Tag: Nablus - Page 45 - International Solidarity Movement

13 injured when Israeli settlers and army attack the village of Qusra

Ibrahim Hassan, 15 years old, shot in the back

In the afternoon of the 7th of March 2011, villagers from Qusra, south of Nablus, were attacked by settlers from the surrounding illegal outposts who shortly were accompanied by the Israeli army. Thirteen Palestinian men were injured and taken to Rafidia hospital in Nablus. Nurses reported that the ambulance staff were prevented from reaching the wounded people.

Several of the victims were seriously injured. Ibrahim Hassan, 15 years old, was shot by a live bullet which entered his back and went through his kidney before it exited. His condition is reported to be stable, but he might loose his kidney. Qaher Oude, 25 years old, was first shot in his left leg and then beaten. The settlers beat him on his upper body with stones and sticks and then used a big stone to completely crush his right leg. He will have his surgery tomorrow.

“I heard that people were injured, so I went there to help them and suddenly I got shot. The settlers came from nowhere.” Said Qaher Oude.

Three farmers were working their land outside the village of Qusra when they were attacked by settlers from the nearby illegal outposts. At 16.30 the village imam called for help for the farmers and the people of the village came to their aid. When villagers arrived four Palestinians were already injured and the Israeli army was there, protecting the settlers. In total, there were about 50 settlers accompanied by the Israeli army. The residents of Qusra reported that the Israeli soldiers did nothing to stop the settler violence, but instead actually took part in the beating and shooting of civilians. Some of the injured people reported they had been shot and beaten by soldiers and some by settlers. “They were shot by Israeli bullets, it’s no difference”. Said one of the villagers.

Petter_Lyden_EAPPI_Qusra_7March2011 — The stone which crushed a palestinians leg (Photo: Petter Lydén/EAPPI)

Among the injured in Qusra today were people shot by live ammunition and rubber coated steel bullets, people beaten by settlers and soldiers, and people who suffered the asphyxiating effects of gas inhalation.

Qusra with its 4,000 inhabitants is situated 22 km south of the city of Nablus, near the illegal Israeli settlement of Migalim. This is the second serious incident involving violent settlers in Qusra in the last two months.

Settlers attacked farmers in Iraq Burin, south of Nablus

6 March 2011 | International Solidarity Movement

Settlers attacked the villagers of Iraq Burin on Sunday, the 6th of March. The farmers had recieved permission from the D.C.O. to farm their land for two days, and were accompanied by the Israeli military to protect them from violent settlers. Soldiers left the area and about 20 settlers came down and attacked the farmers, throwing stones and beating them with sticks. People from the village came to protect the farmers and managed to force the settlers back to the settlement.

The Israeli Military then returned and fired tear gas at the villagers. Fortunatly, no one was injured.

Iraq Burin is a village with 700 inhabitants outside of Nablus, in the Westbank. The village is surrounded by the two illegal settlements of Bracha and Yizhar and their outposts. The settlers have so far stolen 4000 dunams of land from the village.

On the 27th of January, 20 year old Oday Qadous was shot and killed by settlers while gathering wood between the villages of Iraq Burin and Burin.

About one year ago the villagers of Iraq Burin held a weekly demonstration against the theft of land by the settlers. The Israeli military answered the protests with great violence, fireing tear gas and rubber coated steel bullits directly at people. In march 2010 Mohammed Qadous 16, and Asaud Qadous, 19, were killed by Israeli forces during a non-violent demonstration in Iraq Burin. After the tragic incident the recidents of Iraq Burin made the decision to stop having the weekly demonstrations, as the price was just too high.

Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem’s visa revoked

02 March 2011 | Arieh Cohen

Sheil Dawani is considered a foreigner, having been born in Nablus, while the Anglican cathedral and offices are in East Jerusalem. Without a visa, in theory he can be arrested and deported at any time. Appeal already submitted to an administrative tribunal could have the negative effect of giving reason to the government.

Israel’s Interior Ministry has revoked the permit for the Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem, The Rt Revd Suheil Dawani, to live in Jerusalem, and has refused requests to reinstate it, in spite of protests by Anglican authorities in the West specifically the United States.

The Bishop is a native of the Holy Land and has spent most of his life and ministry here, but cannot obtain either citizenship or legal residence in Israel, since he was born in Nablus, i.e. in the West Bank, which has been under Israeli occupation since 1967, but has not been annexed to Israel. East Jerusalem, on the other hand, where the Anglican Cathedral and Diocesan offices are situated, was also occupied at the same time, but Israel annexed it and considers it part of its national territory (although no other country in the world recognizes this annexation). Therefore, Bishop Dawani is considered by Israel to be a foreigner who can only visit – let alone live in – East Jerusalem with a special permit, which the Israeli authorities can either grant or deny at their sole discretion. In fact, even the original Palestinian inhabitants of East Jerusalem, and their descendants, are considered by Israel to be foreigners who are no more than possessors of a residence permit, which Israel can revoke.

Since the Bishop has of course remained at his post, in Jerusalem, without the permit, he could be arrested at any moment, be put on trial for being in Israel illegally, be sentenced to a prison term – or simply be forcibly removed from Jerusalem.

