Tag: Israeli Army

Friday demonstration violently repressed in Hebron

11th August 2018 | International Solidarity Movement, Al-Khalil Team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

 

Yesterday, on the 10th of August, the Friday demonstration in the city of Hebron (Al-Khalil) was violently repressed by Israeli forces. Unarmed protestors gathered after Friday prayers, around 13:30, to protest against the occupation and in solidarity with Gaza. During the first hour of the demonstration the soldiers held back, staying around checkpoint 56, but eventually stormed out from the checkpoint and into H1, the Palestinian controlled part of the city.

First, they stormed Baba Zawya, trying to capture and arrest youths protesting against the occupation. The soldiers shot large amounts of tear gas and stun grenades at the demonstrators during their break into H1, with the result of two young children suffering excessive tear gas inhalation. ISM activists followed the soldiers to witness their actions, and while they stood close, watching defiantly, the soldiers shouted at the activists and violently pushed them. Israeli forces arrested three youths and two men. Four of them were eventually but released, but the whereabouts of the fifth is currently unknown. The demonstration ended at 19:30.

The Friday demonstrations in Hebron are an important part of the inhabitants’ resistance against the apartheid and occupation of their city. Checkpoints, restricted access, collective punishment and lack of freedom of movement is a part of daily life for Palestinians in Hebron. As an example, al-Shuhada street used to be the heart of the old city, but was closed to Palestinians in 1994 after a settler from a nearby illegal settlement, named Baruch Goldstein, murdered 29 Palestinians and injured over a 100 inside the Ibrahimi mosque. After that shops were forced to close down and it became known as a ghost town. Palestinians are restricted from walking or driving down al-Shuhada, and Israeli forces have welded the doors shut on Palestinian homes facing the street. Meanwhile, settlers face no such restrictions.

Video: Activists stand in solidarity with Gaza, are arrested by Israeli military and police

3rd August 2018 | Close to the Gaza fence

Israeli and international protesters demonstrated at Gaza fence in solidarity with The Great Return March

On Friday August 3rd, “Return”, a group of Israeli and international anti-Zionist activists, including activists from the International Solidarity movement, protested on the east side of the Gaza fence in solidarity with the Great March of Return.

 

They raised the Palestinian flag so that demonstrators in besieged Gaza could see it. They also carried a banner in Arabic reading “Jews for Return”. The Israeli and international demonstrators were assaulted and arrested by the Israeli military and police. Hours later they were released from the Netivot police station.

At the same time, one Palestinian demonstrator was reported to have been killed by the Israeli military and 220 injured, many from live ammunition. According to health officials in Gaza, this brings the number of slain protestors to at least 153 and injured to more than 16,000 since the weekly protests began on March 30.

“”We were beaten and abused by the Israeli military today but it is nothing compared to the violence Gazans face on a daily basis,” said Omer upon his release from police custody. “We will continue to do whatever we can to subvert this violent and horrific siege, and work for justice.”


Settler tourists given weekly armed escort through the streets of Al Khalil

On Saturday May 19th, over twenty soldiers escorted armed settlers through the souq

Every Saturday, Zionist settler tours take place in the narrow alleys of the souq in Al Khalil’s (Hebron). These guided tours usually last for about an hour, and settlers are always accompanied by armed Israeli forces, intimidating local Palestinians who are trying to make a living by selling their goods in the market.

The tours began in 2008. At the moment they are usually made up of 50 or more settlers, accompanied by around 30 armed soldiers and border police.

Palestinians often have to stop and wait as the tour makes its way down the narrow streets of the souq. If they are allowed to pass at all, pedestrians are forced to walk through a crowd of settlers, soldiers and border police. Businesses in the souq are affected, as shopping streets are brought to a standstill.

On recent Saturdays, ISM volunteers have seen small children attempting to get past the tour, but repeatedly being told to wait by the army escort.

Each week international volunteers from ISM, the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme for Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) and Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) walk ahead of and behind the tour, in an attempt to monitor and observe the situation. These observers often face harassment from Israeli forces. For example, on Saturday 5th May, after the tour had finished, six international volunteers were surrounded and detained by 13 paratroopers. The commander of the group demanded IDs from the internationals, and threatened that if they ‘made problems’, they would be imprisoned for one month, barred from Al-Khalil, or from entering Israel in the future. This is one small example of how the Israeli military works to prevent any scrutiny of its illegal occupation.

