This afternoon the journalist Haitham al-Khatib 37 years old was hit by a tear gas canister in the back after being targeted by the Israeli soldiers, a 18 years old Mahmoud Samara also got injured by a rubber bullet in the leg, their conditions were described as a minor, in addition to cases of suffocation after inhaling tear gas in Bil’in weekly march.
Protesters marching towards the wall in Bil’in (Photo by Hamza Burnat)
The march which called by the Popular Committee against the Wall and settlements in Bil’in began after Friday prayers from the center of the village toward the apartheid wall. Participated along with the people of Bil’in, an Italy’s parliamentary delegation led by Luisa Morgantini (former vice president of the European parliament), Israeli and foreigner peace activists.
The participants raised Palestinian flags and chanted slogans calling for the departure of the occupation, the demolition of the apartheid wall and the liberalization of the Palestinian political prisoners. Upon the arrival of the participants to the area of the wall the Israeli soldiers who were situated behind the wall fired rubber bullets, tear gas and sound grenades at the demonstrators which led to some injuries that were treated on the field.
For their part, members of the popular Committee gave a detailed explanation to the Italian parliamentary delegation and the foreign peace activists about the Israeli violations and attacks of the occupation in Bilin since the eight years so far, and they also talked about the strategy of the popular resistance in Palestine.
Israeli soldier throwing a tear gas canister at protesters (Photo by Hamza Burnat)Journalist Haitham al-Khatib after being hit by a tear gas canister (Photo by Hamza Burnat)
26th July 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Kafr Qaddum, Occupied Palestine
The Israeli military invaded the village of Kafr Qaddum multiple times on Friday 26th July, firing excessive teargas, sound grenades and rubber bullets at the people of the village. They were also armed and prepared to use live ammunition against peaceful protesters. Several hours later, the village was once again invaded, this time by an Israeli military bulldozer which created a roadblock in the centre of the village, restricting freedom of movement.
At around 11am on the morning of the 26th of July, over fourty soldiers walked directly into the village of Kafr Qaddum, heavily armed with sound grenades, teargas, rubber coated steel bullets and live ammunition. They fired sound grenades and gas at Palestinians walking in the village, several hours before the village’s Friday demonstration convened. The soldiers started running at people several times, seemingly attempting to make arrests or physically attack the villagers – many of those affected by this, and by the offensive weapons that were fired, were on their way to pray in the mosque on the third Friday of Ramadan.
Youth of the village facing the force of the Israeli military (Photo by ISM)
As many people of Kafr Qaddum answered the call to prayer, the soldiers who had invaded the village then occupied a hillside overlooking the village. At around 1.30 after the prayers, the demonstration gathered, with a group of around one hundred Palestinians – along with Israelis and international supporters – marching towards the hilltop occupied by the soldiers. The protesters demanded that their road be opened for access and told the soldiers of the Israeli army that they would be held accountable for their crimes in The Hague.
Youth of the village defended their homes from the heavily armed soldiers, resisting the military invasion. The soldiers fired heavy metal tear gas canisters at head height and directly towards the protesters, as well as firing plastic coated steel bullets. Several protesters suffered from extreme teargas inhalation and one was hit in the leg with a tear gas canister. Soldiers ran from the hill towards the protesters, chasing them between the houses of the village – once again seemingly attempting to arrest or attack protesters during the nonviolent demonstration.
Having chased many demonstrators out of the centre of the village, four military jeeps and a bulldozer raided the village, accompanied by around thirty soldiers on foot. The bulldozer dug up piles of dirt and stones from the side of the road, piling it into a roadblock in the centre of the village. This new roadblock would severely restrict access for villagers living east of it, meaning that they would not be able to enter or leave the village by car at all, as their eastern access to Nablus is already blocked by the settlement of Qedumim. Collective punishment, which this roadblock constitutes as it indiscriminately punishes the citizens of the village, is a war crime under the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Soliders behind the new roadblock as the bulldozer retreats (Photo by ISM)
However, the resistance continued as after the demonstration ended, the village municipality prepared to remove the roadblock with their own digger. The village of Kafr Qaddum will continue to resist occupation, settlements and military violence.
