22nd January 2017 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine
Israeli Forces raided a Palestinian family home on Thursday night in the Jabari-neighborhood near the illegal Kiryat Arba settlement in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron).
A group of approximately 50 heavily-armed Israeli forces, accompanied by a dog, surrounded the house at 1am and woke up the family for a house-raid. The soldiers prevented all the family members from filming by confiscating their cameras and mobile phones and forcing everyone in a single room. The Israeli forces then proceeded to take out each person, from the 6-month old baby to the grandfather, by themselves for a body-search, while keeping the rest of the family inside the one room. The family was kept in this room for more than two hours.
During this time, the soldiers raided the whole house, destroying furniture and walls with knifes – wreaking havoc on the house. Once they decided to leave, they told the family that they had to stay inside the room for another five minutes before being allowed to leave. The soldiers would leave the cameras and mobile phones in the kitchen. This clearly was meant to prevent any photo- or video-footage of the soldiers inside or even near the house.
House after the soldiers left. Photo credit: Ayatt Jabari
23rd January 2017 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine
As an international, taking photos of the Israeli occupation soldiers is either considered wrong and harmful or a joy. Harmful…harmful to what exactly? The continuous illegal occupation? Yet, photos are a joy for the soldiers, when they are proudly posing with an ignorant tourist, who do not realize the silent approval and admiration that the photo implies for this illegal occupation.
Here is the difference: when you pose with the soldiers and give the occupation a nice and smiley face for your vacation memories, the soldiers are happy. On the other hand, if you take a photo of what everyday reality under military occupation of an army with (almost) complete impunity means to the civilian Palestinian population: you’re a threat. A threat to the ‘image’ of the ‘most moral army in the world’, a threat to… an illegal occupation that is dragging on, continually denying even the most basic human rights to Palestinians. They are threatened not by their lack of humanity towards the Palestinians, but by a photo proving this reality.
The most important question remains though: when is the Israeli occupation going to realize that it’s not the photos that ‘make them look bad in the world’, but their actions: their denial of human rights, their killing with impunity, their not-in-the-least humane treatment of the Palestinians, and their continuous and increasing attempts of ethnic cleansing. It’s not the photo, but the actions. The photo is merely a mirror that shows the occupation what it really is – an image the army clearly doesn’t like. But in order to change that, you can’t break the mirror; you need to change yourself – your actions. In the end, it’s not the photo that matters, but the actions. The photo is a means to make the international community – deliberately closing their eyes to reality – see what’s happening. The problem will never be with the photo, but the actions – and the inaction that allows it to continue.
17th January 2017 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil Team | Ramallah, Occupied Palestine
Palestinian teen, Nadeem Nuwara, was fatally shot in the chest by Israeli forces on Nakba Day, 2014. 17-year-old Nadeem allegedly threw a stone at soldier, Ben Dery, who proceeded to fire live ammunition in return. Israeli Forces killed both Nuwara and another teenager, Mohammed Salameh, during the Nakba Day demonstration near Ramallah.
Photo Credit: Ma’an News
The tragedy of Nuwara’s death still weighs heavily on his family, friends, and community. In an interview with Roya TV, Nuwara’s mother tells a reporter: “I wish [the soldier] gave him sometime to go back to his mother so I could at least get enough of him before he took him from me.” But, to the soldier, Nadeem was not a son or a brother. He was not a friend. He was not a talented basketball player or mischievous teenager with hopes and dreams. To the soldier, Nadeem was a faceless threat. He was fit to be cast aside, destroyed, murdered. The soldier did not conceive of the fact that Nadeem was human—exercising his right to protest the injustices that the occupation has imposed on the Palestinian community.
According to reports, the Israeli forces were not supposed to use live ammunition during this Nakba Day demonstration. They were given red-marked magazines with rubber-coated steal bullets and blanks. Allegedly, Dery replaced the contents of the marked magazine in an M-16 with live ammunition in order to hide the fact that he was disobeying orders. Now, over 2 and a half years later, the Attorney General is rumored to be dropping the manslaughter charges against Dery. He is being offered a plea bargain in which he will admit to negligence—claiming that the live ammunition was accidentally in his weapon. The plea bargain is to be presented at court on January 19. Nadeem’s father, Sayim Nuwara, told Ma’an News that he wrote a letter to the Attorney General expressing the family’s sadness and frustration with the plea bargain. There will be a demonstration during the hearing to pressure the court to reject any plea bargain.
