- 14 apr 2011
Woman killed in Gaza air strike was anticipating wedding
The chairs that Nidal and Najah Qdeih were sitting in when they were killed in an air strike. (Rami Almeghari)
Around midday last Friday, Ibrahim Qdeih was chatting with his daughters and wife about preparations underway for his daughter Nidal's wedding later this month. Those plans would be forever disrupted after an Israeli missile hit their house, taking the lives of Ibrahim's wife, Najah, and daughter, Nidal.
I was set to go to the Friday sermon [at the mosque] and it was about 12:15pm, when my daughter Nidal was talking to me about the final touches for her wedding party. By then, electricity was cut off and my wife Najah and my daughters Nidal, Neda and Fida, all moved to rest a bit on these chairs, Qdeih explained, standing near a crater left by the fatal missile strike next to his modest, rural home in al-Faraheen, east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.
The bereaved father added After we talked, I took my son to the Friday sermon at a nearby mosque. While in the middle of the road, we heard a large explosion but we went on walking, for I didn't expect it was my home. As we arrived at the mosque, someone told me that my house was struck by a missile. Then I rushed back along with my son to the house.
As the two arrived, Ibrahim's 43-year-old brother, Fathi, along with Ibrahim's neighbor, Mansi, were trying to aid Ibrahim's wounded daughters, Neda and Fida. Najah and Nidal did not survive the strike. Neda is currently in critical condition and is being treated at al-Nasser hospital, while Fida's injuries are moderate.
Fathi was the first to arrive at the gruesome scene.
As I was walking down just few meters away from my brother's house, just near this palm tree, I was shocked by the explosion and saw some pillars of smoke rising up from Ibrahim's house, Fathi said while surrounded by family in Ibrahim's three-room home.
Then I pushed the door to see what happened. It was horrible, it was horrible. Najah's face was smashed and stained with blood, while Nidal's abdomen was ripped open with blood covering all over her body.
Nidal's fiance, 24-year-old Jihad al-Qarra, was waiting anxiously for their wedding day before the missile hit. Al-Qarra teared up when he entered the room where luggage lay, stuffed in preparation for a wedding that will never happen.
Ibrahim Qdieh and his son Ahmad.
Just four hours before Nidal was killed, I was taking part in the funeral procession for my cousin Abdallah, who was also killed by an Israeli drone the day before, al-Qarra, a university graduate and farmer, said. It was a very difficult moment for me when I heard Nidal was killed. Nidal was a very quiet, simple and kind girl who I really loved for the past six months and I wanted her to be my life partner.
Asad al-Najjar, Ibrahim's brother-in-law, vented his anger over the loss of his sister and niece.
This is a catastrophe, al-Najjar said. Where is the UN Security Council, where are the rights groups and others who are concerned about the protection of civilians in the time of war? It is really the climax of atrocities! This is an unbearable situation where people can never feel safe inside their homes. How come such helpless women are struck by missiles, killed and wounded inside their home?
In the half-meter-wide crater left by the strike, Najah and Ibrahim's 12-year-old son, Ahmad, began collecting small pieces of shrapnel. I am collecting these small pieces for remembrance, the boy said before being overcome by emotion.
The Qdeih family were not the only to suffer casualties last week as the Israeli military bombed across the Gaza Strip. According to Adham Abu Silmia, spokesperson for the ambulance service in Gaza, the Israeli army targeted civilian homes and even medical centers such as the Hijazi clinic in northern Gaza.
Eighteen persons, including three children, two women and two elderly men have been killed either by air strikes or artillery fire, Abu Silmia explained. And 67 other persons have been wounded, including forty women, children and elderly and two ambulance crew members.
Abu Silmia added that four of the wounded, including an elderly farmer in northern Gaza, had limbs amputated due to the drone or artillery fire.
Israeli army spokesperson Arieh Shaliqar, asked to comment on the deaths of Najah and Nidal Qdeih in their home, said: Please let me emphasize that the Israeli army is not interested in fighting civilians or fighting people who are uninvolved or people who are regular citizens living in the Gaza Strip or in any other place. Our enemy is the Hamas terrorist organization, which keeps on sending rockets on the Israeli home front.
In the wake of last week's strikes, several Gaza-based armed factions, topped by the ruling Hamas party, declared a unilateral ceasefire in Gaza. Israel threatened to collectively punish Gaza in the event of additional rocket fire from Gaza.
