Tag: Video - Page 15 - International Solidarity Movement

31 martyrs in 14 days: 20 year old murdered today in Jerusalem

14th October 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

The oldest was 30, the youngest just 2 years old.

31 Palestinians have been murdered by Israeli forces since an escalation in violence, triggered by restrictions on al Aqsa Mosque, spread like wild fire across the occupied Palestinian territories and the besieged Gaza strip. A 20 year old Palestinian man, just shot to death by ten bullets close range near Jerusalem’s Damascus Gate joins 30 others martyred by their occupiers in just two weeks. Basil Bassam Ragheb Sidr, 20 was initially reported to be 14 and is believed to be from al-Khalil (Hebron).

Body bag of 20 year old Palestinian man murderedby Israeli forces is removed from the scene by Israeli police. — Body bag of 20 year old Palestinian man murdered by Israeli forces is removed from the scene by Israeli police.

The latest death comes amidst disturbing news that the Israeli government has passed a decision, as part of new restrictions being deployed in occupied East Jerusalem, that the bodies of Palestinian’s murdered by Israeli forces will not be released to their families. This adds agonizing and acute new cruelties to an already tragic, ongoing situation. The reason for the decision was stated to be a deterrent for post funeral demonstrations by Palestinians. Thus the refusal of Palestinian’s remains to their families is the refusal of the right to resistance of an illegally occupied people.

The decision is linked to measures currently being enacted in East Jerusalem where Israeli forces have set up checkpoints at the entrances to Palestinian neighborhoods beginning early Wednesday. As well, occupation forces were issuing citations to Palestinian drivers at random as well as inspecting several Palestinian youths and students in humiliating ways, forcing them to take off their clothes.

An international human rights monitor on the scene where the youth was killed noted that the man was shot to death after running from Israeli forces. Immediately after the shooting, Palestinians were threatened by Israeli forces with being beaten if they didn’t leave the area immediately, thus they were doubly frightened. Run and get shot, or don’t run and get beaten and possibly arrested. “People were too scared to put their phones in their trouser-pockets in fear they might be shot when taking them out.” Although Palestinians were threatened and chased from the scene, settlers were allowed to get close to the boy’s body to take photos.

Palestinians gathered and prayed near site of Israeli forces murder of 20 year old Palestinian man.

Rather than taking measures to de-escalate the violence, Israeli officials and military have seemingly done the opposite. Israeli rights group B’Tselem has called the Israeli government’s response to recent escalation in the area as “the very inverse of what ought to be done” in realistic efforts to stop current violence.“The events of recent weeks cannot be viewed in a vacuum, isolated from the reality of the ongoing, daily oppression of 4 million people, with no hope of change in sight,” the group said in a statement on Tuesday.

Every death means a lifetime of suffering for the families left behind.

They are:

1. Mohannad Halabi, 19, al-Biereh – Ramallah.
2. Fadi Alloun, 19, Jerusalem.
3. Amjad Hatem al-Jundi, 17, Hebron.
4. Thaer Abu Ghazala, 19, Jerusalem.
5. Abdul-Rahma Obeidallah, 11, Bethlehem.
6. Hotheifa Suleiman, 18, Tulkarem.
7. Wisam Jamal, 20, Jerusalem.
8. Mohammad al-Ja’bari, 19, Hebron.
9. Ahmad Jamal Salah, 20, Jerusalem.
10. Ishaq Badran, 19, Jerusalem.
11. Mohammad Said Ali, 19, Jerusalem.
12. Ibrahim Ahmad Mustafa Awad, 28, Hebron.
13. Ahmad Abedullah Sharakka, 13, Al Jalazoun Refugee camp-Ramallah.
14. Mostafa Al Khateeb, 18, Sur-Baher – Jerusalem.
15. Hassan Khalid Manassra, 15, Jerusalem.
16. Mohamed Nathmie Shamassnah, 22, Kutneh-Jerusalem.
17. Baha’ Elian,22, Jabal Al Mokaber-Jerusalem.
18. Mutaz Ibrahim Zawahreh, 27, Bethlehem.
19. Unknown man from Jerusalem in his thirties. (no name was available until the time of his report )

Gaza Strip:

20. Shadi Hussam Doula, 20.
21. Ahmad Abdul-Rahman al-Harbawi, 20.
22. Abed al-Wahidi, 20.
23. Mohammad Hisham al-Roqab, 15.
24. Adnan Mousa Abu ‘Oleyyan, 22.
25. Ziad Nabil Sharaf, 20.
26. Jihad al-‘Obeid, 22.
27. Marwan Hisham Barbakh, 13.
28. Khalil Omar Othman, 15.
29. Nour Rasmie Hassan, 30.
30. Rahaf Yihiya Hassan, two years old.

The twenty year old man whose life was violently ended today in East Jerusalem brings the list to 31.

The other occupation: Settlers terrorize Palestinians of the West Bank

11th October 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

It was another emotional day for Palestinians in al-Khalil, (Hebron) after the burial of martyr Muhammad al-Jabari who was shot to death by Israeli forces near the entrance to the illegal Kiryat Arba settlement.

