Tag: Buffer Zone - Page 27 - International Solidarity Movement

Response to the Israeli Cabinet’s Decision to Ease the Siege on Gaza

Bianca Zammit | ISM Gaza

28 June 2010

On June 17th 2010, the Israeli Cabinet decided to take steps to ease the Israeli-imposed siege on Gaza by allowing more items to enter. These items include mayonnaise, ketchup, chocolate, sweets and children’s toys, all of which have been prohibted from entering Gaza for the last 3 years. Some other items which will be allowed to enter will be going to civilian projects under the auspices of international NGOs.

While welcoming this Israeli initiative, the fact remains that many people in Gaza are living below the poverty line and cannot afford to buy these items. 80% of the population in Gaza is dependent on the UNRWA for food staples and basic living amenities. Now in its fourth year, the siege has created a miserable and unsustainable reality for all. The majority of the population albeit educated and skilled is unemployed and is forced to rely on foreign aid in order to get by. Factory workers can no longer operate since the siege halted raw materials from entering Gaza. In addition, Israel has impeded factories from exporting their goods to the outside world. Since the start of the siege 90% of Gaza’s factories are defunct. During Operation Cast Lead, factories were a major target and have remained so to date. In March 2010, Israeli warplanes struck a cheese factory in a deliberate attack, destroying equipment and machinery. Items which enter Gaza are screened for their possible usage in factories. A tahina factory in Gaza requested the entry of plastic containers. In response, Israel declared that it would not allow containers in but instead it would allow tahina made in Israel to enter. To allow Gaza to export products and import raw materials is a critical step in ending the humanitarian crisis brought about by the siege.

The siege has forced 60% of Gaza’ population into unemployment. Besides targeting factory workers, the siege has also direct implications for the traditional farming and fishing industries. Israel has tightened its grip on both sea and land and imposed new policies which fall short of international law and agreements. Live ammunition is used, with deadly consequences, against farmers and fisherpersons working in internationally-recognized Gazan sea and land. The potentially lethal risk faced by these workers has forced many into unemployment. Further injuring the industries, Israel has banned all equipment related to farming and fishing.

The siege has caused more than half of the population into unemployment and dependency on foreign aid. The siege also puts a complete halt to freedom of movement. Every border crossing in Gaza is closed, including the sea and air on which Israel exerts full control. The only Gazans allowed to exit are people requiring treatment in a foreign hospital, students and pilgrims. Even for these people, exit is never guaranteed and often requires days of sleeping at the border and humiliating security checks. The wait can be so long that many people die before they can visit a specialist hospital outside of Gaza. Families spread between Gaza and the West Bank or other counties outside the Occupied Palestinian Territories are not permitted to meet. A new policy enacted in April 2010 seeks to deport to Gaza all Gaza-born Palestinians living in the West Bank. This policy creates further suffering, causing families to become separated. This policy has direct implications for Gazan students studying at West Bank universities, as they can be arrested and brought to Gaza at any time, preventing them from completing their studies.. For the last three years, families who have a member in an Israeli jail have also been denied prison visit permits.

Over time, Israeli will perhaps take further measures to ease the assault on daily life Gaza. However, until Israel permits exports out of Gaza, raw materials to enter, and freedom of movement, no amount of chocolate and mayonnaise can ease the misery the siege is causing.

Bianca Zammit is a Maltese activist with the International Solidarity Movement in Gaza.

Israeli violence continues in Gaza ‘buffer zone’: wheat harvest prevented; three injured by shelling

International Solidarity Movement

20 June 2010

Five female farm-workers returned to the Gaza ‘buffer zone’ early Saturday morning, with the intention of continuing the wheat harvest near Khoza’a village, Khan Yunis. The harvesters were forced to abandon their work after just thirty minutes as snipers attacked the unarmed workers with a barrage of live ammunition. Earlier in the month, the same women harvested for three partial days, but increasingly extreme attacks by Israeli snipers ultimately ended the harvest for fear someone would be intentionally targeted.

