Tag: Salfit

Non-Violent Organizing Resumes in Salfit

Place: Deir Ballut, Az Zawiya, and Mas’ha in the Salfit District, West Bank
Date: Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Time: 10:00 a.m.

Non-violent Palestinian activists, joined by internationals and Israelis, will hold a one day tour of three villages in the Salfit District which have been severely affected by the construction of the Separation Barrier. Participants in the tour will meet with local residents and learn about the impact of the occupation on daily life in these villages.

The tour will begin at 10:00 a.m. at a partially constructed school in Deir Ballut. The Israeli Army has halted construction on the school since June 2003 and will not allow the village to complete the school, which is funded by World Vision, a project of USAID.

At 11:00 a.m. the tour will proceed to Az Zawiya. Local residents, city council members, Women for Life, and girls from a local summer camp, will meet with the tour participants to discuss effects of the occupation and construction on the Separation Barrier in Az Zawiya and neighboring villages.

At 2:30 tour participants will visit the house of Hani Aamer in Mas’ha. Since the completion of the Wall in Mas’ha two years ago, the Aamer house has been surrounded by the Wall on all four sides. The family may only enter and leave when soldiers open the gates.

IWPS: Killing Salfit

16 year old boy killed in Salfit following assassination of two men by Apache helicopters; 9 people injured by gunshots, rubber bullets, and tear gas inhalation; Army raids hospital and fires tear gas at entrance; ambulances blocked and doctor beaten.

Date of incident: July 15, 2005
Place: Salfit, West Bank
Witness/es: Dr. Naim Sabna, director of Salfit Emergency Medical Hospital, Salfit residents including 12 year old boy who witnessed shooting of Moath

At approximately 2:30 p.m. on Friday, July 15 two Apache helicopters fired rockets and opened fire on three men in an olive grove east of the town of Salfit. Two men, Samer Abdulhadi Dawhqa and Mohammad Ahmed Marri, were killed instantly. The third man, Mohammad Yusef A’yash, was gravely injured with multiple injuries to the chest and head. He was taken to the Emergency Medical Hospital in Salfit, where he was given emergency treatment and sent by ambulance to the hospital in Ramallah. On the way to the hospital, the ambulance was stopped by Israeli soldiers. The soldiers took the keys to the ambulance and beat the doctor on his shoulder and foot with the butt of their gun. Mr. A’yash was taken away by an Israeli military ambulance. His location and condition are not known at the time of this writing.

At about 3 p.m. army jeeps entered the town shooting gas and declared a curfew. The people ran inside their houses and closed their shops, but there were some young men and boys on the main street who threw stones at the jeeps. The soldiers fired at them and they ran away, scattering in different directions.

Between 3:30 and 4:00 p.m., a soldier in a jeep shot at two boys who were in an alley near the main street, approximately 15 meters from the jeep. One boy escaped, but the bullet hit Moath Jamal Sulieme, 16 years old, in the forehead above the left eye and exited from the back of his head. A small group of young boys (ages 12-14) saw the soldiers fire at Moath and ran over to help him. The soldiers fired rubber bullets at them so they ran away and called an ambulance.

The ambulance picked up Moath and took him to the Salfit Emergency Hospital, where he was given emergency treatment. Moath was sent by ambulance to the hospital in Nablus. On the way to the hospital, the ambulance was detained by Israeli soldiers at the Zatara checkpoint until an Israeli military ambulance arrived. He was transferred to the Israeli military ambulance and taken to a hospital in Israel. At 10:30 p.m. the hospital informed the DCL that Moath had died.

At approximately 5 p.m. about 20 jeeps and more than 50 soldiers surrounded the Salfit Emergency Hospital and demanded to enter. When the hospital director refused, the soldiers threw tear gas into the courtyard of the hospital which filled the inside of it with gas. The army entered the hospital by force, searching all of the rooms, including the operating room and delivery room. Around 10:00 p.m. the army left the hospital and Salfit.

Injured Persons treated by the Salfit Emergency Hospital:

  • Mohamad Al Masri, 22: bullet injury, right shoulder
  • Anas Fatash, 16: bullet injury, hand
  • Mahmoud Asad Yunis, 16: rubber bullet injury, left thigh
  • Dia Madee, 18: rubber bullet injury, right knee
  • Mahamad Shahir Darweesh: Bullet injury, right loin
  • Jalal Abdall, 30: multiple traumas, right shoulder
  • Jalila Jammal, 49: tear gas inhalation
  • Ahmed Darweesh, 15: rubber bullet injury to the head
  • Said Shtaeh, 30: anxiety attack
  • Ramee Mraita, 18: rubber bullet, right elbow
  • Martha Jlal: anxiety attack

Salfit District Week of Non-violent Resistance

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Where: Salfit District, West Bank
When: Saturday, July 16 – Thursday, July 21, 2005

Residents of the Salfit District join with international and Israeli peace activists to hold a week of non-violent resistance actions from Saturday, July 16 through Thursday, July 21. These actions are organized by the Popular Committee Against the Wall and supported by the International Solidarity Movement and International Womens Peace Service.

