Tag: Video

Palestinians and internationals attacked during biking trip in Jordan Valley

by Joseph and Emiliano

15 April 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

For more photos click here

Palestinian and international cyclists were brutally attacked by the Israeli occupation forces on Saturday as they attempted to bike up Route 90, the main North-South highway running through the Jordan Valley. The cyclists were demonstrating against Israeli apartheid policies in the Jordan Valley, which limit Palestinian access to roadways as part of an ongoing campaign of ethnic cleansing against the indigenous Bedouin communities of the Valley.

One Palestinian woman and two international activists from Denmark and Holland were evacuated to the hospital with injuries after being struck in the head with an M-16 rifle, and one international activist was handcuffed and detained for over an hour before being released without charges.

Over one hundred activists from Palestine and around the world participated in the bike protest, organized by Sharek Youth Forum. Participants rode approximately 5 kilometers before being blocked by Israeli occupation soldiers and jeeps at the entrance to Route 90. Soldiers informed the bikers that they would not be allowed to continue “for their own safety.” When activists peacefully attempted to continue on their way, the local commander of the occupation forces swung his rifle at the head of multiple activists, resulting in the hospitalizations of the three activists and the detention of a man from Sweden.

Palestinian drivers on Route 90, the Jordan Valley’s main north-south route, face regular harassment and attacks from Israeli settlers and soldiers. Palestinian drivers and cyclists are frequently pulled over and searched for no reason, and in some places Palestinians are even prevented from turning across the road at places Israelis have free access to.

The Jordan Valley faces a concerted Israeli campaign of ethnic cleansing towards the Palestinians living there. Demolitions of homes occur with frequency, and the Israelis are currently stealing the vast majority of the valley’s land and water. The majority of the fruit and vegetables produced on this stolen land are exported to Europe and North America. The bike demonstration was part of a day of demonstrations and festivities that included visits to villages, a youth dubke performance, and speeches. The events aim to send the message to the world and the occupying forces that the people of the Jordan Valley and Palestine refuse to cede their land to the illegal occupation and will continue to resist and remain on their land.

 Joseph and Emiliano are volunteers with International Solidarity Movement (names have been changed).

Israeli Border Police violently attack Palestinians and Intl’s in Hebron

by Abir Kopty

11 April 2012 | Popular Struggle Coordination Committee

For more photos click here

Twelve were detained and Three were injured after Israeli forces attacked participants of the Bili’n Conference on the Popular Struggle who toured Hebron.

Israeli Border Police officers attacked a group of Palestinians and Internationals who participated in the 7th International Bil’in Conference on the Palestinian Popular Struggle this afternoon. The incident took place during a tour of the Old City of Hebron. Eight Palestinians and four internationals were arrested and at least three people were injured by the blows they suffered at the hands of police. One Italian woman suffered an injury to her shoulder that required hospitalization.

About 200 Palestinians and Internationals attended the second day of the Bil’in Conference, which today took place at the old city of Hebron. After lunch, which was held at a school off of Shuhada Street, participants began to gather at the entrance of the Old City to begin a tour of the area. Settlers who passed by in their cars noticed the gathering and aggressively honked their horns at the group, but continued without incident. Two minutes later, Israeli Border Police officers arrived in the area and arbitrarily detained a three of the Palestinians. A second group of settlers then arrived at the scene in large numbers and began inciting the police against the conference participants, calling on the police officers to “eliminate” the them. the Border Police officers, now joined by regular police, then began pushing and beating the conference participants – men and women alike.

During the attack, the officers arrested eight Palestinians and four internationals. While most were released without charge shortly after, two Palestinians and two internationals are still held at the Hebron police station. Among those still held are two Italians and Issa Amro, a well known grassroots activist from Hebron, who was clearly arrested for who he is rather than anything he’s done. Amro has only recently spent nearly a week in detention after the army evicted Palestinians from a house in the city. The eviction took place despite the fact that the activists had legal claim to the house, which eventually forced the authorities to release Amro unconditionally.

Passover violence in Occupied Al Khalil

by Paige

10 April 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

The Israeli army enforced a system of extensive closures, detentions, and violence against Palestinians and internationals activists during the Jewish holiday of Passover in Al Khalil (Hebron).

The army closed off the busy Beersheba road to allow Jewish settlers to visit the tomb of Othniel Ben Knaz inside of Palestinian controlled Hebron. Under the Hebron Protocol the city is divided into two parts; H1 is under complete Israeli military control and H2 is under the control of the Palestinian Authority, although the Israeli army frequently violates the protocol by entering P.A. controlled Hebron.

The closure of the street involved forcing Palestinians to close shops, restricting Palestinians from passing through the main checkpoint into H1, and blocking off the road with military jeeps, soldiers and an attack dog. Palestinians trying to access their road and return to their homes were met with violence by the Israeli army, who shoved and pushed several people. International activists who tried to intervene during the assault of a Palestinian by Israeli soldiers were violently kicked, hit and dragged by the army. An Italian, Canadian and a Dutch woman were slightly injured and a Palestinian-American activist was violently arrested by Israeli soldiers, who choked her and smashed her head into the army jeep during the arrest. She was released after several hours.

