"It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance." In such a time, when the world is crashing from every direction and political and humanitarian corrections vary in definition, activism remains one of the few core-shaking features in the histories of different struggles. In many opinions, the power of people is the only path for salvation and the establishment of peace. The case of the Palestinian struggle is extraordinary: Palestinians, with their bare hands, have stood in the face of one of the most powerful countries, which exceeded in its practices all inhumane measures history has known. Activism, here in Palestine, is exercised in various ways, and the power of the people has grown and evolved unconditionally, making astonishing achievements along the way. One of the new and powerful activism movements in Palestine and internationally is the International Solidarity Movement (ISM).Growing by day and making a significant change in the core of the Palestinian struggle, by viewing the real face of the conflict, and ISM is changing the lives of a lot of people on the other side of the world. Rachel Corrie and Tom Hurndall are just a few names from the stream of Palestinian and international activists who work and subject themselves to daily danger under the wing of the ISM. These volunteers, who could have simply turned their heads and walked away from Palestinian suffering, instead made the choice of devoting themselves to ending the occupation and giving Palestinian people freedom and rights that have been stolen from them for so long. ISM is a Palestinian-led movement of Palestinians and internationals who work together to raise awareness about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. They endeavor to end the occupation and force Israel to abide by UN resolutions and international law using nonviolent direct action methods of resistance to challenge Israel’s illegal measures and acts. The first campaign that started this movement took place in August 2001, when 50 foreign civilians, mainly from the United Kingdom and the United States, came to Palestine to witness the brutal acts practiced against Palestinian civilians by the state of Israel. After the campaign, all those eye-witnesses went back to their home countries and talked about that overwhelming experience. The second campaign took place in December of that year, when 70 foreigners joined an anti-occupation call, in which they visited Palestinian villages and towns, where non-violent resistance was already gaining ground. Also, those internationals paid solidarity visits to Palestinian areas that were severely hit by Israel’s continuous tank and F16 raids. When the third campaign was announced on March 29, 2002, the Israeli forces were reoccupying Ramallah and carrying out a military operation that was to include all Palestinian West Bank cities. This prolonged reoccupation operation, along with the imposition of unending curfews, drove hundreds of civilian foreigners to Palestine with the desire to participate in human aid, from delivering food and medical supplies to acting as human shields, in Palestinian cities, towns and refugee camps. ISMers were the first to break the Israeli curfew and stand in the face of brutal acts and also document the abuse of human rights and international laws in addition to the violence the Palestinians were subjected to. “A campaign against the Israeli occupation of Palestine, and for a just and viable peace” In their mission statement, the cofounders of ISM explain briefly the Palestinian problem, listing all the UN resolutions and international laws that illegalize the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land, in addition to explaining American foreign policies towards the Palestinians and their traditional support for Israel. As you read through, the ISMers describe the form of resistance here in Palestine, from demonstrations at checkpoints and road blocks, to being a human shield in Palestinian towns and refugee camps. Lastly, ISM list their non-violence ground rules, including not using or carrying weapons to respecting all agreements concerning their actions. ISMers believe in the significant role individuals can play to end the occupation, or at least bring attention to the world of the brutality being practiced against Palestinians. "Remember the solidarity shown to Palestine here and everywhere... and remember also that there is a cause to which many people have committed themselves, difficulties and terrible obstacles notwithstanding. Why? Because it is a just cause, a noble ideal, a moral quest for equality and human rights." There are two kinds of ideas, the kind that floats in people’s minds but does not shake their different struggles and remains silent, and the one that creates wings for itself and wanders around the universe of thoughts and make a tangible difference. Without the bravery of people like Huwaida Arraf, one of the cofounders of ISM, windows of hope would have never been opened. To be able to touch the countless aspects of the ISM, I met with Huwaida Arraf, who introduced me generously to this group. While hearing her morals, ideas and thoughts, I understood a side of the ISM that I never even saw before in spite of my reading and observation. In my mind, as well as many others, the first question that occurred was how ISM was first created and formed, what steps the cofounders took to leave such a large impact on the international scene, and how they motivated people from all around the world to take action. Huwaida, with her simplicity and kind features, told me that at the beginning they were only four people who thought this whole issue through: two Palestinians, an American who later became her husband, Adam Shapiro, and herself, a Palestinian American, who believed that a significant change must be made on the dynamics and means of the Palestinian resistance. “We were a small group of people who believed that we need to change the dynamics and means of Palestinians resistance.” Arraf clarified a very important point regarding this aspect, which is the fact that Palestinians need a resource; ISMers knew the resources the Israeli military had, provided by international governments and their foreign policies, also the neglect Palestinians suffered from these same resources, so this small team faced their doubts and decided to go to the people. “Let’s go to the people, lets get international civilians actively involved in the Palestinian’s struggle. We didn’t know if it’s going to really work at first, but it was an idea, it was an invitation, come join us! Come join us in directly resisting the occupation.” Overall, the small group that first established this movement believed that an international presence is vital for the Palestinian struggle citing four main reasons. Firstly, providing some kind of protective accompaniment for Palestinian people, whether resisting or simply living under this unbearable situation. According to Huwaida, an international presence raises the stakes “at least PR wise and diplomatically for Israel to use lethal forms of violence against internationals demonstrating,” because Israelis cannot ignore the rights of internationals similarly to the way they disregard Palestinian rights, since they have their respective governments protecting and looking out for them. This aspect basically provides a level of comfort for Palestinian civilians. Secondly, reaching the mainstream media that has been broadcasting a very negative image of the Palestinian struggle through different international individuals.
