14 aug 2013
Tadhamun Foundation for Human Rights said that the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) arrested at dawn Tuesday a Palestinian journalist from the city of Ramallah. The researcher at the foundation Ahmed Betawi said that a large military force stormed the village of Budrus, west of Ramallah, and arrested journalist Mohamed Awad, aged 25, from his home.
He pointed out that the soldiers broke into his house and attacked his brother's children.
Betawi added that the soldiers confiscated Awad's equipment of photojournalism, computers and cell phones.
Meanwhile, the Israeli troops launched a campaign of raids and searches in the towns of Silat al-Harithiya and Burqin west of Jenin and arrested two citizens.
They also stormed at dawn Tuesday Sherim neighborhood in town of Qalqilya and arrested two brothers, Tadhamun reported.
Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) on Tuesday afternoon transferred journalist Mohammed Mona, Quds Press agency's correspondent in the city of Nablus in the northern West Bank, to administrative detention for six months.
Mona was arrested nearly a week ago after storming his house in the city of Nablus. He had been arrested earlier 4 times by the occupation and served 5 years in its prisons.
Tadhamun pointed out that the IOA also transferred a prisoner from the town of Beta near Nablus to administrative detention for 3 months.
He pointed out that the soldiers broke into his house and attacked his brother's children.
Betawi added that the soldiers confiscated Awad's equipment of photojournalism, computers and cell phones.
Meanwhile, the Israeli troops launched a campaign of raids and searches in the towns of Silat al-Harithiya and Burqin west of Jenin and arrested two citizens.
They also stormed at dawn Tuesday Sherim neighborhood in town of Qalqilya and arrested two brothers, Tadhamun reported.
Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) on Tuesday afternoon transferred journalist Mohammed Mona, Quds Press agency's correspondent in the city of Nablus in the northern West Bank, to administrative detention for six months.
Mona was arrested nearly a week ago after storming his house in the city of Nablus. He had been arrested earlier 4 times by the occupation and served 5 years in its prisons.
Tadhamun pointed out that the IOA also transferred a prisoner from the town of Beta near Nablus to administrative detention for 3 months.
Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) released two Palestinian female captives, from al-Khalil and Bethlehem in the southern occupied West Bank, after the completion of their sentences.
Human rights sources reported that the occupation authorities on Tuesday released Palestinian prisoner Ayat Mahfouz from al-Khalil. She was detained for more than a month, and ordered to pay a fine of one thousand shekels (about $ 280). Tadhamun Foundation for Human Rights said in a statement that the IOA also freed female prisoner Heba Mohamed Bedair from Bethlehem, after an arrest that lasted more than four months in Hasharon Prison.
The statement pointed out that the Israeli intelligence subjected captive Bedair to a harsh investigation by depriving her from sleep and confiscating her medicines.
The occupation still holds eleven Palestinian female prisoners in its jails.
Human rights sources reported that the occupation authorities on Tuesday released Palestinian prisoner Ayat Mahfouz from al-Khalil. She was detained for more than a month, and ordered to pay a fine of one thousand shekels (about $ 280). Tadhamun Foundation for Human Rights said in a statement that the IOA also freed female prisoner Heba Mohamed Bedair from Bethlehem, after an arrest that lasted more than four months in Hasharon Prison.
The statement pointed out that the Israeli intelligence subjected captive Bedair to a harsh investigation by depriving her from sleep and confiscating her medicines.
The occupation still holds eleven Palestinian female prisoners in its jails.
An Israeli doctor at Kaplan medical center warned Palestinian prisoners Ayman Atbish and Adel Hureibat, on hunger strike for about 83 days, that they would go into a coma and then die if they kept refraining from taking vitamins, especially B1. According to Muhjat Al-Quds foundation, the health status of the two detainees has become extremely serious as result of their long hunger strike in protest at their administrative detention without any guilt.
In a letter obtained by the foundation, the hunger strikers said they refuse to undergo medical tests and take vitamins despite their suffering from pains in all parts of their bodies in addition to several health problems.
According to the letter, every one of the prisoners is inside a separate room in the hospital, being watched by three jailers.
Israeli intelligence officers had offered the two prisoners a deal to break their hunger strike in exchange for not extending their administrative detention, but their demand that this offer be put in writing in the presence of their lawyers was refused by the officers.
Muhjat Al-Quds foundation, in turn, appealed to the Red Cross, the UN human rights council and other human rights groups to urgently intervene to have these two prisoners released and pressure Israel to end its administrative detention policy, which violates the international law.
In a letter obtained by the foundation, the hunger strikers said they refuse to undergo medical tests and take vitamins despite their suffering from pains in all parts of their bodies in addition to several health problems.
According to the letter, every one of the prisoners is inside a separate room in the hospital, being watched by three jailers.
Israeli intelligence officers had offered the two prisoners a deal to break their hunger strike in exchange for not extending their administrative detention, but their demand that this offer be put in writing in the presence of their lawyers was refused by the officers.
Muhjat Al-Quds foundation, in turn, appealed to the Red Cross, the UN human rights council and other human rights groups to urgently intervene to have these two prisoners released and pressure Israel to end its administrative detention policy, which violates the international law.
Tadamun foundation for human rights said that the Israeli minister of economy Naftali Bennett indirectly called on Tuesday for killing the Palestinians rather than arresting and later releasing them. The foundation stated that Bennett, a noted right-wing Zionist figure, described on his facebook page the Palestinian prisoners to be released soon by the Israel side as murderers who should be killed.
According to the foundation, Bennett also called for stopping to name the Palestinian prisoners as detainees because as he claimed they were arrested for killing Israelis and not because of traffic violations.
He also said that the detention of the Palestinians are no longer a deterrent to them, so he pledged to work on having the Israeli army to reconsider its methods when dealing with what he described as the criminals.
Tadamun foundation considered such remarks by Bennett as indirect incitement to killing the Palestinians instead of detaining them, pointing that Bennett strongly opposes the idea of releasing Palestinian prisoners as a goodwill gesture to resume the peace process.
According to the foundation, Bennett also called for stopping to name the Palestinian prisoners as detainees because as he claimed they were arrested for killing Israelis and not because of traffic violations.
He also said that the detention of the Palestinians are no longer a deterrent to them, so he pledged to work on having the Israeli army to reconsider its methods when dealing with what he described as the criminals.
Tadamun foundation considered such remarks by Bennett as indirect incitement to killing the Palestinians instead of detaining them, pointing that Bennett strongly opposes the idea of releasing Palestinian prisoners as a goodwill gesture to resume the peace process.
The Israeli Occupation Authorities (IOA) released Tuesday morning, the member of Qassam brigades Jamil Abdel Wahab Natsheh, 48, after he spent 21 years in Israeli jails. Israeli authorities arrested Natsheh in 1992 where he was sentenced to 21 years. Although he has ended his sentence, he was listed in the Palestinian prisoner list released on Wednesday as the first batch of the release deal as a condition for agreeing to resume talks.
The occupation authorities accused Natsheh of being behind several operations carried out al-Khalil between 1990 and 1992, in addition to being a member of Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas movement.
The occupation authorities accused Natsheh of being behind several operations carried out al-Khalil between 1990 and 1992, in addition to being a member of Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas movement.
The Palestinian prisoners center for studies said that soldiers of the Israeli prison service's rapid response unit known as Keter burst last night into a section in the Negev prison and violently searched its cells. The center stated on Tuesday that the Keter soldiers stormed and ransacked section 24 in Negev jail, especially a cell occupied by administrative prisoners.
The center added that the soldiers forced the prisoners out of their cells and dealt violently with their belongings during the search.
According to the center, the unit claimed to have been looking for cellphones used by the prisoners to contact their families.
The center affirmed that the Israeli prison authority deliberately targets the Negev jail, pointing that its intervention units have carried out 17 raids on different sections of the prison since the start of the year.
The center added that the soldiers forced the prisoners out of their cells and dealt violently with their belongings during the search.
According to the center, the unit claimed to have been looking for cellphones used by the prisoners to contact their families.
The center affirmed that the Israeli prison authority deliberately targets the Negev jail, pointing that its intervention units have carried out 17 raids on different sections of the prison since the start of the year.
The Palestinian prisoner society said that the Israeli administration of Ramon jail deliberately neglects the medical treatment of three Palestinian prisoners. According to a lawyer sent by the society to the jail, prisoner Iyad Nassar, from Tulkarem city and sentenced to 30 years, has been suffering for several years from loss of vision in his left eye and weakness in his right eye.
The lawyer affirmed that there are fears that prisoner Nassar could lose his eyesight completely any day due to the reluctance of the Ramon administration to provide him with proper medical treatment.
Prisoner Mahmoud Sharha, in turn, suffers from a tumor and he does know its type, although it was discovered several months ago.
The lawyer said that the Ramon jail allowed the prisoner to undergo medical tests, but he has neither been told about the type of the tumor he suffers from or his health situation, nor provided with treatment.
He noted that the Ramon jailers transferred Sharaha to hospital about one month ago despite his suffering for three years.
The third prisoner named Yaser Sharbati has been suffering from an unknown swelling of his knee for months, and still not provided with any treatment.
The lawyer affirmed that there are fears that prisoner Nassar could lose his eyesight completely any day due to the reluctance of the Ramon administration to provide him with proper medical treatment.
Prisoner Mahmoud Sharha, in turn, suffers from a tumor and he does know its type, although it was discovered several months ago.
The lawyer said that the Ramon jail allowed the prisoner to undergo medical tests, but he has neither been told about the type of the tumor he suffers from or his health situation, nor provided with treatment.
He noted that the Ramon jailers transferred Sharaha to hospital about one month ago despite his suffering for three years.
The third prisoner named Yaser Sharbati has been suffering from an unknown swelling of his knee for months, and still not provided with any treatment.
