31 july 2016
From left, Halima and Hadiba Kayed, the first wife of the father of administrative detainee Bilal Kayed, and Bilal's mother, respectively, at home this month.
Israel may not be Nazi, nor even a fascist state. Yet it is a member of the same terrible family, the family of evil states. Just consider these acts of evil perpetrated by the state...
After we’ve cited nationalism and racism, hatred and contempt for Arab life, the security cult and resistance to the occupation, victimhood and messianism, one more element must be added without which the behavior of the Israeli occupation regime cannot be explained: Evil. Pure evil. Sadistic evil. Evil for its own sake. Sometimes, it’s the only explanation.
Eva Illouz described its signs (“Evil now,” Haaretz, July 30). Her essay, which challenges the idea of the banality of evil, considers the national group as the source of the evil. Using philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein’s concept, she finds a “family resemblance” between the Israeli occupation and history’s evil regimes. This similarity does not mean that Israel is Nazi, nor even fascist. And yet it is a member of the same terrible family, the family of evil states. It’s a depressing and brilliant analysis.
The evil that Illouz attributes to Israel is not banal, it cannot happen anywhere, and it has political and social roots that are deeply embedded in Israeli society. Thus, Illouz joins Zeev Sternhell, who warned in his impressive and resounding essay about the cultural soil out of which fascism is now growing in Israel (“The birth of fascism,” Haaretz Hebrew edition, July 7).
But alongside these analyses, we must also present a brief history of evil. We must present the instances that combine to create a great and horrific picture, a picture of Israeli evil in the territories, so as to stand up to those who deny the evil. It is not the case of the individual – Sgt. Elor Azaria, for example, who is being tried for the death of a subdued Palestinian assailant in Hebron – but the conduct of the establishment and the occupation regime that proves the evil. In fact, the continuation of the occupation proves the evil. Illouz, Sternhell and others provide debatable analyses on its origins, but whatever they are, it can no longer be denied.
One case is like a thousand witnesses: the case of Bilal Kayed. A young man who completed a prison term of 14.5 years – his entire sentence – without a single furlough, without being allowed to at least say goodbye by phone to his dying father; a clear sign of evil.
About six weeks ago, Kayed was getting ready for his release. A representative of the Shin Bet security service – one of the greatest agencies of evil in Israel – even showed him a photograph of the home his family had built for him to stir him up even more ahead of his release. And then, as his family waited impatiently for him at the crossing point and Kayed grew ever more excited in his cell, he was informed that he was being thrown into administrative detention for at least another six months, without trial and without explanation.
Since then, he has been on hunger strike. He is cuffed to his bed. His family is not allowed to see him. Prison guards never leave his room and the lights are not turned out for a moment. Evil.
Only evil can explain the state’s conduct toward Kayed – only an evil state acts this way. The arbitrary announcement, at the last moment, of a senseless detention is abuse, and the way he has been treated since then is also abuse.
Only evil can explain the detention last week of another young man, Hiran Jaradat, whose brother Arif (who had Down syndrome) was killed in June and whose father died two days ago. He is under arrest for “incitement on Facebook” and was not released to attend his father’s funeral. Evil.
The continuation of the detention of poet Darin Tatur – evil. The destruction of the tiny swimming pool that the residents of Khirbet Tana in the northern West Bank had built for themselves – evil. The confiscation of water tanks from a community of shepherds in the Jordan Valley in the July heat – evil.
A great many of the decisions of the occupation regime that decides the fates of individuals, families, communities, villages and cities cannot be explained without evil. The list is as long as the occupation. The extortion of sick people from Gaza to enlist them as collaborators, the blockades on cities and towns for weeks, the Gaza blockade, the demolition of homes – all evil.
Banal or not, its existence must be acknowledged and it must be recognized as one of the most influential values in Israel. Yes, there is an evil regime at work in Israel, and therefore it is an evil state.
Israel may not be Nazi, nor even a fascist state. Yet it is a member of the same terrible family, the family of evil states. Just consider these acts of evil perpetrated by the state...
After we’ve cited nationalism and racism, hatred and contempt for Arab life, the security cult and resistance to the occupation, victimhood and messianism, one more element must be added without which the behavior of the Israeli occupation regime cannot be explained: Evil. Pure evil. Sadistic evil. Evil for its own sake. Sometimes, it’s the only explanation.
Eva Illouz described its signs (“Evil now,” Haaretz, July 30). Her essay, which challenges the idea of the banality of evil, considers the national group as the source of the evil. Using philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein’s concept, she finds a “family resemblance” between the Israeli occupation and history’s evil regimes. This similarity does not mean that Israel is Nazi, nor even fascist. And yet it is a member of the same terrible family, the family of evil states. It’s a depressing and brilliant analysis.
