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January 4th 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Tulkarem Team | Jubara, occupied Palestine
In the outskirts of the village of Jubara, bordering the Jubara checkpoint, sits the home of 63-year-old, Shawqiye Hamaide, Umm Yousef. Mother of two daughters and grandmother of 6 children, Umm Youssef is originally from the village of Beit Lid, but moved into this house 35 years ago when she married her husband, who was born here. Today, after her husband passed away many years ago and her daughters married and left the house, she lives here all by herself in this very isolated area.
Her home is very old and poor; there are several cracks in the roof and walls, where water leaks in the winter. The windows do not have glass pains, but only shutters, making it very cold in the winter. Sometimes, in the summer, snakes get into the house through the shutters.
In 2000, when the Israeli army began building the Apartheid Wall in front of her home, the soldiers threatened her to leave saying that the bulldozers’ movement of the land might make her house fall, since it is a very old construction. But despite this threat, she refused to leave. She wants to live here for the rest of her life and die in this home.
She also says it is very common for confrontations to occur between the youth of the Tulkarem Refugee Camp, who throw stones from the hillside opposite her house towards the military checkpoint, and the Israeli soldiers, who fire back with live ammunition, and other kinds of weapons. There are times, as well, when the soldiers in the checkpoint practice shooting towards her house. She also has 7 olive trees in her garden, and during the harvest season, when she picks the olives by herself, the soldiers shoot in her direction.
Life in this vulnerable and marginalized area has only become more stressful since the visit of a man, who claimed to be a Palestinian from the city of Nazareth, knocked on her door approximately a year ago. Saying that he wanted to marry a woman from the West Bank, he first offered Umm Youssef to buy her house for 1 million shekels. The man has come to her door 7 times this year already, finally doubling the offer to 2 million shekels. But not only she is not interested in selling her home, it is also highly unlikely that someone would want to pay such a high price and start a newly married life in a house of such poor conditions.
Finally, her suspicions about this man being an Israeli trying to continue colonizing land were confirmed when she saw him one day wearing the military uniform in the checkpoint. She says that he and another man changed their clothes to civilian clothes, and drove a car towards Tulkarem. She suspects these people could be part of the Shabak or Mossad.
It is a common tactic of the Zionist project to use third party intermediaries to buy Palestinian land and then sell it to Israeli citizens, settlers or authority, in an attempt to continue colonizing and cleansing the native population. In many cases, Palestinians who sell their land this way do not know the intentions behind these purchases. Therefore, Umm Youssef’s decision to not sell her home away is crucial to prevent further colonization of Palestinian land.
December 2nd, 2015 | International Solidarity Movement with Meta Peace Team, Tulkarem team | Tulkarem, occupied Palestine
Palestine Tech University (PTU) in Tulkarem has now been closed for two days, for unknown reasons. The school has been witnessing many clashes between the students and the Israeli forces since the beginning of October. Dozens of young people are getting injured daily from tear gas inhalations, rubber coated bullets and live ammunitions shot by soldiers in the middle of campus. The students are deeply concerned with the situation as they all have experienced this violence in the past month. “The army came into the university, smashed the windows, broke the doors, and they are doing that for this moment everyday”, explains Ahmad Yaseem, a student who recalls the first incursions of the university Israeli forces. The university administration has asked the Israeli government the reason for this sudden explosion of violence but were not given any answers. According to the administration, the university should open again tomorrow.
On the 29th of november, while the students were attending an art exhibition on campus, the Israeli forces entered the university and started shooting tear gas, rubber coated bullets and live ammunition at the students. Eyewitnesses and human rights activists said that the area was filled with teargas that day, and as a result 58 students suffered from severe gas inhalation. 7 more people were injured from live ammunition, 5 from rubber coated steel bullets and 9 to 10 from rubber coated bullets. In addition to this, one student had to be taken to the intensive care unit in Nablus, and is still there at this moment. All of them were between the age of 15 and 20 years old.
7th November 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Huwara Team | Tulkarem, occupied Palestine
Updated on November 18th
Yesterday we went to Tulkarem and finally met Ammar, together with his friend Warda. We had a long conversation, where Ammar told us how good he feels to be out of jail and all the things he wants to do in the future. Although his life is very hard, he appears optimistic and tells us he is planning to get a job and save money. He wants to take a course to become a hairdresser, because this is something he already practiced in the prison. When he gets a job as a hairdresser, he wants to continue saving money to build a house in his village. One day he wants to get married and have children.
We asked him what his life was like in the jail and he said, “There’s nothing prisoners want more than to be free.” Ammar explained to us that going to jail for your country is not a bad thing and, in the end, for him the freedom of his country is more important than his personal freedom.
His three friends are still in jail and he doesn’t know when they will be released. And although he can’t see them, their families get to visit them every two weeks.
He also told us how he made new friends in the jail and how they support each other emotionally when they are having a difficult time. Everyday, they were allowed to leave their cell and stay a while in a common room with other prisoners, spending time together. They did not have access, though, to an area that was open to the air.
It is important to remember that, even though Ammar has finally been released, there are still things he cannot do, which in turn means he doesn’t enjoy full freedom. The court decided that if he is to be found near any illegal Israeli settlement, participates in any demonstration, or is seen walking through any checkpoint, he would be imprisoned for another five years. Therefore, he feels he cannot move with total freedom and needs to be careful.
But despite these restrictions, he is very happy to think how he will start building his future.
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Updated on November 10th
Ammar has been released and the people of his village were waiting for him to celebrate on the streets. He is back with his loved ones and has returned to live in his brother’s house. Ammar is very happy to be free again and is planning to find a job.
Here are some pictures his friends sent us to show you!
Updated on November 8th
We have great news! Ammar has been released from prison and we want to thank all of you for your wonderful support! After having spent one year in jail, Ammar is finally back home with his family and can resume his normal life.
Therefore, we have decided to finish Ammar’s campaign tonight. Ammar, together with his family and friends, greatly appreciate your efforts, we could not have done this without you !!
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In September 2014, four young men from the village of Beit Lid near Tulkarem were arrested by the Israeli military. After interrogating the four friends, two confessed under torture that they witnessed 22-year-old Ammar Khalid throwing stones and destroying a fence of the illegal Israeli settlement of Anab, which is built on their village’s land. Although Ammar denied this accusation, and no evidence has been presented to support it, the Israeli military court dictated that one witness is already enough to impose a prison charge, and that other evidence is unnecessary.
Ultimately, his friends were released, but Ammar was charged with one year of prison and a fine of 2.500 shekels (approximately $650) which must be paid by November 13th, otherwise, the military will keep him imprisoned until the fine is paid.
Ammar is an orphan; although his parents are gone, he has many friends desperately trying to raise the money to free him. However, his financial situation is very bad, and an amount of 2.500 shekels is very difficult for his loved ones to collect. Without our support Ammar will remain in military detention.
Ammar is not alone in his struggle against the Israeli military, the campaign of violence against the people of Palestine has surged in the month of October, with at least 64 Palestinians killed, over 7,200 injured, and approximately 650 detained by Israeli forces.
It is essential that we pull together our efforts and resources to support Ammar. He is one young man suffering under the effects of the Israeli occupation, and one is too many. We must do all we can to help Ammar gain his freedom from Israeli imprisonment.
If you can donate, please do so here: https://palsolidarity.org/donate/
Once you send a contribution, it is important that you write to us to palreports@gmail.com, adding ‘Free Ammar’ in the subject, to give us the details of your name and the amount so that we can ensure to collect the money appropriately for Ammar.
If you cannot give money, but still want to support Ammar, please share this with as many people as possible.
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.
