Tag: Hebron - Page 109 - International Solidarity Movement

Twelve-year-old arrested and blindfolded in Hebron

20th April 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Hebron, Occupied Palestine

By Team Khalil

Ahmed Ibn Bilal Abu Rumeileh, a 12-year-old boy from Hebron, was today arrested in the Old City and detained for over an hour before being released. Ahmed was riding his bike through Bab Al-Baladia when six Israeli soldiers stopped him and arrested him, seemingly completely at random. Ahmed was blindfolded and taken to Beit Romano army base on Shuhada Street, where he was detained for around 45 minutes.

He was then driven in a military jeep to checkpoint 56 where he was eventually released into the custody of the Palestinian police, who registered Ahmed’s details and completed some paperwork before taking him home to his family. Upon questioning by international activists, Israeli soldiers claimed that Ahmed had been arrested due to throwing stones at the Israeli military in the morning, however Ahmed denies this. The Israeli occupation forces regularly accuse children and young men of stone-throwing and use this as an excuse for arrests, which often happen at random.

Ahmed’s arrest comes as part of a series of increasing arrests and detentions of minors in the Old City of Hebron in recent months. “Occupied Childhoods”, a report on child-arrests compiled by the Hebron Christian Peacemaker Team is available here.

In March 2013, UNICEF released a damning report in which it harshly critized the “ill-treatment of Palestinian children in the Israeli military detention system [which] appears to be widespread, systematic and institutionalized”. You can read this here.

You can also see recent testimonies from Palestinian children imprisoned by the Israeli military.

Video: Soldiers continue to intimidate and provoke school children in Hebron

17th April 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Hebron, Occupied Palestine

By Team Khalil

This morning an Israeli jeep drove around an area of Hebron that is home to 5 schools as children made their way to class. To get to school, the pupils of these schools already need to pass through a metal detector at checkpoint 29.

In the same place 27 school children were dragged into army jeeps and arrested on the 20th of March this year. At the time the soldiers claimed they were trying to find children who they claimed had thrown stones.

The army’s presence at the schools causes the children to gather and shout at them from the balcony of their classrooms, which the soldiers are fully aware of. Their continued presence around these schools is clearly designed to provoke the school children into throwing stones at them .

Last week, after another army visit to the Al Khalil UN school, the head master told us that the soldiers had claimed that children had been causing problems at the checkpoint on their way to school that morning. This was blatantly a lie considering International activists had been monitoring the checkpoint all morning without witnessing any problems.

On top of provocation the army’s presence is also designed to intimidate the school children who can be seen running away in the opposite direction of approaching army vehicles.

VIDEO: 13 year old boy arrested in Hebron

13th April 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Hebron, Occupied Palestine

13 year old boy is arrested by an Israeli soldier

A thirteen year old boy was arrested from his home in the Old City of Hebron, blindfolded and detained inside several small checkpoint boxes as well as the military base on Hebron’s Shuhada Street. International activists who attempted to document the incident were physically stopped and threatened by soldiers and settlers.

The boy was taken from his home and transported to Checkpoint 56, a small metal box on the border between the Israeli and Palestinian controlled areas of the city. He was blindfolded and shut inside the checkpoint for around 20 minutes. After this, he was removed by soldiers and walked down Shuhada Street, still blindfolded, and put inside another small checkpoint box.

After 15 minutes he was removed from this checkpoint and walked to an Israeli army base. International activists who attempted to follow to document the situation were stopped by soldiers who called them “Nazi pigs”, pushed them and refused to accept their passports as identification. After several minutes of the soldier harassing activists a group of around fifteen settlers arrived, several carrying automatic weapons. They pushed and threatened the international activists – see video below.

A man is blindfolded and led down Shuhada street by a soldier — Blindfolded man led down Shuhada street by soldier

During this time, the boy was taken to the Israeli military base on Shuhada Street, at which point activists could hear several soldiers shouting loudly, seemingly at the boy. After around another 15 minutes, the boy was taken by jeep back to Checkpoint 56, where he was released to the Palestinian side of Hebron into the custody of the Palestinian police. He was accused by the Israeli military of stone throwing, a charge they regularly use against children and young men, many of whom are arrested at random.