Huwaida stressed the very important point that the form in which ISM cofounders viewed the conflict “was not from a Palestinian-Israeli conflict context or Muslims against Jews. It shouldn’t even be viewed as absence of peace, it should be viewed as the absence of freedom of the people, and occupation should be ended to restore freedom, and that’s what we aim to have people understand.” The third aspect is advocacy, which is basically broadcasting eyewitnesses’ information and reports to the biggest circle of people in order to deliver the truth and raise more awareness and involvement. The fourth and most crucial is the morale of the Palestinian people, who are isolated by the occupation and abandoned by the international community. In this aspect the international role is showing those people that they are not alone in this conflict, but surrounded by people who understand and value the truth and come all the way to Palestine to try to make the change their governments failed to make. In that sense, ISM retains the hope in the souls of the Palestinian people and gives them the will to go on with their struggle. “I always say that ISM open windows of hope for people to continue to believe in the power of people to change things, and I think that is very important, because some people reached a very desperate point, for some think we are going to die anyway.” Of course, these four points seem to hold the ability to make a real change, but where is the impact of ISM on the international community, which is becoming weaker and more helpless towards our case by day? When I asked about the impact of the ISM on the ground, Huwaida helped me look at the big picture. A change cannot be made in a day, but takes time and effort to become tangible. The ISM seem to focus on the individual power and capacity to change .When internationals leave Palestine they are equipped with eyewitness reports and every volunteer that comes here has a whole community and network behind her/him. Talking to those people is one of the most effective methods in which information about the situation here is transmitted and those same individuals try to gather people from all walks of life and organize gatherings to share their experience. For example, nowadays, there are ISMers touring around the United States, traveling from state to state raising awareness about Iraq in addition to the Palestinian issue. Since the ISM is so diverse in its membership, whether politically, economically or socio-economically, it gives the ability to reach all sorts of people, from school students to high ranked politicians in the American Democratic Party, which includes a very active ISM member who was beaten by Israeli settlers. In Huwaida’s opinion, this kind of activism is very important because it helps fix the bad image the media is producing in this conflict and struggle. ”This kind of activism is very important because even if the mainstream media isn’t viewing the picture we want it to view, there are no better reporters than those people and activists who lived through the experience itself and are reporting back to their communities and leaders.” More importantly, ISMers are constantly trying to create novel methods to gain the public’s attention, which for the most part are unaware on a political level, as opposed to presenting them with dry political facts, which might not be intriguing or endearing enough for them to want to take action. “In order for an average American to know how hard the situation is for Palestinians, we want them to know, but we also need them to act. Therefore, you need to handle the issue from another perspective. Like telling them the amount of money that the U.S. government gives the Israeli government in order to buy weapons, and why this money isn’t being used to provide Americans with better health care or better education and class rooms for their children?” Regarding those members, I asked Huwaida about the process of selection, and whether there were any preferences or preservations .The answer was easier than I thought: ISM welcomes any individual regardless of their different backgrounds, ethnicities, religion or race, as long as they are willing to work under the ISM wing, including working for the same purpose and goal. The ISM goal is focused on one basic point, establishing freedom for Palestinian people under the UN resolutions and international law, including UN Resolution 194 that guarantees the right of return. Concerning the means in which this goal is reached, ISM is considered a non-violent direct action movement, this follows from one of its main beliefs that non-violent action is one of the most effective forms of resisting the occupier or oppressor. Yet this method of struggle is not new for Palestinian people, it has been practiced in Palestinian cities and towns since the beginning of the Israeli occupation. “They did not invent the idea; they didn’t bring it to Palestine. It has been there all along, the thing is, they showed effectively how it can work.” Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, a prominent Palestinian politician, said in an article about the International Solidarity Movement. Regarding Israeli activists, Arraf said that ISM opens the door for any participation within their principles and does not discriminate at all, but Israeli participation might not be acceptable to communities that suffered heavy losses from the Israeli occupation. It might be too much to take for some, so basically this involvement depends on the targeted community. Since the ISM is considered an international resistance movement, I couldn’t help but wonder about the depth of its impact on Palestinian society. A lot of its members already belong to resistance movements, and Palestinian people have always been involved in defying the Israeli occupation by all means and ways, still, the ISM received lots of attention from Palestinians. When I asked Arraf this question, her instant answer was “it’s a Palestinian lead movement of Palestinians and internationals working together to end the occupation.” In that form, ISM members work directly with representatives and coordinators from every local community in creating effective means of resistance. Creating effective means of resistance is one of the many projects ISM focuses on in their attempt to restore freedom and human rights back to the Palestinian people. Although ISM is a Palestinian movement, it grew internationally much faster than it grew locally in Palestine.
Despite these reasons, Huwaida blamed ISM. “It’s also our fault because we are the activists who started it and we were not interested much in the logistics. We are not even an organization, we are a movement and in fact we did not focus on the organizational aspects. So, we did not spend a lot of time talking or distributing brochures or even doing local media interviews.” The knowledge of this movement started to grow in Palestine, as it got struck with major events like deportations, arrests and assaults of ISM members. Palestinian people started thinking about the reason that drives these foreigners to come here and fight for a cause that is not relevant to their backgrounds or home countries. Huwaida vividly recalls that when ISM members broke into the Palestinian President Yasser Arafat’s compound in Ramallah and the church of Nativity in Bethlehem during Israel’s “Defensive Shield Operation” in 2002, a lot of Palestinian people learned more about this movement through international news and broadcasting channels and started seeking more information. ISMers are trying now to fix their previous mistakes by doing more public exposure, meeting with leaders and taking the opportunities to speak in the media. As a result, Palestinian participation increased, and now widely known members of Palestinian political factions and community leaders are taking part in this movement. On another level, before reading in depth about this movement, I had this notion that ISM was a humanitarian movement because of the part it was taking in aiding the Palestinian communities, but Huwaida clarified this point for me. ISM is a political movement that focuses on changing the political context. It is not involved in humanitarian aid, such as distributing food, but that does not eliminate the role it played in alleviating the humanitarian crisis. “We do not consider ourselves a humanitarian organization. That doesn’t mean we don’t work on humanitarian issues. We certainly do, and the occupation is a humanitarian issue.” That role was portrayed clearly in the humanitarian crisis of the Israeli invasion and reoccupation of the West Bank in April 2002, when the ISM shifted its political role to a humanitarian one to help end this catastrophe. Also, ISM members see it as a message to the world that basic human needs are being cut off from Palestinian cities and towns. “When you take a step against the occupation you have to speak up and report on what’s happening especially on the humanitarian crisis the occupation has created.” ISMers worked closely with different medical teams in Palestine that were trying to respond to the humanitarian problem, but were being attacked. ISM joined them in resisting these attacks. In addition they defied the Israeli occupation and refused to leave areas that the Israel army was attacking (which were declared “closed military zones” to prevent the media from reporting what was happening). “Its easier for people to relate to a humanitarian situation rather than cut and dry political positions, but the position of the Palestinian struggle is humanitarian in itself and it’s about people who have been denied freedom for so long. In that sense we work, but its important to know that we are a political movement.” In a bounce back to the Palestinian harsh reality on the ground, and the fact that regardless of the movement or means of action, making a tangible difference on the ground remains quite hard. I asked Huwaida whether these activists are aware of the extent in which they can make a change or contribute. “At least we are showing them that we are not silent, we are showing those soldiers that we will not stand still. Now, how do the internationals fit into that? Internationals help us in delivering our message