Visiting 48

Last Thursday we joined our friend and some other Palestinian families on a coach trip to 48. 48 refers to the 1948 occupied lands, also known as Israel.

Palestinians do not have the right to visit 48 and so they had to apply for a permit a few weeks ago to be able to visit their own country. The permit was only valid from 8am to 10pm. As a foreigner, I didn’t need a permit.

We crossed into 48 via the Qalqilya checkpoint. All of the Palestinians had to get off the coach with their bags and walk through the checkpoint, while internationals were allowed to remain on the coach. Armed Occupation Forces came onto the coach to check our passports and made one of our group delete videos that she had just taken of the checkpoint from her camera. When we got to the other side to pick up the Palestinians, many of them were shaken from the experience of being frisked, shouted at and told to stop smiling by Occupation Forces.

It felt so wrong to me that Palestinians should have to go through such a laborious procedure to visit their own country, while I, a foreigner, didn’t face the same treatment.

A short while later, our friend told us it was time to ‘turn the sad to happy’ and she asked the driver to put on some music and everyone began clapping, dancing and singing on the coach.

We then arrived at our first destination, Olga, where we sat on the grass together to enjoy a delicious Palestinian picnic before walking down to the beach and dipping our toes in the sea.

 

Olga beach

The beach was wonderful, and many of the Palestinians were very excited to see it for the first time or the first time in a while. Again I felt a pang of sadness here at the fact that so many people are denied the right to come here. Although it is so close in distance, many Palestinians have never been to the sea.

Our next destination was Haifa. Unfortunately this city also felt tainted. I was amazed at how magnificent the city was, how luscious and green it seemed compared to the West Bank. Our friend became very pensive and later divulged that she loved this city, for her it was the best place in Palestine. Her late father used to work her, and her brother was born here.

Haifa

Finally we stopped in Akka, a stunning coastal town where we ate some more food, visited a mosque and roamed the winding streets of the souk before arriving at the port to watch the sunset.

Akka

It was nice to spend a day in an area that doesn’t have any army presence, watchtowers or apartheid walls but the occupation was still very present in the Palestinians’ longing gazes. I got talking to many people on the bus and I met one girl in particular who is the same age as me. I asked her if she comes to 48 often, to which she replied that it was her first time.  It’s difficult to get a permit and it costs a lot to come here for the day. There was no difference between this girl and myself, yet our nationalities granted us vastly different rights. I felt riddled with guilt at the ease in which I could come and go from these beautiful places, while for so many Palestinians, visiting 48 remains but a dream.

Sunset in Akka

Shadi Farah

Last Friday, we attended Shadi Farah’s 13th birthday party. Like any other 13th birthday party, friends and family attended, there was music and cake. But this wasn’t any ordinary 13th birthday party because the birthday boy was absent. At the age of 12, Shadi became the youngest Palestinian political prisoner last December and has since been held in a detention centre awaiting his sentence.

Shadi’s mother (woman on the right) singing happy birthday to her son

Shadi and his friend Ahmad were arrested at a bus stop in Jerusalem after a group of East Jerusalem settlers called the police to investigate the two boys, on suspicion of being Palestinian. In the ensuing process of arrest, interrogation, and abuse, the Israeli police proclaimed that the two boys had gone to Jerusalem with the intent to stab a soldier, and subsequently charged them both with attempted manslaughter. During the interrogation, the boys were shouted at, beaten and given electric shocks. Shadi still maintains his innocence, but in the Israeli courts, no evidence is needed to convict a Palestinian.

Shadi is now imprisoned in al Masra youth detention centre, a facility for teenagers incarcerated for theft, assault and drug possession, where he suffers from abuse and isolation. His family visits him as often as possible, but travelling from the hometown Kufr Akab to the north of Israel is expensive. An international fundraising campaign has been able to raise money to support the family.

On Wednesday we accompanied Shadi’s parents to his court hearing in Jerusalem. Shadi’s parents have had to attend over 20 hearings in less than a year. The hearings are held in Hebrew with interpretation provided for Shadi, but not for his parents. Luckily, Shadi’s father speaks some Hebrew.

To get to Jerusalem we had to pass through the checkpoint at Qalandiya, which feels like a prison in itself

Um Shadi hadn’t seen him for two months and was visibally very anxious on the way to the court, desperate to take Shadi home. She was telling me stories about his hobbies, and how well he does at school.

