Assault by IOF on Silwan Activists
yesterday, in spite of a business strike in East Jerusalem, we felt it was our obligation to be present for our Palestinian-led and centered project I Witness Silwan - to be there as a presence for the community of Batan al-Hawa, and to document any human rights violations and violence should they occur by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) during a time where Israeli institutions weaponize the Jewish religion to promote Zionism and the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians through a settler-colonialist project made specifically and exclusively for the supremacy of European secular Jews. I cannot go into all of the context here, and there are many layers and nuances. but as an Ashkenazi Jew ethnically, I unequivocally oppose the apartheid regime that is the Isra*li state and demand the liberation of Palestine and Palestinians right of return. Jewish liberation does not come through the suppression of Palestinian liberation. we are not free until we are all free.
anyway, yesterday, during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, settler organizations flooded Palestinian neighborhoods with settler-tourists and the occupation forces - namely, the border police - to personally escort and 'guard' those settlers as they promoted their own historical narrative and neglected any recognition of Palestinian heritage. our murals are a protest to such propaganda, and yesterday we began a new mural with the Palestinian children of Batan al-Hawa in the face of the occupation, with hundreds of settlers and soldiers flocking the streets of their neighborhood. for them, painting represents resistance, resilience and a glimmer of hope. it gives them some bit of autonomy over their homes in which the state tries to mold, and take from them.
at one point in the afternoon, the occupation forces entered a private stairwell in the neighborhood and began to invade homes and harass the residents. I filmed the commotion as the IOF ordered people to vacate the streets and enter their homes. all this as they point rubber bullet guns at civilians, including many children running around the neighborhood. two soldiers cornered me where I was filming, after the female had pushed me, and they tried to force me inside the home. I'm glad the door was locked because they could have tried to search the home for no reason, and intimidate the children inside. they pressured me and sprayed tear gas, I managed to slip away and the female soldier pushed me onto a parked car. as I went away I had difficulty to breathing, and as I was still trying to catch my breath more commotion broke out. the soldiers were trying to invade another residence and I began filming again. the same two soldiers who assaulted me previously saw me and strode toward me, the female told me to stop filming and I hid my phone so she would not take it. she pushed me with a lot of force in the chest and grabbed my neck. I managed to stay calm and keep the documentation, and الحمدلله I am fine.