31 dec 2014
Israeli Channel 10 reported from its website, today, that a court has decided to release Israeli soldier and border guard Ben Dery, who murdered 17-year-old Nadim Nowarah in cold blood, during Nakba Day protests on May 15th of this year, outside the Ofer prison, near Ramallah.
A video clip of the shooting in Beitunia showed Nadim, along with four other youngsters, being shot after confrontations had already erupted between occupation soldiers in the area and several Palestinian youth.
Other video clips showed that Israeli forces were dozens of meters away, and Palestinian eyewitnesses said that the troops used live ammunition. Later forensic examination revealed that the eyewitness reports were correct.
The murder caused international reactions and condemnation against Israel's daily crimes against the Palestinian people and their property.
Channel 10 added that the court decided to move the soldier from detention into house arrest status.
It was also mentioned, according to the PNN, that the soldier recently suffered from psychological issues and depression.
The text messages to Nadim's parents, asking their forgiveness would further prove that Dery was involved in the deliberate killing of the boy.
See: 06/05/14 Siam Nowarah's Letter to the International Community
Israel often frees soldiers proven to have killed Palestinians through monitoring cameras, in addition to not holding any of them accountable for their crimes.
On the same day, Mohammad Mahmoud Odeh, age 16, sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the back. Both boys were transferred to the Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah they were pronounced dead.
Search IMEMC: "Nowarah" for extensive background info and video footage.
A video clip of the shooting in Beitunia showed Nadim, along with four other youngsters, being shot after confrontations had already erupted between occupation soldiers in the area and several Palestinian youth.
Other video clips showed that Israeli forces were dozens of meters away, and Palestinian eyewitnesses said that the troops used live ammunition. Later forensic examination revealed that the eyewitness reports were correct.
The murder caused international reactions and condemnation against Israel's daily crimes against the Palestinian people and their property.
Channel 10 added that the court decided to move the soldier from detention into house arrest status.
It was also mentioned, according to the PNN, that the soldier recently suffered from psychological issues and depression.
The text messages to Nadim's parents, asking their forgiveness would further prove that Dery was involved in the deliberate killing of the boy.
See: 06/05/14 Siam Nowarah's Letter to the International Community
Israel often frees soldiers proven to have killed Palestinians through monitoring cameras, in addition to not holding any of them accountable for their crimes.
On the same day, Mohammad Mahmoud Odeh, age 16, sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the back. Both boys were transferred to the Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah they were pronounced dead.
Search IMEMC: "Nowarah" for extensive background info and video footage.
25 dec 2014
Israeli police have arrested more than two dozen current and former officials in a corruption probe, including several from the party of Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, a police spokeswoman said Thursday.
Local media reported that the investigation was one of the most "important" anti-graft operations in the country's history and could strike a blow to Lieberman's Yisrael Beitenu party just three months away from a general election.
According to police, "millions" of shekels of public funds have allegedly been transferred to organizations close to the party.
Officials implicated include the deputy interior minister Faina Kirshenbaum, who has been questioned by police. Her daughter Ronit will remain in custody until Sunday, the spokeswoman said.
Former tourism minister Stas Misezhnikov was also detained.
Others under investigation include Yisrael Beitenu's former campaign chief, the former presidents of the basketball and handball federations and several officials in charge of settlement operations in the West Bank and Golan Heights.
A total of 24 people have been arrested while another four remain under house arrest, the spokeswoman added.
According to a recent opinion poll conducted by Israeli military radio, 40 percent of people who voted for Yisrael Beitenu in the last general election said they were reconsidering their support for the party in the wake of the scandal.
Lieberman refused to comment on the investigation.
The foreign minister had been forced to leave the post in December 2012 following a corruption probe, but was reinstated in November last year.
Israelis will head to the polls on March 17 for the second general election in just over two years after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dissolved parliament in December following the breakdown of his coalition government.
Local media reported that the investigation was one of the most "important" anti-graft operations in the country's history and could strike a blow to Lieberman's Yisrael Beitenu party just three months away from a general election.
According to police, "millions" of shekels of public funds have allegedly been transferred to organizations close to the party.
Officials implicated include the deputy interior minister Faina Kirshenbaum, who has been questioned by police. Her daughter Ronit will remain in custody until Sunday, the spokeswoman said.
