15 February 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Hebron, Occupied Palestine
A peaceful demonstration in support of Palestinian hunger strikers in Israeli jails took place today in Hebron with roughly 2000 in attendance. The demonstration was supported by all Palestinian political factions.
Soon after the end of the rally clashes erupted in central Hebron/Al Kalhil. They started near checkpoint 56, a symbol of apartheid in the city, and the entrance to Shuada street which was once a very important street for Palestinian residents and businesses. Over 500 business where forced to close down because of the establishment of illegal settlements near the street.
Israeli occupation forces gathered behind the checkpoint while palestinians gathered on the other side.Sound bombs were quickly used to disperse the protesters. Violence escalated quickly when more protesters took part in the action. The ISraeli army responded by using excessive amounts of teargas and rubber coated steel-bullets hit many Palestinians and one member of ISM. Live ammunition was also used. Many shops were forced to close because of the tear gas.
The clashes continued in the very central areas of the city where lots of cars were damaged with tear gas canisters.
Ambulances continued driving back and forward all afternoon. About 20 Palestinians were injured and hospitalized.
14 February 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Azzun, Occupied Palestine
Azzun is a village of 10,000 people in the West Bank, located near Route 55 and located between the Qarne Shomron, Ma’ale Shomeron and Alfe Menashe settlements. Unemployment stands at 49%. Azzun is surrounded by the Israeli military, which raids the village arresting youths almost every night. The village suffers from the Israeli Total Punishment policy, where villagers cannot access work outside Azzun and are specifically targeted for harassment by the Israeli military for detainment at check points. In 2012, there were 80 arrests, 98% of which were under 16 years of age. In the last six weeks, there have been 28 arrests. Sentences for stone throwing can range from between 8 to 14 years.
On February 10, between ten and twelve settlers, with an Israeli military escort, assaulted the eastern section of the village, using stones, tear gas and rubber bullets. On February 12 at 2AM, the Israeli military raided the village, arresting 5 youths. The youngest of which was only 12 years old and, as a result of being beaten by soldiers, is in shock and cannot speak or stand.
Today the Israeli military has closed 3 of the 5 roads that lead into the village, with the promise that if “problems” continue the remaining two will be closed. When asked if Azzun is resisting, “protests and activities are not possible here” one villager replied.
Team Nablus is a group of volunteers of International Solidarity Movement based in Nablus
15 February 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Hebron, Occupied Palestine
A peaceful demonstration was violently broken up by the Israeli occupation forces using tear gas grenades and canisters, and skunk water. Road opened for the first time in 13 years.
At 1pm around 100 Palestinians marched towards the Hagai road gate in the Al Hareaq area of Hebron. The demonstrators surprised the Israeli army who did not appear to be prepared for the demo, having to bring in reinforcements to the scene. The demonstrators gathered beyond the gate on the side facing the illegal Israeli settlement of Hagai. There was a tense atmosphere as the demonstrators chanted and vented their anger at the illegal road closure.
Demonstrators head towards Hagai road gate
Demonstrators started to dismantle the road gate taking parts of the gate away with them, they then pulled a chain out from within the gate and forced it open. People cheered and danced as this is the first time the road has been opened since it was closed by the Israeli military in 2000.
Soldiers started to throw sound grenades into the crowd who remained steadfast. Then an officer ordered a soldier to throw a tear gas grenade into the crowd. Demonstrators remonstrated with the soldier forcing him to back down. The officer then got another soldier to throw a tear gas grenade directly at a protestor hitting him in the side. After kicking away the tear gas grenade the demonstrators regrouped and continued to protest. Many more tear gas and sound grenades were thrown but the soldiers were unable to disperse the crowd and deny the Palestinians their right to peaceful protest. Three soldiers attempted to arrest a demonstrator at random but people quickly saw the danger and again thwarted the army by affecting a non violent de-arrest.
Soldier fails to arrest demonstrator
Refusing to move, the demonstrators continued chanting and making their views known to the soldiers,the media, and the wider world. At 2pm the organisers of the protest and respected elders started to end the demonstration. It has been a feature of the demonstrations here that they have been non violent and disciplined, with the demonstrators ending the protest on their own terms.
As the demonstration was ending, the Israeli army brought up a skunk truck and sprayed the foul smelling, noxious water at the crowd, also firing a large number of tear gas canisters at people as they were walking away. There were no arrests at the demonstration.
