Tag: Jerusalem

International activist arrested on false accusations in Sheikh Jarrah

International Solidarity Movement

19th April 2010

At approximately 11.30pm on the 18th April, a British ISM activist, Robin Brown, was arrested in Sheikh Jarrah having been falsely accused by Israeli settlers of attacking them with tear gas. Those present in the hours leading up to his arrest insist this cannot possibly be true. Brown was released from police custody at 3am on the 19th – recognition from the police that there was absolutely no evidence to support the settlers’ accusations.

Earlier in the evening, settlers had attempted to destroy a mural that was recently painted in the front garden of the Al Kurd home, half of which is occupied by settlers. Running past the wall, they threw cupfuls of white paint at the mural before fleeing down the street. Despite their later claims to police, there was no confrontation in the street between them and the Palestinian residents of the neighbourhood, or the international activists who were also present.

The previous night, Israeli settlers attacked local residents in the street, pepper spraying two of them. As the police say that, when called to the area on the night of the 18th, a settler did show signs of having been gassed, it seems possible that this was inflicted upon him by a fellow settler, still in possession of the pepper spray used the night before. The police who arrested and interrogated Brown found no traces of any kind of gas or spray on his hands, clothes or bag, proof that, if any gas was used, it did not come from him.

Brown says, “It is clear that settlers have decided to try to find ways to get rid of the international activists who sit in solidarity with Sheikh Jarrah residents, and who document the violence and harassment that is inflicted upon them by the settlers. Settlers frequently make up lies in an attempt to get Palestinians arrested. It’s no surprise that they’re now doing the same to internationals”.

Palestinians reclaim property through graffiti

International Solidarity Movement

18th April 2010

The Al-Kurds continued to reclaim what remains of their Sheikh Jarrah home today with an art project. Three graffiti artists from Palestine, Israel and the UK joined Sheikh Jarrah residents and activists for a day of garden beautification. The artists met with residents in the morning while activists prepped the walls for painting. “Sheikh Jarrah” was sprayed in both Arabic and English with an Al-Aqsa style mosque between the two. The Gawi children, evicted from their homes in August 2009, assisted with the creation. Neighborhood kids also made stencils to decorate the doors, walls and pathways of the yard.

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Nasser Al-Ghawi sits by reclaimed wall

Settlers were present in large numbers, upwards of 15 at times, throughout the day. They sat in front of the occupied Al-Kurd home watching as over 40 residents, Israeli and international activists filled the yard to support the evicted families of Sheikh Jarrah. Police also had a heavy presence. Artists were blocked from painting on the western wall of the yard, shared by a Palestinian neighbor who recently received eviction papers because the wall. Painting was only permitted on the eastern wall of the yard. At one point during the day, police blocked access to the yard to everyone except Yoni, a leader of the settlers.

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Sheikh Jarrah youth paints wall

A legal battle will ensue shortly regarding the ownership of the yard. Settlers claim that it is communal property thus they have the right to access the playground toys recently installed by the Palestinian Authority and the right to paint the walls. One settler remarked how glad he was that we were painting the walls white, as it prepares it for the Israeli flag. Sheikh Jarrah residents and activist supporters insist that the court gave the settlers the Al-Kurd home and just the home. The legal basis for the home being transferred to settlers is that it lacks the proper permits. The yard and walls however, do not require permits and were never deemed illegal, thus logic would state that these parts of the property should not be transferred to the settlers.

Settlers continued in their attempted provocation of residents and activists throughout the night despite even attempts by the military to calm them down.

The Al-Kurd yard has received a makeover in the past month, going from a graveyard of their former life to a playground with olive and fruit tree landscape. The landscaping was completed by Palestinian youth from around occupied East Jerusalem; the playground was funded by the Palestinian Authority and installed by representatives from the government and residents; today’s artwork was organized by the dedicated Israeli activists in Sheikh Jarrah.

Sheikh Jarrah patriarch illegally arrested and released without charge

International Solidarity Movement

11th April 2010

Nabil Al-Kurd, head of the Al-Kurd family was arrested last night at midnight. He went with police to file a report against a settler who threatened his life and was violating previous release agreements by coming to the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood and was arrested. Two settlers are also being held. At the police station both settlers and international and Israeli activists came to give statements. Settlers were allowed to enter the police station and give statements. International and Israeli activists waited for three hours with video footage but were not allowed to speak to police.

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Police arrive to arrest Nabil as settlers destroy Al-Kurd property

Settlers began gathering around sundown at the entrance to the Al-Kurd home. The door to the home was malfunctioning, angering and embarrassing the group of 15 young men. The fence, erected two weeks ago through a garden-beautification project organized by East Jerusalem youth, has been a source of contention since the beginning. While waiting to enter their stolen home, settler boys began dismantling the fence with their hands, and by jumping on it.

Settlers claim that the fence violates their “property rights” while legal documents state that only the home, not the yard can be occupied by settlers. The Al-Kurd home was built without a permit, providing legal grounds for eviction. The yard is not unpermitted and therefore transfer to settlers is illegal.

