1 jan 2011
Center: Escalation in Israeli violations in Jerusalem
JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli violations of human rights in Jerusalem escalated in December, particularly in the Silwan neighborhood, according to a study by a community center.
Throughout the month, 13 Palestinians were detained in Silwan including nine minors, according to a report released Saturday by the Wadi Hilwa Information Center.
Six of the minors were detained from their homes, and forces detained three from the streets. Four of the children told the center they were beaten and humiliated by Israeli interrogators and one said he was forced to sign papers in Hebrew without knowing their content.
Further, five Palestinian homes were demolished in Sur Bahir and Silwan and six families received demolition orders in Silwan and Ath-Thuri, the report said.
Israeli municipal council workers demolished two homes in Silwan and one in Sur Bahir. In the latter neighborhood, two families were forced to demolish their own homes.
Silwan witnessed several confrontations between local youths and Israeli forces, police officers and settlers in December. The center said at least eight Palestinians were shot and injured by rubber-coated steel bullets and high-velocity tear-gas canisters, which Israeli forces say are riot dispersal mechanisms.
Among those injured were a cameraman and a five-year-old girl who was run over by an Israeli-plated car in Wadi Hilwa.
According to the report, clashes erupted after Israeli authorities announced a plan to evict 26 Palestinian families from their homes in Silwan. Israeli forces attempted to evict the Abu Nab family, resulting in confrontations around Bat Al-Hawa.
A visit by members of the extremist Israeli National party to Jonathan Home in Silwan sparked two days of clashes, the center said.
Meanwhile, Silwan grassroots organizer and Fatah official Adnan Gheith was advised by his party to withdraw an appeal to the Israeli Supreme Court and will be deported from Jerusalem for four months starting January 12.
According to activist group the Popular Struggle Organizing Committee, Gheith's lawyer was informed that the expulsion was intended to curb the official's political activity, "since the security apparatus considers him to be a central instigator of unrest in Silwan," a statement said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=347186 15 jan 2012, 15:39 , Respect
Israeli forces arrest 2 children in Jerusalem
JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces on Sunday detained two Palestinian children in Jerusalem's Old City, witnesses said.
Khaled Dweik, 6, and his 7-year-old cousin Mohammad Suheil were playing hopscotch in the Bab Al-A'mud area. They were throwing stones as part of the game and accidentally hit an Israeli soldier who then arrested them, locals said.
http://bit.ly/e8cXZF
8 jan 2011
Confrontations between Silwan residents and Israeli forces
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- Violent confrontations were reported in Batn Al-Hawa suburb in Silwan town in occupied Jerusalem on Friday after an Israeli policeman harassed a Palestinian woman.
Locals said that Israeli forces encircled the entire town and fired tear gas and live bullets indiscriminately at Palestinian homes, as inhabitants said they could not evacuate victims of the onslaught due to the intensified presence of the soldiers who blocked medics from reaching the casualties.
The sources noted that the Israeli forces arrested Zuhair Rajabi, after surrounding his house, along with his brothers in addition to other inhabitants.
The Israeli army sent choppers after failure to contain the inhabitant's fury as the confrontations expanded to other areas in the town.
Senior police officers, including the commander of the Jerusalem police, arrived to the scene to supervise the storming of Batn Al-Hawa as policemen used dogs to terrorize the inhabitants while preventing medical and media crews from accessing the town.
http://bit.ly/fKnhxA 15 jan 2012, 15:40 , Respect
Maria 9 jan 2011
Netanyahu warned against using private guards at East Jerusalem settler compound
Housing Minister Atias asked to transfer security in the Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem to the Israel Police following fatal shooting of a Silwan resident by a privately employed guard.
Despite warnings from security authorities and Housing Minister Ariel Atias that the use of private security guards in settler compounds in East Jerusalem could have fatal consequences, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has avoided holding discussions on the matter.
Six moths prior to the fatal shooting of a Silwan resident by a privately employed security guard, which stirred demonstrations in East Jerusalem, the officer charged with security at the Housing Ministry, Yitzhak Lehrer, wrote to Atias that "it is my duty to once more warn that the unit of private guards is not prepared for dealing with wide-scale disturbances which include weapons and fire bombs. There are gaps which may result in the breakdown of the system and to the endangering of human lives in the immediate future."
In the letter, a copy of which was relayed by Atias to Netanyahu, Lehrer "wishes, before it is too late, to warn: we must not ignore the seriousness of the incidents; human lives are at risk in a complicated and sensitive setting. Action must be taken before we wake up too late, after a resident or a security guard pay with their lives, or small-scale incidents slip into general rioting, where the extent of the damage will be severe."
Following the demonstrations that broke out following the killing of Silwan resident Samir Sarhan, 32, by a security guard of the Housing Ministry in September, MK Haim Oron (Meretz ) asked Atias to deal with the issue.
"In view of the urgency and sensitivity of the issue, I asked the prime minister to head an emergency meeting in order to evaluate the format for security in East Jerusalem," Atias wrote to Oron.
The housing minister says that since March 2010, some 15 security guards were removed from their position because they were found to be unsuitable to work in the unit. He said that in May alone there were 246 incidents registered by the security guards in their log book, including three in which they had to use firearms because they considered their lives to be in danger.
