In these days, as Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is vowing “mighty vengeance” following Saturday’s offensive by the Palestinian resistance, European governments are releasing statements essentially greenlighting Israel’s bombing campaign, which has already killed more than 400 Palestinians in Gaza and that might soon be followed by a ferocious ground invasion. For its part, the United States government has pledged a swift additional package of military aid to Israel. Once again deciding to directly participate in the crimes of the Israeli government.
Colonial violence is rising in the West Bank, as Israeli soldiers and settlers seek reprisals against Palestinian communities. The Israeli government now feels it has additional clearance from the West to escalate its project of ethnic cleansing.
The International Solidarity Movement maintains its presence on the ground in the West Bank and East Jerusalem to stand in solidarity with Palestinians, provide protective presence and report on human rights abuses.
Given the dire situation, more volunteers are needed. We are calling for all those who stand in solidarity with Palestine to join ISM’s efforts on the ground in the West Bank.
The ISM also calls on everyone in solidarity with Palestine to act immediately to stop Israeli massacres by organising demonstrations, and pickets and direct actions, organising boycott campaigns in line with the Palestinian call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israeli apartheid. We also call for people to contact their representatives, and lobby them to condemn the colonial policies of the Israeli state.
Palestinians have been living under Israeli occupation, settler colonialism and racist military dictatorship for decades. In particular, for 16 years Palestinians in Gaza have been subjected to an inhuman military blockade, under which the Israeli government calculatedly deprives two million Palestinians of the most basic necessities, such as access to essential goods, medical treatment, electricity and water. Recurrent bombing campaigns by the Israeli military killed more than 6400 Palestinians between 2008 and 2022, and deliberately targeted critical civilian infrastructures such as schools, hospitals and water plants.
Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem face killings, torture, beatings, night raids, settler pogroms, tear-gas, house and school demolitions, collective punishments, ethnic cleansing, expulsions, land seizure, arbitrary arrests, humiliations at check-points, and systematic racial discrimination on a daily basis.
No Palestinian is a stranger to the war that Israel has been waging on them for decades, a war that has only escalated under the current Israeli government, the most far-right the country has ever seen.
On Saturday Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israel was at war. What this really means is that for the first time in decades, Palestinians are not the only ones facing the consequences of Israel’s colonial apartheid state.
The International Solidarity Movement joins Palestinians and Palestine solidarity activists and organisations all around the world in restating that the root cause of the current violence is Israeli occupation and settler colonialism. Until the oppression of Palestinians comes to an end, Israel is responsible for the death and misery of Palestinians and Israelis. Governments and companies that directly support Israeli apartheid and military occupation, and the international community that fails to react to constrain Israeli terror, also share responsibility for the continuing violence.
ISM activists will maintain their presence on the ground in the West Bank and continue their efforts outside of Palestine to stand in solidarity with Palestinians against Israeli oppression, until freedom, justice and equality is achieved. We invite you to contact your local ISM support group and join us in Palestine.
In the fifth episode of the International Solidarity Movement podcast we are joined in the village of At-Tuwani by two ISM volunteers – Herbie and Maria – who both spent several months volunteering as internationalists in Palestine. They tell us from a personal perspective what it’s like to be an international volunteer in Palestine, and especially in the South Hebron Hills. ISM is focusing it’s presence here because of to the ongoing demolitions of Palestinian homes and infrastructure by the Israeli occupation.
We ask Herbie and Maria what brought them to Palestine, what they would say to people who are thinking of joining ISM but aren’t sure yet, and also what it’s been like witnessing some of the violence of the occupation.
Hey, welcome to international solidarity movement podcast [followed by Arabic translation]
Hazel 00:19
azeazeaHello and welcome to the fifth episode of the International Solidarity Movement podcast. Today we are joined in the village of At-Tuwani by two ISM volunteers – Herbie and Maria – who both spent several months volunteering as internationalists in Palestine. they tell us from a personal perspective what it’s like to be an international volunteer in Palestine, and especially in the South Hebron Hills, where ISM is focusing it’s presence, due to the ongoing demolitions of Palestinian homes and infrastructure by the Israeli occupation. We touch on what brought them to Palestine, what they would say to people who are thinking of joining ISM but aren’t sure yet, and also what it’s been like witnessing some of the violence of the occupation. At the end of the interview, Herbie and Maria discuss the culpability of Western states in the ongoing colonisation of Palestine and – in opposition to this – how we can directly take action to stand with and struggle alongside the Palestinian people in their fight for autonomy and freedom.
