Tag: Curfew

Military places curfew on Huwwara village, arrests two young men, and raids Palestinian homes

5th November 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Huwwara, Occupied Palestine

On Friday the 31^st of October, approximately 300 Israeli soldiers invaded the village of Huwwara, near Nablus. They fired tear gas canisters and stun grenades, seemingly in attempt to clear the streets of people, and declared the village to be a closed military zone. They closed down the mosques, forced the shop owners to close their shops and placed a curfew on the village.

Mutda Tofeq Odeh and Fadi Gasher Dmede, students from the village, were arrested and held for two days. Residents state that the Israeli forces raided several homes in the village and caused damage to various Palestinian homes and properties. The curfew was finally removed on Monday afternoon.

According to Ma’an news, a Molotov cocktail was thrown at a settler bus near the village, with no injuries reported, it is not known if that incident preceded this period of collective punishment.

Two days after the curfew ended, ISM activists visited the village and witnessed a large military presence, who were regularly stopping and searching Palestinian cars.

Roughly 3000 people live in Huwwara village. There are five illegal settlements in the area around, and inhabitants often suffer from settler violence, mostly caused by settlers from the illegal settlement of Yzhar, located just above the village.

Recently settlers from Yzhar set fire to an olive field, belonging to a farmer from Huwwara.

A Palestinian resident of Huwwara stated to ISM that the situation in Huwwara is tense, and inhabitants are frightened that the situation will deteriorate again this weekend.

Curfew imposed on Kifl Hares as settlers invade

21 December 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, Kifl Haris, Occupied Palestine

At around 9.30pm last night several Israeli Army vehicles entered the village of Kifl Haris as they do many times every year. They immediately imposed a strict unannounced curfew. The Israeli military tell nobody this will happen, nobody can leave their homes, nobody is able to visit a doctor or a hospital. If settlers attack your home you must deal with it alone. Kifl Haris is a Palestinian village in the northern West Bank, located six kilometres west of Salfit and 18 kilometres south of Nablus. Unfortunately for the villagers of Kifl Haris they are amongst the nearest village to the West Banks largest illegal settlement Ariel.

The pretext of the invasion into Kifl Haris is a pilgrimage to three disputed tombs, praying and dancing at a site they claim holds the remains of biblical ancestors. But as a resident explained, if they want to visit the tombs, why does it have to start in the middle of the night, and go onto the morning? Why do my children have to lay awake as they sing and drink alcohol? This isn’t about religion. This about them continuously intimidating us and seizing our land.

Settlers invade the village anywhere between 5 or 10 times a year, with an Israeli military escort. Last year at around the same time around 10,000 settlers invade the village of Kifl Haris. They arrived at midnight and stayed till around 7 in the morning. This year as we awaited the arrival of the settler party we heard reports that 60 bus loads were waiting at the entrance to the village. Fortunately the weather took a turn for the worse and the rain began to fall very heavily, only a fraction of the numbers of Israeli’s that were expected actually made streets of Kifl Haris.

On certain visits the settlers have caused various different sorts of damage the village of Kifl Haris. They have forced their way into peoples homes leaving a trail of destruction behind them and often have damaged cars, by puncturing tyres or smashing windows. As the rain continued to fall the organisers began to pack belongings away earlier than expected by 2am in the morning. Although the settlers left early the Israeli Military continued to aggressively and beep there horns and rev their engines, in what certainly seemed to be intimidation.

Settler Family Stabbed to Death; Troops Attack Northern West Bank Villages

12 March 2011 | Palestine News Network

Five Israeli settlers from the same family were stabbed to death on Saturday at dawn in their homes located in the settlement of Itamar in northern West Bank.

Israeli sources said that the five killed were the father, mother and three children aged 11, three and three-month old baby. According to Israeli police and army reports the attacker entered the home at around 1:00 am and stabbed the family as they slept, three children of the family aged 12, 6 and 2 managed to escape to nearby house and call for help.

Large forces of Israeli military and police closed all roads around the settlement and engaged in a manhunt for the attacker who escaped the scene; police reports say maybe it’s more than one attacker. The Israeli army also started an investigation on the fact that the alarm system of the security fence around the settlement did not go off when the attacker jumped the fence into the settlement.

