Silwan’s Bustan neighbourhood situation has worsened of late and is now even more urgent.
Report By Jahalin Solidarity
Silwan, Bustan neighborhood, Occupied East Jerusalem JUNE 6, 2023
1. The most recent meeting with the Mayor, and Adv. Ziad Qawar’s letter to him (1.6.23), have produced no further information as to City Hall demolition plans or the Elad (City of David) King’s Garden plan, which the 1550 residents are being asked to approve, STILL without being shown it.
2. City Hall is practicing a daily regime of gross pressure and harassment. e.g., Fakhri abu Diab just received a bill for estimated outstanding income tax of NIS1.5 million! The police served him personally with a new demolition order two days ago (4.6.23) and, working with City Hall, on Sunday 4.6.23 also served Fakhri yet another summons to an interrogation at City Hall, saying that if he refuses, they’ll issue an immediate demolition order. (Last month he attended an interrogation, but was told to wait outside. After three hours of waiting, he understood there was no interrogation, so he and his lawyer
left.) On legal advice, Fakhri won’t attend an illegal process, so there’s a possibility of imminent demolition of his home.
3. When the authorities arrive with such orders, they do so with high presence – at least 12 police officers: police, Border Police, riot police (Yassams) in full battle gear, helmets, guns.
4. The police have, as of late May, run a campaign of daily incitement against Fakhri – phoning residents’ committee members, warning them to have no dealings with Fakhri, as “he is preaching violence” (a total lie). The recent YNet live TV interview in Hebrew at Al Aqsa, when a policeman interrupted Fakhri’s TV interview (in Hebrew) knocking the phone out of his hand while on air, is another example of targeted harassment (the police spokesman accused him of incitement in Arabic!).
4. The mayor’s Jewish Israeli press spokesman, who also works in Arabic, recently asked Fakhri to please make his work easier by not speaking in classical “Fussha” Arabic, but in conversational Arabic. i.e. Fakhri’s media work is being watched by him. This echoes Adv Qawar’s report some months ago: City Hall sent him a list of links to Fakhri’s media work (as elected community spokesman for Silwan),reporting on demolitions, Al Aqsa updates, lack of services despite payments by East Jerusalemites of NIS 570 million per annum arnona [city rates] – with NIS 78 million p.a. being paid by Silwan residents
alone, heavy fines for “illegal building” but no available zoning for legal construction, or reportage as to 1000+ classrooms lacking in Palestinian E. J”m, especially in Silwan (meaning Hamas fills the vacuum for some 20,000+ children’s education). This was City Hall’s way of showing they are following his (totally unpaid) advocacy via Arabic TV, radio or print, and meetings with the diplomatic community – such as hosting US Sp. Rep. Hady Amr in his home last November or when asked to do a briefing at Al Aqsa for CEO of the European Investment Bank, Werner Hoyer, a guest of EU Rep. Sven von Burgsdorff.
5. Fakhri calls on the international community to assert adequate pressure to preserve his homeand those of Bustan community, while upholding 3rd State responsibility for IHRL/IHL, not least to prevent the high likelihood such current policies will lead to major violence. Genuine concerns exist among East Jerusalemites that Israeli authorities, led by such as Minister for Public Security, Kahanist Itamar Ben-Gvir, Deputy Mayor, Kahanist Aryeh King et al., are deliberately stoking the fires, to achieve a conflagration. Such flames will be interpreted abroad in many places as deliberate attacks on Palestinians; responses in capitals may well ignite “anti-semitic” attacks, of an anti-Occupation nature, to then be exploited by far-Rightwingers in power. Such flames locally may be exploited by those in
power to shove through major displacement via demolitions, or more direct forms of transfer and expulsion. Kahane was a Jewish supremacist who espoused violence, Nakba and wanted to establish a theocratic Jewish state.
For further essential reading on the core ideals of Kach:
https://dawnmena.org/what-israels-new-kahanist-government-really-wants/ and
https://imeu.org/article/fact-sheet-meir-kahane-the-extremist-kahanist-movement
Today, the people of the village of Nabi Saleh bid farewell to the slain infant Muhammad Tamimi, who tragically died after being shot in the head by an Israeli soldier.