The fence was completely removed at 4am by three settler boys. Four ISM volunteers were present for the destruction; one was physically assaulted while filming. The family will begin the

After a night in jail, Nabil Al-Kurd and the two settlers (despite parole violations) were released after a judge dropped all charges. Nabil Al-Kurds arrest continues the trend of arresting Sheikh Jarrah residents in an attempt to instill fear in the community about resisting the ethnic cleansing of their neighborhood and the occupation of Palestine.

Sheikh Jarrah resident hospitalized after intervening in attempted stabbing by settler

International Solidarity Movement

05 April 2010

Earlier today in Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem, Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian residents and international solidarity activists, five of whom sustained injuries. The settlers were armed with stones and sticks. According to eyewitnesses, one settler was wielding a knife.

A group of approximately twenty Israeli settlers entered the neighborhood and began throwing stones at three women from the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI), hitting and lightly injuring each of them. Five Palestinian residents moved up the street towards the settlers in an attempt to stop the stone throwing, at which point the settlers began attacking them with sticks. According to eye witnesses, one settler then drew a knife and appeared to be about to stab Nasser Al-Ghawi, a local resident, when another Palestinian grabbed the blade of the knife to prevent the attack. The resident who intervened was then pushed to the ground and repeatedly beaten. He has been hospitalized, as his hand was lacerated by the knife blade, and he has suspected fractured ribs.

Settlers then left the area as soon as the police arrived. Nasser Al-Ghawi was arrested. None of the settlers were detained or arrested.

Israel’s repression leaves dozens wounded in Jerusalem

International Solidarity Movement

17 March 2010

In reaction to the blanket West Bank closure and Israel’s severe limitation of entrance into Al-Aqsa Mosque, demonstrations spread through Jerusalem. Police and soldiers used percussion grenades, tear gas, rubber bullets and physical assaults in an attempt to quell Palestinians show of disdain. Confrontations were reported in Isawiya and Wadi-Joz. Reports claimed that nearly 100 demonstrators were injured (about 25 seriously) and over 70 arrested.

An ominous and anticipatory air hung over the Old City on Tuesday. The normal banter of the Muslim quarter was replaced with closed shops and anxious stares. This was in response to Israel’s closure of much of the Old City. This closure only extended to Palestinians attempting to pray at the holy site. Tourists and Israeli school children were allowed free reign within its walls. The tourists’ interpretation of the situation was far removed from reality. When asked why access was limited throughout the Muslim Quarter, many responded it was because of Hamas. There was no discussion of the imprisonment of Palestinians in the West Bank. If pressed further, they usually responded that Hamas was upset because “the Muslims thought had a right to a disputed holy site.” Justice, religious freedom and unfettered access to the third holiest site of one’s religion never seemed to enter the discourse.

Although there was much dignified rage expressed nonviolently that day, these tourists were not privy to any of it. Thousands of police clad in riot gear, soldiers armed with automatic assault rifles ensured that any nonviolent expression of this anger was squashed immediately. As tourists took photos and meandered around the guns and those that carried them, men lined up to pray outside Al-Aqsa and across the street from the Old City. While the police effectively insulated the tourists from any sign of nonviolent resistance (handcuffing Palestinians to plain-clothes police officers, so arrests would go unnoticed to the untrained eye), they couldn’t stop it in the open air of Wadi-Joz and Isawiya.

As the Sun set the signs of resistance were readily apparent in Isawiya. Smoldering tires, barricades and youth placed in strategic positions spattered the hillsides. The day had been long for them. Their nonviolent demonstration began around seven AM and quit with the sun. The same was true for Wadi-Joz. However, the price that was paid was human and dear. Amidst the rapacious repression of the IOF and Israeli police, many were wounded. Wounded merely for demanding justice in a land where they are prisoners and unable to express the spiritual extension of their culture in places they hold so dear.

International solidarity activists visited demonstrators injured in clashes between Palestinian Jerusalemites and Israeli occupation forces in Al-Makasad Hospital, including 16 year old Muhammad Ibrahim Afanih from Abu Dis and a 14 year old boy from Ar-ram. The 14 year old, wishing to remain anonymous, received a rubber-coated steel bullet to his finger, removing its tip from his hand, when young demonstrators were ambushed by Israeli soldiers in the streets of Ar-ram neighborhood. Afanih was shot in the leg with a rubber-coated steel bullet by an Israeli soldier when a large military force opened fire on demonstrators in Abu Dis. He was then physically attacked by 4 soldiers, who continued to beat him before pulling him to the curb, where he was forced to wait approximately 10 minutes before the soldiers called for an ambulance. The ambulance was detained at Zayeam checkpoint for 15 minutes as Afanih continued blood from the gunshot wound before the vehicle was permitted to proceed to Al-Makasad Hospital. He was one of 10 injured from the Abu Dis neighborhood. Afanih reported that soldiers had used sound bombs, tear gas grenades, rubber-coated steel bullets and live ammunition against demonstrators. He will undergo an operation on his leg tomorrow, and remain in hospital for 7 days.