Tag: An Nabi Saleh - Page 21 - International Solidarity Movement

Several detained in An Nabi Saleh

07 February 2011 | International Women’s Peace Service

On Friday, 5 February, approximately 20 international and Israeli activists joined the residents of the village of An Nabi Saleh in the Ramallah district for the village’s regular non-violent demonstration against land confiscation and Israel’s occupation policies. The village had been placed under curfew since 7am, with all roads blocked by the Israeli military.

Prior to the start of the midday demonstration, the Israeli military invaded the village and attempted to prevent Israeli solidarity activists from being present in the village, forcing them to leave. Israeli and international activists, including three International Women’s Peace Service (IWPS) volunteers, however, we able to enter the village via the village fields joining internationals activists from the International Solidarity Movement already in the village.

Within minutes of the non-violent demonstration commencing, the Israeli military open fired on the demonstration with tear gas. The Israeli military invasion of the village lasted for approximately 6 hours, with Israeli soldiers firing tear gas and rubber bullets at unarmed demonstrators, chasing demonstrators into and through the village fields.

Two international activists were detained and assaulted by the Israeli military at approximately 2pm, including a volunteer from the IWPS. The volunteer reported that she was pushed violently to the muddy ground by a soldier, who then shouted at her. A male international with her was also assaulted and hand cuffed. Both international activists were detained for more than three hours in the permanent military tower located at the entrance of the village. They were released after three hours with no charges.

In recent weeks, the Israeli military has stepped up its harassment of the village, conducting regular night raids and arresting village leaders and other village residents, including children. Currently a 14-year-old minor, who was arrested on January 23rd, is still in prison, no charges having been brought. Lawyers for the minor have reported that the child has been beaten. Another two children, including the 11-year-old brother of the 14-year-old were also kidnapped by the Israeli military and beaten. Village leaders have also been kidnapped by the military, held for several hours and beaten without any charges laid against them.

Nabi Saleh marches with the people of Egypt

6 February 2011 | Popular Struggle Coordination Committee

Despite pounding rain and aggressive repression tactics employed by the army, the village of Nabi Saleh marched Friday in solidarity with the people of Egypt. The demonstration was also in honor of 14 year Nabi Saleh resident Islam Tamimi, who was arrested in a night raid in the village almost three weeks ago and remains in jail.

Nabi Saleh in Tear Gas and Rain Picture Credit: Joseph Dana

Even before the demonstration was slated to begin, the army had taken positions inside the small village of Nabi Saleh, located just west of Ramllah. Soldiers briefly detained three Israeli supporters around 10:30 in the morning inside the village. The activists were taken to the village entrance and told to leave and not return. They were able to enter from a different point and join the demonstration later in the day.

Dozens of Palestinian, international and Israeli activists marched holding posters of 14 year Islam Tamimi, who has been in an Israeli military jail for almost three weeks. The demonstration was also in solidarity with the people of Egypt. Across the West Bank, popular committees held demonstrations in solidarity with Egypt.

The demonstration was attacked with tear gas, the same American made gas used against protesters Egypt and Tunisa, before reaching the main junction of the village. Soldiers then took over the square of the village and forced protesters into the olive grooves surrounding Nabi Saleh. Despite the pounding rain, soldiers maintained positions inside the village until five in the evening.

Two international activists were detained for roughly three hours during the demonstration and no injuries other than tear gas inhalation were reported. The village has been suffering serious repression by the Israeli army over the past month. Weekly night raids, the systemic arrest of children and threaten popular committee leaders has become a mainstay of life in Nabi Saleh. Despite this, the people still resist the Israeli occupation and march in solidarity with the people of Egypt and Tunsia who are fighting for the spirit of freedom.

Harsh Interrogations of Children Escalate in Nabi Saleh

31 January 2011 | Popular Struggle Coordination Committee

14 year old Islam Tamimi was arrested in a night raid on Sunday 23 January 2011 and subjected to psychological torture in order to extract dictated false testimony that will be used to incriminate and prosecute villagers in Nabi Saleh.

In an escalation of the repression of unarmed demonstration in the West Bank, 14 year old Islam Tamimi was seized from his home and arrested at 0200 on Sunday 23 January 2011 . It was the second time in roughly three weeks that he was taken by Israeli soldiers. The soldiers applied stress position techniques on the 14 year old boy, hoping to force his psychological collapse. The exhausted child was then taken to an unnamed police station where he was interrogated without his parents or a lawyer present. During an eight hour interrogation and after prolonged exposure and sleep deprivation, Tamimi capitulated to the army’s dictated script. The army interrogators continued to attack Tamimi with psychological torture in order to extract more false testimony about demonstrations in Nabi Saleh.

