documenting-apartheid

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Premiered May 5, 2022 - Inside Israeli Apartheid- a documentary by Mondoweiss

"For decades Palestinians have accused Israel of the crime of Apartheid, imposing two different systems on the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea: one system that privileges Jews, and another that discriminates against Palestinians. Now, the rest of the world is catching up. In the past year, the leading global and Israeli human rights groups have joined their Palestinian counterparts in calling Israel an Apartheid state. From the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza, to Palestinian communities inside Israel, this is a look Inside Israeli Apartheid."

This documentary premiered a year before October 7th. In July of 2024, the World Court finally recognized Israel to be practicing the crime of apartheid.

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An olive tree vandalized by Israeli settlers in the Palestinian village of Qaryut, Nablus, April 2023. Photo by OCHA

During September-November 2023, OCHA documented 113 harvest-related cases where Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians, damaged their trees or stole crops and harvesting tools. Of these, ten incidents resulted in casualties and property damage, another ten resulted in casualties but not property damage, and 93 incidents resulted in damage but not casualties. Over 2,000 trees were vandalized during these incidents.

On at least 38 occasions, Palestinian farmers or other eyewitnesses reported that Israeli forces had accompanied the attackers or that the latter had been wearing military uniforms while expelling Palestinians from farmlands or taking over olives and tools.

Make no mistake, Israeli settler violence is state sanctioned terrorism and ecocide, working in tandem with the Israeli military and government. Israel cannot pretend to divorce itself from this settler violence as "fringe extremists" when it arms, backs, and protects the perpetrators.

Source: United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

Interested in ways to help? The International Solidarity Movement is looking for volunteers to assist in the 2024 Olive Harvest Campaign. ISM volunteers work together with Faz3a, a Palestinian youth-led campaign that supports Palestinian farmers during the olive harvest, other organizations, and Palestinian families to show solidarity and support during this season.

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October 10 2024 - Mohammed Tahsen in Gaza is reunited with his beloved pet cat Leo after Israeli quadcopters opened fire around his shelter while Leo was outside.

Mohammed was afraid if he stuck his head out of his shelter to look for her, he would be shot in the head. A few days ago, Mohammed found someone's dog had been shot and killed by the same Israeli quadcopters in his area, and was worried the same would happen to his Leo.

Despite reuniting with Leo today, Mohammed is still in imminent danger.

"If we don’t die from the missiles, we’ll die of suffocation from the gases that Israel is dropping on us."

Today, Mohammed reported that the Israelis are dropping internationally banned poisonous phosphorus gas on them, and that he and other residents have lost their sense of smell. Stress from constant bombings has caused his 12 year old younger brother Amir's hair to turn gray.

Mohammed and his family are also suffering from disease due to a lack of non-contaminated drinking water, since Israel intentionally destroyed 88% of Gaza's water wells and 100% of Gaza's water desalination plants.

Mohammed has a Gofundme campaign set up, and is currently $15,000 away from his goal. Although the Rafah crossing is closed right now after Israel sieged and attacked it, preventing Palestinians from fleeing extermination, Mohammad and other Palestinians trapped in Gaza need donations for when it reopens. It can cost $5,000 for one adult and $2,500 alone for a single child to cross, and Mohammed as 3 younger siblings. On top of this, Gaza has a poverty rate of 81%, and that was before the Israeli invasion. This is a verified campaign, and you can follow updates from Mohammed on his twitter account.

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October 9 2024 - Another Israeli war crime caught on camera as Israeli Occupation Forces open fire on Palestinian firefighters as they attempt to save displaced citizens burning inside tent fires caused by Israeli airstrikes targeting Jabalia refugee camp.

In the video, Palestinian emergency responders, rescuers, and firefighters, hide behind overturned tables as the IOF shoots at them while they were attempting to extinguish fires burning the tents of displaced civilians who had been hit by an Israeli airstrike in Yemen Al-Saeed Hospital in Jabalia refugee camp in Northern Gaza.

The video later shows first responders wrapping the burned bodies of deceased Palestinian civilians who were unable to be rescued from the fires.

