Tag: Kufr Qaddum

“We believe in a bright future…a future when our children will be free” – Kufr Qaddum resident released from prison

29th January 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Nablus, Occupied Palestine

Murad Eshtewi was released from prison on January 22, 2015. He was arrested on April 29th, 2014, serving 10 months in Israeli military prison. In order to secure his release, he was forced to pay a fine of 10,000 shekels (approximately $2500 USD), a fine that reduced his sentence in jail. Murad, a resident of Kufr Qaddum, was charged with organizing demonstrations and encouraging Palestinians to participate in political action. The village of Kufr Qaddum has held a weekly demonstration every Friday since 2011, in protest of the closure of their main road to Nablus by Israeli forces for the neighboring illegal settlement Qedumim.

On April 29, 2014, at 2:30am, Israeli forces surrounded Murad´s family house. Knowing that he was going to be jailed for a long time, Murad asked the soldiers if he could kiss his children goodbye. Israeli soldiers then covered his mouth, and made him walk 1.5 km in the dark to a nearby illegal Israeli settlement, where he was detained for 9 days. During this period, has was given very little water or food, and he lost 10kg.

He was eventually transferred to Megiddo, an Israeli military prison. Murad describes the horrible conditions he faced there; prisoners were not given enough food or blankets and any other necessities had to be purchased from the prison canteen at grossly inflated prices. The food that was provided did not constitute a balanced diet. Food and blankets brought in to prisoners from visitors were not permitted. Existing medical facilities in the prison were extremely limited; Murad described his own medical issues and the failure to receive adequate treatment. Facing shoulder pain, he was given only moderate pain-relievers, and told to drink water. His pain increased to the point that he was unable to lift his arm. The medical practitioners distributing ´care´ were often the same soldiers who had beaten prisoners earlier that week. Prison conditions gave no opportunity for activity to those detained; Murad recounts having nothing to do except ¨count the days, seconds, until freedom. I could not see the sky.¨

Prisoners detained for legal violations, such as theft, are permitted to work and call their families, whereas those detained under Israeli military law (political prisoners) are not awarded the same privileges. Their contact with the outside world is limited to one 45 minute visit from family, every two weeks, if that. Murad expressed feeling like a ¨dead man¨ while imprisoned, and that he has been ¨born again¨ since his release.

This was Murad´s fourth arrest, with the longest sentence and highest fine. Before receiving his final sentence, he had 19 court dates over eight months in Israeli military courts. Despite all that he has endured under direct Israeli repression, Murad is adamant in his determination to continue the struggle for Palestine. He sees the issues facing his village of Kufr Qaddum as symbolic of the bigger issues of the Israeli occupation: restricted movement, injuries, house damage, arbitrary arrest, imprisonment and murder of Palestinians. But he asserts: ¨In the face of this bad situation, we will do anything. We do not deny the right of anyone to live happily in their land. Let Israel do that in their state. Just let Palestinians do the same. No one can prevent me from my right [to do this], except death. I will not be ready to let my son or friends live under occupation. [I have made] an internal promise between me and me, and between me and Palestine to fight for Palestine.¨

Murad´s house was flooded with visitors upon his release, happy to welcome him home and back to his village. Murad is ecstatic to be re-united with his family and children, and continue the struggle for Palestine´s freedom. ¨The smile is still on our faces, because we believe in a bright future. A future when our children will be free, and we will continue to fight for this future.”

VIDEO: Snow and rain does not stop Kufr Qaddum protest

9th January 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus team | Kufr Qaddum, Occupied Palestine

Dozens of demonstrators braved the rain today to protest the continued closure of the Kufr Qaddum’s main road to Nablus.

A peaceful march began at noon after prayers ended. Villagers, alongside Israeli and international activists, walked up Kafr Qaddam’s main street as soldiers looked on from about 100 metres away. Within minutes the first rounds of tear gas were fired. The wet weather and high winds only worsened the effects of the tear gas, which was blown in all directions, making it impossible to avoid.

A local organizer and Kufr Qaddam resident ended the demonstration by a call to all gathered (translated), “Even in the snow, even in the bad weather we will keep resisting, to open our road… The amount of people gathered today, even in this weather, shows how powerful we are.”

Villagers have been demonstrating every week for three years with one simple demand: to re-open the road that is the village’s main route to Nablus. The road has been closed for Palestinian access due to the neighbouring illegal Israeli settlement, Qedumin. Alternative routes add an extra 20 minutes onto the journey time to Nablus – a nuisance which costs both time and money and presents a real danger in emergency situations.

Despite the tear gas and Israeli military presence in the village, today’s demonstration will be seen by many as a “quiet” one. In recent weeks, the Israeli military have used live ammunition against demonstrators, injuring many.

Residents of Kufr Qaddum have made it clear that the resistance will continue.

Journalist most recent victim of Israeli military violence at Kufr Qaddum

9th December 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus team | Kufr Qaddum, Occupied Palestine

Bashar, a journalist from Palestine TV, was shot in the left leg at Kufr Qaddum on Friday the 5^th of December 2014.

The weekly demonstration aims to highlight the issue of the road that has been closed to Kafr Qaddum and demands for it to be reopened. The road is closed to Palestinians but connects several illegal Israeli settlements nearby. The road was once the Palestinians’ main route to the villages of Jit and Sarra, and to the city of Nablus. Residents of Kafr Qaddum and nearby villages must now use a 14 kilometer detour on badly paved roads through olive groves. This proves especially problematic in emergency situations when ambulances are trying to get patients to Nablus hospital. Kafr Qaddum villagers state that several people have died because of the longer ambulance trip.

