Tag: Closed military zone - Page 5 - International Solidarity Movement

Open The Zone: personal accounts

Saturday, May 28th (Mufeed Sharabati)

Mufeed Sharabati, 50-years, Shuahda Street resident compares living in the closed military zone (CMZ) with prison – just worse: “Life here is even worse than being in jail. A prisoner knows when his sentence is over. A prisoner knows when he can have visits. No-one knows that here. We are caught between checkpoints and soldiers with no idea when it is going to end.”

From his various experiences at Shuhada checkpoint, that he crosses about four times a day, he recounts: “One day my daughter was on her way home from school. She had to go through Shuhada checkpoint, but when she entered the box, they closed the door behind her and locked both the doors in the interrogation box. This was at a time when many people were shot and had knives put next to them. I was afraid of loosing her, and she was terrified of the checkpoint after that. The soldiers checked her bag and eventually let her pass, but the fear and humiliation does not go away.”

The restrictions are clearly intended only for the registered – numbered – Palestinians, while settlers are free to do as they please within the closed military zone. “The closed military zone even made life easier for them. It only counts for Palestinians. Settlers have no checkpoints. No restrictions.”

Thursday, May 26th (Haitham Abu Aisha)

8-year old Haitham Abu Aisha explains that life in the Tel Rumeida neighbourhood inside the closed military zone for him is difficult, and they get a lot of harassment from settlers. Sometimes they would park their car in the only entrance for the family to reach their house, blocking the entrance and preventing them from reaching their home. “They beat me, once they threw a stone at my head”.

Not only the way to his house is full of obstacles and dangers, also the way to school is difficult for him. When going to school, he has to pass a military post on Shuhada Street and go up stairs that only the school-children are allowed to pass, but sometimes the soldiers would not let them pass. Just like on the 10th of May, when they arbitrarily decided that the girls were allowed to go up, but not the boys. After about 15 minutes of the teachers discussing with the soldiers, they were finally allowed to go up the stairs and start their school-day. He recounts how one day on his way home from school he was followed by a settler that had a knife.

When asked for his wishes and hopes for the future, he says: “ I want the settlers to leave and not see any checkpoints anymore.

Monday, May 24th (Sundus)

When the checkpoints are open, Sundus and many others often have trouble going in and out of them. “It is sometimes difficult to pass the checkpoint because of some specific soldiers. They search me, search my bag and sometimes shout at me. Also the Palestinians living in the area have been giving numbers by the Israeli military, which makes us able to get in. Anyone without a number is not allowed.” For Sundus’ family and the other families in the CMZ, this means that they can not have family and friends visit them.

Marwa says: “The time it takes to go through the checkpoint depends on the soldiers there. Some soldiers just want it to go fast, but others have before emptied my schoolbag on the ground in the checkpoint.” It has before been a problem for her to bring her metal ruler with her through the checkpoint to school – it beeps in the metal detector.

There is not any logic to who are stopped or when there are delays “it depends on the mood of the soliders”, explains Arwa. “Last month we were left in the rain for hours”, recounts Sundus.

Saturday, May 21st (Yara picture)

Personal account: Yara

Another resident in the Tel Rumeida neighbourhood within the closed military zone is 7-year old Yara. For her, both her home and the way to school is difficult, mainly because of settlers, but also the soldiers. “I feel scared of the settlers, once a soldier pointed a gun at my father”.

On the way to school, all the children gather to go to the school as a group with the teachers. “When I am with my teacher at a checkpoint, I’m not scared, but when I am alone, I am”. For Yara, on her way to school, she has to pass at least three checkpoints daily each way.

But even her home is not safe from harassment by Israeli forces. “Once when we were not at home, soldiers broke our door and got in the house”, she recounts. When they got back home, soldiers had not only broken the door, but also their wardrobe. In the H2-area of Hebron, that is under full Israeli control, both soldiers and settlers enjoy complete impunity for their deeds and there’s no way for Palestinians to address any of these crimes.