Slain infant Mohammad Tamimi’s funeral Photo by Diana Khwaelid
The villagers of Nabi Saleh welcomed the child with flowers as they paid their respects. His mother, brother, sister, and father shared a final farewell look with baby Muhammad, and his mother embraced him, kissing him for the last time. “I want justice for my son, and for every person who shot at my husband and son to be held accountable,” she said.
The mother of salin infant Mohammed Tamimi Kisses her son for the last time Photo by Diana Khwaelid
According to the Israeli human rights organization B’tselem, two-and-a-half-year-old Mohammed is the 150th Palestinian killed by Israel since the beginning of 2023. Documentation collected by Defense for Children International Palestine shows that 27 Palestinian children have been killed this year.
The brother of Maohhamed Tamimi Kissing his brother for the last time, Picture by Diana Khwaelid
During the funeral, confrontations broke out between the village youth and the occupying military that surrounded the village. Later that afternoon, while mourners were gathered at the grandparents’ home, the occupation forces invaded the village for the third time since Mohammad was shot, beating and shooting villagers, injuring six people.
The video below was taken by Neriman tamimi before she was beaten and injured by Israeli soldiers invading her village after leathaly wounding toddler Mohammad tamimi
Among the injured is Maher Tamimi, whose brother Qusai was tragically shot dead by the occupation forces last September. Maher sustained a gunshot wound in the pelvis, with the bullet entering his intestines. Renowned human rights defender Neriman Tamimi was targeted by a soldier, who struck her in the face with a rifle, and another mourner was hit in the face with a rubber-coated steel bullet.
Reknown human rights defender Neriman Tamimi hospitilized after being hit in the face with a rifle by an Israeli soilder
Ayed Abu Eqtaish, accountability program director at DCIP, stated: “Unlawful killings of Palestinian children have become the norm as Israeli forces become increasingly empowered to use intentional lethal force in situations that are not justified. This is a war crime with no consequences.”
In response to Mohammed Tamimi’s killing, South African MO Nkosi ZMD Mandela, the grandson of the late Nelson Mandela, released a statement demanding accountability. He stated, “We are appalled by this level of inhumanity and the ongoing crimes against humanity, and we call for immediate charges to be brought by the International Criminal Court against Netanyahu.”
Apartheid Israel must be charged for state terrorism for the killing of 2 year old Muhammad Tamimi.
Mvezo Komkhulu (The Great Place), Monday 5th June 2023: The passing of 2 year old Palestinian infant Muhammad Tamimi as a result of being shot in the head four days ago by Israeli soldiers is another act of brutality that has come to represent the daily atrocities perpetrated by Apartheid Israel against innocent Palestinians.
Those responsible must be charged with his murder and Netanyahu, his regime and those who act in consort with them have the blood of this innocent child on their hands.
Muhammad Tamimi was brutally shot outside his home in Nabi Saleh and has become the latest victim of Apartheid Israel’s state terrorism.
We are appalled by this level of inhumanity and the ongoing crimes against humanity and call for immediate charges to be brought by the International Criminal Court against Netanyahu.
Apartheid Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands and its continued expansion of illegal settlements in violation of international law is the cause of these acts of brutality, ethnic cleansing and systematic genocide.
We call for justice for 2 year old Muhammad Tamimi and all Palestinian children being butchered by Apartheid Israel. His death brings the number of children brutally killed by Apartheid Israel in 2023 alone to almost 40 children and the number of Palestinians killed by Apartheid Israel to nearly 200 this year.
It is inconceivable that the UN Convention on the Rights of Children carries zero weight for the perpetrators of these heinous crimes against humanity.
We will not rest until the perpetrators of these crimes are brought to justice.
We convey our heartfelt condolences to the Tamimi family and the Palestinian people on the occasion of the martyrdom of Muhammad Tamimi. We demand justice for him, for all Palestinian children murdered by Apartheid Israel and condemn in the strongest terms these crimes against humanity.
ENDS
Nkosi Zwelivelile
Royal House of Mandela
Mvezo Komkhulu
P.O. Box 126
Viedgesville 5102
Eastern Cape Province
South Africa
6/5/23 – Update: 2,5 year old Mohammed Tamimi has died of his wounds inflicted by Israeli soldiers who shot him in the head.
