06th October 2017 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, Occupied Palestine
On Friday the 06th of October, around 30 Israeli soldiers entered the H1 area of Al-Khalil with three armoured military vehicles.
The Israeli armed forces entered the area at around 2.00pm, using sound grenades and tear gas around the central hub of the city leading up to the Manara roundabout. The vehicles drove back and forth between two roundabouts firing tear gas and sound grenades randomly.
Bystanders and street vendors were affected by tear gas. Live ammunition was also used.
Throughout the rest of the afternoon and into the evening soldiers were stationed around the city which many interpreted as a provocation.
In the evening at around 6.00pm, two boys aged 17 and 16 were detained by the soldiers and taken to the nearby police station by Israeli police despite attempts by family members to have them freed. They were accused of throwing stones at soldiers and were detained without providing any evidence to their accusations.
This is one of several occasions the Israeli armed forces have entered the H1 area of Al-Khalil, using weapons and vehicles to counter small protests on Fridays.
22nd September 2017 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine
On Friday, September 22, the usual small scale and unorganised protests next to the Shuhada checkpoint elicited an exaggerated response from the Israeli military. At 2:00 PM approximately 15 soldiers went into H1 in pursuit of the protesters, firing tear gas and sound bombs. Subsequently, the military jeeps spread into multiple focal points of the city, where they continued their assault.
At approximately 3:00 PM, the soldiers fired live ammunition for the second time in one week in the Manara square of occupied Hebron, one of the most densely circulated areas, thus putting at risk passers-by of all ages. Traffic was also disrupted, as roads leading to the square were blocked. Manara is one of the main junctions in the city, therefore drivers were forced to take alternative routes, which created additional havoc in the city.
Throughout the day, the soldiers made nine arrests, of which eight were young Palestinians. Some of the people who were detained did not seem to have been involved in any manner in the protest.
During the afternoon and evening, the soldiers advanced into H1, which according to the Hebron agreement is under full Palestinian control. If so far the army used to enter the area of H1 surrounding the Shuhada checkpoint, during their latest actions, they have begun to invade more and more of the city, thus severely interfering with people’s daily lives and causing financial losses for business owners in the main commercial areas of Hebron.
The soldiers retreated after six hours inside of H1, after 8:00 PM, leaving behind streets covered in bullets, tear gas canisters and sound bombs.
20th August 2017 | International Solidarity Movement, Huwwara-team | Kafr Qaddum, occupied Palestine
Israeli occupation forces suppressed another non-violent demonstration on Friday the 18th of August, in the village Kafr Qaddum, in the occupied West Bank. The weekly demonstrations protest the closure of the main road connecting the village with Nablus, which is the main city in the area.
The blocking of the road was enforced, to “secure” the nearby illegal settlement Kedumim, thus prohibiting Palestinians from using the main road to Nablus. Kedumim illegal settlement is currently being expanded further.
Smoke from burning tires rising at the demonstration
Within the first 30 minutes of the demonstration the Israeli forces were firing both live ammunition and rubber-coated steel bullets at protestors. This went on for two and a half hours, before the army retreated and the participators of the march went home. Throughout the demonstration the Israeli forces circulated the area with a drone, filming the participants of the protest. Additionally, the soldiers were carrying cameras on their bodies.
Palestinians demonstrating the illegal land theft
Apart from keeping files on individuals supporting the popular resistance, such pictures can serve as ‘evidence’ against Palestinians for the participation in ‘illegal’ demonstration.
While it was not the case this particular Friday, the occupying army has been raiding houses regularly in the early hours on days of demonstrations, taking pictures of all young men in the given homes.
Israeli forces in Palestinian civilians homes
During this Friday’s demonstration however, various homes were raided, as Israeli soldiers made their way unto balconies and rooftops of strategically located houses, to control the protest. This is a common protocol for the Israeli army, and an intrusion the local residents can do nothing about.
Many of you know Fayzeh and Issa Souf from the West bank village of Hares. Fayzeh has been recently diagnosed with advanced stomach cancer. She has been hospitalized for the last month and has began receiving chemotherapy. Issa and Fayzeh’s dedication, generosity and kindness have touched and given hope so many people. Now, their friends who have received so much from them over the years are trying to do all we can to support them through this challenging time. We invite you to send prayers, encouragement, and support through this group. We have also created a fund to support the family with the expected related expenses and to try to support them in whatever way we can in this time. You can send money via paypal by going to https://palsolidarity.org/donate/ and clicking “Support Fayzeh Souf”.
Background: In May 2001, When Fayzeh was pregnant with their first child, Israeli soldiers invaded Hares. Issa went out to bring his brothers children, who were playing outside, indoors. As soon as he stepped out of the house one of the soldiers shot him. Issa fell to the ground. The soldiers surrounded him, kicked him and yelled at him to get up, he tried, but he couldn’t move. The bullet was lodged in Issa’s spine and he remains paralyzed from the waist down.
Most people would not have survived. But with Issa’s emotional and physical strength and Fayzeh’ s devotion and care, Issa not only survived, but he and Fayzeh continue to contribute to their community and to anyone that comes in touch with them. Their home remained an open and supportive center for nonviolent activism. In the last ten years Issa has organised retreats and healing camps for children, adults and teenage female ex-prisoners.
