20 aug 2013
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The Israeli Special Forces raided on Monday afternoon the house of Wael Mahmoud in the Schools neighborhood in the village of Esawyeh.
Witnesses told Wadi Hilweh Information Center that Israeli forces raided the house of 43-year old Wael Mahmoud and arrested him after completely searching his house and damaging its contents. |
A Palestinian human rights association confirmed that the number of Palestinian female prisoners in the Israeli jails reached 12 after the recent arrest of three women from Nablus by the occupation forces. Ahrar Center said in a statement on Tuesday "the Israeli soldiers arrested recently three women from Nablus and took them to Hasharon prison".
It added that the occupation authorities have continued to put restrictions on the female prisoners and to deprive them from visits. The female prisoners have also been exposed to provocative searches, in addition to being held in rooms near the rooms of Israeli convicts.
It added that the occupation authorities have continued to put restrictions on the female prisoners and to deprive them from visits. The female prisoners have also been exposed to provocative searches, in addition to being held in rooms near the rooms of Israeli convicts.
The Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) ordered the administrative detention of a civil engineer from Doura town, south of Al-Khalil, for four months. Osama, son of the detainee Hatem Amr, told the PIC reporter that Ofer military court ordered the administrative custody, without charge or trial, of his father without revealing reasons for his incarceration under the usual pretext of a secret file against him.
Israeli occupation forces arrested Amr after storming his home in Doura last Thursday.
Amr, who was repeatedly detained by the IOA, is a former board member of the charitable society in Al-Khalil and was previously detained by the Palestinian Authority’s security agencies.
Israeli occupation forces arrested Amr after storming his home in Doura last Thursday.
Amr, who was repeatedly detained by the IOA, is a former board member of the charitable society in Al-Khalil and was previously detained by the Palestinian Authority’s security agencies.
A UN staff member being checked by Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint.
Israeli occupation forces detained Tuesday morning workers for the United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF, while on their way to Khirbet Jenbah east of Yatta. The forces said the area is a closed military zone.
Ratib Jabour, Spokesman of the popular committee against settlement in the town of Yatta, said “the occupation forces are still holding the UNICEF staff until this moment,”
“The staff wanted to be closely observe the living conditions of the population in Khirbet Jenbah particularly of the school students, as the school year is to start on August 25th."
Israeli restrictions on the checkpoints across the occupied West Bank cause delays and lost man hours for UN staff working there.
Israeli soldiers used to search UN vehicles as a condition for being allowed through, despite the fact that 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the UN, to which Israel is signotory, prohibits such searches.
Israeli occupation forces detained Tuesday morning workers for the United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF, while on their way to Khirbet Jenbah east of Yatta. The forces said the area is a closed military zone.
Ratib Jabour, Spokesman of the popular committee against settlement in the town of Yatta, said “the occupation forces are still holding the UNICEF staff until this moment,”
“The staff wanted to be closely observe the living conditions of the population in Khirbet Jenbah particularly of the school students, as the school year is to start on August 25th."
Israeli restrictions on the checkpoints across the occupied West Bank cause delays and lost man hours for UN staff working there.
Israeli soldiers used to search UN vehicles as a condition for being allowed through, despite the fact that 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the UN, to which Israel is signotory, prohibits such searches.
Administrative detainee Emad Al-Batran ended his hunger strike on Tuesday after Israeli promises to release him. Minister of prisoners in Ramallah government Issa Qaraqea and Batran’s lawyer said that Batran decided to end his hunger strike on Monday night after 104 days of strike in return for an Israeli decision not to extend his administrative detention.
They said that the Israeli prison service said it would release Batran on 15/11/2013 and the date could be brought forward.
Batran, who is held in the Israeli Kaplan hospital due to his ill health, ends his second year in administrative custody, without trial or charge, on 15/11/2013. Batran’s health condition gravely deteriorated which led to heart muscle weakness.
They said that the Israeli prison service said it would release Batran on 15/11/2013 and the date could be brought forward.
Batran, who is held in the Israeli Kaplan hospital due to his ill health, ends his second year in administrative custody, without trial or charge, on 15/11/2013. Batran’s health condition gravely deteriorated which led to heart muscle weakness.
Israeli occupation forces arrested Tuesday, three Palestinians from al-Aroub refugee camp and the village of Beit Ummar, north of Hebron.
Security sources said that Israeli forces arrested Mu'amar Issac Banat, 28, and Yasser Mohammed Banat, 28, after raiding their houses in the refugee camp. The forces also arrested Rebhi Falah Abu Marya, 16, after raiding his house in Beit Ummar village.
Security sources said that Israeli forces arrested Mu'amar Issac Banat, 28, and Yasser Mohammed Banat, 28, after raiding their houses in the refugee camp. The forces also arrested Rebhi Falah Abu Marya, 16, after raiding his house in Beit Ummar village.
