17th March 2017 | International Solidarity Movement, Ramallah team | Ni’lin, occupied Palestine
Today on 17/03/2017 the residents of Ni’lin alongside internationals and Israeli activists held a demonstration in memory of Rachel Corrie and Tristan Anderson, against the apartheid wall and against the occupation of Palestine.
A parade of around fifty demonstrators, including Israeli and ISM activists, marched from the olive groves outside the town towards the apartheid wall. Palestinian demonstrators carried flags and placards depicting ISM activists Tristan Anderson, critically injured after being shot in the head with a long range tear gas missile by Israeli forces at the same demonstration eight years ago; and Rachel Corrie, who was murdered by the Israeli forces fourteen years ago yesterday.
Apartheid wall
Local demonstrators set fire to tyres along the wall, waving flags and chanting at the illegal Israeli settlement located on their lands beyond, whilst Israeli activists called across using a megaphone. The Israeli Forces arrived shortly after, firing teargas over the apartheid wall and setting off sound grenades. Obscured by the smoke from the burning tyres, soldiers took photographs and fired some rubber-coated metal bullets at the protesters whilst the volleys of teargas continued. Young local men sent stones and teargas canisters back over the apartheid wall with their slingshots. The demonstrators ended by moving up the hill and back towards the town, having suffered no injuries.
The non-violent demonstrations against the apartheid wall and the occupation in Ni’lin have been going on weekly since 2008, as attempt to get back the farm land which was stolen from the villagers. Despite deaths, critical injuries and much repression the resistance continues.
3rd March 2017 | International Solidarity Movement, Ramallah team | Nabi Saleh, occupied Palestine
Today on the 3rd March 2017 the popular resistance in Nabi Saleh village held a demonstration against the nearby illegal settlement which has stolen large amounts of the village lands, the road closures affecting their village and the occupation of Palestine. The demonstration started with a group of people going to a local spring which has been stolen by the illegal settlement. Here local settlers arrived with guns and began to assault the peaceful Palestinian protesters who were supported by Israelis and other internationals. After the settlers assaulted many people there, including members of the press, the army arrived and also started attacking the demonstrators and letting off multiple sound grenades. The demonstration moved back up the hill towards the village with settlers throwing stones, the Israeli forces firing tear gas, sound grenades, rubber bullets, and live ammunition at the demonstrators – this aggression was met with stones from the demonstration. Eventually the clashes moved into the village lasting a number of hours with the Israeli forces closing off the main entrance to the village.
Settler attacking people – photograph by ISM/Charlie Donnelly
Initially the demonstration walked down a hill to a local spring which belongs to Nabi Saleh but was stolen by the illegal settlement, upon arriving there banners were held and people were chanting. After around 10 minutes heavily armed settlers from the nearby illegal settlements arrived and began to assault people there, including small children and elderly people present at the demonstration. During this confrontation the Israeli army arrived and instead of keeping the settlers back, began to help them assault the demonstration. In this time at least one press photographer had his camera broken by a settler and multiple people received punches and kicks. The Israeli army started to let off sound grenades in the midst to demonstrators who began to move to the hill towards the village.
Army helping settlers – photograph by ISM/Charlie Donnelly
Whilst on the hill some people began to throw stones at the Army below. This was met by large amounts of tear gas, rubber coated metal bullets and live ammunition. The Army allowed the settlers to chase the demonstration attacking people with stones, assisting them by firing at the crowd. This attack was held off by the people of the demonstration with stones.
The clashes continued with the Israeli army more frequently using live ammunition and firing rubber coated metal bullets at head height towards the demonstration.
The Israeli army then invaded the town, they were met with strong resistance from the local people, eventually fleeing in their vehicles under heavy amounts of stones being thrown. But not before firing multiple times with live ammunition, rubber coated metal bullets and tear gas.
The soldiers fleeing the town – photograph by ISM/Charlie Donnelly
During this time a checkpoint was set up at the main entrance to the town – a form of collective punishment to the villagers for their act of resistance. Afterwards the soldiers proceeded to invade the town multiple times sparking further clashes.
