International Solidarity Movement - Page 434 - Nonviolence. Justice. Freedom.

Support the communities of Fasay’il al Wusta

28 December 2012 | Jordan Valley Solidarity, Fasay’il al Wusta, Occupied Palestine

Located in-between the settlements of Petza’el and Tomer in area C, the community in Fasay’il al Wusta is prevented from accessing running water or electricity, they are not allowed to tarmac the stony track that is the only road access to their homes, and they have been subjected to the violent destruction of their homes four times since October 2011.

In November 2012, the Israeli Occupation Forces issued new directions to members of the community in Fasay’il al Wusta – this time they are threatened not only with demolition of their homes but with eviction. In order to resist this forcible displacement, members of the community now want to build more homes to stay on their land.

Jordan Valley Solidarity works to support and strengthen the steadfastness of Palestinian communities in area C to remain on their lands. Among different activities, Palestinian and international volunteers work with communities across the Jordan Valley to rebuild homes and other structures that have been destroyed by the Israeli Occupation Forces using natural resources.

On workdays we

make mud bricks and build using natural resources to resist Israel’s colonial project in the Jordan Valley;
meet and support members of the community, and learn about their day-to-day struggles against the occupation.

Contact:

Workdays will take place every Saturday throughout the coming weeks. Please contact Rashed on 0592391208 if you are intending to come.

Directions:

From Jericho, take a servees (via Al Auja) to Fasay’il and we will meet you at the entrance of the village on Road 90.

From Nablus, take a servees from the Eastern Garage to Al Jiftlik (15NIS) and ask the driver to drop you at the Friends Meeting House (Al Beit Al Qadeem). Please try to arrive by 8:30am.

Food:

A simple vegetarian lunch will be provided, donations welcome.

Urif under attack

26 December 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, Urif, Occupied Palestine

Over the past three days, the village of Urif, south of Nablus, has been under constant attack from Israeli settlers and soldiers. Soldiers invaded the village twice and numerous people sustained injuries from rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas canisters. People in Urif said that settlers attack their village almost daily, especially now that Palestine has been granted observer member status in the UN.

The latest attack started on Monday, 24 December at 10 am when armed settlers attacked a school in Urif with stones. When youth from the village went to defend the school and confront the settlers, the Israeli military arrived and started shooting at people. Clashes continued until late in the evening, with live ammunition, rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas and sound bombs fired at the people of Urif. Two non-violent international activists at the scene of the clashes shouted at the soldiers that these actions by the Israeli army and settlers were completely illegal and inhuman, at which point the army started shooting rubber-coated steel bullets directly at the activists. At sunset the army came running down the hills toward Urif and stopped at the outskirts of the village, from where they continued shooting live ammunition, rubber-coated steel bullets and tear-gas into the streets of the village.

Early on Tuesday morning, the Israeli soldiers invaded the streets of Urif and started shooting sound bombs and tear gas into the empty streets of the village.

Attacks resumed on Wednesday afternoon when settlers again attacked the school with stones. The same incidents which occurred on Monday were repeated on Wednesday, except that this time soldiers invaded the village at around 5 pm and shot tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets into the middle of the village. One person was hit in the head by a rubber-coated steel bullet.

Urif has a long history of attacks by illegal Israeli settlers. Some years ago a person was shot by Jacob, the guard of the Yizhar settlement, who is notorious for attacks on Palestinians in the area. In May this year Jacob violently attacked a farmer in Urif, tied him up and shot him in the back. In the last few weeks, attacks on Urif have intensified as settlers, with the protection of Israeli soldiers, attacked the village on most days of the past month.

Christmas day in the firing zone

by Team Khalil

25 December 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

The residents of two villages in the Israeli firing zone 918 in the South Hebron Hills experienced a fearful Christmas day as the Israeli soldiers and a tank conducted firing exercises in close proximity to their homes.

From late afternoon on 25 December the villagers were shocked as an Israeli tank fired several practice shots near the villages of Mirkez and Jinba. Shortly afterwards around forty soldiers from the Israeli army fired blanks as they simulated a skirmish. The soldiers staged an attack on a hillside which lasted for around an hour, during which the sound of gunfire echoed around the hillside barely fifty metres away from Mirkez. One Jinba resident remarked that the Israeli army had not held training exercises this close to the villages in twelve years and the villagers shut their doors in fear of another night raid.

The soldiers stayed in the area into the early hours of the morning and sporadic bursts of fire could be seen and heard throughout the night. The Israeli tank fired two rounds late in the evening, the booming noise of the tank fire could be heard throughout the firing zone causing distress to the nearby communities.

Two international activists walking between the villages during the night were stopped by a soldier and were only allowed to pass once he realised they were not Palestinian.

Local and international groups working with the affected communities have started a campaign to raise awareness of the routine infringement of the villagers’ human rights and the harassment they receive from soldiers and settlers alike. Details and a petition to the Israeli government can be found here.

