Tag: Arrest

For Immediate Release: The State of Israel vs. Activists

Israeli colonial settlers and Knesset Members celebrated on social media the de facto deportation of two German citizens, who were imprisoned by the Israeli authorities, from the occupied Palestinian territories to Jordan on Sunday October 6th. Itamar Ben Gvir and Tzvi Sukot posted about the expulsion of German activists as an achievement for their special task force and governmental committee, which was created to deal with what they call “dangerous anarchists” in the West Bank. Israel’s criminal right wing government uses the term “anarchists” to refer to all Israeli and international human rights defenders who are supporting Palestinians living under illegal occupation in the West Bank.

According to eyewitnesses, on the morning of October 2, the two activists were arbitrarily arrested by Israeli forces in Masafer Yatta (South Hebron Hills) as they accompanied a Palestinian farmer to his garden in the village of Tuwani. The Palestinian farmer they were accompanying faces daily harassment, attacks, and invasions of his private land by Israeli settlers and occupation forces, which all make it difficult for him to access his land, to cultivate it, and even to remain in his home. Police claimed in court that the activists had entered a settlement, confronted a soldier and disturbed him in fulfilling his duty. These claims contradict video footage of the arrest.

The onslaught of harassment against Palestinian residents of the region of Masafer Yatta extends beyond Tuwani. Every village in the area is affected. In the village of Zanuta in this same region, residents have been forcibly displaced multiple times despite a court ruling in their favor. Residents of Um Durit have had their livestock and property stolen and destroyed, and their land abused by settlers. Last July, around 200 settlers launched a coordinated attack in which they destroyed vehicles, burned fruit trees and beat up residents in Khalet Al Daba’a and Um Fagarah. In the past year, at least 19 Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank have been forcefully displaced by Israel settlers with the support of the Israeli occupation forces.

The activists were transferred to the central unit in the occupied West Bank near the Malleh Adumim colonial settlement. The police illegally broke into the phone of one of the activists and questioned them about photos on their phones of signs and stickers condemning the genocide in Gaza and supporting Palestinian rights. The police alleged that this proved that they supported terror and were terrorists. They were also questioned on whether they knew about the International Solidarity movement (ISM), and were shown a presentation on the organization with pictures of Israelis and internationals and asked if they knew them.

The activists were taken to court and accused of three offenses: disturbing a police officer/soldier performing his responsibilities, membership in an illegal association, and “sympathizing and identifying with a terror organization”. According to the police, the illegal association they are members of is ISM, which they claimed has been designated as forbidden to work in Israel and the West Bank.

It is important to note that while many respectable human rights organizations have been designated as terror organizations by Israel, the ISM has not yet been designated as forbidden, nor has any international ISM activist ever been indicted and charged with a crime in Israeli courts.

The German citizens were imprisoned in harsh conditions from Wednesday to Sunday and then given the option of leaving through the King Hussein bridge, and they are now in Jordan. For similar vague and unsubstantiated accusations, Palestinians are frequently arrested and tortured in the West Bank, and in Gaza the accused are murdered along with their families.

This most recent set of arrests is part of the ongoing barrage of harassment by Israeli settlers and soldiers of Palestinians and of human rights activists in area, and comes in the wake of the murder of ISM volunteer Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi in the village of Beita during a protest against settlement expansion on the village’s land.

A personal account of detention, racism and broken rules

May 8, 2019 | International Solidarity Movement, Al-Khalil team | Al-Khalil (Hebron), occupied Palestine

The neighborhood of Salaymeh next to Salaymeh checkpoint (160) has been the center of tensions between Palestinians and the Israelis in the city of Al-Khalil (Hebron). This checkpoint cuts off an already poor and struggling neighborhood from the rest of the city. At these checkpoints that are throughout Hebron, Palestinians are stopped, delayed, searched, asked for ID and sometimes denied passage. The checkpoints are a daily humiliation and intimidation of the local people by the occupying Israeli army.

The checkpoint at Salaymeh is also used every day by children on their way to and from school who are subject to the same treatment by the soldiers. From the moment the children start looking like teenagers, they go from being treated like children to being treated as criminals. In order to cope with this the children, have to learn to handle themselves as adults from a very early age, and as a result they are forced to grow up far too quickly.

There is a massive tension at the checkpoints because the children are angry and frustrated, and the soldiers are hostile and confrontational. There are frequent clashes between the children and the soldiers. The soldiers will throw tear gas and stun grenades and sometimes even shoot rubber bullets at the children for throwing rocks at the checkpoint. This response, which happens on an almost daily basis, is completely disproportionate – adults using military weapons against children on their way to school.

