Action Taken Against Two Israeli Checkpoints that Close Nablus

by Michael
Yesterday, August 2nd, hundreds of people waited for hours at Huwarra checkpoint, which is the main entrance to Nablus from the south and one of the most restrictive in all of the West Bank. Everyone was packed into the terminal, while soldiers allowed one to pass at a time, after undergoing humiliating searches and questioning. Yesterday, the average waiting time at Huwarra was over two hours.

Over the course of six hours, international activists working with ISM were able to escort many people through the illegal barriers, and facilitate the release of men detained without charge. Through physical accompaniment, negotiation and other non-violent means, the ISM was able to pressure Israeli Occupation Force (IOF) soldiers into allowing the passage of many Palestinians. Using this tactic, they were able to allow many pregnant women, small children and people with medical issues to pass. Without international accompaniment, the soldiers do not have any interests in treating Palestinians as humans and often force them to wait the entire day in the hot sun.

In response to the international presence, the soldiers brought an additional 15 soldiers, and threatened the ISM activists with arrest, while the soldiers pushed, screamed and physically attempted to stop the internationals from documenting the closure with cameras. The internationals witnessed IOF soldiers pushing Palestinians, grabbing some by the throat, and continuously touching Palestinian women after being asked not to do so. The internationals were also threatened violently by soldiers with M-16 machine guns. On one occasion, a female soldier told a female activist, “Fuck you, I will shoot you with my big gun,” after the international asked why the Palestinians were being delayed.

In the end, activists were able facilitate the crossing of about 20 people, forcing the IOF to create a “humanitarian line,” where women, children and the elderly were allowed to pass with more efficiency. After exhausting the patience of the soldiers at Huwara, the activists moved to Beit Iba checkpoint on the road to Tulkarem.

At Beit Iba, activists found eight young men in detention, one of whom was in isolation in a metal cell not much larger than the width of his shoulders. The man, named Bashir, had been in detention for over 8 hours, and when asked why, the soldiers told the activists that he was a “wanted, dangerous, terrorist.” After investigation, it turned out that the man had been detained that morning after he intervened in the case of an IOF soldier sexually harassing a Palestinian women. Once again, when the activists attempted to remain in the checkpoint to speak with the detained men, activists were physically assaulted, and threatened with arrest.

The other seven men were detained in a metal pen, surrounded by razor wire. Many had been there for close to six hours. The ISM activists brought them food, water and phones to call their families. Most of those detained were university students from al-Najah in Nablus, one was a Palestinian Authority policeman, and one was a taxi driver. The students had final exams the next day and most reported being stopped every day. When asked, the soldiers said they were detained because the Israeli intelligence had flagged their names.

After over one and a half hours of negotiation, the activists were able to pursuade the soldiers to let Bashir out of isolation and put with the other men. After an additional 30 minutes, all the men were released. As the ISM was leaving Beit Iba, a man of approximately 16 years of age was pulled from the crowd of waiting Palestinians and the IOF attempted to detain him. The man’s ID was not cross referenced with the list of “wanted persons,” and the soldiers gave no justification for singling him out. In response, ISM activists physically prevented the man from being taken by surrounding him with their bodies, and after de-esculating the situation, they accompanied the man to the front of the checkpoint. ISM activists remained with the man during his “interrogation,” in which the soldiers asked him very little. When this was over, the soldiers attempted to detain him again, but the activists were able to successfully accompany him out of the checkpoint. Although he was unable to pass into Tulkarem to visit his mother he was at least not arrested.

Palestine Info: “Palestinian captives in Negev wage hunger strike over Qana massacre”

July 31st, 2006

Ramallah – Palestinian prisoners in the infamous Israeli Negev prison went on a hunger strike Monday in condemnation of the Israeli massacre in the Lebanese town of Qana as well as the intensified quelling measures the IPA is exercising against them.

More than 2,320 Palestinian detainees in that prison heeded calls from their jailed political blocs and returned their meals, adding they were on a hunger strike over the Israeli butchery in the tiny Lebanese village where 60 Lebanese civilians, 37 of them children, sheltering in one of the town’s buildings were buried under rubble at dawn Sunday.

Israeli warplanes dropped their heavy bombs and unleashed a number of their missiles at the building; thus, leveling it to the ground. Rescue workers spent a hard time in getting the severed small bodies from under the debris.

The prisoners elaborated that they were also protesting the intensified Israeli prisons authority (IPA) quelling measures against them and the deliberate medical neglect of sick Palestinian captives.

More than 50 Palestinian prisoners in that jail were reportedly suffering chronic diseases; yet; they weren’t accorded proper attention or offered the suitable medication as mandated by international treaties and statutes.

