Iftar Curfew in Deir Istiya follows previous house occupations

October 7th, 2007

The residents of Deir Istiya, population 4,000, were sentenced to confinement in their homes shortly before breaking fast for the day. At around 5:10 pm, a convoy of between 10 to 12 military jeeps, manned with border police, entered the northern West Bank village near the city of Nablus announcing over megaphones: “everyone must go home. Deir Istiya is under curfew and you will endanger yourselves if you break curfew,” according to village resident Dr. F.

House Arrest

Curfew, although a seemingly innocuous term, dictates that civilians must stay locked inside their homes, often for days at a time, if not longer. The rules of curfew are fairly stringent: windows should be blacked out, and those seen loitering near windows (looking out to see what is happening) are liable to be shot. Work, school, and medical emergencies must be forsaken during curfew, as must trips to the supermarket or bakers to buy needed food supplies.

Although caged in their homes, residents took the initiative to update themselves on one anothers’ condition: shortly before Iftar began (at sunset), the invading Israeli forces kidnapped 3 young brothers, ages 10, 15, and 17, taking them and holding them for 1.5 hours while interrogating them, accusing them of knowing someone who engaged in resistance activities. While the youths were brought back to their home after interrogation, the soldiers also proceeded to search the house.

As of 9:30 pm, the residents of Deir Istiya remained forcedly locked in their homes, everyone afraid to venture outside for fear of being shot and killed.

Prior Punishment

Although this may be the first time in a more than a year that Deir Istiya residents have been put under house curfew, they have nonetheless recently suffered other IOF invasions. In September, while the IOF invaded Nablus’ al Ayn refugee camp, it simultaneously invaded Deir Istiya, occupying at least one home for one week and forcibly entering numerous homes in the village.

Upon arriving, the IOF told the family they would just stay 10 minutes, then shortly after obtaining the keys to the second floor of the home, revised their declaration to stay for 1 week, giving no explanation as to why they had invaded the village and taken over the home. The entrance to the second floor of the village home is separate, thus the army was able to come and go without directly passing through the family’s home.

The soldiers would come to the home in the evening, arriving anywhere from 6 pm to 2 am, stay overnight, and leave at some point during the day. The family never knew when to expect the soldiers, nor could the family enter their second story at any time. One of the six inhabitants of the house, a high school student, was unable to access her books which were in a room on the second floor. This came at an important time for high school students, when they are busy studying for their final exam, one whose results are critical in determining whether and where they go on to university. Yet the family was terrified to try to enter the second story, frightened of the repercussions of the soldiers.

During the day, the soldiers were also seen around the village, throwing tear gas and sound bombs in busy civilian areas, including into the town Mosque where Muslims were at evening prayers. The IOF also broke down doors of other homes in the area. Some families had vacated their homes temporarily, and others have homes in Nablus and Ramallah where they work, so when the IOF found no reply they broke down the door and, in numerous instances, searched the houses, breaking belongings at random will.

ISM human rights workers stayed with the family one night, after being called to the village 4 days into the occupation of the house. During that night, the IOF soldiers did not return to the home—this coincided with heightened IOF presence at Ayn refugee camp, where the army waged an invasion of destruction on the densely packed refugee population [https://www.palsolidarity.org/main/2007/09/21/army-incursion-in-al-ayn-refugee-camp-nablus/]. HRWs were able, however, in the soldiers’ absence to climb up a ladder into a second story window and obtain the textbooks the high school student needed.

The family of six –a grandfather and grandmother, three university students and one high school student –were visited later by EAPPI workers.

Tree planting in Balata and Askar refugee camps, Nablus

On Saturday, the 29th of September ISM activists planted around a hundred trees in the martyr cemetery at Balata refugee camp in Nablus. Twenty to thirty volunteers from the H.W.C. (Health Work Committee) and the Tanweer Center in Nablus joined in the planting. The Ministry of Agriculture provided the trees. This continues the cooperation between ISM and various organisations in the Nablus area.

The trees were placed around the graves and pathways of the cemetery. Balata residents of all ages came out to put trees near the graves of loved ones. Some children planting trees for the first time. The refugee camp also provided water to help in the planting.

After the success of that Saturday’s tree planting in the Martyr’s cemetery in Balata refugee camp the action was repeated again on Saturday the 6th of October this time in Askar refugee camp. Three ISM activists joined forces with around twenty volunteers from the H.W.C. and the Tanweer Center and the Ministry of Culture cleaned the Martyr’s cemetery and planted the trees in the area. The action continues to help build strong relations and show solidarity with the various communities in the area and is part of an ongoing campaign of tree planting. IOF forces continue to destroy olive groves in the region and make access to Palestinian lands difficult. This is a strong symbolic act of resistance which also improves the environment of the Palestinian people.

