March 13, 2019 | International Solidarity Movement, Al-Khalil team | Al-Khalil (Hebron), occupied Palestine
Israeli soldiers shot and killed a Palestinian in Al-Khalil (Hebron) on Tuesday while attempting to distribute legal court documents. The Palestinian man was identified as 36-year-old Yasser Fawzi Shweiki.
After the shooting, Shweiki’s body was dragged into the Rajabi House. The army further prevented Palestinian Red Crescent Society’s medics from entering the scene to treat Shweiki.
Human rights workers were attacked by Israeli Police and arrested immediately after arriving on the scene.
The shooting occurred outside the Rajabi House (also called Beit HaMeriva or House of Contention by Israeli press; the Peace House, Beit HaShalom, or בית השלום by Israeli settlers)–which was first occupied by illegal settlers in 2007.
In December 2008, the illegal settlers were forcibly removed from the Rajabi house following a Supreme Court order finding that the settlers submitted “large-scale forgeries of many documents” to the courts. In response to the ruling, Baruch Marzel (ברוך מרזל) (former spokesman for the terrorist organization Jewish Defense League and resident of Hebron) told Ynet “We must go to war.”
Settler violence followed, setting fire to Palestinian fields, olive groves, homes, shops, and cars. At least 2 Palestinians were shot by settlers, including Hosni Abu Saither–shot in the chest at point-blank range on December 4th, 2008. B’Tselem published a video of the shooting:
Israel claims that Shweiki had a knife when he was shot on Tuesday.
Ofer Yohana (עופר אוחנה)–the infamously violent settler that was caught on video in 2016 kicking a knife towards the body of Abdel Fattah al-Sharif after he was shot by Israeli soldier Elor Azaria (אלאור אזריה)–was on the scene of Shweiki’s shooting on Tuesday; he can be seen attempting to stop the filming of the human rights workers’s camera in the first video above.
Today’s United Nations Security Council resolution reaffirms international consensus that Israel’s settlements are illegal and harm Palestinian human rights. The resolution seeks the wellbeing of all people in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. It is not an “anti-Israeli” resolution, but a balanced one, which rejects the occupation – not Israel. Hopefully, further international measures will follow – for a better future for Israelis and Palestinians, and against the occupation.
6 December 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank
Mohammad Awad is a 16 year old Palestinian boy, he is in an Israeli jail and he is gravely ill – his family believe that he is not receiving the right treatment and that he may be dying.
As they sit in their house in Beit Ummar, a village near Bethlehem, Mohammad’s parents Ali and Amina, grow visibly angry and distressed as they recount their son’s treatment.
Documents showing the fines that the Awad family must pay to secure the release of their sons Mohammad (left, 3000 shekels) and Ahmad (right, 1000 shekels).
“He has fever, he sweats very much, he can’t sleep on the bed – he has to sleep on the ground to get some cold – he overheats and he cant move at all” says Ali. Despite the fact that he is barely eating, Mohammad’s weight has ballooned from 58kg to 92kg since he has been in prison.
Mohammad suffers from Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF), an inherited condition characterized by recurrent episodes of painful inflammation in the abdomen, chest, or joints. These episodes are often accompanied by fever and sometimes a rash. Without treatment to help prevent attacks and complications, a buildup of protein deposits (amyloidosis) in the body’s organs and tissues may occur, which can lead to kidney failure or congestive heart failure.
Amina and Ali Awad – parents of Mohammad – at their home in Beit Ummar.
Ali says that Mohammad was first arrested in February 2011 after he attended a peaceful protest in Beit Ummar. He was severely beaten by Israeli soldiers during his detention and was subjected to extreme cold. Amina says, “They beat him so badly, and he was shouting and screaming and crying ‘Please stop you’re hurting me’ but they said ‘no’. I believe that is the cause of his current condition – he had the fever [FMF] in the past but it was not serious as the thing he has now.”
