Severe restrictions for Palestinians, freedom of movement for settlers.

02/04/2018, International Solidarity Movement, Al Khalil/Hebron

Today Israeli forces sealed off parts of three streets in Palestinian controlled H1 near Bab Azawiyeh ordering more than fifty Palestinian shops to close for ‘security reasons’. Israeli forces also closed the Al Ibrahimi Mosque and the checkpoint adjacent to it for two whole days.

Pictured: Israeli forces seal off road with spike strips and armed presence.

The incursion into Palestinian controlled H1 started at around 11am with Israeli soldiers entering the area, ordering shops to close and preventing vehicle access to the marketplace. Around 30 minutes later Israeli Border Police in armored vehicles with teargas canons on top blocked the three main streets leading to the market. In front of the vehicles, the Israeli soldiers laid spike strips to further restrict vehicle access, and they took up positions in front. Only residents of Tel Rumeida were allowed to pass. In past years, Israeli forces blocked access to less of this commercial zone, but this year they encroached further into the Palestinian city. Snipers were positioned on the surrounding roof tops.

Pictured: Israeli forces order over 50 Palestinian stores and market holders to close.

The Israeli military blocked off this H1 area under Palestinian control so Jewish settlers could visit a tomb shrine during the holiday of Passover.

During the afternoon, the Israeli soldiers took several Palestinian adults and minors from the street for not having their ID’s with them or simply for watching and daring to get too close to the Israeli forces.  Some were taken through Checkpoint 56 presumably under arrest.

Pictured: Israeli border police detain Palestinian youth.

Early evening around five thirty PM, Israeli forces began to withdraw from H1 area back into H2 area under ‘Israeli control’ through checkpoint 56. Small scale clashes between armed Israeli forces and unarmed Palestinian youth. The clashes began as Israeli forces were still present on roof tops. Palestinian youth began throwing stones and Israeli forces threw stun grenades and fired rubber coated steel bullets at the youth, this went on until six thirty PM. Two Palestinian youth were shot with rubber coated steel bullets one in the left leg and another in the lower spine but they did not require immediate medical treatment on the scene.

The day was a complete disruption of Palestinian businesses and freedom of movement. “Normal” life is extremely difficult for Palestinians without additional disruptions. More than twenty permanent checkpoints block movement in the city along with the countless other restrictions that Palestinians face.

Pictured: A map from OCHA showing Al Khalil, Hebron restricted access and closures to Palestinians only.

03/04/2018

Illegal Israeli settlers flood the Palestinian souq (Market)

The Israeli military occupation forces started their heightened ‘security’ measures in the Old City souq at around 9am as Palestinian shopkeepers were opening their stores. Armed Israeli Border Police and soldiers in full battle dress patrolled through the souq.

Internationals heard that the illegal Israeli settlers will enter the souq at around 1pm and the day wouldn’t finish until 5pm for a pro-longed settler tour for the Jewish holiday of Passover. At noon, with a drone circling overhead, Israeli forces massed at Bab Al Baladia, a gate in the courtyard that the illegal settlers and Israeli soldiers use to enter the Old City.

Pictured: Bab Albaladia gate where settlers, Israeli forces enter from illegal settlement into Souq.

Israeli forces lined the rooftops and all the way down the souq. Israeli military vehicles blocked off the entrance from Bab Al Baladia to prevent access to Palestinian vehicles. The sheer amount of armed forces was frightening, especially for Palestinian children who live and play in the souq streets.

Pictured: Palestinian children trying to play in the Souq with armed Israeli soldiers present everywhere.

An Israeli news channel was present interviewing the Israeli commander as the prolonged settler tour commenced. Every twenty minutes large groups of illegal Israeli settlers came out of the gates of Bab Al Baladia and walked through the souq with tour guides and surrounded by Israeli soldiers. They exited at the Mosque checkpoint that was closed to Palestinians and tourists. Some Palestinians closed their shops due to fear of attacks by settlers whilst others were ordered to close.

