Category: Reports - Page 96 - International Solidarity Movement

Qarawah water apartheid

21st June 2016 | IWPS | Deir Istiya, occupied Palestine

When Aziz ‘Aasee, the mayor of Qarawah Bani Hassan village drives through the streets, we’re stopped every few meters by one of his constituents, all of whom are asking the same question: When will we have water again? For some, the question is a joke; they are used to going without water for days, weeks, or even months each summer. Others are more aggressive, and the question comes off as a threat. People are looking for someone to blame for their thirst. The mayor, who is responsible for paying the town’s water bills, seems like an easy target.

In reality, there is little Aziz can do to ensure that his town has enough water. The village shares a water access network with two other municipalities, Sarta and Biddya. The three villages, with a combined population of approximately 30,000 people, depend on one 8 inch pipe, designed to deliver 145 cubic meters of water per hour. During the winter months when water tables are higher, the water flows at full capacity, ensuring coverage to the entire network. However for the past two months, the amount has been restricted to between 50 and 70 cubic meters per hour. With such a small amount in the pipes, the pressure is too low for the water to reach many of the houses at the end of the system. Qarawah, which sits at the highest elevation out of the three villages, suffers the most from the low water pressure: no house in the village has received water in over a week. The most remote properties have gone dry for over a month.

Qarawah's only potable water source — Qarawah’s only potable water source

Mekorot, the Israeli national water company which ostensibly owns the water infrastructure in question, and controls 87% of the aquifer located inside the West Bank, lies at the root of the problem. Since 1982, when the Israeli military sold their control of the West Bank’s water resources to Mekorot for a mere Shekel, the company has become the main enforcer of water apartheid between the Palestinians, and Israelis living in illegal settlements. While settlements enjoy a 24/7 supply of water year round, Mekorot caps its supply to Palestinians at the levels stipulated in the Oslo agreements over 20 years ago. Since then, the population of the West Bank has grown exponentially, and almost no improvements to Palestinian water infrastructure have been made. The Israeli military administration in the West Bank only makes matters worse. They routinely deny permits for new wells and pipes that would benefit villages like Qarawah by providing alternative sources of water or improving water pressure. In addition, the Israeli military has demolished 50 water and sanitation structures owned by Palestinians in 2016 alone. The result is that Palestinians have essentially no control over any of the water within their borders, or the infrastructure to deliver it.

Negotiations with Mekorot are almost impossible for small municipalities like Qarawah. Officials in the district capital of Salfit have spent the past two months trying to persuade the Israelis to increase the water supply without result. Even on the national level, appointees from the Palestinian Authority have refused to negotiate with Mekorot and the Israeli military administration. Aziz, for his part, chiefly contacts Mekorot through one of their Palestinian employees, and the communication is confusing at best. The representative will promise to show up on a certain day, and then never arrives. Or he’ll leave an update to say the water supply will be increased for one night to 100 cubic meters per hour, enough to ensure that at least some homes in Qarawah will receive water, yet the taps remain empty. Meanwhile, the illegal settlement of Kiryat Netafim, easily visible on a neighbouring hillside, boasts green lawns. It’s clear from a glance that the settlements are receiving more than adequate service from the same company.

A few times over the past weeks, the municipalities of Qarawah, Satra and Biddya have called for popular protests, gathering at the meter access point for their shared pipe. Small groups of children and young men beat empty water bottles with sticks and shouted “Bidna may, bidna may” – “we want water” – at passing cars. Regardless, many in the three towns are afraid of a backlash from the protests. Shortly after the protests, armed Israeli soldiers arrived at the meter, demanding that the organizers cancel, or face repercussions. While it’s unclear what sort of consequences might be imposed, some worry that the water might be cut off completely as an act of collective punishment.

"Bidna may" - we want water protest — “Bidna may” – we want water protest

With no solution in sight, the villagers of Qarawah are finding ways to mitigate the effects of living under water apartheid. Villagers are using bottled water for drinking and showers, and hauling water up from local springs, located 4-6 kilometres outside the village limits, to use in toilets and irrigation. The springs also provide a small amount of potable water. However, this is not nearly enough to meet the village’s needs. Some houses in the village also have private wells; but with the summer stretching ahead, these limited resources are sure to be depleted far too soon. So until Mekorot is disbanded, or agrees to give equal service to Palestinians, the people of Qarawah will continue to suffer.

