Category: Reports - Page 79 - International Solidarity Movement

Israeli forces are solidifying their grip on Hebron

17th February 2017 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

On February the 3rd 2017, a new permanent stone checkpoint in front of the Ibrahimi mosque in occupied Hebron, was brought into use.

The checkpoint, which has been under construction since July 2016, was thus inaugurated just one month before the 23^rd anniversary of the Ibrahimi mosque massacre, where 29 praying Palestinian Muslims lost their lives in a terrorist attack by Jewish settler Baruch Goldstein. It was this attack which caused the mosque to fall under the tight control of Israeli military and surveillance in the first place.

Before the opening of the new checkpoint on 3^rd February Israeli forces had already installed checkpoints at all the main roads leading into the mosque. The presence of military and police at the entrance to the mosque therefore, has been a continuous fact since 1994. What is new however is the permanent nature of this new construction. For this new stone and steel construction is directly built into the mosque wall clearly signaling that Israel has no intentions of retreating from the scene.

The new checkpoint at the al-Ibrahimi mosque

And the expansion at the Ibrahimi mosque checkpoint is just one among many expansions recently. As noted in an earlier ISM report [https://palsolidarity.org/2016/12/%C2%ADnew-checkpoints-access-control-buildings-and-street-signs-in-the-historical-center-of-hebron/], the Israeli forces in Hebron have been remarkably active in replacing temporary checkpoints by more extended permanent ones, along with “installing military streetlights, security cameras on all streets, raising more gates, concrete walls, barbed-wire and other barriers, and putting new Hebrew-English street signs in the ethnically cleaned streets and in Palestinian neighborhoods, as if they are in fact Israeli neighborhoods with some remaining Palestinian residents.”

One might have thought that the new checkpoint at the mosque was simply a replacement for previous ones. But since its opening, Palestinians are in fact forced to pass through two checkpoints only few metres apart, with further delays for Palestinians seeking to practice their religion, which you can see in the photo below, taken at Friday prayers.

Palestinians are waiting to pass through the new checkpoint at al-Ibrahimi mosque

And while you might think that two security checks would suffice to determine whether an individual is a security threat or not, Israeli forces continued the practice of detaining men and confiscating IDs for the duration of Friday prayer.

But this did not hinder the male population from praying, so this Friday, a long line of men prayed outside in the sunshine, while military personnel chattered in the background.

Palestinian men and boys, praying outside al-Ibrahimi mosque

In commemoration of the Ibrahimi Mosque Massacre: #DismantleTheGhetto take the settlers out of of Hebron

14th February 2017 | The National Campaign to Lift the Closure of Hebron “Dismantle the Ghetto” | Hebron, occupied Palestine

February 25th marks the 23^rd commemoration of the Ibrahim Mosque Massacre in Hebron. This year’s commemoration coincides with Israel’s unprecedented escalation in seizing Palestinian land in the West Bank for settlement expansion. This has been accompanied with ideas from Israeli ministers to construct settlements and annex most of the C areas in the West Bank. The commemoration also coincides with Israel’s increasing campaigns to Judaize the Naqab, similar to what has happened in Um Al-Hiran recently, with a general rise in the policy of demolishing Palestinian houses whether in the occupied territories or within the Green Line.

Following the Ibrahimi Mosque massacre, the Israeli Occupation closed the Mosque for six months. Palestinians were punished by an imposed 40-day curfew and movement restrictions within the city. The Occupation also divided the Mosque into two parts whereby one part was converted into a synagogue. The Israeli government also increased settlement expansion within the heart of the City which further restricted the presence of Palestinians there, turning the city center into a ghost town.

The Israeli escalation continues in the heart of Hebron until the present day. The closure of Shuhada Street to Palestinian vehicles following the massacre, and then closing it for the Palestinian pedestrians and residents after the Al Aqsa Intifada was followed by the closure of Tel Rumeida neighborhood and whatever was left accessible of Shuhada Street in November 2015. They also continue to kill Palestinians on checkpoints and in restricted areas in Hebron. As of today, the number of those killed by the Israelis since October of 2015 within the closed area and surrounding it has risen to 22 people. The Israeli occupation’s practices against Palestinians amount to the level of ethnic cleansing, given the increasing checkpoints, restriction of movement, and the numbering system implemented to enter the closed areas in the Old City. This creates a Ghetto-system.

In light of the bleak reality, and given our belief that the best way to end the occupation and its discriminatory policies is by resisting it, the national parties, popular committees and civil society organizations in Hebron announce the launch of the “National Campaign to End the Closure of Hebron” through a series of different events. In commemoration of the Ibrahimi Mosque massacre we call on our supporters and allies in the struggle, as well as members of our community, to participate in the campaign events, rejecting the Occupation’s practices in the City, and to demand the dismantling of checkpoints and barriers in the City, as well as the removal of settlers in Hebron.

