Tag: Ni’lin

Pregnant woman tear-gassed in Ni’lin as Israeli army injures many

On Thursday 28th of August, at around 11am Israeli soldiers invaded the town of Ni’lin, occupying the clinic and shooting tear gas at children who were walking home from school.

Photos courtesy of Activestills

This invoked a reaction from some Palestinian youth from within the town who began to throw rocks back at the soldiers. Soon after, the soldiers fired a tear gas canister breaking a window of a house and gassing a mother and her baby inside the room severely. After this, the Israeli soldiers began to push further into the town coming close to its main square, shooting tear gas into the main square and to the houses beyond it. The soldiers then began to fire rubber-coated steel bullets at the Palestinians hitting one man aged 38, in the chest, who was working near the clinic. The man was hospitalised by his injuries.

The demonstration, scheduled for 2pm was delayed slightly by the situation within the town, but began at 2:45pm. Numbers in the demonstration were reduced by the presence of the Israeli army inside the town, but there were around 50 demonstrators present. The demonstration began by walking through olive trees towards the site where bulldozers are preparing the wall to be built. When protesters reached halfway between the bulldozer and the town, army from in front and behind began to fire tear gas at them. At the same time the army fired four tear gas canisters into a family’s tent. This caused a huge amount of distress to the persons inside, aggravated by the fact that there were many children and a pregnant woman in the tents at the time. One child aged 4 and the pregnant woman aged 24 who breathed in a lot of tear gas were taken to the clinic. The pregnant woman lost consciousness from the tear gas and had to be carried into a car to take her to the clinic. The doctor in the clinic said that while inside the clinic she regained consciousness, but had suffered shock and didn’t speak all day. The demonstration ended with the protestors leaving via a road away from the soldiers, while being shot at with gas canisters. However, two Palestinians and one Israeli were caught by the border police and detained. One of the Palestinians was a 15 year old boy from Ni’lin filming for B’Tselem – the brother of Salaam, the girl who filmed the notorious video of Ashraf Abu Rahme being shot while bound by the Israeli army.

During the demonstration inside the town two boys had been shot by rubber coated steel bullets. One who was aged 13 had been tear gassed inside his house forcing him onto the street, where he was shot from close range into his leg. The bullet broke the bottom part of his leg. The other was an 18 year old boy who was hit in the upper leg causing bruising.

After the demonstration the army were still occupying most of the north side of the town, and were firing close to the main square. During this time the army shot a boy aged 13 in the head with a rubber coated steel bullet. The bullet caused his head to bleed a lot and he was taken to hospital. The army left the town at 4:30.

This type of scene is a regular occurrence in Ni’lin with demonstrations against the apartheid wall which, when built will steal 50% of Ni’lin’s remaining farm land. In addition to this, the wall, alongisde the creation of a tunnel which will be the only route into Ni’lin and will be closed daily at 7pm by the Israeli army, will make life impossble for many inside Ni’lin. For example, the ability for students to study outside Ni’lin, ability for workers to work outside Ni’lin, and trade between the villages in the region will all be made very dificult. The affect of this will be that many residents of Ni’lin will be forced to move away to find work and life somewhere else.

Israeli army beat resident of Ni’lin leaving him with a fractured skull

A 20 year old resident of Ni’lin is currently in Ramallah hospital with a a fractured skull after being beaten by Israeli soldiers at a demonstration in the village against the construction of the annexation wall on the 21st August.

Photos courtesy of Activestills

Haitham Mousa, 20, was standing by his Grandfathers house when 5 Israeli soldiers grabbed him and proceeded to beat him, hitting him in the head with the butts of their rifles. Witnesses say that Haitham briefly managed to get free from the soldiers, but as he attempted to run off soldiers fired a rubber-coated steel bullet at him from close range. Haitham immediately collapsed, though whether his fractured skull is due to the beating or from the rubber-coated stell bullet is, as of now, unclear.

Haitham was immediately taken to Ramallah hospital where an X-ray determined that he had indeed had his skull fractured. His condition is currently stable, though he is in a lot of pain with sever wounds to his face and mouth.

A 13 year old boy, Said Nafa, was also shot in the side of the head by a rubber-coated steel bullet at the same demonstration. He was taken to hospital in Ramallah where he received medical care and should be discharged later this afternoon. 3 other demonstrators were injured at the protest.

