Take action: Protests around the world respond to assault on Palestine

5th July 2014 | Samidoun: Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network

Take action: Protests around the world respond to assault on PalestineProtests are being organized in cities around the world to respond to the ongoing assault on Palestine and the Palestinian people, including the murders of Palestinians (including 16-year-old Muhammad Abu Khdeir, murdered brutally by Israeli settlers), the bombing of Gaza, the mass arrests of over 600, and the raids, attacks, tear-gassing, invasions and closure that Palestinians are being subjected to. If a rally you know of is not listed, please email samidoun@samidoun.ca to have it posted!

Brooklyn, NY, US – in Bay Ridge
Saturday, July 5
1:30 PM
69th St. at 5th Avenue, to 86th St.
More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/790764477630552

Chicago, IL, US
Saturday, July 5
3:00 PM
Water Tower Park, Chicago, IL
Protest organized by Students for Justice in Palestine’s Chicago network, and co-organized with local chapters of American Friends Service Committee, American Muslims for Palestine, Jews for Justice in Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace, Palestine Solidarity Group, the US Palestine Community Network, International Socialist Organization, ANSWER Chicago, and the Anti-War Committee.
More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/1479409155627269/

Washington, DC, US
Saturday, July 5
4:00 PM
White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC
More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/1436186096656291/

Seattle, WA, US
Saturday, July 5
12:00 PM
401 Pine Street, Seattle
More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/665212870225672/

Portsmouth, UK
Saturday, July 5
11:00 AM
Guildhall Square, Portsmouth
More info: http://www.palestinecampaign.org/events/rally-israels-onslaught-palestinians/

Glasgow, Scotland
Saturday, July 5
1:00 PM
Buchanan Street at Gordon Street, Glasgow City Centre
Initiated by Glasgow Stop the War Coalition
More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/691236754277161/

London, England
Saturday, July 5
2:00 PM
Israeli Embassy, 2 Palace Green, London
Called by Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Stop the War Coalition, Friends of Al-Aqsa, London Palestine Action, British Muslim Initiative, Palestinian Forum in Britain, CND
More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/1644051615818961/

Sheffield, UK
Saturday, July 5
12:30 PM
Sheffield Town Hall, Sheffield
More info: http://www.palestinecampaign.org/events/sheffield-emergency-protest/

Aberdeen, UK
Saturday, July 5
12:00 PM
St. Nicholas Square, Aberdeen City Centre
More info: http://www.palestinecampaign.org/events/demonstration-aberdeen/

The Hague, Netherlands
Saturday, July 5
1:00 PM
Den Haag Plein tegenover 2e kamer
Organized by the Palestinian Prisoners Society Netherlands
More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/641611065922896/

Cleveland, Ohio, US
Saturday, July 5
3:00 PM
Public Square, Superior Avenue E, Cleveland, OH
Called by Al-Awda Cleveland

Atlanta, Georgia, US
Saturday, July 5
6:00 PM
Woodruff Park, 91 Peachtree St NE, Atlanta, Georgia
More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/811396478879953/

San Francisco, CA, US
Saturday, July 5
3:00 PM
Israeli Consulate, 456 Montgomer Street, San Francisco, CA
More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/535252366581549/

Indianapolis, Indiana, US
Saturday, July 5
4:00 PM
Monument Circle, Indianapolis, IN

Charlotte, NC, US
Saturday, July 5
12:00 PM
Marshall Park, 800 E. Third St., Charlotte, NC

Albuquerque, NM, US
Saturday, July 5
12:00 PM
Tulane and Central, Albuquerque, NM
More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/1437827536484641/

Omaha, Nebraska, US
Saturday, July 5
4:00 PM
72nd and Dodge, Omaha, Nebraska
More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/299497763564540/

Fort Lauderdale, FL, US
Sunday, July 6
6:00 PM
US Federal Courthouse, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Called by Al-Awda South Florida
More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/257718534420301/

New Orleans, LA, US
Sunday, July 6
2:00 PM
World Trade Center of New Orleans
365 Canal Street, New Orleans, LA

San Francisco, CA, US
Monday, July 7
4:30 PM
Israeli Consulate, 456 Montgomery Street, SF
More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/734634239916704/

Los Angeles, CA, US
Tuesday, July 8
4:00 PM
Consulate General Of Israel, 11766 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA
More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/1433562380264128/

New York, NY, US
Wednesday, July 9
5:30 PM
East 42nd St and 2nd Ave, Israeli Mission to UN, New York, NY
followed by 6:30 PM March to News Corp Building – 48th St and 6th Ave
More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/662450663849851/

Philadelphia, PA, US
Wednesday, July 9
12:30 PM
Walnut and Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA
More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/712213502154030/

Complaint submitted to the United Nations concerning the military detention of Palestinian human rights defender under Israel’s repressive protest law

3rd July 2014 | Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association | Kufr Qaddum, Occupied Palestine

Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights (LPHR) and Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association (Addameer) submitted a joint complaint today to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights Defenders (UNSR) concerning the arrest and continued pre-trial Israeli military detention of the Palestinian human rights defender, Mr Murad Shtaiwi (also spelt Eshtewi), who has been charged under Israel’s repressive protest law.

