Category: Reports

Israeli military fires canisters straight at protesters in Nabi Saleh

8 October 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

Israeli military forces fired tear gas canisters directly at protesters and international observers during the weekly demonstration at Nabi Saleh yesterday, 7 October.  An international activist  sustained a minor wound to the leg after being struck by a tear gas canister fired directly from a distance of around 15 metres by the Israeli military.

Although it is permissible to fire tear gas canisters in an arc to disperse demonstrations, it is forbidden to use them as weapons by firing them directly at protesters. Firing tear gas canisters directly at protesters and at close range turns the canisters into a missile that can maim and endanger life.  According to B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights organisation, “Firing of this kind has already resulted in injuries, some grave, to dozens of Palestinians and Israeli and foreign citizens”.

Protests have taken place in Nabi Saleh, a village 20km north-west of Ramallah, every Friday since 2009, when settlers from Halamish, a nearby illegal Israeli settlement, took control of the Ein Al Qaws natural spring belonging to Nabi Saleh and prevented Palestinian access to the spring and the surrounding land.

Yesterday’s demonstration started in Nabi Saleh at 12:30pm as around 50 protesters marched out of the village via the main road.  The Israeli army fired several rounds of tear gas canisters in an arc towards the peaceful protesters as soon as they were in sight, deploying a gun mounted on a truck which is able to fire multiple canisters in quick succession.  Several people suffered severe gas inhalation, with one female protester carried to a Red Crescent ambulance.

After the initial barrage of tear gas canisters had ceased, many protesters regrouped and attempted to continue the peaceful demonstration, whilst some youths spread out across the hills and threw stones at the military.  The Israeli military responded with rubber bullets, tear gas and foul-smelling ‘skunk water.’  At one point, two Israeli jeeps sped towards protesters; soldiers jumped from the vehicles and deployed sound bombs in an apparent attempt to make arrests.  However, they made no arrests and were forced to retreat swiftly under a hail of stones.

As the afternoon progressed, the Israeli military gradually pulled back to a watchtower and small military complex near to the intersection of the main road which passes the Israeli settlement and the road leading up to Nabi Saleh.  As protesters and international observers neared the watchtower, Israeli soldiers fired tear gas canisters directly into the crowd in an attempt to hit protesters and cause maximum harm.  An international activist received a glancing blow and was cut on the leg by a canister.  The wound was relatively minor but would have been much graver if the canister had directly hit the activist.

The number of protesters dwindled as dusk fell, with mostly children remaining. Some protesters continued to throw stones, whilst the Israeli military continued to fire rubber bullets and tear gas canisters, which became difficult to see in the fading light.  The protest ended around 17:45.

A report published in September 2011 by B’Tselem details how Israeli security forces violate the right to protest at Nabi Saleh as the military prevents demonstrators from reaching their natural spring, a main source of water for locals, and through “declaring the demonstration illegal at the outset, sometimes even before the procession begins.”  The report also outlines the harm done by the Israeli military to the inhabitants of Nabi Saleh through the disproportionate handling of the demonstrators which “intimidates hundreds of villagers and forces them to remain in their houses for many hours, making it impossible for them to lead a normal life.  The massive amounts of tear gas fired penetrate the houses close to the main intersection in the village and the occupants are unable to escape”.

Nablus sisters fall victim to yet another hit and run crime

7 October 2011  | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

Sajah, 19, and Ahlam Bilal, 18, from Kufr Qaddoum were injured on Tuesday October 4th by Israeli settler, Eliyaho Miller, on the main road in Huwara. The two women were walking to Ibn Sina College of Nursing where they are studying when the settler crashed his vehicle into the women. After he hit them both and Sajah was thrown 10 meters from the accident, he attempted to flee the scene by foot. Miller was stopped by a Palestinian taxi driver until the Israeli police came to make a report.

The hit and run attack occurred at 7:50am as the two sisters were walking to campus. As Sajah and Ahlam were about to cross the road, they both saw the settler’s car speed up when they stepped into the street. He made contact with Sajah first in her left shoulder which flung her body into the air until she fell 10 meters from the car. She now has suffered three broken bones in her upper left arm as well as both hips broken. Her sister Ahlam has a bruised, swollen eye and an injured right leg. Sajah was rushed to Rafidya hospital to be treated for the injuries.

The father and brother of the hit and run victims, Saja and Ahlam Bilal

Under Israeli law, the Israeli police are under obligation to call an Israeli ambulance when there are injuries of any sort of accident involving settlers. In the hesitancy from Israeli police to call an ambulance, Palestinians living in Huwara took it upon themselves to have an ambulance arrive in order to bring Sajah and Ahlam to the Nablus hospital. Both of the women said Israeli police and military personnel eventually arrived at the scene, but the Israeli army said it had no information on the accident and police reported that they were checking into details of the event.

This particular settler incident comes on the tails of increased harassment and violence towards Palestinians by Israelis. An official report quoted by Quds Press earlier this week stated that there were 33 cases of deliberate vehicular attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank since the start of 2011. Farid Jaber, 8, was murdered after being hit by an Israeli settler’s car in Hebron on September 26th. Nasser Abu al-Kabbash, 20, was involved in a similar hit and run accident with an Israeli settler in Beit Dajan on October 10th.

All this is in addition to “pricetag” violence from Israeli settlers, the uprooting and burning of olive trees in Palestinian cities around occupied West Bank as olive harvest begins, and increased legal persecution of Palestinians for trivial reasons. Sajah received surgery on October 7th for her 3 broken bones in the left shoulder which went successfully according to her doctor in Nablus. The doctors at Rafidya are waiting to see how well her pelvis bones begin to heal before undergoing any correctional surgery.