Pictured: Israeli forces line Palestinian Souq for pro-longed settler tour – some Palestinian shops closed.

Loud music was heard being played in the vicinity of the Ibrahimi mosque that was closed for Palestinian Muslims for two whole days. Internationals spoke with a Palestinian who works at the Mosque, and he told us that when Palestinians are allowed back in to clean up the settlers always leave it in a mess as they leave rubbish everywhere and don’t take their shoes off.

Another day of disruption for Palestinians during the Jewish holiday of Passover.

                            Pictured: Israeli checkpoint closed – Ibrahimi mosque closed

Second day of clashes Palestinian youth protest Gaza killings in Al Khalil

Saturday 31 March 2018, International Solidarity Movement al-Khalil/Hebron, Occupied West Bank, Palestine.

Palestinian youth protested the killings in Gaza at Checkpoint 56. The Israeli soldiers fired teargas, stun grenades and live ammunition. Beginning at 8AM Palestinian youth took to the streets of al-Khalil/Hebron to protest the killings and injuries inflicted by the Israeli military on the non-violent demonstrators in Gaza during the Great Return March. They protested outside Checkpoint 56. The Israeli soldiers took to the rooftops overlooking the area and threw more than fifty stun grenades and more than thirty teargas canisters at the youth during the day.

Toward the end of the afternoon a contingent of soldiers, as always in full battle dress: helmets, bulletproof vests, automatic rifles and ammunition, attempted to cut off the youth at the rear. Failing that, the soldiers illegally went far up in H1, the Palestinian controlled part of town. There they fired stun grenades, teargas and live ammunition in the heavily traveled commercial area of town before returning to their base having accomplished nothing. The confrontation between the protesting youth and the Israeli soldiers continued with more stun grenades and teargas.

Later in the evening, the youth were warned that the soldiers were once again attempting to cut them off in the rear. When the soldiers arrived on the scene, the youth had scattered. The returning soldiers stopped and roughly searched a youth in the nearby market letting him go when it became apparent that he was an innocent bystander. Retreating further, the soldiers grabbed, searched and showed two additional youth who were sat calmly on stairs to the watching rooftop soldiers, they claimed to identify the older of the two. The soldiers released the younger of the two boys. Four soldiers then violently wrestled the nineteen-year-old boy to the ground, handcuffed him behind his back and two soldiers hauled him off and through Checkpoint 56 surrounded by the rest of the Israeli soldiers. International Solidarity Movement volunteers who had been on the scene during the day testified that this boy had not been part of the demonstration but was an innocent bystander grabbed by the frustrated soldiers.

The actions of the soldiers throughout the day with the use of lots of stun grenades, teargas and even live ammunition is an example of the continuing use of excessive force by Israeli occupation forces.

 

Israeli occupation forces fire huge amount of tear gas in al Khalil (Hebron)

Friday, 23rd March, 2018 Occupied Palestine, al Khalil (Hebron team)

Clashes between Palestinian youth and occupation forces continued from around midday until dusk in al Khalil on Friday. Throughout the afternoon, Israel forces threw stun grenades and fired tear gas to supress Palestinian youth.

Before midday Israeli soldiers with their automatic weapons and tear gas launchers positioned themselves on the rooftops of Palestinian houses near check point 56 which controls foot traffic between Shuhada St in the Israeli controlled H2 area and the Palestinian suburb of Bab al Zawiyeh.

The “shebab” (Palestinian youth) soon began to express their resistance to the occupation by throwing stones at the soldiers on the roof. The soldiers responded with sound bombs when the shebab were close enough and increasingly through the afternoon with tear gas. The day was still with little wind and the tear gas hung in the air with no wind to disperse it.

Towards evening soldiers repeatedly entered the streets from checkpoint 56 and fired large amounts of tear gas and threw some stun grenades. Around 40 tear gas canisters were fired and the gas could be smelt for hours afterwards. The suburb has families with children living in apartments who are exposed toxic gas.