Mr Shtaiwi is a prominent Palestinian human rights defender through his work as the primary co-ordinator of the popular committee which organises peaceful protests in Kufr Qaddum. These weekly protests take place to demand the reopening of the main road connecting the village to the city of Nablus, and to express the residents’ opposition to the Israeli military occupation and the detrimental expansion of the nearby illegal Israeli settlement of Qedumim.

Mr Shtaiwi was arrested by Israeli military authorities on 29 April 2014 and has since been held in pre-trial Israeli military detention. He will stand trial on Sunday 6 July 2014 at Salem Military Court on three charges: participating in and organising unauthorised demonstrations (Israel’s Military Order No. 101); causing a public disturbance; and throwing stones at Israeli military authorities.

LPHR and Addameer are seriously concerned that Mr Shtaiwi has been charged under Israel’s Military Order No. 101 for exercising his right to protest under international human rights law. The order has been in force in the occupied West Bank since 1967 and places extremely severe restrictions on the right of Palestinians to participate in or to organize demonstrations. A person who violates the order is liable to 10 years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both penalties together.

LPHR and Addameer are also seriously concerned that Mr Shtaiwi has been charged with stone-throwing given his express commitment to peaceful protest. We call upon the evidence substantiating the charge of stone throwing to be subjected to rigorous examination and testing as part of the military trial due process, in line with Israel’s duty under international law to protect Mr Shtaiwi’s right to a fair trial.

Mr Shtaiwi’s peaceful work to promote, protect and realise human rights and fundamental freedoms means that he is entitled to the human rights protections outlined in the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.

LPHR and Addameer have therefore requested in their complaint that the UNSR undertake an urgent examination into Mr Shtaiwi’s case and take appropriate action through urgent contact with the government of Israel to end the incidents of human rights violations against Mr Shtaiwi.

LPHR and Addameer have further requested that the UNSR considers undertaking an investigation into the disturbing pattern of harassment, arrests and detention of residents of the occupied West Bank Palestinian village of Kufr Qaddum by Israeli military authorities in apparent retaliation for the commencement of peaceful protest activities since 2011.

LPHR Director, Tareq Shrourou says

‘Murad Shtaiwi’s case is significant because it highlights the stark discrepancy between international law guarantees of the freedom to peacefully protest and the extremely restrictive Israeli Military Order No. 101 which operates to effectively prohibit and criminalise this basic right in the occupied West Bank.

We are deeply concerned that Mr Shtaiwi is being unjustly punished by Israel’s military authorities through use of this repressive protest law because of his prominent role as a human rights defender involved in persistent peaceful protests against Israel’s illegal activities affecting the Palestinian community in Kufr Qaddum.’

Contact information: 

Tareq Shrourou, LPHR, London | contact@lphr.org.uk

Gavan Kelly, Addameer, Ramallah | gavan@addameer.ps

About Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights (LPHR)

LPHR is a lawyer-based legal charity in the United Kingdom that works on legal projects aimed at protecting and advancing Palestinian human rights.

About Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association (Addameer)

Addameer is a Palestinian non-governmental, civil institution that works to support Palestinian political prisoners held in Israeli and Palestinian prisons.

More Information

Background information on the current arrest and detention of Mr Murad Shtaiw

On the night of 28 to 29 of April 2014, the Israeli military authorities raided different houses in the village of Kufr Qaddum to arrest five people: Mr Murad Shtaiwi and four young men, Reslan Joma, Ream Harham, Mustafa Shtaiwi and Ahmad Hassan Shtaiwi.

Mr Shtaiwi was held in Huwara military camp. The Israel Security Agency (ISA) only interrogated him briefly immediately before he was presented to a military court at Ofer camp near Ramallah on 2 May 2014.

