by the radical settlers.

ISM also has an apartment in Nablus from where we work on a number of projects including resisting demolitions in various villages, and supporting Palestinians resisting settler theft of their lands.  In addition to these activities, we participate in the weekly demonstration in Kafr Qaddum, where protesters face excessive force by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF).

ISM activists have also been attending weekly demonstrations against the Apartheid Wall, the annexation of Palestinian land and the construction of illegal settlements in Al Ma’sara, Ni’lin, An Nabi Saleh.

Come! Bear witness to the suffering, courage and generosity of the Palestinian people under Israeli occupation.

Experiencing the situation for yourself is vital to adequately convey the reality of life in Palestine to your home communities and to re-frame the debate in a way that will expose Israel’s apartheid policies; creeping ethnic cleansing in the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem as well as collective punishment and genocidal practices in Gaza.

In Solidarity,

ISM Palestine

Settlers invade Khan Al Luban

By Alex Marley

17 August 2012  | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

At around 10:30 p.m., a group of Israeli settlers from the nearby illegal settlement of Ma’ale Levona arrived in Khan Al Luban, a Palestinian hamlet located in the vicinity of Al Luban village. Armed with guns and wooden sticks, the settlers broke into a house owned by Khalid al-Hamed Daraghmah.

Israeli settlers armed with guns and sticks on the land of Khalid al-Hamed Daraghmah.

The owner Khalid Daraghmah was alerted by his dogs when the 6 armed settlers arrived by car. Khalid went out and asked the intruders to leave his property. The settlers refused claiming that, “this is not  private property, but property of the state of Israel.” The settlers forcefully entered his house, going into every room, shouting and kicking household objects.

The settlers then headed towards the water spring that is next to the house. International activists that Khalid called for support also tried to stop the settlers and explain that they are intruding on private property, but again the settlers refused to leave. On this occasion they argued that it is their right to be there, because “the prophet Abraham was here 2000 years ago. “

About half an hour after the settlers’ arrival, a white jeep arrived at full speed. Two Israeli soldiers ran out of the car and headed aggressively towards Khalid. The soldiers grabbed Khalid, shouting, and pushed him violently into a room of the house. The international activists tried to enter the room but were prevented by the soldiers.

Some 20 minutes later, another car arrived carrying 4 soldiers as well as 2 Israeli police cars carrying 4 policemen. The soldiers interrogated Khalid and the police spoke to the settlers who claimed to have been attacked by Khalid.

The soldiers scoured the house, ‘looking for weapons’. They entered all the rooms of Khalid’s house which have been emptied since a previous settler attack. After finding nothing at about 1:00 a.m., the police, soldiers, and settlers left.

Khalid says, “they are gone now but unfortunately, they will be back.”

Alex Marley is a volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).