Category: Reports - Page 88 - International Solidarity Movement

Two Palestinian killed in Hebron and one wounded in Jerusalem in less than 12 hours

19th September 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron / Jerusalem, occupied Palestine

On Monday, 19th September 2016, two Palestinians have been gunned down by Israeli forces in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron), and one in illegally annexed East Jerusalem in less than 12 hours.

Early in the morning, in the Old City of occupied Jerusalem, Israeli forces emptied several rounds of live ammunition shooting a Palestinian that according to Israeli reports injured two Israeli police officers with a knife, one of them in critical condition. The Palestinian is identified as Ayman Al-Kurd from the Ras Al-Amoud neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem. A video from a local bystander shows how the Israeli police forces receive medical care from several Israeli medics, while the Palestinian severely hurt by bullet wounds is completely neglected. This form of medical neglect for Palestinians accused of attacking Israeli forces is a common occurence.

Israeli forces took this as an excuse to close entries and exits into the Old City, leaving groups of school-children stranded with their right to education denied to them by the Israeli forces.

In occupied al-Khalil (Hebron), Israeli forces shot two Palestinians that allegedly attacked soldiers at a checkpoint near the Ibrahimi Mosque with knives. After the two were gunned down by Israeli forces, no medical assistance was given to them, instead they were stripped of their clothes to their underwear. The 17- and 20-year old Amir and Muhannad Jabari died as a result of the excessive force of the highly-armed Israeli forces gunning them down and denying any medical assistance. A Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance was denied access to the Palestinian that at this point was still alive. He allegedly later died shortly after arriving at an Israeli hospital in Jerusalem. Palestinians accused of attacking Israeli forces are not only regularly denied medical assistance, but are also kidnapped to Israeli hospitals in Jerusalem – more than 30 kilometeres from occupied al-Khalil – instead of allowing treatment by Palestinian ambulances that can guarantee a much faster treatment in nearby hospitals in the city of al-Khalil. Similarly to Jerusalem, Israeli forces in Hebron, after the incident closed all checkpoints in the vicinity of the Ibrahimi Mosque and closed the Muslim entrance to the mosque. Additionally to the at least three major checkpoints that are somewhat near the incident, Shuhada checkpoint leading into the Tel Rumeida neighborhood and the tiny part of ethnically cleansed Shuhada Street where Palestinians are still allowed to walk (but not drive).

Israeli forces later fired stun grenades and tear gas at Palestinians demonstrating the shooting of the two Palestinians in the Bab al-Zawwiya area near Shuhada checkpoint. The tear gas reached Palestinian family homes on Shuhada Street, suffocating civilians, including women and children, in their own homes. As to this moment, one elderly woman was shot at by Israeli forces with a tear gas canisters in her chest, and three young men have been injured with rubber coated steel bullets. At the moment of publishing, Israeli forces have started firing live ammunition from sniper positions.

On Friday, Israeli forces shot two Palestinians near the illegal settlement of Kiryat Arba, killing 18-year old Moussa Mohammed Khaddour and critically injuring Raghad Abdullah Abdullah Khaddour, whos fate is unknown. Earlier that day, Israeli forces gunned down and killed a Jordanian national in illegally annexed East Jerusalem. Later the same day, 16-year old Mohammad al-Rajabi was shot to death by Israeli forces in Tel Rumeida in occupied Hebron, resulting in 3 Palestinians killed and one critically injured in less than 48 hours. Saturday morning, Israeli forces gunned down 26-year old Hatem Abed Hafez Shalludi in Tel Rumeida in occupied Hebron.

Israeli forces kill four Palestinians within 48 hours

17th September 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

Today, the 17th of september, a young Palestinian man on the age of 22 was shot dead by Israeli forces in Tel Rumeida. Hatem Abed Hafez Shalludi is now the fourth Palestinian that has been killed by Israeli soldiers within the last 48 hours. Israeli soldiers committing extrajudicial killings of Palestinian civilians is nothing new under the sun.
This is yet another face of Israeli colonialism and the continuous genocide of Palestinian civilians living under occupation.

Hatem Abed Hafez Shlwdi death today follows three other Palestinians who have also been killed within the last 48 hours. Amongst them eightheen year old, Moussa Mohammed Khaddour and fifteen year old Mohammad Al- Rajabi who were both shot dead in Hebron. Video evidence show that Israeli forces used sound bombs in order to prevent pedestrians going near the body of Mohammad Al- Rajabi bleeding on the ground.

