Tag: Live Ammunition - Page 50 - International Solidarity Movement

IDF shoots live ammunition at ISM activists at sea

24 July 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, Gaza

On Saturday the ISM crew for CPS Gaza rode out on the trawler that rescued us during the second attack on the Oliva on Thursday, July 14^th. As I mentioned before, the Oliva project is currently on an indefinite hiatus. Nils, Joe and I went to the port at 7:10 am and we rode out to sea around 7:30. There were 3 adult Palestinian men on the boat and two young boys. Joe, Nils and I sat on the deck of the ship’s bow and the captain and other passengers stayed in the middle and back of the vessel. Around the 2 to 2.5 mile point we spotted the Israelis coming towards us from the north. When they were still about a mile’s distance from us I called them over the radio and said that we were “Unarmed international observers on board, 2 United States citizens and one Swedish citizen.” I repeated this a number of times but they continued to approach us at a high speed. Joe and I were on the bow of the boat when we noticed that the Israeli Navy was now about 100 meters from us and had fired 2 shots into the water. We retreated to the center of the boat where the steering cabin is and I repeated again over the radio that we were “unarmed international observers.” This did nothing to sway their actions and they fired live rounds both in the water and directly at the boat for around 15 or 20 minutes. Joe returned to the front of the boat and tried speaking to them over the megaphone, repeating the fact that we were internationals and that the boat had no hostile or military intentions and the captain and his crew were just going to fish. By this point the trawler had reached the 3-mile limit. The captain desperately wanted to go further out to 4 or 5 miles because the 3-mile area is completely overfished and he said “it’s better to return home than to even bother fishing here.” While the shooting was still taking place, we decided to have Nils speak to them over the radio so they could hear someone with a Swedish accent. We were holding out desperate hope that our status as internationals would save the boat and allow the men to fish. At one point the gunboat retreated slightly—only to double-back and continue harassing us. Nils repeatedly said over the radio, “Israel, why do you do this? We are peaceful people, we mean you no harm.” After at least 30 minutes of creating turbulence and shooting live rounds at us the boat retreated again, this time for good. I jumped back on the radio and told them to “let us go, we are not hostile and the captain only wants to fish.” The Israelis responded and claimed that we were past 3 miles and were somewhere between 4 and 5 miles out to sea and insisted that I tell the captain to go back to the 3 mile mark. The captain said that we were basically 3 miles, then he corrected that we were 3 miles and about 700 meters. He asked me to tell them that he wouldn’t go past this point and only wanted one hour to fish here because there wouldn’t be any fish within the 3-mile limit. He said they need to fish for food for Ramadan and there would be no food if we were to move further in to shore. I said this to them in English several times awaiting a response since it had only been a few minutes since they had communicated with us directly. After this the captain and his friend took the radio and begged them in a broken mixture of Arabic and Hebrew to let the boat stay where it was for one hour—just to fish—just to get food for Ramadan. It was heartbreaking to watch. It’s perverse that the Palestinians should have to beg for this right from an illegitimate occupying force. Although it seemed that the Israelis weren’t concerned with the status of the international passengers as they were shooting at us, I have to assume that it would have only been worse had we not been on board. The captain seemed used to this procedure and was firm in his decision to stay at sea to fish—in the face of Israeli violence. After about 10 minutes had passed and the captain was still on the radio begging to be allowed a few extra hundred meters for just one hour, the gunboat left and another warship equipped with the water canon took its place. The intensity of the water pressure seemed stronger than ever and the hit the boat for 20 or 30 minutes before we were able to get away. Unfortunately at this point the captain saw no use in staying out there and brought the ship back to the port. While we were riding back I leaned over the edge of the bow and saw the new bullet holes from the day’s attacks.

