11th June 2013 | Ni’lin Sons | Ni’lin, Occupied Palestine
A wave of night time invasions and arrests by the Israeli military continues in the village of Ni’lin. At 3am on the 10th of June Ahmad Daood, 26 years old, was arrested in his home. Six military jeeps and more than thirty soldiers invaded the village in the night and tore down the gate to the Daood house. Ahmad was awakened from his sleep and brutally dragged out of bed. He was handcuffed, blindfolded and beaten in front of his family before being taken away in one of the jeeps.
Ahmad Daood (Photo by Ni’lin Sons)
Ahmed was taken to Ofer Military Prison but it is still unclear whether or not he has received any medical treatment for the wounds that he sustained during the arrest. Witnesses stated he was bleeding as he was taken away by the soldiers.
Nighttime incursions in Ni’lin are still a very common occurrence and on the night of Ahmad Daood’s arrest the village was invaded twice; the first time around 1:30 am where no arrests were made. As the villagers just settled back to bed, thinking that the soldiers had left for the night, Ni’lin was invaded yet again.
On an average week the village is targeted for nightly invasions two or three times and since last month 29 people have been arrested during these incursions. Most of those arrested are likely to face sentences of more than a year in prison for their participation in peaceful demonstrations against the annexation wall separating Ni’lin farmers from their land. Many of the arrested have previously spent time in prison and therefore can expect harsher sentences, sometimes even double, as the Army prosecutors claim that they have violated the conditions of their release.
We ask ourselves how probation conditions could regulate basic human rights such as taking part in peaceful demonstrations against the occupation of one’s land. Once again the makeshift order of the Apartheid Israeli justice system only serves to facilitate the colonization of Palestine.
11th June 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Rosa Schiano | Gaza, Occupied Palestine
On the morning of Monday, 10th June, a Palestinian man was injured by Israeli army fire while working in the area of Sufa, southern Gaza Strip, near the barrier with Israel.
Amer Abu Hadayed, 20 years, hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit of the European hospital (Photo by Rosa Schiano)
Hadayed Abu Amer, 20, was picking up rocks and stones to be sold as building material along with his brothers Yasser and Saher. The three had gone to work at 6:00 am aboard a tuk-tuk.
An Israeli military jeep approached them so they left the area, but returned soon after to continue working. At this point the soldiers started shooting in their direction. At about 7:00am the three men, who were about 30 meters from the barrier that separates Israel from the Gaza Strip, tried to flee to avoid being hurt, but Amer was hit in the shoulder by one of the bullets.
Amer and one of his brothers fled while the third followed them with the tuk-tuk. Amer was subsequently transported to the hospital.
The three men earn 80 shekels for a day’s work, of which 15 shekels usually goes to the driver of the tuk-tuk. In practice the men earn about six euros each daily, working every day in an area of extreme danger.
Amer is still in the intensive care unit of the European hospital just south of Khan Younis. He said that the soldiers had also shot at he and his brothers two weeks previously but they had been able to escape.
Dr. Ihab Alassal reported that the bullet entered and exited the body of Amer. His condition is now stable. He reported an accumulation of blood in the pleural space, that is, the space between the lung and the chest wall. Dr. Alassal added that Amer is now under observation and being monitored for vascular access and blood pressure. He added that if his condition worsens, Amer could undergo exploratory surgery.
Amer in the hospital (Photo by: Rosa Schiano)
Amer’s family consists of ten members: two parents, two daughters and six sons. One of the sons, Mahmoud, 24, works as a barber, while three male children collect stones to be sold. The rest are unemployed. They live in Khan Younis, in an area called Al Junra, in the southern Gaza Strip.
Mahmoud was with one of the brothers outside the intensive care unit. He constantly repeated “I’m desperate,” talking about the harsh economic conditions prevailing in his family. He dreams of leaving Gaza, to move to Italy or elsewhere, in hope of a better future.
“We will never return to pick up stones,” said Yasser whose eyes told everything about the fear that this attack had brought about.
The siege that Israel has illegally imposed on the Gaza Strip has produced a failing economy and then on another level mass unemployment. The limited amount of construction material entering through the Karm Abu Salem crossing (Kerem Shalom) forces Palestinian companies to require people to collect stones for the construction of buildings. The majority of these stones are found near the border areas – where Palestinian buildings have been destroyed or bulldozed by the Israeli army.
The arrangements for the ceasefire of 21st November 2012 established that the Israeli military forces should “refrain from hitting residents in areas along the border” and “cease hostilities in the Gaza Strip by land, by sea and by air, including raids and targeted killings.”
However, Israeli military attacks by land and sea have followed from the day after the ceasefire, and Israeli warplanes fly constantly over the sky in the Gaza Strip. In the border areas four civilians have been killed since the end of the “Pillar of Defense” military offensive, and at least 90 civilians have been wounded.
These attacks against the civilian population of Gaza continue to occur, yet are met with silence by the international community.
You can read International Action for Palestine’s report here.