At least 16 people were killed and many injured when an Israeli warplane targeted and airstriked displaced people's tents outside Yemen Al-Saeed Hospital in Northern Gaza. Paramedics said the dead included women and children, noting that the bombardment left “charred remains of the deceased Palestinians.” Later, several Palestinians were killed and wounded in a second airstrike targeting displaced people outside the entrance of the hospital, Palestinian first responders reported.

Source: mohammed_abu_loay

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Journalist Rob Vreeken for Dutch newspaper Volkskrant samples random Israelis in Tel Aviv, October 5, 2024.

As illegal Israeli settler terrorists increase in their violent pogroms against Palestinian villages across the West Bank and occupied territories, in Israel, genocidal sentiment against the Palestinian people is in full display.

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A Palestinian woman comforts her children as they wait at the hospital to be checked in the city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip on 12 October 2023 (AFP)

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August 31 2024 - In northern West Bank in Occupied Palestine, illegal Israeli settlers, under the protection of Israeli Occupation Forces, attack international activists and Palestinian villagers whom were protecting the village of Qusra.

In the video, masked Israeli settlers throw rocks at international activists under the protection of Israeli Occupation Forces. The international activists demand accountability, but the Occupation Forces turn their guns on the activists, protecting the masked gangs.

An injured Faz3a activist reports to the camera that many dozens of illegal settlers came to Qusra, throwing rocks and shooting live rounds into the village, injuring multiple people. Settlers set Palestinian homes on fire, destroyed Palestinian property, and attempted to burn down Palestinian olive fields. One volunteer was beaten with fists, while the activist speaking was hit in the head by a rock thrown by a settler, her face swelling beneath her eye.

Qusra has been the target of many violent Israeli settler terrorist attacks and pogroms over the years. Unlike Israeli settlers, Qusra villagers have no weapons to defend themselves besides rocks, and instead formed their own neighborhood watch to protect themselves.

In 2011, settlers vandalized the village's mosque and tried to set it on fire. They smashed windows, rolled burning tires inside, and wrote "Muhammad is a pig" in Hebrew on its wall. When settlers returned and provoked the village after being warned over speakers to leave, the IOF protected them and killed a Palestinian man.

In 2013, masked settlers from Esh Kodesh trespassed in Qusra and destroyed village property, Qusra villagers apprehended them and handed them over to the Palestinian security forces.

In November 2017, illegal settlers purported to have went on a hike around the frequently terrorized Qusra area, armed with an M16 rifle and pistol, and killed a local Palestinian farmer while he was tending to his land. Qusra villagers responded by throwing rocks at the illegal settlers. The IOF arrested 20 Palestinian Qusra residents, and ruled the settlers killed the Palestinian farmer in "self-defense." Members of Otzma Yehudit, the Jewish Power party, later attacked Qusra residents in response, severely injuring several Palestinians. At the same attack, the Israeli police also failed to investigate the shooting of one Palestinian teen who was standing on his own balcony, and for months failed to review the plethora of security footage outside his home or question any witnesses.

On October 11 2023, three Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli settlers (2 teenagers and a 25-year-old man); a 21-year-old was killed by Israeli soldiers later on. One day later, Israeli settlers confronted the funeral procession and murdered a father and his son.

The International Court of Justice deemed West Bank settlements illegal under international law and found Israel guilty of the crime of apartheid, mandating that Israel dismantle it's settlements, end it's illegal occupation, provide full reparations to Palestinian victims, and facilitate the return of displaced people. Despite this, the Israeli government instead has significantly increased its colonizing efforts in the West Bank by expanding the illegal settlements.

Qusra has been under occupation since 1967. Over the years, over 177 dunams of village land was confiscated by Israel in order to build the illegal settlement of Migdalim. They also confiscated land to build the illegal Israeli settler outposts of Ahiya and Esh Kodesh, and bulldozed 400 square metres of the Qusra's historical stone walls.

Settler pogroms and lynchings against Palestinians like these happen every single day in Occupied Palestine, and the Israeli settlers responsible are rarely ever held accountable. Israel cannot claim to be the side of peace and be the victims of unprovoked attack while this is what life is like everyday for Palestinians living under Israeli apartheid, where violent illegal settler militias lynch Palestinians and burn down their villages in organized pogroms under the protection of the Israeli military and governance.