Footage from the 16th of september taken by local

On the same day, a Palestinian man was shot dead in East Jerusalem. Israeli forces also justified the killing by stating that the Palestinian civilian attacked them with a knife. However, eye-witness say that the man did not carry a knife and did not show aggressive behavior before being shot to the ground.

It should be mentioned that a common explanation Israeli soldiers give in order to justify direct unlawful killings of civilians is that the target was carrying a knife. The UN have expressed outrage over previous extra judicial killings of Palestinians, which Israeli forces have tried to defend by stating that they were attacked by knife. However, video-evidence clearly shows no signs of aggressive behavior from the civilian shot dead.

The killings that have happened within the last 48 hours must be understood in the context of the continuous oppression of Palestinians carried out in the name of the Israeli State. 226 Palestinians have been killed by Israelis since october 2015. Some of the killed Palestinians tried to attack Israeli forces, while others were simply alleged to do so. In many of the cases Israeli forces have carried out collective punishments on the slain Palestinians families, by demolishing their houses, and hitherto leaving them homeless, actions illegal under the Geneva convention.

Two Palestinians killed and several injured in Hebron

16th September 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

After a peaceful Eid holiday, violence surged in occupied Hebron today. Earlier today Israeli forces shot and killed Moussa Mohammed Khaddour, 18 and injured his fiancé Raghad Abdullah Abdullah Khaddour. The couple allegedly tried to ram settlers from the illegal israeli settlement of Kiryat Arba, at the entrance of the settlement. Moussa Khaddour was killed at the scene, while Raghah Khaddour were severely injured and taken to a medical facility.

Elsewhere in Hebron, in the H2 neighborhood of Tel Rumeida, a young Palestinian man was shot dead by Israeli forces, the Palestinians identity is still unknown. The young Palestinian man allegedly tried to stab an Israeli soldier near the Gilbert checkpoint close to an illegal settlement in Tel Rumeida. The Israeli soldier suffered a minor wound in the face and was taken to a medical facility. Information about the incident is scarce, but testimonies from witnesses hearing the episode indicate that it might have been a extrajudicial execution. Locals explained ISM how they first heard 3 shots, and several moments after, heard 2 more.

After the killing of the Palestinian in Tel Rumeida, the whole neighborhood was declared a closed military zone, and the checkpoints leading in and out of the area were zealed off, preventing Palestinians from entering or leaving the area. The closure of the Tel Rumeida neighborhood created an assembly of Palestinians outside of the Shuhada street checkpoint, wanting to pass the checkpoint. The assembly subsequently led to a confrontation with Israeli forces. Palestinian youth threw glass bottles and stones and the checkpoint, approximately twenty Israeli soldiers and borderpolice responded by invading the H1 area. The Israeli forces threw a dozen stun grenades and fired tear gas into the Bab’a’zawie area just outside Shuhada street checkpoint. During the two hour long confrontation, three Palestinians were hurt with rubber coated steel bullets fired by the Israeli forces.

Hours after the confrontations the checkpoints were still closed, blocking Palestinians from entering or leaving Tel Rumeida.

224 Palestinians have been killed by Israelis since october 2015. Some of the killed Palestinians tried to attack Israeli forces, while others were alleged to do so. In many of the cases Israeli forces have carried out collective punishments on the slain Palestinians families, by demolishing their houses, and hitherto leaving them homeless, actions illegal under the Geneva convention. Several cases have also raised suspicion of extrajudicial killings, where attackers have been killed when they did not pose an immediate threat or could have been arrested through non-lethal methods.

Israeli attacks on Gaza farmers

3rd September 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, Gaza team | Khan Younis, occupied Palestine

According to the Council for European Palestinian Relations the Palestinian agricultural sector’s contribution to the GDP dropped between 1993 (Oslo Accords) and 2009 from 13% to 4.8%, due to the illegal practices of the zionist entity, such as land theft, confiscation of water resources and control over exports.

During the successive aggressions against the coastal enclave, military bulldozers and Israeli tanks razed thousands of hectares of agricultural land, uprooting fruit trees and olive groves, destroying greenhouses and water wells in addition to bombing agricultural infrastructre with drones and warplanes. However, in Gaza, periods between wars are not much more peaceful for the peasants, as farmers from Khan Younis governorate, one of the most attacked by snipers and Israeli bulldozers can testify: “There is hardly any water and the water we have is salty. The option is to buy fresh water, but besides being too expensive its supply is almost nonexistent, we have only about 8 hours of electricity a day … how can we work, without electricity or water?”

