Tag: Settler violence - Page 24 - International Solidarity Movement

Ziad Jaber school marks start of winter holidays after another semester under occupation

10th January 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil Team | al-Khalil, occupied Palestine

On Wednesday, 6^th January 2016, schools in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron) marked the start of the winter holiday by handing out certificates to the students and giving awards to the best students.

Teachers and students taking photos with report cards

At Ziad Jaber elementary boys school, school started at 9 o’clock with a ceremony where teachers handed out certificates to all the students, who had finished their final exams before the holidays in the weeks before. The best students from each class were also awarded certificates for their outstanding achievements.

Throughout the school year thus far, teachers and students have had to face harassment, intimidation and violence from both Israeli forces and settlers from the adjacent illegal Kiryat Arba settlement. At the military gate blocking one of the roads leading towards the school, teachers have been body searched before their students’ eyes on an almost daily basis. Even students, despite their young age, have often been forced by Israeli soldiers stationed both at the military gate and at another checkpoint on the other side of the main road to wait to either have their bags searched or to lift up their shirts and trouser legs.

Teacher forced to lift up his shirt by Israeli soldiers

Student forced to take of his jacket by Israeli soldiers

As the main road leading past the school connects directly to the illegal Kiryat Arba settlement, settler harassment has also been common for both students and teachers. More than once, settlers have intimidated students and threatened violence or ordered soldiers to arrest children. In an incident on 30^th December, infamous and violent settler Ofer, who usually drives in an ambulance even though he has no medical training, commanded soldiers to arrest children, claiming that they were throwing stones. Luckily teachers from the school were able to stop Ofer from entering the schoolyard.

Students looking at each others certificates — Students looking at each other’s certificates

The impact of all the harassment, intimidation and violence students face on a daily basis on their academic achievements can hardly be estimated. That it impacts the accessibility of education – a basic right for every child – is without doubt. Growing up in Israeli military occupied Palestine takes a huge toll on childhood.

Students leaving school for the holidays with their certificates

A frightening walk to school in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron)

2nd January, 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al Khalil team | Al Khalil, occupied Palestine

On 30^th December 2015, an aggressive Israeli settler and Israeli forces yet again intimidated and harassed Palestinian schoolboys in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron).

As Palestinian schoolchildren were walking to school for their end of the year exam, infamous settler Ofer drove past the Ziad Jaber elementary boys school on the route to the illegal Israeli settlement Kiryat Arba. Even though he is not a trained medical professional, but instead works as ‘settlement security’, he is often seen driving around occupied al-Khalil in an ambulance. He stopped the ambulance right at the military gate that children and teachers have to pass on their way to school.

Israeli forces and settler right opposite the school gate — Israeli forces and settler directly opposite the school gate

Ofer stepped out of the ambulance, ordered the Israeli soldiers at the checkpoint to go with him and walked towards the school. He immediately started threatening international human rights defenders and teachers, walking all the way to the school gate. He accused children of throwing stones and aggressively filmed, holding by his phone directly in the faces of teachers and human rights defenders and spitting at them. When Ofer tried entering the schoolyard, Israeli forces refused to intervene even though human rights defenders were asking them to stop this armed man from entering the school property. The teachers from the school were able to stop him from entering the yard.

Watch a video:

As more and more soldiers and eventually the police arrived, school children were too scared to cross the military gate that was half-blocked by several military and police jeeps as well as the ambulance. With this large group of heavily armed soldiers, police and well-known, infamous settler Ofer immediately outside the school gate, the children were effectively prevented from accessing their school – a clear infringement on their basic human right to education.

Students forced to pass Israeli army and settlers on their way to school

While Israeli forces and Ofer stayed outside the school-gate for over half an hour, another group of soldiers aggressively body-searched every person walking up the hill towards the school from the other direction. Around the corner from there, groups of school-children were gathering, too scared to pass the soldiers on their way to school. The children had to be picked up by a group of teachers and walked to the school, some of them in tears.

Teacher walking crying student to school

The soldiers, as well as the Israeli police, were acting purely on the settler’s every wish and order. This illustrates the power settlers in occupied al-Khalil hold over the occupying army. In the end, the teachers had to ‘negotiate’ and reason with Ofer himself, as soldiers were standing idly by refusing to stop the armed settler from entering the school. Teachers and students alike instead had to fear that, on Ofer’s orders, the soldiers and police themselves were going to enter the school and raid it, as they have done in the past. When the settler, and then gradually the police and soldiers, left, Ofer threatened to come back at the end of the school day. As school finished early after the exam, children quickly left the school in big groups without any incidents.

Student body-searched by Israeli forces outside the school

The school children at Ziad Jaber elementary school on their everyday walk to and from school must pass Israeli forces at the checkpoint right outside the military gate and are often witness to humiliating and aggressive body-searches of their teachers and anyone else passing by. At times, the students themselves have to wait for their school bags to be searched by heavily armed soldiers or are even body-searched on their way home from school. This atmosphere of fear and intimidation – an infringement on so many of these children’s most basic human rights – impacts their everyday life. The impact on their academic achievement can’t be estimated, especially when asked to concentrate on the year end exam after safely navigating soldiers and settlers on their way to school. This is but a small glimpse into how growing up under military occupation in occupied Palestine looks like.

