At
approximately 11:50 am on Tuesday 28 February 2012, Israeli Occupation
Forces (IOF) opened heavy fire with live ammunition and launched tens of
tear gas canisters at a peaceful demonstration organized by the Local
Initiative in Beit Hanoun. The demonstrations are organized weekly to
protest the imposition of the so-called “security buffer zone.”
Demonstrators were about 200 meters from the separation fence when the
IOF opened fire on them. No casualties or injuries were reported, but
most of the demonstrators suffered from the effects of tear gas. This
is not the first time that the IOF has attacked the peaceful weekly
demonstration.
In his affidavit to Al Mezan, Saber Az-Zaneen, 33, one of the demonstration’s organizers, stated: “At around 11:15 am on Tuesday, 50
Palestinians, five international solidarity activists, eight
journalists, and members of the Local Initiative walked in a march from
the Agricultural Secondary School to a point near the border about 150
meters away from the separation fence. At around 11:50, we were surprised by Israeli snipers in a concrete watchtower who opened fire at us,
so we headed to the south. I saw three soldiers ascend to the top of
the watchtower and start firing gas canisters at us. The wind was
strong and was blowing the gas away from us. The situation was
chaotic. The firing lasted for about 40 minutes, until we left the area
around 12:30 pm on the same day. This is the second time that they’ve
fired tear gas canisters at the demonstration.”
Saturday February 25, 2012 02:13 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies
Israeli soldiers invaded, on Friday
evening, an area east of the Al-Boreij Refugee Camp, in central Gaza,
firing dozens of rounds of live ammunition, while military choppers flew
overhead firing flares.
Archive Photo - rabeta.net
The
motives of the invasion remain unknown as the soldiers just searched
the area and withdrew later on; no arrests or injuries were reported.
On Friday at dawn, two Palestinians were wounded after the Israeli Air
Force fired missiles in the Car Market area in Gaza; one of them was
treated by field medics while the other was moved to a local hospital.
At approximately 3:25 am on Friday 24 February 2012, an Israeli aircraft
fired a missile at a training site for the Ezadin Al-Qassam Brigades,
the military wing of the Hamas movement, located near the sewage pools
east of Beit Lahiya in North Gaza district. The attack left a large
hole in the ground and rooms and facilities were severely damaged. An
adjacent house as well as the building of the FIFA international soccer
union were partially damaged. No casualties or injuries were reported.
This is not the first time that Israeli aircraft have attacked the
site.
At approximately 9:30 pm on Friday 24 February 2012, Israeli Occupation
Forces (IOF) fired a mortar at the house of Maher Attiya Darwesh Az-Zeq,
48, east of the Ash-Sheja’iya neighborhood of Gaza City. The attack
left a large hole in the roof of the house, which is about 280 square
meters in area. No casualties or injuries were reported.
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- Israeli forces detained five people who were
reportedly approaching the border fence near Rafah, southern Gaza.
Marwan
Ahmad al-Soufi, Abdullah Muhammad al-Soufi, Ashraf al-Soufi, Muhammad
Abu Athra, and Saddam Abu Athra were named as those arrested, Ma'an's
correspondent said.
An Israeli army spokesman had no reports of
the arrests in Gaza, but said that six people had been detained in the
West Bank overnight Tuesday.
Four people were detained in Jenin, one in Ramallah and one in Bethlehem. All were taken for security questioning.
At approximately 4:30 pm on Thursday 23 February 2012, Israeli aircraft
opened heavy fire on agricultural fields east of Al Qarrara village in
the Al Wad and As-Sreij area. The firing lasted for about ten minutes.
No casualties or injuries were reported but people were terrified,
especially women and children
In the Gaza Strip, IOF implemented a
limited incursion in the south of the Gaza Strip and arrested 2 Palestinians.
IOF arrested 2
Palestinians in the south of the Gaza Strip while getting ready to hunt birds.
Thursday, 16 February 2012
At
approximately 02:10, IOF warplanes fired two missiles at a training site used
by the Izz Addin al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, in Yafa Street,
east of al-Tufah neighborhood in the east of Gaza City. As a result, the
windows in some of the surrounding houses and establishments, particularly
Mohammed al-Durrah Hospital, crushed and locals were in panic. Additionally, 10
Palestinians sustained bruises and were transferred to al-Shifa Hospital for
treatment:
1. Alaa Abed Abu Ghneima, 24;
2. Sharihan Uthman Hassan Abdul Al, 23;
3. Nader Ahmd Zaqzouq, 30;
4. Shaima Uthman Abdul Al, 14;
5. Maher Fadhel Ata Allah al-Jammal, 50;
6. Maher Yahya Jamal Khalaf, 40;
7. Mukarram Tawfiq Abdul Salam Hassouna, 54;
8. Asil Radi Abdul Al, 7;
9. Mohammed Ali Mahmoud Lubbad, 22, who is a paramedic of the civil
defense service; and
10. Zakariya Said Helles, 21; who is a nurse at Mohammed al-Durrah
Hospital and who sustained wounds in the nose as he was hit by glass shrapnel
from the crushing windows. At approximately 22:10, IOF an IOF
warplane fired two missiles at Zuhdi Ashor & Sons Metal Workshop, east of
al-Zaytoon headquarters in the east of Gaza City, which is owned by Eyad Zuhdi
Rashad Ashour, 38. As a result, the workshop which measures 600 meters squared
was totally destroyed. The windows of the house of Eyad Zuhdi Rashad Ashour
which is built on top of the workshop were crushed as well. Additionally,
Mohammed Salim Ramadan Ashour, 27, sustained light wounds.
