- 15 dec 2008
Jihad Ahmed Ameen Nawahda, 21
Israeli forces kill Palestinian fighter near Jenin; Jihad vows revenge
Bethlehem - Ma'an - Islamic Jihad vowed on Tuesday to strike back at Israel for the killing of one of its fighters on Monday.
Israeli forces assassinated a leader in the armed wing of Islamic Jihad during a raid near the West Bank city of Jenin late on Monday.
In a statement Islamic Jihad said it would respond to the killing "at the proper time."
An Islamic Jihad source told Ma'an that Israeli troops surrounded the home of 23-year-old Jihad Nawahda, in the town of Al-Yamoun before seizing him from the house and executing him in a field.
The source said Nawahda is a leader of Islamic Jihad's armed wing, the Al-Quds Brigades in the northern West Bank, and has been "wanted" by the Israeli government for years.
Palestinian security sources offered a different account of the killing. They said Nawahda was leaving an internet café when Israeli troops approached him in the street, asking him to surrender. According to the security sources, Nawahda refused and the Israeli soldiers then shot him dead.
Witnesses told Ma'an that Nawahda was walking near the Al-Yamoun municipality building when he was approached by undercover Israeli officers travelling in a white Mercedes Benz. Six men jumped from the car and opened fire, injuring Nawahda, who collapsed but was still alive. The undercover Israeli troops then pulled Nawahda inside the car, killed him, and threw him from the vehicle.
In a statement vowing revenge for the killing, Islamic Jihad called the assassination a "crime," and criticized Monday's release of 227 Palestinian prisoners as an attempt to cover up Israel's overall oppression of the Palestinians.
The Al-Aqsa Brigades, the armed wing of Fatah, also threatened to respond to the killing.
Abu Mahmoud, a leader in an armed group called the Yasser Arafat Brigades said, "The response to this assassination will be harsh."
On Tuesday morning Palestinian fighters fired four homemade rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel. The projectiles landed in the Eshkol area, east of Gaza, causing no casualties.
The Al-Quds Brigades claimed responsibility for the rockets, which they said were in response to the assassination.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=207008
28 apr 2012, 13:40 , Respect -
Maria 17 dec 2008
Weekly report 2 Palestinians, including a civilian were killed by IOF in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
10 Palestinian civilians were wounded by the IOF gunfire and 3 others by Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
4 activists of the Palestinian resistance and a woman were wounded by IOF in the Gaza Strip.
28 apr 2012, 13:40 , Respect -
Maria 17 dec 2008
Barak: "Calm in Gaza will be met with calm"
28 apr 2012, 13:41 , Respect -
Maria 17 dec 2008
Salah Abu Oqal, 53
One dead after night of Israeli air, ground attacks on Gaza
Gaza - Ma'an - A 53-year-old Palestinian man was killed and three others injured by an Israeli artillery attack on a house in the northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday night.
The shelling was the only fatality in a night of Israeli attacks in Gaza that included at least three separate airstrikes less than 24 hours before a six-month-old ceasefire is due to expire.
Palestinian fighters continued to fire homemade projectiles into Israel throughout the evening. By the count of one Israeli newspaper more than 40 homemade rockets have been fired into Israel since Tuesday.
By Wednesday evening, three Israelis had suffered minor shrapnel injuries and nine were treated for shock, according to Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz.
One of Wednesday night's Israeli military strikes saw a ground-to-ground missile launched at the home of Salah Abu Owal in Tal Az-Za'atar in the northern Gaza Strip.
Locals identified the slain man as 53-year-old Salah Abu Oqal, who witnesses say was "cut into pieces" following a direct hit by the Israeli missile.
Witnesses also claimed that Oqal was not affiliated with any armed group, although the Israeli military's press office reported the assault was in response to Palestinian rocket attacks.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health's Director of Ambulance and Emergency Services Dr Mu'awiyah Hassanein said the three injured men were taken to Abu Yousef An-Najjar Hospital with moderate wounds. He identified one of the men as the son of Oqal, the home's owner.
The missile damaged Oqal's home in addition to several other buildings in the area.