to the world and show the globe the illegality and viciousness of Israeli acts.” Arraf related this issue to the actions taken by Palestinians regarding the Wall. Different people and communities try to prove to the world that this Israeli measure is not for the sake of “security” as they claim, so internationals help reveal the truth to their communities. Peace under fire; Rachel Corrie and Tom Hurndall In a series of attacks that shocked the world, Rachel Corrie, Tom Hurndall and Brain Avery, three ISM activists, where targeted by the Israeli army while fighting for justice using nothing but their bare hands. Rachel Corrie, 23, was a student at the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. She died Sunday, March 16, 2003, in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, while trying to stop an Israeli bulldozer from tearing down a Palestinian physician's home. She fell in front of the machine, which ran over her and then backed up, witnesses said. Tom Hurndall, 22, died in January having spent nine months in a coma after being shot in the head while trying to help Palestinian children at a military checkpoint in Gaza. On April 5th, 2003, Israeli troops shot activist Brian Avery in Jenin. The 24-year-old American citizen from Albuquerque, New Mexico, experienced serious wounds to his face after Israeli troops shot at him with heavy machine gunfire from an armored personnel carrier. After these tragic killings, I personally wondered if doom was the fate of this blooming movement, especially after being obviously targeted by the Israeli military. Surprisingly, knowledge about this movement grew larger and wider and people became more interested in seeking ways to participate. “Actually there was much more interest in the movement at that point and the inquiries of people asking how to come and how to get involved increased. These events did not affect the numbers negatively; at least that’s what we saw.” Yet these killings imposed a series of vital questions. Can they go on or not? Were these killings really targeted and what was their purpose? “Killing ISM members was the most serious measure Israel practiced against our movement, but not the first effort made by Israel to try to de-legitimize or break this phenomenon of solidarity movement.” According to Huwaida’s testimony, Israel’s first attempt to wreck this movement was through talking negatively about them in the media, describing them as “naïve people seeking trouble.” These attempts evolved to reach deporting internationals, arresting them then escalated to firing at them directly. “Like in one incident in Jenin, a soldier shot one of our members in the leg. It wasn’t a fatal injury, but it was definitely to scare her off, so they started pushing it, until an Israeli tank drove over Rachel, killing her.” Although the reason behind these attempts is obvious, Arraf confirms that they are not sure if Rachel’s killing was deliberate, or a direct order given to the tank driver. “In the testimonies of the ISMers who were there, they confirmed that the tank saw Rachel. Now, we are not sure if it was a direct order telling the driver to go ahead and kill her, but there was a complete Israeli denial to this murder and attempts to blame it on Rachel by labeling her as a naïve troublemaker.” Israeli allegations evoked part of the international community to pose questions such as , what was Rachel doing in Gaza, or in an area where a house was being demolished, especially since Israel always presents explanations for its illegal actions against Palestinians? “I don’t think Israel suffered much PR wise, the tank driver was not punished and he was back to work in two days, and this sent a message to the Israeli soldiers that’s it ok if your finger is loose on the trigger. You’re not going to face any repercussions and blames and claims can always be presented even if the victims were internationals.” Three weeks later, Brian Avery, was shot in the face by a burst of machine gunfire from an Israeli armored personnel carrier. When he was shot, Brian was wearing a fluorescent red vest with a reflective white cross on its back and front, identifying him as an international medic. ”He was visible, unarmed, wearing a bright florescent jacket, had his hands up in the air, certainly identified as an international.” Six days later, Tom Hurndall was shot dead! He too was wearing a florescent jacket and clearly identified as an international. “I think this was at the very least negligence on behalf of the Israeli army, and as part of an over all impunity by how the Israeli army operates and endangers civilians. Not only internationals, but Palestinians and this infuriates people, obviously ISM members.” At that point, the ISM had to reevaluate their work, especially regarding the amount of protection they can offer to those internationals, and if this kind of protective accompaniment should be replaced with a safer method. According to Huwaida, more inquires were being submitted and larger groups of people started learning more and coming to Palestine. “These killings opened the eyes of many people to what is really going on, and I don’t feel we suffered in numbers. It was infuriating, but numbers kept increasing.” Regardless of these facts, Huwaida says she was overwhelmed and felt partly responsible. “But still with every injury and death you feel a personal responsibility for it. You did not pull the trigger or drive that tank, but these are people you motivated to take action who are paying their lives.” Although Huwaida stressed that people are never guaranteed that this form of resistance is safer than resisting violently, internationals might be privileged, but they are still in a war zone. “Maybe it’s even more dangerous because in a sense you are depending on the rational and the humane side of the Israeli soldiers as well as the humane side of the international community.” Despite all these negative images and feelings, Huwaida as well as ISM activists were strongly persistent as well as ISM activists to continue their fight for freedom. “Personally, obviously it’s a tremendous loss, at the same time, this will not stop us and we will continue to take action and they will not scare us off, they can’t.” Being an ISM activist and coming to Palestine means an inevitable life change. Reading about the Palestinian struggle and plight or looking at it from the outside can never convey the real picture on the ground, and the amount of Israeli brutality practiced against Palestinians. “I think when internationals get here their whole image of the situation changes, mostly because of the human contacts they establish with local people here and the impact these contacts leave in their lives afterwards.” “They managed to help in mobilization and in diverting tactics from armed or military struggle to more popular non-violent struggle. They have been very effective in that sense." Regardless of the pace in which ISM spread, they have managed to draw a different map for the struggle, and they succeeded in opening the eyes of the world to the necessity of peace in Palestine, to save more Palestinians from a doomed future. Apart from all political statements and goals, one has to realize that the Palestinian struggle at its core a just cause. Otherwise, these internationals that could have simply walked away would not be seen here today, putting their lives on the line in order to establish freedom. Such a movement is evidence of the strength and humanity of all Palestinian people, who are winning simply by staying on this land and digging life out the shadow of death that the Israelis are spreading every day. Read More...
By: Tamara Tamimi
Date: 18/08/2020
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Protection of Women from Violence in Times of Armed Conflict: Palestinian Women as a Case Study
Abstract Violence against women in Palestine at the hands of Israeli occupation forces and settlers is part and parcel of the wider framework of violence against the Palestinian people. Violence by occupation forces takes many different forms, some are evident and clear such as targeted killing and injury, as well as imprisonment. Other forms of violence are less pronounced but equally important as they pertain to the forcible displacement of Palestinians; these include house demolitions, house evictions, revocation of residency, land and property confiscation and imposition of restrictions on the registration of newborns. While this violence is targeted against the entirety of the Palestinian people, including women, children and the elderly, it has a disproportionate impact on women due to reinforcement of patriarchy, traditional gender roles and stereotypes, as well as the reproduction of the cycle of violence by the stronger social group against the weaker social group, and signifying diminishing acceptance and tolerance to diversity and difference. Violence against the Palestinian people as a whole has persisted for over fifty years despite the multitude of instruments and mechanisms to protect from violence in times of armed conflict. This includes instruments within the framework of international humanitarian law, international human rights law and international criminal law, as well as the women, peace and security agenda. Notwithstanding the multitude of instruments and mechanisms, their effectiveness remains constricted by a large number of factors including the absence of enforcement mechanisms due to the alleged primacy of state sovereignty, provided that this does not contravene the economic and geopolitical interests of a few select states. Another important factor is that these instruments are not designed to appreciate the impact of protracted occupation, and are instead tailored to armed conflicts that do not give rise to protracted military occupation and that are time-bound even if they persist for a long period of time, such as the wars in Yugoslavia and Rwanda. This paper seeks to highlight forms of Israeli violence against the Palestinian people, describe their disproportionate impact on women, analyse why violence persists against women in times of armed conflict, and identify stakeholders and recommendations to increase protection of women from violence in times of armed conflict.
