Tag: Tulkarm

He was killed while holding the flag of Palestine

14 October, 2023 | International Solidarity Movement | Tulkarm

By Diana Khwaelid

The martyr Qassim Hakam Qassim, 24, was one of the young people who answered the call to participate in a mass demonstration in solidarity with Gaza in the city of Tulkarm, in the West Bank.
The martyr Qassim, who grew up in the Tulkarm refugee camp and who has 6 siblings, did not neglect the blood of the martyrs who were killed for Palestine and came out to express solidarity with the people of Gaza, holding the flag of Palestine.

Since the beginning of the demonstration, which took place on Friday 13th of October 2023, Qassim tried to place the flag of Palestine close to the Sanaoz Israeli checkpoint, near the apartheid wall, to affirm the existence of the Palestinian people and their right to reclaim the lands occupied and controlled by the Israeli occupation.
Qassim did not survive the bullet of an Israeli sniper who was watching him from the very beginning. He was hit directly in the head area and died instantly.


An atmosphere of anger and sadness prevailed in the Tulkarm refugee camp, for the funeral of the body of the young man. His family and friends took one last look at him.
He was prayed for at the Al-Salam mosque in the camp, as Palestinians chanted angrily, condemning the continuing murders committed by the Israeli occupation forces in the West Bank and Gaza.

Qassim’s message is not gone: other young Palestinians will follow his path. The message and the voice of liberation do not die when the body dies.

Israeli soldiers open fire on unarmed protesters in Tulkarm, killing four

14 October, 2023 | International Solidarity Movement | Tulkarm

By Diana Khwaelid

Four Palestinian protesters were shot and killed by Israeli soldiers in Tulkarm, northern West Bank, on Friday, October 13.

Soldiers shot live rounds into crowds who had marched from the city to the apartheid wall to condemn Israel’s crimes in Gaza on the seventh day of its deadly bombing campaign of the besieged strip.

Medical crews and ambulances were also subjected to direct fire by occupation forces.

The protesters were unarmed and had come out onto the street in solidarity with the people of Gaza.

Four died from their wounds. They were the martyr Islam Abu Zant, 23, Sameh Abu Tabikh, 25, Bakr Jamin, 39, and Qasem Hakam Qasem, 23, from Tulkarm refugee camp. Qasim did nothing but hold the flag of Palestine.

Paramedics were fired on as they tried to reach the injured: a crime in broad daylight.

Another Palestinian was shot by an Israeli sniper while riding his bicycle after crossing the checkpoint. The man had not been part of the protest but was simply travelling home from work.

The march started on Friday morning from the Gamal Abdel Nasser roundabout after Friday prayers before moving on through the city towards the Tasnawuz checkpoint near the Apartheid Wall. Protesters raised the Palestinian flag and phrases were repeated condemning the Israeli occupation for its ongoing crimes against the Palestinian people and in Gaza.

The protest was part of the ‘Friday of Anger’, which also saw demonstrations take place worldwide and in the occupied West Bank in solidarity with the people of Gaza.

Earlier on the same day, the Israeli occupation forces targeted a civilian car crossing the Sanaoz checkpoint near the apartheid wall with live fire, injuring people inside.

The injured were transferred to Thabet Thabet government hospital in the city. Later the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced the martyrdom of one of them, Raafat Mehanna, 20, from the suburb of Shuwaika, raising the death toll in Tulkarm on Friday to 5 martyrs in less than 8 hours.

A general strike and mourning were declared in the city of Tulkarm on Saturday in honour and respect for the souls of the martyrs.

Fifty Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank in the week since the start of the war on Gaza last Saturday.

9-year-old girl shot with live ammunition during Friday demonstrations in Kafr Qaddum

24th January 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, Tulkarm team | Kafr Qaddum, occupied Palestine

On the 22nd of January, when villagers of Kafr Qaddum carried out their weekly demonstration against the surrounding settlement of Kedumim, Israeli forces attacked them with the use of tear gas and live ammunition. Two men got shot in their legs and 9-year old Ayat Zahi Ali was shot in her arm, all of them with live bullets. Earlier that morning in the same village a farmer was ambushed and beaten when he was going out to work his land.

