17th September 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine
Today, the 17th of september, a young Palestinian man on the age of 22 was shot dead by Israeli forces in Tel Rumeida. Hatem Abed Hafez Shalludi is now the fourth Palestinian that has been killed by Israeli soldiers within the last 48 hours. Israeli soldiers committing extrajudicial killings of Palestinian civilians is nothing new under the sun.
This is yet another face of Israeli colonialism and the continuous genocide of Palestinian civilians living under occupation.
Hatem Abed Hafez Shlwdi death today follows three other Palestinians who have also been killed within the last 48 hours. Amongst them eightheen year old, Moussa Mohammed Khaddour and fifteen year old Mohammad Al- Rajabi who were both shot dead in Hebron. Video evidence show that Israeli forces used sound bombs in order to prevent pedestrians going near the body of Mohammad Al- Rajabi bleeding on the ground.
It should be mentioned that a common explanation Israeli soldiers give in order to justify direct unlawful killings of civilians is that the target was carrying a knife. The UN have expressed outrage over previous extra judicial killings of Palestinians, which Israeli forces have tried to defend by stating that they were attacked by knife. However, video-evidence clearly shows no signs of aggressive behavior from the civilian shot dead.
The killings that have happened within the last 48 hours must be understood in the context of the continuous oppression of Palestinians carried out in the name of the Israeli State. 226 Palestinians have been killed by Israelis since october 2015. Some of the killed Palestinians tried to attack Israeli forces, while others were simply alleged to do so. In many of the cases Israeli forces have carried out collective punishments on the slain Palestinians families, by demolishing their houses, and hitherto leaving them homeless, actions illegal under the Geneva convention.
26th March 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, West Bank, occupied Palestine
After completely closing Shuhada checkpoint to Palestinians in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron) on Thursday, 24th March 2016, Israeli forces have now returned to the practice of ‘numbering’ Palestinian residents in order to restrict access to the adjacent neighborhoods. Soldiers are now barring all Palestinians without numbers, and sometimes even those already registered as residents, from entry into the closed military zone.
The neighbourhood of Tel Rumeida and the tiny strip of Shuhada Street that remains accessible for Palestinians after the closure of the rest of the street following the 1994 Ibrahimi Mosque massacre have been declared a closed military zone since November 1st, 2015. Palestinian residents – in contrast to the Zionist extremist settlers living in the illegal settlements nearby – were forced to register with the Israeli forces as residents, and each given a number used to identify them. The closed military zone was designed deliberately to include the Palestinian neighbourhoods while excluding illegal settlements, thus facilitating settler movement on roads that connect the settlements inside the city center of al-Khalil with the Kiryat Arba illegal settlement on the outskirts of the city, roads that only settlers and Israeli forces are allowed to drive on.
Israeli forces completely closed the checkpoint on March 24th, barring any Palestinian from entering, after soldiers gunned down and killed Abed al-Fattah Yusri al-Sharif and Ramzi Aziz al-Qasrawi, both 21 years old, summarily executing al-Sharif with a shot to the head after he was already lying incapacitated (warning: graphic footage including execution in video captured by Palestinian B’Tselem volunteer). Throughout the day, Palestinians trying to go back to their homes were denied passage through the checkpoint and Israeli forces at times forced people to wait for more than twenty minutes only to tell them that they would not be allowed in – even though they were officially registered, numbered residents. An elderly woman was repeatedly told by Israeli forces to ‘wait’ when trying to walk to her home through the checkpoint; only after waiting for more than twenty minutes was she finally told that no-one would be allowed to pass that day. She had to turn around and leave after standing outside the checkpoint for close to half an hour. Watch this video taken by the local activist group Youth Against Settlements of the old lady denied access.