6/4/23 Nabi Salah, Occupied Palestine: The Israeli occupation forces have escalated their assaults on the Palestinian village of Nabi Salah targeting civilians including a toddler with live ammunition.
Two and half year old Mohammad Tamimi has a bullet lodged in his brain and is currently in critical condition.
On Thursday, June first, 2023, the occupation forces placed a military checkpoint at the entrance of the village and prevented cars from passing. They forced some young men to get out from their cars and began to attack them physically without any reasons
At approximately 7:30 pm one of the soldiers stationed near the military tower shot Haitham al-Tamimi, 40, in the shoulder and his son two and a half years old, Mohammed Al Tamim in the head as they were about to get onto their car warning. Haitham was operated on in Ramallah Hospital but his son, Mohammed is in critical condition with a bullet lodged in his brain.
Haitham AlTamimi after being operated on after Israeli troups opened fire on him and his son
At around 8:00 pm, a military jeep stormed the village and started firing live bullets directly at the houses, which led to breaking the windows in some houses. As a result, Wissam Al-Tamimi 17 was injured by a sponge bomb in his head while he was standing on the roof of the house, which fractured his skull.
17 year old Wissam AlTamimi was hit in the head with what is called a ponge bomb while on the roof of his house. He suffers form a fractured skull.
After that, three snipers positioned themselves on the roof of one of the shops opposite the citizens homes and fired live bullets and sponge bombs at anyone who moved, whether inside the houses or on the roof tops. The journalist and volunteer at B’Tselem, Bilal Al-Tamimi, who was wearing a press uniform, helmet, and shield, was wounded after a soldier fired a sponge bomb directly and from a close range which broke his wrist and required surgery for a platinum implant. The house of journalist Bilal Al-Tamimi continued to be targeted with live bullets, gas canisters and sponge bombs, as a result of which his mother, who had kidney failure, suffocated.
Journalist and Human rights defender Bilal Al Tamimi after being operated on due to the occupation forces breaking his wrist with a so called sponge bullet
On Friday, June 2, at approximately 4:30 P.M, Noura Al-Tamimi was hit by a sponge canister in her stomach, which caused severe convulsions, which necessitated taking her to the hospital. Kafa Al-Tamimi, who is seven months pregnant, suffocated from the gas after a tear gas canister broke the glass of her bedroom window.
Many of the village residents, including children, women, and the elderly, were detained outside their homes and were not allowed to return until the withdrawal of the occupation forces at dawn.
On Saturday night, June 3, 2023 the occupying military invaded the village, once again entering homes, The occupying soldiers took one young man from his home, beat him up, and then released him. This morning the children of Nabi Salah went to school to sit their final exams after another sleepless night.
Manal Tamimi of Nabi Saleh stated: “ The incitement for this attack stems from the settlers’ repeated attempts to intimidate the villagers, with the most recent incident occurring just last week. In light of these distressing events, we urgently call upon the international community to ensure the protection of this small village, with a population not exceeding 650 people. It is imperative that international humanitarian law and international treaties are upheld, and immediate action is taken to halt the repeated attacks by both the occupation forces and settlers. Over the past decade alone, these aggressions have tragically resulted in the martyrdom of five young individuals from the village.”
Haitham and Mohammed AlTamimi days before the Israeli occupiying forces shot them.
In this episode, we share an interview with Um Ramadan. We met her at a demonstration outside the district court in Jerusalem in December 2022. Alongside other mothers, she is protesting her son’s imprisonment. In this moving interview, she talks about the conditions her son is kept in and how mother’s are organising to support each other. Please note there are references to suicide and abuse.
The East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah has been an important part of the struggle against colonisation in Palestine. The residents of Sheikh Jarrah are refugees, or descendants of refugees, who were forced from their homes by the ethnic cleansing carried out by Zionist Forces in 1947-9. This ethnic cleansing is known by Palestinians as the Nakba (or catastrophe).
After 1948, East Jerusalem was under Jordanian control – and the Jordanian government struck a deal with the UN to settle Palestinian refugee families who were living in Jordan in Sheikh Jarrah. In 1967 the Israeli military militarily occupied East Jerusalem, and since then the Israeli state and settler movements have been trying to evict the Palestinian residents – both through legal processes and by violence.