Friday, 17 February 2012 At approximately 16:15, IOF
positioned at the border in the east of al-Bureij, in the middle of the Gaza
Strip, fired two shells at the Maqboula site, southeast of al-Bureij, which is
used by the Palestinian National Security Service.
Sunday, 19 February 2012 At approximately 00:20, an IOF warplane fired a missile at a house belonging to Ali Ghazi Mohammed al-Zaharna, 37. The house which measures 120 meters squared is located in al-Shurafa Street in al-Tuffah neighborhood, east of Gaza City. The missile landed on the top roof and made a hole in the ceiling but it did not explode. The missile caused damages to the house. Additionally, al-Zaharna, his wife and his two-year-old children sustained bruises. At approximately 00:30, an IOF warplane fired a missile at a
training site used by Izz Addin al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas,
in Yafa Street, east of al-Tuffah neighborhood in the east of Gaza City. The bombardment resulted in damages to the
neighboring establishments, especially Gaza Martyrs Boys Basic School. The windows of the school crushed and damages
were caused to the exhibit, the library and the book store in the school.
Around 600 students attend this school which employs 23 teachers. The school which measures 4 donums is located
12 meters to the east of the targeted site.
No casualties were reported. It
should be noted that this site was targeted several times in the past, most
recently on 16 January 2012.
Tuesday, 21 February 2012
At approximately 04:00, IOF moved approximately 400 meters into Gaza
International Airport, in the far southeast of Rafah in the south of the Gaza
Strip. They arrested three Palestinians
from al-Shoka village in the east of Rafah:
1. Mohammed Hussein Abu Athreh, 20;
2. Saddam Mohammed Abu Athreh, 21; and
3. Ashraf Hassan al-Soufi, 23.
According to testimonies made by the families of the arrested men,
the three men used to hunt birds in the area.
PCHR was unable to collect any further information.
At approximately 12:30 am on Tuesday
22 February 2012, Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) detained three young
men from Ash-Shoka village east of Rafah. Al Mezan has identified them
as follows:
·Saddam Mohammed Abu ‘Azra, 20;
·Mohammed Hussein Abu ‘Azra, 21; and
·Ashraf Hasan As-Soufi, 22.
In their affidavits to Al Mezan,
relatives of the detainees stated that, from the evening hours of
Tuesday 22 February 2012, when their sons went out hunting, the families
had lost contact with them. An Al Mezan lawyer followed up with
Israeli authorities and was informed him that the three young men had
been detained at Ashkelon prison. According to Al Mezan’s field
investigations, the IOF arrested the three men inside the security
buffer zone east of Rafah.
At approximately 12:30 pm
on Tuesday 21 February 2012, Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) stationed
in concrete watchtowers along the northern separation fence between Gaza
and Israel opened sporadic fire on a peaceful demonstration of the
Popular Campaign Against the Buffer Zone. 80 participants,including
three international solidarity activists and ten journalists, had moved
to within roughly 180 meters of the northern border, reaching an
agricultural area, when the IOF opened fire at them. No casualties or injuries were reported in this incident
In
the evening hours of Tuesday 21 February 2012, Israeli Occupation
Forces (IOF) detained three Palestinians east of Rafah. Al Mezan has
identified them as follows:
· Jihad Mousa At-Teer, 44;
· Badr Ibrahim Abu Snema, 30; and
· Sameeh ‘Ayyad
All
of them are from Ash-Shoka village, east of Rafah. An Al Mezan lawyer
followed up with Israeli authorities and was informed him that the three
young men had been detained at Ashkelon prison. According to Al Mezan’s
field investigations, the IOF arrested the three men inside the
security buffer zone east of Rafah.
At
approximately 12:20 am on Sunday 19 February 2012, an Israeli aircraft
fired a missile at the house of Ali Ghazi Az-Zaharna, 38, in the east of
Gaza City. The three-story house is located on Yafa street, in the
At-Tuffah neighborhood. As a result, three persons were injured. Al
Mezan has identified them as follows:
·Mohammed Ali Az-Zaharna, two years old;
·Ali Ghazi Mohammed Az-Zaharna, 38; and
·Inshirah Ahmed Az-Zaharna, 38.
They sustained light injuries. The attack left a hole in the third-floor roof.
