12 February 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Urif, Nablus, Occupied Palestine
UPDATE: All of those detained today have been released and the Brit who was pepper sprayed has been let out of hospital
At around 11am this morning, a group of internationals including three volunteers from the Michigan Peace Team travelled to Urif in Nablus. They were attempting to assist in planting olive trees at the top of the village near the school, an area which has been the scene of much of the recent troubles in Urif.
Despite being nowhere near the illegal Israeli settlement, Yizhar, Israel forces have a constant presence on the hilltop. One local resident said, “we always know when we are about to be attacked by settlers, because the army leave their position at the top of the hill“.
On arrival activists were immediately approached by the Israeli Occupation Force who were asking for internationals’ passports, the army then tried to arrest a Palestinian farmer.
The internationals tried to intervene but 6 including three from the Michigan Peace Team and 3 volunteers from the ISM were arrested. The three ISM activist currently in detention at the Ariel settlement are from America, Denmark and Finland; no Palestinians were arrested.
Two ISM volunteers were pepper sprayed which hospitalised one British volunteer.
26 December 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, Urif, Occupied Palestine
Over the past three days, the village of Urif, south of Nablus, has been under constant attack from Israeli settlers and soldiers. Soldiers invaded the village twice and numerous people sustained injuries from rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas canisters. People in Urif said that settlers attack their village almost daily, especially now that Palestine has been granted observer member status in the UN.
Soldiers on the hills overlooking Urif
The latest attack started on Monday, 24 December at 10 am when armed settlers attacked a school in Urif with stones. When youth from the village went to defend the school and confront the settlers, the Israeli military arrived and started shooting at people. Clashes continued until late in the evening, with live ammunition, rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas and sound bombs fired at the people of Urif. Two non-violent international activists at the scene of the clashes shouted at the soldiers that these actions by the Israeli army and settlers were completely illegal and inhuman, at which point the army started shooting rubber-coated steel bullets directly at the activists. At sunset the army came running down the hills toward Urif and stopped at the outskirts of the village, from where they continued shooting live ammunition, rubber-coated steel bullets and tear-gas into the streets of the village.
Early on Tuesday morning, the Israeli soldiers invaded the streets of Urif and started shooting sound bombs and tear gas into the empty streets of the village.
Attacks resumed on Wednesday afternoon when settlers again attacked the school with stones. The same incidents which occurred on Monday were repeated on Wednesday, except that this time soldiers invaded the village at around 5 pm and shot tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets into the middle of the village. One person was hit in the head by a rubber-coated steel bullet.
Urif has a long history of attacks by illegal Israeli settlers. Some years ago a person was shot by Jacob, the guard of the Yizhar settlement, who is notorious for attacks on Palestinians in the area. In May this year Jacob violently attacked a farmer in Urif, tied him up and shot him in the back. In the last few weeks, attacks on Urif have intensified as settlers, with the protection of Israeli soldiers, attacked the village on most days of the past month.
24 October 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank
VIDEO from the action:
Dozens of Palestinians and internationals protest at Rami Levy Supermarket near the illegal settlement of Sha´ar Benyamin on October 24th. This direct action aims to highlight the Boycott-Divestment-Sanctions (BDS) Campaign that seeks to promote a boycott of Israeli goods.
Four people, including Bassem Tamimi, the head of the Popular Committee of Nabi Saleh, were arrested by Israeli police today as Palestinians staged a peaceful direct action in an Israeli supermarket near the illegal settlement of Shaar Binyamin, north of Ramallah, calling for a boycott of Israeli goods. Two Palestinians were injured and removed in ambulances. Before he was arrested, Tamimi’s ribs were reportedly broken.
Two of those arrested were international human rights activists. One is an American and the other is from Poland. The American activist was dragged away by four Israeli officers.
Starting at around ten this morning, Palestinians and international activists gathered in the parking lot of Rami Levi supermarket, which is frequented by Israelis from the surrounding illegal settlements. The activists entered the market and walked up and down the aisles, holding Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) placards and waving Palestinian flags.
Demonstrators left the market voluntarily when the Israeli army arrived on the scene. As activists exited the building, about forty police, border police and soldiers were waiting in the parking lot. There, the Israeli authorities attacked the demonstrators and fired sound bombs at them.
