Category: Reports - Page 84 - International Solidarity Movement

Israeli forces cause fires at Ni’lin weekly protest

25th November 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, Huwarra team | Ni’lin, occupied Palestine

The non-violent demonstrations against the illegal occupation of Palestine and the Apartheid Wall in in the West Bank village of Ni’lin have been going on weekly since 2008, as an attempt to get back the land and the fields, that was stolen from the villagers.

This past week, before the demonstration began, as Palestinians gathered for the Friday prayer in the olive grove just outside the village, Israeli forces aggressively intervened, detonating a sound grenade close to the Palestinians. The Palestinians still managed to finish their prayer and the protesters, including Palestinians, Israeli and international activists, began walking down the road running through the olive trees and down towards the Apartheid Wall. After walking about 50 meters, the protesters were blocked by more than ten Israeli soldiers and border police, commanding that the Palestinians return to the village, and telling them they were not allowed to be on their land.

A longer stand off followed. Protesters would argue with the Israeli forces that they have the right to peacefully protest the illegal occupation and theft of their land. As a response, the occupation forces started pushing the protesters further back towards the village. The protesters left the road and walked through the olive plantations in order to get past the soldiers and exercise their right to walk through their lands to reach the Wall. Again, even before the wall was in sight of the participants in the peaceful march, the Israeli forces intervened, and this time opened fire with teargas bringing the demonstration to a halt.

When the protesters still didn’t disperse and return to the village, the Israeli forces increased the use of teargas, firing it both from their guns and from an attachment from an armed military jeep, which is able to fire multiple canisters at once. They also used robber coated steel bullets and one Israeli solidarity activist got hit on her hand, leaving it very swollen.

At a time when fires rage across Israel, and Palestinians are being accused of starting these fires, the very hot teargas canisters from this protest caused multiple fires across the village olive fields. One olive tree got burned, and as the demonstration came to an end, the villagers were awaiting fire trucks to put out the fires.

Israeli forces shoot and kill Palestinian man at Qalandiya checkpoint

24th November 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Ramallah, occupied Palestine

It has been confirmed that Jihad Mohammad Khalil, 48, was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers at Qalandia checkpoint early Tuesday morning, 22nd November. Khalil is from Beit Wazan village, west of Nablus in the northern part of the West Bank. He was shot on the spot by an Israeli soldier, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. A spokeswoman from the Israeli Police claims that the man was approaching a security guard welding a knife and so he was neutralized, while another spokesperson says that he was attempting to stab Israeli security forces.

So far there has been absolutely no evidence shown to prove these claims. No soldiers were hurt during the incident and no other injuries reported. After he got shot, Jihad Khalil was left to bleed to death by the soldiers, as they would deny access to the medics rushing to give first aid. After the killing, the soldiers shot down the checkpoint and prevented the Palestinians from crossing into illegally annexxed al Quds (Jerusalem).

Protest in central Hebron against child arrests

23rd November 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

Monday 21 November at Ibn Rushd Square, youth from Hebron gathered together with adults at a protest against the Israeli detention of Palestinian children. The protest was organized by the Prisoners Club and human right defenders who shared their information about over 350 Palestinian children in Israeli prisons with the public.

Since 2015, the Israeli occupation forces detained more than 2,000 Palestinian minors, at unexpected nightly arrest-raids and raids in refugee camps, or just kidnapped them from the streets. The numbers are rising and their treatment gets worser ( see: Addameer , Human Right Watch , Aljazeera , and the recently released statistics by B’tselem )

Israeli investigators are using torture techniques, both physical, emotional and psychological, to extract confessions from arrested children, who then will still be admitted in courts as evidence. Some Palestinian children receive life sentences by Israeli courts. Many others were sentenced to 10 or 20 years in prison.

At the protest meeting, the children showed pictures of their imprisoned age companions.

[VIDEO]

According to Palestinian official data, more than 7,000 Palestinians are currently held in Israeli prisons.

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.