Burying Nayif Qarmout

13 March 2012 | Nathan Stuckey, International Solidarity Movement, Gaza

Nayif Qarmout was killed by an Israeli missile today at 9:30 A.M. He was 14 years old. Five other teenagers with him were injured, Tamer Azzam, 16, Mu’ayyad al-Qanou’, 18, Hani al-Qanou’, 16, Salih Qarmout, 14; and Sa’eed al-Attar, 14. The boys were reportedly playing football in a playground when the missile struck. Nayif was buried today in Jabalia.

Photo courtesy of Rosa Schiano, 2012

The same mosque that yesterday hosted the funeral of twelve year old Ayoub Useila today was the site of the funeral of Nayif. Hundreds of people gathered for noon prayers before the funeral. The street outside of the mosque was full of people.  After prayers Nayif’s body was brought out, born on the shoulders of his friends and relatives. His face was the only thing visible, it was bloody and swollen. His body was wrapped in white cloth. Around him rose the green flags of Hamas.

This time, we did not set out toward the cemetery near the border.  We went through the heart of Jabalia.  The streets were narrow and crowded.  Cries of “God is great” and “there is no God but God” rang out.  The men raised one arm in the air, one finger extended, there is one God it said.  From the windows of second and third stories people looked down onto the procession, onto the shattered body of Nayif Qarmout.  Nayif Qarmout, who this morning had been playing football with his friends, who had still been alive, was now, a bloody body on a stretcher.

The procession moved quickly, with the energy that the processions of martyrs seem to have.  Until we passed by Nayif’s house, the procession slowed, and stopped, women crowded the alley crying.  This would be the last time they would see the body of their son, their cousin, their nephew, Nayif.  Then, the procession moved onward to the cemetery.

The cemetery was Nayif was buried is an old cemetery.  It is already crowded with graves.  The procession slowed as the men picked their way among the grave, until they found the place where Nayif was to be buried.  The grave was dug.  Nayif was lowered into it and men began to shovel earth over him.  When they were finished there was a human shaped mound of earth.  Even if you did not know what had happened, you would know what this was, the grave of a child.  A young red haired man sat by the grave, he did not cry but the grief was obvious.  Nayif was someone that meant a lot to him.  Nayif was stolen from him by an Israeli missile.

Nathan Stuckey and Rosa Schiano are volunteers with International Solidarity Movement.

Idhna: A family without windows

by Peige

12 March 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

After three years of marriage Amani and Hussein Batran wanted a house of their own, somewhere to raise their two children, 4 year old Khalil and 3 year old Layali.   They took out two loans from the bank and construction began. Now, three years later, the house is still unfinished and no new work has been done for over a year. One year ago, shortly after the Batran family moved into their nearly finished house, they received an order from the Israeli military forbidding further construction, followed seven months later by a demolition order.  The reason given is that their house blocks the view of a camera mounted on the illegal segregation wall Israel has constructed inside of the West Bank.

Without windows in Idhna – Click here for more photos

The sight of glass-less windows and wires protruding from half-sanded walls speaks of dreams put on hold, a family living in limbo. The Batrani family has endured the bitter cold of this Palestinian winter with only plastic sheets covering their windows.  The Israeli government considers installing glass  a violation of the order to halt construction.   Violating the order means risking imminent demolition of their home, so the family must make do with  the inadequate plastic sheets.

They know their fate will likely be the same as Ahmed Jeyowi and his family, whether or not they obey the order to halt construction.  Jeyowi’s home was demolished last month when around 50 Israeli soldiers stormed the house at 6 AM whilst Ahmed was drinking tea and preparing to work his land. The soldiers forced Ahmed’s wife and six children from their beds and gave the family no time to salvage their possessions before they demolished their home.

Ahmed has since been forced to send his wife and children to live with other family members whilst he lives on the ruined site which once was his home, now replaced by a tent provided by the Red Cross. Ahmed is left with no heating or lighting, no gas, no toilet, and insufficient bedding.

Idna has suffered considerably since the Israeli occupation, particularly due to the construction of the segregation wall and the theft of some 3,000 dunums of land since the second Intifada. Idhna is surrounded by the Israeli settlements of Adora and Telem to the northeast, a bypass road that runs through the northern parts of the town, and the segregation wall that borders Idna to the north and the west.  There are currently 40 homes in Idna with demolition orders.

