Tag: Arrests

Burin Youth Center targeted once again: 10 youth arrested in 200 soldier raid

by Lydia

21 April 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

In a quick and clean opperation, the Israeli Occupation Military managed to arrest 10 young men in two hours, forever altering  the next few months or even  the next years of their life in one swift swoop.

At 2 AM on 18 April, around 200 soldiers entered the village of Burin, south of Nablus and dispersed into teams of 20-30. Soldiers then proceeded to enter the homes of ten families and took away who they wanted. There were unusually no house raids, no extreme “video game styled” soldiers, just quick and to the point.

All but one of the youth arrested can be seen in this gallery:

The mother of Mohammad Sohier Najjar, who is 19 and part of the latest batch of arrests, described how her son was taken. “They [the soldiers] came at 2:30 AM. Mohammad was sleeping outside due to the weather. My husband was already awake and met them on the stairs to the house. They asked if Mohammad was the boy on the floor. He replied, yes. Mohammad was told to change his clothes and that was it. They took him from us.”

Mohammad is 19 and was due to start his exams the day he was arrested with the intention of applying to An Najjah university to study to be a physical education teacher.

Five of the ten arrested were due to start their exams that day, but instead, they will have to bare what is thrown at them by the Israeli military system. If lucky they will be able to re-take the last year of school again when they are released. Mohammad is now the third boy in the family to have been arrested.

Seven of the ten youth arrested were members of the Burin Community Center, named in honour of the martyr Bilal Najjar. Being members of this center comes with an awful chance of not only arrest by Israelis, but that at least a year of imprisonment is very possible. In 2010 25 members of the center were systematically arrested. Up to this month of April 2012 14 members of the Center have been arrested, and nine remain in Israeli jails until now.

Lydia is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).

 

Increasing Israeli army harassment and violence against activists in Hebron

by Paige

16 April 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

In the past weeks the Israeli army has increased harassment against both Palestinian and ISM activists in Hebron (Al Khalil), a deliberate targeting  of those who oppose Israeli occupation and colonization.   This targeting includes the arrest of six international activists, including five ISM volunteers, and four arrests of Palestinian activists, all within a two week period.  The Israeli army also raided a community event in Tel a Rumeida, detained Youth Against Settlements activist Issa Amro directly after his release from jail, and tied another Youth Against Settlements (YAS) activists to a fence.

On April 1st a Dutch activist and two Palestinians, including prominent YAS activist Issa Amro, were violently arrested during an attempt to reclaim a house belonging to the Hebron municipality.  Palestinians and internationals were dragged, kicked and hit, while another YAS activist was beaten unconscious. Amro and the Dutch activist were held for several days.

On April 8th the Israeli army attacked international activists documenting restrictions of freedom of movement and violence against Palestinians in what is supposed to be P.A. controlled Hebron, arresting one Palestinian American activist.  The next day  two international activists were arrested while simply walking through the old city of Hebron. They were interrogated about the events of April 8th and the names of internationals present on that day, then finally released after signing draconian conditions in Hebrew.

Two days later the army violently attacked Palestinian and International delegates of the Bilin conference, arresting 8 Palestinians and 4 internationals.  Two Italians arrested during the conference now face illegal deportation.  The following day the Israeli army detained Issa Amro immediately following his release from jail and then invaded a community health event in Tel Rumeida organized by the Hebron Defense Committee and the Red Crescent, detaining a Red Crescent volunteer.

About an hour later a YAS activist walking in Tel Rumeida was stopped by soldiers, who tied both of his hands to a fence, for over 20 minutes.  After he was cut free, soldiers attempted to illegally arrest him and take him inside Tel Rumeida settlement.  A Canadian activist who intervened was shoved several times by soldiers, though they stopped there illegal arrest of the Palestinian man.  Eventually the police came and ordered the soldiers to release the man.

The escalation of violence and harassment against activists, international and Palestinian alike, will not deter us.  We will never be silent.

Paige is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).

Israeli Border Police violently attack Palestinians and Intl’s in Hebron

by Abir Kopty

11 April 2012 | Popular Struggle Coordination Committee

For more photos click here

Twelve were detained and Three were injured after Israeli forces attacked participants of the Bili’n Conference on the Popular Struggle who toured Hebron.

Israeli Border Police officers attacked a group of Palestinians and Internationals who participated in the 7th International Bil’in Conference on the Palestinian Popular Struggle this afternoon. The incident took place during a tour of the Old City of Hebron. Eight Palestinians and four internationals were arrested and at least three people were injured by the blows they suffered at the hands of police. One Italian woman suffered an injury to her shoulder that required hospitalization.

