21st September 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Al-Khalil Team | Hebron, Occupied Palestine
Monday the 21st of August three boys were arrested in the Tel Rumeida area of Hebron, occupied Palestine. The boys were arrested at 8:45 pm and taken to the military base in Tel Rumeida.
Two of the boys were arrested after allegedly having a fight with ‘Jewish boys’. The two boys – Awne Abu Shamsiyye, 17, and Tarek Salhab, 17 – where both dragged up a hill by soldiers, the first handcuffed, the latter one with his arms twisted behind his back by a soldier. The three boys from the illegal settlement in Tel Rumeida however, did not even get stopped or questioned by the soldiers.Instead, they stood watching the arrest and harrassing the boy’s families and Palestinian families living in the neighbourhood.
Boy blindfolded and handcuffed by Israeli army.
Nizar Salhab, only 16 years old, was accused of hitting a soldier, and thus handcuffed and blindfolded by soldiers in front of Gilbert checkpoint. He was forced to wait standing on the sidewalk unable to see anything for almost an hour. His family and friends then helped him remove the blindfold, only a few minutes before the army took him to the military base in a jeep.
One of the boys being dragged up the hill by a soldier.
Even though soldiers claimed to have video-evidence for all the accusations, Awne was released after about two hours in the military base. The two other boys instead were taken to the police station and only released after about 5 hours.
Random arrests of Palestinian chlidren is a common occurence in al-Khalil (Hebron). Palestinian families constantly have to live with the fear of their children being arrested or kidnapped and disappeared, with soldiers not informing families of these kind of events. The three boys yesterday, fortunately, were released – but still this only happens rarely and still, they were detained for a long time without any evidence or valid reason.
18th September 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Al-Khalil Team | Hebron, Occupied Palestine
Tonight in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron), Israeli forces arrested a 10-year old Palestinian boy twice. Both times he was taken to the military base.
Israeli soldiers arresting Marwan Photo credit: Youth against Settlement
Marwan Sharabati was playing outside his house, riding a bicycle in the street, in the vicinity of a military checkpoint cordoning off part of segregated Shuhada Street for Palestinians. Settlers from the nearby illegal settlements, who are allowed to freely walk down this street, came towards him, stole the bicycle from him and left with it. Whereas Israeli soldiers at the nearby checkpoint did nothing to prevent this or even interfere, they did arrest 10-year old Marwan, telling his family they were just taking him ‘to bring his bicycle back’. When soldiers forced him to walk down the street towards the military base he was clearly scared and crying.
Marwan taken by Israeli soldiers Photo credit: Youth against Settlement
The boy was released from the military base after half an hour and was walked back to the checkpoint by Israeli soldiers. A group of settlers watched the events unfold. Upon Marwan being received by a friend of the family, infamous settler Anat Cohen, charged at an international volunteer attacking her, while soldiers were standing by idly. On Anat Cohen’s request 10-year old Marwan was again arrested by the Israeli army only a few minutes after being released. A Palestinian man, who was with him at that moment insisted to stay at Marwan’s side as he is just a small boy. Israeli soldiers coerced both of them to walk down the street to the military base and barely stopped settlers from attacking the man and boy along the way. Both of them were blindfolded and made to sit on the ground in the military base, with soldiers verbally insulting them. All requests of informing the parents and allowing the boy to talk to his father were bluntly refused by Israeli soldiers.
Anat Cohen attacking international Photo credit: Youth against Settlement
The family and friends were, in the meantime, forced to desert the street and go into the house by Israeli soldiers on orders of Anat Cohen. After repeated complaints of her, soldiers entered the house thus funnelling everyone into one room and preventing them from leaving. Only after Anat Cohen left the Palestinians were allowed to leave the house again. This again illustrates the power settlers exercise over the Israeli army, following their orders and whishes.
