An estimated 400 – 500 people, most in their late teens, gathered at the hillside east of Jabaliya for the recurrent demonstration against the occupation. There was no organizer, leader or banners, and the demonstration was largely chaotic. Stones were thrown, mostly from quite far distances, tear gas drifted along the hillside. Youth trying to get past rolls of razor wire to attach the Palestinian flag on the fence facing Israel were met by tear gas as well as live ammunition.
(Photo by Charlie Andreasson)
Unlike previous bombardments with tear-gas cartridges, it was clear this time that the occupying power was deliberately trying to hit protesters with the cartridges, not only disperse them with gas. This procedure has previously caused deaths. Perhaps the most well-known case was in Nabi Salah on 9th December 2011 when Mustafa Tamimi was shot at close range.
Kamal Radwan hospital reported 17 casualties from the demonstration, most of them direct hits with tear-gas cartridges. Two were also shot by live ammunition in the legs. Previously injured demonstrators have explained the demonstrations as a manifestations against the impacts of the occupation: soaring unemployment, poverty and lack of confidence in the future.
(Photo by Charlie Andreasson)(Photo by Charlie Andreasson)
16th February 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Hebron Team | Hebron, Occupied Palestine
On Sunday, the 16th of February, Israeli soldiers and border police in Hebron fired tear gas and sound grenades at children on their way to school. The border police also chased the children, attempting to arrest them.
Soldiers and border police chasing schoolchildren in Hebron (photo by ISM)
At Checkpoint 29, around 7:30 a.m., a few children on their way to school (there are three schools near the checkpoint) were throwing stones at the soldiers stationed there. In response to this two border police and a soldier appeared from an alley and threw a sound grenade at the kids close to the United Nations school on Tareq Ben Ziyad Street.
This frightened not only the children who had thrown stones but all the children on their way to school, causing them to flee. When they did not catch any children the two border police and the soldier stood in front of the school blocking the entrance and started firing teargas at those who had fled.
As the border police and the soldier returned to the checkpoint, three new soldiers came out of an apartment across the street, preventing the children from entering their school. The soldiers continued firing teargas towards the crowd of upset and frightened children.
(Photo by ISM)
Tear gas is a nondiscriminatory nerve gas which affects all persons nearby. The gas often takes a long time to disperse, forcing children to go through the half-dispersed gas clouds on their way to school, leaving them crying and coughing. The use of tear gas against schoolchildren is common in Hebron.
In total, seven soldiers and two border police were involved in the incident, firing six tear gas grenades and two sound grenades at the children.
15th February 2014 | Operation Dove | Susiya, Occupied Palestine
On February 15th, 2014, more than 60 Palestinian men, women and children from the South Hebron Hills and city of Hebron gathered in the Palestinian village of Susiya and together with international and Israeli activists, participated in a nonviolent action organized by the South Hebron Hills Popular Committee. The action consisted in planting some 100 olive trees on Palestinian-owned land near the settlement of Susiya.
Palestinians planting olive trees near Susiya (Photo by Operation Dove)
At around 11:00 a.m. Palestinian activists started to plant olive trees in the Palestinian-owned fields close to the gravel road in front of the settlement of Susiya. An army car was already there and after some minutes additional Israeli forces arrived on the spot for a total of ten border police officers, sixteen soldiers and two policemen. In the meantime, other activists were affixing placards which read “no to occupation and settlement expansion” to trees and electricity poles.
At 11:14 a.m. the soldiers declared the area a “closed military zone” and after some minutes started pushing the activists away. A group of Palestinians slowed the Israeli forces’ action, giving other Palestinians time to continue planting olive trees along the gravel road. In some cases border police officers used harsh manners, even jostling some women. The Israeli forces were able to make Palestinians move about 100 meters away.
As soon as the soldiers stopped pushing, Palestinian women began singing while other activists took pictures in front of the soldiers. The planting of olive trees continued. At 11:49 a.m. an army vehicle with a water cannon arrived and some activists moved away. However, a small group of activists faced the vehicle, standing in front of it and waving placards and chanting slogans against the Israeli occupation. At 12:16 a.m. when the planting was over, the Palestinians slowly returned to the Palestinian village of Susiya.
Among the Palestinian activists was Mustafa Barghouti, member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (Palestinian Parliament) since 2006 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustafa_Barghouti).
That action was a direct reply to the uprooting of eighty olive trees in Palestinian fields near Susiya, which happened only five days previously (http://tuwaniresiste.operazionecolomba.it/?p=2994).
Palestinians from the South Hebron Hills are strongly committed to accessing their land for everyday farming activities.
Operation Dove has maintained an international presence in At-Tuwani and the South Hebron Hills since 2004.
For further information:
Operation Dove, 054 99 25 773
[Note: According to the Fourth Geneva Convention, the Hague Regulations, the International Court of Justice, and several United Nations resolutions, all Israeli settlements and outposts in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal. Most settlement outposts, including Havat Ma’on (Hill 833), are considered illegal also under Israeli law.]
15th February 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Tura, Occupied Palestine
On Saturday, February 15th, Demonstrators gathered at 11:30 a.m. by the village of Tura near the annexation wall to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the DFLP (Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine). People began chanting and marching in the direction of the checkpoint.
After 20 minutes of demonstrating, protesters decided to get back to the village, and the Israeli forces began shooting tear gas grenades and canisters, quickly followed by live ammunition. Several people suffered severely from tear gas inhalation. One man, close to the group of soldiers, was targeted and shot in the leg. He was immediately removed from the demonstration and taken to the hospital. As the protest was ending, another young man was shot in the stomach by a tear gas canister. The condition of those injured is unknown at this time.
Tura is located next to the two illegal settlements of Shaqed and Hinnanit. This proximity combined with the violence of the occupation brings weekly confrontations between the local population and the Israeli army. The Israeli forces occupying this area are known for their extremely violent repression.
14th February 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Kafr Qaddom, Occupied Palestine
At approximately 10:00 a.m. on Friday, the Israeli army positioned themselves on top of the hill overlooking Kafr Qaddom and on the closed road that leads to the illegal settlement, Qedumim.
As they did last week, the Israeli army attempted to portray themselves as peacemakers with a megaphone asking residents to go to their homes. This recurrent event is for the Israeli government’s new promotional film about the presence of the army in the West Bank.
Shortly thereafter, the residents of Kafr Qaddom burned tires and the Israeli army started shooting a large amount of tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets from the top of the mountain and from the road. One sniper with live ammunition was also placed on a large boulder among the olive trees. Residents responded with stones and were repeatedly forced back down the road by a bulldozer and the teargas. Many suffered from teargas inhalation and the canisters were often shot at head level which can cause serious injuries.
One person was hit in the neck by a rubber-coated steel bullet and was carried out of the demonstration unconscious and taken to the hospital. His condition is now stable. Another person was injured by a rubber-coated steel bullet in his leg and two persons by high-velocity teargas canisters in their legs.
The village of Kafr Qaddom has been holding a weekly Friday demonstration for over two years. The demonstrations in Kafr Qaddom are held in protest against the continued occupation of Palestine and for the right to access the land stolen by the illegal settlement of Qedumim. In addition, the village’s main road to Nablus has been blocked, adding 14 kilometers to the journey, which has caused two deaths when ambulances were not able to reach the village in time.
