Category: Reports - Page 37 - International Solidarity Movement

Water Series: Hail of tear gas on peaceful villagers protesting settler theft of water supply in Kafr Malik

August 16 | International Solidarity Movement | Kafr Malik, Ramallah, occupied Palestine

This is the third of a series of reports documenting the control and devastation of water sources by Israel as a tool of oppression.

The residents of Kafr Malik, a town northeast of Ramallah, marched towards the Ain Samia area today to protest Israel’s theft of the village’s water supply, which has been diverted to a new illegal settlement.

Protesters told ISM that 20 hectares of land had also been stolen from the village, where almost 3,000 Palestinians live, and handed to just five settler families.

Hundreds attended the march and prayer – organised jointly by Fatah and the National and Islamic Parties – including the head of the Roman Catholic monastery in Palestine Abdullah Yolio.

The peaceful protest was immediately bombarded with rounds of tear gas (seen in video below) fired by occupation forces as well as hundreds of rubber-coated steel bullets and sound bombs.

Israeli soldiers also tried to confiscate Palestinian flags from protesters and targeted journalists, interrupting their filming and forcing them to move if they refused to comply with what appeared to be entirely arbitrary orders. The Red Crescent treated several people for tear gas inhalation including an ISMer who had to be carried to an ambulance.

He said that Israeli soldiers: “…came up the hill behind us, and fired directly at journalists filming on the hill above the protest.” The ISMer did not suffer any serious injuries.

Protesters including the Roman Catholic monastery suffer from tear gas inhalation

Tear gas sets dry hill on fire in Kafr Malik protest

Being cut off from the local water supply has severe implications for local Palestinian communities and is used as a means of oppression across the West Bank, from the Jordan Valley to the South Hebron Hills.

The cutting of Palestinian water resources is not just a matter of preferential treatment, or discrimination. It is an active effort to force Palestinians out of their homes by applying psychological and economic pressure to the communities there. The cumulative effect of settler attacks and vandalism, military harassment, and economic deprivation are all part of an attempt to break the Palestinian resistance movement. The aim is to force people into being too preoccupied with constant fears, as well as by making day to day existence so difficult, that they cease to resist.

There is no reason why people should be denied the basic human rights and means to live, and this is made all the worse when the means to do so are within reach, and are taken away from them. Control of water by the Israeli apartheid state is an essential aspect of oppression of Palestinians, and is one of the most pressing issues in Palestinians regaining their rights and autonomy.

Protesters pray beside Israeli police and soldiers at Kafr Malik protest

ISM stands in solidarity with the people of Kashmir

Left: A girl stands by Israeli soldiers in occupied Palestine, Right: A school girl walks past Indian soldiers in occupied Kashmir

August 16 | International Solidarity Movement | Statement of Solidarity

We, the International Solidarity Movement, express our solidarity with the people of Kashmir as they resist the annexation and occupation of their land by Indian military forces.

We recognize the same methods of oppression and occupation used by the Israeli government in Palestine being used by Narendra Modi’s administration against the people of Kashmir. Like Israel, India uses “terrorism” and “religious extremism” as a pretext to arrest without a warrant, shoot-to-kill, use live ammunition against non-violent protesters, and engage in collective punishment against civilian populations. Israel also plays a direct role in the occupation of Kashmir, being India’s top supplier of weapons. Israeli agencies including secret service Shin Bet, who are responsible for human rights abuses and killings of Palestinians, also provide training for Indian military units suppressing the people of Kashmir. In a move eerily reminiscent of the illegal Israeli settlements built on stolen Palestinian land, India’s BJP party has recently advocated for building exclusively Hindu settlements in Kashmir, which is now possible by Indian law with the scrapping of Article 370.

Kashmiris’ struggle for the right to self determination and the right to live in peace and safety in their own land started in 1947, when India annexed the region. Article 370 provided the people of Kashmir with certain limited rights and a small measure of autonomy, though the reality on the ground has always been that Kashmiris have lived under the occupation of 700,000 Indian soldiers, making it the most densely militarized zone on earth for decades.

The annulling of Article 370 by Modi’s administration on August 5, 2019, violates a 2015 court ruling by the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and the Indian Supreme Court on April 3, 2018, both of which ruled that Article 370 was a permanent provision which could not be repealed or even amended. Following the annulment of Article 370, the number of Indian soldiers occupying Kashmir has increased to nearly 800,000. Internet, mobile services, landlines, television, and media access has all been suspended, which together with curfews that cut access to essential supplies like food and medicine, have put the 7 million residents of Kashmir under virtual house arrest and devoid of basic democratic and human rights.

We express our strong support and solidarity with the people of Kashmir as they resist the occupation of their homeland and violation of their rights by the oppressive and racist regime of the Indian government.

