Nadia al-Kurd, from Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in Jerusalem was taken to hospital today after being attacked by an Israeli settler in her own garden.
At around 2pm, Nadia al-Kurd, 65, was violently pushed by a settler in an unprovoked attack. The settler, one of those currently occupying her neighbours’ house, forced open the gate of her garden, pushing Nadia to the ground. She suffered from breathing difficulties immediately afterwards. Some of those present administered first aid, however, as her state required professional medical treatment, she had to be transported by an ambulance to the hospital. She was discharged later in the afternoon.
When the Israeli police arrived following the attack, they arrested the assailant, identified by several witnesses. The same settler has been arrested before after previous attacks in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood, where daily harassment of the Palestinian population by settlers and police is on the increase.
The house in which the attacker was found and arrested belongs to the Palestinian Gawi family. Displacing 37 members of the extended family, the settlers occupied the seven apartments of the house on 2 August 2009. Several other houses in the neighbourhood are currently threatened with eviction. The future of 51 members of the Shabagh family and their three homes will be decided in a court hearing on 18 January, potentially resulting in another eviction order. Sheikh Jarrah is one of several neighbourhoods currently subjected to attacks and evictions by settlers around Occupied East Jerusalem.
Slogan saying 'Price Tag' spray-painted on a car belonging to Palestinian family by settlers
”The settlers yelled: Come out, this is our house”
Nadine Sabbagh 15-years-old, attacked in her home by settlers.
Just before midnight, on Christmas Day, 25 December 2009, the Sabbagh family was attacked by around 30 settlers. The settlers knocked at their door and told the family that they should come out of the house because it belongs to the settlers. They then broke in and injured 7 family members. Two were cut with a knife, two had their arm stretched and a pregnant woman was kicked in her stomach. She was taken to hospital where she remained at the time of writing this report. Another family member was hit in the face and had a gun pointed at her. She was threatened with being killed by the attackers.
The settlers continued their campaign of violence and intimidation on 26 December, when they attacked Palestinians from the neighbourhood with stones. Three children and one adult Palestinian were injured as result, and a French man who took pictures of the episode was attacked by a settler.
Palestinian resident of Sheikh Jarrah who was injured during a settler attack
Both attacks happened only days after settlers sprayed a car belonging to a Palestinian family from the neighbourhood with a slogan associated with the ‘Price Tag’ campaign.
Nadine Sabbagh told us the day after her and her family’s home got attacked by settlers that the attack started at around midnight and continued for around three hours. After the settlers broke into her house they kicked her pregnant aunt in her stomach and cut her brother in the neck with a knife. The attack continued as the settlers cut Nadine’s cousin in his arm with a knife while they were violently pushing her mother and another aunt. Her aunt told us that she stretched her shoulder in the attack and it will take at least two weeks for it to fully recover.
One settler brought a gun and used it to threaten Nadine: “He told me; if you will not stop talking I will kill you.” At that point Nadine attempted to push the gun out of the settlers hand, but he avoided her and hit her in the face.
This is the first time the Sabbagh family home has been directly attacked by settlers.
The wave of settler violence continued throughout the day, when a group of 20 young settlers attacked a group of Palestinians in front of the occupied Gawi family home with stones. At first, the Palestinians managed to push the attackers out of the neighbourhood, only for them to return shortly after, in even bigger numbers, attacking again, this time more intensively. Four Palestinians, three of them children, were hit by stones thrown by settlers and a French man was attacked by a settler beating him in the head. When an Israeli ambulance arrived to the neighbourhood, the medics refused to treat the injured children and transport them to the hospital. An ambulance from the Red Crescent had to be called in order for the injured to receive necessary treatment.
Israeli and Red Crescent ambulances that arrived at Sheikh Jarrah after Palestinians were injured during a settler attack
Four settlers were taken by the police for questioning in connection with the two attacks.
