Tag: H1

Israeli forces injure 3 Palestinians before shooting tear gas at bypassers in the market of Hebron

December 20th, 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, al Khalil team | Al Khalil, occupied Palestine

Sunday, 20^th December 2015, Israeli forces shot and injured three Palestinians at Shuhada checkpoint in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron), before arbitrarily firing towards civilians and journalists in the area.

Israeli forces shot a girl in the head with live ammunition. A Palestinian bystander, trying to help the girl and pull her towards the Palestinian side of the checkpoint right after she was shot, was shot in the mouth by Israeli forces. The man was trying to help, knowing that Israeli forces would most likely deny the girl any medical aid if the Palestinian ambulance was unable to reach her. Another Palestinian bystander was shot. The Palestinian girl, according to eye-witnesses, did have a knife, but instead of trying to disarm her, Israeli forces directly shot her in the head.

The ambulance was denied access to the injured Palestinian girl

Israeli forces used the roof of a Palestinian family's house to shoot — Israeli forces used the roof of a Palestinian family’s house to shoot

Whereas the Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance, at the scene after only a few minutes, was denied access to the girl in order to deliver first aid, the two Palestinians injured were taken to hospital. After this happened, the Israeli forces threw stun grenades and shot tear-gas at passer-bys and Red Crescent medics to prevent them from coming any closer and seeing what happened. Journalists that arrived at the scene were also attacked with stun grenades and threatened by Israeli forces with rubber coated steel bullets.

Israeli forces entered the H1-side of al-Khalil, that is under full Palestinian control, running into the Palestinian market and indiscriminately shooting tear gas at civilians going about their everyday life. They entered the roof of a Palestinian family’s home to use it as a base for shooting tear gas and rubber coated steel bullets at Palestinians in the street. A 5-year old boy was injured when Israeli forces fired directly at a school-bus passing by the checkpoint.

Israeli forces entered the market into the H1-area of Hebron

Shuhada checkpoint has recently been closed for ‘renovations’, stopping Palestinians from accessing the Palestinian neighbourhood of Tel Rumeida, located in the H2-area under full Israeli control. This neighbourhood, including the small stretch of Shuhada Street that Palestinians still had access to, has been declared a ‘closed military zone’ on November 1^st. With the closure of the checkpoint, the restricted freedom of movement of Palestinians, has been completely brought to a halt.

UPDATED: Israeli soldiers invade Palestinian H1 area and harass residents

4th July 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Khalil Team | Hebron, Occupied Palestine

Israeli soldiers in H1 area (Photo by ISM) — Israeli military in h2 setting off to H1 for routine arrests and house raids (Photo by ISM)

Update 7th July: On the 6th of July the Israeli military has once again disregarded the law and entered H1 to terrorise the Palestinians in this area of the city. This is not a rare occurance, as soldiers make it a routine in which Palestinians are dehumanised and terrorised.

In the early hours of the morning on the 6th of July at roughly 1am, 10 Israeli soldiers equipped with automatic rifles, helmets and backpacks left the Israeli military base in Tel Rumeida and started moving toward H1. Before they began ascending the hill past the gate that seperates the 2 zones, 2 soldiers decided to urinate on Palestinian homes, a sheer sign of disrespect and an affront to decency. After these soldiers returned from their operation, they descended upon the Youth Against Settlement centre in the Olive Grove asking questions about certain members and threatening to make arrests.

Israeli military in H1 area (Photo by ISM) — Israeli jeeps heading towards h1 (Photo by ISM)

Nearly 2 hours after this happened, at roughly 3am, 5 Israeli military vehicles, 3 jeeps and 2 carriers, accompanied by 20+ soldiers drove from H2 into H1, and according to Ma’an news, made 2 arrests. This ostentatious disdain for the idea of Palestinians having a peaceful life is nothing but an act of terrorism.

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During the evening of July 3^rd, at approximately 8pm the Israeli military, under the orders of a new commander, illegally invaded H1, the Palestinian controlled area H1 of Hebron (Al Khalil) and spent the evening harassing families by various methods.

