Tag: Tear Gas - Page 3 - International Solidarity Movement

Peaceful tree planting met with force in Nabi Saleh

1st April 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Nabi Salih, West Bank, Occupied Palestine

On Friday 1st April, Palestinians from the town of Nabi Salih, along with international and Israeli activists, marched together in solidarity to protest the illegal Israeli settlement of Hamalish that has been built on and expanded over time on Palestinian land.

The march started shortly after the noon prayer, around 1:30pm, activists gathered near the entry point of the town. From here they set off and made their way peacefully down the hillside to the main road, at which point they were met by volleys of tear gas by the awaiting Israeli forces.

A young girl being interviewed prior to the demonstration

With sporadic wind changes the initial tear gas spread quickly and caused the demonstrators to be hit hard, feeling strong effects from the gas. Once the first rounds of gas had cleared the demonstrators re-grouped and made their way to the natural spring that was once part of Palestinian land but has been overtaken by settlers and deemed a closed military zone since, allowing only the army and the illegal settlers to use it whilst barring Palestinians from the area.

“I’ve never felt tear gas so badly before, the winds just made it unbearable. I felt as if I was going to pass out…” – Activist on the scene

Once the spring was reached, the activists, led by females from the town of Nabi Salih began to plant small olive trees on land that is rightfully theirs in a peaceful form of resistance to the occupation. This was cut short by the boarder police soldiers who physically grabbed and pushed the women away, throwing tear gas and stun grenades at them also.

More occupation soldiers arrived within minutes, during this time there were copious amounts of tear gas thrown and over twenty stun grenades dropped at the feet and thrown directly at the demonstrators. The soldiers pushed demonstrators back over the road from the direction in which they came, using more force and even using pepper spray directly in the faces of activists.

A soldier about to begin pepper spraying demonstrators

Once the soldiers had pushed the demonstrators halfway up the hillside the aggression eased off temporarily. From here the demonstrators remained and began to sing songs peacefully while Israeli demonstrators spoke in Hebrew with the soldiers, questioning their morality in defending the illegally occupied lands.

Demonstrators standing defiant in the face of the occupying forces

The demonstrators started to make their way back to the town of Nabi Salih about an hour after it had begun, this did not stop the soldiers from continuing their excessive use of force and harassment as they fired volley after volley of tear gas at the demonstrators who were leaving peacefully.

The soldiers also began firing the extremely dangerous, and sometimes lethal, long range tear gas canisters. The canisters break into three parts during flight and are virtually undetectable. During flight, for the first three to four hundred meters they leave no gas trail making it hard for anyone to detect where they are coming from. The canisters flew past the heads of demonstrators who were leaving, this being extremely dangerous as they were quite often not looking in the direction from which the tear gas canisters were coming and weren’t expecting any more aggression from the Israeli forces.

Tear gas rains down on Nabi Salih while behind sits the illegal Hamalish settlement — Tear gas rains down on Nabi Salih while behind sits the illegal Halamish settlement

“I heard a whistle and then a smash, the canister exploded into fragments on a rock right next to me” – Activist on the scene

Thankfully no people where injured during the demonstration but with continued and excessive use of the long range tear gas canisters, it may only be a matter of time before someone is seriously injured or killed unless the occupying forces refrain from using such a weapon.

New stun grenades used at Ofer military prison demonstration

26th March 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Ofer, occupied West Bank

On 25^th March 2016, Israeli forces at Ofer military prison injured 8 Palestinians with various kinds of weapons, and later on attacked the nearby village of Beitunia, injuring even more.

A demonstration against the Israeli military occupation and for the freedom of the prisoners held in Ofer military prison – often in so called ‘administrative detention’ where the accused can not even expect to be charged or have a trial – was violently attacked by Israeli forces. They shot endless rounds of tear gas at protestors, as well as rubber coated metal bullets which injured 8 Palestinians. Additionally, Israeli forces used a new kind of stun grenade and fired live ammunition, including 0.22 caliber bullets, directly at protestors. 5 Palestinian protestors were arrested by the army and taken to an unknown destination.

Later the same day, Israeli forces attacked the nearby village of Beitunia, where the army again used an excessive amount of stun grenades, rubber-coated metal bullets, live ammunition and showered the village in tear gas. During this assault, 5 more people sustained injuries from rubber-coated metal bullets. In total 13 Palestinians were injured, including one in the head and one in the chest with rubber-coated metal bullets.
Israeli forces regularly use excessive force and injure protestors in demonstrations against the illegal settlements and Israeli occupation throughout the West Bank.

Peaceful Ni’lin demonstrators attacked with deadly tear gas canisters

25th March 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Ni’lin, occupied West Bank

On Friday 25th March, Palestinians, Israeli activists and foreign activists alike took part in the weekly demonstration to oppose the apartheid wall that surrounds the town of Ni’lin and has taken much of the villages land. The demonstration which started peacefully was cut short by large amounts of tear gas being fired upon the demonstrators, along with sponge bullets and rubber coated metal bullets; the standard excessive force that is always used by the Israeli army.