The Israeli magistrate court decided to extend on Sunday the arrest of 8 Jerusalemites and released 5 others with bails. According to Wadi Hilweh Information Center( WHICH) the Israeli Occupation Forces arrested on Sunday at dawn 7 Jerusalemites from the Old City and Al-Issawiya village in Jerusalem.
Lawyer Mohammed Mahmoud of al-Dameir Foundation told the WHICH that the magistrate court extended the arrest of Mohammed Obeid to 25 August after a secret session and the arrest of Shaheen Alian ,17, Muhammed Alian,16, to 21 August on charges of beating settlers.
It also reported that the magistrate court extended the arrest of Ahmed Derbas and Nizar al-Ashhab who were arrested on 6 August , to continue interrogating them.
According to Wadi Hilweh Information Center the judge extended the arrest of 19-year old Jalal Jamal Shkeir ,19, and his brother Yehya , 17, and Mohammad Jweiles in order to submit an indictment against them in the District court which includes charges of throwing stones at Damascus Gate in Jerusalem.
The Israeli magistrate court judge decided to release minor Muhammed Abu Sneineh,13, and Ahmed Badria,18, with a bail of 500 NIS and home confinement for 5 days.
It also reported that the Magistrate court judge decided to release minor Mahmoud al-Tamimi ,15, with a bail of 1200 NIS and home confinement and to release Fouad al-Shawish with a bail of 500 NIS and home confinement for five days.
Lawyer Mohammed Mahmoud of al-Dameir Foundation told the WHICH that the magistrate court extended the arrest of Mohammed Obeid to 25 August after a secret session and the arrest of Shaheen Alian ,17, Muhammed Alian,16, to 21 August on charges of beating settlers.
It also reported that the magistrate court extended the arrest of Ahmed Derbas and Nizar al-Ashhab who were arrested on 6 August , to continue interrogating them.
According to Wadi Hilweh Information Center the judge extended the arrest of 19-year old Jalal Jamal Shkeir ,19, and his brother Yehya , 17, and Mohammad Jweiles in order to submit an indictment against them in the District court which includes charges of throwing stones at Damascus Gate in Jerusalem.
The Israeli magistrate court judge decided to release minor Muhammed Abu Sneineh,13, and Ahmed Badria,18, with a bail of 500 NIS and home confinement for 5 days.
It also reported that the Magistrate court judge decided to release minor Mahmoud al-Tamimi ,15, with a bail of 1200 NIS and home confinement and to release Fouad al-Shawish with a bail of 500 NIS and home confinement for five days.
19 aug 2013
Givati troop nabs suspect at Nablus internet-café, where he was allegedly instructed by Gaza Strip terror group to travel to central Israel and stab passerby, in bid to foil PA-Israel peace talks
The IDF and the Shin Bet arrested some two weeks ago in Nablus a Palestinian man in his 20s, most likely just as he was about to travel to a city in central Israel, where he was planning to perpetrate attacks with a knife. The arrest was made by an IDF Givati unit in an internet-café in Nablus, where the suspect allegedly received orders from his handlers who are members of a Gaza Strip terror group.
The suspect was taken to questioning and an indictment is expected to filed against him in the coming weeks. According to preliminary investigation, he was planning to stab a passerby.
The IDF suspects that the suspect was taking advantage of the relatively easy crossing between Israel and the West Bank during Ramadan.
Over the past month, forces in the West Bank were instructed to raise alertness, as security forces were concerned that terror attacks be perpetrated so as to hinder the resumption of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
The IDF and the Shin Bet arrested some two weeks ago in Nablus a Palestinian man in his 20s, most likely just as he was about to travel to a city in central Israel, where he was planning to perpetrate attacks with a knife. The arrest was made by an IDF Givati unit in an internet-café in Nablus, where the suspect allegedly received orders from his handlers who are members of a Gaza Strip terror group.
The suspect was taken to questioning and an indictment is expected to filed against him in the coming weeks. According to preliminary investigation, he was planning to stab a passerby.
The IDF suspects that the suspect was taking advantage of the relatively easy crossing between Israel and the West Bank during Ramadan.
Over the past month, forces in the West Bank were instructed to raise alertness, as security forces were concerned that terror attacks be perpetrated so as to hinder the resumption of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) stormed various areas in north and central West Bank at dawn Monday and broke into civilian homes and searched them. The Hebrew radio said that IOF soldiers rounded up more than ten Palestinians in the West Bank at the pretext they were wanted for interrogation.
Hamas MP Fatehi Qarawi relatives told Quds Press that IOF soldiers broke into the lawmaker’s home in Nur shams refugee camp in Tulkarem and interrogated him and his liberated son Hazem before dawn Monday and left without arresting anyone.