Nicole 01:18
So we’re really happy to be joined by two volunteers from ISM, the International Solidarity Movement, who have been in Palestine for several months this year at different points. And we’re going to be asking them some questions about their experiences here, some of the challenges, things they’ve learned, and also enjoyed since they’ve been here. But yeah, if you’d like to introduce yourself, that would be amazing.
Maria 01:39
Hi, everyone. So I’m Maria, and yeah, I’ve been, I’m almost at the end of my visa. So I’ve been here for three months now. And I was here a month over the Summer.
Herbie 01:51
Hi, everyone, I’m Herbie, I’ve been here for nearly two months now. And I’ve got about another month left of my visa.
Nicole 01:59
Can you share a little bit about how your experiences have been here?
Maria 02:02
Yeah. So I think the situation in general is very challenging on the ground. I was here for the first time this summer. And it was quite mind blowing. I’ve been campaigning for Palestine in the UK. But I think when you see things on the ground, and you live them, and you experience them, and you talk to people, it’s… it’s completely different. I think you get used to like the rhythm quite quickly. But yeah, I think overall it has been amazing. I’ve met lots of very, very interesting people. The Palestinian activists are great. The international activists are all amazing. And we’ve also met lots of Israeli activists, which are really nice. So I think generally, like very recommended experience and very positive, but yeah, it’s, it’s challenging. And ISM is very often on the first line. So you are, yeah, very often like, in [a] conflict situation. And some of them can be very challenging, but I think you develop as a person as well. So yeah, positive in general.
Nicole 03:04
What’s your kind of like day to day, what would like an average day look like here?
Herbie 03:09
I mean, to be honest, like, every day is different. And it’s very dependent on where we are. At the minute, we’re in Masafer Yatta. And we’re kind of based in a couple of different villages. In one of them, we do the like morning and afternoon school run, because some of the children have to walk through a settlement, Havat Ma’on – sorry, [it’s] an illegal outpost – to get to school, and they sometimes get attacked by settlers. So they have a military escort. And then we are also there waiting for them on the other side, to make sure they’ve arrived safely. But things often pop up very unexpectedly – like you, you can never predict what’s going to happen in a day. For example, on Monday, everything was very lrelaxed. I, like, didn’t have a lot to do. And then the next day, I was at three different demolitions in different villages in Masafer Yatta. And there was also a fourth demolition, and then I went to another village to visit some children whose school was recently demolished. So it varies a lot.
Nicole 04:26
We’ve been interviewing in some of the villagers we hear about the demolitions and their experiences, but could you share a little bit about what your – your role is, while that’s happening, and what you’ve observed?
Herbie 04:36
Yeah, so I suppose the most important role for us and and what the locals want is that we’re there to document what’s happening. Because we’re like, in the area, we can, we’re either like, already living in that village, or we can get there very quickly. We can get there like, a lot faster than, you know, the UN can or anyone else. So we’re there to like, document the whole thing so that the world can hear about what’s happening otherwise. You know, most people would just never know that these people’s homes and villages are being destroyed. In an ideal world, if there was enough of us here, then we could take direct action to actively resist the demolitions for example, like going on the diggers, blocking vehicles, surrounding the house. But unfortunately, since lockdown there is like a very low number of volunteers here. And it’s just not safe or effective for us to try to do those things if we don’t have the numbers for it. So yeah, it’s quite, it’s quite difficult just standing there filming instead of trying to resist it happening. Another thing we can do is try to de-arrest Palestinians if they’re being taken by the police.
Nicole 06:03
And I know like some people in the UK that have considered coming – like maybe they’re nervous because they don’t know what to expect or they have health issues. They don’t feel like they can do it. Or like mental health challenges… Like do you feel like it is accessible for everyone here or do you feel like there are different roles people can do, or do you think it has been quite kind of physically demanding, the work here? Like what’s the kind of, yeah, experiences in terms of like your own health and your own well being.
