International Solidarity Movement - Page 65 - Nonviolence. Justice. Freedom.

Occupation forces shoot 9 demonstrators near Ramallah

9th February 2019 | International Solidarity Movement, Al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

Despite being condemned by all authoritative bodies, the occupation continues to expand it’s settlements throughout the ‘West Bank’, with total disregard for international law. All the settlements are built on Palestinian land and these illegal settlers often raid local villages, lacerating olive groves and destroying crops. In addition, violent, unprovoked attacks by settlers against Palestinians have increased alarmingly over the past year, with 200 race-related incidences recorded in 2018. The village of Al-Mughayyir north-east of Ramallah has experienced constant harassment, including settlers setting fire to the local mosque.

Last week, a group settlers invaded and attacked Al-Mughayyir, shooting indiscriminately toward houses. As residents gathered to resist the invasion with stones, the settlers immediately and randomly fired a barrage of bullets at the crowd, killing 38-year-old Hamdi Nassan who was shot in the back. Many others were hit with live ammunition, leaving three wounded in serious conditions.

After performing Friday prayers in the field of the village, the residents gathered to commemorate Hamdi and to protest the continued annexation of their land. Despite being on village land and posing no threat to the surrounding settlements, dozens of occupation soldiers were positioned across the hills surrounding the field. Within moments of shebab throwing stones toward fully-armored soldiers standing more than 100 metres away, the occupation began firing tear gas canisters from a machine known as ‘venom’- capable of shooting 64 canisters per launch. While protesters scattered in order to dodge hailing canisters, soldiers descended from the hills, firing rubber-coated steel bullets indiscriminately into the crowd. Yet as a cloud of tear gas smothered the field, the youth surged forward, using the toxic gas as cover to lob rocks at the armoured vehicles. At no point did anyone get within 50 meters of a soldier but in a reality that is all too familiar for the Palestinians – yet no less deplorable – snipers started ‘picking off’ protestors. Nine youths were wounded by live ammunition and many others injured.

Anat Cohen assaults ISM volunteers in Al-Khalil (again)

[three_fifth_last]February 08, 2019 | International Solidarity Movement, Al-Khalil team | Al-Khalil, occupied Palestine

ISM volunteers were detained by Hebron Police for over 8 hours after Anat Cohen assaulted them outside the Qurtuba school checkpoint on Thursday.

In direct response to the violence waged against Palestinians at the hands of illegal settlers (and the military that protects them), a neutral observer force had been present in Hebron (Al-Khalil) for the past 22-years, in part, to ensure that children walking to/from school would not be harmed, harassed, or murdered by settlers. This observer force was called TIPH.

Unfortunately, the Israeli government expelled TIPH from Hebron last week.

One of the more dangerous checkpoints for Palestinian children in Al-Khalil exists outside the Qurtuba school–which is juxtaposed immediately adjacent to the Beit Hadassah settlement. Another independent observer group, EAPPI, had been peacefully monitoring this checkpoint until last week–when their head offices announced that their team would also withdraw from Hebron following a targeted campaign of harassment by the right-wing fascist group Im Turtsu.

To fill this void, ISM volunteers have been monitoring the Qurtuba checkpoint in mornings and afternoons to provide an international presence to ensure the safety of Palestinian schoolchildren. As a result, ISM has become the target of harassment by these illegal settlers. On Thursday, this ordinary verbal abuse escalated to physical assault when Anat Cohen–a particularly violent settler with a history of attacking peaceful observers–assaulted ISM volunteers at the Qartuba checkpoint.

ISM captured the assault on video:

Minutes after Cohen assaulted the ISM volunteers, she called the police. When the local Hebron Police arrived, they detained the ISM volunteers and informed them that Cohen was pressing charges against the ISM volunteers for assault.

The ISM volunteers vehemently deny these accusations, and they have video evidence clearly showing that the only physical violence that occured was when Cohen assaulted the peaceful ISM volunteers, who were simply observing the checkpoint to ensure the safety of the schoolchildren.

