International Solidarity Movement - Page 199 - Nonviolence. Justice. Freedom.

Israeli forces continue to arbitrarily declare ‘closed military zones’ around al-Khalil (Hebron)

9th November 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil Team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

On November 7^th 2015, the Abu Rajab family in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron) received a military order by the Israeli forces declaring most of their house of being under military control for an indefinite time. The house is right on the corner of the Queitun checkpoint and has previously been targeted by Israeli forces.

Since 2000, the Israeli military has occupied the roof of the building of the Abu Rajab family. On Thursday evening, the 5th of November 2015, the Israeli forces broke into the house and raided the family’s home, barricaded the front door, broke the windows and doors and left the family living next door startled without any further information. The home was empty the night the Israeli army broke in as the resident was visiting a relative. The following night, Friday the 6th of November 2015, around 12 am, around 70 soldiers and 21 military jeeps gathered around the house of Abu Rajab family. Shortly after that the Israeli forces arrived at the house questioning the family about their whereabouts. Around 6.30am, the residents of the Abu Rajab family were forcefully woken up by the Israeli army who presented them with a military order that declared part of their house a ‘closed military zone’ for an unspecified time. They were told that they would receive a new order soon, leaving them completely in the dark about what would happen to their house in the future and unable to enter their own home until the military order will be revoked.

In 2011, the Israeli forces took over the second and third floor of Abu Rajab’s house in addition to the roof. Although the family has tried to take the case to court, they have been unsuccessful so far in regaining the parts of their home that have been taken by Israeli forces. According to international humanitarian law, it is illegal to take over private residential areas for military purposes. Nevertheless, Israeli forces have been continuously raiding homes and restricting Palestinian access to several parts of al-Khalil (Hebron) with complete austerity.

Abu Rajab house after being ransacked by Israeli forces

One of the members of the family has reported that many houses in the Abu Al-Rish neighbourhood have been raided during the past week and military presence has been increasing rapidly in the area. Just last week, one of the family members was beaten up by Israeli settlers who entered their house through the garden from a house next to the Abu Rajab compound, which is under control of the Israeli army. Until now, the family, like many others, are left completely in the dark about whether they will be able to take back what is rightfully theirs and live in constant fear of escalating violence and illegal confiscation of their lands.

Israeli forces detain Palestinian family in their home for 26 hours & wreak havoc on YAS center

9th November 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

On the 7th of November, soldiers entered the home of the Haddad family from 5am and did not leave until 7am the following day. At this time, there were 8 people inside the home who were forced into one of the rooms. 20 soldiers entered Haddad’s home and began taking pictures, while settlers were cheering and dancing outside the front.

The family was denied any privacy as the door remained open and a guard was posted at the door for the duration of the occupation. There were significant delays for the bathroom. The youngest daughter, aged 8, had to wait for over an hour and each time the door had to be kept open.

One of the daughters of the family, aged 25, was permitted to leave to purchase food, however she was unable to return as clashes broke out in the area. She was forced to stay with her sister, therefore the family had very little food. They were permitted only 5 minutes in the kitchen and were not able to have a square meal. Whilst the family was detained in room, soldiers used the bathroom and kitchen freely, and tracked mud through the carpets. During this same period of time, the YAS centre was raided and activists were detained inside. Not only did the military occupy the centre, they also destroyed the media facilities in the apartment, stealing and destroying cameras, computers, hard drives, and other important equipment.

First aid crews need your support to save lives!

9th November 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Huwara Team | occupied Palestine

On October 30th 2015, Israeli forces shot at one of Fadi’s ambulances which resulted in the windows of one of the ambulances being broken alongside other damages.

Ambulances are crucial for first aid response in demonstrations and confrontations with the Israeli army — Ambulances are crucial for first aid response in demonstrations and confrontations with the Israeli forces.

As Israeli aggression towards Palestinians escalates during confrontations, medical aid such as that provided by Fadi’s Ambulance is essential for the safety and medical aid of the demonstrators.

With over 7,000 reported injuries by the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the month of October alone ranging from live ammunition, teargas asphyxiation, injuries from plastic coated steel bullets (which are often referred to as rubber bullets, but can have been fatal in the past) and now the attacks on ambulances by Israeli forces; the work of medical crews on the field is more vital than ever!

Medics crews on the field carry an injured demonstrator despite soldiers' harassment — Medic crews on the field carry an injured demonstrator despite soldiers’ harassment

Fadi’s Ambulance consists of two ambulances and 60 members of on the field aid crews. 52 members are pure volunteers, which means they do not receive a salary for their assistance on the field.

Due to the severe damage suffered on the ambulances, both to the exterior and the interior of the vehicles, we are asking the global community to help in raising money in order to be able to continue our jobs in tending to the injured people on the ground. The money will go to the maintenance of the cars as well as covering the deficiencies in medical aid, including the basics such as, gauze, cotton, alcohol. Other needed materials include oxygen cylinders, and a machine to test the oxygen saturation levels in the blood. Fadi’s Ambulance covers confrontations in eight different places and others when needed. Our work is being hindered due to lack of supplies, and although we have dedicated volunteers who have also been attacked just like our ambulances, we too need your support to rebuild our equipment which is crucial for our work.

Medics on the field respond within seconds to demonstrators when they get injured — Medics respond within seconds to demonstrators when they get injured.

Medics are always present in demonstrations, proving their commitment to the resistance — First aid crews are always present in demonstrations and many of them work as volunteers.

Please consider making a donation through our online account or Paypal and write an e-mail to palreports@gmail.com , describing ‘Fadi’s Ambulance’ in the subject, detailing your name and donation amount in the message.