Atias wrote to Netanyahu that "the writing is spread on the wall and I can do little else but bring it before you over and over."
Ofer Rosenman, who heads Ilit Security, the company which trains the guards for the Housing Ministry, told Haaretz that following the incident "in Silwan there is a vacuum of governance," and claimed that his request for riot dispersal equipment was turned down.
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel asked Atias, after the September incident, to transfer security authority in the Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem to the Israel Police. A similar recommendation had been made in 2006, by a public committee headed by Major General (res. ) Uri Orr, which the government accepted, but in January 2007 the Olmert government went back on its decision.
In 2010, the Housing Ministry has NIS 54 million in its budget earmarked for private security guards in East Jerusalem.
The Prime Minister's Bureau had no response to this report.
http://bit.ly/emON8L13 jan 2011
IOA indicts two Silwan children for throwing stones
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- The Israeli prosecution presented an indictment list against two Palestinian children from Silwan town, south of the Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem, on Wednesday night.
The indictment included the charge of throwing stones at Israeli police.
The Magistrate court west of occupied Jerusalem decided to impose house arrest on both children until the case concludes.
The Wadi Halawa media center said in a press release on Thursday that both children Mahmoud Al-Banna and Omar Siyam were held under house arrest for more than a year.
It added that the minors threw stones in reaction to a Jewish settler's shooting at Palestinians, noting that the settler was immediately released.
http://bit.ly/hMTSL7 15 jan 2012, 15:41 , Respect
Maria 13 jan 2011
Settlers want more homes on Jerusalem hotel site
JERUSALEM (AFP) -- Jewish settlers are to expand a housing scheme being built on the site of an historic east Jerusalem hotel which was razed by Israel sparking global anger, a city official said on Thursday.
Councillor Elisha Peleg, of the right-wing Likud party, told AFP developers had filed a planning application for 50 housing units, in addition to the 20 already approved for construction on the site of the Shepherd Hotel.
The Haaretz newspaper, which first reported the development, said the plan was likely be delayed for a long time due to the sensitivity of the site. But Peleg said he was sure the scheme would be approved as it conformed with existing plans for the area.
On Sunday, bulldozers began demolishing the hotel, in occupied east Jerusalem, to make way for the construction of 20 luxury apartments for Jewish settlers, drawing sharp protests from Palestinian, US and EU officials as well as UN chief Ban Ki-moon.
Egypt and Jordan, the only two Arab states that have signed peace treaties with Israel, also warned that the demolition could fuel unrest in the Palestinian territories.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded with a statement that the project was undertaken "by private individuals in accordance with Israeli law."
"The Israeli government was not involved," he added.
Israel captured east Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed it in a move the rest of the world never recognized. Israel considers the whole of Jerusalem to be its "eternal and indivisible" capital.
The Palestinians regard east Jerusalem as the capital of their promised state and fiercely oppose any attempts to extend Israeli control over it.
A growing number of hardline Israeli settlers have been moving into the heart of densely populated Palestinian neighbourhoods in east Jerusalem, sparking clashes with local residents.
One flashpoint is in the rundown Silwan district, just outside the Old City walls, where settlers occupy an illegally built seven-story building despite multiple court rulings ordering its evacuation.
On Thursday, press reports said Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein had once again written to Jerusalem's right-wing mayor, Nir Barkat, insisting he obey previous instructions to evict the Silwan settlers and close off the building, known as Beit Yonatan.
"Carrying out the warrant to evacuate and seal Beit Yonatan is an obligation that was determined by the court, which repeated it in a considerable amount of rulings," news website Ynet quoted the letter as saying.
"Weinstein emphasised in his letter that carrying out the order ... is not subject to the mayor's discretion," public radio reported.
The attorney general wrote a similar letter to Barkat in November, demanding that he honor a 2007 eviction order.
Barkat says he is redrafting his master plan for the area and officials have said action is being suspended pending its final approval.
He has baulked at evacuating Beit Yonatan while under pressure to freeze demolition orders on some 200 Palestinian homes built without permits in the same neighborhood.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=350953
- 16 jan 2011
Palestinians clash with Israeli police CCTV News
(0:38) Palestinians clash with Israeli police CCTV News
Palestinians have clashed with Israeli police in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan.
The scuffles took place near a seven-story building, that houses seven Jewish families and a religious learning center.
The occupants have yet to be evicted, despite a court order. Palestinian protesters, hurled stones at Israeli police, who fired back with tear gas and stun grenades.
There were no reports of injuries among the protestors. About 50 thousand Palestinians and 70 Jewish families, live in Silwan where tensions remain high in the neighborhood. 15 jan 2012, 15:42 , Respect -
Maria 17 jan 2011
Silwan clashes erupt after police raid home; two minors arrested
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- Violent clashes erupted Sunday night in the East Jerusalem Silwan district after Israeli police raided a home there.
The Batn al-Hawa residence is part of an area frequently targeted by Jewish settler property claims.
Meanwhile, the Israelis were responsible for many provocative steps this week in East Jerusalem, the Gilo district in particular.
Police, accompanied by soldiers raided the home of Yahya al-silwadi to inspect new additions.
Violent clashes immediately broke out when family members confronted the armed force.
The army fired a barrage of gas and stun grenades at locals who rushed to the scene of incident, eyewitnesses said.