Meanwhile, a young man in Juba village, south of Jenin, was wounded in his leg after IOF soldiers fired metal and rubber bullets and teargas canisters at demonstrators who were protesting the storming of their village, eyewitnesses said, adding that other people were treated for gas inhalation.
They said that the soldiers broke into the homes of eight citizens and subjected them to field interrogation.
Other confrontations were reported in Seelat Al-Harithiya village and in Jenin refugee camp in which IOF soldiers used live bullets and teargas bombs but no arrests were reported.
Hamas MP Fatehi Qarawi relatives told Quds Press that IOF soldiers broke into the lawmaker’s home in Nur shams refugee camp in Tulkarem and interrogated him and his liberated son Hazem before dawn Monday and left without arresting anyone.
Meanwhile, a young man in Juba village, south of Jenin, was wounded in his leg after IOF soldiers fired metal and rubber bullets and teargas canisters at demonstrators who were protesting the storming of their village, eyewitnesses said, adding that other people were treated for gas inhalation.
They said that the soldiers broke into the homes of eight citizens and subjected them to field interrogation.
Other confrontations were reported in Seelat Al-Harithiya village and in Jenin refugee camp in which IOF soldiers used live bullets and teargas bombs but no arrests were reported.
Man, 41, arrested on suspicion he molested, raped 12-year-old daughter during illegal trips to Israel where his wife resides
Police arrested a 41-year-old man from the Palestinian Authority on suspicion of molesting his 12-year-old daughter, who lives with her mother in Israel. It is suspected that the man, who is married to an Israeli, raped and molested the girl. He was arrested while on the run. According to the police, the father would enter Israel illegally and during that time saw his daughter. During those encounters he would rape her.
An investigation was launched two months ago after police obtained information on the abuse from social services. A child investigator interviewed the girl, who told her of the molestation, and came to the conclusion she was speaking the truth. It took police some weeks to track the man down and arrest him. He is suspected of sexual assault of a minor and infiltration. Police are asking that he be remanded in custody.
Police arrested a 41-year-old man from the Palestinian Authority on suspicion of molesting his 12-year-old daughter, who lives with her mother in Israel. It is suspected that the man, who is married to an Israeli, raped and molested the girl. He was arrested while on the run. According to the police, the father would enter Israel illegally and during that time saw his daughter. During those encounters he would rape her.
An investigation was launched two months ago after police obtained information on the abuse from social services. A child investigator interviewed the girl, who told her of the molestation, and came to the conclusion she was speaking the truth. It took police some weeks to track the man down and arrest him. He is suspected of sexual assault of a minor and infiltration. Police are asking that he be remanded in custody.
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) kidnapped at dawn Monday brothers of Palestinian administrative detainees to pressure them to end their hunger strike. Local sources said that the IOF raided the houses of hunger strikers Adel Hureibat and Ayman Atbish in Dura town, south of Al-Khalil city, and kidnapped two of their brothers.
They added that the IOF also stormed the house of prisoner Imad Batran in Idna town, south of Al-Khalil, to kidnap his brother, but he was not at home.
They added that the IOF also stormed the house of prisoner Imad Batran in Idna town, south of Al-Khalil, to kidnap his brother, but he was not at home.
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) detained three Palestinians in Al-Khalil villages at dawn Monday. Local sources said that IOF soldiers detained Aref Hreibat in Al-Tabaka village, adding that he is the brother of detainee Adel Hreibat, who has been on hunger strike for the past three months.
They said that the soldiers also took Yousef Abu Ras from the same village and took both of them to an unknown detention center.
Raed Awad, the coordinator of the popular committee in Beit Ummar village, told the PIC reporter that IOF soldiers stormed the village in big numbers at dawn today.
He said that the soldiers broke into the home of Ahmed Ikhmeis and took away his son Anwar, 22, to Etzion detention center.
Meanwhile, IOF soldiers wreaked havoc in the charitable society for orphans in Al-Khalil city after bursting into its premises and searching it.
IOF soldiers manning a roadblock on Ramallah road detained a young man from Jenin on Sunday night, locals reported.
They said that Hilal Al-Saadi was returning from Ramallah to Jenin refugee camp when the soldiers stopped and arrested him.
They said that the soldiers also took Yousef Abu Ras from the same village and took both of them to an unknown detention center.
Raed Awad, the coordinator of the popular committee in Beit Ummar village, told the PIC reporter that IOF soldiers stormed the village in big numbers at dawn today.
He said that the soldiers broke into the home of Ahmed Ikhmeis and took away his son Anwar, 22, to Etzion detention center.
Meanwhile, IOF soldiers wreaked havoc in the charitable society for orphans in Al-Khalil city after bursting into its premises and searching it.
IOF soldiers manning a roadblock on Ramallah road detained a young man from Jenin on Sunday night, locals reported.
