Israeli army demolish houses and wells in Kufr ad Dik

by Aura and Robin 

17 April 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

Early Monday morning the IOF came to Kufr ad-Dik and demolished three houses and three water wells, along with several tents belonging to Bedouin families nearby. Settlements Bruchin, Alei Zahav, and Pedu’el are expanding quickly, claiming more and more Palestinian land and making life for the people of Kufr ad-Dik impossible.

The soldiers came to the olive groves of Kufr ad-Dik at 7am, armed with ten military jeeps and a bulldozer. After surrounding the area, they began destroying the three houses and water wells which had served as a home and work sheds to several families. Appallingly, the Palestinians present were held at gunpoint during the whole operation.

In four months the Israeli authorities have demolished fifteen houses and Bedouin tents in the area of Kufr Ad-Dik. The houses are used by farmers for agricultural purposes. The farmers use them for storing their equipment and to escape the heat in the summer months. They were particularly important during the harvest, when farmers would live in them for weeks at a time. The destruction of Bedouin tents has left families with no home at all, and no cover in the changing weather.

The Bedouin families had all of their five tents demolished at the same time. They asked the soldiers to spare one tent so that the children at least had somewhere to shelter, but the soldiers showed no mercy, adding that they would be back in one week and if the families had not left the land they would be arrested.

“I have over 600 sheep, there’s no place except here where I can live and support myself and my family” Mohammad, one of the shepherds explain.

Kufr Ad-Dik is surrounded by three hilltop settlements: Bruchin, Alei Zahav and Pedu’el. A forth settlement is currently under construction, further strangling and prohibiting life inside the village. From the ruins of the demolished houses you can see the distant sky scrapers of Tel Aviv and in the good weather you can also see the Mediterranean Sea. Though a large highway cuts its way through their land, Palestinians are prohibited from using it. Instead they have to make a long detour to access villages nearby, insuring the safety of this “settler road”.

Most of the farm land is now area C, meaning that the area is under total Israeli control. Palestinians are unable to acquire any sort of building permit, yet still their livelihood depends on this land. The Israeli authorities claim that they are demolishing houses for security reasons. One of the farmers responds; “ I don’t have any guns or tanks, just my trees. Staying in area A is like living in a small prison.”

Aura and Robin are volunteers with International Solidarity Movement (names have been changed).

West Bank activists remember the life of ISM justice Activist Vittorio Arrigoni

by Sydney

16 April 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

Palestinians and International activists celebrated with the spirit of Vittorio Arrigoni this week across Palestine. Memorial events were held to mark the one year anniversary of his murder: two in Al-Khalil (Hebron) with members of the Hebron Defense Committee and Youth Against Settlements and a week of events including a mural creation, video conference with Italy, and a  demonstration concluded yesterday in Gaza.

The International Solidarity Movement continues to mourn the loss of such an amazing colleague and was a grateful participant in these memorial events.

Arriogoni was a close friend to ISM coordinator Hisham Jamjoun. Hisham’s stories about Vik’s dedication to the Palestinian struggle for human rights brought many to tears at the Hebron Defense Committee memorial. The work of the International Solidarity Movement in Al Khalil where ISM maintains a full-time presence was honored as well. Members of the Beit Ummar dabke troupe performed traditional Palestinian dance, and the poetry of Mahmoud Darwish, one of Vik’s favorite authors, was recited. ISM participated in the memorial by creating a slideshow of Vik’s work in Palestine and speaking to the mission of ISM and how the life and work of Vik lives on with us each day.

After sundown, ISM joined Youth Against Settlements for a candlelight vigil and video conference with Vik’s family and supporters at a simultaneous memorial in Rome. The Youth Against Settlement center is located 5 meters from an Israeli settlement and soldier guard station; Italian ISM activists lead the group in rounds of Bella Ciao as settlers and soldiers looked on.

The  memorial in Gaza wrapped up a week of activities to honor, remember, and continue the work of Vittorio. Events included the dedication of the weekly protest against the agricultural no-go-zone in Beit Hannoun, a performance by Palestinian children on the day of Vik’s court hearing, a mural creation and candle light vigil at the Gaza Harbor, and finally a reading from Stay Human and video conference with Italy.