These serious injuries come at a time where extreme violence from Israeli forces in Ni’lin saw the killings of Ahmed Mousa, 10 years old, and Yousef Amira, 17 years old, three weeksa ago.

To date, fifteen Palestinians, ten of them minors, were killed while
protesting the wall.

Muhammad Fadel Hashem Rian, age 25
Zakaria Mahmoud ‘Eid Salem, age 28
Shot dead during a demonstration against the wall in Biddu on February
26th, 2004.

Abdal Rahman Abu ‘Eid, age 62
Died of a heart attack after teargas projectiles were shot into his home
during a demonstration against the wall in Biddu on February 26th, 2004.

Muhammad Da’ud Saleh Badwan, age 21
Shot during a demonstration against the wall in Biddu on February 26th,
2004, and died of his wounds March 3rd.

Hussein Mahmoud ‘Awad ‘Alian, age 17
Shot dead during a demonstration against the wall in Betunya on April
16th, 2004

Diaa’ A-Din ‘Abd al-Karim Ibrahim Abu ‘Eid, age 23
Shot dead during a demonstration against the wall in Biddu on April
18th, 2004.

Islam Hashem Rizik Zhahran, age 14
Shot during a demonstration against the wall in Deir Abu Mash’al on
April 18th, 2004, and died of his wounds April 28th.

‘Alaa’ Muhammad ‘Abd a-Rahman Khalil, age 14
Shot dead while throwing stones at an Israeli vehicle driven by private
security guards near the wall in Betunya on February 15th, 2005.

Jamal Jaber Ibrahim ‘Asi, age 15
U’dai Mufid Mahmoud ‘Asi, age 14
Shot dead during a demonstration against the wall in Beit Liqya on May
4th, 2005

Taha Muhammad Subhi al-Quljawi, age 16
Shot dead when he and two friends tried to cut the razor wire portion of
the wall in the Qalandiya Refugee Camp on February 2nd, 2007. He was
wounded in the thigh and died from loss of blood after remaining a long
time in the field without being treated.

Muhammad Elias Mahmoud ‘Aweideh, age 15
Shot dead during a demonstration against the wall in Um a-Sharayet –
Samiramis on March 28th, 2007.

Mahmoud Muhammad Ahmad Masalmeh, age 15
Shot when trying to cut the razor wire portion of the wall in Beit Awwa
on March 2nd, 2008.

Ahmed Husan Youssef Mousa, age 10
Killed during a demonstration against the wall in Ni’ilin on July 29th,
2008

Youssef Ahmed Younes Amireh, age 17
Shot in the head with rubber coated bullets during a demonstration
against the wall in Ni’ilin on July 30th, 2008 and died of his wounds
August 4th.

Three others, all minors or mentally disabled, were killed just for
being in the proximity of the wall:

Du’aa Naser Saleh ‘Abd al-Qader, age 14
Killed in Far’un when she approached the wall with her friend on
December 19th, 2006.

Fatah a-Deen Muhammad ‘Ali al-Khuli, age 20
Killed near Habla when he approached the wall on January 22nd, 2001. He
was mentally disabled.

Mahyoub Ahmad Nemer ‘Asi, age 15
Killed by a private security guard while he was in his family’s plot,
about 200 meters away from the path of the wall, on July 8th, 2005

From the original 58,000 dunums of Ni’lin land (580 hectares) more than 69% was taken by Israel in 1948, while in 1967 44% of the remaining land was used for construction of the nearby settlements. The annexation wall, illegal under international law, will take a further 25% of the farming land that the village relies on for its income, and will make the once commercial capital of the area isolated from the surrounding villages. This will leave Nil’in, when the wall is finished, with only 10% of its original land (less than 15,000 dunums).

Join the 2008 Olive Harvest Campaign

Farm Against Apartheid

With rapidly escalating levels of settler violence in the West Bank, the International Solidarity Movement is issuing an urgent call for volunteers to participate in its 2008 Olive Harvest Campaign.

The olive tree is a national symbol for Palestinians. As thousands of olive trees have been bulldozed, uprooted and burned by the Israeli military and settlers, harvesting has become more than a source of livelihood; it has become a form of resistance. The olive harvest is an annual affirmation of Palestinians’ historical, spiritual and economic connection to their land, and a rejection of Israeli efforts to seize it.