Bashar has been going to the Kafr Qaddum demonstrations since they began four years ago. This particular one was a special demonstration in solidarity with Patrick, an Italian activist who was shot in the chest with a .22 caliber bullet the Friday before. The demonstration began peacefully with people holding Italian and Palestinian flags. A skunk water truck, a renowned demonstration repression technique, sprayed the people who were peacefully holding flags right at the beginning of the protest. Within ten minutes, Bashar had been shot in his left leg by an Israeli sniper.

The bullet used to shoot Bashar was an expanding bullet, often called a “dum-dum”. International law has declared their use illegal in war because they are so destructive. Bashar was shot by a sniper with a weapon that is only supposed to be used when soldiers are at mortal risk and skunk water, tear gas, rubber bullets, rubber coated steel bullets, and other nonlethal weapons have all proved ineffective. This is supposed to be the last weapon soldiers use before they shoot to kill with M16s. Witnesses say that Bashar was filming as he usually did when he was shot. He was no threat to the soldiers at all. Witnesses say that there were no people in front or behind him throwing stones.

Bashar was taken by ambulance to Nablus hospital. The X-ray showed that the dum-dum bullet did as it was designed to, breaking into many pieces when it entered his leg.

Bashar had an operation on the 6^th of December, the day after he was shot, to take out most of the bullet fragments.

Doctors have decided to leavein some pieces for the time being because they are very close to veins and would be dangerous to remove. Bashar will be bed bound for two weeks until the decision is made, but his condition remains stable.

Within one week at Kufr Qaddum, three people were shot with lethal, live ammunition—two with .22 caliber bullets and one with a dum-dum. One was a journalist, another an international peace activist. None of them were any threat to the soldiers. So why, then, were they shot at? To create fear for all the people who are in solidarity with the Palestinians and who want to tell the world the story of what is happening here? To physically stop peaceful resistance using the most extreme repression techniques?

It will not work. Patrick and many other international, Palestinian and Israeli activists will continue to nonviolently resist the confiscation of their lands in Kufr Qaddum each week. Bashar will continue to report their stories to the world. The unnecessary use of violent repression techniques will only continue to delegitimize the illegal occupation of the Palestinian people.

More Palestinian protesters shot with .22 live ammunition

6th December 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Ramallah team | Nabi Saleh, Occupied Palestine

Yesterday, Israeli soldiers invaded Nabi Saleh during the Palestinian village’s weekly Friday demonstration and shot one young Palestinian in the leg with .22 caliber live ammunition. The soldiers also fired tear gas canisters at demonstrators, along with more rounds of the .22 live caliber bullets.

Screen shot 2014-12-06 at 21.44.20 — http://schwarczenberg.com/

“At one point, after the boy had been shot, a soldier fired three tear gas canisters straight at internationals and Palestinians who were just standing there, trying to see what was going on up the road,” recalled one ISM activist present at the scene. “He [the soldier] was quite close to us, and could easily see that no one was throwing any stones. The canisters landed no more than a few meters away.”

The young Palestinian who was shot is between seventeen and eighteen years old; he was rushed away from the scene and taken to a hospital for treatment. Nabi Saleh has been suffering from a spate of violence recently at the hands of Israeli forces, who shot three Palestinians including 38-year-old Nariman Tamimi at a demonstration two weeks ago and 14-year-old Ahmed Barghouti last Friday.

The Kufr Qaddum weekly demonstrations have been met with similar violence. Last week a Palestinian youth and an Italian ISM volunteer were both shot with .22 live ammunition in the chest. During yesterday’s protest a Palestinian journalist was shot in the leg with a .22 live bullet.

https://www.facebook.com/AlMasira.KufurKaddom

Israeli military court sentences Murad Eshtewi to 10 months in prison and a 10,000 NIS fine for participating in Kufr Qaddum protests

4th December 2014 | Popular Struggle Coordination Committee | Kafr Qaddum, Occupied Palestine

Salem military court has sentenced activist Murad Eshtewi, from Kufr Qaddum village, to 9 and a half months of prison, with an additional 10,000 shekel fine. Israeli forces arrested Eshtewi on April 29th, 2014 in the middle of the night accusing him of participating in and arranging Kufr Qaddum demonstrations.

The unjust decision of the military court states the following:

9 and a half months of actual prison time.
10,000 shekel non-refundable fine.
A 5-year probation period after his prison term, where he cannot participate in any Kufr Qaddum peaceful demonstrations, or he will face a sentence of no less than 12 months in prison.
A 3 year probation period after his prison term, where he cannot participate in any peaceful demonstrations against the Israeli military anywhere else, otherwise he will face a sentence of no less than 6 months in prison.

Murad has been detained in Majedo Military Prison since his arrest in April, and has been suffered from many health problems during this time. His lawyer, Adel Samara, states that Murad has lost over 9 kilos in weight due to harsh and unsuitable holding cells.

In a letter from Murad, he stated the following:

“The accusations that I am charged with is unfair because it is our legal right to protest and participate in demonstrations against the occupation and to struggle for our self-determination as Palestinians.” He added that the peaceful marches in Kufr Qaddum will continue even if the occupation suppresses them over and over again.

Since the arrest of Murad, the Israeli army has raised its level of brutality in dealing with Kufr Qaddum demonstrations. 15 protestors have been shot by live bullets, last week alone recorded two live bullet injuries, a local youth and an Italian supporter, shot in cold blood just for participating in peaceful protests.

Murad calls on the international community and the United Nations to support Kufr Qaddum, to open the road closed by Israeli forces, to support the fair quest of a free Palestine, and to end the occupation and its settlers.

“They fine us so they can pay for more guns and weapons to kill us with,” Murad added. Finally, Murad calls on the people of Kufr Qaddum to keep on struggling against occupation and to never give up.