They said that Hilal Al-Saadi was returning from Ramallah to Jenin refugee camp when the soldiers stopped and arrested him.
Isolated Palestinian captive Dirar Abu Sisi has gone on an open hunger strike three days ago protesting his continued solitary confinement. Prisoners told an international society called “Breaking the Shackles” in a statement on Sunday that the Palestinian prisoners in Israeli occupation jails were planning to support Abu Sisi’s position by going on a similar open hunger strike.
Abu Sisi was kidnapped by Israeli Mossad (foreign intelligence) agents in the Ukraine in 2011 and was subjected to cruel investigation in Israeli captivity. He was held in complete isolation since then.
Abu Sisi, a holder of PhD in electric engineering, and his Ukrainian wife have six children who live in Gaza.
Prisoner in Solitary Confinement Begins Hunger Strike
Dirar Abu Sisi, a Palestinian prisoner held in the Israeli prison of Beersheba, began a hunger strike on Friday.
He is protesting that he has been held in solitary confinement for the last two years based on suspicion of his involvement with Hamas.
Abu Sisi, who has a PhD in electrical engineering, was kidnapped by Israeli Occupation officers in Ukraine. They claimed that he was involved with the political party Hamas and had the capacity to build rockets for them. Abu Sisi was also accused of withholding information regarding Ghalid Shalit, an Israeli soldier kidnapped in Gaza in 2006.
Although Shalit was released in October 2011 during a prisoner swap and a lack of evidence linking Abu Sisi’s to the purported claim of building rockets for Hamas, he is still locked up in an Israeli prison under solitary confinement.
A detainees’ group stated on Sunday that other detainees intend to support Abu Sisi by joining in the hunger strike.
Abu Sisi was kidnapped by Israeli Mossad (foreign intelligence) agents in the Ukraine in 2011 and was subjected to cruel investigation in Israeli captivity. He was held in complete isolation since then.
Abu Sisi, a holder of PhD in electric engineering, and his Ukrainian wife have six children who live in Gaza.
Prisoner in Solitary Confinement Begins Hunger Strike
Dirar Abu Sisi, a Palestinian prisoner held in the Israeli prison of Beersheba, began a hunger strike on Friday.
He is protesting that he has been held in solitary confinement for the last two years based on suspicion of his involvement with Hamas.
Abu Sisi, who has a PhD in electrical engineering, was kidnapped by Israeli Occupation officers in Ukraine. They claimed that he was involved with the political party Hamas and had the capacity to build rockets for them. Abu Sisi was also accused of withholding information regarding Ghalid Shalit, an Israeli soldier kidnapped in Gaza in 2006.
Although Shalit was released in October 2011 during a prisoner swap and a lack of evidence linking Abu Sisi’s to the purported claim of building rockets for Hamas, he is still locked up in an Israeli prison under solitary confinement.
A detainees’ group stated on Sunday that other detainees intend to support Abu Sisi by joining in the hunger strike.
The Palestinian prisoners center for studies said that prisoner Tha'er Halahila, 35, is in difficult health situation and exposed to deliberate medical neglect by his jailers in Ofer prison. The center stated on Sunday that Halahila has been afflicted with a type of hepatitis and his condition gets worse every day as the Ofer prison administration deliberately ignores his urgent need for medical treatment.
The center affirmed that the Ofer jailers flouted five court orders demanding them to provide the prisoner with immediate medical treatment.
Prisoner Halahila, from Al-Khalil city, had gone on hunger strike for 67 days to protest his administrative detention before he accepted a deal ending his hunger strike in exchange for his freedom, but last April he was taken prisoner once again.
The center affirmed that the Ofer jailers flouted five court orders demanding them to provide the prisoner with immediate medical treatment.
Prisoner Halahila, from Al-Khalil city, had gone on hunger strike for 67 days to protest his administrative detention before he accepted a deal ending his hunger strike in exchange for his freedom, but last April he was taken prisoner once again.
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An American professor and political analyst has said Israeli forces’ history of abusing Palestinian prisoners is caused by Tel Aviv’s frustration about the existence of Palestinians.
The West Chester University professor Lawrence Davidson recently remarked during an interview with Press TV, “I think it’s in many ways a function of Israelis being caught between their desire to cleanse the place of non-Jews and their practical barriers to this. The result is their frustration and brutality.” Davidson’s comments came in response to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)’s increased concerns about the health conditions of seven Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike in Israeli jails. |
Many of the inmates are being held without trial or charges under administrative detention, which can be renewed indefinitely.
About this, Davidson said “There’s a psychological kind of reason for this that plays within the Israeli psyche. I think that the Israeli bureaucracy, the Israeli army, the Israel police really hate these people. They hate the Palestinians.”