By: MIFTAH
Date: 18/04/2020
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Israeli violations during the Coronavirus pandemic
The following report illustrates Israeli violations during the Coronavirus pandemic sweeping the world. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Israeli occupation forces continued their violations against the Palestinian people in every part of Palestine and in Jerusalem in particular. They did not halt raids into cities, villages and camps, conducting arrests, confiscating land, closing institutions and targeting official Palestinian figures. It is clear that the violations Israel perpetrated in Jerusalem stem from a permanent and systematic policy based on two focal points: First: resistance and rejection of any show of Palestinian national sovereignty in occupied Jerusalem through every means possible, under the pretext of ”breaching Israeli sovereignty”. Israeli authorities also accuse Palestinians of violating the so-called “interim agreement” in reference to the Oslo Accords, which prohibits the PA from holding any activity in the city without an Israeli permit. Second: the Israelization and Judaization of every aspect of life in Jerusalem through disrupting the demographic balance in order to impose a new reality on the ground. Throughout the Coronavirus pandemic, Israel escalated these policies and the following measures taken against Jerusalemites. Arrests: During this period, arrests were focused on curtailing any efforts in Jerusalem aimed at protecting Palestinian residents from the dangers of the epidemic. Israel considers such efforts a violation of Israeli law, which culminated in the arrest of over 20 activists from various parts of Jerusalem. Some were put under house arrest and prohibited from contacting Palestinian officials in the city. Arrests included Palestinian Minister of Jerusalem Affairs, Fadi Hidmi and Jerusalem Governor Adnan Ghaith. These are two of the most prominent national Palestinian symbols in Jerusalem, which prompted Israel to use an iron fist with them, humiliating and mistreating them during their arrest. Hidmi, for example mistreated during his arrest and later said he had been violently assaulted at the detention facility. The two officials were arrested on charges of being responsible for aid distribution to needy Jerusalemite families. According to the Wadi Helwa Information Center, throughout March until the date of this report (April 9) a total of 193 arrests were made by Israeli authorities, including four women and 33 minors. A total of 73 arrests were made in the Old City and inside and around the Aqsa Mosque Compound; 57 Palestinians were arrested in Essawiyeh, 35 in Silwan and several others in various parts of the city. Furthermore, Israeli intelligence services summoned Jerusalem governor Adnan Ghaith, Aqsa Mosque Director Sheikh Omar Kiswani and Deputy Director Sheikh Najeh Bkeirat for questioning. They also summoned and arrested several Fatah members under the pretext of ”violating Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem” and arrested three Jerusalemite activists at the Allenby Bridge en route to Jordan. Attorney Mohammed Mahmoud, who is handling the detentions in Israeli courts, says there has been a noticeable escalation in Israeli measures against youth in Jerusalem during the pandemic. “Several preventative measures have been taken in courts since mid-March against the virus. Courts are conducted via Skype where the prisoner is connected by a phone and monitor in a special room in the prisons. There are some prisons that do not have television monitors and the sessions are conducted only by phone. This makes communication difficult between the prisoner and defense team. It is hard to fully explain what is going on in the session to the prisoner. These sessions also lack the confidentiality and immunity between lawyer and client. However, the lawyers try as much as possible to clarify certain rights and points to the prisoner. What more, the glass partition in front of the judge is another impediment in terms of hearing what he is saying,” Mahmoud said. He also mentioned how difficult these procedures were for the families waiting outside the courtroom since only one person is allowed in and the families are barred from speaking to their imprisoned children. He accused Israeli authorities of taking advantage of the Coronavirus crisis and their preventative measures to further oppress Palestinians, maintaining that several cases of abuse and arrest were recorded for supposedly violating these measures. A number of fines were also imposed, ranging from NIS500-NIS5000. Confiscation of food packages and relief assistance: Another aspect of Israel’s policy against Palestinians is focusing on measures against them instead of measures to combat the virus. Israeli authorities have actively pursued Palestinians, including volunteers and institutions which provide relief aid and food packages to poor families. They assaulted many of the volunteers, arrested them and confiscated the aid. In Sur Baher at the end of March, Israeli soldiers assaulted six volunteers, beating them and throwing teargas at them before confiscating a truckload of relief and food assistance. Prior to this, Israeli forces arrested three teams disinfecting Silwan, Suwwana and the Old City and confiscated the cleaning products being used to disinfect public and vital facilities in these areas. They also arrested four others for distributing and hanging up posters to raise awareness about the coronavirus, barring them entry into the Old City. Violation and desecration of places of worship This was apparent from the closure of the Aqsa Mosque Compound and barring entry to Muslim worshippers, including its guards and caretakers. At the same time, it assumed a much more relaxed policy with Jews in synagogues. They were able to move freely in their places of residence contrary to the policy imposed against Jerusalemites whose movement was much more limited. What’s more, Palestinians were heavily fined, ranging from NIS500 to NIS5000. By targeting the Aqsa Mosque, Islamic Waqf officials say Israeli occupation authorities are attempting to interfere and impose Israeli sovereignty under the pretext of preventing the spread of the virus. In this regard, Israeli authorities closed the doors to Al Aqsa with the exception of “Hutta” and “Chain” Gates and kept “Dung Gate” open, the keys to which Israel has held since its occupation of Jerusalem in 1967, and which allows in settlers to the compound. On March 20, Israeli authorities closed the gates to Al Aqsa and prevented anyone from entering both the mosque and the Old City just before Friday prayers. They claimed this was a preventative measure against the coronavirus. That day, according to Waqf estimates, only 500 Muslim worshippers prayed at the mosque even though Waqf authorities had taken the necessary measures and precautions against the epidemic. They had fully sanitized and disinfected the grounds and mosques and distributed instructions to worshippers before Friday. In addition, there were employees sanitizing worshippers’ hands inside the compound. Meanwhile, Israeli occupation forces cracked down on worshippers who tried to pray in the streets and allies of the Old City, firing stun grenades, striking them with nightsticks and pushing them away from the Aqsa gates. Similar incidents occurred in other areas of the city, especially Wadi Joz, Musrara, Ras Al Amoud/Silwan and outside of Dung Gate. Israeli police also issued penalties to worshippers for praying outside of the Aqsa’s gates and to youths as they walked in the city on claims they ”were not abiding by preventative measures.” Israeli authorities took their policies up a notch when they raided the home of President of the Islamic Waqf Council, Sheikh Abdel Atheem Salham and issued him a penalty of NIS5000 on claims he ”did not abide by police orders and allowed more than the permitted number of people to enter the Aqsa grounds.” They also summoned Aqsa Mosque Director Sheikh Omar Kiswani and Aqsa Mosque Imam Amer Abdeen for questioning. Furthermore, Israeli forces stormed the Bab Al Rahmeh prayer site and threatened to impose fines on the worshippers for ”not adhering to health ministry instructions”, also threatening worshippers that they would be fined if they gathered in the Aqsa courtyard for prayer. Israeli authorities continued to issue orders banning Palestinians from entering the Old City and the Aqsa Mosque Compound. Eight Palestinian youths were banned from the Aqsa and seven from the Old City and