Where justice doesn’t prevail

We were all impatiently waiting for the boys, not knowing by which entrance they would arrive. When they finally came, Shadi and Ahmed were embraced by their families and friends. We sang happy birthday to Shadi as his mother had requested. Although it must have been a very scary day for the boys, they both seemed so happy to be reunited with their families.

 Once inside the building, a security guard informed us that we internationals would not be able to take any recording devices into the courtroom. Shortly afterwards he clarified that we would not be allowed in to the courtroom as Shadi is a minor. It’s convenient how they remember he is a minor when it suits them, but not when they are holding him in a detention centre indefinitely for no crime committed and no evidence.

The hearing was very short, approximately 30 minutes. They still did not give Shadi an official sentence, but arranged a further court hearing for the 29th of November, which just so happens to be the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. Israeli prosecutors have recommended a two-year sentence in addition to the time he has already served.

This sentencing comes as part of a plea agreement which was accepted by Shadi’s family because the family can no longer take the indefinite detention and the Israeli prosecution have threatened to postpone Shadi’s sentencing until after his 14th birthday, in which case he would receive an even longer term like Ahmad Manasrah who turned 14 and received a 12 -year sentence.

Shadi’s mother expressed her dissatisfaction with the Palestinian Authority’s approach to child prisoners, saying that there was more international official attention to Shadi’s case than official attention from PA institutions.

We spoke to Shadi’s parents afterwards:

“I was put in a position where I had to agree. If they allowed me to speak, I would have asked to take him home with me. He has done nothing wrong. My life has been put on hold today. I see my son as a child. He will grow up far away from me. He went in as a child, sucking his thumb, he will leave an adult. He needs his mother’s care. When winter comes, who will put a blanket on him when he shivers? Every time we go to court we expect we might go home with him. His youngest brother wanted to come today but he decided to go to school because he would see Shadi when he got home later. God knows what these two years will bring for our children”

What I found especially difficult about this day was the lack of international presence. IWPS, ISM and an EU representative were there, but where were the children’s rights and human rights organisations? There are approximately 400 children in Israeli prisons. Shadi’s case has received some international attention because he is the youngest prisoner and he is still likely to be sentenced to two years despite no crime being committed. So many families must be going through this injustice alone.

Another week

It feels like only yesterday I wrote the last blog post but here I am a whole week later. I spent three days this week picking with a lovely family whose land is located close to the illegal settlement Yakir. Our local coordinators contact farmers who have land in compromised areas and we often spend a couple of days with each farmer and their families. We usually start the day quite early to get in a few hours before the midday sun and finish at around 5pm. The families provide lunch for us, which is a nice opportunity to sit around, get to know each other, practise some Arabic, laugh and even sing and dance!

Olive picking

Enjoying a delicious lunch with the family

The family this week told us that the Israeli army use their land as a training ground for soldiers. About ten years ago, the army uprooted hundreds of their olive trees and built a huge artificial hill. They are regularly bothered by soldiers and settlers. When we were walking to pick with them one day this week, a settler drove up alongside us and asked where we were going. I didn’t answer him and he drove away – it is best not to engage in conversation with the settlers because they can be quite violent and cause further problems and the Palestinians can lose trust in us if we are seen to be conversing with settlers.

Artificial hill created by the Occupation Forces

The illegal settlement Yakir, like so many others, is undergoing further expansion

Around 2pm on one of the days we were picking this week, we received a phone call from a coordinator telling us that there had been a problem with settlers and Israeli Occupation Forces near a boys’ secondary school in a town called Urif. Urif is located 2km away from the illegal settlement Yitzhar, which is known for its settlers being prone to violence and having previously attacked children and internationals. By the time we arrived, everyone had left and the school had closed but we were able to speak with an eye witness from the local council who showed us pictures and video clips of the day. An infamous settler known as Jacob, who is a security guard in Yitzhar, had come close to the school with two young settlers carrying an M16. After two hours both they and the army left again.

