About 30 Palestinians and international ISM activists from Canada, Finland, United States and the Netherlands entered a Palestinian house that was taken over by Israeli army around eight years ago. The re-occupation of the house was an attempt to return the house to its rightful owner and was a response to the takeover of a Palestinian house on Shuhada street by settlers under the protection of the Israeli army and border police on April 1 2012.
As activists started cleaning the house and preparing to spend the night there, the Israeli army prepared to invade the house with sound bombs, skunk water and soldiers in full riot gear. Over 50 soldiers and 5 border police blocked the road and cleared the surrounding area before entering the house that was being reoccupied, claiming that the house was now Jewish property.
The Dutch woman who disappeared following her arrest at the scene was released late this evening, yet must appear before Israelis again later this week regarding the conditions of her release.
1 April 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank
House sit in – Click here for more photos
A Dutch woman and several Palestinians were violently arrested today during an attempt to reclaim a Palestinian house at the entrance of the old city in occupied Al Khalil (Hebron).
About 30 Palestinians and international ISM activists from Canada, Finland, United States and the Netherlands entered a Palestinian house that was taken over by Israeli army around eight years ago. The re-occupation of the house was an attempt to return the house its rightful owner and was a response to the takeover of a Palestinian house on Shuhada street by settlers under the protection of the Israeli army and border police.
The windows of the house had been broken and the house was filled with trashed furniture, reminders of the families who had lived there. Stars of David and other graffiti covered the walls, and the floor was littered with the casings of rubber coated steel bullets and a tear gas canister. From the front window the watchtower of the settlement Beit Romano is visible.
As activists started cleaning the house and preparing to spend the night there, the Israeli army prepared to invade the house with sound bombs, skunk water and soldiers in full riot gear. Over 50 soldiers and 5 border police blocked the road and cleared the surrounding area before entering the house that was being reoccupied, claiming that the house was now Jewish property.
The soldiers then entered the house and began to forcefully remove the non-violent protesters by punching, hitting with batons, kicking, pulling people from their hair and grabbing them from their throat before pulling them out of the house.
“I was dragged out down a flight of stairs by my ankle by a soldier” said an ISM activist from Canada. “The soldier had his boot on my face,” said an ISMer from Finland.
One Palestinian was beaten until he became unconscious. He was taken to hospital with an ambulance with another injured person. When internationals and Palestinians attempted to help the unconscious man, the Israeli army threw sound bombs by his head and then dragged him away by his feet.
The Israeli army threw sound bombs and sprayed skunk water at the crowd that had gathered to support the Palestinians and internationals.
The Dutch activist and Youth Against Settlements leader Issa Amro are still being held by police. The whereabouts of the Dutch activist are unknown currently, and an emergency hotline for the Dutch Embassy only suggested that an email be sent to detail the event.
The embassy employee commented that, “We can see to it that she is fed, bathed, and if she needs medicine.” When asked if he can attempt to locate her, he mumbled a comment about her attending a demonstration, and stated “Israel is a friend of the Netherlands, and we respect the law of the land.” He then suggested to call the Dutch Consulate during its working hours and to send information about the woman to its email address.
ISM is working vigorously to determine the whereabouts of its volunteer, yet is fearful that while the Israelis deny that she is held in one of their imprisonment facilities despite dozens seeing her physically taken away by Israelis, that they may be attempting to deport her without fair trial or an accusation as they did with a British volunteer in July 2011.
Update: Dutch activist was release from Israeli detention on Monday April 2nd. She was held for 24 hours in Israeli jail and released without trial. The Palestinian’s arrested in the action were released from Ofer Military Prison on Wednesday April 4th with 1,000NIS bail and will return for trial in October.
Satu and Paige are volunteers with International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).
31 March 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank
Early Thursday morning approximately fifteen to twenty settlers occupied the house of the Abu Rajab family on Shuhada street near the Qeitun checkopint in Al Khalil (Hebron).
The settlers entered the house under the protection of the Israeli army and border police who blocked off access to the house and prevented Palestinians from passing by the streets while settlers moved freely.
Throughout the morning settlers continued to enter the house carrying food, pots and pans, cases of alcohol and other household supplies while internationals and Palestinians attempting to come to the aid of the Palestinians still inside the house were violently kept at a distance by the army and border police.
All non-settlers, including children from a nearby boys and girls school were prevented from walking on the street in front of the house, and were forced to take a long route home through Qeitun checkpoint.
In the past months the Abu Rajab family already has dealt with a lot. Among the many house raids that took place, where the 25+ people living there were evacuated for several hours, were two severe cases. Three months ago the left side of the house was taken over by soldiers, access forbidden ever since, forcing all the residents to live in the right part. About two weeks ago the soldiers also took the roof, damaging the water supply, which caused a leak that the family was not allowed to fix.