The evil that Illouz attributes to Israel is not banal, it cannot happen anywhere, and it has political and social roots that are deeply embedded in Israeli society. Thus, Illouz joins Zeev Sternhell, who warned in his impressive and resounding essay about the cultural soil out of which fascism is now growing in Israel (“The birth of fascism,” Haaretz Hebrew edition, July 7).
But alongside these analyses, we must also present a brief history of evil. We must present the instances that combine to create a great and horrific picture, a picture of Israeli evil in the territories, so as to stand up to those who deny the evil. It is not the case of the individual – Sgt. Elor Azaria, for example, who is being tried for the death of a subdued Palestinian assailant in Hebron – but the conduct of the establishment and the occupation regime that proves the evil. In fact, the continuation of the occupation proves the evil. Illouz, Sternhell and others provide debatable analyses on its origins, but whatever they are, it can no longer be denied.
One case is like a thousand witnesses: the case of Bilal Kayed. A young man who completed a prison term of 14.5 years – his entire sentence – without a single furlough, without being allowed to at least say goodbye by phone to his dying father; a clear sign of evil.
About six weeks ago, Kayed was getting ready for his release. A representative of the Shin Bet security service – one of the greatest agencies of evil in Israel – even showed him a photograph of the home his family had built for him to stir him up even more ahead of his release. And then, as his family waited impatiently for him at the crossing point and Kayed grew ever more excited in his cell, he was informed that he was being thrown into administrative detention for at least another six months, without trial and without explanation.
Since then, he has been on hunger strike. He is cuffed to his bed. His family is not allowed to see him. Prison guards never leave his room and the lights are not turned out for a moment. Evil.
Only evil can explain the state’s conduct toward Kayed – only an evil state acts this way. The arbitrary announcement, at the last moment, of a senseless detention is abuse, and the way he has been treated since then is also abuse.
Only evil can explain the detention last week of another young man, Hiran Jaradat, whose brother Arif (who had Down syndrome) was killed in June and whose father died two days ago. He is under arrest for “incitement on Facebook” and was not released to attend his father’s funeral. Evil.
The continuation of the detention of poet Darin Tatur – evil. The destruction of the tiny swimming pool that the residents of Khirbet Tana in the northern West Bank had built for themselves – evil. The confiscation of water tanks from a community of shepherds in the Jordan Valley in the July heat – evil.
A great many of the decisions of the occupation regime that decides the fates of individuals, families, communities, villages and cities cannot be explained without evil. The list is as long as the occupation. The extortion of sick people from Gaza to enlist them as collaborators, the blockades on cities and towns for weeks, the Gaza blockade, the demolition of homes – all evil.
Banal or not, its existence must be acknowledged and it must be recognized as one of the most influential values in Israel. Yes, there is an evil regime at work in Israel, and therefore it is an evil state.
Israeli soldiers kidnapped, on Sunday evening, two Palestinian children in occupied East Jerusalem, and took them to an interrogation facility.
Local sources said the two children have been identified as Nasr Abu Khdeir and Mohammad Abu Khdeir.
The Israeli army claimed the two participated in throwing stones at soldiers and the light rail in the occupied city.
Local sources said the two children have been identified as Nasr Abu Khdeir and Mohammad Abu Khdeir.
The Israeli army claimed the two participated in throwing stones at soldiers and the light rail in the occupied city.
The Palestinian Prisoner Society (PPS) said that Palestinian prisoner Hanadi Rashid, 22, were exposed to torture and abuse by an Israeli interrogator.
Rashid told the PPS lawyer during his visit to Hasharon jail recently that an Israeli officer during her interrogation beat her with a stick on her neck and back.
She added that the officer also spat on her face and verbally attacked her. Rashid, a mother of two children from Yatta town, has been in detention since July 7.
Rashid told the PPS lawyer during his visit to Hasharon jail recently that an Israeli officer during her interrogation beat her with a stick on her neck and back.
She added that the officer also spat on her face and verbally attacked her. Rashid, a mother of two children from Yatta town, has been in detention since July 7.
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) at predawn time on Sunday kidnapped a number of Palestinian youths and summoned others to questioning during an assault on the occupied West Bank and Occupied Jerusalem.
Reporting from al-Khalil, a PIC journalist said the IOF kidnapped 60-year-old civilian Mas’oud al-Khateeb and his son Muhammad after they stormed Tel Rumeida area and ravaged the family home.
A series of military checkpoints was pitched by the IOF across Beit Awa town at the same time as army patrols were deployed near the Fawar refugee camp, where Palestinian passengers and vehicles have been subjected to provocative inspection.
The IOF assaulted the Aida refugee camp, in Bethlehem, and summoned the ex-prisoner Shadi Abu Akr for interrogation. Two more youngsters, from Silwad town, were summoned to questioning in the process.
The occupation troops also wreaked havoc on civilian homes in Nablus’ villages of Deir al-Hatab and Burin and subjected Palestinian locals to exhaustive interrogation.
