Category: Reports - Page 35 - International Solidarity Movement

The occupation kills again in Dheisha refugee camp

2 June | International Solidarity Movement | Dheisha, Bethlehem

On the morning of Thursday the 2nd of June, Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) stormed Dheisha refugee camp, south of the West Bank town of Bethlehem, at dawn to arrest several residents. In the process of their operation soldiers shot 29-year-old Ayman Muhaisen with live ammunition several times, after which he succumbed to his wounds. Two other Palestinians were reportedly injured with live ammunition, according to the Red Crescent.

Ayman leaves behind three children, including a 7-month-old son and a daughter who had just graduated from kindergarten a day before. That afternoon, the streets of Dheisha were filled from Ayman’s home across to the cemetery by Artas as thousands came to mourn him and show their defiance in the face of yet another killing. Ayman rests in a cemetery that after the last few years is literally overflowing with martyrs since an IOF commander publicly threatened to disable every youth in the camp in 2019.

Funeral procession of Ayman Muhaisen in Dheisha, West Bank

ISM met with Naji Odeh, director of independent non-profit Laylac organisation, who spoke about the increasing frequency of such raids by the IOF, which have turned particularly deadly in the past few years: “these raids have become a normality in Dheisha, witnessing some 2-3 of these a week”. Ayman’s death exemplifies the brutality of such arrests, in which soldiers do not hesitate to use live ammunition.

A Palestinian youth called Mahmoud took ISM to the location where Ayman was shot just in front of his house, showing us where several bullets made holes in the walls and all across the residential neighbourhood. Just beside the corner where traces of his dried blood could still be seen was a mural with the names and pictures of previous martyrs killed in this area – the last of which, a blank image with a question mark with simply the word مين؟ or who? Inscribed on top. “We never know who will be next. It could be any of us”, Naji said.

Naji set up Laylac with the aim of assisting, educating and providing support for young Palestinians from both Dheisha and across the West Bank who have grown up and continue to live in an environment subjected to such brutal outcomes of the Israeli apartheid regime. Reliant on completely independent funding and dozens of volunteers, Laylac has helped children from the refugee camp continue their studies as the coronavirus pandemic halted many educational systems across the West Bank. The organisation also collaborates with several local schools in organising activities from portrait classes to trips abroad to France. Mahmoud, aged 13, and who witnessed the cold-blooded killing of Ayman Muhaisen in today’s morning raid, is one of many students who will travel abroad for the first time in their lives with the help of Laylac.

Fisherman’s union hold a sit-in at Gaza port demanding an end to Israeli abuses

Palestinian fishermen protest Israeli violence and restrictions on their livelihoods

13 July | International Solidarity Movement | Gaza

On Sunday, the Fishermen’s Syndicate in the Gaza Strip organized a protest sit-in and a press conference, demanding an end to the Israeli abuses against fishermen and the expansion of the fishing areas in the Gaza Sea.

Dozens of fishermen took part in the Gaza Port vigil under the title (a scream from Gaza fishermen). Balloons bearing photos of fishermen who were martyred by the Israeli occupation were launched into the sky during the demonstration. Protesters also raised banners in both Arabic and English calling for the re-expansion of the fishing zones and an end to the targeting of fishing boats.

Protesters attach pictures of Palestinian fishermen killed by Israeli occupation forces to balloons

The head of the Fishermen’s Syndicate, Nizar Ayyash, has stated that the Israeli occupation continues to violate the rights of fishermen in the Gaza sea, violating international regulations and laws.

At the conference, Ayyash added that these violations pose an ongoing threat to the lives of about 4,500 fishermen, whose only source of income is fishing. He urged the international community to pressure the occupation to expand the fishing area again and allow fishermen to make their living.

Gaza’s fishing industry has been decimated, especially in the last five years, due to increasingly punitive Israeli restrictions on where Palestinian boats can fish. Fishermen face constant harassment and violence from Israeli naval vessels. Since 2005, 14 fishermen have been killed, 32 wounded and 450 arrested, according to the Syndicate.

Ayyash called out several recent crimes committed by the occupation, including the killing of three members of the Al-Lahham family’s after an Israeli vessel crashed into their boat, and another fisherman who lost his eyesight as a result of being directly fired upon. Israeli soldiers also sank some fishermen’s boats, causing them to lose their only source of livelihood.

Protesters carry signs demanding Israel open the sea borders and cease firing on fishermen

Ayyash also pointed out that the latest Israeli bombardment of Gaza in May affected the fishermen through the loss of work equipment and nets as a result of the heavy bombing. He called for the community to stand with them.

