Category: Reports - Page 95 - International Solidarity Movement

Worshippers for Ramadan prayer harassed by settlers and soldiers

1 July 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

On 1st July 2016, Israeli forces severly restricted access to Ibrahimi mosque in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron) for noon-prayer, while settlers were demonstrating at a checkpoint nearby the mosque.

After pregnant 27-year old Sarah Tarayra was gunned down by Israeli forces at Ibrahimi mosque checkpoint in the morning, the mosque checkpoint stayed closed for more than two hours, while Palestinians intending to attend the noon-prayer of the last Friday of Ramadan, were queuing up at the checkpoint, but denied access. Upon inquiry, Israeli forces gave the information that they would open the checkpoint eventually, but refused giving a time. With all checkpoints leading to the mosque from other directions open for passage, it is unclear why the Ibrahimi mosque checkpoint was closed down for such a long time. At some point, about 150 Palestinians were gathered at the locked gates, on their way to noon-prayer.

Palestinians stuck at Ibrahimi mosque checkpoint, as Israeli forces deny to open the checkpoint — Palestinians stuck at Ibrahimi mosque checkpoint, as Israeli forces refuse to open the checkpoint

On all the other checkpoints, restrictions and checks were increased, with Palestinians only allowed to pass one-by-one, an increase in bag-searches of women and body-searches of male adults and youths. Once Ibrahimi mosque checkpoint was finally opened, all women and girls were stopped for bag-searches, considerably slowing down the process.

Israeli settlers set up a protest at a checkpoint on the other side of Ibrahimi mosque, waving huge Israeli flags. Several of them attacked Palestinians and had to be stopped by Israeli forces. The settlers were chanting and yelling, and Israeli forces moved back Palestinians ready for prayer in order to create a greater distance. Israeli forces, additionally, missappropriated a Palestinian family home to use it’s roof as a look-out over the events.

Israeli settlers with flags attacking two female Palestinians on their way to prayer

Once the prayer was finished, Israeli forces arbitrarily at some point stopped anyone on their way home, quickly leading to large groups of Palestinians gathering as they were forced to wait while settlers passed on the street.

Israeli forces stopping any Palestinian in order to allow free movement of settlers

These kind of infringements and restrictions on the basic human right of freedom of religion and to practice one’s religion in occupied al-Khalil, is rather the norm than the exception for Palestinians.

Youth reminds Palestine of need for Boycott movement

26th June 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Dura, occupied Palestine

On June 25th 2016, the Tomorrow’s Youth Forum (Moltaqa Sawa’d) in cooperation with the Partnership Institution For Development distributed water and date packages in Dura’s city center near occupied al-Khalil (Hebron) to raise awareness about the Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions Movement (BDS) against the Israeli occupation. Along with the bundle, kids and youngsters from the center handed-out leaflets and stickers to shop owners and car drivers in the street to inform them about the common Israeli goods in the West Bank.

Awareness-raising about boycott in local shops Photo crecit: Tomorrow’s Youth Forum (Moltaqa Sawa’d) — Awareness-raising about boycott in local shops
Photo crecit: Tomorrow’s Youth Forum (Moltaqa Sawa’d)

Although sales of Israeli goods in the West Bank have recently decreased by half, at least 70% of Palestinian imports continue to come from Israel or through it. Consumers in the West Bank have usually no access to substitute products from their own markets, and hence, are forced to buy staple-goods like fruits and vegetables from illegal Israeli settlements. The few Palestinian products currently competing in the market need to be fostered by local communities, and the youth promoting the BDS movement are there to give them the boost they need.

Advocates of the BDS movement in Palestine and from across the globe continue the boycott campaigns. Representatives from different community groups — including BDS co-founder Omar Barghouti — spoke about their work and links to the boycott movement last April 2016 at the 5th Annual BDS Conference in Ramallah.

