September 15 | International Solidarity Movement | Occupied Palestine
ISM is issuing an urgent call out for volunteers to join the 2022 Olive Harvest at the invitation of Palestinian communities, starting next month.
Olive trees are a national symbol in Palestine. As hundreds of thousands of trees have been uprooted by the Israeli military and illegal settlers – more than 11,700 olive trees were destroyed in 2021 alone – harvesting has become more than a source of income, but a form of resistance.
Recent years have also seen an explosion in settler violence against Palestinian communities, and a series of illegal settler outposts set up across the West Bank.
The new outposts – primarily located in the northern regions of the West Bank close to the cities and towns of Salfit, Hares and Nablus – puts Palestinian farmers in these areas at an increased risk of violence and attacks this Olive Harvest.
ISM is calling for volunteers to join Palestinian farmers on the ground to support them to assert their right to earn a living and be present on their lands.
International activists joining the harvest engage in non-violent direct action, practical support and document human rights abuses against Palestinians, which enables many families to pick their olives. ISM activists work alongside other international organisations to support farmers during the Olive Harvest.
The harvest will begin on October 1 and run until mid-November 2022. We request a minimum 2 week commitment but we ask that if possible, volunteers could stay as long as they can. Our work is dependent on relationships with the Palestinian communities in which we work, and a long-term presence is a massive help towards that end. We kindly ask volunteers to start arriving in the first week of October if possible, so we are prepared when the harvest begins. ISM activists will receive training upon arrival with information on what to expect and how to act in what can be tense situations.
To register your interest in joining the Olive Harvest this year contact ismtraining@riseup.net
July 19 2019 | International Solidarity Movement | Kafr Qaddum, occupied Palestine
Abdul Rahman Yasser Shteiwi, 9 years old, shot in the head by the Israeli military in Kafr Quddum
An Israeli human rights group has proved that live fire was used by soldiers against the 9-year-old child who was shot in the head last Friday in Kafr Qaddum, exposing Israeli Military lies that none was used.
The report by B’Tselem, published yesterday, says that Abdul Rahman Shteiwi was shot with live ammunition during a protest in the West Bank town on July 12 “while sitting at the entrance of one of the homes on the edge of the village playing with a piece of wood.”
It reads: “Now hospitalised in critical condition, he is the latest victim of the reckless open-fire policy that allows soldiers to use live fire even when neither they nor anyone else is in any danger.”
Many people turned out for the weekly protest in Kafr Qaddum today, which has been held every Friday for the past 8 years, to call for justice for Abdul who is fighting for his life in Sheba Hospital near Tel Aviv.
At the demonstration, which was attended by leaders of the PLO, international observers and local and international media, Israeli soldiers bombarded protesters with rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas canisters.
Paramedics from the Red Crescent told ISM that 40 protesters were treated for various injuries, 22 for rubber-coated steel bullet wounds and 18 for tear gas inhalation.
Ahead of today’s protest, a number of Palestinian politicians including PLO minister Walid Assaf declared that they will bring the case to the International Criminal Court (ICC). “The blood of our children is not cheap!” he said. “We will follow Netanyahu and the Israeli war minister in the ICC.”
The Israeli Military still insists that no live ammunition was used last week, despite the mounds of evidence stacking up against their hollow claims.
Kafr Qaddum resident, Riyad Shtaiwi, was sitting under an olive tree with his two children when he witnessed the shooting of Abdul last Friday.
He told ISM through an interpreter that he saw soldiers at the top of the mountain, “taking the position of sniping by lying on the ground,” just before Abdul was hit.
“When I saw the soldiers on the top of a mountain aiming and taking the position of sniping and shooting by lying himself on the ground towards us, I feel real danger,” he said. “I decided to move away from this place and to speak with the child who was opposite me, to take him away from this danger. Before I reach the child, one of the soldiers, the one who was taking the position of shooting, he shot one live ammunition. At this moment I look around myself at my children and then I saw the child on the ground and the blood.”
