French activist in Nabi Saleh shot in head/neck by teargas canister fired by Israeli Occupation Forces

Photo by Activestills

Photo by Activestills

Bassem Tamimi’s Trial: Israeli Police Officer to Testify About Unlawful Interrogation of a Minor

By Popular Struggle Coordination Committee: 4 January 2012

Jalal Aweida, an Israeli police inspector, will testify about his involvement in the unlawful interrogation of a 14 year-old boy as part of the trial of Nabi Saleh protest organizer, Bassem Tamimi.

When: Sunday, January 8th, 2012 at 10:00 AM
Where: Ofer Military Court*
* Entry to the military court must be coordinated with the Israeli army’s spokesperson’s office in advance.

Following recent escalation in violence employed by Israeli forces towards protesters in Nabi Saleh, including the fatal shooting of Mustafa Tamimi and the use of live sniper-fire, the Israeli Military Prosecution will resume making its case against West Bank protest organizer from Nabi Saleh, Bassem Tamimi, this Sunday at the Ofer Military Court. A previous hearing saw another police interrogator admit to having systematically infringed on the rights of Palestinian minors.

Islam Tamimi

The hearing will include the testimony of Inspector Jalal Aweida of the Israeli Police. Inspector Aweida was one of the key interrogators of 14 year-old Islam Dar Ayyoub – Tamimi’s main incriminator. Aweida also served as one of the officers in charge of the broader investigation into the Nabi Saleh demonstrations.

In his interrogation the morning after his arrest, year-old Dar Ayyoub alleged that Bassem and Naji Tamimi organized groups of youth into “battalions”, assigned with different responsibilities during the demonstrations: some were allegedly in charge of stone-throwing, others of blocking roads, etc.

During a trial-within-a-trial procedure in Islam’s trial, motioning for his testimony to be ruled inadmissible, it was proven that his interrogation was fundamentally flawed and violated the rights set forth in the Israeli Youth Law in the following ways:

1. Despite being a minor, he was questioned in the morning following his arrest, having been denied sleep.
2. He was denied legal counsel, although his lawyer appeared at the police station requesting to see him.
3. He was denied his right to have a parent present during his questioning.
4. He was not informed of his right to remain silent, and was even told by his interrogators that he is “expected to tell the truth”.
5. Only one of four interrogators present was a qualified youth interrogator.

The video recording of the boy’s interrogation also shows Aweida making threatening gestures towards him – that included Karate moves and punching his fist into his hand, mocking him, making sexual innuendo in regards to Islam and the female police officer who was in the room. The video also shows Islam bursting into tears halfway through the interrogation as well as nearly collapsing of tiredness.

Tamimi’s trial began more than nine months ago, which Tamimi has spent behind lock and key.

Nabi Saleh non-violent demonstrations continue despite IOF night raids against the village

By Anarchists Against the Wall: 25 November 2011

Dozens participated in this week’s demonstration in Nabi Saleh against the theft of its lands and spring by the Halamish Israeli settlement and the Israeli occupation that sustains it. Nabi Saleh residents, other Palestinians, and international and Israeli supporters marched peacefully from the center of the village.

This demonstration followed days of Israeli complete siege over the village and a massive night raid, resulting in the arrest of three people from the village.

As always, a peaceful demonstration met with Israeli army attack. Volleys of tear gas canisters were shot on the entire demonstration from a cannon installed on Israeli military jeeps. Sole canisters were also shoot by Israeli soldiers directly at people, in violation of their army’s own regulations. Israeli forces used their “skunk” track, carrying a foul-smelling water cannon. This time the “skunk” wondered around the village and sprayed houses in a blatant unlawful repressive measure.

Few people also threw stones to ward off the Israeli army’s incursion. A group of people managed to approach the soldiers, despite threats of arrests.

One youth was injured in the forehead by Israeli rubber coated bullet. He was helped into an ambulance that took him to hospital.

 

video by Bilal Tamimi

 

3 nights of violence and military repression in Nabi Saleh

28 July 2011: Popular Struggle Coordination Committee

Settlers and the military have violently attacked the village of Nabi Saleh three times in the past week, burning fields, shooting live ammunition and raiding houses in the village.

Following a fire that burned through fields belonging to residents of Nabi Saleh near the Jewish-only settlement of Halamish on the afternoon of Monday the 25th, armed settlers blocked the adjacent main road, using violence to prevent the passage of Palestinian cars.

A family of four was viciously attacked, causing injury to an old woman and a 19 year-old woman, who went into shock.

video by Sabarna Press

As Palestinians started gathering, Israeli soldiers who were present at the scene reacted by trying to push them away and back to the village instead of removing the settlers, eventually invading the village. The soldiers shot immense astounding of tear-gas, rubber-coated bullets and live ammunition at houses and people in the village, luckily causing no injuries. The incursion finally ended at 11 PM when the soldiers left.

The following day, Tuesday the 26th, at roughly 2 in the afternoon, settlers tired to set fire to an olive grove belonging to a farmer from Nabi Saleh. As youth from the village noticed the settlers and quickly descended from the hilltop village to stop the fire, armed settlers open fire on them from automatic assault rifles.

