23rd July 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Nablus, Occupied Palestine
Tonight 23rd July 2013, the Israeli army invaded Nablus and shot large amounts of tear gas canisters and sound bombs at Palestinian youth trying to push back the invading forces.
At around 2:45am, Israeli army invaded Faisal Street, the main artery that crosses the city from East to West. Some Palestinian youth were already in the city centre, enjoying the nights of Ramadan, and others joined them after the army invaded. Together, they responded to the invasion by throwing stones at the soldiers who rapidly shot tear gas canisters and sound bombs at them.
Stationed in groups of three or four along the street, Israeli soldiers continued shooting at people during an hour and a half. A group of international activists living in Nablus went to the area where the shooting was happening and when they made clear that they were internationals and there were unarmed civilians in the area, Israeli soldiers pointed at them, threw a couple of sound bombs and shot several tear gas canisters directly at them.
During the time of the invasion, Israeli forces shot numerous tear gas canisters low and directly at people. Two Palestinians and an international activist were hit by the canisters. The soldiers reportedly arrested one man from a car in the city centre.
Every week the Israeli army comes and often raids different parts of the city of Nablus, ransacking houses, arresting people, firing sound bombs and gas canisters.
According to the Oslo agreements, Nablus is in Area A, which means that both security and civil administration should be the role of the Palestinian Authority. Once again last night, the Israeli army ignored these agreements.
21th July 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Khalil Team | Hebron, Occupied Palestine
On the evening of Sunday, July 14, in the old city of Hebron two Palestinian children named Mohammed and Ahmed, both aged 13 years old, were arrested. Though joining a wave of child arrests in Hebron during the last weeks, the arrests of the two boys stand out because of the massive number of soldiers and police actively participating.
5-year-old Wadia arrested with his father, also blindfolded, by Israeli focers in Hebron (Photo by ISM)
The first boy, 13 year old Mohammed, was taken from his family home in the Israeli controlled H2 area of Hebron, home to 31,000 Palestinian people and approximately 500 illegal Israeli settlers. Allegedly the arrest was made because Mohammed threw a stone at Israeli soldiers patrolling the streets, though no evidence of this has been made public to international observers who witnessed soldiers invading Mohammed’s home and leading him away to Beit Romano Military base. The second boy, named Ahmed and also 13 years old, was taken from one of Hebron’s market streets, situated in H1, an area that is supposed to be controlled fully by Palestinian police forces. Sidestepping this agreement, the soldiers invaded H1, grabbed Ahmed and brought him with them back into H2, claiming he had thrown a tomato at a nearby settlement.
Both individual arrests were carried out by more than five Israeli soldiers, but as events rolled the number progressed to more than 30 heavily armed members of the occupying forces. The arrest of Ahmed led to outcries in the market, with Ahmed’s mother demanding the soldiers on the wall separating the two areas to give back her son. The soldiers responded by sending more than 30 soldiers to the wall, bringing with them both live ammunition and several teargas grenades, threatening to shoot these into the mass of assembled people gathered on the other side of the wall. The situation escalated as armed settlers joined the soldiers, harassing international observers.
Finally, an hour later, a visibly shaken Ahmed was taken through the mass of settlers and military personnel and released back into H1 to his waiting family. Mohammed had to endure further dehumanizing punishment as he was taken to the Police station outside Ibrihimi Mosque. This was where an Israeli police officer lied to internationals present, stating the boy would be released and that those present could “trust him”; in fact Mohammed was transferred to Qiryat Arba police station and held until his family could make their way there to pay a fine of 500 NIS for his release.
The city of Hebron has experienced a wave of child arrests during the last weeks, often violating Israeli military law stating that children under the age of 12 cannot be arrested, as in the case of 5-year-old Wadia[i]. Though both Ahmed and Mohammed are 13, Palestinians complain that this law, giving Israeli occupation forces the right to arrest children from the age of 12, is only ever enforced for their children and not for settler children. On Sunday night in Hebron this proved true, as settler children attacked internationals by throwing a stone on the scene before the eyes of Israeli soldiers without consequences.