On Saturday, the unarmed workers began harvesting at 7am, accompanied by four international activists and several media agencies. The women worked roughly 150-200 meters from the Israeli border. After only thirty minutes, Israeli snipers began shooting around the plainly non-threatening group. Over fifty rounds were fired as international activists communicated the nonviolent nature of the harvest over a megaphone. The attack was more threatening than the opening barrages of previous mornings, putting the workers on edge

After the shooting ended, the group waited in the field until 8:15am, then moved further back to wait for the snipers and jeeps to retreat, like they usually do. At 9:00am, the jeeps were still stationed at the border. The severity of the attack, combined with earlier perilous situations, left the impression that someone would soon be intentionally shot, as is often the case. Consequently, the women were forced to leave the wheat unharvested. A sizeable amount remains in the ‘buffer zone’, highlighting the effect that this particular Israeli policy has on poverty and malnutrition in Gaza.

Women hand-harvesting wheat in the Gaza 'buffer zone'

A primary factor in the decision to abandon the harvest was an attack which occurred Wednesday, June tenth. On that occasion, snipers fired over 50 rounds extremely close to the group, with many bullets landing within a meter of the women’s heads. At such a short distance, any minor deviation would have hit someone.

Concern is expressed among farmers that if land in the ‘buffer zone’ (more than 30% of arable land) is allowed to lie fallow, Israel will seize the wide swath, claiming it is unused. This technique is commonly used in the West Bank, where settlements and the illegal annexation wall prevent farmers from accessing their land or expose them to violence. The land is then claimed because it has not been farmed.

Rubble collectors attacked, injured by artillery shelling near Beit Hanoun

Three rubble collectors were injured Saturday by artillery shelling near the northern city of Beit Hanoun as they collected concrete in the Gaza ‘buffer zone’. This is the second artillery attack in recent weeks. The previous, 27 May, left six farmers seriously injured.

Those venturing to the border regions to gather rubble and steel risk being shot with live ammunition and other weaponry as well as abduction. The Israeli military routinely raids the homes of rubble collectors to make arrests. Persons choosing to assume these risks do so as a result of the siege on Gaza which, along with Israel’s 23 day winter war, has decimated Gaza’s economy. Prior to the brutal assault, 98% of industrial operations were stagnant due to the blockade. The offensive then destroyed or severely damaged some 700 private businesses in just three weeks.¹

The recycled construction materials are vital in Gaza where the Israeli-led, internationally-complicit siege bans all but roughly 35 categories of items from entering. The list of banned construction materials includes cement, steel, glass, and plastic and metal pipes. Over 6,400 houses were destroyed or severely damaged in the Israeli war on Gaza, and nearly 53,000 sustained lesser damages. Hospitals and medical centres, schools, kindergartens and mosques are among the other buildings destroyed and damaged. Since the war, a monthly average of four trucks now reach Gaza with construction materials, less than .05% of the pre-siege levels. ¹

Gaza ‘buffer zone’ background

While unemployment levels hover near 42% in Gaza and 60% of its 1.5 million residents lack food security, ² Israel’s illegal buffer zone greatly exacerbates the humanitarian crisis. 30% of Gaza’s arable farmland, and some of its most fertile, lies within the buffer zone. ³ Farmers who attempt to work in the zone face live fire and crop destruction. The number of crops grown in the zone has consequently been reduced from a diverse range to wheat and other less labor-intensive harvests, which further negatively impacts the nutrition and economic condition of Gazans. An additional 17% of farmland was destroyed in Israel’s war of aggression,¹ making 47% (nearly half) of Gaza’s farmland now marginally usable.

