- 29 jan 2011
Israeli forces tear gas funeral of teen shot by settlers
HEBRON (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces on Saturday fired tear gas, sound grenades and rubber-coated steel bullets at the funeral procession of a Palestinian teenager who was shot by settlers in Hebron, witnesses said.
Thousands of mourners attended the funeral of Yousef Ikhleil, 17, who died hours after he was shot in the head by settlers from a nearby illegal settlement north of Hebron on Friday.
Israeli troops fired tear gas at the funeral procession after young men threw stones at a military watch tower, Palestinian Solidarity Project spokesman Mohammad Awad said.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said Palestinians threw a fire bomb at an army post, and that forces responded with riot dispersal means.
Awad said around 50 mourners were injured and transferred to Beit Ummar medical center and several hospitals in Hebron.
He added that forces detained two locals, identified as Saddam Awad, 22, and 35-year-old Ibrahim Bahar. Soldiers also assaulted Saddam Awad and his mother Faten, 45, the PSP official said.
An army spokeswoman said no detentions were made, but that some mourners were taken aside for questioning at the scene.
Hebron governor Kamil Hamid and the heads of security departments attended the funeral, and shops in Beit Ummar closed to mourn the teenager's death.
Ikheil was the second teenager to be killed by settlers in the West Bank two days.
On Thursday, 19-year-old Uday Maher Qadous was shot and killed while working on his land near the northern West Bank village of Iraq Burin.
His cousin, who was with him at the time, said a group of four settlers on a nearby hilltop opened fire on them, hitting Qadous in the chest.
The Israeli military on Friday condemned both events and said settler suspects had been arrested.
"So far, a number of Israeli settlers were arrested on suspicion of involvement in the recent events," it said, and warned both sides to keep the peace. "Action will be taken against all forms of violence on either side."
Palestinian Authority spokesman Ghassan Khatib denounced the killings, and called for the killers to be brought to justice.
"%u2018This is the second killing this week of an unarmed Palestinian by settlers, and the sixth killing by settlers this month. The Israeli government cannot evade its responsibility for these cold-blooded crimes. The killers must be brought to justice and punished," he said in a statement.
"Our people need greater protection from armed settlers."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=355357
Tens of Palestinians injured in IOF attack on funeral
AL-KHALIL, (PIC)-- Tens of Palestinian citizens were wounded by Israeli occupation forces' shooting north of Al-Khalil on Saturday while taking part in the funeral procession of a Palestinian teen killed at the hands of Jewish settlers.
Witnesses reported that the participants clashed with the IOF soldiers who fired at them injuring 40 civilians.
Yousef Ikhlil, 17, was shot and killed by an Israeli settler in his village in Safa, north of Beit Ummar town in Al-Khalil on Friday.
http://bit.ly/eyq1FQ
Witnesses: Army fires tear gas at US, PA officials
HEBRON (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces on Thursday fired tear gas and stun grenades at senior US and Palestinian officials and farmers planting trees near Hebron, witnesses said.
US consulate officials, settlement and wall affairs minister Maher Ghuneim, Hebron governor Kamil Hamid and Beit Ummar mayor Nasri Sabarneh joined farmers in Safa to plant trees on land slated for confiscation by Israel.
The farmers are frequently denied access to their land by settlers and Israeli soldiers.
A US Consulate's political attaché left the scene when Israeli soldiers arrived, onlookers said.
Palestinian Authority security sources said Israeli forces seized a PA car and detained PA officers for 30 minutes.
Soldiers used the PA patrol as a shield to protect them from farmers who were throwing stones toward them, locals said.
Meanwhile, residents of the illegal Susiya settlement south of Hebron assaulted local resident Ibrahim An-Nawajah, while soldiers detained two of his sons, Iyad and Nasir, witnesses said.
In a separate incident, settlers from nearby Beit Hagai attacked Salman Yusef At-Tubasi, 26, and handed him over at gunpoint to Israeli troops who detained him, locals reported.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=354915 18 jul 2011, 13:20 , Respect -
Maria 30 jan 2011
Medics: Israeli forces open fire at Gaza workers
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces on Sunday opened fire on Palestinians working in northern Gaza near the border with Israel, medics said.
Gaza medical services spokesman Adham Abu Selmiya said a 20-year-old identified as MH sustained a gunshot wound and was transferred to hospital.
He was collecting gravel near the border, the official said.
Workers in Gaza frequently head to the border area to collect gravel and other construction scraps to make into cement.
An Israeli military spokesman said he would look into the report.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=355683
Palestinian worker shot along Gaza border
GAZA, (PIC)-- A Palestinian man was shot Sunday morning by Israeli soldiers while collecting gravel in northern Gaza.
The 20-year-old man was shot in the left foot while working in Beit Lahia, said Adham Abu Salmiyya, spokesman for the ambulance and emergency committee.
The incident puts the injury count of gravel workers since March of last year at 115, Abu Salmiyya said. Two deaths have also been reported.
Israeli forces target almost daily workers and citizens along the eastern border with Gaza.
http://bit.ly/i7a5CY 21 jul 2011, 09:23 , Respect -
Maria 1 febr 2011
Group: Harsh treatment of child detainee
RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces psychologically tortured a 14-year-old Palestinian detained in a night raid on his Ramallah village, a local rights group said.
Islam Tamami was detained on 23 January from his home in Nabi Saleh, a village which holds weekly anti-wall rallies to protest Israel's confiscation of residents' land.
He was taken to a police station and interrogated without his parents or a lawyer present, the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee said.
Soldiers used psychological torture to extract false testimony about demonstrations in his village during an eight hour interrogation, PSCC reported.
Tamimi's lawyers requested access to the boy immediately after his request, but this was not granted until after five hours of interrogation, the committee said.
The boy is still in Israeli detention, despite appeals from his defense for his immediate release due to the unlawful conduct of the police and military.
A military judge on Tuesday refused a request to transfer him to house arrest, committee spokesman Joseph Dana said.
The committee says residents of the village, including children, have been subject to countless injuries, arrests and collective punishment. It says the army's campaign is an attempt to crush the village's non-violent protests against the wall.
DCI: Army detained 7,000 Palestinian children detained since 2000
On Saturday, Defence for Children International said Israel's military had detained around 7,000 Palestinian children since 2000.
In its annual report, submitted to the United Nations, DCI said it was rare for children, or their parents, to be told the reason for the arrest or where the children would be taken.
The arrests were frequently carried out by heavily armed soldiers in the middle of the night, the report said, and children were usually handcuffed and blindfolded before being taken away in a military vehicle.
"The arrest and transfer process is frequently accompanied by physical and verbal abuse," DCI reported.