Farmer showing gas canister that was shot by Israeli forces against his tractor

Mohamed A. T. adds, “We’re finally paying the zionists for the water that they rob us! But what choice do we have if our wells are salty and in many areas (within the so-called Buffer Zone) we are not even allowed to build wells. “

Additionally to the problem with water and electricity there are constant attacks on farmers by Israeli snipers and periodic incursions of military bulldozers to raze agricultural land. “My lands are relatively close to the fence, so I can not set foot in them between 6 pm and 6 am without getting shot at. What I can do if the electricity does not come before 6 pm? I have to leave my land without watering, risking the loss of the crop”.

Israeli sniper shooting against the farmers

Another obstacle that farmers in Gaza must overcome is the blockade, which prevents the entry of fertilizers and pesticides, increasing even more production costs and reducing, even more, productivity. “The blockade also prevents us from exporting, even to the West Bank. All these problems are destroying the economy of the peasants … we are all in debt. We all have debts with the municipality, with the water company, the electricity company. The lack of water and electricity is the final blow that’s killing us”.

After the latest massive attacks, Gaza’s farmers are afraid to re-invest in their land, as they know that in a future aggression these will be targeted again by the Israeli army. “Gaza survives thanks to charity… that’s the truth. It ‘s what our enemy wants for us. We hope that the people from Europe, America, Asia… listens to us and help us to end the blockade. Why they target peasants? We’re just normal people. Don’t we have the right to live in peace?”

Military bulldozers destroying agricultural land

Achieving education under occupation

31st August 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

The 28th of August 2016, a new school year in occupied Palestine has started after a 3-month summer holiday. In the occupied West Bank city of al-Khalil (Hebron), Palestinian children living in the H2-area, under full Israeli military control, are posed with a maze of checkpoints they have to navigate through back and forth from school.

In the area near the Ibrahimi mosque, a cluster of schools is located past the newly-‘renovated’ Salaymeh and Queitun checkpoints. In the Tel Rumeida neighborhood, that was formerly a closed military zone for several months, in addition to the checkpoints there’s a staircase closed by the Israeli forces and the ever-present threat of attacks, carried out by settlers from the nearby illegal settlements. These three checkpoints share the new layout of highly militarized and fenced off checkpoints. Usually only one person at a time is allowed to access the ‘box’ where ID-checks, bag-searches, questioning and humiliation takes place. Any other person trying to pass the checkpoint in the meantime is forced to wait behind a locked turnstile, that Israeli forces arbitrarily decide to keep locked to make people wait for an unknown amount of time.

Children forced to persuade soldiers to open the checkpoint-gate at Shuhada checkpoint

Around the Salaymeh and Queitun checkpoints, students, teachers and residents of the area additionally face tear gas that Israeli forces shoot from their comfort-zones at the checkpoints, often straight towards the schools. This form of collective punishment affects not only all the schools, but the whole neighborhood, when tear gas clouds linger in the streets. On Monday afternoon, when kids made their way home from school through Salaymeh checkpoint, Israeli forces shot a total of 10 tear gas canisters towards a group of boys throwing pebbles at the highly militarized and barricaded checkpoint, leaving many students choking from the supposedly ‘less-lethal’ gas. Wednesday morning, at Queitun checkpoint, 4 tear gas canisters were fired by the Israeli forces, at least one of which was directed horizontally at the children – in direct contradiction to instructions to shoot the ‘less-lethal’ gas in an arch over the head of persons in order to avoid serious injury and death of persons. Shooting in a straight line at the children, Israeli forces deliberately risk to hit a child with these extremely fast and thus dangerous canisters, that already have caused serious injuries and death of Palestinians in occupied Palestine.

Children running away from tear gas shot by Israeli Forces at Salaymeh checkpoint

On Thursday, Israeli forces locked the Ibrahimi Mosque checkpoint, entirely denying students and teachers passing in any direction access to their schools, without prior notice.

This is only the first week of school for children in Palestine, but Israeli forces are already using their routine harassment, intimidation and possibly deadly violence against children resisting this illegal and vicious occupation by the simple fact that despite the increasing efforts of the Israeli forces to make them disappear, they strive to achieve a good education.