Palestinian communities are inviting internationals to support and show solidarity with this resistance by working in the olive groves with them. By doing so, activists can reduce the risk of extreme violence from Israeli settlers or army through non-violent intervention and documentation.

The Human Rights Group B’Tselem recently issued a report detailing the rise in settler violence, describing it as “reflect[ing] a sharp increase in reports of such violence, and represent[ing] a peak to an escalation that has been underway over the past few weeks“. Violence has been particularly concentrated around the Yitzhar and Bracha settlements in the Nablus region. This area will therefore be the focus point for this year’s olive harvest campaign.

The campaign will begin on the 15th October and run for approximately 6-8 weeks, depending on the size of the harvest.

Training:
The ISM will be holding 2 day training sessions every Wednesday and Thursday. Training is mandatory for all internationals wishing to participate in the campaign. Please contact palreports@gmail.com for further information.

Ongoing campaigns:
In addition to the olive harvest, there will also be other opportunities to participate in grass-roots, non-violent resistance in Palestine.

For example, the ISM has been active with the village of Ni’lin, supporting its non-violent resistance to the construction of the Apartheid Wall that will annex much of its land. Demonstrations have been continuing for several months now and Israeli attempts to crush this popular resistance have proved murderous. Two boys, aged 10 and 17, were killed by the Israeli army while they were protesting construction of the Apartheid Wall.

With the recent Israeli orders to use live ammunition against demonstrations close to the apartheid wall, unless there are internationals or Israelis present, an international presence is vital to help protect the basic rights of Palestinians to non-violent protest.

There are also regular non-violent demonstrations, such as in Bil’in, al-Ma’sara and al-Khader.

Come! Bear witness to the suffering, courage and generosity of the Palestinian people under Israeli occupation.

Experiencing the situation for yourself is vital to adequately convey the reality of life in Palestine to your home communities and to re-frame the conflict in a way that will expose Israel’s apartheid policies; creeping ethnic cleansing in the West Bank as well as collective punishment and genocidal practices in Gaza.

The struggle against the apartheid wall continues in Ni’lin

On the 17th of August at 15:30 in the village of Ni’lin there was a demonstration of around 50 Palestinian together with 10 internationals and Israelis, organized by the Ni’lin Popular Committee Against the Illegal Apartheid Wall. The demonstration took place close to the site where the wall is being built by the Israel.

The non-violent demonstration marched to the construction site placed on their land despite a large amount of tear gas and rubber bullets that being shot by the Israeli army. The army eventually left at 18:00 and it meant that many of the protesters were able to reach the site where the wall will be built. The demonstration ended at 18:15, with no injuries being sustained.

From the originally 58,000 dunums of Ni’lin land (580 hectares) more than 69% was stolen by Israel in 1948, while in 1967 44% of the remaining land was used for construction of the nearby settlements. The wall that is illegal under international law steals 25% of the farming land that the village relies on for its income, and will make the once commercial capital of the area isolated from the surrounding villages. This will leave Nil’in, when the wall is finished, with only 10% of its original land (less than 15,000 dunums).

Seven injured as Israeli army attacks prayer demonstration in Ni’lin

Every Friday at 1pm the villagers from Ni’lin meet in the fields outside the village to pray. This Friday, more than 50 soldiers and
some jeeps were in the surrounding area during the ceremony.

Photos courtesy of Activestills

Once it finished, the army without provocation shot 36 tear gas canisters in a very short time, using a multiple-shot machine carried in one of the jeeps. They kept shooting tear gas and rubber coated steel bullets for more than half an hour from less than a hundred meters distance from the houses, so many of them got teargas inside as well.

After the people were dispersed from the site of the prayer, soldiers continued shooting massive amounts of gas into the village and in the olive groves between the village and the site of the apartheid wall. Seven people were injured by tear gas canisters and rubber-coated steel bullets, two of which has to be sent to the hospital in Ramallah for treatment. The clash between the soldiers and the villagers finished around 4 pm, when all the jeeps suddenly left after an Israeli filmmaker was seriously injured by a rubber-coated steel bullet.

Non-violent demonstrations have been taking place in Ni’lin several times a week for several months, after construction began of the apartheid wall which will annexe roughly fifty percent of the villages farmlands. The occupation forces have responded to the non-violent struggle by using increasingly extreme violence, resulting in the injury of hundreds of people. Two boys, 10 and 17, have been brutally murdered by the Israeli army, both shot in the head at close range.