14th September 2017 | International Solidarity Movement, Al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine
(Military vehicles entering the H1 area through a guarded checkpoint)
On Thursday evening, at around 6:40pm, the Al-Khalil team was patrolling the city and came across Israeli forces stationed by the Tareq roundabout, in the Altahta area south of the city. The military teams consisted of two groups of around six soldiers, several military vehicles and more soldiers stationed on the roof tops.
The tension was high since the area is a highly active traffic hub in Hebron, with large amounts of Palestinian residents in the streets.
The situation escalated when the crowd got larger and military forces used sound grenades and tear gas canisters to suppress the crowds. This was met with successful resistance from civilians, and the soldiers were forced to go back into the Salameh checkpoint.
Although nobody suffered from direct injuries, one Palestinian individual lost consciousness due to the stressful situation, and had to be carried away from the area.
The general situation in occupied Hebron has become more tense, due to the recent decision by the Israeli army to extend municipal powers to settlers in H2. The Israeli forces going into the H1 area of the city are common provocations towards the Palestinian people. Thursday nights are spent relaxing and enjoying the night off as Friday is a holiday. There was no threat or protest on the Palestinian side before the soldiers had entered, meaning that the Israeli forces’ decision to illegally enter the H1 area was unnecessary.
10th September 2017 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine
On Friday, 8th of September, large amounts of Israeli soldiers went into the H1 area of occupied Hebron, supposedly under full Palestinian control. The army used teargas and stun grenades at one of the main junctions in downtown Hebron, effecting the accessibility of the Manara square area for Palestinian citizens.
Soldiers at the al-Manara circle in Hebron
After Friday noon-prayer, the normal small scale protests took place by young Palestinians where ten soldiers came out of the H2 area monitoring the protesters in the street. Following this, the protesters backed away and discontinued their protesting. About 15 minutes later, 40 soldiers invaded the area throwing sound grenades within the Old City and moving up into the main central hub of Hebron, in an area supposedly under full Palestinian control, in two military vehicles. Some rocks were thrown at the soldiers by a few Palestinian youth, which was immediately met with unreasonable force by soldiers throwing stun grenades and several tear gas canisters in an area with uninvolved civilians. Many Palestinians were forced to rapidly drive away in their cars in order to escape the suffocating effects of teargas used by the israeli forces in a civilian neighbourhood. These included young children and families, and additionally many shop owners had to evacuate their shops due to the amount of tear gas clouds.
Isreali forces shooting teargas in civilian Palestinian area
The direction of the wind blew the tear gas back towards the soldiers who were throwing it, indicating that this disruption was not thoroughly planned, and many of the soldiers were not experienced enough to handle tear gas in the first place. Consequently, the soldiers were forced back past Shuhada checkpoint and into the H2-area under full Israeli military control. Tear gas, a so-called ‘non-lethal weapon’, causes effects of suffocation and untreated can lead to death. Many of its long terms effects are still unknown.
The teargas clouds in Hebron
Friday is a holy day in Islam, and many Palestinian citizens were enjoying their day off of work in the city-center. Most did not expect to have the city center disrupted by the Israeli forces, and others who work even on holidays, lost some of their daily income. The area which was invaded, is part of the H1-area, which according to the Hebron Protocol, is supposedly under full Palestinian control. This disruption was an extremely exaggerated response, in view of the fact that the small amount of protesters were not posing any kind of imminent threat.
Israeli forces in their jeeps driving towards Hebron city center
5th September 2017 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Umm al-Kheir, south Hebron, occupied Palestine
Spent the last two days at Umm Al Khair, a Bedouin village in the South Hebron Hills enjoying the wonderful hospitality, generosity, and loving kindness. This was not my first trip there. And as much as I hate to say it, as with most things in Palestine, things are so much worse than my last visit. The illegal colonial settlement of Carmel belonging to the entity called israel surrounds the village on almost every side. Some of the tents and housing units are less than 20 feet from the “security” fence. Housing units in the illegal settlement have increased and more are being built with plans to take more of the land owned by the village to continue expansion.
Some of the newest settler homes in Carmel
The villagers sit day after day waiting for the illegal occupation soldiers to come with their bulldozers to demolish more of their housing. People speak openly about their discouragement for their future but still stand steadfast that they will not be moved or defeated. Our tent was one of those closest to the Fence and for two nights we sat up most of the night while zionists threw stones and rocks over the fence at the tent at anything that appeared to move. The village leader says the violence is increasing all of the time and fears that one of these night something much worse than rocks will be thrown. Fortunately no one was hurt (physically) the past two nights but there was little to no sleep for us or any of the men of the village who sat up keeping and open eye and ear to try to spot the thugs doing this. The commotion would wake up many of the villagers and you could hear the crying of many frightened small children throughout the night.
The “security” fence less than 20 feet from the tent
This is an every night occurrence and everyone is exhausted, all of the time, and can only catch a few hours of sleep after sunrise. Phone calls to the police of the entity called israel Police as well as the Palestinian Authority Police are a waste of time. No one will respond to the calls for help to make the settler violence stop. Many internationals, such as ourselves go for a few nights (when we have the people to do so) to help with a protective presence but it doesn’t stop the ever increasing settler violence. The Bedouins are very peaceful people and are committed to nonviolence but they are called the terrorists by the zionists, and most of the zionist supporting governments of the world (such as the United States). More International presence is needed and more of the world needs to know the truth.
29th August 2017 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine
Israeli forces in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron) are severely restricting, for the second day in a row, the freedom of movement for Palestinian students and teachers at Qurtuba school. Whereas on Monday students and teachers were detained by Israeli forces for almost half an hour before being allowed to continue on their way home after the school day, the following day Israeli forces prevented the students from bringing essential school materials and denying them, again, to pass the checkpoint.
Palestinian students detained at staircase leading to Shuhada Street when leaving Qurtuba school on Monday
Qurtuba school is located in the H2-area of occupied al-Khalil, under full Israeli military control. In order to reach Qurtuba school, all students and teachers are forced to pass at least one, sometimes two, or even three Israeli military checkpoints within Palestinian neighborhoods. The majority of the students and teachers accesses the school through a set of stairs at Daboya checkpoint. This checkpoint marks for Palestinians the spot where Shuhada Street has been ethnically cleansed of Palestinians, an undergoing policy which continuously forbids them from this point further down the road – the part of Shuhada Street where the illegal Israeli settlements in the heart of the city are located. At Daboya checkpoint, thus, the only possible direction for Palestinians is to go up the stairs, which lead to Qurtuba school.
At the end of 2015 though, right after the whole area of Tel Rumeida including Shuhada Street has been declared a ‘closed military zone’ by the Israelis, limiting the access to registered (that is, numbered Palestinians), the access to the staircase has been closed for use by Palestinians, whereas settlers are free to use the stairs as they please. The only exception to this closure is Qurtuba school’s students and teachers twice a day: in the morning at the start of the school day, and in the afternoon once school finishes – at least, in theory. Several times students and teachers have been denied passage or detained for hours at this spot.
This setting alone creates an atmosphere not especially conducive to learning, with the constant uncertainty of what will happen: whether you will be checked, searched, detained or arrested at a checkpoint on the way to school or home, whether your teachers will get to school or settlers might attack you on the way or inside the school, in what becomes a vital part of the (psychological) occupation of the Palestinian civilians living in this area. On Monday, 28th August, the students were detained with their teachers after the end of the school day, waiting at the top of the staircase for the soldiers to finally decide to allow them to reach their homes. On Tuesday, when students wanted to bring school books, they were again detained by the soldiers at the top of the stairs, while down on Shuhada Street, infamous and aggressive settlers Anat Cohen (ענת כהן) and Ofer Yohana (עופר אוחנה) gathered to watch the show of power by the Israeli forces. Eventually, the soldiers denied children the possibility of carrying their school materials altogether, and the children went back to their classes without books.
Palestinian students detained and eventually denied to bring school materials by Israeliforces on Tuesday
These actions constitute severe infringements on the Palestinian students basic human right to education, and are deliberate attempts at the quiet transfer of the Palestinian community from the whole area. Israeli forces are creating a coercive environment in order to leave no other option for Palestinians to leave the area and thus create an already connected area of illegal settlements – free of any Palestinian presence.
24th August 2017 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine
Israeli soldiers, for the second day in a row, invaded the old town in Hebron (al-Khalil), arresting four people. The occupation forces blocked the main road for 4 hours restricting the movement of the Palestinians. The Israeli forces used stun grenades to control the crowd.
Israeli forces restricting the movement of Palestinians
Around 9 am a group of soldiers went into the streets of the old town in Hebron. They arrested one man, and brought him to the military base. At the same time, the forces blocked the main market road, restricting people from moving between the market and their homes. This has impact on the trade based economy in the old town, where the shopkeepers are already in economic hardship, due to the Israeli occupation and, amongst others, the enforced movement restrictions.
Israeli forces throwing stun grenades at Palestinians
Around 11.45 am the Israeli soldiers withdrew into the military base, except for one military unit, who patrolled the area. Around 3 pm the Israeli forces returned to their previous position in the old town, and blocked the road yet another time, this time arresting 3 children. 2 boys aged 13 and 14, and one boy aged 7. The father of the 7-year-old, intervened and managed to get his son free whereas the other two children were taken by the soldiers without their parents or guardians presence. The details about were the two other arrested children were brought, are still unclear. Around 3.30 pm, the occupation forces violently dispersed the crowd by throwing a stun grenade towards a group of Palestinians, including children and elderly, and afterwards retreating to their military base.