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The release of 26 Palestinian political prisoners, held by Israel, has been concluded as 11 West Bank detainees reached the Palestinian Presidential headquarters in Ramallah, and 11 Gaza Strip detainees made it to the coastal region, through the Erez (Beit Hanoun) crossing.
Dozens of thousands of Palestinians gathered in the central West Bank city of Ramallah, and in Gaza city, and welcomed the freed detainees in massive celebrations. The released detainees were transported, to Ramallah, in four official Palestinian Authority vehicles, after tinted Israeli buses moved them to a roadblock near the city. West Bank detainees were welcomed by President Mahmoud Abbas, and thousands of Palestinians, before heading to the grave of late President, Yasser Arafat, where they placed flowers on his grave, and prayed for his soul. Abbas told the detainees, and the mass crowds, that the Palestinian leadership would not rest before every Palestinian detainee enjoys freedom. Thousands of Palestinians also gathered at the Beit Hanoun (Erez) Terminal, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, and welcomed the 15 released Gaza Strip detainees. Hundreds of social and local figures, leaders of Islamic and national factions, and thousands of residents celebrated the release. 25 of the released detainees have been imprisoned by Israel since before the first Oslo Peace Agreement of 1993, while one of them has been imprisoned since 2001. They are members and supporters of different factions, including Hamas and Fateh. Approximately 78 more detainees will be released by Israel within 9 months as long as the recently renewed peace talks do not stop. Former political prisoner, head of the Ahrar Center for Detainees Studies and Human Rights, stated that 14 of the detainees are from historic Palestine, 9 from Jerusalem, 48 from the West Bank, and 8 from the Gaza Strip. Sixty-four of the detainees have been serving life terms, and 15 of them have been serving terms that range between 20 and 40 years. Last month, Israel kidnapped more than 89 Palestinians in different parts of the occupied Palestinian territories. Back in June, the Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association (Ad-Dameer) issued a report revealing that Israel is holding captive 5058 Palestinians, including 222 children, 15 women, and 13 legislators. The number also includes 147 detainees (including eight legislators) held under arbitrary Administrative Detention orders without charges. 186 detainees are from |
Jerusalem, 209 from historic Palestine, and 422 from Gaza.
530 detainees have been sentenced to life terms, 458 sentenced to more than 20 years, 25 spent at least 25 years in prison, 77 spent more than 20 years, and 105 have been imprisoned since before the Oslo Peace Agreement of 1993.
530 detainees have been sentenced to life terms, 458 sentenced to more than 20 years, 25 spent at least 25 years in prison, 77 spent more than 20 years, and 105 have been imprisoned since before the Oslo Peace Agreement of 1993.
Israeli sources have reported that Israel started the release of 26 Palestinian political prisoners as part of the efforts to resume direct peace talks with the Palestinians. The release started after the Israeli High Court rejected appeals filed against the release.
Israeli daily, Haaretz, have reported that the detainees were removed from their cells at the Ayalon Israel prison, where they were moved to, in order to transfer them to the border with Gaza, and to the West Bank.
The freed detainees have been kidnapped by the army between the years 1985 and 2001, Haaretz said, and added that they will all be allowed back home.
The Maan News Agency reported that the detainees, placed in two buses with tinted windows, were moved to the Ofer Israeli prison, west of the central West Bank city of Ramallah, and to the Erez terminal with the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, Haaretz quoted an Israeli official stating that the detainees were placed in sealed and tinted buses so that they would not be able to stretch their hands out of the buses to wave victory signs.
In addition, several Israelis, including relatives of those hurt in Palestinian attacks, attacked the buses as they left the Ayalon prison, and were removed by Israeli soldiers and police officers.
According to Maan News, the Israeli protesters also demanded Israel to release Israelis who killed Palestinians, including an Israeli who, on May 20 1990, killed seven Palestinian workers, and injured at least ten others in Reshon Letzion (Oyoun Qarra).
On his part, Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, asked the Palestinian leadership to gather at his headquarters in Ramallah to welcome the released detainees.
Israeli daily, Haaretz, have reported that the detainees were removed from their cells at the Ayalon Israel prison, where they were moved to, in order to transfer them to the border with Gaza, and to the West Bank.
The freed detainees have been kidnapped by the army between the years 1985 and 2001, Haaretz said, and added that they will all be allowed back home.
The Maan News Agency reported that the detainees, placed in two buses with tinted windows, were moved to the Ofer Israeli prison, west of the central West Bank city of Ramallah, and to the Erez terminal with the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, Haaretz quoted an Israeli official stating that the detainees were placed in sealed and tinted buses so that they would not be able to stretch their hands out of the buses to wave victory signs.
In addition, several Israelis, including relatives of those hurt in Palestinian attacks, attacked the buses as they left the Ayalon prison, and were removed by Israeli soldiers and police officers.
According to Maan News, the Israeli protesters also demanded Israel to release Israelis who killed Palestinians, including an Israeli who, on May 20 1990, killed seven Palestinian workers, and injured at least ten others in Reshon Letzion (Oyoun Qarra).
On his part, Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, asked the Palestinian leadership to gather at his headquarters in Ramallah to welcome the released detainees.
13 aug 2013
Abbas to prisoners: You left darkness of prison to light of liberty
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas joined by the 11 freed prisoners addressed a crowd of 1,000 people at the Mukataa in Ramallah.
"We welcome our brothers who have left the darkness of prison into the light of freedom and tell them they are the first, but that there are other brothers who too will leave soon. We shall not rest until they are all with us." The prisoners first visited the grave of Yasser Arafat.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas joined by the 11 freed prisoners addressed a crowd of 1,000 people at the Mukataa in Ramallah.
"We welcome our brothers who have left the darkness of prison into the light of freedom and tell them they are the first, but that there are other brothers who too will leave soon. We shall not rest until they are all with us." The prisoners first visited the grave of Yasser Arafat.
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Eleven Palestinian prisoners have entered the West Bank via the Beitunia checkpoint after being released from the Ofer Prison. Fifteen other prisoners are at the Erez checkpoint, waiting to be released to Gaza. 15 Palestinian prisoners cross into Gaza Fifteen Palestinian prisoners have crossed into the Gaza Strip from the Erez checkpoint. Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is greeting the 11 prisoners in Ramallah. |
UFree Network to defend the rights of Palestinian political prisoners and detainees welcomed the release of a number of Palestinian prisoners. The network considered the step as late, long overdue that is used to cover up its the Israeli ugly image perceived worldwide through showing “real” intention of peace seeking.
In a press statement dispatched Tuesday evening, August 13, 2013, UFree stated that it is watchfully waiting to see the outcome of the Palestinian prisoners’ release deal between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Israel. It asserted that the deal is not enough and that all Palestinian political prisoners and detainees should be released unconditionally.
The network confirmed that it welcomes any steps which may help Palestinian political prisoners and detainees obtain their stolen freedom. It would like also to celebrate the joy of their families, who are longing to see their beloved ones.
In the same time, UFee Network announced its rejection of using the basic human rights of prisoners as a negotiation tool in order to blackmail Palestinian political prisoners and their rights.
“The standards of releasing prisoners should have been different. Some of those will be released in the first dispatch of prisoners are due to end their imprisonment sentences. Meanwhile, four prisoners spent more than three quarters of their sentence in the jail and at least one prisoner spent 12 years in the jail. This standard is approved unilaterally by Israel” said the statement.
Additionally, the Palestinian absent role in preparing and naming the lists of prisoners intended to be released makes Israel the dominant power to decide the names of prisoners intended to be released. The current release of prisoners is not based on any human right standard; this is obvious as Israel refuses to release prisoners from occupied territories of 1948 and Jerusalem.
For his part, chairman of UFree Network, Mohammad Hamdan welcomed the step of releasing any Palestinian political prisoners and detainees.
“We are happy to see some prisoners are released today, yet the step comes too late as it should have happened 20 years ago. All prisoners should be released as they have the basic right to be free and not charged. We don’t accept the Israeli attempts to use them as a negotiation tool. International community should bear its responsibility by pressuring Israel to free all prisoners as it will help achieving peace” added Hamdan
In a press statement dispatched Tuesday evening, August 13, 2013, UFree stated that it is watchfully waiting to see the outcome of the Palestinian prisoners’ release deal between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Israel. It asserted that the deal is not enough and that all Palestinian political prisoners and detainees should be released unconditionally.
The network confirmed that it welcomes any steps which may help Palestinian political prisoners and detainees obtain their stolen freedom. It would like also to celebrate the joy of their families, who are longing to see their beloved ones.
In the same time, UFee Network announced its rejection of using the basic human rights of prisoners as a negotiation tool in order to blackmail Palestinian political prisoners and their rights.
“The standards of releasing prisoners should have been different. Some of those will be released in the first dispatch of prisoners are due to end their imprisonment sentences. Meanwhile, four prisoners spent more than three quarters of their sentence in the jail and at least one prisoner spent 12 years in the jail. This standard is approved unilaterally by Israel” said the statement.
Additionally, the Palestinian absent role in preparing and naming the lists of prisoners intended to be released makes Israel the dominant power to decide the names of prisoners intended to be released. The current release of prisoners is not based on any human right standard; this is obvious as Israel refuses to release prisoners from occupied territories of 1948 and Jerusalem.
For his part, chairman of UFree Network, Mohammad Hamdan welcomed the step of releasing any Palestinian political prisoners and detainees.
“We are happy to see some prisoners are released today, yet the step comes too late as it should have happened 20 years ago. All prisoners should be released as they have the basic right to be free and not charged. We don’t accept the Israeli attempts to use them as a negotiation tool. International community should bear its responsibility by pressuring Israel to free all prisoners as it will help achieving peace” added Hamdan
The release of Palestinian prisoners is part of an agreement to renew talks after a five-year freeze
Israel began the process of releasing 26 Palestinian prisoners late on Tuesday – an initial gesture on the eve of renewed Middle East peace talks.