Unfortunately, this case is not unique. When Palestinians are killed, the cases are often dragged out so that the families will grow tired and drop the case. The supposed immunity of Israeli soldiers is all too common here. But, the issue here is so much bigger than a corrupt justice system. Israeli soldiers have been trained to dehumanize Palestinians. The prevailing attitude of the Israeli forces is one of hatred, fear and impunity. Until Israelis and Palestinians can recognize the humanity in each other, the violence will continue. The injustices become normalized. Everyone lives in fear and frustration.
“It is true that death has become a norm and a ritual in our life which is crowded with sorrows, disappointments, and losses” (@JusticeforNadeem)
15th January 2017 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Bethlehem, occupied Palestine
The Prisoners Club held a demonstration and march to the illegal apartheid wall on Sunday afternoon to demand the return of the bodies of martyrs held unjustly by the colonial occupying Zionist State of Israel.
The Zionist Israeli forces often take the bodies of murdered Palestinian martyrs and hold them, usually for long periods of time, threatening to bury them in unmarked graves in the cemetery of numbers if Palestinian resistance continues. The families want the bodies of their loved ones returned for funeral and burial.
The demonstration and march was attended by well over 150 Palestinian men, women and children along with several internationals.
After the march to the illegal colonial apartheid wall, as the group was leaving, the Israeli occupation forces opened the gate in the wall with several military vehicles and began to fire tear gas, sound grenades and rubber coated steel bullets into and at the crowd. A handful of people were minimally affected by teargas with no medical treatment needed and no other injuries reported. The clash lasted about one and half hours.
Over 150 demonstrators demand return of martyrs bodies in Bethlehem.Children out in force at Bethlehem demonstration demanding return of martyrs’ bodies.Demonstration continues after march to apartheid wall in Bethlehem.Demonstrators carry symbolic coffins, demanding return of martyrs’ bodies in Bethlehem.Demonstrators call for support from upcoming Paris conference.Protesters at the apartheid wall demanding the release of martyrs’ bodies in occupied Bethlehem.A boy runs after tear gas canister and throws it back at Bethlehem demonstration.Tear gas fired by Israeli forces fills the street in Bethlehem following demonstration.
13th January 2017 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil Team | Kafr Qaddum, Occupied Palestine
The Friday demonstration against the illegal wall in Kafr Qaddum was attended by over 100 Palestinians along with numerous pro-Palestinian Israelis and other internationals.
Two days prior to the demonstration, the villagers were told if there was the usual demonstration on Friday, everyone would be arrested.
There were two surprises this Friday. A high ranking female member of the Palestinian authority (PA) attended the demonstration. Prior to the march she spoke to those gathered about the importance of continued activism and protests against the illegal colonial settlements and apartheid wall.
The second surprise was the Israeli occupation forces made no arrests and in fact only a handful of soldiers were seen about 500 metres from the demonstration. It is only speculation on the part of this writer but this may have been due to the PA official being present at the demonstration. There were no shots fired and no injuries reported.
At the Friday demonstration a week earlier in Kafr Qaddum, a 7-year old boy was kidnapped by Israeli forces and interrogated before being returned to his family a couple of hours later. The boy has said that soldiers threatened to kill his father if he did not cooperate.
Village leader addresses demonstration in Kafr Qaddum.Member of the Palestinian Authority addresses the demonstration in Kafr Qaddum.Children out in force at demonstration in Kafr Qaddum.Over 100 villagers protesting illegal apartheid wall in Kafr Qaddum.The Palestinian flag still continues to fly in Kafr Qaddum.Blocking the road to Israeli forces with burning tires.Illegal colonial settlements built on stolen land right next to village of Kafr Qaddum.7-year old kidnapped by Israeli forces in Kafr Qaddum at the previous week’s demonstration.