Skunk water is sprayed at the demonstrators
The Israeli occupation forces closed the road in 2000 with large concrete blocks. This prevented access to the south of Hebron from Dura, the close by Al Fawwar refugee camp and many villages in the area south west of Hebron. The barrier cuts off Hebron from over a hundred thousand people. For Palestinians in this area a journey of 5 or 6 minutes to Al Fawwar refugee camp now takes an hour.
Two weeks ago under pressure from the regular Friday demo the army removed the concrete blocks and put a road gate there instead. This is an attempt to show the road can be opened, but control of access would still lie in Israeli hands. In 2000 Israeli military bulldozers built sandhills on the road to further restrict movement. Pipes had been damaged on the road and sewage flowed onto the street, causing a hazard to peoples health. Last week the Hebron municipality mended the pipes and did further work to improve the road. With the weekly demonstrations and pressure on the District Coordination Office, the people southern Hebron, Dura, Al Fawwar and numerous villages in the south Hebron hills feel they may be able to remove this instrument of oppression and open the road for good.
Soldier attempting to arrest another demonstrator
Team Khalil is a group of volunteers of International Solidarity Movement based in Hebron (al Khalil)
15 February 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Hebron, Occupied Palestine
Two brothers, Hani and Hashem Al Azzeh, who have had enough of the harassment they face on a daily basis from the Israeli occupation forces and settlers, are taking legal action to remove a military tower placed on the roof of one of their houses in Tel Rumeida, Hebron.
Watch tower built above home
In 1998 the lives of the two brothers was turned upside down when the army arrived with a map of houses and said “We need your roof for security reasons.” There used to be a military tower behind the two houses, suddenly the army decided to put it on the roof. Despite filing petitions to the Israeli court at the time, the tower stayed on the roof and the family has endured fifteen years of violence and terror, including weapons being fired from the roof, water tanks poisoned and destroyed, and physical attacks on all members of the family including children. Both Hani and Hashem’s wives have been repeatedly assaulted when they were pregnant, leading to the loss of their unborn babies.
New military orders were issued to the family in June 2011, to place a military tower on the other house, as well as lights and cameras. Again the Al Azzeh family took legal action to protect themselves. The military orders were sent to the Prime Ministers Office in Ramallah. They were sent to the Civil Administration Ministry, Palestinian Legislative Council members and the Palestinian DCO. Also contacted were Louisa Morgantini amongst other members of the European Parliament, a legal delegation from Belgium and the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee (HRC). A complaint was made through a lawyer who argued the military tower must be removed because of the harassment to the Al Azzeh family.
On Sunday 3-2-2013, Hashem and Hani Al Azzeh, received a visit from the Palestinian and Israeli District Coordination Office(DCO), a representative from the Israeli court, and lawyers from the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee who represent the Al Azzeh family in this case. The group made a fact finding tour of the two family houses and the surrounding area. They asked who made the escalations in violence, the army or the settlers? The Al Azzeh family replied “The army and the settlers.” The court representative suggested putting the tower on Hashem’s land, where he has olive trees. Hashem refused saying “when the tower is put on my land next will be more settlers in caravans and then I will lose access to my land. You can remove the tower and put it on the roof of the settlement which is higher and only a couple of meters away giving the soldiers a better view.” Hashem told the group about how the settlers who live directly behind his house were building on the balcony above his garden and planting trees, to expand the settlement. He argued that Palestinian residents had a right to drive a car in Tel Rumeida which at the moment they are denied, and that checkpoint 56 at the end of Shuhada street should be removed or moved to a location that allowed Palestinians access to Tel Rumeida by car. Of the military commanders present Hashem commented that some of them quoted ‘security reasons’ for not doing this and some appeared clueless. During the tour the violent settler Baruch Marzel leaned over the balcony and shouted down “We need the tower to stay there for security reasons because the Arabs are terrorists. These Palestinians make problems.”
There is a long history of abuse and terror which the family has endured. During the second intifada soldiers fired “all kinds of weapons” from the roof into the Bab Al Zawia area of the city according to Hashem. The water tanks on the roof of Hani’s house had the pipes cut, were poisoned, had feaces dumped into them and were eventually destroyed. Hani’s family now has to pump its water from a reserve cistern underneath the house adding an unnecessary cost to a basic human requirement. They also have had to rig up a series of hoses through the window to the taps and boiler with to get access to their water.