Former tourism minister Stas Misezhnikov was also detained.
Others under investigation include Yisrael Beitenu's former campaign chief, the former presidents of the basketball and handball federations and several officials in charge of settlement operations in the West Bank and Golan Heights.
A total of 24 people have been arrested while another four remain under house arrest, the spokeswoman added.
According to a recent opinion poll conducted by Israeli military radio, 40 percent of people who voted for Yisrael Beitenu in the last general election said they were reconsidering their support for the party in the wake of the scandal.
Lieberman refused to comment on the investigation.
The foreign minister had been forced to leave the post in December 2012 following a corruption probe, but was reinstated in November last year.
Israelis will head to the polls on March 17 for the second general election in just over two years after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dissolved parliament in December following the breakdown of his coalition government.
6 dec 2014
PNN correspondence reports that Israeli police forces, on Friday, arrested a 52-year-old man who threatened to assassinate Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to the Jerusalem Post, the man also threatened to kill members of the Israeli police who came to arrest him.
He was arrested after having had a conversation with a social worker who reported him to authorities who, then, arrested the man from his home afterwards.
According to the Jerusalem Post, the man also threatened to kill members of the Israeli police who came to arrest him.
He was arrested after having had a conversation with a social worker who reported him to authorities who, then, arrested the man from his home afterwards.
26 nov 2014
An Israeli bus driver ran over two Palestinians at al-Jalama checkpoint in Jenin, on Tuesday, injuring one person and killing another, Palestinian security sources have reported.
Sources told Ma'an News Agency that Noor Hassan Naim Salim, age 22, and Alaa Kayid Salim, 20, from Nablus, were both injured after being ran over by an Israeli bus.
Salim was taken to the Jenin governmental hospital with light injuries, while Noor was taken to an Israeli hospital with serious injuries, and later died.
The bus driver was reportedly arrested by Israeli police.
Sources told Ma'an News Agency that Noor Hassan Naim Salim, age 22, and Alaa Kayid Salim, 20, from Nablus, were both injured after being ran over by an Israeli bus.
Salim was taken to the Jenin governmental hospital with light injuries, while Noor was taken to an Israeli hospital with serious injuries, and later died.
The bus driver was reportedly arrested by Israeli police.
23 nov 2014
Palestinians surround a teenager, fatally wounded by Israeli forces on May 15, 2014
A Jerusalem court has charged an Israeli border policeman with manslaughter for the shooting death of a Palestinian teen, during a demonstration in the occupied West Bank, this past May.
17-year-old Nadim Nowarah was killed on May 15, during a day of clashes in Beitunia, to the southwest of Ramallah, between Israeli forces and Palestinian protesters marking the anniversary of the Nakba, or "catastrophe," when 700,000 Palestinians fled or were driven from their homes by Jewish militias in 1948.
According to AFP, Israeli news site Ynet said it was previously suspected that the policeman would be charged with murder, but that the charge had been reduced to manslaughter.
Nadim's father reportedly criticized the manslaughter charge, saying that evidence showed that the killing was premeditated.
CNN footage showed a group of five or six border police officers in the area, one of whom could be seen firing at the time when the youth was hit. CCTV footage revealed that the boy was shot unprovoked, during a lull in the clashes.
See: Forensic Video Analysis: Nowarah's Killer Identified below
At the time, Israeli authorities declared that border police were quelling a violent demonstration by about 150 Palestinians, and denied that live fire was employed.
However, autopsy soon confirmed that Nadim died after being hit in the chest with a live bullet.
A second teenager, Muhammad Salameh (Abu Daher), aged 16, was also killed in the same place during the protest, also after being hit in the chest by live fire, but his family refused to allow a post-mortem.
Ben Deri, who was arrested earlier this month by the justice ministry's internal affairs department, has denied the charge against him.
A Jerusalem court has charged an Israeli border policeman with manslaughter for the shooting death of a Palestinian teen, during a demonstration in the occupied West Bank, this past May.
17-year-old Nadim Nowarah was killed on May 15, during a day of clashes in Beitunia, to the southwest of Ramallah, between Israeli forces and Palestinian protesters marking the anniversary of the Nakba, or "catastrophe," when 700,000 Palestinians fled or were driven from their homes by Jewish militias in 1948.
