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UPDATED: Murad Eshtewi, head of the Popular Committee of Kafr Qaddum, has been arrested

21st December 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Kafr Qaddum, Occupied Palestine

Second Update 24th December:

A military judge has ruled that Murad Eshtewi will be released from prison with a 7000 NIS bail. Nery Ramati, Murad’s lawyer, argued that it was unreasonable to continue to hold Murad for interrogation as he had not been interrogated since his arrest at 10am Friday morning.

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Update 24th December:

Murad Eshtewi was arrested on the 20th December and has still not been interrogated. Murad has not been charged with any crimes, though he is suspected of “incitement”. This charge appears to be based on a photograph of Murad with a megaphone. He is also suspected of entering a closed military zone.

Yesterday Murad attended Salem Court near Jenin where Israeli forces requested that his detention be extended for 8 days, it was granted for four days and his second hearing will be held on the 26th

Today Murad and his lawyers are trying to appeal this decision at Ofer prison in Ramallah.

In recent years Israel has imprisoned leaders of popular committees for “incitement” and similar charges. An example is Abdullah Abu Rahma, the head of Bil’in popular committee, who in 2010 was convicted of “incitement” and imprisoned for 18 months. He also received a 6 months suspended sentence that is active for 5 years and a 5000 NIS fine.

The imprisonment of Murad Eshtewi is part of Israel’s campaign to criminalise popular protests by using its military court.

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Yesterday morning, Murad Eshtewi, the head of the Popular Committee of Kufr Qaddum and leader of the Friday demonstrations was arrested and is still being held by Israeli forces.

At around 3:00 on Friday morning, Israeli soldiers entered the village of Kafr Qaddum, in Qalqilya district, arresting two citizens on the accusation of having taken part in the regular Friday demonstrations held in the village. The men were released the following morning without charges.

The house of Murad Eshtewi, the head of the Popular Committee of Kafr Qaddum, was also raided during the night incursion and he was subjected to aggressive questioning.

Later, at approximately 10:00 on Friday morning, two hours before the demonstration was due to begin, Mr Eshtewi was walking on the outskirts of the village and was ambushed and arrested by soldiers. He did not resist this arrest and yet Israeli forces were extremely aggressive in their use of both pepper spray and stun grenades. He has not yet been released.

His attorney, Lymor Goldstein, stated that, “Contrary to the fundamental principles of due process we have not been presented with the accusations against Murad nor has he been interrogated since his arrest. “

In recent weeks there has been a steady escalation of night raids, increasingly violent repression of Friday demonstrations, flying checkpoints and seemingly arbitrary arrests. In the past month alone there have been more than twenty night raids on houses in the village.

Last month a new army commander responsible for the area gave a verbal warning to villagers stating that, unless they suspend their Friday demonstrations, the military harassment outlined above would be increased.

A typical night raid will involve up to around fifty soldiers surrounding and entering a particular house. Tear gas is often released and live ammunition may be fired into the air to intimidate residents. Israeli soldiers may break windows and doors in order to enter the houses.

Arrestees are blindfolded and handcuffed before being taken for questioning to another location. Interrogation may take place in the back of an army jeep, on the ground at the side of the road, or within the police station. Frequently they are subjected to verbal and physical abuse. When released, the detainees are often left in the road, kilometers from their homes.

The villagers of Kafr Qaddum are currently unable to access much of their land due to the closure by the Israeli army of the village’s main and only road leading to Nablus in 2003. The road was closed in three stages, ultimately restricting access for farmers to the 11,000 dunams of land that lie along either side to one or two times a year. Since the road closure, the people of Kafr Qaddum have been forced to rely on an animal trail to access this area; the road is narrow and, according to the locals, intended only for animals. In 2004 and 2006, three villagers died when they were unable to reach the hospital in time. The ambulances carrying them were prohibited from using the main road and were forced to take a 13 km detour. These deaths provoked even greater resentment in Kafr Qaddum and, on 1 July 2011, the villagers decided to unite in protest in order to re-open the road and protect the land in danger of settlement expansion along it.

