International Solidarity Movement - Page 183 - Nonviolence. Justice. Freedom.

Thousands join the funeral of Malik Shahin, killed on tuesday in Bethlehem

9th of December 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied

On Tuesday, thousands of Palestinians joined the funeral of 20-year-old Malik Akram Shahin in the streets of Bethlehem. Malik was shot dead by Israeli forces on Monday night, during a detention raid in the Dheisheh refugee camp where he lived with his family. He was the fifth martyr in his city alone.

The mourners, wearing the symbolic red and white keffiyeh of Popular Front for Liberation of Palestine – Malik’s political party – held the funeral procession from the Beit Jala hospital to the martyr’s home. Malik is the second person from Dheisheh refugee camp to be killed by Israeli forces since the murder of Motaz Ibrahim Zawara on October 14th during a demonstration in Bethlehem.

According to medical personnel from Beit Jala Governmental Hospital, Malik was killed with an explosive bullet fired at his head, which smashed his skull and exploded into “hundreds of pieces.” Also called ‘dum-dum’ bullets, the use of this kind of explosive ammunition is forbidden by international law and considered as a war crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, of which Palestine is a member as of last April. Medical sources added that considering where Malik was shot in the head with this type of bullet, there was no doubt that the intention was to kill him.

Following Malik’s funeral, clashes took place at the northern entrance of Bethlehem near the Rachel’s Tomb checkpoint; two Palestinians were injured and evacuated to the hospital, while many people suffered from tear gas. As demonstrated by Malik’s death by illegal ammunition, Israeli forces are guilty of serious violations of international law and human rights; such violations have been in constant and troubling increase across the occupied Palestinian territory since the beginning of October.

ACT NOW ! Ask the UN to drop G4S

December 9th, 2015 | Codepink, BDS Movement | Occupied Palestine

G4S, the largest private security company in the world, is involved in brutal human rights violationsat detention centers worldwide, including in Israeli prisons where Palestinian political prisoners and children are tortured and held without trial. The U.N. officially opposes these violent and illegal practices, yet it purchases more than $22 million in G4S contracts each year, ignoring G4S’s transgressions and the U.N.’s own guidelines. Join Palestinian prisoners’ rights group Addameer and organizations across the globe in calling on the UN to drop its contracts with G4S!

In April 2015, a group of Palestinian human rights organizations wrote a letter to the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon urging the UN to terminate its contracts with international security company G4S due to its complicity in the Israeli occupation’s prison system and human rights violations as well as a record of grave human rights violations around the world.

Today, on November 29, the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, Palestinian human rights organizations joined by over 220 solidarity groups, trade unions, human rights organizations and migrant solidarity groups from around the world renew the call and urge the UN to cancel its contract with G4S because of the role the company plays in human rights abuses in Palestine and other parts of the world.

ACT Now:

Thank you for taking action on behalf of justice and equality.

Nancy, Ariel, and the CODEPINK team

Israeli forces uproot trees and destroy greenhouses in Kafa district

8th of December 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Tulkarm Team | Kafa district, occupied Palestine

Settlers from the nearby settlements and soldiers watched the scene

On Tuesday, Israeli forces entered the village of Kafa in the outskirts of occupied Tulkarm. Within a few hours, they uprooted over 150 olive trees, 30 lemon trees and demolished four greenhouses from the land of the Esmail family. Even though this land has been owned by the family for multiple generations, Israel has declared it state property. “They didn’t just cause a loss of income, they also attacked my culture and my heritage”, says Munir Fathi Esmail, owner of the land.

The farmers were harvesting tomatoes inside one of the greenhouses when the Israeli forces entered the farm with bulldozers. The army didn’t give any notice for their intervention. The operation was covered by 12 soldiers from the israeli army and 4 men from the Isreali border police. Palestinians witnessing the demolition suspected that some of the armed Israeli civilians that assisted during the destruction were from the nearby illegal Israeli settlement of Avnei Hefetz, located just a few kilometers away. One of the armed settlers was instructing the bulldozer where to go, and telling the international human rights activists that where present to back off.

Israeli forces uprooted trees with a bulldozer

Munir explained that even though he will be able to buy new greenhouses, the economic loss resulting to the uprooting would be severe. “I will be dead before the new trees will be old and strong enough to give the same amount of harvest”, he stated.
The destruction of farmland, wich is illegal under international law, is just one form of oppression that the Palestinian farmers are facing. This farm, like most other agricultural areas in the West Bank is located in Area C, as 60% of the West Bank, fully controlled by the Israeli authorities. For Palestinian farmers in area C, this means harsh restrictions of movement, sometimes not being allowed access to their lands as well as not being allowed to build new constructions. Israel uses these methods as a way to get Palestinian farmers to leave their land, in order to give more room for expanding settlements. But Munir Fathi Esmail is determined to stay : “I will plant new trees, and I will never leave my land.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXfo5ExK6a4&app=desktop

Closure of major checkpoint in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron)

8th December 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Khalil Team | Al-Khalil, occupied Palestine

Israeli forces on Monday, 7^th December 2015, have closed Shuhada checkpoint in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron) for an indefinite period of time.