Earlier, on Saturday evening, the IOF arrested four Palestinian youths at the Zaatara checkpoint, in southern Nablus, on allegation of carrying knives.
The four arrestees were released at dawn on Sunday following exhaustive interrogation.
Popular singer Kasem al-Najar and youngster Ma’moun al-Najar were also released by the IOF after they were detained for long hours at the Burin crossroads, in Nablus. An Israeli army unit further stormed Ras al-Amoud area, in Occupied Jerusalem, and kidnapped the Palestinian youngster Muhammad Isma’il Al-Abassi.
Reporting from al-Khalil, a PIC journalist said the IOF kidnapped 60-year-old civilian Mas’oud al-Khateeb and his son Muhammad after they stormed Tel Rumeida area and ravaged the family home.
A series of military checkpoints was pitched by the IOF across Beit Awa town at the same time as army patrols were deployed near the Fawar refugee camp, where Palestinian passengers and vehicles have been subjected to provocative inspection.
The IOF assaulted the Aida refugee camp, in Bethlehem, and summoned the ex-prisoner Shadi Abu Akr for interrogation. Two more youngsters, from Silwad town, were summoned to questioning in the process.
The occupation troops also wreaked havoc on civilian homes in Nablus’ villages of Deir al-Hatab and Burin and subjected Palestinian locals to exhaustive interrogation.
Earlier, on Saturday evening, the IOF arrested four Palestinian youths at the Zaatara checkpoint, in southern Nablus, on allegation of carrying knives.
The four arrestees were released at dawn on Sunday following exhaustive interrogation.
Popular singer Kasem al-Najar and youngster Ma’moun al-Najar were also released by the IOF after they were detained for long hours at the Burin crossroads, in Nablus. An Israeli army unit further stormed Ras al-Amoud area, in Occupied Jerusalem, and kidnapped the Palestinian youngster Muhammad Isma’il Al-Abassi.
Palestinian prisoner Abdul-Rahman Othman has been suffering from solitary confinement and very difficult incarceration conditions in Israeli jails for over two years, according to the Palestinian Prisoner Society (PPS).
According to PPS lawyer Khaled Mahajneh, who recently visited Othman in Ashkelon jail, the prisoner is locked up in a small isolation cell lacking sanitation, hygiene, fresh air and sunlight, provided with poor food, and allowed to spend one hour outside the cell every day.
Othman, from Majdal Bani Fadil town in Nablus province, has been in jail since 2006 and in solitary confinement since March 10, 2014 under the pretext that he is a security threat.
His isolation is extended every six months, and he is also deprived of seeing any members of his family.
According to PPS lawyer Khaled Mahajneh, who recently visited Othman in Ashkelon jail, the prisoner is locked up in a small isolation cell lacking sanitation, hygiene, fresh air and sunlight, provided with poor food, and allowed to spend one hour outside the cell every day.
Othman, from Majdal Bani Fadil town in Nablus province, has been in jail since 2006 and in solitary confinement since March 10, 2014 under the pretext that he is a security threat.
His isolation is extended every six months, and he is also deprived of seeing any members of his family.
The Israeli prison service (IPS) transferred the Secretary-General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) Ahmad Saadat to solitary confinement, a rights group said Sunday.
According to the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS), Saadat was isolated after he joined the open-ended hunger strike initiated in solidarity with prisoner Bilal Kayed, who has been on hunger strike for the 47th day running in protest at his administrative detention.
For its part, the PFLP said in a statement that Saadat’s decision to go on a hunger strike signals an imminent escalation in Israeli jails and serves as a message alerting the IPS to prisoners’ willingness to endure starvation over arbitrary detention.
Dozens of Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails have gone on open-ended hunger strikes in solidarity with Bilal Kayed and with four more hunger-strikers held arbitrarily in Israeli jails.
According to the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS), Saadat was isolated after he joined the open-ended hunger strike initiated in solidarity with prisoner Bilal Kayed, who has been on hunger strike for the 47th day running in protest at his administrative detention.
For its part, the PFLP said in a statement that Saadat’s decision to go on a hunger strike signals an imminent escalation in Israeli jails and serves as a message alerting the IPS to prisoners’ willingness to endure starvation over arbitrary detention.
Dozens of Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails have gone on open-ended hunger strikes in solidarity with Bilal Kayed and with four more hunger-strikers held arbitrarily in Israeli jails.
A Palestinian worker was shot and injured by the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) overnight Saturday while on his way to Occupied Jerusalem.
According to a PIC news correspondent, the IOF set up an ambush for a group of Palestinian workers in Wad Abu al-Hums area, in eastern Bethlehem, as they were heading to their workplace in Occupied Jerusalem.
The Israeli soldiers fired random shots at the group of workers, wounding a 25-year-old youth with a rubber bullet in his back.
The youngster was evacuated to a local hospital for urgent treatment.
