ISM UK is offering a day of pre-training for prospective volunteers who are interested in joining the International Solidarity Movement on the ground in Palestine.
Attending the training session in north London will give you a chance to get a first impression of ISM and the kind of work we do, receive training, connect with former volunteers and have your questions answered. You will also be filled in on how Palestinians are resisting the occupation and how we as internationals can work in solidarity with them using non-violent, direct action methods.
There is no obligation to join ISM after the training.
Lunch will be provided however we ask participants to pay a fee of £5 to cover training costs.
Date: November 30, 2019
Time: 10:30-16:00
Location: North London
To sign up for the training, please contact training.ismlondon@riseup.net
Israeli soldiers prepare to fire at protesters in Kafr Qaddum during the town’s weekly protests
22 October | International Solidarity Movement | Kafr Qaddum
Evidence is stacking up against the Israeli Army over the near-fatal shooting of a Palestinian child by a soldier in July, with the release of a damning report from a British research group.
Nine-year-old Abd el-Rahman Yasir Shatawi, was shot in the head on July 12 while sitting outside his friend’s house during a protest in the West Bank village of Kafr Qaddum. He sustained severe brain damage and remains hospitalized more than three months after the attack.
Since then Abd’s parents have been left in the dark as to why their son, who was not even participating in the protest, was shot by Israeli soldiers from a hill opposite.
9-year-old Abd el-Rahman Yasir Shatawi, who was shot by Israeli soldiers
Despite eye-witness accounts, medical reports and investigations all saying that Abd was shot with live ammunition, the Israeli army has continued to insist that soldiers did not use live fire that day.
Instead the military claims that Abd was shot with a rubber-coated metal bullet [RCMB].
This has been challenged most recently by London-based research group Forensic Architecture, which carried out an investigation into the incident at the request of ISM.
The comprehensive report compiles video, photo and eye-witness testimonies to piece together the sequence of events prior to the shooting. Based on this evidence they concluded that, “contrary to the repeated claims of Israeli officials, the available medical and image evidence, as well as witness testimony, strongly suggests that Abd el-Rahman’s injuries were caused by live ammunition.”
As part of the investigation, US forensic experts were shown CT scans of Abd’s brain (pictured below) which has over 100 bullet fragments still lodged in it. From analysing the scans, the experts said: “Although they [RCMB] can indeed penetrate individuals, and are more likely to do so in juveniles who exhibit less dense bone, they are not known to fragment, especially to the extent visible in the CT scans.”
Instead the experts said the level of fragmentation was “consistent with fragmentation seen in 5.56 mm [live] rounds.”
The medical scans also showed that there was no exit wound, corroborating eye-witness accounts that the shot was fired from a distance of 100-120m. “The farther away the shot, the less likely the bullet will still be travelling with enough energy to completely pass through the skull,” experts told Forensic Architecture.
The distance is a crucial element as 100-120m is twice the effective distance of a RCMB round.
ISM activists present that day also witnessed soldiers firing live bullets at protesters.
“We heard gunshots that sounded like loud claps,” they said. “An Israeli activist told us it was live ammunition, saying he’d never seen such disregard for human life. The soldiers on the ridge were spraying bullets everywhere. After the protest we found live bullet casings littering the ground where soldiers had been firing at protesters. This case shows how far Israeli forces will go to avoid admitting their crimes despite the overwhelming evidence against them.”
Abd’s family told ISM that they were not surprised by the army’s refusal to admit to using live fire. “The Israeli army never admitted any crime here,” they said. “Of course they said that because they don’t want to be questioned about it.”
Recently Abd was moved from a Tel Aviv hospital to Beit Jala, after Israeli doctors said there was nothing else they could do. “He can’t speak and no changes [to his condition] occurred since he was shot,” his family said. “The doctors say that his condition is still in danger and that a huge damage occurred in his brain because of the bullet.”
Images from Forensic Architecture report show difference in soldiers firing live ammunition to rubber-coated metal bulletsBullets found in a water tank shot during the protest on July 12
Kafr Qaddum residents said the feeling in the town since the shooting has been “indescribable.”
A resident who preferred not to be named told ISM: “A child who is supposed to live peacefully just like any child in the world is being shot brutally. Instead of offering a safe environment for children here, they are being shot and exposed to violent acts.”
Forensic Architecture’s report is the latest piece of evidence stacking up against the Israeli army over the shooting. It joins a previous report by Israeli human rights group B’tselem which blamed the incident on Israel’s “reckless open-fire policy that allows soldiers to use live fire even when neither they nor anyone else is in any danger.”