Metaphor in Gaza

23rd December 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Charlie Andreasson | Gaza, Occupied Palestine

Hundreds greet freed detainees at midnight rally in northern Gaza Strip (Photo by Charlie Andreasson)

You stand below a dam because you have discovered cracks where water leaks out. You try to seal them with your bare hands, but they are not enough. The pressure is too high, and the cracks too large. And you scream for help, to let people know what is happening, stop the pressure from the inside before the disaster happens. But no one listens to your warning, and no one seems to want to see the water that wells between your fingers. Some even claim you are exaggerating. And you stand there,not daring to move your hands, wondering how long you will be able to hold back the pressure, how long you can keep calling before your voice fails. This is the metaphor that best describes the frustration activists here feel from time to time, a frustration we have to deal with because it cannot pass in dejection.

To be an activist here is not just to go with farmers into the “buffer zone,” or out to sea with fishermen, more or less as human shields: to try to seal the cracks with your hands, if I am allowed to continue using the metaphor as an explanatory model. Far more time is spent interviewing victims, gathering information, going to demonstrations and writing articles, to call for help and draw attention to what is happening. And it is mainly during the search for information that you unwittingly also look for something to show that a change is afoot. One’s eyes skim through title after title, then suddenly it’s there, the article that makes you pause. Standing below the dam, you notice a change among those high above you. Maybe now something’s finally starting to happen. And you feel relief and joy, and share the news with all the activists you meet.

Most recently, on 8th December, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte had planned to inaugurate a container scanner at the Kerem Shalom checkpoint, but called off the whole thing when it became apparent that the scanner would not, contrary to Rutte’s assumptions, facilitate and thereby increase the movement of goods between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Israel is determined to keep these two parts of Palestine separated from each other.

On the same trip, Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans refused to accept an Israeli military escort in the 1967-occupied territories, instead canceling his planned visit to Hebron’s older neighborhoods. Other foreign ministers have recently visited them without military escorts, and Timmermans did not accept the new conditions to avoid creating a precedent.

Netherlands, you are great among activists here now. Upright, a standard-bearer for human rights, the defender of the Geneva Conventions. Only days later, we read that the Dutch water company Viten ended a partnership with Israeli water company Mekorot. Also on Rutte’s trip was Dutch Minister of Trade Lilianne Ploumen, whose visit to Mekorot the Israelis abruptly canceled. Perhaps this was because Dutch media had revealed that the same company was denying Palestinians water, but we may never know.

Netherlands, you are a light in the darkness, and may other nations follow that light. You demonstrate that there is a political space to maneuver to bring about a change. And now Romania denies its citizens work in Israeli settlements in 1967-occupied territory. Salvation is close, you can stop shouting now, and soon you will no longer need to keep your hands over the cracks.

But we are deceiving ourselves, and maybe we need to do it to not be dejected. For while we focus on the good news, we shut our eyes, at least temporarily, to the bad, which is much more plentiful, and more serious in nature. As the UK develops a new type of drone with Israel, and Italy expands its cooperation on several levels with the aforementioned occupying power, that members of the Knesset already have started congratulating each other for the peace talks that do not seem to lead anywhere … the list is grows longer every day. And when we go out on the streets of Palestine, we see that nothing has improved. Do average people here know the Netherlands stands up for them? Do they react the same way we do to the news??

People here are hardened. They believe in a change only when they see it. They’ve had enough empty promises to stop dreaming. And that’s why they pay tribute to every Palestinian who returns from an Israeli prison, no matter what he or she has done – armed resistance, political activity, being in the wrong place at the wrong time – because this person tried, in a concrete way, to change the situation. That’s all that counts after the betrayal of all who walk above, without giving a thought to the cracks you frantically try to seal. They are about to be drowned further downstream from the dam. And we continue to cry out for help.

Gaza: “Free the Holy Land sea”

23rd December 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Rosa Schiano | Gaza, Occupied Palestine

Fisherman and their boats in the Gaza seaport. (Photo by Rosa Schiano)

“Free the Holy Land sea” was a three-day protest by fishermen in Gaza which began on Tuesday, 17th November. The fishermen, supported by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights and al-Mezan Center for Human Rights, set up a tent at the Gaza seaport in which photographs showing Israeli violations were exhibited, along with banners in solidarity with the fishermen.

In the tent were fishermen, international and Palestinian activists for the rights of fishermen and political prisoners, and representatives of human rights centers. Politicians came to give their greetings and express solidarity with the fishermen.