Meanwhile, the occupation troops rolled into Bethlehem city at the crack of dawn on Sunday and summoned the ex-prisoner Shadi Abu Akr for questioning after they stormed his family home in the Aida refugee camp.
The IOF further wreaked havoc on civilian homes and shops in eastern Bethlehem and seized surveillance cameras.
According to a PIC news correspondent, the IOF set up an ambush for a group of Palestinian workers in Wad Abu al-Hums area, in eastern Bethlehem, as they were heading to their workplace in Occupied Jerusalem.
The Israeli soldiers fired random shots at the group of workers, wounding a 25-year-old youth with a rubber bullet in his back.
The youngster was evacuated to a local hospital for urgent treatment.
Meanwhile, the occupation troops rolled into Bethlehem city at the crack of dawn on Sunday and summoned the ex-prisoner Shadi Abu Akr for questioning after they stormed his family home in the Aida refugee camp.
The IOF further wreaked havoc on civilian homes and shops in eastern Bethlehem and seized surveillance cameras.
The Palestinian activist Nidham Abu R’mouz, held in the Israeli Mascoubiya jail, is expected to be brought before an Israeli court on Sunday over his anti-occupation activism.
The Israeli occupation forces arrested ِAbu R’mouz, from Occupied Jerusalem, and extended his detention for one week pending his trial over his involvement in activities supporting the holy al-Aqsa Mosque.
Abu R’mouz has reportedly been banned from the al-Aqsa Mosque as part of a preplanned Israeli campaign to sever Muslims’ ties with their holy site.
The Israeli occupation forces arrested ِAbu R’mouz, from Occupied Jerusalem, and extended his detention for one week pending his trial over his involvement in activities supporting the holy al-Aqsa Mosque.
Abu R’mouz has reportedly been banned from the al-Aqsa Mosque as part of a preplanned Israeli campaign to sever Muslims’ ties with their holy site.
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) arrested Saturday evening four Palestinian young men at Huwarah military checkpoint in southern Nablus for alleged knife possession.
Local sources revealed that the IOF soldiers stopped a vehicle carrying the four young men while trying to pass through the Israeli barrier and searched them thoroughly.
The IOF soldiers then claimed that they found knives inside the car and arrested the four of them after taking them to an unknown destination.
The arrested men, who are aged 19-27 years old, are from Aqraba and Ouserin towns in the West Bank, the sources pointed out.
Local sources revealed that the IOF soldiers stopped a vehicle carrying the four young men while trying to pass through the Israeli barrier and searched them thoroughly.
The IOF soldiers then claimed that they found knives inside the car and arrested the four of them after taking them to an unknown destination.
The arrested men, who are aged 19-27 years old, are from Aqraba and Ouserin towns in the West Bank, the sources pointed out.
30 july 2016
A 15-year-old Palestinian boy sustained a broken hand and heavy bruising after being assaulted and detained by undercover Israeli police officers in the Issawiya neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem.
Fadi Rafat al-Issawi was detained last Sunday when two Israeli undercover police officers in civilian clothing stopped to ask him and his friend Mustafa Abu al-Hummus for directions, before the officers assaulted the two minors and detained them for allegedly throwing rocks, according to a member of the village's monitoring committee Muhammad Abu al-Hummus.
Abu al-Hummus told Ma’an that during a court hearing held for the two minors, Israeli authorities said three cars raided the village and detained the two "in order to limit rock-throwing incidents."
Fadi was sent away to Beit Hanina, a neighborhood north of his home in Issawiya, where he was placed under house arrest. It remained unclear with whom al-Issawi was staying.
Fadi’s mother told Ma’an he suffered from medical negligence while in Israeli police custody, and was only taken to hospital at 11 p.m. despite being arrested in the afternoon, and despite suffering from apparent fractures, bruising, and pain.
His mother added that the family was prevented from visiting Fadi when they were called to the hospital an hour later. After Fadi finished his treatment at 2 a.m., he was placed in a police car where he remained until 6 a.m.
Israeli police did not provide him with painkillers or antibiotics as doctors had recommended, according to Fadi's mother, and they ignored his treatment during the three days he spent at Jerusalem’s Russian Compound police station and detention center.
She added that Fadi’s family took him to a hospital after he was released, where his cast had to be redone, and doctors said his hand might need to undergo surgery. Doctors also revealed that Fadi sustained a minor hairline fracture in his nose and an infection in his mouth after being hit in the face.
Fadi was among at least five other Palestinian youth detained last Sunday, and days later, some 52 Palestinians were detained -- 11 of them minors -- in occupied East Jerusalem neighborhoods for allegedly throwing stones at Israelis.
The detentions came as the latest arrests in an ongoing crackdown on Palestinian children by Israeli police in East Jerusalem, as Palestinian communities in the occupied city have begun to feel the impact of Israeli legislation passed between 2014 and 2015 increasing penalties for rock throwing, which allows for stone-throwers to receive a 20-year prison sentence where intent to harm could be proven, and 10 years where it could not.