The demonstration began after noon prayer, with the crowd walking along the local roads, chanting songs of defiance. Within minutes the first rounds of tear gas were fired by the Israeli army who had made their way deep into the Palestinian territory. The first shots were fired high into the sky, landing in front and around the demonstrators, this caused slight pandemonium and the demonstrators were forced to fall back. As the protestors were running, seeking clear air to breath amidst the heavy plumes of tear gas, the army began firing their frequently used and at times deadly high velocity tear gas canisters. These canisters were not fired in the arching fashion in which they should be, instead being fired directly at disbursing activists from all sides. The canister being used are the same type as the ones responsible for the serious wounding of fellow ISM activist Tristan Anderson in Ni’lin who suffered cognitive disfunction and physical injuries after he was shot by the Israeli forces from close range.

The Israeli forces and peaceful protesters

An activist and a medic amidst heavy clouds of tear gas

As demonstrators continued to pull back the Israeli forces continued to fire directly at the crowds rather than upwards, choosing to ignore the correct protocol for use of this deadly weapon. From this point on, some of the local Palestinian youths began to throw stones which prompted Israeli army to begin using sponge and rubber coated steel bullets.

A red crescent medic shows the lethal tear gas canisters that are being used

As the activists were driven back, the only remaining resistance was the stone throwing children. While soldiers on the front line fired upon them a different section of the army began systematically firing high velocity tear gas canisters into the surrounding homes of the area.

https://youtu.be/SDs7yZ0aATE

Two ISM activists at the demonstration were driven into one of the nearby homes amidst the aggression and counted seven tear gas canisters land inside the families property. The Red Crescent ambulance service was also required to evacuate and treat another two Palestinian families due to heavy tear gas inhalation inside their families residencies.

The move by the Israeli army to fire on the houses of the local towns people is a strategy to create decent amidst activists and the locals, hoping that they will end the demonstrations via a certain style of collective punishment.

One Palestinian was treated for injuries sustained from being shot with a rubber coated steel bullet while seven people, including women and children were treated for severe tear gas inhalation whilst inside their family homes.

A new ISM’ers personal experience on Bil’in and tear gas

15th March 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

Miguel and Kolla came this morning from the al-Khalil team (several years ago it feels) and we went to Bil’in as planned for my first demonstration. The easiest thing to do is simply to describe it:

We waited a while for people to gather around lunch time in the village and then we all walked quietly down a road out of the village towards the wall. We couldn’t see the wall as it was behind a small rise in the land, but it was there and it was what had been being protested every Friday for eleven years. We were a couple of dozen Palestinians, eight or so internationals including the three of us from ISM and maybe ten Israelis. There were also a couple of press, wearing PRESS flak jackets and interviewing people, probably all local press rather than international. Some of us carried gas masks, including me.

In front of us the road wound around through fields and in the distance you could see the Israeli tank and soldiers. The shooting of tear gas began immediately. There is a very distinctive noise and the canister is visible flying through the sky. You have to look and see where it lands and then you have a second or two to move out of the way, watching which way the wind is blowing the smoke. There is a lot of shouting then as more experienced demonstrators point to the canisters flying and we all run in an undignified fashion away from the place where they have fallen. We put scarves over mouths and noses or we put on gas masks, which look ridiculous. Some people don’t get far enough away and get gassed, but nobody gets gassed badly, just streaming eyes and uncomfortable skin. Those who have alcohol wipes give them to the worst affected. I can feel and smell the gas but I’m OK.

Soon the fields in front of us are full of flares of smoke and we are all in disarray pushed back and wondering what to do. This is the shortest demonstration for a while, I’m told. Last week was a lot longer and some go on for hours. What stopped this one was the amount of tear gas fired and how quickly it was fired. It was immediate. They can fire three, five or seven canisters in one shot from their guns and 210 canisters in one shot from the back of a tank. Apparently today that is what they did. It depends I am told on the local commander. A new commander can get ambitious to be the one finally to stop the venerable and rather famous Bil’in demonstrations.

It was very companionable and friendly and not at all frightening. I didn’t see anyone who seemed frightened. Clearly a lot of people come often. The Israelis looked like old hands, and it is particularly brave of them to support the demonstrations as it is so condemned in Israel (and it is illegal to enter the West Bank, or at least, according to the signage ‘forbidden and dangerous to your lives’).

Used tear gas collected by locals after demonstrations

This is a demonstration. They raise so many questions and I will try to think and write about them, but not now.

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Rani Burnat from Bil’in

15th March 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Bil’in, occupied Palestine

Rani Burnat is an extraordinary human being in more ways than one. He was left paralysed from an injury sustained during the second intifada, learned to live the remainder of his life in a wheelchair, fathered three children (triplets) and now continues to resist the occupation through peaceful means to this day. His story is inspiring and a prime example of the will of the Palestinian people and their ongoing resistance to an illegal occupation.