“Since last year, massive attacks against Palestinian fishermen have become a practice of the Israeli naval forces,” said Khalil Shaheen, director of the economics and social rights unit at the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights. “The attack on the fundamental rights of the fishermen, their livelihoods, makes the lives of thousands of fishermen impossible. From September 2009 until the current day, two Palestinian fishermen have been killed, 24 injured, at least 150 arrested, 49 boats seized by the Israeli forces, and at least 120 boats destroyed partially or totally, including during the last military operation, Pillar of Defense, in which harbors were also bombed.”

“Palestinian fishermen are losing 85% of their annual income due to the restrictions in the maritime area and the naval blockade,” Shaheen added. “I think it’s very important to send a clear message in support of the fishermen. For Christmas and the New Year, Palestinian fishermen ask their friends and brothers in the rest of the world to convince the Israeli occupation to end the illegal blockade in Gaza, and to free the Holy Land sea, to grant them their rights.”

Among the fishermen present at the event, Salim al-Faseh, age 57, was wounded by Israeli military fire in September while fishing on a trawler about six miles offshore. The bullets severed the little finger of his right hand and destroyed part of the internal tissue. Salim will have to wait for his surgery in February, when an internal fixator will be removed, to know if he can use his fingers again. “God willing, this event will help the fishermen,” al-Faseh said.

“The fishing sector is the sector that suffers the most in Gaza,” he added. “We suffer from lack of fuel, the limits imposed on the fishing area, the unsuitable materials. Everything is making the profession of fishing die.”

The port was calm under a blue sky. After the raging storm and incessant rain that flooded roads and houses in the Gaza Strip, the sun was shining again. Some fishermen were harvesting small fish from their nets. Others sat under the sun and spoke of their daily problems, especially the economic difficulties faced by Gaza fishermen.

The Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip affects Palestinians’ economic and social conditions. More than 75,000 people depend on the fishing industry as the main source of their livelihood.

Israel has progressively restricted Palestinian fishermen’s access to the sea. The 20 nautical miles established under the Gaza-Jericho Agreement between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1994 were reduced to 12 miles in the Bertini Agreement of 2002. In 2006, the area Israel allowed for fishing was reduced to six nautical miles from the coast. After its “Operation Cast Lead” military offensive (December 2008 – January 2009) Israel imposed a limit of three nautical miles from the coast, preventing Palestinians from accessing 85% of the water to which they are entitled under the Gaza-Jericho Agreement.

Under the ceasefire agreement by Israel and the Palestinian resistance after the Israeli “Operation Pillar of Defense” military offensive (November 2012), Israel agreed that Palestinian fishermen could again sail six nautical miles from the coast. Despite these agreements, the Israeli navy has not stopped its attacks on fishermen, even within this limit. In March 2013, Israel once again imposed a limit of three nautical miles from the coast. On 22 May, Israeli military authorities announced a decision to restore the limit to six nautical miles.

In the month of November alone, PCHR reports 12 attacks. During one, gunfire injured a fisherman. Overall six fishermen were arrested and six boats confiscated. These attacks constitute a violation of the international humanitarian law.

At the end of the event, fishermen, along with human rights organizations, submitted a letter to the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process office in Gaza City.

Fundraising call for ISM

Season’s greetings friends!

As the holidays fast approach, The International Solidarity Movement comes close to the end of its 13th year standing in solidarity with the Palestinian people. Every year brings new challenges under a ruthless occupation of the West Bank and an unrelenting siege of the Gaza strip, but volunteers with The ISM continue to rise to the challenge with the brave farmers, fishermen, and organizers that struggle for dignity and a free Palestine. All of our work would not be possible without the support of individuals like you!

This year ISM has seen many changes. We expanded our work in Gaza, recently launched a new website and began publishing a weekly digest that makes our work more accessible to our supporters. No matter what the changes, we remain dedicated to supporting the Palestinian popular resistance and bearing witness to the crimes against humanity carried out by Israel.

Throughout 2012 we stood with Palestinians in the West Bank against unremitting settlement expansion, attacks and Israeli army violence. We acted as a presence in high-risk areas, such as the H2 (Israeli Army controlled) section of Hebron, and in firing zone 918 in the South Hebron Hills, where eight villages are in eminent danger of demolition. We worked closely with many villages in the Nablus region, taking part in the olive harvest for the 12th year by assisting farmers in areas where they are often attacked or refused the right to enter their fields. We also continued the tradition of joining Palestinian communities each Friday in popular demonstrations against the theft of their lands and water resources in the villages of Bil’in, Kafr Qaddum, Nabi Saleh, Nil’in and Al Masara.