At approximately 10:10 pm on Saturday 18 February 2012, Israeli aircraft
fired two missiles at an iron workshop near the Star Factory east of
Az-Zaitoun neighborhood in eastern Gaza City. As a result, the workshop
was completely destroyed and Mohammed Salem Ramadan Ashour, 27,
sustained light injuries. The workshop is owned by Iyad Zuhdi Ashour,
38.
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) --
Israeli forces shelled Gaza east of Breij refugee camp late Friday,
causing no injuries or damage, after Israel's army said two projectiles
landed near Ashkelon.
One missile fell beside a house in Breij, locals said. There were no injuries.
An Israeli unit also infiltrated near Abu Samra north of Beit Lahiya, locals said.
An
Israeli army spokeswoman said Palestinians tried to plant an improvised
explosive device targeting an Israeli patrol. "Hamas is accountable and
will bear the consequence," she said on Twitter.
Israel's Ynet
news site said Palestinian operatives shot rocket-propelled grenades at
an army unit in Gaza, and detonated an explosive in an attempt to hurt
the troops, who returned fire.
Earlier Israeli media said two projectiles landed near Ashkelon, causing no injuries.
A Palestinian old man
was killed and his son was wounded, east of Gaza City.
Two rooms were
destroyed and two houses were damaged.
A large number of
animals and birds were killed.
Saturday, 11 February 2012
At
approximately 23:10, IOF warplanes fired at least one missile at the house of
Musa Juma'a Eyada al-Teir in al-Shoka village, east of Rafah.
The
missile hit a tin room in the yard of the house. The room was destroyed and set on fire but no
casualties were reported. Al-Teir and his wife used to live in the targeted
room but they left it as it had previously been targeted by IOF. Al-Teir's
neighbor, Mohammed Abu Harb, had received a phone call from someone who said he
was a member of the Israeli army. The caller asked Abu Harb to tell his
neighbours, the al-Teir family, to evacuate their house because the Israeli
warplanes wanted to bomb the house. The house of Abu Harb was damaged due to
the bombardment.
At
approximately 23:35, IOF warplanes fired a missile at an agricultural room in
al-Qarara village, north of Khan Yunis. The room was totally destroyed
but no casualties were reported.
In
another crime that shows total disregard for the lives of civilians, IOF killed,
in the last minutes of Saturday, 11 February, an old Palestinian man and
wounded his son in al-Zaytoun neighborhood in the east of Gaza City when IOF
bombarded the establishment where they were present.
According
to investigations conducted by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR),
at approximately 11:50 on Saturday, 11 February 2012, an Israeli warplane fired
a missile at an animal farm behind the car market, east of al-Zaytoun
neighborhood in the east of Gaza City. The animal farm, which is located
around 3,000 kilometers from the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel,
belongs to Eyad Abdul Hadi Rajab. Abdul Karim Ibrahim al-Zaytouneya, 71,
who is the guard of the targeted animal farm, was killed in the attack as his
room in the farm was destroyed while he was inside. In addition,
Mohammed, al-Zaytouneya's son, sustained severe bruises throughout the body as
he was in the room with his father. The strike also resulted in the
deaths of the majority of animals and birds in the farm and in heavy damages to
the equipments and to a neighboring house.
At
approximately 11:55, IOF warplanes fired a missile at an open area in al-Shoka
village, east of Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip. The targeted area is located around 1,000
meters from the border with Israel. No
casualty was reported.
Monday, 13 February 2012
At
approximately 07:00, IOF stationed at the border in the east of al-Bureij
refugee camp, in middle Gaza, opened extensive fire at the border area in the
east of the refugee camp. IOF continued
firing for around 15 minutes. No
casualties were reported.
Two months ago, few of us knew the name
Khader Adnan. Today, he is an inspiration to all of us. Two months ago
he was kidnapped from his home by Israel. He was charged with no
crime. He was abused by his captors and interrogators from the moment
he was arrested. None of this is unusual in Palestine, every day people
are kidnapped from their homes, abused, and held without charge.
Torture is a routine matter for prisoners of the occupation. None of
the abuse that Israel inflicted on Khader Adnan was new, it has happened
to thousands, really hundreds of thousands of Palestinians under the
occupation.
It was all so routine that no one would
bother to report on it, that is a specialty of the occupation, to make
crimes so routine that they are not news. Khader Adnan, a thirty three
year old Palestinian baker, stood up, he said no. He is willing to give
his life for dignity; a life without dignity is not life. Khader Adnan
has been on hunger strike for 59 days, he lies near death in an Israeli
hospital chained to his bed. He has still not been charged with any
crime.
Khader Adnan is not striking only for
himself, as he said, “I hereby assert that I am confronting the
occupiers not for my own sake as an individual, but for the sake of
thousands of prisoners who are being deprived of their simplest human
rights while the world and international community look on.”
He could die at any time.
