18 August | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank
On Saturday August 11, 2012 the same events of three days earlier repeated themselves in Khan Al Luban. A group of 4 illegal Israeli settlers, from Ma’ale Levona, armed with guns and wooden sticks, came into Khan al Luban at 10:30 p.m. The settlers yet again broke into the house owned by Khalid al-Hamed Daraghmah where international activists and the 2 sons of Khalid were staying.
When the settlers arrived, Khalid’s sons and the international activists asked them to leave the property, but they refused and instead sat down near the spring on the Daraghmah land. After about half an hour, 2 Israeli police cars arrived along with 2 military jeeps after having received a call from the settlers. A few minutes later, 2 more military jeeps arrived at the scene. By then, the Daraghmah land was full of Israeli police, soldiers, and security guards from the illegal settlement. The soldiers entered the house searching for weapons, but as usual they did not find anything.
Click for more pictures. Photo by Marcus Fitzgerald.
Around midnight, the soldiers, police, security personnel, and settlers left the area while Jamal, the oldest son of Khalid, and the international activists remained in the house. Throughout the night settlers stayed on patrol in the street near the Daraghmah house, shouting and honking the horns of their cars.
At 7:30 a.m. the following morning, a border police car stopped near the Daraghmah house on the road leading up to the illegal settlement of Ma’ale Levona. The border policemen then proceeded to break into the house, aggressively asking for passports and other documents. Like the night before, the house was searched and no bag, cigarette package, or piece of clothing went unturned.
Jamal was brutally pushed into one of the rooms by the police officers where he received several blows to the face before he was handcuffed and taken away. Jamal was taken to the Israeli police station of Binyamin, wrongly accused of having hit a soldier. He was released on bail the day after.
The continued pressure of the Israeli occupation forces and illegal settlers remain a a constant threat during both days and nights in Khan al Luban.
Alex Marley is a volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).
18 August | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank
On Friday, August 17, 5 were injured and 8 arrested during the weekly protest in Kufr Qaddoum. Israeli soldiers fired tear-gas canisters, rubber-coated steel bullets, and beat protesters with wooden sticks. The village experienced an unprecedented amount of violence during the peaceful demonstration as the village was surounded and invaded by over 100 Israeli occupation forces, leading to several broken arms, the arrests of participants, including 6 journalists, and the asphyxiation of a 60 year-old bystander.
Journalist beaten and arrested by Israeli soldier
Those arriving from outside Kufr Qaddoum were forced to travel around flying checkpoints, posted along the main roads used to reach the village, which would prevent them from their right to participate in the democratic protest.
“Something felt strange about this morning,” Morad Shtayi, Popular Struggle Coordination Committee representative for Kufr Qaddoum said.
Before the demonstration at 11:30 a.m., Shtayi and several other men heard that 14 soldiers had entered houses under construction from the east, where the protest was due to take place.
“We began shouting at the soldiers until they left,” he says.
The demonstration began per usual at 1:15 p.m., with protesters marching down the road leading to Nablus. An Israeli bulldozer was present on the road, with over 30 border police, police, and soldiers standing on the hill to the North. After 15 minutes, Israeli forces descended on the village from the North, firing tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets. Soldiers also began climbing up the valley from the south, followed by several military jeeps and the bulldozer.
“Protesters fled into the village to seek safety, as they faced tear gas canisters and rubber-coated steel bullets shot from distances of less than 10 meters,” solidarity activist Alma Reventos recounts.
Shtayi said witnesses reported soldiers firing live ammunition in the air as they entered the village in search of protesters.
The bulldozer pushed into the village, causing protestors to run head over heels.
Two Palestinians were arrested by border police, Qassam Aahi, 17, and Abdallah Awni. Israeli forces also arrested 6 Palestinian journalists for reporting on the demonstration; Jaafar Shtayi (Associated Free Press), Nidal Shtayi (Chinese Press), Faris Faris (Palestine Today), Bakir Abd al-Haq (TV Nablus), Odai Qudoomi (B’tselem), and Noah Qudoomi (Alfajir Tulkarem). Among the 6 journalists arrested, 2 were beaten, with Jaafar Shtayi suffering a broken arm. The journalists were released several hours later under the condition that they face imprisonment if they attempt to document the demonstrations in Kufr Qaddoum again.
In addition to the arrests, 2 Palestinians were beaten and a 60-year-old woman fell unconscious after border police repeatedly fired tear-gas inside the village. Rani Suliman Ali, 30, had his arm broken and was kept for a period from seeking medical treatment by Israeli checkpoints outside of the village. Mohannad Shtaiw, was beaten on the back with wooden sticks, and taken to Qalqiliya hospital. Israeli forces finally left the village at 3:30 p.m. with those arrested.