Since 2011 the people of Kafr Qaddum have protested the theft of their land and the Israeli closure of the village main road with weakly demonstrations. The villagers stated that they had a strange feeling on the night between Thursday and Friday, suspecting that Israeli forces may have entered the village in the cover of the dark to prepare for an ambush during Friday demonstration. Their worries were verified in the morning when a farmer that was walking onto his land got ambushed and beaten by soldiers that were hiding in the bushes.

In fear of more soldiers hiding in the village the route for the demonstration was changed and people were extra cautious. One hour after the protest started Israeli soldiers showed up and immediately started shooting live ammunition towards the crowd. Two men, Hamza Abu Khaled, 21 and Abd Allah Anwar, 40, were shot in their legs. According to villagers one of the bullets shattered the bone.

Ayat Zahi Ali, 9 years old, was shot in her left upper arm with live ammunition while she was inside her father’s house. Her uncle and family members carried her to a red crescent ambulance. Israeli forces entered the village with a military bulldozer armed with snipers and continued to fire tear gas and live ammunition at the protesters and nearby the houses.

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Ayat Zahi Ali is being carried after being shot by Israeli forces. Photo credit: ISM
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A bullet fired at villagers. Photo credit: ISM
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Military bulldozer entering the village, with a sniper in the right window. Photo credit: ISM

Ayat is not the first young girl that has been injured by Israeli live bullets in Kafr Qaddum in recent times. In September 2015, Israeli soldiers shot the 3 year old Maram Abed al-Latif al-Qaddumiwaa in her head while she was standing on her balcony. When her father rushed to help her he was also shot in the head. 

The main road that leads to Kafr Qaddum is cut off by a permanent roadblock, making the journey to the main road three times longer than necessary. This again is illegal according to an Israeli court decision from 2010, but the road is still kept closed.

Israeli settlers onces again attack Daraghmah family

24 January 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, Tulkarm Team | Lubban ash-Sharqiya, occupied Palestine

On Thursday night, 21st of January, Illegal settlers attacked a Palestinian home in the outskirts of Lubban ash-Sharqiya village. The Israeli settlers threw stones, destroyed surveillance cameras and the Palestinian family also suspects that the settlers poisoned their water tanks. Since there isn’t any surveillance on the farm, the family now fears for further attacks. 

The family was asleep late Thursday night when settlers from the nearby Ma’ale Levona settlement entered the farm, climbed up on the roof of the house and started throwing stones towards the main door. During the attack settlers screamed humiliating words to the family and dared them to go outside. The only thing the family could do was to stay inside, hoping that the settlers wouldn’t try to break in.

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Stones thrown at the family’s door. Photo credit: ISM

The morning after the family noticed that the lids to the 3 water tanks located on the roof were opened, so they now fear about poisoned water. The settlers also destroyed all 5 surveillance cameras on the farm. The Palestinians assume that the action must have been well planned, since the settlers were capable of locating all the cameras within a short amount of time.  

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Two of the broken cameras. Photo credit: ISM

The surveillance cameras had been donated to the family from European NGOs, in order to protect them against a large number of settler attacks. Additionally all windows of the family house are covered with metal bars. Every night the family closes both windows and doors thoroughly with rigid metal doors to keep attackers out. The family is living under constant threat and can’t even go to the toilet in the night, since it is located outside of the main building and it’s too risky for them to go out. 

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Sealed window. Photo credit: ISM

While settlers attacked the house the family called Israeli police who didn’t arrive on the scene until three hours later. What increases the family’s vulnerability is that there is no authority that will protect them from the illegal settlers. Since the house is located in Area C, the roughly 60% of the West Bank that is under complete Israeli control, Palestinian police are not allowed to support the house and Israeli authorities clearly show that they have no interest in protecting Palestinian lives or Palestinian property. 

