Category: Reports

Candlelight demonstration remembers the martyrs of Nablus and Gaza

2 January 2010

A demonstration was held in the northern West Bank city of Nablus last night to mark the anniversary of the 3-week assault launched on Gaza one year ago that left over 1,400 Palestinians dead, and to mourn the assassination of 3 men by Israeli soldiers in Nablus last week.

Demonstrators filled Nablus’ centre, Al-Duwar, and lit candles in honour of those who died. Speeches were made by local activists from the Tanweer Palestinian Cultural Enlightenment Forum, An Najah University, the Nablus Women’s Union and international activists from ISM, all who declared their solidarity with those suffering from the crippling siege of Gaza and condemning the atrocities caused by Israel’s war crimes. Protesters then marched by candlelight, singing and chanting, through the Old City to the homes of Raed Sarakji and Ghassan Abu Sharkh where they were murdered by Israeli soldiers on 26 December. Though the loss hung heavy in the air, the crowd came together in support of each other and a sense of hope retained as the demonstration disbanded.

The Israeli army invaded the Palestinian city of Nablus on Saturday 26 December where they raided three houses and executed three men. Several family members were injured and the houses, where families of the three killed men lived, had been left completely destroyed. The army used live ammunition against the men, at least two of whom were unarmed and fired rockets at the houses, while their residents were still inside. The Israeli military claims the men were wanted for their involvement in the recent killing of an Israeli settler near Tulkarem, for which a group associated with the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade claimed responsibility. The killings are, however, in flagrant breach of international law and constitute assassinations without trial.

The Palestinian, Israeli and international community has been awash the past two weeks with actions commemorating the tragedies of Operation Cast Lead, Israel’s 3-week assault launched on Gaza on 27 December 2008. Candelight vigils were held in numerous West Bank cities such as Ramallah and Bethlehem, while protesters in Bil’in’s weekly demonstration joined to march in solidarity with Gaza last week. The Gaza Freedom March, co-ordinated by Code Pink, suffered severe repression at the hands of Egyptian authorities as its 1,400 delegates attempted to reach the Rafah crossing to Gaza from Cairo. Despite the violent setbacks meted out by Egyptian police, protesters have managed an inspiring series of actions, from mass demonstrations in Cairo city to 85 year-old holocaust survivor Hedy Epstein’s hunger strike, declaring that she would feast when Gaza feasts too. Inside Israel, 300 demonstrators marched to Erez crossing, calling for Israel to end the siege of Gaza. Dozens of Israeli activists were arrested the day before as they attempted to swim from Israel’s southern sea front and breach Gaza’s sea border.

Fishing Under Fire Report 2009

Fishing Under Fire

5 January 2010

Since the declaration of the “ceasefire”(18/1/2009), till the end of the year:

  • 1 fisherman have been assassinated by the Israeli Navy
  • at least 7 fishermen have been injured by gunfire (and at least another one sustained burns after shelling) in the sea, while another fisherman was reported by several media to be lightly injured by Israeli gunfire, but his name wasn’t reported.
  • at least 6 Palestinian civilians were injured on shore by Israeli navy (among them 4 children) and several others have been reportedly injured (among them another 5 fishermen have been reportedly injured on shore by Israeli shelling )
  • 68 abductions of fishermen have been reported (at least 2 fishermen abducted twice) and 29 “confiscations” of fishing boats. Several fishing boats have been returned but with damages and equipment missing, and at least one hassaka (small fishing boat) was stolen again.
  • 1 Greek boat of the Free Gaza Movement (“Spirit of Humanity”, official name “Arion”) was seized and confiscated and all the 21 passengers and crew abducted and later deported.
  • Israel claims to have further reduced the fishing zone to 3 nautical miles, but in fact is attacking Palestinian fishermen and other civilians even on shore
  • This report is based on reports by ISM Gaza Strip activists, reports by human rights organizations (such as PCHR and Al Mezan) and reports by media.

Palestinian woman hospitalised following settler attack in Sheikh Jarrah

2 January 2010

Nadia al-Kurd, from Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in Jerusalem was taken to hospital today after being attacked by an Israeli settler in her own garden.

At around 2pm, Nadia al-Kurd, 65, was violently pushed by a settler in an unprovoked attack. The settler, one of those currently occupying her neighbours’ house, forced open the gate of her garden, pushing Nadia to the ground. She suffered from breathing difficulties immediately afterwards. Some of those present administered first aid, however, as her state required professional medical treatment, she had to be transported by an ambulance to the hospital. She was discharged later in the afternoon.

When the Israeli police arrived following the attack, they arrested the assailant, identified by several witnesses. The same settler has been arrested before after previous attacks in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood, where daily harassment of the Palestinian population by settlers and police is on the increase.

The house in which the attacker was found and arrested belongs to the Palestinian Gawi family. Displacing 37 members of the extended family, the settlers occupied the seven apartments of the house on 2 August 2009. Several other houses in the neighbourhood are currently threatened with eviction. The future of 51 members of the Shabagh family and their three homes will be decided in a court hearing on 18 January, potentially resulting in another eviction order. Sheikh Jarrah is one of several neighbourhoods currently subjected to attacks and evictions by settlers around Occupied East Jerusalem.