Around 4,000 dunums of Kafr Qaddum land has been appropriated by the illegal settlement of Qedumim and the demonstrations started as it was threatened that this amount would increase as the settlement expanded. Kafr Qaddum’s main road was closed in 2002, making access to their neighbouring villages of Jit, Sarra and the city of Nablus impossible without a 14 kilometre detour on badly paved roads through olive groves.
On Friday 19 July, the residents of Kafr Qaddum gathered for a demonstration against the Prawer Plan, an Israeli government plan that will ethnically cleanse the occupied al-Naqab desert. Protesters were violently attacked by Israeli soldiers who repeatedly raided the village firing tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets and sound grenades.
At approximately 11:00, residents attempted to construct a defensive barricade at the eastern edge of the village to prevent soldiers from entering; however, while they were building, nearly 50 Israeli soldiers ran down the main road closest to the illegal Israeli settlement of Qedumim, attempting to make arrests. The soldiers chased the people, including small children, back to the center of the village, where they fired tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets directly at the people. Nearly 25 soldiers then took a position on the top of the hill overlooking the village, which prevented many people from traveling down the main road in order to attend the Friday Ramadan prayers.
In the hours that followed, the Israeli army attempted to surround the village; they hid themselves in the olive groves and in the private gardens of several residents, effectively trapping the people inside their own homes. Several times the army attacked the protesters, firing tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets and sound grenades. Some residents reported that the soldiers also fired live ammunition, just as they did during last week’s demonstration, when they fired at four teenage boys.
No arrests were made, though three people suffered from tear gas inhalation.
Tear gas canisters and sound bombs shot at protesters during the demonstration (Photo by IWPS)
Kafr Qaddum is a 3,000-year-old agricultural village that sits on 24,000 dunams of land. The village was occupied by the Israeli army in 1967; in 1978, the illegal settler-colony of Qedumim was established nearby on the remains of a former Jordanian army camp, occupying 4,000 dunums of land stolen from Kafr Qaddum.
The villagers are currently unable to access an additional 11,000 dunums of land due to the closure by the Israeli army of the village’s main and only road leading to Nablus in 2003. The road was closed in three stages, ultimately restricting access for farmers to the 11,000 dunums of land that lie along either side to one or two times a year. Since the road closure, the people of Kafr Qaddum have been forced to rely on an animal trail to access this area; the road is narrow and, according to the locals, intended only for animals. In 2004 and 2006, three villagers died when they were unable to reach the hospital in time. The ambulances carrying them were prohibited from using the main road and were forced to take a 13 km detour. These deaths provoked even greater resentment in Kafr Qaddum and, on 1 July 2011, the villagers decided to unite in protest in order to re-open the road and protect the land in danger of settlement expansion along it.
Kafr Qaddum is home to 4,000 people; some 500 residents attend the weekly demonstrations. The villagers’ resilience, determination and organization have been met with extreme repression. More than 120 village residents have been arrested; most spend 3-8 months in prison; collectively they have paid over NIS 100,000 to the Israeli courts. Around 2,000 residents have suffocated from tear-gas inhalation, many in their own homes. Over 100 residents have been shot directly with tear-gas canisters. On 27 April 2012, one man was shot in the head by a tear-gas canister that fractured his skull in three places; the injury cost him his ability to speak. In another incident, on 16 March 2012 an Israeli soldier released his dog into the crowded demonstration, where it attacked a young man, biting him for nearly 15 minutes whilst the army watched. When other residents tried to assist him, some were pushed away while others were pepper-sprayed directly in the face.
The events of the past week are part of a continuous campaign by the Israeli military to harass and intimidate the people of Kafr Qaddum into passively accepting the human rights violations the Israeli occupation, military and the illegal settlers inflict upon them.
19th July 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Ramallah Team | Nabi Saleh, Occupied Palestine
Today, around fifty Palestinians together with Israeli and international activists marched from the centre of Nabi Saleh down the main road towards the stolen spring.
