Category: Reports

Three members of ISM arrested during peaceful demonstration in Iraq Burin

28 May 2011 | International Solidarity Movement

This afternoon three members of the International Solidarity Movement were arrested during a peaceful demonstration in Iraq Burin. The activists from the UK, Denmark and Iceland had joined the villagers in protesting the loss of their land to the illegal Israeli settlement of Bracha, however the demonstration had barely began when the army began firing tear gas at the protesters. After four hours of shooting tear gas the army entered the village and occupied houses. The three activists were taken from the street and detained in a house with other Palestinians for over an hour before being arrested. The activists were released after four hours without charge.

Iraq Burin is a small village 8 km southwest of Nablus. The illegal settlement of Bracha is located approximately one mile southeast of the village, and is situated on around 100 dunams (25 acres) of village land, as well as more land from surrounding villages. In addition to the settlement itself, the land surrounding it is off-limits to the farmers who are prevented from accessing it due to its close proximity to the settlement, leaving them with less land to graze their sheep and harvest from. The villagers of Iraq Burin held weekly demonstrations last year to protest the expansion of Bracha, and their continued inability to access their agricultural land. This began as a reaction to a sharp increase in attacks from residents of the settlement. The attacks were frequently aided by the Israeli military, who would in turn invade the village, firing rounds of tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets and live ammunition at Palestinian civilians. However the village took the decision to stop the weekly protests when Mohammed Qadous (16) and Asaud Qadous (19) were shot dead by the Israeli military during a demonstration in March 2010. In January this year Oday Maher Hamza Qadous (19) was also shot dead by settlers whilst farming his land.

66 year old shepherd from the village of Madama attacked by settlers

27 May 2011 | International Solidarity Movement

On Thursday May 26, Hamad Jaber Qut, a 66 year old shepherd from the village of Madama, was taken to hospital after being attacked by settlers with sticks and knives.

At about 16:30 whilst Hamad was herding sheep in the mountains of Madama, situated near the illegal settlement of Yitzhar, approximately 15 settlers approached him. Due to his sight problems Hamad wasn’t initially able to recognize that the men were settlers. In an unprovoked attack the settlers beat him with thick wooden sticks and knives for about five or ten minutes, until one resident of the village saw what was happening and called for help. Hamad, who was badly injured was taken to Rafidia hospital in Nablus, where he is still feeling very weak. He has approximately 25 injuries all over his body, especially his head and hands, and will stay in the hospital until he recovers.

Madama is a village with 2,000 inhabitants located in the south of Nablus, in the West Bank. According to its mayor, Ihab Tahsin Qut, since the construction of the illegal settlement of Yitzhar in 1985, many villagers have been attacked by the settlers and 1,000 dunams of land have already been confiscated from the village. Settler attacks on the farmers have severly effected the village’s agricultural trade in the past years.

Apartheid expanding in Hebron

24 May 2011 | International Solidarity Movement

During Sunday 22nd May several streets were closed in the H1 area of Hebron for illegal settlers to walk through the city followed by approximately 50 soldiers. Meanwhile the shops in the Palestinian area were closed and Palestinians were prohibited from walking through the streets and entering through checkpoint 56.

Hebron is divided into two areas, H1 and H2. H1 is under the rule of the Palestinian Authority and the illegal settlers are usually prohibited from entering it, while the H2 area which includes illegal settlements is under the Israeli military’s control. In contrary to these rules, the illegal settlers were allowed to walk the streets of H1 area on Sunday whilst the Palestinians were put under curfew.

On Saturdays, illegal settlers are normally allowed to take a tour in the old city of Hebron followed and guarded by the Israeli military. A few hours after the settler tour on Saturday May 21st the main street of the old city was attacked by the Israeli military with two sound bombs. One man was injured in his head after being hit by the sound bomb. He and a woman, who became temporally deaf, needed hospital care for their injuries.