As of Saturday, 25th March, Israeli forces entirely returned to the practice of ‘numbering’ Palestinians, checking the numbers of anyone attempting to cross the checkpoint against a list of numbers of residents that have previously been registered. Many Palestinians were forced to wait for hours outside the checkpoint, only to be denied to go to their homes – even though they had registered and thus did appear as a number on the soldiers’ lists. The soldiers were extremely aggressive, yelling at Palestinians in the closed-off ‘room’ inside the checkpoint loudly enough to be clearly audible to anyone waiting outside. When Palestinians tried to seek shelter from the pouring rain in the vicinity of the checkpoint, soldiers exited the checkpoint, yelling and screaming at them to move back. All of the soldiers had removed the orange pin that acts as a safety on their Israeli-government-issued assault rifles – a practice that seems to have become common policy throughout occupied al-Khalil.
Shuhada checkpoint gate
When a woman and her four children tried to pass Shuhada checkpoint, the three smallest children were initially allowed through. When Israeli soldiers delayed the mother and older daughter inside the checkpoint, continuously yelling at them, the young girl on the other side of the checkpoint started crying as she was waiting in the rain for her mother to be allowed to go home with them. After an ordeal of more than ten minutes, soldiers arbitrarily decided that the mother would not be allowed to pass – even though she is registered and numbered – and yelled at her till she finally left. Her children that had been allowed to pass earlier came back to be with their mother, the girl still crying. With many extremist settlers gathering and walking freely on Shuhada Street, the children were too terrified to go home without their mother.
The number 230 on the outside of this Palestinian ID has faded with age. It denotes that Israeli forces should theoretically allow its holder to pass into the Tel Rumeida and Shuhada Street neighborhoods, but provides no protection against harassment, threats, abuse and being arbitrarily denied passage through Shuhada checkpoint
This practice of assigning numbers to Palestinians clearly demonstrates the intent to dehumanize them, to make them solely into ‘numbers’ as if they were not human beings. For the Israeli forces – and thus the government supporting and commanding them – this is precisely the case: Palestinians are not considered as human beings, but rather solely as ‘terrorists’ and potential threats. How this influences the behaviour of the Israeli forces was clearly demonstrated when on March 24th soldiers gunned down two Palestinian youths in Tel Rumeida and then executed one of them with a shot to the head at point blank range. A shot in the head of an unarmed man, struggling for his life and being denied any medical assistance, did not cause so much as a twitch from the soldiers looking on.
This practice of ‘numbering’ Palestinians in Tel Rumeida and Shuhada street, and of dehumanizing the entire Palestinian population, is a government policy that intends to force Palestinians out of the area declared a ‘closed military zone’ in particular and ultimately the whole of the occupied West Bank. These policies pave the way for the brutal actions must recently exemplified by the killings in Tel Rumeida, practices falling under the internationally recognized definition of ethnic cleansing which the Final Report of the Commission of Experts established pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution 780 defines as “a purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic or religious group from certain geographic areas.”
24th March 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied West Bank
On the morning of the 24th of March, around 8:30 am, two Palestinian youths, Ramzi Aziz al-Qasrawi, 21 years old, and Abed al-Fattah Yusri al-Sharif, 21 years old, were shot to death by Israeli forces after an alleged stabbing attempt in the Palestinian neighbourhood of Tel Rumeida. Tel Rumeida is also home to a large number of often violent, illegal Israeli settlers. Since the 1st November 2015, the area itself has been deemed a ‘closed military zone’ by the Israeli army which makes documenting what happens inside the area extremely difficult for anyone other than the Israeli military.
The two slain Palestinian men (photo credit maanimages)
Around 8:30 am, six gunshots were heard reverberating from the walls of the nearby buildings. Shortly after hearing the shots it was confirmed that two Palestinian youth had been shot by the occupying Israeli army near the illegal settlement of Tel Rumeida. The Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance was prevented from reaching the two men to offer medical assistance while the slightly injured soldier was seen to by Israeli medics immediately, while the Palestinian youths were left lying on the ground struggling for their lives. The denial of medical aid to Palestinians is a systematic breach of the concept of triage, that requires medics to treat the most urgent cases first.
Israeli forces treat the wounded soldier
Palestinians and international human rights activists were prevented from getting close to the scene while illegal Israeli settlers including the notoriously renowned ambulance driver Ofer, were allowed to walk freely around the two victims, heavily armed and filming from their mobile devices.
