Tag: army violence

Tulkarm Bids Farewell to 5 Palestinians Killed in an Israeli Military Operation.

18 December 2023 | International Solidarity Movement | Nour Shams refugee camp

By Diana Khwaelid 

An Israeli military operation lasted for more than 10 hours in the Nour Shams  refugee camp.

Destruction of infrastructure 

     Dozens of military vehicles stormed the city of Tulkarem on the evening of Sunday, December 16, as they targeted the Nour Shams camp east of the city. The Israeli occupation forces bulldozed the main entrance in Tulkarem and  destroyed the infrastructure using one of their D9 military vehicles, as they had  previously done with previous incursions. It also destroyed the water network and  sewage pipes and cut off electricity and the internet. 

Palestinian resistance fighters defended the camp. 

     There were strong clashes between Palestinian Resisters and Israeli occupation  soldiers, who confronted the occupation forces after they stormed the camp, for  more than 10 continuous hours. The occupation forces also bombed two houses one with drones and the other with an anti-armor missile. 

A state of fear 

     A state of fear and terror prevailed in the homes and neighborhoods of the  camp’s people, both children and women, a long and bloody night described by  the camp’s residents, following the Storming of the camp. The sound of  explosions and fire was enough to bring terror to the hearts of Palestinians. 

Obstructing the movement of medical crews and ambulances. 

     The Israeli occupation forces obstructed the movement of medical personnel,  whether the medical teams of the Red Cross or the Palestinian medical relief and  volunteer teams to move easily inside the camp to transport the injured, and the  occupation forces obstructed the movement of ambulances and arrested a 16  year-old boy from inside an ambulance on its way to the hospital.

5 Palestinians killed, dozens injured. 

     According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, 5 Palestinians were killed in the  Nur Shams refugee camp, and more than 10 injuries reached the (Thabit Thabit) government hospital in the city, whether by shrapnel due to drone, or fire live  bullets . 

The five martyrs are: Walid Zahra, Asaad Zahra, Ghaith Shehadeh, Mahmoud  Jaber and Jihad Amarna.

A state of sadness and shock of loss. 

     Hundreds of Palestinians mourned the bodies of the five martyrs, and their  families took a last farewell look at them, in a state of great sadness and shock women, men, and children participated in the funeral and chanted words of  patience and patience to them and chanted patriotic words in the form of the  Camp people in the face of the occupation until the liberation of Palestine.

 

Photo credit: ISM/Diana Khwaelid

Palestinian man beaten up by Israeli forces near Ibrahimi Mosque

5th July 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

Israeli forces on 3rd July beat up a Palestinian man at Ibrahimi Mosque in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron), leaving him with a bleeding nose.

A border police-men grabbed the man by the neck, after he was trying to leave the area. He then, with his hand firmly gripped on the man’s neck, walked him towards the mosque entrance, deliberately pushing him into a police-barrier, that immediately fell, almost causing the man to stumble and trip over the barrier, which was only stopped by the firm grip of the border police men on his neck. He was deliberately taken out of sight into a room where just two days before, 27-year old Sarah Tarayra was gunned down by Israeli forces while, according to eye-witness statements, she kept affirming that the only thing she has is her mobile.

These kind of rooms, where any observer is prevented from seeing and documenting the events exist at each checkpoint in al-Khalil, and with recent ‘upgrades’ and ‘renovations’ of checkpoints, most checkpoints are now constructed in a way, where anyone being ‘checked’ is inside a box with only the soldiers and no observers. This way, Israeli forces try to further hide and stop any documentation of their crimes.

The Palestinian man was then hit hard in the face by the soldier, immediately causing his nose to start bleeding. Despite trying to hide this unprovoked violence, the man went into the room fine, and clearly came out shaken up and with a bleeding nose. When trying to leave after this vicious attack, he was called back by another border police men that then detained him for an ID-check and photographed his ID. The man had to go to hospital the same night, but luckily his nose was not broken. Still, even the next day, it was swollen, bruised and showed signs of the attack.

Border police with firm grip on Palestinian man's neck
Border police with firm grip on Palestinian man’s neck

As Palestinians in occupied Palestine are subjected to the Israeli military law, they lack any way of addressing attacks on them by the Israeli forces. With the attack being carried out by a border police commander, the highly militarized police of the Israeli forces, any complaint to the civil police would most likely be futile – and instead put any Palestinian at risk of instead being arrested for an accusation by the attacker. A Palestinian’s word or statement, in an Israeli police station, against any member of the Israeli army or police counts for nothing. In the past, the Israeli police at times has even refused to take any complaints by Palestinians against settlers. Israeli forces, as well as settlers, thus have complete impunity in their actions, and as this vicious attack illustrates, even enjoy the support or at least tacit consent of their colleagues.