Thousands of Palestinians have spent time in Israeli prisons since Israel's capture of the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem in 1967. They were jailed on charges ranging from throwing rocks to killing civilians in bombings and other attacks.
The decision to release the men has stirred anguish in Israel, particularly among the relatives of those killed in attacks. Meanwhile celebrations were planned in the Palestinian territory, where Palestinians generally view the prisoners as heroes, regardless of their acts, arguing they made personal sacrifices in the struggle for independence.
The Israeli prison service said buses carrying the inmates left the Ayalon jail in central Israel late on Tuesday. Israel has decided to release them late at night to prevent a spectacle. Some protesters tried – in a symbolic move – to block the buses from leaving the jail.
Most of the prisoners were convicted of killings, including Israeli civilians and suspected Palestinian collaborators, while others were involved in attempted murder or kidnapping.
The release of the prisoners was part of an agreement brokered by US secretary of state John Kerry to get Israel and the Palestinians back to the table for peace talks that had been paralysed since 2008. In all, 104 convicts are to be released in four batches, although their freedom is contingent on progress in peace talks.
Israelis and Palestinians are to launch talks in Jerusalem on Wednesday, after a preparatory round two weeks ago in Washington. The prisoner release is part of an agreement to restart the talks after a five-year freeze.
Israel's prison service posted the 26 names online on Monday to allow two days for possible court appeals. On Tuesday Israel's Supreme Court rejected an appeal by families of those killed by the prisoners.
Most of the prisoners have already served around 20 years, with the longest held arrested in 1985. Fourteen of the prisoners were to be released to the Gaza Strip and 12 to the West Bank.
Most Israelis view those involved in killings as terrorists for killing civilians. Relatives of those killed by the inmates protested the night before against their release. Protesters dipped their hands in red paint to symbolise what they said was the blood on the hands of the prisoners.
Earlier, Israel said it is moving forward with building nearly 900 new homes in east Jerusalem, a decision that angered Palestinians a day before the talks.
The last round of substantive talks collapsed in late 2008, and negotiations have remained stalled mainly over the issue of Israeli settlement construction on territories claimed by the Palestinians for their future state. The Palestinians say the settlements, now home to more than 500,000 Israelis, are making it increasingly difficult to carve out their state and that continued Israeli construction is a sign of bad faith.
Hanan Ashrawi, a senior Palestinian official, said Israel's settlement plans are a slap in the face of the Palestinians and Kerry. "It is not just deliberate sabotage of the talks, but really a destruction of the outcome," she said.
Ashrawi urged Kerry "to stand up to Israel" and deliver a tough response.
Mark Regev, a spokesman for Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, rejected the Palestinian claim.
He said: "The Palestinians know that Israel rejected their demands of a settlement freeze as a precondition to these talks – they cannot say otherwise.
"The construction that the Israeli government authorised is all in Jerusalem and the large blocs, in areas that will remain part of Israel in any possible final status agreement and this construction that has been authorised in no way changes the final map of peace," Regev added.
The US had no immediate comment. On Monday, Kerry repeated the position that the settlements are "illegitimate", while saying he didn't think the recent flap over Israeli settlements would delay talks. "I'm sure we will work out a path forward," Kerry said.
The latest construction is to take place in Gilo, an area in east Jerusalem that Israel considers to be a neighbourhood of its capital. Israel's annexation of east Jerusalem, which the Palestinians claim as their capital, is not internationally recognised.
The housing plan, which received initial approval last year, would expand Gilo's boundaries further toward a Palestinian neighbourhood. The plans for 900 housing units in Gilo come in addition to an earlier announcement this week of some 1,200 other settlement homes in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
Efrat Orbach, an Interior Ministry spokeswoman, confirmed that approval had been given for the Gilo expansion. She said more approvals are needed before construction begins. But Lior Amihai of anti-settlement group Peace Now, said the plan needs no further approval and construction could begin within weeks.
The Palestinians had refused to resume negotiations with Israel unless it halted settlement construction. Israel has refused.
After six trips to the region, Kerry managed to persuade Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas to drop the settlement issue as a condition for negotiations to start. In exchange, Israel agreed to release 104 Palestinian prisoners.
Israel began the process of releasing 26 Palestinian prisoners late on Tuesday – an initial gesture on the eve of renewed Middle East peace talks.
Thousands of Palestinians have spent time in Israeli prisons since Israel's capture of the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem in 1967. They were jailed on charges ranging from throwing rocks to killing civilians in bombings and other attacks.
The decision to release the men has stirred anguish in Israel, particularly among the relatives of those killed in attacks. Meanwhile celebrations were planned in the Palestinian territory, where Palestinians generally view the prisoners as heroes, regardless of their acts, arguing they made personal sacrifices in the struggle for independence.
The Israeli prison service said buses carrying the inmates left the Ayalon jail in central Israel late on Tuesday. Israel has decided to release them late at night to prevent a spectacle. Some protesters tried – in a symbolic move – to block the buses from leaving the jail.
Most of the prisoners were convicted of killings, including Israeli civilians and suspected Palestinian collaborators, while others were involved in attempted murder or kidnapping.
The release of the prisoners was part of an agreement brokered by US secretary of state John Kerry to get Israel and the Palestinians back to the table for peace talks that had been paralysed since 2008. In all, 104 convicts are to be released in four batches, although their freedom is contingent on progress in peace talks.
Israelis and Palestinians are to launch talks in Jerusalem on Wednesday, after a preparatory round two weeks ago in Washington. The prisoner release is part of an agreement to restart the talks after a five-year freeze.
Israel's prison service posted the 26 names online on Monday to allow two days for possible court appeals. On Tuesday Israel's Supreme Court rejected an appeal by families of those killed by the prisoners.
Most of the prisoners have already served around 20 years, with the longest held arrested in 1985. Fourteen of the prisoners were to be released to the Gaza Strip and 12 to the West Bank.
Most Israelis view those involved in killings as terrorists for killing civilians. Relatives of those killed by the inmates protested the night before against their release. Protesters dipped their hands in red paint to symbolise what they said was the blood on the hands of the prisoners.
Earlier, Israel said it is moving forward with building nearly 900 new homes in east Jerusalem, a decision that angered Palestinians a day before the talks.
The last round of substantive talks collapsed in late 2008, and negotiations have remained stalled mainly over the issue of Israeli settlement construction on territories claimed by the Palestinians for their future state. The Palestinians say the settlements, now home to more than 500,000 Israelis, are making it increasingly difficult to carve out their state and that continued Israeli construction is a sign of bad faith.
Hanan Ashrawi, a senior Palestinian official, said Israel's settlement plans are a slap in the face of the Palestinians and Kerry. "It is not just deliberate sabotage of the talks, but really a destruction of the outcome," she said.
Ashrawi urged Kerry "to stand up to Israel" and deliver a tough response.
Mark Regev, a spokesman for Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, rejected the Palestinian claim.
He said: "The Palestinians know that Israel rejected their demands of a settlement freeze as a precondition to these talks – they cannot say otherwise.
"The construction that the Israeli government authorised is all in Jerusalem and the large blocs, in areas that will remain part of Israel in any possible final status agreement and this construction that has been authorised in no way changes the final map of peace," Regev added.
The US had no immediate comment. On Monday, Kerry repeated the position that the settlements are "illegitimate", while saying he didn't think the recent flap over Israeli settlements would delay talks. "I'm sure we will work out a path forward," Kerry said.
The latest construction is to take place in Gilo, an area in east Jerusalem that Israel considers to be a neighbourhood of its capital. Israel's annexation of east Jerusalem, which the Palestinians claim as their capital, is not internationally recognised.
The housing plan, which received initial approval last year, would expand Gilo's boundaries further toward a Palestinian neighbourhood. The plans for 900 housing units in Gilo come in addition to an earlier announcement this week of some 1,200 other settlement homes in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
Efrat Orbach, an Interior Ministry spokeswoman, confirmed that approval had been given for the Gilo expansion. She said more approvals are needed before construction begins. But Lior Amihai of anti-settlement group Peace Now, said the plan needs no further approval and construction could begin within weeks.
The Palestinians had refused to resume negotiations with Israel unless it halted settlement construction. Israel has refused.
After six trips to the region, Kerry managed to persuade Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas to drop the settlement issue as a condition for negotiations to start. In exchange, Israel agreed to release 104 Palestinian prisoners.
J'lem: Interruptions in Light Rail in protest of prisoner release
A metal chain briefly blocked Light Rail traffic in Jerusalem in protest of the release of the Palestinian prisoners. Police arrived at the scene and took down the chain and sign, and the Light Rail resumed its activity. Jerusalem Police launched an investigation.
A metal chain briefly blocked Light Rail traffic in Jerusalem in protest of the release of the Palestinian prisoners. Police arrived at the scene and took down the chain and sign, and the Light Rail resumed its activity. Jerusalem Police launched an investigation.
RAW: Palestinian Prisoners Released in Israel
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Israel has begun releasing 26 Palestinian prisoners, most held for deadly attacks, ahead of renewed Mideast negotiations.
The Israeli prison service said buses carrying the inmates left a jail in central Israel late Tuesday. First round of Palestinian prisoners released by Israel At 9:00 pm sealed Israeli vans with tinted windows began driving the first round of Palestinian prisoners to the West Bank and Gaza as part of a "goodwill gesture" before peace negotiations. The late night transfer and dark cars are being used to control prisoners from gesturing a "V for victory" hand signal to press, according to Israeli officials. |
The first 26 of 104 prisoners were taken to Ayalon Prison in Ramle (near Tel Aviv) earlier this week on Monday. Fourteen are now en route to Gaza via the Erez Crossing and 12 are on their way to Ofer Prison where they will be transferred to Ramallah. Currently there are over 5,000 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons and 136 in administrative detention, indefinate arrest without charge.