Thousands filled the streets as the body of the 19 year old boy was carried through the masses up to the martyr’s cemetery which is the same cemetery where 18 year old unarmed Palestinian female student Hadeel Hashlamoun was laid to rest after being shot to death at the checkpoint yawning into segregated Shuhada Street.

Immediately beyond the service, Palestinians gathered in the Bab al-Zawiya section of Khalil for a demonstration against the Israeli occupation forces use of violence which has now claimed the lives of nearly 20 young Palestinians in just one week. The demonstration was met with extreme violence by the Israeli military which settlers in the Tel Rumeida neighborhood gathered to watch on Saturday afternoon.

The Shamsiyyeh family’s home has long been the target of violence from Israeli settlers who have thrown rocks and other debris as well as poisoning their water tanks on several occasions and even cutting their water pipes on the roof. Today, settlers again filed onto the family home’s roof to watch the Israeli military assault on Palestinians in Bab al-Zawwiya, some armed with machine guns.

Israeli occupation forces predictably did nothing to calm the situation or remove the settlers from the roof of the family home. One settler sprayed pepper spray from the roof, gassing the family and subsequently himself. Israeli forces allowed him to leave with the pepper spray without asking a single question.

Israeli settler pointing his gun at Palestinian families

Just a few hours later, a settler armed with a machine gun, lightly slung around him just like an accessoire, came onto the roof. Soldiers close-by refused to ask the settler to leave from the private Palestinian family home’s roof. The settler then suddenly pointed his machine gun at Palestinians, including small children, on nearby houses roofs. Soldiers at first watched the events unfold only to join the settler on the roof, taking orders from him on what to do.
Watch a video here:

In occupied al-Khalil, it has been apparent that settlers rule the military, both through demanding arrests and ID checks of Palestinians and through getting away with any transgression of Palestinian’s human rights by being handed total impunity by the occupying forces. This is especially disturbing since a West Jerusalem mayor has publicly called for settlers to carry guns amidst a high pressure situation with exploding violence across the occupied Palestinian territories.

In the Tel Rumeida section of al-Khalil, just days ago, settlers held a large march up the hill chanting “Death to Arabs” and burning Palestinian flags.

Non violent action by elderly Palestinian despite Israeli military violence

10th October 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

Today on October 10^th in Al-Khalil at around 13h, thousands attended the funeral of Mohammed Fares Mohammed Abdullah Al-Jabari, killed yesterday near Kiryat Arba at the hands of an Israeli police officer, after allegedly trying to stab him. After the funeral a crowd of mourners headed to Bab Al-Zawiyah to demonstrate against the Israeli occupation as they have been doing daily since the unrest broke out in the West Bank a few days ago.

The Palestinian youth Mohammed Fares Mohammed Abdullah Al-Jabari was shot dead by the IOF in the illegal settlement of Kiryat Arba, near Hebron

A contingent of Israeli soldiers and police occupied several private buildings in the area as well as the entrance of the Shuhada checkpoint. From their position, the IOF repressed the incipient gathering shooting tear-gas and rubber coated steel bullets. As the crowd resisted and refused to disperse the IOF reaction became more aggressive and also started shooting live ammunition at protesters, injuring at least seven with rubber coated steel bullets, including a Doctor who was shot in the face while attending to the injured. On the other side, a group of protesters tried to fight back just by throwing stones that could not even reach the soldiers’ position.

Live ammunition bullet casings litter the ground at the site of today's demonstration in Bab al-Zawiyah in al-Khalil (Hebron) — Live ammunition bullet casings litter the ground at the site of today’s demonstration in Bab al-Zawiyah in al-Khalil (Hebron)

In the middle of the clashes, a local elderly man bravely stood himself in front of the soldiers and asked them to stop the shooting and leave the place. According the current Oslo Agreements, the area is under Palestinian authority and the IOF should not make presence there. Suddenly, the man fainted before the indifference of the Israeli officers, who restricted themselves to pointing at him with their fingers, while other locals and members of the Red Crescent came to his aid.

International observers as well as several press staff witnessed the use of live ammunition and the disproportionate use of force by the Israeli armed forces.

Elderly Palestinian man faints after confronting Israeli forces and blocking their fire towards Palestinian demonstrating youth.

At the time of writing (18h) clashes are still ongoing in the surroundings of Bab al-Zawiyah, with large amounts of stun grenades, tear-gas and rubber coated steel bullets being shot.

Settlers march through occupied al-Khalil attacking, insulting and threatening Palestinians and internationals

7th October 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

Yesterday night, October 7^th 2015, a large group of settlers harassed, insulted and physically assaulted Palestinian residents and internationals in the Tel Rumeida neighbourhood of occupied al-Khalil (Hebron), injuring several.

Around 08:00 pm, more than 50 settlers from the illegal settlements within al-Khalil, most of them children and teenagers, accompanied by a few adults, marched around the Palestinian neighbourhood of Tel Rumeida, chanting insults and hate-speech, calling for the death of Arabs. The group was not only chanting racist abuse, but also demonstrated a high level of violence and aggression towards the Palestinian residents of the neighbourhood.

