Category: Reports - Page 87 - International Solidarity Movement

Protective Presence at Burin olive harvest

24th October 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus-team | Burin, occupied Palestine

Today, international activists joined members of the Najjar family from the village of Burin to harvest their olives and provide a protective presence should settler colonists or Israeli forces attempt to attack and disrupt the harvesting. Thankfully, there were no violent incidents todayand the international activists enjoyed a beautiful day harvesting olives with the wonderful and hospitable Najjar family.

The Najjar family’s land is adjacent to the illegal Israeli settlement Yitzar. This year, the family was issued a permit to access their land for only three days to harvest their olives. The permits required by Israel for Palestinian farmers to access their own land are also typically restricted to limited times each day. According to the family, three days is not nearly enough time to harvest their whole crop. As a result, international activists have been harvesting olives together with the farmers without permits which brings the risk of retaliation by both settler colonists and Israeli forces. It has been reported that settler colonists often harvest Palestinian’s olives for themselves without any repercussion. The Najjar family reported that this year they counted four of their trees stripped of their olives before they had the opportunity to access their land themselves.

All of these restrictions together with the settler colonist violence serve to further the theft of Palestinian land. Often, farmers are only given permission to access their land during harvest time and not throughout the year so as to maintain their corps and ensure a good harvest. One member of the family told us, “last year my father came to clear the land, but they kicked him out.”

olive-2 — The city of Burin, with the illegal Israeli settlement of Bracha that lies atop the hill to the upper right.

The village of Burin is trapped between Yitzar and Bracha illegal settlements and has endured settler colonist violence and the destruction of their olive trees for years. As is the case for villages across the occupied West Bank, the farmers in Burin depend economically on the olive harvest to provide annual income for their families. “Its so important because there is no work. All the people wait for the olive harvest to come because the only work available is to sell olive oil. They live for justice and oil.”

Settler attacks school-children and orders soldier to assist her

24th October 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

On Monday morning, infamous Israeli settler Anat Cohen attacked a group of school-children harvesting olives near their school in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron). She then ordered the soldier to not only evict the students and teachers from the area, but assist in her attack.

A group of scout students was helping Palestinian families, picking olives for them next to the Qurtuba school on Shuhada Street. Immediately after the group started picking the olives, a soldier from the nearby Daboya checkpoint came to order them not to pass the fence when harvesting, but allowing them to harvest the olives, as long as they don’t cross the fence.

Only a short time after, he came back, this time with infamous settler Anat Cohen. Anat Cohen has at many times attacked the school-students, teachers and families in this area, always with complete impunity. She makes no difference between elderly, children, men or women, and deliberately attacks Palestinians for the sole fact of them being Palestinians, and also internationals supporting them. She is well-known for those vicious attacks and insults, many of which were caught on camera. Despite this video-evidence, she is always showered with the unwavering protection and support from the Israeli soldiers and civil police, and thus enjoys complete impunity for her crimes.

As the soldier came back together with Anat Cohen, he suddenly ordered the students and teachers to stop harvesting immediately – orders that obviously came straight from Anat Cohen, who was standing right behind him. This is just another example of soldiers acting directly on the orders of the settlers from the illegal settlements, without any interest at all for the law or human rights. Even when Anat pushed a teacher, the soldier refused to intervene or arrest her, and instead threatened to arrest the teacher. The teachers tried to reason with the soldier, telling him that he allowed them to harvest before, and now clearly takes his orders from Anat, and assured him that they would leave if he has an official order stating that the harvest in this area is not allowed. As a reply, the soldier that communicated just fine in English before, suddenly stated that he does not speak any English. The soldier proceeded to grab, push and pull students himself, all the while Anat was cursing and harassing the group. He then pulled a student, that was held up to reach the olives by the director of Qurtuba school, almost causing him to fall down from great height.