According to AFP, Israeli news site Ynet said it was previously suspected that the policeman would be charged with murder, but that the charge had been reduced to manslaughter.
Nadim's father reportedly criticized the manslaughter charge, saying that evidence showed that the killing was premeditated.
CNN footage showed a group of five or six border police officers in the area, one of whom could be seen firing at the time when the youth was hit. CCTV footage revealed that the boy was shot unprovoked, during a lull in the clashes.
See: Forensic Video Analysis: Nowarah's Killer Identified below
At the time, Israeli authorities declared that border police were quelling a violent demonstration by about 150 Palestinians, and denied that live fire was employed.
However, autopsy soon confirmed that Nadim died after being hit in the chest with a live bullet.
A second teenager, Muhammad Salameh (Abu Daher), aged 16, was also killed in the same place during the protest, also after being hit in the chest by live fire, but his family refused to allow a post-mortem.
Ben Deri, who was arrested earlier this month by the justice ministry's internal affairs department, has denied the charge against him.
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Defense for Children International - Palestine has published a video analysis, conducted by Forensic Architecture, which identifies the Israeli soldier who shot and killed 17-year-old Nadim Nowarah six months ago, in the West Bank city of Beitunia.
According to WAFA Palestine News & Info Agency, DCI-Palestine said in a recent press release that “although Israeli authorities initially asserted that no live fire was used by soldiers during the May 15, 2014 protests, one border policeman, whose name has not been released, has since been arrested by Israeli police and faces manslaughter charges.” See 11/12/14 Israeli Policeman Arrested in Connection with Teen Killings (below) |
DCI-Palestine noted that the arrest was made after it released a video footage from security cameras which captured the fatal shootings of Nowarah and 16-year-old Mohammad Abu Daher, as well as an autopsy’s ruling that a live bullet was the cause of Nowarah’s death.
The rights organization commissioned Forensic Architecture, a research agency which provides spatial and media analysis, to investigate video footage which captured the fatal shootings of Nowarah and Abu Daher. A team of architects, video and audio specialists analyzed the CCTV footage from the four security cameras, along with CNN released footage from the same incident to identify Nowarah’s shooter, “Soldier A”.
Forensic Architecture, WAFA reports, is funded by the European Research Council and hosted by the Center for Research Architecture at Goldsmiths, University of London.
The project consists of multidisciplinary spatial practitioners -- architects, artists and filmmakers -- who undertake architectural research within the framework of international humanitarian law and human rights. Their investigations have provided evidence for international prosecution teams, political organizations, NGOs and the United Nations.
The rights organization commissioned Forensic Architecture, a research agency which provides spatial and media analysis, to investigate video footage which captured the fatal shootings of Nowarah and Abu Daher. A team of architects, video and audio specialists analyzed the CCTV footage from the four security cameras, along with CNN released footage from the same incident to identify Nowarah’s shooter, “Soldier A”.
Forensic Architecture, WAFA reports, is funded by the European Research Council and hosted by the Center for Research Architecture at Goldsmiths, University of London.
The project consists of multidisciplinary spatial practitioners -- architects, artists and filmmakers -- who undertake architectural research within the framework of international humanitarian law and human rights. Their investigations have provided evidence for international prosecution teams, political organizations, NGOs and the United Nations.
22 nov 2014
The Israeli Police apprehended, Friday, an Israeli man in Hadera city (al-Khdeira), in the Haifa District, after entering a restaurant carrying a knife, and threatened to kill Palestinian workers.
The man first came to the restaurant and started shouting at the Palestinian workers, and threatened to harm them.
The then started shouting at the Israeli owners, insulting them for "hiring Arabs", and they asked him to leave.
He left the restaurant, but returned to the building nearly thirty minutes later, this time carrying a knife.
He started waving his knife around, especially close to the Palestinian workers, and threatened to kill them.
One of the workers managed to subdue the assailant, and removed his knife.
The Police was called to the scene, apprehended the man, and took him to their station in the city for interrogation.
The man first came to the restaurant and started shouting at the Palestinian workers, and threatened to harm them.
The then started shouting at the Israeli owners, insulting them for "hiring Arabs", and they asked him to leave.
He left the restaurant, but returned to the building nearly thirty minutes later, this time carrying a knife.