"Children are frequently threatened and physically assaulted during interrogation often resulting in the provision of a coerced confession, or the signing of documents which the child has not had a chance to read or understand."
DCI noted that children as young as 12 were tried in military courts, and said most children ultimately plead guilty "whether the offence was committed or not, as this is the quickest way out of the system."
Further, Israeli military courts impose sentences on most children detained.
"In 2009, custodial sentences were imposed on children by the military courts in 83 percent of cases, in contrast to a custodial sentence rate of 6.5 percent in the Israeli civilian juvenile justice system," DCI found.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=356090 24 jul 2011, 09:12 , Respect -
Maria 2 febr 2011
Israeli Troops Arrest Four Palestinian Teens Around West Bank
Ramallah PNN - After overnight raids in several Palestinian districts ending on Wednesday morning, Israeli troops arrested at least five Palestinians, four of them teenagers.
Three of the detainees were from Jenin refugee camp in the center of the city: Maysara Suleiman Kharyoush, 19, Yusef Imad Ibrahim Amer, 17, and Wisam Salem Jalamneh, 19.
Local sources said two of others arrested were from the village of Ithna, in the Hebron district in the southern West Bank. Samer Issa Awad, 26, and Saddam Issa Tamizi, 19, were taken to an unknown location after their homes were raided and their belongings searched.
State-run Palestinian news agency Wafa reported 12 arrests in all, but the identities and locations of the other seven detainees were not known at press time. Israeli troops also allegedly beat Safout Abu Samreh, age unknown, from Hebron, requiring him to be sent to a hospital. Doctors described his condition as moderate.
http://bit.ly/dVlvxM 30 jul 2011, 10:27 , Respect -
Maria 3 febr 2011
The Screams of A Child Abducted by Monsters
Mahmoud Al Abbasi, 10 years old
The picture below shows two Israeli soldiers from the so called border police unit capturing Palestinian child Mahmoud Al Abbasi, 10 years old from the East of the occupied city of Jerusalem, on January 21 2011.
Please try to find an answer to the questions below by writing to the so-called Israeli Embassy in your country and to the Israeli occupation spokespersons (their e-mail addresses are below), and to your elected representatives.
Do you think that the soldiers seen in the picture below belong to the human race? Do you think these are soldiers or monsters? Do you think that capturing and terrorizing children is a war crime? What descriptions that can be given of a state which feels powerful when its soldiers terrorize children? What would you do if your son was the child who cries and screaming between the steel hands of these monsters?
What do you do if you knew that your tax money was being used for the benefit of the monsters in the pictures above and below?
Did you know that the Defence for Children International http://bit.ly/hW5RWr in Palestine sent out on January 6 2011 an appeal concerning the jailing of three children, http://bit.ly/e9Cu3X Muslim Mosa Ode, age of 10, Adam Mansour Al-Rishiq, age of 7, and Imran Mohammad Mansour 11, who were jailed by the monsters in the picture above and their colleagues?
Imran was jailed after being run over by a criminal settlers in Jerusalem.
Muslim O. On 18 October 2010, a 10-year-old boy from Silwan, in occupied East Jerusalem, reported having being grabbed and beaten by three men in civilian clothes and taken to the Al-Mascobiyya interrogation centre for questioning. Under Israeli law, a child below the age of 12 should not be interrogated.
Mohammad G. On 25 October 2010, a 12-year-old boy from Silwan, in occupied East Jerusalem reported being grabbed and beaten by a policeman on his way to school and then taken to the Al-Mascobiyya interrogation centre for questioning.
Adam R. On 24 November 2010, a seven-year-old boy from Silwan in occupied East Jerusalem reported being beaten by soldiers on his way to school. The experience has made Adam fearful of leaving his home.
The Israeli embassy in your country: (list of Israeli diplomatic missions worldwide). http://bit.ly/gzsNgj
IDF spokesperson e-mails:
[email protected]. il,
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
lfrd@idf. gov.il
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
http://bit.ly/iipebX
Urgent Appeal
Incident: Arrest of children Violation of rights
Location: Silwan, occupied East Jerusalem
Date of incidents: October to December 2010
Number of incidents: 24 (cases documented by DCI-Palestine)
Ages: 7 to 17 years
Accusation: Stone throwing
Date of issue: 6 January 2011
Muslim O. On 18 October 2010, a 10-year-old boy from Silwan, in occupied East Jerusalem, reports being grabbed and beaten by three men in civilian clothes, and taken to Al-Mascobiyya interrogation centre for questioning. Under Israeli law, a child below the age of 12 should not be interrogated.
Mohammad G. On 25 October 2010, a 12-year-old boy from Silwan, in occupied East Jerusalem, reports being grabbed and beaten by a policeman on his way to school, and taken to Al-Mascobiyya interrogation centre for questioning.
Adam R. On 24 November 2010, a seven-year-old boy from Silwan, in occupied East Jerusalem, reports being beaten by soldiers on his way to school. The experience has made Adam fearful of leaving his home.
Background information
The neighbourhood of Silwan is situated just outside the Old City walls of Jerusalem, located in the occupied east of the city. Approximately 16,500 http://bit.ly/dLq7fw Palestinians live in the central section of the neighbourhood. Although accepted as occupied territory under international law, Israel purported to annex the east of the city after occupation in 1967, and applies its own domestic law to the territory.
The annexation has no legal validity http://bit.ly/hfVuPw under international law, and is not recognised outside Israel. According to the UN, http://bit.ly/e1Jptv Silwan has become one of the main centres of Israeli settlement activity and is currently home to 380 settlers, who live in properties taken over by various means from their original Palestinian residents.
According to the UN, Palestinian residents of Silwan report harassment and intimidation by the settlers and their security guards, and clashes between residents and soldiers and police are frequent. On 21 June 2010, the Jerusalem Municipality's Planning and Building Committee approved a plan to demolish 22 Palestinian houses in Silwan to make way for an archaeological garden. http://bit.ly/hD5IiR
In 2010, reports of a sharp increase in the number of children being arrested from Silwan and East Jerusalem have been recorded. According to Israel Police figures, between November 2009 and October 2010, the Jerusalem District opened 1,267 criminal files http://bit.ly/dLq7fw against Palestinian children living in East Jerusalem who were accused of throwing stones. During the same period, the Israeli NGO, B'Tselem reports that 81 children from Silwan have been arrested or detained for questioning, mostly on suspicion of stone throwing. http://bit.ly/dLq7fw
On 24 November 2010, 60 prominent Israeli professionals wrote to Prime Minister Netanyahu, and other senior officials raising their concerns about the violent treatment of Palestinian children in occupied East Jerusalem. http://bit.ly/hqemyv
The letter states that children and teenagers related that they had been dragged out of their beds in the middle of the night or arrested in their neighbourhoods by undercover detectives and special security forces; taken in for questioning while handcuffed and unescorted by their parents; in certain cases, the families were not notified of the arrest in real time; minors were asked to give names and incriminate friends and relatives as a condition of their release; were threatened and humiliated by their interrogators; and some of them were even subject to physical violence while taken in for questioning and under interrogation.