Important stage victory for BDS Oldenburg and Freedom of Speech

18th June 2016 | BDS Oldenburg, Germany

Local German SPD politician forced to abstain from charges of anti-Semitism by court order

On 14 June 2016 the Regional Court Oldenburg ordered Sara Rihl, local SPD politician and student member of the senate of the university of Oldenburg, not to repeat her statements relating to Christoph Glanz. Rihl had played a leading role in the prevention of an event scheduled by the Palestinian BDS campaign.

The lecture titled “BDS – the Palestinian Human Rights Campaign Introduces Itself” was to be held by the Oldenburg teacher and activist Christoph Glanz. Rihl had demanded the organiser – the Evangelische Studierenden Gemeinde (ESG) – to cancel the talk, and referred to the speaker as a “known anti-Semite” working for an “anti-Semitic organisation” in this connection. As a result, the ESG actually cancelled the planned event.

Glanz now successfully defended himself against this public assault. “We are happy to see that the local court has the defendant in her barriers and that she may not repeat those absurd statements if she doesn´t want to face severe penalties”, he commented. “We know the strategies of the Israel supporters who -lacking arguments- frequently use indimidation and slander including the antisemitism accusation to stop events such as the ones planned in Oldenburg. We are proceeding on the assumption that this court sentence will set a positive precedent for our movement and intend to reinforce our commitment to the just cause of the Palestinians even further.”

In 2005, Palestinian civil society called all people of the world including Israelis for active solidarity. After decades of suppression, displacement and occupation this call proclaimed a strategy that had already proven successful in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa. BDS calls for boycott, divestment and sanctions against the State of Israel until it fully accords Palestinians their rights as established in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, dozens of UN resolutions and the Geneva Conventions.

These activities already made for a number of major successes in the past. At the same time, the State of Israel also intensifies its efforts to contain BDS and to drive it into illegality, in some cases successfully. Recently, however, more than 350 European human rights organisations, trade unions, churches, and political parties requested the EU to uphold the right to boycott. “What is remarkable is that some of these organisations do not even actively practise BDS themselves”, Christoph Glanz comments. “Their chief concern is their fundamental right as European citizens to act at their own political and moral discretion. This also includes a public debate which should not be characterised by fear and repression but by better arguments. Why don‘t our opponents face public discussion? All of our attempts to this end have come to nothing.”

Another talk on the same subject to be held by the Israeli Ronnie Barkan in the Oldenburg public venue PFL was also cancelled. In this case there had been threats of violence from the milieu of the Autonomist centre “Alhambra” whereupon the city withdrew from the already signed tenancy agreement. In this matter as well court proceedings are pending.

These incidents drew attention nationally and internationally. For example, Rolf Verleger weighed into the discussion and demanded the realisation of the event. Rolf Verleger is a former member of the Central Council of Jews in Germany. A group of Israelis promoting BDS also solidarised with Christoph Glanz and criticised the mentioned incidents as attacks against the freedom of expression:

“In a city which fought hard to get its university called after Carl von Ossietzky- the journalist and resistance fighter against the Nazis who was so well known for his sharp mind and pointed pen- we would expect to see a lively public debate, rather than silencing.“

Riya Hassan, the European coordinator of the BNC (the Palestinian “BDS National Committee”), evaluates the situation as follows: “This ruling is a serious blow to Israel’s war of repression against the BDS movement. The German government must now join the Swedish, Irish and Dutch governments in making clear that BDS is a legitimate movement that should be protected as a form of free speech.“

Hassan further stated: “Rather than seeking to repress BDS activism and free speech, Germans who are genuinely concerned with peace and justice the in the Middle East should work to end German military aid to Israel, which is a form of material support for its ongoing oppression of Palestinians.”

RIP Jo Cox

17th June 2016 | Jo Cox

Jo Cox, a devoted compassionate friend of Palestine, refugees and immigrants, an advocate for the plight of Syrian and Yeminite civilians, a genuine working class hero and a mother of two, was murdered today on her way to a constituency meeting.

