Tag: Arrests

Demonstration in Bil’in honoring slain US citizens faces attacks and arrests by Israeli forces

17 February 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Ramallah team | Bil’in, Occupied Palestine

On Friday 13th February, Israeli forces assaulted the demonstration in Bil’in with hundreds of tear gas rounds, dozens of stun grenades and pepper spray, injuring eleven Palestinian, Israeli and international demonstrators. Member of the Bil’in popular committee Mohammed Khatib  and a UK citizen and solidarity volunteer Michael “Mick” Bowman were both violently arrested. At the demonstration, Palestinian activists carried posters honoring Kayla Mueller and condemning the murders of the three students in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

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Demonstrators holding posters, cameras and Palestinian flags flee tear gas (photo by ISM)

“As people were protesting a soldier suddenly came running, wielding pepper spray, spraying it at journalists and activists indiscriminately,” reported Karam Saleem, a Palestinian activist present documenting the demonstration. Those who had been pepper sprayed, including Mohammed Khatib, were taken down to an ambulance to treat their burns. Saleem continued, “Mohammed was about twenty meters away from the main part of the protest, still suffering from pepper spray, when suddenly a soldier ran after him and grabbed him. Another five soldiers quickly surrounded him and shoved him violently to the ground.”

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Mohammed Khatib being arrested (he is holding a poster of Kayla Mueller)

He was handcuffed and blindfolded before being loaded into a military jeep.

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Mohammed Khatib was first pepper sprayed, then violently arrested, handcuffed and blindfolded

Israeli forces targeted journalists and those attempting to document the protest; many were shoved and threatened while attempting to photograph or film. Those present reported that the Israeli military also fired tear gas directly at people holding cameras.

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Journalist being assaulted by Israeli forces – only one of many that Friday in Bil’in (photo by ISM)

Israeli forces pepper sprayed demonstrators who were doing nothing more that trying to photograph the army’s brutality, and also pepper sprayed those holding posters of Kayla Mueller and the three US students from Chapel Hill. Jameel Al-Barghouthi, head of the Palestinian Authority Committee Against the Apartheid Wall and Settlements, Munthir Amira, head of the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee (PSCC), Mohammed Khatib, a member of Bil’in’s Popular Struggle Coordination Committee, Issam Rimawi, a Palestinian photojournalist, two Palestinian activists Abdallah Elian and Kafah Mansour, British citizen and activist Mick Bowman, two female Israeli activists, and one Danish and one Dutch female international volunteer were all injured.

“The army was extremely brutal yesterday in their use of tear gas, beatings, and pepper spray,” recalled Tali Shapiro, an Israeli activist who was severely pepper sprayed in Friday’s demonstration, suffering from first degree burns on her hands, ears, and most of her throat and neck. “We saw they were beating and arresting someone (Mohammed Khatib), so I ran towards them. By the time I got up the hill Mohammed had been taken away and another man [Mick] was on the ground with many soldiers on top of him, twisting his limbs and head. I immediately took out my phone to take pictures. The soldiers started pushing away journalists. They formed a line in front of several of us, and before I could assess the situation another soldier sprayed my face with pepper spray.”

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Activist Tali Shapiro after being severely pepper sprayed (photo by ISM)

Fifty-six-year-old Mick Bowman, a social worker and resident of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, recalled that in the time before his arrest, “the Israeli forces behaved with particular aggression towards protesters who were carrying the posters of Kayla and of the students from Chapel Hill North Carolina.” Border police threw stun grenades directly towards demonstrators, scattering those holding posters near the front of the protest.

“Next thing I knew,” Mick recalled, “three or four soldiers jumped on me from behind and forced me to the ground. I was lying face downwards, with a couple of them kneeling on my back.

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Mick Bowman, knelt on, assaulted and pepper sprayed by Israeli border police arresting him (photo by ISM)

As they were handcuffing me, one of them stood on my hand, rubbing his boot back and forth and crushing my thumb. One of them grabbed my nostrils, and another was pressing down on my face, causing abrasions and bruising around my right eye. After they had handcuffed me, a border policeman also pepper sprayed the left side of my face from the distance of a few inches.”

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Mick Bowman being dragged to the military jeep, just after being pepper sprayed

After their arrest, Mohammed and Mick were transported to the Binyamin settlement police station. Mohammed Khatib was taken to Ofer military prison and Michael Bowman was taken to Muskubiya (the Russian Compound) prison in Jerusalem. Both were charged with ‘assaulting a soldier.’

“When police officers use violence they always claim that violence was used against them. It’s standard procedure” explained Mohammed Khatib. Mick was released on the evening of February 14th, and Mohammed was eventually released on the evening of February 15th, on a bail of 4,000 shekels (1,030 USD).

