Tag: Hebron - Page 64 - International Solidarity Movement

Night raids continue in al-Khalil (Hebron)

22nd November 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

On Tuesday, 17th November, several groups of soldiers raided houses in the Wadi al-Hurriya neighborhood of al-Khalil (Hebron), an H1 district legally outside of Israeli control. From 7.30pm, Israeli forces were present in the area, divided into groups of 7-12 soldiers and entering every house and business on designated streets. At some of the residences they entered by force, violently smashing through doors. They checked every I.D card of the residents and also, according to soldiers who confronted the ISM volunteers, searched for weapons. Later in the night they informed the volunteers that they were looking for weapons and collecting data in order to prevent potential stabbings: “yes, some people are scared. But some people have reason to be scared.”

Soldiers on street while the unit searches Palestinian house with flashlight

Each group of soldiers patrolled different streets and dark alleys, checking each house and entering with backpacks, mapping equipment, bullet-proof vests, and cocked machine guns. On entering houses, 2-3 soldiers remained outside to “secure” the entrance, periodically pointing guns at passers-by and preventing vehicle and pedestrian passage through the streets.

Israeli forces take over streets of Wadi Al-Hurriya, stop and search cars

The raids lasted until at least 12.30am, after which one unit was witnessed occupying the second floor of a Palestinian house – the other half of which was inhabited by a Palestinian family – and could be heard setting up sleeping equipment. According to the soldiers questioned on site: “no, we are not inside a Palestinian house, they are not living in this house.” The residence is located within 500 meters of an army base and checkpoint bordering the H2 restricted area of al-Khalil.

It was reported later from residents who were in contact with ISM that furniture and property was damaged on the night. This is typical of night raids on Palestinian houses, and in other incidences money and other property has also been stolen. While these raids have been used extensively in the al-Khalil district in recent weeks as part of a tactic of intimidation, it is unclear as to whether the policy of raiding the H1 district and squatting family homes will continue.

Israeli forces and settlers increase efforts to force Palestinians out and silence observers

21st November 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

Monday 2^nd November 2015, Israeli forces again attempted to prevent international observers from monitoring a checkpoint in a flashpoint location in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron). Settlers from the illegal settlements in al-Khalil physically attacked internationals while soldiers where standing idly by watching.

As on every morning, international observers were on their way to checkpoint 55, dividing Shuhada Street into a small stretch where Palestinians are allowed to walk, and the former main Palestinian market which is now a ghost street emptied of Palestinians, who are prohibited from entry. On the way there, the three international observers were stopped by soldiers while walking past another checkpoint. Soldiers ordered them to pass through the checkpoint, even though that was in the opposite direction to where they were going. The Israeli forces at first refused to give a reason for this order and then explained that it was, ‘a rule’ and that, ‘they say so’.

School-children climbing the stairs to their school

A official order for a ‘closed military zone’ was in place the day before, but had expired today. Still, Israeli soldiers claimed that the internationals did not live in the area and therefore were not allowed to be there. At one point, soldiers grabbed one of the ISMers by his arm, saying that they were going to arrest him. When reminded that, as soldiers, they were, according to the Israeli law, not allowed to arrest internationals, they refrained from the arrest and instead noted down his passport number. During the whole discussion, internationals were repeatedly threatened with arrest, for no reason.

Israeli soldier writing down passport number of an international

When the internationals were finally allowed to proceed to the checkpoint close to Qurtuba school, after about 15 minutes, the soldiers there prevented them from standing at the checkpoint, stating that, ‘their existence is a provocation’. Thus, not being allowed to stand close to the checkpoint, the internationals were forced to walk up and down the street, accompanying the school-children towards their school.

Children gathering before passing down the stairs in the afternoon on their way home from school

In the afternoon, Israeli forces arbitrarily decided to forbid internationals from going up the stairs to the school, forcing them to remain at the bottom of the staircase. Due to their fear of being attacked, all the children left the school together with their teachers – and were allowed to pass through Shuhada Street on their way home, contrary to the previous day, when soldiers denied them their right to go there on their way home. Right after the children had passed, the infamous, violent settler, Anat Cohen, drove up in her car, trying to knock down one of the internationals with her car. She then – in plain view of a group of four soldiers – physically attacked the two internationals, hitting them in the face several times, punching them and trying to break their cameras. Even though the internationals asked the soldiers to intervene, they merely stood by, watching. An elderly settler man pushed one of the internationals, and another one tried to grab the camera from her hand. Throughout the whole attack, the settlers present, as well as settlers from the nearby illegal settlement watching from their windows, insulted the internationals calling them ‘Nazis’ and telling them to, ‘go to Auschwitz’. Requests by the internationals to make a complaint against the violent attack were ignored.