Jo Cox on the arrest detention and treatment of children in occupied Palestinian territories:

Parliament held an urgent and thought provoking debate this week about the way in which children are arrested, detained and treated in the occupied Palestinian territories, writes Jo Cox.

Westminster Hall, the overspill venue for backbenchers to hold debates when time pressures on the main Chamber won’t allow, was jammed with MPs keen to contribute and listen to what was a fascinating, deeply troubling discussion.

Israel is the only country in the world that systematically prosecutes children in military court and the differences between how Israeli children and Palestinian children are treated are stark. For example, an Israeli child subject to civil court proceedings has to have access to a lawyer within 48 hours. Yet a Palestinian child can be left without legal guidance for as long as 90 days. This, and many other disparities, underline the existence of a two tier justice system operating in the West Bank. One where Israeli children are subject to the rule of law; Palestinian children are not. This disparity of treatment, along with the estimate that 59,000 Palestinian children detained by the Israeli military since 1967 are likely to have been physically abused in one way or another, is deeply disturbing. It is also a clear and fundamental abuse of basic human rights and international law, including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

There are a number of very worrying trends that impact upon these Palestinian children and during the debate I raised the issue that 65 per cent of children report being arrested in what are often ‘terrifying’ night raids by the Israeli military.

Night raids cause a huge amount of distress to children and their families. UNICEF have powerfully argued that “all arrests of children should be conducted during daylight, notwithstanding exceptional and grave situations.” A short lived Israeli pilot scheme, unconvincingly implemented, involved issuing summonses in place of night-time arrests. But these were increasingly served after midnight defeating the intended purpose.

Personal accounts provide an insight to what children are subjected to – they are often arrested in the middle of the night by armed soldiers, their hands are bound, they are blindfolded and taken away on the floor of a military vehicle. There are also reports of them being subjected to physical and verbal abuse throughout.

Another worrying trend is that almost three quarters of children detained report not being informed of their right to silence, the fundamental right afforded anyone arrested on suspicion of a crime. This is to stop the risk of self-incrimination, a particular concern for vulnerable children. One case documented by the organisation Military Court Watch shockingly reported that a Palestinian child was told by one interrogator that he had the right to silence while a second told him he would be raped if he did not confess.

Thirdly, the issue of transferring detainees en masse from occupied territory is a very serious issue, and is, in fact, a war crime. Yet monthly data released by the Israeli Prison Service shows that almost half of the detained Palestinian children from the West Bank are transferred to prisons inside Israel.

This is a breach of the Geneva Convention. The added human impact is that these unlawful transfers mean families struggle to visit their children often over many months.

Estimates put the number of Palestinians detained since 1967 at 850,0000. Of these almost 100,000 are children. Between 500 and 700 children are prosecuted each year, with stone throwing the most common charge. This often brings with it a sentence of between 10 and 20 years.

And worst of all the number of children involved is increasing. As of last month the number of children in detention was up to 470 – over a 200% increase since last September.

These abuses have been going on for nearly 50 years. As my colleague Sarah Champion MP, who sponsored the debate, said – this situation requires decisive action to ensure we meet our international legal obligations.

Peaceful sit-in protest violently broken up by Israeli forces

15th July 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

On 15th July 2016, a peaceful sit-in protest demanding the opening of Qurtuba stairs in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron) by Palestinians as well as Israeli and international activists was violently broken up by Israeli forces, leaving one Palestinian child injured and 4 activists arrested.

The peaceful sit-in protest was organised by Youth Against Settlements in coordination with the families denied access to their homes through the Qurtuba stairs. The stairs have been closed since 1st November 2015, when the whole area of Tel Rumeida and the tiny strip of Shuhada Street still accessible to Palestinian pedestrians, was first declared a closed military zone (CMZ). Despite the lifting of the closed military zone on 14th May 2016, many restrictions applying to Palestinian residents only, remain in place.