Last Thursday, Israel stepped up attacks on the Gaza Strip after Hamas' military wing fired an anti-tank rocket on a school bus in southern Israel, critically wounding a 16-year-old boy and the bus driver. Hamas said the strike was in retaliation for Israel's 1 April extrajudicial killing of three Hamas members in Gaza.
The latest violence follows weeks of escalation of violence between Gaza and Israel, which Israeli analysts say has been fueled and instigated by Israel. http://fwd4.me/zqW
In Cairo, Arab League chief Amr Mousa signaled the possibility that he would request the United Nations consider imposing a no-fly zone over Gaza to prevent further Israeli air strikes.
Meanwhile, in Gaza, there will be one less wedding celebration this month. And during this reporter's time in al-Faraheen with the Qdeih family, the Israeli drones or unmanned aerial vehicles overhead signaled the end of the interview.
Let's leave the house right now; the drone is overhead and I think this is enough, Fathi Qdeih said.
Rami Almeghari is a journalist and university lecturer based in the Gaza Strip.
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29 oct 2012, 13:04 , Respect -
Maria 14 apr 2011
IOA banishes Palestinian detainee to Malaysia
Update: 6 including PA officer detained by Israel overnight
29 oct 2012, 13:04 , Respect -
Maria 15 apr 2011
Detainee's father dies without seeing son for 4 years
29 oct 2012, 13:04 , Respect -
Maria 16 apr 2011
Israeli warplanes strike Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli warplanes launched two airstrikes Saturday morning in the northern Gaza Strip. No injuries were reported.
Local sources said the shelling targeted two military bases of Hamas' armed wing the Al-Qassam Brigades in Ash-Shati refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, and the Zaytoun neighborhood of Gaza City, also in the north.
Witnesses said several houses near the military bases sustained damages and locals said they feared further attacks as warplanes and drones continued to hover over the besieged coastal enclave.
An Israeli military spokesman said forces struck "terror sites" in northern Gaza and identified a hit. He said the strikes were in response to rockets launched from the Gaza Strip into Ashdod on Friday.
Israel held Hamas solely responsible for terror emanating from the Gaza Strip, he added.
On Friday, Israeli military officials said the army had a list of targets to be hit in Gaza as a message that rockets from the Strip would "never go unpunished," the Hebrew-language newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported.
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IAF attacks 2 targets in Gaza; residents fear escalation
IDF aircraft strike two targets in northern Strip in response to firing of two Grad rockets at Ashdod just days ahead of Passover eve; residents fear fire from Gaza will be renewed over holiday. Meanwhile US approves funding for Iron Dome, Arrow programs.
Hours after two Grad rockets hit open spaces near Ashdod, IDF responded by attacking the Gaza Strip.
The IDF Spokesperson's Unit stated that Air Force aircraft attacked two targets in the northern Gaza Strip in the early hours of Saturday. Direct hits were identified in both attacks.
"The strike is a response to Gaza rocket fire at Ashdod yesterday. The IDF will not tolerate the fire towards Israel's southern towns and will retaliate against every attempt to harm civilians," it stated.
Earlier, residents of the south expressed concern over the renewed rocket fire from Gaza, saying it may ruin the upcoming Passover holiday.
"I'm certain there will be fire on Seder eve, just like the Palestinians fired rockets on the eve of the Sabbath," Dana, a resident of Ashdod, told Ynet.
Scene of Grad landing near Ashdod
Six days after an unofficial ceasefire was declared in Gaza, terrorists fired two Grad rockets at Ashdod at 5:10 pm Friday evening. The rockets exploded in open spaces on the city's outskirts, one of them falling within close proximity of a residential neighborhood. No injuries or damage were reported.
Ashdod's rocket alert was sounded, sending residents running towards the bomb shelters. "I lay on the ground with my hands over my head. I'm scared my friends and family will be hurt," said Tal, who is 11 and a half.
Despite the renewed fire, Ashdod Municipality has urged residents to remain calm. "We rely on the IDF to do its job, and we rely on Iron Dome to do its job as well," said Benny Vaknin, mayor of the city.
Head of Hof Ashkelon Regional Council, Yair Farjoun, said that "we will not allow our enemies to spoil our holiday spirit".
