Tag: Salfit

Kufr Ein residents terrorized by IOF raids

from reports by IWPS,

At about 2.30am in the morning of December 30th, villagers of Kufr ‘Ein , who live near to the mosque, were awakened by sound bombs and the sound of live shots being fired into the air. At this moment there was no electricity in the village. Israeli Occupation Force (IOF) soldiers were walking through the village, which lies south-west of Salfit. The army then shouted instructions in Arabic, through a loudspeaker, “Stop or you will be shot”.

According to one eyewitness, they heard hard knocks on a front door at 3.30 in the morning. Before the owner could even respond, the Israeli army said they would give him and his family two minutes to come out of the house, and if he did not they would demolish his home. They asked him for ‘wanted’ persons and threatened to damage his house if he did not tell them where they are. The man told the soldiers that they can do whatever they want because there is no ‘wanted’ person in his house, only his family. The Israeli commander hit him hard with his hand and the man fell to the ground. This man is about 50-years old with a heart condition. After the soldiers asked the same question and received the same answer, he was hit again and fell to the ground again. At this stage his wife intervened and asked the soldiers why they hit her husband as the person they wanted is in their jails. The soldier told her to shut up and that they would hit her like her husband if she did not go and sit down far from the house. The soldiers continued to search their house for another two hours while the whole family stood outside. There were about 100 soldiers at the time in the village and they searched 7 to 8 houses in the same manner.

The villagers who were awakened and forced outside, saw the soldiers surround an unused house. They had found a young man of 21 who had apparently been a ‘wanted’ person by the Israeli army for more than three years. He was forced out and was instructed to take off his clothes on this very cold morning, was hit with guns and kicked until about 14 to 15 jeeps arrived. He was then put in a jeep and taken away. Later on when the army had left, some of his bloodstained clothes were found on the spot where he was assaulted. With reinforcements the army proceeded to invade more houses on the pretext of searching for more people till 6.30am, when a woman shouted at them that this was the morning of the Eid-al-Adha. The commander shouted back that they would leave when the Eid started. The army left the village just after 6:30am

Up to now no-one knows where the arrested young man has been taken. The Red Crescent and The Prisoner’s Club has been contacted to look for him.

At about 10.15 am on Friday 12th January the IOF invaded the village of Kufr ‘Ein again, with dogs and jeeps.

According to one eyewitness, soldiers entered the village in about twelve jeeps, forced their way into one home and destroyed a lot of furniture and belongings of the family. They arrested a farmer whose brother was also arrested during an army raid in June 2006, and is still in prison. The arrested man’s family has had no contact with him as yet.

This village reported several prior incursions.

Checkpoint Humiliation

The other day as we were travelling through Zatara checkpoint between Ramallah and Nablus, I witnessed a particularly disgusting display of power by the Israeli army. An extremely public humiliation of a woman, who was taken out of a shared taxi and had her ID and phone removed. She was fighting back the tears, trying to retain her dignity, but was clearly distressed. Everything about the soldiers interaction exuded contempt for her. One in particular was clearly getting something from “punishing” her. We were prevented from speaking to her, which made our ability to intervene somewhat limited. What we were able to do was remain present until she was released. Most of the time I do not feel very effective; the most I can do is be present.

Apparently her ID did not “allow” her to travel to another part of the West Bank. Apart from being extremely punitive, excessively controlling and frankly wrong by any book, it is also arbitary. The rules of the game change. I have been in shared taxis with people who have been turned back…. ‘last week’ they could make that journey, ‘yesterday’ they could make that journey, ‘next week’ they ‘may’ be able to make it, but today “NO”. After a while I feel like I can never hear the word “LO” again (Hebrew for “no”), it is barked and shouted countless times a day, controlling so much of day to day life for Palestinians.

After an hour, on this bitterly cold day, the soldier returned the woman’s ID. He simply took it out of his pocket and gave it to her. Clearly she was not a “security threat”. Detaining her, frightening her, and publically humiliating her, were blatantly intended to make sure she would not attempt this journey again. I was enraged. The soldiers are boys with guns and egos. They have so much power in a situation that is impossible for them to understand with their conditioning and youth.