The buffer zone has also reduced Gaza’s fishing zones to 1-3 miles offshore. In the first four months of 2010, 19 naval attacks led to two shootings and three arrests, as well as numerous confiscations of fishing equipment. The narrow fishing zone, in which over 3,600 fishermen work daily, is gravely over-fished. ³

Israel’s decision to instate a 300-meter buffer zone is in violation of Oslo Accords, and people are routinely shot as far as two kilometers from the border. Israeli attacks in the buffer zone injured 50 persons and killed 14 between January and April 2010. In the past twelve months, at least 220 Israeli attacks have been carried out, with 116 coming since the beginning of 2010 (as of April 30th). ³

¹ Oxfam: Failing Gaza: No rebuilding, no recovery, no more excuses
² PCHR Fact Sheet: The Illegal Closure of the Gaza Strip
³ PCHR Fact Sheet: The Buffer Zone in the Gaza Strip

Stop the bullets! A call to end the use of live ammunition against unarmed civilians in the Gaza ‘buffer zone’

International Solidarity Movement

19 June 2010

Snipers fired barrages of live ammunition within meters of these women as the hand-harvested wheat two weeks ago

The catastrophic Israeli attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, which left 9 dead, has rightly horrified the international community. However, lethal force by the Israeli military is nothing new to Palestinians. In the Gaza ‘buffer zone’, live ammunition is routinely used against unarmed demonstrators and farmers.

* The ‘buffer zone’ is illegal

The Israeli military violently enforces a zone of 300 meters to 2 kilometers along Gaza’s lengthy border with Israel, in direct violation of the Oslo Accords of the 1990’s. This zone claims 30% of Gaza’s farmland, and some of its most fertile.

* The Israeli military shoots unarmed farmers

Farmers attempting to cultivate land in the ‘buffer zone’ are routinely met with barrages of live ammunition and occasional artillery shells. Exacerbating widespread poverty and malnutrition, farmers cannot access one third of their land without facing extreme danger.

* Farmers have launched a campaign of popular non-violent resistance

Unarmed demonstrations are held in the ‘buffer zone’, internationally recognized as Gazan land, to protest the illegal confiscation of farmland which has such grave consequences for Gaza’s struggling population.

* Live ammunition is used as a form of ‘crowd dispersal’ against unarmed demonstrators, with deadly consequences

Unarmed demonstrators in the ‘buffer zone’ are intentionally shot with live fire. In April 2010 alone, at least six demonstrators were injured by bullets. This includes Maltese activist Bianca Zammit who was shot in the thigh while filming the demonstration in clear view of soldiers. The following week, 19-year-old Ahmad Dib was shot at a demonstration and bled to death two hours later.

* The international community cannot remain silent

Human rights activists are prevented from entering Gaza; prevented from documenting and reporting on the humanitarian crisis. Israel uses live ammunition against unarmed demonstrators and farmers because it is shielded from international scrutiny. Tell Israel to stop shooting unarmed civilians on Gazan land.

TAKE ACTION:

1. Contact your representatives to demand that Israel be held accountable for violence against unarmed activists and end the siege on Gaza

Call or email your representative to Israel, http://www.embassiesabroad.com/embassies-in/Israel

Write your own or use the provided letter at the end of the article

2. Support the call from Palestinian Civil Society for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel

After the recent attack on International activists aboard boats of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, the Boycott National Committees have called for an intensification of BDS campaigns and actions around the world (http://www.bdsmovement.net/?q=node/710). While the raid is no longer in the news, Israeli armed forces are still targeting Gazan non-violent activists. Every week near the ‘buffer zone’, demonstrators and farmers are shot at with live ammunition. The violence against these activists, just as the violence against the Freedom Flotilla, cannot be ignored.

3. Target local shops that sell Israeli products, http://www.bdsmovement.net/?q=node/4

Supermarkets, clothing stores and consumer goods from Israel can be the focus of a BDS campaign. Find a campaign in your area or launch one today!

