Tag: Night Raid

UPDATED: Palestinian activist arrested in night raid in Nablus

07th January 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Nablus, Occupied Palestine

Updated 10th January:

Sireen Khudairi was released at 17:15 on the 8th of January.

Sireen was brought inside Salem Court at 10:30am after being made to stand outside for an hour with her hands and feet shackled and without a jacket.

Once brought into the courtroom Sireen endured relentless questioning until 17:00. During this time her feet remained shackled.

Sireen was brought to Salem at 08:00am after being kept at Huwwara military camp until 12pm on the day of her arrest. At Huwwara military camp she was made to stand outside in the freezing cold with no jacket, blindfolded, shackled (hands and feet) and with no shoes for several hours. She was then taken to another camp, the location she was uncertain of, but it was 15 minutes from Huwwara. Before being returned to Huwwara and then transferred to Hasharon prison overnight.

Sireen also stated that outside her home when she was kidnapped, she was told by Israeli forces that they would not handcuff her if she came quietly. This was in the presence of a British citizen. As soon as she was outside and out of sight of her international friend she was handcuffed, shackled and blindfolded.

All information above is from an activist working with the Solidarity Movement for Free Palestine (SFP).

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Updated 8th January:

Sireen was released today from Salem Court. More details to follow.

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Updated 7th January:

Sireen is still being held by Israeli forces, she will be taken to Salem Court near Jenin tomorrow. More updates to follow.

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At 2:30am on Tuesday morning, Israeli soldiers and secret service agents entered a house in the city of Nablus and arrested Sireen Khudairi, a 24-year-old schoolteacher and activist. No arrest warrant was given, although Sireen was threatened with physical violence if she did not accompany the soldiers.  

This is the second time in a year that Sireen has been arrested without a warrant. On May 14th 2013 she was arrested and held for two months on the charge of having written a Facebook page that “compromised the security of the state of Israel”. Her detention included 22 days of solitary confinement and no access to a lawyer or her family. She was eventually released from prison but placed under house arrest, having paid bail of NIS 7000 and on the condition that she refrain from using the internet.

On 16th September, the Israeli military court found Sireen not guilty but ordered her to refrain from activism for five years.

Sireen’s family home has been raided various times since then, as it appears that she is wanted to testify against other activists. This is yet another event in the ongoing campaign of intimidation against non-violent Palestinian activists, and the criminalization of protest by the Israeli state.

For more information on Sireen’s case and how to act, please visit:

http://freesireen.wordpress.com/

UPDATED: Murad Eshtewi, head of the Popular Committee of Kafr Qaddum, has been arrested

21st December 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Kafr Qaddum, Occupied Palestine

Second Update 24th December: 

A military judge has ruled that Murad Eshtewi will be released from prison with a 7000 NIS bail. Nery Ramati, Murad’s lawyer, argued that it was unreasonable to continue to hold Murad for interrogation as he had not been interrogated since his arrest at 10am Friday morning.

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Update 24th December:

Murad Eshtewi was arrested on the 20th December and has still not been interrogated. Murad has not been charged with any crimes, though he is suspected of “incitement”. This charge appears to be based on a photograph of Murad with a megaphone. He is also suspected of entering a closed military zone.

Yesterday Murad attended Salem Court near Jenin where Israeli forces requested that his detention be extended for 8 days, it was granted for four days and his second hearing will be held on the 26th

Today Murad and his lawyers are trying to appeal this decision at Ofer prison in Ramallah.

In recent years Israel has imprisoned leaders of popular committees for “incitement” and similar charges. An example is Abdullah Abu Rahma, the head of Bil’in popular committee, who in 2010 was convicted of “incitement” and imprisoned for 18 months. He also received a 6 months suspended sentence that is active for 5 years and a 5000 NIS fine.

The imprisonment of Murad Eshtewi is part of Israel’s campaign to criminalise popular protests by using its military court.