Mr Shtaiwi was charged with the following three offences (he was presented with the final charge sheet on 12 May 2014):

i) Military Order 101 (participate in or organise demonstrations)

Between 2011 and February 2014, at different opportunities, including 21 February 2014 and 20 December 2014 or around those dates, in Kufr Qaddum or in other areas, Mr Shtaiwi participated in unauthorized demonstrations. He also organized some of the demonstrations. He used a bullhorn to call on people to join the demonstration.

ii)Activities against Public Order

From the beginning of February 2014 until 21 February 2014, or around those dates, on three different occasions, Mr Shtaiwi was with Riyad Shtaiwi, and they burned tires.

iii)Throwing stones on a person or moving object

On 21 February 2014, or around this date, in Kufr Qaddum, or around it, Mr Shtaiwi was in a demonstration with other people that were in the first accusation, and he threw stones at the Security Forces.

On 12 May 2014, Mr Shtaiwi was informed by Salem Military Court that he would remain in remand until the next court hearing date of Monday 9 June 2014. A petition by his lawyer against the remand order was heard by the military court of appeals on 18 May 2014 and rejected on 22 May 2014.

On 18 June 2014, Mr Shtaiwi’s detention was extended and his trial date was listed for Sunday 6 July 2014 at Salem Military Court.

Mr Shtaiwi faces a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment should he be found guilty of the first charge of violating Military Order 101 regarding the participation and organisation of demonstrations.

Previous alleged violation incidents by Israeli military authorities against Mr Murad Shtaiwi

LPHR and Addameer are able to specifically report on at least four previous alleged human rights violation incidents by Israeli military authorities against Mr Murad Shtaiwi.

Mr Shtaiwi was arrested on 16 March 2012, after an Israeli security forces dog attacked his nephew Ahmad Shtaiwi during a demonstration. A video shows him asking soldiers to help his nephew and order the dog to stop attacking him. Israeli military authorities sprayed him in the face with pepper spray and arrested him. Mr Shtaiwi was released after paying bail of around US$1,500, and was not charged.

Mr Shtaiwi was assaulted and arrested again on 20 December 2013 during a demonstration in Kufr Qaddum, and released four days later after paying bail of around US$1,500. He was not questioned during this detention and was not charged.

Mr Shtaiwi has been injured a number of times by Israeli military authorities using excessive force. On one occasion, on 6 September 2013, a tear gas canister hit him directly in the leg during a demonstration, and he was treated in hospital for a broken leg.

On 20 February 2014, Mr Shtaiwi was arrested, detained and interrogated for 6 hours and 30 minutes. In a meeting with Addameer just hours after this incident, Mr Shtaiwi gave his account of this incident which included this comment:

Two soldiers interrogated me and the soldiers were very specifically targeting me as a human rights defender. The soldiers lectured me for a long time, saying that I “can stop the demonstrations,” and that I am “influential in Kufr Qaddum.”

Mr Shtaiwi further stated that this arrest was not an isolated incident against him and other protesters; and that he appeared to be specifically targeted because of his role as a human rights defender:

I face regular intimidation at checkpoints because of my organizing activities. During a previous encounter with the Israeli forces, at which time occupation soldiers attacked my home with teargas and ransacked all of the belongings, one officer that went by the name “Sabri” told me “you must stop the demonstrations” and threatened me with arrest.

 

Seventh festival of South Hebron Hills popular resistance

21st June 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Khalil Team | At Tuwani, Occupied Palestine

Today in the village of At Tuwani, villages and popular committees in the South Hebron Hills and international activists, came together to celebrate the seventh festival of non-violent resistance in this area of the West Bank, and the end of a local children’s summer camp. Each year a summer camp is held in the South Hebron Hills for the children, with many different activities.

“This is the moment to give each other strength, to continue to fight without surrender to violence”, said Hafez Huraini, member of the Popular Resistance Committee of South Hebron Hills.

“We remember together our story and our hard-earned achievements. But we also want to send a strong message to everyone, Palestinians and Israelis, with our example: nonviolence is possible, is effective, and it is the only way to fight for justice, dignity, and peace.” – taken from the invitation by Operation Dove and At Tuwani village council

During the day speeches were held by the Popular Committee in the South Hebron Hills, the Mayor of Yatta, the Governor of Hebron, and international organisations such as ISM, CPT [Christian Peacemaker Team], and Operation Dove. Throughout the day the children showed the crowds what they had been practicing during the summer camp, performing dabke [a Palestinian dance], singing and theater shows. Discussions were also held in the area about experiences of non-violent resistance.

The festival then turned into a protest, moving to a hill in front of the illegal settlement outpost of Havat Ma’on. The children were flying kites and brought balloons, to send a colorful message of peace and justice. The Israeli military and Israeli police stood in front of the outpost and cut off the road. The protest was peaceful and calm, with no violence or arrests.