In the past week 2 children have been abducted and illegally detained by soldiers in Salaymeh. Both of them were 14 years old from Jerusalem and were visiting their cousin in Al-Khalil. The children were dragged from school, frisked, forced on their knees and handcuffed by the soldiers. One of them was let go after 2 hours, the other was taken to a military base, where he was interrogated without his lawyer or parents present.

https://youtu.be/IGjbJuP88Js

An international activist who was documenting this incident was also detained by the soldiers, she describes her detention as follows:

I’ve been at Salaymeh checkpoint every other day for a month and a half just trying to document the soldier’s harassment of the children, keeping in contact with the UN, so they can hopefully help if children are arrested. I am always mindful not to antagonize the soldiers and try to interact with them as little as possible. My hope is that an international presence will result in less violence because the soldiers will know they are being watched and may be held accountable.

On the day that I was detained I was filming a soldier as normal, who threatened to arrest another activist who I was with. Because I’d witnessed a lot of broken rules and violence by the army during my time at Salaymeh checkpoint, I knew it was important to keep filming. The commander asked me to move away, and when I kept filming, she told me that she would have another soldier move me with force. When I didn’t stop filming, she told me to come with her and that she had the authority to make arrests. I was very unsure of what to do in this situation – I had been told before that soldiers could not make arrests, but I was confused, and I was afraid of what might happen so I complied and went with her. I later found out that what the commander had said was in fact a lie and that she had absolutely no legal authority to detain me.

I was kept at Salaymeh checkpoint for an hour and a half, being told that the police would come but they never did. I was then put into a military van without being told where I was being taken. They then drove me around the city back and forth for half an hour which was very confusing. I still don’t know why they did this but I believe now that they were trying to shake off the UN who were trying to find out where I was being held in order to assist me. Eventually I was taken to a military base where they were also holding the Palestinian child who had been arrested. We were both held there for over 5 hours. During this time I was marshalled around, sporadically questioned, never given any food or water and never having anything explained to me. I was told that I would never be able to return to the country and that I would be deported that day. The whole time I was denied access to my lawyer and I was never given any reason for why I was being held.

What struck me the most about being detained with the Palestinian child was that as an international I was treated far better. I, an adult, was not handcuffed, and I was allowed to keep my things. He however, a child, was handcuffed, restrained, frisked, and they took his phone and his things. It was shocking and angering to me that this child was treated so much worse than me – it made it very obvious to me that the treatment of Palestinians undoubtedly has its roots in racism.

Military jeep to the left, soldiers pointing at two men in front of a school — Principal tries to stop soldiers from entering a school

Human Rights Defenders Statement June 2018

9th July 2018 | Human Rights Defenders | Hebron, occupied Palestine

We condemn the recent fierce attacks carried out by the Israeli occupation soldiers, who have notably begun to target all activists working with Human Rights Defenders (HRD) to document the crimes of the occupation. The Defenders’ association has documented many of the cold-blooded murders in the city of Hebron, most recently the killing of 35 year old road construction worker Rami Sabarneh who was shot by the IOF.

There have been many other instances, for example the physical assault of one of our members in Hebron. Human Rights Defenders co-founder and activist Badea Dwaik was prevented from getting to his destination and assaulted by not only the Israeli soldiers but also an extremist settler.

Badia Dwaik being arrested by Israeli soldiers (photo by HRD)

We also condemn the constant, routine attacks and harassment as well as death threats to both founders of HRD, Badea Dwaik and Imad Abu-Shamsiya, by ‘Hebron’s infamous extremist settler’, Oder Ohanna. Another activist, Fayez Abu-Shamsiya, was beaten by settlers, and activist Zidan Shirbati was also assaulted by occupation soldiers.

Activist Aref Jaber was assaulted in his own home where he and his wife were savagely beaten by the IOF and had to be rushed to the hospital. After they were attacked, the soldiers took their cameras, photos, computers, and many other personal belongings.

Aref Jaber in hospital after he was attacked by Israeli forces (photo by HRD)

Tamara Abu-Laban, co-coordinator of Human Rights Defenders in the states, has received a constant stream of death threats through facebook, as well as on her personal phone, by Israeli occupation soldiers who also frequent our page to harass us.

The high level of human rights violations and violence against activists of HRD clearly confirms that there is a policy being aimed at all members, inside and outside of Palestine, who belong to our organisation and document/publish the crimes of the IOF and settlers. We have succeeded in shedding light on the IOF’s lies about being a ‘moral army’.

Accordingly, as a result of the increased direct targeting of activists of the Human Rights Defenders group, we hold full responsibility to the Israeli government in the event that any activist is harmed by the occupation soldiers and settlers. We ask The Human Rights Representative of the United Nations, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and other human rights organisations, alongside Human Rights Defenders, to continue lobbying Israel and campaigning to support activists of the Human Rights Caucus.

We also call for the continued support of the believers of human rights and justice, and would like to request the donation of additional video cameras to HRD due to the exposure and destruction (by the IOF and settlers) of many of our cameras and other tools. There is a large presence of families in Hebron who are need of cameras, which are peaceful weapons that effectively expose and draw attention to the crimes of the occupation.

Finally, we commit to the continuation of our humanitarian and national mission to publish the violations of international law by the occupation, despite the vicious attacks and continuing death threats on the majority of our members by the occupation soldiers and Zionist settlers.

Free Mahmoud Abujoad!