Shortly after midnight the Palestinian Authority (PA) will host a welcoming ceremony for the released prisoners and their families at the Muqata. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to give a special address.
This early termination of sentences is first of four releases staggered over the next few months. All of detainees that will be let out early are "pre-Oslo prisoners", incarcerated between 1985 and 2001. Many received prison terms that well exceeded their natural lives. However, some have already served nearly 25 years and their sentences are almost at term. The Israeli Prime Minister's office solely determined which prisoners would be released and when.
The prisoners' rights group Addameer said these types of prisoner releases are common when negotiations re-start, however, often Israel reneges or waves of Palestinian arrests follows the public motion:
[A]lthough Israel promises to release prisoners in every return to negotiations since Oslo I in 1993, they often renege partially or completely on the agreements, in direct violation of Vienna Convention of the Law of Treaties (1969), which affirms that agreements between two party states are binding. Indeed, over 23,000 Palestinians have been released since 1993 as “goodwill measures” during various negotiations and peace talks. However, in that same period, at least 86,000
Palestinians have been arrested, including children, women, disabled persons and university students.
In advance of the prisoner release Israeli officials published a list of the potential prisoners to be let out of detention early, which included convictions and sentences. Some families of deceased Israelis killed by the Palestinian prisoners slated for release petitioned Israel's High Court last week to cancel the move. And the YESHA Council, a settler organization, called Prime Minister Netanyahu to pressure him into canceling the agreement. Yet earlier today the High Court rejected the appeal.
While most Israeli media has labeled the Palestinian prisoners as terrorists and all but renounced the move towards peace talks, Haaretz noted this evening, not all of the families of Israelis killed by Palestinians are opposing the release:
Yet Ada Kuenstler, whose 84-year-old father, Avraham Kuenstler, was killed in 1992 by a prisoner due to be released, said she understood Israel's political considerations in freeing Abdallah Salah from his 99-year sentence.
'I want peace and do not ask for revenge, and I am not objecting to this move because I want to hope that this will bring peace a little closer,' she told Reuters.
Direct peace talks will resume this week in Jerusalem, followed by a meeting in Jericho. Israel and the PA have committed to nine-months of discussions, facilitated by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.
Shortly after midnight the Palestinian Authority (PA) will host a welcoming ceremony for the released prisoners and their families at the Muqata. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to give a special address.
This early termination of sentences is first of four releases staggered over the next few months. All of detainees that will be let out early are "pre-Oslo prisoners", incarcerated between 1985 and 2001. Many received prison terms that well exceeded their natural lives. However, some have already served nearly 25 years and their sentences are almost at term. The Israeli Prime Minister's office solely determined which prisoners would be released and when.
The prisoners' rights group Addameer said these types of prisoner releases are common when negotiations re-start, however, often Israel reneges or waves of Palestinian arrests follows the public motion:
[A]lthough Israel promises to release prisoners in every return to negotiations since Oslo I in 1993, they often renege partially or completely on the agreements, in direct violation of Vienna Convention of the Law of Treaties (1969), which affirms that agreements between two party states are binding. Indeed, over 23,000 Palestinians have been released since 1993 as “goodwill measures” during various negotiations and peace talks. However, in that same period, at least 86,000
Palestinians have been arrested, including children, women, disabled persons and university students.
In advance of the prisoner release Israeli officials published a list of the potential prisoners to be let out of detention early, which included convictions and sentences. Some families of deceased Israelis killed by the Palestinian prisoners slated for release petitioned Israel's High Court last week to cancel the move. And the YESHA Council, a settler organization, called Prime Minister Netanyahu to pressure him into canceling the agreement. Yet earlier today the High Court rejected the appeal.
While most Israeli media has labeled the Palestinian prisoners as terrorists and all but renounced the move towards peace talks, Haaretz noted this evening, not all of the families of Israelis killed by Palestinians are opposing the release:
Yet Ada Kuenstler, whose 84-year-old father, Avraham Kuenstler, was killed in 1992 by a prisoner due to be released, said she understood Israel's political considerations in freeing Abdallah Salah from his 99-year sentence.
'I want peace and do not ask for revenge, and I am not objecting to this move because I want to hope that this will bring peace a little closer,' she told Reuters.
Direct peace talks will resume this week in Jerusalem, followed by a meeting in Jericho. Israel and the PA have committed to nine-months of discussions, facilitated by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.
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Ramallah: 1,000 Palestinians await prisoners at Mukataa
Some 1,000 Palestinians have arrived at the Mukataa compound in Ramallah ahead of the arrival of the 11 prisoners released to the West Bank. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is set to attend a welcome ceremony. Hundreds await 11 Palestinian prisoners at Beitunia checkpoint
Hundreds of people are waiting at the Beitunia checkpoint for the 11 Palestinian prisoners released to the West Bank. |
Twenty-six prisoners leave Ayalon Prison, make their way to Gaza, West Bank in vans with tinted windows to avoid image of victory. Hamas government forbids celebrations in Gaza
After weeks of cabinet discussions, protests and High Court petitions, 26 Palestinian prisoners are being released Tuesday night as part of an Israeli gesture to the Palestinian Authority in the wake of resuming peace talks.
Two convoys left the Ayalon Prison Tuesday night on their way to the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. The first convoy, carrying 15 prisoners, has reached the Erez checkpoint. The second, carrying 11 prisoners, has reached the Ofer Prison and from there will travel to the Beitunia checkpoint
The prisoners are being transported in vans with tinted windows to avoid the semblance of a victorious release.
Activists protesting the release tried to block the convoy's way were but soon removed from the area. Meanwhile, a Color Red siren sounded in Sderot and the Shaar Hanegev Regional Council. No hit has yet been detected.
Fourteen of the prisoners will be sent to Gaza via the Erez checkpoint, and 12 will be taken to the Ofer Prison and from there to the PA via the Beitunia checkpoint.
Tuesday's release is the first of four phases which will see some 100 prisoners freed as negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians progress. The identity of the 26 men was decided by a ministerial committee chaired by Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon that conferred with heads of the defense establishment.
The decision prompted protest by the families of the terrorists' victims who filed a petition with the High Court of Justice that was ultimately denied.
In an official statement Tuesday, Supreme Court President Asher Grunis wrote: "There is no dispute that the issue at hand is difficult and sensitive. Our hearts go out to the families of the terror victims."
Prior to their release, the prisoners will undergo a medical examination and will be interviewed by prison staff. It is unclear whether the 26 men were asked to sign a paper to pledge they will not engage in terrorist activity, as in past cases. An Israel Prison Service official said that the guards are prepared for the procedure.
After weeks of cabinet discussions, protests and High Court petitions, 26 Palestinian prisoners are being released Tuesday night as part of an Israeli gesture to the Palestinian Authority in the wake of resuming peace talks.
Two convoys left the Ayalon Prison Tuesday night on their way to the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. The first convoy, carrying 15 prisoners, has reached the Erez checkpoint. The second, carrying 11 prisoners, has reached the Ofer Prison and from there will travel to the Beitunia checkpoint
The prisoners are being transported in vans with tinted windows to avoid the semblance of a victorious release.
Activists protesting the release tried to block the convoy's way were but soon removed from the area. Meanwhile, a Color Red siren sounded in Sderot and the Shaar Hanegev Regional Council. No hit has yet been detected.
Fourteen of the prisoners will be sent to Gaza via the Erez checkpoint, and 12 will be taken to the Ofer Prison and from there to the PA via the Beitunia checkpoint.
Tuesday's release is the first of four phases which will see some 100 prisoners freed as negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians progress. The identity of the 26 men was decided by a ministerial committee chaired by Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon that conferred with heads of the defense establishment.
The decision prompted protest by the families of the terrorists' victims who filed a petition with the High Court of Justice that was ultimately denied.
In an official statement Tuesday, Supreme Court President Asher Grunis wrote: "There is no dispute that the issue at hand is difficult and sensitive. Our hearts go out to the families of the terror victims."
Prior to their release, the prisoners will undergo a medical examination and will be interviewed by prison staff. It is unclear whether the 26 men were asked to sign a paper to pledge they will not engage in terrorist activity, as in past cases. An Israel Prison Service official said that the guards are prepared for the procedure.
Poster of prisoner in Hebron
Police cars and motorcycles will escort the prisoners' convoy on its way to the checkpoints.
The Hamas government issued a ban against celebrations by the Fatah movement. The government said that a special welcoming ceremony will be held later in the week.
Hamas had ordered the removal of a welcome tent set up by Fatah in Khan Younis and warned printing presses not to print posters connected to the prisoners release.
Police cars and motorcycles will escort the prisoners' convoy on its way to the checkpoints.
The Hamas government issued a ban against celebrations by the Fatah movement. The government said that a special welcoming ceremony will be held later in the week.
Hamas had ordered the removal of a welcome tent set up by Fatah in Khan Younis and warned printing presses not to print posters connected to the prisoners release.
An Arab MK launched a scathing attack against PA leadership in Ramallah following the announcement of list of prisoners set for release, ahead of renewed negotiations, as it does not include any prisoner from 1948 territories or Jerusalem. MK Ibrahim Sarsour noted that it is Israel that selected the names of the prisoners, which shows the failure of the negotiations file from the beginning.
He said in a press statement that Palestinian negotiators do not deserve the honor of representing the Palestinian issue, and called on them to end these talks and correct the situation as to ensure the release of all the prisoners at once, before the second round of negotiations scheduled for Wednesday.