In the past three months alone, 100 Palestinian children have been shot with live ammunition. Despite these gross human rights violations, government’s around the world have remained silent on the Israeli army’s callous use of live fire against children.
Instead Abd’s family has turned to the media in the hope that justice can be delivered through them. “If the world knows what is really happening to the children here, this may bring justice one day.”
Abd being carried into the ambulance after he was shot in the head by soldiers
13th December 2018 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Asira Al Qibliya, Nablus, occupied Palestine
“This is the line,” Oussam Khalifa Ahmad illustrates as he takes us on a tour of his threatened land. “We are now passing into (Area) C.” Depending on where you look, some of the land has already been stolen. We can only observe for a limited amount of time. If we stay too long, we’re told that we will be attacked by the settlers, who’s housing we can see not far above us.
Settlements overlooking Asira Al Qibliya
For Palestinian landowners like Oussam, the Oslo Accords which solidified the cantonization of the West Bank, were a disaster. Tacit support or ambivalence for the Oslo peace process may be found in the urban regions, but not one villager looks kindly on the so-called agreement today. There is nothing surprising about his circumstance. His land is under threat by the Israeli courts, despite him having the proper documents. He also experiences frequent trespassing by nearby settlers who act with impunity. Oussam points up at his olive trees, burned from last Summer, to clarify exactly what that means.
A burnt olive tree on Oussam’s landOussam’s documents proving land ownership
This true story is one in thousands in the West Bank. We could talk about the road the villagers attempted to pave down to the main highway, construction now stalled by the Israeli government.
Construction stalled by Israeli gov’t for Palestinian road
We could illustrate the intimidating settlements overlooking the entire village, only a half a kilometer up the hill. Or, the monthly attacks by armed settlers, the hateful graffiti, destruction of property, bodily injuries to the villagers; Israeli soldiers aiding in all of it, firing on those who would dare protect their neighbors from harm, or their property from damage.
Graffiti in Hebrew on a wall in Asira Al Qibliya
We could talk about the direct theft of this village’s water, a common theme across the aqua-heavy West Bank. The spectacle of Israel’s control of the West Bank’s water is exhibited by allotted tanks, sitting on top of each Palestinian household, or business, throughout the occupied land. Let’s talk about the spring of water that was taken in the latest land-grab, candidly aided by the US government. We are taken to a water tank by Hakima, another villager and local landowner. The water tank is guarded by perimeters made of metal and stone, with a manned watchtower a few meters ahead.
Inside one can see the “USAID” sign. “This project is a gift from the American people to the Palestinian people…”
Last year the US government launched a “$10 million dollar project” to “improve access” to water for Palestinians. However, Hakima tells us that USAID projects such as these have a rather different effect when it comes to “improving access” to water. For example, Asira Al Qibliya received their USAID “gift” four years ago. “There was no (water tank) here four years ago,” she says, “then the USAID brought the water project here for us and built all this. Now the Israelis say they need ‘security area’ for the settlement.” She says that in addition to the US taking many more hectares of land- much of which were her own- to build this reservoir, it has enabled the settlements to expand even more. Hakima recalls that they were much better off when they used their own natural spring, which ran down to the village. Now, due to the spring’s redirection of water for settler use, the well has been dry for five years, which gave them no choice but to rely on the USAID water tower.
The village well is now empty
Palestinians may hear this question from many international journalists and activists from the outside- “what reason did they give for taking your land? Why did the settlers attack? Was it in response to..? Is there any legal reason they..?” Colonial governments tend to have pretexts for stealing land, or killing native populations, so the “why” turns into a triviality by default.
The name of this village is Asira Al Qibliya. The village is home to internationally infamous settler attacks. The names of the surrounding villages are Burin, Madama, Urif, Ana Bus, and Uara. They all have similar stories, and so do each of the 30,000 residents comprising of those villages.
This situation is nothing new, however one may wonder exactly how many more dunhams Israel can take before there is nothing left. Or, considering the well-documented discriminatory practices of water usage between Palestinians and settlers, how long before massive drought sweeps the Palestinian natives? How many more homes can be destroyed until most of the population is rendered homeless? If it’s hard to imagine a tipping point for the West Bank, one need only to look at Gaza, which the UN and NGOs alike say will be unlivable in about a year. One should not make any mistake, the occupation of the Palestinian territories is genocide.
The Abu Humaid family from the Al Amari refugee camp held a press conference in defiance of the notification for the demolition of their 4 story home. The Israeli Forces want to destroy the Al Amari building because of their long history of resistance against the Occupation.