The army also imposed severe restrictions of Palestinian freedom of movement all throughout H2 , detaining, and body searching dozens of Palestinians at checkpoints in the area. Two men were detained until 1:45 am at Checkpoints 55 and 56 near Beit Haddasah settlement. Both were held for three hours. The house of the Sharabati family near checkpoint 55 on Shuhada street was raided by Israeli soldiers just past 10 PM. The soldiers forced the family to remove the CCTV cameras on their windows supplied by Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem to record settler violence and army violations.

Paige is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).

Video: Israeli military shooting directly at press in Kufr Qaddoum

by Axel

4 April 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

On Friday the 30th of March the weekly demonstration was held in the village Kufr Qaddoum outside of Nablus. This day was however the same day as the Global March to Jerusalem, meaning less media attention than normal, and also less internationals present as most of the activists attended the demonstrations in Qalandiya, Jerusalem, and Bethlehem. To further minimize attendance, the Israeli soldiers had set up a checkpoint outside the village, preventing people from entering.

 The situation was also more tense than usual, as it was only two weeks ago the IOF (Israeli Occupation Forces) released attack dogs on the demonstrators, resulting in savage attacks and sever injuries.

 Despite these facts approximately 500 people, including about 10 internationals, gathered after the Muslim Friday prayer to march along the main road of the village that the IOF  are still obstructing even though the Israels court has approved its reopening.

 “As we approached the road block we could see that there were a lot of soldiers, approximately 35, and they had brought a tractor and the ‘skunk water’ truck,” said Odai Al-Jumah, a film-maker from the village.

When the demonstration reached the barbwire road block, they were cheering and started to talk to the soldiers through a megaphone, demanding the reopening of the road. As normal the soldiers  responded to this non-violent action by shooting tear gas, stun grenades and skunk water. But this time they did not shoot upwards to make the metal tear gas canister fly in an arc, but instead they were illegally aiming right at the crowd just 20 meters in front of them.

“I was standing on the side of the demonstration, filming when I saw one of the soldiers aiming at me. I had no where to run, so I just covered my head with one of my arms,” said Al-Jumah.

 Luckily he was fast enough. The tear gas canister would have hit him right in the face, but instead it hit his arm and then ricocheted down to his chest. Tear gas canisters are a fatal weapon used by Israel against nonviolent protesters, using the crowd dispersion weapon as a projectile directed at destroying human life, as was the recent case of Mustafa Tamimi of Nabi Saleh. He ran a few meters and then collapsed. He got picked up buy the Red Crescent staff who carried him to an ambulance where they decided to take him to a nearby hospital.

On the way they had to cross the checkpoint where the soldiers stopped them. They wanted to interrogate Al Jumah.

 “I heard the ambulance driver asking what they wanted, but they just told him to shut up and open the back door.”

 He was then interrogated for more than half an hour, a very long time as he had sever pain in his arm and chest. After asking over and over again what he was doing at the demonstration, and if he had thrown any stone, they let him go as it was obvious he was there to document and was not even a part of the demonstration. The obvious delay to reaching any medical attention is one of the many ways Kufr Qaddoum and villages throughout Palestine are impacted by Israeli checkpoints, road blocks, and longer detours sustained by the illegal Israeli occupation.

Al Jumah was then taken to a hospital in Nablus where they found no serious injury, but he had to spend the night under observation.

The soldiers were apparently very violent through out the demonstration as more then 30 people were injured, most of them from inhaling very significant amounts of tear gas.

Five were shot directly with the canisters, including the press who were merely documenting Israeli violence and lack of concern. In February Reporters without Borders released a statement condemning Israel’s targeting of journalists.

The Israeli violence did not conclude with the demonstration but continued in other forms of oppression and harassment. On Sunday April 1st four soldiers came into the village and violently entered the house of Murad Shtawi, one of the organisers of the demonstration who was recently arrested by the military.

 “I was out for a walk when people from the village said there were soldiers in my house,” said Shtawi .

 He ran back to his home, and when he got there he asked the soldiers what they wanted. They showed a picture of his six year old son, saying the child was suspected of throwing stones. The family was shocked, and started screaming at the soldiers, chasing them out of the house. The soldiers then went back to their military jeep, leaving the village empty handed.

 “They really have no limits. What possible threat can they see in a six year old boy?” asked Shtawi.

 This is a question Shtawi, Al Jumah, or the locals of Kufr Qaddoum will not get answered. The collective punishment and practice of fear tactics exercised by Zionist military and settlers against the indigenous people of Palestine and their supporters is simply central to the strategy of Israel’s apartheid.

 Axel is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).

Video: Israelis violently attack Palestinians in Al Khalil home invasion

2 April 2012 | Youth Against Settlements 

About 30 Palestinians and international ISM activists from Canada, Finland, United States and the Netherlands entered a Palestinian house that was taken over by Israeli army around eight years ago. The re-occupation of the house was an attempt to return the house to its rightful owner and was a response to the takeover of a Palestinian house on Shuhada street by settlers under the protection of the Israeli army and border police on April 1 2012.

As activists started cleaning  the house and preparing to spend the night there, the Israeli army prepared  to invade the house with sound bombs, skunk water and soldiers in full riot gear. Over 50 soldiers and 5 border police blocked the road and cleared the surrounding area before entering the house that was being reoccupied, claiming that the house was now Jewish property.

The Dutch woman who disappeared following her arrest at the scene was released late this evening, yet must appear before Israelis again later this week regarding the conditions of her release.