Tag: Demonstration - Page 17 - International Solidarity Movement

Two injured with live ammunition as Kafr Qaddum celebrates five years of demonstrations

1st July 2016 | IWPS | Kafr Qaddum, occupied Palestine

The 1st July 2016, the last Friday in Ramadan, marked the fifth anniversary of Kafr Qaddum’s demonstrations. The Israeli military were present in the village and firing rubber coated steel bullets prior to the start of the demonstration. The soldiers continued to use full force against protestors, using high velocity barricade penetrating tear gas grenades, and live ammunition. Two young men were injured with live ammunition. One 15-year-old boy took a .22 caliber bullet to the stomach. He entered surgery in Nablus at approximately 3 PM to remove the bullet. In addition, a 19-year-old was hit in the lower leg. The injury is not serious, but still a cause for concern: the young man in question had been released from jail less than a month ago, after he was arrested for his participation in the weekly protests.

15-year old shot with live ammunition by Israeli forces loaded into ambulance

Every week the villagers, accompanied by international and Israeli activists, have marched down the road that once connected the village to Nablus. The road was shut down due to expansions in the nearby illegal settlement of Kedumim, and is now accessible only to settlers. The road closure has been an economic burden for Kafr Qaddum, and well as a public health and safety issue, as ambulances and fire trucks face restricted access to the village. Murad Shtawi, the head of the Popular Resistance Committee in Kafr Qaddum, says that the village does its best to keep the demonstrations nonviolent – shebab will throw stones at the soldiers, but only if they are attacked first, or the soldiers enter the town limits.

Israeli forces enter Kafr Qaddum village

Today’s protest followed a familiar pattern, soldiers entered the village prior to the protest, armed with tear gas, stun grenades, rubber coated steel bullets, and live ammunition. While most of the village took part in the midday Dhuhr prayer, a few shebab monitored the soldiers, risking injury from rubber coated steel bullets. After the prayer, approximately one hundred protestors marched up the road, but were repelled before even reaching the end of the village by more rubber coated metal bullets, and interior barricade penetrating tear gas. When the protest regrouped, undeterred, the military opened fire with .22 calibre ammunition. The military also employed a bulldozer during the protests, in an attempt to block off the road at the entrance to the village. The bulldozer struck the main water pipe to Kafr Qaddum, flooding the street, and ensuring it would be a dry day for many families.

Kafr Qaddum has paid a high price for its protests. According to Murad Shtawi, there have been up to 84 injuries from live ammunition. In 2014, a 75-year-old man in the village died from tear gas suffocation, and countless others have passed out from inhalation. There have been over 200 injuries from rubber coated metal bullets, including one young man who lost an eye, and another who can no longer speak due to brain damage. 120 villagers have been arrested, and their families have paid a collective 250,000 NIS in fines. Today was the 7^th time the water pipe has been damaged.

Still, the villagers remain optimistic that their protest will be effective someday, in opening the road, and pushing out the settlers of Kedumim. They’ve held 330 marches and actions against the settlement and road closure in the past five years, and will keep going, as long as it takes.

“We see the victory in our children’s eyes” Shtawi proclaimed at the end of the day, “the strangers [settlers] who came later must be the ones who will leave earlier.”

Worshippers for Ramadan prayer harassed by settlers and soldiers

1 July 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

On 1st July 2016, Israeli forces severly restricted access to Ibrahimi mosque in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron) for noon-prayer, while settlers were demonstrating at a checkpoint nearby the mosque.

After pregnant 27-year old Sarah Tarayra was gunned down by Israeli forces at Ibrahimi mosque checkpoint in the morning, the mosque checkpoint stayed closed for more than two hours, while Palestinians intending to attend the noon-prayer of the last Friday of Ramadan, were queuing up at the checkpoint, but denied access. Upon inquiry, Israeli forces gave the information that they would open the checkpoint eventually, but refused giving a time. With all checkpoints leading to the mosque from other directions open for passage, it is unclear why the Ibrahimi mosque checkpoint was closed down for such a long time. At some point, about 150 Palestinians were gathered at the locked gates, on their way to noon-prayer.

Palestinians stuck at Ibrahimi mosque checkpoint, as Israeli forces deny to open the checkpoint — Palestinians stuck at Ibrahimi mosque checkpoint, as Israeli forces refuse to open the checkpoint

On all the other checkpoints, restrictions and checks were increased, with Palestinians only allowed to pass one-by-one, an increase in bag-searches of women and body-searches of male adults and youths. Once Ibrahimi mosque checkpoint was finally opened, all women and girls were stopped for bag-searches, considerably slowing down the process.

Israeli settlers set up a protest at a checkpoint on the other side of Ibrahimi mosque, waving huge Israeli flags. Several of them attacked Palestinians and had to be stopped by Israeli forces. The settlers were chanting and yelling, and Israeli forces moved back Palestinians ready for prayer in order to create a greater distance. Israeli forces, additionally, missappropriated a Palestinian family home to use it’s roof as a look-out over the events.

Israeli settlers with flags attacking two female Palestinians on their way to prayer

Once the prayer was finished, Israeli forces arbitrarily at some point stopped anyone on their way home, quickly leading to large groups of Palestinians gathering as they were forced to wait while settlers passed on the street.

Israeli forces stopping any Palestinian in order to allow free movement of settlers

These kind of infringements and restrictions on the basic human right of freedom of religion and to practice one’s religion in occupied al-Khalil, is rather the norm than the exception for Palestinians.