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‘The Israeli soldiers were so happy after the sniper hit Aysenur’: An Eyewitness

September 14 2024 - Muneer Khdeer, a resident of Beita village in the occupied West Bank, witnessed the killing of activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi. He described what he saw:

“Every Friday for three years, we have been praying at a mosque in al-Masbah, opposite of Mount Sabih. After prayers, Israeli soldiers follow the young men who are heading home, which leads to scuffles. They fire tear gas and live rounds, and the young men throw stones at them,” Khdeer said.

“That day, the Israelis were firing live rounds towards the Palestinians and foreign volunteers. The two groups were about 300 metres [330 yards] apart, so the stones didn’t hit the soldiers. A sniper was among the soldiers because he placed a weapon on top of the wall. He fired two rounds, and one hit the Turkish woman, Aysenur. An ambulance took her away.

“The Israeli soldiers were so happy after the sniper hit Aysenur because they thought they had hit a Palestinian.”

The Israeli Occupation has murdered 17 Palestinians for protesting the demolition of their village Beita el-Foka since 2020.

– Mohammed Hamayyel, 15 (March 11, 2020) – Islam Dwikat, 22 (April 9, 2020) – Karam Amin Dwikat, 17 (October 15, 2023) – Issa Sliman Barham, 40 (May 14, 2021) – Tareq Ommar Snobar, 27 (May 16, 2021) – Zakaria Maher Hamayyel, 25 (May 28, 2021) – Mohammed Said Hamayyel, 15 (June 11, 2021) – Ahmad Zahi Bani Shamsa, 15 (June 16, 2021) – Shadi Ommar Sharafa, 41 (July 27, 2021) – Imad Ali Dwikat, 38 (August 6, 2021) – Mohammed Ali Khbeissa, 27 (September 24, 2021) – Jamil Jamal Abu Ayyash, 32 (December 1, 2021) – Fawaz Ahmad Hamayyel, 47 (April 13, 2022) – Immad Jareh Bani Shamsa, 16 (October 9, 2023) – Mohammed Ibrahim Adili, 13 (November 23, 2023) – Maath Ashraf Bani Shamsa, 17 (February 9, 2024) – Ameed Ghaleb Said al-Jaroub, 34 (March 22, 2024, died of a bullet wound injury to the head sustained on August 21, 2023)

The murders of Palestinians in Beita by the illegal Israeli occupation is a deliberate attempt to terrorize Palestinians into fleeing and submitting to the illegal demolition of their village. Aysenur Eygi's vicious and targeted murder brings to light the many Palestinians murdered daily for simply peacefully protesting and protecting their village from destruction by the illegal Israeli occupation and apartheid state, as declared by the highest world courts.

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SEPTEMBER 6, 2024 - Israeli activist Jonathan Pollak on the murder of 26-year-old Turkish-American peace activist and teacher Ayşenur Eygi, who was shot in the head by the Israeli Occupation Forces during a peaceful demonstration against illegal settlement activity:

"What happened today is no accident…It was quiet. There was nothing to justify the shot. The shot was taken to kill."

Full video transcript:

“What happened today is no accident. It is the continuation of the killing of 17 of Beita’s residents during demonstration since 2021. It is an intentional killing that is now receiving the light of day because she is an American citizen. It was an intentional killing that cannot be justified.  My name is Jonathan Pollak. I was there when she was shot. We got to Beita for the weekly demonstration against the settlement there. The army was already present where people pray in protest of the settlement. As soon as the prayer ended, clashes ensued, and the army shot tear gas and live ammunition immediately.  We were forced to retreat down towards the village and ended up standing at the outskirts of the built-up area of the village about 150-200 meters away from where the soldiers were. We stayed there for about half an hour. Soldiers at some point took over a rooftop that has a view over the entire area. including where we were.  It was quiet. There was nothing to justify the shot. The shot was taken to kill. There were two shots fired from the rooftop.  I’ve been doing this for 20 years. I know the difference in sound between tear gas, rubber coated bullets, live ammunition. These were two separate shots of live ammunition, one after the other. The first one hit the middle object and then a young man from a village in his thigh. And then I heard another shot, and then I heard people calling my name in English saying “we need help, we need help, come help us.” I ran over there, about 10 or 15 meters away behind me into the olive groves I found her lying on the ground beside the tree, bleeding from her head. I put my hand under her head to try to stop the bleeding. I took her pulse, she had a very weak pulse. We called the ambulance. From there we evacuated her to the village’s medical center, where the doctor came into the ambulance and continued into the hospital where they tried to resuscitate her but failed."