Settlers in the area often harass villagers from the South Hebron Hills. The settlers are living in the illegal settlements of Suseya, Ma’on, Metsadot Yehuda-Beit Yair, and Karmel. As well as the outposts of Hill 833 (Havat Ma’on), Avigayil, Mitzpe Yair-Magen David, and Lucifer Farm (Yair Farm). The settlers living in this area are highly nationalistic and considered to be some of the most radical settlers in the occupied Palestinian West Bank.

The Palestinians in the South Hebron Hills are often prevented from accessing their fields to pick wheat, lentils, and olives. Settlers also regularly burn the Palestinians harvests and fields. The settlers have also destroyed Palestinian caves and poured poison inside water tanks.

In 1999 residents of this area formed the South Hebron Hills popular committee and began to non-violently resist against the Israeli military. The resistance is daily, consisting of rebuilding demolished homes, continuing to farm in spite of settler violence, and replanting destroyed olive trees. Several Israeli and international organisations support the committee and the people of this area, primarily through accompaniment work and legal aid.

During the last several years many Palestinian families who left the area decided to return to their village.

Photo by ISM
Photo by ISM
Photo by ISM
Photo by ISM

Violence in Ni’lin

14th June 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Ramallah team | Ni’lin, Occupied Palestine

A Red Crescent paramedic, present at the Ni’lin demonstration last week, spoke to ISM about the protest last Friday, 6th June. He explained that the demonstration began as the protesters marched towards the apartheid wall, with Israeli soldiers firing tear gas canisters and rubber-coated steel bullets.

After just 15 minutes, a 41-year-old Palestinian protester was shot in the leg with a 0.22 live ammunition bullet. The soldiers had been hiding in the olive trees next to the apartheid wall and were unseen by the demonstrators. When a Red Crescent volunteer tried to give the wounded protester medical treatment, after placing a bandage on the bleeding wound, he was attacked by the Israeli soldiers. The soldiers kicked the volunteer and used their guns to beat his face, after the demonstration he was taken to the hospital to receive treatment.

The 41-year-old who was shot by the Israeli military was then arrested and held for two hours, before being ‘handed back’ to the Red Crescent ambulance at the Ni’lin checkpoint. He had received some medical treatment from the Israeli paramedics, but this wasn’t immediate, and he also had wounds, including a cut on his head that required one stitch, where the Israeli forces had beaten him while he was arrested.

The protester is now slowly recovering, the 0.22 bullet fractured his tibia [a bone in his lower leg], and it will be another month before he is healed.

The demonstration yesterday was fortunately less violent, there were no injuries or arrests. However, before the protest could begin, the military moved a long way out from the apartheid wall, pushing the demonstrators deep into their own olive trees. The military fired many tear gas grenades and canisters and some of the protesters suffered from tear gas inhalation, requiring support from Red Crescent paramedics. At least twice during the demonstration, Israeli forces fired tear gas canisters directly at protesters, both highly dangerous and in contravention to Israeli military procedure, which is shooting them up into an arch to lower the impacted velocity.

Ni’lin began demonstrating in 2008, against the apartheid wall’s construction. The protests continued after the wall was completed, and since 2008, five villagers from Ni’lin have been murdered by Israeli forces.

Photo by ISM
Photo by ISM
Photo by ISM
Photo by ISM

Photo story: Prisoner solidarity protest in village of Bil’in

13th June 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Ramallah team | Bil’in, Occupied Palestine

Today, Bil’in held its weekly protest in solidarity with the Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike. As part of the protest, and in support of the current situation in Brazil, due to the football world cup, some of the protesters dressed as prisoners and decided to hold a game of football, using the apartheid wall as the goal. The Israeli army then shot large amounts of tear gas canisters and rubber-coated steel bullets, trying to prevent the “prisoners” from playing the game of football.

Three journalists were injured today, two by tear gas canisters and one by a rubber-coated steel bullet. Last week at the Bil’in demonstration, Israeli soldiers attacked one journalist and stole his camera, another journalist also had his camera confiscated by Israeli forces.

Protesters gather as demonstration begins (photo by ISM).
Protesters gather as demonstration begins (photo by ISM).
Photo by ISM
Photo by ISM
Photo by ISM
Photo by ISM
Photo by ISM
Photo by ISM
The football match begins (photo by ISM).
The football match begins (photo by ISM).
Photo by ISM
Photo by ISM
Photo by ISM
Photo by ISM
Photo by ISM
Photo by ISM
Photo by ISM
Photo by ISM
Photographer was injured after being shot with a tear gas grenade (photo by ISM).
Photographer was injured after being shot with a tear gas grenade (photo by ISM).
Photo by ISM
Photo by ISM
Photo by ISM
Photo by ISM