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

Caught on Tape: Drunk settlers in Al Khalil assault two international women; Israeli military admits special relationship with violent settlers

11 March 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

On March 9 2012, 6 volunteers of International Solidarity Movement were walking down Shuhada Street near Checkpoint 55 at approximately 11 AM, when drunk settlers attacked the group and injured one international volunteer.

About 5 drunk male settlers began to scream at and surround the internationals, yelling “keffiyah,” the traditional Palestinian scarf, that two internationals were wearing.  Settlers were visibly carrying bottles of alcohol.

The drunk settlers shoved one woman from the back and then threw wine on her.

At the point the group began filming the settlers continued to hit, shove and try to grab the cameras of all 6 people.  A police car drove by and did not stop the attack.  One settler, wearing a dinosaur tail costume on his back put a towel on his face before trying to grab the camera of a Canadian ISM volunteer and then punched a British ISM woman in the face. They then fled shouting.

The British woman fell to the ground and dropped her camera, and another settler picked it up.  The ISM volunteers walked up to 5 or 6 Israeli soldiers sitting about 50 yards ahead and told them what happened.

They laughed and said the internationals had brought it upon themselves by wearing keffiyehs.  The internationals then walked to a police car parked at the next junction. While they were explaining what happened, settler Anat Cohen came up to the internationals and police screaming in Hebrew, and then slapped a Canadian ISM woman on the arm, in front of the police.  The police then sent this woman to retrieve the camera.

They told the internationals that this woman was the “head of the settlers” and that they had a “special relationship with her.” “We do her favours and she does us favours,” they said.

The camera was not returned so the internationals attempted to file a complaint at the Israeli police station near the mosque, but were told to go to the  Kiryat Arba police station.  When the British woman asked for a police escort they said to take the bus (motioning to the settler bus station).

A police report was filed at Kiryat Arba but was only in Hebrew so the Candian ISM woman and the British woman refused to sign these statements.  The police have instructed them to bring in the film footage after Shabbat.

The attack comes following weeks of warning and aggression towards photojournalists and activists with cameras by Israeli military and police, which have stated to internationals that Israeli law forbids the photography of their operations, or rather, their breach of international law and human rights.

Activists have received these warnings for weeks now, and today’s attack comes parallel to the deliberate targeting by Israeli military of journalists and activists with cameras, by shooting tear gas canisters and bullets directly at them at most West Bank demonstrations.

About a month ago, Reporters without Borders published this statement regarding these warnings and threats.

While this attack is an escalation against internationals in the region, and while it is evident that the Israeli military and illegal settlers are collaborating in attacking Palestinians and internationals,  International Solidarity Movement will not desist from bringing proof of Israeli aggression through pictures, videos, and its continued reporting.

After much injustice, Beit Dajan debuts its peaceful resistance

by Jonas Weber

9 March 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

Several hundred villagers gathered today in Beit Dajan to the first ever demonstration against the roadblock that has been obstructing access to the village since the beginning of the second Intifada. The peaceful demonstration was met with a heavy tear gas from the Israeli military. Since 2000, the main road from Beit Dajan to Nablus has been blocked by the military.

2 martyrs of Beit Dajan

The village of about 4000 inhabitants is located only 9 kilometers from Nablus, but it wasn’t until a new road was built in 2005 that the villagers could access their closest city without taking a 60 kilometer detour. However, even with the new road, travelling to and from Nablus still takes twice the time it used to. It wasn’t until 2009 that anyone could go to Nablus after 5pm without coordination with the District Coordination Office, the link between the PA and the Israeli military.

Not even ambulances have been let through at the checkpoint which has led to a lot of complications with the health care in the village.

Education has also become a problem because of the logistical difficulties set by these Apartheid roads and checkpoints. And water supplies are cut because of the roadblock, forcing the village to now import expensive water from the Jordan Valley. And as if this is not enough, the village has suffered four deaths at the roadblock.

Demonstration by the roadblock in Beit Dajan March 9th 2012

The day before the demonstration the roadblock was enhanced with barbed wire further down the road. To protest the roadblock the village has decided to start arranging weekly demonstrations on Friday to show their discontent. Around noon on the 9th of March, 2012, activists from ISM, Anarchists Against the Wall, and Active Stills met with Palestinian organizers and activists in Beit Dajan’s municipality building to prepare for the first ever demonstration against the roadblock.