On Friday 19 July, the residents of Kafr Qaddum gathered for a demonstration against the Prawer Plan, an Israeli government plan that will ethnically cleanse the occupied al-Naqab desert. Protesters were violently attacked by Israeli soldiers who repeatedly raided the village firing tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets and sound grenades.
At approximately 11:00, residents attempted to construct a defensive barricade at the eastern edge of the village to prevent soldiers from entering; however, while they were building, nearly 50 Israeli soldiers ran down the main road closest to the illegal Israeli settlement of Qedumim, attempting to make arrests. The soldiers chased the people, including small children, back to the center of the village, where they fired tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets directly at the people. Nearly 25 soldiers then took a position on the top of the hill overlooking the village, which prevented many people from traveling down the main road in order to attend the Friday Ramadan prayers.
In the hours that followed, the Israeli army attempted to surround the village; they hid themselves in the olive groves and in the private gardens of several residents, effectively trapping the people inside their own homes. Several times the army attacked the protesters, firing tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets and sound grenades. Some residents reported that the soldiers also fired live ammunition, just as they did during last week’s demonstration, when they fired at four teenage boys.
No arrests were made, though three people suffered from tear gas inhalation.
Tear gas canisters and sound bombs shot at protesters during the demonstration (Photo by IWPS)
Kafr Qaddum is a 3,000-year-old agricultural village that sits on 24,000 dunams of land. The village was occupied by the Israeli army in 1967; in 1978, the illegal settler-colony of Qedumim was established nearby on the remains of a former Jordanian army camp, occupying 4,000 dunums of land stolen from Kafr Qaddum.
The villagers are currently unable to access an additional 11,000 dunums of land due to the closure by the Israeli army of the village’s main and only road leading to Nablus in 2003. The road was closed in three stages, ultimately restricting access for farmers to the 11,000 dunums of land that lie along either side to one or two times a year. Since the road closure, the people of Kafr Qaddum have been forced to rely on an animal trail to access this area; the road is narrow and, according to the locals, intended only for animals. In 2004 and 2006, three villagers died when they were unable to reach the hospital in time. The ambulances carrying them were prohibited from using the main road and were forced to take a 13 km detour. These deaths provoked even greater resentment in Kafr Qaddum and, on 1 July 2011, the villagers decided to unite in protest in order to re-open the road and protect the land in danger of settlement expansion along it.
Kafr Qaddum is home to 4,000 people; some 500 residents attend the weekly demonstrations. The villagers’ resilience, determination and organization have been met with extreme repression. More than 120 village residents have been arrested; most spend 3-8 months in prison; collectively they have paid over NIS 100,000 to the Israeli courts. Around 2,000 residents have suffocated from tear-gas inhalation, many in their own homes. Over 100 residents have been shot directly with tear-gas canisters. On 27 April 2012, one man was shot in the head by a tear-gas canister that fractured his skull in three places; the injury cost him his ability to speak. In another incident, on 16 March 2012 an Israeli soldier released his dog into the crowded demonstration, where it attacked a young man, biting him for nearly 15 minutes whilst the army watched. When other residents tried to assist him, some were pushed away while others were pepper-sprayed directly in the face.
The events of the past week are part of a continuous campaign by the Israeli military to harass and intimidate the people of Kafr Qaddum into passively accepting the human rights violations the Israeli occupation, military and the illegal settlers inflict upon them.
18th July 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Ramallah Team | Qalandiya, Occupied Palestine
Yesterday, around 150 Palestinian journalists protested at Qalandiya checkpoint demanding freedom of movement for journalists. Israeli forces violently suppressed the demonstration by throwing sound bombs and shooting rubber coated steel bullets at journalists, resulting in five people injured.
At 12am, journalists arrived on buses from across the West Bank, gathering at Qalandiya checkpoint to protest against the restriction of movement and the lack of recognition of their international press cards by Israel.
