The Palestinian village of Kafr Qaddum is located 13 kilometres west of Nablus and has a population of roughly 4300 citizens. Eleven thousand dunams of the village’s land (roughly 52% of the total area) are part of area C, under full control of the Israeli Occupation Forces. Saqerobeed, the former mayor of the village told ISM that, for the residents of Kafr Qaddum, this means being banned from accessing the land where their olive trees are planted. Olives are the main source of employment for the locals.
Saqerobeed, who served as the mayor of the city for six years, told us:
The army gives us permission to reach this land only twice a year; one week during olive harvest season and two other days during the year to take care of the land, which is not enough”. He also explained how settlers often go to these Palestinian lands and destroy the olive trees or impede the harvesting of these.
Other than being denied access to their land, Palestinians in Kafr Qaddum have been banned from using the main road of the village since 2003, one which easily connects it to Nablus. This is because of the presence of a settlement, which was built by the extreme right-wing Zionist group Gush Emunim in 1975 and has been enlarging ever since.
Reaching Nablus used to take only 15 minutes by car, but the trip now takes at least 40 minutes due to this permanent roadblock.
Soldiers shoot at demonstrators in Kafr Qaddum
After bringing this issue to an Israeli court multiple times throughout the years with no result, the citizens of Kafr Qaddum began organising weekly demonstrations in 2011, taking place every Friday.
For the past 12 years, the Israeli Occupation Forces have violently repressed these protests by shooting tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets, and live ammunition. On the 12th of August, a 15-year-old boy lost an eye after being shot with a rubber-coated steel bullet. A week after, seven more Palestinians were hit with the same ammunition, one of which led to hospitalisation. The number of people suffering from suffocation due to tear gas reaches the dozens every week, and this includes many children.
During the demonstration of the 1st of September, for instance, the IOF arrived to shoot tear gas canisters outside of a shop where people were sitting while drinking coffee, forcing them to run away immediately. Moreover, 175 people have been arrested for attending these demonstrations, leading the villagers to pay more than half a million shekels of bail-out money over the years. It is also routine for the IOF to place one or two snipers in an abandoned building adjacent to the site of the demonstration.
Demonstrators in Kafr Qaddum
Four attempts at negotiations with the IOF have taken place, the last one in 2014. The community offered to halt the weekly demonstrations if the road was re-opened. During his time as mayor, Saqerobeed participated in these and recounted how, during the last negotiations, they had come close to reaching the goal of re-opening the street. Even though an agreement had been made and the demonstrations were due to be halted, the IOF still refused to open the road.
When asked about the steadfastness with which the villagers attend this demonstration, the ex-mayor said:
We believe in this form of protesting because there is no one helping us from outside. If we ask for help to NGOs and human rights organisations, or other countries, no one will do anything so we do it alone. We will continue even if we lose people to jail, we all pay the price of this, because the alternative is to accept the way things are right now, which is impossible for us.
Israeli soldiers prepare to fire at protesters in Kafr Qaddum during the town’s weekly protests
22 October | International Solidarity Movement | Kafr Qaddum
Evidence is stacking up against the Israeli Army over the near-fatal shooting of a Palestinian child by a soldier in July, with the release of a damning report from a British research group.
Nine-year-old Abd el-Rahman Yasir Shatawi, was shot in the head on July 12 while sitting outside his friend’s house during a protest in the West Bank village of Kafr Qaddum. He sustained severe brain damage and remains hospitalized more than three months after the attack.
Since then Abd’s parents have been left in the dark as to why their son, who was not even participating in the protest, was shot by Israeli soldiers from a hill opposite.
9-year-old Abd el-Rahman Yasir Shatawi, who was shot by Israeli soldiers
Despite eye-witness accounts, medical reports and investigations all saying that Abd was shot with live ammunition, the Israeli army has continued to insist that soldiers did not use live fire that day.
Instead the military claims that Abd was shot with a rubber-coated metal bullet [RCMB].
