Tag: An Nabi Saleh - Page 7 - International Solidarity Movement

Resistance still strong in Nabi Saleh – video and photo essay

11th May 2013 | International Solidarity Movement | Nabi Saleh, Occupied Palestine

By Team Khalil

Resistance to occupation stays strong in Nabi Saleh – Friday 10th May saw confrontation between peaceful protesters and soldiers and Israeli military incursion into the village, sparking fires from excessive firing of tear gas.

Women lead the demonstration 10th May Friday demonstration at Nabi Saleh, shouting slogans against the occupation and land theft by the illegal settlement of Halamish. In the last few days, settlers threw stones at Palestinian cars on the road below the settlement.

One of the demonstration leaders, Neriman Tamimi, was hit twice with sound grenades thrown at close range whilst asking soldiers to leave her land. She required medical attention. Large amounts of tear gas and sound grenades were used during the demonstration and skunk water was fired directly onto houses and in residential areas.

Palestinian protester states “they’re shooting inside the village at civilians who don’t have any weapons” – a heavily armed and armoured soldier responds, “They throw stones, stones can kill”. No soldiers have been killed or seriously injured at Nabi Saleh, whereas hundreds of peaceful protesters have been injured and there have been two deaths in recent years – Mustafa and Rushdi Tamimi. Shortly after this is explained to soldiers, they throw tearas and sound grenades at the group of women who did nothing but speak to them.

Photographer and journalist Bilal Tamimi being attacked by the Israeli military – he was also shot with a tear gas canister, requiring medical attention. Four people were injured during the demonstration, including one Red Crescent medic.

Several fires were set in dry grass by tear gas canisters fired by Israeli military – two fire engines were required to put them out. Soldiers eventually left the village having invaded for several hours.

Updated: Nabi Saleh demonstration violently suppressed by Israeli forces; activist shot three times

UPDATE 13th April 2013: The injured Spanish activist returned to hospital Saturday morning, after experiencing continued pain, dizziness and fatigue. She had been shot three times with plastic coated steel bullets at Nabi Saleh demonstration the day before. She is currently under observation at the Rafidia Hospital in Nablus, being treated with antibiotics.

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12th April 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Nabi Saleh, Occupied Palestine

Around one hundred Palestinians, joined by a handful of Israeli and international activists, participated in today’s demonstration in Nabi Saleh. After midday prayers, protesters marched from the centre of the village, deviating from their usual route and walking across the main road and up the hill, trying to reach the water spring stolen by settlers from Halamish settlement more than three years ago.

By the time protesters reached the hilltop, several Israeli Border Police officers waiting and immediately started to shoot tear gas canisters and rubber coated steel bullets at them. One Spanish international activist was hit by a rubber coated bullet in the right leg. As people retreated from the hilltop back to the main road, Israeli forces continued shooting tear gas canisters.

As protesters walked chanting and clapping towards a large group of Israeli military personnel and jeeps blocking the road, they were ambushed. Border police officers who had invaded the village shot multiple volleys of rubber coated steel bullets directly at unarmed protesters from a vantage point on top of the hill, as protesters retreated.
The same international activist who had previously been shot was again shot with two bullets; one in the ribs on the back and the other on the stomach. This breaks the Israeli forces’ own rules of engagement which state that rubber coated bullets should be fired at the legs. Despite the fact that officers clearly saw that the activist was injured, they continued shooting rubber coated steel bullets along the road. The activist was immediately assisted by Red Crescent personnel and taken to hospital by ambulance. She is in good health condition, recovering from the injuries at home.

Activist's injury by rubber coated steel bullets — Activist’s injury by rubber coated steel bullets

Israeli forces continued shooting tear gas canisters and rubber coated steel bullets at protesters until three in the afternoon, when the demonstration finished.

The village of Nabi Saleh has been demonstrating against the theft of the natural spring and the occupation since December 2009. Israeli forces violently suppress the weekly Friday protests by shooting tear gas canisters, skunk water, sound bombs, rubber coated steel bullets and even live ammunition at protesters. Two people have been killed, Mustafa and Rushdi Tamimi, and many others severely injured. Bassem Tamimi, from Nabi Saleh, has spent 16 months in Israeli jails, merely for being a prominent activist at the protests. After more than three year and despite the repression, Nabi Saleh continues to fight against the injustices of a brutal military Israeli occupation.

Children’s Day in Nabi Saleh

5th of April 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Nabi Saleh, Occupied Palestine

By ISM

Young protesters walking towards the Israeli military

On Palestinian Children’s Day, the kids of Nabi Saleh played a leading role in their village demonstration, holding banners and balloons, claiming their rights to a childhood free of oppresion and occupation. However, Israeli forces, as they regularly do, quickly suppressed the demonstration.

As the crowd of protesters were marching along the road with the intention of going to their stolen water spring down the hill, Israeli border police accompanied by a skunk water truck started to shoot the malodorous water and tear gas canisters at the protesters.

Border police officers, located on the main road and on the two hilltops beside it, continued shooting tear gas canisters for approximately an hour, after which they further invaded the village, chasing Palestinian youths down the hills on the other side of Nabi Saleh. A local journalist was severely pushed, pepper sprayed and had stun grenades thrown at him by Israeli border police officers whilst covering the protest.