Maria 06:29
Yeah I think as an organization it is quite wide. And there are roles for everyone. And you can show solidarity in lots of different ways, even only just living in a village and like showing people that, you know, internationals are there, and they’re aware of the situation. And they are filming, if needed, then that gives Palestinians strength and like, is a push for them to continue the fight. If you feel like physically able, then there is of course, like more challenging – physically challenging – work to do. But like, it’s, it’s nothing crazy. And we’ve got media roles, international coordinator roles. So yeah I think the good thing of ISM is that everyone, yeah, so the good thing of ISM is that like everyone can participate in the capacity that they feel they can. So if you want to be more based in the flats, or like in house in a village, you can do that. Again, if you feel like being in the front line, and like, put yourself more at risk, you can also do that. So it’s really up to the person. Mentally it is a challenging situation, but you will always, always have support from people on the ground. So I think it’s, I think it’s generally accessible to most people.amar
Herbie 07:47
Yeah, I would, I would agree that like the ISM will, like, try and accommodate for people’s health needs. But I do think it is important to consider that like, it is a very mentally challenging situation. I’m definitely someone who’s like struggled with my mental health. And I really had to think hard about whether I was like mentally stable enough to deal with this context. And it has been a challenge. And I think it’s also really important to look after yourself whenever you go home as well, because I think also, although being here is difficult, I think also leaving and going back to ‘normality’, and having to process everything is – can be quite difficult for people. And I think it’s also important to consider that like, a lot of the work here is quite physical, like we do a lot of like, walking from village to village, we don’t have – we can’t always get a lift to places. There is like, you know, like, yeah, physical work to do, as well. And at demos you might have to run if there’s like, gunfire and things. So, yeah, it is accessible to different people’s needs. But it is also important to like consider what you’re able to do before coming. And, like, not put yourself in dangerous situations.
Nicole 09:18
A lot of people will see Palestine on the news. And yeah, like, for someone that’s never been here before, like I think, it does feel like extremely intimidating. Of, “oh my god, am I gonna get shot? Am I gonna witness someone else getting shot?” Like, it’s really got this kind of like, I mean, it is a conflict zone, right? But I think it’s been very different being here and seeing the kind of normality in the day to day things, even though everyone is like, relentlessly affected by the occupation. And it kind of defines everyone’s lives. I just wondered like, how it’s been for you in terms of violence and like, you don’t have to disclose what you don’t feel comfortable with but, like, yeah, how has it felt being here and seeing the occupation and how it affects people?
Maria 10:01
For me, that has been a bit challenging. I think, especially over the summer, I’ve been to a couple of demos where two kids were shot, and they died. So we’ve been to funerals as well. And like, the funerals are, like a whole experience here. Because there are like, thousands of people that attend and, you know, it’s like, sort of a national mourning. So it’s a very intense experience. I don’t know if that’s the right, like- [it’s] very beautiful on one side in the sense that there are all these communities that come together, and you know, like mourning the martyrs. But yeah, I mean, in terms of violence, you might experience some here and witness some and that’s very hard. As I say. So seeing like people getting shot or like seeing settlers’ violence.
We’ve ended up in a couple of situations where we thought that we’re gonna get injured, then that didn’t happen. But yeah, I think, again, ISM tries to cover this situation – there are a lot of different lines. It’s then up to the volunteer if they want to go, if they want to participate, and things like that. Especially like demonstrations this summer, they were very intense. I was here when they – the two or three days that they bombed Gaza. So like they were doing demonstration here in the West Bank and those like, they were quite tough and they were, like, repressed horribly, by the IOF [Israeli Occupation Forces]. So that was harsh. And I think in general, like I think as Herbie said, the situation can kick off anytime, so… and soldiers and settlers don’t like to see international[s] filming and being here. So you often are the targets of of soldiers – like not in a physical way, but you know, like them trying to scare you, or like making you leave. So you kind of need to be mentally prepared for that sort of violence as well.
Nicole 11:54
I think I’ve been very – not surprised here, but people have really been like, “oh, we need internationals to talk about this, we need pressure, like… things are getting worse, because there needs to be more pressure from the international community”. And I think maybe I hadn’t come previously in my life because of, I guess, okay, like, you know, there’s a lot of language around like white saviourism, or people traveling abroad when there’s like, oppression in the UK, you know, like the prison system or racism or how like refugees and migrants are treated in the UK and stuff. So I think I’ve never been like a natural internationalist, if that makes sense. But I’m – it’s kind of very interestingly, like, massively made an impression on me that people seem so welcoming, like just buying us coffees on the street, or, you know, like sweetcorn from a stand or just people – everyone’s interested in us and asking questions and people are like, “thank you for coming.” And there seems to be this like amazing, like openness and hospitality. I just wondered if you had any kind of thoughts about that. Maybe someone is listening, and they’re like, “Oh, I feel weird about going”, or, like, has that stuff come up for you?