This has been challenged most recently by London-based research group Forensic Architecture, which carried out an investigation into the incident at the request of ISM.
The comprehensive report compiles video, photo and eye-witness testimonies to piece together the sequence of events prior to the shooting. Based on this evidence they concluded that, “contrary to the repeated claims of Israeli officials, the available medical and image evidence, as well as witness testimony, strongly suggests that Abd el-Rahman’s injuries were caused by live ammunition.”
As part of the investigation, US forensic experts were shown CT scans of Abd’s brain (pictured below) which has over 100 bullet fragments still lodged in it. From analysing the scans, the experts said: “Although they [RCMB] can indeed penetrate individuals, and are more likely to do so in juveniles who exhibit less dense bone, they are not known to fragment, especially to the extent visible in the CT scans.”
Instead the experts said the level of fragmentation was “consistent with fragmentation seen in 5.56 mm [live] rounds.”
The medical scans also showed that there was no exit wound, corroborating eye-witness accounts that the shot was fired from a distance of 100-120m. “The farther away the shot, the less likely the bullet will still be travelling with enough energy to completely pass through the skull,” experts told Forensic Architecture.
The distance is a crucial element as 100-120m is twice the effective distance of a RCMB round.
ISM activists present that day also witnessed soldiers firing live bullets at protesters.
“We heard gunshots that sounded like loud claps,” they said. “An Israeli activist told us it was live ammunition, saying he’d never seen such disregard for human life. The soldiers on the ridge were spraying bullets everywhere. After the protest we found live bullet casings littering the ground where soldiers had been firing at protesters. This case shows how far Israeli forces will go to avoid admitting their crimes despite the overwhelming evidence against them.”
Abd’s family told ISM that they were not surprised by the army’s refusal to admit to using live fire. “The Israeli army never admitted any crime here,” they said. “Of course they said that because they don’t want to be questioned about it.”
Recently Abd was moved from a Tel Aviv hospital to Beit Jala, after Israeli doctors said there was nothing else they could do. “He can’t speak and no changes [to his condition] occurred since he was shot,” his family said. “The doctors say that his condition is still in danger and that a huge damage occurred in his brain because of the bullet.”
Images from Forensic Architecture report show difference in soldiers firing live ammunition to rubber-coated metal bulletsBullets found in a water tank shot during the protest on July 12
Kafr Qaddum residents said the feeling in the town since the shooting has been “indescribable.”
A resident who preferred not to be named told ISM: “A child who is supposed to live peacefully just like any child in the world is being shot brutally. Instead of offering a safe environment for children here, they are being shot and exposed to violent acts.”
Forensic Architecture’s report is the latest piece of evidence stacking up against the Israeli army over the shooting. It joins a previous report by Israeli human rights group B’tselem which blamed the incident on Israel’s “reckless open-fire policy that allows soldiers to use live fire even when neither they nor anyone else is in any danger.”
In the past three months alone, 100 Palestinian children have been shot with live ammunition. Despite these gross human rights violations, government’s around the world have remained silent on the Israeli army’s callous use of live fire against children.
Instead Abd’s family has turned to the media in the hope that justice can be delivered through them. “If the world knows what is really happening to the children here, this may bring justice one day.”
Abd being carried into the ambulance after he was shot in the head by soldiers
July 19 2019 | International Solidarity Movement | Kafr Qaddum, occupied Palestine
Abdul Rahman Yasser Shteiwi, 9 years old, shot in the head by the Israeli military in Kafr Quddum
An Israeli human rights group has proved that live fire was used by soldiers against the 9-year-old child who was shot in the head last Friday in Kafr Qaddum, exposing Israeli Military lies that none was used.
The report by B’Tselem, published yesterday, says that Abdul Rahman Shteiwi was shot with live ammunition during a protest in the West Bank town on July 12 “while sitting at the entrance of one of the homes on the edge of the village playing with a piece of wood.”
