Qaddum
Qaddum.
We arrived at the village before the procession of about 200 people from the village. The Palestinian media accompanied them and set off on the way. An ambulance waited next to the mosque to treat
anyone injured. In a few minutes 2 people were transferred to it.
The soldiers were stationed inside the village on the nearby hills and did not waste time. The skunk truck was used immediately spread the known and disgusting smell. Afterwards a large amount of rubber bullets and shock grenades were thrown and also tear gas but not so many because the wind was against the soldiers.
The demonstrations in the last months have become very violent. Last week about 50 demonstrators had to be treated for the affects of the gas.
At all the demonstrations there are those who are wounded by firing but obstinately do not fall to the ground opposite the eyes of the soldiers. During the last month there have been no night visits or arrests. It seems that the more violent the soldiers become the more the villagers continue their struggled.
M. was interviewed by the media. Afterwards he says that in his opinion the understandings that were reached about the opening of fire a few months ago have been cancelled by the new commander of the area, a settler with a kippa, who has been dealing with them with a heavy hand so as to impress those above him and the politicians. We spoke to him and to S. about the coming elections and said that we did not think that Bibi would not be elected and that Lieberman scaled down to size and maybe disappear. A huge smile appeared in their faces.
Not long ago I have heard that M. was shot in the neck and was taken to a hospital.
Update to 14.3 m. M. is feeling relatively better and was freed today from hospital. The shot that was fired at him did not do real damage.
The worrying thing is that the army knows that M. is the leader of the demonstration and the sniper aimed his rifle at the top area of his body/head instead of at his legs as has usually been done.
Qaddum
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Qaddum
The village of Qaddum dates back approximately 4,000 years. Today’s villagers mostly work in agriculture and cultivae olive groves. The hilly landscape is covered with olive trees and are dotted with patches of green fields.
Qaddum was attached to the district of Nablus until 1994 at which time it joined the Qalqiliya district. The village is home to 4,000 inhabitants (2013), with 22,000 dunams (5,400 acres) of which 11,000 dunam (2700 acres) are in Area C*. Access to Area C requires coordination with the Israeli army, which means that access is almost non-existent.
The settlement of Kedumim was founded in 1975 on lands belonging to the ancient the village of Qaddum. Since then, Kedumim has expanded to include 5 settlements. The Kedumim settlements separate Qaddum village from its lands and from access to the main road. The road connecting Qaddum village to Route 55 was closed to its residents in 2003. The short ride (1.5 km or less than a mile) between Qaddum and a neighboring village - Jit, turned into a 12 km (7.5 miles) bumpy ride on an unpaved gravely road. Since 2004, residents of the village of Qaddum have been submitting requests to the authorities to reopen the old road leading to Route 55.
On July 2011, the villagers began holding weekly demonstrations in protest of the road closure and of the theft of their lands. They march to the edge of the village and there they stop. There is a regular routine to the demonstration which always follows with a confrontation with the army when it enters the village at the end of the blocked road. The army reacts to the demonstrations with sharp weapons, rubber bullets, tear gas and lately also live ammunition. Villagers are injured and hurt each week and often, dozens are arrested by the army. Young people and children are intimidated by the army when they photos are posted in the village streets.
On 12/7/19 a 10 year old boy was criticaaly wounded after he was shot in the head by live ammunition while standing at the entrance to his home in Qaddum during a demonstration.*Area C is an administrative division of the West Bank established by the Oslo II Accords in 1995. The Palestinian Authority is responsible for medical and education services and Israel is responsible for infrastructure and administration.
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