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Reporter Prem Thakker: "For 200 days now, I’ve pressed the US on the killing of Hind Rajab, her family & medics sent to save her. Outside investigation—“not plausible” Israeli forces didn’t see who they shot 335 bullets at. Over & over, US deferred to Israel to investigate itself:"

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August 22 2024 - "Said Abu Ays, a displaced Palestinian who took refuge in a camp, makes hats and toys out of cardboard boxes for the children of Gaza, who grew up amid the sounds of bombs due to Israeli attacks, to make them smile and forget the negative traces of the war to some extent in Deir Al Balah, Gaza."

Source: @ Salama Nabel

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August 30, 2024 - Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu reportedly told Defense Minister Gallant that he was prioritizing maintaining troops in the Philadelphi Corridor over saving the lives of the remaining hostages.

"It was the latest evidence of the divide between Netanyahu and the security establishment. Gallant and the security chiefs have repeatedly pushed Netanyahu for more compromise in the negotiations, particularly regarding the Philadelphi Corridor, fearing that the premier’s hardline positions are scuttling a deal."

Gallant confronts Netanyahu

"Gallant then told the cabinet they faced a choice: to remain in the corridor or to return the hostages. “You are deciding to stay in the Philadelphi Corridor. Is this logical to you? There are living (hostages) there!” Gallant exclaimed. Dermer replied, “The prime minister can do as he likes,” to which Gallant responded, “The prime minister can indeed make all the decisions, and he can also decide to kill all the hostages.”

Hostage families forum horrified by cabinet quotes

The Hostage and Missing Families Forum responded to the leaked quotes from the security cabinet meeting by demanding that Netanyahu publicly declare that he has given up on the lives of hostages in favor of continued IDF presence on the Philadelphi Corridor. “The quotes from the cabinet meeting should cause every Israeli citizen to lose sleep,” the forum said in a statement. “Every citizen should know that if they are to be kidnapped from their bed in their pajamas on a Saturday morning, their prime minister will do everything to keep his seat, even at the cost of leaving them to die in the Hamas tunnels in Gaza.”

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August 22 2024 - "8 year old Palestinian child Sema Tabeyl, experiences intense fear and anxiety due to Israel's attacks in Gaza City, Gaza, leading to hair loss. The psychological impact of the ongoing war and blockade in the Gaza Strip deepens each day for Palestinians. The trauma caused by Israel's assaults on Gaza has particularly led to anxiety and depressive disorders among children." 

Source: @salama_nabel

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August 27, 2024 - Palestinian woman Bisan Al Suradi shows off her educational tent in Gaza, where she teaches displaced children affected by the genocide in Gaza.

Video Transcript:

I am Bisan Al Suradi, before the war we had a life. We used to complain a lot about our life before the war, but thank God it was a real blessing back then. There was a beautiful life we can shine the light on and show to the world how this small place on Earth has so much life, and how it's people love life as well. But unfortunately, the war has started and changed everything. When the war started we were displaced. We've suffered a lot and faced many obstacles. At the end, we have realized there's nothing better than creating something educational. The idea of education has started from having a child at home. He had been in Kindergarten for two week before the war started. During the two weeks, he had memorized many English vocabulary and numbers. He writes, reads and recites the Quran. We found out once while we were talking to him that he has forgotten everything. So we decided to make an educational tent where we can teach children, because we have realized the problem is not only with our child but also with all the children around us in the area, as their parents complain about the same thing. We focus in the tent on teaching the basics, at least for the children to remember the letters, and to know how to spell and write. We have stayed for about two weeks from morning to night walking the streets searching for a place, and we were lucky to have found a place and as you can see we have an educational tent for children. I would advise all the initiators who would like to start something and go after anything related to education, so we can get out of this war gaining an education. Because with education and knowledge we build homes. With knowledge, we make everything happen as well as freeing our homeland.

Source: @salama_nabel

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December 21 2023 - Suhaib, a Palestinian boy from Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank, was detained by Israeli forces for six months without charge or trial.

