Tag: Israeli Army - Page 108 - International Solidarity Movement

Khan-al-Luban: Israeli army attack

20th April 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team| Khan al-Luban, Occupied Palestine

On Monday 21 April 2014 two International Women’s Peace Service [IWPS] volunteers were playing uno [a card game] outside with two children of the Abu Jamal family in Khan al-Luban, close to the Nablus-Ramallah road. Their elder brother Jimmy was plastering the bathroom and their mother was inside doing house chores.

IWPS and ISM volunteers have kept a permanent presence in Khan al-Luban this past week, as the family has been the target of attacks by the Israeli military and Israeli settlers from the surrounding illegal settlements. The family has been especially worried since the father,was arrested last Wednesday. Their fears proved to be well founded.

Below is the eyewitness account by IWPS volunteers of yesterday’s events:

At 6:45pm an Israeli army jeep pulled in front of a building across the street from the family house, then backed out of the driveway and drove along the road towards the back of the house. We all went into the center area and shut the doors, but went outside to photograph what they were doing as the three Israeli soldiers got out of the jeep and started coming over the fence and onto the roof. We climbed to the roof area where they had come onto the property. They asked one of the human rights volunteers to show her passport but she refused.

Jimmy stayed inside because he thought they might be looking for him. One of the young sons talked to the soldiers on the roof and the army called for back up.

After the soldiers began shouting at the mother and her child, Jimmy came out to the roof area, no longer able to stay hidden. He told the soldiers that they were on his family’s property and that they should stop yelling at his mother and younger brothers.

The soldiers became belligerent and hit him with their hands. They then attempted to handcuff Jimmy, and dragged him partway across the roof; by that time the cuffs were fully on. At that point they knocked him down and hit him on the head with the back of a rifle. Jimmy was unconscious from that time on and appeared to convulse slightly. They continued to beat him after he collapsed.

We all yelled at them that he needed an ambulance and the mother attempted to get one; she also called the neighbours on the phone. Some passing cars pulled over and three Palestinian men came to try to help the family. The soldiers responded by throwing a stun grenade.

Two more jeeps arrived, bringing an additional 8-9 soldiers; one of the jeeps had a siren on, leading us to believe that it was an ambulance until it arrived. The soldiers were fully armed with rifles, tear gas, and stun grenades. One threw a stun grenade that landed on the roof, a few feet away from unconscious Jimmy and his hysterical mother. The ambulance that she had phoned also arrived. At this point several soldiers grabbed Jimmy, still unconscious, by his arms and legs, attempting to put him in one of their jeeps, however the emergency services and the other Palestinians were able to take over, and got him into the ambulance instead. The mother went with her son to Rafidiya hospital in Nablus. An army jeep followed the ambulance.

The soldiers arrested one of the Palestinians and took him away in the first jeep. Another stun grenade was thrown directly at those of us on the roof as the army drove away.

As of 9:30pm, Jimmy was awake and in stable condition, although x-rays showed that he suffered from several broken ribs and multiple fractures.

UPDATED: 20-year-old Mariam Barghouti has now been released

15th April 2014 | International Solidarity Movement | Occupied Palestine

Update Friday 18th April:

Mariam was released yesterday evening and is now home with her family.

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Update Thursday 17th April:

Mariam had a military court hearing this morning and the military judge agreed to release her on bail. Mariam’s bail has been paid and she is expected to be released later this evening.

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Update Wednesday 16th April:

At Mariam’s military court hearing today, an Israeli military judge stated that he “has doubts if the evidence supports the prosecution charges” and agreed to her release on bail. Nonetheless, he ruled that Mariam should remain in military detention until tomorrow morning, April 17^th, at 11:00, so that the military prosecution has a chance to appeal his decision.

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On Friday, April 11^th, 2014, 20-year-old Mariam Barghouti, a university student at Birzeit, was arrested by Israeli forces. She was brought to court on Sunday, April 13^th where she was charged and her detention extended until Wednesday, April 16^th.