Ali added that, ” When he told the solider that he had hurt him in the waist they beat him again and again on purpose in his liver and they caused internal bleeding.” The bleeding in his liver was so severe that Mohammad required a blood transfusion. He was released from prison in June, only to be arrested 14 days later and sentenced to six months imprisonment for attending a demonstration in the village and throwing one stone.
Mohammad is currently being held in Ofer Prison but the family has learned that he has been repeatedly sent to hospital at Ramle or Hadassah during the past two months and then returned to prison.
In the immediate family, only Mohammad’s sister Rahaf, 7, has been allowed to visit him. She first alerted the family that Mohammad’s condition had deteriorated when she visited him in prison with a cousin – she returned saying that her brother was swollen and dreadfully ill.
On 2 November 2011, Mohammad had a court hearing which his mother attended – but Mohammad was not in the court. “We didn’t get information why he wasn’t there,” said Ali, “but the manager of the prison himself came to the judge – we knew this from the lawyer – and told the judge that [the prison] can’t be responsible if anything happens to Mohammad, [since] he’s now in hospital, in very bad condition, and we recommend that we release him.” The judge also recommended that he be released, but he needed approval from the Israeli intelligence – and they refused.”
According to Ali, “The manager of the prison himself called [him].”
“He told me, ‘your son is in a very bad condition and we can’t do anything for him so I will try to release him to be treated on the Palestinian side.’ So I’m afraid that my son is dying.”
Amina last saw her son in court on 28 November 2011. “He was very bloated and swollen all over his face and body, and it was not normal at all.”
Mohammad’s parents believe that the prison authorities have been giving Mohammad the wrong treatment that may be harming him even further. “When he was released for the first time, he smuggled some drugs out that he was being given [in prison]” says Ali, showing ISM the Allopurinol tablets given to Mohammad. “We asked a doctor what these was for, and he said these pills were for another disease, not for Muhammad’s condition. The doctor told him that it is vey dangerous to take this drug, and we’re sure now that they are giving him the same drug.”
The family has asked the prison authorities for Mohammad’s medical reports but they have refused to produce them. There is no cure for his condition but when he was out of prison Mohammad was taking Colchicine and antibiotics to manage his symptoms. Yet his rapidly deteriorating health and the statements from the prison manager suggest he is not receiving the correct medical attention.
The Israeli team of Physicians for Human Rights has attempted to visit Mohammad in prison but has so far been denied access by prison authorities. The Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem picked up some medicine for Mohammad but was also denied access to the prison by the Israeli authorities. The family claims that they have not been able to give him any supplies at all whilst in prison.
Mohammad is due to be released on 22 January 2012 – however, the family must pay 3000 shekels as a fine to secure his release. If they are unable to do so, he will serve a further three months in jail. His parents believe that his life is in danger and if he spends much more time in jail, without receiving correct treatment, the likelihood is that he will die. Mohammad’s brother Ahmad is due to be released from prison in three months but the family must find a 1000 shekel fine to secure his release, otherwise he will serve an extra month in jail. Ahmad also suffers from Familial Mediterranean Fever but his health is much better than Mohammad’s. If they do manage to pay the fines, the Palestinian Ministry of Prisoners usually pay it back – but Ali says this only happens around three years later.
As Ali shows us the documents from the military detailing the fines, he says that he doesn’t have the money and has no way to raise it as he is currently unemployed. “We are suffering from a very bad economic situation” he said. “I cant work inside settlements or inside the green line and most of the work is there. Also I am ill – I have asthma and I have heart problems now and can’t work.”
The targeting of the family
Mohammad’s parents have not been allowed to visit him in prison and they have difficulty getting information. Two of Mohammad’s brothers, Saddam, 21, and Ahmad, 19, are also in prison. Mohammad’s younger brother Hamza, 15, is not allowed to visit. When he was 14, he visited Mohammad during his first sentence, yet Israeli authorities detained and interrogated him for three days and then banned him from visiting in the future.