A makeshift water system collects water from below the house
Soldiers were sometimes seen naked on the roof and at other times danced or played football with stones in the middle of the night. The soldiers stomping around in their boots at night is very loud, Hani’s family has not had an undisturbed nights sleep in fifteen years. Hashem says that one day Hani’s daughter was playing in the garden and a soldier from the tower urinated on her head. Settlers threw stones at the families and their houses from behind the tower and then hid from the cameras of the family with the soldiers telling them, “You cant film them because this is a closed military zone.” The roof is declared a closed military zone but settlers are allowed onto the roof to harass. They have broken windows forcing Hani and Hashem to replace glass windows with metal shutters.
Cameras and lights installed above the home by the military
The stress and anxiety of this long term abuse is enormous. Hani’s wife lost her pregnancy six times due to harassment and assault. Hashem’s wife has been assaulted by settlers twice while she was pregnant, losing the pregnancy both times. Hashem’s children have regularly been assaulted by settlers. One time a rock was put in his sons mouth and his head smashed against the floor. Hani’s wife recieved long term care from ‘Doctors without borders’, a psychologist from the UN and with the support of her family and has given birth to triplets.
After the tour, the Israeli court representative said that within 90 days the court will decide whether the tower will be removed or not. Hashem fears that the court will ask the army commanders if there is a security reason for the tower to stay and the commanders will of course say yes, despite there being none, and that the Israeli court will simply concur.
Hani is a security guard in the Hebron Municipality building and Hashem used to be an administrator in a UN medical clinic. Hashem lost his job in September 2011, after recieving the military orders in June 2011, because he was absent from work. Hashem had to go to Ramallah many times for meetings with lawyers, council members and the Civil Administration Ministry which coordinates between the Palestinian Authority and the Israelis. Hashem does not regret taking the time to fight for his home, his family and his rights, or losing his job to do so. One day a representative of the settlers came to Hashem’s house and offered him “twenty million dollars to leave”, he refused.
Hani and Hashem will go on resisting the illegal Israeli occupation of Tel Rumeida, until one day they can live with dignity and freedom. They will carry on quietly working on their case until the military tower on the roof of their house is taken away for ever.
Team Khalil is a group of volunteers of International Solidarity Movement based in Hebron (al Khalil)
12 February 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Sabastiya, Occupied Palestine
Sabastiya is an ancient city located just 10 km north of Nablus, West Bank. It contains Canaanite, Israelite, Hellenistic, Herodian, Roman and Byzantine ruins as well as the tomb of John the Baptiste. The winding city streets along with its history make Sabastiya an ideal place to visit. Yet, as charming and beautiful as the old city is, the nearby Israeli settlement of Shafi Shamrom is making lives of Sabastiya’s residents very difficult: settlers uprooted olive trees, introduced wild boars into the environment to damage the land, and most recently, sewage has started leaking from the settlement flooding Palestinian fields.
In 2001 settlers uprooted and destroyed around 1000 olive trees, substantially damaging the land of several families. In 2006 the army put up a fence in an attempt to confiscate the land where the trees had originally been. Sabastiya’s farmers acted: they pulled the fence down in a defiant act of resistance and since that time there have been no further attempts to install it again.Flooded Palestinian agricultural land
The most recent and disturbing action on the part of illegal settlers of Shafi Shamron is pumping their raw, untreated sewage directly onto Palestinian fields. As the sewage is absorbed into the land, olive and apricot trees are rendered diseased and, according to the residents, “poisoned”. The flow of human waste begins from a pipe on the perimeter of the settlement, creating a sort of reservoir which then runs through the adjacent Palestinian fields, compelling each subsequent land owner to create a canal in order to drain the sewage water on to his neighbors land and further away.
Residents of Sabastiya are currently bringing legal action against Shafi Shamron in order to stop the settlement from dumping its sewage on Palestinian lands. The malodorous sewage running through the fields must remind a regular visitor of non-violent protests of a very effective strategy used by the army; the “skunk” water, which is chemical liquid smelling of excrement commonly sprayed on protesters. Settlers are evidently using a similar technique to make local residents’ lives even more difficult. The Shali Shamron settlements sewage pipe
