Ramallah, 1 May 2005 — 12-year old Ahmed has a metal fragment lodged in his skull. A Norwegian protester who was standing next to Ahmed was also hit by a ricocheting fragment of what he says were live rounds fired in their direction by Israeli soldiers two hundred meters away. 23-year old Hamze is suffering from an injury to the back of his head from a gas canister that was shot at him directly from short range. Read more about Protesters hospitalized after anti-Wall demo in Bil'in
Budrus, Ramallah, 11 March 2005 — In response to an unprovoked military invasion in the West Bank village of Budrus, villagers, who have been struggling against the Wall for more than one year, tore down pieces of the Separation Fence which is built on their land. During a wedding celebration early Friday afternoon in Budrus, Israeli military and border police jeeps invaded the village. After the military left through the gate in the fence, villagers followed and forced the gate open. They then damaged several dozen meters of the structure while shouting “No to the fence! Yes to peace!” Read more about Budrus tears down the Wall!
On February 23 at 2:45 PM, Brian Avery will arrive in Tel Aviv from the U.S. in order to be present on February 28th when the Israeli Supreme Court hears his petition demanding a criminal investigation of his shooting. Brian, an American human rights activist with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), was shot in the face and critically wounded on April 5, 2003 by Israeli soldiers while standing in street with his hands in the air in the West Bank town of Jenin. A bullet entered his face, shattering his jaw and his nose. Since the incident he has been in rehabilitation and undergone a series of facial reconstruction surgeries. Read more about Brian Avery challenges Israeli military impunity
January 9, 2005 — At approximately, 12:30 PM today, five-and-a-half hours after the opening of polling stations, the first Palestinian voter succeeded in casting a ballot at the Jaffa Gate post office in the old city of East Jerusalem. Israeli-imposed obstacles to voting at the Jaffa Gate polling station typify the problems Palestinians are experiencing as they attempt to conduct democratic elections under Israeli occupation. The Israeli government is attempting to limit Palestinian voting in East Jerusalem in particular as part of an attempt to deny Palestinian rights and identity there. Read more about Election Irregularities: Israeli restrictions delay Jerusalem votes until 12:30PM
Today the Israeli military declared the closure of the Erez border crossing with the Gaza Strip for 48 hours, blocking the movement of all Palestinians into and out of the Gaza Strip. The closure also prevented Palestinian Presidential candidate Mustafa Barghouthi from leaving Gaza to campaign in the West Bank until late this evening. Yesterday, in the Gaza Strip seven Palestinian civilians, five of them children, were killed by an Israeli tank shell in Beit Lahia. Areas in Khan Yunis, Beit Lahia and Rafah remain under Israeli military siege, making it impossible to carry out a presidential election campaign there. Last week a 17 year-old boy, Riziq Musleh, was shot by an Israeli sniper in Rafah while attempting to hang a campaign poster. Read more about Free and Fair Palestinian Elections not Possible Under Military Occupation
At 1:00am the Israeli Army attacked homes on Old Najav Street in Nablus, West of the old city. Five young men were killed and one eleven year-old girl. Medical examination evidence suggests the five men were executed. International Solidarity activists, who are presently accompanying UPMRC medical teams in the area, interviewed the Director of Rafidia Hospital, Dr. Samir Abu Srour, where the five men and the young girl were taken. According to Dr. Srour, four of the five men were shot in the head at close range. The bullets did not pass through their skulls and instead exploded the young men’s heads, indicating that they were shot at close range. Read more about Demand investigation into alleged execution of five Palestinians
According to Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz website Sunday evening: “Six armed Palestinians were killed by Border Police undercover troops in the West Bank town of Tul Karm on Sunday.” This Ha’aretz description bears little resemblance to what happened on the ground. Six Palestinians were assassinated 100 meters from the ISM apartment where three ISM volunteers were staying at the time. Only two of the six Palestinians assassinated were members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades. According to reliable sources in Tulkarem, the other four were simply bystanders. Members of ISM-Tulkarem correct the record. Read more about Ha'aretz claims "Six Armed Palestinians Killed in Tulkarem"
American peace activist Ann Petter who has been detained for 14 days at Ben Gurion airport, appeared today before Judge Oded Mudrik at Tel Aviv District Court. Petter was charged with being a security threat to the State of Israel. Judge Mudrik postponed the decision on Petter’s case until Thursday, July 8, 2004 at 11:30 a.m. in Tel Aviv District Court. Petter is a 44-year old graphic designer from New York who planned to attend a nonviolent peace march organized by the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Judge Mudrik refused to release Petter from detention while the decision is pending. Read more about U.S. Peace Activist Remains in Detention After Hearing
Freedom Summer Palestine 2004 is conceived to be 56-day campaign (one day for every year of displacement and dispossession) against occupation, whereby Palestinians mobilizing with the participation and support of their international supporters, will draw the attention of the world to the true nature of the situation on the ground in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and leave no doubt in anyone’s mind that the Palestinian struggle is a just struggle for dignity, human rights and freedom. This press release from the International Solidarity Movement offers information about the campaign. Read more about Freedom Summer Palestine 2004
On the one-year anniversary of the killing of 23-year old American ISM activist Rachel Corrie, twenty international activists from ISM and CPT remembered their friend by performing a ‘die-in’ at the Erez checkpoint to protest the atrocities of the Israeli Occupation. The activists carried signs and wore T-shirts representing the many casualities of the Israeli Occupation. Representations of the power of Israel, the United States, and the Occupation symbolically ‘killed’ all the other participants. The victims included peace and justice, nonviolence, Palestinian homes, educational rights, water rights, farming, and innocent civilians among others. An ISM press release. Read more about One Year Later: Internationals honor Rachel Corrie and all the victims of Israeli occupation