13th May 2016 | Open The Zone Campaign: ISM & YAS | Hebron, occupied Palestine

10 tear old Shada lives inside Hebron’s closed military zone. Watch her talk about growing uo under closures. #OpenTheZone

An old man trying to get through a checkpoint to his home.

‪https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VkRhlMcTgk..

Headmistress of Qurtuba school, Nora Nassar, about the hardships of having to navigate through a closed military zone and past settlements on the way to and from school and the basic human right to education of every Palestinian child.

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On a personal level, the implementation of the closed military zone affected 22-year old Sundus a lot. Sundus explains: “At first it had a really bad effect on me and also on others living in the area. I felt really scared walking in the streets because of the increased amount of Israeli soldiers and the many settlers in the area. Sometimes, I even stayed at home from university, because of the fright from the closed military zone and the chance of the checkpoint being closed going back home. I do not feel free living in here.”
On her way to university, where she studies to become an English-teacher, she has to pass both through Gilbert checkpoint and Shuhada checkpoint. After the closed military zone was implemented, Israeli forces have started shutting down checkpoints on a regular basis. This leaves people in a situation, where they have to use alternative ways. These often include climbing over walls and walking through agricultural land.

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Marwan is a 12 year old boy who describes very precise, how the closed military zone deprives him from his childhood, being exposed to violence at any time

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Ramzi, 21, talks about being a student and young man living inside the closed miltary zone on Shuhada street

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Children under 16, that do not have an ID, are not assigned a number like their parents and are thus not degraded to a number – but can also not prove that they are ‘registered’ residents in the closed military zone. Instead, if ordered by soldiers, they have to show their birth certificates.
13-year old Marwa explains: “I was once asked to prove that I live in Tel Rumeida. The soldier told me to go home and get my birth-certificate and come back. I never went back, but since then, I always bring it in my back. It does not say where I live, but there is a number on it, that they can check in the computer.”
Since the closed military zone was implemented, Marwa has become more scared of going to school, because of the checkpoint. She does not feel safe and the whole set-up of the checkpoint is frightening, as she is inside a ‘box’ where no-one on the outside can see what is happening to her.

Watch an interview with Marwa:

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To live under a closed military zone (CMZ) is something extremely stressful, annoying and unpleasant. We are few, yet many families living under this system, which was implemented half a year ago. To live under a CMZ means that you can not obtain your very basic rights, which was a problem even before that; the Palestinians who are living in H2 area in Hebron (under total Israeli control) are suffering from so many restrictions. For instance the Palestinians who are living here can not welcome visitors to their homes, no family members nor friends are allowed to enter the closed military zone unless they are registered as numbers at the checkpoint. The people who are living here can not get plumbers or electricians into their houses for repairs, some families may need to take their fridge out of their house in order to fix it then returning it, but unfortunately they cannot take their house out of the CMZ to fix it.
The CMZ is a crime against humanity, a crime against civilians whose fault is that they were born as Palestinians. Non of these families participated in any kind of violence against the soldiers or the settlers, but their life is miserable because of something that they are not responsible for. It is important that the world wakes up, and stops this crime, as the developed countries are signing their conventions about human rights, they must put pressure on whoever is violating these rights.
– Abd Elrahman Salayme, Shuhada Street resident

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10-year old Aisha about her life in the CMZ

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My name is Ahmad Azza, I’m 16 years old and I live in an area called Tel Rumeida, in the H2 area, under full Israeli military control in Hebron. Every time I go to school I have to pass 2 checkpoints. I can’t be free even in my area, I can’t go anywhere because of the soldiers and checkpoints. I live with my family next to Ramat Yishay illegal settlement (or Tel Rumeida settlement). We were attacked by Israeli settlers many times – physically, or they would throw stones, eggs and dirty water. They can easily attack eany Palestinian and soldiers would do nothing about it.
Last month, it was the worst month in 2015/16 in Palestine in general, and in Tel Rumeida and Shuhada Street in Hebron in special, because of the killing of Palestinians by Israeli forces in my area. The army closed the checkpoints, arrested many people without any reason and now the area is a closed military zone (CMZ) – no one can visit us. Only the Palestinians who live in this area can pass the checkpoint with special numbers assigned by the Israeli army and by their ID numbers. Anyone that has not been given a number – even if they live inside the area, is not allowed by the Israeli army to enter inside the area. The situation since the CMZ is getting more and more difficult.