Ongoing campaigns: http://bdsmovement.net/?q=node/54

Activist resources: http://bdsmovement.net/?q=node/49

Sample Letter to your representative:

Dear Ambassador,

If unarmed farmers and protesters were being shot with live ammunition in the United States, Europe or any country which claimed democratic credentials, the international community would be justifiably outraged. Yet Gazans attempting to farm or demonstrate in the illegal ‘buffer zone’ are routinely shot with live ammunition. In the past twelve months, at least 220 Israeli attacks have been carried out in the ‘buffer zone’, with 116 coming since the beginning of 2010 (as of April 30th).* In the first four months of 2010, over 50 Gazans were injured, and 16 were killed in these attacks.

30% of Gaza’s arable farmland, and some of it’s most fertile, lies within the ‘buffer zone’.* Farmers who attempt to work in the zone face routine live fire and crop destruction, in addition to occasional artillery shells. Israel shoots farmers trying to grow crops on Gazan land for an impoverished and malnourished society.

Unarmed demonstrations in the zone, internationally-recognized Gazan territory, are organized by Gazan farmers. In April alone, at least six demonstrators were shot and injured by live ammunition fired by Israeli snipers. Among the injured was Maltese activist Bianca Zammit, who was shot in the thigh while standing in clear view, filming the demonstration. The following week, 19-year-old Ahmad Dib was shot in the leg and died two hours later from blood loss.

For the Palestinians who escape only with gunshot injuries, the impact extends far beyond initial pain. Daily cleaning of the wound is required, metal plates replace shattered bones, and permanent disabilities are frequent. Such injuries are devastating, as the wounded are frequently the only wage-earner in a large extended family.

The attack on the Freedom Flotilla brought international criticism of Israel’s ongoing human rights violations, but criticism alone is not enough. It is clear that the international community cannot remain silent as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is perpetuated through policies such as this. The use of live ammunition in the ‘buffer zone’ must end.

Sincerely,

(Your Name)

For more information, see:

BDS Movement, http://www.bdsmovement.net/

International Solidarity Movement, https://palsolidarity.org/

Fishing Under Fire, http://www.fishingunderfire.blogspot.com/

Farming Under Fire, http://farmingunderfire.blogspot.com/

Wheat harvest met with live ammunition in Gaza “buffer zone”

International Solidarity Movement

13 June 2010

Israeli forces attacked women farmworkers and international human rights activists with heavy gunfire during three days’ wheat harvest in the southern Gaza Strip. The Israel-imposed “buffer zone” illegally claims over 30% of Gaza’s arable farmland. In Khoza’a village, east of Khan Yunis, substantial wheat remains unharvested despite severe poverty and food shortages, as a result of the attacks.

Tuesday, the first day of harvest, did not take place inside the 300m “buffer zone”. However, snipers approached the harvest in Israeli military Jeeps on two occasions, shooting live ammunition around five
women who were crouching to hand-collect the wheat with four International Solidarity Movement (ISM) activists. The women laid down in the wheat during the attack but did not leave, and harvest continued after the Jeeps had left. Activists communicated the non-threatening nature of the work to soldiers with a megaphone.

A more severe attack was levied Wednesday, as the harvest continued within 300 meters of the fence. 5 ISM activists and 2 journalists were present as Israeli military Jeeps approached at 7 a.m. and fired
several rounds, similar to the previous day. At 8:30, the Jeeps parked on a small hill near the fence. Snipers stood atop the Jeep closest to the workers, with a clear view of the obviously non-threatening hand-
harvest. Israeli snipers then rained over 50 rounds on the women, activists and journalists, causing the women to crawl along the ground and shriek with fear. Rounds of live bullets hit within a meter of
people’s heads, meaning any deviation would almost certainly hit someone. The harvest finished at 10 a.m.

Thursday, the final day of harvest, was cut short by two gunfire attacks at 8:00 and 8:30 a.m. Roughly 20 rounds were fired very close to the farmers and 3 ISM activists present. The women were evidently
more fearful of attack, and those present agreed that a third attack was imminent and would target them. This proved a correct assumption as, soon after finishing at 8:45, 4 jeeps arrived and remained at the
fence. The wheat will likely remain unharvested.

