- 15 jan 2011
One Demonstrator Hit Directly in the Head with a Tear Gas Projectile in Ni'ilin
Over one hundred people marched to the Separation wall in Ni'ilin this afternoon. The army continued to break its own rules of conduct by firing tear gas canisters directly at demonstrators. One demonstrator was hit in the head with a tear gas projectile and others suffered from tear gas inhalation.
The weekly demonstration against the separation wall in the village of Ni'ilin began as normal this afternoon. Over one hundred Palestinians with Israeli supporters marched from the village center after midday prayers to the space of the separation wall. Under the banner of Muslim and Christian unity among Palestinians, villagers chanted in front of soldiers on the other side of the wall. Soldiers responded by using tear gas projectiles as large bullets and firing them directly at protesters. One demonstrator was hit directly in the head from a tear gas canister. He was evacuated from the scene with minor wounds.
Soldiers attempted to enter the village from the extreme western portion of the wall after approximately one hour. Usually soldiers use the main gate in the separation wall itself but today they attempted to sneak up on protesters in order to arrest them. However, clashes broke out and soldiers were forced to retreat because of stones from local youth.
The army escalated the violence against the demonstrators with the use of rubber coated steel bullets and entered the village a second time. Clashes lasted for hours as soldiers repellently fired tear gas projectiles at demonstrators in clear violation of the army's own code of conduct. No major injuries were reported other than severe tear gas inhalation among a group of demonstrators.
http://bit.ly/euc1oL 19 jun 2011, 15:06 , Respect -
Maria 16 jan 2011
IDF fires live ammunition at civilians in Nabi Saleh
(8:35) Nabi Salih 14.1.2011
This week the army resumed nighttime raids in Nabi Saleh. During the weekly Friday demonstration, the village was attacked with excessive amounts of live ammunition and tear gas. A curfew was declared prohibiting residents from leaving their homes for a twenty four hour period. Despite the recognition of unarmed demonstrations as a legitimate form of protest by the European countries, http://bit.ly/dFa5xq Israel is pushing forward with its campaign of harsh military repression.
This past Friday the army was in streets of the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh long before sixty Palestinians along with Israeli and international supporters gathered for the weekly demonstration against the occupation. Early Friday morning, army jeeps were seen driving up and down the streets of the small village informing residents that a curfew would come into effect in the afternoon and anyone on the streets would be a target of arrests or worse. Earlier this week, the army raided Nabi Saleh twice in the middle of the night. This was part of a strategy of repression which has escalated to a fever pitch in recent days. http://bit.ly/dIO5eF
The village was sealed by the army at all entrances at 09h00. Once the demonstration began marching to the confiscated land of the village at 12h30, the army simply opened fire on the unarmed demonstrators. One activist who was present on the ground said that from that moment forward there were always 50-60 soldiers in the village; patrolling and taking over houses.
Throughout the afternoon, soldiers would raid a house, lock themselves inside and the family outside. Anyone that was walking on the street was shot at with live ammunition. Additionally, soldiers used an excessive amount of poisonous tear gas on the village. Repeatedly, soldiers fired the ringo which shoots 64 tear gas projectiles in roughly 8 seconds. The ringo effect leaves the entire village in a cloud of tear gas. This form of harsh collective punishment has not been used since the time of the building of the Separation Wall in Ni'ilin in 2008/2009
Three minor injuries were reported among protesters in Nabi Saleh on Friday. However, the army claimed that one soldier was hit by a stone while video evidence (embedded above) clearly shows that the soldier simply tripped on the ground while firing live ammunition at demonstrators. No foreign or domestic media were present for the demonstration, leading many protesters to believe that the army escalated its violent campaign of repression precisely because of the media vacuum.
Since December 2009, Nabi Saleh has been targeted for violent repression http://bit.ly/hdIAhi of its unarmed demonstration against the occupation by the Israeli army. Last weeks events, night raids and the excessive use of live ammunition to crush the demonstration, represents a new level of repression against the village. However, the villagers plan to continue with their demonstrations until their land is freed and the occupation is finished.
Starting at minute 6:14, an Israeli activist is seen talking with soldiers who have taken over a rooftop in the village. The activist is challenging them to think about what they are doing in Nabi Saleh and have moral reflection. The soldiers respond by throwing a tear gas canister at Israeli. Between this episode and the images of the entire village engulfed in tear gas or live bullets whizzing through the air, one gets the sense of what Israeli military repression means for the village of Nabi Saleh.
http://bit.ly/i9m7cr
IOF shooting injures Palestinian worker
GAZA, (PIC)-- A Palestinian worker was injured on Sunday morning while collecting gravel from destroyed buildings north of the Gaza Strip, medical sources said.
Adham Abu Salmiya, the spokesman for medical services, told the PIC that the 21-year-old youth was hit with a bullet in his left foot.
The young man was hospitalized in moderate condition, he added.
IOF soldiers still insist on targeting unarmed citizens and workers along the Gaza borders bringing the number of casualties in similar incidents to 110.
Palestinian resistance factions have agreed on retaining calm along the borders of Gaza to ward off any possible Israeli war on the Palestinian people, but apparently the IOF does not wish for such calm to prevail.
http://bit.ly/elWTyN 19 jun 2011, 17:17 , Respect -
Maria 17 jan 2011
Israeli police shoot Palestinian man during chase
ACRE, (PIC)-- A Ramallah man was moderately injured in Acre Sunday after Israeli police shot him during a chase.
Two other officers were let off the hook yesterday after killing a Palestinian man in East Jerusalem.
Police claimed the man from Ramallah was residing in the Israeli-occupied city of Acre without a permit.
The victim was shot during a chase when police told him to stop but he did not comply so an officer shot him in the lower body.