This is just another in a string of attacks of Anat, for which she never has to feel any consequences. This impunity provided for by the Israeli army and civil police only emboldens her in her vicious attacks. The collaboration between the Israeli forces and settlers, together against the Palestinian civilian population of the area is obviously geared towards the ehtnic cleansing of this area, in order to instead create a ‘sterile’ continous illegal settlement.

https://youtu.be/M9XIN4Nrtoo

‘We are strong and we will be free’ – Hashem Azzeh memorial

24th October 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

One year has lapsed since the passing of Hashem Azzeh, a devoted husband and loving father of three, and close friend of ISM. Hashem died following an exacerbation of a latent heart condition that was triggered by tear gas inhalation suffered in his own home when Israeli forces were showering demonstrators at Bab al-Zawwiyeh with tear gas. The circumstances of Hashems death are inextricably entwined with the objective of his life, which was to defend his city of Hebron and its Palestinian residents from Israeli occupiers determined to remove them from it.

Hashem lived in the H2 area of Tel Reumeida, a neighbourhood that has been devastated by the Israeli occupation and the settlements that now surround it. He and his family suffered daily harassment at the hands of settlers and Israeli forces alike, who regularly attacked their home and enforced upon them curfews, which often saw them imprisoned in their own home. In perhaps the most disturbing example of the violence they experienced, his wife, Nizeem, suffered two miscarriages following physical assault by settlers during her pregnancies. However, despite these despicable and inhumane atrocities carried out against them, Hashem and his family remained steadfast and unwavering in their determination not to be intimidated from their home, and that of several generations that preceded them. It is for this unyielding strength and resilience shown in the face of relentless assault that Hashem will best be remembered.

Hashem’s activism saw him conjure close ties with international activists from all over the world. Testament to the admiration held for him by the international activist community was the presence of a large number of internationals at his memorial, which was held last Saturday to mark the one-year anniversary of his passing, organised by the Hebron Defense Committee (HDC). Invited to speak were Anan Dana (HDC), Ahmad Jaradat (Alternative Information Centre), Fahmi Shaheen (Co-ordination Committee of the Political Factions), Abdelmaieed AlKhateeb (The Residents of Tel Rumeida) Mohammed Al Qeeq (Hungerstriker of 94 days) and Stella (Unadikum Association representing international friends of Hashem).

Since Hashem’s death, the situation in the Old City of Hebron and throughout occupied Palestine has only worsened. Hashem, like Fadi and Hadeel, is just one of the more than 35 Palestinians killed in the Old City of al-Khalil by Israeli forces, with completely impunity for the occupying forces and settlers from the illegal settlements committing these war crimes. In addition to executing and murdering Palestinians, Israeli forces then kidnap the bodies of these martyrs, denying their families the very basic right of a funeral. In the Tel Rumeida neighborhoud, the roadblocks and checkpoints have increased and worsened, and the whole area has been declared a ‘closed military zone’ in obvious attempts of Judaization of the area through ethnic cleansing of it’s Palestinian population.

However, by far the most moving tribute was delivered by Hashems’ daughter, Raghad Azzeh, who described how after her father’s death, the situation just grew worse. In a time where the international community is not acting, the Palestinians of the area need to stand with each other as Hebronites (people living in Hebron). After her fathers’ death, the prison that Israeli forces have made the family home, has worsened, with the main access to their house closed down just a day after Hashem’s tragic death. In her address she appealed to those present that they honour his memory by embracing the principles that guided Hashems’ own activism, and to remain resolute in opposition of Israel’s continued encroachment of their homes and livelihoods until Hebron, and its Palestinian residents, are freed from the occupation under which they currently suffer.

Watch ‘Hashem, a living legend of resistance’ by the Alternative Information Center.

Israeli Forces Shoot a Palestinian Fisherman for the Third Time

24th October 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, Gaza-team | Gaza, occupied Palestine

On Sep 5th, 2016, the Gaza fisherman, Ahmed Mohamed Zaied. 32 years of age, was fishing along with his friend using a hasaka (small boat). They were fishing closer than 1.5 miles in the Palestinian territorial waters, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, when the tarrad (Israeli warship) was at 3 miles.

ism-fisherman-2 — Fisherman Ahmed Zaied on his bed with his three sons after his injury from the Israeli forces while he was fishing.