In Gaza, we aided farmers and fishermen as they tried to make a living under the constant threat of Israeli gunfire. Our volunteers documented the ever-worsening sewage and water crisis, ongoing struggles by the families of prisoners, and the continuing violence of the Israeli army. We actively supported Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS), public information, and direct action campaigns, among other efforts to challenge Israeli apartheid, colonization and occupation, including the crippling siege, now in its seventh year.

In 2014, we hope to improve our work even more, dedicated to the vision of a Palestine without occupation, displacement, and siege. We will face new challenges, as the occupation is ever-evolving, but your donation makes sure our work continues. Since we began, ISM has depended on donations from individuals like you to be able to stand alongside Palestinians as part of their resistance. Now, more than ever, we can use your help to make sure that we can stand with and document courage in the face of Israeli Apartheid.

We are a dedicated non-violent movement, and you can be sure that your money is going directly to help us continue our work. Please go to our webpage and make a donation. If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation in the U.S., please donate through ISM-USA’s fiscal sponsor: A.J. Muste Memorial Institute online via JustGive or Network for Good (designate your donation for “ISM-USA”). Donations made through the Muste Institute’s sponsorship go to support ISM’s educational and organizing work in accordance with 501(c)(3) rules.

In Solidarity,

ISM Palestine

Israeli naval forces chased Palestinian fishermen and confiscated their fishing equipment in the Gaza waters

19th December 2013 | Palestinian Centre for Human Rights| Occupied Palestine

Israeli Naval Forces stationed off Beit Lahi shore in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats in 4 separate incidents while sailing between 600 meters and 3 nautical miles. Israeli naval forces also confiscated 24 fishing nets. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) expresses concern over the continued targeting of fishermen and their livelihoods. Economic and social rights of fishermen have been violated by the illegal naval blockade imposed by Israeli authorities on the Gaza waters since June 2007.

According to investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately 10:40 on Wednesday, 18 December 2013, Israeli gunboats opened fire at a Palestinian fishing boat that was sailing about 600 meters off al-Wahah shore in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip. Two gunboats surrounded the fishing boat that was boarded by 3 fishermen: Mahmoud ‘Ali ‘Arouq (16); his brother Mohammed (22); and Jom’aah Amin ‘Arouq (24). Israeli naval forces ordered them to stop fishing and give themselves up, but they refused and fled away. The naval forces confiscated 14 fishing nets whose total lengths are 840 meters. Mahmoud ‘Ali ‘Arouq (28) said that they left the waters to the shore and watched the gunboats hoping that they would regain the fishing nets. However, the gunboats confiscated the fishing nets and left the place.

In another incident, at approximately 12:30 yesterday, 18 December 2013, Israeli gunboats opened fire at a fishing boat belonging to Khalid ‘Awad al-Kafranah, from Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip, while sailing at approximately 1.5 nautical miles off al-Wahah shore in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip. Israeli naval forces then confiscated 10 fishing nets.

In a third incident, at approximately 06:00 on Tuesday, 17 December 2013, Israeli gunboats stationed off al-Wahah shore in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire in the vicinity of Palestinian fishing boats that were sailing approximately 3 nautical miles offshore. The shooting continued for about 10 minutes, so fishermen were forced to flee for fear of being attacked.

In a fourth incident, at approximately 14:10 on Monday, 16 December 2013, Israeli gunboats stationed off al-Wahah shore in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire in the vicinity of the Palestinian fishing boats that were sailing at approximately 3 nautical miles offshore. The shooting continued for about 15 minutes, so fishermen were forced to flee for fear of being attacked.

PCHR condemns the continued Israeli attacks against Palestinian fishermen in the Gaza Strip, and:

1. Calls for immediately stopping the policy of chasing and arresting Palestinian fishermen, and allowing them to sail and fish freely;

2. Demands compensation for the fishermen for the physical and material damage caused to them and their property as a result of these violations;

3. Calls upon the international community, including the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, to immediately intervene to stop the Israeli violations against the Palestinian fishermen and to allow them to sail and fish freely in the Gaza Sea.