Category: Reports

Israeli forces shoots Gazan fisherman at shore

27 November 2010 | International Solidarity Movement, Gaza

Ahmed Mahmoud Jarboh

At 12:30 pm, Ahmed Mahmoud Jarboh, aged 26, was shot in the back of the left knee by the Israeli Offensive Forces while fishing at the shore of Beit Lahya, in the north of the Gaza Strip. He is currently hospitalized in Kamal Udwan, in the neighboring town Jabalya, where his condition is being monitored.

Beit Lahya borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west and the 1949 Armistice Line with Israel to the north. The village’s economical resources are crippled by Israeli policies that restrict the fishing zone to three nautical miles and impose a 300 meter buffer zone on Palestinian land.

For over a year Ahmed has daily frequented the same area to fish with a small cast net. Today he and two of his colleagues were fishing from the shore at approximately 350 meters from the border fence. This incident again exemplifies a recent UN report conclusion that the danger zone does not halt at 300 meters: it can reach up to 1.5 kilometers.

“For over a year I have come here daily to fish. The soldiers in the watchtower see me every day: they know I am only a fisher! There was no reason for them to be suspicious as this is a normal, daily scene. Nothing special was going on.”

Even though the IOF soldiers should be familiar with Ahmed’s face, he was shot without warning:

“The only shot that was fired was the one that hit my leg”, he states.

When they heard the bullet being fired, the two other fishermen ran away to find shelter. As soon as they considered the situation “safe” again, they realized what had happened. They went to pick up Ahmed from the water and brought him to the hospital. The wound is stitched now, but probably surgery will not be necessary. It is still uncertain how long Ahmed will have to remain in the hospital and how long it will take for him to fully recover from this injury.

“I’m a father of two and I am the sole provider for my family. We have nothing else than what I gain from fishing.”

The 3 nautical mile restriction has resulted in a depletion of revenues which pushes people into the dangerous buffer zone. According to the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, there have been nine people injured this month while working in the buffer zone. Ahmed Mahmoud Jarboh marks the tenth victim of IOF buffer zone aggression in four weeks.

Israeli forces assault 7 year old Palestinian in Silwan

26 November 2010 | Wadi Hilweh Information Center

Israeli forces assaulted 7 year old Adam Mansour Rishq during tense scenes in Silwan today. The child was beaten by Israeli troops who accused him of throwing stones at a military vehicle, who then attempted to arrest the youth but were stopped by residents who flocked to the scene. One resident told soldiers that “if you want to arrest him you can send an order to his father, summoning him to the police station.”

An Israeli policewoman was witnessed shouting at the mother of Rishq as she arrived on the scene, accusing her and other residents of covering up their children’s faults. The mother, fearful of the police officer, fled in to the house. Her son was brought in to the house over an hour later, when he was found hiding in a nearby tree out of fear of a repeat attack by soldiers. Rishq, clearly suffering from severe shock, was taken to Sharat Zedek hospital in West Jerusalem where he was treated for trauma and hallucination. Despite receiving treatment for 4 hours, the hospital refused to issue any papers to Rishq’s family to prove the necessity of medical attention following the assault.

Adam’s mother stated that “events such as this make our fears to great as to even send our child to school, lest he be subjected to another attack.” The family’s neighbor who had been present at the time said that “my children have been arrested by the Israelis and sentenced to house arrest, outside their own home of Silwan, in Beit Hanina. The police said they were arrested for participating in an “illegal” gathering on the streets. We do not understand what they mean by “illegal gathering” – my children were returning from school when they were taken by Israeli forces to the police station.”

Mousa, Yousef Abu Maria arrested from their homes as harassment continues in Beit Ommar

25 November 2010 | Palestine Solidarity Project

Early Thursday morning, at approximately 2:00am, Israeli forces from the Gush Etzion military base came to the homes of brothers and National Committee members Yousef and Mousa Abu Maria. Both are also co-founders of the Palestine Solidarity Project.