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14-year old Mu’awya talks about the fears of living in the closed military zone in Tel Rumeida in Hebron.

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Interview with Arwa Abu Haikal

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Go back to the main campaign page

Open The Zone: Palestinians are people – not numbers

3rd May 2016 | Open The Zone Campaign: International Solidarity Movement & Youth Against Settlements | Hebron, occupied Palestine

*******UPDATE 20th May 2016*******

The closed military zone order has officially been ‘lifted’ – many restrictions and discrimination remain.

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3rd May is number 186 of the closed military zone in Tel Rumeida and Shuhada Street. Since November 1st, only Palestinian residents have been allowed to enter the area due to “security reasons,” as stated by the Israeli military. This violation of the freedom of movement means that no friends, family, or repairmen are allowed, and Palestinians have to pass through checkpoints to reach their homes. However, it is possible for people to access the neighbourhood by using alternative routes to avoid being detected by the army, rendering the so-called security useless.

Instead, the closure serves another purpose, namely to pressure people out of their homes by making their lives there impossible. So far, more than ten families have left the neighborhood. The closed military zone is not only collective punishment (illegal under international law,) but also a thinly-disguised attempt at forced displacement of the Palestinians in the Israeli-controlled part of Hebron. Furthermore, the army assigned numbers to each Palestinian inside the closed area and required people to state their number when entering through the main checkpoint. Today we are launching a campaign to end the closed military zone in Tel Rumeida. Palestinians are people, not numbers.

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All updates will be posted here:

personal accounts of live in the closed military zone

more information on the closed military zone and Hebron

press release on children’s play launching the campaign

visit of the delegation of Hebron municipality to the CMZ, 9th May

press conference and children’s event, 12th May

take action: join our twitter-storm and thunderclap campaign on 16th May!

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The campaign is organised jointly by the International Solidarity Movement and Youth Against Settlements.

Israeli forces return to dehumanizing number system in wake of Hebron killings

26th March 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, West Bank, occupied Palestine

After completely closing Shuhada checkpoint to Palestinians in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron) on Thursday, 24^th March 2016, Israeli forces have now returned to the practice of ‘numbering’ Palestinian residents in order to restrict access to the adjacent neighborhoods. Soldiers are now barring all Palestinians without numbers, and sometimes even those already registered as residents, from entry into the closed military zone.

The neighbourhood of Tel Rumeida and the tiny strip of Shuhada Street that remains accessible for Palestinians after the closure of the rest of the street following the 1994 Ibrahimi Mosque massacre have been declared a closed military zone since November 1^st, 2015. Palestinian residents – in contrast to the Zionist extremist settlers living in the illegal settlements nearby – were forced to register with the Israeli forces as residents, and each given a number used to identify them. The closed military zone was designed deliberately to include the Palestinian neighbourhoods while excluding illegal settlements, thus facilitating settler movement on roads that connect the settlements inside the city center of al-Khalil with the Kiryat Arba illegal settlement on the outskirts of the city, roads that only settlers and Israeli forces are allowed to drive on.