Later on Saturday Israeli troops stormed a number of west Bank villages in northern West Bank and searched homes.

Palestinian sources said that soldiers invaded the villages of Zababda, Mislya, Sanour and Awarta and searched homes and farm lands nearby. Troops enforced a curfew on Awarta village and announced all northern West Bank as a closed military zone, Palestinian sources added.

Settlers groups accused Palestinians of the attack, the reasons and the group behind the attack remains unknown. Eleven Palestinian civilians were reported injured by Israeli army and settlers attacks in the past week, Palestinian sources reported. Settlers attacks on Palestinians escalated in the West Bank shortly after Israeli troops evacuated a settlers post in northern West Bank two weeks ago.

Israeli forces put curfew on Azzoun

12 September 2009

On Saturday 12 September at 10:30am the village of Azzun in Qalqiliya came under curfew for the third time in 6 days. Soldiers stomped the village announcing curfew over a loudspeaker from a jeep with no explanation for villagers. Villagers were forced to stay in their homes until Iftar, the breaking of fasting during the holy month of Ramadan.

On Tuesday 8 September, one Israeli army jeep entered the village and fired live ammunition into the air. This was then followed by 7 more jeeps who declared a curfew and forced shop owners to close their shops at 5pm shortly before Iftar, and losing the shopkeepers their perishable goods that would be purchased in advance of Iftar. Curfew continued until approximately 2am in the morning when the army invaded and threw sound bombs and sealed off the exits to the village setting up checkpoints and earthmounds to prevent movement. They also harassed villagers in their homes along the main road close to Road 55, an illegal Israeli road which is open in parts to Palestinian traffic.

On Thursday 10 September at 19:30, 2 jeeps with approximately 15-16 soldiers in them, again invaded the village firing live ammunition and tear gas. They proceeded to the boys high school, where local boys were watching and taking part in basketball and other sports. The soldiers gave the boys 2 minutes to return to their homes and leave the school and their activities without any explanation. Upon entering the school the Israeli army arrested two 13 year old boys taking them away to an unknown location. The jeeps then patrolled the village for several hours imposing another curfew on the village.

After midnight the village was then invaded by around 35 jeeps and began searching several homes were they said ‘wanted’ boys were resident. They damaged property and harass the residents. During the searches the army arrested Samir Jamal Ishadey (20 years old), Mohammed Rafah Cartesh and Adham Saahar Saleem (15 years old) taking them from their homes to and unknown location. It is believed while trying to retreat Mohammed was shot by soldiers but when Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance drivers tried to reach the scene the army prevented them. Mohammed was arrested and his condition is unknown.

When the army arrested Samir the army assaulted his brother Muhammed Jamal, attacking him with the but of their rifle on his head and back. This attack was undertaken by a group of soldiers that had verbally abused Muhammed and Samir on Tuesday during the invasion that day, calling him a “son of a bitch”. Muhammed had returned the insult to the soldier and on Thursday the same soldier was part of the group of soldiers that then assaulted him and arrested his brother two days later.

At 5am in the morning of Friday 11 September the Israeli army again imposed curfew and this continued until noon prays that day. Internationals entered the village shortly after noon prayers and soldiers could be seen on the outskirts of the village. While assessing the earthmounds made by the Israeli army to prevent movement in and out of Azzun a farmer was assaulted by a group of soldiers sitting under a tree. He was slapped across his face and internationals proceeded to the area. At 16:00 a group of 20 settlers and 6 cars attempted to come to the outskirts of the village to harass and attack the nearby shops and houses but were prevented by the army.

During the last few months almost 105 boys from the village have been arrested and taken to unknown locations. They can be held for a period of 6 months in administrative detention without access to a lawyer or their family. These periods can be extended indefinitely for ‘security’ purposes that are not disclosed to the detainee. Red Cross and other NGOs organisations are also denied access to detainees or to know there whereabouts for anything up to 20 days. Under Israeli military occupation Palestinians are considered ‘adults’ when they are above 13 years old in direct violation of international law on the rights of children.

