Category: Reports

ISM Gaza: Education under attack

Bianca Zammit | ISM Gaza

14 January 2010

On December 28th 2008 mid-term examinations had been scheduled to take place at the University College of Applied Sciences (UCAS) in Gaza. When the day arrived, however, the University College’s rooms, which usually cater for 8000 students, were void of any life. This was the second day of operation Cast Lead. The University remained closed and examinations were postponed. Concentration, patience and motivation; the three pillars to learning were the main targets of operation Cast Lead as it sought to instill a sense of danger in every spot in Gaza. Operation Cast Lead wholly demolished or rendered unusable several educational facilities across the Strip. Amongst these facilities were 280 kindergarten, primary and secondary schools, the American International School, the library of the Al Aqsa University and the laboratory of the Islamic University. Many other educational facilities were shot at causing facades to become tarnished with indelible war stains and windows to shatter in a deliberate attempt to undermine education.

When Operation Cast Lead ended, The University College of Applied Sciences announced the new dates for the mid-term examinations. The time after Cast Lead has been the most testing for all students in Gaza as they struggle to put memories aside and focus on mastering their academic abilities.

For Sawsan Tamboura, a student in Secretarial English at UCAS, memories of Cast Lead are still vivid and too powerful to override. She has had a very difficult time concentrating on her studies ever since. When Cast Lead started she left her home in Beit Lahiya and went with her family to the closest UNRWA school. The school was bombed with white Phosphorous bombs killing her two cousins, who were at the same UNRWA school. The same attack caused her aunt to lose both hands, her skin was burnt and it also caused her hair to fall. Her exams were postponed to February. Tamboura studied very hard but had problems concentrating. Against all odds, she insists on pursuing the road of education and supports her friends to continue in theirs. “Education is the only tool we as students have, it is everything for us”.

For other students the damage caused by Cast Lead was physical as well as personal obliging them to rethink their educational prospects. 5,300 people were injured by Cast Lead.

Yousef Abdul Jabbar Al-Mughrabi is an outstanding 21 year old students with an above 90 average. During Cast Lead a drone bomb exploded in the vicinity of his home causing him to become blind and paralyzing the right side of his body. Before Cast Lead he was following a degree in Civil Engineering at the Islamic University. Now he has been forced to change his course and start from scratch. He chose Islamic Studies at the Islamic University. In order for him to study, he relies wholly upon his wife. She reads from his textbooks and he repeats after her and memorizes. For him to come to University he depends on his brother who accompanies him every day. Al-Mughrabi is following new advances in research technology aiming at enhancing sight and hopes that he will find help in order to improve his sight. His spirit is still energetic and lively. “I wish that my sacrifice will not be for nothing but will help the Palestinian plight for justice”.

Cast Lead affected everybody, students, parents and teachers. Aya El Mashharawi is an English teacher at the University College of Applied Sciences. During Cast Lead her 12 year old brother and 17 year old cousin lost their life by a drone plane attack as they played on the roof. When this attack took place Mashharawi herself was only minutes away from the site. This episode torments her. “Life will continue if you like it or not. I want to work hard to make a lasting contribution to Palestine”. The lasting contribution she is trying to make is that of motivating her students to face their fears and improve their English. “Media around the world is controlled by Zionism. It depicts us Palestinians in a negative light. Yet, we have pens to explain and speak our minds and we have to do this in English, the international language. We want to live, travel and lead a normal life like people anywhere”. She encourages her students to use the internet as a tool to improve their English and to talk about the plight they face on a daily basis.
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For Mahmoud Jalambo, teacher of English at the University College of Applied Sciences it is important to put things into perspective. Cast lead was the last in a series of attacks on Gaza seeking to disable its infrastructure and included with this academia. Notwithstanding the damage caused, Palestinians have remained steadfast in their determination to lead as much as possible a normal life. “We as Palestinians have achieved all things alone. We rebuild our spirits again and again”. It is with this spirit Jalambo mentions that Palestinian students and teachers continue in their path for education. To Mahmoud Shakfa, also teacher of English at the University College of Applied Sciences, education is the only path that can result in any tangible results both for students in their personal life and for the Palestinian struggle as a whole. For this reason, no matter the hardships involved, education will be the road most traveled.

Palestine Memorial Week kicks off in London

Palestinian Return Centre

For the first time, a week of wide ranging activities and events was launched yesterday, Wednesday 13th , to mark six decades of suffering and persecution experienced by the Palestinian people . The events are expected to spread all across Europe especially the UK. During the week, the biggest parliamentarian delegation (55 MPs & MEPs) are leaving for Gaza where an assessment of the disastrous humanitarian conditions will be made.

