April 26, 2019 | International Solidarity Movement | Mount al-Risan, occupied Palestine
This Friday a large group of worshippers gathered for prayers at Mount al-Risan. When they arrived, two groups of Israeli military were already on each side of the valley waiting for them.
The worshippers prayed together in front of the hill, as always facing towards Mecca, thus having to face the illegal Israeli settlement as well.
A man from one of the surrounding villages explained the situation; “The plan from the Israeli is to build an outpost on this mountain, they want to build a road between […] the settlements. […] They want to make a connection between the settlements, and the plan, after they control this mountain, they will separate the west of Ramallah, this village, from the rest of Ramallah. It will be destroying the life, destroying the economic resources, destroying everything.”
After the prayers finished some of the people began to walk up the hill towards the illegal settlement in protest. Within three minutes of the prayers finishing the Israeli soldiers began shooting tear gas into the crowd of worshippers including the Imam.
The local man explained the protest: “For around nine months here in this area, we have been protesting, refusing this plan from the Israeli, asking them to move this outpost in the mountain, and to give the land to the owner. Before around one month, one of the owners of the land tried to build a small room here – they (the military) came and demolished it. […] But they allowed the settlers – the settlers on not their own land, this is Palestinian land – they allowed them to build farms and outposts, and as I say, this is a centre, they start it here for a big settlement in the area, to build a big road between the big settlements in the area.”
The Israeli military continued to fire tear gas canisters into the crowd to stop them from walking up the hill, which is rightfully and legally the protesters land. During the attack illegal Israeli settlers were seen at the top of the hill. And shortly after a drone was seen in the air hovering over protestors, possibly taking pictures.
Many people suffered from excessive tear gas inhalation, but thankfully there were two Palestinian medics and an ambulance there to hand out water and treat anyone injured.
A thoughtful and calm man, Abu Lara, wanted to speak to us and told us about the struggle:
“Every Friday we will try to go up the mountains, every Friday, but we can’t because the soldiers are shooting gas at us, and we don’t have weapons, nothing, we have nothing, with hands only. But we will still try, try every Friday. After 100, we will try, because this is our land, and we don’t have strong, but we will try. We have idea about this, our land. So, we will still be trying to go to our land, and take our land. Israel has taken our land in West Bank, we are not going to leave to other countries. We are still here, it’s our land. “
Watch the full interview with Abu Lara here, where he explains why these protests are important:
February 22, 2019 | International Solidarity Movement, Al-Khalil team | Al-Khalil, occupied Palestine
ISM and members of the press targeted and attacked with teargas and concussion grenades at peaceful protest in Al-Khalil. Peaceful demonstrators gathered at the checkpoint to the closed historical Shuhada street, asking for an increased international presence and for re-entry into Shuhada street. Shortly after, the Israeli Defense Forces escalated the demonstration with brute force, illegally entering the Palestinian H1 side of Hebron, attacking children with rubber coated steel bullets and grenades, and eventually kidnapping one youth. This is one incident of many in the recent history of Khalil, in which internationals and observers are currently being targeted, intimidated, attacked and deliberately removed from the area
Saturday 31 March 2018, International Solidarity Movement al-Khalil/Hebron, Occupied West Bank, Palestine.
Palestinian youth protested the killings in Gaza at Checkpoint 56. The Israeli soldiers fired teargas, stun grenades and live ammunition. Beginning at 8AM Palestinian youth took to the streets of al-Khalil/Hebron to protest the killings and injuries inflicted by the Israeli military on the non-violent demonstrators in Gaza during the Great Return March. They protested outside Checkpoint 56. The Israeli soldiers took to the rooftops overlooking the area and threw more than fifty stun grenades and more than thirty teargas canisters at the youth during the day.
Toward the end of the afternoon a contingent of soldiers, as always in full battle dress: helmets, bulletproof vests, automatic rifles and ammunition, attempted to cut off the youth at the rear. Failing that, the soldiers illegally went far up in H1, the Palestinian controlled part of town. There they fired stun grenades, teargas and live ammunition in the heavily traveled commercial area of town before returning to their base having accomplished nothing. The confrontation between the protesting youth and the Israeli soldiers continued with more stun grenades and teargas.