Two minors were arrested on accusations of throwing fire bombs and stones. They will be held until their Tuesday trial before the Israeli Magistrate Court.
The house falls in a 40-dunum section of Batn al-Hawa settlement funds claim as Jewish property. Settlers have made claims the property was owned by Jews who migrated to Israel from Yemen in the early nineteenth century.
The same night, Israeli soldiers stripped a Jerusalem man of his identification card while he was crossing a military checkpoint near the Gilo settlement, located between Jerusalem and Bethelehem.
The troops claimed Jamal Buheidar, a resident of Beit Hanina, lost his Jerusalem residence and must find another place to live.
On Friday, Jerusalem's planning committee discussed approving the construction of the largest beyond the Green Line contruction project to date.
Gaza's Jerusalem committee, which operates under the religious affairs ministry, warned the move was part of a systematic and programmed policy to Judaize and erase the historic civilization of the holy city.
http://bit.ly/ie6GCm
Tourism ministry condemns building of museum over leveled Jerusalem homes
GAZA, (PIC)-- The Gaza ministry of tourism and antiquities condemned a recently-launched Israeli project to erect a Jewish museum in Jerusalem, calling the project a new stage in the Judiazation of Jerusalem.
Israel plans to build the museum over homes it leveled in the city's largely Arab Silwan district.
Minister of tourism and antiquities Mohammed al-Agha said the Israelis are seeking to erase Jerusalem's Islamic history and claim a false Jewish history.
The Israelis stole thousands of artifacts after its 1967 occupation of the rest of Palestine, Agha said, quoting the then Israeli Prime Minister Moshe Dayan who was well known for stealing Palestinian artifacts as saying: "That I see a Palestinian pilot is easier to me than seeing a Palestinian Archaeologist."
The Israelis have recently begun a project to build a hotel in the occupied city of Yaffa on the ruins of the Islamic Qishla cemetery, which dates back to the Mamluk era.
Earlier this week, Israel eased access to the "little Western Wall" located in the Islamic Old city of Jerusalem near one of the Aqsa Mosque's gates. The site is part of the Aqsa Mosque.
http://bit.ly/fKqaBj 15 jan 2012, 15:42 , Respect -
Maria 18 jan 2011
Night clashes in Silwan, two teens detained in Al-Khalil
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- Israeli occupation forces (IOF) violently quelled young men in Silwan town in occupied Jerusalem on Monday night who were protesting the storming of their town by an IOF patrol, witnesses reported.
They said that a patrol for the border police broke into the Bustan suburb near the sit-in tent and was met with stone throwers.
The soldiers fired teargas bombs and stun grenades at the demonstrators in the confrontations that expanded to include Batn Al-Hawa and Ein Al-Laouzi neighborhoods.
The Silwan town is a constant hotbed of tension in occupied Jerusalem as it is targeted by concentrated Judaization efforts by the Israeli occupation authority.
In the West Bank, the IOF troops rounded up two teenagers in two of Al-Khalil villages overnight Monday, the Hebrew radio reported on Tuesday.
Local sources said that Motez Sabarne, 17, and Jihad Bahar, 17, were apprehended in Sourif and Dhaheria villages.
http://bit.ly/fXlVj7 15 jan 2012, 15:44 , Respect -
Maria 19 jan 2011
Dozens Of Palestinians Injured in East Jerusalem Clashes
Medical sources reported on Wednesday at night that dozens of Palestinian residents were injured in clashes that took place in Silwan neighborhood, Ras Al Amoud, and the Shu'fat Refugee camp in occupied East Jerusalem.
The sources stated that 13 residents, including 4 pregnant women, were wounded in Shu'fat and were moved to a local medical center. Most of the injuries resulted from inhaling gas fired by the army, and rubber-coated bullets.
an Israeli officer was mildly injured during clashes that took place near the Shu'fat refugee camp, north of Jerusalem.
An Israeli police spokeswoman stated that a Border-Guard Policeman was wounded in his face by a stone hurled by a Palestinian youth after a number of masked Palestinians attacked the military roadblock installed at the entrance of the camp.
The Police closed all of the entrances of the camp while dozens of policemen was extensively deployed in its center.
The Wadi Hilwa Information Center reported that soldiers broke into a number of homes and violently searched them, and that soldiers prevented medics from entering certain areas to provide first aid to wounded residents.
The Center said that soldiers also prevented an ambulance from entering the scene of the clashes in Silwan to provide first aid and evacuate the wounded.
Eight of the wounded are children, one of them was hit by a rubber-coated bullet fired by the police, and seven suffocated after inhaling gas fired at them.
The clashes in Silwan extended to several neighborhoods and the police used rounds of live ammunition, gas bombs and rubber-coated bullets against local protestors.
A police vehicles was reportedly torched by Molotov cocktails hurled by a number of protestors in Silwan; Israel did not report any injuries among the police force.
Clashes were also reported in Ras Al Amoud neighborhood in East Jerusalem, and the police also fired gas bombs and rubber-coated bullets; no injuries were reported.
The clashes later extended to reach Ein Silwan area and the outskirts of Wadi Hilwa.
http://bit.ly/gJirkN
Silwan
The Israeli army surrounded the entire neighborhood and fired gas bombs and sound bombs randomly between and inside the houses - led to the injury of dozens as a result of gas. Ambulance crews not given access to the neighborhood.