At this same checkpoint, in this same period of time, another situation was unfolding. It was hidden away and not for public view. I became suspicious and approached a soldier and border policeman; it was then that I saw a boy of around 15 years, sat hunched behind a concrete bollard, hidden from view, his face wet with tears. He looked petrified. He has good reason to be.
Every single person in Palestine will know someone who has been arrested or detained. Ill treatment is commonplace, and torture is far from being eradicated. I have no idea how long the boy had been held for. He was in tears as the soldiers were speaking to him, but fortunately he was “allowed” to go.

Recently I was travelling through Nablus to a nearby village, the taxi driver pointed out a street where, just half an hour before, the army shot dead a man. Apparently a targetted assasination. Five other people were injured, one seriously. “Normal life” (whatever ‘that’ is living under
Occupation) continues just a few streets away.

My time here is coming to a close, I am in a quiet, reflective mood. From all the conversations I have had, with countless people, two things are screaming out for attention. One is the overriding sense that things are getting worse. And worse. And worse. I was not here during the bloody years of the Intifada, but I think it is absolutely vital to understand that although the bloodshed and violence is less, the situation is worse. The oppressive control, which works on every level, mental and physical, is steadily going to new levels. One of the women I am working with grew up under Apartheid in South Africa. Along with several other South African activists who are here in the West Bank, she says that Apartheid here is ‘even worse’ than it was in South Africa. This has not been said lightly. The other thing I am forever requested, “tell people what is happening”.

Plan for the Olive Harvest Campaign 2006

On the 5th of October a special meeting made up of regional ISM coordinators took place to present their plans for the olive harvest and to make everyone aware of each other’s activities so that better coordination between the regions can take place. Below is a summary of each region’s activities to give an idea of how well organized we are this year and to hopefully encourage more people to come and support the Palestinian farmers and their families against the violence of the colonist settlers and the obstruction and harrassment of the Israeli army. If you are an ISM support group doing training in your country, please let new volunteers know about this plan so that they can have an idea of what they will be doing, and can be reassured that they will be needed.

Nablus region
Some of the most ideological settlers in the West Bank live here in notorious settlement outposts such as Itamar. Nablus region will be the top priority for the campaign because of the danger to farmers from these settlers, and the large number of villages in the area that the ISM Nablus committee has forged contacts with in the lead-up to the harvest.

  • Picking in 24 villages all over the Nablus region
  • Started 1st October. Ongoing till 30th November (most villages will start after Eid).
  • Need for continuous presence of 20-30 internationals from October 25th.
  • Accommodation for volunteers in ISM apartment in the Nablus Old City, but also villages. Bring sleeping bags because of cold nights
  • Co-ordination wtih EAPPI (in Yannun) and Rabbis for Human Rights being done

Hebron region
ISM volunteers will focus on families picking from their gardens and groves in the Tel Rumeida area of Hebron city. Last year settlers tried to steal olives. Tel Rumedia contains some of the most extreme, Kahanist elements of the settler movement, hence it is a high priority for the campaign. The Israeli army frequently declares the area as a closed military zone to “protect” the settlers.

  • Eight families in the area have asked for volunteers. Also, 6 families in villages near the Kiryat Arba settlement have asked for volunteers.
  • Starting mid-November
  • Need minimum 5 internationals
  • Accommodation for volunteers in the ISM/Tel Rumeida Project apartment in Tel Rumeida
  • Co-ordination being done with many international organisations. In case of an urgent need in other parts of Hebron region (e.g. Qawawis, Jab’a), will co-ordinate with the international organisations working in those areas such as CPT, EAPPI. to send people if we have them available. The ISM Hebron committee has also talked to Palestinian university students. Will send people to other areas in Hebron region for demonstrations as requested by local committee co-ordinating internationals.

Ramallah region
Generally, not big risks, but people needed in Bil’in outpost. Maximum 7 people needed for whole region. It’s not top priority – if there is an emergency and enough volunteers, people will go there. Direct action is always an ISM priority, even during the olive harvest so we will encourage volunteers to take part in demos, eg. Bil’in and other actions, eg. roadblock removals at Jaba.

