International Solidarity Movement - Page 494 - Nonviolence. Justice. Freedom.

Why did Israel stop me from visiting the West Bank?

by Alistair George

15 March 2012 | The Electronic Intifada

The standard line trotted out by Israeli politicians is that Israel is the only democracy among a sea of repressive Arab autocracies. Israeli Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz claimed recently that “Israeli democracy is alive, liberal and breathing; I don’t know many better democracies in the world” (“Government ministers react sharply to Clinton’s criticism of Israeli democracy,” Haaretz, 4 December 2011).

But what kind of liberal democracy bars human rights activists in an attempt to stifle the truth about its behavior?

My friend and I were recently held and interrogated by the Israeli authorities at the Egyptian/Israeli border for over nine hours before being denied access to Israel for unspecified “security reasons.” However, the true reasons appear to be politically motivated.

We had intended to travel to the West Bank to work with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a nonviolent, Palestinian-led group of activists who work alongside other international and Israeli groups to provide solidarity, document human rights abuses, undertake direct action and provide an international presence in the hope that it will inhibit the violence of the Israeli military in attacking unarmed demonstrators.

The Israeli authorities deny having a policy of forbidding entry to ISM activists. However, in reality, any person who admits to being a member is immediately denied access by the Israeli border authorities, blacklisted and prevented from entering in the future. The Israeli authorities also routinely deny access to other human rights activists, workers with non-governmental organizations and people stating an intention to help any group perceived by the Israeli authorities as being “pro-Palestinian.”

It would have been our second time working with ISM documenting human rights abuses, having visited the West Bank in late 2011, and regrettably we felt that we could not disclose our true reason for going and were forced to claim that we were going to Israel on holiday.

We arrived at the Taba crossing around 7am and so the stupidity began. My friend had been living in Cairo for the past four months and the authorities were very unhappy that she had studied Arabic while in Egypt. Although she is an atheist from a predominantly Christian country, they asked her when she became a Muslim — an incorrect assumption presumably based on the fact that she has spent time in Egypt — while implying that this was in itself a security concern.

Humiliating searches

We were subjected to rigorous personal searches. When my friend was undergoing her personal search she had strip down to her underwear and at that moment they opened the curtains so the rest of the room full of travellers and border employees could see.

They emptied out our bags, swabbed everything (presumably for traces of explosives) and put each individual item through an x-ray machine several times. This process took nearly three hours. Many items of our luggage provoked seemingly unwarranted suspicion. They demanded to know why my friend had a candle, and why had she wrapped a bottle of perfume in a plastic bag.

They were highly suspicious of one of my middle names (Alistair) and demanded to know the “meaning” — it is my father’s name. They insisted on knowing his nationality (Scottish) and place of birth (Edinburgh). Perhaps because “Alistair” contains “Ali” they were concerned it was an Arabic name.

It could have been worse; our interrogators were often rude and disrespectful but they were not overtly aggressive or intimidating. I have heard accounts of people being forced to strip and then interrogated for hours sitting in their underwear and of Muslim visitors being granted access to Israel on the proviso that they leave their phones, cameras and other belongings at the border crossing as collateral.

Nine-hour wait

But after several hours they directly accused us of belonging to ISM, of travelling to the West Bank and attending protests, and after more than nine hours we were denied entry to Israel.

While I recognize Israel’s right to undertake necessary interrogations, searches and measures to ensure its security, it seems clear that the nature of our interrogations were absurd and discriminatory, and the real reason for denying us access was politically-motivated.

What is a self-proclaimed democracy like Israel worried that human rights activists or journalists will discover? Banning peaceful activists and journalists like us shows that clearly some of the work we are doing is valuable and that to some extent, the Israeli authorities are sensitive to foreign opinion and don’t want people to expose the crimes they are committing.

So our passports are stamped “refused entry” and we are effectively blacklisted and currently unable to visit and report on the crimes of a regime that purports to be a liberal democracy. We are bitterly disappointed that we will not be able to visit our friends in the West Bank.

But we are just international activists and would-be visitors; there are millions of Palestinians who have been denied their right to return to their homeland or even visit it for decades. Our experience has inspired us to redouble our activism from abroad and continue to highlight the injustices of a violent occupation that denies human rights and dignity to the Palestinians. The Israeli authorities can try to cover up their crimes like any other common authoritarian and repressive regime but they should know that the truth will continue to come out.

Alistair George is a former ISM Media Activist (name has been changed).

Beit Dajan gears up for continued resistance

by Robin

15 March 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

On the 14th of March 2012 two internationals from ISM went to Beit Dajan to talk about the recent upstart of demonstrations in the village.

We met with Naser Abu Jaish who is the administrative manager in the municipality. Beit Dajan is a village with about 4000 inhabitants and is situated about 10 km east of Nablus. Since the beginning of the second Intifada, there has been a roadblock put up on the main road by the Israeli military.