In the three months between October and December 2010, DCI-Palestine has investigated 24 cases from Silwan, and collected 18 sworn affidavits, 15 of which were taken from children. In two out of the 15 cases, the children were not arrested. In one of these cases, the child was beaten and then immediately released by soldiers, and in the other case, an 11-year-old boy was struck in the head with a rubber coated steel bullet. The ages of these children range from 7 to 17 years. http://bit.ly/hPJeMB
Specific violations
Based on the evidence collected by DCI-Palestine, the violations against the children of Silwan include, but are not limited to, the following:
Interrogation of children under 12 years - (8 percent): http://bit.ly/ifHyOq
- Under Israeli law which is applied to occupied East Jerusalem, children under the age of 12 are not held criminally liable for their actions and must not be detained. Out of the 13 cases in which DCI-Palestine collected sworn affidavits from children who were arrested, one child (8 percent) was under 12. Since the beginning of 2010, B'Tselem, has documented the detention of four children below this age. http://bit.ly/dLq7fw
Violence during arrest, transfer or interrogation (76 percent):
- The types of violence reported to DCI-Palestine includes, punching, slapping, kicking, beating with a rifle, and in one case, throwing a pen at a child's head during interrogation.
A soldier started hitting me on the back with the barrel of his rifle and I screamed out in pain and said to him: I didn't do anything. But he kept hitting me for about a minute when my mother came and started shouting: Leave him alone, he must go to work. But one of them pushed her really hard and knocked her down. (A. G. 16 years)
They put me inside the jeep and one of them started kicking me all over my body and slapping me until we arrived at Al Mascobiyya. (B. R. 13 years)
In total, out of the 13 cases in which DCI-Palestine collected sworn affidavits from children who were arrested, 10 children (76 percent) reported some form of physical violence during their arrest, transfer or interrogation. Violence in similar circumstances has also recently been reported by B'Tselem. http://bit.ly/dLq7fw
Painful hand ties (61 percent):
- Under section 10B of the Youth (Trial, Punishment and Modes of Treatment) Law, alternatives to restraints should always be considered and they should not be used beyond what is strictly necessary. Restraints should only be used to prevent escape or to prevent harm to others.
The interrogator left me alone in the room with my hands still tied behind my back. I was feeling pain because the ties were very tight. I kept trying to move my fingers so that the blood could run through them. I stayed alone in the room for about three hours and no one came in or brought me food or water. (I.O. 17 years)
In total, out of the 13 cases in which DCI-Palestine collected sworn affidavits from children who were arrested, eight children (61 percent) reported having their hands tied. These figures are similar to data collected by B'Tselem, http://bit.ly/dLq7fw in which 14 out of 22 children (63 percent) reported having their hands tied. Many children report pain and swelling in their hands from the use of restraints.
Interrogated in the absence of a parent (53 percent):
- Under Israeli law which is applied to occupied East Jerusalem, parents are entitled to be present during the interrogation of their children, except in special limited cases. Out of the 13 cases in which DCI-Palestine collected sworn affidavits from children who were arrested on suspicion of throwing stones, five children (38 percent) were interrogated in the absence of their parents, and a further two children (15 percent) were questioned without their parents being present for at least part of the interrogation.
In one such case, a 12-year-old boy reported as follows:
When my father left the office, I felt scared and focused my eyes on the floor. You think the Israeli intelligence is joking here? I'll lock you up and you'll never see your family ever again, the interrogator shouted at me. He got up, approached me, and slapped me across the face and I kept my head down, while placing my hand over my face so that he wouldn't slap me again. (M. O. 12 years)
In total, out of 13 cases, seven children (53 percent) were interrogated for some time in the absence of their parents, during which time they report being threatened, and in some cases, assaulted. The interrogation of children in the absence of their parents has also recently been reported by B'Tselem. http://bit.ly/dLq7fw
Threatened during interrogation (53 percent):
- The types of threats reported to DCI-Palestine typically involved a threat to imprison the child for a long time.
It's better you talk or I'll slap you and knock you down, he said. (I. M. 12 years) Listen, I'll put you in jail for a long time if you don't confess and you'll never see your family ever again, what do you think of that? he said. (Y.J. 14 years) The interrogator didn't read me my rights. He interrogated me in Arabic.
Why did you throw stones at Jews in Silwan? he asked. Because they want to take our house, I said. Who was with you? he asked. I don't know them, I said. Then we'll put you in jail for a long time, he said. Do whatever pleases you, I said. (A.H. 14 years)
In total, out of 13 cases, seven children (53 percent) reported being threatened during interrogation. This figure corresponds exactly with the percentage of cases in which children were interrogated in the absence of their parents.
Recommended action Please send Urgent Appeals in relation to the arrest and detention of children in Silwan, occupied East Jerusalem, urging the following:
1. The immediate end to the use of violence by the Israeli army and police during the arrest of children;
2. No child should be interrogated in the absence of their parents;
3. All credible allegations of ill-treatment must be thoroughly and impartially investigated and those found responsible for such abuse be brought promptly to justice; and
4. The immediate removal of all Israeli settlements in occupied East Jerusalem as they violate international law and are a source of constant tension.
Appeals to:
Your elected representatives;
The Israeli embassy in your country [list of Israeli diplomatic missions worldwide]. http://bit.ly/gzsNgj
Please inform DCI-Palestine if you receive any response to your appeals and quote the UA number at the top of this document [email protected]
http://bit.ly/e9Cu3X (PDF)
Israeli court extends child's imprisonment
RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- The Israeli military court at the Ofer detention center extended the detention period of 14-year-old Islam Saleh Tamimi, to almost three months.
The child, from the central West Bank village of An-Nabi Saleh, was detained from his home at 2am on the morning of 24 January. Local activist groups said he was taken to a police station and interrogated without his parents or a lawyer present and later beaten.
The court decision was handed down after the child's family refused a suggested plea bargain that they said would have seen their son exiled from his home and sent to stay with relatives who hold Israeli identity cards.
He would have to remain under house arrest in the new location, the family said. The release also asked for a 10,000 shekel ($2,718) fine.
The village popular committee said the proposal exposed the "rudeness" of the Israeli military and the "occupation's lack of humanity."