Israeli forces completely closed the checkpoint on March 24th, barring any Palestinian from entering, after soldiers gunned down and killed Abed al-Fattah Yusri al-Sharif and Ramzi Aziz al-Qasrawi, both 21 years old, summarily executing al-Sharif with a shot to the head after he was already lying incapacitated (warning: graphic footage including execution in video captured by Palestinian B’Tselem volunteer). Throughout the day, Palestinians trying to go back to their homes were denied passage through the checkpoint and Israeli forces at times forced people to wait for more than twenty minutes only to tell them that they would not be allowed in – even though they were officially registered, numbered residents. An elderly woman was repeatedly told by Israeli forces to ‘wait’ when trying to walk to her home through the checkpoint; only after waiting for more than twenty minutes was she finally told that no-one would be allowed to pass that day. She had to turn around and leave after standing outside the checkpoint for close to half an hour. Watch this video taken by the local activist group Youth Against Settlements of the old lady denied access.

As of Saturday, 25^th March, Israeli forces entirely returned to the practice of ‘numbering’ Palestinians, checking the numbers of anyone attempting to cross the checkpoint against a list of numbers of residents that have previously been registered. Many Palestinians were forced to wait for hours outside the checkpoint, only to be denied to go to their homes – even though they had registered and thus did appear as a number on the soldiers’ lists. The soldiers were extremely aggressive, yelling at Palestinians in the closed-off ‘room’ inside the checkpoint loudly enough to be clearly audible to anyone waiting outside. When Palestinians tried to seek shelter from the pouring rain in the vicinity of the checkpoint, soldiers exited the checkpoint, yelling and screaming at them to move back. All of the soldiers had removed the orange pin that acts as a safety on their Israeli-government-issued assault rifles – a practice that seems to have become common policy throughout occupied al-Khalil.

When a woman and her four children tried to pass Shuhada checkpoint, the three smallest children were initially allowed through. When Israeli soldiers delayed the mother and older daughter inside the checkpoint, continuously yelling at them, the young girl on the other side of the checkpoint started crying as she was waiting in the rain for her mother to be allowed to go home with them. After an ordeal of more than ten minutes, soldiers arbitrarily decided that the mother would not be allowed to pass – even though she is registered and numbered – and yelled at her till she finally left. Her children that had been allowed to pass earlier came back to be with their mother, the girl still crying. With many extremist settlers gathering and walking freely on Shuhada Street, the children were too terrified to go home without their mother.

ID with # circled red — The number 230 on the outside of this Palestinian ID has faded with age. It denotes that Israeli forces should theoretically allow its holder to pass into the Tel Rumeida and Shuhada Street neighborhoods, but provides no protection against harassment, threats, abuse and being arbitrarily denied passage through Shuhada checkpoint

This practice of assigning numbers to Palestinians clearly demonstrates the intent to dehumanize them, to make them solely into ‘numbers’ as if they were not human beings. For the Israeli forces – and thus the government supporting and commanding them – this is precisely the case: Palestinians are not considered as human beings, but rather solely as ‘terrorists’ and potential threats. How this influences the behaviour of the Israeli forces was clearly demonstrated when on March 24th soldiers gunned down two Palestinian youths in Tel Rumeida and then executed one of them with a shot to the head at point blank range. A shot in the head of an unarmed man, struggling for his life and being denied any medical assistance, did not cause so much as a twitch from the soldiers looking on.

This practice of ‘numbering’ Palestinians in Tel Rumeida and Shuhada street, and of dehumanizing the entire Palestinian population, is a government policy that intends to force Palestinians out of the area declared a ‘closed military zone’ in particular and ultimately the whole of the occupied West Bank. These policies pave the way for the brutal actions must recently exemplified by the killings in Tel Rumeida, practices falling under the internationally recognized definition of ethnic cleansing which the Final Report of the Commission of Experts established pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution 780 defines as “a purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic or religious group from certain geographic areas.”

Youth Against Settlements holds press conference in front of Shuhada Street checkpoint to announce 2016 Open Shuhada Street campaign

20th February 2016 | Youth Against Settlements | Hebron, occupied Palestine

Youth Against Settlements held a press conference in front of the Shuhada Street checkpoint to announce the beginning of the Open Shuhada Street Campaign. Over a hundred people attended. Palestinian TV, AL-Quds TV, and other local and international media organizations were present. Youth Against Settlements welcomed everyone from Palestine and abroad to take part in the annual Open Shuhada Street events and demonstrations between 21 February – 26 February.

