Tag: Settler violence - Page 13 - International Solidarity Movement

Non-violent action in At-Tuwani

10th of February, 2017 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | South Hebron Hills, Occupied Palestine

On Saturday, February 4th, a group of villagers from At Tuwani, South Hebron Hills, held a non-violent demonstration against the settler violence and illegal settlement expansion that affects their village. At 10:00, a demonstration consisting of about 15 Palestinian villagers, supported by international and Israeli activists, left the village of At Tuwani to march through the lands stolen by the illegal settlers’ out-post, Havat Ma’on. This is an area where local Palestinian children experience violence and threats from settlers while going about their daily lives. The demonstration was mostly women and children from the local village, protesting against the violence they experience and the continued expansion of the settlement.

At-Tuwani - Village in the South Hebron Hills. — At-Tuwani – Village in the South Hebron Hills. (Archive)

The demonstrators walked through the land, which is constantly threatened by the ever-expanding settlements, sang and planted olive trees. While this was happening, a settler from the illegal out-posts came down, openly wearing a gun, started to harass the demonstrators, began filming the protest and called for the Israeli army and police.

Shortly after, a large group of Israeli forces arrived and the demonstration moved to another piece of land. The demonstrators continued singing songs and planting more olive trees. At this time, around 8 Israeli army vehicles and two Israeli police vehicles drove around the demonstration. The soldiers and police stood talking to the settlers before they came to the demonstration and declared the area a “closed military zone”. They used this excuse to disperse protesters while the non-military settlers were allowed to remain where they were. The demonstrators non-violently resisted the order. The Israeli forces threatened a Palestinian man with arrest, only releasing him when the demonstrators agreed to move.

While this was going on, a group of about 20 settlers from the illegal out-posts invaded the local Palestinian village At Tuwani. They were met with strong nonviolent resistance from the village as some of the people from the demonstration rushed back to help the village. The Israeli army and police came to protect the settlers. It was only through the persistence and determination of the demonstrators and villagers that the settlers finally left.

At Tuwani is a village in the South Hebron Hills, which has experienced many problems from the extremist illegal settlements and out-posts built on and around their land. Children of the village are faced with violence and intimidation by settlers and the Israeli army while walking to school. Shepherds and anyone trying to access the village are met with similar intimidation and violence. For many years, this village has used non-violent resistance to defend their land and oppose the occupation.

Israeli Forces escorting Israeli colonial settlers through Palestinian neighbourhood

14th January 2017 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

On the 14th of January, 2017, some 120 Israeli colonial settlers were escorted through the Old City by approximately 50 Israeli soldiers and Border Police, in occupied Hebron (al-Khalil). Escorted by countless soldiers from one end of the military base to the other, the settlers pass through the maze of the old city, often verbally harassing Palestinian shop owners and vandalizing shops.

Israeli Forces escorting israeli settlers through palestinian neighbourhood — Israeli Forces escorting Israeli settlers through Palestinian neighborhood

What the settlers are told explicitly on the tour is hard to tell. Not only do we not speak hebrew, we are also kept at arms length by the soldiers. However, we are occasionally described as terrorists and anti-semites, and it is not unheard of that we are either spat at, or verbally abused. Both as Internationals and Palestinians.

Like any other Saturday, today was marked by this event. Unlike other Saturdays, however, the number of participating settlers exceeded our expectations – 120 settlers had signed up for the tour, and with them came a herd of soldiers from different brigades.

One thing that remained the same, however, was the complete lack of interest in the stories delivered by the “tour-guide”. The participating crowd – many of whom are very young – are seemingly not there to listen. Instead, they line up right behind the soldiers only to point, spit, give us the finger and otherwise harass the population of the old city. As such, the tour has become a way of establishing the power relations between the settlers and the Palestinians. So while Palestinians have to ask for permission to pass the group in order to reach home, the settlers are allowed to walk freely, and verbally assault whomever they see fit.

Not only are they protected by the soldiers and their own arsenal of weapons, they are also protected by their legal rights. When you are a settler in this area, the border follows your corpus. If you pass into H1 area, your rights are still protected by the Israeli government. If you are Palestinian, however, it’s a completely different story.