None of the Palestinian terror groups have claimed responsibility for the rocket fire. Hamas and the other organizations in the Strip have kept mum throughout Friday, and Palestinian news agencies did not give much attention to the incident.
IDF officials do not believe Hamas fore the rockets, and assume it was one of the smaller groups. The army did state, however, that the rockets were fired from a residential area.
Barak praises US funding
Another $205 million for Iron Dome
The army faces a difficult dilemma of whether to retaliate for the fire such a short time before the holiday, a move that would likely prompt an exchange of blows and more regional unrest.
"We will not tolerate any fire towards Israel," a military source told Ynet Friday. However, it did not appear likely that the IDF would retaliate so close to Passover eve.
"We will retain the right to respond and know how and when to make clear that this is unacceptable," the source said, adding that it made no difference if Hamas had fired the rockets or not. "Hamas is responsible," he reiterated.
Meanwhile the US approved its budget, which includes $205 million of funding for Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak commended the approval. "This will significantly bolster Israel's missile defense capabilities," he said.
The budget also includes funding for other Israeli defense programs Arrow 2 and 3 among them. US President Barack Obama is scheduled to authorize the budget in the next few hours.
Palestinian news agencies that covered the rocket fire stressed that they were not intercepted by Iron Dome. However the system has not yet been placed in Ashdod, and is not programmed to intercept rockets that fell in open spaces, as occurred on Friday.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4057418,00.html
Israeli warplanes blast targets in Gaza
GAZA, (PIC)-- Israeli warplanes raided two positions for the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, in western and eastern Gaza city at dawn Saturday, Palestinian security sources said.
The sources said that the first raid targeted a Qassam position in Zaitun suburb southeast of Gaza, adding that at least one missile was fired by the Israeli F-16 warplanes.
They said that the second raid targeted another position to the northwest of Gaza in the Shati refugee camp.
The sources noted that big damage was inflicted on the two evacuated positions and in nearby civilian homes.
Spokesman for the medical services Adham Abu Salmiya told the PIC that no casualties were suffered as a result of the air strikes.
This is the first time Israeli warplanes raid targets in Gaza after the undeclared calm with resistance factions almost a week ago, which followed three days of Israeli military escalation that claimed the lives of 19 Palestinians and the injury of around 70 others.
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29 oct 2012, 13:04 , Respect -
Maria 16 apr 2011
Israeli navy gunboats fire at Palestinian fishing boats
GAZA, (PIC)-- Israeli navy gunboats opened heavy machinegun fire at Palestinian fishing boats off the coast of Gaza city on Saturday evening, local sources reported.
They said that no casualties were suffered as a result of the shooting, which is repeated practiced by those gunboats.
Israeli warplanes blasted two targets for the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, in Gaza city at dawn Saturday for the first time since an undeclared, reciprocal calm was reached between Israeli army and Palestinian resistance in Gaza almost a week ago.
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29 oct 2012, 13:04 , Respect -
Maria 16 apr 2011
Israeli army tightens restrictions on Jordan Valley villagers
TUBAS (Ma'an) -- The Israeli army tightened restrictions on Palestinians in Al-Bequie'a in the northern Jordan Valley, locals said.
Residents of several settlements around Al-Bequie'a recently entered the area with maps and surveying equipment, villagers said.
Settlers have repeatedly attacked pipelines bringing water from Khirbet Keshda to farmland in the area, and dug up fields of vegetables on the land, locals added.
They said settlers were trying to force them from their land.
Israeli soldiers raided the area Friday and arrested several farmers, including Ziad Abu Khiezaran who said he was detained while he was irrigating his crops.
Local farmer Nasser Abed Ar-Razeq urged the Palestinian Authority to protect residents against attacks by settlers.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=379320
29 oct 2012, 13:04 , Respect -
Maria 16 apr 2011
Israeli TV shows Palestinian torture
Army arrests Hebron child after settlers attack home
IOF troops detain 845 Palestinians in three months including 105 children
29 oct 2012, 13:05 , Respect -
Maria 17 apr 2011
Israel Threatens to Destroy 150 Lebanese Villages
A Northern "Israeli" Command security source warned 150 Hizbullah field commanders of retaliation in case Hizbullah launches any missiles, after "Israel" claimed Hizbullah is leading activities in 150 villages in South Lebanon.
The warning stated that if any rocket was launched from any house or area in the said 150 southern villages, the "Israeli" army will then destroy every house or building from where the rockets are launched.
