13th June 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Ramallah team | Bil’in, Occupied Palestine
Today, Bil’in held its weekly protest in solidarity with the Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike. As part of the protest, and in support of the current situation in Brazil, due to the football world cup, some of the protesters dressed as prisoners and decided to hold a game of football, using the apartheid wall as the goal. The Israeli army then shot large amounts of tear gas canisters and rubber-coated steel bullets, trying to prevent the “prisoners” from playing the game of football.
Three journalists were injured today, two by tear gas canisters and one by a rubber-coated steel bullet. Last week at the Bil’in demonstration, Israeli soldiers attacked one journalist and stole his camera, another journalist also had his camera confiscated by Israeli forces.
Protesters gather as demonstration begins (photo by ISM).Photo by ISMPhoto by ISMPhoto by ISMThe football match begins (photo by ISM).Photo by ISMPhoto by ISMPhoto by ISMPhoto by ISMPhotographer was injured after being shot with a tear gas grenade (photo by ISM).Photo by ISMPhoto by ISM
7th June 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Khalil team | Hebron, Occupied Palestine
Since the Palestinian prisoners began their hunger strike, there has been a protest each week in al-Khalil (Hebron). The majority of these demonstrations have been in the H1 area (under Palestinian Authority civil and security control), not directly against the Israeli military. However, On Wednesday 3rd and Thursday 4th this last week, there were two actions against the Israeli forces in al-Khalil.
On Wednesday at the entrance of al-Khalil, near the city of Halhul, an action was organised with the intention of marching down road 60. After approximately 100 meters, Israeli forces began to fire tear gas canisters, stun grenades, and spray the demonstrators with ‘skunk’ (chemical) water. The protest was pushed back, and when they tried to continue they were once again sprayed with skunk water. This happened several times before clashes broke out between the Israeli military and the local Palestinian youths. The military then sprayed the insides of local shops and homes with skunk water, as a form of collection punishment. During the action, many people were treated for tear gas inhalation by paramedics, and one protester was injured after being shot with a tear gas canister.
Photo by ISM
Photo by ISMPhoto by ISMPhoto by ISMPhoto by ISMPhoto by ISM
On Thursday the 5th, the demonstration was held in Bab al Baladia in the H2 area (under Israeli military civil and security control) of al-Khalil. Approximately 40 people gathered to demonstrate, though were stopped by the Israeli army after just 50 meters. Shaheed Fahme, a local activist, was arrested by the army, who thew many stun grenades towards the protesters. A spokesperson from both the demonstrations spoke to ISM activists and stateed that the belief is that direct action is one of the most effective ways for spreading the prisoner solidarity message to the rest of the world.
5th June 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Khalil Team | Hebron, Occupied Palestine
For children in al-Khalil (Hebron), the journey to school can be filled with fear, fear of Israeli soldiers, of military weapons, detentions, and arrests. The violence is all too real in this city, and it is unfortunately not an uncommon experience for children, some as young as four-years-old.
International activists try to monitor the checkpoints the children are forced to pass through on their way to school, both to document the events and to stand with the children.
ISM activists monitor checkpoint 29 each school day morning and afternoon. Over the last month, this is what the ISM activists have witnessed:
May 7th: A group of four Israeli soldiers tried to enter in the boys school and detained two young children. However, the teachers of the school were able to convince the soldiers to release both boys. After the soldiers ended the detention, they ran up the street and threw one tear gas grenade and two stun grenades at other schoolchildren. In cases like this it is clear how important the job of the teachers is in this area, and how difficult it is to is educate under military occupation.
13th May: In the morning one 12-year-old boy was stopped and searched by Israeli forces at the checkpoint, he was forced to empty his school bag before the soldiers would release him. After school ended, a 7-year-old boy was detained for 10 minutes with the accusation that he threw stones, he was released without charges.
14th May: Israeli soldiers went through checkpoint 29 in al-Khalil (Hebron), appearing from an alleyway and threw two stun grenades at the children waiting to go to school. No stones were thrown before their weapons were used. Some of the children then threw stones towards the soldiers, who then fired one tear gas grenade. One of the Israeli soldiers repeatedly aimed his gun at both an adult in the area, and the children outside their school.
15th May: One young child threw one stone towards the checkpoint and four Israeli soldiers entered through checkpoint 29. Several children then threw approximately four stones towards the soldiers, one of the Israeli soldiers drew the Star of David (symbol of Judaism) and a crescent moon (possibly symbolizing Islam) on a car window, and then wrote, ‘I want peace’.
‘I want peace’ photo by ISM
The same soldier who wrote ‘I want peace’, then threw a stun grenade at the children as they gathered to go to school.
19th May: Nine Israeli soldiers entered through checkpoint 29, several of the children then began to throw stones towards the soldiers. The soldiers then threw three stun grenades towards the children and fired one tear gas grenade. The second tear gas grenade was fired directly into Khadeagah Elementary School. An ISMer present said: “Today the children are writing one of their final year exams, it’s a terrible way to start the day and many of the kids were really afraid of both the soldiers and their weapons. This sort of aggression in the morning is common in Hebron, the soldiers don’t seem to care that they’re terrifying and tear gassing children, some as young as four-years-old”.
21st May:Several children threw stones towards checkpoint 29 on their way to school. At approximately 07:40, 13 Israeli soldiers and border police officers entered through the checkpoint and fired four tear gas grenades and four stun grenades at the children.
When the exams finished in the late morning and the teachers and school children were on their way home, the harassment began again. The Israeli military detained seven teachers for 20 minutes. One of the teachers spoke to an ISMer present: “We are used to this kind of violence and disturbance, the harassment is continuous and often twice a day”.