The notorious settler Ofer, who runs his own youtube channel depicting the shootings of Palestinians and who also drives an Israeli ambulance, who is not a medic and has never been seen administering first aid to any of the Palestinian victims, instead filming, laughing with soldiers and directing soldiers as to what they should be doing (even though he is in no way part of the military) was one of the first on the scene today.
Ofer in the blue shirt seen filming after the point blank execution of one of the Palestinians
An eyewitness to the shootings reported that as one of the Palestinian men lay dying on the ground, he moved and this prompted the response of one of the illegal settlers on the scene to instruct a soldier to shoot him – a request the soldier followed by shooting him in the head at point blank range. As can be seen in this video, the Palestinian man is disarmed and not posing a threat to anyone – thus making his cold-blooded murder an extrajudicial execution.
*** WARNING, the following video contains extremely graphic material. A soldier is seen executing one of the Palestinian men at 1:52 *** Video-credit: Imad Abu Shamsiya
Given the impunity that the Israeli army receives from their government regarding the killing of Palestinians, it is doubtful that charges or even an investigation will be forthcoming.
The actions taken by the Israeli army in nearly all cases of reported stabbing attempts bring into question the excessive use of force that is frequently used on Palestinians, the use of force that is not only deemed acceptable by the Israeli government and military but encouraged. With the military training that soldiers are given, one would think that the soldier would be capable of disabling the attacker rather than shooting to kill.
The knife that was found, bearing no blood
With in the last two weeks, five additional Palestinian men from the city of Hebron have also been killed by the occupying forces.
On the 14th of March, Qasem Farid Jaber (31 years old) and Ameer Fuad al-Junaidi (22 years old) were killed by Israeli Forces after allegedly opening fire towards the soldiers in the area near the illegal settlement Kiryat Arba. No evidence of this has been found and no soldiers were injured. Approximately half an hour after the slaughtering of the two young men, 18-year-old Yousif Walid Tarayra was shot to death by Israeli forces after allegedly driving forcefully toward the soldiers in his car and hitting three of them. No soldiers were reported injured.
On the 18th of March, 21-year old Mahmoud Ahmad Abu Fanunah from Hebron was killed at the Gush Etzion junction 17 kilometers from Hebron. He stepped out of his car near the junction and was shot immediately in what soldiers described as “foiling” the alleged attack. No knife was found at the scene of the murder.
On the 19th of March, 18-year-old Abdullah Muhammad al-Ajloini was shot and left to bleed to death at Queitun Checkpoint in Hebron. Witnesses said that the soldiers “showered” al-Ajlouni with bullets, adding that Israeli forces had closed all entrances to the Ibrahimi mosque in the old city of Hebron following the attack.
With condemnation coming from the global allies of Israel against Palestinians committing knife attacks, why does the international community care not to investigate the circumstances as to why in nearly all cases the Palestinian is critically wounded and predominantly left to die without medical treatment being offered? It appears that medical treatment is yet another human right denied to the Palestinians living life under occupation.
18th January 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil Team | al-Khalil, occupied Palestine
Today marks day 12 of an ongoing sit-in protest at check point 56 at the entrance to Shuhada Street and the Israeli occupied part of the city. The peaceful protest began on 7th January when a local woman, Wafa’ Sharabati, 38, was arrested at the checkpoint due to a discrepancy with her ID while trying to pass. During the arrest she was harassed by Israeli forces who claimed that she was a ‘troublemaker’ and threatened to put a knife in her bag.
Israeli forces detaining Wafa’ Sharabati
The family, joined by other locals and activists, staged a sit in afterwards protesting the arbitrary arrest and harassment as well as the increased difficulty passing the newly renovated checkpoint and the closed military zone. The checkpoint leads into the Tel Rumeida neighbourhood which Israeli authorities declared a closed military zone on November 1, 2015. The closure forced all residents to register and be assigned numbers in order to pass to their homes, and to add to the restrictions, no visitors of any kind, family, friends, media or human rights defenders have been able to enter. ISM and many other organizations are now calling on the international community to act and put an end to the closed military zone.