Now that all of his brothers are in jail, Hamza is terrified that he will soon be arrested. At night he paces around the house, looking out the windows for the Israeli military. “I am very depressed,” said Hamza, “I don’t have any hope that I will stay here at home, the Israeli army can come here at any time and detain me and take me to jail.”
The military has arrived in the night to arrest members of the family before – Ali has been detained eighteen times, although he claims that he has only resisted the occupation nonviolently by attending peaceful protests. “The detention of our children caused a medical condition for my wife,” said Ali – “She takes drugs for her nerves as she’s always worried and the doctor told her this is very serious. She’s on medication for anxiety and depression.”
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child defines a “child” as “every human being below the age of eighteen years.” According to Israeli military order 132, Palestinian children aged 16 and older are tried and sentenced by Israeli military courts as adults. By comparison, juvenile legislation defines Israeli children as age 18 or younger. A Palestinian child’s sentence is decided on the basis of the child’s age at the time of sentencing, not when the alleged offence was committed.
According to Addameer, a prisoner support and human rights organisation, there were approximately 176 Palestinian children (under the age of 18) detained in Israeli prisons, as of September 2011 and around 700 Palestinian children from the occupied West Bank are prosecuted every year through Israeli military courts. Since 2000, more than 6,500 Palestinian children have been detained. The most common charge brought against children is for throwing stones – an offence which can incur a 20 year prison sentence.
Addameer reports that “the majority of children report being subjected to ill-treatment and having forced confessions extracted from them during interrogations. Forms of ill-treatment used by the Israeli soldiers during a child’s arrest and interrogation usually include slapping, beating, kicking and violent pushing. Palestinian children are also routinely verbally abused.”
With three of their four sons in prison, it seems that the family has been singled out and targeted by the Israeli authorities.
“All Palestinians are targeted, not just my family” said Ali. “But from the first Intifada I have been a member of a legal movement – I’m not doing anything illegal, I’m just demanding my people’s rights. I don’t do anything to hurt anyone, I just demonstrate.”
Amina says that she believes that the Israelis are doing this as “revenge.” “My sons are innocent and they don’t do anything bad.” Ali added that he believes it to be “revenge against all Palestinians, but we are a special case as I was detained [so often] in the past. Also I have land near Karmei Tzur [an illegal Israeli settlement] and they are trying to take this land. They have made me many offers to buy the land and I refused so they hate me. I told them go to hell this is my land I will stay here, and I will die here.” Ali also shows us the protruding bone in his hand which was broken by the Israeli military a few months ago after he was detained during a peaceful protest in Beit Ummar.
Ali is trying to stay hopeful but he admits that it is difficult. “My son is only 16 years old, he is very ill, he needs medical treatment but they don’t care. My son is ill, I have a problem with my heart, my wife has a problem with her nerves, but I thank God that we are still alive.”
Alistair George is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).
23 November 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank
Dkaika Bedouins face expulsion - Click here for more images
The entire Bedouin village of Dkaika encounters demolitions, and all the villagers face expulsion. Every single construction of Dkaika has a demolition order totally over 75 demolition orders including a mosque, a school, a graveyard, water cisterns, housing tents, and folds for sheep.
This Thursday, on the 24th of November, the Israeli Supreme court will decide if it will accept the interim injunction submitted by villagers in collaboration with Rabbis for Human Rights.
The village of Dkaika has a history of receiving demolition orders as early as 1998, and since then they have been facing demolitions. The latest demolition orders arrived the 1st November 2011. The village received 36 demolition orders covering 46 structures. This January, 17 structures were demolished in Dkaika including a part of the school and family houses, which left families sleeping outdoors in the winter time and school children studying under the open sky.