Arbitrary extension of the administrative detention terms of a number of captives without any justified reason or grounds, and the severe manhandling of other captives were also among the incidents that spurred the hunger strike, according to the prisoners’ sources.

More than 10,000 Palestinian citizens, among them 350 children and 130 women in addition to scores of elderly people, were unjustly incarcerated in harsh conditions in Israeli jails for many years now, with the entire “civilized” world paying no attention to their sufferings.

© Copyright palestine-info.co.uk

NGOs in Gaza Call Attention to Humanitarian Crisis and War Crimes

On July 30th, the Palestinian NGOs Network “PNGO” organized a demonstration in solidarity with the Lebanese people in front of the United Nations head quarter in Gaza city. Similarly, over twenty international humanitarian aid agencies and non-governmental organisations have joined forces to issue a joint appeal for action on July 27th in response to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Thousands of children, women, youth and NGO representatives participated in the demonstration condemning loudly the Israeli massacres committed in Lebanon and raising their solidarity with the people of Lebanon.

The demonstrators called for immediate international investigation into the Israeli war Crimes in both the occupied Palestinian Territories and Lebanon.

Ma’an news printed the press release, which is as follows:

International non governmental organizations providing humanitarian assistance to the civilian population in Gaza warn that more and more people are in need of help as hostilities between Israel and Palestinian factions continue unabated. Humanitarian access to the hardest hit communities remains difficult, and access of humanitarian staff in and out of Gaza is restricted to expatriate staff only. While global attention quite rightly focuses on the Lebanese civilians trying to escape the fighting in Lebanon, the 1.4 million people of Gaza are trapped, unable to flee from the current hostilities.

The undersigned international non-governmental organizations call upon the international community to work with all parties to:

-Adopt an immediate cease fire and seek a peaceful resolution of the crisis,
-Ensure full access to humanitarian assistance for Palestinian civilians living in Gaza to realize their critical needs, and
-Protect the lives of civilians in Gaza, in particular children, and the essential infrastructure that supports them in accordance with international humanitarian law.

International NGOs in Gaza are overwhelmed by calls for assistance as families struggle to cope without incomes, and without the means to ensure their families are safe and protected from the violence. For example, on Friday July 21, 2006, Fuad’s family fled in the middle of the night from the village of Shokeh in the southern part of Gaza- just like tens of other families in this village – when a military incursion supported by tanks began firing in the direction of their tin shacks. Eleven-year-old Fuad woke up terrified. He says: “We had to leave the house immediately. I don’t know how long it took us to walk to Rafah. Although we are living in a tent now, it is better for us because maybe it is safer for us here.”

As NGOs scale up their humanitarian response, they have assessed the impact of the recent hostilities on their ongoing programs. In Beit Lahia 27 greenhouses recently rehabilitated by CARE were completely destroyed and another 23 were damaged in the last month. Approximately 100 square meters of the Beit Hanoun Municipality playground, rehabilitated by Save the Children, was severely damaged and 30 meters of the playground’s wall were knocked down. World Vision’s partner agency, the Union of Agricultural Work Committees, reports extensive damage to their Beit Hanoun office and loss of equipment as a result of a recent incursion.

Other NGOs report recent damage to project sites, delays in implementation due to lack of access, and the freezing of donor funds for certain activities.

The last six months has seen a steady deterioration in the humanitarian situation in Gaza. The households hit hardest are those who rely on salaries from the Palestinian Authority. The public institutions that deliver basic services such as health, water, sanitation, and waste disposal are severely compromised as a result of the fiscal crisis. Rising costs due to fuel and commodity shortages, problems in bringing in supplies and difficulties in reaching the most heavily impacted areas, severely hampers the ability of NGOs and public institutions to monitor, assess and provide assistance to the people who need it most.

Action Against Hunger (ACH)
American Friends Service Committee (AFSC)
Campaign for the Children of Palestine
CARE International
Community Habitat Finance International (CHF)
Cooperazione Internazionale (COOPI)
Italian Consortium of Solidarity (ICS)
Japan International Volunteer Center (JVC)
Gruppo di Volontariato Civile (GVC)
Lutheran World Federation
Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP UK)
Medecin du Monde France
Medecin du Monde Greece
Medecin du Monde Spain
Medico International
Mennonite Central Committee
Merlin – Medical Emergency Relief International
Oxfam International
Palestine Group of Sweden
Relief International
Ricerca e Cooperazione
Save the Children Alliance
Solidarite Socialiste, Belgium
Swedish Cooperative Centre
Swedish Organization for Individual Relief (SOIR)
United Nation Association International Service (UNAIS)
World Vision Jerusalem

For More Information, Please Contact:
Jennifer Moorehead, Save the Children UK (jennifer_scpal@palnet.com)
George Sahhar, CARE ( sahhar@carewbg.org)
Allyn Dhynes, World Vision (allyn_dhynes@wvi.org)

Observer: “We suffer together, we leave together”

from the Observer, Sunday July 30th

By Fida Qishtais, a 23 year old community activist and educator from Rafah in the Gaza Strip. She founded Lifemakers Center which serves 300 children in Rafah.

