Tag: Kiryat Arba settlement

Israeli prison industrial complex in motion

by Lisa

30 October 2011 | International Solidarity Movement West Bank

During a settler tour around the old city in Hebron on Saturday, where dozens of Israelis were guided around in a sort of parade, a Palestinian man named Yousef Salim Issa Al Batch, passed by and was stopped by Israeli police. He had a small fruit knife in his pocket and had forgotten his ID. As a result he was arrested and taken to the police station at the Kiryat Arba settlement at 4:15 PM.

Earlier in the day Al Batch had been cutting apples with a small knife and forgot to take it out of his pocket. When stopped by the police he was asked for his ID. He did not have it with him, and so, Al Batch called his mother to ask her to give him the ID number. The officer who had stopped him suggested that this would be acceptable so long as Yousef  had not been in any trouble in the past. If he did have a previous record with Israelis, they would have to bring him to the police station.

Although Al Batch has never been arrested before and never been in trouble, the police officer decided to bring him to the police station anyways.

Al Batch was released at 8:30 PM after his cousin paid 1,000 shekels in cash to the police.

His cousin, Amer, called International Solidarity Movement on Sunday evening and said with an anxious voice:

“This is not normal, I think it’s pocket money for the police men”.

 

Lisa is an activist with International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).

Youth arrested in Hebron over cereal

2 October 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

On 2 October in Al Khalil (Hebron), the Israeli army and police arrested 2 Palestinian children based on petty, unfounded accusations whilst allowing settlers to employ violence with complete impunity. 13 year old Khaled Abu Snaeneh and 15 year old Said Abu Aisha were arrested and detained for over 4 hours at Kiryat Arba police station.

At 2:45 soldiers came to the Abu Aisha house in Tel Rumeida to investigate a complaint made by settlers that Palestinians had stolen some boxes of expired cereal from their backyard. A group of around 30 settlers gathered around the house shouting at both the Palestinian residents and the police and army. Under pressure from the gradually increasing number of settlers surrounding the house Israeli police made the decision to arrest the two young boys, solely on the evidence of being accused by the settlers.

Ibrahim Abu Aisha explained that the boys arrested had not taken the cereal as they were working at the time the incident took place.

Several Palestinians reported that Baruch Marzel from the Tel Rumeida settlement kicked 30 year old Fawaz Abu Aisha requiring him to go to hospital. Despite the visible bruising on Fawaz’s leg and attempts to complain to the police they refused to take any action on this assault. Marzel has a history of assaulting Palestinians and was formerly a spokesperson for the Kach party before it was made illegal in Israel as a racist, terrorist organization.

After being driven to Kiryat Arba police station and detained for 4 hours, the boys were not charged but still forced to pay a fine of 200 shekels each.

Israeli military conceals information about possible nerve agent used by illegal, violent settlers

26 September 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

On Sunday, September 25th, Riyadh Abu Armile was assaulted by settlers and the army in Hebron,causing for an open investigation by human rights groups as evidence suggests that settlers may have used an unidentified nerve agent during the assault.

On the night of the attack hundreds of settlers from around  Al Khalil (Hebron) arrived in the H2 area, in the centre of the city for the funeral of Asher Palmer and his son from Kiryat Arba who died in a car crash on Friday. Despite the fact that an investigation into the deaths is yet to reach a conclusion about the cause of the crash, soldiers on the scene echoed the proclamations of Israeli media sources, which labeled the incident as a “terrorist attack” because of speculation that the crash was caused by Palestinians throwing stones. A dangerously volatile situation was then created by the decision to hold the funeral in a Palestinian area of Hebron rather than the Kiryat Arba settlement where the deceased lived.

Armile was walking near the Ibrahimi Mosque with his uncle and 7 year old son at about 8pm on Sunday, when  he was met by around 30 settlers who began throwing rocks at the family. More settlers joined the violent assault, and within a few minutes he estimated there were as many as 200 settlers surrounding him. After the family attempted to take refuge in a nearby house, settlers broke the windows and continued the attack.

Armile told us that the attackers used some kind of chemical weapon that emitted a gas, causing symptoms very similar to those of a nerve agent.

Armile said, “‘I couldn’t see and went into convulsions, saliva was coming out of my mouth and afterwards I couldn’t move my muscles for one hour.”

When soldiers arrived at the scene they beat Armile as he tried to protect himself from the settlers. After the attack they detained him for over an hour and refused access for the ambulance that came to treat him. At 9:30PM he had to be carried to the ambulance, which took him immediately to the hospital in Hebron.

The Israeli army confiscated the gas canister used by the settlers and refused to give the doctors information about the chemical agent used. He had to stay overnight in a hospital and required 13 injections. Doctors were unsure how to treat him due to the unknown nature of the chemical and warned him that he may suffer long-term health problems. During the attack his son sustained head injuries from rocks thrown by the settlers, and Armile’s uncle’s hand was also broken.

Red Cross and other human rights organizations are currently investigating the incident as they suspect that the chemical may be some form of nerve gas, which is illegal under international law. The attack comes just weeks after leaked documents from the Israeli military revealed plans to train and arm settlers against Palestinians.

15 year old injured after attack with stones in Hebron

30 June 2011 | International Solidarity Movement

On Sunday June 25, 15 year old Muhammed Jabari was attacked by settlers throwing stones in Hebron, causing injuries to his wrist and leg.

The land and house of the Jabari family is situated between the illegal settlements of Kiryat Arba and Givat Ha’avot in east Hebron, making the family exposed to harassment and attacks by settlers as reported previously. On Sunday settlers from Givat Ha’avot took one duck and four goslings from the land of the Jabari family, stealing them away to the illegal settlement. Muhammed and his younger brother were allowed by settler guards to go inside and get the birds.

Bystanders were prevented from filming by soldiers guarding the illegal settlement. They returned after they heard the 15 year old boy screaming in pain. Approximately seven teenage settlers threw stones at him, injuring his wrist and his leg.

No one interfered when the boy was attacked. At least one soldier was watching the attack, and there are several surveillance cameras covering the area. Additionally, thesite of the attack is about two minutes away from the Israeli police station of Kiryat Arba. Muhammed was taken to hospital after the attack.

Olive trees destroyed outside Bethlehem

31 May 2011 | International Solidarity Movement

Broken olive tree
This morning Maher Abu Sab’a’ discovered that 248 out of the 250 olive tree saplings that had recently been planted on his land had been destroyed over-night. The saplings which had been planted three months previously had been systematically uprooted from the earth and broken with their remains left scattered over the earth. The land is situated outside Bethlehem next to a number of illegal Israeli settlements including Kiryat Arba, one of the largest illegal settlement in the West Bank with approximately 10,000 inhabitants. The attack took place right next to the Israeli checkpoint and watch tower on road 60, however it would appear that there was no intervention in the attack. Last year Maher lost all of the almond and grape trees from his land when settlers set light to the same field. He now plans to re-plant all of the trees he has lost.