International Solidarity Movement - Page 5 - Nonviolence. Justice. Freedom.

Another Crime of the Israeli Occupation: Five Killed in Nur Shams Camp

28 August 2024 | International Solidarity Movement | Tulkarm Camp

*Nur Shams Camp – Tulkarm – West Bank*
*27-Aug-2024*
*By Diana Khwaelid*

On the evening of Monday 26, Israeli occupying forces carried out an aerial bombardment through an Israeli drone strike on one of the houses in the Nur Shams refugee camp, northeast of the city. After the residents of the camp gathered to assess what had happened, the drone fired another shell at the area. Palestinian Civil Defense crews rushed to the scene, along with medical teams.

More than five injured Palestinians were transferred from the camp to the Thabit Thabit Government Hospital in the city. According to the Palestinian Health Organization, five Palestinians were killed, two of them minors, including one from the city of Qalqilya, who was with other young men in the camp.

The martyrs are Adnan Al-Jaber, Mohammed Sheikh Yusuf, Mohammed Aliyan, and Muhannad Qarawi, all from Nur Shams refugee camp, and Jibril Jibril from Qalqilya.

It is reported that martyr Muhannad Qarawi is the brother of Moamen Qarawi, who was killed near the village of Bala by an Israeli airstrike while he was inside a car with other young men on the 3rd of this month.

It should be noted that both Muhannad Qarawi and Jibril Jibril had recently been freed from captivity as part of the freedom deal between Hamas and Israel.

The 20-year-old martyr Jibril Jibril, from Qalqilya in the northern West Bank, had been pursued by Israeli occupation forces attempting to arrest him again. He decided to go to the Nur Shams refugee camp in Tulkarm to resist the occupation. However, fate led him to be martyred there alongside his comrades, both in captivity and in the field.

A state of sadness and anger swept through the city of Tulkarm, especially in the Nur Shams camp, as the Israeli occupation forces continued to carry out assassinations of Palestinian youth through drone strikes in Tulkarm, Nur Shams camp, Jenin, Qalqilya, and Tubas, all in the northern West Bank.

On Tuesday morning, the city of Tulkarem announced a general commercial strike and a state of mourning in honor of the five martyrs who were killed in the Israeli airstrike on Monday evening, the 26.

Hundreds of Palestinians participated in the funeral of the five martyrs. Jibril Jibril’s body was transferred to his hometown of Qalqilya, where his family and friends bade a final farewell. They prayed for him in the Return Garden in the camp before he was buried in the cemetery.

According to the Palestinian Health Organization, there have been more than 600 martyrs in the West Bank as of October 7.

Olive Harvest 2024: Call for Volunteers

27 August 2024 | International Solidarity Movement | West Bank

At the invitation of Palestinian communities, the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) is issuing an urgent call for volunteers to join us for the 2024 Olive Harvest Campaign, in collaboration with Faz3a and other groups, starting beginning of October throughout November.

While this is a period when Palestinian families get together in the field and celebrate their connection to the land, it is also a time of increased violence and harassment by Israeli settlers, protected and aided by the army. Harvesting therefore represents a symbol of resistance and defiance towards the occupation and colonisation of Palestine.

In many areas of the West Bank, Palestinian farmers are forced to coordinate with the Israeli army to obtain permission to access their own land. Last year, as Israel perpetrated a genocide against the people of Gaza, the army cancelled almost all permits, preventing farmers to access their land. According to OCHA, during last season more than 96.000 dunums of olive-cultivated lands in the West Bank remained unharvested and over 2,000 trees were vandalized during harvest-related incidents. Palestinians also experienced increased violence from settlers and the army.

As settlers’ and soldiers’ violence is spiraling across the West Bank, speeding up the ethnic cleansing in the area, and the genocide in Gaza approaches one year, Palestinians are expecting a particularly hard harvest and are requesting the presence of international activists now more than ever.

!! To register your interest in joining the Olive Harvest contact ismtraining@riseup.net !!

