[Erez,
Gaza] Ninety
foreign civilians traveling on a solidarity visit to Gaza were
blocked entry by the Israeli military at Erez today, after being
processed and given initial permission to enter. The international
group was comprised of American, Belgian, British, and French
citizens.
Protesting
the Israeli Army decision not to let the group enter Gaza, where
they were scheduled to tour Gaza City, Khan Younis and Rafah,
including the refugee camps, and meet with Dr. Haidar Abdel Shafi,
Director of the Red Crescent, one half of the group decided to
walk through Erez.
With
hands up in the air the group proceeded to walk, but were met
with a violent Israeli response. Soldiers began firing shots and
then descended upon the group, punching the men and body-slamming
the women. The internationals sat down to try to avoid injury,
but to no avail. All of the personal cameras in the group were
confiscated and a number of cameras were broken. Israeli soldiers
also verbally threatened to shoot and kill all of the foreign
civilians. Members of the group were then dragged and forcefully
thrown onto their tour bus. Two French civilians were detained.
“We
were going to Gaza to support the Palestinian people, and to conduct
a fact-finding mission so as to present more objective information
to the media and to our fellow patriots at home. We were also
carrying with us humanitarian supplies for the people of Gaza.
Expressing our right to freedom of movement, not just for ourselves,
but also for the Palestinians who are kept caged in Gaza, we decided
to cross the checkpoint in order to complete our visit.
All
of a sudden, shots were fired directly over our heads and we were
descended upon by soldiers, who were punching, pushing and throwing
us to the ground. We sat down to avoid their blows, but they kept
hitting, kicking and pushing. When the soldiers noticed that we
were filming the attack, they took and broke our cameras and confiscated
our film. Finally, they started dragging us, one by one, and threw
us on the bus, where we were kept under guard by Border Police.
Many of us sustained injuries, including cuts and bruises, and
at least three people require medical attention.” (Statement
by the international group)
The entire
group will lodge formal complaints through their respective embassies.
The
International Solidarity Movement (ISM)
is comprised of local Palestinian and foreign civilians working
to raise awareness of the Palestinian plight for freedom and an
end to Israeli military occupation. We call on Israel to immediately
implement UN Resolutions and abide by international law. We urge
the United Nations and our respective governments to take decisive
action to ensure Israel's compliance therewith.