Israel permits settler invasion of Al-Aqsa on Muslim holiday

Worshippers flee from riot police in Al-Aqsa

August 11 | International Solidarity Movement | Old City, East Jerusalem, occupied Palestine

Hundreds of settlers invaded the Al-Aqsa compound in Jerusalem’s Old City this morning after Israeli soldiers used tear gas, sound grenades and rubber-coated steel bullets to clear out Muslim worshippers.

61 Palestinians were injured and 15 hospitalised when soldiers and police let loose on tens of thousands of Muslims celebrating the first day of Eid al-Adha.

Just minutes after the morning prayer, the peaceful scene descended into chaos as men and women were beaten by riot police and children ran screaming from tear gas and sound grenades.

A Palestinian from East Jerusalem who witnessed the violence told ISM that he saw an elderly man hit by soldiers, and three other men beaten and covered in blood before being arrested.

The Red Crescent reported that one man suffered a broken jaw while others were treated for rubber-coated steel bullet wounds and burns from exploding sound grenades. ISmers also saw two men arrested inside the Lion’s gate.

Muslims pray at the Lion’s Gate entrance in Jerusalem’s Old City

After many Palestinians fled from the compound, 1,700 settlers in total were given permission to enter – the second time this year during a Muslim holiday. They were escorted by heavily armed soldiers in smaller groups of 100-200. The ultra-nationalists claimed to be seeking entry to commemorate Tisha B’Av, a Jewish holiday, which coincided this year with Eid al-Adha.

However Palestinians believe that the invasion was entirely politically motivated. “It’s a political issue and nothing to do with religion,” the East Jerusalem resident told ISM. “They want to show who has the power, who are the ones in charge. Don’t forget, it’s election time and these fanatics are very important to win over for the Israeli government.”

Hundreds of settlers were waiting by the Dung Gate entrance of the compound near the Western Wall from around 8am, chanting over the bangs of sound grenades exploding inside.

The number of settlers permitted to enter was 17% more than on Tisha B’Av last year when the Jewish holiday did not coincide with Eid al-Adha.

Ultra-nationalist Jews wait at the Dung Gate to enter Al-Aqsa compound

Ultra-nationalist Jews praying in Jerusalem Muslim Quarter

They continued their provocations for the rest of the day, trying repeatedly to enter the Al-Aqsa compound through different gates. As late at 8.30pm, ISMers saw the fanatics holding a ceremony by the Lion’s Gate entrance to Al-Aqsa. A local told ISM that this display has never happened before. “There’s no limits, no limits to what they are doing today,” he said.

The extremist groups had released a call out earlier this week to raid the compound on Sunday.

In an attempt to prevent the settler invasion the Muslim Waqf – the authority that controls the compound – had delayed the prayer by an hour and encouraged worshippers to stay in Al-Aqsa afterwards to deter the Israeli government giving them the green light.

Ultra-nationalist Jews praying at one of the gates of Al Aqsa mosque in the afternoon

Ultra-nationalist Jews praying at one of the gates of Al Aqsa mosque in the evening

But after thousands of Palestinians fled the compound the numbers inside were low enough to be deemed ‘safe’ for settlers to enter.

Muslims were also prevented from re-entering the site for around two hours after.

A Palestinian woman sat crying at the Lion’s Gate after being refused entry and a man was briefly detained and searched. Another woman who was also denied entry and aggressively pushed back by soldiers when she tried to pass said: “I am a Muslim. I am outside. There are Israelis inside. Inside my Al-Aqsa.”

Worshippers were eventually allowed back in to the compound after being forced to wait for hours while settlers roamed free inside.

For the past 10 years, Israel has been making steps to control the holy site, allowing more and more ultra-nationalist Jews to enter.

A movement in Israel’s far right is behind this push for more access to the compound. They are also seeking permission which would allow Jews to pray at the site which is currently forbidden.

Israeli settlers attack Palestinians and harass internationals, IOF arrest observers

August 11 | International Solidarity Movement | Hebron, occupied Palestine

Yesterday in Tel Rumeida, the afternoon before Eid, settlers attacked an elderly Palestinian couple as they walked home. International activists in the area attempted to document the abuse. The soldiers were not protecting the Palestinians. They were allowing the actions of the violent settlers.

The soldiers instructed the activists to step away and stop filming. As the five international activists walked away, a settler pushed his young son into a 20-year-old British man, who was immediately pushed from behind to the ground and handcuffed by Israeli soldiers. When asked about his treatment, he stated that he had been placed in a chokehold whilst being dragged up the street, with his cable-tie being too tight for IOF soldiers to remove easily, causing his hands to swell and leaving red marks on his wrists that lasted for the rest of the day. Settlers were encouraging the aggression. They snatched the phones of two of the activists, when they asked for them back, the two 25-year-old British women were detained by border police and taken to Kiryat Arba police station. A fourth American activist had her phone stolen by Israeli settlers and thrown over a wall, and was also arrested at the scene. These four international activists were detained for four hours.