About 200 Palestinians and Internationals attended the second day of the Bil’in Conference, which today took place at the old city of Hebron. After lunch, which was held at a school off of Shuhada Street, participants began to gather at the entrance of the Old City to begin a tour of the area. Settlers who passed by in their cars noticed the gathering and aggressively honked their horns at the group, but continued without incident. Two minutes later, Israeli Border Police officers arrived in the area and arbitrarily detained a three of the Palestinians. A second group of settlers then arrived at the scene in large numbers and began inciting the police against the conference participants, calling on the police officers to “eliminate” the them. the Border Police officers, now joined by regular police, then began pushing and beating the conference participants – men and women alike.

During the attack, the officers arrested eight Palestinians and four internationals. While most were released without charge shortly after, two Palestinians and two internationals are still held at the Hebron police station. Among those still held are two Italians and Issa Amro, a well known grassroots activist from Hebron, who was clearly arrested for who he is rather than anything he’s done. Amro has only recently spent nearly a week in detention after the army evicted Palestinians from a house in the city. The eviction took place despite the fact that the activists had legal claim to the house, which eventually forced the authorities to release Amro unconditionally.

Passover violence in Occupied Al Khalil

by Paige

10 April 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

The Israeli army enforced a system of extensive closures, detentions, and violence against Palestinians and internationals activists during the Jewish holiday of Passover in Al Khalil (Hebron).

The army closed off the busy Beersheba road to allow Jewish settlers to visit the tomb of Othniel Ben Knaz inside of Palestinian controlled Hebron. Under the Hebron Protocol the city is divided into two parts; H1 is under complete Israeli military control and H2 is under the control of the Palestinian Authority, although the Israeli army frequently violates the protocol by entering P.A. controlled Hebron.

The closure of the street involved forcing Palestinians to close shops, restricting Palestinians from passing through the main checkpoint into H1, and blocking off the road with military jeeps, soldiers and an attack dog. Palestinians trying to access their road and return to their homes were met with violence by the Israeli army, who shoved and pushed several people. International activists who tried to intervene during the assault of a Palestinian by Israeli soldiers were violently kicked, hit and dragged by the army. An Italian, Canadian and a Dutch woman were slightly injured and a Palestinian-American activist was violently arrested by Israeli soldiers, who choked her and smashed her head into the army jeep during the arrest. She was released after several hours.

The army also imposed severe restrictions of Palestinian freedom of movement all throughout H2 , detaining, and body searching dozens of Palestinians at checkpoints in the area. Two men were detained until 1:45 am at Checkpoints 55 and 56 near Beit Haddasah settlement. Both were held for three hours. The house of the Sharabati family near checkpoint 55 on Shuhada street was raided by Israeli soldiers just past 10 PM. The soldiers forced the family to remove the CCTV cameras on their windows supplied by Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem to record settler violence and army violations.

Paige is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).

Kufr Qaddoum: “You took our fathers so today we lead the demonstration”

by Jennifer

8 April 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

On Friday the 6th of April, in celebration of the Day of the Child, the weekly demonstration was held in the village Kufr Qaddoum outside of Nablus. This demonstration was particularly charged as the previous night the IOF (Israeli Occupying Forces) had violently raided houses in the village and arrested 20 men, leaving dozens of children fatherless. So this Friday the children of the village lead the demonstration, sending out a message that the resistance will live on as long as the Israelis keeps on stealing land and oppressing the Palestinian people.

Villagers gathered outside the meeting house on Friday morning accompanied by the International Solidarity Movement, where a children’s party had been arranged to mark the occasion. Twenty five children enjoyed face painting, horns and balloons in the sunshine and prepared to open the demonstration, demanding the return of their fathers and brothers.

Signs reading “You took our fathers so today we lead the demonstration” and “Return our fathers” were held by the group of children following the Muslim noon prayers with adults close behind. The protest followed the familiar route towards the road block Israel said it would remove almost a year ago. As they approached the road block they were met by the usual sight of soldiers, jeeps, a tractor and the “skunk water” truck, and this day the IOF had also invaded one of the houses on the outer part of the village where they stationed approximately 5 soldiers on the roof.

After a time of chanting, the children returned back to the village and the adults took over. The demonstration soon turned violent as the soldiers sprayed the crowd with the foul smelling “skunk water” and shot tear gas at Palestinian youth who threw stones as a symbolic resistance to the oppressive occupation.

The demonstration became calm after approximately one and a half hours and the soldiers withdrew, followed by the crowd of demonstrators. Together, villagers and internationals walked close to the nearby illegal Zionist settlement, singing and chanting reminding the watching settlers of the great injustice they have cast upon the village of Kufr Qaddoum.

Jennifer is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).