Mousa, whose wife and baby girl–both Israeli citizens–were visiting family, was forced outside while his home was searched. 3 computers belonging to the Palestine Solidarity Project were taken. Yousef, father of 10 year-old Reem, 4 year-old Obay, and 1 month-old Della’, was also taken from his home in the middle of the night.

Both were held outside in freezing temperatures in Gush Etzion military base for over 5 hours; neither were allowed to put on proper shoes or clothing and repeated requests to be put inside were denied.

The soldiers, who have been harassing the committee of Beit Ommar for months now, including a previous late-night home invasion last month, accused both brothers of organizing the demonstrations in Beit Ommar, held every Saturday against the illegal settlements surrounding Beit Ommar, particularly Karmei Tsur. They were also “accused” of “bringing internationals” to Beit Ommar.

The brothers were also threatened if they did not stop the PSP program of reclaiming land in Saffa, this just days after settlers from nearby Bat ‘Ayn settlement set fire to Saffa land. In addition to Mousa and Yousef, two youth from Saffa were also arrested and released the next day.

Israeli forces raid an-Nabi Saleh

25 November 2010 | International Solidarity Movement

In the early morning hours of November, the 25th, a night raid took place in the village of An Nabi Saleh. The four Soldiers entered the village at about 2:30 am with two jeeps, searching the house of Bassem Tamimi. Asked for the reason of their coming they claimed “it was their job” to come on a nightly basis, due to the weekly demonstrations held in the village since December 2009.

They searched the house, opening cupboards and spreading the family’s belongings on the floor, without looking for anything in particular or finding anything. The family and two internationals that were at that time present were asked for their passports and threatened. The soldiers refused to speak in English and Arabic, insisting on speaking Hebrew in spite of it not being understood by everyone. The military tried to stop the taking of any photos or videos of the incident.

They left at about 3 am, but not without mocking the family and announcing they would “come every night” and cause further problems. It became clear that the soldiers target Bassem Tamimi because they consider him the main initiator of the weekly protests. It has not been the first night raid in the village.

More Bedouin structures demolished in Jordan Valley

24 November 2010 | Ma’an News Agency & ISM

ISM: demolished house, lamb injured by falling rubble which died soon afterward
As the sun rose early Wednesday, Palestinian Bedouins living in Abu Al-Ajaj, a small village in the Jordan Valley, were surprised to see Israeli bulldozers demolishing their sheds and sheep shelters.

The incident came only two weeks after Israeli authorities confiscated lands belonging to the village slated to expand an illegal settlement.

Ma’an’s correspondent visited the village whose 135 residents are all members of the D’eis family. He said he saw demolished sheds and barracks as well as water tankers which provide water for domestic use and for animals to drink. The water was spilt on the ground. Locals told him that bulldozers completed the demolition in the early morning.

He was also told that Israeli soldiers who escorted the bulldozers attacked residents when they attempted to defend their property. Amongst those beaten by the soldiers was an elderly man identified as Shihda D’eis. The soldiers detained several people and released some of them later. Osama Omar D’eis and Ali Shihda D’eis remained in detention, according to locals.

After the demolition, military vehicles were stationed at the entrance to the village and later on Red Cross staff and international solidarity activists from the International Council of Churches arrived in the village.

Abu Al-Ajaj is a small village in the Jiftlik area which is the second largest populated area in the Jordan Valley after Jericho. About 7,000 Palestinian farmers live in Jiftlik and earn their living from agriculture and livestock.

The “Save the Jordan Valley” campaign described the attack on Abu Al-Ajaj village as “ethnic cleansing practiced before the very eyes of the whole world and international human rights institutions.”

Israeli authorities removed the village in the 1970s and built a settlement called Miswah on its lands.

A military spokesman confirmed that troops in the Jordan Valley destroyed two buildings and a tent being used by Palestinians in Massu’a, southwest of Nablus, near the border with Jordan.

The buildings, which were being used to house cattle, were demolished because they had been erected illegally on public land, the spokesman said.