“They want to essentially hurt them [the Palestinians]. So, they’re frustrated by not being able to kind of clear these people out through massive ethnic cleansing. So, they just kind of brutalize them.”
Israel is still holding 5,100 Palestinian detainees, including 250 children and 14 women, according to the Palestinian Ministry for Prisoner Affairs.
“Unless there’s some sort of resolution, they will be held, most of them, forever. It is indefinite detention without any kind of habeas corpus rights,” the political analyst added.
Israel caught in psychological schism: Lawrence Davidson
Press TV has conducted an interview with Lawrence Davidson, a professor at West Chester University, from Pennsylvania, about Palestinian hunger strikers held under custody by the occupier Israel.
The following is an approximate transcript of the interview.
Press TV: The health situation of Palestinian inmates is deteriorating and is worrying the International Committee of the Red Cross. First of all, what is there that the International Committee of the Red Cross can do to make the situation better?
Davidson: In practical terms, there’s not much except of course to bring this to the international media attention. Even then, they’re really at the mercy of the media as to whether they play it or not.
But this kind of deteriorating treatment of Palestinian prisoners actually is not very new. What’s new, I think, is the response of the Palestinians, essentially, to refuse food. This is a couple of years old and it has been affective in the past.
Press TV: There is also the question of trials and charges. Why is it that Israel keeps these prisoners without any charge or trial and doesn’t give these prisoners a fair trial at all?
Davidson: That’s a very good question.
There’s a psychological kind of reason for this that plays within the Israeli psyche. I think that the Israeli bureaucracy, the Israeli army, the Israel police really hate these people. They hate the Palestinians. They want to essentially hurt them. So, they’re frustrated by not being able to kind of clear these people out through massive ethnic cleansing. So, they just kind of brutalize them.
I think it’s in many ways a function of Israelis being caught between their desire to cleanse the place of non-Jews and their practical barriers to this. The result is their frustration and brutality.
Press TV: At the end of the day, what will be the fate of these prisoners?
Davidson: Unless there’s some sort of resolution, they will be held, most of them, forever. It’s indefinite detention without any kind of habeas corpus rights.
There’s nothing you can do except pressure Israelis either by not taking food and then, you know, facing them with this mass starvation or maybe bargaining for the release of small numbers in order to get back to the “bargaining table” - if that’s what you want to call it. Those are the only options; otherwise, these people will stay where they are forever.
About this, Davidson said “There’s a psychological kind of reason for this that plays within the Israeli psyche. I think that the Israeli bureaucracy, the Israeli army, the Israel police really hate these people. They hate the Palestinians.”
“They want to essentially hurt them [the Palestinians]. So, they’re frustrated by not being able to kind of clear these people out through massive ethnic cleansing. So, they just kind of brutalize them.”
Israel is still holding 5,100 Palestinian detainees, including 250 children and 14 women, according to the Palestinian Ministry for Prisoner Affairs.
“Unless there’s some sort of resolution, they will be held, most of them, forever. It is indefinite detention without any kind of habeas corpus rights,” the political analyst added.
Israel caught in psychological schism: Lawrence Davidson
Press TV has conducted an interview with Lawrence Davidson, a professor at West Chester University, from Pennsylvania, about Palestinian hunger strikers held under custody by the occupier Israel.
The following is an approximate transcript of the interview.
Press TV: The health situation of Palestinian inmates is deteriorating and is worrying the International Committee of the Red Cross. First of all, what is there that the International Committee of the Red Cross can do to make the situation better?
Davidson: In practical terms, there’s not much except of course to bring this to the international media attention. Even then, they’re really at the mercy of the media as to whether they play it or not.
But this kind of deteriorating treatment of Palestinian prisoners actually is not very new. What’s new, I think, is the response of the Palestinians, essentially, to refuse food. This is a couple of years old and it has been affective in the past.
Press TV: There is also the question of trials and charges. Why is it that Israel keeps these prisoners without any charge or trial and doesn’t give these prisoners a fair trial at all?
Davidson: That’s a very good question.
There’s a psychological kind of reason for this that plays within the Israeli psyche. I think that the Israeli bureaucracy, the Israeli army, the Israel police really hate these people. They hate the Palestinians. They want to essentially hurt them. So, they’re frustrated by not being able to kind of clear these people out through massive ethnic cleansing. So, they just kind of brutalize them.
I think it’s in many ways a function of Israelis being caught between their desire to cleanse the place of non-Jews and their practical barriers to this. The result is their frustration and brutality.
Press TV: At the end of the day, what will be the fate of these prisoners?
Davidson: Unless there’s some sort of resolution, they will be held, most of them, forever. It’s indefinite detention without any kind of habeas corpus rights.
There’s nothing you can do except pressure Israelis either by not taking food and then, you know, facing them with this mass starvation or maybe bargaining for the release of small numbers in order to get back to the “bargaining table” - if that’s what you want to call it. Those are the only options; otherwise, these people will stay where they are forever.