In its weekly cabinet meeting, the West Bank government condemned the Israeli proposition, saying the child was to have been deported to Ramallah, along with his family.
The family was to have rented a home in the city and installed a phone line, "so that the occupation officer is able to call the child and ensure his presence at home," the cabinet said in a statement.
In its attempt to force the relocation of the family and keep the child on house arrest, the cabinet called the Israeli decision "shameful and reflects the repressive policy and illegal practices of the occupation, which contravene human rights, especially children%u2019s rights."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=356481 30 jul 2011, 23:41 , Respect -
Maria 4 febr 2011
Hope ends here: The children's court at Ofer Military Prison
A disturbing look at Israel's treatment of Palestinian children from inside a military court. - MECA
By Aya Kaniuk and Tamar Goldschmidt, Translation by Tal Haran
True, in the military courtroom itself Palestinians are neither shot nor beaten. They are not targeted for elimination nor even sentenced to death. At least not in the courtroom. But the military court is also the place where all illusions die. And hopes. Because that is where Palestinians learn that injury caused them, is no error, nor misunderstanding, but a matter of policy. That is where they learn that law regarding Palestinians is nothing short of another kind of weapon. One of many. Among the tanks and planes and cluster bombs and checkpoints and Separation Wall and white phosphorus and the IDF spokesman. The military court is the end of ends. The last judgment. The final accusation, a-priori, of Palestinians only because they are Palestinians.
And courtroom number 2, where children are put on trial, is the place beyond that end. The place where all the words end.
Only two family members are allowed to come to the trial. This is usually the only time they can come and see their son, and they do. Time after time. They may bring cigarettes and money for the long day awaiting them. Nothing else. Not even medication, or tissues, or food, or a book or a newspaper. We, visitors who are not Palestinian, are allowed to bring in a notebook and pen. But not tissues. We have no privileges concerning tissues.
Perhaps because tissues are evidence that there is something to cry over, and the State of Israel is not willing to name its own deeds at the end of which lies weeping. And its necessity is the evidence and the visibility of that which Israel is not willing to name, that and the anticipated weeping. Perhaps that is why tissues are not allowed in court.
One man managed to smuggle in a roll of toilet paper despite the order forbidding tissues. Apparently deep in his clothes he dared to hide toilet paper, soft as tissues. Now he moved from woman to woman, handing out bits of toilet paper to every single one of them, all the mothers, so they would have it ready for the tears when they would come. When he handed it to us as well we were ashamed, because we have no spouses or sons in jail. And because the man only had one roll of paper, we felt uneasy that we were getting some at the expense of someone else.
Finally we were lucky to have gotten it. Because all that remains in this accursed place is to weep. The warmth of the wet, salty tears is the only possibly warmth inside this sinister ticking mechanism that no word could encompass or cover.
Courtroom number 2. The children's court. Every Monday. On the podium, judge Sharon Rivlin Ahai. From 9 a.m. until to 6 p.m. Boy follows boy. One child and then another child. Wearing brown prison garb. Chained feet. Shackled hands, one hand shackled to that of another boy. Some of them are so small that their feet wave in the air when they are seated on the bench. Some of them are so small that our eyes look away. Most of them are accused of throwing stones. Molotov cocktails. Most of them are not released on bail, have not been interrogated in the presence of an adult parent or social worker. Most of them were picked up in the dead of night. All these are violations of the international law in defense of children, even those under occupation. Most of them were arrested following denunciation, mostly by some other child, who like them was taken in the dead of night because someone else gave in his name. And most of them confessed, if not immediately then later on, to anything they were told to admit.
The prosecutor speaks, then the judge, the defense, the interpreter, the judge once again, and then Tareq Mohammad's father writes on the palm of his hand their home phone number to make sure that his 13-year-old son remembers and knows it. The mother cries, so does the child. In custody now for three and a half months. For throwing stones. His remand has been extended seven or eight times already. And the next court session is scheduled for January 3rd. The father signals him to get his hair cut, to be strong, to be a man. I don't want to be here were the last words the boy said before being led out, and the mother covered her face.
Another two children are led into the courtroom. They are seated next to each other. The warden unshackles their hands. Their feet remain chained.
One of the boys is Bilal Sami Matar, 14 years old, in custody for half a year already. Twenty-one children and youth were caught that night in the Qalandiya refugee camp, including him. Some boy gave their names in.
That is how it usually happens. A child is arrested for one reason or another. And he is told, give us fifteen names and we'll let you go. First he says, no way. Eventually he gives them names. Usually they are the names of boys he knows, his age, sometimes of boys he'd never met, in order to supply the required number. And already the deal is made between the prosecution and the defense, and with it the corrected indictment sheet.
Because in the end he confesses like everyone else, regardless of whether or not he actually committed the deeds of which he is accused. After all, even if he did, how could the occupation forces know whether he threw a stone or not? Only because someone said so?
Apparently, all this does not matter much. The main thing is the power that tramples. That there are more means to recruit collaborators. The main thing is to brutalize. To crush. To intimidate. Not as a means but as an end.
First reading of the plea for sentencing is postponed until January 10th. No one objects. Not even the child. He is not listening anyway. Nor are his parents. They only devour the last moments of grace to look at each other and exchange a few more words, for this is the only time they see each other and has been so for months, and anyway, everything takes place regardless of the boy or his actual deeds.
How are things at home? The boy asks his parents. Well practiced at speaking from meters away, as long as the policeman will not keep them from looking at each other.
Everything's fine, Bilal's mother mouths expansively so the child can read her lips.
Are you studying? Asks the father in his authoritative voice.
Every day, Bilal answers.
Say hello to everyone, he says before being pushed again through the back door by the warden, blows them a kiss and vanishes.
Outside in the hall his mother breaks into tears.
Another two boys are brought in. One name is read aloud, Mu'amin Omar Asad. He stands up, this and that is said, something nearly identical to what was just said before and will be said again and again, about having thrown, hurled, prepared, wanted, meant, demonstrated, as the young denouncer had said.
Then the interpreter presents Mu'amin with the indictment sheet which he takes in his hand. Another Hebrew form, one of many he's received since his arrest, signing them without a notion of what they say. After receiving the form, the hand of the 14 year old automatically points to his parents seated a few meters away, and suddenly freezes, stops.
Until not very long ago he would always bring home to mother any certificate or trouble or duty or some such. His frozen hand remains in the air for a moment, then retreats and returns to his lap, the form is released from his slack fingers, his parents faces are ashen.
Does not plead guilty. For the time being.
The next court session is set in two weekstime.