29th November 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus team | Huwwara, occupied Palestine

UPDATED: 05.01.2016

Congratulations! With 420 US dollars collected we have now reached a third of the amount needed to cover the costs of the lawyer, who is representing Mahmoud in the Israeli court. However, we still have to collect 867 US dollars.

Please, keep sharing the campaign and encourage the people who care to donate through PayPal on our website, every contribution matters!

Free Mahmoud!

*****

UPDATED: 28.12.2015

So far, 310 dollars have been collected. We are still far away from the 1287 dollars we need to cover the costs of the lawyer, Khaled Al Araaj, who will be representing Mahmoud in the Israeli court. Please continue your kind donations!

*****

Palestinian human rights activist and community supporter Mahmoud Abujoad, from the Deishah refugee camp in Bethlehem is still in prison waiting to be reunited with his wife and family! Mahmud was arrested on September 9th 2015 whilst traveling with his newly wedded wife to Jordan on a family holiday. He is being charged by the occupation authorities under allegations of throwing stones at a demonstration against Israel’s “Operation Protective Edge” massacre in Gaza, more than a year ago. A military judged ruled to release him on bail and his loved ones gathered the money that was needed with your help. However, the military prosecution appealed and the decision to release him was overturned as an act of collective punishment.

Newly married Mahmoud Abujoad and his wife Sireen

Military Judge Lt. Colonol Shmuel Keidar said in his decision “ I believe that the court can deviate from the micro-considerations regarding the defendant himself and to include considerations of general deterrent, considering the wide population in the area. Because of these things I believe it is not wrong to use the the reason of general deterrent straightaway or for detention and should express it as much as the situation needs. For all of these reasons I accept to keep him until the end of proceedings.”

Now, Mahmoud and his family and friends are appealing for support for 5,000 NIS (1,287 US$) for the costs of the lawyer, Khaled Al Araaj, who will be representing Mahmoud. Please donate through PayPal on our website, every contribution matters!

Free Mahmoud!

Mahmoud and his wife Sireen, married just three months at the time of Mahmoud’s arrest in Jordan by Israeli authorities.

Arbitrary arrest of two internationals in Hebron

26th November 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

Sunday 22^nd November 2015, two international solidarity activists were arrested by Israeli forces on the allegation that they were ‘staying in a closed military zone’ in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron).

One German human rights defender passed a checkpoint manned with a group of half a dozen soldiers with two Palestinians and another international. They were not stopped on their way by the soldiers and were allowed to pass without any problems. After visiting a house in the neighbourhood however, they were immediately stopped by soldiers when stepping on the street only twenty minutes later. Soldiers immediately questioned them about what they were doing and ordered them to walk down the hill instead of up, the direction they were headed. When the internationals asked for a reason, soldiers called the police, but allowed the Palestinians in the group to leave. An American activist was also allowed to leave as she was Jewish, whereas the German was detained by the soldiers and not allowed to leave. According to the soldiers, the detained activist was ‘the reason for everything bad in the world’ and ‘should go to Syria’ to die there ‘as the world would be a better place without her’.

Another group of internationals was going to a shop in the same neighbourhood. The three of them were yelled at by soldiers, and one out of the group was ordered to come towards the soldiers whereas the other two were ordered to leave immediately or they would be arrested. Even though in the beginning the international argued that then she would be entering a closed military zone, which she wasn’t allowed to do, soldiers kept insisting. In the end the French activist did approach the soldiers as they kept requesting her to do so – only to be arrested for entering a ‘closed military zone’.

Both the French and German activists were held at the Givat Ha’vot police station in the illegal settlement of Kiryat Arba for in total nine hours. In contrast to two Palestinian prisoners held at the police station, they were treated well. One Palestinian youth, only 18 years old, had already been at the police station for 16 hours when the internationals were taken there. He was visibly shaken and told the internationals that he would be taken to Ofer prison. Another Palestinian youth, about 16 years old, was walked past the internationals hand- and foot-shackled, visibly in great pain, trying to hold his stomach while walking bent over in extreme pain. No medical aid was given to him, instead he was forced to sit on the ground outside.

At one point, everyone including the two Palestinian youths, the two internationals and an Israeli prisoner were made to leave the only at least slightly heated room and forced to sit outside in the cold for about an hour as soldiers and police was bringing food and drinks and were audible enjoying themselves inside. Any requests for blankets or being allowed back inside were completely ignored or denied. When the internationals asked for food they were only given some bread and a tomato.

The Israeli settler, clearly psychologically disturbed, kept talking about the ghosts talking to him, all because of a spell that a Rabbi put on him. Still, he was released after a few hours. The two internationals were released after about 9 hours only when agreeing to sign conditions barring them from the ‘Tel Rumeida area’ of al-Khalil for 15 days. Even though they were released in the middle of the night around 2 o’clock they were from staying in their respective homes as they are in the are signed for. Unfortunately, nothing is known so far about the two Palestinian youths held at the police station. What can be said for sure though is that in Israeli military courts they will not even have the chance of a fair trail or at anything even distantly related to justice.