Youth Against Settlement in front of Shuhada checkpoint

Shuhada Street has been closed almost entirely to Palestinians since the Ibrahimi Mosque massacre in 1994, when Brooklyn born Jewish settler, Baruch Goldstein, opened fire in the Ibrahimi mosque, murdering 29 worshipers and injuring 125. In 1997, Hebron was divided into zones H1 and H2, with H1 being under control of the Palestinian authority and H2 being under full Israeli military control. Since 2010, Youth Against Settlements has held annual events in commemoration of the massacre and to highlight human rights violations against Palestinians.

Since late October 2015, Hebron residents have seen increasing restrictions. On 30 October, Shuhada Street and parts of the Tel Rumeida neighborhood were declared closed military zones. Subsequently, the Israeli military extended the closed military zone orders to include the Youth Against Settlement center. Under the closed military zone orders, no guests, journalists, human rights observers, doctors, or home repair professionals may enter the area.

Issa Amro: “The Israeli occupation forces have maintained an apartheid regime in Hebron since the Ibrahimi mosque massacre in 1994. These days there are even more restrictions on Palestinians than ever to make it as hard as possible for Palestinians to stay and remain in their homes. We organize the Open Shuhada Street campaign to increase awareness about what is happening in Hebron and to make the world react against the occupation. The campaign aims to show the world who Palestinians are and not allow Israel to dictate to the media an image of Palestinians as violent people. As Palestinians, we are looking for justice, freedom, and equality, nothing more than that.”

Memorial for Hadeel al-Hashlamoun, gunned down by Israeli forces at Shuhada checkpoint on 22nd September 2015

Issa Amro, coordinator and founder of Youth Against Settlements, spoke about the closed military zones, the long lasting effects of the Ibrahimi Mosque Massacre, the apartheid system of separation in Hebron, and how the occupation targets Palestinians by expelling them from their homes and businesses. Salah Hashlamoun, father of Hadil Hashlamoun, spoke about his daughter, her unlawful killing by the Israeli soldiers, and how it has impacted the life of his family. He called the killing of Palestinians a war crime, and encouraged continued resistance to the Israeli occupation. Abdul-Moneem Zahda, the representative for the families of the victims of the Ibrahimi Mosque Massacre, outlined what had happened at the massacre, he talked about Baruch Goldstein killing 29 people as they prayed during Ramadan in 1994. He stated that the goal of the massacre was to judaize the heart of the city of Hebron. Mufeed Sharabati, a resident of Shuhada Street, spoke about the families of the street continuing their resistance against Israeli forces and remaining in their homes. Palestinian activists, Fareed Al-Atrash received a plaque to commemorate his work as a leader in the peaceful struggle against the Israeli occupation.

During the press conference, the Israeli army called the Palestinian Department of Civil Administration to request a stop to the event and removal of the sit-in tent. Youth Against Settlements erected the tent on 7 January in response to the closed military zones. Army drones were hovering above as the protesters refused to adhere to the army’s demands.

Mufeed Sharabati, a resident of Shuhada Street: “We will continue our resistance. We refuse to leave our homes. The families here are in the front line of the conflict.”

Many countries including, Italy, Denmark, Germany, France, Switzerland, Brazil, UK, and US, are joining the Open Shuhada Street campaign. Beginning in Italy on 14 February, international events and actions have included lectures, presentations, role-plays, film screenings, social media campaigns, and petitions. Youth Against Settlements activist, Murad Amro, traveled to Germany to give a presentation for the German Open Shuhada Street campaign. There, Murad met with the German Foreign Minister to request protection for Palestinian activists and demand an end to the closed military zones.