The illegal and flagrant incursion into H1 consisted of eight soldiers on foot, equipped with heavy machine guns and tear gas attachments, followed by two soldiers in a jeep. They attempted to intimidate Palestinians on the streets who questioned why they were committing this act. As they reached their destination, two soldiers stopped anyone coming near a Palestinian home that four soldiers invaded. Two positioned themselves on the roof of the home, while another two soldiers brought family members outside to search and question them. They proceeded to push one boy in his teens against the wall and search him in a humiliating fashion. After they had finished harassing this particular family, the soldiers patrolled the streets of H1 before finally returning to illegally occupied H2. Palestinians in the area told international volunteers that these dehumanising routines were not new; however a new commander was in place and he, like previous commanders, was abusing his power in order to oppress the population of Al Khalil.

Israeli Military's illegal incursion into H1, Al Khalil (Photo by ISM) — Israeli Military’s illegal incursion into H1, Al Khalil (Photo by ISM)

Since the 1997 Hebron Agreement, H1 is supposed to follow the same rules as Area A, which means the Palestinian Authority are hypothetically in control (of civil proceedings and security issues), whereas H2 is the equivalent to Area C in which the Israelis are in control, though 30,000 Palestinians still live in this section of the city and are brutally oppressed on a daily basis. When the Israeli military moves troops into H1, it is a violation of the Hebron agreement, an example of Israel’s contempt for laws, be they national or international and moreover, evidence of their contempt for the Palestinian people.

17 year old youth arrested in Tel Rumeida, Hebron

by Team Khalil

7 January 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Hebron, Occupied Palestine

A 17 year old youth was arrested and 2 others, including a 13 year old boy, were detained at checkpoint 56 in Tel Rumeida, Hebron.

At around 8 pm on 7th February Israeli occupation forces soldiers detained three men, accusing them of throwing stones at the checkpoint. After an hour Munir Zehdeh, 17, was arrested and taken in an army jeep to the police station at Givat Havot, near Kiyrat Arba in Hebron.

The other two Palestinians detained, one 25 year old from the Sharabati family and the other 13 year old from the Atrash family, were released without any charges after being held for an hour.

This is the second such incident at this checkpoint in consecutive days. People at the scene claimed that no one had thrown stones at the checkpoint. In the incident that happened the day before a 14 year old boy was detained for throwing stones when he was on a family visit with his mother. Bystanders said that the soldiers lie about youths throwing stones at them to arbitrarily detain Palestinians for no other reason than to harass them.

Checkpoint 56 is located on the boundary between the H1 Palestinian controlled area, and the H2 Israeli controlled area of Hebron, at the end of Shuhada Street. This checkpoint is the main entrance for Palestinians to access Tel Rumeida and is often closed on the whim of the soldiers stationed there. The soldiers regularly abuse Palestinians’ rights to freedom of movement and routinely harass people passing through the checkpoint, making men take off their belts to pass through the metal detector and searching peoples’ bags at gunpoint. This customary harassment increases tensions in this volatile location, close to where there are illegal Israeli settlements in the centre of a Palestinian city. Checkpoint 56 was the focus of Palestinians anger during the clashes between the shebab and Israeli occupation forces during the November 2012 Israeli assault on Gaza, and after Mohammad Ziad Awwad Salayme was murdered by the Israeli occupation forces on his 17th birthday near the other end of Shuhada street from Checkpoint 56.

The arrest of a 17 year old youth in Tel Rumeida, Hebron

Team Khalil is a group of volunteers of International Solidarity Movement based in Hebron (al Khalil)

14 year old boy detained in Hebron

by Team Khalil

7 February 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Hebron, Occupied Palestine

A 14 year old boy was detained at checkpoint 56 in Tel Rumeida, Hebron.

At 2 pm on 6th February Amir Ibrahim Shawar was taken by soldiers of the Israeli occupation forces near the Jewish cemetery in Tel Rumeida, Hebron. He was accused of throwing stones at the soldiers, he was then marched down to the checkpoint where he was detained for about an hour. Amir from Azaria near Jerusalem was on a family visit with his mother when the incident happened.