The Zionist security source added that the "Israeli" army is not responsible for any harm which might affect to the citizens of the Lebanese southern villages.
The same source affirmed that the situation in the area is fragile, and could explode any moment, adding that the "Israeli" enemy does not seeks another war with Hizbullah, but will not stay still before any missile threatening the Zionist population.
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Beit Ummar residents say town under siege
HEBRON (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces erected checkpoints around the town of Beit Ummar Sunday afternoon, and carried out several home invasions, delivering summons to appear for questioning to at least one resident, locals said.
Town activist Mohammad Ayyad Awwad told Ma'an that the measures came as part of an increase in restrictions and harassment against residents, and following the construction of a fence along the southern side of the village, restricting movement of residents and caging them into the town center.
Beit Ummar, north of Hebron in the southern West Bank, has been increasingly targeted by Israeli forces in the past weeks, Awwad said.
On Sunday, Awwad said several troops of Israeli soldiers entered the town, and broke into the homes of several residents, including former prisoner in Israel Yousef Ahmad Rashed Sabarneh, 23. The young man had been released only 25 days earlier following a five-year term.
The home of the town mayor was also entered, Awwad said, adding that Mayor Nasri Sabaraneh's 19-year-old son was handed a summons to appear before Israeli intelligence officials for unknown reasons.
The home of Jamil Mahmoud A'lqam was searched twice within the space of 30 minutes, Awwad added.
Searches lasted for hours, Awwad said, effectively putting the residents under a curfew as they feared to leave homes.
All those entering or exiting the town during the operation were subject to searches, and had their identity cards checked, he said.
An Israeli military spokeswoman looked into the report, and said the operation was "routine activity."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=379669
Gaza activists announce rights monitoring boat
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Activists in Gaza announced Sunday the upcoming launch of a rights monitoring boat for the Gaza shore, to be christened "Oliva," following the wish of slain Italian activist Vittorio Arrigoni, a statement said.
With the maiden voyage of the 8-meter skiff set for Wednesday, the group of activists said nationals from Spain, the United States, Italy and Belgium, will soon accompany Gazan fishermen within Palestinian waters, documenting violations of international law.
"The mission will carry on in his spirit," the group said of the project, in reference to Arrigoni, an Italian activist who was abducted and found hanged on Friday, apparently by a splinter group of Salafists in the Gaza Strip.
Activists will document instances of fire from Israeli warships paroling Gaza's Mediterranean shore, and enforcing a 3-mile fishing limit. Fishermen have in the past been injured by the fire, had boats confiscated and faced periods of detention for allegedly deviating from the unilaterally-imposed limit.
Organizers said there was tremendous local support for the initiative, including from the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, the Popular Struggle Coordination Committees, the Union of Agriculture Committees and Fishing and Marine Sports Association.
http://maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=379655
29 oct 2012, 13:10 , Respect -
Maria 17 apr 2011
Update: Israeli tanks open fire in northern Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Several Israeli army tanks entered northern Gaza on Sunday and opened fire, witnesses said.
No injuries were reported, but residents said fields sustained heavy damage from the tanks' caterpillar tread, which ripped through crops.
Earlier Sunday, Israeli warships opened fire on fishermen off the coast of Gaza.
An Israeli military spokesperson did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=379530
Israeli tanks invade northern Gaza Strip
Gaza Strip, (Pal Telegraph)- A number of Israeli tanks and three bulldozers invaded on Sunday the east of Beit Hanoun town in the northern Gaza Strip destroying agricultural lands and terrifying many citizens.
Local sources said that Israeli military forces advanced 150 meters inside the northern borders and opened heavy fire at farmers during their work. No injuries were reported.
Israeli navy opened fire today at Palestinian fishing boats near Gaza shore. Palestinian fishermen reportedly were forced to leave the sea in order not to be hurt by Israeli fire.
Israeli occupation forces along the borders regularly attack Palestinian farmers and fishermen despite ceasefire declaring by Palestinian factions in Gaza Strip.