Many families have already been forcibly evicted from the neighbourhood, and replaced by settlers. The community has resisted by holding sit ins outside the threatened homes, by mobilising, international solidarity and by building a culture of solidarity.
In 2020 Israeli courts ordered the eviction of more families from Sheikh Jarrah. And in 2021 the harassment and violence against people in Sheikh Jarrah helped trigger an uprising across Palestine.
In 2022 right wing politician Itamar Ben Gvir – the minister of national security – led a mass of settlers to the neighbourhood backed up by cops. The settlers attacked the community as the police looked on. Ben gvir famously shot his gun in the air that day, as Palestinians defended themselves by throwing stones. These kind of provocations are routine in sheikh jarrah – and that’s the context that led to um Ramadans son’s arrest.
We would like to apologise about the sound quality of this interview, due to its impromptu nature and lack of equipment with us! But we wanted Um Ramadan’s story to be shared. A big thank you to Noah for translating.
[Intro music] Hey, welcome to international solidarity movement [translation into Arabic]
Nicole 00:18
Welcome to the International Solidarity Movement podcast. We hope you’ve enjoyed our episodes so far. Today is April 17, which is the Palestinian Prisoners Day. We hope you’ve already listened to our interview with Addameer who are doing incredible work to support Palestinian prisoners. We wanted to share another interview today that has a prison focus. So this is an interview with Um Ramadan, we met her at a demonstration outside the District Court in Jerusalem. And, alongside other mothers, she was protesting her son’s imprisonment. It’s a really moving interview, she talks about the conditions her son is kept in ,and how different mothers are organising together to support each other. And I just want to flag that there are references to suicide and abuse. So for a bit of context the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah has been an important part of the struggle against colonisation in Palestine, the residents of Sheikh Jarrah are refugees, or descendants of refugees, who were forced from their homes by the ethnic cleansing carried out by Zionist forces in 1947 to 1949, this ethnic cleansing is known by Palestinians as the Nakba, or catastrophe. After 1948, East Jerusalem was under Jordanian control, and the Jordanian government struck a deal through the United Nations to settle Palestinian refugee families who were living in Jordan in Sheikh Jarrah. And then in 1967, the Israeli military occupied East Jerusalem, and since then, the Israeli state and settler movements have been trying to evict the Palestinian residents, both through legal processes and by violence. Many families have already been forcibly evicted from the neighbourhood and replaced by settlers. The community has resisted fiercely, you know, by holding sit-ins outside threatened homes, by mobilising international solidarity, and just building you know, a general culture of solidarity. In 2020, the Israeli courts ordered the eviction of more families from Sheikh Jarrah, and in 2021 the harassment and violence against people in Sheikh Jarrah helped trigger an uprising across Palestine. So yeah, we just wanted to give this context that it’s a real hotbed of struggle. And then in 2022, right wing politician, Ben Gvir, the Minister of National Security led a mass of settlers to the neighbourhood, backed up by police. The settlers attacked the community as the police looked on. And Ben Gvir famously shot his gun in the air that day as Palestinians defended themselves by throwing stones. These kinds of like provocations are routine, and that’s the context that lead to Um Ramadan’s son’s arrest. We’d really like to apologise about the sound quality of the interview. It was kind of like an impromptu thing, and we didn’t have our proper recording equipment with us. We just had to use phones. But we really felt it was important to share her story and share her son’s story. I want to say a big thank you to Noah for translating for us and once again, please find all the resources in the show notes
Um Ramadan 03:12
[Speaks Arabic]
Translation 03:17
Today we had a demonstration against the arrest of the Palestinian children by the Israeli court.
Um Ramadan 03:25
[Speaks Arabic]
Translation 03:34
We went to tell the Israeli courts that what they’re doing with our children is not justice.
Um Ramadan /Noah 03:43
We are the ones who are being attacked [Um Ramadan speaks Arabic], the people who attacked us have been set free
Um Ramadan 03:52
[Speaks Arabic]
Tom 03:58
And we demand that justice should see with both eyes and not just one eye
Um Ramadan 04:12
[Speaks Arabic]
Tom 04:14
They’re saying that that if things continue like this, there will be a popular uprising. Because they’re not being respected by the Israeli authorities.