The purpose of the weekly demonstration in Kufr Qaddoum focuses on the closure of the main road that connects the village with Nablus. The road, which passes alongside the nearby illegal Israeli settlement of Kedumim, was closed to Palestinian access. As a result, the journey to Nablus has increased from 15 minutes to 40 minutes. This has resulted in hardships because many residents travel daily to Nablus for work, studies, or health care. Kufr Qaddoum has also lost 4000 dunums of land to the 5 illegal Israeli settlements that surround the village. Farmers seeking to reach their lands face threats, attacks, and arrests. Some of the Palestinian-owned agricultural lands have been declared ‘closed military zones’, and Israeli settlers regularly burn them. This demonstration follows 2 weeks in which several young men were arrested from Kufr Qaddoum during night raids by Israeli forces.
Marshall Pinkerton and Alma Reventos are volunteers with the International Solidarity Movement (names have been changed). Video and pictures taken from www.facebook.com/AlMasira.KufurKaddom
15 August 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank
For the past four years, Khalid al-Sanih Daraghmah and his family have faced regular attacks by Israeli settlers at their home in Khan, 2 kilometers south of the West Bank village al-Luban. When Khalid bought the two homes on the road to the illegal Ma’ale Levona settlement 5 years ago, he imagined restoring them and planting the 20 dunums of land that they sit on.
Khaled Daraghmah sits in his house, originally a police station from the Ottoman era – click to see more photos
Today, the two houses sit with the insides burned and gutted, without doors or windows, and under constant threat of further attacks. Only Khalid is left to protect them, as he has moved his family to another home for their safety. The move was especially motivated to protest his two eldest sons, who have been unjustly arrested several times, simply for being present on their own property.
Five years ago, Khalid purchased the two buildings from his cousin believing that he could restore them and turn the property into a paradise.
“I sold everything to buy this property,” says Khalid, “including my family gold.”
The first six months were strange, admits Khalid. Israeli real estate agents constantly inquired if he would sell.
“Everyone came saying, ‘Habibi (my dear), how much will it take for you to sell.’”
Over time, the voices became less friendly, and when it became clear he would not sell, the attacks began. The settlers began coming on to his property several times each week to cut trees, steal food, and use the natural spring that flows under his property.
One year after moving to the building that rests on the west side of the road, it was set on fire while he and his family were away visiting friends. The family then decided to live in the second home, which sits next to the coveted spring.
“We lived in the first house for one year, and this house for two, but after that I could not keep my family here, they were in too much danger,” says Khalid.
After several arson attacks on the home, and an incident where settlers swam naked in front of his wife and children, he decided that only he and his two eldest sons would stay in Khan to cultivate the land. The settler attacks continued and after his sons were arrested several times, he was the only one left to work and defend the land.
In April 2012, Khalid was arrested by Israeli forces and accused of attacking settlers. Three members of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), as well as four from the Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) were present and filmed the incident that led to his arrest.
He spent three months in jail, and was forced to pay 20,000 shekels to Israeli authorities to secure his release. His release came with the condition that he was not allowed on his land, except on Saturday, until his court date on October 28.
While Khalid was in prison, settlers removed all of the doors and windows to his homes, destroyed the irrigation lines that fed his crops, and destroyed a section of wall in one house.
A section of Khaled’s house desetroyed by Israeli settlers. Khaled has temporarily rebuilt part of it, but lacks money for concrete – click to see more photos
“They feel that I am weak now, as I do not have the money to continue replacing everything they destroy. So they come every day, watching me die slowly with no one to help.”
Illegal Israeli settlements
According to the Israeli human rights organization B’tselem, Israel has taken control of 50% of the land
of the West Bank by legalizing Settlements as Israeli territory. 500,000 Israeli settlers are living in the Occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Although all settlements are illegal according to international law, Israel officially recognizes 121 settlements in the Occupied West Bank. Another 100 settlements in the Occupied West Bank are smaller ‘outposts’, which are established with government assistance and are not even recognized as legal by the state of Israel. Nonetheless, most of them still stand.
Marshall Pinkerton is a volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).
15 August 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank
On the evening of July 26, social media lit up with messages from residents of the village Nabi Saleh.
“Four army jeeps and around 20 soldiers standing at the entrance” tweeted Manal Tamimi, and later, “for the third day (in a [row]) the army invading the village before eftar.”