The army, in turn, then staged another incursion into the village – the second in two days – again using immense amounts of tear-gas and live ammunition. Armored military vehicles went in and out of Nabi Saleh for no foreseeable reason. As the sun started setting over the village, soldiers took over a house in the center of the village. One of the tear-gas projectiles shot by the soldiers shattered a window in one of the village’s houses and set fire to the mattresses it landed on.

Clashes between soldiers and local youth continued sporadicly until the soldiers left shortly after 9 PM.

No disturbances were recorded on Wednesday, until the Israeli army staged a night raid on the village at 1:30 in the AM of Thursday the 28th. The soldiers raided and searched the houses of imprisoned village leaders Bassem and Naji Tamimi, as well as that of Mahmoud Tamimi without showing a search warrant. While in Mahmoud Tamimi’s house, the force’s commander threatened him that raids will be held nightly until “troubles” in the village cease and desist. Clashes, again involving the use of live ammunition by the army continued through the night, until the soldiers left shortly before sun rise.

Onions: The smell of freedom

by Diana Alzeer: Front Line Echo, 20 June 2011

He ran towards us with a black piece of cloth wrapped around his mouth and nose, I could see his red eyes were about to pop out.  He handed my mom something, and pushed a smelly “thing” in my face; it smelled like onion, but I couldn’t tell for sure.

 

I was only 4 years old when I experienced tear gas for the first time.  I was confused–my blurry eyes didn’t help, nor did my runny nose.  I was worried about choking.  I looked up at my Mom, saw nothing but a blurry figure of her; I later on found out she was smelling an onion too.  I wanted to speak to her, say to her, “mom, help me, I can’t breathe….”

 

My heart rate goes up, I can feel it; I feel the beat in my eyes, my head is about to explode.  My mom’s arms are around me now, she pulls me up and starts running.  Someone stops us and I feel the exchange of my tiny body from mom’s arms to someone else’s arms.  I remember disliking the exchange but had no energy to speak up.

 

I later regain my sight.  I wonder what it is, this cool place with no smelly stuff.  A group of people are all sitting on the floor smelling onions too.  Why onions??  My little brain wonders if it’s some sort of onion festival.

***

We were walking toward the main taxi station in Nablus city, my hand holding tight to my mom’s when we saw some “Shabab” running around, screaming: “Run… Run, they are coming this way!”  My mom’s steps started  getting faster and faster.   Less than thirty seconds later, she stops to look down at me; my eyes lose it, I feel sick and the onion comes in.

 

That was my first experience of gas canisters and the “amazing feeling of it”.  Twenty years later,  here I am in Nabi Saleh, Bilin and Qalandia checkpoint, hand in hand with fellow friends.  The feeling is different.  Although tear gas does not feel any better, now it’s different–my feeling of it is different.

 

Having met a group of young Palestinians who share my thoughts, my beliefs on the non-violent struggle, and seeing them dedicated to the cause of freedom and justice for our beloved Palestine, invokes in me an exotic positive feeling in mind and soul.

Nabi Saleh Stays Defiant; Israel Attacks Village and Non-Violent Demonstrators

On Friday, 29 April, the regular An Nabi Saleh demonstration against the Halamish settlement and occupation managed to cross the main village road and towards its spring. Israeli occupation forces attacked the non-violent demonstrators with stun grenades and tear gas canisters on numerous occasions, shooting directly at people and houses inside a populated area.  One house was hit by tear gas canister and set on fire.

Later that day a “Skunk” truck came and started shooting its foul water at peaceful demonstrators and houses. Three Israeli supporters of the village were detained for a few hours, two of which were deliberately rubbed by soldiers on the road as it was wet from the foul water. This foul water render houses who are targeted by it unfit for living for about a week, and foul-smelling for many months. It was used extensively at the entrance to the village’s built area, a place where all residents pass through as they exit the village.

Video by Tamimi Press

Illegal Settlers/Israeli military attack Palestinian non-violent demonstration against settlement expansion

International Women’s Peace Service Human Rights Report No. 414

8 January 2010 – Description of Incident(s)

On January 8, villagers from the Palestinian village of An Nabi Saleh (population approx 500), located in the north of the Ramallah district, held its third demonstration in three weeks against creeping settlement expansion and land confiscation by the illegal Israeli settlement of Hallamish (also known as Neve Tzuf). According to the residents of the village, since the settlement was established illegally on land belonging to An Nabi Saleh in 1977, there have been repeated attempts to expand the settlement. In 2009, the village successfully challenged, in the Israeli courts, the expansion of the settlement fence to land immediately alongside settler highway 465. In the past month, however, illegal Settlers residing in Hallamish colony have attempted to re-annex the land alongside the highway, which now divides An Nabi Saleh’s land. In this period, the Settlers have proceeded to build a shelter structure for the purpose of a memorial, on the land, which includes a fresh water spring used by An Nabi Saleh farmers and shepherds.