The residents of Nabi Saleh were holding weekly demonstrations since 2009 in protest of the zionist regimes illegal occupation of the village’s land along with the takeover of the village’s spring located near the illegal Israeli settlement of Halamish. However after a large amount of repression the weekly demonstrations stopped last year, with now occasional demonstrations.
3th of March, 2017 | Popular Resistance Committee of Kafr Qaddum | Occupied Palestine
Today, at the weekly Friday protest in Kafr Qaddoum, a large number of Israeli Forces raided the village and fired large amounts of live ammunition, rubber coated steel bullets, stun grenades and teargas at Palestinian protesters. One journalist, from Palestine TV, was shot in the head with a rubber coated steel bullet. A group of masked Israeli soldiers also took his telephone, and deleted all of his pictures and videos from the demonstration. The journalist is alive, but will be hospitalized over the night. Later a large number of masked Israeli Forces raided the village, trying to arrest Palestinians, and entering the house of a Palestinian family, scaring the crying children.
Palestinian protesters marching in Kafr Qaddoum, against the illegal closure of their road to Nablus
The protest started with a march at 12.30, after the Friday noon prayer in the local mosque of Kafr Qaddoum. A large group of Palestinians, journalists, and a few Israeli and international activists marched from the mosque towards the closed road that used to connect Kafr Qaddoum with the large city of Nablus.
After marching for around 30 meters, three Israeli Military jeeps and large numbers of Israeli forces arrived. They opened fire on the Palestinian protesters, who retreated back further into the village. Between 1 PM and 3 PM, Israeli forces continuously fired live ammunition, rubber coated steel bullets, stun grenades and teargas at the Palestinian protesters.
At several points, masked Israeli soldiers stormed the village, in an attempt to arrest the protesters. At one point, a large group of masked Israeli soldiers, entered the house of a Palestinian family, who were not participating in the demonstration. From outside the house, Palestinian children were heard screaming and crying, and Israeli soldiers were yelling intensely at the people inside the house.
Israeli Forces invading the Palestinian village Kfar Qaddoum
Israeli Forces invading the Palestinian village Kfar Qaddoum
Ahmad, a journalist from Palestine TV, was shot in the head by Israeli forces with a rubber coated steel bullet, and was bleeding heavily from his forehead. Israeli soldiers also took his private telephone, and deleted all of the pictures and videos he had made of Israeli soldiers firing live ammunition at Palestinian protesters. The journalist is now hospitalized, where he will stay under supervision over the night.
Palestinian journalist shot in the face by Israeli Forces with rubber coated steel bullets.
A local organizer of the protest described the situation as the feeling of “… a real war, with constant bullets being fired from 1 PM to 3 PM. Children crying and screaming. The situation was so terrifying.”
Israeli Forces fired a large amount of live ammunition and rubber coated steel bullets at civilian palestinian protesters
Prior to the protest, Israeli Forces had also set up a roadblock at the entrance to the village, pulling cars over and checking people’s IDs, as an act of collective punishment.
For five years the people of Kafr Qaddum have been holding weekly demonstrations, protesting the closure of their main road to Nablus and the expansion of the illegal Israeli settlement of Kedumim, which surrounds the village. In 2003, the road was sealed permanently by an Israeli roadblock, extending the fifteen minute commute to Nablus to about forty minutes. The roadblock has had severe economic consequences for the people of Kafr Qaddum, as many who once worked in nearby Nablus have had to seek alternatives. The United Nations estimates that movement restrictions imposed by the Israeli Occupation, such as the situation in Kafr Qaddum, cost Palestine about 185 million USD each year.
After more than five years of weekly demonstrations, Kafr Qaddum continues to resist.
24th February 2017 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine
On 24th February several hundred people joined together for a demonstration in al-Khalil (Hebron) in occupied Palestine. Palestinians, Israelis and international activists protested together against the occupation of Shuhada Street and Tel Rumeida in the heart of the city, closed by the military after the massacre of 29 Palestinians in the al-Ibrahimi mosque in 1994. The protesters marched from the centre of the city to the military base at the entrance to the closed zone but were fired upon with tear gas and stun grenades within minutes of the start of their peaceful protest. The protesters were immediately forced to disperse with many suffering from tear gas inhalation. Some needed treatment on site and some were taken to hospital.