Protesters made barricades of burning tyres to prevent Israeli forces from raiding the village.
Soon after that, several Israeli border police officers appeared behind a house on the right side of the main road and started shooting rubber coated steel bullets at protesters.
More Israeli border police then arrived at the bottom of the main road, running towards protesters and shooting more rubber coated steel bullets.
An Israeli woman activist was shot in her upper thigh with a rubber coated steel bullet from close range and had to be taken to hospital in Tel Aviv. She underwent a very minor surgery to get the bullet removed and will remain in hospital until Sunday.
Israeli forces continued shooting rubber coated steel bullets and tear gas canisters from various locations inside the village.
According to a resident of Nabi Saleh, yesterday night at around 3am, an Israeli bulldozer was working in the spring. Settlers from Halamish also went to the spring to talk to the soldiers. Palestinian youths went to the hilltop in front of this area to see what was happening and verbal confrontations between settlers and them erupted. Israeli forces, defending the settlers as usual, shot several tear gas canisters at Palestinians.
Previously this week, on Tuesday, clashes between residents of Nabi Saleh and Israeli forces erupted in the same spot where Rushdi Tamimi was shot last November. Israeli forces shot rubber coated steel bullets and injured Mohammed Tamimi (10) in the leg. Mahmoud Tamimi (22) was then shot with live ammunition also in the leg. Read the full report here.
18th July 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Ramallah Team | Qalandiya, Occupied Palestine
Yesterday, around 150 Palestinian journalists protested at Qalandiya checkpoint demanding freedom of movement for journalists. Israeli forces violently suppressed the demonstration by throwing sound bombs and shooting rubber coated steel bullets at journalists, resulting in five people injured.
At 12am, journalists arrived on buses from across the West Bank, gathering at Qalandiya checkpoint to protest against the restriction of movement and the lack of recognition of their international press cards by Israel.
Palestinian journalists showing their International press cards (Photo by ISM)
More participants gradually arrived at the roundabout where the rally was taking place. Journalists sang chants demanding freedom of movement for journalists. One journalist said: “we are journalists recognized by the International Federation of Journalists and hold international press cards but we cannot exercise our job freely. Israel does not allow us to work in Jerusalem or Haifa while Israeli journalists can work everywhere”.
Israeli border police officers soon arrived at the roundabout and started to violently push protesters backwards, throwing sound bombs directly at demonstrators. Although the crowd dispersed, the journalists soon rallied again, continuing chanting and protesting. Once again, Israeli border police, now joined by soldiers, pushed back the crowd throwing more sound bombs and then shooting rubber coated steel bullets from a short distance.
Steadfast demonstrators remained at the roundabout for ten more minutes until at around 12:45pm, the protest was finished. Five people suffered minor injuries from sound bombs thrown at their feet and were treated by medical personnel at the scene.
Palestinian journalists are constantly targeted by Israeli forces. According to the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms, during the first six months of 2013, there were 78 occasions where Israeli forces attacked Palestinian media in the form of physical abuse, arrest, detention, prevention from coverage, and prosecution.
Mousa Rimawi, general director of MADA, stated at a MADA press conference in Ramallah two days ago:
“Media freedoms status in Occupied Palestine still raises concerns in terms of the numbers and types of violations committed against Palestinian journalists. Violations against Palestinian journalists are one of the highest globally, and are life-threatening, where the Palestinian journalists are concerned for their life and safety, especially those who cover peaceful demonstrations and the popular resistance activities against the occupation, settlement, and the apartheid wall. Regardless of the threat, Palestinian journalists never back down and continue to exercise their profession and duty, and they have earned many appreciations and awards”
“The Israeli Occupation insistence to continue its attacks on media freedoms is due to its desire to blur the truth and hide its constant attacks on the Palestinian people’s rights is a main reason for the increase of its violations against media freedoms during the past years. Another reason for this increase is the official International community forgiving attitude towards the continues and rising Israeli violations against media freedoms”
Israeli Border Police officer pushing back a journalist (Photo by ISM)Israeli forces throwing sound bombs at journalists (Photo by ISM)