Here you can read more about the 2022 olive harvest season: https://palsolidarity.org/2022/12/the-olive-harvest-struggle-resistance-and-oppression/

During this time, the ISM will continue supporting other communities that are facing violence and forcible displacement, as in Masafer Yatta and the Jordan Valley.

Zanuta: A Story of Return

26 August 2024 | International Solidarity Movement | Zanuta

On Wednesday, August 21, following a long overdue court order, the families of Zanuta, in the South of the West Bank, returned to their village for the first time in 10 months after being forcibly displaced, determined to rebuild their home from the rubble of their village that remained.

At the end of October 2023, the residents of Zanuta were told by settlers that if they didn’t leave in 24 hours, they would kill every last one of them. All of the residents of Zanuta – who had already been enduring unending violence from these settlers, from making it impossible to shepherd, to property damage, to physical attacks, to home invasions and assault – were forcibly displaced from their land and homes.

On Wednesday, the families and flocks returned to their land. Palestinians triumphantly drove their flocks over their land and camped out in the ruins of their homes and propped up the destroyed roof of the school using pieces of scrap metal.

After families left Zanuta in October, settlers came into the village and removed the rooves of the buildings. It was winter, so this meant it was impossible for the families to return. In November, they briefly went back to try to work their land. When they tried to rebuild the rooves, they were stopped by army who said that it was unauthorised building.

Later on settlers returned to destroy everything. The homes and school had their walls and contents destroyed. Trees were cut down and solar panels destroyed. While they would not allow Palestinians to return and tend to their lands, the settlers ploughed the land themselves. Plowing Palestinian land while making it impossible to return to is a legal tactic used by settlers to increase their “claim” to the land under Israeli law.

A supreme court order issued a few weeks ago says that villagers can return to Zanuta (and the smaller village opposite Zanuta). The order also defines Zanuta as a firing zone, meaning that no new building is authorized. With this court order, the Israeli army are required to support the safe return of the villagers, however army and police only made perfunctory visits.

Zanuta is close to Havant Meitarim (“Strings farm”) outpost, whose settlers Yinon Levi and Ilay Federman (son of renowned right wing Kahanist terrorist Noam Federman) were amongst those sanctioned by the US.

If you know anything about 48, you know that supposed court orders hold little to no meaning in ensuring the safety of the Zanuta residents as they come home. They are still legally unable to transform Zanuta into home again due to “unauthorized building” restrictions.

If you know anything about the people of Palestine, you know that sumud will carry on regardless.

Israeli Military Operation in Tulkarm Camp

23 August 2024 | International Solidarity Movement | Tulkarm Camp

*Tulkarm – West Bank*
*22-Aug-2024*
*By Diana Khwaelid*

On the night of August 22, Israeli occupation forces carried out a massive military operation in the Tulkarm refugee camp that lasted 14 hours. Armed clashes took place between Palestinian resistance and Israeli forces in the camp.

**Siege of the camp**
Israeli occupation forces surrounded all the main entrances to the camp, blocking roads with various military vehicles. The siege lasted 14 hours, cutting off electricity, water, and internet. Israeli snipers were deployed on rooftops and surrounding buildings.

**Israeli military reinforcements**
Israeli forces continued to send reinforcements to Tulkarm throughout the operation, centered in the refugee camp. This led to heightened tensions between Palestinians in the camp and the surrounding city.

**Destruction of camp infrastructure**
A month and a half after the last military operation, during which roads and infrastructure were repaired by the municipality and Palestinian Civil Defense, Israeli forces again stormed the camp and destroyed the newly repaired infrastructure. Bulldozers began clearing the main entrance to the camp, known as the Madrasa corridor, and destroyed roads, power lines, water networks, and the sewage system. This destruction of infrastructure by Israeli forces is not the first, nor will it be the last.

**Obstruction of ambulances**
Israeli occupation forces obstructed Palestinian ambulances from entering the camp to transport the injured. Volunteer medical teams inside the camp risked their lives to assist the wounded, and they were the ones who transported the bodies of Palestinians hit by Israeli shelling.

