Tag: Arrests - Page 127 - International Solidarity Movement

Resident of Ni’lin tells of his experiences after being arrested by Israeli forces

On Saturday August 31 2008 Ibrahim from Ni’lin was stopped in an Israeli checkpoint on his way to work and was prevented from going since his working permission, which makes it possible for him to enter Israel, had been taken away from him. It was his first day at work after 15 days in Israeli prison were he had experienced isolation and daily interrogation. He was accused of leading the boys in their resistance against the building of the apartheid wall in Ni’lin, he could not answer the questions he was asked, hence his working permission was taken away due to lack of co-operation with the Shabaq.

After 15 days in a dark cell with interrogations of up to 4 times a day, the only break from the darkness came as Ibrahim was relieved from Maskubia prison to go to court.

Only the last 5 minutes of the court case was reserved for him to defend himself. He spoke to the judge in Hebrew, said how important the land the apartheid wall steals away from him is to him and his family. He told of how his two little twins ask him why they all of a sudden they cannot go to have picnic in the family’s olive groves and asked the judge what he should reply the next time his children brought up this topic. He told about the importance for his children having this free space, to spend time outside without fear. His family still have the key for their home in Jaffa and he used to bring his children to the sea 10 years ago before Israel took away their freedom of movement and prevented them from going. He told them that the only nature he could offer his children now is the olive groves that are now taken away from them.

The accusations against him was that he was the leader of the young boys who remove barbed-wire from their families’ land and fight against the heavily armed Israeli army by throwing stones at their jeeps when they come into arrest innocent villagers at night.

He had told them already under the first interrogation that he was not a part of the groups of boys and that being 42 and as a member of the Popular Committee in Ni’lin he had no knowledge about the names of these boys.

Ibrahim was arrested in his home at 2am on the 14th of August. The border police took him to the police station in the nearby settlement where they left him outside, handcuffed and blindfolded until 10 a clock next morning. In the 8 hours he was sitting outside the police station the border police ordered him to sit in a stress position with his back bent over. They told him that they would hit him if he stretched his back.

After the 8 hours first in the cool night and the following hot sunny day Ibrahim was taken into a jeep still ordered to sit in the stress position for two hours on bumpy roads to Maskubia prison.

The cell Ibrahim was held in was small and no light ever reached him. He did not know whether it was day or night and when he asked the guards they refused to talk to him or made fun of him. He lost track of time, the interrogation being as monotone as the dark cell, with the same questions asked over and over again. ‘What are the names of the boys? How do you plan with them?’

At one interrogation, 3 interrogators sat on chairs all the way around Ibrahim with two pressing their boots into his head from each side and one pressing his boots into Ibrahim’s face. Under other interrogations the soldiers pinched him under his arms and accused him of buying the influence with the boys with ice cream and water.

Ibrahim did not give any information to the Shabaq, hence they took away his permission to go and work inside Israel. He has subsequently lost his job, the only income of the family of 10, due to false accusations. Accusations based on no evidence, made up to punish and scare a caring father and his entire family.

Ibrahim’s oldest son just started studying engineering at university, while his other children are supposed to start university in the following two years; bright children whose future are put on risk by the occupation that takes away their freedom and even their chances of building up a society based on knowledge. Ibrahim has to borrow money from friends and family to put food on his family’s table, but he is proud of his decision not just to give a random name to escape the hard conditions he knew would follow the arrest.

He will try to borrow money for the rest of his children’s education if he can not find a new job.

He is known as a man with a lot of friends and he does not believe in or accept political party conflicts. Ibrahim believes one of the strongest ways of resisting the occupation is to stand united no matter what political or religious stands the Palestinian people have.

House invasions, arrests and abuse by army in Madama and Asira al Qiblyia

In the early morning of July 18th the villages of Madama and Asira al Qiblyia, south of Nablus, were invaded by the Israeli army. A total of twelve houses were invaded and the families, in many cases with small children, were brutally awoken by sound bombs exploding inside their houses. Fifteen young men were arrested without explanation. Many of their family members were physically and verbally abused and their possessions damaged.