Tamimi’s lawyers were in contact with a police interrogator and military officials immediately after the arrest. However, lawyers only gained access to the child after five hours of interrogation. Tamimi’s parents, who have the right to be present when a child is under investigation according to international law, Israeli law and precedents in the Israeli military court of appeals, were denied access to their son.

A military judge, Major Hilbraun, extended Tamimi’s arrest for four days at the request of the police. Defense lawyers filed an appeal requesting that the child be immediately released due to the unlawful conduct of the police and military. However, the request was ignored and Tamimi’s hearing only took place on Wednesday 26 January 2011. The military judge stated in the court that he would give a decision on rather to reprimand Tamimi on Wednesday. The decision was never published and was brought to court Thursday 27 January 2011 according to the original request and without any reference to appeal of defense lawyers. Tamimi is currently waiting to hear if an appeal to allow him to be moved to house arrest will be honored by the court.

Since Sunday 23 January 2011, three 15 year old children have been arrested in night raids in Nabi Saleh. Bassem Tamimi, the popular committee leader of the village, was briefly detained on Wednesday 26 January 2011 near a checkpoint in Ramallah. He was brought by soldiers, who repeatedly beat him, to Nabi Saleh. He was warned that the army is aware of his role in the village demonstrations and will keep an eye on him during the upcoming Friday demonstration.

The repression of Nabi Saleh in the form of arresting children and subjecting them to psychological torture in order to get false information has been used by the army in other villages such as Bil’in and Ni’ilin. The popular committee leader of Bil’in, Abdallah Abu Rahmah, has been in jail for over 13 months for a charge of incitement which was based on dictated false testimonies from a number of children from the village. The army is attempting to use the same method in Nabi Saleh in order to crush the demonstrations.

Nabi Saleh, a small village west of Ramallah, has engaged in an unarmed demonstration against the confiscation of their land by the neighboring Jewish settlement of Halamish for the past year There have been countless injuries, arrests and collective punishment against the village over the past year as the army has tried to crush the protest.

11-year-old boy detained without reason in An Nabi Saleh

25 January 2011 | International Solidarity Movement

Today, the Israeli Border Police entered the village of An Nabi Saleh and detained an 11-year-old boy, Karim Tamimi, without reason. They came to the village in police jeeps and were dressed in uniform, but were without the normal riot weapons; nobody had been informed about their coming previously, nor knew what they were supposed to be doing in the village. Before they left, they detained Karim without giving any reason for it. His older brother, 14-year-old Islam Tamimi, was arrested on Saturday during a night raid. He will face charges of stone throwing this Thursday.

The border police took the young boy to an interrogation center, close to Jerusalem, and detained him for several hours. He was asked to identify people from pictures, but he refused. His father had to collect him when he was released late in the afternoon.

This happens following several night raids in just one week on the village, in which soldiers have entered houses in the village and taken pictures of the men and boys, together with their ID cards.

Weekly protests are held in An Nabi Saleh, but are new compared to those held in the village of Bil’in. On 25th December, 2010, they celebrated the first anniversary of the protests by holding a tree planting. There is a strong desire within the Israeli military to crush the resistance here, and as such the army commonly use many violent and inhuman methods to stop the protests.

Israeli Army arrests 14 year old boy in An Nabi Saleh

23 January 2011 | International Solidarity Movement

Last night, two military jeeps full of soldiers invaded the village of An Nabi Saleh. At around 1.30am they entered a house and immediately arrested 14 year old Islam Tamimi. He had been arrested only two weeks before and was detained in the illegal settlement of Halamish, and was asked to identify people from pictures of the weekly demonstration, held every Friday in the village.

At the same time, the soldiers detained his older brother Omar Tamimi, but released him after massive protest from his family and neighbors. None of the soldiers spoke Arabic, except for one who was masked, and refused to cooperate when a woman from B’Tselem tried to take a picture of him. During the detention of the older brother the army punished him in front of his family, and released him without cutting the hand-cuffs.

When asked why they were doing this, one of the soldiers said “because I have a weapon.” This is the reality which the Palestinians face under the occupation by the “democratic” state of Israel.