Category: Reports - Page 80 - International Solidarity Movement

Yet another demolition hits Umm Al Khair; community continues to stand strong

19th of November 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Umm al-Kheir, south Hebron Hills, occupied Palestine

On November 15th, the Bedouin community of Umm Al Khair experienced the fifth wave of demolitions by Israeli forces on their structures to take place in the past year. The most prominent of the two structures demolished on Tuesday was their community center, which was also the space used for their Kindergarten classes.
The demolitions took place one day after the community saw a drone operated by Extremist Settler organization Regavim, fly over-head documenting any signs of construction or new buildings. The community center was one of these new structures, due to being demolished and rebuilt most previously in August of 2016. Regavim’s tag line is Ensuring the responsible, legal and environmentally-friendly use of Israel’s national lands.

umm-k2watermark-s — Demolished structure in Umm al-Kheir

While it was the Israeli army and the Civil Administration that came in to bulldoze the structures, Zionists from Regavim were present within the neighboring illegal settlement of Carmel. From there they operated the drone and followed over-head those from the Israeli state there to demolish the structures. Historically, the army has come to demolish their structures very quickly after the Regavim drone comes to take photos.

Om Salem, a resident of Umm Al Khair said, “We just need these demolitions to stop. We are sick and tired of it”. Om Salem’s own home was demolished last August. After she lost her home, organizations provided her with a small shelter which she has been living in. But on Tuesday, the army took photos of it and she fears they will come to demolish it again.

In the end however, it is the children and youth of the camp that are most impacted by these demolitions. In this community of 150 people, most are children and youth. The community center was a pivotal space for young people. It was used in the mornings as the school for kindergarten students, and in the afternoons to provide IT and computer trainings, after school homework help, English language classes, and for adults it was used as a space for community meetings.

Umm Al Khair has the deed to the land which makes it difficult for the Israeli government to kick them out entirely. Instead the government in collaboration with Regavim, uses tactics such as these demolitions to make life unbearable. Despite the attempt for the State to force displacement, the community stays strong. Almost everyone returns to Umm Al Khair, including many youth who have left to attain college degrees. They remain resilient against Zionist attempts to displace them.

The community of Umm Al Khair was established in 1952 on land the villagers purchased. All 150 residents are documented refugees from 28 families. Most are goat herders and farmers. They came to settle on the land they purchased after they were displaced from Arad Dessert in 1948. The illegal settlement of Carmel bordering them, and which was established in 1982, is built on land purchased by Umm Al Khair residents.

umm-k-3-watermak-s — Village structures with settlement in the background

Village invasion at Ni’lin weekly demonstration

11th November 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, Ramallah team | Ni’lin, occupied Palestine

On 11th November, international activists joined Palestinian villagers in Ni’lin for their weekly demonstration against the apartheid wall that runs through their land. One week ago at the demonstration, a Palestinian youth was shot in the head with a rubber coated metal bullet by the Israeli military. The subsequent clashes with the Israeli military resulted in the latter invading part of the village and targeting peoples houses with tear gas and rubber coated metal bullets.

15058536_731608533654866_1139227757_n — Israeli forces jeeps with tear-gas mounted on top of the jeeps

Today, Palestinian protesters and international activists, started off to walk towards the apartheid wall. Before reaching the wall, heavily armed Israeli forces formed a block, stopping the demonstration from reaching it. During discussion with the protesters the Israeli military starting firing stun grenades.

After this clashes began with Israeli forces firing tear gas from both guns and armed jeeps. Many of the tear gas cannisters were fired at head hight, a very dangerous tactic which has resulted in serious injury and death in the past. The Palestinians responded against this force by throwing stones.

As the demonstration got pushed closer to the village, the Israeli forces changed ammunition to high velocity rubber bullets alongside tear gas. One bullet passed just a few centimetres above the heads of one of the internationals and a Red Crescent First Responder, impacting the branch of an olive-tree.