The memorial week was launched Wednesday afternoon during a press conference about the parliamentary delegation to the besieged people of Gaza.

Events continued in the evening where a key conference to remember the Palestinian victims over the past 60 years especially those who were killed in Gaza, was organized in Central London. Although, the weather was cold and snowy, a considerable number of participants totaling a few hundred took part.

Jeremy Corbyn MP and Baroness Jenny Tonge spoke on the calamites and extreme distress experienced in the Gaza strip. They criticized Israel for its cruel policy against the Palestinian civilians. Additionally, both speakers spoke about their experience while visiting Gaza in recent months as well their plans for the next delegation heading for Gaza where they too will take part.

A detailed presentation on the conditions in Gaza by Middle East Expert Peter Eyre will highlighted the violations committed by Israel. His presentation graphically documented the theft of off shore gas by Israel and other western companies. It provided another dimension to Israel’s illegal siege and high militarization of the region and to the control and ownership of strategic offshore gas reserves which under international law belongs to the Palestinians.

Former Palestinian Ambassador in the UK and Russia, Afif Safya, stressed the importance of the memorial week to highlight the Palestinian cause within the mainstream. He also touched on the history of Palestinians and the massacres and attacks they suffered.

For his part, member of Board of trustees of PRC, Ghasan Faour, touched on the issue of Palestinian refugees. Faour stressed the importance of the right of return for every single Palestinian refugee.

Ken Loach, famous British Film Director who has many extensive and fascinating cinema productions like Poor Cow, Family Life, Looking for Eric, It’s a Free World…, Tickets and many more, expressed his solidarity with the Palestinians people and emphasized the role of the Media and how it should be more fair in its coverage.

Ni’lin activist’s home raided

13 January 2010

At approximately 1:30 am three military jeeps and over a dozen soldiers invaded the village of Ni’ilin and surrounded the home of elementary school teacher and organizer Mohammed Amirah.
Two officers and a handful of soldiers than entered Amirah’s home, carefully went through his family’s belongings and questioned him about his family, occupation and phone numbers.
After about an hour in Amirah’s residence, the soldiers have left, and headed out of the village.
In the past week the army has staged night-raids into Ni’ilin every single day with no exception, and tonight’s raid follows the arrest of three prominent Ni’ilin activists last night.

Background:

Israel began construction of the Wall on Ni’lin’s land in 2004, but stopped after an injunction order issued by the Israeli Supreme Court (ISC). Despite the previous order and a 2004 ruling from the International Court of Justice declaring the Wall illegal, construction of the Wall began again in May 2008. Following the return of Israeli bulldozers to their lands, residents of Ni’lin have launched a grassroots campaign to protest the massive land theft, including demonstrations and direct actions.

The original route of the Wall, which Israel began constructing in 2004, was ruled illegal by the ISC, as was a second, marginally less obtrusive proposed route. The most recent path, now completed, still cuts deep into Ni’lin’s land. The Wall has been built to include plans, not yet approved by the Army’s planning authority, for a cemetery and an industrial zone for the illegal settlement Modi’in Ilit.

Since the Wall was built to annex more land to the nearby settlements rather than in a militarily strategic manner, demonstrators have been able to repeatedly dismantle parts of the electronic fence and razor-wire surrounding it. Consequently, the army has erected a 15-25 feet tall concrete wall, in addition to the electronic fence. The section of the Wall in Ni’lin is the only part of the route where a concrete wall has been erected in response to civilian, unarmed protest.

As a result of the Wall construction, Ni’lin has lost 3,920 dunams, roughly 30% of its remaining lands. Originally, Ni’lin consisted of 15,898 dunams (3928 acres). Post 1948, Ni’lin was left with 14,794 dunams (3656 acres). After the occupation of the West Bank in 1967, the illegal settlements and infrastructure of Modi’in Ilit, Mattityahu and Hashmonaim were built on village lands, and Ni’lin lost another 1,973 dunams. With the completion of the Wall, Ni’lin has a remaining 8911 dunams (2201 acres), 56% of it’s original size.

Ni’lin is effectively split into 2 parts (upper and lower) by Road 446, which was built directly through the village. According to the publicized plan of the Israeli government, a tunnel will be built under road 446 to connect the upper and lower parts of Ni’lin, allowing Israel to turn Road 446 into a segregated-setter only road. Subsequently, access for Palestinian vehicles to this road and to the main entrances of upper and lower Ni’lin will be closed. Additionally, since the tunnel will be the only entryway to Ni’lin, Israel will have control over the movement of Palestinian residents.

Israel commonly uses tear-gas projectiles, rubber coated steel bullets and live ammunition against demonstrators.