When Fayzeh gave birth to Ward, their first son, Issa was already paraplegic. I remember how tall Issa used to be, but Ward only knows his father in a wheelchair. Issa and fayzeh wanted Ward to not miss anything because of Issa’s injury, so when Ward said he wanted a brother, Fayzeh got insemination treatment and gave birth to twins, a beautiful girl, Heba, and a beautiful boy, Hamudi. After that, when Heba said she wanted a sister, she repeated the treatment and gave birth to another set of beautiful twins, Bissan and Ibrahim. Ward is now 16, Heba and Hamudi 14 and Bissan and Ibrahim are now 7.
A few months ago Fayzeh began complaining of stomach pains. The hospitals in the West Bank do not have the equipment to do the necessary scans so It took another month and a half to get a correct diagnosis. This time, it is Issa that has not left Fayzeh’s side, though it has meant that they have both been away from the children more than they would like. We will do our best to keep you posted on how Fayzeh and the family are doing.
30th July 2017 | International Solidarity Movement, Al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine
An Al-Aqsa solidarity march organized this Friday in occupied Hebron was heavily repressed by Israeli Forces. Soldiers and border police fired stun grenades, teargas, putrid-smelling “skunk” water, rubber-coated steel bullets and live ammunition at demonstrators, injuring many. Several young protesters were also beaten and detained.
Palestinians demonstrate in Bab al-Zawiya, central al-Khalil (Hebron)
The Al-Aqsa solidarity march started from the Al-Hussein Mosque and continued on Ain Sarah street towards Bab Al-Zawiya towards Israeli controlled H2. Even before the march reached Bab Al-Zawiya, an Israeli video drone was seen flying above the scene and soldiers were getting ready on the other side of Shuhada checkpoint to face the demonstrators. The march reached Bab Al-Zawiya around 1:30 pm, at which point the Israeli forces came out through Shuhada checkpoint, which separates Palestinians from Shuhada street, and forcing some of the demonstrators ran to Wad al-Tofah Street, while others withdrew to the adjacent Ain Sarah street.
Border police reach stalemate with demonstrators on Wad al-Tofah street
Israeli forces followed the demonstrators down Wad al-Tofah street, firing rubber coated steel bullets indiscriminately at young boys and men. A skunk truck also drove down Ain Sarah and sprayed chemically treated skunk water on houses of uninvolved Palestinian civilians. A standoff ensued in which demonstrators lit tires on fire and a young boy was shot in the leg with live ammunition, before being quickly taken to hospital. Israeli forces eventually withdrew from the scene. These areas are located in the H1 area, supposedly under full Palestinian control.
Palestinian rushed to hospital after being shot by Israeli forces
The demonstrators moved up Ain Sarah, and once the protest seem to calm down the Israeli forces started shooting at demonstrators. At this point two more Palestinians were shot and injured. Israeli police and soldiers drove further along Ain Sarah, got out and started chasing the demonstrators. At 14:46 they detained a minor who, after being pulled down, was beaten down on his head and kicked on his back. Protesters withdrew down Ain Sarah, pursued by police and soldiers firing rubber-coated steel bullets and showers of teargas.
Teenager arrested after having been beaten by Israeli forces
As the soldiers seemed to withdraw towards the Bab al-Zawiya area again, the demonstrators followed them and some started to throw stones and light up tires. The Israeli forces promptly responded with stun grenades, tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets. The Israeli soldiers also broke into a shop in Bab Al-Zawiya, leaving an explicit note. After violently detaining a 15-year-old boy, they took him into the building, blindfolded him and then transferred him through Shuhada checkpoint. After this, the army returned again to attack the demonstrators.
Note left by Israeli soldiers in a shop that they had broken into in Bab al-Zawiya. The Hebrew states ‘Israel lives’.
One of the following attacks forced the group of young men and teenagers up the hill north of the entrance of the vegetable market. Soldiers positioned on the roof of the nearby building threw teargas and stun grenades towards the demonstrators. With around 50 border policemen in the back and support from a sniper lying at the entrance of the street, a troop of 12 soldiers went up the hill, trying unsuccessfully to break into a building. They proceeded to throw teargas and stun grenades at a group of four activists who were taking photos nearby. At the intersection at the end of the road protestors were showered in teargas and the crowd dispersed. Amidst the teagas fog a teenager, thought to be around 14 to 16 years old was shot, presumably by the sniper down the road, and was evacuated in the car of a passerby. After this incident the soldiers went back down and disappeared from Bab Al-Zawiya.
Israeli sniper takes aim at young demonstrators
The clashes lasted altogether around four and a half hours during which the Israeli forces displayed unnecessary and excessive violence not only towards demonstrators, but also towards the media. The army seemed out of control, breaking into Palestinian offices in Bab Al-Zawiya, demonstrating violence and intimidating journalists, targeting children and beating up demonstrators who were already detained, and not resisting arrest.
Soldier attempts to arrest Palestinian child after having violently assaulted him
The demonstration was in solidarity with the demonstrations in Jerusalem against the new access restrictions introduced by Israel at the Al-Aqsa compound. The Palestinian community had earlier called for a ‘day of rage’ in response to the restrictions, which Israel described as ‘security measures’.
Palestinian boy holds flag amidst the chaos on Ain Sarah street, al-Khalil
![Israeli forces violently repress Al-Aqsa solidarity demonstration in al-Khalil (Hebron) [VIDEO]](https://palsolidarity.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/IMG_8019.jpg)