The officer who fired the bullet said he felt his life was endangered and that the "suspect" tried to shoot at him.
On Sunday, the Israeli ministry of justice closed investigations of two officers accused of pre-meditated murder of a Palestinian man who accidentally crashed into police in East Jerusalem.
The victim's car broke down seven months back in the Wadi al-Jawz district when the border guards fired at him.
Investigators dismissed the case saying the shooters were acting according to procedures.
http://bit.ly/e5a45x
Silwan clashes erupt after police raid home; two minors arrested
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- Violent clashes erupted Sunday night in the East Jerusalem Silwan district after Israeli police raided a home there.
The Batn al-Hawa residence is part of an area frequently targeted by Jewish settler property claims.
Meanwhile, the Israelis were responsible for many provocative steps this week in East Jerusalem, the Gilo district in particular.
Police, accompanied by soldiers raided the home of Yahya al-silwadi to inspect new additions.
Violent clashes immediately broke out when family members confronted the armed force.
The army fired a barrage of gas and stun grenades at locals who rushed to the scene of incident, eyewitnesses said.
Two minors were arrested on accusations of throwing fire bombs and stones. They will be held until their Tuesday trial before the Israeli Magistrate Court.
The house falls in a 40-dunum section of Batn al-Hawa settlement funds claim as Jewish property. Settlers have made claims the property was owned by Jews who migrated to Israel from Yemen in the early nineteenth century.
The same night, Israeli soldiers stripped a Jerusalem man of his identification card while he was crossing a military checkpoint near the Gilo settlement, located between Jerusalem and Bethelehem.
The troops claimed Jamal Buheidar, a resident of Beit Hanina, lost his Jerusalem residence and must find another place to live.
On Friday, Jerusalem's planning committee discussed approving the construction of the largest beyond the Green Line contruction project to date.
Gaza's Jerusalem committee, which operates under the religious affairs ministry, warned the move was part of a systematic and programmed policy to Judaize and erase the historic civilization of the holy city.
http://bit.ly/ie6GCm
IOF deports Palestinian from WB to Gaza
GAZA, (PIC)-- The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) deported on Monday Mahmoud Duwaik, 30, from his hometown of Jericho in the West Bank to the Gaza Strip.
Duwaik said on arrival in Gaza that the IOF soldiers captured him while working in 1948 occupied Palestine and deported him to Gaza after finding out that he did not have a work permit.
He added that his parents lived in Jericho for 22 years but had written in their IDs that they are from Gaza.
Duwaik appealed for helping him to return to Jericho to his parents, wife and children who have been living there for more than 22 years.
http://bit.ly/dFBvhF
Israeli government extends ban on Palestinian family reunion
NAZARETH, (PIC)-- The Israeli government decided in its weekly meeting on Sunday to extend the ban on reuniting Palestinian families divided between 1948 occupied land and the Gaza Strip.
The interior minister Eli Yishai proposed the extension of the ban for six more months, which was endorsed by the cabinet.
Yishai, for his part, said that the extension was made at the request of the security apparatuses, which claimed Palestinians were exploiting this reunion to launch "terrorist" activity.
http://bit.ly/eMLG9b 25 jun 2011, 09:37 , Respect -
Maria 18 jan 2011
What Israeli Dose TO Children
(2:23) What Israeli Dose TO Children
In occupied East Jerusalem, there has been a long history of clashes between Israeli security forces and Palestinians protesting against evictions, house demolitions and illegal settlements.
Many Palestinian children are left traumatised by the violence they see going on around them on a near daily basis.
Al Jazeera's Jacky Rowland reports from East Jerusalem, where a counseling center helps children deal with their experiences.
Israeli police detain two Palestinian boys in OJ
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- Israeli police on Tuesday stormed the house of Nasser Qaws in occupied Jerusalem and took away his 16-year-old son Jihad.
Qaws said that the police detained another boy from a nearby suburb called Fathi Isbitan, 15, and took them both to the police station in the Old City.
In the West Bank, Israeli occupation forces (IOF) confiscated a number of tractors from Palestinian farmers while passing near a roadblock in western Jenin.
Eyewitnesses said that the IOF soldiers scrutinized IDs of citizens before seizing the tractors, which were driven to Salem military barracks.
http://bit.ly/foiETa
3 Palestinians Detained in Hebron-area by Israeli Forces
On Tuesday morning, the homes of three men in the southern West Bank towns of Beit Ummar and Adh-Dhahiriya were raided and searched by Israeli forces, resulting in the men's detention.
B'Tselem field activist Muhammad Awad identified those detained from Beit Ummar as Mu%u2019taz Khaled Awad, 17, and Muhab Bahar, 17.
Further south in Adh-Dhahiriya, security forces said As%u2019ad Sha%u2019ban was detained following a home invasion.
In a statement, the Israeli military said two "wanted Palestinian suspects" were detained in the West Bank and "taken for security questioning," but did not mention the locations of the detentions.
http://www.imemc.org/article/60441
Blast in Gaza injures three
GAZA CITY (Ma%u2019an) -- Three were injured southern Gaza Strip blast on Tuesday, which medical officials said was the detonation of an unexploded ordnance.
Spokesman of the higher committee of ambulance and emergency services Adham Abu Salmiya said the blast was centered on the Al-Qarara area north of Khan Younis.
All three injured sustained moderate to light wounds and were evacuated to the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, the official said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=352067
Three Children Injured in Gaza, Overnight Clashes in East Jerusalem
Gaza/Jerusalem - PNN - Three children were injured on Tuesday morning as an unknown ordinance exploded near them in the southern Gaza strip city of Khan Younis.
