Video by: Fallujah1349 on Jan 24, 2012
Nariman Tamimi talks about her husband Bassem Tamimi, one of the main organizers of the Nabi Saleh popular resistance weekly protests against Israeli occupation. Bassem was arrested on March 24th 2011 on the basis of a 14 year old’s unlawful interrogation, and is yet to be sentenced.
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Then, one night in January 2011, about 20 Israeli soldiers surrounded the dilapidated Dar Ayyoub home and pounded vigorously on the door. Islam, who was 14 at the time, said he thought they had come for his older brother. Instead, they had come for him. He was blindfolded, handcuffed and whisked away in a jeep.
From that moment, Islam’s childhood was over. Catapulted into the Israeli military justice system, an arm of Israel’s 44-year-old occupation of the West Bank, Islam became embroiled in a legal process as challenging and perplexing as the world in which he has grown up. The young man was interrogated and pressed to inform on his relatives, neighbors and friends.
The military justice system that overwhelmed Islam has come under increasing scrutiny for its often harsh, unforgiving methods. One Palestinian prisoner has been hospitalized because of a hunger strike in protest against being detained for months without trial. Human rights organizations have recently focused their criticism on the treatment of Palestinian minors, like Islam.
Now, as a grass-roots leader from Nabi Saleh stands trial, having been incriminated by Islam, troubling questions are being raised about these methods of the occupation.
It is the intimate nature of Islam’s predicament that makes this trial especially wrenching for the young man, his family and his community. Most of Nabi Saleh’s 500 residents belong to the same extended family. The leader on trial, Bassem Tamimi, 44, was Islam’s next-door neighbor. Islam was close friends with Mr. Tamimi’s son, Waed, a classmate. And Mr. Tamimi’s wife is a cousin of Islam’s mother.
Photo by: Rina Castelnuovo for The New York Times Bassem Tamimi, above right, with his lawyer, was informed on by his teenage neighbor. Now on trial, he denies having told anyone to throw stones.
“This case is legally flawed and morally tainted,” said Gaby Lasky, Islam’s Israeli lawyer. Islam is traumatized, she said, “not only because of what happened to him, but also what happened to others.”
After he was pulled from his home at night, Islam was taken to a nearby army base where, his lawyer said, he was left out in the cold for hours. In the morning, he was taken to the Israeli police for interrogation. Accused of throwing stones at Israeli soldiers inside the village, he was encouraged to identify other youths and the adult organizers of weekly protests here.
In a police videotape of Islam’s five-hour interrogation, the teenager is at times visibly exhausted. Alone and denied access to a lawyer for most of the period, he was partially cautioned three times about his rights but was never told directly that he had the right to remain silent.
Instead, the chief interrogator instructed him, “We want only the truth. You must tell everything that happened.”
The young man, who seemed eager to please his interrogators, described how village youths were organized into nine “brigades,” each assigned tasks like throwing stones, blocking roads and hurling unexploded tear-gas canisters back at the soldiers.
Soon, the arrests followed.
Mr. Tamimi was taken last March and is being held at the Ofer military prison. The charges against him include organizing unauthorized processions, solicitation to stone throwing and incitement to violence. Mr. Tamimi has proudly acknowledged that he organized what he called peaceful protests but denied ever having told anyone to throw stones.
Mr. Tamimi’s wife, Nariman, attended a recent court hearing with Waed.
Asked about Islam, her voice softened. “He is our neighbor,” she said. “The interrogation was very difficult. He was afraid. He is just a child.”
Another organizer that Islam identified for the authorities, Naji Tamimi, 49, spent a year in jail and is about to be released.
Islam also informed on Mu’tasim Khalil Tamimi, who was then 15, identifying him as a youth ringleader. Mu’tasim subsequently spent six months in jail; he, too, identified organizers of the protests.
Bassem Tamimi’s lawyer, Labib Habib, said that the testimony of the two minors formed “the essence of the case” against his client. The defense lawyers contend that the terms of the minors’ arrests and interrogations violated their rights, and that their testimony should be dismissed.
But an official in the office of Israel’s Military Advocate General, who was authorized to speak on the condition of anonymity, said the Nabi Saleh case was “a classic one of orchestrated riots that exploit children.”
The official denied that the case against Mr. Tamimi rested largely on Islam’s testimony, saying there were other witnesses.