July 13th

After two weeks of waiting with my parents and brother at the Egyptian border crossing, I returned home to Rafah, Gaza from a trip. We waited because the Israelis didn’t allow us to cross the border. We spent two days outside the border terminal in Egypt and 12 days inside the border terminal. 4,000 Palestinians waited like this, some for three weeks.

Sometimes we got food and water, sometimes not. I don’t remember if I really slept or not during twelve days inside the terminal. I didn’t eat a lot because really I didn’t want to go to the bathroom. It wasn’t a bathroom actually – four walls and a piece of plastic for the door. Nine Palestinians died there. I could have been one of them. I was more scared for my dad and mum because even young people died. From the border, we could see the Israeli helicopters shooting rockets into Rafah in Gaza, and destroying the nearby Palestinian airport. We heard that the crossing would open, but the Israelis didn’t agree.

We ended up stuck in the arrival hall instead. The Israelis said just 250 people could cross, though 570 people were stuck in the hall. Then we became 800 people, with thousands waiting outside. The people said, we suffer together, we leave together. Sometimes we slept without dinner and without blankets and woke up without breakfast, until the last five days when the Red Cross came. One mother learned that her son was killed by the Israeli army. She couldn’t get home for the funeral, though we were a kilometre from Gaza. A mother is a mother according to all laws. I watched when another mother got the news that her three sons were arrested by Israeli solders. She passed out for five minutes. I thought she had died. Sick people were stuck there and not allowed to go back to the hospitals. They said, “We don’t want food or blankets. We need to go home.”

Nobody helped, until some people called the Palestinian armed resistance. The resistance called the Egyptians and gave them three days to open the crossing. The Egyptians said the Israelis threatened that if Palestinians were allowed to cross the border, they would shoot and kill them. Finally, men from the Palestinian resistance broke the Israeli-built separation wall. They entered the Egyptian side and helped the people to get out. We got home through the hole they opened. Thank God I’m finally home. I feel my body is broken. No shower for two weeks, can you imagine? But let me share with you how life is at home. The people in Gaza live in a big prison, for 1.4 million people, the biggest prison in the world.

After I got home, I took a shower. But before I did, my sister told me we don’t have too much water, because the Israeli army destroyed the water and electricity lines. We have water once for two hours every four days, and electricity six hours a day. This is how the people live these days: no water, no food and no money from salaries. We always say when somebody visits us, go home and tell your people about life here. Now people need to be educated about Lebanon too. It’s awful to think about what’s going on there. Sometimes I close my eyes and say war, it’s just a dream, a nightmare. Why is this war happening? The Hizbollah militia arrested two Israelis solders. They tried to help us, as Palestinians.

At that time, in the Gaza Strip, in two weeks, the Israeli army killed 94 people. The war in Lebanon is not a war to defend Israeli rights. It’s a war to create a second Palestine by displacing more people, and creating more suffering. Everybody hopes to have a good life and future. We love our kids, mothers, and fathers. We love our families like you, and we feel sad when somebody is killed. We are humans, of flesh and blood. Think of that for a minute please. Hearts can tell what information is accurate and guide people to the truth. Truth can tell us how to reach justice and peace.

July 23rd

I finished my work and went home at 11:30 pm. There were many people in the street. This is how the people spend their time at night in Rafah because its really too hot to be in their homes. On another part of our street was our neighbour’s wedding. The people there stayed really late. I got home and tried to have fun with my sisters and brother. We watched a TV program. I could hear the Israeli helicopters and planes. I knew in my heart something going to happen, but I didn’t know what! Suddenly we heard the loud sound of a bomb.

Everybody ran to see what had happened. It’s not possible to stop yourself when people are in need of you. My mum cried and asked my brother to stop and to get home after we heard people shouting, especially kids. I recognized their voices. Everybody was running. We opened the door to allow people to enter our house in order to be safe. My mum asked our neighbour who was sitting on his balcony, where was this bombing? It was very close and we really felt as if the house would collapse. He said it was the house of Sami our other neighbour. An Israeli F16 fighter plane bombed it.