The head of the Fishermen’s Syndicate also asked the international community and its organizations to support the fishermen of Gaza by helping put an end to the occupation’s violence against the Palestinian people in general and the fishermen in particular.

Report on Land Confiscations by the Israeli Army in Salfeet and Qalqilya Area

Israeli plan for the renewed confiscation of lands around Alei Zahav illegal settlement.

The Israeli Occupation Forces have recently announced a new sequence of land seizures in eleven villages in Salfeet (Salfit) District and three in the Qalqilya area of Occupied Palestine. The total amount of land being confiscated, for “military/security” reasons, is the equivalent of nearly one million square metres. 850,000 of this is for the compulsory renewal of notices of land confiscation that had already been issued, the rest is made up of new illegal acquisitions.

Plan for the renewed confiscation of lands around Ari’el illegal settlement.

Residents in the fourteen villages – which include Bruqeen, Iskaka, Deir Istiya and Zawiya – were given notice of the seizures within the last two weeks. They were allowed just seven days to register appeals with the Israeli court. Many were unable to do so within the tight deadline, which required producing notarised copies of land title deeds, and the additional expense of hiring a lawyer to represent them. Based on bitter past experience the majority of residents, however, chose not to register appeals, as the Israeli courts have proven themselves to be completely unwilling previously to overturn any order raised by the military that cite ‘security concerns’.

A view of Marda village, overwhelmed by the Ari’el illegal settlement.

Despite some appeals having been lodged with the court, the Israeli Army has nonetheless continued to occupy the confiscated land in question, and erected fences and other barriers on the disputed new land. Residents can now only gain access to tend crops or pick olives if they apply to the Israeli Army for a permit to enter their own land. This still means they have to pass through checkpoints and face humiliating delays, ID checks, bag searches and body searches.

Join ISM: Training in London, UK, November 30, 2019

ISM UK is offering a day of pre-training for prospective volunteers who are interested in joining the International Solidarity Movement on the ground in Palestine.

Attending the training session in north London will give you a chance to get a first impression of ISM and the kind of work we do, receive training, connect with former volunteers and have your questions answered. You will also be filled in on how Palestinians are resisting the occupation and how we as internationals can work in solidarity with them using non-violent, direct action methods.

There is no obligation to join ISM after the training.

Lunch will be provided however we ask participants to pay a fee of £5 to cover training costs.

Date: November 30, 2019

Time: 10:30-16:00

Location: North London

To sign up for the training, please contact training.ismlondon@riseup.net

Mosques, churches, protests: Gaza on the Balfour Declaration’s 102nd anniversary

3rd November | Wafa Aludaini | Gaza, Occupied Palestine

Gazans march in protest on the 102nd anniversary of the Balfour Declaration.

On the 102nd anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, churches rang bells and mosques called for prayer at the same time, while tens of thousands of Palestinians entered the buffer zone this Friday between the besieged Gaza Strip and Israel in the massive weekly Great March of Return protest.

This 81st week of protests was called “Down with the Balfour Declaration!”. It marks the 102nd anniversary of the British declaration announcing support for the establishment of a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine. Palestinian masses now are calling on Britain to not only apologize but also rectify this major historical disregard for Palestinian self determination and statehood.

Palestinian children at the 81st week of the Great March of Return in Gaza.

Ali Salim, 55, stated that the Balfour Declaration, in fact, is the cause and source of all the Palestinian tragedies and sufferings since then: “The 102nd anniversary means 102 years of displacement, expulsion, massacres, and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people.”

Khawla Khalil added, “We came here today to confirm our rights, and our rejection of Balfour! These days, we are experiencing the declaration through Trump’s Deal of the Century, when he recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.”

Palestinian women holds a key, symbolizing the right of return for Palestinian refugees, at a protest in Gaza on Friday, November 1st.

Duaa Abdellateef — spokesperson for the Women’s Committee adjunct to the Committee for the Great Return March — said the weekly marches will continue until Palestinian rights and demands are met.

“We will defeat all the local and international conspiracies that aim at liquidating our Palestinian national cause, including the ethnic cleansing of Jerusalem, disregard of the internationally recognized right of return, and the proposed Israeli annexation of the West Bank.”

On Thursday afternoon, October 31^st, mosques in Gaza called for prayers at precisely the same time local churches rang their bells, marking the 102nd anniversary of the Balfour Declaration. The public statement was intended to show all faiths in Gaza renewing their rejection of the British empire’s edict. The coordinated actions by mosques and churches across Gaza were organized by the Great Return March’s higher committee.

One of the churches in Gaza which took part in the coordinated actions for the 102nd anniversary of the Balfour Declaration.

Wafa Aludaini is a journalist and activist in Gaza who writes a weekly column for ISM on the Great March of Return.