Under the Israeli youth law, Islam’s treatment would be deemed illegal. Minors are generally allowed to have a parent or other relative present during interrogation, and there are strict rules about nighttime interrogations and other protections.
Most of these protections do not exist in the military system, though military appellate court judges have stated that the spirit of the youth law should apply whenever possible to Palestinians.
After Israel conquered the West Bank from Jordan in the 1967 war, it established military courts independent of the army command. They draw on Jordanian law, on the laws from the period of British rule and on a plethora of military orders issued over the past four decades.
The Israeli official said that the military was striving to close gaps between the two systems, but that the Israeli youth law could not be put into full effect in the West Bank because of the difficult conditions. Israel recently raised the age of majority for Palestinians to 18 from 16, and it established the juvenile military court in 2009. But nighttime military operations were the only way to arrest Palestinian suspects, the official said, because summonses were routinely ignored and daytime arrests could set off confrontations.
Islam’s arrest came as part of a crackdown in Nabi Saleh. A few nights earlier, soldiers had raided the Dar Ayyoub home and other houses, photographing and taking details of all the men and boys. Days after Islam was taken, his younger brother, Karim, then 11, was seized by soldiers and held for hours at a police station on suspicion of throwing stones. Last month, during pretrial proceedings in the case against Islam, a juvenile military court judge acknowledged serious flaws in the interrogation but ruled his testimony admissible.
Sarit Michaeli of B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights organization, said that the youth judge could have taken a stand but had “failed this particular minor, and all the others.”
Islam spent two and a half months in prison before he was released to house arrest. Since September, he has been allowed out to go to school, which he now loathes. His father says he stays awake all night watching television, fearing that the soldiers will return.
In an interview at his home this month, Islam said he knew his rights, having once attended a workshop on interrogations in the village. But he said that he was told by an officer beforehand that rights would not help him. “I thought that if I spoke, they would release me,” he said.
Most of the villagers have shown understanding. Sometimes friends stop by for an hour or two. Waed is not among them.
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Almost a year after his arrest, the Palestinian protest organizer from the village of Nabi Saleh, will have a chance to answer his accusers.
When: Sunday, February 19th, 2012, at 10 AM
Where: Ofer Military Court*
* Entry to the military court must be coordinated with the Israeli army’s spokesperson’s office in advance.
Bassem Tamimi, who was arrested on March 24th, 2011, is being tried for organizing demonstrations in his village, Nabi Saleh, north-west of Ramallah. The Military Prosecution’s case against Tamimi is based on the coerced confessions of two children, 14 and 15 years old. In the course of interrogations tainted by illegality and gross violations of the minors’ rights, the two incriminated Tamimi of having organized protests and stone-throwing.
At the opening of the trial, during his arraignment, Tamimi pleaded “not guilty” to the charges against him, and gave a general but defiant statement, explaining the motivation and rational behind the demonstrations in his village. During the course of Tamimi’s trial, new evidence has emerged, including proof of systematic violations of Palestinian minors’ rights during police interrogations, as well as first hand verification given by a military commander of disproportional use of force by the army in response to peaceful demonstrations.
Almost a year into his detainment, the hearing on Sunday will, in fact, be Tamimi’s first chance to face his accusers and give his own version of the events. Tamimi, who has been recognized as a human rights defender by the European Union shortly after his arrest, is expected to say that his arrest and trial is motivated by Israel’s will to crack down of Palestinian popular resistance to the Occupation.
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Luisa Morgantini introduces Manal and Nariman in Florence/Firenze on February 7, 2012 at the Forum: To exist is to resist – stories of life against the Wall and the Israeli occupation
Manal Tamimi speaking in Florence/Firenze,
video by MafaldeAssociazione
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Photos by Activestills collective and live sound recording:
Two years of popular struggle against the Israeli occupation and settlements, in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh.
The illegal settlement of Halamish which can be seen from many houses in the village, is built on more than half of the village’s land. In December 2009, after settlers confiscated a spring located on private Palestinian land, residents of the village together with their neighbor villages started weekly demonstrations. Palestinians who demanded the right to be on their land were attacked by settlers, some of them armed, while Israeli soldiers stood by and/or protected the settlers. At the time of writing, the Israeli army prohibits the access of Palestinians in groups and on Fridays to the spring, while settlers have unlimited access.