Jacob. Photo taken from Protect Urif’s Facebook page

The boy’s school is overlooked by an illegal settlement

I also recieved a very kind invitation from a fellow volunteer to spend a couple of days and nights with a friend of hers in a village called Sir. The village is very small with about 600 inhabitants and it seems that everyone is related, making for lovely evenings sitting around and talking. When we arrived we spent the afternoon with her children, all under 18, and I was taken aback by the stories that they told us about Israeli Occupation Forces’ violence and oppression. Injustice and murder are facts of their everyday lives. One evening Rosie’s friend took us to her shoe shop with two of her children. On the drive there we passed an open gate that was manned by two Israeli soldiers. This gate is sometimes closed in the evenings without warning, preventing villagers from getting home from work or the olive harvest for hours on end. The young girl in particular became very distressed but we passed through the gate without any problem. Even so, soldier presence, checkpoints, gates, settlements and night raids- these are constant reminders of the occupation, which must be especially overhwelming for children.

Enjoying time with the kids

Having stupidly slipped down a tree earlier in the week when sawing a branch I’ve incurred a rather colourful and tender injury on my derrière – I’ll spare you the photos. When the house computer started playing up last night it was decided that I would stay at home to rest said contusion and fix the computer. Five of the women went to pick olives in Assawiya but were faced with a stressful morning when a settler and soldiers denied them and the Palestinians access to the land. The reason given was that “if someone is killed today, it is a big problem”, which is very ironic seeing as he was the only one to be carrying a weapon… They then said that internationals would now be banned from cultivating this land – something that sadly happens often and is an attempt to block internationals from recording human rights abuses.

So all seven of us ended up spending the day at home and we had a big spring clean. Today was noticably cooler and the sky was much cloudier but it is still warm enough to eat and sit outside until late evening.

My two roomates are fast asleep and there is a mosquito buzzing around my head as if mocking my slow reaction speeds alerting me to the plans it has for me this evening so I think it’s time to try to sleep. Good night!

Meeting Um Fadi

Last night we went for a drink at Um Fadi’s house. Um Fadi is the mother of Ali Shamlawi, one of the five Hares (name of village) boys who was kidnapped and arrested by the Israeli army from his home during the night in March 2013. Ali was 16 at the time.

Um Fadi’s living room is full of pictures of Ali

What happened

A car in the occupied territories crashed into the back of a truck on the 14th of March 2013. The driver of the car, Adva Biton, and her three daughters were seriously injured. The driver was an Israeli returning from an illegal Israeli settlement when the accident took place. The driver later claimed that the accident occurred due to Palestinian youths throwing stones at her car. The truck driver testified immediately after the accident that he had pulled over due to a flat tyre. Later, the testimony was changed to say that he’d seen stones thrown by the road. There were no witnesses to the accident.

Following this, the five Hares boys were violently kidnapped from their homes and detained, charged with 25 counts of attempted murder. The prosecution from the Israeli authorities insisted that the boys had consciously “intended to kill” by throwing stones. The only evidence was signed confessions in Hebrew (a language none of the boys speak) extracted under brutal interrogation.

Found guilty, this simple accident is regarded as an act of terrorism and Adva Biton and her passengers were entitled to substantial compensation.

Initially the boys were to be sentenced for 25 years unless each family could raise €7000, in which case the sentence would be reduced to 15 years. This would have been impossible for the families but in January 2015 an international appeal managed to raise the money and the boys were finally sentenced three years after their arrest. Ali went to court around 50 times.

When the boys will finally be released, if anything happens such as stone throwing in the village of Hares in the five subsequent years, by anyone, they could be sent back to prison for another five years. Let’s not forget that they don’t need evidence to find someone guilty.

It is illegal to move prisoners outside of the occupied territory yet Ali has been in three different prisons outside of the occupied territory. He spent three years awaiting his sentence in Majiddo prison. Last March he was moved to Ramun prison.

His family was allowed to visit him twice a month for 45 minutes. They would talk to him behind a screen with telephones, only allowed physical contact with him once every 5 years. Um Fadi told me that some mothers have been arrested themselves for talking about certain things with their sons when visiting them. She and her family are therefore taking a risk by visiting him.

The current situation

In July this year, Ali was moved to Al Naqqab prison, where the family were only allowed to visit once a month. The last time his parents visited him was the 6th of July. On the 22nd of August, Um Fadi went to visit Ali with her husband but they were refused entry at a checkpoint without being given a reason. When they asked why, they were ignored.

Of 50 people trying to visit prisoners that day 20 were rejected. Um Fadi does not know when she will next be allowed to see her son.