Local sources reported that the explosion took place near a local school, but the nature of the explosion is still unknown. Medical sources in Khan Younis said that the three children were taken to Nasser hospital in the city; doctors say all three sustained light wounds.
On Monday night, clashes erupted between Palestinian youth and Israeli soldiers in East Jerusalem's Silwan neighborhood.
Local sources reported that the clashes took place near the protest tent that residents setup in Silwan. According to eyewitnesses, a group of Israeli soldiers stormed Silwan and youth hurled stones at them.
Witnesses added that soldiers raided homes and searched them during the raid. No injuries or arrests were reported. Residents of Silwan set up the protest tent after their homes were demolished.
http://bit.ly/huq02D 25 jun 2011, 10:02 , Respect -
Maria 19 jan 2011
Israeli police raid Bedouin school, injure five students
NEGEV, (PIC)-- Five Palestinian Bedouin students were injured when Israeli policemen and border police stormed their school in Tarabin village, Negev, on Tuesday, local sources reported.
They said that the storming followed an unsuccessful earlier attempt by policemen to arrest a number of students who took part in protest demonstrations against the demolition of homes in Negev.
During those confrontations policemen fired teargas canisters and rubber bullets at the protestors who threw stones at the security forces.
The Israeli authorities have systematically targeted Bedouin villages in the Negev in an attempt to Judaize the region, demolishing in the process entire villages and causing constant tension.
http://bit.ly/enBcJH
Silwan
The Israeli army surrounded the entire neighborhood and fired gas bombs and sound bombs randomly between and inside the houses - led to the injury of dozens as a result of gas. Ambulance crews not given access to the neighborhood.
Fighting spread to neighboring districts and reached up to Sloan The witnesses reported that an Israeli police vehicle caught fire after youths threw petrol bombs at it.
Palestine - Jerusalem: (silwanic) - Israeli army surrounded the entire neighborhood and fired gas bombs and sound bombs randomly between and inside the houses - led to the injury of dozens as a result of gas. Ambulance crews not given access to the neighborhood.Clashes are still continuing in the Shu'fat north of Jerusalem and multiple injuries among the Palestinians citizens.
Naalin shooting: Prosecution wants commander demoted
(1:06) Israeli soldier fires "rubber" bullet at prisoner in Ni'lin
Despite array of senior IDF officers who testified on behalf of Lieutenant-Colonel Omri Borberg, convicted of attempted threat, conduct unbecoming, prosecution motions to effectively end his military career.
Six months after the conviction in the Naalian shooting affair, the prosecution has motioned to demote former battalion commander Lieutenant-Colonel Omri Borberg, which would effectively end his military career. As for the soldier, Staff Sgt. Leonardo Corea, the prosecution has motioned to demote him to private.
During the hearing, Borberg broke out in tears. He addressed the judges and said: "I made a mistake, let me go back to fight alongside my soldiers." Addressing Corea he said: "Leonardo, I take full responsibility, I'm sorry for what happened."
In 2008, Ashraf Abu Rahma was shot while handcuffed in a protest in Naalin. The judges ruled that Borberg "unlawfully compromised Abu Rahma's life while the victim posed no threat." They stressed this gravely offended basic values and compromised the IDF's image.
Borberg was convicted of attempted threat while Corea was convicted of unlawful use of weapons. The two were also convicted of conduct unbecoming.
Borberg in court. "Foolish, thoughtless behavior"
The prosecution explained that despite the relatively benign outcomes the two soldiers gravely compromised the IDF's image in Israel and the rest of the world and their conduct bears a moral blemish. "The penalization standard in cases of force being used against civilians, detainees, prisoners and others should be extremely high in order for it to be internalized in the entire military system."
The prosecutors also explained that both Borberg and Corea failed in a way which is hard to justify. "Despite the fact this is one of the most gifted officers in the IDF, he acted foolishly, thoughtlessly and in a sort of mischievous manner by threatening the victim with his weapon."
The prosecution also motioned to impose prison sentences which can be converted to various military tasks.
Borberg's attorney stressed there was not desire to "hurt or humiliate but an attempt to reach a legitimate goal. My client reported the truth and truth alone after the act, long before the matter was publicized.
Omri is not responsible for Israel's image and therefore the image consideration has no bearing on the punishment."
At the end of the hearing Borberg addressed the court again. "It's hard for me to hear the army wants to throw me in prison and then throw me out of the army. I deeply regret this whole event. I am responsible for everything that happened. My report states that."
Last November, Central Command Chief Avi Mizrahi and Northern Command Chief Gadi Eisenkot testified on Borberg's behalf.
They are slated to try and convince the judges to mitigate his sentence in a way which will allow him to move up the ranks in the IDF.
"The steps we took after the (Naalin) event should have been sufficient. We have internalized what was wrong over the last few years and he was severely punished," Mizrahi told the judges. He noted than any additional punishment would be disproportional to the crime.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4016049,00.html 29 jun 2011, 21:45 , Respect -
Maria 20 jan 2011
Israeli Forces Arrest Four Children South of Beit Ommar
At around 12pm on Wednesday, January 19th 2011, Israeli soldiers stopped four Palestinian children along Route 60, between Beit Ommar and the city of Hebron. The soldiers detained the youth, all of whom appeared under the age of 15, in an isolated area out of sight of the road. By chance, international observers with the Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) traveling in a car spotted the soldiers leading the children away and followed to advocate for their welfare.