Rights group Defense for Children International - Palestine (DCIP) cited in a report on Wednesday a number of recent cases of Palestinian minors being handed prison sentences for periods ranging between 12 to 39 months, with up to three years’ probation.
Israeli police spokesperson Luba al-Samri said in a recent statement amid the arrest campaign of Palestinian youth that “some of them admitted during interrogation that they threw stones at Israeli vehicles and police patrols on the roads to Maale Adumim,” referring to a nearby illegal Israeli settlement.
However, the widespread arrests have put a spotlight on the well-documented abuse of Palestinians children by Israeli forces and the harsh interrogation practices used to force their confessions, which has long been the target of criticism by the international community.
Despite “on paper” having more rights than Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank who are subject to a draconian military detention system, in practice, Jerusalem minors “do not enjoy their enshrined rights” under the Israeli civilian court system, according to DCIP.
Out of 65 cases documented by DCIP in 2015, "more than a third of Jerusalem youth were arrested at night (38.5 percent), the vast majority (87.7 percent) were restrained during arrest, and only a slim minority of children (10.8 percent) had a parent or lawyer present during interrogation."
According to affidavits taken by DCIP for last week’s report documenting the recent arrests and sentencing of Palestinian minors for rock throwing, two of the teenagers “both had maintained their innocence and confessed only after they had experienced physical and psychological abuse.”
The youth described being kicked and punched while handcuffed, choked, and having a door slammed in their face.
Ayed Abu Eqtaish, Accountability Program director at DCIP was quoted in the report as saying: “The changes in the penal code and policy guidelines since 2014 are discriminatory and target Palestinians, specifically youth. Israel is a signatory to the Convention of the Rights of the Child and we call on them to uphold their responsibilities.”
Interrogations of Palestinian children can last up to 90 days according to prisoners’ rights group Addameer, during which in addition to being beaten and threatened, cases of sexual assault and placement in solitary confinement to elicit confessions are also often reported, while confession documents they are forced to sign are in Hebrew -- a language most Palestinian children do not speak.
Fadi Rafat al-Issawi was detained last Sunday when two Israeli undercover police officers in civilian clothing stopped to ask him and his friend Mustafa Abu al-Hummus for directions, before the officers assaulted the two minors and detained them for allegedly throwing rocks, according to a member of the village's monitoring committee Muhammad Abu al-Hummus.
Abu al-Hummus told Ma’an that during a court hearing held for the two minors, Israeli authorities said three cars raided the village and detained the two "in order to limit rock-throwing incidents."
Fadi was sent away to Beit Hanina, a neighborhood north of his home in Issawiya, where he was placed under house arrest. It remained unclear with whom al-Issawi was staying.
Fadi’s mother told Ma’an he suffered from medical negligence while in Israeli police custody, and was only taken to hospital at 11 p.m. despite being arrested in the afternoon, and despite suffering from apparent fractures, bruising, and pain.
His mother added that the family was prevented from visiting Fadi when they were called to the hospital an hour later. After Fadi finished his treatment at 2 a.m., he was placed in a police car where he remained until 6 a.m.
Israeli police did not provide him with painkillers or antibiotics as doctors had recommended, according to Fadi's mother, and they ignored his treatment during the three days he spent at Jerusalem’s Russian Compound police station and detention center.
She added that Fadi’s family took him to a hospital after he was released, where his cast had to be redone, and doctors said his hand might need to undergo surgery. Doctors also revealed that Fadi sustained a minor hairline fracture in his nose and an infection in his mouth after being hit in the face.
Fadi was among at least five other Palestinian youth detained last Sunday, and days later, some 52 Palestinians were detained -- 11 of them minors -- in occupied East Jerusalem neighborhoods for allegedly throwing stones at Israelis.
The detentions came as the latest arrests in an ongoing crackdown on Palestinian children by Israeli police in East Jerusalem, as Palestinian communities in the occupied city have begun to feel the impact of Israeli legislation passed between 2014 and 2015 increasing penalties for rock throwing, which allows for stone-throwers to receive a 20-year prison sentence where intent to harm could be proven, and 10 years where it could not.
Rights group Defense for Children International - Palestine (DCIP) cited in a report on Wednesday a number of recent cases of Palestinian minors being handed prison sentences for periods ranging between 12 to 39 months, with up to three years’ probation.
Israeli police spokesperson Luba al-Samri said in a recent statement amid the arrest campaign of Palestinian youth that “some of them admitted during interrogation that they threw stones at Israeli vehicles and police patrols on the roads to Maale Adumim,” referring to a nearby illegal Israeli settlement.
However, the widespread arrests have put a spotlight on the well-documented abuse of Palestinians children by Israeli forces and the harsh interrogation practices used to force their confessions, which has long been the target of criticism by the international community.