He said in a press statement that Palestinian negotiators do not deserve the honor of representing the Palestinian issue, and called on them to end these talks and correct the situation as to ensure the release of all the prisoners at once, before the second round of negotiations scheduled for Wednesday.
Eight Palestinian prisoner in Israeli jails still continued their hunger strike protesting their administrative detention (without trial or charge), human rights sources said. After the Jordanian prisoners suspended their hunger strike, 8 Palestinian prisoners continued the battle including Ayman Hamdan Isa, 106 days on hunger strike, Imad Albatran, 97 days on hunger strike, Adel Harbiyat and Ayman Etbish, 82 days on hunger strike, the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) said.
PPS pointed out that Hossam Matar declared a hunger strike since early June 2013, demanding his release. While Abdul Majid Khaddarat continued his hunger strike for 43 consecutive days in protest against his re-arrest after his release in Wafa al-Ahrar deal.
Mohammed Etbish has also gone on hunger strike for 61 days in solidarity with his brother the hunger striker Ayman Etabish.
Omar Tlahma joined the hunger strike since 19 days protesting the Israeli torture policy against him.
PPS pointed out that Hossam Matar declared a hunger strike since early June 2013, demanding his release. While Abdul Majid Khaddarat continued his hunger strike for 43 consecutive days in protest against his re-arrest after his release in Wafa al-Ahrar deal.
Mohammed Etbish has also gone on hunger strike for 61 days in solidarity with his brother the hunger striker Ayman Etabish.
Omar Tlahma joined the hunger strike since 19 days protesting the Israeli torture policy against him.
Hamas movement praised the Jordanian prisoners' hunger strike led by Abdullah al-Barghouthi which was suspended after achieving victory. In a statement issued on Monday, Hamas warned the occupation of continued its crimes against the prisoners.
Hamas stressed its commitment to liberate the prisoners in honorable deals, calling to support the prisoners' steadfastness. The movement also called on human rights organizations to activate the prisoners' issue in international forums.
The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that the family visits will include all Jordanian prisoners in Israeli jails, denying that some prisoners are eliminated from the agreement.
The ministry stated that it started the family visits' arrangements.
Hamas stressed its commitment to liberate the prisoners in honorable deals, calling to support the prisoners' steadfastness. The movement also called on human rights organizations to activate the prisoners' issue in international forums.
The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that the family visits will include all Jordanian prisoners in Israeli jails, denying that some prisoners are eliminated from the agreement.
The ministry stated that it started the family visits' arrangements.
The Israeli Occupation Forces have arrested former minister of prisoners' affairs for several hours at Barta'a checkpoint north of Jenin while trying to visit his family during the Eid. Qabaha told the PIC reporter that he was detained by the Israeli soldiers on Monday and prevented from entering the village although he got a permit. He was forced to return to Jenin shortly after his release.
Qabaha has been prevented from visiting his hometown since several years, under any circumstances, only with Israeli permits.
Meanwhile, the Israeli forces detained on Monday the citizen Fadel Zeidan where he was stopped and interrogated for long hours at Zatara checkpoint between Ramallah and Nablus.
He was then released after being handed a summons to attend the Israeli intelligence headquarters and his vehicle was confiscated .
Qabaha has been prevented from visiting his hometown since several years, under any circumstances, only with Israeli permits.
Meanwhile, the Israeli forces detained on Monday the citizen Fadel Zeidan where he was stopped and interrogated for long hours at Zatara checkpoint between Ramallah and Nablus.
He was then released after being handed a summons to attend the Israeli intelligence headquarters and his vehicle was confiscated .
30 Palestinians Kidnapped In Two Days
The Solidarity Foundation for Human Rights have reported dozens of Israeli soldiers invaded the northern West Bank city of Qalqilia, and kidnapped two brothers. It also stated that the army kidnapped 30 Palestinians in two days.
In a statement released Tuesday [August 13, 2013] the foundation said that the soldiers kidnapped, on Tuesday at dawn, two brothers from Qalqilia city, in the northern part of the West Bank.
The two have been kidnapped after dozens of soldiers invaded Shreim neighborhood in the city, broke into and violently searched a number of homes.
The kidnapped brother have been identified as Ibrahim Mustafa Hasan, 32, and his brother Ahmad, 30.
Their third brother, Mahmoud, 29, was kidnapped on July 12, and was moved to the Al-Jalama interrogation center; he is a former prisoner who was kidnapped and interrogated four times.
The foundation said that the army has kidnapped thirty Palestinians in the past two days, and that the arrests are part of ongoing Israeli violations against the Palestinians in the occupied territories.
The Solidarity Foundation for Human Rights have reported dozens of Israeli soldiers invaded the northern West Bank city of Qalqilia, and kidnapped two brothers. It also stated that the army kidnapped 30 Palestinians in two days.
In a statement released Tuesday [August 13, 2013] the foundation said that the soldiers kidnapped, on Tuesday at dawn, two brothers from Qalqilia city, in the northern part of the West Bank.
The two have been kidnapped after dozens of soldiers invaded Shreim neighborhood in the city, broke into and violently searched a number of homes.
The kidnapped brother have been identified as Ibrahim Mustafa Hasan, 32, and his brother Ahmad, 30.
Their third brother, Mahmoud, 29, was kidnapped on July 12, and was moved to the Al-Jalama interrogation center; he is a former prisoner who was kidnapped and interrogated four times.
The foundation said that the army has kidnapped thirty Palestinians in the past two days, and that the arrests are part of ongoing Israeli violations against the Palestinians in the occupied territories.
The Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA), run by the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, has reported that the Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip issued orders preventing any celebrations for the release of Palestinian detainees, who will be freed from Israeli prisons later on Tuesday at night.
The release comes as part of the efforts to boost the direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank.
WAFA said that the Internal Security Forces, run by Hamas in Gaza, want to prevent any celebrations when welcoming freed detainees in Gaza, and ordered the removal of a celebration tent installed by the Fateh movement in front of the City Council in Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
It added that Hamas ordered owners of print shops not to print any posters or signs related to the release of the detainees, and prevented any graffiti on the walls.
The Hamas movement did not comment on the issue, and did not confirm or deny the report.
On Tuesday, Fuad Al-Khoffash, head of the Ahrar Center for Detainees Studies and Human Rights, demanded the Palestinian Authority (P.A) in the West Bank, to insist on the release of all detainees imprisoned by Israel, instead of abiding by a conditional time frame for the release of only 104 detainees within 9 months, including 26 on Tuesday at night.
The former political prisoner said that the issue of the detainees is being marginalized and partitioned, adding that the file of old detainees (imprisoned before 1993) is only part of the entire cause of thousands of detainees illegally held and imprisoned by the Israeli occupation of Palestine.
The release comes as part of the efforts to boost the direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank.
WAFA said that the Internal Security Forces, run by Hamas in Gaza, want to prevent any celebrations when welcoming freed detainees in Gaza, and ordered the removal of a celebration tent installed by the Fateh movement in front of the City Council in Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
It added that Hamas ordered owners of print shops not to print any posters or signs related to the release of the detainees, and prevented any graffiti on the walls.
The Hamas movement did not comment on the issue, and did not confirm or deny the report.
On Tuesday, Fuad Al-Khoffash, head of the Ahrar Center for Detainees Studies and Human Rights, demanded the Palestinian Authority (P.A) in the West Bank, to insist on the release of all detainees imprisoned by Israel, instead of abiding by a conditional time frame for the release of only 104 detainees within 9 months, including 26 on Tuesday at night.
The former political prisoner said that the issue of the detainees is being marginalized and partitioned, adding that the file of old detainees (imprisoned before 1993) is only part of the entire cause of thousands of detainees illegally held and imprisoned by the Israeli occupation of Palestine.
Fuad Al-Khoffash, head of the Ahrar Center for Detainees Studies and Human Rights, demanded the Palestinian Authority (P.A) in the West Bank, to insist on the release of all detainees imprisoned by Israel, instead of abiding by a conditional time frame for the release of only 104 detainees within 9 months, including 26 on Tuesday at night.
Al-Khoffash said that the P.A should not accept to have the detainees’ release dependent on the progress of political talks with Tel Aviv, adding that this issue made “the legitimate cause of the detainees subject to Israeli maneuvers and blackmail.”
He further stated that, once again, the issue of the detainees is being marginalized and partitioned, adding that the file of old detainees (imprisoned before 1993) is only part of the entire cause of thousands of detainees illegally held and imprisoned by the Israeli occupation of Palestine.
“The P.A. should have demanded, and insisted, on the release of every detainee without exceptions”, Al-Khoffash said, “This is a better technique, raise the demands to achieve better results, when the detainees conduct hunger strikes, they ask for what is impossible to achieve what is possible”.
Al-Khoffash, also a legal researcher and former political prisoner, said that the intended release of 26 detainees in the first stage, drops the number of old detainees to 79, including 14 from historic Palestine, 9 from Jerusalem, 48 from the West Bank, and 8 from the Gaza Strip.
Sixty-four of the detainees have been serving life terms, and 15 of them have been serving terms that range between 20 and 40 years.
In related news, the Israeli Supreme Court dismissed petitions, filed by Israeli families of persons allegedly killed by some of the detainees, against the release of the 26 detainees. The decision marks the final stage before their release.
Israeli Ynet News has reported that the head of the Supreme Court, Asher Grunis, said in a statement that the he has no doubt the issue “is difficult and sensitive, our hearts go to the families of the victims”.
Grunis added in his statement that “the release of detainees is part of political negotiations that fall under the jurisdiction of the Israeli government.”
The Supreme Court’s decision paves the way for the release of the detainees as planned late on Tuesday at night.
The Israeli Prison Authority has already transported the 26 detainees to the Ayalon Prison in preparation for their release.