Since May, 2008, five of Ni’lin’s residents were killed and one American solidarity activist was critically injured from Israeli fire during grassroots demonstrations in Ni’lin.

  • 5 June 2009: Yousef Akil Srour (36) was shot in the chest with 0.22 caliber live ammunition and pronounced dead upon arrival at a Ramallah hospital.
  • 13 March 2009: Tristan Anderson (37), an American citizen, was shot in the head with a high velocity tear gas projectile. He is currently at Tel Hashomer hospital near Tel Aviv with uncertain prospects for his recovery.
  • 28 December 2008: Mohammed Khawaje (20) was shot in the head with 5.56mm caliber live ammunition. He died in a Ramallah hospital 3 days later on 31 December 2008.
  • 28 December 2008: Arafat Rateb Khawaje (22) was shot in the back with 5.56mm caliber live ammunition and pronounced dead upon arrival at a Ramallah hospital.
  • 30 July 2008: Yousef Amira (17) was shot in the head with two rubber coated steel bullets. He died in a Ramallah hospital 5 days later on 4 August 2008.
  • 29 July 2008: Ahmed Mousa (10) was shot in the forehead with 5.56mm caliber live ammunition and pronounced dead upon arrival at a Ramallah hospital.

In total, 19 people have been killed during demonstrations against the Wall.

Israeli armed forces have shot 40 demonstrators with live ammunition in Ni’lin. Of them, 11 were shot with 5.56mm caliber live ammunition and 29 were shot with 0.22 caliber live ammunition.

Since May 2008, 87 arrests of Ni’lin residents have been made in relation to anti-Wall demonstrations in the village. The protesters seized by the army constitute around 7% of the village’s males aged between 12 and 55. The arrests are part of a broad Israeli intimidation campaign to suppress all demonstrations against the apartheid infrastructure in the West Bank.

Grassroots activist Wa’el Al-Faqeeh to stand trial January 19

13 January 2010

Al-Faqeeh teaching youth about the BDS campaign at the Tanweer Centre, Nablus

Political prisoner Wa’el Al-Faqeeh has been detained without charge by Israeli authorities for over a month, and is now facing trial in Salim military court on the 19th of January. The abduction of Al-Faqeeh from his home, along with 4 other activists in the Nablus region, marked the beginning of the recent surge in Israel’s targeting of leaders of Palestinian popular resistance.

On the night of December 9th 2009 over 200 Israeli soldiers entered the northern West Bank city of Nablus. Their mission: to round up a list of local grassroots activists, whose promotion of popular struggle Israel had no answer for. Amongst those taken was 45 year old Wa’el Al-Faqeeh, when 50 soldiers stormed his home, pointing their weapons at him and his family as though the man they had come to arrest embodied a formidable threat. But those who know Al Faqeeh know that he worked tirelessly – and on a largely voluntary basis – in defense of human rights and the promotion of the strategies and philosophy of Palestinian non-violent resistance.

Al-Faqeeh’s membership to the Tanweer Palestinian Cultural Enlightenment Forum board of directors was a vehicle for the initiation of the BDS (Boycott, Sanctions, Divestment) campaign at An-Najah University as well as countless cultural, social and educational projects for Nablus youth, championing the belief of freedom through the fulfilment of learning and expression. His organisation of Iraq Burin’s weekly demonstrations through the months of July to September played an instrumental role in the return of 30 dunums of land to the village annexed by neighbouring settlements and Israeli military forces. Al Faqeeh enthusiastically supported the cause of Palestinian farmers working under constant threat from settler and military violence, organising the annual olive harvest in the Nablus region and working year-round to defend agricultural communities’ connection to their land and economic livelihood.

His grassroots outreach across the political spectrum inspired all those he met and worked with, but Al-Faqeeh has suffered greatly for it. On more than one occasion he was threatened by Israeli officials for his involvement in popular struggle, severely limiting his movements for fear of arrest. This fear was realised on the 9th of December, when he was arrested and imprisoned by the Israeli military, joining 8,000 other Palestinian political prisoners like him.

Upon his arrest Al-Faqeeh was taken to Huwara Detention Centre and transferred the following day to Jelemeh Prison in Haifa ,where he is now held. This is illegal under the IV Geneva Convention, which outlaws the transfer of prisoners from occupied territory to the state of the occupying force. He has been held for over a month under interrogation without charge, on the basis of Israeli officials’ alleged possession of secret evidence against him. His court date was finally announced on January 12, summoning him to appear before Salim military court in the northern West Bank on January 19.