These events will happen as part of the larger struggle to resist the Judaization policies within the Green Line and in an effort to bring greater awareness of the increasing campaigns from our friends and allies around the world that demand the dismantling of the Ghetto and removal of restrictions so that Palestinian citizens have freedom of movement inside Hebron. These events will also happen as part of the larger Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS).

Our campaign is based on principles and rights sustained in international humanitarian law and the United Nations’ resolutions that consider Israeli Settlements and collective punishment as forms of war crimes. As such, UN Security Council decision 2334 calls on the Israeli government to stop all forms of Settlement activities in Occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem.

Let the struggle to lift the restrictions and the removal of settlers in the Heart of Hebron continue.

The National Campaign to Lift the Closure of Hebron “dismantle the ghetto”

ISM Honors Kayla Mueller

10th Febreury 2017 | International Solidarity Movement, occupied Palestine

Kayla, sitting under a poster of Ashraf Abu Rahma from Bil'in. — Kayla, sitting under a poster of Ashraf Abu Rahma from Bil’in.

Two years ago, on February 10, 2015, it was confirmed by her family, that former ISMer Kayla Mueller had been killed in Syria, while being held captive by Da’esh (ISIS). Today therefore, ISM honors her memory.

Kayla Mueller, originally from Prescott, Arizona, volunteered with the International Solidarity Movement in Palestine from August 2010 till September 2010. “Kayla came to Palestine to stand in solidarity with us” says Abdullah Abu Rahma, coordinator of the popular committee in the village of Bil’in. “She marched with us and faced the military that occupies our land side by side with us”.

As an ISMer, Kayla supported the Palestinian people in nonviolently resisting the confiscation and demolition of Palestinian houses and lands; she stayed with the Al Kurd family in Sheikh Jarrah to prevent Israeli illegal settlers from taking over their home; she participated in weekly demonstrations against the consequences of the apartheid wall, and she accompanied school children on their way to school in the neighborhood of Tel Ruimeda in Al-Khalil (Hebron), where children are often exposed to attacks by Israeli Forces.

I could tell a few stories about sleeping in front of half demolished buildings waiting for the one night when the bulldozers come to finish them off; fearing sleep because you don’t know what could wake you. … I could tell a few stories about walking children home from school because settlers next door are keen to throw stones, threaten and curse at them. Seeing the honest fear in young boys eyes when heavily armed settlers arise from the outpost; pure fear, frozen from further steps, lip trembling.” Excerpt from a post written by Kayla on October 29, 2010.

Three years later, on the 4th of August 2013, Kayla Mueller was abducted by the terrorist group Da’esh in Aleppo, Syria, where she was helping Syrian refugees escape the horrors of their country. According to fellow western hostages sharing a cell with Mueller in Syria, she had told them that on the day before her abduction, she had helped a friend – a Doctors Without Border contractor – install satellite internet at one of the Doctors Without Border hospitals in Aleppo. After having spent the night at the facility, she and two staff members had been abducted on the next day from a Doctors Without Borders vehicle.

Unfortunately though, Doctors without Borders refused to take responsibility for Kayla, and ransom negotiations where therefore ignored by the organization until their other staff members had been released.

Kayla therefore, was a captive of Da’esh for 18 month, during which she was exposed to severe torture and abuse by Da’esh members. On her final days, she was held as a sex slave by the oil and gas emir for ISIS, Abu Sayyaf. And she is believed to have been killed in an alleged Jordanian airstrike targeting ISIS.

Our hearts are with Kayla, and all others who have lost their liberty, lives or loved ones in the global struggle for freedom and human rights for all.

#DismantleTheGhetto: start of campaign in al-Khalil

10th February 2017 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

Israeli forces and colonial settlers on Thursday, 9th February 2017, disrupted a peaceful protest near Qurtuba school on Shuhada Street in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron). Settlers attacked and injured one female student, and prevented Palestinian teachers and students from leaving the area. The event was organized by the National Campaign to Lift the Closure of Hebron as part of the ‘#DismantleTheGhetto: Take the Settlers out of Hebron’ campaign.

The day started with a celebration at Qurtuba school, which is located just above Shuhada Street, where most of the houses and businesses have been ethnically cleansed of Palestinians by the Israeli forces in the aftermath of the Ibrahimi Mosque massacre. Students performed a play, sang songs, and the best students from each class were honoured, along with teachers.

Afterwards, the group walked towards the Qurtuba school stairs, which used to be blocked for access for Palestinians by the Israeli forces since the area was declared a closed military zone 31st October 2015. Now, depending on the whim of the soldiers, most days teachers and students are again allowed to go up and down the stairs to school.

As the Palestinians were chanting slogans against the occupation and for freedom for Palestinians in al-Khalil and for an end to the closed military zone and the ghettoization of this part of al-Khalil, soldiers at the bottom of the stairs immediately called for reinforcements and settlers started gathering.

Settlers gathering on Shuhada Street, insulting and threatening Palestinians.