Fighting spread to neighboring districts and reached up to Sloan The witnesses reported that an Israeli police vehicle caught fire after youths threw petrol bombs at it.
Palestine - Jerusalem: (silwanic) - Israeli army surrounded the entire neighborhood and fired gas bombs and sound bombs randomly between and inside the houses - led to the injury of dozens as a result of gas. Ambulance crews not given access to the neighborhood.Clashes are still continuing in the Shu'fat north of Jerusalem and multiple injuries among the Palestinians citizens.
Protests in Shu'fat and Jerusalem Leave 22 Injured
Jerusalem PNN - At least 22 Palestinians were injured during confrontations with Israeli soldiers in the refugee camp of Shu'fat, while in nearby Jerusalem seven Palestinians were injured during protests in Silwan and Ras al-'Amoud.
In Shu'fat, it is unknown how the clashes developed, but local sources say most of the 22 injured suffered from tear gas inhalation, including a woman and three children, while a number of Palestinians were wounded by live bullets and taken to the hospital. They're status is currently unknown.
Local sources said the Israeli troops closed off both exits to the camp during the clashes and forbade ambulances from leaving for some time. They were supported by special forces and a unit of Israeli soldiers dressed as Arabs.
In Jerusalem on Wednesday night, violent confrontations between Palestinians and Israeli forces occurred in the neighborhoods of Ras al-'Amoud and Silwan. Tear gas, sound bombs, and both live and rubber bullets were reported.
Maher Abdul Wahid, a resident of Silwan, told reporters that clashes began in the al-Bustan neighborhood 4the site slated for extensive demolitions by the Jerusalem Municipality in order to make room for a tourist complex and explained that violence and tension were becoming part of daily life.
The seven injured Palestinians were Muhammad Abu Khatr, Hayyam Abu Khatr, Noura al-Rajibi, Neda al-Rajibi, Alaa Masouda and his wife, and Adam al-Rajibi.
http://bit.ly/fvj81x
Israeli forces injure 2 Palestinians
Israeli police shoot tear gas towards Palestinians to disperse a gathering by residents of Eastal-Quds (Jerusalem).
Two Palestinians have been wounded in clashes with Israeli forces which broke out after the troops stormed the East al-Quds (Jerusalem) neighborhood of Silwan.
Clashes broke out on Wednesday in two districts after the Israeli forces stormed the neighborhood while the Palestinian residents had a gathering, AFP reported.
Policemen, wearing riot gear and gas masks taking shelter behind plastic shields, shot tear gas canisters towards those Palestinians running away.
According to witnesses, two Palestinians were hit in the legs by shrapnel from the stun grenades and were taken to a local hospital.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld, however, denied reports that two were wounded.
The spokesperson confirmed that the police dispersed the gathering by using tear gas and stun grenades, but said no one was injured in the firing.
Border police, however, said one of its officers has also been injured.
Silwan, a crowded Arab neighborhood of about 45,000 Palestinians, has seen frequent clashes over Israeli mayor's city plans to demolish several homes to make space for a biblical park.
It is one of the most volatile areas of East al-Quds where Israel occupied in the 1967 Six-Day War, and later annexed it in a move not recognized by the international community.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/161029.html 15 jan 2012, 15:45 , Respect -
Maria 20 jan 2011
Report: Silwan settler fires on Palestinians
TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma'an) -- An Israeli settler in occupied East Jerusalem opened fire on a group of young Palestinians who he claims threw stones in his direction, Israeli media reported Thursday.
Border Guard officers dispersed the youths in the Silwan neighborhood, Ynet news reported. Two of them suffered light injuries from smoke inhalation, according to the report.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=352652 15 jan 2012, 15:46 , Respect -
Maria 21 jan 2011
Activism roundup: Israeli forces fire at demonstrators
Israeli forces arrest an Israeli activist during a demonstration against the wall and settlements in the occupied West Bank village of al-Masara, 21 January 2010. (Anne Paq/ActiveStills)
Israeli forces swept through the occupied East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan today, firing rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas at Palestinians during public prayer near the al-Bustan protest tent. The tent is a public gathering place and organizing center for residents of the al-Bustan area in Silwan who are faced with imminent home demolitions or settler takeovers of their houses. The invasion resulted in clashes throughout the area.
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center reported that a number of Palestinians and a cameraman were injured by tear gas inhalation and rubber bullets during the clashes ("Clashes erupt after Friday prayer in East Jerusalem," 21 January 2011). http://bit.ly/dJIw7p
Meanwhile, Ma'an News Agency reported that a Palestinian child was pepper sprayed during weekly unarmed protests elsewhere in the occupied West Bank.
In Nabi Saleh, Palestinian and international protesters marched against the ongoing confiscation of village land and the expansion of the nearby Halamish settlement colony. Israeli soldiers attempted to break up the demonstration, and attacked an 11-year-old boy with pepper spray ("Israeli army shuts down West Bank rallies," 21 January 2011). http://bit.ly/h37sL5
Protests against Israel's wall and the settlements were also reported in al-Masara village, near Bethlehem; in Bilin; and in Nilin. Ma'an reported that local activist committees documented the Israeli military's use of "riot dispersal means" in Bilin and Nilin, which include the firing of tear gas and spraying protesters with fetid "skunk water."