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29 oct 2012, 13:10 , Respect -
Maria 17 apr 2011
Injured Palestinian Worker Arrested When Trying to Raise Complaint Against Soldiers Who used Dogs to Attack Him
Report: More than 130 prison raids in 2010
29 oct 2012, 13:10 , Respect -
Maria 18 apr 2011
Forensic reports show white phosphorus use in Gaza attacks
GAZA, (PIC)-- Ihab Kahil, who was appointed director of the Gaza Ministry of Justice forensic medicine department, said the bodies retrieved in Israel's recent attack on the Gaza Strip have been examined to identify the weapons used in the onslaught.
We are preparing appropriate medical reports, because the crimes committed by Israel should not blur the realities. Everyone must know what crimes Israel has committed, Kahil said in a press statement on Monday.
He said the forensics department has been in constant contact with the Gaza war crimes documentation committee and human rights organizations with the ultimate goal of helping take Israel to trial for war crimes against the unarmed Palestinians.
The department has been working in cooperation with the documentation committee to bring many massacres to light, especially those where internationally banned weapons were used. Several photographs and other pieces of evidence have been compiled and will be submitted in reports to human rights organizations, courts and other official channels, Kahil said.
He said that during the recent Israeli escalation, forensic science crews have been working round the colock because there is only one forensic medicine center in the Gaza Strip. He went on to describe some of the evidence that has been passed on to the forensics team as chilling, as the body parts of some children have been torn and charred, while some of the bodies were mutilated and decapitated beyond recognition.
During examinations, evidence has been found that Israel used white phosphorus and internationally banned weapons, Kahil concluded.
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29 oct 2012, 13:10 , Respect -
Maria 18 apr 2011
MK Ben-Ari: Ready to Slaughter the Killers Live
29 oct 2012, 13:10 , Respect -
Maria 19 apr 2011
Army Occupies Several Homes In Hebron, Uses Them As Monitoring Towers
Palestinian sources in the southern West Bank city of Hebron reported Tuesday morning that Israeli soldiers broke into and occupied a number of homes and used them as monitoring towers.
The homes in question are located near settler-only roads leading to illegal Israeli settlements.
The sources stated that soldiers occupied the home of Issa Al Froukh, located near Beit Einoun-Sair Junction, overlooking settlement road number 60. The soldiers placed their gear on top of the home and prevented the family from moving freely in their own property.
Soldiers also broke into the home of Omar Shabana, at the entrance of Bani Neim town, also overlooking a settlement road, and used its rooftop as a monitoring tower.
The home is close to the site were Palestinian gunmen killed four settlers nine months ago.
Furthermore, troops occupied rooftops of several homes near the Keryat Arba' illegal settlement, in Hebron, and restricted the movement of the residents.
The army stated that the measure was conducted in order to provide security for the settlers during the Jewish Pesach feast.
It is worth mentioning that the West Bank was placed under a ten-day siege starting Monday, while the Ibrahimi mosque in Hebron will be closed to Muslim worshipers on Tuesday and Wednesday.
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29 oct 2012, 13:10 , Respect -
Maria 19 apr 2011
Hebron Settler Leader: ‘Burn Awarta to Ground, Turn it to Ash’
29 oct 2012, 13:11 , Respect -
Maria 20 apr 2011
IOF soldiers, settlers storm WB cities, villages
QALQILIA, (PIC)-- Israeli occupation forces (IOF) stormed the city of Qalqilia on Wednesday, detained citizens, and questioned them before handing six of them summonses to the intelligence headquarters.
Local sources said that IOF troops in four army vehicles entered the city in the company of an intelligence officer ad picked a number of young men at random and questioned them.
IOF soldiers arrested a Palestinian youth in Bardala village, east of Tubas city, at a roadblock on its entrance on Wednesday. They later burst into the village and stole the car of a 55-year-old Palestinian man before leaving the village.
Similar roadblocks were installed east and west of Jenin city but no arrests were reported.
The soldiers in Awarta village installed electricity poles east of the village, its municipal council chairman Qaid Awad said in a radio statement.
He added that the electricity poles would be used to supply power to a number of settlers' caravans in addition to an army base to be pitched on 1000 dunums of village lands that were earlier confiscated. Awad warned that the IOA was planning to confiscate 4000 more dunums of the village land.
Meanwhile, eyewitnesses in Burin village, south of Nablus, said that dozens of Jewish settlers entered the village in buses on Wednesday morning.
Locals warned of possible attacks after the settlers on Tuesday assaulted and wounded a farmer. The head of the municipal council in the village said that the settlers were planning to set up a settlement outpost south of Nablus near the village.
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