Beit Ummar steadfast in supporting prisoners despite LRAD and teargas

7 October 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

Beit Ummar solidarity with prisoners - Click here for more images
Beit Ummar solidarity with prisoners – Click here for more images

On the tenth day of the hunger strike of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, a crowd of around a hundred people took to the streets for a planned demonstration in the village of Beit Ummar, Hebron.

This was one of a number of recent demonstrations across the West Bank supporting the 9 demands of Palestinian prisoners, which include the right to family visits, end to the use of isolation as a punishment, and an end to the profiteering of Israeli prisons from financial penalties charged against prisoners.

The Beit Ummar protest began after the congregational noon prayer of Muslims with a peaceful march through the village, but  later there tear gas canisters, sound bombs, and for the first time in recent months the Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD), created by the American Technology Corporation, were used against protesters in clashes continued until 2:30 PM.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhUnWK–A4g&feature=related

A Palestinian man, Abdellah Slibi was detained. Slibi, 22, is reported to suffer from learning disabilities and was observed by an international peace activist being blindfolded during the arrest. He was later released. A British peace activist was struck on the leg by a tear gas canister, but was not seriously hurt.

The Israeli apartheid legal system allows for Palestinian people to be held under administrative detention for up to six months without trial, based on confidential materials that are kept from the detainee and their lawyer, a violation of international law.

Beit Kahlil: Tear gas flies as Israel demolishes home

6 October 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

Demolitions in Beit Kahlil - Click here for more images
Demolitions in Beit Kahlil - Click here for more images

At 5:00 AM on the morning of the 6th October, approximately 30 armed soldiers came to demolish a house in Beit Kahil. The IOF woke up the family living in the neighbouring house and informed them about the demolition and declared the entire area a closed military zone. When he arrived,  Omar Ahmad Hussan Abdel Din, the owner of the house,  informed the soldiers about his lawyers appeal to the Israeli Court for getting the demolition order postponed until he had an official response to his application for building permission, but with no effect.

A member of the Abdel Din family said, “Why do we need a permission from Israel to build this is Palestine and Palestinian land? Though this is considered area C by the Israeli authorities, I do not recognise their authority, and anyways it is their bureaucratic way of stealing land.”

While a bulldozer was demolishing the Abdel Din house residence, the neighbourhood tried to prevent the demolition by throwing stones. The soldiers prevented them getting any way near by using sound bombs and shooting tear gas grenades. During the protest one of the tear gas canisters broke the window and entered a house resulting in three women and four children being taken to the hospital and treated for tear gas inhalation. An additional 2 people were injured by the tear gas cannisters, requiring 1 person who needed 3 stitches.

The village of Beit Kahil is divided by a valley with the road running to Hebron. In 2009 the houses on the one same side of the valley as an Israeli military base got demolition orders at once. Including the house of Omar Abdel Din, demolition orders were given to around 15 houses which are inhabited by around 100 citizens.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r–KuGzPVww

One of the neighbours said, “Obviously when we saw the Occupation Forces and bulldozers we were shocked and feared that they would demolish all our houses.”

In 2011 14 houses were demolished in the Hebron area, leaving 104 Palestinian homeless including 50 minors. Area C and B are the areas where Palestinians need to seek permission from Israeli authorities to build, accounting for 83 % of the West Bank.

According to the Israel Civil Administration, more than 93 % of the applications for a building permission are refused, and many Palestinians do not even bother to ask permission to build knowing they will be refused.

 

Students march to Ofer Prison in solidarity with hunger strike

by Alistair George

5 October 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

Over 100 students from Bir Zeit University marched to the gates of Ofer Prison, near Ramallah today, to demonstrate solidarity with Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike in Israeli jails.

Prisoners in several Israeli jails began hunger strikes on 27 September 2011 to to protest against solitary confinement, restricted visiting hours and harsh conditions. The protests have since gathered momentum, with Reuters reporting that there are around 500 prisoners currently on hunger strike in Israeli prisons. It is thought that there are around 9 or 10 prisoners in Ofer prison on hunger strike.

The protesters assembled in front of the prison gates at around 1:15pm today, facing Israeli soldiers standing a few metres away just inside the prison compound. The protesters peacefully chanted slogans in support of the prisoners; however, after the majority of protesters had left, a minority of youths threw stones at the Israeli soldiers inside the prison compound. The military responded by deploying tear gas to drive the remaining protesters several hundred meters away from the prison.

The students’ protest followed an earlier demonstration at the prison at 12:00 today, which eyewitnesses claimed was attended by around 200 people and ended in a similar manner; with a minority of Palestinian youths throwing stones and the Israeli military responding with tear gas.

A young female protester from Birzeit University had been protesting peacefully and was hit in the back by a tear gas canister but was unharmed. She expressed concern about the Israeli military’s practice of filming peaceful protests; “I live in Jerusalem and I worry that they will identify me and cause problems for me when I travel through the checkpoint.”

One of the protesters was the mother of a 23 year old Palestinian man who is a student at Birzeit University and is currently being held in an Israeli prison. She said that her son was arrested eight months ago and has spent the last nine days in solitary confinement as punishment for participating in the hunger strike. She also claimed that prison authorities have ruled that prisoners will be denied visitors for one month for every day that they spend on hunger strike.

When asked about the prisoners on hunger strike she said, “They won’t stop until their goals are reached.”

She expressed defiance against the Israeli occupation.

“I’ve lived under occupation for more than 40 years–I am not scared.”

 

Alistair George is an activist with International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).