Nabi Saleh boy watching Israeli soldiers invading his village

The demonstration finished at around 3pm when Israeli forces retreated from the village. Then, the children of Nabi Saleh, took over their streets to celebrate their day, claiming their right to a childhood without Israeli occupation.

The village of Nabi Saleh has been demonstrating against the theft of the natural spring and the occupation since December 2009. Israeli forces violently suppress the weekly Friday protests by shooting tear gas canisters, skunk water, sound bombs, rubber coated steel bullets and even live ammunition at protesters. Two people have been killed, Mustafa and Rushdi Tamimi, and many others severly injured. Bassem Tamimi, from Nabi Saleh, has spent 16 months in Israeli jails for the only reason of being a prominent activist at the protests. After more than three year and despite the repression, Nabi Saleh continues to fight against the injustices of a brutal military Israeli occupation.

Army incursion into Nabi Saleh

by Team Khalil

25 January 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Nabi Saleh, Occupied Palestine

Israeli occupation forces enter the village of Nabi Saleh during the weekly demonstration. Youth hit in the head by tear gas canister.

The Friday demonstration in Nabi Saleh this week was dedicated to the memory of Lubna Hanash, 22, and Salah Amareen, 15, murdered this week by the Israeli army.

At 12:30 the demonstration marched through the village with, as usual, the children of Nabi Saleh arm in arm skipping and singing along. The Israeli army broke up the demonstration with skunk water, tear gas and excessive use of rubber coated steel bullets. A stand off ensued with the shebab defending their territory. At 13:45 the Israeli army aggressively entered the village. Around 14:00 a youth about 16 years old was hit in the head with a tear gas canister. A Palestinian Red Crescent medic rushed to treat the injury. Two other people received minor injuries.

The demonstration aims to reach their natural spring, the use of which has been denied to the village by the illegal settlement of Halamish. The people of Nabi Saleh were shocked and dismayed by the news that on Tuesday 22nd January 2013 Israeli occupation forces began work on expanding the illegal settlement. Settlers accompanied by the Israeli army arrived at dawn, tearing up the land with bulldozers and trucks to set up fifty mobile homes on land that belongs to Nabi Saleh.

For a personal account from a resident of Nabi Saleh about the theft of the village’s land, click on the following link: nabisalehsolidarity.wordpress.com

Youth approaching Israeli soldiers on the road to the natural spring

Team Khalil is a group of volunteers of International Solidarity Movement based in Hebron (al Khalil)

Nabi Saleh, still fighting

5 January 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

After dreaming of this moment over and over for the past three years, last Friday, 4th January, I was finally able to go to Nabi Saleh’s demonstration and meet its wonderful villagers again.

When we arrived in the village, we went to the main square where Israeli and international activists and people from the village had started to gather after the midday prayers. Some faces were familiar, some were completely new and others were simply missing; arrests and death have passed through Nabi Saleh.

After a short speech and distributing yellow flags and bands of ribbon among the people, the demonstrators started marching down to the main road of the village. They were trying to reach, like every Friday since December 2009, the water springs stolen by the settlers from Hallamish, a settlement nearby, on road 465.

Right after getting to the main road, some shebab (youth) along with Israeli and international activists put a line of rocks across the road so that the army jeeps and skunk water truck could not pass through and invade the village (“skunk” water is a malodorous chemical liquid: if sprayed by it, clothes must be thrown away and the smell stays on, it takes several weeks to go away from skin).

The atmosphere was festive, the shebab singing and dancing on the front line and children running from one place to another. Suddenly, the skunk water truck started spraying towards the demonstrators and soldiers started shooting rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas canisters into the crowd. The demonstration was soon dispersed all around the village. As some soldiers headed to the hill leading to the village, the shebab spread among the houses and hills; the shooting continued, as did the stone-throwing.

A Palestinian activist was shot in the shoulder with a rubber-coated steel bullet and another was hit in the head, neither of them critically. As the demonstration continued, the Israeli army invaded the village, continuing to shoot.

Whilst we were running from the soldiers, a door suddenly opened and the woman inside said “fadaleh, fadaleh”, and so we went in. Just then, I realized it was the same house and the same woman that provided me with the same shelter almost three years ago in a very similar situation. Then, I was also running from the soldiers and a pregnant woman opened the door of her house and invited me to enter and hide there. I sat down on a sofa and straight away she served me tea and delicious food. Her little daughter offered me a small yellowsmall teddy bear as a present. Yesterday, almost three years later, she welcomed us with the same hospitality and generosity. We stayed in her house for an hour. Her family were there, including her two-year-old daughter with whom she was then pregnant. As we were sitting, soldiers continued to raid the village. Two Israelis and one Palestinian photographer were arrested, and one Palestinian activist was beaten by soldiers and brought to the police station. We still do not know what happened to him.

What I know and see with admiration is that, after three years, Nabi Saleh is still struggling against the occupation, despite multiple arrests, injuries, prison sentences and death. As Bassem Tamimi, now in jail, told me once, “the struggle will continue until the end of the occupation.”