travel ban orders were issued against four other Jerusalemites. In order to avoid any further interference into Aqsa affairs by Israeli authorities, the Islamic Waqf , which is the caretaker of the Aqsa Mosque, closed the compound until further notice as a protective measure against the novel coronavirus. The same was applied to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher with only members of the clergy allowed entry. Isolating the Old City: Under the pretext of responding to the coronavirus pandemic, Israeli occupation authorities isolated the Old City from its surroundings. Approximately 40,000 Jerusalemites live in the Old City of Jerusalem and were suddenly cut off from the rest of East Jerusalem, whose Palestinian population is around 360,000. Only those who live within the Old City walls were allowed entrance while Jewish settlers living in settlement enclaves inside or outside it were allowed to enter and exit freely. This policy of isolation led to huge losses for shops owned by Jerusalemites many of whom could not reach their stores. Figures provided by the Jerusalem Center for Social and Economic Rights and the Jerusalem Merchants Committee indicate that this constrictive Israeli policy, which has been implemented for the past three years, has led to the closure of an increasing number of shops in the Old City. Today around 300 shops are shuttered, a number which is likely to grow with this recent isolation. Expansion and acceleration of settlements It is clear that Israeli authorities have been exploiting this pandemic to continue settlement projects in Jerusalem and in the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories. This includes approval for the construction of tens of thousands of housing units in the settlement of “Atarot, north of Jerusalem, approval to start construction in the “E1” settlement project in Tur, Zaayem, Essawiyeh and Ezzariyeh where over 10,000 housing units will be built, approval for the construction of hundreds of thousands of settlement units in “Givat Hamatos” south of Jerusalem and the establishment of a new settlement neighborhood in Beit Hanina. Plans have also been put in place to build a wall separating the village of Sheikh Saad from Jabal Mukkaber. Meanwhile, Israeli authorities are floating a plan to push Shufat camp and Kufr Aqab out of Jerusalem’s municipal borders as a means of dealing with the concerning ”demographic problem” in the city. Impeding the work of health centers While Israel rushed to stymie coronavirus outbreaks in its own residential and settlement centers in Jerusalem, it assumed a policy of discrimination when it came to Palestinian Jerusalemites. Israeli forces purposely delayed the opening of Covid-19 testing centers in Palestinian areas. Furthermore, the majority of Jerusalemites do not speak Hebrew, the language spoken in the various Israeli health insurance funds, not to mention that over 40,000 Jerusalemites do not have access to Israeli health care services under the pretext that they live outside of the unilaterally-designated Jerusalem municipal borders. This policy came in tandem with the crisis already felt by the Palestinian health sector in Jerusalem, reflected in the lack of necessary equipment and medical supplies in the six East Jerusalem hospitals, making them incapable of accommodating dozens of potential Covid-19 patients. The current patients have been distributed in nearby hotels for monitoring while hospitals only have 60 beds available, not to mention the lack in medicines and medical staff they suffer from. Discriminatory measures against the prisoner movement The medical negligence towards Palestinian prisoners during the pandemic is evident by how prison services failed to take the necessary precautionary measures in response to the coronavirus. What’s more, they continued to prohibit anyone from being informed about the conditions of quarantined prisoners in the Megiddo Prison. Israeli prisoner services also banned the entry of over 140 products from the prison commissary, including basic food products such as meat, vegetables, fruit and spices. Cleaning products and disinfectants necessary for prisoners to protect themselves from Covid-19 infection were also banned. Mistreatment of Palestinian laborers There have been several testimonies about Israel’s mistreatment of Palestinian workers inside the Green Line, including returning workers to the Palestinian territories after suspecting they contracted Covid-19. Last month, Israeli soldiers dumped a Palestinian laborer showing symptoms of Covid-19 at the Beit Sira checkpoint without providing him with any treatment. This behavior was repeated at the Hizma military checkpoint, north of Jerusalem. Laborers are returned to the Palestinian territories on an almost daily basis without being tested, which has resulted in the spread of the virus in Palestine. At the same time, Israel unofficially opened its crossings to workers as a way to circumvent Palestinian preventative measures. They offered laborers incentives such as higher daily wages, thus exploiting their difficult living conditions and avoiding any legal obligations towards them. Uprooting residents from their land and homes At the height of the Coronavirus crisis, the Israeli ”civil administration” continued with its policy of confiscating Palestinian land, homes and tents. Some of these facilities were being used as emergency clinics to meet the needs of locals. On March 26, Israeli occupation forces raided Khirbet Ibzeiq in the northern Jordan Valley, confiscating steel rods and canopies designed for setting up eight tents, two equipped as clinics and four as emergency shelters for residents who were forced out of their homes. Two other tents were to be used as a mosque. Israeli forces also confiscated a corrugated-iron trailer that had been in the area for over two years, an electric generator, sand and cement bags and four loads of brick to lay the ground inside the tents. In Ein Diyouk, west of Jericho, Israeli forces demolished three buildings which Jerusalemite farmers use as seasonal residences. In Hebron, Israeli forces tore down a wall separating Wadi Haseen from Wadi Nasara in preparation for closing the entire area and in Deir Ballout in the Salfeet area, they demolished a farm room and water well. It should be noted that in contrast to its measures taken in the occupied Palestinian territories, the Israeli government suspended all demolitions inside Israel during the state of emergency. To View the Full Report as PDF
By: MIFTAH
Date: 26/05/2018
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Palestinian Women: the Disproportionate Impact of the Israeli Occupation
With the support from the Arab Regional Network on Women, Peace, and Security- El Karama, the Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy (MIFTAH) has collaborated with the Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counseling (WCLAC), the Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development (PWWSD), and Women Media and Development (TAM) in preparing the evidence based report “Palestinian Women: the Disproportionate Impact of the Israeli Occupation.” The report aims to draw on Israeli human rights violations under international law and highlight the effects these violations have on Palestinian women. The report was discussed in a “side event” of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) 62nd session in New York during March 2018. The purpose of the side event was to engage regional and international human rights networks and human rights defenders and women movements in advocating for the implementation of human rights provisions through the enforcement of international ratified conventions and agreements. The report includes personal testimonies and quantitative research of four categories of Palestinian women: women refugees, female Jerusalemites subjected to residency revocation/family reunification refusal; female prisoners subjected to gender-based violence and Gazan women, focusing on denial of their access to healthcare. The main findings of the report shed light on the direct discrimination that Palestinian women are subjected to and their effects that are particularly damaging to women. The findings reflect the results of an armed occupation coupled with a patriarchal society and can be contextualized by broader Israeli motives: “to change the physical character, demographic composition, institutional structure or status of the Palestinians”. Women Refugees (MIFTAH) The report uncovers how Palestinian women living in refugee camps in the