The Israeli Civil Administration plans to expel the Bedouins in Dkaika to a village 6 kilometers north of Dkeika called Hameeda. The Civil Adminstration reasons that in Hameeda members from the same Bedouin tribe called Ka’bne reside there and thus the expulsion is justified. Rabbis for Human Rights consider the planned expulsion to be a violation of international law. Yet the issue is complicated since none of the Bedouins of Dkaika have land in that village, and the tribe system of the Bedouins makes it impossible for the Bedouins to move to other Bedouins’ land.
In reaction to the demolitions, the head of Dkaika community, Mukhtar Yussif Nadjada said, “If they come and demolish our houses we will start rebuilding the same day. We have lived on this land before the creation of Israel and we will die on this land.”
The ICA (Israeli Civil Administration) usually puts pressure and building restrictions on villages in area C by using area zone planning. They draw a circle fitting the needs of the Occupation and name it the buildup area. This causes a lot of problems for villagers because it restricts their possibilities of building on their land, and normally it supports the expansion of settlements and is of no infrastructural use for Palestinians. In the case of Dkaika, ICA is not even willing to create an area zone planning. ICA claims that the Bedouin village has no self sustainability, and for this reasons they will expel all citizens of Dkaika to Hameeda.
Mukhtar Yussif Nadjada, the head of Dkaika, said, “The planning of the Occupation ONLY suits the building of the soldiers and settlers who expand. We live near the separation wall, and that’s why they want to expel us.”
The expulsion of Bedouins in the South Hebron Hills are similar to the plans of expulsion of Bedouins in all area C in the West Bank and of the Bedouins living in the Negreb dessert, according to B’Tselem.
Aida Gerard is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).
11 November 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank
A 55 year old Palestinian man was taken to hospital from Nabi Saleh due to an injury from a rubber coated steel bullet. After two hours of demonstrating the Israeli Occupation Forces invaded Nabi Saleh and arrested one Palestinian, 36 year old Bilal Tamimi, who works for B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights organization.
Nabi Saleh tends to its injured – Click here for more images
The demonstration in Nabi Saleh began with the commemoration of Yassir Arafats death seven years ago. A big poster with Arafat was carried in the front of the demonstration and the chanting honored the former leader of Palestine. When the demonstrators reached the outskirts of the village they were met by a truck shooting skunk water while the Israeli Occupation forces shot gas directly at the demonstrators.
After half an hour the Occupation Forces withdrew to the entrance of the village, where they closed the entrance gate with the intention of making the demonstrators reach the open field in front of the military. The demonstrators decided to change direction instead of letting the Occupation Forces decide where the villagers should demonstrate. They went to the direction of the water spring near the illegal Halamish (Neve Zuf) settlement.The Occupation Forces met the demonstrators with a significant amount of gas and rubber coated steel bullets. One man from Nabi Saleh was shot at directly from a distance of 30 meters in his face with a rubber coated steel bullet and was carried to the village. While he was being carried to the village the Occupation Forces came towards the injured and the young boys who carried him, fleeing as the women and internationals carried the injured man to the village. The 55 year old man was taken to the hospital and got three stitches over the right eye and a broken nose. Several young boys were injured at the same time with rubber coated steel bullets and by teargas canisters.
Afterwards the Occupation Forces invaded Nabi Saleh and arrested Bilal Tamimi, a 55 old Palestinian who works for B’Tselem. They arrested him while he was documenting the crimes of the Occupation Forces in his village. An Israeli Btselem worker who also participated in the demonstration said that B’Tselem assumed that Bilal was taken to the nearby military camp in the illegal Halamish (Neve Zuf) settlement, located opposite of Nabi Saleh. He was released later in the evening.
The Occupation Forces occupied two houses in Nabi Saleh and placed the skunk water truck and three jeeps at the crossroad in the village, leaving the demonstrators hiding for a couple of hours in order to avoid arrest and getting their houses sprayed with the skunk water. Several times the military tried making surprise attacks to arrest demonstrators but they did not succeed. The demonstration ended at sunset, greeting the military jeeps with a rain of stones when they finally left the village.
Aida Gerard is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement (name changed).