Eight year old boy shot in his head by rubber-coated steel bullet, two arrested during Ni’lin’s weekly protest

1 January 2010

During today’s demonstration in Ni’lin – marking the anniversary of the Fatah movement – one eight year old boy was injured in the head with a rubber-coated steel bullet and two teenage boys (15 and 17 years old) arrested.

Around 500 people, including international and Israeli activists attended today’s weekly Friday protest against the Apartheid Wall in Ni’lin. Ni’lin celebrated the anniversary of the Fatah movement, hereby attracting a large number of people for this week’s demonstration, including high profile Fatah members such as dr. Sabri Saydam, Tawfiq Terawi, Ra’ed Radwan and Mahmoud Aloul. The Israeli army had closed the entrance of the village, but many people managed to get into the village to attend the event.

After the Friday prayer and a speech by Mahmoud Aloul, participants marched towards the Apartheid Wall, chanting slogans and calling for national unity in order to overcome the occupation.

After the Friday prayer on the land, demonstrators marched towards one of the gates, chanting slogans against the confiscation of Palestinian land and called for an end to Israeli military occupation and justice for the Palestinian people.

When the demonstrators reached the Wall site, soldiers were awaiting them on the other side. After a group of youth had climbed the concrete blocks and planted flags on the Wall, the army came through the gates. Soldiers started launching large amounts of teargas canisters into the crowd, as well as firing rounds of rubber coated steel bullets and live ammunition. Many people experienced breathing problems.

The demonstration pulled back towards the village and soldiers tried to arrest demonstrators. Towards the end of the demonstration, soldiers arrested two youth (residents of Shuqba, a neighboring village) aged 15 and 17 years. When the soldiers started beating up these youngsters, other participants and Red Crescent volunteers tried to come to their rescue. Soldiers then assaulted one medical volunteer – Juma’a Khawaja, he was beaten with a gun. Israeli soldiers also fired live ammunition and rubber coated steel bullets, injuring an eight year old boy – who was shot in the head. The boy was immediately taken to Ramallah hospital where he received treatment. He was sent home later that night with six stitches in the back of his head. No further injuries were reported.

Later in the night, two jeeps entered the village and started shooting live ammunition and tear gas towards anybody who was walking outside. After twenty minutes, they left again.

Background

Recently, Israel has increased its attempts to bring the weekly demonstrations against the Wall to a forced end. In addition to a coordinated arrests campaign of the leadership and participants of these demonstrations, in the village of Ni’lin, the army has illegally reintroduced the use of 0.22” caliber live ammunition for crowd dispersal purposes. The 0.22” munitions, often colloquially referred to as “twotwo” were classified as live ammunition and banned as crowd-control measures already in 2001, by the then military Judge Advocate General, Menachem Finkelstein.

Despite this fact, the Israeli military resumed using the 0.22” munitions to disperse demonstrations in the West Bank in the wake of Operation Cast Lead. Since then at least two Palestinian demonstrators were killed by 0.22” fire:

  • on 13 February 2009, Az a-Din al-Jamal, age 14, was killed in Hebron
  • on 5 June 2009, Aqel Srour, age 35 in Ni’lin
  • 28 other than Srour were injured by 0.22” bullets in Ni’lin alone

Following the death of Aqel Srour, JAG Brig. Gen. Avichai Mandelblit reasserted that the use of the 0.22” munitions “are not classified by the IDF as means for dispersing demonstrations or public disturbances”. Despite this clarification by the JAG, on 13 November 2009, the army resumed using the 0.22” munitions against demonstrators in Ni’lin, already injuring four demonstrators, in conditions very far removed from life-threatening situations (under which the shooting of live ammunition is permitted).

New Year in al-Ma’asara marked with another weekly demonstration against the Apartheid Wall

Al-Ma’asara Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements

1 January 2010

Over 150 local activists protested today in al-Ma’asara and the neighboring villages against the construction of the illegal Apartheid Wall and settlements on the lands of the nine intertwined villages to the South of Bethlehem. Protestors walked through the villages towards the construction site of the wall, but as every Friday for the past few years, they were intercepted by dozens of soldiers who had again cut off the main road with a barb wire fence.

Protestors waved flags and chanted slogans through a mobile sound system, while some accompanied the demonstration on horses in an expression of pride of the ongoing popular resistance in the face of increasing crack downs.

Women from the villages held posters of their imprisoned sons and detained activist from the Bethlehem district and lead in chants demanding the release of all political prisoners. Senior Palestinian officials, including Minister Maher Ghneim, gave speeches expressing their support for the Popular Committees commitment to resisting Israels colonial policies and its success in mobilizing continuous support from local, international, and Israeli activists.

Todays demonstration, which commemorated the foundation of the Fatah movement, comes following threats issued two days ago to the Popular Committee warning that its members would be blacklisted and arrested if the protests in al-Ma’asara continued in 2010. Therefore, the soldiers, who had taken position behind the barb wire, appeared more tense than usual. One soldier repeatedly aimed his weapon at the protestors from a hill overlooking the street. At one point, soldiers pushed into the crowd, when children attempted to remove the barb wire.

As the aggression increased, the Israeli army fired tear gas and sound bombs at the crowd and five military vehicles entered deep into the village of al-Ma’asara. Soldiers continued to shoot teargas for an hour and remained at the entrance of the village until 15pm.

One child was hit by a sound bomb and had to be carried away while soldiers were still shooting. Several protestors suffered gas inhalation, and other injuries were reported.