Boy after boy enters, their names are read, they rise, then sit, then another court date is set, or a plea bargain. The interpreter speaks, the prosecutor, the judge, the defense lawyer. The eyes of mother and son are locked. Don't forget to pray, the father tells the child. Yes, the boy nods his head, his lips pursed tight, their murmurs trying to cross the distance. Last moments of grace in this encounter. Soon the baby will return into the darkness. The mother cries over his wearing such a thin shirt. Enough, the boy dismisses her with a smile, trying to look grown up and brave. Then he is told to rise. Words that tear the air and the skin and the heart. And he rises. His parents eyes dwell for another moment on the chain between his feet which they repressed earlier on, he holds out little hands, adept, the policeman shackles one of them and connects the other to another prisoner, together they are led outside.
Twenty three children and youths were brought into court that day. Most of them confessed to the deeds attributed to them already in their first interrogation. Or the second, at the latest. Few confessed only in the courtroom itself. The few who do not plead guilty at first usually do later on. They confess because they are frightened. Threatened. Because they are children. Because a verdict on the basis of denunciation is very difficult to refute. Especially because the military court regards denunciation as a fact. And if they confess, so they are told, then their prison sentence will be lightened, and sometimes they will only be sentenced to the number of months they have already spent in custody, several months, the months they already spent as part of the system. And after all, this court does not seek the truth, nor could it with such means.
And if they don't confess, they're told, they will likely spend much more time in jail.
So they confess.
Most of the time.
It is hard to say what it is about this terrible place that is worse than others. Which darkness is darker, more painful. Is it the mothers and their broken hearts? Or the helplessness of the father whose child is abandoned, and he has not the power to protect him. Or the horror of the little ones, the feeling that this is a sold game in which no one cares for the truth, be it as it may, because this system does not enable one to find out the truth. That this is not really a court, but only another tool of occupation. Where Palestinians are guilty unless proven otherwise. Even if proven otherwise. Guilty because they are Palestinians.
Is it the unbearable serial sense of a child and then another and another, and the empty eyes of the various forces of occupation. The attractive soldier girl, with her long groomed hair who stands right in between the mother and boy so they cannot see each other, or exchange a few words while their fate is cast. Their fate that has nothing to do with them or with who they are, but only with what they are. And the policeman, his gaze lazy and empty, most of the time looking to see if he got any messages on his cell phone, while next to him fates are determined, transparent like his victims. Or is it the judge with her pleasant face, who does not cry to high heaven, does not tear at her hair and feel ashamed nor protest what she is doing in the service of her country. How she stands silent in view of these strange plea bargains, 13-year-old children who perhaps threw a stone, and perhaps not, because that's what their denouncers said, who are but children like them taken in the dead of night. Or not wondering that everyone confesses, that months go by until the verdict is given, that they are not released on bail, that they sit in prison until the end of the proceedings, three, four, six, eight months and more, no matter what the accusation is, no matter that it's a child. That there are no innocents, ever. That every voice of an army man is crystal-clear fact. And every incriminating testimony, too, crystal clear. But not denial. Denial is not crystal clear, ever. Nor the claim that confession was obtained by force. That I signed something I did not understand. That I was afraid. That I was beaten up. That I did not do it. No.
I did not do it.
Even when it comes to children.
And their denying words are regarded as ridiculous, a superfluous waste of time, and mostly changing when the child and his parents learn that no matter what he did, or did not do, his fate is sealed. And that the system does not enable him to defend himself. That it is better to confess. And indeed this is what he usually does.
And so child after child. Everything seems reasonable to her, and to the rest of those judges. Eight months, and six, and once again having to pay 5,000 shekels.
This fine that is always eventually charged. More and more money to be paid by those who don't have any to begin with. Or else their son will sit another few months, as many as the thousands of shekels that were required in payment.
A child arrives wearing a short-sleeved shirt, shivering with cold. Apparently he is fifteen but looks younger. Does not know who his lawyer is. No parents. Bites his fingernails. Sucks his thumb. His look is scattered and scared. He is accused of having thrown stones. Attorney Samara volunteers to take him on.
I request the postponement of this case in order to complete it by the 13th of next month, says the judge. Three weeks from today. And the defendant gives his parents phone number to the lawyer.
The policeman has already shackled the child who rises and stands to be led out again, and the judge asks resentfully, why is he not dressed, just such a light shirt in this cold weather? How could this be?
Her pitying voice is not directed at anyone in particular.
Indeed, one should resent and hurt the fact that he is cold, your honor. But why just this? What about their having come in the dead of night to pick him up? That he has not seen a lawyer until now? That there was no adult present at his interrogation? That his parents have not been informed of his whereabouts? That he was arrested on the basis of denunciation? That he was not released on bail? That he has been in custody for months before his trial began?
And if he did throw stones, how would you know? Is this the way to find out? Can one find out at all?
And if he did, your honor, is this what he deserves?
Would this happen, your honor, were this a Jewish child who threw stones?
No need to answer, your honor, the answer is obvious.
Originally published on +972 magazine http://bit.ly/eIeYmP
http://bit.ly/fKrhSp 3 aug 2011, 16:04 , Respect -
Maria 5 febr 2011
Fifteen Wounded in Friday East Jerusalem Clashes
Jerusalem Maysa Abu Ghazala PNN - Violent clashes erupted on Friday after midday prayers in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Ras al-Amoud between local Palestinian youths and Israeli forces. Fifteen people suffered from tear gas inhalation and rubber bullet wounds and were treated by medical personnel.
Youths threw stones at the Israeli forces, who blocked neighborhood streets and prohibited men and women from attending Friday prayers at al-Aqsa Mosque. Troops responded with gunfire and tear gas canisters.
Two medics, Walid Sirawi and Qays Kamal, said that many suffered from tear gas inhalation because canisters exploded in the neighborhood's narrow alleyways.
After the clashes, Mustafa Barghouti of the Palestinian Initiative Party visited the neighborhood as well as the nearby Silwan area and reassured the injured.
http://bit.ly/gk4IaA
Solidarity with Egyptians screamed during West Bank protests
RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- Weekly anti-wall demonstrations across the West Bank on Friday turned into moves of solidarity with Egyptian protesters.
"Despite difficult conditions we propelled the weekly march to intersect with the Egypt protests in rejection of injustice and demand for freedom," said Ratib Abu Rahma, a member of Bil'in's anti-wall committee.
The march reached the wall area amid vast popular and media presence, Abu Rahma said.
Israeli occupation troops tried to suppress the protest with gas canisters and rubber bullets.
Meanwhile, another anti-wall march was staged in the village of Nabi Salih after Friday prayers.