Palestinian journalists showing their International press cards (Photo by ISM)
More participants gradually arrived at the roundabout where the rally was taking place. Journalists sang chants demanding freedom of movement for journalists. One journalist said: “we are journalists recognized by the International Federation of Journalists and hold international press cards but we cannot exercise our job freely. Israel does not allow us to work in Jerusalem or Haifa while Israeli journalists can work everywhere”.
Israeli border police officers soon arrived at the roundabout and started to violently push protesters backwards, throwing sound bombs directly at demonstrators. Although the crowd dispersed, the journalists soon rallied again, continuing chanting and protesting. Once again, Israeli border police, now joined by soldiers, pushed back the crowd throwing more sound bombs and then shooting rubber coated steel bullets from a short distance.
Steadfast demonstrators remained at the roundabout for ten more minutes until at around 12:45pm, the protest was finished. Five people suffered minor injuries from sound bombs thrown at their feet and were treated by medical personnel at the scene.
Palestinian journalists are constantly targeted by Israeli forces. According to the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms, during the first six months of 2013, there were 78 occasions where Israeli forces attacked Palestinian media in the form of physical abuse, arrest, detention, prevention from coverage, and prosecution.
Mousa Rimawi, general director of MADA, stated at a MADA press conference in Ramallah two days ago:
“Media freedoms status in Occupied Palestine still raises concerns in terms of the numbers and types of violations committed against Palestinian journalists. Violations against Palestinian journalists are one of the highest globally, and are life-threatening, where the Palestinian journalists are concerned for their life and safety, especially those who cover peaceful demonstrations and the popular resistance activities against the occupation, settlement, and the apartheid wall. Regardless of the threat, Palestinian journalists never back down and continue to exercise their profession and duty, and they have earned many appreciations and awards”
“The Israeli Occupation insistence to continue its attacks on media freedoms is due to its desire to blur the truth and hide its constant attacks on the Palestinian people’s rights is a main reason for the increase of its violations against media freedoms during the past years. Another reason for this increase is the official International community forgiving attitude towards the continues and rising Israeli violations against media freedoms”
Israeli Border Police officer pushing back a journalist (Photo by ISM)Israeli forces throwing sound bombs at journalists (Photo by ISM)
9th July 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Khalil Team | Hebron, Occupied Palestine
On July 9th at around 4pm in occupied Hebron, Israeli soldiers arrested and held a five-year-old boy in their military base along with his father. They kept the father handcuffed and blindfolded, and transferred them to the checkpoint separating the Israeli and Palestinian controlled areas of Hebron – Checkpoint 56 – interrogating both of them while they waited for District Coordination Office (DCO) – the liaison for the Palestinian Authority.
Israeli soldiers escorting Abu karem and his son to checkpoint 56 (Photo by ISM)
The young boy, Wadia, allegedly threw stones at soldiers, which precipitated his arrest. Bystanders say that Wadia threw a stone at a dog and a nearby soldier accused the Wadia of throwing stones at her. The soldiers handcuffed and blindfolded Wadia’s father, Abu Karam Maswathi, and transported both of them to the nearby military base where they were briefly held and questioned – this in spite of the fact the children under 12 cannot be arrested and charged with a crime under Israeli law[i].
Abu Karam Maswathi, blindfolded and hadcuffed with his son, surrounded by soldiers (Photo by ISM)
While the soldiers led the father and son from the military base, Abu Karam was still blindfolded and handcuffed even though he was not technically being detained, which is said to be illegal under Israeli law. The two were led to Checkpoint 56 to await their release to the DCO, which is standard procedure for child arrests. However, today they were surrounded by around ten soldiers, who could be seen interrogating the detainees and trying to prevent internationals from filming. An Israeli military commander later arrived on the scene and reprimanded the soldiers for handcuffing and blindfolding Abu Karam in front of the international human rights workers because it’s “bad PR.”
All this for a 5-year-old child allegedly throwing a stone.
[i]“Israel Police Treatment of Juveniles during the Period of Disengagement.” Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. State of Israel, 15 Aug. 2005. Web. 09 July 2013.