Israeli colonial settlers and soldiers harassing palestinian shop owner in the Old City — Israeli colonial settlers and soldiers harassing Palestinian shop owner in the Old City

Female teachers protests the arbitrary instructions that further restrict access to the school compound in Hebron H2

9th Januari 2017 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

At Sunday December 8 at noon, when fourteen female teachers of the Qurtuba high-school were leaving the school compound on their way home, the Israeli forces at checkpoint 55 on the Shuhada street blocked their way and kept them waiting on the stairs for more then 45 minutes.

Reason for this harassment was the personal decision of the commander to implement a new rule:

All the women should wait together high up the stairs,

behind the newly installed iron gate-door,

waiting for a soldier command to be allowed to proceed,

have their ID checked and

pass the checkpoint one by one.

The female teachers did not accept this arbitrary new rule, and stayed where they were, waiting to get through. Finally after 45 minutes they were allowed to pass the military checkpoint as a group.

[VIDEO] Commander:
[0’10”] “I take to three .. when I take to three …, all the women behind it” “Because I decided … Because I decided to…I decided … I … yes .. because you obey … everyone obey”
[0’30”] “because I decided to … because I deny you to do what you want now … and this is what I decided … I’m not talking anymore … I say just briefly … If you want to go this way from here you must go after the gate”
[1’33”] You don’t tell me what to do .. no you shut up and I do what I want to .. now you, if you want to leave .. now you wait .. after I tell you … all the woman … I check you, then I let you… “
[2’29”] (pointing at the settler boy) He’s your commander .. He’s the commander of this day
[3’15”] I will touch you … I will touch you … now, go away … now you go back … do you hear me? … go back now”

The brave women of the school have a good reason to protest this arbitrary procedure. There are many Apartheid regulations for the Shuhada street and the entrance to their school, and more of those inhuman rules are expected to come in the future.

[Archive] Children of the Qurtuba school waiting on the stairs, to pass the checkpoint

If they wouldn’t protest it, the 6-10 y.o. schoolboys and 6-20 y.o. schoolgirls might be the next harassed with new implemented Apartheid rules.

For some children in occupied Hebron it can be a traumatic experience to pass these military checkpoints and heavily armed occupation forces all alone.

They go in groups, from their home to the school compound and back, passing at least two manned checkpoints.

Their teachers offered 45 minutes of their free time, after a busy school day, trying to prevent threatening new Apartheid rules, in which Palestinian children are not allowed to pass group-wise.

Shuhada Street and Qurtuba School. (the colors indicate Apartheid regulations) Children have to pass at least two checkpoints on their way to school

More restrictions in Hebron since september 2015, allegedly because of ‘terror attacks’

After the military violence, responsible for the death of nearly 60 young residents of Hebron between September 2015 and March 2016, the occupation forces installed new concrete walls, metal gates and doors, extreme inhuman checkpoints, barbed wire blockades and Arabic text boards with new security instructions.

The occupier gave this violent period the name “Knife Intifada”.
Mainstream media copied this or labeled it the “Third Intifada”
The UN, Amnesty International, some countries Foreign Ministeries, and many other individuals and organizations asked for proper investigation, without success.

Gate door, installed by the occupation forces in November 2015, after an extra juridical execution.

The alleged knife attacks for which the occupation forces produced no evidence, no video footage of their security cameras, no statements by the executed suspects and no legal investigation, are clearly used as a reason for these additional Apartheid measures, i.e. less freedom of movement for Palestinians only, in their own statehood.

Most Palestinian families succeed in adapting to these inhuman situation and peacefully undergo all harassment. As long as their children have a chance to grow up undamaged, without fear or traumas, they can stay, peacefully resisting the ethnic cleansing of their statehood.

Israel is abusing International Law, and should be sanctioned by all other states

The international powers united in the NATO are liable supporters of this Israeli occupation. They are obviously abusing the international law which they agreed on and together signed, because it commits them to sanction those states who violate the regulations in it.

The Palestinian people, targeted by Zionist war crimes for more then 100 years, don’t give up their hope on justice in Palestine, knowing they have the UN and International Law on their side.

