Tag: Silwan

Wadi Hilweh Information Center: Weekly update on Silwan

06 March 2011 | Wadi Hilweh Information Center


3 March 2011 | 4 youth arrested in dawn raid on Silwan

Israeli forces raided Silwan today at dawn, arresting 4 local children. The boys arrested are aged between 13 and 15 years, and are scheduled to appear in the Israeli Magistrates Court on charges of stone-throwing in the near future


3 March 2011 | Undercover forces seize 12 year old boy in Silwan

Undercover Israeli forces arrested a 12 year old Palestinian boy from Silwan yesterday afternoon. Walid Zaloom was seized by plainclothes Israeli officers in the Ein Silwan area during clashes that swept through the village yesterday. Confrontations took place between Palestinian residents and the Israeli military, concentrated largely in Ras al-Amoud. A heavy presence of soldiers was seen throughout Silwan.


3 March 2011 | Jeep fires gas inside shop, 7 children inside

A tear gas grenade was fired from a speeding Israeli military jeep in to a minimarket in Bir Ayyub district of Silwn last night. Inside the shop, owned by Palestinian resident Hammouda Siyam, were 7 children, all whom suffered severe asphyxiation due to gas inhalation.

Eyewitnesses report that a second gas cannister was fired at the shop 10 minutes later as the jeep drove past again.


2 March 2011 | Israeli court extends detention of 57 year old woman from Issawiya

The detention of a 57 year old Palestinian woman was extended by the Israeli court yesterday, after she was arrested one week ago during a raid on her village of Issawiya, in north Jerusalem. The woman, whose name has not been revealed to the public, is accused by police of involvement in recent clashes that gripped Issawiya.

Her eldest son told Silwanic yesterday that: “I myself have spent three years in Israeli prisons on security charges. I got out of prison six weeks ago, then was arrested again last week when I was travelling home from visiting Ramallah for the first time since my release through Qalandia checkpoint. I was taken in to military investigation, then released several hours later. I arrived home to the news of the arrest of my mother. I did not even have a chance to see her before she was taken.”


2 March 2011 | Abbasi sentenced to over 2 years in prison

Abdul Rahim Abbasi, 26, was sentenced by the Israeli Magistrates Court yesterday to 28 months imprisonment. Abbasi was arrested on 14 May 2010 on suspicion of involvement in clashes that took place in Silwan during that month, with his hearing initially scheduled to take place on the day set for his wedding day, one week after his arrest.

This is the third time that Abbasi has been arrested by Israeli police, having been detained for a period of 6 months in 2002 and 1 year in 2007. Abbasi’s family have received news of his new detention with great sadness, particularly in light of the continued prolongment of his wedding date.


2 March 2011 | Court extends Center director Jawad Siyam’s house arrest; police raid family home again

Wadi Hilweh Information Center director Jawad Siyam’s house arrest sentence was extended until March 14 by the Israeli Magistrates Court in Jerusalem yesterday. Israeli police raided Siyam’s house again last night, summoning him to the station this morning.

Two City of David settlement guards employed by Elad testified against Siyam, stating that he had broken the conditions of his house arrest but provided no further evidence.

Israeli police raided Siyam’s family home in Wadi Hilweh district of Silwan last night to arrest him. A crowd of neighbors quickly gathered around the house, several filming the incident with video cameras and refusing to allow police to take Siyam, who eventually agreed to leave without him but issued an order for him to present himself at the police station this morning for investigation.


27 February 2011 | Clashes continue throughout Silwan

Violent clashes resurged in Silwan yesterday evening, 26 February, with Israeli forces firing round after round of tear gas and rubber bullets at Palestinian demonstrators. 20 Palestinian residents were injured by rubber bullets. Eyewitness accounts report that Israeli forces ambushed a number of young demonstrators. 3 paramedics were also injured.


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Violence and trauma grips Silwan once again

5 March 2011 | Wadi Hilweh Information Center

Firas Rwidi
Violent confrontations erupted in Silwan yesterday, with clashes sparked in Samer Sarhan Street and spreading throughout various districts of the village. Witnesses state that in addition to firing heavy amounts of rubber bullets at protesters, Israeli forces have begun using a new type of tear gas. 17 Palestinians were reported injured, with many more suffering the asphyxiating effects of gas inhalation.

Silwan resident Firas Rwidi was attacked by Israeli armed forces on his way home, when he was taken out of his car by force then shot with rubber bullets, sustaining direct injuries to his back near his kidney. Rwidi also sustained heavy injuries to the head when he was bashed by Israeli troops with sticks and a helmet.

A Palestinian house was set alight and partially burnt in Baten al-Hawa after tear gas cannisters were fired inside. Confrontations then spread to Ras al-Amoud district, which saw some of the worst violence of the day, with Israeli forces firing gratuitous amounts of rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas grenades.