This checkpoint marks the border between the H2 area of al-Khalil, under full Israeli control, and the H1 area, supposedly under full Palestinian control. Checkpoint 56 is the major checkpoint leading from the Palestinian market area at Bab al-Zawwiya into the Tel Rumeida neighbourhood and the small stretch of Shuhada Street that is still accessible for Palestinians.

With the closure of this checkpoint, Palestinian residents are facing another crackdown on their most basic rights. Palestinian freedom of movement is already severely restricted by numerous checkpoints and harsh checking procedures at the checkpoints. On November 1^st, Israeli forces also declared the area a ‘closed military zone’, further impinging on their freedom of movement.

Recently closed and blocked off Shuhada checkpoint

The closure of this particular checkpoint leaves the residents, families, children and elderly, but also school-children and teachers from Qurtuba school – forced to pass through this checkpoint on their way to and from school every day – stranded on the wrong side of the now inaccessible checkpoint. Anyone trying to go into this area is thus forced to take a very long detour, in order to navigate both the closed checkpoint and the ‘closed military zone’.

According to Israeli forces, the checkpoint has been closed for ‘renovations’. Information about the duration of the closure differs and ranges between one and two weeks. Still, it is not clear for how long this closure will be restricting Palestinians everyday life.

ACT NOW. To Save Palestinian refugee in Saudi Arabia from death penalty after unfair trial

7th December 2015 | Palestinian Centre for Human Rights | Press release

On 17 November 2015, a Saudi court sentenced to death a Palestinian Refugee, Ashraf Fayadh (35), for alleged blasphemous statements during a discussion, which are also mentioned in his poetry. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) calls upon you to participate in the global efforts to halt Fayadh’s execution and to release him.

On 01 January 2014, Saudi authorities arrested Fayadh, who lives in Saudi Arabia since he was born. He was charged with, inter alia, insulting the “Divine Self” and the Prophet Muhammad; mocking and refuting the verses of God and the Prophet’s; spreading atheism; and denying the Day of Resurrection, Fate and Divine Decree. The charges mainly depended on a complaint reported by someone to the police relevant to Fayadh’s poetry published in 2008.

Fayadh denied the charges against him and called three witnesses to refute the testimony of the man who reported him to the religious police. The defense witnesses said that the man reported Fayadh following a personal dispute and that they had never heard blasphemous statements from Fayadh. Fayadh also stressed that his book of love poetry titled “Instructions Within” was published 8 years ago and never written to insult religion.

Fayadh emphasized that he was innocent and begged the court for mercy saying, “I am repentant to God Most Gracious and I am innocent of what was mentioned in my book in this case.” However, the court convicted Fayadh and sentenced him to four years in prison and 800 lashes, on 26 May 2014.

The situation became worse when the prosecutor had appealed the ruling. As a result, the appeal court referred the case to the lower court but with a different judge. The new judge reversed the previous sentence and sentenced Fayadh to death for apostasy, on 17 November, 2015. The sentence must be approved by the Appeal Court and the Supreme Court to be applied.

Fayadh has not got the minimum guarantees of the fair trial. He was denied the right to access to his lawyer during interrogations. The court ignored the testimonies of the defense witnesses. Moreover, the convection itself goes against the minimum standards of human rights, especially the right to speech and freedom of conscience.

Five UN Special Rapporteurs in a joint statement issued on 03 December 2015 urged the Government of Saudi Arabia to halt the execution of Fayadh. The Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Christof Heyns, highlighted that the execution verdict of Fayadh was issued “on basis seemingly unreliable evidence to the effect that he exercised his freedom of expression after an unfair trial. This has to be deplored as an arbitrary and thus unlawful execution”

The misery of Fayadh also has been moving some international, regional, and national NGOs to take actions to prevent his execution. Amnesty International launched a letter-writing campaign for calling the Saudi authorities to release Fayadh. Human Rights Watch and the Arab Organization for Human Rights addressed the issue as well. Therefore, a lot of efforts are needed from all of us to rescue Fayadh’s life.

PCHR calls upon you to take urgent actions to pressurize the Saudi officials to release Fayadh. Taking an action now could save the life of an innocent man who is going to be beheaded in a savage manner. In addition, your action will be an important precedent against the death penalty in general and against persecution of freedom of conscience in particular.

Raji Sourani

Director of PCHR