Al-Khoffash said that the P.A should not accept to have the detainees’ release dependent on the progress of political talks with Tel Aviv, adding that this issue made “the legitimate cause of the detainees subject to Israeli maneuvers and blackmail.”
He further stated that, once again, the issue of the detainees is being marginalized and partitioned, adding that the file of old detainees (imprisoned before 1993) is only part of the entire cause of thousands of detainees illegally held and imprisoned by the Israeli occupation of Palestine.
“The P.A. should have demanded, and insisted, on the release of every detainee without exceptions”, Al-Khoffash said, “This is a better technique, raise the demands to achieve better results, when the detainees conduct hunger strikes, they ask for what is impossible to achieve what is possible”.
Al-Khoffash, also a legal researcher and former political prisoner, said that the intended release of 26 detainees in the first stage, drops the number of old detainees to 79, including 14 from historic Palestine, 9 from Jerusalem, 48 from the West Bank, and 8 from the Gaza Strip.
Sixty-four of the detainees have been serving life terms, and 15 of them have been serving terms that range between 20 and 40 years.
In related news, the Israeli Supreme Court dismissed petitions, filed by Israeli families of persons allegedly killed by some of the detainees, against the release of the 26 detainees. The decision marks the final stage before their release.
Israeli Ynet News has reported that the head of the Supreme Court, Asher Grunis, said in a statement that the he has no doubt the issue “is difficult and sensitive, our hearts go to the families of the victims”.
Grunis added in his statement that “the release of detainees is part of political negotiations that fall under the jurisdiction of the Israeli government.”
The Supreme Court’s decision paves the way for the release of the detainees as planned late on Tuesday at night.
The Israeli Prison Authority has already transported the 26 detainees to the Ayalon Prison in preparation for their release.
The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) waged Monday an arrest campaign across occupied West Bank where 17 Palestinians were arrested. The Israeli forces raided at dawn Monday many parts of West Bank, arresting 13 Palestinians from Qalqilya, Nablus and Ramallah, as well as three others from the southern West Bank and another detainee in occupied Jerusalem.
In Nablus, two brothers were arrested at Zatara military checkpoint where the Israeli soldiers stopped and searched the Palestinian vehicles heading towards the city of Ramallah.
Local sources said that the IOF stormed the city of Nablus where they fired a barrage of stun grenades and tear gas at the residents' houses. Violent clashes erupted between IOF troops and Palestinian youths who stoned the soldiers. As a result, Fourteen Palestinians were arrested including the liberated prisoner Khadr Sarkaji.
In the same context, Israeli forces arrested the 13-year-old Hussam Omar Abu Khalifeh after storming his house in Saf Street in Bethlehem city at a late hour.
In Jerusalem, Israeli occupation forces arrested Jihad al-Zogol under the pretext of attacking Israeli soldiers and throwing stones at settlers' cars during the storming of al-Aqsa mosque.
In Nablus, two brothers were arrested at Zatara military checkpoint where the Israeli soldiers stopped and searched the Palestinian vehicles heading towards the city of Ramallah.
Local sources said that the IOF stormed the city of Nablus where they fired a barrage of stun grenades and tear gas at the residents' houses. Violent clashes erupted between IOF troops and Palestinian youths who stoned the soldiers. As a result, Fourteen Palestinians were arrested including the liberated prisoner Khadr Sarkaji.
In the same context, Israeli forces arrested the 13-year-old Hussam Omar Abu Khalifeh after storming his house in Saf Street in Bethlehem city at a late hour.
In Jerusalem, Israeli occupation forces arrested Jihad al-Zogol under the pretext of attacking Israeli soldiers and throwing stones at settlers' cars during the storming of al-Aqsa mosque.
Mohammad Awad - Wattan News
The International Solidarity Foundation for Human Rights have reported that Israeli soldiers kidnapped, on Tuesday at dawn, a Palestinian journalist identified as Mohammad Shokry Awad, from his home in Bodros village, west of the central West Bank city of Ramallah.
Ahmad Al-Beetawy, the Foundation’s lawyer, stated that the dozens of soldiers invaded the village, and violently broke into the home of Awad before kidnapping him.
He said that the soldiers gathered all family members in one room, and took Awad to a corner in the house where they violently interrogated him.
Soldiers also confiscated cameras, equipment, computers, and mobile phones, and caused excessive property damage during the violent search, Al-Beetawy stated.
Awad is a cameraman working from the Wattan News Agency in Ramallah; he was kidnapped by the army in 2005, and was imprisoned for five months.
The Palestinian security forces in the West Bank also previously arrested and imprisoned him, the Wattan News Agency has reported.
The International Solidarity Foundation for Human Rights have reported that Israeli soldiers kidnapped, on Tuesday at dawn, a Palestinian journalist identified as Mohammad Shokry Awad, from his home in Bodros village, west of the central West Bank city of Ramallah.
Ahmad Al-Beetawy, the Foundation’s lawyer, stated that the dozens of soldiers invaded the village, and violently broke into the home of Awad before kidnapping him.
He said that the soldiers gathered all family members in one room, and took Awad to a corner in the house where they violently interrogated him.
Soldiers also confiscated cameras, equipment, computers, and mobile phones, and caused excessive property damage during the violent search, Al-Beetawy stated.
Awad is a cameraman working from the Wattan News Agency in Ramallah; he was kidnapped by the army in 2005, and was imprisoned for five months.
The Palestinian security forces in the West Bank also previously arrested and imprisoned him, the Wattan News Agency has reported.
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Palestinians say they are skeptical about an Israeli move to set free a number of Palestinian prisoners ahead of renewed negotiations between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Israel, Press TV reports.
Israel says on Tuesday that it will release 26 out of 104 prisoners who have been decided to be released in four tranches over a period of nine months. On July 28, Tel Aviv ratified the release of long-held Palestinian prisoners, after the 22-member Israeli cabinet approved the proposal by 13 votes to seven with two abstentions as a move toward the resumption of talks. |
Nevertheless, Palestinians in the occupied West Bank are highly skeptical about the measure.
“I am skeptical of the current situations because a small number of Palestinians are being released but at the same time, over five to six thousand Palestinians are still in Israeli prisons,” a Palestinian said.
A Palestinian rights organization has also said this move is not in good faith by Israel. Addameer Prisoners Support and Human Rights Association stated that Tel Aviv is using the release of prisoners as a bargaining chip against the Palestinian Authority.
On Thursday, US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said talks between the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli regime would resume on August 14 in al-Quds (Jerusalem).
The representatives of Israel and the PA met last month in Washington. The meeting was the first direct negotiations in three years.
Last month, Hamas rejected the US’ proposal for the resumption of talks, saying it “considers the Palestinian Authority’s return to negotiations with the occupation to be at odds with the national consensus.”
The last Palestinian-Israeli talks were halted in September 2010 after Tel Aviv refused to freeze its settlement activities in the West Bank.
Palestinians are seeking to create an independent state on the territories of the West Bank, East al-Quds, and the Gaza Strip, and are demanding that Israel withdraw from the Palestinian territories occupied in the Six-Day War of 1967.
Tel Aviv, however, has refused to return to the 1967 borders and is unwilling to discuss the issue of al-Quds.
“I am skeptical of the current situations because a small number of Palestinians are being released but at the same time, over five to six thousand Palestinians are still in Israeli prisons,” a Palestinian said.
A Palestinian rights organization has also said this move is not in good faith by Israel. Addameer Prisoners Support and Human Rights Association stated that Tel Aviv is using the release of prisoners as a bargaining chip against the Palestinian Authority.
On Thursday, US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said talks between the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli regime would resume on August 14 in al-Quds (Jerusalem).
The representatives of Israel and the PA met last month in Washington. The meeting was the first direct negotiations in three years.
Last month, Hamas rejected the US’ proposal for the resumption of talks, saying it “considers the Palestinian Authority’s return to negotiations with the occupation to be at odds with the national consensus.”
The last Palestinian-Israeli talks were halted in September 2010 after Tel Aviv refused to freeze its settlement activities in the West Bank.
Palestinians are seeking to create an independent state on the territories of the West Bank, East al-Quds, and the Gaza Strip, and are demanding that Israel withdraw from the Palestinian territories occupied in the Six-Day War of 1967.
Tel Aviv, however, has refused to return to the 1967 borders and is unwilling to discuss the issue of al-Quds.
The Israeli regime’s decision to release 104 Palestinian prisoners as part of the newly resumed peace negotiations was greeted with mixed reactions, perhaps most especially for the prisoners themselves.
The first group of 26 prisoners is being released on Tuesday, with three more “batches” to be freed throughout the predicted nine-month period of negotiations.
Many Palestinians are skeptical about how much attention is being put on the release of a small fraction of the five to six thousand Palestinians still in Israeli prisons. Addameer Prisoners Support and Human Rights Association stated that the Israeli regime is using the prisoners’ release as trading material in the negotiations.
The longest serving prisoner wrote a letter directly to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas saying the prisoners “didn’t want to be used as a bargaining chip.”
One of the prisoners being released is Khaled Asakreh, who was imprisoned at age 18 with a life sentence. He is now 41 and going to be reunited with his brothers and sisters after 23 years.
One of Asakreh’s brothers, Nayef Asakreh told PNN that they are overwhelmed with happiness because they have been dreaming of Khaled’s release for a long time, and it has now become a reality.
The release, however, is bittersweet. Nayef Asakreh said his brother’s happiness cannot be complete because his colleagues and friends remain behind Israeli bars, and he won’t be content until all the prisoners are freed.
The Israeli regime ratified the release of Palestinian prisoners as a part of the resumed negotiations on July 28, with an Israeli cabinet vote of 13 to seven and two abstentions.