From the first minute, the Israeli occupation army proceeded to block off the village's entrances and crack down on the peaceful demonstration using gas and rubber bullets.
Protesters raised Palestinian and Egyptian flags and chanted slogans of solidarity with Egyptian protests demanding the president there to step down.
http://bit.ly/fpkbhV 6 aug 2011, 09:21 , Respect -
Maria 6 febr 2011
Child, 2 minors detained by Israeli forces
HEBRON (Ma'an) -- A child and two minors were detained in separate incidents Sunday, as Israeli forces continued to patrol the town of Beit Ummar north of Hebron.
Local activist Ahmad Ikhleil was said to have come to the aid of three cousins from the Abu Maria family, who were returning from farm lands just outside of the village, when Israeli forces began shooting sound-bombs at them.
Arriving on the scene after he heard the sound of the stun-grenades, Ikhleil was hit in the head with one of the devices, while 16-year-old Ala Ibrahim Abed Al-Hamid Abu Maria sustained fractures to her arm. Both were transferred to hospital in Hebron for treatment, medics said.
Spokesman of the Beit Ummar popular resistance committee Mohammad Awad said Abu Maria's cousons Mohammad Jamil, 16, and Kahlid Ibrahim Kahder Sabarneh, 14, were arrested by the soldiers.
An Israeli military spokesman said three had been detained during the day for throwing rocks, and were taken by Israeli forces for questioning.
In a second incident, 17-year-old Mohammad Ibrahim Abed Al-Hamid Abu Maria, also from Beit Ummar, was detained by Israeli forces who had put up a road block outside of the town.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=357576
Anat Kam convicted of leaking classified IDF docs
n framework of plea bargain, prosecution drops 'intent to harm state security' charge against ex-soldier who stole some 2,000 classified army documents and gave them to Haaretz reporter; sentence apparently won%u2019t exceed nine years in jail.
In the framework of a plea bargain, the Tel Aviv District Court on Sunday convicted ex-solider Anat Kam of illegally possessing classified IDF materials and passing them on to Haaretz reporter Uri Blau without authorization.
Kam was initially charged with harming state security, but the charge was dropped as part of the plea bargain. It is estimated that the prosecution will ask the court to sentence her to no more than nine years in prison.
Following the hearing, Kam said she had admitted to the charges against her.
Kam's attorney, Eitan Lehman, confirmed she admitted to illegally possessing and passing on classified information. According to him, the prosecution agreed that his client had no intention of jeopardizing state security.
"There is still some information which the public has not been privy to. I hope this information will convince the court that (Kam's) intentions were good."
In January of 2010 Kam was indicted for handing reporter Uri Blau some or all of more than 2,000 classified army documents she had stolen while serving in the office of former Central Command chief Maj.-Gen. Yair Naveh.
The documents stolen by Kam contained plans of military operations, summaries of discussions within the IDF, deployment and order of battle (ORBAT) of IDF forces, summaries of internal IDF inquiries, IDF situation estimates, IDF targets and more.
In September it was reported that a plea bargain was in the works. According to the reports, Kam would be charged with "serious espionage" but without the intent to harm state security.
News of the affair broke out in April 2010, when Kam was working as a reporter for the Walla website.
In November 2008 Blau published a report based on documents he received from Kam. The report argued that IDF forces in the West Bank assassinated Palestinian terrorists, allegedly against Supreme Court rulings.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4024440,00.html
IOF troops quell peaceful village march
AL-KHALIL, (PIC)-- Israeli occupation forces quelled the weekly anti wall rally in Beit Ummar village, Al-Khalil district, on Saturday afternoon, local sources said.
They said that the troops fired teargas and sonic bombs at the march that was organized on the main road near the entrance to the town.
The locals noted that a number of women were treated for breathing problems as a result, adding that the IOF soldiers detained Sadeq Abu Mariya, 37, while participating in the peaceful march.
http://bit.ly/fcyZf6 12 aug 2011, 10:38 , Respect -
Maria 7 febr 2011
3 more minors detained in Beit Ummar
HEBRON (Ma'an) -- Three minors were detained from their homes in Beit Ummar during a 3 a.m. Monday morning Israeli military raid, bringing to six the number of teens and children taken into military custody in the past 24 hours.
Local popular committee leader Muhammad Awad identified the three boys taken overnight as Ayish Khalid Awad, Rashid Muhammad Awda, and Qassam Ahmad Abu Maria, all 16 years old.
An Israeli military spokeswoman confirmed to Ma'an that there were three taken from the town for questioning overnight.
Awad said the homes of the teens were ransacked, and several other searched before the detentions were made.
According to an Israeli military statement, there were seven detentions carried out by troops across the West Bank overnight.
On Sunday evening two were injured and three others detained in two separate incidents outside of the town. Two teens out working family land were detained, while a cousin of theirs was injured by a stun-grenade said to have been deployed by Israeli forces in the area. A 16-year-old girl was hospitalized as a result of a direct hit by the canister, and a local activist who went to the aid of the group was also injured.
The two detained were identified as Mohammad Jamil Abu Maria, 16, and Kahlid Ibrahim Kahder Sabarneh, 14. The military said they were taken in for questioning on accusations of rock throwing.
A third, 17-year-old Mohammad Ibrahim Abed Al-Hamid Abu Maria, also from Beit Ummar, was detained by Israeli forces who had put up a road block outside of the town Sunday evening.
Villagers hold weekly protests against the ongoing land confiscations perpetrated by settlers and settler guards in the nearby Jewish-only settlement of Karni Tzur
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=357704
IOF troops storm Tulkarem, clash with citizens
TULKAREM, (PIC)-- Israeli occupation forces (IOF) stormed the city of Tulkarem at noon Sunday and erected roadblocks near the universities of Khaduri and Jerusalem west and north of the city respectively.
Eyewitnesses told the PIC reporter that five IOF patrols broke into the city and detained a number of students and scrutinized their IDs on the sidewalks.
The soldiers intercepted all cars passing by the two universities and scrutinized their papers and their owners' IDs leading to long queues in the vicinity.
A number of young men in the city threw stones and empty bottles at the soldiers for invading their city while Abbas's militias were not seen on the streets.
The soldiers responded by firing sonic bombs and gas canisters but no casualties or arrests were reported.
http://bit.ly/hKv0g7 16 aug 2011, 00:22 , Respect -
Maria 8 febr 2011
Teen injured in Beit Ummar
HEBRON (Ma'an) -- An 18-year-old was hit four times with rubber-coated bullets shot by Israeli forces in the southern West Bank town of Hebron Tuesday afternoon, local officials said, sending the teen to hospital.