Watch a video of the attack:

The soldiers, in the morning, occupied with harassing and intimidating international observers, let school-children pass up the stairs to the school and kindergarten without harrassing them any further. While female teachers were allowed to pass without being stopped, male adults coming down or up the stairs were stopped and ID-checked by the soldiers. With the escalation of violence and harassment against Palestinians in recent weeks, the way to school for the children has become increasingly intimidating and dangerous, not only for the school-children, but also their parents and teachers.

Israeli forces terrorizing Palestinian neighbourhood on a daily basis

19th November 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

Monday, 16^th November 2015, Israeli forces raided and searched at least ten houses in the Abu Sneineh neighbourhood in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron). Israeli forces entered several homes in the neighbourhood, trapping women, children, and whole families inside. This has been an almost daily occurrence in this neighbourhood.

Israeli forces on their way to raid yet another Palestinian house

A dozen masked Israeli soldiers entererd the house of Arafat Qafashea. On the first floor, they ransacked one room, breaking tiles on the floor. On the second floor, where the wife of Arafat was home alone, soldiers cornered her aggresively, questioning her about the location of her husband, and accusing him of being a Hamas activist – even though she kept telling them that he was at work as a taxi driver.

Israeli forces about to enter another house

Just two houses further up the street, Israeli forces entered another house, searching it – this time without breaking anything. Two internationals were invited into the house by the family but the soldiers would not allow them to join the family. Israeli forces stated that the reason the internationals were not allowed to enter the house was that they would be, ‘taking photos’. After some time, one of the soldiers admitted that a group of soldiers were ‘taking a rest’ next to the family’S home because they had ‘heavy bags.’ According to the residents, Israeli forces have repeatedly taken the house several times for several hours with groups of between a dozen and two dozens soldiers sleeping there – thus turning it into a military base.

Soldier sleeping next to a Palestinian family home

In other parts of the neighbourhood, groups of soldiers were having lunch, blocking the street from anyone walking past.

Israeli forces having a break in the streets

About 30 soldiers were also ‘resting’ in the street close to another Palestinian family home, completely blocking any possible passageway for the Palestinian residents.

Israeli soldiers sleeping on the street blocking the way

With a large number of soldiers in the neighbourhood, fears of further house-raids for families are running high and parents were calling for their children to “go watch TV and don’t be scared – the army is coming”.

Small Palestinian boy sorrounded by Israeli soldiers and machine-guns

Parents, worried about their children, fear that when they go to work the army might enter thire house, scaring their children and possibly wrecking all of their belongings. Furthermore, settlers from the nearby illegal settlements sometimes shoot live ammunition at Palestinian homes in this neighbourhood, breaking windows and endangering everyone inside the house or outside on the streets.

Eye-witness account of a murder: ‘They didn’t want her alive, they want her dead, they meant to kill her”

16th November 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

On 25^th October 2015, 17-year old Dania Arsheid was gunned down by Israeli forces in front of the Ibrahimi mosque in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron) and left to bleed to death. One of the shopkeepers nearby the Ibrahimi mosque witnessed the events leading up to this ruthless murder and agreed to make a statement.

After school finished around 1:20pm on that fateful Sunday, Dania was on her way from the Palestinian souq (market) in the Old City of al-Khalil towards the Ibrahimi mosque. She passed the first revolving gate and the metal detector without any problems – the metal detector did not indicate any metal objects. When passing the second revolving door, soldiers at the nearby checkpoint at the entrance of the mosque called for her to come there. Upon hearing this, the witness, who owns a shop, just meters away from the revolving gate, decided to go through the checkpoint to make sure that the girl was okay.
Dania passed yet another metal detector at the checkpoint at the mosque entrance and put her bag on the table there, as requested by the Israeli forces. They searched her entire bag but they were not able to find anything. Regardless of that, Israeli forces kept asking Dania ‘where is the knife’ over and over again – completely ignoring her answer that ‘there is no knife’. When one of the soldiers suddenly shot a bullet between her feet yelling at her, she raised her hands and moved back down the stairs. Nevertheless, the soldiers continued questioning her aggressively about a knife – even though she had her hands raised and her bag had been searched with no knife found; and Dania repeatedly asserting that she did not have any knife.

After the first shot was fired, more and more soldiers arrived to the checkpoint, so that it was impossible to tell how many of them shot the 6-7 fatal bullets at Dania – a girl who had her hands up in the air, who had been searched extensively and who had at no point posed any threat. Immediately after she was gunned down, Palestinians in the area – including the witness – were forced to move back through the checkpoint into the souq. The soldiers pointed their assault rifles at the witnesses pushing them out of the area and immediately afterwards closed off the checkpoint for anyone to enter and exit for about an hour.

The first ambulance arrived about 15 minutes after Dania was gunned down. “They didn’t want her alive, they want her dead, they meant to kill her”, explains the witness, stating that they could have easily arrested her. At no point after her body was perforated with bullets was any first aid provided, and the shooters left her lying on the ground slowly bleeding to death. Instead of giving first aid, Israeli forces proceeded to block the view so nobody but them would be able to see the 17-year old school-girl bleed to death.