Mr Shtaiwi ran towards Abdul to pick him up. While he carried the unconscious boy in his arms, soldiers fired 3 or 4 more rounds of live bullets towards them which hit a metal gate just behind.
B’Tselem claims that Abdul’s severe injury is the “direct result of the open-fire policy implemented by the military in the Occupied Territories.”
“This policy illegally and without any justification permits the use of live fire against Palestinians who are not endangering anyone,” the report continues. “The policy remains in force despite the fact that it has resulted in hundreds of Palestinian deaths and thousands of injuries.”
This was not the first time the military has fired live ammunition at protesters in Kafr Qaddum in an attempt to suppress the popular struggle of the town’s residents. In January alone, five protesters were hit with live bullets including a child in the neck who was in a critical condition.
For eight years, the residents have protested against the closure of the town’s main road to Nablus by the military in the early 2000s. The blocked road is now exclusively used by illegal settlers, forcing Palestinians to take the longer road which has impacted their economy.
July 15 | International Solidarity Movement | Kafr Qaddum, occupied Palestine
Israeli soldiers shot a Palestinian child in the head with live ammunition on Friday during a protest against settlement expansion in the West Bank town of Kafr Qaddum, Palestine.
Abdul Rahman Yasser Shteiwi, 9*, was rushed to Rafidia Hospital in Nablus at around 3pm and was operated on immediately. On Saturday, Palestinian doctors told ISM that a scan of the boy’s brain showed over 100 bullet fragments lodged in his head. Yesterday Abdul was moved to Tel Hashomer hospital near Tel Aviv.
10-year-old Palestinian boy undergoing surgery in Rafidia hospital. Nablus
Rafidia hospital’s head of neurosurgery, Othman Othman, who operated on the 10-year-old for three and a half hours, claimed that the bullet fired at Abdul was a live round.
Speaking through an interpreter, he said: “He had a penetrating injury in the frontal lobe on the right side. The injury was severe and there are more than 100 fragments.
“This is not a rubber bullet; this is a metal bullet. A rubber bullet will not enter because it does not have a sharp head. This is something that had a sharp head.”
Mr Othman added that he believes the bullet fired at Abdul was “not a normal bullet.”
“I have seen many gunshot wounds and they only break into a few pieces. Over 100 fragments is not normal.”
This disputes claims by the Israeli military that no live ammunition was fired during the Friday protest.
ISM activists also found a 5.56 bullet case on the ground where protesters had been standing some 15 minutes before. The case was hot to the touch suggesting it had been fired that afternoon. Dozens more bullet cases were also found by villagers following the protest.
The 9-year-old remains in critical condition, and is awaiting further scans. “This injury is a severe traumatic brain injury. He is in critical condition and there is a lot of blood in his brain,” Mr. Othman said. “We can’t yet say what is the real injury to the brain.”
The leader of the popular resistance committee in Kafr Qaddum, Murad Shtaiwi, told ISM: “I don’t have words to explain the sadness I feel.
“The army practised a very big fault if they think that what they did today will make the demonstration go down. No, never.”
Bullets and bullet casings found after the protest in Kafr QaddumProtester’s arm injured by rubber-coated steel bullets
Rubber-coated steel bullets were also fired at the crowds, as well as sound bombs. At least two people were injured by rubber bullets, including a child who was shot in the arm and a man who was also hit in the arm.
Mr Shtaiwi added: “I want to send a message to all the international community; if you care about the rights of children, come and protect them and share what happened today with the rest of the world.”
Another demonstration was held the following day on Saturday, July 13, at 4pm in Kafr Qaddum. One protester suffered a minor injury after he was shot in the stomach with a rubber-coated steel bullet by occupation soldiers.
The town has held weekly protests for 9 years against the closure of the main road to the city of Nablus due to the expansion of nearby settlements. Protesters are regularly met with tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets fired by heavily armed occupation forces.
Updated Monday, July 15, 2019
*Correction: Abdul is 9-years-old and not 10 as stated previously in report.