Some people were injured who were walking in the street. Soon we heard that a child was injured too. I couldn’t walk. The bombing was really close to us, just 30 or 40 metres away. The bricks and stones flew everywhere. That’s how people got injured. I imagined myself walking, or the taxi just ten minutes late, because I always cross that same street when I get home. I could have been one of them. I was most scared for the kids and their families who left the wedding and ran everywhere.

The sounds of the scared children made me cry. I wanted to help, but I couldn’t. I went to the hospital and found that everybody was alright. Now, last night on our street the Israelis called and warned three families to leave their houses, saying they would bomb them. The Israelis did the same in other camps in Rafah, warning a total of ten families. The next day I felt I needed to do something different. I called my friend and asked her to meet at a restaurant because I will be busy next week at work. It was the first day I planned to rest. I took a taxi and went to the nearby city of Khan Yunis. In the taxi there was a big discussion about the war in Lebanon, what’s going on in the Gaza Strip now, and why all of this happened. I always appreciate what old people say. An old man said to the driver, my son, what’s happening in Lebanon is the same as Gaza.

And the Israelis who kill here kill there. They tell the other people that they are defending themselves. Son this trouble can be ended by negotiation, not war. War for two Israeli soldiers? He said, son, I left my house when I was ten years old. I remember everything that happened. My father said we will return soon after a few days, but we are not back still, 50 years later. And now I see myself in Lebanon, among these thousands who leave. They don’t even look back because they don’t want to see the sad image of a friend killed or a house destroyed. I found myself asking the old man, do you think we will live like this for long?

He responded, I think people here, in Iraq, Lebanon, Darfur, Vietnam and other poor countries will have a good life, if the world sees the true picture of what is happening here, and if we work good to educate the other countries in the world. That made me feel a little bit better because part of my work is to educate people. The next day as always we were watching TV to follow the news from Lebanon. In the middle of that, I was shocked that they start to talk about Gaza, the northern Gaza Strip. Nothing was happening there, but suddenly the Israeli army entered the north of Gaza.

They killed 19 people, and injured many. I tried to make myself feel better by visiting friends I met when I was stuck for two weeks at the border crossing between Gaza and Egypt trying to return home. It was hard to visit them before because the Israeli army invaded El Maghazi where these friends live. The Israeli army killed 18 and injured more than 40. When I got out of Rafah in the taxi we heard the news that the Israelis invaded Rafah, and they were in the Elshoka area. One person was injured. My mum looked at me, and I said we will not go back. We will see if my friends are doing well and will leave in 10 minutes. We get home after an hour, but in Rafah the Israeli attack had a high cost. Many families moved to schools to be safe, and that made me feel badly.

The Israeli army demolished my family’s home in 2004. That’s my family’s story again with a new family. It’s the same city, the same people, and the passage of time has not made a difference, even in 2006. We were there three years ago. And they were there an hour ago. It’s the same story, the same. In Rafah, we have water once for two hours every four days, and electricity now twelve hours a day. This is how people live these days: no water, no food and no money from salaries. Everybody hopes to have a good life and future. We love our kids, mothers, and fathers. We love our families like you, and we feel sad when somebody is killed. We are humans, of flesh and blood. Think of that for a minute please. Never rely just on information from the stronger side. Hearts can tell what information is accurate and guide people to the truth. Truth can tell us how to reach justice and peace.

Soldiers Make Residents Pay to Pass Checkpoint

by W.B.

Asira Al Shamaliyeh, a town of about 12,000 located a few kilometers north of the mountains from Nablus, has come to suffer under a new aspect of occupation. Asira has in recent months been effectively cut off from Nablus by increasing restrictions at the Sabatosh checkpoint. In addition to the weekly incursions by the occupation forces located in the mountains next to the town, which Israel claims are of the highest security importance, soldiers at the checkpoint are now distributing a form of personal abuse to the Palestinians attempting to pass.

Villagers, most of whom can only cross the checkpoint by taxi or service (shared taxi), are being turned away unless they make personal purchases for the soldiers at the checkpoint. Demands for hummous, cigarettes, cola, candy, and the like are made by soldiers under threat of restriction of movement. Furthermore, the soldiers are demanding the drivers pay for the purchases themselves, with a false promise of reimbursement when they return to the checkpoint. This humiliating behavior is enforced on the drivers whose livelihood depends on fares between Asira and Nablus, often taking their profits for the day. Soldiers even selfishly take food, drinks, and candy bought by Palestinians while in Nablus for their families back in Asira.

This stealing and lying from the soldiers continues as another humiliating form of daily harrassment in the Nablus region.