As international awareness of the occupation increases, Israeli officials grow anxious about the economic and political impact that the BDS movement is having in Europe and the United States. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) reported that Israel had lost half of its foreign direct investment in 2014 mainly due to BDS efforts across the globe.

Palestinian produced drinking water with stickers reminding of boycott-movement

According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), since the Naksa in 1967, Israel has established about 150 settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, in addition to 100 “outposts” erected by settlers without official authorization.

The settler population in the West Bank and East Jerusalem is quickly approaching 600,000, and up to 43% of the occupied West Bank is allocated to local settler councils.

Logo of the youth group
Photo credit: Tomorrow’s Youth Forum (Moltaqa Sawa’d)

Arbitrary humiliation by Israeli forces in former closed military zone in Hebron

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

In occupied al-Khalil (Hebron), the Tel Rumeida neighborhood and the tiny strip of Shuhada Street still accessible to Palestinian pedestrians, has seen endless restrictions by Israeli forces.

After the area was first declared a ‘closed military zone’ on 1^st November 2015, Palestinian residents were put under a closure imposed as a form of collective punishment, denying them their most basic rights and even their humanity – degrading them to mere numbers. Only Palestinian residents registered with the Israeli forces as a number where allowed to reach their homes inside the closed military zone. At the same time, Israeli settlers were free to roam the streets and do as they please, without ever being stopped – a ‘normality’ under the apartheid-rule in occupied al-Khalil.

Despite the lifting of the zone, the stairs leading to Qurtuba school have remained closed for Palestinians. This not only cuts off the main access for all the families using these stairs to reach their homes, but also visitors to the Muslim cemetery and the weekly second hand market in Qarantina. On Friday, 24^th June, Israeli forces denied a Palestinian man walking down these stairs, on the grounds that he ‘is Palestinian’. Whereas first they allowed the man to go down the stairs and turn around the corner, they stopped him right after, ordering him to climb up the stairs again, as he’s not allowed to pass. Two internationals, on the other hand, when enquiring whether they have to go back now, were told that the man was only sent back because ‘he’s Palestinian’, but they clearly ‘were tourists’. The denial of access based on ethnicity clearly is an apartheid-strategy – allowing privileges to non-Palestinians only.

At Shuhada checkpoint, that leads from the tiny strip of Shuhada Street accessible to Palestinian pedestrians into the H1 area of al-Khalil, Israeli forces often delay Palestinians trying to pass. Early Friday morning, they yelled ‘uskut’ (Arabic for ‘shut up’) at Palestinians ringing the bell for them to open the turnstile – repeatedly. Once finally allowed to pass through the checkpoint, a settler youth was standing inside the checkpoint behind the bullet-proof window with the settlers, chatting with them and watching them check IDs. This illustrates the apartheid-policies enforced in al-Khalil – whereas Palestinians are harassed and intimidated, settlers are neighbours and friends – even allowed to be inside the checkpoint with the soldiers. In the early afternoon of the same day, soldiers arbitrarily decided to close the exit of the checkpoint, leading into the H1 neighborhood, claiming that ‘there’s a training’, but refusing to tell when this would be finished, forcing Palestinians to wait without any reason.

These measures are just some examples in a very tiny area within the H2 area under full Israeli military control, exemplifying the arbitrariness and every day humiliation enforced by the Israeli forces on the Palestinian population.

Breaking the Fast for Jo Cox in occupied Tel Rumeida, Hebron

22nd June 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

On June 21st 2016, Youth Against Settlements (YAS) organized an Iftar dinner and Jen Cox memorial in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron) with the attendance of several core solidarity organizations with the Palestinian people.

Organizations such as Breaking the Silence, Christian Peacemaker Teams Palestine (CPT), Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH), B’Tselem, International Solidarity Movement (ISM), Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) , Hebron Rehabilitation Committee (HRC), members of the Hebron municipality, consulars of different countries, students from Hebron University, and many other solidarity workers from different backgrounds and countries, as well as residents of the area managed to make their way through checkpoints and around illegal settlements.