One Israeli solidarity activist was detained in al-Masara.
Beit Ommar
Fourteen-year-old Mohammed Awwad from the West Bank village of Beit Ommar was released from Israeli prison on 7 January after being detained for more than a month and a half.
Awwad was arrested by Israeli soldiers at a weekly demonstration in the village on 20 November 2010, and was charged by the Israeli military with throwing stones, which is punishable up to ten years in prison.
The Palestine Solidarity Project (PSP) reported on 9 January that Israel wrongfully charged Awwad with stone throwing, citing numerous eyewitnesses present at the demonstration who claimed that he was not throwing stones "but merely participating in an unarmed demonstration in his own village against the neighboring Israeli settlement of Karmei Tsur ("14-year-old Beit Ommar resident released from Israeli prison," 9 January 2011)." http://bit.ly/i1RfnL
PSP added that five adult solidarity activists were arrested along with Awwad, but they were released later in the day.
"After his arrest, [Awwad] was first brought to Karmei Tsur settlement by Israeli forces and held there for three hours," PSP stated. "He was then transferred to [a detention facility inside] Kiryat Arba settlement in Hebron for an additional eight hours."
Awwad's parents were not informed of his whereabouts by the Israeli military, PSP added, and he was "repeatedly interrogated" at Kiryat Arba and later during his detention at Ofer prison. Interrogators apparently asked him about the activist committee in the village that plans the weekly demonstrations against the encroaching settlements.
"Despite the fact that [Awwad] is a minor and has a medical condition that chronically affects his skin, the Israeli military courts denied him bail and held him for over a month and a half," PSP stated.
The Electronic Intifada has reported on the Israeli military's ongoing policy of interrogation and detention of Palestinian children from the Hebron area at Kiryat Arba and Ofer prison. http://bit.ly/h3U9x4
Meanwhile, on 20 January, PSP reported that the Israeli military arrested four children south of Beit Ommar, after detaining them "in an isolated area out of sight of the road" where they were put into "stress positions" with their hands behind their backs and their heads down.
International observers with the Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI), a group that monitors Israeli human rights abuses, took pictures and called the media as well as notified prominent human rights organizations that work in the area.
"Despite these efforts, after some time, the soldiers forced all four children into a jeep and drove them to an unknown location," PSP reported. "No reason was given for their arrest" ("Israeli forces arrest four children south of Beit Ommar," 20 January 2011). http://bit.ly/e3ONSs
Resumed Clashes in Silwan, East Jerusalem
Silwan, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) -- Clashes between the Israeli forces and Palestinian youth resumed this evening in the Baten el Hawa and the Bustan districts of Silwan.
Four Palestinians were injured by rubber bullets fired by Israeli forces who used also tear gas and sound bombs during the clashes.
http://silwanic.net/?p=10954
Clashes erupt after Friday prayer in East Jerusalem
Silwan, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) -- Violent clashes swept through Silwan village, East Jerusalem today following the weekly public prayer held in al-Bustan protest tent. Confrontations were sparked by an amassing of Israeli troops at the entrance to Silwan, who then moved through the village towards the protest tent. Israeli forces used tear gas and rubber bullets. The violence has resulted in the injury of a number of Palestinians due to tear gas inhalation. A Palestinian cameraman was injured also by a rubber bullet.
http://silwanic.net/?p=10924
24 jan 2011
11 arrested in Silwan clashes with Israeli troops
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- Eleven Palestinians, among them seven minors, were beaten and arrested Monday during clashes with Israeli troops in the East Jerusalem district of Silwan.
Soldiers fired tear gas and rubber bullets at civilians, locals said.
They beat a seventy-year-old man sprayed gas in his face during the attack, the Wadi al-Hulwa Information Center said.
They also arrested Silwan activist Moussa Awda, 53, and seven minors ranging from 10 to 14 years, and sprayed gas randomly at civilian homes.
http://bit.ly/fX56Dm
- 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:
aliza_lan [at] idf [dot] gov [dot] il,
idf [dot] deborahgrau [at] gmail [dot] com
idfnewsdesk [at] gmail [dot] com
idfnadesk [at] gmail [dot] com
idfnadesk [at] idf [dot] gov [dot] il
idf [dot] centcom [at] gmail [dot] com
idfnewmedia [at] gmail [dot] com
idfspox [at] gmail [dot] com
lfrd [at] idf [dot] gov [dot] il
hafakot [at] idf [dot] gov [dot] il
madorarie [at] idf [dot] gov [dot] il
mekomit [at] idf [dot] gov [dot] il
meniv [at] idf [dot] gov [dot] il
http://bit.ly/iipebX 15 jan 2012, 15:49 , Respect -
Maria 3 febr 2011
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) 15 jan 2012, 15:51 , 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 - 10 febr 2011
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 15 jan 2012, 15:52 , Respect
Clashes renewed after guard fires gun at protesters in Ras al-Amoud
Clashes were renewed in Silwan neighborhoods of al-Bustan and Ras al-Amoud last night, 12 February, when an Israeli guard of the Jewish grave yard in Ras al-Amoud fired his weapon at Palestinian demonstrators. Israeli forces fired heavy amounts of tear-gas grenades at residents in response.