Protests have been held to support him
around the world. Hundreds of Palestinians have joined hunger strikes
in solidarity with him. Today, in Beit Hanoun, we marched in solidarity
with him. We gathered by the half destroyed Beit Hanoun Agricultural
College, we passed out posters of Khader Adnan, we raised the
Palestinian flag, and we set off into the buffer zone. Above us were
three Israel Apaches, a drone, and an observation balloon, in front of
us was a giant concrete wall with towers full of soldiers, and a jeep
and a tank on a hill.
This did not deter us. Israel has a
history of shooting missiles into demonstrations and shooting live
ammunition into unarmed demonstrations is a regular occurrence,
especially in Gaza. We marched down the road into the no go zone.
The no go zone is a place of death.
Israel has forced out everyone who used to live there, it has destroyed
their houses, bulldozed their orchards, and now it claims the right to
shoot anyone who enters it. The land is scarred by the blades of
bulldozers, by the tracks of tanks. We marched across it, toward Erez,
toward the wall that surrounds Gaza, toward the wall that reminds us all
that Gaza is a giant prison. We walked until we were about 50 meters
from the wall.
Khader Adnan’s wife called us, she
thanked us for our support, and described her husband’s suffering, “He
is chained to a bed, he is in constant pain, he looks like a ghost.
Still he does not give up.”
Sabur Zaaneen from the Beit Hanoun Local
Initiative spoke, “Israel does not respect human rights, the crimes of
the occupation are unending, but so will be our resistance to the
occupation, the popular resistance will continue until the end of the
occupation.” We chanted our support for Khader, for a man willing to
die to live in honor, for a man willing to give his life for his
people’s right to live in honor, for a man willing to give his life in
his struggle against the occupation.
After the demonstration Sabur received a
call from the Palestinian police at the Erez crossing. The Israeli army
had called them threatening to fire on the demonstration unless we left
the area. They threatened to fire on an unarmed demonstration in
support of a man who has been on hunger strike for 59 days, a man who
could die at any moment, a man who has not even been charged with any
crime. Just as 800,000 Palestinians were forced from their land in 1948
today Israel threatens unarmed demonstrators on their land with death
unless they leave their land.
Just as Khader Adnan is steadfast in his
hunger strike, we will be steadfast in our resistance to the occupation,
like him, we struggle for a life of dignity, a dignity denied by the
occupation. Khader Adnan is our hero; his steadfastness is an
inspiration to all of us.
Thank you Khader Adnan.
Nathan Stuckey is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement.
Locals help the family salvage animal feed for the surviving livestock | Photo courtesy of Rosa Schiano
Saturday night Israeli F-16′s bombed
civilian targets in several areas of the Gaza strip. One of these
strikes killed a man and injured his son in the neighborhood of
al-Zaytoon, south-east Gaza city. An F-16 dropped a bomb on a farm just
before midnight.
The watchman of the farm, Abed Alkareem
Alzaitooni, 71 years old, was killed. He was sitting in a steel shed
next to the animal pen. His son, Mohammed Alzaitooni, 22 years old, was
injured. He was bringing some food to his father. Most of the animals in
the farm were killed and the equipment was damaged.
The owner of the farm lost about 20 cows,
30 sheep and most of the feed for the animals. The same farm was
targeted was also during Cast Lead and then was rebuilt. The house near
the farm was damnaged but luckily nobody was injured. The owner of the
house told us: “I was lucky because 10 minutes before the bombing I was
with Abed”.
At the scene we found 5-6 young men
trying to salvage the feed an anything else they could. A jacket was
placed on a cement column. It was the jacket of Abed. Some chickens
walked on the rubble.
A chicken lay dead on the ground. A
rooster walked over to her body and pushed at it as if was trying to
encourage to move. From the rubble emerged the head of a sheep. There
was a big crater in the ground from the bomb.
Photo courtesy of Rosa Schiano
Rubble is spread everywhere. The day
after the airstrike we went to the mourning tent. Abed Kareem Zaytooni
had 6 sons and 3 daughters. His family were natives of Jaffa. Abed spent
the last 20 years of his life working as watchman. He returned home
only one day per week.
He started to work in this farm 6 years
ago. When he was young he worked as porter. His brother, Achmed, 73
years old, told us: “We grew up without our parents, our dad died before
I can remember.
We came to Gaza directly form Jaffa. Our life started with suffering, we always tried to work anywhere we could. At the end
everyone had his family.”
We visited the son of Abed, Mohammed, 22
years old, in Shifa hospital. Mohammed worked on the same farm as his
father, he fed the animals. He started to work there 4 years ago.
He always brought food to his father when
he was at work. That night he wanted to replace him so his father could
have a night off. After the bombing he searched for his father, he
heard his father’s moaning. Then the moaning stopped. Ten minutes later
the ambulance came.
Muhammad al Zaitoni, 22, rests in al Shifa Hospital | Photo courtesy of Rosa Schiano
Mohammed is still in the hospital while
his wounds heal enough for him to go home. He suffers several broken
ribs and a punctured lung. We asked him if had anything to say to the
world. He said:
“For the Arab and Islamic people, they must wake up from their sleep. For the West, you have abandoned us to death”.