“The Israeli occupation warship approached us and started to shoot at our boat, without even warning us. I got injured in my right arm and my belly. I was screaming out loud in pain when my friend was trying to escape, trying to go back to the beach. Luckily, an ambulance was there, it took me directly to the hospital,” says Zaied.

Zaied stayed in the hospital for 9 days and is now forced to stay in his bed for a period of six months. Since the date of the incident, Zaied was not able to get out of bed but for a short walk that the doctor ordered him to have.

picture-ism — Fisherman Ahmed Zaied third injury shot by the Israeli Forces while he was fishing in Gaza sea.

“The suffering of the Palestinian fishermen in Gaza doesn’t end with the ‘shoot to kill’ policy that the Israeli occupation is applying,” Zaied’s brother who is also a fisherman, says. “My four brothers and I, we are all fishermen. Each one of us used to have his own small boat, but the occupation has taken 3 of them 2 years ago.”

“They say that we are working against the security of Israel, but generally, tell me what do I want from going to fish but to provide for my family?”, explains Zaied.

Palestinian fishermen depend on fishing as their only source of livelihood in the Gaza Strip, but the navy continuously attacks the fishermen, preventing them from providing for their families. Such attacks also led to many casualties, like Zaied’s case, including fatalities, dozens of arrested, in addition to the high costs of repairing the boats, while many other boats are illegally confiscated by the navy.

“Now it’s the fishing season, during those months they save money for all the year,” his brother explains. “Instead he is lying in bed. He wants to sell his boat, even for half of its value, because he needs about 20 NIS each day for medicine for 6 months, and he simply can’t afford it.”

Zaied has been shot 3 times by the Israeli occupation warships, the first time was in 2000 while he was at the beach, and he was injured in his leg. He was also shot in 2006 while he was fishing. His injury was in his chest and his right arm.

fisherman-ism-picture — Ahmed Zaied second injury, shot by the Israeli forces while he was fishing.

“They say that we can’t fish here, but that’s our land, how can they forbid us to fish in our own land and our own sea?” Zaied explains trying to move on his left side with pain: “I am waiting for another operation that I have to do to take away what is left of the bullet in my belly. I am dying slowly with all this pain I am bearing.”

He continues, “Whenever I came back home with 20 NIS I feel happy. I don’t belong to any faction and never have I shot any rocket. What do they want from me? I just want to live.”

Palestinians are enduring various forms of suffering, mainly because of the imposed siege on Gaza, and the fishermen are facing so many hardships due to their nature of work, that requires them to go to the sea to fish.

“Despite his situation, my husband is always thinking of another way to provide for his family, me and our three sons, in the time that he is unable to leave his bed,” his wife expresses.

Olive harvest next to the illegal settlements in Bruqin

23rd October 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, Ramallah-team | Bruqin, occupied Palestine

On October 21st, an ISM-team joined farmers in the village of Bruqin, Salfit district, for the olive harvest. The family’s fields are occupied by an illegal Israeli settlement and they are denied access to their land by the Israeli military except during the olive harvest.

A team of solidarity activists went to meet the farmers and set out to the olive fields together. The crop this year was very small as the access restriction prevents the farmers from caring for their trees during the year. The wild condition of the field made the harvest more difficult and less fruitful. Neither settlers nor military appeared during the harvest day.

In 1999, the illegal Israeli settlement Burchin was established near the village of Bruqin. The establishment of this illegal settlement led to local farmers being denied access to land which has belonged to their families for generations. In 2011, the settlement structure was expanded by several baracks, confiscating even more land. The illegal settlers have repeatedly harrassed the local farmers verbally, phyiscally and by also cutting down olive trees in their fields. Moreover, the local farmers are harrassed by the Israeli military every year, trying to deny them access to their land even on the day of the harvest. On one of the local family’s fields, the access restriction and harressment by settlers and military has led to a huge decrease in gain from the harvest from formerly 1000 kg of olives per season to now 30 kg of olives per season.

Apart from the harrassment and land restrictions, the nearby illegal industrial settlement Barkan streams its toxic waste water down into the village of Bruqin. This poses also an environmental threat to the olive harvest and the peoples’ health in the village in general.