Protesters gather for symbolic marathon near Apartheid Wall in Bethlehem
June 19 2019 | International Solidarity Movement | Bethlehem, occupied Palestine
Hundreds of people gathered in cities across the Palestinian Territories and England on Sunday June 15, to participate in a symbolic marathonin honour of the international right to freedom of movement.
The project, called “Small Park Big Run’, takes place every yearthanks to the cooperation between solidarity groups in Sheffield and the Palestinian regions of Gaza, Nablus, Ramallah and Bethlehem. Two ISMers joined the run in Bethlehem, organised by Aida refugee camp community centre Aida Youth Centre, where the event was happening for the first time.
The purpose of the race was to raise awareness about Palestinian oppression focusing on Israel’s flagrant violation of the Palestinian people’s human right to freedom of movement, to raise money for local groups and to condemn the “Deal of the Century,” – the US’s new Middle East ‘peace’ deal devised by Trump’s radical Zionist son-in-law Jared Kushner.
In Bethlehem, the race kicked off near the infamous “300 checkpoint” where thousands of Palestinians are forced to queue as early as 3am every morning to make it to their jobs in Israel on time. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, it is just one of the 700 road obstacles which controls Palestinian movement within the West Bank and one of its 140 checkpoints. Protesters ran past another important symbol of the control and the oppression that the Palestinian Territories face everyday – the 708km Israeli West Bank Barrier.
Protesters finished the race by breaking through a replica of the Division Wall – a symbolic finish line – at the entrance to Aida Refugee Camp.
People walk over the broken pieces of a replica of the separation wall, used as a symbolic finish line
Freedom of movement is guaranteed under international human rights law, which fundamentally stipulates that everyone shall be free to leave any country, including his or her own, and that no one shall be “arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter his or her own country”. The importance of this right results from the fact that this is a prerequisite to the exercise of other human rights, such as the rights to family, health and education.
Israel’s restrictions on the freedom of movement in the West Bank includes checkpoints, roadblocks and permit restrictions, as well as the Division Wall it has constructed along the West Bank side of the pre-1967 border. The Society of St. Yves, a legal centre based in Jerusalem, reports that: “Combined, the application of military law and control of the issuance of permits have the effect of segregating and oppressing Palestinian nationals and relegating them to second-class citizens in their native homeland”.
Other threats that reduce the right of movement is the presence of settlements officially established by the Israeli government after 1967, which is considered illegal by the international community, and the building of new outposts without government approval and so considered illegal even for Israeli law.
Palestinians hold pictures of Trump to condemning his ‘”Deal of the Century” in Bethlehem
7th December 2018 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Deir Samaan, Salfit, occupied Palestine
In the area of Salfit, harassment by settlers is a regular occurrence. They come to the villages, often late at night, to graffiti messages of hatred, and also vandalize cars and property. New settlements are being established frequently and are rapidly expanding.
Farris is a university teacher living in the village of Kufr al-Dik. He drove us to his land of Deir Samaan, a beautiful olive grove with panoramic views, and a complex of Roman ruins at it’s heart. It’s only a stone’s throw from his village, but we had to drive 15 minutes extra, as the occupation’s gate to the village’s main entrance has been closed for three weeks. This is a common practice of collective punishment inflicted by the army. Farris and the rest of the village were perplexed as to why they were being “punished” just now.
Up until now, it’s still possible to access Farris’ land, but one must pass the brand new constructions of Leshem, and an array of JCBs and cranes. Leshem appeared in 2010, and now hugs the west edge of Deir Saaman. It is the newest of many illegal settlements that now surround him. This year a further 1200 units were added.
Leshem, 1200 units built this year
“Leshem means Holy Rock in Hebrew. I think they used this name because I have a Roman castle on my land. They used bombs, a lot of bulldozers, and a lot of time to build Leshem. Construction has been constant since 2010 until now, and I suffer for this. There is a lot of dust because of this, so during the olive harvest I cannot collect the olives until the rain comes.”
