Tag: occupation - Page 8 - International Solidarity Movement

ACT NOW ! Put an end to the ‘Closed Military Zone’ in Tel Rumeida and Shuhada Street, Hebron

December 13th, 2015 | International Solidarity Movement | Action Alert

The undersigned organisations are calling on the international community to take immediate action regarding the continuous closure of the Tel Rumeida neighborhood and the part of Shuhada Street that has remained accessible to Palestinian residents since the Ibrahimi mosque massacre in 1994, in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron). For more than a month, Palestinians and internationals have been denied access to this part of the city since the Israeli occupation forces have declared the area a ‘closed military zone’.

The ‘closed military zone’, first declared on November 1st 2015, was designed to include Palestinian neighborhoods while excluding adjacent illegal Israeli settlements. This discriminatory closure is being upheld by continuously renewed ‘military orders’ that lack official signatures or stamps. Palestinian residents were forced to register with the army or else risk being barred from their homes, while Israeli settlers are free to roam the streets without being stopped.

“This is yet another step in pushing Palestinians out of Tel Rumeida and Shuhada street”, says Jenny, from the ISM team in al Khalil.

Such a restriction of movement clearly constitutes a collective punishment on the whole Palestinian community, illegal under international law. Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva convention specifically states that “no protected person may be punished for an offence he or she has not personally committed. Collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited.”

Tel Rumeida resident Abed Salaymeh explains : “soldiers and settlers are making life for the Palestinians intolerable to force them to leave their houses voluntarily. This is a crime under international law. They are targeting activists to silence the truth and stop the truth from reaching the whole world”.

International and local activists are increasingly at risk of direct attacks by Israeli occupation forces and illegal settlers, as they are specifically targeted for their efforts to document and report on human rights abuses.

Activists are denied access to areas by Israeli occupation forces and face unfounded arbitrary arrests, such as on the 3rd of November, the 26th of November, 27th of November, and most recently on the 28th of november; purely on Israeli forces’ accusations that lack any evidence. Human rights defenders, whose work the United Nations stressed as important, are increasingly threatened even inside their homes and offices or illegally kicked out of them.

The Israeli forces’ attempts to silence the Palestinian voice on the events goes hand in hand with the closure of Palestinian radio stations in clear infringement of the freedom of press and opinion, acknowledged in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR) of 1948, article 19: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers”.

“It is important to document in order to expose Israeli crimes”, explains Imad Abu Shamsiyyeh, a Tel Rumeida resident.

These inhumane measures come after Israeli occupation forces gunned down Homam Adnan Sa’id, 23, and Islam Rafiq ‘Ebeido on the 27th and 28th of October in the Tel Rumeida neighbourhood. While the Israeli government claims that both were ‘neutralized’ when attacking Israeli forces, many eye-witness statements refute this claim; CCTV footage has not yet been released by the Israeli forces. Since the beginning of October, a total of 112 Palestinians have been shot and left to bleed to death without medical aid in a similar manner in what Amnesty International refers to as ‘unlawful killings‘.

The outlined measures, restrictions, and human rights violations are focused primarily and exclusively on making the Palestinian voice – and in the long run the inhabitants of the area – disappear altogether.

The undersigned organisations call for:

An immediate end to collective punishment and the ‘closed military zone’ order in Tel Rumeida and Shuhada Street;
Cessation of threats and harassment of Palestinian residents as well as foreign and local human rights defenders;
Removal of restrictions on movement throughout the Old City of Hebron;
stopping the imposed military law on Palestinian residents as they are civilians;
Suspension of the EU-Israel association agreement until Israel complies with International Law;
Removal of all illegal Israeli settlements from Hebron.
Reconsideration of the status of “charity” of the Hebron Fund, that allows people to make tax-free donations to an organisation funding the illegal settlement of Israelis in the city of Hebron
Cessation of unconditional US Aid to Israel until it complies with international law.
Release of the bodies of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces, as provided in article 17 of the 1949 Geneva Convention I “[Parties to the conflict] shall further ensure that the dead are honourably interred, if possible according to the rites of the religion to which they belonged, that their graves are respected, grouped if possible according to the nationality of the deceased, properly maintained and marked so that they may always be found”.