Since then, and despite harsh daily repression, the residents of Nabi Saleh continue to go every Friday, together with other Palestinians, and international and Israeli activists, to demonstrate and resist the Israeli occupation
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Video by Yisrael Puterman
Video by David Reeb
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Khader Adnan, a 33 year-old Palestinian, has been on hunger strike since mid December, shortly after he was put in administrative detention based on secret evidence. Residents of Nabi Saleh march in solidarity.
Residents of Nabi Saleh, joined by Palestinian, Israeli and international activists, devoted their weekly Friday demonstration to support Khader Adnan.
Protesters held signs and pictures of Adnan, as they marched from the center of the village towards the confiscated lands. Demonstrators were met by volleys of tear-gas canisters. Heavy fog made it extremely difficult to trace the lines of fire and avoid injuries. Nonetheless, the army continued aiming directly at protesters. The Israeli Border Police also used the “skunk”, a water cannon spraying foul smelling liquid.
Following this assault, protesters created small rock barricades at the entrance to the village, aiming to prevent a deeper Israeli incursion. Others climbed the hilltops, overlooking the spring grabbed by Halamish settlers. Israeli soldiers followed, shooting sound bombs, tear-gas canisters and rubber-coated metal bullets directly at people and into houses. Some youths threw stones to ward off the soldiers. As they were retreating, soldiers shot a few live bullets above the heads of civilians.
The demonstration maintained for a number of hours. Around 4PM an Israeli military jeep carrying multiple-barrels cannon shot massive amounts of tear-gas that covered a large part of the village. The “skunk” was also used once more, more massively than before. Many suffered from gas inhalation and a few were injured from direct hit by tear gas canisters, among them a Turkish cameraman who was evacuated to a hospital with a suspected fracture.
Khader Adnan, 33, has been refusing to eat since mid-December, shortly after his arrest in the occupied West Bank, and has only drunk liquids since then. ”He is not in good shape. People on a hunger strike for more than 50 days are in real danger. The doctors are extremely concerned,” said Yael Shavit, spokeswoman for Sieff Hospital in the northern Israeli town of Safed, where Adnan has been taken. ”He refuses to accept any treatment. He has not agreed to be hooked up to an IV,” she said, referring to intravenous infusion. Despite his grave medical condition, Israeli military authorities have once again postponed action on Khader Adnan’s appeal against his four-month “administrative detention” – without charge or trial. One of the lawyers representing Adnan, Tamar Peleg-Sryck, said after the appeal: “It should be made clear that he is alleged of political opinions and political activities, without a hint of any sort of violence. However the army follows Shabaq (General Security Service) claim that he “endangers the security” and should remain in detention.”
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The Israeli Internal Affairs Division announced today that it decided to close the investigation into the shooting of Israeli activist, Ben Ronen, due to lack of evidence. The decision was reached despite a video that clearly depicts the unlawful shooting.
Israeli activist, Ben Ronen, was informed today that the investigation into his shooting by last May was closed due to lack of evidence by the Israeli Internal Affairs Devision (IAD), which is responsible for investigating crimes committed by officers of the law. Ronen suffered multiple fractures to his hand, after a Border Police officer shot a tear-gas projectile directly at him from close range during a demonstration in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh.
In a letter received today, the IAD informed Ronen of their decision to close the case on grounds of insufficient evidence, saying, “An analysis of the evidence and different versions that arise from the case file brought us to the conclusion that a conviction in the case is improbable”.
The decision to not file indictments in the case was reached despite extensive video footage depicting the events preceding the shooting, the shooting itself and what followed it, as well as the officers’ attempts to prevent the documentation.
The footage clearly shows Border Police officers very violently attacking a group of peaceful protesters who were chanting slogans (at 00:55 into the video), especially targeting the women in the group.
Later in the video, at 03:15, the footage shows a Border Police officer who was indiscriminately shooting tear-gas projectiles directly at protesters and Ronen shouting at him to relax. The officer then steps a few meters back to his commander, who orders him to shoot Ronen, which he does. When reviewed frame-by-frame, the projectile can be seen flying towards Ronen.
Both the footage and medical documents attesting to Ronen’s injuries were handed to the IAD by Ronen’s lawyers, as well as testimonies by himself and other eye-witnesses.
Ronen’s lawyer, Adv. Gaby Lasky, said, “In light of such decisions, despite overwhelming evidence, it is impossible to view the Internal Affairs Devision as anything but a whitewash mechanism to enable the continued use of excessive force against Palestinians and their supporters”.