“I can’t describe the effect. I want my son with me. At least I want to see him, to know how he is feeling. When we visit him we can speak to him, know how he is. But now I don’t know anything about him”.

Families are given permission to take a limited amount of clothing twice a year – once in winter and once in summer. The criteria for this clothing is extremely specific, not allowing buttons, zips, or anything black/brown/grey. This makes the task of finding suitable clothing very difficult for the families.

Today we joined Um Fadi, her husband, two of her sons and her daughter at their olive grove to help them with the olive harvest. She spoke to us about the fact that a British embassy representative only attended one court hearing. The representative did not speak to Ali or his parents, but sat at the back and took notes. The hearing was in Hebrew. Um Fadi said that the interpretation was poor, with two or three Arabic words spoken to them for every 20 Hebrew words. The representative did not speak Arabic and reported after the hearing that everything was normal. Um Fadi told me that they hadn’t been able to follow the hearing and had not understood what had happened.

A notebook made by Ali in prison with a picture of him and his parents

In 2014 Um Fadi travelled to London to speak at the House of Commons. The entire meeting was filmed and you can watch it via the link below. While some good points are raised in the meeting, Um Fadi was not given enough time to recount her story and eventually she was told they “would see what they can do”. Nothing has happened since. I really would recommend watching the video as it gives a lot more insight to her story and the situation as a whole with Palestinian child prisoners.

A brief history of Palestine

I have been passionate about the Palestinian cause for many years now and I already have some knowledge of human rights abuses in the region from reading reports and watching documentaries. However, I have chosen to use this blog to report on incidents that I witness on the ground or that people I meet tell me. Nevertheless, it may be useful to quickly cover the history of Palestine, as unfortunately in Britain, Europe and many countries worldwide we are simply not told. In order to do so, I’ve used information from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign website.

Muslims, Christians and Jews had lived alongside one another for centuries under the rule of the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire. In 1914 the population was 84% Muslim, 11% Christian and 6% Jewish.

During the First World War, Britain pledged to support “complete and final liberation” for the people of the wider region in return for them rebelling against the Ottomans. In fact, they had secretly agreed to divide the area between themselves and France. Britain also promised the “establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people”. Britain occupied Palestine in 1917 and remained until 1948.

In 1947 Britain approached the newly founded and then Western-dominated UN to determine Palestine’s future. Despite the Jewish population only making up a third of residents, the report recommended creating a Jewish state on 56% of the land. The Palestinians refused to accept the partition of their homeland, yet in 1948 Israel was established unilaterally. By 1949, the Nakba (“catastrophe”) had resulted in the ethnic cleansing of two thirds of the Palestinian population, with Israel ruling over 78% of the land.

The West Bank and Gaza Strip have been under an illegal Israeli military rule since they were occupied in the 1967 war, and today are referred to as the “Occupied Palestinian Territories”. East Jerusalem was also annexed illegally by Israel in 1967. For over 60 years the Palestinians have been denied the right to self-determination and statehood.

The refugee issue

About 750,000 Palestinians were forced into exile in 1948-9 and during the June 1967 war a further 325,000 Palestinians became refugees. Under UN Resolution 194, the Palestinians have the right to return to their homes, but Israel has always refused to implement the Resolution. Today over 6 million Palestinians live as refugees, hundreds of thousands of whom still live in overcrowded refugee camps in the West Bank and Gaza, and in Lebanon, Syria and Jordan.

Life under occupation

The past 40 years have seen the establishment of over 200 illegal Israeli settlements, housing over 500,000 settlers, within the Occupied Territories. The separation barrier or the Wall in the West Bank, construction of which was started in 2002, cuts deep into Palestinian land and, along with the “settler only” roads, cuts off many communities from water supplies, hospitals and their agricultural land. The residents face severe travel restrictions and for many it is impossible to enter Jerusalem or to travel abroad. This treatment of the Palestinians, both within Israel and in the Occupied Territories, is widely recognised as a system akin to the apartheid regime of South Africa.

Palestinians are continually under attack from the Israeli occupying forces and are increasingly harassed by settlers, who attack farmers and steal their land. Collective punishments, such as prolonged curfews and house demolitions are frequently imposed.

The Palestinians who remained in what is today the state of Israel, as non-Jewish members of a Jewish country, also face discrimination in all areas of Palestine and are considered to be second class citizens.