The farm is located in the outskirts of Lubban ash-Sharqiya village, next to the road leading towards Ma’ale Levona settlement. The house is surrounded by five settlements, of which Eli, Shilo and Ma’ale Levona are the closest. The illegality of these Israeli colonies have been confirmed by the International Court of Justice and the United Nations Security Council. In the past, the family has suffered a lot from the settler attacks.  It is not uncommon that settlers are both violent and heavily armed. The threatening of family members has come so far, that medical treatment was required. At the age of 9, the youngest brother sustained cut wounds on his stomach after being attacked and thrown on the ground. They live under constant threat of further violence. Settlers have already shot and killed a dog and a horse belonging to the family. A cow succumbed two days after a settler attacked and the family believes that the cow was poisoned. Also a car belonging to the family has been destroyed, along with other property.  

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The settler attacks have left several scars on 15-year-old Mu’min. Photo credit: ISM

Continued night raids and arrests in Kafr Addik

24 January 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, Tulkarm Team | Kafr Addik, occupied Palestine

In the middle of the night on the 20th of January, the Israeli army entered the village of Kafr Addik, raided a family home and arrested a young man, Saleh Hemedan. The arrest is the latest of several arrests in the village.

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The family’s front door. Photo credit: ISM

The Hemedan family was sleeping in their home when Israeli soldiers quietly surrounded their house Tuesday night. Noone knew what was going on outside until armed Israeli soldiers bashed through the front door and entered. The soldiers started to interrogate Saleh and his two brothers while they were forced to sit in an uncomfortable position. After two hours of asking questions the soldiers handcuffed and blindfolded Saleh. They also kicked in the door to the women’s bedroom, where Saleh’s mother and sister were kept during the interrogation of the Hemedan brothers. When the soldiers left, they took Saleh with them without telling the family why and where they were taking him. They left a shattered and frightened family behind, with two broken doors and a filthy house. The mother wasn’t allowed to speak to Saleh during the time of the arrest and wasn’t allowed to say goodbye.

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Saleh’s mother, Um Mohammed. Photo credit: ISM

“Nobody can understand what went through my mind when they took Saleh away” she says.  

Two days before Saleh’s arrest, in the early morning of the 18th, the Israeli military arrested another member of the family, Tareq Hemedan, during house raids in the same neighbourhood. Israeli soldiers first entered the house of Tareq’s uncle. After destroying the door, frightening family members and hitting the uncle’s head, the soldiers continued into Tareq’s home. 30 soldiers stormed the house destroying furniture and doors and arresting Tareq, just two hours into his 20th birthday. 

He was taken to Beit Tatikva prison in Tel Aviv outside of the occupied West Bank, which is illegal according to international law. The reason for the arrest and the amount of time he will stay in prison is unknown.

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Destroyed furniture from Tareq’s house. Photo credit: ISM
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Tareq’s mother and sisters in front of cabinet destroyed be soldiers. Photo credit: ISM

These arrests of the Hemedan family aren’t the only ones. During the previous week a 17-year-old boy was arrested and a 13-year-old boy was detained. A villager says that the increased number of arrests is a form of collective punishment due to a recent attack on Israeli security guards in the nearby industrial zone of the illegal Ariel settlement. 

Kafr Addik has lost land to expanding illegal settlements like many other villages in the Westbank. As reported previously, Palestinians from the village and the nearby area often demonstrate to protect the last hill that is not yet occupied by a settlement. 

Palestinians in the area also suffer from the pollution caused by the factories in the Israeli industrial zones. Since the economical situation is so bad, Palestinians have no other choice but to work on the illegal industrial zones in order to make a living, even though the working conditions are bad and they will always be paid less than an Israeli worker would be payed inside Israel. 

In the past the village was already bothered by settlers, who entered Kafr Addik on purpose to destroy the Palestinians’ property. The latest arrests are yet another among the number of threats that the village is facing due to the illegal occupation.