4 other grassroots activists from seized in raids on their homes in Nablus the same night, including Mayasar Itiany and her brother Abdul-Nasser Itiany, both active in prisoners rights organisations, and Mussa Salama who is involved in the Labour Committee of Medical Relief for Workers. Abdul-Nasser Itiany has since been placed under administrative detention, a fate often reserved for Palestinian activists for whom investigators cannot gather sufficient evidence to make a specific charge.

Abdullah Abu Ramah, head of Bil’in’s Popular Committee Against the Wall & Settlements, was seized by Israeli forces the night after the arrest of Al-Faqeeh. The international exposure and support gained as a result of Bil’in’s peaceful demonstrations against the illegal Apartheid Wall have culminated in a violent backlash on the supporters of the village’s popular struggle and the arrest of several of its leaders. Several other high profile Palestinian activists have been targeted in recent months, including the arrest and detainment of Jamal Juma’, head of Stop The Wall campaign and the administrative detention of Mohammad Othman, a youth co-ordinator for Stop The Wall. Othman’s case was similar to Al-Faqeeh’s in the prelude to his trial, his interrogation period spanning a significant length (2 months) and being held on the basis of secret evidence, unaccessible to Othman or hiw lawyers. Key players in the demonstrations and popular struggle in the villages of Ni’lin and Al-Masara have been subject to night raids, arrest and detainment in recent months also.

Almost all prisoners in Israel’s jails face some form of torture or mistreament during their arrest and detention. Their conditions of detention are extremely poor, and in some cases, life-threatening. Al-Faqeeh urgently requires medical attention, his lawyer reporting that his physical condition has worsened considerably during his detention as he suffers from high blood pressure and painful mouth ulcers. Prisoners report that provision of medical treatment is often used as another form of coercion against them by the prison authorities. When administered treatment is woefully inadequate, with Acamol (the Israeli version of aspirin) generally being the only form of medicine issued to detainees.

Arbitrary detention by Israel of human rights defenders is immoral, illegal and must be stopped. Messengers of peace such as Al-Faqeeh pose no threat to Israel: his ability to mobilize and inspire oppressed Palestinians only endangers the Israeli occupation by exposing the regime’s brutal and oppressive nature.

Female students of Madama school subject to constant harassment from Israeli army

12 January 2010

Israeli Occupation Forces entered the northern West Bank village of Madama last night, damaging 5 houses and terrifying residents. The military has upped their presence in Madama in recent weeks, with the harassment of female students on their way to school becoming commonplace, and the creation of a new roadblock separating hundreds of farmers from their land.

Approximately 20 soldiers entered the village late last night in military jeeps, the explosion of sound bombs announcing their arrival. The Israeli Occupation Forces remained in the village for approximately 2 hours. The exterior of 5 Madama homes were damaged during the incursion.

The Israeli army is a regular presence in the village. The girls school as become a frequent target for military harassment and intimidation, situated on the northern edge of the village and a mere 100 metres from the Israeli-only road that runs east to Yitzhar settlement. Military jeeps patrol the road, often slowing down or stopping to harass the school’s 338 students, aged from 6 to 18 years, during their breaktimes.

Curfews and flying checkpoints are also regularly established on the edge of, or inside the village, disrupting the girls’ access to school in the morning. Harrasment has increased particularly over the last two weeks, during the already stressful period of exams. Pupils now leave very promptly at the end of school, often met by parents.

Last month the Israeli army erected a giant earth mound across a crucial agricultural road that passes under the settler road and situated next to the school. The road block severely limits hundreds of farmers’ access to their lands, making transport by vehicle all but impossible dealing a severe – and intentional – blow to the village’s chief economy.

Madama’s economy has suffered greatly as a result. In addition to the creeping strangulation of the village’s agricultural livelihood, the Zone C boundary circulating the village prevents both residential building expansion and development work on the village football ground and new work in the stone quarries.

The formation of Yizthar settlement to the south of Madama in 1982 constituted the theft of over 1000 dunams (1 dunam=0.1 hectare) of vital land from Madama farmers, in addition to annexation of land from the neighbouring villages of Burin, Asira al-Qabliya, Urif, Einabus and Huwara. The entirety of Madama’s water wells are situated on the 1000 dunums, forcing the villages’ 1,800 residents to purchase their water supply from outside sources, a 90 litre tank costing an average of 120 NIS.

Madama’s location in a precarious Zone B/Zone C corridor has had a detrimental effect on all aspects of life in the village, as residents can only watch as wanton military harassment surges and creeping annexation of land gradually limits their freedom. The settlement of Qedumim stretches out to the west, Yitzhar to the south, Bracha to the north east and Itamar to the east. The erection of a new military watchtower to the village’s north, and restriction from Palestinians entering the surrounding area, may herald the development of yet another new settlement outpost.