Alei Zahhav intrusively overlooking the ruins of Farris’ land
Alei Zahhav, a settlement on the East side of Farris’ property, was established in 1983. It has now joined up with Leshem to the North, creating a large crescent of houses that have eaten into his land. “On the other side of the settlement, I have another piece of land with 300 olive trees. Now, because of the new constructions, I cannot come to my land because the road was closed. I need to go around the whole valley, and then more than 3km off road, through the valley, which is very bad for the car. So a lot of time is wasted and I have to get a tractor which is expensive.”
Alei Zahhav pinching the border of Farris’ land
He tells us that another huge impact from the Alei Zahhav settlement is the emptying of its sewage directly into the fields, which runs down the valley into his land. “Aside from being disgusting and affecting the trees, it is attracting many wild boars which are destroying everything I plant.”
In the midst of the interview a Settler nonchalantly strolled through the middle of Farris’ private property. Farris tells us that many of the ornately carved Roman stones have been destroyed by settlers. They often enter, vandalize the ruin, and also swim in his well occasionally.
The crescent has now expanded around to the South side of the property, with a new double fence, only a few weeks old, completely surrounding him. He was recently notified that he’ll soon be locked out from his olive trees and will have to obtain permission from the Israeli military to pass through. Based on previous cases, it’s likely he’ll only get permission for a few days a year to harvest olives.
“I opened a new agricultural road to come to my land because they destroyed the previous one. Now they’ve constructed a fence, which means that I will need a permit to come to my land. I have here 170 olive trees, and I recently planted 200 trees of other kinds. The restrictions mean these will be destroyed.”
Double fence recently installed
“Israel is annexing everything from the green line to the Jordan Valley. That is a big finger which cuts across the middle of the West Bank” he explains.
It’s clear that the settlements are being strategically planned and positioned.
Another settlement, Shalem to the south
“If you go to the high mountain and look around, to the West you will see Kafr Qasim, that’s the green line. From there the Israelis put settlements as a finger in the middle of the West Bank. All the mountains in that line have settlements on top, and they’re near to each other. If there is an Israeli city in the middle of the west bank there is no state of Palestine.”
The progression of annexation and dividing of the West bank
There are now 24 settlements in the Salfit area and only 18 Palestinian villages. Ariel, at the top of the valley from Farris’ land, with a population of around 20,000 is one of the largest settlements in the West Bank. “They want to make Ariel a city, all the settlements you can see refer to Ariel”.
Just bellow Ariel is a huge Israeli industrial area called Barkan. Palestinians have suffocating restrictions on what they can build. For example, they are prohibited from building industrial facilities. Whereas Israel has managed to flaunt International laws, and even Israeli laws, to establish these massive industrial zones, thus giving Israel evermore control over the region, and the Palestinian natives.
Barkan employs many Palestinians. At a time when unemployment is very high in the West Bank, the Palestinians take the work out of necessity, receiving much lower wages than their Israeli colleagues. Working for your illegal occupier is beyond humiliating, and gives rise to intense frustration. It’s not surprising that this forces people over the edge at times.
For land owners there is not always a choice. The accumulated obstructions and violent interventions take away the capacity to earn a living, forcing younger generations into accepting the low wages at Barkan. Traditional ways of village life are eroded, land is left untended, and therefore open to settler land-grabbing, as per Israeli law, and against international law. The objective is obvious, frustrate the occupants into leaving, or act out so as to be thrown into prison or worse, leaving the land empty.
Sewage and waste from all settlements, and the Barkan industrial complex, is emptied on to the fields of Palestinian farmers. This is causing a big loss of income, there are also significant cancer clusters within the villages of the valley below.
“I hope the Israeli people change their government because their government are terrorists to the Palestinian people. They don’t want peace, they lie all the time saying they do want peace, they lie about everything. They lie just to make the people keep wanting them. If the government wanted peace it would take ten minutes to do, we can start with 1967, but the Israeli government wants to take all of the land.”