Early on Thursday morning, Israeli F16 fighter jets fired missiles at a car in the Ma'en area in the city of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. The car belonged to Iyad Jabbour. No one was injured.
Later, Israeli warplanes struck a car parked next to the Hussein Abu An-Nasser house in Jabalia Refugee Camp in northern Gaza, causing no injuries.
Also on Wednesday evening, witnesses said Israeli helicopters fired at least two missiles at farmland in the town of Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza. An Israeli military spokesperson confirmed an airstrike in the area.
Islamic Jihad's Al-Quds Brigades have claimed responsibility for the bulk of the projectile attacks on Israeli towns. The group said it was responding to Israel's assassination of an Islamic Jihad fighter in the West Bank city of Jenin on the previous day.
At least two Palestinian armed groups claimed to have fired more projectiles in response to Wednesday night's Israeli assaults.
The Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), claimed to have launched three projectiles at the western Negev desert and a landing strip, east of the Gaza Strip town of Juhr Ad-Dik, on Wednesday at midnight.
The Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades said this attack was in response to Israel's deadly shelling earlier in northern Gaza.
The Al-Buraq Army, a branch of the Al-Aqsa Brigades, claimed to have fired two projectiles at the Israeli towns of Sderot and Ashkelon on Thursday at dawn.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=207061 http://fwd4.me/0yM6 28 apr 2012, 13:41 , Respect -
Maria 18 dec 2008
Reports: Israeli military preparing to assassinate Gaza leaders
PRC: Israel ended the truce long before projectiles were fired
28 apr 2012, 13:41 , Respect -
Maria 19 dec 2008
Blair hints support for Israeli assassination policy in Gaza during Haaretz
28 apr 2012, 13:41 , Respect -
Maria 20 dec 2008
Ali Hijazi, 25
Muhammad Abu Shammalah
Israeli artillary kills one and injures five including two children; Brigades fire 10 projectiles
Gaza - Ma'an - One Palestinian was killed and five injured including two children Saturday as Israeli artillery bombarded the northern Gaza Strip towns of Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun. Palestinian factions responded by firing several projectiles at Israeli targets.
Sunday started with two ground-to-ground missiles fired by the Israeli army at a group of Palestinian fighters killing 25-year-old Ali Hijazi and injuring two others who have not been identified.
Initial reports said Hijazi was with a group of civilians, though later information confirmed the three were fighters affiliated with Fatah's Al-Aqsa Brigades.
A third Israeli missile was fired at the same area, causing no casualties.
Responding to the Israeli attacks Brigades affiliated with Hamas and Islamic Jihad, Al-Qassam and Al-Quds, fired projectiles on a number of Israeli towns Saturday afternoon.
The Al-Qassam brigades fired six homemade shells on two Israeli military posts in Sufa and the military intelligence center east of Rafah city. The Al-Quds brigades fired one homemade projectile on Sderot north east of Gaza.
The Brigades affirmed their intention to continue shelling Israeli areas in response to the attacks on Gaza.
As Brigades launched projectiles Palestinian medical sources at Kamal Udwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya received the body of Hijazi, who they described as arriving at the hosptial "torn to pieces." The injured fighters were reported to have been treated for moderate to slight wounds.
Following the attacks witnesses noted Israeli reconnaissance planes flying over the northern Gaza Strip, while Israeli forces moved, unusually, on the ground; perhaps in preparation for an incursion in the area.
Israeli tanks later fired shells on the northern Gaza Strip, injuring two children near the Erez Industrial Zone.
The seven and three-year-old were moderately injured and taken to Kamal Adwan Hospital for treatment, said Head of Emergency department Mu'weiyah Hasaneen.
Then Saturday evening the Al-Aqsa Brigades, affiliated with Fatah, claimed three homemade projectiles that landed near Ashkelon.
A Brigades statement said the act was in response to "Israeli escalation and attacks on Gaza," and specifically for the death of one Al-Aqsa Brigadesman and the injuring of three others Saturday morning.
