Tag: Kafr Qaddum - Page 10 - International Solidarity Movement

Two Palestinians arrested during weekly demonstration in Kafr Qaddum

12th April 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Kafr Qaddum, Occupied Palestine

Yesterday, Friday the 11^th of April, during the weekly demonstration in Kafr Qaddum, the Israeli army arrested two Palestinian youths.

As with every Friday, the demonstration [which has taken place since 2011] began after morning prayers with the people of Kafr Qaddum marching through the village to protest against the illegal settlement of Qedumim. Located on the hills South East of Kafr Qaddum, the presence of this illegal settlement has meant the frequent closure of a road that Palestinians use to travel to the city of Nablus, as well as the illegal seizure of village land.

Yesterday the march stopped at a place on the road where Area B [Palestinian civil control and joint Palestinian and Israeli security control] and Area C (solely Israeli civil and security control) meet. The march was halted by an onslaught of tear gas canisters by the Israeli forces, while Palestinian youths threw stones towards the soldiers.

The violence continued to escalate, as two Israeli military jeeps, a “skunk” truck [a large vehicle capable of firing chemicals at a high velocity that leaves a putrid smell for over a week and burns the skin], a military bulldozer, and around 12 Israeli soldiers arrived at the demonstration. Unusually a traditional wedding also joined yesterday’s protest march. The groom’s family and friends danced amongst the marchers giving the weekly protest an optimistic and happy feel, until the Israeli army attacked and arrests began to take place.

Two young Palestinians were captured during the demonstration. Raleb Halmi (21), a student at Birzet University and Ibrahim Adunan Iomma (21), a student at Al Quds Open University. They have both been taken to Huwwara’s army base with no information available on when they will be released or what they are charged with. The clashes continued until the afternoon, with Israeli soldiers using the bulldozer to clear large stones from the road in order to access the village. At around 4:30PM the army moved back to the settlement and fortunately, despite an abundant use of tear gas, the protest ended without any injuries.

Kafr Qaddum’s protest honors Palestinian martyrs

14th March 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Kafr Qaddum, Occupied Palestine

Today’s demonstration in Kafr Qaddum was held as a tribute to the seven martyrs who were killed by the Israeli army the past month in the West

Protesters surrounded by tear gas (Photo by ISM)

Bank. The participants carried posters of one of the martyrs, Moataz Washaha, who was assassinated by Israeli forces on February 27^th, in his family home in Bir Zeit.

Before the weekly demonstration started the army and border police were already stationed on the closed road going through the illegal settlement of Kedumim and on the hilltop overlooking Kafr Qaddum. When the demonstration was marching along the road, the army threw sound grenades and shot large amounts of teargas canisters at people. Several persons suffered from teargas inhalation and other four were hit by teargas canisters fired directly at them. During the protest, Israeli soldiers tried to get to the demonstrators by hiding between the houses, but were successfully pushed back by the villagers.

Since July 2011, the village of Kafr Qaddom holds weekly demonstrations against the occupation of Palestine and the closure of the road connecting Kafr Qaddum to Nablus. The road was closed in 2003 as a result of the construction of the illegal settlement of Kedumim. Now, residents of Kafr Qaddum have to make a 15 minutes detour to get to Nablus. The settlement of Kedumim together with four other surrounding settlements, have taken 4000 dunums of the village’s land. Farmers seeking to reach their lands face threats, attacks and arrests from settlers and the army.

Night raid and arrests in Kafr Qaddum

20th February 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Kafr Qaddum, Occupied Palestine

On Thursday the 20th of February, the violent arrests of seven villagers occurred early in the morning in the village of Kafr Qaddum. Four of those arrested, including the coordinator of the weekly demonstration, were released after six hours. The three others are still under detention. One of them suffered a head injury during his arrest.

Between 1:00 and 2:00 a.m., hundreds of Israeli soldiers surrounded then entered the village of Kafr Qaddum. The soldiers went to several houses and violently arrested seven villagers, including the coordinator of the weekly march. They handcuffed and blindfolded the villagers and physically and verbally abused them. One of those arrested, Faris Nidal, was injured in the head in the process.

The coordinator of the march has been pressured to put an end to the weekly demonstration taking place each friday in the village for more than four years. The goal of the demonstration is to pressure the army to open the road linking Kafr Qaddum and the whole Qalqiliya district to Nablus. The Supreme Court of Israel officially agreed to this demand in 2010, with no visible effect on the ground.

Later in the morning, around 8:00 a.m., four of the villagers, including the coordinator, were released. The three other villagers, including Faris Nidal, remain in detention in an uncertain location.

Four injured at weekly demonstration in Kafr Qaddom

14th February 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Kafr Qaddom, Occupied Palestine

At approximately 10:00 a.m. on Friday, the Israeli army positioned themselves on top of the hill overlooking Kafr Qaddom and on the closed road that leads to the illegal settlement, Qedumim.

As they did last week, the Israeli army attempted to portray themselves as peacemakers with a megaphone asking residents to go to their homes. This recurrent event is for the Israeli government’s new promotional film about the presence of the army in the West Bank.

Shortly thereafter, the residents of Kafr Qaddom burned tires and the Israeli army started shooting a large amount of tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets from the top of the mountain and from the road. One sniper with live ammunition was also placed on a large boulder among the olive trees. Residents responded with stones and were repeatedly forced back down the road by a bulldozer and the teargas. Many suffered from teargas inhalation and the canisters were often shot at head level which can cause serious injuries.

One person was hit in the neck by a rubber-coated steel bullet and was carried out of the demonstration unconscious and taken to the hospital. His condition is now stable. Another person was injured by a rubber-coated steel bullet in his leg and two persons by high-velocity teargas canisters in their legs.

The village of Kafr Qaddom has been holding a weekly Friday demonstration for over two years. The demonstrations in Kafr Qaddom are held in protest against the continued occupation of Palestine and for the right to access the land stolen by the illegal settlement of Qedumim. In addition, the village’s main road to Nablus has been blocked, adding 14 kilometers to the journey, which has caused two deaths when ambulances were not able to reach the village in time.

UN presence at Kafr Qaddum demonstration leads to theatrics by Israeli forces

31st January 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Kafr Qaddum, Occupied Palestine

In stark contrast to other Fridays, the weekly demonstration of Kafr Qaddum, in Qalqilya district, on 31^st January, 2014, was met with a cynical display of theatrics, in which Israeli forces attempted to portray themselves as peacemakers. The presence at the demonstration of a representative from the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights led to unprecedented behavior by the soldiers.

For the first time since the demonstrations began in July 2011, an Israeli officer with a megaphone made several polite requests for demonstrators to return to their homes. A female officer was also brought forward and appeals were made to the protesters not to throw stones as there was a woman present. A smaller than usual amount of tear gas was used, although several protesters were hit by canisters aimed at body height.

The weekly demonstration held at Kufr Qaddum is notorious throughout the West Bank for the high level of violent repression employed by Israeli forces. In addition to violence during the demonstrations, Israeli forces carry out regular night raids and random arrests in the town.

Protesters demand access to the road connecting the town with Nablus, which has been closed since 2003. An Israeli court ruled in November 2010 that the road should be reopened, although the military continues to block it. The illegal settlement of Qedumin, whose construction involved the theft of 4000 dunums of land from the town of Kafr Qaddum, lies along this road.

Local residents and international human rights activists spoke with the UN representative, who informed them that UN OHCHR visits in the West Bank must always be coordinated through the Israeli military high command, thus explaining the unusual behaviour on the part of the soldiers.