If you can’t donate, but wish to support the medic crews on the field, share this widely with all your friends, family and all the people who care!

Your support will help save peoples’ lives!

URGENT ALERT: Shuhada Street, Tel Rumeida declared ‘Closed Military Zone’; human rights activists expelled; homes raided

8th November 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

The International Solidarity Movement (ISM) urges the international community to take immediate and urgent action against the Israeli occupation forces’ recent declaration of the Tel Rumeida neighborhood and Shuhada street in downtown Hebron as a closed ‘Closed Military Zone.’

On November 1st, the occupation forces instructed all Palestinian residents to ‘register’. Since November 3rd, all non residents, including human rights workers, doctors, teachers, plumbers, and others are barred from entry.

This declaration comes amidst a month long escalation claiming the lives of over 70 Palestinians across the West Bank and Gaza – one third of them in Hebron. Many of the extrajudicial killings in Hebron are occurring in the areas now evacuated of all internationals who had been monitoring and reporting what they witness.

As of November 3rd, all international human rights monitors in Tel Rumeida have been evicted from the area under threat of arrest and subsequent deportation. Although the order is being issued for one day, and renewed daily, the occupation forces have told residents and evicted human rights workers that it will be in force for the long term.

Israeli forces are targeting not only international human rights observers, but also Palestinian activists. On Saturday, November 7th, Israeli forces commandeered the local activist group Youth Against Settlements’ center and turned it into a military base for 24 hours. They completely destroyed the media center, stole several dozen electronic devices, and took Palestinian activists as hostages. A YAS spokesperson has been illegally held in prison for over a week already. Israeli forces also raided other Palestinian homes, trapping families inside, while settlers freely roamed the streets and chanted “Death to the Arabs!”

“Soldiers and settlers are making life for the Palestinians intolerable to force them to leave their houses voluntarily. This is a crime under international law. They are targeting activists to silence the truth and stop the truth from reaching the whole world”, explains Tel Rumeida resident Abed Salaymeh. Other international human rights observers have been directly targeted by Israeli forces through arrests, evictions and settler violence. Such conditions facilitate further extrajudicial killings in this neighborhood, as well as further takeovers of Palestinian homes by Israeli settlers.

The ISM calls for:
–       An immediate end to the ‘Closed Military Zone’ order on Tel Rumeida and Shuhada Street
–       Cessation of threats and harassment of residents and foreign human rights activists
–       Removal of restrictions on movement throughout downtown Hebron
–       Removal of all illegal Israeli settlers from Hebron

We call on civil society worldwide to support the above demands and do all they can to pressure the Israeli government to cease its severe human rights abuses against the Palestinian people, including joining the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

For more information, please see:

B’Tselem Press Release, Nov. 6, 2015: “New restrictions on movement in Hebron and area disrupt lives and constitute prohibited collective punishment”

B’Tselem, Oct. 20: “Footage from Hebron: Israeli military enables 5-day settler attack”

International Solidarity Movement, Nov. 7: Palestinians held hostage in their own homes by Israeli forces in al-Khalil (Hebron)

International Solidarity Movement, Nov. 4: International human rights defenders arrested and evicted while “Hebron is becoming ghettoized”

International Solidarity Movement, Oct. 30: Palestinian residents of Hebron required to register in preparation for severe new restrictions

School children kept waiting on stairs by Shuhada street for nearly an hour, 1 November — School children kept waiting on stairs by Shuhada street, 1 November

Help ISM continue our work!

Friends, the last month has been a morbid display of Israeli force in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The number of killings, injuries, and arrests of Palestinians is rising so rapidly that it is becoming increasingly difficult to clarify one extrajudicial execution from another. Two of these murders of unarmed youth occurred directly in front of our apartment in Tel Rumeida. In spite of escalating violence and amid a Zionist media storm, Palestinian resilience and resistance continues.

Palestinians and international solidarity activists are being increasingly targeted in our work of supporting this resistance. Explicit aggression towards Palestinians and internationals in Hebron (Al-Khalil) has increased drastically. Threats, intimidation, verbal and physical abuse by soldiers and illegal settlers has become a daily occurrence in our work.

On the 2nd of November one of our volunteers was taken from his home, assaulted and arrested. The following day, two international activists were arrested while monitoring human rights abuses against school children at the Shuhada street checkpoint. That afternoon, the rest of our team was evicted from our Hebron residence by Israeli forces, without the agreement of the landlord, under threat of arrest. This was carried out on the pretense that we had not been registered as residents during recent procedures surrounding the recurrent Closed Military Zone orders.

A concerted effort is being made to intimidate and drive out all international presence from Hebron. In addition, the impunity of illegal settlers and Israeli forces has created conditions conducive to more violence and attacks throughout the West Bank. Within the past month, there have been several attacks on internationals working in the northern region of Nablus. While acting as a protective presence accompanying olive farmers during the harvest period, several of our volunteers were attacked by illegal settlers just one week ago.

We are receiving increasing requests by schools, farmers, villagers and residents abutting settlements for accompaniment and monitoring. In Gaza, we continue our work of recording atrocities and the resilience of the Palestinian population, in practical solidarity work on the ground. We maintain that our presence throughout the occupied territories is both lawful and more essential than ever.

To continue our work, we need help. WE NEED PEOPLE AND WE NEED MONEY! As you might imagine, our communications, travel, and legal costs are sky-rocketing during this tense time. We anticipate an increasing need for funding to both maintain our presence here and to address our need for legal representation, both for our Palestinian contacts and those of us coming from abroad. We welcome new volunteers, and we welcome financial support in whatever capacity it can be offered.

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