Mariam was arrested while leaving the village of Nabi Saleh. Mariam, along with Abir Kopty (a Palestinian with Israeli citizenship who was later released on bail), and three foreign journalists were detained by soldiers and searched. Mariam had been in Nabi Saleh accompanying some of the journalists on their assignments and translating for them. Soldiers on the scene fabricated charges against her and handed her over to the police who arrested her along with Abir. At her hearing yesterday Mariam was charged with stone-throwing and entering a closed military area; her detention has been extended until Wednesday. Mariam sobbed throughout the whole hearing and told her lawyer that the charges are simply lies.

Mariam is a student at Birzeit University where she is majoring in English Literature and Psychology. Mariam is also active in community work and organizing and received a two-month residency scholarship in the UK, part of a program supporting women.

Abir said that during the arrest incident on Friday, “one of the soldiers who detained us looked at me and with a big smile said, ‘I’m going to mess up your life.’ It was obvious to me then that not only will he fabricate everything for his own purposes, but he knows he has the power to do so.”

Nabi Saleh successfully end three day siege of their village with peaceful protest

15th April 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Ramallah Team | Nabi Saleh, Occupied Palestine

Yesterday, The Palestinian Popular Resistance Committee of Nabi Saleh called for a demonstration at 3pm against a siege enforced on their village by Israeli forces. The demonstration was an overwhelming success with the re-opening of the checkpoint and a withdrawal of the additional forces deployed in the area by the Israeli military.

Mohammed Tamimi, the media officer for the village’s Popular Resistance declared that this was: “The first truly successful demonstration in Nabi Saleh”. He went on to say that “others villages should think about this and how to act towards closed checkpoints in the future.” Palestinian activists, internationals, and ISM activists responded to the protest call out, and joined the villagers themselves.

Internationals traveling to Nabi Saleh reported the presence of many “flying” checkpoints on route from Ramallah. These were deployed in an attempt to prevent people from outside the village joining the protest. Nonetheless the demonstration did take place and was well attended with approximately 50 people beginning to march from the middle of the village down to the checkpoint.

The Israeli army began to shoot tear gas canisters and throw stun grenades as soon as the demonstrators reached the main road. Despite this, the demonstration arrived at the checkpoint and refused to move until the road was opened, and the siege lifted. While people were peacefully demonstrating in front of the barrier, the Israeli army used a large quantity of stun grenades, however after approximately one hour the army agreed to withdraw and open the checkpoint. In addition to this, the western checkpoint, which had been closed since 2002, was also re-opened adding to the already hugely successful day.

The siege itself began on April the 12th when a large number of Israeli forces closed all entrances to the village of Nabi Saleh with roadblocks, and declared the village a Closed Military Zone. The village was in this state for three days until this afternoon’s action. During the siege, workers and students have been unable to go to work or school. The Israeli army also employed brutal tactics against the villagers themselves over the last few days. One Palestinian man was shot in the face with live ammunition, though after surgery was described as being in a stable condition. Additionally, a Palestinian woman sustained various fractures and heavy bruising after being assaulted by soldiers whilst being detained with her child for three hours. Israeli forces threw stun grenades at cars attempting to approach the checkpoint throughout the siege.

It is believed the military began this illegal action due to the demonstrations at Nabi Saleh that have occurred every Friday since 2009. These demonstrations take place to protest against the theft of a water spring, and village land by the nearby illegal settlement of Halamish.

One Palestinian man was arrested during the demonstration today but after negotiations the village secured his release at 9.30 PM. The Popular Resistance Committee from the village has promised that should the Israeli military close the checkpoint again, they will call another protest immediately. In the meantime demonstrations will continue every Friday.

International volunteer attacked and injured by Israeli army

14th April 2014 | Operation Dove | At-Tuwani, Occupied Palestine

On April 11 an international volunteer was attacked and injured by Israeli army, while coming back from accompanying Palestinian shepherds near Susiya.

