Category: Reports - Page 7 - International Solidarity Movement

Resisting Colonization in Beita

Child confronting Israeli soldiers, July 19, Beita.

24 July 2024 | International Solidarity Movement | Beita

Residents of Beita, south of Nablus, have restarted the weekly Friday demonstrations to resist the further theft of their land. In June, the Israeli security cabinet greenlighted the “legalization” of Evyatar, an outpost established on Sabih Mountain, situated on the outskirts of the town.

Beita residents have a long history of steadfastly resisting the colonization of their land. While demonstrations had almost ceased since October 7 due to the escalation of violence from Israeli occupation forces, July 5 saw a renewed push with dozens of Palestinians, accompanied by international and Israeli activists, marching down the adjacent mountain and through the valley towards the outpost.

The protestors were met with violence from the army as they burned tires in a show of protest. In response, volleys of tear gas were used to disperse the crowd, followed by rubber-coated steel bullets and live ammunition.

On the following Fridays, the army prevented the protestors from marching down the valley and instead pushed everyone back, firing tear gas which set fire to the surrounding fields of olive trees.

Field of olive trees burning due to tear gas. July 19, Beita.

Israeli settlers first tried to take over lands belonging to the town of Beita at the top of Jabel Sabih in 2013 and again in 2018, but were repelled by popular resistance mounted by the people of Beita. Settlers returned again in May 2021 to establish the Evyatar outpost, this time with documented support by Israeli forces stationed to guard them.

By July 2021, the Israeli army was forced to evict the settlers, striking a deal with them that steps will be taken to legalize the settlement at a later stage. The settlers left but the structures remained and the land was not returned to Palestinians. Settlers returned to Jabel Sabih in June 2023.

The establishment of the new outpost sparked an unprecedented wave of resistance, mobilizing thousands to demonstrate day and night in the vicinity of Jabel Sabih, trying to scale it to repel the settlers and dismantle the outpost. The Israeli response was one of intense military repression, killing 17 protestors over the past few years, causing serious injuries to thousands, including many suffering debilitating injuries, and arresting hundreds more.

The land represents a strategic spot on the road stretching all the way from Tel Aviv to the Jordan Valley, allowing for contiguity between Israeli settlements while preventing the latter for Palestinian villages.

**Martyrs**

– Mohammed Hamayyel, 15 (March 11, 2020)
– Islam Dwikat, 22 (April 9, 2020)
– Karam Amin Dwikat, 17 (October 15, 2023)
– Issa Sliman Barham, 40 (May 14, 2021)
– Tareq Ommar Snobar, 27 (May 16, 2021)
– Zakaria Maher Hamayyel, 25 (May 28, 2021)
– Mohammed Said Hamayyel, 15 (June 11, 2021)
– Ahmad Zahi Bani Shamsa, 15 (June 16, 2021)
– Shadi Ommar Sharafa, 41 (July 27, 2021)
– Imad Ali Dwikat, 38 (August 6, 2021)
– Mohammed Ali Khbeissa, 27 (September 24, 2021)
– Jamil Jamal Abu Ayyash, 32 (December 1, 2021)
– Fawaz Ahmad Hamayyel, 47 (April 13, 2022)
– Immad Jareh Bani Shamsa, 16 (October 9, 2023)
– Mohammed Ibrahim Adili, 13 (November 23, 2023)
– Maath Ashraf Bani Shamsa, 17 (February 9, 2024)
– Ameed Ghaleb Said al-Jaroub, 34 (March 22, 2024, died of a bullet wound injury to the head sustained on August 21, 2023)

Israeli soldier harassing the press. July 19, Beita.

Tear gas thrown at protestors. July 19, Beita.

Israeli State Files Indictment Against Anti-Zionist Israeli Activist

Jonathan Pollak arrested in Nabi Saleh. Credit: Oren Ziv/Activestills.

Jonathan Pollak, a long-time anti-Zionist activist from Jaffa, was slapped with an indictment for two counts of incitement to violence on Sunday (14 July, 2024). The indictment revolves around calls to join the Palestinian struggle against Israeli colonialism, made in a January 2020 article published in Israeli newspaper Haaretz, and in a June 2021 speech during the Yeshayahu Leibowitz Award ceremony. In both cases, Pollak called on those within the settler society who oppose Israeli Apartheid and colonialism to join the Palestinian struggle for liberation and integrate in it as a minority, under Palestinian leadership, and “march in the footsteps of the children of the stones and Molotov cocktails.”

Pollak has been the target of persecution by Israeli right-wing groups such as Ad Kan and Im Tirzu for several years, and this indictment is also the direct result of a campaign by these organizations. In 2018 Ad Kan used an esoteric judicial procedure and filed a private criminal complaint against Pollak and two other activists. He refused to attend hearings or cooperate with the proceedings in any way, and was wanted by the authorities for over a year before being arrested. In 2019, after Ad Kan published a post asking the public for help locating Pollak, he was attacked with a knife by two men who called him an anarchist. The article subject to the current indictment was published the day Pollak was apprehended, and the investigation into it for incitement was opened on his release after Ad Kan’s case was kicked out, in order to sweeten the pill.

On receiving the indictment, Pollak said: ” The only exceptional thing about this indictment is that, this time, Israel filed it against one of its Jewish citizens. In practice, it is merely one in hundreds such politically motivated indictments filed against Palestinians, both those who hold Israeli citizenship and those living as subjects under military rule. In contrast, the innumerous Israeli citizens, journalists and politicians regularly and blatantly calling to starve babies, indiscriminately kill innocent civilians, commit war crimes and genocide, go completely unscathed. It would suffice to examine the list of prosecution witnesses to understand who truly stands behind the indictment and what its purpose is. It is unabashed political persecution in service of Israel’s extreme right, meant to silence any support for the Palestinian struggle for liberation, and is part of the attempt to stifle the Palestinian struggle itself.”