Activists from the International Solidarity Movement are honored to have received such great outpouring of support from across Palestine and around the world.

We continue to keep Vik’s spirit close to our hearts and alive in our work for a freePalestine.

“We must remain human, even in the most difficult times …
Because, despite everything, there must always be humanity within us. We have to bring it to others.”

-Vittorio Arrigoni 1979-April 15, 2011

 

Increasing Israeli army harassment and violence against activists in Hebron

by Paige

16 April 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

In the past weeks the Israeli army has increased harassment against both Palestinian and ISM activists in Hebron (Al Khalil), a deliberate targeting  of those who oppose Israeli occupation and colonization.   This targeting includes the arrest of six international activists, including five ISM volunteers, and four arrests of Palestinian activists, all within a two week period.  The Israeli army also raided a community event in Tel a Rumeida, detained Youth Against Settlements activist Issa Amro directly after his release from jail, and tied another Youth Against Settlements (YAS) activists to a fence.

On April 1st a Dutch activist and two Palestinians, including prominent YAS activist Issa Amro, were violently arrested during an attempt to reclaim a house belonging to the Hebron municipality.  Palestinians and internationals were dragged, kicked and hit, while another YAS activist was beaten unconscious. Amro and the Dutch activist were held for several days.

On April 8th the Israeli army attacked international activists documenting restrictions of freedom of movement and violence against Palestinians in what is supposed to be P.A. controlled Hebron, arresting one Palestinian American activist.  The next day  two international activists were arrested while simply walking through the old city of Hebron. They were interrogated about the events of April 8th and the names of internationals present on that day, then finally released after signing draconian conditions in Hebrew.

Two days later the army violently attacked Palestinian and International delegates of the Bilin conference, arresting 8 Palestinians and 4 internationals.  Two Italians arrested during the conference now face illegal deportation.  The following day the Israeli army detained Issa Amro immediately following his release from jail and then invaded a community health event in Tel Rumeida organized by the Hebron Defense Committee and the Red Crescent, detaining a Red Crescent volunteer.

About an hour later a YAS activist walking in Tel Rumeida was stopped by soldiers, who tied both of his hands to a fence, for over 20 minutes.  After he was cut free, soldiers attempted to illegally arrest him and take him inside Tel Rumeida settlement.  A Canadian activist who intervened was shoved several times by soldiers, though they stopped there illegal arrest of the Palestinian man.  Eventually the police came and ordered the soldiers to release the man.

The escalation of violence and harassment against activists, international and Palestinian alike, will not deter us.  We will never be silent.

Paige is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).

Palestinians and internationals attacked during biking trip in Jordan Valley

by Joseph and Emiliano

15 April 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

For more photos click here

Palestinian and international cyclists were brutally attacked by the Israeli occupation forces on Saturday as they attempted to bike up Route 90, the main North-South highway running through the Jordan Valley. The cyclists were demonstrating against Israeli apartheid policies in the Jordan Valley, which limit Palestinian access to roadways as part of an ongoing campaign of ethnic cleansing against the indigenous Bedouin communities of the Valley.

One Palestinian woman and two international activists from Denmark and Holland were evacuated to the hospital with injuries after being struck in the head with an M-16 rifle, and one international activist was handcuffed and detained for over an hour before being released without charges.

Over one hundred activists from Palestine and around the world participated in the bike protest, organized by Sharek Youth Forum. Participants rode approximately 5 kilometers before being blocked by Israeli occupation soldiers and jeeps at the entrance to Route 90. Soldiers informed the bikers that they would not be allowed to continue “for their own safety.” When activists peacefully attempted to continue on their way, the local commander of the occupation forces swung his rifle at the head of multiple activists, resulting in the hospitalizations of the three activists and the detention of a man from Sweden.

Palestinian drivers on Route 90, the Jordan Valley’s main north-south route, face regular harassment and attacks from Israeli settlers and soldiers. Palestinian drivers and cyclists are frequently pulled over and searched for no reason, and in some places Palestinians are even prevented from turning across the road at places Israelis have free access to.

