Tag: Invasion

Intimidating nightraids and arrests in the peaceful village of Osarin

22th november 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Huwwara team | Osarin, occupied Palestine

In the night of the 21st of november the village of Osarin was raided by Israeli forces. Approximately 60 Israeli soldiers entered the small village of only 2000 inhabitants at 1 AM and gathered in the central part of the village where they immediately confiscated one of the homes.

The soldiers split up in 5 groups of 12 soldiers. Each group went to a separate home to arrest a boy. The young boys (ages ranging 15 to 20) were handcuffed and taken with their fathers to the confiscated house in the center of the village for interrogation.

The boys were informed by the soldier they were arrested for throwing stones at the Israeli forces a few days earlier and for shining with laser lights. The boys were than interrogated by the soldiers. One boy explained how he was forced to strip naked in front of the soldiers so they could make sure he didn’t carry any weapon on him. All the boys were told to stand on one leg with their heads against the wall for over a hour.
All of the boys were released after 2 hours of interrogation. One of the boys’ fathers who works in Israel was told by the soldiers that he would loose his job if his son ‘made trouble’ again. The next day one of the village officials went to meet with the Israeli forces. They told him straight forward that no boys in the village could ‘make trouble’ again. In his response he explained that he could only speak for his own child, not the others.

The night raid on Osarin came after the army set up 2 road blocks around Osarin (both alongside the route 505 highway) which were ment to prohibit the movement of local Palestinians and close off the small village from surrounding areas.

This wasn’t the first time soldiers raided Osarin, local residents explained that the village was raided 2 times before the road blocks. Each time a group of 20 soldiers would enter the village in the middle of night when everyone was asleep. They would set off sound bombs and shoot in the air just to deprive people of their sleep. The local residents of Osarin said that these raids had no purpose and were just pure intimidation of the village and its inhabitants.

Morning settler attack triggers clash with serious injuries in Qusra

18th November 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Qusra, Occupied Palestine

Early yesterday morning, a Palestinian family was attacked by approximately 20 settlers on their fields in Qusra village, southeast of Nablus. 30 olive trees were also destroyed. Following this incident, a clash broke out between Israeli forces and Palestinian youth in the village where a house was raided and Israeli soldiers fired many tear gas canisters, rubber-coated steel bullets and injured eight Palestinians.

At 10:00 yesterday morning a family from Qusra entered their olive grove. Shortly afterwards a group of approximately 20 settlers from the illegal settlement of Migdalim arrived and began to threaten the family, uprooting between 30-50 olive trees. This land stretches across 50 dunams and borders the Israeli controlled Area C portion of the West Bank, it is the fifth time this family’s land have been attacked by settlers. Half an hour passed before Israeli soldiers arrived and removed the settlers to limit the damage, however when an international activist arrived to document the incident, Israeli forces had already entered Qusra village.

A group of 50 young Palestinians threw stones to try and prevent an Israeli military vehicle from invading the village; however Israeli forces then began firing tear gas canisters and rubber-coated steel bullets. After one hour passed, five Palestinians were shot with rubber-coated steel bullets and the Israeli soldiers were extremely aggressive in their attack. They then withdrew from the village only to enter from another part of Qusra, proceeding to raid a house in the centre of the village and from the roof of this house continuing to fire many rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas canisters.

The invaded house belongs to the same Palestinian family who was attacked by settlers early in the day, whether this was a sign of warning to the family is unknown, however much tear gas entered the house during the raid and several family members suffered from tear gas inhalation. Two children, ages six and seven, were unconscious for several minutes and required medical treatment from the Red Crescent ambulant service that was present during the raid. Muhammad Nashad, the uncle of these two children, was beaten by the Israeli soldiers, who forced him to his knees and fired a stun grenade directly in front of him. 21-year-old Ali Farid, another family member, attempted to block the soldier’s entrance into the home when he was shot in the arm with a rubber-coated steel bullet.