18 aug 2013
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) used teargas and rubber bullets to disperse Palestinian citizens in Balata refugee camp near Nablus on Sunday wounding one of them in the foot. Local sources said that IOF soldiers stormed Nablus city, Beita village, and Balata refugee camp and nabbed eight Palestinians.
They said that clashes erupted in Balata as citizens confronted the invading soldiers, adding that a number of citizens fainted as a result of the IOF extensive use of teargas bombs while one of them was wounded with a rubber bullet in his foot.
Other IOF soldiers raided Beit Fajjar village in Bethlehem and arrested a young man in his twenties after searching his family home. The soldiers served summonses for three other citizens in the village.
They said that clashes erupted in Balata as citizens confronted the invading soldiers, adding that a number of citizens fainted as a result of the IOF extensive use of teargas bombs while one of them was wounded with a rubber bullet in his foot.
Other IOF soldiers raided Beit Fajjar village in Bethlehem and arrested a young man in his twenties after searching his family home. The soldiers served summonses for three other citizens in the village.
Israeli Military Forces(IMF) detained 206 Palestinians since the beginning of August, said Palestinian Detainees’ Center. “After the release of 26 Palestinian detainees, Israel will try to compensate by arresting dozens or hundreds of Palestinians to keep its prisons full of prisoners,” said Riyad Al-ashqar, Media Director of Palestinian Detainees’ Center.
He added that Israel tries to satisfy the Israeli public, who get upset after each prisoners swap deal, by increasing the arrest cases among Palestinians.
According to the center, 56 Palestinians from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip were arrested since last Tuesday.
Al-ashqar said that since the beginning of 2013, IMF arrested 2506 Palestinians including 425 children and 39 women.
He added that Israel tries to satisfy the Israeli public, who get upset after each prisoners swap deal, by increasing the arrest cases among Palestinians.
According to the center, 56 Palestinians from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip were arrested since last Tuesday.
Al-ashqar said that since the beginning of 2013, IMF arrested 2506 Palestinians including 425 children and 39 women.
Israeli forces raided a Nablus village overnight and arrested two teenagers, locals said.
A number of Israeli military vehicles entered Beita village and raided several homes, arresting Amin Ahmad Sayed, 19, and Munther Aysar Sayed, 18.
Soldiers fired tear gas and sound bombs, locals added.
An Israeli spokeswoman said one person was detained overnight in Beit Fajjar, south of Bethlehem.
A number of Israeli military vehicles entered Beita village and raided several homes, arresting Amin Ahmad Sayed, 19, and Munther Aysar Sayed, 18.
Soldiers fired tear gas and sound bombs, locals added.
An Israeli spokeswoman said one person was detained overnight in Beit Fajjar, south of Bethlehem.
17 aug 2013
Eight months ago, during a night raid in January 2013, 29-year-old Hassan Karajah was arrested by Israeli occupation forces.
Karajah, a youth coordinator for the Stop the Wall campaign, has been accused of actively supporting Palestinian prisoners and participating in a student group affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
Human rights advocates insist his arrest and imprisonment is just another example of Israeli intimidation of Palestinians who speak out and work for organizations that highlight abuses by the occupation.
Friends and fellow activists add that such intimidation is, of course, not reserved for those who work formally in nongovernmental organizations, but extends to countless individuals, not least of whom are charismatic and active Palestinian youth who inspire courage in those around them. It would seem Hassan Karajah falls in to both categories.
Sending strength from behind bars
Despite health concerns and lack of access to his family, Karajah seems to be taking on the role of so many prisoners who write open letters. From behind bars and with freedom snatched away, it is Hassan who is sending his friends, family and community reassurance, encouragement and positivity.
But those who know Karajah are not surprised. Yassmine Hamayel, a friend of Hassan’s, describes his “creativity and optimism” as so present in his energy that he makes one feel “as if Palestine was not lost.”
Whether through reading and quoting the Palestinian writer Ghassan Kanafani, hiking in beautiful valleys under threat of confiscation for settlements, or being vocal about prisoners’ rights, Hamayel explains that Hassan gave his friends hope to continue resisting in any way available, that “everything will be ok, as long as we do something for Palestine.”
Others describe him as someone who is fiercely principled, dedicated to those he works with, yet inviting of new people and ideas.
A brief meeting
I don’t know Hassan well at all really, and met him only briefly before my departure from Ramallah. He was officially announcing his engagement to some friends I had stopped by to see, and so we had a cup of coffee with him and whatever sweets we could find nearby as a small token of congratulations.
Hassan and I both walked out to leave around the same time, and so he offered to give me a ride home. It didn’t take long for him to inquire how I had come to the decision to move to Palestine to teach, and before we could even get to that, suddenly our entire conversation shifted.