Herbie 13:01
Yeah, the whole like, white savior thing is definitely something that I was quite worried about. You know, if that if you think that you’re going to come here and save people and free Palestine, like that is very much not the case. You’re, you’re here to learn from the people and be led by them and show solidarity with them. And yeah. So it is important to think about your intentions for coming for sure. But my experience of being here, as you said, like everyone is, like, so welcoming. And I think just grateful that we’re here because you know, there is just such a lack of coverage of what is really happening here. So it’s so important for us to be here and to see the reality on the ground and to go home and share that with people.
Maria 13:52
Yeah, completely agree. And ISM is 100% Palestinian led. We’re non-violent, of course. But we would never ever take the initiative of doing anything if the Palestinians around us are not – like we’ve not consulted them before. So that’s an important point. And yeah, I think as Herbie was saying, like, we’re not saviours. But I think the Palestinians understand how isolated they are outside this… the situation on the ground, and like in Western countries, and whatever. And because like, Israel has all these ties with like Western countries and countries outside, I think they need this sort of connection with the outside world. So it’s, yeah, it’s not a matter of us coming here and being saviours, but more like documenting in, and then try to like, lobby and do diplomacy when we’re back home.
Nicole 14:40
Amazing. What was the trigger for coming here? Like what inspired you to join? Obviously, there’s lots of places you could have gone or things you could have done, like, what was it that kind of called you here?
Maria 14:49
So I’ve been campaigning for Palestine in the UK, quite a lot. It’s something that I’ve been knowing about, lately shap[ing] my life, but like, I don’t know, I just feel that this is so much dependent on like behaviors of Western countries, and we can actively do something to stop what’s happening here. So that made me like more and more involved back home. And then I just thought that it would have been good to actually come and see the situation on the ground. And this, for me, is the first time that I find myself in a situation like this or like in a conflict area, and like having to deal with soldiers or this violence. So it’s been an interesting growth. But yeah, I think knowing things from outside… it just fed naturally then to come and see things on the ground. But yeah, um, first time that I’m in like this sort of situation.
Herbie 15:39
Yeah, that’s, like, coming here has been, like, a long time coming for me. So I was like, very much raised as a Zionist. My, like, most of my family are Israeli. And I’ve had to do a lot of like unlearning. And yeah, finding out the truth about the situation here. And yeah, I think, I mean, obviously, I want to be here to show solidarity with Palestinians, but also like to, like, see, for myself, to be able to, like, communicate with my family and like, try and explain to them what’s really happening here because like, although some of them are sympathetic to the cause, they’re very inactive. And it’s, it’s very easy for them to just like, live their lives, sort of ignoring what is happening just like a few miles away from them. And yeah, I want to try and show them what’s really going on and hopefully inspire them to – and empower them to – actually stand in solidarity with Palestinians. And yeah, I think also as a Jewish person, it’s particularly important to, for me to – I guess I have, there’s definitely guilt there. And I feel like I almost need to like show that not all Jewish people are Zionists.
Nicole 16:55
Yeah like a final question, I guess is, what would you say to someone who’s maybe like, on the fence about coming, like thinking about it, maybe they’re saving up for it, but they’re just not quite sure whether to come on up. And you know, there’s only a handful of us here. And I know from friends, they’ve talked about this history of ISM, where there was like hundreds of people here all over the West Bank doing different things. And it’s quite – like you said at the beginning with the pandemic, it’s really affected the amount of people coming. So, obviously, you know, we’re hoping with this podcast that people will listen, and that will inspire them to join ISM here, but yeah, what would you say to anyone that was considering it, but not quite sure yet?
Maria 17:32
Yeah. I mean, I guess it’s individual cases. But I would generally encourage people to come. It’s, even though it’s a tough experience, but you grow a lot as a person. And there’s so much to learn from people here on the ground. And I think just seeing things with your own eyes is so much different than like reading or listening to stories. And yeah, like Palestinians are absolutely amazing. And there’s lots of support on the ground. And yeah, we’re saying like, there are challenges there, like people should think about so again, depends on individual situation. But yeah, I think just think that you will never be forced to do things or to be in situation where you don’t want to be in. So if you want to start with like a lighter approach and just understanding the situation. There will be room to do that and maybe just go around and talk to families like without necessarily being involved in maybe [a] conflict situation, although that might happen. I mean, it is at risk that you need to consider. But I think in general, it’s been such a like eye opening experience. That yeah, I cannot think of one reason not to come here.