Frequent exposure to tear gas can cause various physical effects including losses of consciousness, miscarriages, trouble breathing, asthma, coughing, dizziness, rashes, severe pain, allergic dermatitis, headaches, neurological irritability and even blunt trauma from being hit by tear gas canisters as well as psychological trauma.

See also the ISM you tube video of tear gas on the day:

Palestinian protestors march to the apartheid wall to confront Israeli occupation in Nil’in

23/03/2018 International Solidarity Movement, Occupied Palestine

This Friday afternoon Palestinians gathered in the olive groves in the West
Bank town of Nil’in before marching to the apartheid wall to confront the
Israeli occupation.

 At dawn on the 23rd of May 2004 a Palestinian farmer walked towards his
fields in Nil’in but was met with the sight of Israeli bulldozers uprooting
and clearing away olive trees. It is worth noting, that olive trees are an
important part of a Palestinian farmer’s income. The population of Nil’in
immediately started mobilizing in resistance against Israeli plans to seize
and destroy the land resulting in 2500 dunums being returned back.
Palestinian residents of Nil’in have been protesting non violently every
Friday since Israeli forces began the construction of the illegal apartheid
wall in 2008. The wall was built directly through the agricultural land of
Nil’in, preventing Palestinian farmers from access. The apartheid wall has
helped to facilitate the theft of 4000 dunum’s of Palestinian land, where
the illegal settlement of Hashmona’im now stands.

Protestors march towards the illegal apartheid wall.

Today after Palestinians had finished Friday prayers they marched towards
the apartheid wall. Israeli activists and International activists were also
present for the demonstration – it was an extremely hot day. Palestinian
youth proceeded to light a fire beside the apartheid wall before throwing
stones.

Friday prayers before the protest

An Israeli activist was shouting through a megaphone in Hebrew addressing
the Israeli forces in an attempt to demoralize them. International
Solidarity Activists asked what the Israeli activist was saying in Hebrew
and he told us that every time there is a new brigade of soldiers the
commander tells them why they are here, to protect the settlers and
‘defend’ Israel from the terrorists, meaning Palestinians. The Israeli
activist said that he was telling them that they are not protecting Israel
being stationed here inside the West Bank beyond the 1949 green armistice
agreement line. He also said that oppressing and using collective
punishment on Palestinians is a violation of Judaism and that settlers
living in the illegal settlement, were also violating Judaism living on
stolen Palestinian land.

An Israeli activist addresses the Israeli forces.

Although the soldiers came in their jeep behind the wall they did not come
through the gate to use weapons of violence against the protestors, which
is very unusual. After the protestors made their stand against the
occupation they returned back to the town. However Israeli forces have been
known to systematically target non violent protestors in Nil’in with the
use of tear gas, stun grenades, live ammunition, and collective punishment
against the Palestinian population of Nil’in.

Protestors at the illegal apartheid wall.

International solidarity activists sat down before today’s protest
underneath an olive tree with Hassan Moussa, who is the principal of the
elementary boy’s school in Nil’in.

Hassan Moussa stated that ” During the building of the apartheid wall in
2008 to 2009 Five Palestinians were killed in 12 months by the Israeli
forces. The first Martyr was Hassan Moussa’s nephew Ahmed Mousa, just 10
years old, and was shot in the back of the head with live ammunition”.
“When Palestinians went to bury Ahmed Moussa the next day, Israeli forces
attacked the residents of Nil’in critically injuring a Palestinian man
after firing three rubber coated steel bullets at his head within close
range. After three days of being in a coma the Palestinian later died of
his wounds”.

A Palestinian protestor looks over the land belonging to Bi’ilin and the illegal settlement of Hashmona’im.

Hassan Moussa then went on to say that “the only solution we have is to
remain steadfast and to keep raising our voices against this illegal
occupation”.

“We don’t want more violence or more blood spilled – we want peace”.