“Hundred Million Dollar Home” Hebron Shop Keeper Punished for Resistance to Occupation

2nd February 2019 | International Solidarity Movement, Al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

Today, our good friend Abdulraouf Al-Mohtaseb’s, the famous owner of the 100 Million Dollar home , had his shop enclosed by steel barricades. We condemn this blatant act of aggression by the IDF against shop owners in the Old City of Al-Khalil. This is a direct response against Abdulraouf’s resilient act of resistance with his refusal to comply with the occupation.

We stand with Abdulraouf and the shop owners of Al-Khalil.

Call for volunteers after TIPH & EAPPI exodus from Hebron

1st February 2019 | International Solidarity Movement, Al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

In the wake of TIPH being ejected from Al-Khalil (Hebron), it’s critical for ISM to sustain an international presence to protect the Palestinians.

After an Israeli settler murdered 29 worshippers while they were praying at the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron in 1994, the UN Security Council published Resolution 904 called for the establishment of an international presence “to guarantee the safety and protection of the Palestinian civilians throughout the occupied territory”.

That international presence became TIPH, which operated–most recently–for 22 consecutive years since the Hebron Protocol of 1997.

But last week, PM Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted that he would not be extending TIPH–a move that has emboldened Israeli settlers and further endangered the security of Palestinians.

Moreover, the day after Israel decided to remove TIPH, another international observer force on the ground in Hebron–EAPPI (Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel)–left Hebron after their personnel were targeted by a campaign of harassment from the right-wing fascist group Im Turtsu.

In the wake of this exodus of teams critical to thwarting violent attacks against Palestinians by Israeli settlers and soldiers, we ask the international community to come defend Palestinian human rights on the ground here in Hebron. If you’re interested in joining the ISM team in Hebron, please contact us about an upcoming ISM training session in Palestine.

Hebron Schools Gassed

16th December 2018 | International Solidarity Movement, Al-Khalil Team | Hebron, occupied Palestine.

At 1pm, 4 Israeli occupation soldiers entered Salaymeh neighbourhood, Hebron.

Activists were present from 12:30 pm and did not witness any stones thrown or other provocation.

The soldiers fired 21 tear gas rounds in under 5 minutes into the street outside the 3 schools and into two schoolyards.

Another video account of this incident [480p VIDEO] or [HD VIDEO]

There are 3 primary schools on the street where the tear gas was used:

Hebron School
UNRWA Hebron Basic Boys School
Khadijah School

There are also 4 other schools in the immediate area.

During this time the soldiers also threw three concussion grenades over a wall into the Hebron School. They were unable to see who was on the other side of the wall or where they were at the time.

Tear gas rounds and concussion grenades, Hebron School

The headmaster of Hebron School said that 5 tear gas rounds were fired into the schoolyard in total.

Older school students were still in Hebron School. 30 boys and 5 teachers suffered tear gas inhalation.

Activists also found a spent tear gas round in a garden in the grounds of the UNRWA Hebron Basic Boys School.

Occupations soldiers fire tear gas, Salaymeh

There was no threat to the soldiers or anyone else at the time yet the soldiers continued to fire tear gas into the neighbourhood even the streets were completely empty of people.

They seemed to stop only when they had run out of tear gas.

Tear gas fired outside and inside Hebron School.

The tear gas spread through the neighbourhood into schools and residential buildings along the streets where families live. It was a still afternoon and the tear gas stayed in the immediate area and dispersed very slowly continuing to effect local residents.

Last month 238 tear gas rounds and 51 concussion grenades were fired in this neighbourhood. See the November report on Education in Palestine from Christian Peacemaker Teams:

Palestine School Report: Education under Military Occupation November, 2018

This latest tear gas assault comes on the tail of two weeks when 6 boys between 10 and 14 years of age were abducted by Israeli occupation soldiers and Border Police.

See our last report from al Khalil:
Child Abductions by Israeli Forces in Hebron, 4-11 Dec, 2018.