Families peacefully protesting after the arrest
Since the initial sit in, an ongoing protest tent open to all has been established to show solidarity and support until the closed military zone comes to an end. The tent is set up and visited daily, despite the cold weather, from morning until night by local residents, youth, activists, and even tourists. Members of international organizations such as Interfaith Peace Builders from the U.S. and the UK Political Council, as well as local ones such as, Hebron Rehabilitation Committee, have also visited to learn about the situation. Any individuals or groups who wish to attend to show support or learn more are welcome to join.
Local youth set up the protest tent in the morningDay 5 at the tent (photo by Youth Against Settlements)Gathering around the fire at night
January 6th 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil Team | al-Khalil, occupied Palestine
At the end of December Israeli forces re-opened the newly expanded Shuhada checkpoint in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron). The checkpoint had been closed since December 7th, when Israeli forces had declared they would be conducting “renovations” for a then-unknown period of time.
Officially known as Checkpoint 56, Shuhada checkpoint separates Bab al-Zawiye, a Palestinian neighborhood in the H1 (nominally Palestinian-controlled and administered) part of al-Khalil and Tel Rumeida, part of Israeli military-controlled H2 and currently covered in part by a closed military zone order first issued on November 1st.
Palestinian family leaving Tel Rumeida, crossing toward Bab al-Zawiye
The checkpoint was rebuilt with a high fence blocking the entire street and additional turnstiles and metal detectors. The turnstiles make it very difficult for anyone carrying heavy, bulky luggage or even several bags of groceries to pass. Israeli authorities also added a completely closed off room in the center of the checkpoint, where Palestinians are questioned and searched entirely out of site of any onlookers, media, or human rights monitors.
As in previous versions of the checkpoint, there is no possibility for any car or truck – even an ambulance responding to an emergency – to pass; any vehicle larger than a baby carriage must take a time-consuming detour in order to enter or leave Tel Rumeida.
Shuhada checkpoint as seen from a nearby window in Bab al-Zawiye, an imposing barrier Palestinian families living in Tel Rumeida must navigate
The new checkpoint has already become a flashpoint for Israeli military aggressions against Palestinians, which include the arrest of 38-year-old Wafa’ Sharabati on Monday afternoon by Israeli forces who first claimed she had a discrepancy in her ID then accused her of being a troublemaker and threatened to plant a knife on her. Wafa’s family and local activists staged a sit-in outside Shuhada checkpoint to protest her treatment and the continued humiliation and harassment faced by Palestinians forced to endure the checkpoint and the closed military zone.
Wafa Sharabati’s family staged a sit-in awaiting her releaseA large group of local activists and residents gathered after Wafa’s arrest in front of the checkpoint, which has has been the site of countless demonstrations against the Israeli occupation of al-KhalilHe never fired, but this Israeli soldier spent much of Monday afternoon on the roof of Shuhada checkpoint, prepared to attack nonviolent Palestinian demonstrators with potentially deadly rubber-coated metal bullets
A sign on the H1 side of the checkpoint explains the protocols for passing through: metal detector, bag search, no animals allowed through, checkpoint closed if there are any clashes. The 4th instruction reads “wait until the soldier will allow you to pass.” Sometimes people can pass in six minutes; sometimes they must wait for over an hour, outside and exposed to any weather, before being allowed to pass the few meters of turnstiles, metal detectors, fences and walls between them and the streets leading to their homes.
Lines on Monday evening left many, including young children, waiting for nearly half an hour in the cold night. Only Palestinians who are registered in the closed military zone can ever pass through the checkpoint; family members of residents, journalists, human rights defenders and internationals have all been barred. Even Palestinians who are registered have reported being forced to wait for over an hour only to be harassed and threatened by the soldiers inside the checkpoint.
Activists have planned another protest for Thursday morning to continue the struggle against the closed military zone, the even harsher regime at the newly reopened checkpoint, and the continued closure and Israeli military occupation of al-Khalil.
A young Palestinian boy enthusiastically fanned the fire local residents and activists gathered around on Monday night to protest the checkpoint and all it represents