He was overjoyed at my fallahi Gazan dialect and even more so that I was speaking in it when teaching young kids in Ramallah.
Unfortunately our conversation was cut short, as I spotted a friend I needed to see walking in the market, thanked him for the ride, and hopped out early.
He said when I returned from my trip, we’d set up a plan for him to do a guest lecture on the apartheid wall to my class, a good topic for their spring paper, I thought to myself. I heard of his arrest while in Amman, grading Fall semester finals, a week or two after Israel denied me re-entry to the occupied West Bank.
By all accounts, it is apparent that Karajah has an eye (and ear) for detail, for seeing every part of what we choose to do and how we choose to do it as a potentially positive link to how to contribute to the Palestinian struggle.
Though his joyful engagement that we congratulated him on that day has been indefinitely extended, though his lecture to a high school class canceled, though his very freedom to embrace life threatened, he – like so many Palestinian prisoners – is the one that tells us to have hope and move forward, reminding himself and his community that each draws strength from the other.
Hassan Karajah’s letter
To my friends across the world, to everyone who has pledged solidarity with me, to everyone who cares about the prisoners’ cause, to all who believe in justice for Palestine: I send you peace and love, entwined with the steadfastness of the prisoners and scented with freedom. For you, I say:
“When seeds of wheat are sown in the earth, some are trampled to death, some are eaten by birds, and some remain under the soil to have raindrops fall on them. And with the first radiance of the sun, rays rise, promising us the continuation of life …”
To all, know that I miss you and I’m eager to see everyone. However, I am prevented from doing so by the Zionist occupation, which has imprisoned not just me but all of my people for 65 years. Nonetheless my dears, if all of this has been done for Palestine’s freedom, the land and its people, then I am ready to bear its weight, and I am certain you have carried it also and are ready to continue this way.
As I write you, I have gathered your souls around me to address you with my spirit in order to not exclude any of you. If I neglect to mention you by name, it is for a simple reason: the shortage of stationery in prison, the lack of pen and paper. This scarcity is intentional, a form of siege warfare used by Israeli Prison Services against Palestinian prisoners, used as a method to deprive us of education. And I’m sure you know this is only a drop in the ocean of Israel’s practices to suppress and break our steadfastness, a goal they have not yet and never will achieve.
To each of you, I have written private messages in notebooks—notebooks which were confiscated by the Israeli Prison Service before the letters could ever reach your hands. Therefore, I am sending you my greetings everyday through the rays of sunshine. Please embrace them.
If you want to know about me, I assure you I am fine and healthy, thank God. I am fine despite the denial of adequate medical treatment—part of the systematic medical negligence inflicted on all prisoners without exception. My spirit flies above the wind, and that is in large part due to your standing with me, as always.
I have not forgotten any of you, friends everywhere. It is true that I cannot meet you now, but you faces have not disappeared from my mind. Your principles cannot be separated from mine, and your convictions remain united with mine—what you believe in is what I believe in. These prison walls have not and cannot change that. They have not and cannot stop me from loving you more. I still meet with you in ‘The Land of Sad Oranges’, and ‘Um Saad’ is still our mother. I am sure you still hear the “knocking on the walls of the tank.” We will not stop knocking back until all the refugees return to their homes and to their grandfathers’ houses. We will not stop knocking the walls of the tanks until every friend is able to visit us in Palestine—all of Palestine, its land, its waters, its air, and the whole national territory.
This dark period will not last long. We must keep faith. Faith begets hope, and hope begets work, and work is the road to freedom. Freedom is priceless, it is the prize. This work must be done collectively, however small the impact, because the small steps meet to become an army. One noble morning, we will become a noble army, the army of the idea, the army which believes in its people, like my own belief in my people—it is limitless.
We leave our cells and the prison walls only through the world of literature. We read books to the point of becoming part of the characters that tell their stories and novels. We make them one of the doors that takes us out of the darkness of the prison. The occupation finds all kinds of ways and procedures to prevent and complicate reaching out to prisoners.
When I heard the news that many of my thoughts and dreams have become a reality—because you have achieved them on my behalf—I became certain that I am not in fact imprisoned. I see my continuation in each of you. I see my freedom in your eyes. I have heard my voice in your cries. They imprisoned our bodies, but they cannot and will never be able to imprison our ideas.
Here in prison, we derive our energy to persist from you, when you persist. Many of us are only recently detained, and our hearts are filled with joy when we meet prisoners who we have heard stories about for decades, whose pictures we have held high countless times, prisoners who stirred our own passion since the days of our childhood and who fortify our hearts as we move from our cells to the occupation’s courtrooms.
I assure you: we are far from being brought to our end. We are stronger than they are able to weaken us. We are deeper than they are able to cut us. We are boundless. Let me say finally, I will see you soon. I will emerge as you have always known me and better yet, and I will meet you at the behest of a single word: freedom.