Army builds fence around Izbat Al Tabib

23 May 2011 | International Solidarity Movement

This morning at about 9am the Israeli army entered the village of Izbat Al Tabib with construction vehicles and began to build a large barbed wire fence along the side of the village separating it from highway 55 which runs parallel. The International Solidarity Movement joined with men, women and children from the village in attempting to peacefully resist the construction but were violently beaten back by the army who used stun-grenades and pepper spray, resulting in the hospitalisation of one man and the arrest of another. Throughout the day more and more military and police arrived until by the afternoon demonstrators were outnumbered by a ratio of about 3:1. Despite the protest of the village, the army succeeded in building approximately 200 metres of fence, containing and isolating the village with an ugly and imposing wire structure and annexing their agricultural land. It is unclear at the moment whether the army will return to expand the fence further into the village land.

This is the second time this month that the Israeli military has violently entered Izbat Al Tabib, injuring and arresting those present. On 1st May the military entered the village with a bulldozer and other heavy machinery and began to level land for the fence. As the villagers and internationals protested the invasion, the army beat and arrested three ISM activists and threw a 60 year old woman from the Michigan Peace Teams to the ground, breaking both of her wrists and causing a head injury. The army then returned during the night a few days later and evicted internationals from a protest tent that the village had erected on the proposed site of the fence construction. They confiscated the tent and the property that was inside it and raided three houses in the village, detaining those inside and destroying property.

Izbat Al Tabib is located east of Qalqiliya in area C of the northern West Bank. It was built in the 1920s and is home to 247 inhabitants. Due to its location, Izbat Al Tabib is extremely isolated: it is the fifth poorest village in the West Bank and villagers have already lost 45% of their land to the illegal annexation wall. Farmers are forced to apply for permits to access areas of their land which are located near to the highway, however these are rarely given and when they are it is only to one farmer at a time.

The village was notified on 3rd April of the Israeli Civil Administration’s plan to build the fence under the pretext of preventing stones being thrown from the village onto passing cars. The village filed a compliant against this decision but it was rejected. The village Major Bayan Tabib says

“This was an arbitrary decision meant to isolate the village and part of the Israeli effort to take it over. Israeli forces have threatened more than once to displace our people.”

CPT: Israeli intelligence, backed by military, threatens villagers in At-Tuwani

23 May 2011 | Christian Peacemaker Teams – At-Tuwani

At Tuwani, South Hebron Hills, West Bank – On Monday May 23, Israeli intelligence entered At-Tuwani, escorted by about fifteen soldiers. In the operation the Israeli military invaded a local leader’s house, demanded that villagers stop their nonviolent resistance and threatened violent retaliation if the Palestinians persist asserting their rights to the land.

At around 7pm, two military vehicles and about fifteen soldiers on foot entered the village. Soldiers first invaded the house of one of the community’s nonviolent resistance leaders. Soldiers searched rooms and the surroundings at gunpoint. At the same time four men in civilian clothes, but with military gear and assault rifles, systematically approached local adult men and began questioning them. The four men, later identified as intelligence agents, asked for addresses, phone numbers, places of employments and other personal details.

Intelligence personnel also interrogated villagers about recent demonstrations and direct actions carried out by the community, and demanded that Palestinians cease their nonviolent resistance. “Do you want to become the father of a martyr?” They asked one of the village leaders, hinting that the occupation forces might retaliate on his children.

Neither soldiers nor intelligence officers gave any reason for the military operation and the prolonged interference in people’s privacy and security. When asked why they were in the village the armed men responded only “It’s our job.” Agents also requested that internationals refrain from taking any pictures of the unfolding events but presented no warrants or identification. The intelligence personnel threatened to call the police to arrest the internationals. The operation lasted over two hours.

Operation Dove and Christian Peacemaker Teams have maintained an international presence in At-Tuwani and South Hebron Hills since 2004. Follow breaking news from the South Hebron Hills on Twitter @cptpalestine.