He started waving his knife around, especially close to the Palestinian workers, and threatened to kill them.
One of the workers managed to subdue the assailant, and removed his knife.
The Police was called to the scene, apprehended the man, and took him to their station in the city for interrogation.
21 nov 2014
Wednesday, at approximately 11:00 in al-Khalil (Hebron) a settler from a nearby illegal settlement approached the Qurtuba school in H2 with a gun [H2 is the area of Hebron under Israeli military civil and security control].
The settler entered the school grounds, terrifying the children with his loaded gun. After some time the settler left but the children were forced to evacuate a building and move to another area of the school. The teachers asked for international presence until school was finished that day.
The children were rushed out of school early and internationals and Palestinians stood at a prominent place to ensure the children were safe. Not long after this, a settler attacked a Palestinian and threatened another. The settler threatened to stab a 16-year-old boy and another local Palestinian who tried to film the incident. 40-year-old Jawad Abu Aisha stated, “The settler told Awne (the 16-year-old) that he would bring a knife to stab him. Awne told me and I tried to tell the soldier so he would do something but he did not do anything. When I tried to film the settler he attacked me and tried to break my mobile but did not manage to do so.”
Eventually, and after much prompting by the Palestinians, the soldier stepped in and pulled the settler away. Both Palestinians were left badly shaken by the attack.
The settler entered the school grounds, terrifying the children with his loaded gun. After some time the settler left but the children were forced to evacuate a building and move to another area of the school. The teachers asked for international presence until school was finished that day.
The children were rushed out of school early and internationals and Palestinians stood at a prominent place to ensure the children were safe. Not long after this, a settler attacked a Palestinian and threatened another. The settler threatened to stab a 16-year-old boy and another local Palestinian who tried to film the incident. 40-year-old Jawad Abu Aisha stated, “The settler told Awne (the 16-year-old) that he would bring a knife to stab him. Awne told me and I tried to tell the soldier so he would do something but he did not do anything. When I tried to film the settler he attacked me and tried to break my mobile but did not manage to do so.”
Eventually, and after much prompting by the Palestinians, the soldier stepped in and pulled the settler away. Both Palestinians were left badly shaken by the attack.
12 nov 2014
Nadeem Nawara, 17, pictured with his mother and father, sustained a fatal gunshot wound on May 15.
Israeli police arrested on Tuesday a border policeman suspected of fatally shooting Nadeem Nawara, 17, six months ago near Ofer military prison in the West Bank city of Beitunia. The border policeman, whose name has not been released, is alleged to have fired the live ammunition that killed Nawara on May 15, 2014, following a demonstration to mark Nakba Day, commemorating the “catastrophe” of the 1948 war, and expressing solidarity with hunger striking prisoners held in administrative detention by Israel. Video footage captured by a security camera and released by Defense for Children International-Palestine clearly shows that although Nawara threw stones at an earlier point in the demonstration, he posed no immediate threat to Israeli soldiers’ lives at the moment he was shot. The border policeman’s commander was also arrested for allegedly knowing that the border policeman had shot Nawara and failing to report the incident, according to Haaretz.
Despite initial claims from Israeli authorities that no live ammunition was fired by Israeli forces, an autopsy of Nadeem Nawara’s body, conducted on June 11 in the presence of both Israeli and international forensic pathologists, found that a live bullet was the cause of his death.
“This is an opportunity for Israel to prove to the world that it is a nation where law prevails,” Nadeem’s father, Siam, told DCI-Palestine. “I hope the investigation into the soldier who is accused of killing my son will be carried out with the same gravity as when a Palestinian is accused of killing an Israeli citizen.”
Two other Palestinian teens were also shot by live ammunition while taking part in the same demonstration that day. Mohammad Mahmoud Odeh Abu Daher, 16, was fatally shot in the chest and Mohammad Abdullah Hussein al-Azzeh, 15, sustained a gunshot injury to his back and left lung.
The US State Department urged the Israeli government to conduct a "prompt and transparent investigation.” Based on the footage collected by DCI-Palestine and other evidence, Amnesty International condemned the deliberate killing of the two boys as “[e]vidence of willful killings by Israeli forces of Palestinians in the West Bank, which would amount to war crimes.”