Signatories :

BDS Slovenia

Christian Peacemaker Teams Palestine

Dominican Palestine Coordinating Committee

اتحاد لجان العمل الصحي Health Work Committees

Hebron Defense Committee

Hebron Rehabilitation Committee لجنة إعمار الخليل

International Middle East Media Centre

International Women’s Peace Service

Merton PSC

Middle East Crisis Support – Woodstock, NY

Minnesota Break the Bonds Campaign

Newcastle Palestine Campaign

Operation Dove – Operazione Colomba

Popular National Conference for Jerusalem

The Agricultural Relief Committee (PARC) الاغاثة الزراعية

The Palestinian Farmers Union

The Popular Committee for Palestinian Refugees in Hebron District

Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees اتحاد لجان المرأة الفلسطينية

Unison Northumberland

Women’s Studies Centre امركز الدراسات النسوية في الخليل

Youth Center – Palestinian Medical Relief Society مركز تدريب الشباب المجتمعي

If your organisation wishes to support our call, contact us : palreports@gmail.com

School children denied their right to education in Hebron

December 10th, 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, al Khalil team | al Khalil, occupied Palestine

Soldiers blocked the way to the Cordoba school in al Khalil

Today, on International Human Rights Day, school children as well as teachers were denied access to the Cordoba school in Al-Khalil (Hebron). The mixed primary school is located in the neighborhood of Tel Rumeida at the end of the small strip of Shuhada Street that Palestinians are still able to access.

Students and teachers waited for two hours

Since the declaration of the ‘closed military zone’, effective since the 1^st of November in Tel Rumeida and Shuhada Street, the children and teachers have been registered as numbers in order to pass checkpoint 56 and checkpoint 55 on their way to school. On Monday the 7^th of December 2015, the checkpoint 56 has been closed for an indefinite period of time. The children and teachers that need to cross checkpoint 56 – which marks the border between the H2 area of Al-Khalil, under full Israeli control, and the H1 area, supposedly under full Palestinian control – have had to argue with the Israeli forces every morning since then, in order to pass the checkpoint and reach the school.

Settler came to harass children and teachers while they were waiting

After a Palestinian was killed on Wednesday, 9^th of December at checkpoint 55 on Shuhada Street, the children and teachers found the access to the school blocked by barbed wire and countless Israeli soldiers. The Israeli forces have completely locked the way to the school for the majority of children and teachers. The only other way to the school is through a cemetery on the other side of Al-Khalil. The Israeli forces simply ignore the pleas from both school children and teachers to let them pass and get to the school, and don’t give any indication as to when the barbed wire will be removed.

While school children and teachers were waiting in hopes of passing, infamous illegal settler Anat Cohen arrived at the scene and openly, without any apprehension, verbally and physically harassed them. The Israeli forces failed to prevent her from doing so, yet again turning a blind eye on increasing settler violence. Two hours after school was supposed to begin, the children and teachers gave up and the school was forced to remain closed for the day, the childrens’ right to education being simply denied to them.

Watch these two videos of Anat Cohen attacking and intimidating the school-children.

Israeli soldiers occupy Palestinian house to set up military base

December 10th, 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, al Khalil team | al Khalil, occupied Palestine

For the last 15 days the family of Abu Shykri Al-Atrarshi have had no access to the top two floors of their house, which was illegally taken over by the Israeli occupation forces and where they set up a military base.

Ten Israeli soldiers suddenly showed up at the house in the neighbourhood of Abu Sheineh, Al Khalil; they broke in by smashing a window in the door, took the key and demanded that the family vacate the third floor. The soldiers did not have any documentation to explain or justify the incursion nor did they give an explanation to the family why their house was being taken over. Any questions are ignored and the third floor as well as the roof top are now off limits.

Since the soldiers arrived they have broken the windows, and shot holes in the water tank which supplies clean water to the household. They then took all the blankets on the premises and used them to dry the water leaking from the tanks. The family also reported that once the water supply was fixed the soldiers contaminated the water and used the apartment and roof as a toilet.

The soldiers never leave the apartment empty, but a few times per day there is a shift change. This happens at different times every day so there is no knowing when, and the soldiers move in and out as they please anyway. This means there can be soldiers moving throughout the building at any time, terrifying the family- especially the young children who no longer dare to leave the house on their own. The soldiers use the roof as a lookout and also frequently fire weapons such as teargas, from there into the surrounding neighbourhood.

The three story house is home to 13 people, now crowded into two small floors- including a young disabled child. They have no idea how long the soldiers will stay, or if the family will get their house back at all. They contacted the local DCO (District coordination office) who advised them to get a lawyer, which they did. The lawyer has now started the process to take the case to an Israeli court in Haifa, Israel. However Abu Shykri Al-Atrarsh has had no information on when the case will be heard or when a judgement can be expected. This, as in many cases, can take months if not years and in the meanwhile the family is trapped. Abu Shakri believes the army is trying to make the family leave the building altogether, but they are resolutely staying put.