As you can see in the video, a Palestinian man was also handcuffed and taken away, despite not engaging illegally or provocatively.

A fifth international activist was stalked by a settler who verbally abused her along with Badee, founder of Human Rights Defenders. She called them terrorists whilst again, the army did nothing to help the situation. The soldiers ignored violations of Palestinians’ and activists’ fundamental human rights, made to stand in the sweltering heat being verbally and physically abused as some sort of collective punishment for simply trying to walk to their homes in the occupied Hebron. Soldiers threatened to arrest Badee if he didn’t stand at a particular point on the pavement that they arbitrarily had designated him.

The house that you see at the end of the video was vandalised. Hebrew signs were left overnight threatening Abu Awani. He visited the police station to make a complaint this morning but was turned away. Tensions remain high in Tel Rumeida with Palestinians’ freedom of movement restricted and right to life threatened.

The HRDA have released a statement regarding the threat:

“The activist Badee Dwaik said that Imad Abu Shamsya noticed the presence of slogans on cartons on the roof of Imad’s house on Friday morning threatening him with death and a group of Palestinian and foreign activists went to Imad Abu Shamsia’s house to declare their solidarity with him and to denounce the policy of threats against Imad and many activists Human Rights Defenders as a group of settlers returned at 3 am on the roof of Abu Shamsiya and we went to the occupation police station to file a complaint about the issue at 1:30 am, but the Israeli police asked to leave the place and remove it after 4 pm. This is the termination period.

The Defenders’ Association held the Israeli occupation authorities fully responsible for the incident, since the activist Imad lives in the area under full Israeli security responsibility. The Defenders’ Association appealed to international and local institutions to provide protection for the activist Imad Abu Shamsieh and all activists of the Human Rights Coalition. It discourages activists from stopping by their duty to protect their people and expose the crimes of the occupation by documenting the camera.

It should be recalled that Imad Abu Shamsiah documented the assassination of martyr Abdel Fattah al-Sharif in March 2016 by the criminal soldier Alor Azzaro in Hebron.”

Settlers attack Palestinians across the West Bank after Israeli soldier death

August 9 | International Solidarity Movement | West Bank, occupied Palestine

Israeli settlers launched a series of violent attacks against Palestinians across the West Bank last night, smashing car windows and assaulting an elderly man.

Attacks took place simultaneously in multiple locations between 22:00 and 24:00 on the night of August 8, near the illegal settlements of Ofra, Efrat, Howara and Kiryat Arba, suggesting the attacks were coordinated.

An elderly Palestinian man, who was attacked by settlers throwing rocks at Howara checkpoint near Nablus, said he “would have been killed” if he had stopped driving. He was treated for wounds on his shoulder and neck.

Settlers smashed the windows of Palestinians’ cars near the illegal settlement of Kiryat Arba, the same place where just last month soldiers dragged a Palestinian family, including a 1-year-old baby, out of their car and beat them. ISMers saw Israeli soldiers protecting settlers in Kiryat Arba last night as they vandalized Palestinian property.

The attacks continued today with settlers burning feed and hay bales in a village in the South Hebron Hills. Activist group Good Shepherd Collective said: “Israeli settlers burnt the animal feed and hay bales of Khaled A’mour in Adirate village in the South Hebron Hills, spray painting “Revenge” in Hebrew to make it a clear sign who was responsible. These price-tag acts of violence are routine, particularly during the election cycles where right-wing political parties are vying for the extremist support often stoke the flames.”

The latest round of violence follows the death of a settler soldier, Dvir Sorek, outside Kibbutz Migdal Oz near Bethlehem. Israeli media immediately blamed Palestinians for the killing, despite police confirming that they currently have no information on the perpetrators or motives. Shin Bet and the Israeli military have begun conducting raids across the West Bank, and establishing new checkpoints.

Earlier yesterday, hundreds of occupation forces raided the village of Beit Fajar and the Al Jalazone refugee camp as part of the massive manhunt to find those responsible for the settler’s death.

The Israeli far-right has called for settlement expansion in retaliation. Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein, from Primer Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, declared that Israel’s “response” to the killing must be to “apply sovereignty on [annex] the settlements, starting with Gush Etzion.” Gush Etzion, a cluster of 18 settlements illegal by international law, is the region where Dvir Sorek’s body was found.

The international media’s widespread reporting of the death of the settler soldier and Israeli government’s swift and harsh reaction comes in stark contrast to their silence on the deaths of Palestinian civilians. This year Israeli Occupation Forces killed 87 Palestinians (19 children), none of which made international headlines. Less than 4 weeks ago, 7 year old Tariq Zebania was killed by an Israeli settler vehicle while riding his bicycle near his village, west of Hebron. Local media reported that there was no police investigation, and no arrests were made.