Even though the demonstrators remained non-violent, soldiers punched, dragged and choked them. As one Palestinian man was pulled away from the soldiers by other demonstrators, to prevent his arrest, his walking stick was taken away as he lay on the ground – following this, he could not walk without assistance. A sound bomb was thrown just metres from the head of another Palestinian man who was already unconscious following attacks from the authorities.
Bassem Tamimi is the head of the popular committee of Nabi Saleh, a village that has suffered drastically from the creation and expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank. Halamish settlement was created less than 1km away from Nabi Saleh, stealing a great deal of the villages’ land, as well as a spring that provided a vital water source for the village. Tamimi was released from prison in April of this year after spending 13 months in an Israeli prison for being accused of “taking part in illegal gatherings.” He was released on bail in April in order to take care of his elderly mother who had suffered a stroke.
The action today aimed to highlight the BDS campaign (www.bdsmovement.net ), which calls for a boycott of Israeli goods.
The status of the detained demonstrators is currently unknown, they remain held in the police station of the illegal settlement of Shaar Binyamin.
A Paletinian demonstrator gets arrested by Border Policemen during the protest at the Rami Levi SupermarketA demonstrator gets first aid help after being injured by a sound grenade at the protest
12 October 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank
In two separate incidents on Wednesday 10th and Friday 12th October 2012 settlers from the illegal settlement in Tel Rumeida, Hebron stole olives from two trees belonging to Jawad Abu Eisheh and attacked his family whilst they attempted to harvest from their land.
Between 2pm and 4pm on Wednesday 10th October 2012 settlers from the illegal settlement in Tel Rumeida stole olives from two trees nearby. The settlers carried out this theft in full view of the Israeli soldiers manning the Gilbert checkpoint only about ten meters away at the top of Tel Rumeida hill, who did nothing to stop them.
On Thurday 11th October 2012 three International Solidarity Movement volunteers accompanied Jawad to his land to record any further criminal activity from the illegal settlement as Jawad and his family carried on harvesting their olive trees. Jawad has permission from the Civilian Military Commander, Rami Ferris, to harvest his olives at this time.
Jawad and the volunteers were stopped at the Gilbert checkpoint by an Israeli soldier who said that Jawad could not harvest any olives today and that no international volunteers could accompany him to his land. Jawad phoned the police and started to make a complaint. On seeing that he was not going to accept this arbitrary decision the soldier radioed to his commander. After talking on the radio the soldier relented and said he did have permission to harvest his olives after all.
The remainder of Thursday 11th October 2012 passed without incident as the Palestinians harvested their olives.
The Abu Eisheh family harvesting olives.
On Friday 12th October, the Abu Eisheh family went to their land at 9.30am to begin to harvest. Shortly after, a soldier came over and told them to stop – Jawad informed him that he had been allowed by the commanding officer to harvest yesterday. No sooner that he had been stopped by the soldier, settlers began to appear from the illegal settlement nearby, “don’t harvest the olives, they are for us” they were heard shouting. At this point the soldiers told Jawad that he “must stop now there are settlers.” The family refused to stop as they had been allowed to harvest the previous day. Jawad told the soldiers “if I leave the settlers will steal my olives.”At this point a settler pushed over Jawad’s brother Wajdy, who fell to the ground, to which the soldiers did not respond.
The Israeli Army then attempted to arrest Yiyah Abu Eisheh (21) for refusing to leave the land, and as the soldiers grabbed him, Noor Abu Eisheh (27) got in the middle, so the soldiers bound both the men’s hands with cable ties and took them to the Gilbert checkpoint nearby.
At this point all the family was forcibly removed from their land by the army, and as they reached Gilbert Checkpoint there was around 30 settlers who started to attack the family and a number of Palestinian onlookers.
Settlers in Tel Rumeida who attacked the Abu Eisheh family.
Wajdy Abu Eisheh (25) was at this point injured by the settlers and needed medical attention. The army carried him into a vehicle which later transferred him into a Palestinian ambulance where he was taken to Al-Khalil Hospital.
An injured Wajdy Abu Eisheh being treated at the scene.