During that same night, the israeli
F-16′s launched similar airstrikes in Rafah and Khan Younis, in the
south of the Gaza strip. One of these strike targeted an agricultural
shed in al-Qarara village. The second airstrike targeted a vacant room
in a house in al-Shouka village. The third airstrike targeted an open
area in al-Shouka village.
Israel announced it had bombed military
targets. The targets Israeli bombed were civilian targets. Gaza
continues to live under the siege and under a sky full of
warplanes. Gaza continues crying, it continues to mourn its dead.
Rosa Schiano is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement.
At
approximately 8:30 pm on Wednesday 18 January 2012, Israeli Occupation
Forces (IOF) arrested three persons, one of them a minor. Al Mezan has
identified them as follows:
·Abed Rabbo Suliman Abu Snema, 17;
·Salah Mousa As-Soufu, 18; and
·Rami Fared Abu Ta’ema, 19.
In
their affidavits to Al Mezan, the detainees’ relatives stated that from
the evening hours of Wednesday they had not been able to reach their
sons. Later it was revealed to the International Committee of the Red
Cross that the three persons were being detained at Askelon. According
to Al Mezan’s field investigations, the three individuals were arrested
in the “security buffer zone” east of Rafah.
At
approximately 7:00 am on Monday 13 February 2012, Israeli Occupation
Forces (IOF) opened fire on the eastern parts of Al Bureij refugee camp,
near the separation fence between the Gaza Strip and Israel. No
casualties or injuries were reported.
Palestinians survey the damage to an animal farm after an Israeli airstrike east
of Gaza City, Feb. 12, 2012. An Israeli air strike on the Gaza Strip killed
a 69-year-old civilan on Sunday, hospital officials said, and the military
described the operation as retaliation for a cross-border rocket launch.
(REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa)
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli warplanes killed an elderly man in the central Gaza Strip overnight Saturday, in a series of airstrikes across Gaza that injured three others.
Palestinian medics said 69-year-old Abdul-Karim Az-Zaytouna was killed and two others were injured when warplanes bombed steel sheds near the Zaytoun neighborhood of Gaza City.
Israeli forces also targeted sites in the southern Gaza Strip, injuring one near Khan Younis when a missile landed in an open area. A house belonging to the Imteir familiy was shelled east of Rafah, causing severe damage, but no reported injuries.
An Israeli military statement said the strikes targeted a "terror tunnel and a weapon manufacturing facility in the northern Gaza Strip, a terror tunnel in the central Gaza Strip and an additional terror tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip."
It said the strikes were in response to a rocket fired from Gaza that caused light injuries to a woman when it hit Israel's Hof Ashkelon district on Saturday.
Israeli Aircraft Attacks Cattle Farm; One Person Killed
At
approximately 11:55 pm on Saturday 11 February 2012, an Israeli
aircraft fired a missile targeting a cattle farm east of the car market
in Az-Zaitoun neighborhood, Gaza City. As a result, Abdel Kareem
Ibrahim Az-Zaitouniya, 72, was killed. He was from Ad-Daraj
neighborhood and worked as a guard at the farm. The guard room was
destroyed in the attack, which left a large hole in the earth;
Az-Zaitouniya was found dead under the rubble; residents had to use a
bulldozer to unearth him. Mohammed Az-Zaitouniya, 22, who was visiting
his father, sustained bruises. The asbestos-roofed farm, which is owned
by Iyad Abdel Hadi Rajab, 43, was destroyed. 11 sheep, nine cows, and
60 poultry birds were killed. An adjacent house sustained partial
damaged in the attack.
At
approximately 11:50 pm on Saturday 11 February 2012, an Israeli
aircraft fired a missile at an agricultural field belonging to the Faraj
family east of Gaza City. No casualties or injuries were reported.
At
approximately 11:30 pm on Saturday 11 February 2012, an Israeli
aircraft fired a missile at a greenhouse located in the Abu Khashan
neighborhood east of Al Qarrara village in Khan Younis. The greenhouse
was destroyed as a result, but no casualties or injuries were reported.
At approximately 01:15, Tamam Salama Abed al-Teir, from al-Shoka
village, south of Rafah, received a phone call from someone who said he was a
member of the Israeli army. The called
asked al-Teir to evacuate the house of her family within five minutes, telling
her that the house would be targeted by a missile from a warplane. Five minutes later, al-Teir received another
call from the same person. She told the
caller to give her 15 minutes to make sure that everyone, including three
children, two elderly persons and al-Teiri and her husband, would be out. The caller refused her request and asked her
to evacuate the house within two minutes and to walk to a dust street near her
house. Al-Teiri rushed to evacuate the
house. Five minutes later, IOF warplanes
fired a missile at al-Teiri's house. The
missile hit a tin-roofed room in the front yard of the house. The room, which is used by al-Teiri's
mother-in-law and father-in-law, was totally destroyed. No casualties were reported.
