This teenager got arrested today after him and his little brother got attacked by the Israeli police and an illegal settler in the streets of Hebron. His testimony is as follows: ‘”This morning, my sister came to me and told me that the army kidnapped my younger brother. When I went there to see what’s going on, i found them beating him up, I tried to protect him but the army pushed me away to a corner, while I was in that corner, a Settler tried to run me over with his car, I escaped, then he came out of his car and beat me up, then the army came and beat me up and held me from here (chin). He took my ID and my phone and detained me here. Don’t know what to do, every few days I got arrested, I have a suspended sentence for 10 months against me and if he calls the court now, I will probably have to pay 10.000 shekels, where will I get them this money then?! I work the whole day for 50 shekels. Not long ago, i was arrested for two months because I was beaten up by a settler and there a video of that incident where they were attacking me”.
February 22, 2019 | International Solidarity Movement, Al-Khalil team | Al-Khalil, occupied Palestine
ISM and members of the press targeted and attacked with teargas and concussion grenades at peaceful protest in Al-Khalil. Peaceful demonstrators gathered at the checkpoint to the closed historical Shuhada street, asking for an increased international presence and for re-entry into Shuhada street. Shortly after, the Israeli Defense Forces escalated the demonstration with brute force, illegally entering the Palestinian H1 side of Hebron, attacking children with rubber coated steel bullets and grenades, and eventually kidnapping one youth. This is one incident of many in the recent history of Khalil, in which internationals and observers are currently being targeted, intimidated, attacked and deliberately removed from the area
February 10, 2019 | International Solidarity Movement, Al-Khalil team | Al-Khalil, occupied Palestine
Every day, ISM volunteers monitor the Qurtuba checkpoint in Al-Khalil during mornings and afternoons to ensure the safety of Palestinian schoolchildren. Attacks and harassment by Israeli Defense Forces, police and settlers seem to be increasing. This is the fourth ISM volunteer attacked within a week, by the infamously violent settler Anat Cohen.
17th August 2018 | International Solidarity Movement, Al-Khalil Team | Hebron, occupied Palestine
After Friday prayers at around 2pm, Palestinians gathered in front of checkpoint 56 to protest against the military occupation. Around 4o soldiers and border police officers entered H1, the Palestinian controlled part of the city, where they shot excessive amounts tear gas and stun grenades at protesters for around 6 hours. They invaded the streets around Bab el-Zawiye and went up to the rooftops of several houses to intimidate residents, who as a result could not continue their daily routine. In addition to intimidating the residents all day, the police officers also went up to ISM volunteers, forcing them to show their passports and threatening to deport them if they were “disrupting the border police’ work”. Watch the video below.
Protesters gather in Al-Khalil/Hebron city centre on Monday morning
On Monday 14th May at 11am, protesters in occupied Al-Khalil gathered at the Hussein Mosque stadium with placards, and marched down to the city centre, gathering there and taking pictures at around 11.30. Around 80 protesters were present, including children and observers. Some protesters continued on towards Checkpoint 56, which prevents Palestinians from entering Shuhada Street. Israeli soldiers threw stun grenades and tear gas at protesters from a rooftop above the checkpoint. The protesters were mostly under 18, and not armed or posing any threat to the soldiers. At this point, 5 heavily armed soldiers came out of the checkpoint into Bab-Azawieh, in H1, began pointing out protesters, and firing rubber-coated steel bullets towards them as well as tear gas and stun grenades. Other soldiers remained on the rooftop, using live ammunition on protesters.
Soldiers invade Bab-Azawieh in H1, AlKhalil/Hebron. Boy pictured left of soldier was injured by tear gas inhalation later on.Boy pictured above being carried off suffering with tear gas inhalation.
International Solidarity Movement activists went to investigate if there had been any injuries amongst the protesters, and witnessed an elderly man being carried down the street away from the checkpoint and rushed into an ambulance, suffering with tear gas inhalation. In the next few hours, International Solidarity Movement activists confirmed with witnesses that three boys were shot and injured– one from live fire, and two from rubber-coated steel bullets. The victims were taken to hospital. Copious amounts of tear gas continued to be used throughout the day from soldiers occupying a rooftop above Checkpoint 56, injuring a 14 year old boy, from inhalation, who was filming for a human rights organisation and wearing a vest marked ‘Press’. Activists also witnessed the soldiers on the rooftop dancing, singing, and jeering at protesters after throwing tear gas and stun grenades, and after hospitalising 4 Palestinians. One protester, aged around 12 or 13, waved a ‘Great Return March’ flag in view of soldiers, who responded by throwing tear gas and stun grenades.
Israeli settlers have a party in Shuhada street in the afternoon as soldiers remain on rooftop throwing stun grenades and sound bombs at Palestinian protesters in Bab Azawieh, H1.
As soldiers remained on the rooftop, International Solidarity Movement activists passed through Checkpoint 56 after receiving reports of settlers having a party. Settlers, including many children, escorted by heavily armed soldiers, police and border police, were having a party with music and balloons. The party stopped near the Beit Hadassah settlement on Shuhada street. ISM activists witnessed a settler with a rifle slung over his shoulder handing out balloons to children. Israeli police checked the activists’ passports, and they were asked to leave.
Palestinians were protesting for many reasons on this day: including the commemoration of the nakba, or catastrophe, in which much of 1948 Palestine was ethnically cleansed, and the opening of the US embassy in the occupied and contested city of Jerusalem. In protests in Gaza on the same day Israeli forces shot dead 55 unarmed Palestinian protesters.