  • Bil’in – Priority for this region. Need minimum 2 people to stay in the outpost – they can participate in Olive harvest, but there is minimal risk. It is still a priority, because there is now a problem with getting people past the fence and to the outpost. This was no problem until now.
  • Possiblity of help needed in Beit Sira (first olive harvest since wall built there), Aboud (one family might need some help), Beit Furik (might face some risk because of it’s location) or Biddu (no risk from settlers).

Tulkarem region
There are only three settlements in this region. Five Palestinian villages have land near to them. For the first time this year, Palestinians with certain land in this area will try to access it to pick olives. Not a high-risk area, hence not a high priority for ISM volunteers.

  • Picking in two areas
  • Starting mid-October. Every village needs a week to finish
  • Need around 5 people to move around the region

IWPS in Salfit
Anticipates enough IWPS volunteers over this period to cover their areas. Will send IWPS volunteers to other areas in emergencies if they have the numbers.

  • Strong focus on 7 villages, 5 on standby, going to meet 2 more in next few days
  • Az Zawyia – from mid-October, most after Ramadan – 6 internationals. for 1-2 weeks
  • IWPS are based in Hares village, Salfit region
  • Co-ordination with Rabbis for Human Rights being done

IOF attacks Marda village, Salfit region

by International Women’s Peace Service

Around 10:30p.m. on Thursday 28th September 2006 the Israeli army entered the village of Marda with at least seven armoured vehicles, including jeeps, hummers and a truck. IWPS volunteers present in the village witnessed as soldiers got out of the vehicles and dispersed into several groups all over the village, throwing numerous sound bombs and shooting flares in the process. The soldiers started to randomly bang on doors, ordering residents to open and come out of the house. According to residents, in some cases the whole family had to come out onto the street, in others they forced only male adults and youth to line up in front of the house while guns were pointed at them. No targeted arrest attempts were reported, though many residents had their ID cards checked. IWPS volunteers witnessed several soldiers lecturing and warning parents with threats to prevent the youth of the village from throwing stones. In one case soldiers forced a youth out of a house and threatened to arrest him, because they had heard someone speaking in a loud voice inside, which the soldiers seemed to perceive as an act of defiance. Local sources reported that about 30 houses were forced open until the soldiers left at around 00.15 a.m. A man later reported that he had been slapped around by soldiers and a youth reported he had been punched in his nose.

Human rights activists that called the Israeli DCO to inquire about the situation in Marda were told that the army invaded the village because children had thrown stones.

Randomly throwing sound bombs at houses and forcing a large number of residents out of their homes at gunpoint at night time as a reaction to the alleged stone throwing by some children constitutes a Collective Punishment, which is illegal under International Law, as stated by Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention as well as Article 50 of the Hague Convention.

Salon.com: “Up Against the Wall”

Israel continues building a mammoth barrier in the name of border security. Opponents charge that it’s carving more land for Jewish settlements — and assaulting Palestinians’ human rights.

by Rachel Shabi, Salon.com

Sept. 18, 2006, WEST BANK: “We haven’t seen our land since January last year,” says Abdul Ra’uf Khalid, sitting in his home in the Palestinian village of Jayyus. The Khalid family’s 5.5 acres lie on the Israeli side of the separation barrier, which in Jayyus consists of a tall electric fence winding its way across the hilly, rural terrain. The Khalids have greenhouses, and olive, citrus and fruit trees, on the land but aren’t allowed to cross the divide to tend them. “The apricots and peaches are falling from the trees and rotting,” says Abdul’s wife, Itaf. Stuck here, restless and unable to work, the Khalids appear to be deteriorating in similar fashion.

Along much of the West Bank’s border with Israel a similar story is unfolding. It is a story of land, livelihood and a way of life lost to Israel’s rising barrier, known as the “security” or “separation fence” by its supporters and the “apartheid wall” by its opponents. In June 2002, the Israeli government approved the building of the first stage of a physical barrier separating the Jewish state from the West Bank. In July 2004, the International Courts of Justice deemed the wall illegal and called for its removal. Now, the wall — built from various combinations of concrete, razor wire and electric fencing — is 51 percent complete, and construction of the rest continues apace.

Read the rest of the article at Salon.com