In the village of Madama seven families had their houses invaded between 3 am and 6 am on the morning of July 18th. Soldiers broke through the front doors, damaging windows, locks and walls. The soldiers then threw sounds bombs inside the houses, in several cases dangerously close to highly explosive propane gas canisters. The families where forced to wait outside while the soldiers searched the houses. The arrestees were blind folded and beaten and many of their family members were physically abused with pushes and beatings. People also have reported that in a number of cases verbal abuse of racist and sexual nature where used by the military. Ten young men were arrested in Madama and no explanations were given to the arrestees or their families.

In Asira al Qibliya five young men were arrested during the invasion of five houses. The approach by the army was similar to the one in Madama, though somewhat less aggressive. Two men got their ID cards stolen by the soldiers without explanation or information on when they would be returned. Due to the Israeli check points all over the West bank the men who got their ID cards stolen can not go anywhere until they get them back. The army also raided and damaged the local women’s union office and a beauty salon where they stole beauty products.

The villages Madama and Asira al Qiblyia have suffered from harassments and attacks for several years by Israeli military and settlers from the close by illegal settlement of Yizhar. The military have invaded the villages many times and arrested people without cause. The settlers frequently pollutes the villages water resources, kill and steel the villagers sheep and goats, set fire to olive and almond trees, damage houses and physically attack farmers. On several occasions villagers have even been shot by live ammunition fired by the settlers. The villagers have complained to the Israeli authorities on many occasions, only to be arrested after false accusations from the settlers.

My Arrest and Detention by Israeli Police

by Andrew Clarno, U of Michigan Sociology Grad Student

On Saturday, August 11, 2001, at about 2:30 pm, Israeli police arrested me while I was standing on the sidewalk at the edge of the American Colony Hotel parking lot.

I had arrived at the American Colony Hotel at around 2:15 pm along with twenty to twenty five other members of the International Solidarity Movement in order to peacefully demonstrate our opposition to the recent Israeli invasion and seizure of the Orient House. For about ten minutes, we witnessed clashes between Orthodox Jews and Palestinian youth and then we began our non-violent protest. As we stood in a line on the sidewalk, holding signs and calling for justice and peace, we were attacked by the police. Without warning in either Arabic or English, the soldiers came towards us, tearing the signs out of the hands of international protesters, while [singling out and] violently pushing and grabbing at Palestinian protesters. We began to chant “No Violence, No Violence”—calling on the police to recognize the non-violent nature of our protest and reinforcing our commitment not to respond violently to the violence used against us by the police. But the assault by the police continued. Soon police were pushing us all down the hill towards the American Colony. I saw several protesters knocked to the ground and kicked by the police while I was being pushed down the sidewalk in a group of protesters.

I had nearly reached the driveway of the American Colony Hotel when a police officer grabbed the beltloop in the back of my jeans with one hand and my right shoulder with his other hand. Although I did not resist, he forcefully dragged me into the street and put my head in a violent chokehold. His tight grip on my neck made breathing nearly impossible as he carried me nearly 100 meters up the hill towards Abu Obeidah street. We turned onto Abu Obeidah street, where the officer shoved me into the back seat of an SUV, then leaned into the front seat and reached around to punch me in the face twice with his left hand.

In all, seven internationals and four Palestinians were arrested at the protest that afternoon. We were all taken to the [former] Russian Compound, [an Israeli area] notorious for the torturous methods of interrogation and the violence perpetrated against prisoners by Israeli guards. One of the Palestinians was then released and the rest of us were charged with illegal assembly. In a seemingly random manner, a few of us were given the additional charge of assaulting a police officer. We were taken to our cells where we were held until 11:00 pm when a judge heard our case and gave the police 24 hours to complete their investigation.