When I went out today, one of my intentions was to observe the situation in the absence of the Oliva, and after this experience I can say two things with confidence. My first conclusion is that this harassment is a frequent, if not daily occurrence for Palestinian fishermen. The second is that Israel’s claim that the Oliva is a “constant provocateur” has not a shred of validity (not that it did before, but this confirms it) as the Israeli Navy is equally if not more violent without the Oliva and its observation crew at sea.

A longer version of this report originally appeared on Against Empire, the blog of International Solidarity Movement – Gaza Strip member Alexandra Robinson.

Two fishing boats shot off Gaza coast

21 June 2011 | International Solidarity Movement

At around 9am on June 21, two fishing boats were attacked by the Israeli Navy, with bullets piercing both engines, rendering them unusable.

The first boat was shot at in the motor, at the rear end and, when the 4-man crew took cover at the front of the boat, away from the shots directed at the motor, the front of the boat was fired upon.

Yaser Baker is one of the four fishermen who were aboard the first boat which was shot. “We were at around two and a half miles out to sea when they shot at our engine and it broke. We stopped the boat and all moved to the front, away from the engine so that we wouldn’t get hit. Then they shot at the front, right at us, the bullets just missing our bodies and one landed right by my leg.”

A second boat, manned by Mohammed Bakri Sabir came to assist the first, but was also attacked, both in the engine and the front of the boat, where the crew was taking cover.

Aboard the second boat were three fishermen and two of their children, aged nine and ten years old.

The boats managed to escape when around twenty other local fishing boats surrounded them and escorted them back to shore as the nine-year-old feigned an injury. “He had to play dead,” Baker explained, “it was the only way we could get them to stop firing.”

Popular Committee leader of Ni’lin arrested and two protesters injured by live ammo in Deir Qaddis

15 June 2011 | Ni’lin

Two Protesters Injured with Live Ammunition and one arrested in Deir Qaddis

Demonstrators disrupted construction of a new neighborhood in the adjacent settlement of Nili. Israeli soldiers responded with baton charges, tear-gas, rubber-coated steel bullets and live ammunition. One organizer was arrested and several olive trees were burned down.

Two Palestinian youths in their twenties were hit by live ammunition today, during a demonstration against the settlement expansion in the West Bank village of Ni’lin and Dier Qaddis. A 24 year-old protester, was shot twice – in the pelvis and in the shoulder, and the second, a 22 year-old, was shot in the back of his thigh and will require an operation. Mohammed Amirah, a member of the Ni’lin popular committee, was arrested after seriously beaten, apparently for incitement.

The demonstration was organized by the Ni’lin, Budrus and Deir Qaddis popular committees.

Residents of Ni’lin, Deir Qaddis and Budrus, accompanied by Israeli and international supporters.

As the protesters advanced towards the bulldozers, Israeli soldiers and Border Police officers first fired a few rounds of live fire in the air and very quickly moved on to shoot tear-gas and rubber-coated bullets directly at the protesters. Despite the attack, demonstrators managed to reach the bulldozers and disrupt construction for half an hour. Then the soldiers started beating the demonstrators and arrested Mohammed Amireh.

As the protesters retreated, soldiers followed them to the edge of the village, where clashes ensued and where the two were shot. In addition to the two protesters hit shot with live ammunition, six more were shot with rubber coated steel bullets.

Walking to the Buffer Zone: Inside the Jail of Gaza

10 June 2011 | CounterPunch, Johnny Barber

We marched to the buffer zone with about 20 others including members of the Beit Hanoun Local Initiative who have been organizing non-violent demonstrations for the past three years, as well as several members of GYBO (Gaza Youth Break Out). Carrying flags and alternately chanting, singing and walking in silence we approached the Israeli border. This is a no go zone for Palestinians. Israel has deemed that 300 meters from the wall is a buffer zone, so Palestinian farmland is taken away.