 

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Yesterday morning, Murad Eshtewi, the head of the Popular Committee of Kufr Qaddum and leader of the Friday demonstrations was arrested and is still being held by Israeli forces.

At around 3:00 on Friday morning, Israeli soldiers entered the village of Kafr Qaddum, in Qalqilya district, arresting two citizens on the accusation of having taken part in the regular Friday demonstrations held in the village. The men were released the following morning without charges.

The house of Murad Eshtewi, the head of the Popular Committee of Kafr Qaddum, was also raided during the night incursion and he was subjected to aggressive questioning.

Later, at approximately 10:00 on Friday morning, two hours before the demonstration was due to begin, Mr Eshtewi was walking on the outskirts of the village and was ambushed and arrested by soldiers. He did not resist this arrest and yet Israeli forces were extremely aggressive in their use of both pepper spray and stun grenades.  He has not yet been released. 

His attorney, Lymor Goldstein, stated that, “Contrary to the fundamental principles of due process  we have not been  presented with the accusations against Murad nor has he been interrogated since his arrest. “

In recent weeks there has been a steady escalation of night raids, increasingly violent repression of Friday demonstrations, flying checkpoints and seemingly arbitrary arrests. In the past month alone there have been more than twenty night raids on houses in the village.

Last month a new army commander responsible for the area gave a verbal warning to villagers stating that, unless they suspend their Friday demonstrations, the military harassment outlined above would be increased.

A typical night raid will involve up to around fifty soldiers surrounding and entering a particular house. Tear gas is often released and live ammunition may be fired into the air to intimidate residents. Israeli soldiers may break windows and doors in order to enter the houses. 

Arrestees are blindfolded and handcuffed before being taken for questioning to another location. Interrogation may take place in the back of an army jeep, on the ground at the side of the road, or within the police station. Frequently they are subjected to verbal and physical abuse. When released, the detainees are often left in the road, kilometers from their homes.

The villagers of Kafr Qaddum are currently unable to access much of their land due to the closure by the Israeli army of the village’s main and only road leading to Nablus in 2003. The road was closed in three stages, ultimately restricting access for farmers to the 11,000 dunams of land that lie along either side to one or two times a year. Since the road closure, the people of Kafr Qaddum have been forced to rely on an animal trail to access this area; the road is narrow and, according to the locals, intended only for animals. In 2004 and 2006, three villagers died when they were unable to reach the hospital in time. The ambulances carrying them were prohibited from using the main road and were forced to take a 13 km detour. These deaths provoked even greater resentment in Kafr Qaddum and, on 1 July 2011, the villagers decided to unite in protest in order to re-open the road and protect the land in danger of settlement expansion along it.

Demonstration against Israeli forces as invasions and arrests increase in Azzoun

28th November 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Azzoun, Occupied Palestine

Yesterday afternoon in Azzoun village, there was a demonstration attended by more than 250 people. This protest was against the Israeli forces’ continuing night invasions, arrests, and their treatment of Palestinian prisoners.

The demonstration began in the center of Azzoun at noon, hundreds of people marched to the outskirts of the village, several speeches were given and a reception was held after the protest ended. The population of Azzoun has been subject to an increase in night raids; there have been 32 arrests so far this month. The average number of people arrested in the village since 2007 is 170 Palestinians per year.

In 2007 a young Palestinian, Jihad Abu Haniya, was arrested and sentenced to 16 years in prison for being a suspected member of al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade. His parents are allowed to visit him once a year, and at their most recent visit they were extremely concerned for his physical wellbeing. After the demonstration, arranged by Azzoun Municipality and Prisoner’s Club, villagers visited Jihad’s family to show their solidarity and support.