Despite the presence of international human rights activists, at one point the youth were forced to sit on the ground in the stress position with their hands behind their backs and their heads down. Several Palestinians also in the area came to try to get the soldiers to release the youth. These Palestinians along with the EAPPI internationals took pictures and called the media as well as notified prominent human rights organizations that work in the area. Despite these efforts, after some time, the soldiers forced all four children into a jeep and drove them to an unknown location. No reason was given for their arrest.
http://bit.ly/e3ONSs
Activist: Teenager detained near Hebron
HEBRON (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces arrested Badran Jalal Badran, 16, from Hebron and took him to an undisclosed location, a human rights monitor said Thursday.
Mohammad Eid of B'Tselem said four soldiers wearing civilian clothes attacked Badran and beat him severely before forcing him into a white car at which youths had thrown stones.
Soldiers arrived at the scene and dispersed a gathering of Palestinians, Eid said. They fired tear-gas canisters and live bullets into the air as the "undercover" vehicle fled, he said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=352902
11 citizens treated for breathing problems after IOF gas attack
JENIN, (PIC)-- Israeli occupation forces (IOF) callously fired teargas bombs at a Palestinian family home in Zabuba village, west of Jenin city, at a late night hour on Wednesday causing breathing difficulty for 11 of its occupants.
Locals told the PIC reporter that a number of IOF jeeps burst into the village while soldiers fired live bullets and teargas canisters to terrorize civilians.
They added that one of those canisters fell inside the home of Jamal Sha'abna causing fainting and breathing difficulty among his family members who were rushed to hospital.
Zabuba, located on the Green Line dividing Palestinian land occupied in 1948 from the 1967 occupied West Bank, is almost daily raided by IOF troops.
Meanwhile, the Hebrew radio said that 11 Palestinians were rounded up in pre dawn raids on Thursday in different West Bank areas.
Local sources in Al-Khalil village of Sa'eer said on Thursday that IOF soldiers broke into Palestinian homes in the village using police dogs and apprehended seven Palestinians including five minors.
They were all taken to Etzion detention center, the sources said, noting that the IOF soldiers earlier this week stormed the same town and rounded up seven citizens of one family who were taken to Jalama detention center.
http://bit.ly/hdGdfj
IOF troops injure four pregnant women in Shufat
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- Israeli occupation forces used rubber bullets and teargas to disperse protestors in Shufat refugee camp in occupied Jerusalem on Wednesday evening.
Local sources said that 13 citizens were injured and/or suffered breathing difficulty as a result of the violent Israeli supression including four pregnant women.
Large numbers of IOF troops were deployed at the entrance to the camp and in central areas while firing rubber bullets and teargas canisters at demonstrators and homes.
The Israeli forces earlier on Wednesday chased school students who threw stones at them following provocations on the part of the military at the roadblock near the camp to the north of occupied Jerusalem.
http://bit.ly/ersC7s
Israeli Troops Tear Gas House near Jenin; Five Children Arrested around Hebron
Jenin PNN - On Wednesday evening, Israeli troops threw tear gas canisters into a home in the village of Zabouba, west of Jenin in the northern West Bank, causing 11 people to suffer from inhalation.
Local sources told the state-run news wire Wafa that a large military force entered Zabouba through a gate in the wall, throwing tear gas canisters and sound bombs. The eleven injured were from the family of Jamal Saeed Sha'abneh, whose two-story house was hit with multiple tear gas canisters.
Emergency treatment from the Red Crescent rushed into the village immediately after the attack.
Near the southern West Bank city of Hebron on Thursday morning, eight Palestinians were arrested including five minors.
Local sources said Israeli troops raided the village of Saeer, north of Hebron, arresting
Abdul Raheem Yasser Jaradat, 13,
Nazar Jaradat, 13,
Muhammad Tiseer Jaradat, 14,
Islam Fahmi Jaradat, 15,
Nabil Hamaydan al-Matour, 16,
Adil Ibrahim al-Matour, 19, and
Naeem Suleiman al-Matour, 29,
after searching their home and belongings.
Ismail Muhammad Hurayzat, 21, was arrested in Yatta village, south of Hebron, and Hebron citizen Mu'tasem Asad al-Natsheh said he was violently beaten by Israeli soldiers and taken to the hospital.
http://bit.ly/h7mkzU 1 jul 2011, 07:53 , Respect -
Maria 20 jan 2011
No discharge for soldier who initiated Hebron execution
TEL AVIV (Ma'an) -- The Israeli military announced late Wednesday evening that the soldier who executed a civilian in his Hebron home would not be discharged, while a second officer who joined in the execution would have his military career "terminated."
The investigation looked into the death of the death of a civilian during an arrest raid in Hebron targeting Hamas men released from PA custody the day before, where Israeli forces shot and killed a 66-year-old man in his bed, in what appeared to be a case of mistaken identity.
Investigating officer GOC Central Command, Major General Avi Mizrahi was said in a statement to have absolved the officer who started shooting at the sleeping Omer Salim Al-Qawasmi.
The statement said "a suspicious movement [..] caused the soldier to feel that his life was threatened."
According to the statement, the soldiers fear was excused, "especially having known about the actions of Wael Bitar, a senior Hamas operative who was the main suspect of the arrest operation."
[media id=1215007788Sakp size=large]Al-Bitar, who was detained in June 2008 by what witnesses at the time said were Israeli forces. http://bit.ly/gLvrt1 The arrest followed a violent standoff as Israeli soldiers surrounded and demolished Al-Bitar's home, after demanding he give up a man who was staying in the building and stood accused of assisting a resistance fighter. The home was demolished around Al-Bitar, and the alleged fighter he was harboring killed in the demolitions. Later reports said Al-Bitar was detained by PA intelligence officials.
Israeli military officials said Al-Bitar assisted in the planning of a 2008 attack that killed one Israeli woman, and was behind the planning of several attacks that were thwarted.
A second soldier, who was also said to have fired on the sleeping man, was found by the inquiry to have "acted unprofessionaly."