“It’s nice to see that it’s just Palestinian flags in this demonstration,” says one of the Israeli activists. “All these party flags are breaking up the popular resistance.”

After the noon prayer the villagers huddled up in cars and vans and drove to the roadblock just a few kilometers out of town. In an orderly manner the demonstration marched towards the roadblock.

When the people of Beit Dajan reached the intersection where the roadblock stands they were met with tear gas thrown towards them. There had been no provocation for this and several of the Israeli activists hurried across the roadblock to question the behavior of the soldiers. The protestors on the other side of the gate tried to stay as close to the roadblock as possible while dodging the tear gas and sound grenades thrown at them. Several tear gas grenades were successfully thrown back at the soldiers. The barbed  wire on the road block was pulled out of the way as the hundreds of demonstrators advanced towards the roadblock. After a while the military switched to firing tear gas from guns and jeeps. One of the Israeli activists said that he had seen the soldiers aiming towards people in the demonstration.

An Israeli protester argues with an Israeli soldier during clashes between locals and Israel military, at a protest against the closure and for the removal of a gate at the entrance of Beit Dajan village, that has been shut since 2011, near Nablus. | Photo courtesy of Alaa Badarneh / EPA

Some people suffered from different degrees of tear gas inhalation but fortunately no one was seriously injured. At 13.22, when the demonstration had been going on for about an hour, the soldiers crossed the roadblock and formed a line on the road, pushing
protesters back. Shortly after this the demonstration was dispersed by the organizers who reasoned that their message had come across clearly enough.

Not a single stone was thrown during the demonstration. Despite this the reaction of the military was just as violent callous as
always.

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

Burying Ayoub

by Nathan Stuckey

11 March 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, Gaza

Ayoub, martyred in an air strike
Ayoub, martyred in an air strike

Twelve year old Ayoub Assalya was murdered today. He was walking to school when an Israeli missile landed next to him.  It was seven A.M.  He is another casualty of Israel’s latest attack on Gaza. For three days now Gaza has been under bombardment.  Eighteen people have been killed.  Dozens have been injured.

His funeral was held today in Jabalia, the refugee camp where he lived.  We waited outside the mosque for midday prayers to end.  The street outside was crowded with people waiting for the funeral.  A bus was parked to carry those who could not walk the several kilometers to the cemetery.  Ayoub was carried out on a stretcher, a stretcher held by a dozen men, his bloodied face the only thing visible, his body was wrapped in white cloth.  His face appeared swollen.

The mourners carried his body east to the cemetery.  A sound truck drove along with them.  The crowd chanted, “God is great”, “there is no god but god”, and “the martyr is the beloved of God”.  Music played and the black flags of Islamic Jihad floated above us.  The men walked quickly, down the dusty road out of the camp and towards the cemetery.  The day was hot; dust rose under the hundreds of pairs of feet that walked with Ayoub, people used Kleenexes to cover their mouths.

As we approached the cemetery you could see the border.  This is the same border where the Israel shot four men yesterday. The four men had been attending the funeral of yesterday’s martyrs.  The land leading up the border is barren, there are no trees, Israel bulldozed them all years ago. A giant Israeli gun tower looms on the horizon. These towers dot the border of Gaza, reminding everyone that Gaza is a prison.  In the cemetery though, there are trees, trees growing amidst the graves.  Perhaps the graves saved them from the Israeli bulldozers.  The cemetery is beautiful, white graves under palm trees. Fruit trees also grow here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9sjdb5iI6w

As we enter the cemetery we see that there is another funeral already going on.  A few hundred people gathered only a hundred meters away from us, burying yet another martyr.  Ayoub is buried in a freshly dug grave.  His grave is next to six other fresh graves, graves from martyrs of yesterday.  They do not yet have gravestones, their names are written on cardboard attached to concrete blocks.  They lower Ayoub into his grave and the men start to fill it with earth.

After the grave is full and a slight mound has formed over Ayoub’s small body one man keeps shoveling earth onto it, others tell him, “khalas”, enough, he doesn’t stop.  The man shoveling dirt ignores them, he continues to shovel, finally, someone puts his hand on his arm and leads him away.  He is led away, it is final, Ayoub is dead, the funeral is over.  The mourning will continue for many years.

Nathan Stuckey is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement