Tag: Arrests - Page 46 - International Solidarity Movement

Five men imprisoned after night raids in Beit Furik

14th May 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Beit Furik, Occupied Palestine

By Team Nablus

On Tuesday 7th of May the Israeli army invaded Nablus and the nearby village of Beit Furik and arrested 9 men. The men, between the ages of 18 and 22, are all members of the PLFP. One man from Beit Furik was released a few hours following his detention, the others remain held at the Huwwara military base without charge.

Faris' grandmother in the home where Faris was seized (Photo by ISM) — Faris’ grandmother in the home where Faris was seized (Photo by ISM)

In Beit Furik, families describe how Israeli soldiers surrounded their homes at approximately 2am before entering and seizing the men. A neighbor reports he saw the soldiers enter the village in a large group. The soldiers then split off into smaller units so that they could arrest the men simultaneously from their family homes.

The mother of Sadaam Salame Mohammed Hoanni, 19 years-old, says the family had been asleep and did not have time to properly dress when the soldiers began hammering at her door. 14 of the soldiers entered the home and herded her family into the living room so that they could search the house while the others remained outside, surrounding the home.

She describes the soldiers as extremely loud and aggressive as they shouted at her family. They took Sadaam with them to inspect the family home and seized documents and information from the family computer.

When Sadaam’s mother asked the captain why he was arresting her son, the captain assured her that Sadaam was only needed for questioning and that he would be returned to her soon. Sadaam, however, remains in detention four days on and the family has been unable to communicate with him. They still have no idea why he was detained or how he is being treated. They say there was no particular event or action precipitating his arrest.

The family is despairing and they want Sadaam back, but say there is nothing they can do until the Israeli army decides to release him or provide more information on the reasons for his arrest. This is the first time the Israeli army has invaded their home and arrested a member of their family.

A few minutes down the road from Sadaam’s house, Faris Reem Hamad, 22 years-old, was also taken from his family home (at 2am). Faris’ grandmother reports that nearly 50 soldiers surrounded her home in what she describes as a siege. 20 of the soldiers entered and forced the family to gather in their living room as they searched the home.

The soldiers seized a photograph of Faris’ grandfather, who was martyred by the Israeli army in the 1970s when Faris’ grandmother was only 22 and mother to three children, the youngest only 6 months old at the time. They also took Faris and denied his family the chance to say goodbye. Faris remains held at the Huwwara military base. His family still does not know why he was arrested and have not been able to speak with him since his detention.

Brother and sister arrested without charge in Kufr Qalil

12th May 2013 | International Solidarity Movement | Nablus, Occupied Palestine

Team Nablus

Mother of arrested siblings Tahrir and Saddam

At 1:30 am on May 12, Israeli soldiers arrested a brother and sister from Kufr Qalil without charge and ransacked their home, terrorizing their family and leaving them with no information about the siblings’ imprisonment.

Israeli soldiers arrived at the residence of Abu Mahyoub Mansour in Kufr Qalil in south Nablus as at least five army jeeps surrounded the family home and eighteen soldiers entered looking for his daughter Tahrir, 29 and son Saddam, 27. All thirteen occupants in the house, including two small children, were woken and made to walk downstairs into one room, among them the youngest daughter, 19, who is severely disabled with cerebral palsy. She cannot walk and had to be woken up and carried down, crying in fear.

The children were scared and crying when soldiers put eye covers on them with slots for the eyes and then repeatedly screamed at them to be quiet. The noise of the raid woke up all the neighbours though no one dared to look out as more soldiers remained outside pointing their guns at windows.

Tahrir, who works as a seamstress during the day, was at home and taken into a separate room where she was searched and interrogated. After interrogation, her eyes were covered as she was taken into the other room where her sister asked her what they had said to her. Tahrir had laughed as they attempted to scare her and the commander said, “Don’t laugh because we we will give your family reason to be sad and cry about you and you will never see your family again.”

Saddam, married and father of two small children, was not at home as he works night shifts. His father was ordered to call him and ask Saddam to wait near a specific spot in Kufr Qalil. Abu Mahyoub and Tahrir were then driven by the army to locate Saddam. Saddam’s hawwiya (Palestinian ID) was taken and he was interrogated before being arrested and taken to the the house, eyes covered and hands bound.

The ransacked home of arrested siblings Tahrir and Saddam

This is the second arrest for Saddam, who was arrested previously with his sister Samoud in 2005 when they went up near the illegal Bracha settlement to look for their brother Mahyoub on the day he was killed by Israeli forces. Subsequently Saddam spent two years in prison and Samoud spent four and half years.

On return to the house, Abu Mahyoub saw all the soldiers were outside and that inside the house had been taken apart, searched and ransacked. Wardrobes were emptied onto the floor, cupboards broken and a toilet seat had been ripped off. A computer hard drive, laptop, camera memory sticks, mobile phones and municipality gifts for prisoners’ families were taken.

The army was there until the first call to morning prayer at about 4 am. The officers did not state a reason for the two arrests and gave no information on where the young brother and sister were being taken. The family still has no information about their whereabouts; meanwhile, Mawahib, Saddam’s 4-year-old daughter, believes her father is away at work.

Residents say that army jeeps often enter Kufr Qalil, making arrests randomly and whenever they want. Relatives of the two arrested in Kufr Qalil have a 42-year-old son who has been imprisoned for six years, a father of two sons, one 12 years old and the other 6 years old, who was still unborn when his father was arrested. The six-year-old met his father for the first time yesterday, May 12. The father, Shahir Mansour, is also said to need some medical attention which he is lacking in prison.

Askar: a new arrest in the midst of old issues

12th May 2013 | International Solidarity Movement | Nablus, Occupied Palestine

By Team Nablus

On Tuesday 7th May, at 2am, Ahmad as-Sars was arrested whilst in his home with family and well wishers gathered to mourn the death of his grandmother the previous day. New Askar refugee camp faces many problems in its right to exist, economy and the support it receives. Despite their daily struggles, hope for the future remains strong in the next generation, of which the independently run Keffiyeh Community Center, located in the camp, is an impressive example.

P1010235 — Mahmoud Sars with his son Ahmad’s picture

New Askar camp is situated north-east of Nablus in the Askar area. It was created in 1965 to accommodate the increased number of refugees who were living in (old) Askar Camp that was established in 1950 after hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forced from their homes in the Nakba, the ethnic cleansing of 1948 that was part of the creation of Israel.

Ahmad as-Sars, 23 years-old, was arrested during the early morning. His grieving father pleaded with the soldiers not to take him until the next day. He was told, however, by the soldiers that they were ‘just’ taking him to Huwwara military base and would return him at 4am. During the arrest they searched the house, bringing dogs into the home and took all the mobile phones. They herded 40 family members into one room, the large number due to the death in the family.

Currently Ahmad is still in prison and the family have no news of his whereabouts. Ahmad was previously arrested at the age of 16, when he had just received his ID. His father commented that this signified the Israeli occupation forces seeing him as a ‘young person and man, although he was a child. Just because he received ID, they considered him a threat’.

Ahmad was imprisoned for 5 years, during his late teens until his early twenties. His education whilst incarcerated was partially restricted, although he was granted equivalent high school education and exams. Ahmad’s physical and mental health deteriorated in prison, where he became anxious and felt ill in his stomach; he did not get better until he was released.

Ahmad works in the family hardware shop and is the youngest brother of 6, all of whom, except one, have been in prison. One of Ahmad’s brothers has been in prison for ten years.

Two residents walk down a street in New Askar camp — Two residents walk down a street in New Askar

Arrests and incursions by Israeli troops are common in New Askar camp and they have suffered much in the ongoing occupation. New Askar is not officially recognised as a refugee camp by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNWRA) and as such there are no UNWRA installations in the camp. Although, in 2008, an UNWRA school was opened in the camp, but the 6000 residents are still expected to use the services in the old Askar Camp. An internationally funded sports centre was converted into a medical clinic to support the population, but the camp struggles to provide all the necessary services due to its unofficial status and by its position in Area B that is supposed to be under joint Israeli and Palestinian Authority control.

Children participate in a dakbah class in the Keffiyeh Communtiy Centre — Children participate in a dabkah class in the Keffiyeh Communtiy Centre

One community organiser in New Askar told international activists that the camp has many problems and that the youth have nothing to do, ‘no entertainment’. Very high unemployment is a factor in the camp, which combined with the lack of entertainment, leaves the youth of the camp disillusioned and without hope. The Keffiyeh Communtiy Center was set up independently by residents of the camp, to offer sports, activities and education to young people. The centre, although small, is a great success where children learn the traditional Palestinian dabkah dance, various sports and take part in field trips. The centre promotes international links and looks forward to one of its students traveling to France to take part in a boxing tournament.

A mural painted outside one of the schools in the camp

Ahmad’s story shows the harsh reality of young people living under occupation and the attempt by the army to deny children a childhood. Community centres set up all over the Occupied Territories successfully give some children a chance to be children and, in so doing, continue the resilience of the Palestinian people.

ISM condemns Ynetnews misinformation, calls on Ynet to correct false allegations

7th May 2013 | Hebron, Occupied Palestine

By Team Nablus

International Solidarity Movement calls on Ynetnews, a popular Israeli digital newspaper, to correct the false allegations against the recently arrested Swedish human rights activist and a young boy in Al-Khalil (Hebron).

Ynetnews reported that the Swedish activist allegedly attempted to take an Israeli soldier’s gun and resisted arrest. Also reported was that the young boy arrested was throwing stones. Both allegations prove entirely false in the Youth Against Settlements full video of the event. Story here.

Support our demand to report accurately on events in Palestine. Contact the Ynetnews editor-in-chief at editor-in-chief@y-i.co.il or the Ynetnews editorial department at news@ynetnews.com.

Below is the letter sent to Ynetnews editor-in-chief, still awaiting response.

TO: Ynet News Editor-in-Chief

RE: Inaccurate Ynet Article

It has come to our attention that ynet recently posted an article about the arrest of a child and an international activist in Hebron last week that contains entirely false information regarding the nature of the arrests. If ynet intends to report accurate information, unattributed allegations such as those that appear in that report are unaccountable as the basis for a posted story, especially as those sources turn out to be entirely false. You may see a full video of the event here. We hope that ynet will attempt to restore its lost credibility on this article and uphold an honest journalistic ethic by both correcting the falsity of that report in addition to posting the entire video of the event to display without a doubt for misinformed readers that the two arrests were made without illegal action by either the child or the international man. False information in reporting on a story such as this is, as ynet must agree, unacceptable.

Please also note that this false reporting has not gone unnoticed, as +972 magazine has already reported that ynet clearly misrepresented the events as evidenced by video of the event. You may see that report by +972 here.

Awaiting your response,

ISM Palestine Media

P.S. ISM will make this letter to the editor public awaiting appropriate remedy of this misinformation by ynet news.

N.B. In actual event, in the afternoon of the 28^th April, several children from an illegal Hebron settlement attacked two Palestinian children, aged 11 and 12, who were walking home from school. The soldiers proceeded to arrest the Palestinian victims of the attack despite the fact that according to eyewitnesses, they never struck back.

Having witnessed the arrests of the children, Swedish human rights observer Gustav Karlsson asked Israeli soldiers “why are you arresting these children?” only to be violently grabbed and also arrested. Following this, the children and Gustav were taken to a nearby military base. Gustav said, “I was blindfolded, but I could hear the children crying and screaming next to me. Twice, the soldiers pointed their guns at me, loaded them and pretended to pull the triggers”. As well as these mock-executions, soldiers violently shoved Gustav with their guns as they moved him and the children around.

The children were released later the same day, while Gustav is currently in Givon prison accused of assaulting a soldier, despite clear video evidence to the contrary.

Swedish activist falsely accused of violence by Israeli media “Ynetnews”

4th May 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Hebron, Occupied Palestine

By Team Khalil

On the 28^th of April the Israeli digital newspaper Ynetnews published a two paragraph article with false allegations about the arrest of a child and Swedish activist in Hebron.

The article, written by Itamar Fleishman, is full of inaccuracies and false information. The “Palestinian youth” mentioned in Ynet’s report are clearly young children as seen in the video below.

The accusations of “throwing stones”, “resisting the arrest” and “attempting to grab an IDF officer’s firearm” are completely fictitious as evident in the YAS (Youth Against Settlements) video of the full event. The video, below, clearly shows that none of the violence mentioned in Ynetnews report is based in truth or accurate sources.

This is how Ynetnews tells the story.

And this is what actually happened.

Judge for yourselves!

See our original article here.