The village of Azzun and its neighbours are subject to constant army and settler violence. The village is surrounded by the Apartheid Wall nearby, the illegal settlements of Ma’ale Shomeron and Alfe Menashe and Road 55. The army claim that Palestinian youth throw stones at settler vehicles passing on Road 55. They have closed off by the use of earthmounds 3 exits to the village allowing only one exit via car through the village of Izbat at Tabib and Isla for villagers to gain access to Road 55 and the route to Nablus, Tulkarem and Qalqiliya, vastly extending journey times. During invasions they can easily block this route making it virtually impossible for villagers to move around or gain access to facilities in nearby towns.

Azzun like many other villages has lost thousands of dunams of land to the settlements and the Wall. The Israeli Government has granted permission for a further road connecting the illegal settlements on Azzun land, furthering annexing land, part of PM Netanyhu’s ‘natural growth’ philosophy. The road itself will also have a 600 metre closed military zone surrounding it. A further ‘industrail zone’ has also been granted permission by the Israeli Government for construction and consistently over the last 2 months larger numbers of settlers have been visiting the area which is on land for the Palestinian villages of Azzun and Izbat at Tabib. The area will annex 2,500 dunums of Palestinian land. Villages that were once 2km apart are now separated by a mixture of closed military zones, Walls, fences, earthmounds and settlement buildings.

The Apartheid Wall and settlements are illegal under international law and the International Courts of Justice ruled in 2004 that the Wall should be taken down. Israel continues to build the Wall and expand settlements in direct violation of these rulings. Only 27 per cent of the land behind the Green Line (the armistice line drawn after the 1967 war) in land considered the West Bank is considered free for Palestinians. Over 450,000 settlers reside in the West Bank annexing Palestinian land and demolishing homes to create a network of roads and infrastructure not open for Palestinians despite the land being owned by Palestinians.

Israeli forces impose curfew on Azzoun

9 September 2009

Israeli soldiers create a checkpoint to Azzoun

The village of Azzoun, near the northern West Bank city of Qalqilya, was invaded and placed under curfew by the Israeli Occupation Forces on the 9th September 2009. The village was surrounded by Israeli soldiers with checkpoints established at the major routes in and out of the village, and there were reports of live ammunition being used in the village’s streets.

Two ISM activists arrived in Azzoun around 4.30pm and with the help of local Palestinians managed to enter the village to make contact with those inside. The curfew had been in place for several hours at this stage. All shops were ordered to be closed, people were told to stay indoors, and depending on the duration of the curfew (this had not been communicated to the villagers) people would not be allowed to leave even to go to school, to the hospital, etc… Young people returning from university were forced to enter the village on foot through the surrounding fields and hills.

After speaking with the villagers, the activists proceeded to walk through the deserted streets of the village. The Israeli presence was quickly obvious, with jeeps regularly passing through the roads and some stationed at significant sites, including the mosque. The soldiers here seemed sheepish and nervous, unable to provide a good reason for the curfew or to find a commander to explain the army’s actions.

At around 7pm the army withdrew from the village and removed their checkpoints. The villagers had not been informed of the end of the curfew and many stayed inside from fear of reprisals should the army still be present somewhere in Azzoun.

Azzoun’s inhabitants regularly suffer from military invasions, curfews and restrictions of movement by Israeli Occupation Forces. While ISM activists saw no sign of live ammunition during their three hours in the village, many residents reported previous use of tear gas, sound bombs, rubber-covered steel bullets and live ammunition against the Palestinian population. Commonly, curfews are put in place for any number of arbitrary reasons, most often accusations of stone throwing.

Azzoun is one of a number of villages in the region between Nablus and Qalqilia in the north of the West Bank that has been subjected to settler attacks and army curfews recently. It is surrounded by several large illegal Israeli settlements – Ginnot Shomeron, Ma’ale Shomron and Alfei Menashe in particular – and the Apartheid Wall, which already almost entirely surrounds the village, has been tightening in the name of the ‘security’ of these illegal settlements, squeezing Azzoun into a smaller and smaller territory.

Yesterday’s aggressive army actions came in the context of a number of settler attacks against Palestinians across the West Bank, from Susiya in the south to Yris and Asira al Qibliya in the north. These attacks have been seen as an aggressive message from the settlers to the Israeli government as it prepares a response to international pressure to at least temporarily freeze the construction of these illegal settlements on stolen Palestinian land.