This family now has to try to live their life underneath the very people who have broken into, stolen and disrespected their home. The daily struggle of living under the occupation is hardship enough but having your own home taken from under your eyes, and not being able to do anything about it is absolutely heartbreaking.

ISM today took pictures of the soldiers in the building to help the family evidence their presence there, which is needed for the court case. Every time the family has tried to take pictures themselves the soldiers have taken their phones and deleted the pictures.

Settlers violently attack a Palestinian man on Shuhada-street

5th September 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Al-Khalil Team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

Tonight at around 6 pm a Palestinian man was detained at Daboya checkpoint in Shuhada-Street in Hebron in occupied Palestine. While he was detained a group of young settlers came to the checkpoint and attacked him. The 3 settlers were beating the Palestinian youth, while a soldier was standing close by without interfering. When the Palestinian youth ran away from the violent attackers, the unmasked settler pepper-sprayed him, right before he was able to escape the violent attack by running into the house of a Palestinian family living opposite the checkpoint.

After the attack, the Palestinian youth was falling in and out of consciousness for over half an hour. Palestinian cars and thus also ambulances are not allowed in this area by Israeli forces, which led to a long period of waiting before the youth was able to receive medical attention. Due to the closure of the road for Palestinians, the medics from the Red Crescent first had to pass through another checkpoint walking to the location of the incident and then had to carry the Palestinian youth back through the checkpoint. He was brought to the hospital with the suspicion of broken rips and in an enormous amount of pain. He is now out of the hospital and his condition is stable.

Watch a video of the attack from Youth Against Settlements here:

Photo credit: Youth Against Settlements

Journal: When walking becomes a crime

13th July 2015 | Peter Cunliffe | Al Khalil, Occupied Palestine

Last night at around 11:30 PM, we received a call from one of our Palestinian neighbors about an incident that was unfolding outside our window.

A group of five Israeli soldiers were guarding two Palestinian youth, who did not look to be older than fifteen. The kids were sitting on concrete steps, and the soldiers had them surrounded, so they could not get away. The boys were detained around 11:15, according to our neighbor.

As is our policy, we observed for a few minutes, and then tried to talk to the kids. One of the first things we do when Palestinians are being detained by soldiers is ask them (the Palestinians) if they are OK with us taking photos and video. The answer is almost always yes, but we always ask first.

Taking photos and videos has two purposes. The first is to document what is happening. The second is to let the soldiers know they are being observed. This sometimes leads to people being released more quickly, and the soldiers being less rough than would be the case if no one was filming.

The boys gave consent for us to take photos, and we started to ask them for their names, when the soldiers angrily told us to go away and physically forced us to move back. We kept asking them why the boys were being detained. What had they done?

One of the soldiers, who seemed to be the commander, and who we have had run-ins with before, told us he does not have justify to us what he and his men are doing. Another soldier, however, who seemed to be younger and less experienced, told us the truth… the boys did not have their ID with them. The reason they were stopped and made to sit down and surrounded by heavily armed troops was that they did not have in their possession the papers that every Palestinian needs to have on them, if he or she hopes to not be harassed by the army. I asked the soldier if this was the only reason, he said there was another one, but refused to say what it was.

We kept trying to talk to the boys, and the soldiers kept pushing us away. Eventually their father came, and after some discussions with them, he showed them the boys’ papers. It was only after this that they let them go, one by one. The incident took more than one hour.

Imagine living in a place where armed men can stop you and hold you- and if they feel necessary, confine you in a jail- simply because you don’t have a document on you that can tell them at a glance your first and last name, where you live, where you are from, and what religion you follow.

Palestinians are obliged to carry such ID on them at all times. Any Israeli soldier or police officer can randomly stop them, and demand to see it. If they don’t have it, things can turn ugly.

The boys who were detained were not threatening anyone. They were not carrying out a suicide bombing. They aren’t terrorists. They were not even throwing rocks, which the military often uses as an excuse to do detain, arrest, beat, or even kill Palestinians.

They were simply going for a walk, and some guys in uniforms thought they looked suspicious. A piece or two of forgotten ID led to an hour of stress and intimidation, and could have ended with arrests and possibly worse behind the closed doors of a police station or military base. The only crime these teens were guilty of was being Palestinian, and going for a walk.

Fortunately, their ordeal ended in a lot better way than experiences of others, who face similar situations on a regular basis in this city, and all parts of the West Bank which are under Israeli military rule.