Nabi Saleh resident Manal Tamimi – click to see more photos
Since late 2010, Nabi Saleh has been raided regularly by Israeli forces, and the religious month of Ramadan is no exception. The long awaited eftar meal brings relief to the fasting people. In the little village, only a 15 minute drive northwest of Ramallah, eftar often arrives with uninvited guests.
The reasons for these punitive raids must be found in late 2009 when people from Nabi Saleh and nearby villages organized to protest the occupation and the illegal settlements.
In July 2008, Inhabitants of the illegal Israeli settlement of Halamish, some 700 metres from Nabi Saleh, began using Al-qaws spring for recreational purposes. For Palestinians in the area, the spring was a vital factor in farming the dry land, as well as for cultural and recreational purposes. When settlers began renovating the site of the spring, damaging trees and property, the Palestinian owner filed several complaints to the police but was ignored.
In January 2010, Israeli authorities deemed the spring an archaeological site. Subsequently, Palestinians were prohibited access while the illegal settlers were given free access. They continued to illegally renovate the site against a civil administration order to halt construction. Two attempts by Palestinian villages in the area to go to the Israeli High Court of Justice proved to be in vain. The only outcome was letting Palestinians return to the spring. This is hardly regarded as a victory when they are still unable to use the water that their village has relied on for so long. As well, Palestinians are still often prevented from accessing the spring, especially in groups, while settlers enjoy free access.
With health, freedom, and even life on the line, the Nabi Saleh popular protests show the Israeli authorities’ disregard for international law and human rights.
Every Friday since December 2009, a procession has been making its way from Nabi Saleh’s center square towards the stolen spring. The protest is notorious for its persistence. Confronting a powerful Israeli military force, and enduring the consequential raids and arrests is a sacrifice that many in the village are willing to take.
Bilal Tamimi, a descendent and lifelong inhabitant of Nabi Saleh and father of 4, has been participating and documenting the popular protests from the beginning.
Nabi Saleh resident Bilal Tamimi – click to see more photos
According to Bilal Tamimi, Nabi Saleh is not only protesting to return the annexed water spring, but against Israeli occupation as a whole. Since Halamish was illegally established in 1977, it has not stopped growing and encroaching onto Palestinian lands. The land theft is either approved or ignored by Israeli authorities, denying the Palestinian population the right to their land, and contravening international law. The nonviolent resistance is one of the most dangerous tendencies from an occupiers point of view. It is persistent and disturbs the normalized occupation, but it cannot be stopped without damaging Israel’s democratic smokescreen.
The united participation of all demographics of Palestinian society (i.e. men, women, children) as well as international and Israeli activists is an important factor in the popular protest.
Bilal’s wife, Manal Tamimi, who is herself an active protester, says there is a particular impact on Israeli soldiers when they are faced by women and children. Women make up half of the protests in Nabi Saleh, and many take leadership roles, contradicting the prejudices still haunting mainstream discourse.
Bilal points out the importance of post-demonstration media work from international and Israeli activists who join the weekly protest. Activists from various countries across the world sharing reports, pictures, and stories from Nabi Saleh has a huge impact on the fate of the village.
The Israeli army has changed its tactics in Nabi Saleh throughout the past 2 years. The brutal invasions of the village during the Friday protest drew negative attention from international media present at the demonstration. While the 10-hour Friday raids were made less brutal, there has been a considerable increase in raids on other days as well as during nights. Thus there has been an increased pressure on the residents’ lives, although most of it occurs behind the scenes and away from media.
Manal and Bilal Tamimi have experienced Israeli military violence since their childhood. Arbitrary arrests, including that of children, night raids, military violence, and systematic discrimination are only a part of what they have experienced. The last weeks are no exception.
Rather than showing the heavy military response to civilian demonstrations, most photos emerging into mainstream news from the West Bank focus on masked youths throwing stones.
Bilal Tamimi knows that stones will not change the course of history in a direct way.
“But what would you do if someone had been stealing from you the last 60 years, with absolutely no consequences except generous western support,” asks Bilal rhetorically.
At 3 a.m. on January 23 of 2011, 14-year old Islam Tamimi was seized from his bed by Israeli soldiers. The next 12 hours, he was interrogated and kept awake. Without being informed about his rights to remain silent or to demand the presence of a parent, the terrified boy may have began making up stories to satisfy the police. His unlawfully gained testimony is later used to convict members of the Nabi Saleh popular committee, Bassem and Naji Tamimi. Both face charges made by a 14-year old boy under torture-like conditions.
This incident is one of many concerning minors from Nabi Saleh. Currently, 4 boys are serving time for throwing stones.