It reads: “Now hospitalised in critical condition, he is the latest victim of the reckless open-fire policy that allows soldiers to use live fire even when neither they nor anyone else is in any danger.”
Many people turned out for the weekly protest in Kafr Qaddum today, which has been held every Friday for the past 8 years, to call for justice for Abdul who is fighting for his life in Sheba Hospital near Tel Aviv.
At the demonstration, which was attended by leaders of the PLO, international observers and local and international media, Israeli soldiers bombarded protesters with rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas canisters.
Paramedics from the Red Crescent told ISM that 40 protesters were treated for various injuries, 22 for rubber-coated steel bullet wounds and 18 for tear gas inhalation.
Ahead of today’s protest, a number of Palestinian politicians including PLO minister Walid Assaf declared that they will bring the case to the International Criminal Court (ICC). “The blood of our children is not cheap!” he said. “We will follow Netanyahu and the Israeli war minister in the ICC.”
The Israeli Military still insists that no live ammunition was used last week, despite the mounds of evidence stacking up against their hollow claims.
Kafr Qaddum resident, Riyad Shtaiwi, was sitting under an olive tree with his two children when he witnessed the shooting of Abdul last Friday.
He told ISM through an interpreter that he saw soldiers at the top of the mountain, “taking the position of sniping by lying on the ground,” just before Abdul was hit.
“When I saw the soldiers on the top of a mountain aiming and taking the position of sniping and shooting by lying himself on the ground towards us, I feel real danger,” he said. “I decided to move away from this place and to speak with the child who was opposite me, to take him away from this danger. Before I reach the child, one of the soldiers, the one who was taking the position of shooting, he shot one live ammunition. At this moment I look around myself at my children and then I saw the child on the ground and the blood.”
Mr Shtaiwi ran towards Abdul to pick him up. While he carried the unconscious boy in his arms, soldiers fired 3 or 4 more rounds of live bullets towards them which hit a metal gate just behind.
B’Tselem claims that Abdul’s severe injury is the “direct result of the open-fire policy implemented by the military in the Occupied Territories.”
“This policy illegally and without any justification permits the use of live fire against Palestinians who are not endangering anyone,” the report continues. “The policy remains in force despite the fact that it has resulted in hundreds of Palestinian deaths and thousands of injuries.”
This was not the first time the military has fired live ammunition at protesters in Kafr Qaddum in an attempt to suppress the popular struggle of the town’s residents. In January alone, five protesters were hit with live bullets including a child in the neck who was in a critical condition.
For eight years, the residents have protested against the closure of the town’s main road to Nablus by the military in the early 2000s. The blocked road is now exclusively used by illegal settlers, forcing Palestinians to take the longer road which has impacted their economy.
July 15 | International Solidarity Movement | Kafr Qaddum, occupied Palestine
Israeli soldiers shot a Palestinian child in the head with live ammunition on Friday during a protest against settlement expansion in the West Bank town of Kafr Qaddum, Palestine.
Abdul Rahman Yasser Shteiwi, 9*, was rushed to Rafidia Hospital in Nablus at around 3pm and was operated on immediately. On Saturday, Palestinian doctors told ISM that a scan of the boy’s brain showed over 100 bullet fragments lodged in his head. Yesterday Abdul was moved to Tel Hashomer hospital near Tel Aviv.
10-year-old Palestinian boy undergoing surgery in Rafidia hospital. Nablus
Rafidia hospital’s head of neurosurgery, Othman Othman, who operated on the 10-year-old for three and a half hours, claimed that the bullet fired at Abdul was a live round.
Speaking through an interpreter, he said: “He had a penetrating injury in the frontal lobe on the right side. The injury was severe and there are more than 100 fragments.
“This is not a rubber bullet; this is a metal bullet. A rubber bullet will not enter because it does not have a sharp head. This is something that had a sharp head.”