This has made transportation difficult for the villagers as they were forced to take a 60km “detour” to reach Nablus. With the amount of time wasted by taking a longer road, both water supply and emergency health care cannot function normally anymore. The road block has not only been a disaster in logistics and services for the village, but more importantly four people have been killed by the army when trying to use the road.

In 2005 a new road was built to Beit Furik, a village nearby which shortens the travel distance to Nablus. However, it’s still a detour which complicates the daily life for Palestinians. It was rumored that the roadblock would be removed by Israel, but four months ago it became clear that this was not the case. The citizens of Beit Dajan organized and mobilized for their first demonstration on the 7th of March. The actions were carried out in order to open the road for Palestinians again, a cause which of course is very popular in the village. Naser was very happy with the action.

“More than 500 people participated, both young and old! And we are expecting even more people this week.”

The demonstration was outspokenly non-violent and this succeeded as not one single stone was thrown. Despite of this the Israeli soldiers used tear gas against the villagers.

Naser tells us that the demonstration has been warmly welcomed by the people and that a lot of excitement and unity has come from it.

“Of course we fear that the military will use even more violence, but it will not stop us from delivering our message: That we have the right to use the road,” Naser says.

“We would like ISM to show their presence at our demonstrations every Friday along with other international observers”, Naser said with hope in his eyes and emphasis on the importance of peaceful resistance in order to regain their road.

Robin is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).

The mourning tent of a martyr

by Nathan Stuckey

14 March 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, Gaza Strip

Nayif Qarmout was murdered yesterday; he was also buried yesterday, in a small cemetery in the heart of Jabalia, the refugee camp where he lived. He was only 14 years old. He was murdered by an Israeli missile while playing football with his friends. He was a handsome young man, the photo on his martyr posters make that obvious. It was something that I never would have guessed at his funeral, looking at his bloody bruised face.

Today, Nayif’s family mourned. The reception line of men lining the entrance to the mourning tent was the most shattered group of men I have ever seen. Their faces were blank, dead, as though Nayif was not the only murdered yesterday. Nayif’s photo was on the wall, he looks so young, a child just turning into a man. We sat down and ate dates as a young man brought coffee around. Nayif’s uncle, Abdullah came over to talk to us.

Abdullah tells us that not only was Nayif a handsome child, but he was also a joyful child. He was always laughing, always making jokes, always helping his parents with his younger brothers and sisters. Nayif was the oldest child; he had three younger brothers and two younger sisters. He was not only the oldest child, but also the oldest grandchild; he was named after his grandfather. After school he worked with his father in family’s pharmacy, helping customers and keeping track of the accounts. Nayif hoped to run this pharmacy someday, after university, when he was a man. That is a chance that Nayif will never have.

Monday morning Nayif woke early. He got dressed and went to school, after school he was supposed to come to the shop to help his father. When he arrived at school, he found it closed because of the Israeli attacks. He met some of his friends; they went to play football before they went home for the day. While they were playing football an Israeli drone fired a missile at them, at six children playing football on a day off from school. Nayif’s family received a call that Nayif had been injured and was on the way to the hospital. They all rushed to the hospital, but there was nothing to be done, they did not even have the chance to say goodbye to their son, he was dead when they arrived at the hospital.

Nayif’s family is left with their sadness; nothing will bring back their son. Perhaps, though, as Um Nayif asked us, something can be done to save other children, “stop the killing of children, don’t abandon Palestine. Nayif went to the school, he was a student and Israel killed him. I know that now he’s gone to God. His brothers and sisters cry because they lost their elder brother.”

Nathan is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).

Beit Furik, Nablus: Family unable to attend funeral for son killed in recent Gaza air strikes

by Jonas Weber

13 March 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

“We called him Nassr, but I think his real name was Mahmoud,” says Ahmed while we were on the bus from the Beit Furik municipality building. Outside the bus window, the walls of the little town just outside of Nablus are plastered with freshly printed martyr posters. The picture shows a middle aged man photoshopped between the Dome of the Rock and the Palestinian flag.

Ali Hannini, the cousin of Mahmoud Hanin who was kiled by Israeli rocket fire.

It has just been a few days since Mahmoud Hanini was killed by an Israeli rocket while in a car in the Gaza Strip.

“He was suspected of being affiliated with a militant group in the West Bank in 2005 and was forced to flee to Jordan and then on to Egypt and Gaza where he worked with the resistance against the occupation,” Ahmed continues.

In the stairwell leading up to the Hanini residence, one of the landings is cluttered up with shoes and a somber song is playing from the apartment. The family is still in mourning. We are shown to the roof where Mahmoud’s cousin, Ali, serves us coffee and dates.

“Things are going to be hard for this family now,” he said.