Due to the apparent Israeli armed forces' buildup, a spokesperson for Islamic Jihad's Al-Quds Brigades called on Palestinian factions to watch for Israeli warplanes flying overhead.
"We will respond to Israeli shelling, and we call on activists to stay alert," the spokesperson, Abu Ahmad said.
With regard to forming of a cooperative operation center, he said, "We would like to form a joint operation room, but that is not currently possible due to disagreement between factions."
Meanwhile, a Palestinian activist from the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, Muhammad Abu Shammalah, succumbed to wounds sustained five years ago.
According to Palestinian medical sources, Abu Shammalah was injured five years ago in an Israeli airstrike on the central Gaza Strip. He was paralyzed in the attack, and on Saturday died of complications from his injuries.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=207120
Palestinian activist from the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, Muhammad Abu Shammalah, succumbed to wounds sustained five years ago. According to Palestinian medical sources, Abu Shammalah was injured five years ago in an Israeli airstrike on the central Gaza Strip. He was paralyzed in the attack, and on Saturday died of complications from his injuries.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=207120 28 apr 2012, 13:41 , Respect -
Maria 20 dec 2008
UN secretary-general calls for end to rocket attacks against Israel
28 apr 2012, 13:41 , Respect -
Maria 21 dec 2008
Israel set to carry out targeted assassinations against Gaza faction leaders
Israeli security sources indicated a confrontation with Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip is imminent and that there is little chance of a détente after days of fire from both sides.
According to Radio Israel the army will carry out ground and air attacks on the Gaza Strip Sunday, they will aim weapons at military and factional leaders carrying through with earlier threats of targeted assassinations. The siege will continue.
In the past targeted assassinations have resulted in tens of civilian deaths, since the civilian centers in the Gaza Strip are densely populated and high-ranking officials are not likely to be in the field launching projectiles.
The Israeli sources explained that the military would "not necessarily" be conducting widespread ground invasions, indicating targeted air attacks.
The Israeli cabinet is scheduled to hold its weekly session Sunday, where the situation will be reviewed. On Saturday Israeli shells killed one fighter and injured three others from the Fatah's Al-Aqsa Brigades, and a later artillery strike injured a three and seven year old near Beit Hanoun. Gaza factions responded to the day's violence with ten homemade projectile launches at Israeli targets, which resulted in no damage or injuries.
Israel reported the launch of 15 projectiles, but confirmed there were no damages or injuries.
Israeli ministers Haim Ramon and Eli Yishai have demanded that Israel change its policy towards the launch of Palestinian projectiles, and are expected to demand extra judicial executions be carried out.
Israeli minister advises Hamas leaders to remain indoors during daylight hours
Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh and Mahmoud Zahhar should avoid moving freely during the day, Israeli Minister of Transportation Shaul Mofaz told Israeli Army Radio Sunday afternoon.
Mofaz's comments seem to affirm the new Israeli position on military retaliations for Palestinian projectile launches from the Gaza Strip. To date Israeli fire has targeted Gazan resistance fighters usually at projectile launch areas, or the launch pads themselves.
Mofaz expressed disapproval over the way Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has been responding to the projectile launches from Gaza, wondering what more Barak wanted before he escalated the Israeli response. He described the current response as one of 'merely opening and closing crossings.'
"There is only one way to respond to the escalation by Hamas," Mofaz added.
He also expressed incredulity over the fact that it is a "terrorist" organization that is determining the fate of the ceasefire.
28 apr 2012, 13:41 , Respect -
Maria 22 dec 2008
Gasser Gabr Qudaih
28 apr 2012, 13:41 , Respect -
Maria 24 dec 2008
Islam Fathi JadallahMohammad AkramAhmed Afif Abu Maizh
28 apr 2012, 13:41 , Respect -
Maria 24 dec 2008
Raed Walid MasriMohammed Ibrahim al-HalabiJumah Ismail Muhammad Mousa 65
Jumah Elderly Palestinian prisoner dies in Israeli jail
Bethlehem - Ma'an - A 65-year-old Palestinian died in Israeli custody Tuesday after collapsing at the Nitzan prison in Ramla near Jerusalem.