Waving flags and chanting we reached the edge of the buffer zone and continued walking. Almost immediately, dust kicked up just ahead of us, a warning shot rang out. We stopped, daring to go no further. Climbing a small embankment we waved our Palestinian flags and chanted to the soldiers hidden in the guard towers. Not five minutes passed and 2 shots rang out, one kicking up dust at our feet. 19 year old Mohammed Kafarna grabbed his neck, turned, and ran back in the direction we had come. He had been hit with shrapnel.

That effectively ended the demonstration; we turned and headed back toward the village. I was stunned that two dozen people could pose such a threat to Israel that the army would resort to using live rounds of ammunition against us. Of course, we were not a physical threat, I imagine the Israeli soldiers laughed at us as we turned and headed back. But non-violent demonstrations do cause a threat, especially when people walk to the wall and demand access to their land, their olive trees, their resources, and their homes. Israel has only one method to disperse non-violent demonstrators and that is through violent repression.

We often hear of Israel’s need for security, yet the people of Gaza are under occupation by the state of Israel and no one utters a word about their security. For years Palestinians have been killed with impunity, always with the words “Israel has a right to security.” Over the weekend after dozens of unarmed protesters were killed by Israeli forces in the Golan, Netanyahu declared, ‘Unfortunately, extremist forces around us are trying today to breach our borders and threaten our communities and our citizens. We will not let them do that’. The Israeli military said troops fired warning shots into the air after people started approaching the border fence, then issued verbal warnings to protesters to stay away. After some of the protesters reached the fence, soldiers opened fire, ‘with precision’, at their legs. Amongst the dead was a 24 year old woman Enis Shriteh, a fourth year English student. There was no explanation on how she got confused with ‘extremist elements’. There was no explanation of how shots to demonstrator’s legs killed her. There was no questioning of Israeli statements at all. Enis Shriteh’s death did not warrant mention in the mainstream press.

Certainly no one in our group was an extremist, nor were we a threat, merely Palestinian youth and international supporters trying to reach Palestinian land. There is no denying this: Gaza is a jail and Israeli soldiers are the jailers. Imprisoned without charges, the people of Gaza are trapped. Israel would have the world believe they are beneficent and kindly jailers, desperately seeking peace. This is a lie. Gaza is under siege.

You don’t believe me? Come, we’ll walk with the people of Beit Hanoun down to the buffer zone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6U_mgrNgQA">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6U_mgrNgQA</a>

Johnny Barber has traveled to Iraq, Israel, Palestine and Lebanon to bear witness and document the suffering of people who are affected by war. He has just returned from Jordan & Syria where he worked to document the issues facing Iraqi refugees. He can be contacted through his blog at www.oneBrightpearl-jb.blogspot.com

Palestinian teenager injured near Gaza border

7 June 2011 | International Solidarity Movement

19-year-old Mohammed Kafarna was hit in the neck by bullet shrapnel during a weekly non-violent demonstration in Beit Hanoun, Gaza Strip.

According to the doctor treating him, there were three pieces of metal lodged in his neck, thigh and abdomen. Mohammed is in a stable condition, which will be monitored over the next 24 hours while doctors decide whether or not to operate.

Mohammed was attending a weekly demonstration that has been going for three years. Tamer Zaleen, a member of the Beit Hanoun Local Initiative which organises the event, was also at the demonstration. “We were about 150 metres from the border, standing on a mound. A warning shot was fired and then another shot, which was much closer. Shrapnel from the second shot hit Mohammed in the neck.”

Eba’a Razeq, a blogger from Gaza, also attended the protest. She explained, “Mohammed shouted, ‘I’ve been injured!’ but we didn’t really get what was happening. Then he started running towards the car. When he arrived, he fainted.”

The demonstration protests against the Israeli-imposed “buffer zone” which prevents any person from accessing Palestinian land within 300 metres of the border with Israel. Those who enter this zone, even if they hold deeds to the land, are likely to face gunfire.

Zaleen explained, “This is the first time anyone has been injured in this peaceful demonstration since it began in 2008, but it will not stop us. This is just farming land! It is our land and we are not afraid.”