Israeli security forces regularly use tear-gas canister as projectiles, shooting them directly at protesters – as was done in Ronen’s case – when suppressing Palestinian demonstrations in the West Bank. On December 9th, 2011, Mustafa Tamimi from Nabi Saleh suffered fatal injuries after an Israeli soldier shoot him in the face with a tear-gas projectile from close range while standing in safety inside an armored military jeep. Last Friday, a French citizen was similarly shoot with a tear-gas projectile in the back of her neck by a Border Police officer during a demonstration in the same village.
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On Friday February the 3rd during the weekly popular resistance protests in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh, Israeli border police fired tear gas canisters at head level directly at a group of unarmed protesters who were perhaps 25 to 30 meters away from the border police and who were merely chanting, nothing more. It should be noted that the border police are known for their vicious disproportionate and violent reactions to these kinds of protests, more so than the army itself. One tear gas canister lightly grazed the cheek of a Palestinian female protester, before hitting a French activist in the back of her head and, still propelled by its velocity, continued its course to hit a Dutch activist in his waist.
The video above, shot by local activist Nariman Tamimi, clearly captures the moment and leaves no room for doubt as to what hit the French activist, contrary to the lies emitted from the IDF spokesperson and other Israeli officials on Twitter who initially and outrageously claimed that the activist was injured from a rock thrown by a Palestinian.
Firing tear gas canisters at high velocity directly at unarmed protesters has become the staple of the Israeli army’s reaction in popular resistance protests. Two months ago, Nabi Saleh resident 28 year old Mustafa Tamimi was killed after an Israeli soldier opened the back door of the armored jeep and shot a tear gas canister at Mustafa’s face from a distance of three meters. The army has paid lip service to conducting its own investigation within the incident, which if carried out will be anything but impartial.
Today I sat down with the French activist, 20 year old Amicie P. and her Palestinian fiancé Aram S. to discuss the details of the actions that took place yesterday. The injury seemed pretty serious at first, owing to the fact that there was a large amount of blood, so it was a huge relief to see Amicie sitting next to me casually smoking cigarette after cigarette with a bandage swathed around her head.
Do you remember the moments right before the Israeli border police fired at us?
Amicie: “I was discussing with Diederik [the Dutch activist who was injured in his waist] about when we were going to leave to Ramallah. We agreed to stay for five more minutes. I wasn’t aware of when I got shot. I just felt something hit my head. It hurt me so much. I fell down and couldn’t seem to get up. People were carrying me because I wasn’t able to stand on my feet and the Israeli [border police] were still shooting at us. I wasn’t able to run. The medic Muhanad Saleem was screaming at them to stop shooting.
“I was really so afraid. I didn’t know if my injury was serious or not. I saw a lot of blood and thought of Mustafa and how he was killed in December.”
Aram: “I have asthma. I inhaled a lot of tear gas and couldn’t think clearly. I tried to help her then found myself away from her. I went mad when I heard that she was taken to one of the Israeli jeeps but it turned out that that didn’t actually happen. I was afraid they were going to deport her because she didn’t have her passport with her.”
Amicie: “The soldier asked if I were Palestinian. They wanted to take me inside one of the jeeps. They were shocked when they found out I was French. One of the soldiers panicked and took me behind from where the rest of the soldiers were standing, behind a jeep. I didn’t know if he wanted to arrest me or not but he wanted me to go inside the jeep.”
The woman was hit in the back of her neck with a tear-gas projectile shot directly at her by a group of Border Police officers during the weekly demonstration in the village of Nabi Saleh yesterday. More that 20 were injured during the demonstration.
Despite a ridiculing statement by the IDF spokesperson that the injury was caused by a stone (see here), the above video clearly shows the the injury was caused by a tear-gas projectile shot directly at a group of very peaceful protesters by Israeli Border Police officers. On December 9th, 2011, Mustafa Tamimi from Nabi Saleh suffered fatal injuries after soldiers shoot him in the face with a tear-gas projectile. The practice of shooting tear-gas canisters directly at people, in fact using them as projectiles, is widespread among Israeli soldiers suppressing Palestinian demonstrations in the West Bank.
A Dutch man was also hit by a tear-gas projectile in the waist, and evacuated to the hospital with a suspected fracture.
The protest was attacked by the army well within the village shortly after it set out from the center of the village. The soldiers shot volleys of tear-gas and rubber-coated bullets at the march for no apparent reason. More than 20 injuries were recorded among the protesters throughout the day and two Palestinian journalists were detained.
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