Israeli forces take a next step in threatening 3 families from Deir Istyia.

December 9th, 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Huwwara team | Deir Istyia, occupied Palestine

In the end of November we told the story of three families, living in the outskirts of Deir Istyia who were under daily threats and harassment from the Israeli forces. Now the threatening from the IOF has reached another level for these 3 families. Last week the soldiers cut both the electrity ground cable to the house and a couple of days later the powerline, one of the families was therefore without electricity for 7 hours. The family waited an hour and a half before they dared going out, see what happened and why the electrity went off. When they went out, the soldiers started shooting teargas towards them and their house, while shouting that they should leave the area. The Israeli forces also threw stones at the houses.

We visited the families twice last week. Both parents and children were traumatized after repeated attacks. We realized how Israeli Defence Forces are threatening vulnerable families to take over their houses and land that have been theirs for decades. One of the families who used to live there moved into the village of Deir Istyia last year. Now the army is trying to make these three families’ lives so unbearable that they too would decide to move out.

Israeli forces uproot trees and destroy greenhouses in Kafa district

8th of December 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Tulkarm Team | Kafa district, occupied Palestine

Settlers from the nearby settlements and soldiers watched the scene

On Tuesday, Israeli forces entered the village of Kafa in the outskirts of occupied Tulkarm. Within a few hours, they uprooted over 150 olive trees, 30 lemon trees and demolished four greenhouses from the land of the Esmail family. Even though this land has been owned by the family for multiple generations, Israel has declared it state property. “They didn’t just cause a loss of income, they also attacked my culture and my heritage”, says Munir Fathi Esmail, owner of the land.

The farmers were harvesting tomatoes inside one of the greenhouses when the Israeli forces entered the farm with bulldozers. The army didn’t give any notice for their intervention. The operation was covered by 12 soldiers from the israeli army and 4 men from the Isreali border police. Palestinians witnessing the demolition suspected that some of the armed Israeli civilians that assisted during the destruction were from the nearby illegal Israeli settlement of Avnei Hefetz, located just a few kilometers away. One of the armed settlers was instructing the bulldozer where to go, and telling the international human rights activists that where present to back off.

Israeli forces uprooted trees with a bulldozer

Munir explained that even though he will be able to buy new greenhouses, the economic loss resulting to the uprooting would be severe. “I will be dead before the new trees will be old and strong enough to give the same amount of harvest”, he stated.
The destruction of farmland, wich is illegal under international law, is just one form of oppression that the Palestinian farmers are facing. This farm, like most other agricultural areas in the West Bank is located in Area C, as 60% of the West Bank, fully controlled by the Israeli authorities. For Palestinian farmers in area C, this means harsh restrictions of movement, sometimes not being allowed access to their lands as well as not being allowed to build new constructions. Israel uses these methods as a way to get Palestinian farmers to leave their land, in order to give more room for expanding settlements. But Munir Fathi Esmail is determined to stay : “I will plant new trees, and I will never leave my land.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXfo5ExK6a4&app=desktop

Increasing collective punishment in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron)

3rd of December 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

Israeli forces closed the al-Hareka neighbourhood putting up new roadblocks and completely closing off a whole neighbourhood in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron).

The neighbourhood’s access to the main street has been blocked off with an iron gate for a long time already. Recently, a group of about twenty soldiers arrived to the neighbourhood to further limit the freedom of movement of the Palestinian residents.

Military gate blocking entrance for cars

One resident, a journalist documenting the soldiers putting the new roadblocks that completely barr any access to about 200-300 people living there, was detained by the soldiers for over an hour. Soldiers attempted to stop him from filming this measure of collective punishment, a clear infringement on the freedom of press. In order to reach the main road or leave their houses, people living behind the wall are now forced to walk all the way around and will thus need at least ten minutes more to reach the military gate that is already blocking their entrance.

Children playing on the newly erected wall blocking off the neighbourhood

Watch a video of soldiers installing this new wall:

Or watch video here.

Additionally, soldiers have commanded the roof of a private family home for military purposes and have erected a small military base there. A group of six soldiers is permanently stationed on the family home and “they slept on the roof”, as a school-boy explained.

Israeli forces stationed on a family home

The al-Hareka neighbourhood is bordering the illegal settlement of Kiryat Arba, and thus is often the target of harassment and violence both from the Israeli forces as well as the settlers – often under the protection of the soldiers.

This is yet another measure to intensify the efforts to restrict – or completely stop – Palestinian freedom of movement. Such collective punishment measures have sky-rocketed in the recent weeks and months in occupied al-Khalil, and add to the increasing efforts to further exacerbate everyday life for Palestinians and eventually make them disappear completely.