Um Ramadan 04:28
[Speaks Arabic]
Tom 04:37
The settlers are coming here and throwing rocks on their cars and their houses, and how are they supposed to defend themselves?
Um Ramadan 04:44
[Speaks Arabic]
Tom 04:46
The police and the military were here and they just did nothing. [Um Ramadan speaks Arabic]. So her son saw that there were throwing rocks on them, and he went out into the street [Um Ramadan speaks Arabic].
Um Ramadan 05:02
[Speaks Arabic]
Tom 05:05
So so her son, by himself, went out into the streets and was arrested while 50 people at least were throwing rocks on her house, and they were not arrested.
Um Ramadan 05:24
[Speaks Arabic].
Tom 05:29
Okay, so now the Israeli courts are demanding five to eight years imprisonment, which she says is completely unprecedented.
Um Ramadan 05:45
[Speaks Arabic].
Translation 05:50
Why is this happening? She says, because the extremists are now the ones who are running the Israeli justice system. And as you know, we were just talking about Ben Gvir, who set up his parliamentary office right here and is now going to be the Minister of Internal Defence.
Um Ramadan 06:10
[Speaks Arabic].
Um Ramadan /Noah 06:32
So her son went through a terrible series of events after he was arrested. He was taken to small cells – very small – where, where he was basically tortured. They didn’t let him sleep, they hit him. She said that he told her things, you know, she couldn’t imagine spending even one day like that but he spent – [how many days?] – 29 days.
Um Ramadan 07:00
[Speaks Arabic].
Tom 07:00
Okay, so he’s been in prison now for 11 months, and out of that, 29 days were in these these, these small like, you know, cells- like a holding cell which is basically torture.
Um Ramadan 07:13
[Speaks Arabic].
Tom 07:17
And he also tried to commit suicide.
Um Ramadan 07:31
[Speaks Arabic].
Um Ramadan /Noah 07:36
She is saying that this is the same thing [that] happened to everybody [who] was arrested in this area. And then then I said how many people are we talking about? So she said: Well they’re six from this neighborhood, but if you start looking at the nearby neighborhoods as well, then it’s it’s probably much more.
Tom 07:55
How many people live in the neighborhood?Second speaker: First of all, one day, one day it was four of my son[s] [that were] in the jail. Four, in jail [how many people?], about 200. [Nicole – and what are the conditions like in prison]?
Um Ramadan 08:23
[Speaks Arabic].
Translation 08:25
Now they’re a little bit better They’re allowed to visit him. But for those 29 days when he was in a holding cell, they couldn’t see him.
Tom 08:45
She says that her son has changed because of these 29 days that he spent – during which they don’t really know what happened to him. It’s clear that he was not given enough, enough food to eat, and that he was beaten, and didn’t have the ability to sleep. And now that she can see him she makes sure to know every single day what it is that’s been happening to him so that she can, you know, somehow try to control this.
Um Ramadan 09:28
[Speaks Arabic].
Tom 09:34
She says if they can see the brutality of the Israeli police and soldiers here, right in front of the house. But when they’re by themselves in an area – which isn’t accessible to everybody – she can only you know, she can’t imagine what it is that they actually do.
Another speaker 09:59
[Speaks Arabic].
Tom 10:06
Okay, so he says, one of the things that he knows that happened, is that his son was was made to sit with his hands tied behind his back and his eyes covered for about 14 hours. And then he was taken to see a judge with his eyes still covered and then somebody said: Oh, but he hasn’t eaten. So they gave him like, you know, nice food to eat. And then just as he was just about to begin eating, they kicked away the table with all the food.
Nicole 10:43
How old are all the children?
Another speaker 10:45
Now he is 15 years old?
Nicole 10:47
15
Um Ramadan 10:47
[Speaks Arabic].
Tom 10:50
Her son was sentenced to 30 months in prison for throwing rocks.
Um Ramadan 10:59
[Speaks Arabic].