The village of Azzoun has suffered considerably due to the occupation, after 1948 the villagers lost 24,000 dunums of land and today they have access to less than half of their land due to settlements established in the ‘70s and ‘80s. The illegal settlements of Qarne Shomron and Malalae Shomron now occupy approximately half of the land with infrastructure separating Azzoun into smaller areas. Agriculture constitutes the majority of the villagers’ income, and the loss of land is a huge burden to many families. Furthermore, due to road blockades surrounding Azzoun, trading is complicated with rest of the West Bank, and 47% of the inhabitants are unemployed. Many citizens have been forced to find jobs in Israel, but every time a member of a family is arrested, all family members lose their work permits.

Israeli Forces use excessive force killing Palestinian civilian in Qabatya village near Jenin

31st October 2013 | Palestinian Center for Human Rights | Qabataya, Occupied Palestine

In an excessive use of force, on Thursday morning, 31 October 2013, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian civilian in Qabatya village, southeast of the northern West Bank town of Jenin. 

According to investigation conducted by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), at approximately 01:00 on Thursday, 31 October 2013, Israeli force moved into Qabatya village, southeast of Jenin.  They stationed in the eastern part of the village.  They raided a house belonging to the family of Emad Shawkat Kmail, 30, and arrested him.  They then moved towards the western part of the village.   There, they raided a number of houses and arrested 3 Palestinian civilians: Rassem Tawfiq Khzaimiya, 60; Mo’men Saba’na, 23; and Ayman Abdul Rahman Abu al-Rub, 28.  At approximately 05:00, while Israeli forces were withdrawing from the village taking the detainees, a number of young men gathered at the western entrance of the village.  They blocked it with iron barriers and set fire to tires.  When Israeli forces passed by the area, the young men threw stones and empty bottles at them.  Immediately, Israeli soldiers fired tear gas canisters and sound bombs at the young men.  They then fired live ammunition directly at the young men.  As a result, Ahmed Emad Youseg Tazaz’a, 22, was seriously wounded by a bullet to the heart.  He was immediately evacuated to al-Razi Hospital in Jernn, but medical efforts to save his life failed.  He was pronounced dead at approximately 06:00. 

PCHR is deeply concerned over this crime, which further proves the use of excessive force by Israeli forces against the Palestinian civilians in disregard for the civilians’ lives. Therefore, PCHR calls upon the international community to take immediate and effective actions to put an end to such crimes and reiterates its call for the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 to fulfill their obligations under Article 1; i.e., to respect and to ensure respect for the Convention in all circumstances, and their obligation under Article 146 to prosecute persons alleged to commit grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention.  These grave breaches constitute war crimes under Article 147 of the same Convention and Protocol (I) Additional to the Geneva Conventions.

 

Israeli soldiers blocking the entrances of Ni’lin village

28th October 2013 | Ni’lin Village | Ni’lin, Occupied Palestine

Since last week the village of Ni’lin is being targeted daily by midnight raids from the Israeli occupation forces. The soldiers have been shooting tear gas into people’s homes while they are sleeping. Only two people have been arrested but ten houses have been invaded by the soldiers.

Israeli forces in the village of Ni'lin (photo by Ni'lin village)
Israeli forces in the village of Ni’lin (photo by Ni’lin village)

The arrested are Naha Nafi, 21, and Tariq Kawaja, 24. Another three young men were sought after but could not be found.

The situation has escalated in the last few days. Israeli soldiers have started blocking the entrances of Ni’lin preventing people from entering or leaving the village. For the villagers who commute to Ramallah for work or studies this collective punishment has caused huge problems.

However, 11 pm on Saturday night a large number of Israeli jeeps invaded the village, seemingly just to cause disturbance. The soldiers began harassing villagers, firing their rifles without any apparent reason. As youths gathered to drive the soldiers out of the village they were directly fired upon with rubber coated steel bullets. One young man was hit in his leg and many bystanders suffered from tear gas asphyxiation. Also at this occurrence tear gas was fired into the homes of sleeping villagers.

At present the entrances to Ni’lin is still being blocked by the Israeli military. The villagers are awaiting their next move with anxiety.