According to the UN, settlers use the ‘Price Tag’ campaign to exercise systematic violence against Palestinian civilians where there have been attempts to evacuate settlement outposts. However, it seems that recently it is also being used as intimidation strategy in response to the Israeli government’s announcement of a partial freeze of settlement construction.
The strategy emerged due to the decreasing support of unauthorized outposts and is launched by radical settler groups in order for the Palestinians all over the Occupied Territories to pay the price in form of attacks every time the settlers feel they are being mistreated by the Israeli authorities. The strategic attacks have contributed to the displacement of entire Palestinian neighbourhoods, both temporary and permanent.
Some 500 demonstrators gathered at the top of the street that Jewish settlers are taking over in Sheikh Jarakh in East Jerusalem. The demonstrators, who came part by bus from Tel Aviv, part in cars from the Bil’in and Ma’asara demonstrations and part in an organized march from West Jerusalem, sang songs and beat their drums in solidarity with the Palestinians kicked out of their homes by the settlers.
sraeli border policemen stand guard during a demonstration against Jewish settlements and in solidarity with Palestinian families who were evicted from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem December 25, 2009. Photo by: Oren Ziv/ Activestills.org
The good policemen of Jerusalem, who have probably not read the editorial in this morning’s Ha’aretz, decided that a demonstration with no arrests would be unworthy of its name, even though the march and demonstration were coordinated with it ahead of time. Police started arresting people who were already arrested in the past, claiming that they were in violation of their parole. To their great shame a member of the Jerusalem municipality was present with a copy of the appeals’ court ruling, canceling the activists’ ban from the area, and so most detainees were later released.
An Israeli policeman arrests a protester, dressed in army uniform painted in white, during a demonstration against Jewish settlements and in solidarity with Palestinian families who were evicted from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem December 25, 2009. Photo by: Oren Ziv/ Activestills.org
The massive demonstration went on with great energy for two hours, and enjoyed the presence of the media. It is believed that these demonstrations will keep growing in the coming future.
The war the police and the Israel Defense Forces are openly waging against protests by left-wing and human rights activists has heated up in recent weeks. As a result, concern is growing over Israel’s image as a free and democratic country, one that accords equal and tolerant treatment to all its citizens and residents.
Nonviolent protests in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah against the expulsion of Palestinians from their homes by extreme right-wingers have met with a violent and disproportionate police response. The IDF has responded with insufferable harshness to protests against the separation fence in the Palestinian villages of Bil’in and Na’alin.
In Sheikh Jarrah, police are fielding unnecessarily large forces armed with tear gas and pepper spray. Over the past two weeks, no less than 50 demonstrators have been arrested at these protests.
In Bil’in and Na’alin, IDF soldiers are firing live rounds at unarmed protesters who do not endanger the soldiers’ lives, in violation of the military advocate general’s orders. Major arrest sweeps are also taking place in these two villages, of protest organizers and members of the popular committees. Some of those arrested have been brought before a military court, charged with incitement and sentenced to lengthy prison terms.
In terms of violence, this represents an escalation. In terms of tolerance, it represents a deterioration – of attitudes toward legitimate protest. Two Israeli lecturers, Prof. Galit Hasan-Rokem and Prof. Daphna Golan, recently described the harsh police response in Sheikh Jarrah in Haaretz. Protests were also dealt with harshly during Operation Cast Lead a year ago: About 800 Israeli citizens, most of them Arab, were arrested, and criminal proceedings were begun against 685 of them. This was an evil omen regarding the state’s attitude toward protesters.
And all this is happening at a time when the same law enforcement agencies are showing much more leniency and consideration to right-wingers protesting against the construction freeze in the settlements. There, no massive arrests have been made, and there has been less police violence.
Citizens, whether from the right or the left, have both the right and the duty to protest, within the bounds of the law, against things that upset them. Tolerance toward such protests is the breath of life for any democratic regime.