One angry demonstrator responded to the attack with the comment that Israeli guards in our neighborhood have carte blanche use of their weapons they have total immunity to the laws that we are subject to.
http://silwanic.net/?p=11838
- 19 febr 2011
Clashes in Jerusalem, Hebron
JERUSALEM, February 19, 2011 (WAFA) The East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan witnessed violent confrontations Friday night between its residents and Israeli police.
Palestinians threw stones and empty bottles at the police, and burnt tires in the streets to hold up the movement of police vehicles.
Witnesses told WAFA that police arrested several children and fired dozens of sonic bombs and tear gas, causing multiple cases of suffocation, including an entire family of 15. One family member was hit in the chest by tear gas and a three month old baby suffered severe suffocation from inhaled gas.
Meanwhile, residents of the Bab Hutta area in the Old city of Jerusalem clashed with police forces, who shot tear gas as Palestinian youth threw stones at them. Undercover Israeli police arrested three youths.
Similar clashes occurred in the southern West Bank city of Hebron where a mob of settlers stormed the city and the nearby village of Yatta. The mob threw stones severely hurting one Palestinian in the Sahla area in the center of the old city of Hebron, threatening residents with more violence if they do not leave the sections of the city that are still under Israeli control, according to witnesses.
A resident of Um Al Khair village, near the settlement of Karmiel in the Hebron area, told WAFA that the settlers have systematically attacked the village and harassed its residents.
All Israeli settlements and the settlers who inhabit them are in direct violation of international law, the United Nations Security Council resolutions and the Geneva Conventions.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=15230- 23 febr 2011
Three Palestinian youths injured in Silwan clashes
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- Three Palestinian young men were injured when clashes broke out between Palestinian young men and Israeli occupation forces in Silwan town, occupied Jerusalem, on Tuesday night.
Local sources said that the Israeli forces intentionally provoked citizens leading to confrontations in which the soldiers fired rubber bullets and teargas canisters while the youth tossed Molotov cocktails at them.
The sources said that the confrontations continued until a late hour on Tuesday night, adding that the Israeli forces sent military units to encircle the town.
An Israeli army spokesman claimed that five firebombs were hurled at police patrols in Silwan at a late hour on Tuesday.
http://bit.ly/ikhyKI 15 jan 2012, 15:54 , Respect -
Maria 25 febr 2011
Israeli troops kill Palestinian infant
Israeli troops have attacked a peaceful Palestinian protest rally in an East al-Quds (Jerusalem) neighborhood, killing a three-month-old infant.
The three-month-old female infant died after inhaling tear gas fired by Israeli police in the Silwan neighborhood. Israeli police also fired rubber bullets during clashes with Palestinian protesters.
Palestinians hold weekly protest rallies in Silwan against Tel Aviv's harsh policies towards Palestinians following the Friday Prayers.
Elsewhere in the occupied territories, Israeli forces also fired tear gas and rubber bullets on Palestinian and international activists in the West Bank city of al-Khalil (Hebron), wounding at least nine people.
Several Palestinian protesters were also arrested.
Protesters were marking the 17th anniversary of the massacre of 29 Palestinians by a Jewish extremist in the city when they were attacked by Israeli troops.
Protesters were also calling for the reopening of one of the city's main streets, which Israel closed off to Palestinians following the 1994 massacre in the region.
The protesters also voiced support for the Egyptian and Tunisian revolutions and condemned Washington's policy toward the expansion of Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian lands.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/167044.html 15 jan 2012, 15:55 , Respect -
Maria 25 febr 2011
Clashes Continue in Silwan
Confrontations erupted on Thursday evening between Israeli forces and Palestinian residents of the East Jerusalem village of Silwan,
Violence was concentrated in the Baten al-Hawa area, where Israeli soldiers have been occupying the roof of a Palestinian residence for over six months now.
Dozens of residents suffered the asphyxiating effects of tear gas inhalation when fired by Israeli troops. Youths threw Molotov cocktails at soldiers in response.
This makeshift military base has been a point of contention and scene of violence on many occasions, with clashes erupting in the past when it had been previously set on fire.
Meanwhile in the Bir Ayyub district, which is also in Silwan, an Israeli military jeep was torched during clashes. Live ammunition has been used by Israeli forces and the atmosphere throughout the village is extremely tense.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/DailyNews.aspx 15 jan 2012, 15:56 , Respect -
Maria 26 febr 2011
Confrontations in Silwan expanding
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- Israeli occupation police forces fired teargas canisters at citizens in Bustan suburb in Silwan town, south of occupied Jerusalem, soon after the Friday congregation.
Local sources said that the confrontations in the suburb expanded to nearby neighborhoods, which are witnessing daily violent clashes between citizens and those forces.
Citizens noted that the police forces used tear gas bombs in an unprecedented manner, which caused breathing difficulty among a big number of civilians including tens of children.
Medical sources said that a young man was hit with a rubber bullet in his spinal cord, describing his condition as "serious".