Despite “on paper” having more rights than Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank who are subject to a draconian military detention system, in practice, Jerusalem minors “do not enjoy their enshrined rights” under the Israeli civilian court system, according to DCIP.
Out of 65 cases documented by DCIP in 2015, "more than a third of Jerusalem youth were arrested at night (38.5 percent), the vast majority (87.7 percent) were restrained during arrest, and only a slim minority of children (10.8 percent) had a parent or lawyer present during interrogation."
According to affidavits taken by DCIP for last week’s report documenting the recent arrests and sentencing of Palestinian minors for rock throwing, two of the teenagers “both had maintained their innocence and confessed only after they had experienced physical and psychological abuse.”
The youth described being kicked and punched while handcuffed, choked, and having a door slammed in their face.
Ayed Abu Eqtaish, Accountability Program director at DCIP was quoted in the report as saying: “The changes in the penal code and policy guidelines since 2014 are discriminatory and target Palestinians, specifically youth. Israel is a signatory to the Convention of the Rights of the Child and we call on them to uphold their responsibilities.”
Interrogations of Palestinian children can last up to 90 days according to prisoners’ rights group Addameer, during which in addition to being beaten and threatened, cases of sexual assault and placement in solitary confinement to elicit confessions are also often reported, while confession documents they are forced to sign are in Hebrew -- a language most Palestinian children do not speak.
Head of Palestinian Prisoners Authority Issa Qaraqa said Saturday that Jerusalemite minors have been systematically targeted by Israeli authorities since the outbreak of the Jerusalem Intifada.
Qaraqa pointed out in a statement issued Saturday that Jerusalemite minors are suffering psychological effects of severe and prolonged torture in Israeli the juvenile centers.
According to Israeli laws, Jerusalemite minors aged between 11 and 14 are jailed in Juvenile centers to be then brought to military courts.
125 Jerusalemite minors are currently held in Israeli jails including 110 boys and five girls and 10 children under the age of 12.
Qaraqa pointed out in a statement issued Saturday that Jerusalemite minors are suffering psychological effects of severe and prolonged torture in Israeli the juvenile centers.
According to Israeli laws, Jerusalemite minors aged between 11 and 14 are jailed in Juvenile centers to be then brought to military courts.
125 Jerusalemite minors are currently held in Israeli jails including 110 boys and five girls and 10 children under the age of 12.
Mahmoud Kayed has appealed to the Red Cross to assume its responsibilities towards his brother Bilal, who has been on hunger strike for about 46 days in protest at his detention administratively in an Israeli jail.
Kayed told the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) that the health condition of his brother Bilal has worsened seriously as a result of his prolonged hunger strike.
He added that there are great fears over the life of his brother, especially since he already suffers from health problems.
Following a sharp decline in his health on the 33rd day of his hunger strike, Bilal Kayed was transferred from an isolation cell in Ashkelon prison to Barzilai Hospital, where he has been under intensive security surveillance, with his right hand and left foot shackled to the bed.
Kayed was scheduled for release after he completed his 14.5-year prison term last June 13, but instead he was ordered to six months in administrative detention without indictment or trial.
Kayed told the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) that the health condition of his brother Bilal has worsened seriously as a result of his prolonged hunger strike.
He added that there are great fears over the life of his brother, especially since he already suffers from health problems.
Following a sharp decline in his health on the 33rd day of his hunger strike, Bilal Kayed was transferred from an isolation cell in Ashkelon prison to Barzilai Hospital, where he has been under intensive security surveillance, with his right hand and left foot shackled to the bed.
Kayed was scheduled for release after he completed his 14.5-year prison term last June 13, but instead he was ordered to six months in administrative detention without indictment or trial.
Israeli soldiers kidnapped, on Saturday morning, a Palestinian guard of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and took him to an interrogation center in occupied Jerusalem.
The WAFA Palestinian News Agency said the soldiers kidnapped Mohannad Edrees near the Tribes Gate, as he was heading for work in the mosque, before moving him to a nearby interrogation center.
It is worth mentioning that the soldiers have kidnapped many guards and workers of the Al-Aqsa mosque, in the last few days, and issued orders preventing seven of them from entering it for various periods.
The WAFA Palestinian News Agency said the soldiers kidnapped Mohannad Edrees near the Tribes Gate, as he was heading for work in the mosque, before moving him to a nearby interrogation center.
It is worth mentioning that the soldiers have kidnapped many guards and workers of the Al-Aqsa mosque, in the last few days, and issued orders preventing seven of them from entering it for various periods.
Israeli soldiers invaded, earlier on Saturday at dawn, the northern West Bank city of Jenin, and Jenin refugee camp, searched several homes and kidnapped three Palestinians. The soldiers also shot and injured seven others during clashes that took place after the invasion.
The Jenin office of the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) has reported that the soldiers invaded homes in the Eastern Neighborhood in Jenin, and kidnapped Tha’er al-Hinnawi.