Israeli forces eventually left the village, leaving behind damaged property and at least 8 injuries, including 18-year-old Hamada Rida who was shot in the chest with a rubber-coated steel bullet and was taken to hospital to receive medical treatment.

Video: Settlers and soldiers storm Joseph’s tomb in Balata

21th August 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Balata Refugee Camp, Occupied Palestine

Last night, hundreds of settlers accompanied by Israeli forces invaded Balata refugee camp in Nablus to pray at Joseph’s Tomb. Israeli soldiers shot tear gas canisters and sound bombs at residents who protested the incursion – three youths were reportedly arrested.

At around 12am, several buses carrying hundreds of settlers, escorted by Israeli military, invaded Balata refugee camp. The settlers went to Joseph’s tomb to pray while Israeli soldiers separated into various groups and patrolled the area around the tomb. Residents of Balata, outraged by the incursion, left their homes to protest the invasion and were soon met with tear gas canisters and sound bombs shot at them. Soldiers blocked all entrances of the refugee camp, severely restricting movement of people in and out of the camp.

International activists were present at the scene and could witness how Israeli soldiers were shooting the teargas canisters directly at people rather than in an arc as the Israeli military guidelines on shooting teargas dictate. Soldiers also fired teargas directly into the narrow residential streets, several times hitting and damaging civilian cars. No one was injured there are reports that three Palestinian youths from the area were arrested.

Running from the tear gas canisters fired at protesters, one resident stated: “This happens every week. This is our life in the camp; constant settler and army invasions…the Israeli army comes with the settlers to protect them while they are praying but we, Palestinians, have no right to be in our camp”.

Indeed, this type of incursion is part of the daily life of Palestinian refugees living in Balata camp. Israeli settlers believe that Joseph’s tomb is a holy place, where Joseph is buried. Thus, groups of extremist settlers storm the camp and perform religious rituals on a weekly basis. Israeli soldiers, as usual protecting the settlers, shoot tear gas canisters and sound bombs at residents around the tomb.

For Urif the price can never be high enough

15th June 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Urif, Occupied Palestine

On Tuesday, 11th June, Israeli forces invaded the village of Urif and arrested nine youths between the ages of eighteen and twenty-seven. This incident is believed by the villagers to be related to the ‘price-tag’ settler attacks that the village suffered on 30th April.

At around 1am, forty foot soldiers and four jeeps coming from the nearby Yizhar settlement raided Urif and arrested the nine youths.  Without giving any information, the soldiers left in the early hours of the morning, leaving the village at roughly 4am.

Israeli soldier pointing at residents of Urif with a M16 rifle charged with rubber coated steel bullets during a settler attack last January (Photo by ISM)
Israeli soldier pointing at residents of Urif with a M16 rifle charged with rubber coated steel bullets during a settler attack last January (Photo by ISM)

The town’s mayor says the incident is part of an ongoing assault on the villagers who rightfully resist settler attacks. He stated, “nobody complains when Israel violates the law like this anymore, they are too afraid of being arrested themselves”. He also believes there is a clear pattern of targeting all the young men in the area in order to create circumstances where the only people left to defend their land are older and other vulnerable people.

The incident, as mentioned earlier, is directly linked to the confrontations that erupted between Palestinian youths and settlers and Israeli armed forces after settlers from Yizhar settlement attacked the villages of Urif, Burin and Asira. These ‘price-tag’ attacks on Palestinian villagers were followed by the killing of a settler by a Palestinian at the Za’tara checkpoint on April 30th.

Urif, located southwest of the city of Nablus, is one of several villages in proximity to the extremely hostile settlement of Yizhar and as such subject to constant harassment and violence from settlers and Israeli forces.

Settlers from Yizhar, including the head rabbi, have distributed Islamphobic literature, describing Palestinians as a “Cancer that needs to be cleansed from the land of Israel” and created pamphlets expressing support for Israeli mass murderers, most notably Baruch Goldstein, who carried out the Cave of the Patriarchs massacre.