One shopkeeper in the souq told ISM, “We don’t know the settlers’ intentions in coming into our streets, why do they have to come here? Perhaps they are wanting to take over this area.”

Another shopkeeper told us, “I really feel distressed and unsafe during the tours. Even though they have army units with them, some of the settlers carry shotguns. I think they come here [on the tours] because they think think this is their city. It puts a lot of pressure on us Palestinians. I have even seen the people on the tours spitting at international volunteers.

We never know when they are going to come, sometimes they come late afternoon. Sometimes, when there are hard times here, they even come at night.”

Read more about the settler tours here  and here.

Settlers often carry weapons

 

 

Bethlehem protests the US embassy relocation

On the 14th May 2017, the day the new US embassy to Israel was due to open in Jerusalem, protests were held across Palestine.

Protesters set up a barricade to protect themselves from the violence of the border police

In Bethlehem, hundreds of children, women and men marched from Nisan Square to the gate in the apartheid wall separating them from Jerusalem. This unarmed protest was immediately met by brutal force. Border police fired at protesters with a vehicle mounted tear-gas cannon. People ran into alleyways suffering from the effects of the gas.

Protesters soon regrouped, setting up a burning barricade to protect themselves from Israeli forces. Border police shot into the crowd with tear gas and foam baton ammunition. Both these types of ammunition are potentially lethal.

Vehicle mounted tear gas launcher used to fire at crowd
The launcher is of the type manufactured by US company Combined Systems

All of this deadly crowd control equipment is of the type supplied to Israeli forces by US company Combined Systems. The company have been the target of solidarity protests in the US.

Israeli forces occupy a balcony to shoot at protesters.

International Solidarity Movement volunteers were present, and saw several people being treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation.

Women were at the forefront of the demonstration, with affinity groups of women strengthening the barricade and protesting in the street. Some activists brought a large wooden door to protect themselves from tear gas and baton rounds.

Demonstrators use a wooden barricade to shelter from the baton rounds

East Jerusalem was illegally occupied by Israeli forces in 1967. Since then, the Israeli state and Zionist settler movements have claimed all of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and have embarked on campaigns and policies to marginalize and uproot Palestinian communities. Palestinian neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem, such as Silwan and Sheikh Jarrah, are currently resisting evictions, settler harassment and racism. Donald Trump’s relocation of the US embassy to Jerusalem supports these apartheid policies. The protest in Bethlehem was just one of many protests by Palestinian communites across the West Bank, Gaza, and the territories occupied by Israel in 1948, intended to show Palestinian opposition to the embassy relocation.   

“We witnessed at least 40 Palestinians dropping to the ground from tear gas inhalation”

On Monday the 14th of May at 11am, thousands of Palestinians gathered in Arafat Square in Ramallah and proceeded to march to Qalandiya checkpoint to confront Israeli forces. The US embassy was officially moved to Jerusalem on this same day. Palestinians held signs and placards to assert their right of return and in remembrance of Al Nakba. Palestinian children released black balloons with Palestinian flags attached into the skies when they reached to Qalandiya.

Hundreds of Palestinians then proceeded to protest against the Israeli occupation. Palestinian press and medics were assaulted by Israeli forces before the march even made its way to Qalandiya. Israeli forces used weapons of violence to suppress a peaceful march, attended by men, women and children. Many were injured by rubber coated steel bullets and foam batons fired by Israeli forces. The amount of tear gas used was shocking.

One International Solidarity Movement activist stated: “We witnessed at least 40 Palestinians dropping to the ground from tear gas inhalation today at Qalandiya checkpoint.”

Live ammunition and stun grenades were also used against the demonstrators as Palestinian medics kept rushing with stretchers and returning to ambulances with those who were injured.

Over 531 Palestinian villages were ethnically cleansed during the Nakba as massacres took place. 800,000 Palestinians were forced out either internally displaced or forced out of their homeland. Palestinians will never forget and will not give up on the right of return.

#OccupiedPalestine #Nakba70 #RightOfReturn #GreatReturnMarch #FreePalestine