When Israeli activists from Ta’ayush challenged this closure and demanded that it’ll be implemented equally and thus for settlers as well – who are free to use the stairs whenever and however they please, without ever even being stopped – more soldiers and settlers gathered. This closure evidently constitutes illegal collective punishment and is an apartheid measure – as it is exclusively applied to Palestinians, but not to Israeli settlers or soldiers. The deciding criterion for whether or not the stairs are considered a CMZ for that specific person based solely on the ethnicity.

After a few minutes, Israeli forces ordered the Palestinian and international activists peacefully sitting on the side of Shuhada Street near the Qurtuba stairs to leave the area. Israeli forces thus ordered everyone to leave, claiming they’re no residents, while infamous and violent settler Ofer, living in the illegal Kiryat Arba settlement on the outskirts of al-Khalil was permitted to film and provoke the peaceful protestors, as was infamous female settler Tzippi.

Israeli forces, eventually, brought a CMZ-order not only for the Qurtuba stairs, but for the whole Shuhada Street and Tel Rumeida neighborhood. Whether or not this means a return to the dehumanization of Palestinians that previously during the CMZ have been degraded to a mere number, has yet to be seen.

Map of the closed military zone order Photo credit: Youth Against Settlements — Map of the closed military zone order
Photo credit: Youth Against Settlements

In the end, Israeli forces violently and aggressively arrested the 4 of the Israeli activists, violently pulling and dragging them from inside a Palestinian home. During this violent arrest, Israeli forces squeezed a ten year old boy between the wall and a metal door, and only let go once they arrested the Israeli activists. The boy, Marwan Sharabati, now suffers from pain in his leg, and at the moment is not able to walk normally, limping instead.

This is just another example of Israeli forces impunity for violence and their continuous breaches of international humanitarian and human rights law. While publicly advocating that they’re facilitating Palestinian movement during the holy month of Ramadan, the Israeli government and the Israeli forces are instead doing whatever they can to uphold, enforce and exacerbate not only Palestinian freedom of movement, but keep denying Palestinian rights on a large scale.

Ramadan in occupied Hebron

12th June 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

On 5th June, the holy month of Ramadan started. In occupied al-Khalil (Hebron), the Old City, that till then had been mainly deserted, comes back to life as many stream towards Ibrahimi mosque for prayers.

The Old City of al-Khalil, including the ‘souq’, the market, during the last months, has been mainly deserted. Starting in November, when Palestinians were shot down at Ibrahimi mosque checkpoint by Israeli forces, Palestinians began avoiding to use this checkpoint. The Ibrahimi mosque checkpoint directly connects the souq with Ibrahimi mosque, and is the main checkpoint to reach the area around the Ibrahimi mosque. With, at times, various arbitrary restrictions enforced at this checkpoint, denying any Palestinian between 15-30 to pass, for many the checkpoint stopped being an option for passage.

When trying to avoid this checkpoint, there’s only two options: either walking a long-detour up the hill and then down on the other side, far past the checkpoint; or to take a service-taxi that will drop passengers close to yet another checkpoint, the Queitun or Abu Sneneh checkpoint, that has recently been ‘upgraded’ to include a box where anyone passing inside the checkpoint won’t be seen from outside.

With the advent of Ramadan, many Palestinians now stroll through the market in the Old City to buy groceries or anything else needed in the house, with even more shops opened and prices low for Ramadan. After months of the Old City market resembling more and more a Ghost Street – just like Shuhada Street after it’s forst closure and complete prohibition for Palestinians – it now finally is busy again with Palestinians. The atmosphere during Ramadan is peaceful, and Palestinians pass the Ibrahimi mosque checkpoint for prayers in Ibrahimi mosque.

Palestinians praying outside Ibrahimi mosque

Especially on Friday, large crowds of Palestinians flocked to Ibrahimi mosque for prayers, so many that some of them had to pray outside the mosque. Despite the heavy Israeli forces presence, the majority of the worshippers was allowed to pass the checkpoints without major delays or denials of entry. Again, after months of detentions at checkpoints on the way to prayer and arbitrary detentions, this is only a slight relief from every-day harassment. On the way to prayer, to exercise their freedom of religion, Palestinians still have to cross various military checkpoints – just to pray inside Ibrahimi mosque.

Watch a video of how these checkpoints look like for Palestinians (video credit: Christian Peacemaker Teams Palestine).