Herbie 18:43
Yeah, coming here for me was like such a daunting challenge. But one that I like… I’m 100% so glad that I made. I think that if you’re like, unsure and you probably have like a lot of questions and uncertainties, like you can get in touch with ISM by email and attend a training and they’ll answer all of the questions that you have. Yeah, as Maria said, like, it’s just I mean, for me, it’s like definitely been like a life changing experience in a good way. And yeah, you’re stronger than you think you are. And you can, like, you know, I think the Palestinian people are incredibly resilient and face these things every day. And I think we are in a very privileged position to be able to like, come here and witness this and then go back home. And I think you won’t regret coming.
12th March 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, Al-Khalil Team |Ma’an, Occupied Gaza
********
Update
Isra Abu Khosa, 6 year old sister of Yassin Abu Khusa, has died from the injuries she sustained in the bombing raid on Gaza by Israeli forces on Friday.
********
Children were the latest victims of last nights continued assault on besieged Gaza by Israel. The young boy who was killed in the attacks has been identified as Yassin Abu Khusa, 10 years old. His sister Isra Abu Khusa, 6 years old, was wounded in the same attack, suffering severe head injuries and is in critical condition while another brother, Ayub Abu Khusa, 13 years old, is also seriously injured.
A young boy amidst the damage of the home in which a young child was killed
A Ma’an reporter based in Gaza said the children were in their house at the time the strike happened, located in northwestern Beit Lahiya. The family was still living in their home that was partially destroyed during the most recent offensive on the strip by the zionist regime in 2014.
Rubble and a blood soaked mattress from the attack
The Israeli army claims the Israeli air force targeted four Hamas sites in the northern Gaza Strip after four rockets were reportedly fired from the strip on Friday evening.
The family home after the attack
Several rockets were fired from the blockaded coastal territory into southern Israel last year, with the Israeli military launching retaliatory air strikes in virtually every case with signature excessive force and more often than not leading to the deaths of many innocent civilians.
Children in the war torn buildings left by Israeli forces
Although the majority of last years’ rocket fire was attributed to small, rather insignificant militant groups operating in Gaza, Israel consistently holds the territory’s de facto leaders Hamas responsible, targeting the group’s military infrastructure in response.
13th January 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, Gaza Team | Beit Hanoun, Gaza strip, occupied Palestine
A year and a half after the last massive assault on the Gaza Strip the promised reconstruction has not yet appeared. However, what has not ceased to appear since then are new sequels and side effects due to the Israeli forces’ use of military equipment in residential areas and against the civilian population of Gaza.
Amar points out effects of shrapnel on his cupboard
In Beit Hanoun, a town north of the Gaza Strip located on the border with the Palestinian territories occupied in 1948, ISM visited Amar Abu Janad and his family.
Amar with his family
Amar is 42 years and has 9 children. His house was bombed during the last slaughter while the family took refuge in a UN school. “At the school we slept on the stairs and we bathed in the toilets, where there was no running water. Besides, the whole school was very dirty and many days the food they gave us was in bad shape.”
In addition, he explains, the school where they took refuge was one of the many schools of UN attacked by the Israeli military during those 51 days of bombing. In one such attack against the school Amar’s uncle died.
During a ceasefire the family decided to go home to get some clothes, and “everything smelled like death… the street, the houses …” they said.
Besides the home Amar lost his car, with which he earned his living as a taxi driver.
Amar is trying to sustain his family selling the utensils that he manufactures reusing materials recovered from the ruins of the town
The family tells us how two weeks into the slaughter the Zionist army entered Beit Hanoun by land, shooting, in addition to live fire, smoke bombs and tear gas into all the homes, forcing the families to flee as they “could see the tanks entering our street . . . “
A wall of the family’s home, repaired after the Israeli attackOne of the family’s rooms, partially renovated
Amar’s wife explained that “after the war many people began to suffer from rare diseases. When we returned to live in what was left of our home we all started to suffer from skin problems and our oldest daughter’s eyes started to hurt and got very red. We took her to the doctor and he told us that she had a chronic problem. Periodically she suffers attacks during which we have to put some drops in her eyes 18 times a day. These droplets are so expensive and scarce that the doctor didn’t sell them to us or let us take them home, so during the crises we have to visit the doctor 18 times a day.” She also spoke of another child: “our 6 year old son started seeing double. At first we thought he was joking. . . . Recently he has begun to wear glasses, but still doesn’t see well. The doctor told us that after the war many children have begun to suffer such problems.”
Due to the stress and tension experienced during the bombings, Amar suffers from strong muscular and back pains and his 15 years old daughter developed an eczema in her hair that still present today.