Local popular committee activist Muhammad Awad said Israeli troops entered the town shortly before noon, apparently to conduct an arrest raid. The troops were searching one home when the teen, identified as Shadi Ahmad Ekhlayel, walked past the scene.
Awad said that Ekhlayel did not know that he had entered an area where military activity was taking place, but was shot four times in the back, neck and hands.
Ekhlayel was admitted to hospital in Hebron where medics said he was being treated for moderate injuries.
An Israeli military spokesman said troops conducting a search operation identified a group of approximately 20 individuals throwing rocks at the force, and responded with riot dispersal mechanisms. The spokesman said soldiers were aware of one person who was moderately injured, but said no live fire had been used.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=358040 20 aug 2011, 16:56 , Respect -
Maria 9 febr 2011
From Egypt to Palestine: U.S. Corporation supplies tear gas in order to violently repress protesters
An Israeli and American flag fly next to each other in front of CSI headquarters in Jamestown, PA
Tear gas is one of the many products that American allies in the Middle East import from U.S. corporations. Used primarily to suppress protests, Egyptian, Tunisian and Israeli security forces all employ tear gas manufactured and shipped from Combined Systems Inc., a U.S. corporation based in Jamestown Pennsylvania.
Tear gas is a seriously dangerous chemical used to disperse crowds, however many deaths and serious injuries have been caused by the military's use and misuse of the product. http://bit.ly/gw4q06
Adalah-New York, a U.S.-based campaign to boycott Israel, is calling upon U.S. citizens to pressure their government to end support for such undemocratic and inhumane policies.
Due to the massive amount of economic assistance provided to Israel and Egypt by the U.S. government, most of which comes in the form of military aid, it is highly likely that these tear gas canisters are paid for by U.S. tax dollars.
Furthermore, Propublica.org is reporting that the Department of State and Department of Commerce regulate all exports of tear gas. Therefore, it is necessary that the U.S. approved the shipment of tear gas to Egypt, Israel and Tunisia. http://bit.ly/igoODQ
U.S. aid to support the Israeli military has not been curbed under the Obama Administration. According Jeremy's Scharp's report, U.S. Foreign Aid to Israel, http://bit.ly/h0BnA7 for the Congressional Research Service, the Obama administration requested $3 billion in Foreign Military Financing for the 2011 fiscal year. Since 1973, Israel has been the number one recipient of U.S. foreign assistance; annual aid amounts to $3 billion dollars.
Second in line for receiving military and financial assistance has been Hosni Mubarak's Egyptian regime. Since 1979, Egypt has received $2.9 billion dollars in U.S. foreign aid, most of which is military aid; the Obama administration has also asked congress to maintain this level of support for 2011.
Tunisia received an annual $15 million from the U.S. government.
To join the call to end US Support of Combined Systems Inc., send an email to the US state department and CSI. http://bit.ly/gflrHL
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1678
Palestinian injured in clashes south of Nablus
NABLUS (Ma'an) -- A teenager was hospitalized Wednesday morning after being shot in the leg by Israeli forces with a rubber-coated bullet, as witnesses said the force entered the village of Urif.
South of the illegal Yitzhar settlement, locals said the military patrol sparked clashes as a group of armored cars drive through the area, prompting teens and children on their way to class to throw stones and yell.
Medical sources at the Palestinian Red Crescent identified the injured teen as 18-year-old Ahmad Muhammad Shehadeh, who was moderately injured in his left leg by rubber bullets and was taken to Rafedia Hospital in Nablus.
Shehadeh is the second teen to have been hospitalized with injuries from Israeli rubber-coated bullets in two days.
On Tuesday, an 18-year-old was hit four times with the bullets, used as part of what Israeli military officials call "riot dispersal mechanisms."
The teen was shot in the back, hands and neck, medics said, as he walked near an Israeli military patrol in the southern West Bank town of Beit Ummar, north of Hebron.
An Israeli military spokesman said troops conducting a search operation identified a group of approximately 20 individuals throwing rocks at the force, and responded with riot dispersal mechanisms. The spokesman said soldiers were aware of one person who was moderately injured.
According to witnesses, the teen was later detained by Israeli forces, but a spokesman for the military said he could not confirm the report.
http://maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=358271
IOF troops shoot, wound Palestinian teen
AL-KHALIL, (PIC)-- A Palestinian teen was shot and inured on Tuesday night when Israeli occupation forces (IOF) shot rubber-coated bullets at houses in Beit Ummar village, north of Al-Khalil, eyewitnesses reported.
They said that the IOF soldiers were spraying Palestinian homes in the village with rubber bullets which wounded Shadi Khalil, 17.
IOF soldiers also apprehended the two brothers Razi and Bakir Z'aqiq in the same village on Tuesday night.
Over the past few days, IOF soldiers rounded up ten inhabitantsthats of the village that witnessed repeated IOF raids.
http://bit.ly/eJ6qP2 ...Read more 23 aug 2011, 17:28 , Respect -
Maria 27 aug 2011, 10:39 , Respect -
Maria 10 febr 2011
DCI: Report to UN Exposes Israel's Systematic Torture and Ill-treatment of Children
Ramallah DCI to PNN after releasing a report this week documenting torture and Ill-treatment of Palestinian children in Israeli detention centers, Defence for Children International -Palestine Section have asked the UN Special Rapporteurs: on torture; on the independence of judges and lawyers; and on arbitrary detention; to ensure that an independent international inquiry investigates Israel's abuses of child prisoners.
The latest report of the last 6 months of 2010 contains testimonies of 40 children (aged 12 to 17), 62.5 percent of whom were accused of throwing stones. This follows DCI-Palestine's submission to the UN on 29 January 2011 of 40 cases relating to the detention of Palestinian children from the occupied West Bank, under the Israeli military court system.
Sir Geoffrey Bindman of Action for Palestinian Children said, "This shocking report discloses persuasive evidence that confessions in Hebrew are extracted and signed under torture despite the children often not understanding the language. Sir Bindman continued to say A particularly disturbing claim in the report is that 47.5% (19) of the children interviewed suffered such abuses in the illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
(click to make bigger)
DCI are seeking investigations of all credible cases of torture, with perpetrators being brought to justice, and insist that all child prisoners must be interrogated with audio- visual recording in the presence of a lawyer or family member.
Sir Bindman said "The treatment of these children, according to the report, systematically violates the UN Convention against Torture and the Fourth Geneva Convention. The international community must insist that the perpetrators of such abuses are brought to justice and if the abuses continue effective sanctions must be imposed."