The illegal colonists claim that they have bought the house, a claim often made by settlers illegally occupying a Palestinian house. The location, on Shuhada street, is very much wanted by the Israeli settlers. MK Michael Ben Ari, from the National Union, showed the intent of the invasion when he stated, “It’s time to reclaim all of the homes taken by the enemies in the City of the Fathers.”
There are 8 Palestinians standing there ground. They have been in their house together with settlers for 3 days now.
Paige and Mira are volunteers with International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).
28 March 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank
Today at around 1 PM extremist settler Anat Cohen attacked a Canadian woman accompanying school children, and a few minutes later sent two teenage settlers to throw rocks at the Canadian woman and a Finnish man. The attack occurred at the bottom of the stairs connecting the Qordaba Girls School with the section of Shuhada street where Palestinians are allowed to walk.
Cohen passed the internationals in her car and stopped to talk to soldiers at the nearby checkpoint. She then reversed her car, parked next to the internationals and proceeded to shove, kick and scream at the Canadian women while soldiers looked on. Eventually a soldier came to force the internationals up the stairs, but did nothing to stop Cohen from harassing them.
In a transcript of the video provided by Uri Horesh, an ISM activist asks the soldier why he refuses to act despite Cohen’s intrusion and attack on the activist. As the soldier mumbles a response as to whether soldiers take orders from Cohen, Cohen declares vigorously, “I live here! Don’t say I should be taken away! I live here!!”
A few minutes later two settler children who Cohen had just spoken with ran up a parallel staircase and threw rocks at the internationals from less than a foot away, hitting the Finnish man in the ear. Two soldiers watched the second attack, then turned in the opposite direction and refused to intervene. Cohen then called the police, who demanded the passports of all the internationals present, who detained them for several minutes, and then told them they were not allowed to stand at the bottom or top of the stairs. When asked why the police were doing nothing about the attacks, a soldier responded that Anat Cohen is “well known to the police” and there was “nothing to be done.”
The staircase that connects Palestinian schools and houses with Shuhada street has been a site of frequent settler attacks, particularly on girls from the nearby Qordaba school who have been stoned by settlers many times on the stairs and the area leading to it.
Internationals have been accompanying children in this area to try and prevent attacks by settlers and harassment from soldiers.
Paige is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).
26 March 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank
Eight children between the ages of 14 to 17 years old were arrested in Beit Ummar during night raids from 6th to 11th of March conducted by the Israeli occupation forces following a nonviolent solidarity demonstration for the hungerstriker Khader Adnan on the 21st of February.
On Tuesday 20th of March the youth went to court at the Israeli military court at Ofer and faced a sentence of being banned from Beit Ummar, where they live with their families, for a period of 6 months. The youth are being accused of throwing stones at Israeli military installations. The detainees are Ayesh Khalid Sabri Awad (17 years), Basil Khalid Hassan Abu Hashim (15 years), Zain Hisham Khalil Abu Maria (15 years) Sami Amer Ahmed Abo Joudeh (16 years), Emad Mohammed Saed Solaiby (16 years), Mohab Jawdat Adi (14 years), Bilal Mahmud Awad Ayyad (16 years), and Ahmed Ali Mahmoud Solaiby (16 years)
The announcement of the sentence aroused opposition on the part of family members of the accused, leading to removal of the family members from the court and adjournment until the 25th of March. Issa Solaiby, father of Ahmed, says his son was also beaten by 4 soldiers in the court.
Hisham Abu Maria, father of Zain , claims that the children are being pressured to agree to false accusations. He said, “They made him (Zain) say he threw rocks at the soldiers even though there were no soldiers” present at the time noted in the charges.
The village of Beit ummar has around 17000 inhabitants and is surrounded by illegal, Zionist settlements. According to Issa Solaiby a member of the local Popular Committee, Beit Ummar used to consist of 33 000 dunams of land. The building of the separation wall by Israel and a road that is closed off to Palestinians took 13 000 dunams of the village land.
Since then an additional 3000 dunams have been stolen by settlers living in illegal Israeli settlements. The inhabitants of Beit Ummar suffer from violence from the settlers living in the surrounding settlements. Issa Solaiby also complains that the settlers prevent the farmers from access to their own land and destroy olive trees and grape vines.
In March the settlers living in illegal Beit Ain settlement destroyed 14 olivetrees, 21 grape vine plants, and 2 citrus trees from the village in an act of incitement.
According to Issa the settlers also enter the village with soldiers and guns to make the villagers aware of their aggressive presence. One year ago 17-year-old Yousef Ikhlayl was shot and killed by Israeli settlers as he was farming with his father. His killers remain unpunished.
Many of the villagers have been arrested and gone to jail. Imprisonment is a problem especially with young people. According to Muhannad Abu Awwad 10,000 villagers have gone to jail and at present 30 inhabitants, most of them under 16, are serving time in Israeli occupation prisoners.
Muhannad himself went to jail for two years from the age 21 until 23 and is now studying law.
Satu is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).