Manal Tamimi herself was arrested in December 2009. Her son Samer Tamimi, who was 3 years old at the time, saw her beaten and dragged away by Israeli soldiers.
Bilal and Manal Tamimi’s youngest son, Samer – click to see more photos
Many of the village residents would send their kids away each Friday during protest hours, but as it became apparent that the situation would not change, Bilal and Manal amongst others, began to bring their children to the protests.
While this decision is difficult, Manal explains how psychologists and specialists were called to the village to treat the tormented kids. Fear of the Israeli army was the primary problem.
“We had to break this wall of fear in our kids to be able to continue the struggle in the future,” she states.
“The resistance,” Bilal says, “is for our kids’ future, so they can grow up and follow their dreams, and their kids will be able to as well”
His son Osama, 16, was accepted into a school in Jerusalem, but denied entry to the city by Israeli authorities on reasons of security. An education in Ramallah was found but Bilal clearly sees the disappointment and the extinguished enthusiasm in his son’s eyes.
“This is the way to defeat a population. Stealing their dreams is far worse than breaking their bones and this we have to fight and teach our children how to fight,” says Manal.
Her youngest son Samer, 6, is also known as ‘Spider Man’ for the costume he wears to the popular protests. Samer has managed to overcome a great amount of his fears. During a night raid on the Tamimi home about 1 month ago, Samer woke up, recognized the angry men in green, and casually returned to sleep as they ransacked his house. A clear indication that the next generation will not give in to the pressure.
Nabi Saleh is a village of only 600 people. This means a great sense of unity.
“We cry together, smile together, celebrate together, suffer together, and die together,” says Manal.
When Mustafa Tamimi was shot dead by the Israeli military last December, the funeral turned into a massive outcry for justice. The 2000 some members of the funeral were tear-gassed by the same grenades which killed Mustafa just two days earlier. Several Palestinian women were beaten by soldiers and arrests were made.
The Israeli occupation is omnipresent across Palestine, entering the private lives of all Palestinians. The last person to be killed has not yet been killed. The last illegal settlement has not yet been built. Nabi Saleh’s fresh water spring has become a memory and a dream.
Yet facing armies, still ‘Spider Man’ smiles at one of his toughest quests.
Markus Fitzgerald is a volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).
9 August 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank
On the evening of August 2, an Israeli settler illegally entered a Palestinian home in Hebron, drawing the presence of the Israeli army which encouraged her to leave. Rather than face any consequences, the settler left the scene and a Palestinian man was arbitrarily arrested.
A Palestinian man is detained at Checkpoint 56 | Flora Alnur
Around 9:45 p.m., an illegal Israeli settler stopped her car in front of Checkpoint 56, one of the barriers between H1 area (Palestinian-controlled) and H2 area (Israeli-controlled) in Hebron. Immediately after, the woman forcefully entered a Palestinian home. Israeli soldiers intervened and took the woman outdoors, urging her to leave.
Hebron is a Palestinian city, but several illegal Israeli settlements have occupied both the center town and surrounding areas. The settlers enjoy a series of benefits, such as the exclusive right of driving in H2, or the wide dismissal of complaints of violence from them. When settlers illegally occupied a downtown area of Hebron, rather than comply by international law, the Israeli government supported the theft by closing the central commercial street to Palestinian access. Palestinian shops were closed and people forced by circumstance from their homes as a result of the illegal settlement.
Several Israeli soldiers crowd around a detained Palestinian man | Flora Alnur
Before the settler left the scene, she aimed a camera against the faces of all people present. While Israeli soldiers remained impassive, a Palestinian man raised his hand to the camera to hide his image. At this moment, soldiers chose to intervene and stop the man, Sami Abo Rumeli, from raising his hand to the settler’s camera. Soldiers detained Sami and demanded his documents, simultaneously allowing the settler woman to leave without consequences to her actions.
International Solidarity Movement (ISM) volunteers and other Palestinians were present and documented the happening with photos and videos. Soldiers unsuccessfully tried to turn them away.
This unequal treatment of the settler who forced her way into a home, and Sami who attempted only to hide his face from her camera, caused a controversial reaction. Many people arrived to observe and document the event, causing several soldiers to group. Some 13 soldiers were surrounding Sami as he was detained. Eventually Sami was handcuffed and taken away. Before being released later that night, he suffered hits and mistreatment in the soldiers’ hands.
Video taken depicts the moment when Sami Abo Rumeli is surrounded by soldiers, to be detained without reason.
Lucy Diamond and Flora Alnur are volunteers with the International Solidarity Movement (names have been changed).