Later in the evening, the youth were warned that the soldiers were once again attempting to cut them off in the rear. When the soldiers arrived on the scene, the youth had scattered. The returning soldiers stopped and roughly searched a youth in the nearby market letting him go when it became apparent that he was an innocent bystander. Retreating further, the soldiers grabbed, searched and showed two additional youth who were sat calmly on stairs to the watching rooftop soldiers, they claimed to identify the older of the two. The soldiers released the younger of the two boys. Four soldiers then violently wrestled the nineteen-year-old boy to the ground, handcuffed him behind his back and two soldiers hauled him off and through Checkpoint 56 surrounded by the rest of the Israeli soldiers. International Solidarity Movement volunteers who had been on the scene during the day testified that this boy had not been part of the demonstration but was an innocent bystander grabbed by the frustrated soldiers.
The actions of the soldiers throughout the day with the use of lots of stun grenades, teargas and even live ammunition is an example of the continuing use of excessive force by Israeli occupation forces.
December 2017 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus team | Nablus, Occupied Palestine
On Thursday the 30th of November, Mahmoud Ahmad Zaal Odeh, age 48, a Palestinian farmer from the village Qusra in the northern West bank was murdered by Israeli settlers from a nearby settlement. “Mahmoud was walking on his land when he noticed the settlers cutting down one of his trees. They were armed with guns,” a local Palestinian that spoke with Mahmoud only minutes before the attack says. “He ran towards them to stop them when they opened fire on him.“ Mahmoud died shortly after due to his immense wounds.
Soldiers from the Israeli forces run into the village in an attemt to arrest.
Later that same evening, soldiers from the Israeli military accompanied by settlers from nearby settlements entered the village. Clashes then escalated between the Israeli military forces and young Palestinian boys. The Israeli military fired tear gas at the entire village as a part of a larger collective punishment towards the village, injuring around 40 civilians.
Palestinian women looks for her son mids the group of soldiers from the Israeli military in Qusra
Among those injured was a 3 year old child, as well as the disabled and elderly, all of whom were unable to move quickly from the rounds of tear gas fired at some of the houses. Four Palestinians were also injured by live ammunition and 15 were shot with rubber coated steal bullets.
Teargas shot by the Israeli military affected the whole village.
The day after, soldiers from the Israeli military fired over 100 rounds of tear gas, set a field on fire and shot rubber coated steel bullets and live ammunition inside Qusra during the Friday demonstration, which was held because of the murder of Mahmoud Odeh.
At noon on Friday, the 1st of December, around 300 Palestinians and a few internationals gathered in the olive groves where Odeh had been murdered only a day before. After a prayer the group walked towards Odeh’s fields.
Around 300 Palestinians prayed in the olive grove where Mahmoud had been murdered only a day before.
The soldiers shot a few rounds of tear gas and some rubber coated steel bullets while some young Palestinians threw stones. Around eight civilians were injured, including press, by the numerous rounds of tear gas fired at the group, waving Palestinian flags towards the hillside. “You could still see his blood on the ground. It’s so shameful that the Israeli military does nothing to investigate his death – it just shoots at the whole village,“ one ISM activist said.
Mahmoud’s blood was still on the ground after the attack only a day before.
Around 1:00 AM, clashes began at the entrance of the village, where the Israeli military with Border Police had situated themselves, armed with military trucks and weapons. The soldiers proceeded to fire rounds of tear gas at the crowd, and after a while ambushed the village with four military jeeps.
Soldiers from Israeli military fire teargas in the center of the village.
For the next four hours, the Israeli military forces fired rounds of teargas and rubber coated steel bullets at houses in the village, which resulted in over 20 people being injured by gas coming into their homes. On the 2nd of December, clashes continued in the village with the Israeli military forces firing around 15 rounds of teargas and shooting rubber coated steel bullets. When the army collectively punishes a village in such a way, it affects all of its residents.
Medics assist people injured by the massive amounts of teargas fired at everyone.
10th November 2017 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, Occupied Palestine
Yesterday in the Palestinian city Al-Khalil(Hebron) there was a large military presence in the area due to the coming Jewish holiday, The feast of Sarah. Solders from the Israeli military detained Palestinians, prevented children from getting to their schools, and shot rounds of tear gas and sound bombs at school children.
Two teachers are turned back from the checkpoint at Ziad Jaber School. They were prevented from accessing the school for a good 15 minutes.
Israeli Military forces prevent teachers from getting to work
At around 9 am this morning, a group of 100 soldiers and 9 military vehicles moved from the area of the Ibrahimi Mosque, gathering at the checkpoint by the Ziad Jaber Elementary school. There, Israeli soldiers blocked two Palestinian teachers from moving through the checkpoint to get to work for 10-15 minutes. Students were slowly allowed to find their way through the large group of soldiers to the school. A group of soldiers then attempted to intimidate ISM activists monitoring the situation.