Jum'ah Isma'il Muhammad Mousa, from Jerusalem, was taken to an Israeli prison hospital for treatment following his collapse but was later pronounced dead.
Mousa was sentenced to life in prison in 1993, according to the Palestinian Prisoners' Society in Bethlehem he suffered from heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. He was married and left behind a widow and eight children.
Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) member Issa Qaraqi, in charge of the prisoners committee in the PLC, said he held Israel accountable for the death describing it as a "war crime." He called for the formation of an international committee to investigate the incident along with several other cases of prisoner deaths due to improper medical treatment.
Qaraqi' told Ma'an that Jum'a Mousa is the second Palestinian prisoner who died in Israel's custody in 2008 due to medical negligence.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=207210 28 apr 2012, 13:41 , Respect -
Maria 24 dec 2008
Yahya Zakaria Shaer
Yahia Al Shaer
Israeli cabinet approves military operation in Gaza; airstrike kills one and injures three
Bethlehem - Ma'an - The Israeli cabinet approved a major military operation against the Gaza Strip, Israeli media reported Wednesday evening.
The website of the Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz quoted an Israeli official as saying, "Our response will be substantial and painful to Hamas."
Before the military measures were announced, Israeli warplanes targeted a group of Palestinian activists in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, killing Hamas militant Yahya Ash-Sha'ir, in his twenties, and injuring three others.
A fourth Palestinian was injured, photojournalist Mustafa Bakir, as he documented the shelling in Rafah. Bakir works for the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa satellite TV station.
Responding to the day's Israeli violence, Hamas' military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, threatened to respond to any further Israeli assault against the Gaza Strip. "In case of any aggression, the volcano will erupt," the Brigades said.
One Israeli official, former Israeli Defense Minister Efraim Sneh, suggested an Israeli operation extend beyond Gaza and target Hamas leaders in Damascus if military factions continue to send projectiles into Israel.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=207218
Israeli strike kills Hamas member
An Israeli air strike on the southern Gaza Strip has killed a member of the Islamist group Hamas, hours after rockets hit Israeli territory.
At least two other Palestinians were wounded in the attack which, Israel's military said, was aimed at Hamas rocket and mortar crews.
More than 50 rockets have been fired from the Gaza Strip since Hamas ended a six-month ceasefire last week.
Israel's defence chief said Hamas was to blame and would "pay a big price".
"We will not allow this situation to last," Defence Minister Ehud Barak said on Israeli television on Wednesday night.
No-one was hurt in the rocket and mortar bombardment.
Hamas said it had been retaliating for the killing of three of its men by Israeli forces on Tuesday.
In a statement, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the violence and appealed for calm and "an urgent easing of humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip".
Conflicting accounts
Israel said two crossings in Gaza that were due to re-open on Wednesday would remain closed because of the attacks.
According to the Israelis, 30 rockets and 30 mortars have been fired since Tuesday night alone.
One landed close to a children's playground but did not result in injuries.
However there are reports of injuries in Gaza, where some of the rockets fell short of their target.
There are also conflicting accounts over whether the three men who died last night were shot by the Israeli army or were killed when a bomb they were planting blew up.
Hamas blamed Israel for the end of the ceasefire on Friday, saying it had not respected its terms, including the lifting of the blockade under which little more than humanitarian aid has been allowed in.
The Israeli government said it had begun a staged easing of the blockade, but this was halted when Hamas failed to fulfil agreed conditions, including the ending of all rocket fire and halting weapons smuggling.
Earlier, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said on a visit to Cairo that Egypt would press for the truce to be renewed.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7798685.stm 28 apr 2012, 13:41 , Respect -
Maria 26 dec 2008
Hamza Shahin 22
Hamza:Medical sources announced on Friday the death of photojournalist 'Hamza Shahin,' which is a cameraman for local Shihab told in the Gaza Strip died of his wounds he sustained two weeks ago by the Zionist raid on northern Gaza Strip.
28 apr 2012, 13:42 , Respect -
Maria 26 dec 2008
Army preparing for combined ground, air operation in Gaza