What is the ISM?
The International Solidarity Movement is a Palestinian-led movement of Palestinian and International activists working to raise awareness of the struggle for Palestinian freedom and an end to Israeli occupation. We utilize nonviolent, direct-action methods of resistance to confront and challenge illegal Israeli occupation forces and policies.
As enshrined in international law and UN resolutions, we recognize the Palestinian right to resist Israeli violence and occupation via legitimate armed struggle. However, we believe that nonviolence can be a powerful weapon in fighting oppression and we are committed to the principles of nonviolent resistance.
We support the Palestinian right to resist the occupation, as provided for by International Law; We call for an immediate end to the occupation and immediate compliance and implementation of all relevant UN resolutions; We call for immediate international intervention to protect the Palestinian people and ensure Israel's compliance with International Law.
Debido a la falta de respeto por los derechos humanos del pueblo palestino y a la vida humana por parte del gobierno israelí y las fuerzas de ocupación, es necesaria una presencia internacional para apoyar la resistencia palestina no violenta.
Los activistas palestinos que tratan de protestar sufren un duro castigo por parte de las fuerzas israelíes. Esto ha incluido palizas, arrestos durante largo tiempo, lesiones serias y hasta la muerte.
Due to the lack of respect for Palestinian human rights and human life by the Israeli government and occupation forces, an international presence is needed to support Palestinian nonviolent resistance. Palestinian activists trying to work or protest alone face harsh punishment from Israeli forces. This has included beatings, long-term arrests, serious injury and even death. International activists are thus a resource for Palestinians, both in terms of their presence and as witnesses to the daily humiliation and injustice of the Israeli occupation.
In addition to our ongoing actions on the ground in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the ISM conducts campaigns of nonviolent direct-action which international civilians are invited to join for a set period of time.
The first such campaign took place in August 2001. From August 8 - 19, 2001, 50 foreign civilians, mainly from the United Kingdom and the United States, answered the call to action and took part in witnessing and protesting the brutality of occupation and the injustices perpetrated by the Israeli occupation forces against Palestinian civilians. These activists then returned to their home countries to report on their activities and on what they witnessed.
A second ISM campaign took place from December 16 - 31, 2001. This time over 70 international activists joined the Campaign Against Occupation. This campaign focused on key towns and villages in Occupied Palestine in which non-violent resistance is active, and included solidarity visits to villages that had recently been hard-hit by Israeli forces using tanks, helicopters and F-16s.
The third ISM campaign was scheduled to start March 29, 2002. That day, however, Israeli forces stormed into Ramallah and fully reoccupied the city. Later that week, Israeli forces repeated this action in each Palestinian city in the West Bank (with the exception of Jericho) and embarked on weeks of curfew and full military occupation. International activists continued to arrive By the end of April hundreds of foreign civilians had come to the Palestinian Territories to help with the delivery of food, accompaniment of ambulances and medical personnel, and to act as human shields in cities, towns and refugee camps. ISM activists broke curfew and Israeli orders of closed military zones (i.e. civilian areas) to assist in the humanitarian effort, arriving before aid organizations and maintaining a presence throughout Israeli raids and assaults. Additionally, ISM activists were the first to start documenting the human rights abuses perpetrated against Palestinians though interviews and documentation of destruction.
The first few days of the campaigns are reserved for orientation and nonviolence training. Activists are equipped with practical, logistical and legal information. Also work structures and affinity groups are formed, responsibilities are assigned and strategies and methodology are discussed. With the highly sensitive and volatile nature of the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, it is vital that activists are equipped with the knowledge and mental preparedness to be effective in achieving predetermined goals and aiding in the overall mission of bringing about an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestine through the use of nonviolent methods and strategies.