Palestinians and internationals gathering for Iftar

As stressed by Issa Amro, Youth Against Settlements coordinator, the Tel Rumeida and Shuhada Street neighborhood are extremely vulnerable as Israeli settlers under the protection and with the help of Israeli forces are trying to take them over. After the area has been a closed military zone for more than six months, having that many people gather in this neighborhood due to the event organised by YAS, was an extremely important sign that the Palestinian sumoud, or steadfastness, will not be defeated by the Israeli forces attempts of forced displacement.

During the evening, people were served traditional food for iftar, muslim evening dinner to break the Ramadan fast, with the atmospheric sounds of the oud, and some speeches from the different organizations in memory of British Labour Party politician and human rights advocate Jo Cox, who was killed last Thursday following a constituency meeting. At the same time, the 15th of Ramadan, also commemorates the aniversary of the Ibrahimi Mosque massacre, when in 1994 Israeli settler Baruch Goldstein walked into Ibrahimi mosque and shot and killed 29 and injured more than 120 worshippers.

After a partial lifting of the closed military zone (CMZ), officially disguised as a full lifting,Palestinians as well as internationals were able to access the event. However, access-restriction in the H2 area only apply for Palestinians while settlers are free to move around as they please.

This gathering is of uttermost significance specially because organizations operating within the H2 region of occupied al-Khalil undergo constant harassment both by soldiers and settlers, and such a high-profile event comes with many risks. Two boys from the illegal settlements in Tel Rumeida approached the building and yelled islamophobic and racist slurs as people ate, but this did not stop attendees from continuing expressing their solidarity with the Palestinian people and light candles in the mourning and memory of Jo Cox at the end of the evening.

Continuous restrictions of the freedom of religion in Hebron

21st June 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

Today, 21^st June 2016, Israeli forces delayed and stopped several Palestinians on their way to noon-prayer at Ibrahimi mosque in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron).

During the last few days, Israeli forces have been stopping, checking and delaying Palestinians at several checkpoints in the vicinity of Ibrahimi mosque in the old city of al-Khalil. At the Ibrahimi mosque checkpoint that leads from the Palestinian market to the Ibrahimi mosque area, Israeli forces delayed worshippers trying to get to the mosque for prayers, stalling the process making everything go extremely slow. Thus, long queues formed and people were forced to wait for a long time. In less than one hour, Israeli forces stopped 7 women to thoroughly inspect their bags and 3 men to check their IDs, sending one of them to the checkpoint at the mosque-entrance for further checks, forcing him to wait even longer. All of these checks are purely arbitrary, and Palestinians crossing checkpoints thus never know whether they will be stopped, questioned, detained or for how long they might be delayed.

Additionally, Israeli forces stopped four boys, three of whom were carrying containers with soup, that is handed out in the soup-kitchen connected to the Ibrahimi mosque. Israeli forces stopped them asking to examine the soup-containers they were carrying. The same happened to 3 girls crossing a checkpoint further down the street from there. They, as well, were ordered to stop by Israeli forces asking to ‘check’ the containers of fresh hot soup. How and in which way these children carrying soup that is donated to families in need, are posing any kind of threat to the Israeli forces or why they have to be stopped, remains unclear.

The majority of Palestinians attending prayers at Ibrahimi mosque, are forced to cross at least two checkpoints on their way to prayer. Any possible way to reach the mosque, two checkpoints is the least number of checkpoints any Palestinian has to pass to practice their freedom of religion. Most Palestinians though, have to cross more than this minimum number of two checkpoints though, as coming from another direction they have to cross at least 4 checkpoints. In the recent days, large numbers of Palestinians have been stopped and checked at one of these checkpoints, where they’ve already had to pass two checkpoints before to even get to this checkpoint.

Given this arbitrariness and the impossibility to know what to expect when simply trying to go to prayer, is only one form of Israeli forces’ inhumane treatment inflicted only on the Palestinian residents, and thus an apartheid strategy.