Peaceful sit-in protest violently broken up by Israeli forces

15th July 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

On 15th July 2016, a peaceful sit-in protest demanding the opening of Qurtuba stairs in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron) by Palestinians as well as Israeli and international activists was violently broken up by Israeli forces, leaving one Palestinian child injured and 4 activists arrested.

The peaceful sit-in protest was organised by Youth Against Settlements in coordination with the families denied access to their homes through the Qurtuba stairs. The stairs have been closed since 1st November 2015, when the whole area of Tel Rumeida and the tiny strip of Shuhada Street still accessible to Palestinian pedestrians, was first declared a closed military zone (CMZ). Despite the lifting of the closed military zone on 14th May 2016, many restrictions applying to Palestinian residents only, remain in place.

When Israeli activists from Ta’ayush challenged this closure and demanded that it’ll be implemented equally and thus for settlers as well – who are free to use the stairs whenever and however they please, without ever even being stopped – more soldiers and settlers gathered. This closure evidently constitutes illegal collective punishment and is an apartheid measure – as it is exclusively applied to Palestinians, but not to Israeli settlers or soldiers. The deciding criterion for whether or not the stairs are considered a CMZ for that specific person based solely on the ethnicity.

After a few minutes, Israeli forces ordered the Palestinian and international activists peacefully sitting on the side of Shuhada Street near the Qurtuba stairs to leave the area. Israeli forces thus ordered everyone to leave, claiming they’re no residents, while infamous and violent settler Ofer, living in the illegal Kiryat Arba settlement on the outskirts of al-Khalil was permitted to film and provoke the peaceful protestors, as was infamous female settler Tzippi.

Israeli forces, eventually, brought a CMZ-order not only for the Qurtuba stairs, but for the whole Shuhada Street and Tel Rumeida neighborhood. Whether or not this means a return to the dehumanization of Palestinians that previously during the CMZ have been degraded to a mere number, has yet to be seen.

Map of the closed military zone order Photo credit: Youth Against Settlements — Map of the closed military zone order
Photo credit: Youth Against Settlements

In the end, Israeli forces violently and aggressively arrested the 4 of the Israeli activists, violently pulling and dragging them from inside a Palestinian home. During this violent arrest, Israeli forces squeezed a ten year old boy between the wall and a metal door, and only let go once they arrested the Israeli activists. The boy, Marwan Sharabati, now suffers from pain in his leg, and at the moment is not able to walk normally, limping instead.

This is just another example of Israeli forces impunity for violence and their continuous breaches of international humanitarian and human rights law. While publicly advocating that they’re facilitating Palestinian movement during the holy month of Ramadan, the Israeli government and the Israeli forces are instead doing whatever they can to uphold, enforce and exacerbate not only Palestinian freedom of movement, but keep denying Palestinian rights on a large scale.

Peaceful planting activity stopped by Israeli forces in Hebron

11th June 2016 | Youth Against Apartheid | Hebron, occupied Palestine

On 9th April, Hebron Youth against Apartheid organized a planting activity in cooperation with the Colonization and Apartheid Wall Resistance Commission in the heart of Shuhada Street and Tel Rumeida neighborhood of al-Khalil (Hebron). Dozens of heavily-armed Israeli occupation forces stopped the group while marching towards the land, and prevented them from carrying out the planting. Despite this, the group refused to leave the area and instead protested in front of the armed soldiers, raising Palestinian flags, calling for human rights, justice, freedom, peace, nonviolence, freedom for prisoners and an end to the colonization of the old twon of Hebron city.

Actvists stopped by Israeli Forces Photo credit: Youth Against Apartheid — Actvists stopped by Israeli Forces
Photo credit: Youth Against Apartheid

Afterwards, the activists visited families in the Tel Rumeida neighbourhood, by sneaking into the area that then was still a closed military zone, meaning families are prohibited from receiving visitors. The group managed to visit the activist Imad Abu Shamsiyah who documented the execution of the injured Palestinian teen Abdul Fattah Al-Sharif and for this received threats from Israeli colonists threatening to burn him and his family; as well as the family of human rights defender Hashem Azzah, who was killed by Israeli forces’ tear gas.

Banner against Israeli occupation Photo credit: Youth Against Apartheid — Banner against Israeli occupation
Photo credit: Youth Against Apartheid

Youth Against Apartheid activities against Israeli apartheid occupation of Hebron

11th June 2016 | Youth Against Apartheid | Hebron, occupied Palestine

On 8th June, Hebron Youth Against Apartheid organised an activity to erase the racist Zionist occupation slogans on slaps of concrete walls and the military checkpoints within mainly the Tel Rumeida and Shuhada Street area. The slogans were replaced with slogans calling for freedom, BDS, peace, and to remove the illegal Zionist occupation colonies from the heart of al-Khalil (Hebron) city. During the activity, Israeli forces stopped and chased the activists.

Activists replacing slogans Photo credit: Youth Against Apartheid — Activists replacing slogans
Photo credit: Youth Against Apartheid

In the evening, despite the Zionist occupation forces restrictions, threats and closure, Hebron Youth Against Apartheid decorated Shuhada Street and Tel Rumeida with special Ramadan lights, for the first time in years.

Activists preparing Ramadan lights Photo credit: Youth Against Apartheid — Activists preparing Ramadan lights
Photo credit: Youth Against Apartheid

On 7th June, Hebron Youth Against Apartheid organised a sit-in to protest the continued closure of the apartheid passage leading to Shuhada Street in front of the illegal Zionist occupation colony Beit Hadasa. The Palestinian citizens demanded freedom of movement and a removal of the closure imposed on these stairs since November 2015.