Video transcript:

"I was administratively detained for 6 months without charges. I was next to the wall. Suddenly, the soldiers noticed me. They fired at me to force me to stop. They rushed towards me and tied me up and started hitting me with their hands and feet. They blindfolded me and tied my hands and feet. They put me under the sun for 4-5 hours. Then I was moved in a jeep between several settlements. The jeep continued moving until one o’clock in the morning. Then I was transferred to prison. During the first 17 days, I was interrogated and brought before courts. The lawyer was telling me that I would be released soon. I have not been convicted of any charges. That’s why I was placed in administrative detention. There was no evidence against me to charge me with. Administrative detention is a form of imprisonment without charge or trial but based on “secret evidence” that is neither disclosed to the detainee nor the detainee’s attorney. When my administrative detention expired, I was happy because I would see my family and loved ones. I was surprised when they brought me a paper stating the administrative detention had been renewed for another 3 months. I returned to my prison bed. It was a difficult moment. I was shocked then. I started spending less time with fellow prisoners. I became less talkative. It is difficult to end your detention, and to receive renewal on the day you are supposed to be released.  When I finished my second detention order, I shaved, dressed, and prepared for my release. At the same time, I was ready to receive news of another extension. I prepared myself not to be shocked. After I was released, my life was ruined. I had a good job and I lost it. Before prison, I intended to complete my education, but my mentality changed and I no longer wanted to. I didn’t want to socialize with people. My life was ruined."

1 in 3 Palestinian child detainees in the occupied West Bank are held without charge or trial. By the end of June 2024, Israeli forces were detaining 226 Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank. 75 are held without charge or trial in administrative detention, which is a record number since DCIP began monitoring child administrative detainees in 2008.

Source: Defense for Children International - Palestine

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August 27 2024 - “Israeli forces arrested me after blindfolding and handcuffing me,” 16-year-old Jamal told Defense for Children International - Palestine.

“They transferred me in a military vehicle to the military tower at the entrance to Arroub camp and forced me to lie on the ground for an hour, during which one of the soldiers stepped on my back the entire time.”

Israeli forces detained Jamal after entering and damaging his home in Arroub refugee camp, north of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, on July 16. Jamal has a knee injury with an exit wound caused by live ammunition fired by Israeli forces and he was scheduled to undergo surgery on the date of his arrest.

“The soldiers exploited my injury, forcing me to sit and kneel on my wounded knee for five hours. I was severely beaten if I moved due to the pain,” Jamal said.

“The soldiers transferred me to the Gush Etzion interrogation center and forced me once again to sit on my injured knee for six to seven hours, which caused the wound to reopen and bleed,” he said. “They put headphones on my ears and played songs at a loud and annoying volume for an hour and a half, knowing that I suffer from weak hearing in my right ear, and this caused me pain in my left ear and head."

The interrogator questioned Jamal for four hours, accusing him of throwing Molotov cocktails and coercing him to confess, offering him cigarettes in exchange for a confession. Jamal was compelled to sign a document in Hebrew without an Arabic translation and was transferred to Ofer prison, near Ramallah.

“The food is poor quality, uncooked, and insufficient for us as children. It causes me difficulties because I suffer from stomach problems,” Jamal said. “There is little comfort in the cell, as there are not enough beds for everyone. Some of us are forced to sleep on the floor in shifts.”

"By the end of June, Israeli forces were detaining 226 Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank. 75 are held without charge or trial in administrative detention, which is a record number since DCIP began monitoring child administrative detainees in 2008."

Source: Defense for Children International - Palestine

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AUGUST 30 2024 - Haaretz reports multiple instances of Israeli soldiers sexually harassing Palestinian women at a checkpoint in Hebron.

"He took off his pants and said 'come look'"

"A Palestinian resident of Hebron testified that a soldier sexually harassed her at a checkpoint in the city, when he rolled up his pants and exposed himself to her about two weeks ago, while she was walking alone."

"The incident that happened at the checkpoint flooded the testimonies of women in Hebron about the humiliating treatment of soldiers at the checkpoints since the outbreak of the war, and especially in the last few weeks - including taking pictures of them, referring to their appearance, searching their phones and saying rude words. An IDF spokesperson said that after the complaint, the army started an investigation, but has not yet decided whether to open an IDF investigation."