Tag: west bank - Page 8 - International Solidarity Movement

Village of Azzun suffers from continuous, targeted attacks by Israeli army

31st July 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Azzun, Occupied Palestine

On Tuesday, July 28, at 2:40 pm, the Israeli army arrived to the village of Azzun, located in the district of Qalqilya, to block 3 of the 4 existing entrance gates. Since the 4th gate (east side), which leads to an illegal settlement, has been permanently closed since 1992, this situation left all the inhabitants trapped in their village.

Both northern gates, leading to Nablus and Tulkarem, were blocked allowing no cars to pass, only people by foot, until 8:00 in the morning of the following day. In addition, three new checkpoints were created in these two north gates as well as the western gate leading to Qalqilya.

This event should be seen in the larger context of violence, control and surveillance to which the village of Azzun has been subjected to. The main road 55 that connects the village to Nablus, is fenced through 40 kilometers and includes three watchtowers, making villagers feel constantly threatened and controlled. Moreover, the nearby illegal settlement of Maale Shomeron has a large number of watchtowers that constantly surveil the villagers’ movements within Azzun.

In the course of the previous year, the village suffered from 385 attacks from the army, totaling more than one attack per day. These raids would sometimes be performed as training for the soldiers, at other times to directly arrest people, and overall to intimidate and cause fear among the villagers.

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On Wednesday, July 29, at 2:30 am, the Israeli army raided 10 houses in the village of Azzun, arresting two 19 year old boys, Samir Shbeitah and Mohammed Salim.

Samir’s brother, Sannad, informed ISM that the soldiers violently exploded the entrance door of the house in order to wake up and shock the whole family. As the family had not been completely woken up, the soldiers, all wearing black masks, ran upstairs to the terrace where the brothers had been sleeping, to begin frightening the family by creating loud noise and trashing the house. They would hit their guns against the tin roof of the terrace and point laser beam lights into the brothers’ eyes.

azzun12 — Damage to the house when the military broke in.

Samir, Sannad, and their younger brother Samer, were separated form their mother in different rooms. Samir was taken back to the terrace with 15 soldiers, leaving Sannad and Samer with 4 soldiers. After approximately one hour, an officer came with 8 jeeps and more soldiers, asked Samir for his ID and arrested him, taking with him only the clothes he was wearing.

An Israeli authority called Samir’s father to inform him that his son is in a prison in Huwara. His father asked why his son had been arrested; the officer gave no answer. Samir’s father is thinking whether he can pay the 4.000 shekel fine the Israeli authority demands in order to free his son, or get a lawyer, but the family is very poor.

This is the third attack this family has suffered in three years. In very similar conditions, Samir was arrested for the first time in 2012 when he was 15 years old, imprisoned for a period of 2 and a half years, with no charges.

During the second attack to his house, there was no arrest, but the family suffered similar violence, including breaking all the doors of their home and writing graffiti on their walls in English and Hebrew, which they could not understand.

These kind of raids in the village are very common, and mostly occur during the night, violently waking up the families in the middle of their sleep, and many times making them wait outside their homes, even during the winter.

Azzun is a village that also suffers from the Israeli army’s tactic called ‘practical punishment’. When someone within a family is arrested, the rest of his brothers and sons would be forbidden to continue working in Israel, by taking away their work permits within 24 hours. This has impacted the village’s high rate of unemployment, raising it to 39%, the highest unemployment rate in the West Bank.

Azzun suffers from an average of 175 arrests per year, where 65% of the detainees are under the age of 18, making this the highest number of child arrests in the West Bank.

In 2012, 150 children were arrested in Azzun. Child arrests, who are normally imprisoned for a week or short periods of time, is a clear tactic of the Israeli army to cause fear and trauma, generating high levels of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Nablus family home suffers brutal Israeli night raid

15th July 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Awarta, Occupied Palestine

On Sunday, July 12, at 1:30 am, a group of 40 Israeli soldiers came into the village of Awarta circling and raiding the home of 22 year old Izzat Qawariq right before the family was preparing to go to sleep.

nablus3 — The wreckage left after Israeli forces raided the home.

His cousin told ISM that the soldiers violently kicked the doors open with a gun, demanded the women and men to stay in two separate rooms, while they trashed, broke glass objects and searched through all the belongings of the house. They took both Izzat’s and his mother’s telephones, and Izzat’s medical papers for the eye treatment he was taking in St. John’s hospital of Jerusalem, as well as his permit paper to be able to travel to Jerusalem for his treatment. The soldiers kept the home under siege until 4:00 in the morning, without allowing the family to have their food according to the tradition of Ramadan.

Once the soldiers arrested Izzat, his parents were trying to persuade them to allow him to leave wearing his shoes; the soldiers reacted by hitting Izzat’s father with a gun, injuring his left wrist. His father told ISM that he decided to contain his anger in fear of worse violence and to avoid also being arrested.

nablus — The hand and wrist of Izzat’s father.