Backgound

The area was declared a ‘firing zone’ for military training in the 1970s. The villagers, many of which have lived in the area for generations, live with the constant threat of eviction and home demolition as well sporadic water shortages and violence from the illegal Israeli settlers surrounding the area.

Earlier this month Israeli soldiers entered Jinba during a nighttime excursion and forced a terrified family to leave their home and stand in the cold for two hours while they destroyed the door to another cave in the village for no apparent reason.

Also in early December Israeli forces demolished the mosque in al Mufaqara which they claim was built illegally despite the fact that the settlements in the West Bank, all of which are illegal under international law, remain untouched.

Team Khalil is a group of volunteers of International Solidarity Movement based in Hebron (al Khalil)

Ransacking and arrests in Sarra and Tell

22 December 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, Sarra and Tell, Occupied Palestine.

Hundreds of Israeli soldiers raided the neighbouring villages of Sarra and Tell, south of Nablus, broke into seven homes and arrested three people in the early hours of Thursday morning.

A family in Sarra, a village of around 5,000 inhabitants, told us how 50 Israeli soldiers violently entered their home at 1:00am. The soldiers first forced the family of seven, including two children of ages three and ten, to stand outside the home in the cold, and then later locked them in one room inside the house. This while soldiers ransacked their house and deliberately smashed electronic appliances, furniture and tiles. A flight of stairs leading to a garage was entirely destroyed, furniture was overturned, doors were dislodged and broken and stored wheat was mixed with oil. One person was arrested and taken to the Huwwara Military Camp. No reason was given for the raid or the arrest. The mother who had one of her sons arrested expressed concern at the fact that when persons are taken away by the military they might be kept in prison for weeks, months or even years. Israeli law allows the military to keep Palestinians in administrative detention for years, without informing them of the charges against them.

In the nearby village of Tell, where around 6,000 people live, hundreds of Israeli soldiers with eight military jeeps entered the village and ransacked six homes at one in the morning. One family told us how Israeli soldiers with dogs came into their home by breaking the door and forced the family to stay in one room during the 4-hour raid. As in Sarra, they left the houses in a complete disaster. They threw the trash from garbage-bags all over the place, broke tiles and window panes and smashed furniture. A woman told us how she saw her son being tied, blindfolded and taken away by the soldiers. A 60-year old man holding clutches recounted how he was violently pushed on the ground by the soldiers when he complained of the treatment they were receiving. Two persons from Tell were arrested during the raid.

The ransacking of houses in Sarra and Tell comes amidst a surge in violence and intimidation by the occupation forces in the West Bank in these last weeks, with an increase in violent raids at night and the use of live-ammunition in a number of situations. This is thought by many to be revenge for the successful non-member state bid at the UN. People in Tell told us weeks ago Israeli soldiers entered the village and started shooting at youths playing football. No one was hit during the incident, in what seemed to be another exercise in intimidation by the Israeli military.

Curfew imposed on Kifl Hares as settlers invade

21 December 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, Kifl Haris, Occupied Palestine

At around 9.30pm last night several Israeli Army vehicles entered the village of Kifl Haris as they do many times every year. They immediately imposed a strict unannounced curfew. The Israeli military tell nobody this will happen, nobody can leave their homes, nobody is able to visit a doctor or a hospital. If settlers attack your home you must deal with it alone. Kifl Haris is a Palestinian village in the northern West Bank, located six kilometres west of Salfit and 18 kilometres south of Nablus. Unfortunately for the villagers of Kifl Haris they are amongst the nearest village to the West Banks largest illegal settlement Ariel.

The pretext of the invasion into Kifl Haris is a pilgrimage to three disputed tombs, praying and dancing at a site they claim holds the remains of biblical ancestors. But as a resident explained, if they want to visit the tombs, why does it have to start in the middle of the night, and go onto the morning? Why do my children have to lay awake as they sing and drink alcohol? This isn’t about religion. This about them continuously intimidating us and seizing our land.

Settlers invade the village anywhere between 5 or 10 times a year, with an Israeli military escort. Last year at around the same time around 10,000 settlers invade the village of Kifl Haris. They arrived at midnight and stayed till around 7 in the morning. This year as we awaited the arrival of the settler party we heard reports that 60 bus loads were waiting at the entrance to the village. Fortunately the weather took a turn for the worse and the rain began to fall very heavily, only a fraction of the numbers of Israeli’s that were expected actually made streets of Kifl Haris.

On certain visits the settlers have caused various different sorts of damage the village of Kifl Haris. They have forced their way into peoples homes leaving a trail of destruction behind them and often have damaged cars, by puncturing tyres or smashing windows. As the rain continued to fall the organisers began to pack belongings away earlier than expected by 2am in the morning. Although the settlers left early the Israeli Military continued to aggressively and beep there horns and rev their engines, in what certainly seemed to be intimidation.