Whilst at the checkpoint the soldiers said to Amir’s mother, “We know he is not guilty but we want him to tell us who threw the stones”.

Members of the local community came to the checkpoint to complain about his detention and filmed the incident to help deter the soldiers from any unnecessary abuse of the teenager. One person filming the incident had his ID checked by a soldier. At one point Amir was grabbed by his coat and forced inside the checkpoint out of sight of his mother and family members causing concern about the boy’s welfare.

The Palestinian police were called to the scene and Amir was handed over to them and taken through the checkpoint into Palestinian controlled H1 area of Hebron. He was questioned by Palestinian police and then released.

Team Khalil is a group of volunteers of International Solidarity Movement based in Hebron (al Khalil)

Israeli forces arrest man in Palestinian-controlled area of H1, Hebron [includes video]

by Team Khalil

8 January 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

A Palestinian man was arrested in Tel Rumeida, Hebron. Soldiers invaded homes without permission, indiscriminately beating men and children and forcing the residents out onto the streets.

At around 22:30 pm on Monday 7 January Israeli occupation forces entered the Palestinian-controlled H1 area of the city for the second time in a week. The soldiers forcibly entered homes; in one house five soldiers kicked the front door and forced their way past a young boy. On hearing the disturbance Sabri Dwaik aged 29 got out of bed and went downstairs. The soldiers attacked Sabri, pinning him to the floor and hit him with a rifle butt on his head. Sabri was handcuffed and still in his pyjamas was dragged out onto the street. The soldiers then threw a sound bomb towards the front door to deter anyone from following them.

One of Sabri’s cousins, who had gone onto the street to see what was happening, tried to intervene. The cousin attempted to free Sabri but was beaten, thrown on the floor, and dragged away by the neck. The Israeli occupation forces detained both men against a fence, pushing them and pointed their guns at them. After talking amongst themselves the soldiers decided to release Sabri’s cousin but Sabri was dragged passed the road gate into the Israeli-controlled H2 area of Tel Rumeida. Thirty soldiers brought people out of their houses and lined them up against a wall just inside H2 making them stand in the cold, wet night. Sabri was arrested, marched to a police vehicle and taken to Kyriat Arba police station.

Sabri Dwaik was charged with trying to steal a soldier’s gun as the soldiers were beating him inside his house. He informed the police officers that he wanted to make a complaint about the soldiers’ treatment of him. Sabri was told by the police officer that if he wanted to make a complaint he would have to stay in custody at Kyriat Arba police station for three days before he could make a complaint. Sabri was told by the police that he must apologise to the soldier who accused him of trying to steal his gun. “I do not have to apologise to the soldier because I have not done anything wrong,” Sabri said. After one and a half hours Sabri was released from the police station and returned home.

Sabri’s mother who is in ill health was very distressed by the events of the evening. The peace and quiet of another Tel Rumeida night was destroyed by the violence of the Israeli occupation forces. Local residents conjectured that the increased levels of violence and aggression of the Israeli occupation forces in the area is a response to the two well publicised incidents recently in Qufr Kadoum and Bab al Zawia, Hebron, where the Israeli occupation forces were seen to be weak in the face of Palestinian youth and their unarmed resistance. If the Israeli military are trying to send a message of intimidation to peaceful Palestinian residents of Tel Rumeida, then the message is clear: the Israeli military has no interest in peace, breaking into houses and forcing people out of their home in the middle of the night. Also the Israeli military has no interest in the due process of law, attacking people for no reason and when they complain, threatening that they will have to stay in custody for three days to do so. These increased levels of aggression and violence will not bring peace or stability to the troubled community of Tel Rumeida.

Video: Israeli forces arrest man in H1 Palestinian-controlled area of Hebron, 7 January 2013

Team Khalil is a group of volunteers of International Solidarity Movement based in Hebron (al Khalil)