Peace activists and foreigners yesterday organized a tour of the streets of Al-Issawiya village in Jerusalem, in solidarity with the residents who have been suffering from Israeli practices for several months.
The marchers held banners denouncing the village’s demolition process and demanding that the collective punishment policy be lifted.
The participants met with a number of families whose homes were recently demolished under the pretext of not licensing. They also heard from a number of families about the conditions in the village during the past months, the last of which was the imposition of house arrest on a number of young men.
The participants affirmed that the tour is an opportunity to take a closer look at the reality of persecution in Issawiya, and at the same time we express our solidarity and support to the people and their opposition to police activities in Issawiya and the repressive policies behind them.
The leftist organization "We Stand Together" said that last week, from the corridors of the campus of Mount Hermes at the Hebrew University - which overlooks the Issawiya neighborhood in East Jerusalem - many male and female students read statements from young men from the neighborhood, who suffer daily abuse and repression by the Israeli forces.
The statements stated: Every day from morning to night, the Border Police and police forces storm the neighborhood and use cruel violence and carry out meaningless detentions, and for no reason so far, 600 people have been arrested, many of them minors, and the vast majority released without charges. Hand grenades, tear gas, and rubber bombs have become commonplace in Issawiya, threatening the lives of our peers every day. Young people are afraid to leave their homes due to routine arrests and street violence.
The organization pointed out that the neighborhood has a population of 20,000. Faced with intense police repression for more than six months, and for several months, residents of al-´Esawiyah have been dealing with incursions by Israeli police and border police forces that roam the neighborhood every day, all day and night. Residents, including many children, are exposed to intense violence, tear gas canisters as well as roadblocks and hundreds of arbitrary arrests that end in the vast majority without being charged.
Half a year ago, Al-Issawiya residents are still struggling to protect themselves and their children from police violence against them and its cumulative damage. Many activists and activists are present with the people of Al-Issawiya and are not ready to remain silent in the face of continuous repression. This struggle is our struggle for all, anyone who opposes the reality of the occupation. Everyone concerned with living in a just country is a city in which all its residents feel safe as the police forces work to protect people, not attack them.