The Open Shuhada Street campaign continues through 26 February, when it will culminate with a mass demonstration. The upcoming week-long events for the Open Shuhada Street campaign in Hebron will include exhibitions, movie screenings, demonstrations, and cultural events. The schedule is as follows:

Satuday 20 February 11:00 AM press conference and memorial for Hadeel Hadshlom – Shuhada Street Entrance

Sunday 21 February 11:00 AM photo exhibition and painting – Shuhada Street Entrance

Monday 22 February all day photo exhibition – Shuhada Street Entrance

Monday 22 February 5:00 PM film screening Settlers on the Roof – YAS center, Tel Rumeida

Tuesday 23 February 4:00 PM cultural event – Shuhada Street Entrance

Wednesday 24 February 11:00 AM candle lighting and film screening – Alsalayhah neighborhood

Thursday 25 February 11:00 AM Ibrahimi mosque massacre memorial ceremony – Shuhada Street Entrance

Friday 26 February 11:00 AM Demonstration to open Shuhada Street – Nemreh mosque

Contact: Issa Amro 059 934 0549 issaamro@gmail.com

Demonstrators protest closed military zone under threat of Israeli violence

8th February 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

On 8th February 2016, Israeli forces threatened to attack a peaceful demonstration in front of Shuhada checkpoint in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron).

Israeli forces forcing demonstrators back

Protesters gathered at noon to protest the continued closure of the Tel Rumeida neighbourhood, that on the 1st of November 2015 was declared a ‘closed military zone’ by Israeli forces. Palestinian residents were forced to register with the Israeli army in order to be allowed to live in their family homes and be permitted into the closed zone. At the same time, settlers from the illegal settlements located directly adjacent to Palestinian houses are free to roam the streets with assault rifles slung over their shoulders like an accessories, as the closed military zone was deliberately designed to exclude the settlements while including Palestinian neighbourhoods. Friends and family of the Palestinian residents are barred from access, as are doctors and repair workers; human rights defenders were forcefully arrested and kicked out of their apartments and offices.

Demonstrators gathered in front of Shuhada checkpoint

The demonstration, organised by the Hebron Defense Committee, walked up to Shuhada checkpoint (checkpoint 56) chanting against the illegal collective punishment exerted on all the Palestinian residents resulting from the closed military zone. Israeli forces immediately gathered at Shuhada checkpoint, the checkpoint just recently ‘renovated’ into a cage-like monstrosity that makes reaching their homes and schools even more humiliating, intimidating and dangerous for Palestinians. Throughout the demonstration Palestinian school children on their way home were denied passage through the checkpoint.

School-children forced to wait at Shuhada checkpoint

Israeli forces had previously ordered demonstrators already gathered at the protest tent in front of the checkpoint, which has been organized by Youth Against Settlements for over a month in protest of the closed military zone, to leave the area.

Israeli forces ordering protest tent to leave the area

As soon as Palestinians started gathering in front of the checkpoint, Israeli forces advanced towards the peaceful demonstration dressed in heavy “riot control” gear and with their machine guns cocked. They immediately forced the Palestinians to move back, threatening them to shoot tear gas at the demonstrators peacefully exercising their right to protest. Even after complying with the order and moving further away from the checkpoint, Israeli forces stood outside the checkpoint aiming their guns at the gathering – even though they were in the supposedly Palestinian-controlled H1 area of al-Khalil. A group of soldiers entered a house in the H1 area, using the roof as a vantage point to surveil the demonstration.

Israeli forces threatening the use of force against peaceful demonstration

February 8th marks 100 days since the Tel Rumeida neighbourhood was first declared a closed military zone. With the renewal of the order till the 1st of March, Palestinian residents face yet another month of arbitrary threats, humiliation, violence and denial of their most basic human rights by Israeli forces. The area covered by the closed military zone order includes the tiny strip of Shuhada Street where Palestinians are still allowed to live after the 1994 Hebron Mosque Massacre that was taken as an ‘excuse’ by Israeli forces for the closure of the main Palestinian market in Shuhada Street. This closure of the majority of Shuhada Street for Palestinians is protested yearly in the Open Shuhada Street Campaign.