Tom 11:03
Meanwhile, the settlers who were here throwing rocks were – were not even arrested. I was here at one of these events, they were throwing rocks for about 5 hours.
Um Ramadan 11:15
[Speaks Arabic].
Tom 11:17
Her son just celebrated his 18th birthday in prison.
Um Ramadan 11:26
[Speaks Arabic].
Tom 11:31
And on the 26th of the month her son will be twenty in jail.
Um Ramadan 11:35
[Speaks Arabic].
Translation 11:36
She’s going to throw a party in prison.
Nicole 11:38
How are they organising together, the mothers?
Tom 11:44
[Speaks Arabic].
Um Ramadan 11:49
[Speaks Arabic].
Tom 11:51
They meet together, they talk together they go visit their children together, they have a WhatsApp group.
Um Ramadan 11:58
[Speaks Arabic].
Tom 12:01
they have the same pains but still
Um Ramadan 12:03
a little confused I’ve seen that whole ad for has
Translation 12:06
And they have the same pains. They have good relations because they understand each other’s feelings.
Um Ramadan 12:13
[Speaks Arabic].
Translation 12:31
Okay yeah there is a bigger group that involves women – mothers from different neighborhoods. And this larger group, they visit together, I think they might have to coordinate their visiting hours. So there is some kind of contact – you know the split between different Palestinian neighborhoods inside Jerusalem is quite strong, and it’s you know, one of the characteristics of the occupation. She is saying that in this country, there are no rights for Palestinian children or women. And they saw on television how a four year old was either arrested or actually was being summoned to the police station. He given a summons… for a four year old. So there is no rights.
Another speaker 13:36
His father when he [went to the] police station he take bamba with him – because he’s a child.
Tom 13:42
And are the prisoners able to organize when they’re in prison? Can they organize together? [Speaks Arabic].
Um Ramadan 13:52
[Speaks Arabic].
Translation 13:56
According to what her son says yes, they have some kind of organisation.
Um Ramadan 14:06
[Speaks Arabic].
Translation 14:11
She’s saying that even if he has some kind of organization, it’s still prison.
Tom 14:21
Are there things that people – that comrades – can do outside of Palestine in solidarity?
Um Ramadan 15:04
[Speaks Arabic]. [Speaks Arabic].
Translation 15:09
She’s saying this – the occupation is claiming that it’s a democratic country. And you who have now seen the reality – and you see sometimes pictures… And she’s talking about a specific case. Where an older man was beaten in Al-Aqsa for no reason by a policeman. So, she would like these pictures to be spread, and the stories about – you know – the truth of what is happening to be, you know, well known.
Nicole 15:39
Is there anything else you would like to share
Translation 15:43
[Speaks Arabic].
Um Ramadan 15:48
[Speaks Arabic].
Translation 15:53
They demand that their human rights be respected and you know, take shape in you know reality here.
Nicole 16:05
When will their children be sentenced?
Um Ramadan 16:10
[Speaks Arabic].
Translation 16:16
Her son will be sentenced on the eighth of January
Um Ramadan 16:22
[Speaks Arabic].
Translation 16:23
And they’re asking for five to eight years in prison.
Um Ramadan 16:30
[Speaks Arabic].
Translation 16:32
So now he’s 20, and he might be out when he’s 28.
Um Ramadan 16:35
[Speaks Arabic].
Translation 16:35
She’s saying, you know when he went in he was, you know, just a child playing in the neighborhood and now he’s gonna come out and he’s gonna be like you know a middle aged man. And she has no idea what, you know, what he’s going to have in his head when he comes out.
Um Ramadan 16:43
[Speaks Arabic].
Translation 16:43
She’s saying, you know when he went in he was, you know, just a child playing in the neighborhood and now he’s gonna come out and he’s gonna be like you know a middle aged man. And she has no idea what, you know, what he’s going to have in his head when he comes out.
Um Ramadan 17:05
[Speaks Arabic].
Translation 17:06
Maybe now he’s making plans, but she has no idea what he’s making plans for.
Tom 17:12
[Speaks Arabic].
Translation 17:17
Maybe now he’s making plans. And she has no idea what he’s making plans for.
Tom 17:27
thank you so much. We hope for freedom for all of them, all of the prisoners