On the 30th September 2000, Rani Burnat was going to Ramallah from his home town of Bil’in for a driving lesson. When he got there he noticed a protest gathering to protest Ariel Sharon’s entry into the sacred Al-Aqsa mosque (this of course was the beginning of the second intifada). Rani spotted friends of his from Bil’in and with time to spare decided to join in.

As the protest gathered the Israeli army illegally entered the Ramallah area and cleared the guests out of a nearby hotel, then used the hotel roof as a vantage point and placed snipers. The Israeli military claims that their illegal entry onto Palestinian land was to protect a nearby illegal Israeli settlement that the protest was nearing.

Rani and fellow friends were at the front of the protest when a sniper opened fire using a unique bullet, known as a butterfly bullet, designed to continue spinning upon impact while opening out and inflicting massive damage upon entry and exit.

The bullet entered through the left-hand side of Rani’s neck, puncturing his main artery. It continued through to the right hand side of his body, severing his spinal chord between the third and fourth vertebrae on exit.

As sniper fire continued and pandemonium erupted, Rani was left bleeding on the ground. Fortunately fellow bystanders assisted by applying pressure to the wound on his neck to limit the massive amounts of blood that he was losing. He was then put into a car and driven to the nearby hospital where he was promptly seen by doctors. Rani was the first victim of the second intifada to be treated. Anyone coming into hospital later in the intifada with his severe wounds would undoubtedly have died as staff and resources failed to cope with the influx of wounded.

The doctors applied a stint to Rani’s neck to where the artery had been severed, which remains to this day. He was put into an induced coma for two days, during which time doctors concluded that with the facilities they had they could not keep Rani alive along with the massive numbers of victims that were now being admitted to the hospital as the second intifada intensified.

It was decided that Rani must be transferred to another hospital with more facilities, one cable of taking care of someone in such a serious condition, the only hospital possible was in Jordan. Given his condition he could not make the journey by land and so a helicopter was arranged from the rooftop of the parliament building in Ramallah.

On admission to hospital in Jordan, his loss of blood was so great that he required massive blood donations from a number of donors. Rani would spend the next seven months in that hospital undergoing operations and combatting repeated infections. He says ‘The most important thing for me at that time was that I was alive. The doctors in Jordan made this possible”.

After seven months in Jordan, Rani was able to come back to Palestine for rehabilitation, after a month first back at home in Bil’in seeing friends and family who had missed him, and whom he had missed so much in Jordan.

He then had to go back into hospital in Ramallah for another seven gruelling months of rehabilitation. It was during this time that the severity of his situation became clear to him. “It was an extremely difficult situation to come to terms with, that I would now have to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair, paralysed on the right side of my body.” Rani is the oldest of ten siblings with four brothers and five sisters. He had wanted to be an electrician and he talks about the helplessness he felt at that time. But despite this he added, “The personal pain I felt was nothing compared to the pain I was feeling for my family.” However, a huge positive in Rani’s life amidst so much trauma was when he married shortly after the intifada and became father to triplets.

As time passed, Rani learned to deal with the injuries he had sustained, but one thing that he was not ready for was what happened in his home village next as the Israeli government began to illegally confiscate villagers’ land to construct the apartheid wall and enclose illegal settlements.

At this point Rani decided to become a photographic journalist so he could report on and show the world the ugly truths of the Israeli occupation and what it does to the Palestinian people. He says he will only stop when he is dead or the occupation has ended.

Every week he is able, Rani makes the trip up the rocky road in his wheelchair, gas mask and camera at the ready. His wife worries for him every time he leaves but understands that this is what he must do. Rani himself admits that every Friday he leaves he fears he will not come home to his loving wife and children but he continues to go to show the world what is happening.

Fellow activists from Israel who come frequently to the Bil’in demonstrations have translated for Rani what the Israeli army is saying about him, things like “shoot the guy in the wheelchair” whilst laughing amongst themselves. Rani has been shot with rubber bullets, countless amounts of tear gas, had many cameras broken, two wheelchairs wrecked and has even been pulled out of his wheelchair and thrown onto the ground. “The occupying forces have no morals,” he adds.

Two months ago Rani was shot in the stomach with a foam bullet, which releases a liquid that burns the skin on impact. A month later he was shot in the knee cap and also singled out by soldiers and shot in both shoulders with tear gas canisters. Despite all this he continues moving forward.

In 2005 Rani organised a unique demonstration in Bil’in for all the people who have been injured or disabled since the second intifada. He explains that Israeli army used the most tear gas he has ever seen used, firing directly into the group of people, many of whom were restricted to wheelchairs, and causing many of them to pass out from tear gas inhalation including himself. “This is occupation” says Rani.

He doesn’t believe Israel can continue like this and he hopes an end is near, as do all Palestinians. Rani tells of how he wishes to be able to travel to Jenin with no checkpoints and how he wants to take his children to see the sea. Every Palestinian who has been suppressed by the occupation has their own particular dreams of life without Israeli occupation.

“Palestine is a state of peace, Israelis should be able to come and live harmoniously in peace – against occupation”.

“If you come to my house in peace I will welcome you… but if you come to my house to take it from my family, I will fight until my dying breath with all means necessary to defend it”.