Both Hamas and a majority of the Palestine Liberation Organization have criticized the Palestinian Authority’s decision to resume negotiations, saying Abbas made a unilateral decision without the peoples’ support.
The first group of 26 prisoners is being released on Tuesday, with three more “batches” to be freed throughout the predicted nine-month period of negotiations.
Many Palestinians are skeptical about how much attention is being put on the release of a small fraction of the five to six thousand Palestinians still in Israeli prisons. Addameer Prisoners Support and Human Rights Association stated that the Israeli regime is using the prisoners’ release as trading material in the negotiations.
The longest serving prisoner wrote a letter directly to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas saying the prisoners “didn’t want to be used as a bargaining chip.”
One of the prisoners being released is Khaled Asakreh, who was imprisoned at age 18 with a life sentence. He is now 41 and going to be reunited with his brothers and sisters after 23 years.
One of Asakreh’s brothers, Nayef Asakreh told PNN that they are overwhelmed with happiness because they have been dreaming of Khaled’s release for a long time, and it has now become a reality.
The release, however, is bittersweet. Nayef Asakreh said his brother’s happiness cannot be complete because his colleagues and friends remain behind Israeli bars, and he won’t be content until all the prisoners are freed.
The Israeli regime ratified the release of Palestinian prisoners as a part of the resumed negotiations on July 28, with an Israeli cabinet vote of 13 to seven and two abstentions.
Both Hamas and a majority of the Palestine Liberation Organization have criticized the Palestinian Authority’s decision to resume negotiations, saying Abbas made a unilateral decision without the peoples’ support.
It's expected that the releasing of the 26 Palestinian prisoners the Israeli authorities agreed to release as part of resuming negotiations with the Palestinians will begin Tuesday midnight. Prisoners are due to arrive to Ramallah and Gaza Wednesday at dawn.
Those prisoners were transferred to Ayalon Israeli jail in al-Ramleh, where medical tests will be run on them, and they will be interviewed by the Israel Prison Service (IPS) and the International Red Cross.
The Israeli High Court of Justice issued today its decision on the petition filed by Israeli organization Almagor on behalf of the Israeli society and a number of families who are against the government's decision to release 26 Palestinian security prisoners.
These parties also provided a new petition to the court demanding to postpone the release and claimed that the list of prisoners to be released include six prisoners have committed commando operations after the signing of the Oslo Accords.
Those prisoners were transferred to Ayalon Israeli jail in al-Ramleh, where medical tests will be run on them, and they will be interviewed by the Israel Prison Service (IPS) and the International Red Cross.
The Israeli High Court of Justice issued today its decision on the petition filed by Israeli organization Almagor on behalf of the Israeli society and a number of families who are against the government's decision to release 26 Palestinian security prisoners.
These parties also provided a new petition to the court demanding to postpone the release and claimed that the list of prisoners to be released include six prisoners have committed commando operations after the signing of the Oslo Accords.
The mother of a Palestinian prisoner at a weekly sit-in in front of the Red Cross headquarters in Gaza City, on 12 August 2013
As part of the US effort to restore utterly futile “peace talks” between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Israel agreed to release 104 Palestinian prisoners in phases, with the first 26 to be freed on 13 August.
According to Addameer, the Palestinian prisoners rights group, most of those slated for release have served more than 25 years in Israeli prisons and are near the end of their sentences.
In many cases, they are the same prisoners Israel has agreed to release in previous agreements, before reneging on those commitments.
Playing up Israeli anguish Israeli media and politicians have been doing their utmost to milk this decision for propaganda purposes, highlighting how unspeakably evil the Palestinians are and what a high and terrible price this is for Israelis.
Isabel Kershner faithfully picks up on this in a New York Times article on the topic today:
Israeli newspapers highlighted the crimes committed by the prisoners, most of whom have served 20 years or more in prison for deadly attacks against Israelis. The list of prisoners, which was released after midnight, included one of the killers of Isaac Rotenberg, a Holocaust survivor who was 67 at the time of his death in 1994, and the man who killed an 84-year-old Israeli, Avraham Kinstler, with blows from an ax.
Kershner ends her article with this heartbreaking pen portrait of Israeli relatives protesting outside the High Court which was hearing petitions against the releases:
One of them was Gila Molcho, the sister of Ian Feinberg, an Israeli lawyer who was bludgeoned to death by a Palestinian man wielding an ax in Gaza in 1993 while he was working on a project there. Ms. Molcho held a framed portrait of her brother, who was 30.
“Don’t let them come home as heroes,” she said of the prisoners to be released. “We will be left holding the pictures.” Weeping, she added, “They are terrorists, not soldiers.”
Palestinians have no such opportunity Of course, it would be inhuman not to empathize with the anguish of any individual whose loved one has died violently.
But what’s most striking – and unremarked – about all this is that Israelis are, by and large, the only ones who have the opportunity to bewail the release of prisoners held for decades for killing their loved ones as some sort of great sacrifice and injustice.
Due to the systematic and near-total impunity that protects Israelis from consequences for killing or injuring Palestinians, there is just no parallel on the Palestinian side.
Going back to the creation of Israel, Palestinians have almost never seen the killers of their children receive appropriate punishment.
Notoriously, Colonel Issachar Shadmi, the brigade commander who ordered the massacre of 47 villagers at Kafr Qassem in 1956, was found guilty of a mere “administrative error” and fined one penny.
The examples of crimes where there has been a total absence of accountability and justice are simply too numerous to list, but they include the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacres of thousands of Palestinians during the Israeli occupation of Lebanon, and more recently more than 1,400 Palestinians killed in Gaza in 2008-2009 during Operation Cast Lead.
In one particularly horrific example, on 4-5 January 2009, Israeli occupation forces herded 100 civilians into the house of Wael al-Samouni, mostly women and children, and then deliberately shelled the house:
Twenty-one family members were killed and 19 injured in the shelling of just that house. Others had been killed, injured and left to die in nearby homes. Nine of the dead in Wa’el Samouni’s house were children, the youngest a baby of six months. The dead children included Wa’el Samouni’s 14-year-old daughter, Rizqa, and 12-year-old son, Faris.
In that case, as in countless others, Israel investigated itself and – surprise! – found no wrongdoing.
Insignificant sentences It would be wrong to say that Israeli soldiers never receive sentences for crimes against Palestinians. One year ago, for instance, an Israeli soldier was handed a sentence of 45 days in prison in a plea bargain on a lesser charge that meant he avoided trial for killing Raya Abu Hajaj, 64, and her daughter Majda, 37.
The mother and daughter were shot dead in the Gaza Strip in January 2009 as they were among civilians waving a white flag and trying to flee the Israeli onslaught.
B’Tselem called for the investigation to be reopened and for the military police to “hold accountable those responsible.”
Has B’Tselem not noticed that Israeli military police operate as if their job is to prevent, not promote, justice for Palestinian victims?
The impunity goes down to the individual level. Who can forget the “Israeli army officer who fired the entire magazine of his automatic rifle into” Iman al-Hams, a 13-year-old Palestinian girl in Gaza, “and then said he would have done the same even if she had been three years old.”
He was acquitted of any wrongdoing in her death by an Israeli court in 2005.
In these cases, the names of the accused are not even made public, another form of impunity for Israeli perpetrators.
Recently, I wrote about the case of Michael Gershkowitz an Israeli soldier, who received a risible two-month sentence for an horrific, unprovoked beating of a Palestinian worker that was caught on video.
And then there was the case of the Israeli police officer, Shahar Mizrahi, whose 30-month sentence in 2010, for shooting dead an unarmed Palestinian motorist caused consternation and outrage because it was considered too severe.
Israel’s top police officer and public security minister promised they would lead a campaign to convince Israel’s president to pardon Shahar.
It would be misleading to say that light sentences are the norm for Israelis who kill Palestinians. Any sentence at all is an exception.
The norm is for no serious investigation, and no charges to be brought in the first place.
Every Palestinian child knows this, including Atta Muhammad Atta Sabah, a 12-year-old boy who was shot and paralyzed by an Israeli soldier in Jalazoun refugee camp last May.
“I’m not expecting anything to happen to [the soldier who shot me],” Atta recently said.
Colonial “justice” It bears mentioning that under the 1993 Oslo accords, the Palestinian Authority and security forces have no powers to arrest or bring to justice Israelis who commit crimes against Palestinians, a limitation that institutionalizes Israeli colonial “justice.” The Palestinian Authority can only arrest Palestinians.
Indeed, Israel’s main concern in negotiating the Oslo accords was creating a subservient regime that would effectively protect Israeli colonizers from any form of resistance by subjugated Palestinians, something the Palestinian Authority has done for years under the rubric of “fighting terrorism.”
Sentences reduced for Israelis convicted of killing Arabs It would be remiss not to mention that sometimes Israeli civilians do go to prison for long periods for killing Palestinians.
There is the example of Ami Popper, who was serving multiple life sentences for murdering 7 Palestinian laborers in 1990.
But an Israeli serves a life sentence for killing Palestinians under very special conditions, as Ynet reported in May on the occasion of Popper’s latest wedding:
During his time in prison, Popper became religious, got married and had three kids. In 2007, while on prison leave, Popper was involved in a car accident which left his wife and one of his sons dead. He had been driving without a license.
He has since remarried and got divorced. Sunday’s wedding is his third marriage.
Popper’s sentence was reduced from seven life terms to 40 years in a series of pardons and commutations in 1999 by Israel’s then president Ezer Weizman.
That wasn’t all. As Agence France Presse reported on 3 February 1999:
Weizman’s order reduced by four years the 15-year sentence of Yoram Skolnik, who was jailed in 1993 for shooting a bound Palestinian man who had been captured after stabbing a Jewish settler in the West Bank.