The policemen arrested a 21-year-old youth near Wadi Hilwa in Bustan suburb on Friday.
http://bit.ly/eG4aO3 15 jan 2012, 15:56 , Respect -
Maria 27 febr 2011
Illegal Detention Of Palestinian Children
(7:35) Illegal Detention Of Palestinian Children
The Occupied Palestinian Territory has been held by Israel under military occupation since June 1967. Under international law the Fourth Geneva Convention applies to the Palestinian civilian population who hold protected persons status. Israel ratified the Fourth Geneva Convention in 1951. Article 76 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states as follows:
Protected persons accused of offences shall be detained in the occupied country, and if convicted they shall serve their sentences therein
According to information obtained from the Israeli Prison Service, there are currently six Israeli prisons used to detain Palestinian children (12 - 17 year olds)*. All but one of these prisons (Ofer Prison) is inside Israel in contravention of Article 76 of the Convention. According to figures compiled by DCI-Palestine and the Israeli Prison Service, there are currently 343 Palestinian children in Israeli detention facilities, of which 194 are being detained illegally inside Israel. There are a number of practical consequences of detaining Palestinian children illegally inside Israel, including:
* Making it difficult, and in some cases impossible, for family members to visit their children due to freedom of movement restrictions; and
* Making it difficult for the childrens lawyers, including lawyers from DCI-Palestine, to visit their clients and provide legal assistance.
Recommended action
Please send Urgent Appeals urging:
1. An immediate end to the practice of detaining Palestinian children inside Israel in contravention of Article 76 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
2. Ensuring that all Palestinian child detainees are held in separate facilities from adults and in conditions that meet international standards.
3. Ensure that all Palestinian child detainees held in Israeli detention facilities receive at least one family visit per week. 15 jan 2012, 15:57 , Respect -
Maria 27 febr 2011
Silwan's Captive Children
Showaib Qutayobeh, 15, on his 45th day of house arrest
When home is jail
Seventeen children currently live under house arrest in the besieged neighborhood of Silwan in Jerusalem. Combined with a fierce campaign from Jewish extremists and armed Israeli forces, these young men are routinely arrested, beaten and interrogated.
Fifteen-year old Sharif Rajabi holding a document giving him permission to leave his home to attend school - an essential and common item for Silwan's youth.
They have been subject to a severe system of Israeli police and security forces, said Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, Secretary General of The Palestinian National Initiative. They cannot go to school. They cannot finish or continue their education. The Israelis keep them in their homes.
Father of seven boys, Ziyyad Rajabi standing on his roof in front of an apartment seized by settlers in Silwan.
As part of a comprehensive program of state-sponsored terror, these children are targeted because they live in a neighborhood coveted by Jewish extremists who believe it to be the Biblical City of David - not the home of nearly 45,000 people. Silwan's people have survived paramilitary actions, policy discrimination, and repeated Israeli army incursions.
With Al Aqsa's dome behind him, 18-year old Mohammad Razem stands on his porch, permitted under terms of his, for now, seven-month long house arrest.
The Israelis want to break down the resistance, they want to take over the area, they want to Judaize it, Barghouthi said after visiting some of these children under house arrest.
http://palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1681
3 mrt 2011
Palestinian boy claims police beat him
Eleven-year-old boy caught throwing stones in east Jerusalem suffers head, stomach trauma.
An 11-year old boy arrested in east Jerusalem for throwing stones claims officers beat him while his hands were tied. Hospital tests confirm the boy sustained injuries to the eye, head, and stomach.
M. was arrested on Monday in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan. It was his fifth run-in with the law, and his two brothers were also arrested. The three were interrogated in the presence of their father, an imam and one of the leading figures in Silwan residents' protest against Israeli forces.
But during the interrogation M. complained he was not feeling well and was released home. Later that evening, he vomited blood and his parents took him to the hospital.
There, doctors found that the boy was suffering from a fractured bone in his eye cavity as well as head and stomach wounds.
Upon being discharged Thursday, M. told Ynet that officers disguised as Arabs (aka Mista'arvim) had tied his hands beat him. "After school I went to a friend's house," he recounted.
"Then five officers caught me I recognized them because they had pepper spray. After they tied me up they beat me in the stomach and head. They handed me to the police but I didn't feel well and vomited blood."
He added, "When they hit me I was afraid because all the kids ran away. I started crying and told the Mista'arvim: 'I'm a little boy and I didn't do anything, leave me alone'." Now, he says, he is no longer afraid, but his eye still hurts.
M.'s father, against whom a restraining order from Silwan is in effect, believes his son suffered for his reputation. "I'm afraid because I feel I cannot protect him from the police," he said. "I have been arrested in the past but that's no reason to hit my boy."
The father added that his son had not been throwing stones on the day he was beaten. "The officers that beat him have no brains and no limits. They say Israel is democratic, but law and democracy don't protect us," he said.
M.'s mother says he has nightmares "that police knock on our door and take the children away".
'Police violent towards kids'
Now the parents plan to file a complaint with the Police Investigations Unit. Attorney Nasrin Alian, of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) told Ynet that "Jerusalem Police must launch an investigation and not allow those responsible for the boy's injuries to evade trial and punishment".
Alian warned that officers were becoming violent towards children in Silwan, citing numerous cases that have been brought to the ACRI's attention.
"Our investigation revealed that despite all of these complaints no one has been brought to trial and the police's investigations have mostly been closed without results. Police brutality against children is something that must be stopped, and we demand that the internal security minister and the chief of police intervene."
According to data collected by ACRI, 1,267 cases were opened between November 2009 and October 2010 in which Palestinian minors were accused of throwing stones. The organization claims that police have adopted a routine of arresting children in the middle of the night as a scare tactic.
