Listen to this audio recording of a discussion between an international volunteer and the soldiers about why the soldiers ‘have to’ scare the kindergarten-children and see it as ‘their job’.
Israeli forces justify the intimidation and harassment of the children, between the ages of 4 to 6 years, that are forced to walk up a broken path – as the paved road on the other side of the fence is only allowed for Israeli settlers from the illegal settlements in al-Khalil – and then past a checkpoint on their daily way to and from the kindergarten, saying that they ‘need to scare them’ because otherwise they would ‘grow up and stab a soldier’.
13th February 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine
On February 13th 2016 Youth Against Settlements in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron) organised a children’s activity in front of Shuhada Street checkpoint.
Children drawing during fun-day organised by YAS
Around 50 children from the neighbourhoods located on the H2 (entirely Israeli military-controlled) side of the checkpoint – Tel Rumeida and the tiny strip of Shuhada Street still accessible for Palestinians – participated in the event organised by the Palestinian group Youth Against Settlements together with Old City resident Zleikha Muhtaseb.
Face-painting
The children have hardly had any chance to play and enjoy time with their friends since their neighbourhoods were declared a closed military zone on November 1st 2015. For the last three months only residents registered with the Israeli military have been allowed to access this highly militarized neighbourhood, where Israeli forces have stepped up their efforts to crack down on Palestinian residents’ everyday lives even more than in the many other neighborhoods suffering under the harsh Zionist occupation. Extremist Israeli settlers from the adjacent illegal settlements meanwhile enjoy complete impunity for their actions.
Girls writing their wishes for the future on balloons
The children gathered at the Youth Against Settlements sit-in tent that was first erected over a month ago in protest of the ongoing restrictions and human rights violations inflicted under the closed military zone. They enjoyed creative activities including drawing, painting, balloons and face-painting.
Children playing with balloons
Israeli settlers, walking inside the closed military zone without any hassle, harassment or ever being stopped, approached the checkpoint from the other side in order to gape at the children playing outside the checkpoint with balloons.
Settlers observing playing Palestinian children through the checkpointChild’s drawingChild’s drawing
The immense psychological effect of the occupation on children living in these neighbourhoods was clearly visible in their drawings. They drew soldiers shooting Palestinians, families living in houses surrounded by barbed wire, imprisoned Palestinians dreaming of Palestinians guarded by a heavily-armed soldier; drawings also featured Palestinian flags and the words ‘I love Palestine.’
Growing up in an environment where the Israeli military occupation, with all its concurrent human rights violations, deadly violence, humiliation and intimidation permeates everyday life, the impacts are hardly surprising. Saturday’s event was a great opportunity for the children of these neighbourhoods to just be children again, to play with their friends, have their faces painted, enjoy childhood.
As the event ended they lined up outside Shuhada Street checkpoint, which the children have referred to as the ‘death checkpoint’ since the September 22nd extrajudicial execution of 18-year-old Hadeel al-Hashlamoun, to wait to be allowed to walk back to their homes within the closed military zone.
Children waiting to cross back into their neighbourhoods under the closed military zone
Before preparing to leave to return to their neighborhoods, the children from Tel Rumeida and Shuhada Street demonstrated their solidarity with the Palestinian journalist and hunger striker Mohammed al-Qeeq on his 81st day of hunger strike against the illegal Israeli practice of administrative detention – imprisonment without charge or trial in an Israeli military legal system which consistently denies Palestinians any right to due process of law.
Palestinian children in solidarity with hunger striker Mohammed al-Qeeq
9th February 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine
Tuesday, 9th February 2016, Israeli forces patrolled the Palestinian market in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron), harassing and intimidating residents.
Israeli forces ontheir patrol through the Palestinian market
A group of soldiers marched through the souq, the main Palestinian market since the closure of Shuhada Street for Palestinians after the Ibrahimi mosque massacre in 1994. Any male adult or youth was stopped on their way to work and forced by the Israeli soldiers to lift up their shirts and trouser-pants, as well as throw their IDs on the ground. After throwing their IDs on the ground Israeli soldiers ordered the men to move back, so they could pick up the IDs from a ‘safe distance’. Most Palestinians were dismissed after this humiliating procedure, whereas some of them were detained for minutes or violently body-searched.
Violent body-search of Palestinian young man
International human rights defenders documenting the Israeli forces violations of basic human rights of Palestinians, were intimidated and harassed by the Israeli soldiers in an attempt to prevent them from documenting. Soldiers took photos of the internationals with their private phones held right in the volunteers faces and as an initmidation tactic ID-checked them.
Israeli forces taking photos of human rights defenders with their private phones
During the more than one hour patrol Israeli forces repeatedly pointed their assault rifles at the internationals as well as Palestinians.
Israeli soldier ‘ordering’ Palestinians to stop by pointing his gun
Not only adults were surprised and shocked by the sudden presence of heavily-armed soldiers right outside their houses, but also children on their way to school and work. Some children, scared by the soldiers, turned around rightaway after spotting the soldiers and ran back home instead of continuing their way to school or kindergarten. International human rights defenders walked several scared children past the soldiers so they could safely reach their schools and kindergarten.
Two school girls passing the heavily-armed patrolA mother waiting with children for the school-bus right opposite a group of soldiers
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.
3rd February 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine
On February 3rd 2016, Israeli occupation forces violently opened the door of houses in the vicinity of the Ibrahimi mosque by cutting the door locks with a disk grinder, and then entered these houses.
The houses are located in al-Sahla Street near the Ibrahimi mosque, settlers illegally invaded and occupied them two weeks ago, but were then evicted by the police and army the next morning.
After the Israeli army removed the door-locks of the two houses, Israeli construction workers took the external an internal dimensions of both Palestinian properties as if they are already owned by Israeli settlers. The settlers were protected during their illegal activities by big groups of soldiers.
Palestinian residents who walked trough the checkpoint in front of these houses were body-checked and harassed by the soldiers. The video below illustrates how inhumane and degrading these body-searches and ID-checks are, with soldiers ordering Palestinians to take off clothing regardless of weather and treating them without even a slight bit of dignity.