At
approximately 01:39, IOF warplanes fired a missile at a farm in
al-Zanna area, east of Khan Younis in the south of the Gaza Strip. No
casualties were reported. It should be noted that the targeted place
was previously targeted on 24 January 2012.
A
Palestinian plays football in the no go zone near Erez during the
weekly demonstration against the occupation in Beit Hanoun, Gaza Strip,
Tuesday, February 7, 2012. Every Tuesday Palestinians and supporters
march from Beit Hanoun into the "buffer zone" or "no go" zone , where
the fertile land has been made inaccessible to Palestinians due to the
imminent danger of shooting by the Israeli army. | (c) Anne
Paq/Activestills.org, Beit Hanoun, 07.02.2012
Since 2008, demonstrations are organized
in front of Erez in Beit Hanoun. This is in defiance of the “no go zone”
imposed unilaterally by the Israelis. Any person who approaches the
Green Line is under risk of being shot at. In fact many farmers; or
rubble collectors have been shot in these border areas. The “no go zone”
is not really defined. The Israelis announced a 300 meters line not to
be crossed but people have been shot as far as 1,5 kilometer away from
the border. All this “shoot and kill” policy means than more than 30% of
the agricultural land in Gaza has been made inaccessible to
Palestinians due to the imminent danger of shooting by the Israeli army.
This is affecting thousands of farmers along the roughly 50km-long
border with Israel. Many lands in these areas have been bulldozed.
Houses were destroyed especially during Operation Cast Lead. The zone
has become a strange no-mans land with not one tree standing. For more
information see here.
A
group of Palestinians and supporters are seen with flags and foot balls
in the no go zone near Erez during the weekly demonstration against the
occupation in Beit Hanoun, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, February 7, 2012. Every
Tuesday Palestinians and supporters march from Beit Hanoun into the
"buffer zone" or "no go" zone , where the fertile land has been made
inaccessible to Palestinians due to the imminent danger of shooting by
the Israeli army. (c) Anne Paq/Activestills.org, Beit Hanoun, 07.02.2012
In defiance of this policy, Palestinians
and their supporters walk with great courage every Tuesday into the
buffer zone. Last time I went to the demonstration in Beit Hanoun, Vik
(Vittorio Arrigoni, a long-termer Italian solidarity activist and
journalist who was killed on 15 April 2011 by suspected members of a
Palestinian Salafist group in Gaza) was there. I would certainly not
have imagined than one year and an half year ago I would be back in the
same demonstration where a football game would be held in his memory.
The demonstration was also held in memory of Mustafa Tamimi from the
West Bank village of Nabi Saleh. All suddenly the demonstration took a
different meaning. It was somehow heartwarming to hear a familiar name:
Nabi Saleh, here in Gaza, connecting all the places involved in the
popular resistance. The more connections are being built, the stronger
it will become. It was also good to walk for Vik.
We met as last time near the destroyed
building of the agricultural college of Beit Hanoun and walked into the
direction of Erez, together with flags from different countries and
footballs. One noticeable sad difference with last year was the absence
of women in the demonstration; apparently it has become too sensitive
now for them to participate. When we reached the open field we continue
further and further until a distance of about 50 meters from the
concrete Wall and Erez crossing.
In 2010, we could only approach within 250 meters. Unlike the
demonstrations in the West Bank, here we see only rarely Israeli
soldiers. Yet they are there, hidden in their military towers and they
can shoot at any time, as they did last week and here, there is nowhere
to hide or take cover. You feel completely vulnerable.
After a few launch in the air of the footballs, we retreated a bit to
enjoy a football game between a team made up of internationals and a
team of Palestinians.
Saber
Zaaneen, the coordinator of the Beit Hanoun Local Initiative, leads the
chant during the weekly demonstration against the occupation into the"
no go" zone in Beit Hanoun, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, February 7, 2012. Every
Tuesday Palestinians and supporters march from Beit Hanoun into the
"buffer zone" or "no go" zone , where the fertile land has been made
inaccessible to Palestinians due to the imminent danger of violence by
the Israeli army. | (c) Anne Paq/Activestills.org, Beit Hanoun,
07.02.2012
Beit Hanoun is currently the only place
in the Gaza Strip where such regular demonstrations are held. Saber
Zaaneen (photo n.1) , the coordinator of the Beit Hanoun Local
Initiative, is one of the main organizers of the protest. See below some
extracts of an interview I conducted in October 2010:
” On 2nd July 2008, the Israeli army
announced the existence of a “buffer zone”. As Palestinians, we refuse
to call it “buffer zone”. A buffer zone is between two countries, but
the so called “buffer zone” is on Palestinian lands and we do not accept
it. We call it “zones where Palestinians do not have access”. [OCHA
uses the term “no go” zone]. In Beit Hanoun we are particularly affected
because we have the greenline on the north and on the east. We decided
to do something to oppose this decision and resist. We had to support
the farmers. I love what they are doing in Bil’in, Ni’lin, in Al Ma’sara
to resist the Wall. We were inspired by them and we decided to do the
same in Gaza. On 27 July 2008, we organized our first demonstration
against the “buffer zone” to say: we are here and we will not move. We
went to the direction of Erez, carrying some Palestinian flags. Hundreds
of people came. But when we approached, the Israeli army shot at us,
even before we reached the 300 meters. The Israeli army then increased
the shootings. Farmers were shot, even if they were standing after the
line. Many young people collecting rubble were also shot.