The trial is set to open in October.

Israeli Settlers Harassment in the Jordan Valley

15 July 2024 | International Solidarity Movement | Jordan Valley

Activists and members of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) recently faced harassment while working in a popular tourist spot in the Jordan Valley.

The activists focused their efforts on Ras Al-Auja (Ras Al-Ein) where water access is severely restricted for Palestinians, often limited to a few hours a day. Settlers have exacerbated the situation by blocking roads leading to water sources and stealing livestock. They integrate their herds with Palestinian flocks and then falsely claim ownership, reducing Palestinian herds significantly. While safeguarding the spring where locals fill their water tanks, activists also monitored settler shepherds who frequently encroach on the village land. .

The spring serves not only as a water source but also as a communal gathering spot, offering a rare moment of relief and socialization for the Palestinians. International volunteers had their duties interrupted by reports of settlers invading Palestinian land just up the road, necessitating a division of their attention between multiple locations.

At one site, a settler wearing a tank top with the letters KKL/JNF and a kuffiyeh was seen wielding a metal bat aggressively. This settler circled the activists car and tried to intimidate them by placing his hands on the bat and motioning towards his radio. The settler was wearing a kuffiyeh as appropriation of Palestinian culture. This is a disturbing trend that erases and undermines Palestinian traditions.

Once finished observing and documenting this settler, the activists encountered a caravan of camels led by settlers also wearing kuffiyeh, who soon turned aggressive. These settlers surrounded the activists’ car, taunted them, lunged and screamed in the ears and made sexually suggestive comments, showcasing tactics intended to intimidate and drive Palestinians from their land. This harassment lasted for almost an hour.

Huge Destruction Suffered by Nur Shams Refugee Camp

*Tulkarm – Nur Shams Refugee Camp*
June 9, 2024
By Diana Khwaelid*

At midnight on June 9, occupation forces stormed the city of Tulkarm and stationed themselves in the Nur Shams camp, northeast of Tulkarm. A military operation that lasted for more than 13 continuous hours ensued, during which the Israeli occupation forces vandalized and destroyed the camp on the orders of Israeli military officials.

According to the residents of the camp, “this incursion was the most difficult and dangerous of the Israeli military incursions,” despite the exposure of the residents of Nur Shams camp to dozens of previous incursions.

Dozens of Israeli military vehicles stormed the camp and the Manshiyeh neighborhood. D9 and 5 bulldozers sabotaged and destroyed the main road of the camp, Nablus Street. They also destroyed the camp’s infrastructure, including the water network and power lines.

Dozens of shops were damaged, including a pharmacy, restaurants, and private shops for cellular devices. Many Palestinian homes were destroyed as a result of the vandalism and destruction of the camp.

The Israeli occupation forces conducted the destruction accompanied by military vehicles, especially bulldozers, while Palestinian civilians, including women and children, were inside their homes. The occupation forces did not ask or care about those inside the houses or whether they were physically harmed.

Medical and Palestinian Civil Defence crews rushed to the camp immediately after the withdrawal of military vehicles at around 3 pm, following more than 13 hours of continuous destruction. The medical staff stated that they had not received any reports or dealt with any injuries inside the camp. It was like a miracle that the occupation entered and left without causing physical injuries.

Palestinians inside the camp said: “في المال ولا في العيال”, good it happened “to the money and not to the families,” meaning that at least the destruction was only to material things (homes, streets, and camps) and no life was taken.

After the Israeli Hebrew media published a special report on Tulkarm, especially the Nur Shams camp, Israeli news agencies, citing Israeli security sources, stated that the city of Tulkarm, particularly the refugee camps, must end. According to the statements of the Israeli army, “Tulkarm city is a city of terrorism.”

The people of the Nur Shams refugee camp refused to leave the camp. The majority decided to stay, no matter what happened. A Palestinian survivor whose house was destroyed said, “I will build a better house than the one destroyed by the occupation.”

The Israeli occupation forces continue to carry out incursions, destruction, murder, and arrests in the West Bank, especially in the city of Tulkarem.

Nur Al Shams resident: the camp has become a ‘microcosm of Gaza’

By International Solidary Movement
Ramallah, July 4, 2024

Over the past three days, Nur Shams refugee camp has faced intense fear and sadness due to recent bombings and killings by Israeli forces. The latest raid targeted four Palestinian youths, marking the fourth consecutive day of violence.

On July 2nd, at around 10:30 p.m., Israeli forces carried out an airstrike in the camp, east of Tulkarm. Four palestinian fighters were killed. The attack involved a drone strike. The Palestinian Ministry of Health confirmed the deaths of Yazid Shafa (22), Nimr Hamarshah (25), Muhammad Shehada (20), and Muhammad Knuh (22). The camp is in mourning, with continued incursions aiming to suppress any form of resistance.

A resident described the situation as a microcosm of Gaza, with continuous incursions, demolitions, shelling, arrests, and killings over the past year and a half, escalating after the recent war on Gaza.

The camp has endured over 30 incursions to date. The death toll in Tulkarm has reached 122 since October 7. The residents of Nur Shams camp are in deep sorrow, feeling unsafe amid ongoing military operations.