Free Mohamed Abu Sakha

5th December 2016 | International Solidarity Movement | Huwwara team, occupied Palestine

Members of the Circus School in Palestine, representatives of the embassies
of Italy, Spain and Switzerland, Amnesty International and ISM were in the
Israeli Supreme Court today to witness the hearing of the appeal for the release
of the Palestinian circus trainer Mohammad Abu Sakha. Abu Sakha has been on administrative detention for almost a year. Administrative detention means that Israeli military can detain him for an indefinite period, without indictment and the right to a trial.
<https://palsolidarity.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/2f1641f7c19c.jpg>

Mohammad Abu Sakha lost his freedom on 14 December 2015, when he was first arrested and detained at Zaatara military checkpoint, south of Nablus, as he was going to work at the Circus School in BirZeit. On 25 December of that year, he received a 6-month administrative detention, which was renewed on 13th of June 2016.

The hearing session at the Supreme Court went fast. First, Mohammad’s lawyer read the appeal and once he finished few men from the Shabak, (Israeli Security Agency also known as Shin Bet) stood up and passed a file to the judges in the room. After taking few minutes to read the file, the judges promptly decided to dismiss Abu Sakha’ appeal and ended the court session.

Besides Shabak and the three judges, no one knows what is the content of this file, including the prosecutor, Mohammad’s lawyer and Mohammad himself. After one year in Israeli prison Abu Sakha still doesn’t know what he is accused of. The Shabak file, which is classified, might be the only thing that keeps him in prison.

The Ketziot prison located in the Negev/Naqab region, outside the West Bank, is a violation of the Geneva Convention which states that Detainees from the population of an occupied territory must be detained within that territory. During his time in prison he has only been allowed to three visits, all from his mother. On 12 December this year his detention should have ended. His lawyers and supporters believed that he would finally be free but on the same day he was given, again, another 6-month administrative detention period, exactly as it had happen in the past.

Today, no one knows what will happen to Mohammad. Palestinians live under a contempt military occupation. With his work as a circus trainer, Mohammad Abu Sakha fills a much-needed role to bring happiness and light to those around him.

End Administrative Detention.
Free Mohammad Abu Sakha !

More info about Mohammad case:
https://www.facebook.com/freeabusakha/
link to the Circus School: http://www.palcircus.ps/

Children: marvelous examples that life must go on whatever happens

29th November 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

Children: marvelous examples that life must go on whatever happens, even if their growing up is influenced by negative experiences with settlers, soldiers, torture, humiliations…

We experienced this in the two days of the Jewish festival of “Chaye Sara” in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron) in which 2.500 settlers arrived, camped in tents, went on their tours along the Palestinian souq and all the streets around the Ibrahimi Mosque. Apparently they prayed, but… what did they ask to their God?

Palestinians and internationals were expecting the usual violence against people and shops. In fact, groups of youngsters, feeling protected by their army, destroyed a shop window, insulted shop owners, made exercises with their third finger… violently stole handcraft souvenirs from many shops. To steel is a crime…. But here in Palestine, it depends on who you are.

Some of the settlers in their tour, just in front of a soldier, threw stones at houses on the hill over the Ibrahimi Mosque. So we spent two nights in the area, trying to reduce more violence: soldiers and settlers could see us and ours cameras…

As usual, the families were very welcoming, never complaining… they knew… this is their life. And the children? After the first moments, the explosion of their innocence, of their hunger of attention, thirst of joy.

children-and-soldiers — drawing made by Palestinian child

In front of the houses, soldiers equipped and ready for the most terrible fight, the rifles pointing to a possible enemy and hundreds of Jewish settlers walking proud to demonstrate their presence there.

And the children? They went on playing with us, laughing, jokeing, even when we accompanied them to a shop.

The rifles and the most sophisticated guns against the incredible strength of these children able to smile and play with the simplest things in their streets, in their homes, thanks to their minds still free of a gray and oppressive wall.

The right to be a child – also in this situation of human stupidity and of too many adults against them. The international society has the duty to protect them. Too many of them have already had their lifes ruined. It’s enough!!!