The following day, one Palestinian and one international were released without conditions and five internationals were offered release on condition of not returning to the area of the Orient House. [They reluctantly accepted this unjust offer, but only because their work on the outside is of such immediate importance.] The two Palestinians and I were brought before a judge and the police asked that we be held three days so that they could pursue their investigation of charges that the three of us had attacked police officers. The judge again offered the police 24 hours to produce enough evidence to bring charges against us, so we were returned to our cells and kept in prison another night. On Monday, August 13, 2001, the three of us were again brought before a judge. The police released one of the Palestinians on similar condition as those offered to the internationals the day before.

Regarding the other Palestinian and I, however, the police argued that they had enough evidence to charge us with assaulting the police officers. They asked that we be detained for four days so that they could file charges against us and begin the trial process. The police have taken testimony from a police officer who states that he witnessed me push another police officer. They also presented testimony from the officer that arrested me – the one who grabbed, choked, and punched me. He states that I ignored his requests that I disperse and that I attempted to choke him.

Our attorney, Lea Tsemel, challenged all of this evidence. She highlighted the fact that the arresting officer did not mention this alleged attack in his initial arrest report and that his testimony was taken only after the police had decided to charge me with assault.

Yesterday evening at 7:30 pm, the judge decided that there was enough evidence to charge the two of us with assaulting a police officer, but that there was not enough risk [of flight] to keep us in prison pending further investigation. Therefore, Mahmoud Q. Mahmoud and I were released last night on condition that we not return to the immediate vicinity of the Orient House for forty days and that we agree to show up for further questioning and trial. The police were given forty eight hours to file charges against us—which they have vowed to do.

I insist upon my innocence. I did not physically or in any other way assault or even threaten to assault a police officer or any other individual. I was never given orders to disperse and I did not resist arrest. I have always been a non-violent person and have supported struggles around the world for peace and justice. As part of the International Solidarity Movement Campaign to End the Occupation, I am committed to a program of non-violent actions in support of the Palestinian people in their struggle for national liberation and against the brutality of the Israeli occupation. The violence that day was perpetrated by the Israeli police – not by the protesters. The world has taken notice because the violence was directed against an American citizen and caught on film. But I guarantee that the charges are completely fabricated. I am convinced that they have been designed to undercut the non-violent campaign to end the occupation.

Please do not allow the Israeli police to portray and convict me as a violent offender. Please do not allow them to undermine our struggle for a just and non-violent resolution to this conflict. Thank you. I certify that the above is true to the best of my knowledge.

Bidya roadblock removal

16 Peace Activists Under Arrest for Dismantling Roadblocks Outside Palestinian Villages

Following a nonviolent act of resistance today in which Israelis, Palestinians and internationals worked to dismantle a roadblock outside the Palestinian villages of Bidiya and Maskha, Israeli soldiers forcibly dragged away and arrested 15 of the activists, who are currently being held in the police station of the Ariel Settlement.

The large roadblocks were set down by the Israeli army to prevent the residents from leaving or entering their villages. Working only with hand tools and their bare hands, the activists managed to move huge boulders and clear away some of the blockade, when army reinforcements arrived and demanded that they leave. The activists initially ignored the army orders, when the soldiers began to physically restrain them. At that point, the activists sat down on the road and linked arms, but the soldiers dragged them away, threw them into paddy wagons, and brought them to the nearby settlement, where they are currently being interrogated. Two Israeli women were wounded during the forced evacuation.

Those arrested include 6 Israelis, 2 Palestinians, and nationals from Italy, France, Sweden, Canada, and the United States. Luisa Morgantini, a member of the European Parliament who was participating in the action, was not arrested.

After the arrests, the army used tear gas to disperse the villagers and others on the site.

“Israeli policies in the territory are brutal and are being done in our name,” said Gila Svirsky from the Coalition of Women for a Just Peace. “It is our moral obligation as Israelis to not cooperate with this inhumanity, and we will continue to do so.”

The action was co-sponsored by Israeli and Palestinian peace organizations, including Rabbis for Human Rights, Gush Shalom, the Coalition of Women for a Just Peace, and the Palestinian Center for Rapprochement.