Israeli soldiers coercing Palestinians off the street Photo credit: Youth against Settlement
After more than an hour of being held in the military base, both the boy and the man accompanying him were finally released but had to climb onto the roof of the house to get back inside as settlers were still at the checkpoint close to the house. Even under Israeli law, it is illegal to arrest children under the age of eleven. Still, this is just one out of many cases of child arrests and violations of basic laws that are part of Palestinians’ every day lives.
31st July 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Azzun, Occupied Palestine
On Tuesday, July 28, at 2:40 pm, the Israeli army arrived to the village of Azzun, located in the district of Qalqilya, to block 3 of the 4 existing entrance gates. Since the 4th gate (east side), which leads to an illegal settlement, has been permanently closed since 1992, this situation left all the inhabitants trapped in their village.
Both northern gates, leading to Nablus and Tulkarem, were blocked allowing no cars to pass, only people by foot, until 8:00 in the morning of the following day. In addition, three new checkpoints were created in these two north gates as well as the western gate leading to Qalqilya.
This event should be seen in the larger context of violence, control and surveillance to which the village of Azzun has been subjected to. The main road 55 that connects the village to Nablus, is fenced through 40 kilometers and includes three watchtowers, making villagers feel constantly threatened and controlled. Moreover, the nearby illegal settlement of Maale Shomeron has a large number of watchtowers that constantly surveil the villagers’ movements within Azzun.
In the course of the previous year, the village suffered from 385 attacks from the army, totaling more than one attack per day. These raids would sometimes be performed as training for the soldiers, at other times to directly arrest people, and overall to intimidate and cause fear among the villagers.
On Wednesday, July 29, at 2:30 am, the Israeli army raided 10 houses in the village of Azzun, arresting two 19 year old boys, Samir Shbeitah and Mohammed Salim.
Samir’s brother, Sannad, informed ISM that the soldiers violently exploded the entrance door of the house in order to wake up and shock the whole family. As the family had not been completely woken up, the soldiers, all wearing black masks, ran upstairs to the terrace where the brothers had been sleeping, to begin frightening the family by creating loud noise and trashing the house. They would hit their guns against the tin roof of the terrace and point laser beam lights into the brothers’ eyes.
Damage to the house when the military broke in.More damage.Broken door and lock.
Samir, Sannad, and their younger brother Samer, were separated form their mother in different rooms. Samir was taken back to the terrace with 15 soldiers, leaving Sannad and Samer with 4 soldiers. After approximately one hour, an officer came with 8 jeeps and more soldiers, asked Samir for his ID and arrested him, taking with him only the clothes he was wearing.
An Israeli authority called Samir’s father to inform him that his son is in a prison in Huwara. His father asked why his son had been arrested; the officer gave no answer. Samir’s father is thinking whether he can pay the 4.000 shekel fine the Israeli authority demands in order to free his son, or get a lawyer, but the family is very poor.
This is the third attack this family has suffered in three years. In very similar conditions, Samir was arrested for the first time in 2012 when he was 15 years old, imprisoned for a period of 2 and a half years, with no charges.
During the second attack to his house, there was no arrest, but the family suffered similar violence, including breaking all the doors of their home and writing graffiti on their walls in English and Hebrew, which they could not understand.
These kind of raids in the village are very common, and mostly occur during the night, violently waking up the families in the middle of their sleep, and many times making them wait outside their homes, even during the winter.
Azzun is a village that also suffers from the Israeli army’s tactic called ‘practical punishment’. When someone within a family is arrested, the rest of his brothers and sons would be forbidden to continue working in Israel, by taking away their work permits within 24 hours. This has impacted the village’s high rate of unemployment, raising it to 39%, the highest unemployment rate in the West Bank.
Azzun suffers from an average of 175 arrests per year, where 65% of the detainees are under the age of 18, making this the highest number of child arrests in the West Bank.