West Bank and Gaza live under high levels of violence. Many Palestinian refugee women experience a “triangle of oppression” according to MIFTAH, this is due to a combination of violence committed by the Israeli occupation, the daily life and traditional attitudes towards women and they bear the brunt of Israeli abuses while forced to endure in already suppressive and patriarchal environment. MIFTAH found that 33 percent of the interviewed women had been directly exposed to physical assault by Israeli Occupation Forces. As many as 21 percent had been exposed to beatings or tear gas at Israeli checkpoints while they were pregnant, and 4 percent reported that they aborted or gave birth at Israeli checkpoints. Moreover, 24 percent were forced to live in shelters or with extended family and 37 percent had been exposed to detention or interrogation. The physical violence women experience while living in the refugee camps is alarming and the number of psychological violence is even higher. Moreover, 72 percent of Palestinian women feel panicked when they hear the sounds of Israeli bullets, war jets, bombs or Palestinian ambulances, and 88 percent confirm that they feel terrified when Occupation Forces storm the camp. These women live in a mentally stressed environment where it is hard to feel safe because they have experienced or know that physical violence is a part of their everyday life. Recommendations include:
Jerusalem: Residency Revocation and Family Reunification (PWWSD) Palestinian Jerusalemites are facing the challenge of resisting the Israeli forces of removing Palestinians from the region and reshaping east Jerusalem toward a majority of Israelis. Between 1967 and 2016, 14,595 Palestinians from east Jerusalem had their residency status revoked. Israel targets the Palestinian Jerusalemites with their policies of residency revocation and family reunification by making it very difficult to stay in Jerusalem. Palestinian Jerusalemites have to live in Jerusalem to have the residency permit, but if they marry a non-Jerusalemite they cannot live together in Jerusalem without going through the process of family reunification, which is a demanding process with an average waiting period of ten years, it is costly and the Israelis may refuse the application without giving any reason. PWWSD has documented a number of cases of attempted family reunification one of these is Afaf A who explains how she after almost ten years of applying still are denied residence permit: “To this day, we are denied the right to know the true reason as to why I am unable to receive a Jerusalem ID. All in all, this entire case cost me up to nearly 70,000 NIS.” Afaf’s story is a typical example of the burden that reunification places on women’s family life and social relations. The policy of residency revocation forces Palestinian Jerusalemites to leave their homes and it divides families, which can lead to a traumatic fear of separation form children and homes for the women living in Jerusalem. This creates an enormous psychological stain and stress upon women. Israel is denying Palestinians fundamental liberties such as the right to movement and work. This policy also has a negative impact for female victims of domestic violence because they fear going to authorities in case they are forcibly transferred away from their children. Recommendations include:
Female Prisoners (TAM) TAM has contributed with evidence of Israeli violations against female ex-prisoners. Through the testimonies of female ex-prisoners TAM found that violations concerned four themes: “ (1) Physical and psychological torture at the moment of imprisonment; (2) Physical and psychological torture during investigation; (3) Prison conditions and family visits prohibition and (4) Medical Negligence/Denial of Access to Services.” The female ex-prisoners recounts of being kept in solitary confinement for long periods of time without being given a reason, they are treated inhumane by being denied access to sanitation, denied sleep, being beaten and sexually harassed. The family of the female prisoners rarely permitted to visit, which is yet another method to punish the Palestinian women prisoners. Soldiers will deny them to see their family or cut the family visits short
In a testimonies conducted by TAM, Yasmine J a female ex-prisoner describes one of her prison cells like this The Palestinian female prisoners experienced unhygienic prisons cells that are overcrowded and flooding with sewage. The women prisoners describe the food as inedible and the cells as filthy. The conditions in the prisons are very critical and they are not equipped for female prisoners. Often in the prisons there is no awareness for cultural or gender-based sensitivities and invasive bodily searches are a popular method for Israeli soldiers to humiliate the prisoners. Palestinian women are frequently labeled security prisoners and are placed with Israeli criminals that in some cases will extend the assaults and humiliation. Recommendations include:
Access to Health in Gaza (WCLAC) The blockade of Gaza has been going on for 11 years and Israel is not letting go of its grip, actually it seems that Israel is tightening its grip. On the basis of testimonies gathered from women in Gaza has WCLAC highlighted three areas of concern: Israeli border polices health rights and access to health, and the effects of the Israeli blockade on Gaza. The approval rate of patient permits to exit Gaza to be treated has declined rapidly during the recent years. In 2012, 92 percent of patients’ permits were approved while in 2017, the approval rate had declined to 54 percent. In 2016, 31.4 percent of these applications were delayed for months or even years beyond medical appointments the consequence of this is that diseased people get sicker and in some cases this results in death. Israelis are also very observant of what goes into Gaza even when it concerns essential health care, medicine, fuel and adequate nutrition. The approval rate for health related access was 48 percent in 2016. These numbers show clearly how Israel is failing to facilitate humanitarian access and therefore is preventing the development and functioning of human life inside Gaza. The lack of rights to health care is detrimental to pregnant women who are subjected to dangerous risks due to a lack of services and equipment. Abortions, premature births and labor complications are at an increasing rate. The fact that women are not given access to pregnancy related healthcare is gender based discrimination. It is vital for women that the gap in access to maternal and reproductive health care is addressed. The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is forcing women, who often suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression and even permanent disabilities, to neglect their own needs to take care of their families. Recommendations include:
Efforts of the international community Israel’s actions against Palestinian women refugees, women living in Jerusalem, female prisoners, and women living in Gaza, as stressed in the report, are discriminating and in clear violation of International Law and the International Human Rights and are a clear result of the gravity of Israeli officials impunity. The policies outlined in this report contextualized by, wider systems of discrimination against Palestinians. Free movement is being curtailed, individuals are being coerced off their land, and individual rights are being removed. These are fundamental breaches of international law, and must be recognized as ethnic discrimination. The international community has again and again urged Israel to allow the return of the Palestinian refugees, stop the forced eviction and forcible transfer of Jerusalemites, respect the international standards of treatment of women prisoners and let Gazans have access to basic healthcare but the international community’s effort to make Israel change its policies has been ignored and they have failed in holding Israel accountable for its actions. Women’s rights, enshrined in conventions such as CEDAW, Israel and its violent occupation, creeping annexation and ethnic cleansing is bolstered by the failure of the international community to hold Israel to account. Israel and the international community are responsible for the suffering of the various groups of women discussed in this report, as well as the subjugation and suffering of Palestinians. More broadly, Israel will continue to force Palestinians to live as second class citizens without civil, political, economic, social nor cultural rights.