“She came [to the checkpoint] and didn’t do anything – and then she was killed.”

“When soldiers see a camera they come to you like a beast”

16^th November 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

Since the beginning of October Israeli soldier- and settler violence has increased sharply and resulted in even further restrictions on Palestinians’ everyday lives in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron). Imad Abu Shamsiyyeh, a volunteer with the Palestinian organization Human Rights Defenders, has been documenting the growing harassment, intimidation and violence by soldiers and illegal settlers alike. Since the extrajudicial execution of Hadil Al-Hashlamoun on 22^nd September, Israeli forces have redoubled their aggressive targeting of anyone trying to monitor and report on Israeli crimes.

In the days since two young Palestinians were ruthlessly gunned down in the Tel Rumeida neighbourhood of the H2 area of al-Khalil (Hebron), the already intolerable situation has worsened significantly. As of the 30th October all residents of Tel Rumeida have been forced to register with the Israeli army as they declared this Palestinian neighbourhood – in contrast to the adjacent illegal Israeli settlement – a ‘closed military zone’. Imad Abu Shamsiyyeh and Human Rights Defenders called on residents to refuse to comply with these inhumane and arbitrary new military rules. But with the recent wave of extrajudicial executions and growing violence in Tel Rumeida, fear in the community has been so high that “for our survival there was no option, only to register” articulates Imad. For Palestinians the developments in Tel Rumeida exemplify “a new technique to transfer [Palestinian] families and expand [illegal Israeli] settlements”. Every time Palestinians leave their house, they are subjected to ID-checks, bag- and body searches. For relatives and would-be visitors of Tel Rumeida residents, passage through the checkpoints is denied. Often relatives find a way to sneak into the area where they then are at high risk of being arrested. Imad vividly illustrates that the Israeli forces “gave me the number 36, its just like in prison. They try to make you a number, you’re not a person”. Residents are forced to endure all this, and in addition, despite the legal requirement for law enforcement who would restrict anyones passage to produce a currently valid military order with a map showing clearly what areas are restricted, none of the residents has ever been shown such an order. abeen shown an actual military order.

In addition to these intolerable inhumane conditions that beset the daily lives of Palestinian residents of Tel Rumeida, Palestinians and internationals alike are confronted with extreme hardships and violence when documenting the ongoing atrocities by the Israeli army and illegal settlers. Imad explains that before the implementation of these new draconian measures both Palestinians and internationals were filming and documenting the everyday violence around Tel Rumeida, but now soldiers, “when they see the camera they come to you like beasts”. Soldiers have repeatedly damaged cameras and confiscated electronic devices during nightly house raids. Both Palestinian activist groups – like Human Rights Defenders and Youth Against Settlements, as well as international human rights observers have been targeted by the Israeli soldiers and police explicitly for documenting and exposing Israeli crimes. Being an activist, Imad and thus also his entire family are at even greater risk of becoming the direct target of violence.

On Saturday, the 7^thof November large groups of Israeli settlers wandered the streets of this “closed military zone” escorted by Israeli soldiers. Soldiers commonly ‘temporarily’ confiscate Palestinian homes for “military purposes”, during which time they routinely lock up all of the family members in one room. On Saturday, when 70-100 settlers took over the roof of the Shamsiyyeh family home, threw rocks at the property, and deliberately destroyed the familys water pump and pipes, the family was luckily not home at that time. “The most scary is that settlers are more free to walk the area with their guns. It makes us scared for our children”. The danger brought by these illegal settlers roaming unchecked with M16s slung casually about their shoulders and with the endorsement of the military now prevents Palestinian children in this neighbourhood from being able to play outside any longer, and confines them to stay inside the house all day. The same evening, while the Shamsiyyeh family was peacefully sitting in their living room together they were suddenly startled by the sound of three bullets fired at their house. They were forced to hide in their kitchen for an hour, after Imad saw masked soldiers surrounding their house.

Settlers on the roof of the Shamsiyyeh family home Photo credit: Imad Abu Shamsiyyeh — Settlers on the roof of the Shamsiyyeh family home
Photo credit: Imad Abu Shamsiyyeh

Some families have already left the neighbourhood as they see no other option to keep their families safe from the constantly increasing aggression of soldiers and settlers. Settlers face no consequences whatsoever when targeting and abusing Palestinian families and internationals, and in fact if anyone should even think to defend her/himself even verbally against this violence, generally s/he is arrested or shot . Imad clarifies that “sometimes there is no difference between internationals and Palestinians when they come to report”.

Still, Imad insists that it is essential to resist the illegal Israeli occupation and inhumane practices and continue the efforts to report on them. Although the Israeli forces do whatever they can to silence the truth, it becomes increasingly urgent that the world stops turning a blind eye on this ongoing massacre.