Abdullah Abu Rahma, head of the Bil’in popular committee, described the purpose of demonstration in Bil’in: “On Friday we protested against the theft of our land by Israel’s illegal wall and settlements and to express our resistance to terrorism everywhere. We carried the images of Kayla Mueller who was killed while being held captive by Da’esh and who had marched with us in Bil’in. We also carried the images of Deah Barakat, Yusor Mohammad, and Razan Abu-Salha, who were murdered in their home in North Carolina. We made it clear that we will oppose terrorism and the killing of innocent people whether it is committed by organizations like Da’esh, by states like Israel or by individuals like the murderer from Chapel Hill.” This Friday will mark the tenth anniversary of Bil’in’s popular resistance demonstrations – against the Apartheid Wall, against the Israeli occupation, and against oppression and violence everywhere.

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Palestinian demonstrators holding posters of Kayla and of the three murdered in North Carolina. The one of the Chapel Hill students reads “to resist terrorism everywhere”

Two Palestinian shepherds arrested in South Hebron Hills

8th February 2015 | Operation Dove | South Hebron Hills, Occupied Palestine

On the morning of February 6, Israeli soldiers arrested two Palestinian shepherds, one of them aged sixteen. The soldiers tried to arrest another Palestinian shepherd but villagers prevented the arrest by popular nonviolent action.

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The two young Palestinian shepherds arrested by the Israeli military – Photo by Operation Dove

At about 10:40 a.m. four Palestinian shepherds were grazing their flocks on Khelly valley, in the South Hebron Hills area village of At-Tuwani, when the security chief of the Ma’on settlement arrived and called the Israeli army to prevent the shepherds from using land that is the object of settlement expansion. At 10:55 a.m. an Israeli Army jeep arrived in Khelly area and the soldiers started to run after the shepherds.

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Soldiers pursuing the shepherd boys over the hills of At Tuwani – Photo by Operation Dove

The shepherds, who are all young boys, were scared and began to run away. The soldiers caught one Palestinian shepherd and immobilized him on the ground.

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The soldiers grabbed a young shepherd in a chokehold, dragging him to the ground – Photo by Operation Dove

Meanwhile Palestinians from At-Tuwani reached the soldiers and, by a nonviolent popular action, freed the shepherds. The soldiers then drove after three of the shepherds as they moved their sheep back to their village. One shepherd was able to run away while the others two were prevented from leaving by the soldiers. At around 11:30 a.m. the soldiers put them inside the army jeep and drove away. At about 8 p.m. the Palestinians were released.

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The two young shepherds being put into the army jeep – Photo by Operation Dove

This is the fifth time since the beginning of this year that Palestinian shepherds have been harassed in the Khelly area. The Israeli administration declared Khelly valley a “closed military area” in September 2013, and it is the site of frequent threats and violence by Israeli settlers and Israeli armed forces. This valley is Palestinian property where the Palestinians continue to resist with their daily work, despite of all the restrictions.

19-year-old shot and killed by Israeli forces in Burin

3rd February 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Burin, Occupied Palestine      

On the evening of January 31, 2015, Israeli soldiers shot and killed Ahmad Ibrahim Najar, a 19-year-old Palestinian from the village of Burin (Nablus region). In the attack, Israeli forces also injured 18-year-old Mohammed Raed Asaos. Mohammed and a third man, Abdulrahman Najar, 19 years old, have been arrested by Israeli forces.

The three young men were beside the settler road outside their village of Burin when the army opened fire. Israeli soldiers were present at the road before they arrived, patrolling the area. The soldiers opened fire with live ammunition, shooting Ahmad Najar in the face and Mohammed Asaos in his side. Najar’s wounds were fatal. After the shooting, the two surviving men escaped to Burin. The village was immediately declared a closed military zone as Israeli forces raided the Burin in search of the two men, who were eventually found and arrested in their family homes. The Israeli army claims that the men were throwing Molotov cocktails at the road.

Ahmad Najar’s body was initially taken by Israeli forces, and only released to Palestinian jurisdiction later in the night. His funeral, attended by around 1000 Palestinians, was held the morning of Feburary 1st. Hundreds of women cried together, as the men of the village carried and followed Ahmad’s body from the car to his family home one last time, to the village mosque, and finally to the cemetery.

As the community mourned their loss in an immense outpouring of grief, three Israeli military helicopters circled in the skies overhead. Overwhelmed by shock and sadness at their son’s murder, Ahmad’s father and mother passed out in the arms of friends, who poured water on their pained faces to revive them.

After his funeral, trails of friends and community members walked to the road where Ahmad was shot, taking moments to commemorate his life and death. His blood still stained the white rocks of the road beside a crumpled white Israeli body bag. Not long after the streams of people started arriving at the site, three Israeli soldiers arrived and escorted the mourners away, standing at the entrance of the road to ensure no more visitors were allowed, preventing them from paying their respects at the site of Ahmad’s death.

Israeli military say the incident is currently under investigation. The Israeli army justifies shooting live ammunition at Palestinians by claiming these attacks “prevent” attacks on Israelis living in illegal settlements. However, it is evident from Ahmed’s death that the force used by Israeli authorities was disproportionate to any that could possibly be necessary to ‘’prevent’ any perceived threat or attack from occurring. Ahmed was shot directly in his face, the live bullet exiting through the back of his neck.

Action alert: Help free 14-year-old Malak

1st February 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Ramallah Team  | Occupied Palestine

On January 21st, 14 year old Malak Khatib was sentenced by the Israeli military courts to two months in Israeli jails. Malak has been in Hasharon prison for over a month now as her family continues to endure the unbearable absence felt in their small apartment home in the West Bank village of Beitin.Malak was arrested by Israeli forces one morning on her way from school. Her imprisonment came based on a testimony from Israeli soldiers. Regardless of her young age, she was interrogated without legal representation or the presence of a legal guardian. Today Malak continues to remain incarcerated in Israeli jails. The court has also sentenced the family to approximately 1,500 US dollars in fines. If they are not paid her release may be prolonged by the court.

Malak Khatib, is one of 700 Palestinian children to be arrested and interrogated by Israeli forces annually. Due to the family’s inability to cover the fine’s expenses, we are attempting to raise the money in order to have Malak return home as soon as possible. Especially as more prisoners are complaining of the escalating harsh conditions in Israeli prisons.

Prior to her arrest, Malak enjoyed to play soccer outside her home and sketching. She used to walk to school every day and her favorite sweets consist of gummy worms. She is the youngest of 8 children and despite her older age continued to enjoy sitting in her mother’s lap. She found refuge in it. Paralleling to that, Malak now sleeps in a jail cell with blue barred doors and grey concrete walls.

If the fine money is not paid, Malak may continue to be held within Israeli prisons. It is essential that we put forth our efforts in order to raise the money required to have Malak return home to the arms of her family, where her main concern once more is not wanting to wake up for school or arguing with her siblings.

To donate money, please go to the ISM donation page and then send an email to palreports@gmail.com. In the subject line of your email, write: ‘Donation for Malak’. In the email itself please say how much money you have contributed.

“We believe in a bright future…a future when our children will be free” – Kufr Qaddum resident released from prison

29th January 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Nablus, Occupied Palestine

Murad Eshtewi was released from prison on January 22, 2015. He was arrested on April 29th, 2014, serving 10 months in Israeli military prison. In order to secure his release, he was forced to pay a fine of 10,000 shekels (approximately $2500 USD), a fine that reduced his sentence in jail. Murad, a resident of Kufr Qaddum, was charged with organizing demonstrations and encouraging Palestinians to participate in political action. The village of Kufr Qaddum has held a weekly demonstration every Friday since 2011, in protest of the closure of their main road to Nablus by Israeli forces for the neighboring illegal settlement Qedumim.

On April 29, 2014, at 2:30am, Israeli forces surrounded Murad´s family house. Knowing that he was going to be jailed for a long time, Murad asked the soldiers if he could kiss his children goodbye. Israeli soldiers then covered his mouth, and made him walk 1.5 km in the dark to a nearby illegal Israeli settlement, where he was detained for 9 days. During this period, has was given very little water or food, and he lost 10kg.

He was eventually transferred to Megiddo, an Israeli military prison. Murad describes the horrible conditions he faced there; prisoners were not given enough food or blankets and any other necessities had to be purchased from the prison canteen at grossly inflated prices. The food that was provided did not constitute a balanced diet. Food and blankets brought in to prisoners from visitors were not permitted. Existing medical facilities in the prison were extremely limited; Murad described his own medical issues and the failure to receive adequate treatment. Facing shoulder pain, he was given only moderate pain-relievers, and told to drink water. His pain increased to the point that he was unable to lift his arm. The medical practitioners distributing ´care´ were often the same soldiers who had beaten prisoners earlier that week. Prison conditions gave no opportunity for activity to those detained; Murad recounts having nothing to do except ¨count the days, seconds, until freedom. I could not see the sky.¨

Prisoners detained for legal violations, such as theft, are permitted to work and call their families, whereas those detained under Israeli military law (political prisoners) are not awarded the same privileges. Their contact with the outside world is limited to one 45 minute visit from family, every two weeks, if that. Murad expressed feeling like a ¨dead man¨ while imprisoned, and that he has been ¨born again¨ since his release.

This was Murad´s fourth arrest, with the longest sentence and highest fine. Before receiving his final sentence, he had 19 court dates over eight months in Israeli military courts. Despite all that he has endured under direct Israeli repression, Murad is adamant in his determination to continue the struggle for Palestine. He sees the issues facing his village of Kufr Qaddum as symbolic of the bigger issues of the Israeli occupation: restricted movement, injuries, house damage, arbitrary arrest, imprisonment and murder of Palestinians. But he asserts: ¨In the face of this bad situation, we will do anything. We do not deny the right of anyone to live happily in their land. Let Israel do that in their state. Just let Palestinians do the same. No one can prevent me from my right [to do this], except death. I will not be ready to let my son or friends live under occupation. [I have made] an internal promise between me and me, and between me and Palestine to fight for Palestine.¨

Murad´s house was flooded with visitors upon his release, happy to welcome him home and back to his village. Murad is ecstatic to be re-united with his family and children, and continue the struggle for Palestine´s freedom. ¨The smile is still on our faces, because we believe in a bright future. A future when our children will be free, and we will continue to fight for this future.”