These settlers are also known for being the ideologists of the ‘price-tag’ practice, where any kind of action taken against settlement expansion in the occupied Palestinian territories by the Israeli government is met with harsh, violent and aggressive attacks on Palestinian communities.

Israeli army detains a 10-year-old during the weekly demonstration in Kafr Qaddum

14th June 2013 | International Women’s Peace Service | Kafr Qaddum, Occupied Palestine

On Friday 14 June, the Israeli army arrested a 10-year-old child during the weekly protest in Kafr Qaddum. Israeli soldiers fired tear gas canisters and sound bombs at the villagers; many local residents suffered from tear gas inhalation.

At approximately 12:00, when residents and international solidarity activists started gathering for the demonstration before the Friday prayers, nearly 30 foot soldiers stormed the village from the main road leading toward the illegal Israeli settlement Qedumim. As they entered the village, they fired tear gas canisters directly at the group before the demonstration even began. Local youth resisted the incursion, chasing the soldiers back from the bystanders toward a hill overlooking the village.

Tyre barricades burning (Photo by IWPS)
Tyre barricades at Kafr Qaddum demonstration (Photo by IWPS)

Over the next two and a half hours, soldiers shot tear gas and threw sound bombs at demonstrators in the olive groves next to the main road of the village. At approximately 12:30, soldiers detained a 10-year-old boy. While in their custody, soldiers tied his hands, grabbed him by the neck, beat him and threatened to “drop [him] from this rock.”

Nearly one and a half hours later, the boy was released and residents of Kafr Qaddum celebrated his return. Soldiers continued to fire tear gas at local youth protesting at the edge of the village close to the illegal settler colony of Qedumim. No further arrests were made and the demonstration ended at around 15:00.

Kafr Qaddum is a 3,000-year-old agricultural village that sits on 24,000 dunams of land. The village was occupied by the Israeli army in 1967; in 1978, the illegal settler-colony of Qedumim was established nearby on the remains of a former Jordanian army camp, occupying 4,000 dunams of land stolen from Kafr Qaddum.

The villagers are currently unable to access an additional 11,000 dunams of land due to the closure by the Israeli army of the village’s main and only road leading to Nablus in 2003. The road was closed in three stages, ultimately restricting access for farmers to the 11,000 dunams of land that lie along either side to one or two times a year. Since the road closure, the people of Kafr Qaddum have been forced to rely on an animal trail to access this area; the road is narrow and, according to the locals, intended only for animals. In 2004 and 2006, three villagers died when they were unable to reach the hospital in time. The ambulances carrying them were prohibited from using the main road and were forced to take a 13 km detour. These deaths provoked even greater resentment in Kafr Qaddum and, on 1 July 2011, the villagers decided to unite in protest in order to re-open the road and protect the land in danger of settlement expansion along it.

Israeli soldiers standing on the hilltop during the demonstration (Photo by IWPS)
Israeli soldiers standing on the hilltop during the demonstration (Photo by IWPS)

Kafr Qaddum is home to 4,000 people; some 500 residents attend the weekly demonstrations. The villagers’ resilience, determination and organization have been met with extreme repression. More than 120 village residents have been arrested; most spend 3-8 months in prison; collectively they have paid over NIS 100,000 to the Israeli courts. Around 2,000 residents have suffocated from tear-gas inhalation, many in their own homes. Over 100 residents have been shot directly with tear-gas canisters. On 27 April 2012, one man was shot in the head by a tear-gas canister that fractured his skull in three places; the injury cost him his ability to speak. In another incident, on 16 March 2012 an Israeli soldier released his dog into the crowded demonstration, where it attacked a young man, biting him for nearly 15 minutes whilst the army watched. When other residents tried to assist him, some were pushed away while others were pepper-sprayed directly in the face.

The events of the past week are part of a continuous campaign by the Israeli military to harass and intimidate the people of Kafr Qaddum into passively accepting the human rights violations the Israeli occupation, military and the illegal settlers inflict upon them.