Activists will march along the route of the Apartheid Wall to see first-hand the ongoing construction of the Wall and meet with residents who have been severely impacted by the confiscation of land for the Wall. They will also learn about the growing non-violent movement in the region, which has held more than 50 non-violent protests against the Wall during the last year.

The section of the Wall around the illegal Ariel settlement is located approximately 20 km inside the Green Line. It’s slated to confiscate approximately 6,243 acres (24,972 dunums) from the villages of Hares, Kifl Hares, Marda, Iskaka and Salfit Many other villages in the Salfit district, including Mas-ha, Az-Zawiya, Rafat, and Deir Ballut have also lost land due to the construction of the Wall.

  • Sat, July 16 Marchers will gather at Marda at 9:00 a.m. to meet with village residents, then march from Iskaka to Salfit along the route of the Wall
  • Sun, July 17 March from Salfit to Kifl Haris, Deir Istia, Wadi Qana, and Haris
  • Mon, July 18 Visits to villages of Sarta, Biddya, and Mas-ha
  • Tues, July 19 Visit Hani Aamer’s home which has been enclosed by the Wall in Mas’ha, visits to Az Zawiya and Rafat, meet with families who have land confiscated due to Wall construction
  • Wed, July 20 Meeting with the village council, participants in the summer camp, and Women for Life in Az Zawiya, 10-2 p.m.
  • Thurs, July 21 Deir Ballut, march to nearly completed school where construction has been frozen by the Israeli army; visits to Kafr ad Dik and Bruqin.

Israeli Army Continues Night-time Invasions of Hares

by International Women’s Peace Services

At approximately 12:30 a.m. two army jeeps entered the village of Hares and three army jeeps stationed themselves at the western entrance into the village. At approximately 1:30 a.m. soldiers entered the home of Yasser. They were able to open the door without breaking it. They proceeded to the roof, looking briefly into the room where Yasser’s wife and four young children were cowering. After searching the roof, they came down and asked for her husband. She responded that he was not there. The soldiers proceeded towards the door, opened the refrigerator that was located near it, then searched the guest room, an area underneath the house and then finally left. They were there approximately 30 minutes.

At approximately 1:30 a.m. soldiers knocked on the door of another house. They were let in. They started to proceed to the roof but were told by the husband to take another path because his wife and children were in that room. After searching the roof, they left. They were there approximately 15 minutes.

At approximately 1:45 a.m. soldiers rang the buzzer of the home of Abdul Rahim. They banged the door but the family did not answer. After about 15 minutes, the soldiers went around to the back of the house and knocked on the adjacent unit where Abdul Rahim’s brother lives with his family. The wife opened the door and the soldiers told her to tell the family of Abdul Rahim that if they did not answer the door the army would blow up the house. The soldiers came back around to the front and banged loudly on the door. Finally, it was opened and the soldiers proceeded inside. The family consists of twenty members including 9 children, 6 women and 5 men. Most of the family was cowering in one room while the husband and father asked the army why they were there. The two men received no answer. The soldiers cursed at the two men, told them to stay downstairs with the rest of the family and then proceeded to the roof of the house. They stayed there approximately 20 minutes and then left.

Report by: Wendy, Ingrid and Laura.
Date report written on: Thursday, July 13, 2005

Report from Hares

by International Women’s Peace Services

Date of incidents: July 10, 2005
Place: Hares, Salfit district
Witness/es: Hares residents
Contact details: Contact IWPS

Description of Incident

On Sunday, July 10, Mohamad Mahmoud Daoud, 28 years old, was stopped and detained on the road from Hares to Nablus, near the town of Jit. Mohammed and his wife, who is four months pregnant, were forced to wait in the noon sun for several hours. When Mohamad’s wife complained that she was sick and needed to go to the hospital, the soldiers cursed at her. Mohamad told the soldiers not to say bad words to his wife. The soldiers beat him and arrested him. He is currently being held in Qedumin. IWPS members interviewed family members and assisted the family to call Hamoked (an Israeli Human Right organization).

Report by: Cathy
Date report written on: July 12, 2005