**Destruction and shelling of houses**
Dozens of Palestinian homes and shops were bombed and destroyed, either partially or totally. Israeli forces bombed more than four houses using drones, including one in the town of Aktabah, a neighborhood northeast of Tulkarm.

**Three Palestinian martyrs**
Three Palestinians were killed as a result of Israeli aerial bombardment inside one of the camp’s houses. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, three Palestinians were seriously injured by Israeli shelling while seeking shelter. The martyrs are Imad Shuraim, 34, Muawiya Al-Hajj Ahmed, 30, and Wasim Anbar, 30—all residents of Tulkarm refugee camp. Their bodies were buried three hours after Israeli forces withdrew, with their relatives bidding them a final farewell in the Danaba cemetery near the camp.

Palestinian elder raises his flag in defiance of the occupation forces

Celebrating Resilience: The Burin Kite Festival

June 19 – Once a year, the skies of Burin come alive with a dazzling display of color and resilience. The Kite Festival, organized by residents and activists, brings the community together in a joyful celebration of resistance and steadfast joy. Against the backdrop of occupation, this festival has become a powerful symbol of the daily struggles and unwavering spirit of the people of Burin.

Since 2008, the village of Burin has hosted the Kite Festival almost every year. This small village, nestled among the rolling hills of the northern West Bank, is home to nearly three thousand residents who have cherished this land for centuries. Surrounded by three illegal and oppressive Israeli settlements, the people of Burin face constant challenges and aggressions, yet they remain steadfast in their connection to their home and the children of this town.

They are challenged to find smiles and happiness against the brutality of occupation, but with ice cream and toys and the gift of song they are triumphant. This statement may seem exaggerated to some, but for the people of Burin, it reflects their harsh reality. The Israeli Occupying Forces (IOF) regularly invade the village, ransacking homes, arresting residents without charge, and instilling fear among families. The settlers from the surrounding hilltops also pose a constant threat, attacking villagers, burning olive trees, and disrupting daily life. The streets are often blocked arbitrarily in an efforts to psychologically torture this town.

In the face of such adversity, the Kite Festival is a beacon of hope and wonder. Children and families gather on the soil their ancestors have farmed for generations, flying kites that symbolize freedom and defiance. The sight of kites soaring high above the settlements and beyond barbed wire is a powerful reminder that Burin remains resilient and unbroken.

The festival is organized by The Bureen Club and Ghassan Najjar, a resident who refuses to give up on his land or his people. As the festival marks its 16th year, residents reflects on its significance: “While Israeli and settlers are trying to prevent us from going to our lands and they steal it, it is good to see volunteers from around the world who come every time to give us their solidarity with us the Palestinians who are struggling from this occupation, and to reflect the image of the Palestinians that we are a welcoming people and we love life also,” said Ammar an engineer and resident of Burin

The festival’s simplicity belies its profound impact. Each kite, adorned with the Palestinian flag, using recycled plastic or simply yellow like the sun, sends a clear message to the occupiers: this land is Palestinian, and the spirit of its people will not be extinguished. Despite threats and intimidation from the IOF, Ghassan and his fellow organizers remain defiant. There is no intimidation in the beauty and dreaming of kites however, the absurdity of the occupation’s attempts to quash even the most innocent acts of joy is ever present.

This year, the festival also acts as a show of solidarity for the children of Gaza and a memorial for 3 children murdered by the IOF:
Muataz Eid (12) – 22/11/2023
Amer Najjar (9) – 5/3/2024
Mohammed Eid (19) – 6/3/2024

Members of their community and family were present as the entire festival also calls for Palestinian unity. Coordinated with residents all over the world, kites will be flown simultaneously in a show of solidarity. Children and families from all over the West Bank will join the festival, flying their kites above the settlements, reclaiming the sky with hundreds of Palestinian flags.

The Burin Kite Festival is a testament to the resilience and determination of the Palestinian people. Amidst music, some subtle dancing, and the joyous laughter of children, the festival conveys a simple yet profound message: the right to smile, to have fun, to be happy, and to live freely. As the kites soar high above Burin, they carry with them the hopes and dreams of a people who refuse to be silenced.

Long live Palestine.