The unidentified officer, "who, having watched the first soldier firing at Qawasme, began firing at him as well."
[media id=121500788154Sb size=large]According to the military statement the investigating officer concluded that "while the second soldier did feel threatened, he acted unprofessionaly [... and] ordered that the soldier's military term be terminated."
It was not clear whether the soldier was honorably or dishonorably discharged.
Mizrahi was said to have "concluded that this firing was executed in accordance with IDF rules of engagement," though the statement said the death of Al-Qawasmi was "regrettable."
According to a security source, the officers were part of the "'Duvdevan' counter-terrorism elite unit" which was "called in for an arrest operation in the city of Hebron."
The source described the unit as "a professional, elite unit specializing in close combat, camouflage and assimilation into hostile territory."
Al-Qawasmi was shot 13 times in the face, neck at torso as he slept.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=352649 1 jul 2011, 09:41 , Respect -
Maria 21 jan 2011
Activism roundup: Israeli forces fire at demonstrators
Israeli forces arrest an Israeli activist during a demonstration against the wall and settlements in the occupied West Bank village of al-Masara, 21 January 2010. (Anne Paq/ActiveStills)
Israeli forces swept through the occupied East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan today, firing rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas at Palestinians during public prayer near the al-Bustan protest tent. The tent is a public gathering place and organizing center for residents of the al-Bustan area in Silwan who are faced with imminent home demolitions or settler takeovers of their houses. The invasion resulted in clashes throughout the area.
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center reported that a number of Palestinians and a cameraman were injured by tear gas inhalation and rubber bullets during the clashes ("Clashes erupt after Friday prayer in East Jerusalem," 21 January 2011). http://bit.ly/dJIw7p
Meanwhile, Ma'an News Agency reported that a Palestinian child was pepper sprayed during weekly unarmed protests elsewhere in the occupied West Bank.
In Nabi Saleh, Palestinian and international protesters marched against the ongoing confiscation of village land and the expansion of the nearby Halamish settlement colony. Israeli soldiers attempted to break up the demonstration, and attacked an 11-year-old boy with pepper spray ("Israeli army shuts down West Bank rallies," 21 January 2011). http://bit.ly/h37sL5
Protests against Israel's wall and the settlements were also reported in al-Masara village, near Bethlehem; in Bilin; and in Nilin. Ma'an reported that local activist committees documented the Israeli military's use of "riot dispersal means" in Bilin and Nilin, which include the firing of tear gas and spraying protesters with fetid "skunk water."
One Israeli solidarity activist was detained in al-Masara.
Beit Ommar
Fourteen-year-old Mohammed Awwad from the West Bank village of Beit Ommar was released from Israeli prison on 7 January after being detained for more than a month and a half.
Awwad was arrested by Israeli soldiers at a weekly demonstration in the village on 20 November 2010, and was charged by the Israeli military with throwing stones, which is punishable up to ten years in prison.
The Palestine Solidarity Project (PSP) reported on 9 January that Israel wrongfully charged Awwad with stone throwing, citing numerous eyewitnesses present at the demonstration who claimed that he was not throwing stones "but merely participating in an unarmed demonstration in his own village against the neighboring Israeli settlement of Karmei Tsur ("14-year-old Beit Ommar resident released from Israeli prison," 9 January 2011)." http://bit.ly/i1RfnL
PSP added that five adult solidarity activists were arrested along with Awwad, but they were released later in the day.
"After his arrest, [Awwad] was first brought to Karmei Tsur settlement by Israeli forces and held there for three hours," PSP stated. "He was then transferred to [a detention facility inside] Kiryat Arba settlement in Hebron for an additional eight hours."
Awwad's parents were not informed of his whereabouts by the Israeli military, PSP added, and he was "repeatedly interrogated" at Kiryat Arba and later during his detention at Ofer prison. Interrogators apparently asked him about the activist committee in the village that plans the weekly demonstrations against the encroaching settlements.
"Despite the fact that [Awwad] is a minor and has a medical condition that chronically affects his skin, the Israeli military courts denied him bail and held him for over a month and a half," PSP stated.
The Electronic Intifada has reported on the Israeli military's ongoing policy of interrogation and detention of Palestinian children from the Hebron area at Kiryat Arba and Ofer prison. http://bit.ly/h3U9x4
Meanwhile, on 20 January, PSP reported that the Israeli military arrested four children south of Beit Ommar, after detaining them "in an isolated area out of sight of the road" where they were put into "stress positions" with their hands behind their backs and their heads down.
International observers with the Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI), a group that monitors Israeli human rights abuses, took pictures and called the media as well as notified prominent human rights organizations that work in the area.
"Despite these efforts, after some time, the soldiers forced all four children into a jeep and drove them to an unknown location," PSP reported. "No reason was given for their arrest" ("Israeli forces arrest four children south of Beit Ommar," 20 January 2011). http://bit.ly/e3ONSs
Tear gas company protested
Protesters held a demonstration outside the corporate headquarters of tear gas manufacturer Combined Systems, Inc. (CSI), in Jamestown, Pennsylvania, on 17 January, demanding the company stop its sales to the Israeli military.
The protest, which was held on the birthday of the assassinated American civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., was coordinated by solidarity activists in response to the 1 January death of 36-year-old Jawaher Abu Rahmah, a resident of the West Bank village of Bilin. Abu Rahmah participated in a weekly nonviolent protest against Israel's wall and confiscation of village land on 31 December, and was exposed to a lethal amount of tear gas fired by Israeli troops. The gas was later confirmed as being manufactured by CSI. http://bit.ly/fVceTK
The Pittsburgh Palestine Solidarity Committee (PPSC) stated on its website on 10 January that the protest was organized "in solidarity with Palestinian nonviolent demonstrations and in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy" ("Regional Palestine solidarity groups to protest PA manufacturer of tear gas on MLK day," 10 January 2011). http://bit.ly/gzhRmz
Jonas Moffat of PPSC told The Electronic Intifada that approximately forty persons protested outside of CSI's offices on Monday.