According to the weekly report of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, last week the Israeli army conducted 31 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank during which it arrested 23 Palestinian civilians, including a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council and seven children.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9539&Itemid=56 5 sep 2011, 11:48 , Respect -
Maria 10 febr 2011
Child detained near Hebron overnight, locals say
HEBRON (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces detained overnight a 15-year-old boy from his home in the village of Beit Ummar north of Hebron and took him to an unknown destination, local officials said.
Town spokesman Muhammad Awad said the child's home in the Ad-Dhaher neighborhood was entered, searched and then Malek Khaled Ayed As-Sleibi was detained.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said she was not aware of any arrests overnight in Beit Ummar, but said three others were detained from around the city of Hebron, 20 kilometers to the south.
Awad said there were 27 Beit Ummar residents detained since January.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=358625
IOF troops desecrate mosque, detain West Bankers
NABLUS, (PIC)-- Israeli occupation forces (IOF) broke into an ancient mosque in Beit Dajan village, east of Nablus, and rounded up seven Palestinians in various West Bank areas at dawn Thursday.
Local sources reported that the IOF soldiers took photos of the mosque from within and outside along with other ancient sites and old buildings, the municipal council premises, village clubs, culture centers, and under construction projects.
Meanwhile, the Israeli radio said that the IOF apprehended three "wanted" Palestinians in Al-Khalil including a 15-year-old boy in Beit Ummar village.
Locals said that tens of IOF soldiers stormed at dawn today Oqaba village in Tobas district, and detained four citizens of one family after searching their homes.
http://bit.ly/dKDLCS
Cops cleared of abuse charges
Last of 10 officers accused of beating, urinating on Palestinian man cleared for lack of evidence.
Policemen accused of abusing a Palestinian thief from Hebron have been cleared of charges due to lack of evidence, the Police Investigations Unit said Wednesday.
Though the Justice Ministry believed the complainant's account of severe physical violence used against him by 10 officers, just four were originally indicted, and the charges against three have since been dropped. On Wednesday, the unit also dropped charges against the final remaining indicted officer.
The affair was first made public by Ynet in January 2010. A'alan Abu Najma, a 27-year old man from Hebron, was arrested in the end of 2009 for stealing an expensive motorcycle in order to blackmail its owner.
Abu Najma claimed he was attacked by the arresting officers. "A gun barrel was pushed into my behind, trash was poured over me, a rag smeared with excrement was placed on my head, and I was urinated on," he claimed.
Tensions peaked after 10 officers were arrested and Yarkon District Police Commander Chico Edri defended them, saying he believed their account. At the time, investigators discovered discrepancies in the officers' testimonies.
Four officers were indicted on suspicion of abusing a helpless person, sexual harassment, assault and breach of trust. In the summer the charges against three were dropped, with the Justice Ministry accusing detection and special forces teams of attempting to transfer blame to one another.
Abu Najma
"During the investigation the officers refused to cooperate with interrogators to help arrive at the truth while still in the early stages of the probe," the ministry said, declaring that its investigators believed the complainant was telling the truth.
Gil Shilan, an officer from the Yarkon District Police force, was the last remaining indicted officer. He was placed on forced leave.
But during preliminary court hearings Shilan's attorneys succeeded in undermining the prosecution's case, which relied mainly on the fact that Abu Najma had picked Shilan out of a lineup as the man who had beaten him.
The trial had been scheduled to begin this month, but Shilan's attorneys succeeded in convincing the head of the Police Investigations Unit that there was not enough evidence to continue with the case.
Attorney Zion Amir said he was pleased the charges had been dropped. "We were sure all along that Gil Shilan had been wronged. He is an excellent officer, and I am glad that after this year-long battle he can return to serve in the police force. If he had been convicted he would have gone to prison for a very long time," he said.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4026451,00.html
IOF arrests three minors in Silwan on Wednesday
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) stormed several neighborhoods in the East Jerusalem district of Silwan Wednesday morning arresting three minors.
They were identified as Abd Fayiz Zaitoun, 15, who is serving house arrest, Ammar Zaitoun, 15, and Baronaq Zaitoun, 8.
Seven Palestinians, including a 47-year-old woman have been arrested in Silwan since the previous night.
In a separate incident, an Israeli police car hit noon Wednesday a child crossing a street near the Ain Al-Lawza neighborhood in Silwan, the Wadi Halwa information center said.
He sustained moderate injuries, witnesses reported.
The same day in Al-Khalil, the IOF arrested two Palestinian men it suspected attacked Jews from the nearby Susiya settlement.
They said the men confronted settlers who atacked them while they were tending sheep.
Meanwhile in the Jordan Valley village of Zubeidat, Mohammed Zubeidat, 50, was arrested after his home was searched and its contents tampered with.
Separately, the Israeli Central Court in Jerusalem extended the detention of three men from the Taur district suspected of stoning Israeli troops during heated clashes that have lately sprung in the city.
http://bit.ly/fHiv0m
Report: IOA arrested 12,000 Palestinian females since 1967
GAZA, (PIC)-- The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) has arrested 12,000 Palestinian females since its occupation of the remaining Palestinian lands in 1967, Abdul Nasser Farwana, a researcher in prisoners affairs, said.
He added in a statement that the IOA is currently holding 35 Palestinian women in Hasharon and Damon prisons while the only detainee from Gaza, Wafa'a Al-Biss, is held in solitary confinement in Ramle jail.
He said that the Israeli occupation forces rounded up about 850 Palestinian females in the period since the Aqsa intifada in 2000 until the current year of 2011.
Farwana noted that the IOA does not differentiate in its treatment of prisoners whether on the basis of sex, age, social or political status, or even health and humanitarian conditions and exercise all forms of psychological and physical torture on all prisoners.
Female prisoners are subjected to the same treatment of male prisoners including torture, isolation, humiliation, physical assault, and sometimes molestation, the researcher underlined.
http://bit.ly/dTS5Wa
8 sep 2011, 23:54 , Respect -
Maria 11 febr 2011
2 injured at Bil'in anti-wall protest
RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Two protesters were injured Friday during a weekly anti-wall demonstration in the West Bank village of Bil'in, organizers said.
Protesters raised Palestinian and Egyptian flags, in support of the uprising to ouster President Hosni Mubarak, and marched to the site of the separation wall, which cuts villagers off from 60 percent of their land.
When demonstrators reached the wall, Israeli forces fired tear-gas canisters, rubber-coated steel bullets, sound grenades and live ammunition at them, the local popular committee said.
Locals Mohamed Al-Khateb, 18, sustained burns on his hand and Mohamad Fathi Abu Rahma, 20, was hit by a tear gas canister in his leg, the committee said.
An Israeli military spokesman said forces used riot dispersal means after protesters threw rocks at forces. He said one soldier was hit by a stone and lightly injured.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=359034