Large groups of soldiers were observed searching streets around the school and looking over the school walls with their weapons. One of the soldiers justified the excessive military presence with the claim that a child had thrown some stones. During the blockade and search of the area local people were prevented from passing for over half an hour.
A pregnant Palestinian woman maintains her dignity with occupations soldiers who have invaded the H1 Palestinian area of the Salaymeh neighbourhood. Her request to pass was finally granted after a 10 minute delay.
Though the school has suffered many difficulties for years as a result of the occupation a teacher commented, “We have never had anything like this before.” When the situation had dissipated, the ISM activists followed a large group of soldiers down prayer road through the Salayme checkpoint to the Tareq Bin Ziad shopping centre. Soldiers randomly stopped Palestinians who were with younger children sometimes holding their passport at least for 15 minutes and restricted movement of cars and pedestrians through the area. Soldiers entered at least four buildings around the intersection and were seen on roofs and in upstairs windows with their weapons as others patrolled side streets sometimes letting off sound bombs for no observable reason. After approximately half an hour the soldiers began to retreat into the H2 Israeli controlled area. As they retreated Palestinians emerged from their houses and young people began to protest the invasion of their neighbourhood and the suppression of their commemoration of Yasser Arafat’s death. The retreating soldiers responded with sound bombs and tear gas.
A Palestinian school declared a closed Military zone
During this time, another ISM team were at the other end of the neighbourhood down the street from the Qeitun checkpoint. Students from the Tareq Bin Ziad School had been prevented by the Israeli army from doing the annual parade by their scout group to commemorate Yasser Arafat’s death. Many soldiers blocked the area around the school and declared it a military zone. A teacher told the activists that the army tried to enter Hajirriya School, where students had found refuge to, arrest some of them. Luckily, teachers managed to stop the soldiers who still blocked off the street forbidding anybody to pass. Some soldiers took up positions on a neighbour’s roof here too.
Soldiers positioned on a roofs in Salaymeh.
From the outset, the soldiers made it clear that the parade was out of question. After the initial attempt to enter the school, they kept blocking the entrance as many more soldiers showed up. After more than half an hour of negotiation between the soldiers and the school Principle, other teachers and some observers from the organization TIPH, the commander authorised the passage of Tareq Bin Ziad Secondary School teachers and their respective pupils. They eventually reached the Tareq Bin Ziad school under the strict surveillance of soldiers to start their school day.
Meanwhile, back in the Hajirriya School, the daily activities started as normally as possible. “We’re used to that” said a teacher in the Headmaster’s office, while he poured the coffee for one of the ISMers who was there.
Soldiers and armoured Vehiciles at the Jaber Junction checkpoint.
Soldiers throw sound bombs into groups of children
At roughly 12:00 PM, following the clashes in the Salaymeh neighbourhood the younger half of the students were leaving the Zaid Jaber School for the day. Another ISM activist witnessed the detention of the headmaster of the school, Muhanned Azam. The soldiers at the checkpoint near the school kept him in the sun for over half an hour without any reason or charges against him. As the older half of the students were leaving, many gathered around him in support, sitting with peace signs raised and singing Palestinian songs. As they sang more soldiers arrived to suppress their nonviolent protest.
The Headmaster of Ziad Jaber School is detained by Israeli occupation forces.
At roughly 12:35, two teachers who were leaving for the day, Ibrahim Zahida and Rashad Irziqat were pulled aside, arbitrarily detained, and ultimately arrested on the pretence that they were interfering with the soldiers’ operations. They were taken to the Jabara Police Station in H2 for questioning. The soldiers also threw a sound bomb into a crowd of children, teachers, and journalists who had gathered to observe and document the scene.
Student from the school gather in solidarity with the detained headmaster.
Later that afternoon groups of settlers from nearby illegal settlements were seen peeing on the streets and filming Palestinian children aggressively. Two settlers were spotted in a window yelling at young Palestinian children “Porn, Pornography” and other sexual references. When confronted about it by Palestinians, the settlers just laughed. “We were just sitting there drinking coffee when they came out of the windows yelling dirty words at the kids. They have no respect,” an nearby ISMer said. A few minutes after that incident a 30-year-old Palestinian man was arrested by the Ibrahimi mosque after being detained for over three hours.
Soldiers from the Israeli military pose in front of a Palestinian house in H2.
The situation in Hebron is tense at the moment due to the Jewish holiday, The Feast of Sarah. The Israeli Military has, from this afternoon, prevented Palestinians from entering the Ibrahimi mosque. The large military presence and the restrictions of Palestinian daily life are expected to continue over the weekend.
Teachers negotiating with soldiers to reach the school with their students.