"Many of us [activists] living in Pittsburgh have been to occupied Palestine," Moffat said. "And when we found out what was going on at CSI, and that they were in our backyard, we felt we needed to get out there."
Moffat said that their letters, calls and requests for a face-to-face meeting on the day of the protest all went unanswered, but that the solidarity groups are determined to keep protesting outside the CSI offices.
The Jamestown protest followed a similar demonstration on 11 January in New York City, where 35 activists gathered outside the midtown Manhattan offices of Point Lookout Capital Partners, a firm that facilitates investment in CSI.
According to a press release from Adalah-NY: The New York Campaign for the Boycott of Israel, the protesters reenacted scenes from the weekly marches held in Bilin, including a mock tear gassing by an actor dressed as an Israeli soldier. "The protesters then choked and collapsed motionless on the sidewalk outside the office of Point Lookout Capital," Adalah-NY stated ("Protesters tell New York business to stop providing Israel's lethal tear gas," 11 January 2011). http://bit.ly/dI0YRb
Others held signs with photographs of Palestinian and international solidarity activists who have been killed or severely injured by tear gas canisters fired by the Israeli military during nonviolent protests in the occupied West Bank.
In the press release, Adalah-NY organizer Dave Lippman said that the Israeli military's use of CSI's tear gas -- partially financed by Point Lookout Capital -- is being used "as a weapon to crush the growing unarmed protest movement against Israel's illegal confiscation of Palestinian land for Israeli settlements."
Lippman added that American taxpayers are helping foot the bill for Israel's weapons cache. "The US government needs to stop providing this deadly aid, and CSI and Point Lookout need to end their complicity in Israel's violent repression of legitimate protest," he said. Adalah-NY stated that since it published its recent action alert, nearly nine hundred individuals have emailed CSI, Point Lookout Capital Partners and the asset management firm The Carlyle Group, another CSI investor with ties to the presidential administrations of both George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush.
Another 1,900 persons have signed a similar petition to CSI drafted by the activist group CodePink ("No More Tears: Tell the Profiteers at CSI to Stop Selling Tear Gas to Israel"). http://bit.ly/f1hhvo
Additionally, Adalah-NY reported that hundreds of individuals have emailed the US State Department asking it to stop its provisions of tear gas and military aid to Israel.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11743.shtml
Israeli army shuts down West Bank rallies
RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- A child was pepper-sprayed and an Israeli peace activist detained by Israeli forces during weekly protests against illegal land confiscation across the West Bank on Friday, witnesses said.
Residents of An-Nabi Saleh gathered to protest land confiscations from the nearby settlement of Hallamish, demanding a return of the land to villagers. Israeli forces arrived at the scene and prevented the protest from taking place. Officials from the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee said pepper spray was used against an 11-year-old demonstrator.
The military said a group of approximately 30 gathered at the scene. An army spokesman described the event as a "violent, illegal riot," noting that "riot dispersal means" were used against the group.
South of Bethlehem in the village of Al-Ma'sara, protesters gathered on the road to the illegal Israeli settlement of Efrata, demanding an end to the continued construction of settlements in the West Bank, and condemning the arrests of West Bank protest organizers Johnathan Pollock and Abdullah Abu Gheith.
Pollock was sentenced to three months in prison for protesting against Israel's war on Gaza in the winter of 2009, but supporters say the charge was used to deter him from his role as organizer and spokesman for the PSCC.
Abu Gheith, who organized protests in Silwan, was exiled from Jerusalem by an Israeli court order.
During the protest one Israeli peace activist was detained. The military spokesman said the man had violated a closed military zone.
In Bil'in, a group of approximately 60 protesters gathered and marched toward Israel's separation wall, which cuts off a large swath of village land. Appeals to Israel's high court have resulted in orders for the re-routing of the wall, but no changes have been made and villagers continue to protest.
Witnesses said camera crews from Israel's Channel 2 Television were on the scene, and that tear-gas usage was relatively light until the crews left.
Three weeks earlier, a Bil'in resident watching the protest was hospitalized after Israeli fores fired tear-gas canisters toward the outskirts of the village. She was pronounced dead the following day. An Israeli military investigation reportedly found that the death was the result of medical mistakes in a Ramallah hospital. Medics there deny the claim, and PA officials say doctors found the accusation absurd.
Witnesses with the PSCC said soldiers sprayed protesters with skunk water and deployed tear-gas canisters.
Bil'in protesters also called for an end to the detention of Pollock, and for an end to the continued harassment of protest organizers.
A statement by the group following the protest called Pollock's detention a "clear strategy by Israel to silence those speaking out against the occupation."
Witnesses said the military used sound bombs and rubber bullets as well.
When soldiers tried to cross the separation barrier into the village, demonstrators attempted to stop their advance using stones, but were pushed back by the use of the gas, protesters said.
The Israeli military confirmed the use of "riot dispersal means" on the group.
In Ni'lin, the army said 40 activists gathered for a protest against the path of the separation wall, which as in Bil'in, cuts off villagers from their ancestral lands. The military also reported using "riot dispersal means" there. No injuries were reported.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=353038 4 jul 2011, 09:24 , Respect -
Maria 22 jan 2011
IOA bars Palestinians from prayers at Ibrahimi mosque
AL-KHALIL, (PIC)-- The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) on Saturday closed many gates and entrances leading to Al-Khalil's Old City while forcing the remaining merchants in the area to close down their shops and beat up some of them.