Photo by ISM
25th May: At approximately 07:50, three Israeli soldiers ran towards a group of children standing in front of their school. Some of the children threw several stones towards the soldiers. The soldiers then threw one stun grenade and fired two tear gas grenades at the children. Whilst the children was throwing stones, the soldiers were standing behind a group of internationals, seemingly trying to use them as some form of ‘shield’. The incident lasted for approximately 20 minutes, which prevented the children from entering their schools, delaying the start of their end of year exams.
27th May: In the afternoon as the children were leaving school, one Palestinian youth was detained for 20 minutes and five teachers, from the local schools, were detained for 15 minutes. No explanation was given for the detentions.
1st June: Several children threw stones towards checkpoint 29. Israeli forces then fired one tear gas grenade, dangerously close to several children standing to the side of the road.
31th May 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus team | Tulkarem, Occupied Palestine
On the morning of the 31st of May, several buses filled with Palestinian and international activists from across the West Bank gathered in Tulkarem to march towards the Natanya checkpoint, used only by the Israeli military forces.
Political groups, Palestinian civil society and Popular Resistance Committees named this action as the “March of Return”. Their aim was to defend their right of return and were united under the following slogan: “Our return is inevitable: Freedom for Al Aqsa (Jerusalem) and the prisoners”.
Once the buses arrived in Tulkarem, the activists marched several hundred meters to arrive at the checkpoint. Several protesters gathered at the gates of the checkpoint and began chanting, others spray-painted messages onto the apartheid wall [declared illegal by the International Court of Justice in 2004], while other activists used heavy craft hammers to damage it.
A few tear gas canisters were shot soon after the demonstration reached the gates of the checkpoint, enough to break up the protesters into two groups. One of these tear gas canisters caused a fire in a nearby field. Then, several “warning” shots were fired into the air with live ammunition and Israeli forces then fired large amounts of tear gas canisters. Tear gas projectiles were fired at the crowd.
Political groups, Palestinian civil society and Popular Resistance Committees marched together to defend the right of return (photo by ISM).Among the organizations involved there were also women’s unions (photo by ISM).Activist carries a heavy craft hammer that was later used to damage the apartheid wall (photo by ISM).Public speeches and chanting in front of the military checkpoint (photo by ISM).Palestinian women and men chanting at the gates of Natanya military checkpoint (photo by ISM).
Two heavy craft hammers were used during the action to damage the apartheid wall near the checkpoint. Other protesters also had enough time to spray-paint messages onto the wall (photo by ISM).Israeli soldiers leave their positions at the checkpoint to fire teargas projectiles and canisters at the demonstrators. At least two people received a direct impact from teargas projectiles that were fired at the crowd (photo by ISM).Highly concentrated teargas was fired frequently during the demonstration. Eye irritation was commonplace and as many as 20 people had to be attended by paramedics due to suffocation (photo by ISM).Tear gas canisters being shot at protesters (photo by ISM).Photo by ISMProtesters regrouping after a first attack by Israeli soldiers. The man on the left is holding an “ice pack” underneath his arm, he was shot with a tear gas projectile and his arm was visibly swollen after the demonstration (photo by ISM).Photo by ISMPalestinian youth attempted to build tire barricades but were soon ambushed by Israeli soldiers. Jeeps and armored vehicles drove at high speed from behind and surrounded some protesters, at that point one youth (20 years old) was arrested (photo by ISM).
22nd May 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Khalil team | Hebron, Occupied Palestine
Yesterday during the early evening, several Palestinian youths were riding bikes near checkpoint 56 in the Tel Rumeida area of Al-Khalil (Hebron). At around 7pm, one youth, 17-year-old Izz Adel Bedo, from the Jabal Al-Takruri area of Hebron was knocked off his bike and run over by a settler driving a bus on the way to the illegal Tel Rumeida settlement.
Paramedics arrived within about five minutes, leaving their ambulance parked outside the checkpoint whilst they came inside to attend to the youth. By this time, approximately 15-20 Israeli soldiers and border police had arrived on the scene and were preventing local Palestinians from filming and photographing the incident, and the bus that had run over the youth had driven away from the scene.
The youth had sustained injuries to his arm and leg, and possibly also to his neck, medics placed him in a neck brace as a precaution before attempting to move him. He was taken through the checkpoint to the awaiting ambulance and was taken away to Al-Ahli Hospital for treatment.
At around the same time that the ambulance was leaving, a group of Israeli soldiers entered through the checkpoint into the H1 (Palestinian Authority controlled) area of Hebron and threw a stun grenade in the general direction of the ambulance and some Palestinian youths who had gathered. The youths then started to throw stones in the direction of the checkpoint. Israeli soldiers then launched tear gas canisters and more stun grenades.
Back on the H2 (Israeli military controlled) side of the checkpoint, approximately five or six settlers, some of them armed, were extremely aggressive in their behaviour. One armed settler assaulted a Palestinian man who was coming through the checkpoint into H2. He then argued with the soldiers, apparently demanding that they take some sort of action against the Palestinians who had gathered. He spent a further 10 minutes doing this and generally attempting to provoke a further incident. Other settlers, including the hardline settlement leader Baruch Marzel, were verbally abusing the Palestinians and international observers present.
After a further 30 minutes, the settlers left in their cars and the soldiers also dispersed. Neither the Israeli soldiers nor border police made any attempt to locate and/or talk to the driver of the vehicle.
Settlers have used their vehicles as weapons against Palestinians many times before, as has been reported previously.