The Abu Eisheh family has suffered much from the illegal settlement in Tel Rumeida. Jawad used to run a brass mending and nickel, copper and zinc plating factory from his home employing twenty people. His factory amongst other work repaired parts for cars. The factory was closed by the Israeli Military along with other successful businesses in the area in the year 2000. His workshop has been broken into by settlers who destroyed chemicals and vandalized his electroplating equipment. The Jawad Abu Eisheh property had a wall to protect it from intrusion but after an illegal chicken farm was erected by the settlers next door they bit by bit broke down the wall by removing stones from it. About 18 months ago the settlers completely destroyed the wall which means that any time they want the settlers can come on to the property to vandalize or steal olives.
The Jawad Abu Eisheh family have lost their successful business because of the illegal settlement in Tel Rumeida and now they are losing the olives that grow on their land to thieves from the illegal settlement.
Jawad says: “They don’t like to see Palestinians working their land. How long must this family pay the cost of Israel’s Illegal settlement program?”
21 September 2012 | International Solidarity Movement
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UPDATE 19:25, 23 Sept: Many, many thanks to our Israeli activist friends who have given so much of their time and energy to help us! We would not be able to navigate the legal system as smoothly as possible without their support. British citizens Gordon Bennett, 44, Ellie Clayton, 24 and Aimee McGovern, 23, and American citizen Lauren Siebert were released from Ariel settlement police station today, are now under house arrest in Tel Aviv for the next 7 days. The authorities are withholding their passports, and it is possible that at the end of the week the activists will be handed over to the Ministry of Interior for deportation. The tactic of arresting pro-Palestinian activists in order to directly deport them is illegal by Israeli law, but is a tactic often used by the Israeli army to suppress solidarity efforts. The Israeli activists have given the internationals a place to stay under house arrest, as well as transportation from Ariel. ISM is working to figure out the status of the Majed Faruq and Abd al-Latif Faruq, two Palestinians who were also arrested Friday.
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Four human rights defenders (3 British citizens and an American), as well as two Palestinians, were arrested at the weekly Kufr Qaddoum demonstration. They are currently detained in the illegal Kedumim settlement police station for interrogation. The two Palestinians, Majed Faruq, 20, and Abd al-Latif Faruq, 24 were arrested from inside their homes as the army stormed the village.
Soldiers chasing a group of international human rights defenders shortly before arresting 4, still being held in police custody. (Photo courtesy of The Kufr Qaddum demonstration).
The villagers of Kufr Qaddoum demonstrate weekly against the closure of the road from their village to Nablus since 2002. The Palestinians are not allowed to travel the most direct route to Nablus, 13 km away, due to the positioning of nearby illegal Israeli settlement Kedumim. The commute to Nablus from Kufr Qaddoum is now doubled.
Although the weekly Kufr Qaddoum demonstrations have been going on for over a year, the Israeli military has recently upped efforts to stop the demonstration from occurring. In the past two weeks, the soldiers have entered the village before the midday prayer and the beginning of the march towards the closed road, surrounding the mosque and firing tear gas into the crowd. Three people, including an Israeli press activist, were injured as tear gas canisters were shot directly at them, hitting them in the arms. In addition to tear gas and sound bombs, after the arrests the Israeli military entered into the village with a skunk water truck. The checkpoints around the village were closed by the Israeli military until 5 p.m.
Resident of the Palestinian village throwing shoes at the soldiers after they entered the village and began shooting teargas near the mosque during Friday prayers. (Photo courtesy of The Kufr Qaddum Demonstration).
The Israeli military has been continuing their arrests of villagers: soldiers came early yesterday morning, Thursday 20 September at 2:30 a.m. to arrest four young Palestinian men: Taka Mohammad, 17, Mohammad Amir, 16, Yosouf Shtaiwi, 20, and Nadir Amer, 23. Anas Waleed Barham, 22, was arrested early Wednesday morning at a checkpoint. Another resident of Kufr Qaddum, Ahmad Shtaiwi, 22, remains in prison since his arrest March 16th.
The nonviolent human rights defenders have been charged with throwing stones and being in a closed military zone. There are reports that the detainees were beaten during the arrest, although this remains unconfirmed.
Eva Smith is a volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).
At around 11am this morning, a group of internationals including three volunteers from the Michigan Peace Team travelled to Urif in Nablus. They were attempting to assist in planting olive trees at the top of the village near the school, an area which has been the scene of much of the recent troubles in Urif.