After marching through the streets loudly chanting, they attacked Palestinians right outside a shop, running towards them and beating them, and hurling rocks at Palestinian youth and internationals documenting these violent assaults. Instead of intervening, Israeli forces watched these attacks happen at first just to point their loaded guns at Palestinians that just a few seconds before were standing in a hail of stones, threatening to shoot. Two persons were injured with stones thrown by the settlers, a Palestinian youth in his hand and an international in his chest. In the meantime, the settlers openly picked up more stones and rocks from the ground, attacking families that opened their main gates to find out what the shouting was about. Again, instead of preventing or stopping attacks by the settlers, the army violently pushed Palestinians to move back into their homes, yelling at them. All complaints made by Palestinians against the attacks by the settlers were ignored by the soldiers. But not only the settlers, also the Israeli soldiers violently attacked several Palestinians and beat them.

Many families rushed into their homes upon hearing the yelling, locked their doors and then had to watch the settlers chanting abuse at them from behind their windows – protected only by the metal grids installed in the past due to frequent settler attacks. Soldiers, in the best case, are standing idly by. Last night, they were pointing their guns at children and women watching in fear from the roof of their houses – the one place farthest away from the settlers down on the street; and soldiers were banging on the door of Palestinian family homes, while the group of settlers are aggressively chanting and threatening the familieswhile standing right behind the soldiers.

Settler woman photographing internationals getting attacked

When the march proceeded down the hill towards Shuhada checkpoint, where over two weeks ago the Israeli army ruthlessly gunned down and killed the Palestinian student Hadeel al-Hashlamoun, more than two dozen activists from Youth Against Settlement arrived to document the racist abuse and attacks against Palestinians. Israeli forces that by then finally arrived, immediately stopped the Palestinians and isolated them in an alley, preventing them from going anywhere. The group of settlers on the other hand was allowed to keep on chanting racist abuse and burned Palestinian flags, cheering and clapping. Israeli soldiers were getting their guns ready, facing the Palestinians that were clearly upset when their flags were being burned, but did not do anything to stop the flag-burning.

In order to allow for the greatest possible space for the settlers to move around and keep on chanting, Israeli forces pushed back the Palestinians, with one soldier threatening an international that he would ‘break his face’ if he didn’t move right away. Settler children and women also attempted to break cameras of internationals, blocking them from documenting the events and spit at them.

Infamous, aggressive settler Anat Cohen repeatedly attacked an international observer while she was standing right in front of a police car with two policemen inside, that did not even bother to get off the car and instead just kept watching from inside. Soldiers did at no point try to prevent Anat Cohen’s attacks and instead ordered the internationals to go back up the hill, which at that point was not safe with settlers still roaming the streets. The settler woman both tried to grab the international observer’s camera and attempt to punch her in the face without soldiers intervening. When the international observer was ordered by soldiers to move towards the Palestinians detained on the other side of the road, Anat Cohen pushed her as she was passing in front of the police car, and her daughter kicked the her in the stomach. Soldiers still did not intervene and refused to take a complaint about this attack, forcing her and another international to leave.

This incident again illustrates the power settlers hold over the Israeli army. Even when attacking Palestinians – or internationals that enjoy a greater protection than any Palestinian – settlers enjoy the protection of the Israeli army.

Last evening, most Palestinian families, did not go to sleep, staying up late scared of what might happen during the night. Unfortunately, this incident in al-Khalil is only a case in point in a long record of settler attacks, that recently have been escalating not only in al-Khalil, but throughout the occupied West Bank.

Watch a video of the events:

Palestinian and International civilians to resist revenge home demolition

8th October 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Al-Khalil team | West Bank, occupied Palestine

Wednesday 7 October ’15 Surda Ramallah

Palestinian civilians joined by International solidarity activists will gather tonight, Wednesday 7, October ’15, at the home of the bereaved family of Muhannad Halabi, which is threatened by demolition in retaliation for the fatal stabbing of two Israeli settlers in the Old City Jerusalem on Saturday 3 October ’15.

Muhannad Halabi, who was a 19 year old student, was killed by the Israeli military at the scene of the stabbing. A home of his family in the village of Surda, near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, was ransacked on Sunday morning and the family was violently attacked by the Israeli military and Muhannad’s uncle sustained a head wound requiring five stitches in the raid. Occupation forces are expected to carry out a revenge demolition of the family home.

Revenge demolitions of the houses of Palestinians accused of attacking Israelis, as a means of collective punishment, has been Israel’s long established practice. To further the retaliation, Muhannad’s body is being held by the Israeli government and refused return to his mother, who has been hospitalized three times due to grief and anxiety.

Following a series of new measures announced by Benjamin Netanyahu the retaliatory house demolitions have been moved forward. On October 6th two houses were blown up which were former homes of two Palestinians who carried out attacks against the Israelis last year.

Marie, an international activist from the US staying in the house stated: ‘Punishing a family for something that one of their members have done, is just not acceptable. This is illegal and should not happen in any country which respects human rights and considers itself democratic’.

‘We have to be present at this horrible and violent miscarriage of justice, whose only aim is to humiliate and make destitute even more innocent Palestinians living under a brutal Israeli occupation’, added Dezeray also from the United States.