The settler Anat Cohen, who is infamous for violently attacking Palestinians and internationals with complete impunity (search YouTube ‘Anat Cohen Hebron’ for several filmed examples, ran up the slope that separated the children from the soldiers on Shuhada Street and began violently to attack the schoolchildren. She was joined by another settler with a violent and aggressive history. This had been an entirely peaceful demonstration where children demanded their own freedom of movement and an end to the occupation of Palestine, according to their human rights. There was no provocation.

Infamous settler Anat Cohen harassing studnets and teachers

At the same time, students who were trying to go down the stairs to get home were detained by Israeli forces, while colonial settlers gathered on the street and at the illegal Beit Hadassah settlement opposite, ridiculing and threatening the Palestinians as seen in this video. As children were eventually allowed down the stairs they faced aggressive settlers, some armed with assault rifles, and Israeli soldiers chasing them down the street and yelling at them.

Palestinian student support down the stairs while settlers harass them

One female student was injured and unable to walk, and had to be supported by two teachers down the Qurtuba stairs, as Anat Cohen stood by filming them. Once she was down on Shuhada Street, the girl had to be carried in a chair by teachers towards Shuhada checkpoint so that she could get an ambulance on the other side. Palestinian vehicles, including ambulances, are not allowed on this tiny strip of Shuhada Street. Palestinians are only allowed to walk, not drive, and then only if they are registered as residents (for which they are checked by number not name).

Palestinians carrying the girl on a chair to the checkpoint

Israeli military forces and Israeli police officers were present and did nothing to protect this girl or any of the Palestinians and internationals present.

“If your students want an education…” – Right to education violable under occupation?

2nd February 2017 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

On Thursday morning Israeli forces detained Palestinian teachers and students from Qurtuba school for over two hours at Shuhada checkpoint in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron) without reason and despite the fact that students and teachers always have to pass the checkpoint to reach school. Israeli forces have again denied students their right to education by preventing students as well as teachers from reaching their classes.

Palestinian students, teachers, and 3 officials from the NGO, Safe the Children, on their way to the Qurtuba schools, are being denied entry through Shuhada Street Checkpoint. — Israeli forces deny entry to Palestinian students, teachers, and 3 officials from Save the Children through Shuhada check point on their way to Qurtuba school.

Qurtuba school is located in the H2 neighborhood of occupied al-Khalil, under full Israeli military control. All students and teachers coming from the H1-area, supposedly under full Palestinian control, are forced to pass both the Shuhada checkpoint and another checkpoint just a few meters down the street, in order to reach their school. Whereas a major part of the teachers and students were allowed to pass Shuhada checkpoint as they do every morning, a group of 5 teachers, including the director, and 3 students were detained at the checkpoint and not allowed to pass. The group was kept waiting inside the checkpoint box, as Israeli forces tried to force them to pass through the metal detector, even though there’s an official decision that teachers and students on their way to school do not have to pass through the metal detector. After the group pointed out this agreement–insisting that the soldiers respect it–Israeli forces closed the checkpoint to all other civilian Palestinians, telling everyone that no one would be allowed to pass as long as the teachers were ‘making trouble’.

After some time the teachers were allowed to pass and hurried to school. Because of this harassment, they arrived at class more than half an hour late. The director stayed outside the checkpoint, waiting for her students and was told by a soldier, ‘if you’re students want an education, then they have to pass the metal detector’. The soldiers insisted that they can’t depend on a ‘precedent’, even though there’s an official agreement that students and teachers don’t have to pass the checkpoint. They kept pretending that they ‘knew the law’, which they clearly didn’t. A group of 3 Palestinian officials from ‘Save the Children’ were denied to pass the checkpoint by the Israeli forces. In the end, after more than two hours of co-ordination with officials, Israeli forces finally allowed the 3 students, standing outside in the freezing cold, to pass and reach their school – in accordance with the official agreement in which they do not have to pass the metal detector.

Earlier that day, when internationals attempted to pass the same checkpoint in the morning, Israeli forces were already adjusting the law according to their whim. First, they let the internationals pass. Just a few minutes later, they ran after the internationals up a hill, demanding their passports. Israeli soldiers are not allowed to physically take and photograph international passports. The soldiers, though, insisted. When reminded of the law he just replied ‘It’s my checkpoint, I do whatever I want”. In the end, they let the internationals go, but not without promising them that the next time they will not allow them to pass.

Israeli Soldier checking ID and searching the bag of a Palestinian woman, who was bringing her children to school. — Israeli soldier checking ID and searching the bag of a Palestinian woman, who was forced to wait a few meters away from the checkpoint in the freezing cold with her three children

A few meters up the hill, another group of soldiers stopped the internationals, as they were ordered by the other soldiers to not allow them to pass the checkpoint. Israeli forces when denying them passage, argued that they’re responsible for the ‘security’ of the internationals and it would be ‘dangerous’ for them to pass the checkpoint. The irony of the situation though, is that the internationals, who have been harassed, stopped and yelled at by the soldiers (all heavily-armed with machine-guns) are assured by the same soldiers that it was actually their duty to protect them. They are the ones Palestinian civilians and internationals need to be protected from.