(…)
There is a high price to pay. It can be
death. I am not supposed to die there because I am an unarmed civilian,
but I know it can happen. I think of my family and it is hard, but this
is my duty. Anyone who wants freedom has to pay. We will continue to
struggle until we got our rights. We will never stay silent.”
A boy collects materials salvaged from the debris of a damaged smuggling
tunnel after it was targeted in an Israeli air strike in Rafah, in the southern
Gaza Strip February 3, 2012. (REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa)
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) --
Israeli warplanes fired on sites across the Gaza Strip early Friday,
injuring a young man and a child in northern city Beit Lahiya, a Ma'an
correspondent and medical officials said.
Medical officials said
the child suffered serious injuries to the head and hands. A young man
was also hurt, and he was taken to hospital, said Gaza health official
Adham Abu Salmiya.
In southern Gaza, Israeli forces fired on a
house east of Rafah and open lands near Bani Suheila east of Khan
Younis, Salmiya added.
At least one of the airstrikes targeted a tunnel in Rafah, onlookers said.
An
Israeli army statement said the strikes "targeted two weapon storing
facilities in the northern Gaza Strip, three terror tunnels in the
southern Gaza Strip and a weapon manufacturing facility in the central
Gaza Strip."
"Direct hits were confirmed as well as secondary
explosions at several targets," the statement said, adding that the
strike was in response to rocket fire from Gaza.
Seven
projectiles were fired at southern Israel from the Gaza Strip on
Wednesday with no reported injuries, Israeli news site Ynet reported.
Later, Israeli tanks opened fired on a crowd of people in northern city Beit Hanoun, medics told Ma'an.
Every Tuesday we demonstrate at the Erez border crossing, in Beit
Hanoun, in the northern Gaza Strip. The demonstration started at about
11:00 AM. We headed for the No Go Zone. The No Go Zone is an area taken
by Israel that extends along Gaza’s entire northern and eastern border
inside Palestinian territory. For all intents and purposes, the No go
Zone imposed by Israel is illegal and prevents the farmers from working
part of their lands. Those who enter the area are attacked by Israel
with live rounds.
This
week we brought with us musical instruments, small drums, and a
trumpet. We marched into the No Go Zone raising our Palestinian flags,
playing music, and singing Palestinian songs like “Filisteeni” and
“Onadekom.” We marched on the land ruined by the Israeli bulldozers, we
crossed big ditches using our hands in a vain attempt to not to fall
down into the mud, and we arrived near the separation barrier.
At one point, our music was interrupted by Israel firing live
ammunition at us. We were speechless at the Israeli live fire. Silently
we raised our arms in the sky. Silently we looked at the border. Silence
fell on the land; we heard only the sound of the Israeli gunshots that
are the sound of the death. They shot toward peaceful demonstrators
armed only with flags and musical instruments.
They shot toward youth that have only their voices to ask justice and
freedom for their land. But the Israeli soldiers don’t know our
language; they only know the language of the violence.
After a short time, bravely, we started again to sing, challenging
the Israeli gunshots. We placed a Palestinian flag near the separation
wall and we stood there, singing and playing music. A group of youth
started to dance the Dabka.
Then, near the flag that we placed, we started to sing Bella Ciao
Una mattina mi sono svegliato, o bella, ciao! bella, ciao! bella,
ciao, ciao, ciao! Una mattina mi sono svegliato, e ho trovato l’invasor…
One morning I awakened, Oh Goodbye beautiful, Goodbye beautiful,
Goodbye beautiful! Bye! Bye! One morning I awoke, and I found the
invader…).
As an Italian, I felt a strong emotion, singing this song with all my heart with the Palestinian people.
We came back home with a smile on our faces, the music gave us joy
and strength; we will never give in to the siege. Last week, the Israeli
soldiers attacked us with bullets and tear gas, tear gas between our
feet and bullets over our heads. Yesterday we gave this answer to the
Israeli bullets: the music of our small drums against the crack of their
bullets.
We will keep demonstrating against the illegal No Go Zone, against
the occupation, and against the siege. We’ll keep on demonstrating with
the popular resistance, we will keep demanding freedom and justice for
Palestine, we will keep on demonstrating for the right of the
Palestinians to their lands. Rosa Schiano is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement.
At approximately 1:50 am on Friday 3 February 2012, an Israeli aircraft
fired at least one missile at a piece of agricultural land along Salah
Ad-Din street in An-Nuseirat refugee camp. As a result, a room built on
the land was destroyed and adjacent houses sustained physical damages.