Photographs of soldiers shooting live fire at demonstrators, in contrast, are familiar from the darkest regimes. If drummers are arrested in Sheikh Jarrah, and Palestinians are arrested in Bil’in for collecting and displaying ammunition shot by the IDF – this is a regime that is not acting with the required tolerance toward legitimate protest.
The pictures from Sheikh Jarrah and the scenes from Bil’in and Na’alin, which repeat themselves weekly, will remain hidden in the darkness of public disinterest and lack of media coverage. But what the police are doing in Sheikh Jarrah and what the IDF is doing in Bil’in and Na’alin should disturb every Israeli, whether right-wing or left-wing – because this is about the very nature of the regime of the country in which we live.
Ryan Olander is due to be deported by the Israeli state, after being illegally arrested and detained in the Palestinian neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah, in Occupied East Jerusalem. Please contact the Embassy of the United States in Tel Aviv, the Israeli Minister of Interior, or consider donating towards Ryan’s legal costs.
Ryan is currently being held at a deportation facility in Ramle, where his request for release has been rejected by the prison judge. His lawyer is working on submitting an appeal to the District Court in Tel Aviv this Sunday, 27 December.
Ryan was visiting the al-Kurds in the tent the Palestinian family built in their own backyard, after the recent setter take-over of a section of their house. At 1.15pm, on Friday 18 December, 6 Israeli police walked into the tent, where Ryan was talking to the family members and drinking tea, and took him for questioning at the Russian Compound police station in west Jerusalem. (For more information about his arrest click here.)
Ryan was released without charges the following Saturday, 19 December, before the beginning of a trial with 26 Israeli activists arrested in Sheikh Jarrah, only to be illegally re-arrested by immigration police right outside of the same police station that told him he was free to go. Now Ryan is facing illegal deportation after being held in Israeli prisons for a week.
From the Givon prison in Ramle, where Mr. Olander was taken, he made the following statement:
“On Friday, 18 December, I was placed under arrest illegally. A police officer forcibly removed me from the al-Kurd private residence and proceeded to file a fallacious police report stating I participated in what they claimed was an illegal demonstration and refused to disperse when ordered. In fact, I was arrested before the demonstration even took place.
I have become a target of the police for standing in solidarity with the Palestinians of Sheikh Jarrah who struggle against the unjust and illegal evictions from the places they have called their homes for nearly 60 years. Now I face illegal deportation from Israel.”
His arrest happened just before a peaceful demonstration of around 300 people, held in solidarity with the evicted Palestinian residents of Sheikh Jarrah, was violently dispersed by the Israeli police and 27 people arrested. Ryan, along with other arrestees from Sheikh Jarrah reported ill-treatment by the police, who subjected them to several strip-searches, denied them food and water for prolonged periods of time and held them outside of the police station until late at night, with insufficient protection against the cold conditions.
The Israeli police and authorities have previously attempted to deport activists supporting the struggle of the Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah and, so far one case, succeeded. We need to fight this deportation not only to stop the authorities from deporting solidarity activists in the future, but also to highlight the settlement expansion in East Jerusalem along with discriminatory law enforcement towards Palestinians.
What can you do?
1. Contact the Embassy of the United States in Tel Aviv and ask that they enquire with the Israeli authorities and challenge Ryan’s detention and possible deportation. Numerous inquiries about Ryan’s case will make it difficult for them to ignore it. You can contact them by calling (+972) 3519 7575, faxing (+972) 3517 3227 or emailing amctelaviv@state.gov. Below is a suggested draft email:
Dear Ambassador James B. Cunningham,
I have recently learned of the arrest of Ryan Olander. He was arrested while visiting a family in Sheikh Jarrah. Contrary to the claims of the officer who arrested him, Mr Olander was not taking part in an illegal demonstration and was subsequently released without charges the following day. I am particularly concerned about his illegal re-arrest by the immigration police, which occurred only a few moments after his release. Despite having valid visa, Mr Olander is now facing deportation and has already been held at Givon prison in Ramle for over a week.