Izzat’s family has no idea why they arrested him. He and his father would work with their truck plowing the land next to the illegal settlement of Etamar. Izzat has never been involved in a political party. The family also reported that this unit of soldiers was a new unit, called Dov Dovan, who wear special masks on their faces to scare the people.

That same night, during the same time of Izzat’s arrest, his cousin, Raef Qawariq, who currently lives with his wife in Huwara, was also arrested without charges in his home in similar violent conditions by a large group of Israeli soldiers. Raef, 27 years old, just got married two months ago and works as a designer in Ramallah, and like his cousin, has never been involved in a political party. There is no known reason as to why they were arrested. Both families called the Israeli human rights organization, HaMoked, to ask about them, but they were told to wait for them to call them back.

Awarta is a village in the district of Nablus, which suffers from Israeli soldiers night incursions on an almost daily basis.

nablus4 — A dark photo of soldiers surrounding the home late at night.

Israeli soldier attempts to arrest Palestinian, activists intervene

27th June 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Al Khalil Team | Al Khalil, Occupied Palestine

Below the video is an account of what happened:

Yesterday, 26 of June 2015 approximately 21:30, nineteen year old Hatem Al Mohtaseb from Tel Rumeida, Hebron, was walking up the hill of Tel Rumeida when an Israeli soldier detained him and asked for his ID. After the soldier had finished checking the Palestinian ID, the Israeli soldier then threw the ID on the concrete and told him to pick it back up.

The Palestinian man told the soldier that he is not a dog and will not pick it up off the ground and suggested to the soldier that he pick it back up and hand the ID back to him, like he had given it to the soldier at the start. The soldier then refused and began to argue.
A nearby Palestinian then picked the ID up off the ground and gave it to Hatem Al Mohtaseb. International Solidarity Movement activists that were present then walked up the hill and were discussing with the Palestinian man what had just happened. The same soldier came up to Hatem Al Mohtaseb and told him to move from the spot where he was standing in his own neighborhood. Hatem Al Mohtaseb then refused to move and the soldier aggressively shouting in Hebrew, then attempted to arrest him but ISMers stood in the way and prevented the arrest.

The soldier then complained to several male settlers walking up the road to the nearby illegal settlement. One of the settlers came right up to the activists, calling them sick people and Europa Nazis before leaving. After this point the soldier’s commanding officer had arrived and after speaking to Hatem Al Mohtaseb he decided not to follow up on
the arrest.

Israeli forces use live ammunition in Kafr Qaddum on the first Friday of Ramadhan

21st June 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Al Khalil Team | Kafr Qaddum, Occupied Palestine

On the 19th of June in Kafr Qaddum, the first Friday demonstration of Ramadhan, Israeli border police shot two Palestinians with live ammunition. One Palestinian was shot twice in the leg and the other was shot once in the leg. Israeli forces also used skunk spray (chemically treated sewage water) and tear gas as well as rubber coated steel bullets. A Palestinian man was hit with a rubber coated steel bullet in the back which caused him to fall and break his leg.

Palestinian demonstrators in Kafr Qaddum

Residents of Kafr Qaddum said that this demonstration was the first time that they were able to reach the gate which seals off part of a major road. Despite the heat and fasting hours, Kafr Qaddum continues to resist the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

Israeli border police positioned themselves on the main road into Kafr Qaddum before the demonstration started and turned back internationals from the village. Internationals ignored the Israeli border police and entered Kafr Qaddum via a back route. Hundreds of Palestinians attended the demonstration. Israeli forces were reluctant to use violence in the beginning as an Israeli TV channel was present however as soon as the TV channel left, the Israeli forces on mass forced their way deep into the village using weapons such as stun grenades, skunk, live ammunition, rubber coated steel bullets and finally a barrage of tear gas which flooded the village and ignited small fires.

Israeli police positioned to fire at demonstrators in Kafr Qaddum

Residents of Kafr Qaddum have begun regular Saturday demonstrations in addition to the one on Friday to show that the resistance will not end despite the violence and pressure from Israeli forces.

All photos belong to the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee Facebook page.

Israeli forces try to violently suppress protest in Jalazone

14th June 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Ramallah Team | Jalazone, Occupied Palestine

On Friday June 12th in Jalazone, north of Ramallah, Israeli forces responded to a Palestinian protest against illegal Israeli settlements with rubber coated steel bullets, tear gas, stun grenades and live ammunition.

The Israeli occupation forces also attacked journalists that were covering the demonstration, throwing stun grenades directly at them, pushing them with their rifles and threatening to arrest and shoot them.

A civilian passer by was also severely injured by the Israeli military. He was left with open wounds on his head after being struck with rifles and beaten to the ground before being arrested.

The unarmed man was repeatedly punched by the military and then hit on the head with their rifles as he tried to make his way past the group. The Soldiers can be heard cursing the man and his family, shouting, ‘Fuck your mother’s mother you son of a whore’.

The Israeli military were also using Palestinian cars as shields by taking the keys and leaving the people inside. They detained more than 20 cars during the protest.

At least three people were shot with live ammunition during the demonstration.

Below is a video recorded by ISM of the violence from the Israeli soldiers in Jalazone: