Palestine

Gazan fishermen used as shooting targets by Israeli navy

Sophie Team Observers — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 12:18:34 +0200

Photo: Tom Spender on Flickr. The photo wasn't taken at the same time as the video.

Since the end of August, fishermen from Gaza - frequent targets of the Israeli navy - have been accompanied out to sea by members of the NGO International Solidarity Movement. On 5 October, the pro-Palestinian activists filmed the boats getting fired at with machine guns and water cannons.

Just one round and the bullets ricochet across the water to this huddle of fishermen. Next, a high-powered water cannon scours the deck for several minutes, damaging the vessel. This footage was filmed on 5 October by an NGO that supports Palestine's "demand for freedom". For almost two months, six international volunteers from the International Solidarity Movement have entered the daily lives of Gazan fishermen. They report that the same event regularly repeats itself: Israeli navy ships aim at Palestinian fishing vessels with machine guns and water cannons.

UPDATE (20 November 08 - 3pm): Andrew was arrested by Israeli authorities on Tuesday morning along with 15 fisherman and two other campaigners. The fishermen have since been released but the three foreigners are being held in a detention centre in Tel-Aviv airport awaiting extradition. We are awaiting news from his family who have, as yet, had no contact with Andrew. We'll update you once we can.

The video from 5 October.

Amateur video of settlers attacking a Palestinian village

Sophie Team Observers — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 12:11:09 +0200

This amateur video shows armed settlers attacking a Palestinian village with stones and guns on Saturday after an Israeli boy had been stabbed and injured earlier in the day. The shocking video is another result of a citizen-media drive to reveal evidence of violent attacks in the area.

The images show Israelis from the far-right Yitzhar settlement coming towards the West Bank village of Asira al-Kabaliya and throwing rocks. The attackers were responding to an incident on Saturday afternoon when an intruder burnt down a mobile home and stabbed a nine-year-old boy in the area. The footage was shot by a local resident who then sent it to B'Tselem, an NGO that hands out recording equipment to Palestinians to capture footage of violence in the Israeli and Palestinian Territories (see other posts about the group).

The footage has caused outrage because The Israel Defense Forces appear not to intervene in the attacks. After the video was shot the attackers continued into the village, when six Palestinians were shot and injured. Stars of David were painted on the buildings. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called the attack a "pogrom against non-Jews", and said that it would not be tolerated.

Video issued by B'Tselem 14 September 08.

A damning video for the Israeli Army

Sophie Team Observers — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 17:36:04 +0200

A scene of shocking brutality on the part of the Israeli Army emerged yesterday, in a video filmed by a Palestinian teenager. The amateur footage shows an Israeli soldier firing a rubber bullet at a Palestinian protestor barely a metre away. According to the NGO who got hold of the video, Israeli authorities then tried to cover up the blunder.

The incident happened in the town of Nilin, northwest of Jerusalem, around two weeks ago. The victim, Palestinian protestor Ashraf Abu Rahman, 27, was demonstrating against the construction of the West Bank barrier, which will cut off his village from its farm land. Bound and blindfolded, he was shot in the foot with a rubber bullet, but later released. After the video was made public, the soldier responsible was arrested for interrogation by the Israeli police. The Observers is publishing accounts from a senior member the NGO who collected and published the video, B'Tselem, and the young Palestinians who filmed the confrontation.

Israeli settler attacks posted on the web

Sophie Team Observers — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:41:29 +0200

Israeli police announced the arrest of two of the settlers suspected of taking part in this attack on Palestinians, captured on video, today. It's not the first time that a video posted on YouTube has helped Palestinians to get attention from the media and officials about this type of incident.

The attack happened last weekend close to the Palestinian village of Al-Samoa in the West Bank. We see a Palestinian, attached to an electricity pylon, being kicked by a settler before Israeli soldiers intervene. The Israeli police said today that they've arrested two people from the Assael settlement suspected of taking part in the assault. According to the 30-year-old victim, Midhat Abu Karch, Israeli soldiers wouldn't do anything to help during the attack. They told him to "wait for the police".

Video from the International pro-Palestinian Movement for Solidarity. Forty-six seconds in you can see the victim being kicked.

The tale of soldier Shalit

Sophie Team Observers — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 10:22:48 +0200

This video was released on YouTube by the Israeli Consulate in New York. The children are reading a story that was written by Gilad Shalit, a soldier who has been held by Hamas since his kidnap in 2006. Written when he was eleven, the story is a tale of a fish and a shark making friends. There's an obvious comparison to be drawn with the Israel-Palestine conflict, although each camp will no doubt interpret it differently.

According to the Consul for Media and Public Affairs, the purpose of the video is to "raise awareness of this humanitarian issue in the United States and around the world. A multiethnic selection of students reading this story of peace and reconciliation sends a powerful message that cannot be ignored".

A pro-Palestine protestor shot "like a mosquito"

Sophie Team Observers — Fri, 16 May 2008 14:22:59 +0200

This amateur video, which has caused uproar on the internet, would seem to demand some serious questioning of the Israeli Army's techniques in the Palestinian territories. The footage was filmed in Bil'in, a village in the West Bank near to the border with Israel.

The video was published by B'Tselem, an Israeli human rights organisation. The incident happened two months ago during a protest against the separation wall put in place by Israeli authorities, which cuts off a part of the village used for farming.

Images show the protester, 18-year-old Eran Cohen, being hit by a rubber bullet at close range. He later explained that he was protesting against the incarceration of one of his friends and that he shouted "enough with the violence!" to the soldiers, when they fired at him. He was shot in the leg and taken to the Assaf Harofeh medical centre where doctors were able to extract the bullet. Eran says that he will continue to demonstrate against the injustice served to Palestinian people, who "have received more bullets" than him.

The army said that it would investigate the incident, adding that "security forces were ordered to employ crowd dispersal means on the demonstrators".

Update: pro-Palestinian march ends in violence

Julien — Fri, 09 May 2008 17:58:10 +0200

Yesterday one of our Observers, Amal Ziada, told us she was on her way to a peaceful pro-Palestinian demonstration by Arab Israelis in northern Israel. The event went along as planned, with speeches and a symbolic release of black balloons. But as they were leaving, Amal says, the Arabs were confronted by a group of right-wing Israelis with banners. Tension escalated and Israeli police intervened - firing tear gas and "voice bombs," according to the demonstrators. Our Observers sent photos and video footage.

Sixty years of Israel – Happy Birthday?

Julien — Thu, 08 May 2008 18:46:46 +0200

Photo: David A McKee

The state of Israel was created 60 years ago this week. While Israel celebrates the anniversary of its creation, the Arab world mourns the displacement of the Palestinians - referred to as the "Nakba," or catastrophe. Our Observers, Israeli and Palestinian, tell us how they are commemorating the event.

"Anonymous" Israeli propaganda on YouTube

Julien — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 15:01:37 +0200

Just under a month ago we published a post about a terrorist shooting in a Talmudic school in Jerusalem. Now, daily Israeli newspaper Haaretz has revealed that the government used YouTube, under an anonymous guise, to broadcast these images as a provocative reminder of the event.

The video, which has an amateur appearance, was published on March 10 under the name of "AtiyaRachel". But The Marker, the business supplement of Haaretz, revealed that it was actually the Prime Minister's office behind the videos, entitled "Emergency call" and "Act NOW. Stop the terror, stop the bloodshed". Warning, you may find some of the images upsetting.

“Hamas and Fatah take a great step forward”

Julien — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 17:41:12 +0100

Fatah and Hamas had – officially – cut off contact with each other since Hamas seized control of Gaza this past June. However, while in Yemen recently for talks they signed a joint declaration of "reconciliation". Our Palestinian Observer believes this agreement could aid the peace process.