Medical sources state that a total of 17 were injured due to the clashes, including 10 from Ras al-Amoud alone. Amongst the injured were several children below 16 years of age. Dozens more inhaled heavy quantities of tear gas, with one medic stating that they handled 34 such cases on the ground alone. Many residents were forced to medically assist others during the clashes. One woman, Suad al-Mimi, was transferred to hospital after experiencing difficulty in breathing due to gas inhalation.

A settler of Beit Myouhas settlement was also injured as a result of stones thrown at the settlement during the clashes. The settler was immediately transffered to hospital by a Red Star of David ambulance.

Palestinian child hit by Israeli police car in Silwan

10 February 2011 | Wadi Hilweh Information Center

An Israeli police car ran over a young Palestinian girl on the main street of Ain al-Luza neighbourhood in Silwan yesterday, 9 February. Witnesses reported that the police vehicle had been speeding through the streets of Silwan when it ran in to 15 year old Hanin Khalil Ghanayem on her way home from school, pushing her for a distance of approximately 3 metres and then colliding with a Palestinian car.

Palestinian girl hit by Israeli police car

The incident, which is unfortunately not the first of its kind in Silwan, was well-documented by locals with cameras. Ghanayem was rushed to Hadassah Hospital in Ein Karem.

Fear and unrest in Silwan as soldiers surround village

26 December 2010 | International Solidarity Movement & SilwanIC

Since early this morning, Israeli forces have been surrounding the village of Silwan, creating fear among the villagers that a Palestinian family will be evicted. A new wave of unrest has overcome Silwan in the past few days, with two houses demolished on Christmas day, and clashes sweeping through the village on Friday after a young Palestinian was shot with a rubber bullet.

The Silwan Information Center claims to have received exclusive information that an Israeli court has approved the eviction of a Palestinian family, in order to resettle the soon-to-be evicted settlers of the Beit Yonatan Settlement. Israeli courts have ordered that the Beit Yonatan settlement be evicted, so authorities are attempting to take over the Abu Nab on the grounds that it was once the site of a Yemenite Synagogue.

This controversial eviction was planned to take place today, the 26th, while the international community is preoccupied with the holidays. However, Jerusalem Police issued a statement last claiming that the eviction would not take place today, with no further information about when it would happen.

While Yemenite pilgrims did for a time inhabit the Baten al-Hawa district of Silwan, the were only relegated to the area after being rejected by the jewish people living in the Old City. After a short time they left to resettle elsewhere.

In what is becoming an argument increasingly employed by Israeli expansionists in Jerusalem however, land that was ever owned or inhabited by Jews in the past must become property of modern-day Jewish owners. Similar arguments have been employed throughout the complex legal battles that have taken place in Sheikh Jarrah for several decades now.

While Israeli authorities may attempt to find legal loopholes allowing a Jewish “right of return” to historical lands, a decisive law the ensures just the opposite has existed for Palestinians for some 60 years: the notorious Absentee Property Law. The Law has enabled the Israeli state to become “custodian of absentee properties”, that is, all land abandoned by Palestinian land-owners during the Nakba in 1948, when the creation of the Israeli state forced some 900,000 Palestinians to flee their homes and land, the vast majority of which had been in their families for centuries.

Israeli forces assault 7 year old Palestinian in Silwan

26 November 2010 | Wadi Hilweh Information Center

Israeli forces assaulted 7 year old Adam Mansour Rishq during tense scenes in Silwan today. The child was beaten by Israeli troops who accused him of throwing stones at a military vehicle, who then attempted to arrest the youth but were stopped by residents who flocked to the scene. One resident told soldiers that “if you want to arrest him you can send an order to his father, summoning him to the police station.”

An Israeli policewoman was witnessed shouting at the mother of Rishq as she arrived on the scene, accusing her and other residents of covering up their children’s faults. The mother, fearful of the police officer, fled in to the house. Her son was brought in to the house over an hour later, when he was found hiding in a nearby tree out of fear of a repeat attack by soldiers. Rishq, clearly suffering from severe shock, was taken to Sharat Zedek hospital in West Jerusalem where he was treated for trauma and hallucination. Despite receiving treatment for 4 hours, the hospital refused to issue any papers to Rishq’s family to prove the necessity of medical attention following the assault.

Adam’s mother stated that “events such as this make our fears to great as to even send our child to school, lest he be subjected to another attack.” The family’s neighbor who had been present at the time said that “my children have been arrested by the Israelis and sentenced to house arrest, outside their own home of Silwan, in Beit Hanina. The police said they were arrested for participating in an “illegal” gathering on the streets. We do not understand what they mean by “illegal gathering” – my children were returning from school when they were taken by Israeli forces to the police station.”