Mr Othman added that he believes the bullet fired at Abdul was “not a normal bullet.”
“I have seen many gunshot wounds and they only break into a few pieces. Over 100 fragments is not normal.”
This disputes claims by the Israeli military that no live ammunition was fired during the Friday protest.
ISM activists also found a 5.56 bullet case on the ground where protesters had been standing some 15 minutes before. The case was hot to the touch suggesting it had been fired that afternoon. Dozens more bullet cases were also found by villagers following the protest.
The 9-year-old remains in critical condition, and is awaiting further scans. “This injury is a severe traumatic brain injury. He is in critical condition and there is a lot of blood in his brain,” Mr. Othman said. “We can’t yet say what is the real injury to the brain.”
The leader of the popular resistance committee in Kafr Qaddum, Murad Shtaiwi, told ISM: “I don’t have words to explain the sadness I feel.
“The army practised a very big fault if they think that what they did today will make the demonstration go down. No, never.”
Bullets and bullet casings found after the protest in Kafr QaddumProtester’s arm injured by rubber-coated steel bullets
Rubber-coated steel bullets were also fired at the crowds, as well as sound bombs. At least two people were injured by rubber bullets, including a child who was shot in the arm and a man who was also hit in the arm.
Mr Shtaiwi added: “I want to send a message to all the international community; if you care about the rights of children, come and protect them and share what happened today with the rest of the world.”
Another demonstration was held the following day on Saturday, July 13, at 4pm in Kafr Qaddum. One protester suffered a minor injury after he was shot in the stomach with a rubber-coated steel bullet by occupation soldiers.
The town has held weekly protests for 9 years against the closure of the main road to the city of Nablus due to the expansion of nearby settlements. Protesters are regularly met with tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets fired by heavily armed occupation forces.
Updated Monday, July 15, 2019
*Correction: Abdul is 9-years-old and not 10 as stated previously in report.
April 19, 2019 | International Solidarity Movement | Kafr Qaddum, occupied Palestine
Soldiers shoot live ammunition, rubber-coated steel bullets and stun grenades at protesters in the weekly Friday demonstration in Kafr Quaddum. Several Palestinians, a minor and an international were shot by rubber-coated steel bullets and a French international was beaten and arrested by Israeli soldiers.
Around 150 protesters gathered in protest today in Kafr Quaddum to honor the 31st anniversary of the martyr Khalel Alwazer (Abu Jehad), a member of the central committee of the Fateh movement. They marched through the village towards the illegal settlement and in a demand to reopen the main road in and out of the village.* Protesters were joined by leaders from the PLO, Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, and Popular Resistance Committees in the West Bank. Even though it was the Christian holy day of good Friday, Father Abdalla Yolyo, who is an Orthodox Christian Leader, also joined the protest and showed his support to the villagers.
Almost immediately after the start of the protest the soldiers opened fire on the demonstration with of rubber-coated steel bullets. Soldiers were hiding on the roofs of Palestinians houses and on the hill. Many protestors were hit with rubber-coated steel bullets including several Palestinians, two international activists and a child who had to receive medical assistance.
At the same time several protesters were climbing the hill where the soldiers were firing from. The protestor managed to push the soldiers back and reached the top of the hill.
protesters climbing hill, soldiers in the background
As the soldiers left, the protester lit tire-fires, and the wind direction sent the smoke into the illegal settlement. Almost 10 minutes later the soldiers returned, charging into the demonstration and opened fire with live ammunition and eventually arrested a French international human rights defender.
*The main road into the village has been closed since 2003 by the illegal settlement. In 2010 the Supreme Court ruled the road block illegal, however the Israeli authorities refused to reopen the road. In February this year, Israeli authorities promised to reopen the road if the villagers protested peacefully for one month which the villagers complied with. However after a month of peaceful demonstration the road was not re-opened. As a response to the broken promise, the habitants of Kafr Quaddum and several internationals have been protesting ever Friday until the road is re-opened.