Jerusalem Police stated in response, "The minor was caught red-handed throwing stones, and was interrogated in the presence of his father. During the interrogation he felt poorly and was released to receive medical treatment."
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4037421,00.html 15 jan 2012, 16:00 , Respect - 23 febr 2011
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Maria 3 mrt 2011
Muhammad al-Za'tari: Innocent, Accused of Stabbing Settler, and Tortured for Five Months
Maysa Abu Ghazala Jerusalem PNN/Exclusive - At 14, Muhammad Imad al-Za`tari is not old enough, according to international law, to be treated as an adult. But in the eyes of the Israeli authorities, he is responsible for his actions and eligible for long and cruel imprisonment.
Muhammad was arrested on September 24, 2010 and accused of stabbing an Israeli settler in the al-Tur neighborhood of East Jerusalem on September 22, the day that a Palestinian man named Samer Sirhan was shot dead by an Israeli security guard in Silwan. At the time of his arrest, he was 14 years old.
Israeli troops raided his home at dawn on the 24th, inspected it thoroughly, and destroyed furniture. He was interrogated over a period of at least one week, in which no charge was formally leveled against him. Nothing was heard of him through the media. The Israeli interrogators, Muhammad recounts, insisted on him saying the word yes before they closed the assault file.
Muhammad was arrested once before, on February 8, 2010, during a wedding party for released prisoner Ahmed Abu al-Hawa. He was charged with assaulting an Israeli secret policeman and put under house arrest until his file expired. Then as now, the methods of the interrogators were to hear the word yes.
Muhammad explained the interrogation methods in an interview with PNN:
In the beginning the interrogators tried to scare me and said they had captured seven of my friends and that they said I stabbed [the settler], he said. The police also presented Muhammad with pictures of his father and brother and said they had arrested them, as well.
Muhammad continued, I stood there and the interrogator stood in front of me and he grabbed my wrist and threatened to take me to Ofer Military Prison to wash shoes and underwear.
Another interrogator put Muhammads head against the wall of the room and a third said, We ran a DNA test on the knife and it says it was you who did the stabbing.
There was no defined time for the interrogation, explained Muhammad, but sometimes they lasted for hours.
There was no break, no sleep, and long hours of standing, with no family and no visits, recounted Muhammad. One day they took me to Ofek prison, where I was in a room with two others.
After several military court sessions, a judge decided to release Muhammad into house arrest. At first, Muhammad was taken to a hostel in Haifa, where Muhammad said there were all sorts of fun, a sports center, pool, and computers, but also there was marijuana, thieves and drug peddlers. They took be directly back to Ofek.
Muhammad moved from one court to another without result, once being awoken at 2:30 a.m. only to be returned to his cell at 10 at night. There were hours of waiting and ill-treatment. During his first two court dates, he was not informed of his family and told they did not want to see him.
[In Haifa], I was painting houses and cleaning for the animals, said Muhammad. I would be punished if I didn`t do the chores. I would be forbidden from family visits or going to get my own food.
The taste of freedom was sweet and unexpected for both Muhammad and his family when a court date was set for March 2, 2011 after being postponed from February 21 and a judge exonerated him based on a discrepancy in eyewitness testimony as to the color and type of the knife allegedly involved in the stabbing.
We are trying to educate the new generation, explained Muhammads mother, who said she was afraid during Muhammads imprisonment, especially when he was in jail. Israel wants to bring it down.
http://bit.ly/e5ARTC 15 jan 2012, 16:01 , Respect -
Maria 4 mrt 2011
Clashes reported in Silwan
JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Violent clashes erupted in occupied East Jerusalem on Friday afternoon, a local activist said.
Jawad Seyam of the Wadi Helwa information center said police fired tear gas in Silwan, a Palestinian neighborhood.
"Undercover soldiers deployed across the area but failed to arrest children" from the neighborhood, Seyam said.
He accused Israeli forces of using a new kind of tear gas that causes breathing problems to those who inhale it.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=365473 - 19 mrt 2011
Silwan committee: Detained children gone through behavioral changes
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- According to a study by the Silwan defense committee, children from Jerusalem's Silwan district have undergone marked behavioral changes after being detained in Israeli prisons.
The restrictions placed on them could have negative long-term effects, Silwan committee member Fakhri Abu Diab said in a press statement Friday.
He said dozens of children have been dealt with harshly in Israeli prisons and during investigations.
He pointed out several cases of hysteria, mental disorders, nightmares, fear of darkness, speech impediments and aggressive chills, illnesses not present prior to their detention.
He said families and teachers have noticed major behavioral changes after they were released from Israeli prisons.
Abu Diab called on children's rights groups to act urgently to protect Jerusalem's children and help treat those affected by the Israeli policy targeting.
http://bit.ly/gd5F4k 15 jan 2012, 16:03 , Respect -
Maria p 15 jan 2012, 16:03 , Respect -
Maria 21 mrt 2011
Clashes erupt in Silwan
JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Fierce clashes erupted Monday night between settlers, Israeli police and Palestinian youth in Silwan in East Jerusalem.
Ma'an's correspondent said Israeli police protected settlers but opened fire on residents and their homes in the flashpoint neighborhood.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=370978