As a US representative to Israel, I ask you to investigate his detention by submitting an official letter of inquiry about his case and to petition for his deportation to be cancelled and Mr Olander to be immediately released from prison. I will continue to contact you about this important matter.
Sincerely,
Please copy us into your emails, or let us know when you call / fax the Embassy at free.ryan.sj@gmail.com
2. Contact the Israeli Ministry of the Interior to demand Ryan’s immediate and unconditional release. You can contact the Minister by emailing eyishay@knesset.gov.il, faxing 00972 2666 2909 or calling 00972 2640 8406 / 00972 2640 8407. Please feel free to use the following sample letter:
Dear Minister of Internal Affairs, Eliyahu Yishai
I have recently learned of the arrest of Ryan Olander. He was arrested while visiting a family in Sheikh Jarrah. Contrary to the claims of the officer who arrested him, Mr Olander was not taking part in an illegal demonstration and was subsequently released without charges the following day. I am particularly concerned about his illegal re-arrest by the immigration police, which occurred only a few moments after his release. Despite having valid visa, Mr Olander is now facing deportation and has already been held at Givon prison in Ramle for over a week.
As the Minister of Internal Affairs in Israel, I ask you to investigate his illegal arrest and detention and to undertake all necessary steps in order for his deportation to be cancelled and Mr Olander to be immediately released from prison. I will continue to contact you about this important matter.
Sincerely,
Please copy us into your emails, or let us know when you call / fax the Embassy at free.ryan.sj@gmail.com
3. Join our Facebook group to receive regular updates and help us spread the information about Ryan and Sheikh Jarrah.
4. Please consider making a donation towards Ryan’s legal costs and lawyer fees. If you would like to contribute to his defense fund you can do so via a PayPal account we have set up for this purpose.
Background on Sheikh Jarrah
Approximately 475 Palestinian residents living in the Karm Al-Ja’ouni neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, located directly north of the Old City, face imminent eviction from their homes in the manner of the Hannoun and Gawi families, and the al-Kurd family before them. All 28 families are refugees from 1948, mostly from West Jerusalem and Haifa, whose houses in Sheikh Jarrah were built and given to them through a joint project between the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and the Jordanian government in 1956.
So far, settlers took over houses of four Palestinian families, displacing around 60 residents, including 20 children. At present, settlers occupy all these houses and the whole area is patrolled by armed private security 24 hours a day. The evicted Palestinian families, some of whom have been left without suitable alternative accommodation since August, continue to protest against the unlawful eviction from the sidewalk across the street from their homes, facing regular violent attacks from the settlers and harassment from the police.
The Gawi family, for example, had their only shelter, a small tent built near their house, destroyed by the police and all their belongings stolen five times. In addition, the al-Kurd family has been forced to live in an extremely difficult situation, sharing the entrance gate and the backyard of their house with extremist settlers, who occupied a part of the al-Kurd home in December 2009. The settlers subject the Palestinian family to regular violent attacks and harassment, making their life a living hell.
The ultimate goal of the settler organizations is to evict all Palestinians from the area and turn it into a new Jewish settlement and to create a Jewish continuum that will effectively cut off the Old City form the northern Palestinian neighborhoods. On 28 August 2008, Nahalat Shimon International filed a plan to build a series of five and six-story apartment blocks – Town Plan Scheme (TPS) 12705 – in the Jerusalem Local Planning Commission. If TPS 12705 comes to pass, the existing Palestinian houses in this key area would be demolished, about 500 Palestinians would be evicted, and 200 new settler units would be built for a new settlement: Shimon HaTzadik.
The creation of new Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank is illegal under many international laws, including Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The plight of the Gawi, al-Kurd and the Hannoun families is just a small part of Israel’s ongoing campaign of ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people from East Jerusalem.