It added that the soldiers invaded and searched homes in the Jenin refugee camp, and kidnapped Abdullah Ahmad Hasri and Abdul-Rahman Fadel Hasri.
Clashes took place in the refugee camp after the soldiers invaded it; the army fired several live rounds and wounded one Palestinian in his thigh.
The soldiers also shot and injured six Palestinians with live rounds, in a number of neighborhoods in Jenin city.
The PPS stated that the soldiers also searched a number of homes, and interrogated many Palestinians.
In related news, Israeli soldiers stationed in a military base across the border fence, east of Johr ed-Deek area, in central Gaza, opened fire on a number of farmers on their lands, forcing them to leave.
The Jenin office of the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) has reported that the soldiers invaded homes in the Eastern Neighborhood in Jenin, and kidnapped Tha’er al-Hinnawi.
It added that the soldiers invaded and searched homes in the Jenin refugee camp, and kidnapped Abdullah Ahmad Hasri and Abdul-Rahman Fadel Hasri.
Clashes took place in the refugee camp after the soldiers invaded it; the army fired several live rounds and wounded one Palestinian in his thigh.
The soldiers also shot and injured six Palestinians with live rounds, in a number of neighborhoods in Jenin city.
The PPS stated that the soldiers also searched a number of homes, and interrogated many Palestinians.
In related news, Israeli soldiers stationed in a military base across the border fence, east of Johr ed-Deek area, in central Gaza, opened fire on a number of farmers on their lands, forcing them to leave.
The al-Awqaf Council for Islamic Affairs, the Islamic Supreme Authority, and Dar al-Fatwa issued a joint statement on Friday evening denouncing Israeli arrests and violations at al-Aqsa Mosque.
The joint statement pointed out that Israeli authorities arrested over the few past days two guards of al-Aqsa Mosque and an employee at the holy shine's administration.
Other employees at al-Aqsa were earlier summoned for investigation and denied access into the compound for different periods of time. Heavy fines were also imposed on them.
The statement described the Israeli deliberate targeting of al-Aqsa’s employees and guards as a systematic punitive policy aims at silencing protests against settlers’ provocative presence in the Islamic holy shrine.
The statement also warned Israeli authorities of continuing attacks against al-Aqsa’s employees and guards.
The joint statement pointed out that Israeli authorities arrested over the few past days two guards of al-Aqsa Mosque and an employee at the holy shine's administration.
Other employees at al-Aqsa were earlier summoned for investigation and denied access into the compound for different periods of time. Heavy fines were also imposed on them.
The statement described the Israeli deliberate targeting of al-Aqsa’s employees and guards as a systematic punitive policy aims at silencing protests against settlers’ provocative presence in the Islamic holy shrine.
The statement also warned Israeli authorities of continuing attacks against al-Aqsa’s employees and guards.
The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) carried out at dawn Saturday a raid and arrest campaign across the West Bank which led to the outbreak of violent clashes.
In Jenin, clashes broke out when Israeli forces violently stormed Jenin refugee camp and arrested two young men. Nearly six homes were also stormed and searched while the main road in the city was closed during the raid, local sources told the PIC reporter.
Palestinian youths responded by throwing stones at the Israeli soldiers who were deployed in large numbers in the city’s neighborhoods and refugee camp amid heavy firing of teargas bombs and rubber bullets.
In Nablus, Israeli forces stormed in large numbers Beita and Qablan towns before closing all roads leading to both towns. No arrests were reported during the raid.
In Ramallah, Israeli forces detained overnight a young man at Hazma military checkpoint, while another Palestinian was rounded up in al-Khalil. Several towns and villages in al-Khalil have also witnessed large-scale raid and search campaigns.
A number of locals were summoned for investigation during the campaign. In occupied Jerusalem, Israeli police arrested Saturday morning a guard at al-Aqsa Mosque while on his way to work.
Meanwhile, Israeli municipal authorities forced a Jerusalemite citizen to demolish his house in Silwan town, south of al-Aqsa, under the pretext of being built without Israeli permit.
According to statistics published in September 2015 by B'Tselem, Israel has partially or completely demolished a total of 988 houses built without permits in occupied Jerusalem between 1999 and 2014, as per B’Tselem statistics published on Sept. 17, 2015.
This came amid talks about over 30,000 houses in Jerusalem without permits, which means Israel only granted permits for a few houses, but there are no statistics in this regard.
The house demolition policy was harshly criticized by many international parties on several occasions, with the last one on May 16, when Israeli forces demolished and disassembled 12 EU-built homes in the Bedouin neighborhood in Jabal al-Baba east of Jerusalem, claiming they had been built without Israeli authorization.
The incident led Robert Piper, the UN coordinator for humanitarian assistance and development aid for the occupied Palestinian territory, on May 19 to strongly criticize the Israeli move, while the European Union denounced the confiscation and demolition in a statement on May 20, and demanded Israel to put an end to this policy.