ISM activists attended in groups of two and three to support, document and protest. Here are some eyewitness accounts:
Group 1
“After midday prayers people started marching towards the old city, chanting slogans against the Israeli occupation and the settlers. After about ten minutes, the march was faced by a sizeable group of Israeli soldiers and border police. They marched towards the Israeli forces nonetheless, but were soon met with two stun grenades thrown towards protesters in the front line and teargas canisters shot throughout the street. I saw a teargas canister hit a north American army veteran below his left shoulder: it is entirely plausible that it was shot intentionally into the crowd. Shooting these canisters directly towards people is not only in direct contradiction of Israeli ‘rules of engagement’ but also potentially lethal.”
Group 2
“I was in front of the demo when the teargas canisters were fired directly into the first lines of protesters. Stun grenades exploded next to me and I couldn’t hear anything for the next minute. Everywhere on the street were clouds of teargas expanding and the demo turned into a big escape. I and many other protesters took refuge in the side streets, hiding from Israeli soldiers and tear gas.”
Group 3
“Our group started near the back. Tear gas started in great quantity within minutes and together with a large number of Palestinians and other internationals, we scrambled up a side set of stairs and spent the rest of the demonstration trapped there, tear gassed frequently and running in different directions to escape. There was no possibility of rejoining the march route. Red Crescent ambulances, with paramedics in gas masks, attended to the large number of people who were suffering from excessive gas inhalation and some were taken to hospital.”
Group 4
“Emotion, censored freedom, pain, oppression, … these are the words which describe the commemoration of the Ibrahimi mosque massacre, fifty years of occupation and the closure of Shuhada Street for over twenty years. After just ten minutes, the Israeli forces showed up in front of the crowd. They immediately stopped the demonstration, leaving no freedom to Palestinians and internationals to commemorate the Ibrahimi mosque’s victims. The atmosphere was tense as Israeli forces started to throw teargas into the crowd. Once again, Israel pretends to be a democracy but leaves no freedom to Palestinians to express themselves and to commemorate those they lost.”
18th of February, 2017 | International Solidarity Movement, Ramallah team | Bil’in, Occupied Palestine
The 17th of February marked the 12th anniversary of the popular resistance of the people of Bil’in against illegal Israeli settlements and the apartheid wall. Throughout these 12 years there have been protests every week by the people of the village, supported by both Israeli and international activists. These demonstrations have been met by serious repression by the Israeli military and police. To mark the 12th anniversary a large demonstration was organized consisting of activists from across Palestine and across the world. This demonstration of around 400 people managed to march to the apartheid wall before eventually being suppressed by the Israeli forces.
12 years of resistance in Bil’in
The demonstration began as normal after noon prayers. Around 400 people marched towards the apartheid wall, chanting slogans and waving the Palestinian flag. On reaching the wall some activists managed to climb to the top, cutting away the wire at the top of the large concrete barrier. Tyres were also burnt at the bottom of the wall. A group of Palestinian activists, accompanied by international and Israeli activists, then marched to the large metal gate in the wall which is used by the Israeli forces to invade the village lands. This gate was forced open and people threw stones at the soldiers inside. Some soldiers took sniping positions from metal cages on top of the wall and fired tear gas at a group of demonstrators, also shooting at least one rubber coated metal bullet.
#thewallmustfall
Shortly after this, as the demonstration was ending, the Israeli forces invaded the village lands both on foot and in two military vehicles. This group of soldiers harassed the youth as they were dispersing, with reports of one group of Palestinian children briefly detained and the released. Further on, towards the village, one Palestinian man suffered a possible fracture when he fell over after being chased by the soldiers.
A reporter holds a sign against Israeli forces targeting of the press
Bil’in is a village in Palestine that has been very active in the popular resistance against the illegal occupation of Palestine by Israel. The village has been greatly affected by settlements and building of the apartheid wall. Despite facing serious repression over the last 12 years the people of Bil’in still actively resist, holding demonstrations every week.
Photographs courtesy of Charlie Donnelly – do not reprint without permission