As he showed they ISM team the conditions under which they currently live, Amar exclaimed: “Israel and the foreign media said that the war was against Hamas … but then bombed our homes, our cars, our animals, schools, hospitals … I am not Hamas! Was my car a terrorist too? Were my animals terrorists?
“They test their new weapons against us, using forbidden weapons against civilian population . . . They kill women, children and animals… are they also from Hamas? They know we can’t escape, all our borders are closed… How can something like this happen on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea?”
At that point they were interrupted by a man in his 30s accompanied by his blind father. The wife of Amar explains that this “is our neighbour, weeks after the end of the war he woke up one day and he was blind, no one knows how it happened.”
When we were leaving Amar’s teenage son asked us, outraged, that we convey this message to the people in our countries: “We do not need charity or food parcels, we need freedom. We are not terrorists or criminals, we are normal people trying to live in peace.”
31st March | Miguel Hernández | Gaza, Occupied Palestine
Zionist colonisers destroy the tools for self-sufficiency of Palestinians in Gaza
Months after the last massive Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip, thanks to the social and independent media, everyone has read news and seen pictures of the attacks from the zionist regime against residential buildings, United Nations shelter-schools, hospitals, ambulances, mosques, churches and thousands of family homes.
However, little has been said about the almost complete destruction of Gaza’s industry and economy. As the Israeli Minister of Interior Eli Yishai said, the objective of the last operation was to “send Gaza back to the Middle Ages, destroying all of its infrastructure.”One of the more terrible blows committed towards this end has been the total destruction of the Beit Hanoun industrial area.
Factory for construction materials bombed by Israel last summer, in the Industrial Area of Beit Hanoun – photo by Miguel Hernández
There were around 50 factories in Beit Hanoun, from which only three have been able to resume work seven months after the end of the assault.
This factory for canned foods was also attacked – photo by Miguel Hernández
The factories in this industrial area provided work for 25% to 30% of Gaza’s population. Among the destroyed factories are those for paper, construction materials, clothing, medical equipment, plastic products, food and livestock products.
Owner of the Afanah company presented photos of some of the 800 cows killed by Israeli attacks – photo by Miguel Hernández
The agricultural industry has also been wounded by Israel’s summer attacks on Gaza. The owner of the Afanah Company showed us the pictures of his 800 cows killed by Israeli attacks during the last war on Gaza. Each cow was going to feed 7 families during the Eid holiday. Besides losing all his cows, Israel also destroyed the four fridges of the company, which contained 400 tons of meat.
Abu Fakhri Abu Ghais, from Beit Hanoun, explained how during the last massacre Israel killed his 17 sheep, and all his sons’ sheep, they destroyed all his farming equipment, worth over 15,000 US dollars. Israeli forces also destroyed the pumps for extracting the groundwater and the 20 tons of reserve of wheat seeds that Abu Fakhri had stored for the current year. The occupation also demolished the cabling that brought electricity to his village, Abu Safiya. He and his family now live in a tent without water or electricity, as his home was also destroyed.
Abu Fakhri stands next to the remains of one of his seeding machines; the price of this machine is 10,000$ – photo by Miguel Hernández
He and his family now live in a tent without water or electricity, as his home was also destroyed. Given the blockade imposed by Israel on the Gaza Strip, the struggling government of Hamas informed him that they don’t know when they’ll be able to restore the power supply, as they do not have available wire that is long enough.
In a Bedouin village located at the North of Beit Lahia, Hassan Sharadkha invited the author and his companions for a cup of tea in the wood cabin that he has built next to the rubble of his home. He showed us the pictures of everything he lost during the last summer at the hands of the Zionist occupation forces: 32 dunums of fruit and olive trees, 27 sheep and their stable, 2 cows, a 200 chicken farm, a horse, the water pump and the car he had just bought.
His older son, an electric engineer, was made unemployed because the solar panel company he worked for has also been bombed.
Hassan Sharadkha and one of his grandsons show us the ruins of his home. He lived in this 4 story house with three of his sons and their families – photo by Miguel Hernández
Ninety per cent of the Palestinian farmers in Gaza live in similar or worse circumstances.
Tractors and other farming equipment were clear targets for Israel during its last operation against the Gaza Strip – photo by Miguel Hernández
These attacks – against factories, farms, farming equipment and homes – were not by chance or accidental. These attacks demonstrate once again that the target of the genocidal Israeli colonialism is the Palestinian people itself, and that the war that has been waging the last 66 years, under cover of Europe and the US, is against a nation, Palestine, that they seek to wipe off the map.