Jewish settlers, emboldened by IOF practices, threw stones and empty bottles at Palestinian pedestrians injuring a number of them while all businesses came to a complete standstill in the vicinity.
The provocations also targeted worshippers heading for noon prayers in the Ibrahimi mosque as soldiers blocked their entry into the shrine, closed all mosque gates, and expelled them, claiming that no Muslim prayer is allowed on Saturdays.
Worshippers denounced the act, affirming that the Ibrahimi mosque is an Islamic holy place and not a Jewish synagogue.
http://bit.ly/dZEty5
IOF close Shu'fat checkpoint, attack Palestinians
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on Saturday closed the military checkpoint of Shu'fat in occupied Jerusalem after a long night of clashes and detentions.
Local sources reported that school students and citizens from Shu'fat refugee camp, Ras Khamis suburb, and Ras Shehadeh neighborhood, Assalam suburb and Anata town in central Jerusalem were not able today to attend their schools and workplaces after the IOF closed the main checkpoint completely.
Israeli soldiers claimed the police obtained a court decision ordering the closure of this checkpoint after its cadres were hurled with stones by local young men.
The violent clashes for the third consecutive day continued on Friday night between Palestinian citizens and Israeli troops. The clashes reportedly broke out after the IOF tightened movement procedures at Shu'fat checkpoint and attacked school boys and girls.
Seven Palestinians reportedly were shot with rubber bullets by Israeli troops during the events.
Citizens from the camp said that the Israeli occupation authority tends not to open the checkpoint once again and isolate the Palestinian residents there from their holy city.
http://bit.ly/gjc9oG 4 jul 2011, 11:15 , Respect -
Maria 24 jan 2011
11 arrested in Silwan clashes with Israeli troops
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- Eleven Palestinians, among them seven minors, were beaten and arrested Monday during clashes with Israeli troops in the East Jerusalem district of Silwan.
Soldiers fired tear gas and rubber bullets at civilians, locals said.
They beat a seventy-year-old man sprayed gas in his face during the attack, the Wadi al-Hulwa Information Center said.
They also arrested Silwan activist Moussa Awda, 53, and seven minors ranging from 10 to 14 years, and sprayed gas randomly at civilian homes.
http://bit.ly/fX56Dm 6 jul 2011, 12:42 , Respect -
Maria 25 jan 2011
10-year-old detained in West Bank village
RAMALLAH (Ma'an) Israeli forces abducted a 10-year-old Palestinian boy from his home early Monday in the occupied West Bank.
Karim Tamimi's arrest comes two days after his brother, 14-year-old Islam Tamimi, was seized in a similar raid on Nabi Salih village.
The popular resistance movement in the village called upon human rights groups and the International Committee of the Red Cross to make efforts to get the child released.
The younger brother has not been charged with a crime, the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee reported, but both brothers likely stand accused of throwing rocks during anti-wall protests.
Islam's arrest was the second in roughly three weeks. His parents, who have legal right to be present when a child is under investigation, were denied access to their son.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=354062 11 jul 2011, 09:28 , Respect -
Maria 12 jul 2011, 09:58 , Respect -
Maria 26 jan 2011
Expanded Israeli Force Arrests Disabled Man, Child Near Hebron
Hebron PNN - Early morning Israeli raids on Wednesday in the southern West Bank villages of Beit Omar and Dura, near Hebron, resulted in the arrest of two Palestinians.
In Dura, a disabled man named Ahmed Kamil Ibrahim Amro was arrested and taken to an unknown location, while in Beit Omar 14-year-old Hamza Ali Ayad Awda was arrested as he tried to visit his brother in an Israeli prison.
The Red Cross informed Awda's family of his arrest, as they were not present at the checkpoint and Israeli troops do not communicate the news to family members.
Local sources said the Israeli troops set up military checkpoints on the road between Hebron and Bethlehem in the southern West Bank and that the arresting forces were larger than usual.
http://bit.ly/ezQInk
An-Nabi Saleh residents say local leader detained, threatened
RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Two hours after his arrest, the coordinator of the popular committee against the wall in the central West Bank village of An-Nabi Saleh was released from Israeli custody.
Basem At-Tamimi, 43, had been taken to the Halmish military camp where he said he was beaten and interrogated on Wednesday.
The official said he was threatened by the military, who allegedly told the activist that he would be detained for any further anti-wall action.
At-Tamimi was detained earlier in the day at a military checkpoint installed at the entrance of the village, witnesses reported at the time, saying he was harshly treated at the scene.
The official was detained along with two village teenagers, identified as Ibrahim At-Tamimi and Belal Jamal At-Tamimi, both are 15.
Each Friday, residents of An-Nabi Saleh gather to protest land confiscations from the nearby settlement of Hallamish, demanding a return of the land to villagers.
Last Friday, Israeli forces arrived at the scene and prevented the protest from taking place. Officials from the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee said pepper spray was used against an 11-year-old demonstrator.
At the time, the Israeli military said a group of approximately 30 gathered at the scene. An army spokesman described the event as a "violent, illegal riot," noting that "riot dispersal means" were used against the group.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=354546 14 jul 2011, 13:43 , Respect -
Maria 27 jan 2011
Palestinians slam Borberg sentence
Shooting victim Ashraf Abu Rahma inveighs against court decision not to demote commander involved in Naalin shooting. 'This soldier committed a crime. The court's decision is unreasonable,' he says.
Lieutenant-Colonol Omri Borberg breathed a sigh of relief Thursday after evading demotion, but residents of Naalin have no plans to let the sentence slide. Ashraf Abu Rahma, the Palestinian who was shot while bound and blindfolded, was extremely upset upon hearing the judges' ruling.