The Palestinian village of Susiya is surrounded by the Israeli settlement of Suseya, the outpost of Suseya’s Ancient Synagogue and the military base of Suseya North, where the Palestinian shepherds were nearby grazing. The Palestinian inhabitants of Susiya are struggling through the nonviolent popular resistance in order to gain the right to access their own lands and to live a dignified life.

At 14:10 pm, two international volunteers were leaving the place after having accompanied four Palestinian shepherds to graze on their own lands. They had just got in the stopped car on the street that connects Susiya and Yatta (where two other internationals were waiting for them), when two Israeli soldiers arrived from the military base and intimated them to get out from the car.

While the group was standing near the street, two army vehicles approached. As soon as the second vehicle arrived, the soldiers got immediately out from the jeep. The commander and four more soldiers physically blocked one international and tried to grab his camera, to handcuff him and to put him into the jeep, tugging at him and beating him. In the meanwhile other soldiers blocked the other volunteers, preventing them from taping as best the aggression that lasted for 13 minutes.

Because of the attack, the international volunteer was injured. He had a bleeding wound on his elbow and he received a hard blow on the lower abdomen, whereby the intervention of the ambulance was needed. The soldiers also tried to block the doctors to prevent the injured to get into the ambulance, until the Israeli Police came and gave the permission to leave.

The volunteer attacked was hospitalized in Yatta and the other three were detained in Kiryat Arba Police station and released after five hours. The Police held all the videos of the incident to investigate on it and the three internationals were given expulsion orders from South Hebron Hills area for 14 to 16 days.

Operation Dove has maintained an international presence in At Tuwani and the South Hebron Hills since 2004.

[Note: According to the Fourth Geneva Convention, the Hague Regulations, the International Court of Justice, and several United Nations resolutions, all Israeli settlements and outposts in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal. Most settlement outposts, including Havat Ma’on (Hill 833), are considered illegal also under Israeli law.]

Israeli army attacks two elementary schools in Salfit

7th April 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Salfit, Occupied Palestine

Two educational institutions were attacked with tear gas and stun grenades by the Israeli army yesterday morning in Salfit. At least ten female students required medical attention after suffering from excessive tear gas inhalation.

At 12:30 yesterday afternoon, Salfit’s female elementary school was empty. Only a few staff remained, attempting to clean the walls after Israeli soldiers threw tear gas and stun grenades in an attack earlier in the morning. According to the headmistress of the school, the attack took place at approximately 9:30 am. At this time, the classrooms were full of female students between the ages of six and 12-years-old. The soldiers shot the tear gas from the street and it landed in the playground, school corridors and on the roof, with the tear gas itself drifting into the classrooms.

Staff from the school reported that ten young students required medical attention on site; two of them temporarily lost consciousness due to the inhalation of tear gas. When the headmistress was reassured that the Israeli army had left Salfit, at approximately 11:30 am, she began evacuating the girls. Both the school psychologist and headmistress agree that the girls were in shock, many of them crying when the attack began and after were afraid of leaving the school by themselves. The school psychologist expects that at least half of the students will not attend the following day after this experience from the Israeli army.

A female secondary school is located just meters away from the elementary school. Fortunately, no one was injured in that institution despite some exposure to the gas, but it did eventually close early as a precaution.

Witnesses reported that Israeli forces have also harassed neighbours to the school who photographed the attack. That is the case with Ahmed Zubuydi, aged 21. He was working in a nearby shop when a military jeep stopped in front of him and interrogated him for 20 minutes. He was asked to show his ID and was thoroughly searched. The commander of the Israeli soldiers began asking personal questions, such as where Ahmed worked, where he studied, and where he spends the money he earns. Ahmed reports that this is not the first time he has been interrogated by the Israeli army.

The headmistress of the girl’s elementary school reported that this is the second time this year that this sort of attack has occurred, with the first taking place in January. The school fears that these attacks may become systematic and will therefore seek training from the Fire Department to help cope with future incidents.