Skolnik was originally jailed for life but Weizman already commuted the sentence to 15 years. Nehemia Michbaum, who killed a Palestinian man by throwing a hand grenade into a market in the Old City of Arab east Jerusalem in 1992, had his term reduced from 12 years to 10 years.
Also benefitting from Wednesday’s decision were two brothers, Yehodav and Eitan Kahalani, who were sentenced to 12 years in prison for the attempted murder of a Palestinian and had their terms cut to eight years.
The impunity is so pervasive and systematic – and endemic to what is a colonial reality in Palestine – that The New York Times doesn’t notice it. But when Israelis feel aggrieved, Kershner makes sure the world hears their weeping.
As part of the US effort to restore utterly futile “peace talks” between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Israel agreed to release 104 Palestinian prisoners in phases, with the first 26 to be freed on 13 August.
According to Addameer, the Palestinian prisoners rights group, most of those slated for release have served more than 25 years in Israeli prisons and are near the end of their sentences.
In many cases, they are the same prisoners Israel has agreed to release in previous agreements, before reneging on those commitments.
Playing up Israeli anguish Israeli media and politicians have been doing their utmost to milk this decision for propaganda purposes, highlighting how unspeakably evil the Palestinians are and what a high and terrible price this is for Israelis.
Isabel Kershner faithfully picks up on this in a New York Times article on the topic today:
Israeli newspapers highlighted the crimes committed by the prisoners, most of whom have served 20 years or more in prison for deadly attacks against Israelis. The list of prisoners, which was released after midnight, included one of the killers of Isaac Rotenberg, a Holocaust survivor who was 67 at the time of his death in 1994, and the man who killed an 84-year-old Israeli, Avraham Kinstler, with blows from an ax.
Kershner ends her article with this heartbreaking pen portrait of Israeli relatives protesting outside the High Court which was hearing petitions against the releases:
One of them was Gila Molcho, the sister of Ian Feinberg, an Israeli lawyer who was bludgeoned to death by a Palestinian man wielding an ax in Gaza in 1993 while he was working on a project there. Ms. Molcho held a framed portrait of her brother, who was 30.
“Don’t let them come home as heroes,” she said of the prisoners to be released. “We will be left holding the pictures.” Weeping, she added, “They are terrorists, not soldiers.”
Palestinians have no such opportunity Of course, it would be inhuman not to empathize with the anguish of any individual whose loved one has died violently.
But what’s most striking – and unremarked – about all this is that Israelis are, by and large, the only ones who have the opportunity to bewail the release of prisoners held for decades for killing their loved ones as some sort of great sacrifice and injustice.
Due to the systematic and near-total impunity that protects Israelis from consequences for killing or injuring Palestinians, there is just no parallel on the Palestinian side.
Going back to the creation of Israel, Palestinians have almost never seen the killers of their children receive appropriate punishment.
Notoriously, Colonel Issachar Shadmi, the brigade commander who ordered the massacre of 47 villagers at Kafr Qassem in 1956, was found guilty of a mere “administrative error” and fined one penny.
The examples of crimes where there has been a total absence of accountability and justice are simply too numerous to list, but they include the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacres of thousands of Palestinians during the Israeli occupation of Lebanon, and more recently more than 1,400 Palestinians killed in Gaza in 2008-2009 during Operation Cast Lead.
In one particularly horrific example, on 4-5 January 2009, Israeli occupation forces herded 100 civilians into the house of Wael al-Samouni, mostly women and children, and then deliberately shelled the house:
Twenty-one family members were killed and 19 injured in the shelling of just that house. Others had been killed, injured and left to die in nearby homes. Nine of the dead in Wa’el Samouni’s house were children, the youngest a baby of six months. The dead children included Wa’el Samouni’s 14-year-old daughter, Rizqa, and 12-year-old son, Faris.
In that case, as in countless others, Israel investigated itself and – surprise! – found no wrongdoing.
Insignificant sentences It would be wrong to say that Israeli soldiers never receive sentences for crimes against Palestinians. One year ago, for instance, an Israeli soldier was handed a sentence of 45 days in prison in a plea bargain on a lesser charge that meant he avoided trial for killing Raya Abu Hajaj, 64, and her daughter Majda, 37.
The mother and daughter were shot dead in the Gaza Strip in January 2009 as they were among civilians waving a white flag and trying to flee the Israeli onslaught.
B’Tselem called for the investigation to be reopened and for the military police to “hold accountable those responsible.”
Has B’Tselem not noticed that Israeli military police operate as if their job is to prevent, not promote, justice for Palestinian victims?
The impunity goes down to the individual level. Who can forget the “Israeli army officer who fired the entire magazine of his automatic rifle into” Iman al-Hams, a 13-year-old Palestinian girl in Gaza, “and then said he would have done the same even if she had been three years old.”
He was acquitted of any wrongdoing in her death by an Israeli court in 2005.
In these cases, the names of the accused are not even made public, another form of impunity for Israeli perpetrators.
Recently, I wrote about the case of Michael Gershkowitz an Israeli soldier, who received a risible two-month sentence for an horrific, unprovoked beating of a Palestinian worker that was caught on video.
And then there was the case of the Israeli police officer, Shahar Mizrahi, whose 30-month sentence in 2010, for shooting dead an unarmed Palestinian motorist caused consternation and outrage because it was considered too severe.
Israel’s top police officer and public security minister promised they would lead a campaign to convince Israel’s president to pardon Shahar.
It would be misleading to say that light sentences are the norm for Israelis who kill Palestinians. Any sentence at all is an exception.
The norm is for no serious investigation, and no charges to be brought in the first place.
Every Palestinian child knows this, including Atta Muhammad Atta Sabah, a 12-year-old boy who was shot and paralyzed by an Israeli soldier in Jalazoun refugee camp last May.
“I’m not expecting anything to happen to [the soldier who shot me],” Atta recently said.
Colonial “justice” It bears mentioning that under the 1993 Oslo accords, the Palestinian Authority and security forces have no powers to arrest or bring to justice Israelis who commit crimes against Palestinians, a limitation that institutionalizes Israeli colonial “justice.” The Palestinian Authority can only arrest Palestinians.
Indeed, Israel’s main concern in negotiating the Oslo accords was creating a subservient regime that would effectively protect Israeli colonizers from any form of resistance by subjugated Palestinians, something the Palestinian Authority has done for years under the rubric of “fighting terrorism.”
Sentences reduced for Israelis convicted of killing Arabs It would be remiss not to mention that sometimes Israeli civilians do go to prison for long periods for killing Palestinians.
There is the example of Ami Popper, who was serving multiple life sentences for murdering 7 Palestinian laborers in 1990.
But an Israeli serves a life sentence for killing Palestinians under very special conditions, as Ynet reported in May on the occasion of Popper’s latest wedding:
During his time in prison, Popper became religious, got married and had three kids. In 2007, while on prison leave, Popper was involved in a car accident which left his wife and one of his sons dead. He had been driving without a license.
He has since remarried and got divorced. Sunday’s wedding is his third marriage.
Popper’s sentence was reduced from seven life terms to 40 years in a series of pardons and commutations in 1999 by Israel’s then president Ezer Weizman.
That wasn’t all. As Agence France Presse reported on 3 February 1999:
Weizman’s order reduced by four years the 15-year sentence of Yoram Skolnik, who was jailed in 1993 for shooting a bound Palestinian man who had been captured after stabbing a Jewish settler in the West Bank.
Skolnik was originally jailed for life but Weizman already commuted the sentence to 15 years. Nehemia Michbaum, who killed a Palestinian man by throwing a hand grenade into a market in the Old City of Arab east Jerusalem in 1992, had his term reduced from 12 years to 10 years.
Also benefitting from Wednesday’s decision were two brothers, Yehodav and Eitan Kahalani, who were sentenced to 12 years in prison for the attempted murder of a Palestinian and had their terms cut to eight years.
The impunity is so pervasive and systematic – and endemic to what is a colonial reality in Palestine – that The New York Times doesn’t notice it. But when Israelis feel aggrieved, Kershner makes sure the world hears their weeping.
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Students hand their IDs to Israeli soldier (image from video by Youth Against Settlements)
A group of Israeli soldiers invaded the Palestinian city of Hebron Sunday and abducted two Palestinian university students, age 20 and 21, who are members of the non-violent organization 'Youth Against Settlements'. The two young men, identified as Bassam Abd AlMajeed Amro, 21, and Ali Amro, 20, were standing outside the 'Steadfastness and Change' Community Center in Hebron when the soldiers approached them and began shouting in Hebrew, accusing them of throwing stones. |
The scene is captured in a video by human rights activists, who posted it on Youtube. The youth appear to not understand the soldiers' accusations against them, but are completely compliant with the soldiers commands, standing calmly and handing over their ID cards. Other community members arrive on the scene and begin to respond to the soldiers, saying that no one was throwing stones at them, and saying that the soldiers are lying.
More soldiers then arrive on the scene, and they take the two young men away to an unknown destination.
This is not the first time that volunteers with 'Youth Against Settlements' have been targeted. The group's main organizers have all been abducted multiple times by the Israeli military, and interrogated about their non-violent organizing.
In response to Sunday's abductions, the Youth Against Settlements called on the international Community and Human Rights Organizations to provide protection for humanitarian activists like the two young men abducted Sunday, and asking for immediate intervention to demand their release.
More soldiers then arrive on the scene, and they take the two young men away to an unknown destination.
This is not the first time that volunteers with 'Youth Against Settlements' have been targeted. The group's main organizers have all been abducted multiple times by the Israeli military, and interrogated about their non-violent organizing.
In response to Sunday's abductions, the Youth Against Settlements called on the international Community and Human Rights Organizations to provide protection for humanitarian activists like the two young men abducted Sunday, and asking for immediate intervention to demand their release.
