Category: Reports

Protesters commemorate the Nakba at Qalandyia

15 May 2011 | International Solidarity Movement

From 11.00 this morning until 21.00 at night, the International Solidarity Movement joined with thousands of Palestinians and other Internationals in commemorating the Nakba by demonstrating at Qalandiya checkpoint which separates the West Bank from Jerusalem and the rest of pre-1948 Palestine. As protesters united in denouncing the expulsion of Palestinians from their land in 1948, the Israeli army responded to the mass mobilisation with live ammunition, teargas and rubber-coated steel bullets. The teargas used was a different, more powerful type than is usually used during demonstrations and resulted in severe cases of asphyxiation. Protesters resisted the occupation forces by throwing stones. A report from the Palestinian Red Crescent said two protesters were hit with live rounds, 15 were injured by rubber-coated steel bullets, and 120 suffered tear-gas inhalation, however protesters remained undeterred by the military’s disproportionate use of force and continued protesting into the evening. Undercover police officers infiltrated the demonstration, arresting protesters. Qalandyia checkpoint remained open with vehicles moving in both directions as the military fired ammunition and teargas into lanes of traffic targeting protesters. The military also fired teargas at ambulances, injuring medics and making it difficult to access and treat the wounded.

Activists in Hebron accompany farmer suffering from settler attacks

15 May 2011 | International Solidarity Movement

This past week in the outskirts of Hebron, ISM activists have been helping farmer Abd al Kareim Al Jabari to work his land after him and his family have suffered continuous harrasment from settlers who have prevented them from working their land. In the most recent settler attack on Monday 8th, settlers stole the crops that Abd al Kareim had gathered during the day, took them to another field and tried to set them on fire. To prevent further attacks, he has asked ISM activists to be present whilst he works on his fields.

Six members of Abd al Kareim’s family have been injured after unprovoked attacks by settlers. In 2005 Abd al Kareim’s arm was broken during a prolonged attack. In 2008 his daughter Ayatt Jabari was hurt after being hit in the head by a stone thrown by a settler. Since Palestinian vehicle movement is restricted in the area, Ayatt Jabari had to wait two hours before the ambulance arrived.

Eight years ago a tent serving as a synagogue was raised on the family’s land. The High court has ruled that it should be removed from the private land, but it still remains, despite several complaints and protests from the family and Palestinian, Israeli and international activists.

The family’s land is situated in between the illegal settlements of Kiryat Arba and Hava Oat in the east of Hebron. Hava Oat is a small settlement situated on the top of a hill opposite the main entrance to Kiryat Arba. Kiryat Arba is the biggest settlement in Hebron with approximately 7200 illegal inhabitants. Settlers have made a walkway through the fields of the family. Subsequently, settlers pass by through the fields throughout all the day.

Gazan rap group pay tribute to Vittorio Arrigoni

14 May 2011 | International Solidarity Movement

The Gazan rap group DARG Team have recorded a song in memory of the International Solidarity Movement activist Vittorio Arrigoni who was kidnapped and murdered in Gaza last month. The song entitled ‘Onadekom (Calling You)’, samples a popular resistance song, taken from a revolutionary poem written by the Palestinian Tawfiq Zayyad in 1966. The DARG Team, from Gaza City is comprised of four artists who rap about social and political issues effecting the citizens of Gaza. DARG’s remake of the song pays tribute to Vittorio and the work he was doing in Gaza before his death.

Vittorio was active in the Palestine cause for almost 10 years. For the past two and a half years, he was in Gaza with the International Solidarity Movement, monitoring human rights violations by Israel, supporting the Palestinian popular resistance against the Israeli occupation and disseminating information about the situation in Gaza to his home country of Italy and around the world.

He was aboard the siege-breaking voyage in 2008 with the Free Gaza Movement. During Israel’s brutal assault on Gaza know as Operation Cast Lead Vittorio assisted medics and reported to the world what Israel was doing to the Palestinian people. He was arrested numerous times by Israeli forces for his participation in Palestinian non-violent resistance in the West Bank and Gaza. His last arrest and deportation from the area came as a result of the Israeli confiscation of Palestinian fishing vessels in Gazan territorial waters.

Teen critically injured as Israel cracks down on Nakba demos

13 May 2011 | Popular Struggle Coordination Committee

Updated 14 May 2011: Milad Ayyash died of his injuries reported below.

17 year-old was critically injured from live fire in East Jerusalem. An American protester suffered serious head injury after being hit by a tear-gas projectile shot directly at him from close range.

Israeli military and police forces responded violently to demonstrations commemorating 63 years to the Palestinian Nakba (catastrophe) of 1948 today all over the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Milad Sa’eed Ayyash, a 17 year old from the Ras el-Amud neighborhood was shot in the stomach with live ammunition. He has reached the Muqassed hospital with no pulse and the doctors are now fighting for his life.

Tension also rose in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, where 19 protesters have been injured and 11 were arrested. During the evening hours, large police forces raided houses in Silwan and carried out additional arrests.

In the village of Ma’asara, south of Bethlehem, two protesters were arrested during a peaceful demonstration that was attacked with tear-gas for no apparent reason. One of those arrested is a member of the village’s popular committee. In Nabi Saleh – a regular target for military aggression recently – soldiers and Border Police officers injured no less than 25 protesters, including a Palestinian women in her 50s who was beaten up so badly that her wounds required her removal from the Salfeet Hospital to the bigger and more advanced Rafidiya Hospital in Nablus. A 25 year-old American demonstrator suffered a serious head injury and an Israeli activist was diagnosed with two open fractures in his hand. Both were injured by tear-gas projectiles shot directly at them from short range, in violation of the Israeli Army’s open fire regulations. Four protesters were arrested in Nabi Saleh, including two Palestinian women.

Villagers of Jaloud protest their electricity being cut

13 May 2011 | International Solidarity Movement

Today the village of Jaloud held a non-violent demonstration against the decision of Israel to cut off the electricity of seven families living on the outskirts of the village. The villagers and several international organizations marched from the village to the aforementioned houses carrying banners protesting the theft of their land and electricity. Jaloud, which is home to nearly 1,000 villagers is, according to the plan of the District Coordinating Office located in area B. However a small number of properties fall into area C outside of this plan, despite being inhabited for over 80 years and have recently been served with notices that they will have their electricity cut off. They have been given a court date of 19th May, where they will be able to object to this decision. Village Mayor Abdullah Haj Mohamd says that he doesn’t know what the families will do if their power is cut as they are reliant on electricity for their everyday life and farm work.

Jaloud, which has been inhabited for over 6,000 years is now surrounded by seven illegal Israeli settlements and a military base. Since the beginning of the occupation the village has lost 80% of it’s land to settlements and it suffers from frequent attacks by the settlers, often at night. The village has also been targeted by the Israeli military who three months ago uprooted and removed 200 olive trees the villagers had planted on their land. This most recent move from the state of Israel can be seen as an attempt to prevent the expansion of the village and force families back into the centre, all the while facilitating the expansion of the surrounding settlements.