The Jordan Valley faces a concerted Israeli campaign of ethnic cleansing towards the Palestinians living there. Demolitions of homes occur with frequency, and the Israelis are currently stealing the vast majority of the valley’s land and water. The majority of the fruit and vegetables produced on this stolen land are exported to Europe and North America. The bike demonstration was part of a day of demonstrations and festivities that included visits to villages, a youth dubke performance, and speeches. The events aim to send the message to the world and the occupying forces that the people of the Jordan Valley and Palestine refuse to cede their land to the illegal occupation and will continue to resist and remain on their land.

 Joseph and Emiliano are volunteers with International Solidarity Movement (names have been changed).

The price of intellectual resistance

by Sylvia

14 April 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

“Our souls are not devastated, we are hanging on”

On the 7th November 2011, founder of the Palestinian Cultural Enlightenment (Tanwer) and lecturer at the An- Najah University, Dr. Yousef Abdul Haq, was arrested from his home at two o’clock in the morning. Dr. Yousef is in his 70’s and his health has suffered from mental strain and poor prison conditions. Well known for his calm and peaceful nature, Dr. Yousef’s daughter insists that her father will always support his people by telling the truth: a lot of people  are living in poverty because they are  under occupation. If my father tells the truth, eventually everyone will understand.”

Administrative detention is legally incompatible with basic international standards of human rights, when Israel holds the accused without charge or trial for long periods of time. The evidence of his or her offense is held in a “secret file,” which cannot be seen by the detainee or defense lawyer. The file is prepared by the Israeli intelligence service, which has gathered “evidence” by illegal means.

This has left Dr. Yousef’s family with no clue as to why he was taken in the middle of the night.

“No one has told us anything” says Yousef’s 21 year old daughter Shayma, a third year student at the An- Najah University. Dr. Yousef is a lecturer in economics and human rights and his co-creation of the Palestinian Enlightenment Project has painted him as a symbol of peaceful and intellectual freedom.

TAKE ACTION: Show your solidarity for Dr. Yousef and all Palestinians 
abducted by Israel and taken to Zionist prisons. 
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Shayma describes the last night she saw her father, the rapping of fists and unfamiliar sound of Hebrew at her door house. She remembers distinctly as he faded into the shadow of the jeeps outside her windows.

Shayma, the daughter of Dr. Yousef, poses next to her father's portrait

“It’s strange” she said, “My father was laughing.  He is as strong as iron or steel. When we talk to him, it is him who encourages us when it should be the other way around.”

On that night, the family assumed he would be interrogated then released and waited from two until six in the morning before reading in the newspaper that he would be kept under administrative detention for four months.

It is this absence of information which makes this experience so agonizing for Palestinian prisoner’s families. Now in the sixth month of his administrative detention, Dr. Yousef’s release is pushed further back from the horizon each time it comes into sight with no explanation or court hearing.

When asked what she thinks will happen, Shayma explains “We hope for something. My mother is depressed, she is worried and she can’t sleep since she has heard of how they torture inmates.”

Though the family has rare permission to visit Ofer prison inside ‘48 territory, Dr. Yousef has advised against it. The journey has been made degrading and lengthy, sometimes waiting for hours in uncomfortable conditions as a further means of adding to the suffering of the Palestinian people. “It will only make it harder for us emotionally,” Shayma explained.

Articles 42 and 78 of the Fourth Geneva Convention permits administrative detention only “if the security of the Detaining Power makes it absolutely necessary “or for “imperative reasons of security”. These terms are widely accepted as applicable to the occupied territories of Palestine. The convention articulates that all civilians, weather in occupies territories or not, are fundamentally “entitled, in all circumstances, to respect from their persons, their honor, their family rights, their religious convictions and practices and their manners and customs”. These terms can only cease after the effective end of occupation. Israel ratified the Fourth Geneva Convention in 1951 and is bound by its terms.

That Dr. Yousef’s detention denies a class of young, educated Palestinian’s of human rights lecturer is of no coincidence.  Israel’s use of administrative detention to silence political figureheads is a concern raised by human rights movement Amnesty International, who explained that prisoners of conscious were being held “solely for non-violent exercise of their right to freedom of expression and association.”

“Our souls are not broken, we are hanging on”, says Shayma. As the struggle for her father’s freedom continues, she recalls her father’s advice, calling for unity and intellectual freedom.

Sylvia is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).