Cindy and Craig Corrie talk about their struggle for accountability for Rachel’s death
Abby Martin speaks with Cindy and Craig Corrie, parents of slain activist Rachel Corrie, about their case against the Israeli government and their fight for social justice worldwide through the Rachel Corrie Foundation.
By Ben
10 September 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank
On Sunday 9th September, Hashem Azzeh walked down the street outside his house for the first time in years.
Hashem lives with his artist wife Nasreen and their four children (14, 9, 4 and 2 years old) on a hillside in the Tel Rumeida district of Hebron. The street outside Hashem’s house is barred to Palestinians and overseas visitors, with an army checkpoint at the end of the street to enforce the ban. To reach their house, the family have to go via a treacherous back route, clambering over walls and around other properties on the way.
Despite all the harassment and violence, Hashem remains determined to stay in his house, and today said he wanted ‘an adventure’. Hashem and five ISM volunteers from the UK, Italy and the USA clambered up from the house to the street, then walked the 200 or so metres to the checkpoint at the end of the street. The Israeli soldier at the checkpoint appeared astonished to see Hashem and international volunteers come along the street from the ‘wrong’ direction and immediately started radioing for back-up. When the soldier asked Hashem why he was walking on the street, Hashem replied, ‘I am walking to my house’.
Hashem’s family have faced years of harassment from residents of the illegal Israeli settlement on the hillside just above their house. The settlement happens to be home to some of the most fanatical settlers in Hebron, including American-born extremist Baruch Marzel.
Over the years, Hashem’s family have faced attacks on their property by settlers, with Israeli soldiers standing alongside doing nothing to intervene. Settlers have also poisoned his water supply, and killed his olive trees, fruit trees and vines. When Hashem installed his own water tank, the settlers shot it full of holes in yet another attack.
As well as attacks on their property, the family have faced regular physical violence. Hashem’s nephew had his teeth knocked out by rocks, and his brother was also smashed in the face with rock and suffered damage to his teeth and nose. Nasreen has had two miscarriages. An ISM activist, 77 year old Australian academic Mary Baxter, also faced violence in the past, when accompanying Hashem’s children to school in 2005. She and the children were attacked, and Mary had four bones in her back broken and is now disabled as a result.
Ben is a volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed)
Palestinians in Gaza support the Corrie family on the eve of the verdict in their lawsuit against Israel over its 2003 killing of their daughter Rachel, as well as divestment from Caterpillar and the global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
20 August 2012 | Besieged Gaza, occupied Palestine
From the children of Gaza comes this adorable animation depicting the story of 4 kids of the extended Samouni family in Gaza. By animated drawings they express what happened to them and their family during operation ‘Cast Lead’.
By Marshall Pinkerton and Alma Reventos
18 August | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank
On Friday, August 17, 5 were injured and 8 arrested during the weekly protest in Kufr Qaddoum. Israeli soldiers fired tear-gas canisters, rubber-coated steel bullets, and beat protesters with wooden sticks. The village experienced an unprecedented amount of violence during the peaceful demonstration as the village was surounded and invaded by over 100 Israeli occupation forces, leading to several broken arms, the arrests of participants, including 6 journalists, and the asphyxiation of a 60 year-old bystander.
Those arriving from outside Kufr Qaddoum were forced to travel around flying checkpoints, posted along the main roads used to reach the village, which would prevent them from their right to participate in the democratic protest.
“Something felt strange about this morning,” Morad Shtayi, Popular Struggle Coordination Committee representative for Kufr Qaddoum said.
Before the demonstration at 11:30 a.m., Shtayi and several other men heard that 14 soldiers had entered houses under construction from the east, where the protest was due to take place.
“We began shouting at the soldiers until they left,” he says.
The demonstration began per usual at 1:15 p.m., with protesters marching down the road leading to Nablus. An Israeli bulldozer was present on the road, with over 30 border police, police, and soldiers standing on the hill to the North. After 15 minutes, Israeli forces descended on the village from the North, firing tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets. Soldiers also began climbing up the valley from the south, followed by several military jeeps and the bulldozer.
“Protesters fled into the village to seek safety, as they faced tear gas canisters and rubber-coated steel bullets shot from distances of less than 10 meters,” solidarity activist Alma Reventos recounts.
Shtayi said witnesses reported soldiers firing live ammunition in the air as they entered the village in search of protesters.
Two Palestinians were arrested by border police, Qassam Aahi, 17, and Abdallah Awni. Israeli forces also arrested 6 Palestinian journalists for reporting on the demonstration; Jaafar Shtayi (Associated Free Press), Nidal Shtayi (Chinese Press), Faris Faris (Palestine Today), Bakir Abd al-Haq (TV Nablus), Odai Qudoomi (B’tselem), and Noah Qudoomi (Alfajir Tulkarem). Among the 6 journalists arrested, 2 were beaten, with Jaafar Shtayi suffering a broken arm. The journalists were released several hours later under the condition that they face imprisonment if they attempt to document the demonstrations in Kufr Qaddoum again.
In addition to the arrests, 2 Palestinians were beaten and a 60-year-old woman fell unconscious after border police repeatedly fired tear-gas inside the village. Rani Suliman Ali, 30, had his arm broken and was kept for a period from seeking medical treatment by Israeli checkpoints outside of the village. Mohannad Shtaiw, was beaten on the back with wooden sticks, and taken to Qalqiliya hospital. Israeli forces finally left the village at 3:30 p.m. with those arrested.
The purpose of the weekly demonstration in Kufr Qaddoum focuses on the closure of the main road that connects the village with Nablus. The road, which passes alongside the nearby illegal Israeli settlement of Kedumim, was closed to Palestinian access. As a result, the journey to Nablus has increased from 15 minutes to 40 minutes. This has resulted in hardships because many residents travel daily to Nablus for work, studies, or health care. Kufr Qaddoum has also lost 4000 dunums of land to the 5 illegal Israeli settlements that surround the village. Farmers seeking to reach their lands face threats, attacks, and arrests. Some of the Palestinian-owned agricultural lands have been declared ‘closed military zones’, and Israeli settlers regularly burn them. This demonstration follows 2 weeks in which several young men were arrested from Kufr Qaddoum during night raids by Israeli forces.
Marshall Pinkerton and Alma Reventos are volunteers with the International Solidarity Movement (names have been changed).
Video and pictures taken from www.facebook.com/AlMasira.KufurKaddom