In Jenin, clashes broke out when Israeli forces violently stormed Jenin refugee camp and arrested two young men. Nearly six homes were also stormed and searched while the main road in the city was closed during the raid, local sources told the PIC reporter.
Palestinian youths responded by throwing stones at the Israeli soldiers who were deployed in large numbers in the city’s neighborhoods and refugee camp amid heavy firing of teargas bombs and rubber bullets.
In Nablus, Israeli forces stormed in large numbers Beita and Qablan towns before closing all roads leading to both towns. No arrests were reported during the raid.
In Ramallah, Israeli forces detained overnight a young man at Hazma military checkpoint, while another Palestinian was rounded up in al-Khalil. Several towns and villages in al-Khalil have also witnessed large-scale raid and search campaigns.
A number of locals were summoned for investigation during the campaign. In occupied Jerusalem, Israeli police arrested Saturday morning a guard at al-Aqsa Mosque while on his way to work.
Meanwhile, Israeli municipal authorities forced a Jerusalemite citizen to demolish his house in Silwan town, south of al-Aqsa, under the pretext of being built without Israeli permit.
According to statistics published in September 2015 by B'Tselem, Israel has partially or completely demolished a total of 988 houses built without permits in occupied Jerusalem between 1999 and 2014, as per B’Tselem statistics published on Sept. 17, 2015.
This came amid talks about over 30,000 houses in Jerusalem without permits, which means Israel only granted permits for a few houses, but there are no statistics in this regard.
The house demolition policy was harshly criticized by many international parties on several occasions, with the last one on May 16, when Israeli forces demolished and disassembled 12 EU-built homes in the Bedouin neighborhood in Jabal al-Baba east of Jerusalem, claiming they had been built without Israeli authorization.
The incident led Robert Piper, the UN coordinator for humanitarian assistance and development aid for the occupied Palestinian territory, on May 19 to strongly criticize the Israeli move, while the European Union denounced the confiscation and demolition in a statement on May 20, and demanded Israel to put an end to this policy.
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on Friday afternoon kidnapped a Palestinian child in Beit Ummar town, north of al-Khalil city.
Local activist Mohamed Awad said that 16-year-old Mohamed Abu Mariya was kidnapped by soldiers as he was on his way home after he performed the Friday prayer in a mosque.
He added that the soldiers ambushed the boy as he was walking in Osaida area and then took him to an unknown place.
Local activist Mohamed Awad said that 16-year-old Mohamed Abu Mariya was kidnapped by soldiers as he was on his way home after he performed the Friday prayer in a mosque.
He added that the soldiers ambushed the boy as he was walking in Osaida area and then took him to an unknown place.
Israeli soldiers attacked, Friday, the weekly nonviolent protest against the Annexation Wall and colonies in Bil’in village, near the central West Bank city of Ramallah, and kidnapped a Palestinian teen and an Israeli solidarity activist.
The Popular Committee in Bil’in said the soldiers kidnapped Hamza al-Khatib, 17, and Israeli peace activists Anat Lev.
Lev was later released and placed under house arrest under very severe restrictions. She said the police broke into her apartment in Tel Aviv after destroying the locks with permission of the landlord.
Dozens of Palestinians, Israeli and international peace activists, including members of “Black Lives Matter” participated in the procession that started from the center of the village, heading towards the Palestinian orchards.
Coordinator of the Popular Committee against the Wall and colonies, Abdullah Abu Rahma, called for massive participation in the Sunday evening protest, in Douma village, near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, to commemorate the death of the Dawabsha family, who were burnt to death last year, after Israeli terrorists firebombed their home as they slept.
The protesters carried posters of Sa’ad Dawabsha, his wife Reham and their child, Ali, 18 months, who were all killed in the terrorist attack, while the only survivor, Ahmad, 5, suffered severe burns. They called on the international community to act and bring the killers to justice.
The Popular Committee in Bil’in said the soldiers kidnapped Hamza al-Khatib, 17, and Israeli peace activists Anat Lev.
Lev was later released and placed under house arrest under very severe restrictions. She said the police broke into her apartment in Tel Aviv after destroying the locks with permission of the landlord.
Dozens of Palestinians, Israeli and international peace activists, including members of “Black Lives Matter” participated in the procession that started from the center of the village, heading towards the Palestinian orchards.
Coordinator of the Popular Committee against the Wall and colonies, Abdullah Abu Rahma, called for massive participation in the Sunday evening protest, in Douma village, near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, to commemorate the death of the Dawabsha family, who were burnt to death last year, after Israeli terrorists firebombed their home as they slept.
The protesters carried posters of Sa’ad Dawabsha, his wife Reham and their child, Ali, 18 months, who were all killed in the terrorist attack, while the only survivor, Ahmad, 5, suffered severe burns. They called on the international community to act and bring the killers to justice.