Mahmoud only had one brother and eleven sisters. It will be economically difficult for them. Mahmoud also had three children in Beit Furik and two daughters in Gaza.

When Mahmoud was killed on Friday, he was in a car with Zuhair al-Qaissi, the leader of the armed wing of the Popular Resistance Committee, the group responsible for the kidnapping of the Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit.

The body of Mahmoud Hanini will remain in Gaza, and his family will have to face the pain of not being able to visit his grave.

“It would be extremely expensive and difficult for us,” says Ali.

In the midst of military escalation in Gaza and the grief at home, the Hanini family still carry some hope for the future.

“We want to say a message to the people of the outside world: that the only thing we long for is peace. We only resist to win our freedom. This is not an issue of a conflict between religions. The issue is that Israel is occupying our lands in violation of international laws.”

The murder of Mahmoud Hanini, Zuhair al-Qaissi, and their driver set ablaze the region as groups throughout the Gaza strip responded by firing nearly a hundred rockets into Israeli territory. Most of these were intercepted by Israeli air defence, but one Israeli was killed by the rockets. Israel in turn responded with attacks against Gaza that since Friday have taken the lives of dozens of Palestinians.

Jonas Weber is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).

Mapping a pattern of Israeli violence in Burin

13 March 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank
The pattern of settler and military invasion of Burin, a village near Nablus, is what locals and internationals are mapping to brace themselves for more property damage, violence, and threats by nearby illegal settlements and hardcore adherents to the volatile “Price Tag Campaign.”

If the pattern continues, the next attack will be settlers, according to local ISM coordinator, Lydia. “Within a few days after that, Burin should be due a visit from the soldiers.”

According to notes and statistics prepared by Lydia, a British volunteer stationed in Burin, it is predicted that soldiers will enter the village with approximately 8 to 12 jeeps, which has been the range of jeeps the military bring to raid the village in a three week span. This comes following today’s settler attack and military incursion into the village, which resulted in the confirmed arrest of two 16-year-old boys. Lydia has been barred from entering the village at times when ISM has been notified of these attacks through the use of a makeshift checkpoint, and she notes that the same did happen today at the entrance of Burin. Typically military remains present for around 4 hours, which has been a consistent amount of time stayed during each of these invasions.

The time of an Israeli attack cannot be predicted since they have been so random, adding to the psychological games that the Israeli military enjoys playing to keep the villagers vulnerable. The residents of Burin know it is always coming, but when is the mystery.

Ghassan Najjar, Director of the Bilal Najjar Youth Center, named after the martyr, stated that despite the patterns, “We know in the village that from 9 PM until the early morning that the village is no longer ours, it is the military playground.”

The military uses tear gas and sound bombs frequently, using these during both attacks and when the military uses Burin as a venue for military training. Ghassan Najjar, awoken by these activities notes that soldiers have stated, “Don’t worry, we are only training, go back to sleep.” They are on roofs, shooting gas at no one, and throwing sound bombs near peoples houses and even raiding houses during these drills.

When the settlers and soldiers are together and enter Burin, the illegal settlers remain in the village fields and hills, never entering the heart of the village. Yet the Israeli military will advance to protect these settlers, with the weapons they train with and even live ammunition to disperse peaceful protesters.

The settlers have all come from the same direction, from the stolen land now referred to as a settlement named Bracha. They have come in numbers between 10 and 25 and they come armed, weapons ranging from handguns to M-16s.

These three attacks have been focused on the Sofan household. They are not new to the suffering, having had their house set on fire twice. The second arson attack resulted in the death of Atallah Sofan, husband of Hanan Sofan who currently lives in their home. Her husband died after he had a heart attack due to the sight of his home in flames. They have had their chickens, sheep, horse and donkey killed and their house stoned and paint bombed.

“Our house is the only thing stopping the settlers from taking this area,” said Sofan.

The nearby settlement of Yitzhar is home to some of the most violent Price Tag Campaign settlers

This is what happened on the latest occasions; bottles and stones were thrown at their home and their sheep were also under attack. As usual, the youth of Burin came down to protect their land by throwing stones. On March 9th this was soon met by Israeli soldiers who protected the settlers, contrary to what they claimed about wanting to provide security for the Palestinian residents. There were clashes between all three parties, which is typical for Burin, each time lasting between 30 to 90 minutes.

While patterns in the behavior of illegal and violent settlers are being mapped, and the relationship between the occupying forces and these rogue bands of settler gangs becomes clearer, the pattern itself does not change the inability of Palestinians to prepare for Israeli violence.

“Although patterns are made, the [Israelis] also can come whenever they like and do whatever they like,” said Lydia. “For me all I can do is document. Even if clearer patterns are made, what can the Palestinians do, leave their houses for those hours? If they do begin to leave, the soldiers win as people change the way they live to avoid the army.”