"The officer committed a crime, the court's decision is unreasonable," he told Ynet.
"I can't understand how he can remain in the army after you see him on tape giving an order to shoot me. It's a crime."
The Tel Aviv military court ruled Thursday that Lieutenant-Colonel Omri Borberg, the battalion commander who was involved in the Naalin shooting incident, will not be demoted. The judges ruled such a punishment "will gravely hurt him" and recommended his promotion be postponed for two years. Borberg broke into tears as the sentence was being read.
Abu Rahma's family also rejected the ruling. "This is the occupation's court, it's illegal. They fired at a blindfolded detainee," Ashraf's cousin said. "They should have put him in jail, it's a war crime."
Muhammad Khatib, member of Bilin's popular committee admitted he did not have his hopes up as far as the sentence was concerned. "We are disappointed with the decision mainly because it will not deter others from doing the same. The Israeli legal system has a different approach when dealing with matters pertaining to Palestinians," he said.
"Our current option is to launch an international campaign. We're looking into the possibility of approaching the International Court of Justice."
Muhammad Knaan, a Naalin resident who claims to have witnessed the shooting said: "It%u2019s illegal to fire at a person when they're bound. We didn't want to see him in jail but we did expect the decision to address his rank and position. The court should not have let him stay in the army."
The shooting incident was filmed by Salam Knaan. Claims were raised against the video suggesting it was doctored. "Professionals checked the tape and came to the conclusion it was authentic. The whole world saw the crime committed in Naalin," Salam said.
Borberg, on the other hand, said he completely agrees with the court's ruling regarding his role in the Naalim shooting affair. "It's hard to describe the heavy load I've been carrying lately. I'm glad it's over," he said.
He added: "All I care about now is to return to my family, to my daughter, and continue contributing to the IDF."
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4020125,00.html
Teenager 'arrested' in route to Israeli jail
HEBRON (Ma%u2019an) %u2013 A Palestinian activist said Wednesday that Israeli forces detained a teenager on his way to visit his brother, who is serving time in Eshel prison in Beer Sheva.
Human rights activist Muhammad Awad said soldiers west of Hebron stopped a bus carrying Palestinian families to visit their children in jail.
The soldiers at Tarqumia checkpoint inspected occupants and detained 14-year-old Hamza Ali Awad and took him to unknown direction, Awad said.
Israel's Ministry of Defense responded: "No such event occurred."
"Moreover, when we turned to the Red Cross to investigate the issue, they, as factors responsible for visits to prisoners, denied the existence of this event and reported that Ali Awad got on the bus and not arrested."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=354978
Palestinian families barred from visiting detainees before being strip searched
NABLUS, (PIC)-- Some families of Palestinian prisoners said they are deprived of visiting their sons in Israeli jails before they accept to be strip searched by soldiers.
Fatima Mahmoud, a mother of prisoner from Nablus city, said the Israeli soldiers order the visiting mothers, sisters or daughters to enter a room and ask them to remove their clothes if they want to visit their kinsmen.
She added the women always reject the strip search, and thus they have to leave without seeing their relatives.
The families appealed to human rights organizations to pressure the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) to stop the policy of strip search at checkpoints and jails.
In a separate incident, the Palestinian prisoners in Ashkelon jails protested the search raids carried out on a daily basis on their cells by Israeli jailers who deliberately cause damage to their personal belongings at the pretext of looking for hidden cellphones.
The Palestinian prisoner society said that the jailers in this prison ransacked section five days ago and refused to provide the detainees there with food and medication which prompted them take protest steps against the prison administration.
For her part, activist in prisoners' affairs Mayser Ityani said the administration of Damon prison and the Israeli intelligence apparatus renewed the administrative detention of female detainee Linan Abu Gilma.
Ityani stated that detainee Abu Gilma was kidnapped months ago along with her sister Tagreed and went on hunger strike for 22 consecutive days to demand her transfer from Hasharon prison and her solitary confinement.
http://bit.ly/eRg58D
Naalin shooting: Borberg won't be demoted
The Tel Aviv military court ruled that Lieutenant-Colonel Omri Borberg, who was convicted of the Naalin shooting affair, will not be demoted. Instead, his promotion will be delayed for a period of two years.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4019970,00.html
Lieutenant-Colonel Borberg accepts ruling in Naalim affair
Lieutenant-Colonel Omri Borberg, who was convicted of the Naalin shooting affair by the Tel Aviv military court, said he completely agrees with the court's ruling regarding his role in the Naalim shooting affair. "It's hard to describe the heavy load I've been carrying lately. I'm glad it's over," he said.
He added: "All I care about now is to return to my family, to my daughter, and continue contributing to the IDF."
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4019992,00.html
Palestinian shot in Naalin: How can Borberg remain in IDF?
The Palestinian who was shot in Naalim while bound, responded to the Tel Aviv military court's decision not to impose a prison sentence on the soldier who shot him and to not demote Lieutenant-Colonel Omri Borberg.
"This officer committed a crime. The court's decision is unreasonable," he accused. "I can't understand how he can remain in the army after you see him on tape giving an order to shot at me."
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4019995,00.html 15 jul 2011, 12:37 , Respect -
Maria 28 jan 2011
2 minors arrested in West Bank village
RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Israeli soldiers arrested two minors from Bil'in village who had approached a barrier separating it from settlements.
Local witnesses said Mu'tesem Ali Mansour and Khalil Ibrahim Yasin were tied up and blind-folded before being dragged away.
An Israeli military spokeswoman confirmed that two Palestinians suspected of throwing rocks were arrested in the village.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=354993