By the Same Author
Date: 16/04/2004
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Pieces of Pain, Portraits of Victory
When I first decided to write about Palestinian political women prisoners, my perception was simply of gray lifeless cells, and fierce looking guards. As I read through the women prisoners reports, I saw these amazing women with an incredible strength to fight and survive. I saw women who faced an inhumane enemy, full of hate and anger, women who faced the darkest nights, and the gloomiest mornings, but still had a smile on their faces. If I was ever imprisoned, would I be able to survive through it like they did? Could I be able to hope for a better tomorrow? Will I be able to picture the sun and the green fields in my mind and steal myself from the grayness of the cell bars, and the four cold walls? Despite vague information regarding the exact number of Palestinian political women prisoners, the statistics indicate that approximately 5,000 Palestinian women were arrested since the Israeli occupation in 1967, including young girls, seniors, pregnant women and mothers, sentenced for long periods and separated from their children. The largest series of arrests took place between 1968-1976 and during the first Palestinian Intifada. Lots of the testimonies given by women prisoners show the amount of torture endured, both physically and psychologically, from verbal assaults to sexual abuse and rape. These women prisoners never stopped fighting for their rights, from assigning a proper attorney to improving their living conditions and stopping the continuous abuse. In 1984, the women prisoners participated in a hunger strike that lasted 18 days, thereafter, regular strikes were held helping improve the living conditions in prison, though methods of torture kept getting more and more brutal. "I am treated as evil by people who claim that they are being oppressed because they are not allowed to force me to practice what they do." -- D. Dale Gulledge I found the best method to understand the weight of this issue is through interviews with previous prisoners. I interviewed Sonia Nimer, who was imprisoned from 1975-1978, in Ramleh prison “Neve tertza” and again in the first Palestinian Intifada 1988, for a week. Nimer moved to London in 1981, shortly after her release, and worked as an education officer in the British Museum. Moving back to Ramallah in 1995, today, Sonia is a lecturer in Birzeit University and in the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. Nimer just published a book with the British writer Elizabeth Lerd, entitled “A Little Peace of Ground.” She also wrote a series of children’s books that were published by Tamer’s Educational Institute in Ramallah and translated 10 children’s’ books from English to Arabic including “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” and “Nobody Owns the Sky.” Nimer Is awaiting the publishing of her new novel, entitled “ Wondrous Journeys in Strange Lands” (Al Rihlat Alghareebeh Fil Belad Alajeebieh), aimed for youth readers.
When I first entered her house, I noticed the beautiful calm colors in her living room that vary from red to yellow, but what specifically drew my attention was the Palestinian traditional dress hung on her wall, in red and black. I felt as if it was a piece of her. Her playful son Qays was running around the colored house. I wondered whether or not he should be hearing her prison stories; I even wondered if I could handle witnessing her flow of emotions, and the stream of memories that was about to flood. I started by asking her about how she was arrested and why. She told me that one morning she woke to find a letter requesting her for an interview with the Israeli Army Intelligence on October 20, 1975. Nimer went to the interview, but never came back! During her court hearing, all the ambiguous reasons led to one conclusion, “belonging to prohibited movements, namely the PLO” (at that time, the PLO was considered an unlawful organization). Nimer was a 20-year-old Birzeit student when she was arrested, so the main method of torture used against involved sessions of “discussion,” brain washing, on Israel’s right over Palestine. The other method was seating her in a chair in an empty room, threatening that if she dares turn her head, horrible things will happen to her. “I never knew what to assume and whether I could handle the torture,” Sonia said. During her second imprisonment, Nimer was placed in the Palestinian male political prisoners cell all day, then moved to a nearby room at night, where she could hear the sounds of Palestinian men being tortured, “I felt helpless and exhausted from the sounds and there was nothing I could do to lessen their pain,” Nimer painfully remembered. Psychological torture is worse than physical torture, because you start making your own assumptions regarding what might be practiced against you, especially since human rights and conventions do not carry any influence with the Israeli authorities. After a long distant look, Sonia started telling me about the prison conditions. There were two blocks, one for Palestinian political women prisoners and the other for Israeli women prisoners convicted of prostitution and various drug related offences. “Israeli guards used to provoke Israeli women prisoners against us, at times when political tension was high. On some occasions, the guards used to leave the kitchen door open, making it easy for Israeli prisoners to reach knives and sharp instruments in order to hurt us.” As a gesture of humanity, Palestinian political prisoners had an “entertainment hour." Every Tuesday, they were made to watch a movie about Nazism and the Jewish holocaust, and on brighter days about Israeli pioneers in Palestine. The food was “horrible.” Palestinian prisoners were served three meals a day: for breakfast, they had a small amount of cheese or yogurt with a tomato “usually rotten”; for lunch, they had either boiled cabbage with turkey on the side or rice and chicken. Dinner was lunch’s leftovers. “They never served us milk, which led to teeth and bone problems due to lack of calcium.” Cell conditions were just as awful. Every six Palestinians shared a cell and flash lights were fixated on them all the time. “We used to feel watched every minute of everyday, we never felt comfortable, not for a moment, it was straining.” To lessen the agony and daily pain, Sonia and her mates convinced the prison guards to plant a little garden. “I planted tomatoes and cucumbers.” However, after the plants grew, the prisoners had to sneak out, “steal” and smuggle them in, because they were not allowed to eat from their own garden. “Regardless of the conditions, even if prison was heaven, stealing your freedom for one day is unbearable,” Sonia confirmed with a sigh. There were no humanitarian exceptions. One woman was imprisoned pregnant, she gave birth in prison and when her child was two, they took him back to her family. ”Imagine the agony she felt being parted from her own child, they stole the only thing that kept her from breaking down.” On another occasion they imprisoned a 70-year-old Palestinian woman, called “Om Khader.” “Regardless of the daily humiliation, we tried to seize time. We used to teach and take classes. I taught English, another taught us math, we used to learn Arabic and Hebrew. I even started learning French, but was released before continuing lessons.” Nimer still recalls how Palestinian women used to struggle to get books. They asked the Red Cross to provide them with books several times, but the prison administration insisted on checking them every single time. “We used to pose strikes in order to get books.” Even letters from family and friends took a very long time to reach the Palestinian prisoners making their struggle with the endless Israeli injustice even more difficult. “The hardest day was the letters distribution date. It was exciting, because we were waiting for letters, yet hard because sometimes we never got any.” “They used to steal the little pretty details of life. For example, there was a beautiful Jasmine tree that I used to love, looking at it took me away from this harsh world for a while. One morning, and for absolutely no reason, they cut it down.” I was especially shocked when I asked her about her feelings on the day of her release. I expected her to tell me how happy she was, how beautiful the outside was, how eager it was to be able to live a normal life, but Israeli imprisonment made Sonia even more human than she was before. “The weird part