High velocity tear gas canister shot at civilians by the Israeli forces

The Israeli military invaded the village, firing rubber coated metal bullets, a large amount of tear gas, and throwing sound bombs into the residential area. This type of invasion places many lives at risk and is collective punishment against the villagers. Whilst documenting the army’s invasion, another international activist had a rubber coated metal bullet closely passing them on a street inside the village.

Although there were no injuries in this demonstration, multiple people suffered from tear gas inhalation.

The non-violent demonstrations against the apartheid wall and the occupation in Ni’lin have been going on weekly since 2008, as attempt to get back the farm land which was stolen from the villagers.

Olive harvest in Kafr Qalil and protective presence

2nd November 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, Huwwara team | Kafr Qalil, occupied Palestine

On 31st October international activists joined a Palestinian farmer and his family in Kafr Qalil to pick their olives. There was no interruption during the harvest this day, but there was a strong sense of pressure that is always present for Palestinians living under Israel’s illegal military occupation. The land that was worked on is between the illegal Israeli settlement Bracha and the road that leads up to the settlement. The family has been attacked and physically assaulted by settler colonists from Bracha in the past.

The main road to Nablus in-between the two Israeli apartheid roads. The road in the foreground leads to Bracha illegal settlement and the road seen above the main road leads to Elon Moreh settler colony.

The farmer reported that he was only given 6 days of permission by Israel to finish harvesting his own land, but said that he would need at least 20 days to be able to pick the olives from all of the around 300 trees that he owns.

Farmers in the village of Kafr Qalil have been targeted in settler attacks over several years. There have been various reports of settler colonists stealing crops, farming equipment, animals and throwing rocks at the Palestinian families as they harvest. Israeli forces have also repeatedly stopped farmers from reaching their land.

Teargas canister found leaving the olive fields after the day’s harvest.

The village has also lost land to the illegal settlement Bracha and its outpost, both of which are built on land that belongs to Kafr Qalil and the nearby Palestinian village of Burin.

In May 2013 Israel issued a military order that confiscated a further 3.55 dunums of land that belongs to Kafr Qalil in addition to the many dunums stolen over the years to establish and spread the illegal settlements in the area as well as to be used by the Israeli forces.

Furthermore, Israel has confiscated land from Kafr Qalil to construct two bypass roads. One road links the illegal Bracha settlement with the nearby Huwwara military checkpoint and the other road provides exclusive access for settler colonists between the same checkpoint and another illegal Israeli colony, Elon Moreh. These roads can only be used by Israelis and Palestinians are forbidden from driving on them. The Israeli bypass roads are one example of the apartheid-like system Palestinians are forced to live with under Israel’s illegal military occupation.

Palestinian woman arrested in Al-Khalil accused of carrying a knife

2nd November 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

A Palestinian female was arrested on the 1st of November near Qeitun checkpoint accused of carrying a knife. Eyewitnesses described her being ordered to kneel on the ground, open her dress and loosen her hijab in public, before being handcuffed and escorted behind the gate at Qeitun checkpoint. However, none present saw any sign of the knife she was accused of carrying.   The Palestinian woman was initially attended to by around seven armed soldiers, who were joined shortly afterwards by two jeeps each carrying several more, including female officers who presumably conducted a more vigorous physical search. Internationals present were forced back and ordered not to photograph or film the ensuing incident.

Her four children, aged 10, 8, 4 and 1, lingered ominously at the checkpoint gate, hoping to see their mother emerge unscathed. Unfortunately this was not to be as she was later walked to the nearby police station were she may be detained indefinitely. As explanation for her arrest and the time frame of her detention, an Israeli officer claimed, “we are not above the law”, implying that they would conduct themselves in a lawful manner whilst carrying out their investigation against her.

Arrested womans children wait at the checkpoint gate hoping to see their mother return

Such statements as this offer little comfort to her children or the Palestinian residents of Hebron, who are far too aware of Israeli policy against Palestinian arrestees and the stark double standard between the laws that exist for Palestinians and the laws that exist for Israelis. Putting to one side the humiliating way in which this woman was treated and the total disregard for cultural sensitivities as regards the removal of her hijab in public (in which concealment of a knife is almost inconceivable), in the eyes of the law, Palestinians’ rights are hugely diminished relative to the Israeli settlers that occupy the same space. In fact, they are subject to two entirely different legal systems.

Palestinians arrested in the West Bank area are, after intensive interrogation, sentenced and trialled in Israeli military courts. However, an Israeli arrested for an identical offense, within the same jurisdiction, is sentenced and trialled in Israeli civil courts. The differences between military and civil law are vast and are designed to legitimize discriminatory and oppressive policies implemented against Palestinians in the name of maintaining Israeli “security”. In 2010 it was revealed that a whopping 97.4% of Palestinians trialled in Israeli military courts are convicted of the crimes of which they are accused. Bearing the brunt of this prejudiced system are Palestinian youths, who, under military law, can be detained initially for up to 6 months for otherwise minor offenses. The most common of these is stone throwing, which carries with it a potential 20 years in prison. Any West Bank Palestinian, under the military law, is immediately presumed guilty – unless he or she can manage to prove otherwise – whereas at the same time settlers from the illegal settlements in the West Bank are presumed innocent until proven otherwise.

The only distinction between these two peoples is ethnicity. Therefore, differential treatment of Palestinians by law enforcement and judicial systems is fundamentally racist. These are facts from which Israel cannot escape, and for which the international community must hold Israel to account.

Imprisoned lives: closed military zone in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron)

30th October 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

It’s like living in a prison. That’s how residents describe what Israeli forces are doing to their lives in the Tel Rumeida neighborhood and Shuhada Street in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron). The area was first declared a ‘closed military zone’ on 30th October 2015 – solely and deliberately affecting the Palestinian residents. One year of collective punishment, open discrimination, racism, apartheid policies and rampant attempts at ethnic cleansing in this area, commonplace tactics of an illegal occupying force in an obvious attempt to rid the area of any Palestinian presence and instead, create a continous ‘sterile’ strip of illegal settlements.

The ‘closed military zone’ has several times been extended within this year of collective punishment of the Palestinian population, adding even more areas and ‘re-inforcing’ and creating more checkpoints, exclusively for the Palestinian civilian population. Only the Palestinian civilian residents, who must register to pass through a checkpoint to gain access to their family home, have been degraded to a mere number on a list by the Israeli forces. Only ‘registered’ residents are allowed to reach their homes. The lists of Palestinian residents have been changed repeatedly lately, arbitrarily dropping various names from the list. Apparently registering with the occupying force as a resident in one’s own home just once often isn’t sufficient. This dehumanization of the Palestinian civilians who at the checkpoint are reduced to a number, is a deliberate tactic to create a forcible environment directly furthering ethnic cleansing. For some time Palestinian residents were assigned numbers that were marked on their IDs, completely ridding these civilians of their human aspect, instead making them a mere number on a list. Now, with those numbers temporarily not in use, Palestinians are reffered to by their ID-number. The Palestinian civilian trying to live in their own home is just that for the Israeli forces, a number, void of any humanity.

During the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, Israeli forces basically declared a curfew on the whole area, closing Shuhada checkpoint, denying Palestinians passage while allowing exclusive access tor settlers at the same time. The prison this area is becoming for the Palestinian civilian population is further exacerbated by the fact that, if there’s a large number of Israeli forces or settlers from the nearby illegal settlements on the street, leaving the house is not an option. One year of collective punishment – a sad anniversary that proves that the Israeli state does not need to fear an outcry by the international community when implementing their racist, apartheid measures, ethnically cleansing an entire neighborhood. During a year in which the residents have not been allowed to receive visitors like family or friends, workers of any sort have been denied entry and even medical personnel will be turned away at the checkpoint.