10th June 2013 | International Solidarity Movement | Beit Hanoun, Occupied Palestine
Thousands of Palestinians from across the Gaza Strip rallied by the closed Erez checkpoint on Friday, marking al-Naksa (the setback), Israel’s 1967 seizure of the Palestinian West Bank and Gaza Strip, Syria’s Golan Heights, and Sinai Peninsula, ceded to Egypt in 1982.
(Photo by Rosa Schiano)
(Photo by Rosa Schiano)
(Photo by Joe Catron)
(Photo by Mohammed Abedullah)
(Photo by Rosa Schiano)
(Photo by Rosa Schiano)
(Photo by Joe Catron)
(Photo by Mohammed Abedullah)
Israel’s capture of the territories included the ethnic cleansing of over 400,000 Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and West Bank, following al-Nakba (the catastrophe), Zionist militias the and Israeli army’s 1948 expulsion of over 750,000 from lands now claimed by Israel.
The effort was part of the second annual Global March to Jerusalem, an international mobilization protesting Israel’s attacks on Palestinians in Jerusalem and promising the return of refugees ethnically cleansed by its military forces.
According to a statement released today by the Global March to Jerusalem, “marches and sit-ins were held on Friday in more than 40 countries around the world, in addition to Palestine. They included a march to the northern border of the Gaza Strip and demonstrations in Jerusalem at the entrance to the Old City where Occupation Forces suppressed and arrested participants.
“Mass demonstrations took place in Gaza, Jordan, Egypt, Tunis, Mauritania, and Morocco, as well as in Yemen, Malaysia, Pakistan and Turkey. Likewise, there were large demonstrations in capitals and cities across Europe and North America, including gatherings in front of Israeli embassies.”
9th June 2013 | Operation Dove | Umm Al Kheer, South Hebron Hills, Occupied Palestine
On Saturday June 8 an old Palestinian man from the village of Umm Al Kheer, Suleiman Aid Yameen Hadleen, was detained for more than three hours by the Israeli army while affirming his right to access his own land. In the last two days the soldiers denied the Palestinians from Umm Al Kheer the access to their own land until Sunday morning, without any official order.
Israeli forces chasing away Palestinian shepherds from the hilltop (Photo by Operation Dove)
The above-cited land is on a hill that belongs to Hadleen family. On the top of it the settlers of Karmel Israeli settlement in 2011 planted some olive trees and about two weeks ago built a small tent. Two days ago the settlers started to dig holes on the ground with the intention of planting more olive trees in a row that would go along the top of the hill, preventing Palestinians to enter the land behind it. That hill is crossed everyday by Palestinian shepherds, since it is the only way that takes to the valleys grazed by their sheep.
On Saturday June 8, three Palestinian shepherds with their flocks, together with other Palestinians, Israeli activists and international volunteers were chased away from the top of the hill by the Israeli army. Suleiman remained on the place in order to affirm the right to access his privately-owned land until he was brought into one of the army jeeps present on the place. According to his statement, he was blindfolded, beaten and driven around in different army jeeps. The soldiers also prevented him from praying. He was detained for more than three hours and left with no explanation in the Palestinian village of Ar Rakeez.
Umm Al Kheer is a Bedouin village in Area C (under Israeli civil and military administration) built in 1948. It is located nearby the Israeli settlement of Karmel built up in the beginning of the ’80s and still expanding. The village experiences periodic harassment from Israeli settlers and army.
Operation Dove maintains a constant presence in At-Tuwani and South Hebron Hills since 2004.
Palestinian shepherd arguing with Israeli border police officers just before he was detained (Photo by Operation Dove)Israeli border police officers carrying away Suleiman Aid (Photo by Operation Dove)
8th June 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Ramallah Team | Bethlehem, Occupied Palestine
Beginning in the early morning, with buses coming from all over the West Bank full of eager participants, the Fourth National Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) conference, hosted at Bethlehem University got off to an amazing start with a fully packed auditorium.
As the day progressed, a plethora of agenda items on how to further BDS against Israel were discussed by a wide range of speakers who emphasised rejecting normalisation with Israel.
The goal of this event was not only to promote the BDS campaign within Palestine and to give an introduction to newcomers but also to:
• Share all of the successes and initiatives that the movement has had since its inception, whether they are local, from Arab nations or international. One example of a triumph is the recent termination of certain G4S contracts in illegal settlements.
• Share vibrant, new ideas that could be implemented across Palestine and in the Palestinian Diaspora. One idea from the city of Salfit was door-to-door operation allowing information to spread quickly through neighbourhoods.
• Give an outline of what normalisation is and how it can be combated in culture, academia, and economics.
• Allow the public to question Palestinian officials and civil society representatives about how to strengthen boycott and counter normalisation.
During the conference, there was a dispute between the Palestinian Minister of Economy Jawad Al-Naji, and an audience member, resulting in the Minister walking out of the room. The argument was triggered by the audience member’s opinion on Mahmoud Abbas and his tactic of normalisation with Israel. The activist who questioned the Economy Minister was reportedly later attacked and injured by seven people, presumably related to the PA forces, needing to be taken to hospital.
After this incident, there were nine separate workshops to attend, ranging from Youth and Students, to Women, Trade and Professional Unions to International BDS campaigns. Information was shared in order for the BDS movement to continue gaining international momentum.