was my parents were waiting for me on the door, thinking that I would come out running and hug them, but I cried so hard before I left the prison they had to give me valium! I could not bare the idea of leaving all the prisoners behind, especially because I never knew if I would ever see them again. I could not handle thinking they were in more pain everyday, while I was sliding back into a normal life.” I felt guilty that I had to remind her of all those dark memories, but her wide smile and lively spirit assured me of how strong we, Palestinians, are. Everyday we create endless horizons of hope and cling to the smallest joys. “Prison was a very traumatic experience. When I lived it, I was strong, but as I remember it today it shakes me to the core, realizing how inhumane and hard it was on me as a human and a Palestinian.” Samar, A Young Heroine With the passage of time and the widening of the conflict, Israeli arrests and detaining methods seem to have evolved in a manner reflecting more brutality and inhumanity. Since the resurgence of violence on September 2000, different human rights organizations and prisoners affairs institutes have documented endless arrests and torture stories, in which intolerable viciousness was practiced. Samar, however, drew my attention most. Maybe this was because she was my age or maybe because I cannot imagine myself tolerating such cruelty. I could see her clear face, reflecting strength yet pain, where would her youth and life go after her baseless arrest? Born on August 22,1984, Samar Ata Saleh Bader, a student in high school, is one of many Palestinian prisoners that are being held by Israel. Bader’s mother stated that the Israeli forces invaded their house four times before arresting her daughter. They destroyed a lot of their personal property, but once, they entered the house and dragged Bader to Howara military camp, assaulted her physically and hit her continuously while interrogating her for four hours. At one point, an interrogator hit her so severely causing her to internally bleed. During last May, Israeli soldiers used new intimation methods to harass Bader. A person dressed up in a black suit with a UN badge showed up at their house and asked Bader’s mother to go check the new food supplies in town. When the mother left and they ensured that Samar was home alone, Israeli forces broke into the house and tried to burn it, but Samar with the help of neighbors managed to hinder their efforts and put the fire down. On June 16, 2003, which is the day of her arrest, Samar was at the dentist when Israeli soldiers broke in and arrested and dragged her to “Btah Tekfa” military camp, where she was under investigation. She was brought to Salem court for the first time on June 26, 2003, but the hearing was postponed until September 2, 2003. Eventually Samar was sentenced to 17 months. Of course, Samar’s body bruises, her only proof of the torture she endured were gone on her court day since the Israeli army utilizes torture methods designed either to leave no visible physical evidence or only wounds which heal before a detainee is taken before a military judge or seen by a lawyer. Torture is usually exercised in an isolated atmosphere to make it impossible for lawyers or human rights organizations to gather enough information about it, and the witnesses’ testimonies are never enough evidence for the Israeli court It does not stop here; the Israeli military issued Order 1220 in 1988 which gave the prison commander permission to prevent a lawyer from meeting a detainee for a period of 15 days, "if he sees that this is necessary for the security of the area, or if it is in the interest of the interrogation." Tens of Palestinian and Israeli campaigns to end the Israeli violations listed lots of torture methods. According to the Public Committee against Torture in Israel, there are ten most popular Israeli torture methods;
1. Tying up detainees in painful positions for hours and days on end,
These methods have caused severe physical and psychological damage and in some cases death, PCATI confirmed that almost all detainees that were held during the first Palestinian uprising (1988-1993) suffered from torture during interrogation. In 1999, the Israeli High Court was forced to outlaw four methods of torture after being pursued with complaints and opposition. The methods were the authority to “shake” a detainee, or hold him/her in a “shabeh” position, which is when the prisoner's legs are tied to a small stool and his/her hands are tied behind his back with a bag covering his/her head sometimes for more then 48 hours continuously in which s/he is given only 5 minute breaks between each sitting. Also, forcing a prisoner in a “frog crouch” position for hours or depriving one from sleep for days. Legal Aspects
All Israeli military arrests are illegal. Moreover, we can find an article against every single action they carry out. Article (5) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Article (6) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Article (9) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Article (10) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Article (11) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Article (12) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Sharm El–Sheikh Memorandum Release of Prisoners The two Sides shall establish a joint committee that shall follow-up on matters related to release of Palestinian prisoners. The Government of Israel shall release Palestinian and other prisoners who committed their offences prior to September 13, 1993, and were arrested prior to May 4, 1994. The Joint Committee shall agree on the names of those who will be released in the first two stages. Those lists shall be recommended to the relevant Authorities through the Monitoring and Steering Committee; The first stage of release of prisoners shall be carried out on September 5, 1999 and shall consist of 200 prisoners. The second stage of release of prisoners shall be carried out on October 8, 1999 and shall consist of 150 prisoners; The joint committee shall recommend further lists of names to be released to the relevant Authorities through the Monitoring and Steering Committee; The Israeli side will aim to release Palestinian prisoners before next Ramadan. Prohibition of Torture
1. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 10 December 1948 states:
2. "The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966, ratified by Israel on 3 October,1991, states:
3. The United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment of 1984:
4. The Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949.
Torture is a grave breach of the IV Geneva Convention and also a war crime under the definition of Article 6 (b) of the Charter of the Nuremberg Military Tribunal of 1947. States have jurisdiction to try persons, of whatever nationality, for such acts. Under Article 146 of the IV Geneva Convention the State Parties to the Convention are "under the obligation to search for persons alleged to have committed or to have ordered to be committed, such Grave Breaches, and shall bring such persons, regardless of their nationality, before its own courts." “Great spirits have often encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds” --Albert Einstein As I sat on my desk trying to write an ending, my heart shook and I could feel my fingertips fumble at the amount of might every Palestinian woman holds. Their warm hearts, glowing faces hot blood, endless capacities and will to survive, while clinging to every little piece of ground, shows an unquestionable sense of nationalism. I feel small watching their spirits cross the sky, and make those dreams of freedom and light come true, I cannot help but wonder where all this love for Palestine comes from, this country is not just a geographical space, it’s a startling horizon that leaves us breathless. I picture those prisoners today, sitting restlessly in their cells, nevertheless, creating their own sphere and filling it with abilities and hopes, their eyes shinning and beating the darkness. My words seem to fail me, as I observe their writings and stories; these women have created wings for their struggle, and flew over the blindness and heartlessness of this enemy which spreads hate by day. I feel blessed for being a woman, and most importantly a Palestinian, for I know I have a spiritual connection with all these tender fighters. Sources:
www.mandela-palestine.org
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