“The recent arrest of an Israeli border policeman alleged to have fatally shot Nadeem Nawara is a positive development,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, Accountability Program Director at DCI-Palestine. “However, past Israeli investigations into similar incidents have not inspired much confidence as they often lack transparency, independent review, and have rarely resulted in a soldier’s indictment.”
In March, Israeli forces shot and killed Yousef al-Shawamrah, 14, with live ammunition in the southern West Bank near his village of Deir al-Asal al-Fawqa. He was shot while looking for thistle in an area of land belonging to the village that now sits on the other side of Israel’s separation barrier. As he and two friends crossed through an open area, soldiers fired live ammunition toward the boys, hitting Yousef in the hip and back.
In July, Chief Israeli military prosecutor, General Danny Efrni, closed the investigation into the killing of Yousef. No warning shots were fired, but the prosecution found that, “the force prepared for the operation professionally and acted in line with rules for opening fire.”
Since the beginning of 2014, DCI-Palestine has documented ten child fatalities in the West Bank caused by live ammunition. The Israeli military’s own regulations dictate that live ammunition may only be used “under circumstances of real mortal danger,” but the regulations are not enforced and frequently ignored by Israeli soldiers.
This “policy of impunity” has enabled Israeli soldiers to use excessive force without punishment. An Amnesty International report found that 41 Palestinians had been killed by live ammunition in the West Bank between 2011 and 2013 alone. The same report cited findings that between September 2000 and June 2013, only 16 investigations ended in indictment of Israeli soldiers.
DCI-Palestine also spoke with Mahmoud Abu Daher, Mohammad’s father, who sees the arrest of the policeman who fired live ammunition at his son and killed Nadeem as a step toward accountability. He calls on “the international bodies to monitor the court proceeding to ensure justice is served for their wrongful deaths.”
Israeli police arrested on Tuesday a border policeman suspected of fatally shooting Nadeem Nawara, 17, six months ago near Ofer military prison in the West Bank city of Beitunia. The border policeman, whose name has not been released, is alleged to have fired the live ammunition that killed Nawara on May 15, 2014, following a demonstration to mark Nakba Day, commemorating the “catastrophe” of the 1948 war, and expressing solidarity with hunger striking prisoners held in administrative detention by Israel. Video footage captured by a security camera and released by Defense for Children International-Palestine clearly shows that although Nawara threw stones at an earlier point in the demonstration, he posed no immediate threat to Israeli soldiers’ lives at the moment he was shot. The border policeman’s commander was also arrested for allegedly knowing that the border policeman had shot Nawara and failing to report the incident, according to Haaretz.
Despite initial claims from Israeli authorities that no live ammunition was fired by Israeli forces, an autopsy of Nadeem Nawara’s body, conducted on June 11 in the presence of both Israeli and international forensic pathologists, found that a live bullet was the cause of his death.
“This is an opportunity for Israel to prove to the world that it is a nation where law prevails,” Nadeem’s father, Siam, told DCI-Palestine. “I hope the investigation into the soldier who is accused of killing my son will be carried out with the same gravity as when a Palestinian is accused of killing an Israeli citizen.”
Two other Palestinian teens were also shot by live ammunition while taking part in the same demonstration that day. Mohammad Mahmoud Odeh Abu Daher, 16, was fatally shot in the chest and Mohammad Abdullah Hussein al-Azzeh, 15, sustained a gunshot injury to his back and left lung.
The US State Department urged the Israeli government to conduct a "prompt and transparent investigation.” Based on the footage collected by DCI-Palestine and other evidence, Amnesty International condemned the deliberate killing of the two boys as “[e]vidence of willful killings by Israeli forces of Palestinians in the West Bank, which would amount to war crimes.”
“The recent arrest of an Israeli border policeman alleged to have fatally shot Nadeem Nawara is a positive development,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, Accountability Program Director at DCI-Palestine. “However, past Israeli investigations into similar incidents have not inspired much confidence as they often lack transparency, independent review, and have rarely resulted in a soldier’s indictment.”
In March, Israeli forces shot and killed Yousef al-Shawamrah, 14, with live ammunition in the southern West Bank near his village of Deir al-Asal al-Fawqa. He was shot while looking for thistle in an area of land belonging to the village that now sits on the other side of Israel’s separation barrier. As he and two friends crossed through an open area, soldiers fired live ammunition toward the boys, hitting Yousef in the hip and back.
In July, Chief Israeli military prosecutor, General Danny Efrni, closed the investigation into the killing of Yousef. No warning shots were fired, but the prosecution found that, “the force prepared for the operation professionally and acted in line with rules for opening fire.”
Since the beginning of 2014, DCI-Palestine has documented ten child fatalities in the West Bank caused by live ammunition. The Israeli military’s own regulations dictate that live ammunition may only be used “under circumstances of real mortal danger,” but the regulations are not enforced and frequently ignored by Israeli soldiers.
This “policy of impunity” has enabled Israeli soldiers to use excessive force without punishment. An Amnesty International report found that 41 Palestinians had been killed by live ammunition in the West Bank between 2011 and 2013 alone. The same report cited findings that between September 2000 and June 2013, only 16 investigations ended in indictment of Israeli soldiers.
DCI-Palestine also spoke with Mahmoud Abu Daher, Mohammad’s father, who sees the arrest of the policeman who fired live ammunition at his son and killed Nadeem as a step toward accountability. He calls on “the international bodies to monitor the court proceeding to ensure justice is served for their wrongful deaths.”
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Israeli Policeman Arrested in Connection with Teen Killings
An Israeli border policeman has been arrested in connection with the killings of two Palestinian teenagers, during a Nakba day protest on May 15, according to Israeli police. A spokesman told Ma'an News Agency, via telephone, that no other information was available regarding the arrest except that it was related to the Nakba day killings of 15-year-old Muhammad Abu al-Thahir and 17-year-old Nadim Nuwarah in Beituniya. Israeli forces had initially insisted that live fire was not used, but an autopsy team eventually confirmed that the wounds which killed the two teens were from live bullets. The teens were shot and killed during a protest rally marking the 66th anniversary of the Nakba, or "Catastrophe", when more than 760,000 Palestinians -- estimated today to number over 5 million, with their descendants -- fled or were driven from their homes in 1948. The killings were caught on camera, and CCTV footage showed that the two teens were not participating in clashes when they were shot, and posed no threat to Israeli forces. The incident drew little more than token criticism by Western officials, and sparked a number of volatile protests across the West Bank. It is one of the milestone events leading up to this past summer's conflict in Gaza, as well as the current crisis in Jerusalem. Read Siam Nowarah's Letter to the International Community 06/05/14 |
29 oct 2014
An Israeli court sentenced a polygamist cult leader to 30 years in prison for multiple sexual offences including rape, indecent assault, and incest, media reports said.
Goel Ratzon's lawyer said she would study the ruling before deciding whether to lodge an appeal.
"It is a grave and harsh sentence," Ravital Hotzer said in remarks broadcast on radio and television. "There has so far been no response from Goel Ratzon ... clearly it's very tough news for him."
Ratzon was charged in 2010 with enslaving and sexually abusing 21 women he considered to be his wives -- although he was never officially married -- and the 38 children he fathered with them.
He was convicted last month on several counts of rape and other sex crimes against six women and girls but acquitted on the enslavement charge.
"Most of the women were minors at the time of the crimes; some were his own daughters," Haaretz newspaper said.
Ratzon, 64, sat motionless in the Tel Aviv magistrates court on Tuesday with thinning, shoulder-length grey hair and a long beard.
The three-judge panel also gave him a four-year suspended sentence, public radio said.
"The defendant entrapped the women in a social group that took the form of a pseudo-family evolving around the cult of himself," according to the charge sheet.
Prosecutors say Ratzon created an image of himself as someone who had magical powers with which he could heal or hurt the women, whom he raped and sexually abused and who mothered his children.
"The defendant treated the women as if they were his property aimed at serving himself and his needs," the indictment said.
"Through this total control the defendant led the women to completely scrap their character and devote their existence to satisfy his needs, including his financial and sexual needs."
He imposed a system with strict rules and regulations aimed at intimidating the women and children, monitoring them with cameras he had placed in the apartments.
"I have the power to save and the power to destroy," the indictment quotes Ratzon telling a witness. "If you do things that I forbid then I will make sure you and your children are stricken with serious illnesses."
Goel Ratzon's lawyer said she would study the ruling before deciding whether to lodge an appeal.