In 2012, 150 children were arrested in Azzun. Child arrests, who are normally imprisoned for a week or short periods of time, is a clear tactic of the Israeli army to cause fear and trauma, generating high levels of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
22nd February 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Khalil Team | Hebron, Occupied Palestine
On the afternoon of the 21st of February Saleh Abu Shamsiya, a 10-year-old Palestinian boy, was attacked by settler youth in the Al-Khalil (Hebron) neighborhood of Tel Rumeida. Saleh’s father and activist with the group Human Rights Defenders Imad Abu Shamsiya reported that the settlers, who looked around 18-19 years old, surrounded his son while he was playing in the snow and stabbed him in the arm with a sharp metal object about 15 cm long.
Saleh’s wound, which required 2 stitches at the hospital. Photo by Human Rights Defenders http://tinyurl.com/m5razs8
The soldiers stationed at Gilbert checkpoint, directly beside where the attack took place, did nothing try to prevent the settlers from assaulting Saleh.
Sales after the attack – photo by Imad Abu Shamsiya
The boy was then taken to the hospital where the wound required two stitches. The night after the attack, Saleh could not sleep from the pain.
Saleh in Hebron Public Hospital – photo by Human Rights Defenders
The following day, at 2:40pm, Saleh was again playing in the snow on the hills of Tel Rumeida when he was kidnapped by soldiers and brought to the military base in the Tel Rumeida’s illegal settlement. The 10-year-old boy was kept for about 20 minutes before Israeli police took him to the DCO (District Coordinator Office). After that the boy was handed over to the Palestinian police who informed his father about his whereabouts.
Saleh is just visible beside the military jeep – photo by Human Rights Defenders
Saleh’s family lives very near the illegal Israeli settlement in Tel Rumeida, occupied by some of Palestine’s most violent Zionist settlers. Israeli occupation forces and settlers have repeatedly targeted the Abu Shamsiya family. Saleh’s brothers Awne and Mohammed have both been beaten by settlers, who used to routinely occupy the family’s roof. The nearby illegal settlements, along with the Israeli military occupation, continue to deny some of this family’s most basic human needs such as freedom of movement and the right of their children to play.
8th February 2015 | Operation Dove | South Hebron Hills, Occupied Palestine
On the morning of February 6, Israeli soldiers arrested two Palestinian shepherds, one of them aged sixteen. The soldiers tried to arrest another Palestinian shepherd but villagers prevented the arrest by popular nonviolent action.
The two young Palestinian shepherds arrested by the Israeli military – Photo by Operation Dove
At about 10:40 a.m. four Palestinian shepherds were grazing their flocks on Khelly valley, in the South Hebron Hills area village of At-Tuwani, when the security chief of the Ma’on settlement arrived and called the Israeli army to prevent the shepherds from using land that is the object of settlement expansion. At 10:55 a.m. an Israeli Army jeep arrived in Khelly area and the soldiers started to run after the shepherds.
Soldiers pursuing the shepherd boys over the hills of At Tuwani – Photo by Operation Dove
The shepherds, who are all young boys, were scared and began to run away. The soldiers caught one Palestinian shepherd and immobilized him on the ground.
The soldiers grabbed a young shepherd in a chokehold, dragging him to the ground – Photo by Operation Dove
Meanwhile Palestinians from At-Tuwani reached the soldiers and, by a nonviolent popular action, freed the shepherds. The soldiers then drove after three of the shepherds as they moved their sheep back to their village. One shepherd was able to run away while the others two were prevented from leaving by the soldiers. At around 11:30 a.m. the soldiers put them inside the army jeep and drove away. At about 8 p.m. the Palestinians were released.
The two young shepherds being put into the army jeep – Photo by Operation Dove
This is the fifth time since the beginning of this year that Palestinian shepherds have been harassed in the Khelly area. The Israeli administration declared Khelly valley a “closed military area” in September 2013, and it is the site of frequent threats and violence by Israeli settlers and Israeli armed forces. This valley is Palestinian property where the Palestinians continue to resist with their daily work, despite of all the restrictions.