This situation is causing deep worry to all the Churches in the Holy Land. Because of the representative function of the Churches in the Holy Land, on behalf of the world- wide Christian communities, and because of various personnel needs, a large portion of the bishops, clergy and religious serving in Jerusalem and elsewhere, come from other countries. Israel does not allow them to acquire citizenship or even legal residence, and they can only remain in Israeli territory in virtue of visas that need to be renewed every year or two years – at the Government’s sole discretion. Indeed, as has been made public by news reports over the years, the issue of entry visas and residence for Catholic clergy and religious is a priority item on the agenda of the negotiations between the Holy See and the State of Israel, right from their beginning in 1992 – with no agreement yet. So the predicament of the Anglican Bishop is being watched closely by all the Churches here.

The Bishop has now applied for an Israeli administrative court to intervene, but the prospects for his lawsuit are far from certain. As a matter of general principle, the Government is free to issue or to withhold the kind of permit he needs, without giving detailed reasons, except essentially raisons d’état. There is an opinion, too, that turning to the court is a mistake, since an unfavourable decision by the court (the likelier outcome perhaps) would give the Government the cover of law. It might have been better for him, some say, to rely instead on rousing Western public opinion, in the name of religious freedom and natural justice. Time will tell.

Village of Khirbet Tana completely demolished by Israeli military

02 March 2011 | International Solidarity Movement

At 9 am this morning the Israeli military arrived to the village of Khirbet Tana, close to Beit Furik, south east of Nablus, with four bulldozers and army jeeps. For the sixth time this year the Israeli military demolished homes and animal shelters in the village, this time destroying the village completely. Around 250 people were made homeless and left without any shelter.

The soldiers carrying out the demolition prevented the villagers from collecting their personal belongings, and instead buried it all under dirt. Most of what could be of use for rebuilding the village was confiscated or destroyed in order to make it harder, or even impossible for the villagers to rebuild their homes.

Some of the villagers carried their belongings to the small mosque, seeking shelter there for the night, though there was not enough space for all. The only two buildings left standing were the mosque and the school. The school, however, could be described as a makeshift: it has just been built after the last demolition one week ago. The villagers believe that is just a matter of time before the army returns to destroy this school too.

Besides all the homes and animal shelters that were demolished, the Israeli army also punctured at least two water tanks, leaving as many families without drinking water. The lack of water, food, and shelter for their herds will lead to losses of animals.

During the demolition, a young man was beaten by a group of soldiers with sticks until he reached a state of unconsciousness. The family finally managed to stop the assault by throwing water at the soldiers. At 2 pm the young man that had been beaten was feeling well enough to help his family build a shelter for the animals.

Among the people made homeless today were a young mother with her small baby. When asked where the family will sleep tonight they responded with, “under this tree”.

The residents of Khirbet Tana are trying to rebuild their homes with what materials they can salvage, but are in desperate need of building materials and tents.

Background of Khirbet Tana

According to the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, occupied Palestinan territory: “Khirbet Tana is a community of around 250 people, located in Area C,2 south-east of Nablus city, in an area declared “closed” by the Israeli military for training purposes. The residents, who have lived in the area for decades, reside in basic shelters (tents, tin structures, old caves) and rely on herding and agriculture for their livelihood.

Because residents of Khirbet Tana need grazing land for their livestock, most have no choice but to stay in the area, in order to sustain their livelihood. As such, the community has repeatedly re-built modest structures on the land, including residential tents and animal shelters. In 2008, the community, with the help of the Israeli NGO Rabbis for Human Rights, lodged a petition with the Israeli High Court of Justice, requesting the preparation of an adequate planning scheme for the village that would allow the issuance of building permits. The Court rejected the appeal in January 2009, and, shortly thereafter, the community again began receiving demolition orders.

The repeated waves of demolition carried out by the Israeli authorities make it extremely difficult for Khirbet Tana residents to live in stability, sustain their livelihood, or, given the repeated demolition of the village school, educate their children. There are numerous other Palestinian communities living in a similarly precarious situation due to their location in an area declared “closed” by the Israeli authorities. “ //unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/9A55FFBA1724298B852578340057A2F0

Settlers shoot teenager south-west of Nablus

15 February 2011 | International Solidarity Movement

Settlers shot and wounded a boy of 18 whilst he was farming on his father’s land at 1400hrs today, in the village of Jaloud, south-west of Nablus. Wael Mahmoud Tobase Ayad was planting trees together with his brother. As they were finishing, three settlers from a nearby illegal settlement, armed with handguns and a rifle, appeared from amongst some trees between 50 – 100m away. One of the settlers shot and wounded him in his right side with a hand gun.

He is now in Rafidia hospital in Nablus, where he is due to have an operation to remove the bullet tomorrow. His condition is reported to be stable.

Wael’s father was shot in the leg by settlers in the same area in 2002.

The people of Jaloud are regularly harassed by settlers. There are two illegal settlements in the area, Shilo and Eli, and several outposts have also been built close to the village.