"It is a grave and harsh sentence," Ravital Hotzer said in remarks broadcast on radio and television. "There has so far been no response from Goel Ratzon ... clearly it's very tough news for him."
Ratzon was charged in 2010 with enslaving and sexually abusing 21 women he considered to be his wives -- although he was never officially married -- and the 38 children he fathered with them.
He was convicted last month on several counts of rape and other sex crimes against six women and girls but acquitted on the enslavement charge.
"Most of the women were minors at the time of the crimes; some were his own daughters," Haaretz newspaper said.
Ratzon, 64, sat motionless in the Tel Aviv magistrates court on Tuesday with thinning, shoulder-length grey hair and a long beard.
The three-judge panel also gave him a four-year suspended sentence, public radio said.
"The defendant entrapped the women in a social group that took the form of a pseudo-family evolving around the cult of himself," according to the charge sheet.
Prosecutors say Ratzon created an image of himself as someone who had magical powers with which he could heal or hurt the women, whom he raped and sexually abused and who mothered his children.
"The defendant treated the women as if they were his property aimed at serving himself and his needs," the indictment said.
"Through this total control the defendant led the women to completely scrap their character and devote their existence to satisfy his needs, including his financial and sexual needs."
He imposed a system with strict rules and regulations aimed at intimidating the women and children, monitoring them with cameras he had placed in the apartments.
"I have the power to save and the power to destroy," the indictment quotes Ratzon telling a witness. "If you do things that I forbid then I will make sure you and your children are stricken with serious illnesses."
1 oct 2014
Israeli teens Uriel Ferera and Udi Segal were sentenced to ten days in military prison for refusing to serve in the army. This is their eight and fourth prison terms respectively for refusing to take part in the occupation and oppression of the Palestinians. Support these brave teens in their struggle!
Nineteen year old Uriel Ferera was sentenced on 29 September to ten days in military prison. This is his eighth prison term for refusing to serve for reasons of conscience due to his opposition to the occupation of the Palestinian people and discrimination against Palestinians inside Israel.
Prior to his fifth imprisonment, Ferera wrote “I have already spent 70 days in prison for refusing to enlist, on conscientious grounds. The reasons are that the army violates human rights in the occupied territories, and kills and humiliates the Palestinians people. For me as a religious person - this goes against the view that God created us all in his own image, and that we have no right to harm human lives..Tomorrow I have to report at the military induction base and refuse once more. I will start my fifth term in prison. And I am proud of myself for going to prison, and not taking part in war crimes."
Eighteen year old Udi Segal was sentenced on 29 September to ten days in military prison. This is his fourth prison term for refusing to serve for reasons of conscience due to his opposition to the occupation of the Palestinian people and discrimination against Palestinians inside Israel.
Demand that Uriel and Udi be freed immediately! Write letters of solidarity and encouragement to these brave teenagers in their struggle against the occupation and army.
Additional details about Uriel, including contact information and how to demand his freedom, may be found here
Additional details about Udi, including contact information and how to demand his freedom, may be found here.
Nineteen year old Uriel Ferera was sentenced on 29 September to ten days in military prison. This is his eighth prison term for refusing to serve for reasons of conscience due to his opposition to the occupation of the Palestinian people and discrimination against Palestinians inside Israel.
Prior to his fifth imprisonment, Ferera wrote “I have already spent 70 days in prison for refusing to enlist, on conscientious grounds. The reasons are that the army violates human rights in the occupied territories, and kills and humiliates the Palestinians people. For me as a religious person - this goes against the view that God created us all in his own image, and that we have no right to harm human lives..Tomorrow I have to report at the military induction base and refuse once more. I will start my fifth term in prison. And I am proud of myself for going to prison, and not taking part in war crimes."
Eighteen year old Udi Segal was sentenced on 29 September to ten days in military prison. This is his fourth prison term for refusing to serve for reasons of conscience due to his opposition to the occupation of the Palestinian people and discrimination against Palestinians inside Israel.
Demand that Uriel and Udi be freed immediately! Write letters of solidarity and encouragement to these brave teenagers in their struggle against the occupation and army.
Additional details about Uriel, including contact information and how to demand his freedom, may be found here
Additional details about Udi, including contact information and how to demand his freedom, may be found here.