No casualties or injuries were reported, but people were terrified.
A
Palestinian civilian was wounded by IOF in Gaza City.
IOF partially
damaged a Palestinian house in Gaza City.
IOF
arrested two Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Thursday, 26 January 2012 At approximately 09:15, IOF stationed
at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east of Khan Yunis in
the south of the Gaza Strip, opened fire at farms and residential neighborhoods
in the east of Abasan village, east of Khan Yunis. Palestinian farmers were forced to flee their
farms. IOF continued the sporadic firing
for approximately one hour. Neither
casualties nor damages to property were reported.
Friday,
27 January 2012
At approximately 21:00, IOF positioned at the border between the
Gaza Strip and Israel to in the east of al-Shujaiya neighborhood in the east of
Gaza City fired two artillery shells at Palestinian houses. One of the shells landed on a house belonging
to Abdul Ra'ouf Hamed Mardi Hajjaj, 27.
The two-storey house which measures 180 square meters is located in
al-Mansoura Street in al-Shujaiya neighborhood.
The shell opened a hole in the sealing of the kitchen in Hajjaj's house
and caused slight damage to the contents of the house. The other shell landed in a farm belonging to
Hamed Mardi Hajjaj, 74. The farm which measures 700 square meters is adjacent
to the house which was hit by the first shell.
It should be noted that the Palestinian police and explosive
experts arrived at Hajjaj's house and opened investigations. They took the shell from Hajjaj's house and
told the Hajjaj family that the shell was fired by IOF.
Sunday, 29 January 2012
At approximately 20:30, IOF, backed by military vehicles and
apaches, moved into Gaza International Airport in the far southeast of Rafah in
the south of the Gaza Strip amid indiscriminate firing. IOF arrested Hajjaj Yousif Ehmeid al-Soufi,
21, who is a university student and Ahmed Hussein Awad Abu Athra, 20, who is a
member of the Palestinian National Security Service. Al-Soufi and Abu Athra are from al-Shouka
village in the east of Rafah.
The family of al-Soufi reported that on Monday morning, 30 January
2012, they received a phone call from someone who introduced himself as a
member of the Israeli Intelligence Service and who told them that IOF arrested
al-Soufi and his friend Abu Athra and transferred them to Ashkelon Prison in
Israel. According to the family of al-Soufi, the two men were walking to a
house of a friend of theirs when they were arrested. Tuesday, 31 January 2012 At approximately 11:00, IOF stationed at the border between the
Gaza Strip and Israel to the east of Shujaiya neighborhood, east of Gaza,
opened fire at Munther Rashad Saleh al-Nakhala, 44. Al-Nakhalla sustained
wounds by a bullet to the left foot as a result. He was hunting birds with friends with his
near the building of the Energy Authroity.
He was nearly 500 meters from the fence.
Eyewitnesses reported that IOF fired three bullets at bird hunters.
Wednesday, 01 February 2012
At approximately 22:30, IOF stationed at the border in the
northeast of Beit Hanoun in the north of the Gaza Strip fired two artillery
shells. The shells landed on a land in
the northeast of Beit Hanoun.
At approximately 22:40, IOF apaches opened intensive fire for 10
minutes at the northeast of Beit Hanoun.
Children and women in the area were in panic as a result. No casualties were reported.
At
approximately 10:30 pm on Wednesday 1 February 2012, Israeli Occupation
Forces (IOF) fired three artillery shells at agricultural lands south
of Beit Hanoun in North Gaza district. A few minutes later, an Israeli
helicopter gunship opened fire on the same area. No casualties or
injuries were reported, but people were terrified.
This is a blog about Gaza farmers, workers and all the civilian population living in Gaza Strip rural communities along the Green Line, suffering from daily Israeli attacks and resisting the implementation of a so called "buffer zone" by the Israeli Occupation Forces.
Note: this blog is focusing on Israeli attacks on civilians inside or around the so called "buffer zone". Attacks on resistance fighters, or attacks, usually airstrikes on civilians further inside the Gaza Strip, or along the Egypt border (apart from the eastern areas such as Al Shoka or the airport area) are usually not mentioned. For the attacks of the Israeli Navy see http://fishingunderfire.blogspot.com/
Cases of children shot whilst collecting building material or working near the border fence between the Gaza Strip and Israel
OCHA: BETWEEN THE FENCE AND A HARD PLACE - SPECIAL FOCUS, August 2010
THE HUMANITARIAN IMPACT OF ISRAELI-IMPOSED RESTRICTIONS ON ACCESS TO LAND AND SEA IN THE GAZA STRIP (click on image for the full report in PFD)
Al Haq: Shifting Paradigms - Israel’s Enforcement of the Buffer Zone in the Gaza Strip
List of Palestinian farmers & other civilians shot in Gaza Strip’s rural communities
List of Palestinian farmers & other civilians shot in Gaza Strip’s rural communities since the declaration of the ceasefire on the 18th of January 2009 - till September 2009 (click the image)