Non-violent demonstration at Um Salamona

Last Friday of a group of 70 demonstrators, comprising of Palestinian, international and Israeli activists, gathered near the town of Umm Salamona, south of Bethlehem, to demonstrate against the planned route of the apartheid wall and the Israeli Occupation Forces’ (IOF) denying local Palestinian farmers access to their farmland.

The demonstration progressed along settler only Road 60 to the farmland near the Efrat settlement, which the Palestinian farmers are constantly denied access to, before being stopped by the IOF. The soldiers immediately sent for reinforcements, who soon arrived at the scene with riot shields. As a result, violence threatened to break out until the demonstrators sat down with their backs facing the IOF, diffusing tension at the scene. A series of speeches followed praising non-violent resistance and citing the success of the this approach in bringing about a court order declaring the route of the wall in Bil’in as illegal.

Under the current plan, the apartheid wall will illegally separate approximately 3,000,000 square meters of Umm Salamona’s land from its Palestinian owners, consequently destroying thousands of grape and olive trees which are vital to the livelihoods of the local farmers.

Soldiers kidnap children before anti-wall demonstration in Bil’in

October 5th, 2007

***This video can seem misleading. The child was not arrested during the demonstration, but one day before. He was released that day but another child, aged 16, was arrested that night, the night before the demonstration.***

On Friday at 1pm after prayers the villagers of Bil’in continued their ongoing protest against the Apartheid wall inside their village. Joined by international and Israeli activists, the people of Bil’in marched to the wall to be met with uncompromising force from the Israeli Occupation Force (IOF) protecting the illegal ‘security wall’.

Recently the Israeli high court ruled that the route of the wall was illegal. the court decided the route of the wall must be moved back away from the agricultural land of Bil’in village. This legal victory has not deterred the popular committee of Bil’in from continuing their weekly nonviolent demonstrations against the wall. The nonviolent campaign continues because the Apartheid Wall, and illegal settlements, still exist on land belonging to Bil’in. Unfortunately the IOF have not been deterred from using excessive violence in the shape of tear gas, sound grenades, and rubber coated steel bullets.

Around 100 people took part in the nonviolent demonstration, marching to the wall, chanting, and singing. The demonstration was broken up by massive amounts of tear gas and the unrelenting firing of rubber coated steel bullets. After dispersing the peaceful demonstration the IOF moved up the road and into the village firing into the village all the way. Soldiers stormed into a Palestinian house in an apparent attempt to kidnap someone. Followed by international peace activists armed with cameras the soldiers soon came back out from the house having taken no one. The IOF then stayed on the outskirts of the village indiscriminately firing at anything that moved.

Although there were celebrations in Bil’in less than a month ago the violation of the village still occurs. The Bil’in demonstrations will continue in solidarity with other villages in the West Bank facing the same situation. The spirit of Bil’in will not be crushed by excessive military violence, this has been proved time and time again.

Settlers attack Local Palestinians and Human Rights Observors in Hebron

October 4th, 2007

The final day of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot descended into violence in Tel Rumeida, Hebron on Thursday, as a group of settlers attacked local Palestinians and two international Human Rights Workers (HRWs). At approximately 1:45pm a large group of settlers, many heavily intoxicated, marched their way up through the Tel Rumeida neighbourhood shouting abuse at the Palestinian residents. Two international HRWs were at the scene documenting the harassment when the settler leading the march shouted to the crowd that the internationals were, “worse than the Arabs”. A stone was then thrown at one of the HRW’s as the settler crowd became increasingly aggressive.

Violence then erupted as local Palestinians were attacked by the settler group, with punches thrown and a large glass bottle of vodka hurled, narrowly missing a young Palestinian’s head. The local Palestinians, including children, were then forced up onto a nearby road as the army intervened. A group of 8 settler men simultaneously cornered the 2 international HRWs who were filming the attack, attempting to steal and break their camera. The HRWs were repeatedly punched in the body and face as one of the settlers managed to grab the camera before police finally intervened. However, rather than destroy the tape, the settlers carelessly threw it in to a nearby skip where it was quickly rescued with the tape intact, though the camera was in fact broken.

The settlers continued their provocation as they were allowed by the army and police to carry on their march. When questioned later as to whether they saw their job to protect Palestinians as well as settlers, one of the soldiers at the scene replied that he was there “only to protect Jews”, simply shrugging when reminded of the army’s obligations, under international law, to protect all inhabitants of occupied territories.

As of now, there have been reports that two of the settler assailants have confessed to the police as to their involvement and that one of the marchers is willing to testify as to the events. Together with the film recorded by the international HRWs and further evidence recovered by police at the scene, charges are expected to be announced soon, though a vast majority of those involved in the violence will be held unaccountable for their roles in the unprovoked attack.