“We were shot at repeatedly with live ammunition; the deafening fizz and crack of the bullets flying past our ears”, states ISM activist Adie Mormech. “The women courageously returned after each attack. On
the last day, after snipers had already come twice and fired many rounds quite close, it was clear that someone would be intentionally hit if we stayed. Consequently, the wheat will not be harvested. It is
infuriating that this violence continues against what is clearly a peaceful endeavor to farm the third of Gaza’s arable land which is patrolled by the Israeli military.”

While unemployment levels hover near 42% in Gaza and 60% of its 1.5 million residents lack food security,¹ Israel’s illegal buffer zone greatly exacerbates the humanitarian crisis. 30% of Gaza’s arable farmland, and some of its most fertile, lies within the buffer zone.² Farmers who attempt to work in the zone face live fire and crop destruction. The number of crops grown in the zone has consequently been reduced from a diverse range to wheat and other less labor-intensive harvests, which further negatively impacts the nutrition and economic condition of Gazans. An additional 17% of farmland was destroyed in Israel’s war of aggression,³ making 47% (nearly half) of Gaza’s farmland now marginally usable.

¹ PCHR Fact Sheet: The Illegal Closure of the Gaza Strip
² PCHR Fact Sheet: The Buffer Zone in the Gaza Strip
³ Oxfam: Failing Gaza: No rebuilding, no recovery, no more excuses

Israel shells Gazan farmers, injuring six

International Solidarity Movement

28 May 2010

Baraka Al Mugrabi was hit with shrapel, shattering his lower arm and causing a spinal injury

Yesterday, Thursday the 27 May ’10, three people were wounded in the Zeytoun neighborhood of Gaza City which was bombed by the Israeli Apache helicopters and six farmers from the same area were wounded by the tank artillery fire while farming near the border.

This morning (Friday 28th), two ISM activists visited two of the wounded farmers in the Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
Baraka Mihammad AL Mugrabi, age 53 and Musa Ashad Badawi, age 28 are neighbors, and went to farm yesterday at 6 a.m. Because they have small plots of land they were quite near each other and a part of a larger group of about 30 people.

Baraka has 5 dunums of land and Musa 12, and they grow olives, apricots and other fruits as well as vegetables and some wheat.

Both of them are farmers with no other source of income and large numbers of people depend on their farming income. In Musa’s case, this includes over 20 members of his family including his parents and younger siblings.

Baraka supports a large family of 10 children, his parents and several older relatives.

Soon after they started farming, earth-to earth missiles fired at them from 10 Israeli tanks. “There were helicopters, drones, many army jeeps, 10 tanks and 10 bulldozers which later entered our land to level the mounds their artillery shells created”, said Baraka. “The firing was both heavy and sudden. About 25 artillery shells hit the area where we were and without any prior warning”.

According to Musa, farmers are shot at almost daily but this was the first time they fired from the tanks.
Artillery shrapnel hit Baraka’s lower arm, shattering the bone in several places and caused nerve damage. He also suffered a spinal injury in a fall following the wounding.

Musa Badawi's thigh bone was fractured, leaving a several-centimeter gap between bone fragments

Musa’s thigh bone was broken, and the x-ray shows a large fracture with two parts of the bone several centimeters away from each other.

Both Baraka and Musa were in lots of pain following surgeries they had undergone yesterday and they were told that they would both have to spend at least six weeks in the hospital to ensure recovery.

Musa had no feeling in his leg and Baraka was worried that the nerve damage would leave him permanently without use of his arm.

Both will have to return to the place where they suffered shock and so much pain.

They have no choice; they are farmers and they have no other options. What preoccupies both of them already is the time they will be unable to work because of their injuries, and they are unsure how their families will manage financially.
Musa was told that his recovery will take a whole year and Baraka’ at least six months.

Gaza Buffer Zone Background

¹ PCHR Fact Sheet: The Illegal Closure of the Gaza Strip

² PCHR Fact Sheet: The Buffer Zone in the Gaza Strip

³ Failing Gaza: No rebuilding, no recovery, no more excuses