Earlier in the day, a woman was detained at a checkpoint in the Tel Rumeida area of Hebron. When asked why the woman was detained the soldier told international activists that “she was suspected of carrying a knife”. Despite this accusation, she was not searched for knives andwas was released after ten minutes.

Another man was detained in the area of Shuhada Street before being blindfolded and led down the street by an Israeli soldier. The blindfolded man said that he did not know why he was being arrested, whereas soldiers claimed that he had entered the part of Shuhada Street to which the Israeli authorities deny access for Palestinians. Soldiers told international activists that he had been released but this remains unconfirmed. Another Palestinian man working with a Latvian journalist was also detained on Shuhada Street during the day, held at a checkpoint for around 15 minutes and then released.

The arrest of a 13 year old boy on the 14th April follows a disturbing series of arrests and detentions of children as young as seven in the Old City of Hebron in recent months – “Occupied Childhoods”, a report on child-arrests compiled by the Hebron Christian Peacemaker Team is available here.

Israeli military invades houses during settler tour of Hebron

13th April 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Hebron, Occupied Palestine

By Team Khalil

Soldiers invading the souq - photo by ISM — Soldiers invading the souq – photo by ISM

Israeli soldiers invaded at least four Palestinian houses in the city of Hebron on Saturday 13th April, prior to and during the settler tour, intimidating children and families. During the tour, around fifty settlers and Jewish tourists occupied the Palestinian souq (market), surrounded by around fifty heavily-armed Israeli soldiers, border police and police officers.

Before the tour began, around twenty soldiers walked through the market, pointing guns into doorways, intimidating shoppers and restricting movement for Palestinians. At this point soldiers invaded two Palestinian homes, stationing themselves on the roofs of these homes for several hours until the end of the tour.

Following this initial military sweep of the area, fifty settlers and tourists entered the souq from settlements on Hebron’s Shuhada Street. Surrounded by around the same number of Israeli military personnel, they walked through the market, stopping regularly as their tour guides gave a biased, inaccurate and sensationalised account of the history of Hebron.

Soldiers invade a Palestinian home, scaring children. Photo by ISM

As the tour progressed through the souq, a group of soldiers split from the main group and invaded two other Palestinian houses, in one home disturbing a family with several young children and in another walking in on a young woman who was home alone (see video below). She stated that they enter her home every week, and she is usually the only person there. The soldiers are all heavily armed, aggressive and do not respond when asked why they are entering private Palestinian property.

After around an hour of disturbing Palestinian life in the souq, the settlers, tourists and soldiers returned to illegal Israeli settlements in the centre of the Old City of Hebron.

This “tour” of Hebron happens every week and is a regular disturbance for Palestinians in the busy souq of Hebron. Since the 2000 closure of Shuhada Street – traditionally the busiest market street in the Old City – more trade has moved into the souq. Rather than close it, many Palestinians believe that the Israeli authorities are trying to make life as uncomfortable and unsustainable as possible, in the hope that Palestinians will move from the area.

Photo essay : Demonstration at Hagai roadblock

12th April 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Hebron, Occupied Palestine

By Team Khalil

Photo Essay : The demonstrations at Hagai roadblock have been taking place for just over two months. The road has been blocked off since 2008, adding 12km to the journey from Hebron to villages and towns in the South Hebron Hills.

Tear gas was fired excessively at the small group of unarmed demonstrators roughly one minute after they started marching

One demonstrator was taken away in an ambulance after excessive exposure to tear gas

A demonstrator suffers from tear gas inhalation

A demonstrator kicks away a tear gas cannister

An Israeli flag is burned and placards of hunger strike Samer Issawi are held by demonstrators

A skunk water truck sprays foul smelling liquid into residential homes