Hassan Karajah, Beersheba Prison, Occupied Palestine
Karajah, a youth coordinator for the Stop the Wall campaign, has been accused of actively supporting Palestinian prisoners and participating in a student group affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
Human rights advocates insist his arrest and imprisonment is just another example of Israeli intimidation of Palestinians who speak out and work for organizations that highlight abuses by the occupation.
Friends and fellow activists add that such intimidation is, of course, not reserved for those who work formally in nongovernmental organizations, but extends to countless individuals, not least of whom are charismatic and active Palestinian youth who inspire courage in those around them. It would seem Hassan Karajah falls in to both categories.
Sending strength from behind bars
Despite health concerns and lack of access to his family, Karajah seems to be taking on the role of so many prisoners who write open letters. From behind bars and with freedom snatched away, it is Hassan who is sending his friends, family and community reassurance, encouragement and positivity.
But those who know Karajah are not surprised. Yassmine Hamayel, a friend of Hassan’s, describes his “creativity and optimism” as so present in his energy that he makes one feel “as if Palestine was not lost.”
Whether through reading and quoting the Palestinian writer Ghassan Kanafani, hiking in beautiful valleys under threat of confiscation for settlements, or being vocal about prisoners’ rights, Hamayel explains that Hassan gave his friends hope to continue resisting in any way available, that “everything will be ok, as long as we do something for Palestine.”
Others describe him as someone who is fiercely principled, dedicated to those he works with, yet inviting of new people and ideas.
A brief meeting
I don’t know Hassan well at all really, and met him only briefly before my departure from Ramallah. He was officially announcing his engagement to some friends I had stopped by to see, and so we had a cup of coffee with him and whatever sweets we could find nearby as a small token of congratulations.
Hassan and I both walked out to leave around the same time, and so he offered to give me a ride home. It didn’t take long for him to inquire how I had come to the decision to move to Palestine to teach, and before we could even get to that, suddenly our entire conversation shifted.
He was overjoyed at my fallahi Gazan dialect and even more so that I was speaking in it when teaching young kids in Ramallah.
Unfortunately our conversation was cut short, as I spotted a friend I needed to see walking in the market, thanked him for the ride, and hopped out early.
He said when I returned from my trip, we’d set up a plan for him to do a guest lecture on the apartheid wall to my class, a good topic for their spring paper, I thought to myself. I heard of his arrest while in Amman, grading Fall semester finals, a week or two after Israel denied me re-entry to the occupied West Bank.
By all accounts, it is apparent that Karajah has an eye (and ear) for detail, for seeing every part of what we choose to do and how we choose to do it as a potentially positive link to how to contribute to the Palestinian struggle.
Though his joyful engagement that we congratulated him on that day has been indefinitely extended, though his lecture to a high school class canceled, though his very freedom to embrace life threatened, he – like so many Palestinian prisoners – is the one that tells us to have hope and move forward, reminding himself and his community that each draws strength from the other.
Hassan Karajah’s letter
To my friends across the world, to everyone who has pledged solidarity with me, to everyone who cares about the prisoners’ cause, to all who believe in justice for Palestine: I send you peace and love, entwined with the steadfastness of the prisoners and scented with freedom. For you, I say:
“When seeds of wheat are sown in the earth, some are trampled to death, some are eaten by birds, and some remain under the soil to have raindrops fall on them. And with the first radiance of the sun, rays rise, promising us the continuation of life …”
To all, know that I miss you and I’m eager to see everyone. However, I am prevented from doing so by the Zionist occupation, which has imprisoned not just me but all of my people for 65 years. Nonetheless my dears, if all of this has been done for Palestine’s freedom, the land and its people, then I am ready to bear its weight, and I am certain you have carried it also and are ready to continue this way.
As I write you, I have gathered your souls around me to address you with my spirit in order to not exclude any of you. If I neglect to mention you by name, it is for a simple reason: the shortage of stationery in prison, the lack of pen and paper. This scarcity is intentional, a form of siege warfare used by Israeli Prison Services against Palestinian prisoners, used as a method to deprive us of education. And I’m sure you know this is only a drop in the ocean of Israel’s practices to suppress and break our steadfastness, a goal they have not yet and never will achieve.
To each of you, I have written private messages in notebooks—notebooks which were confiscated by the Israeli Prison Service before the letters could ever reach your hands. Therefore, I am sending you my greetings everyday through the rays of sunshine. Please embrace them.
If you want to know about me, I assure you I am fine and healthy, thank God. I am fine despite the denial of adequate medical treatment—part of the systematic medical negligence inflicted on all prisoners without exception. My spirit flies above the wind, and that is in large part due to your standing with me, as always.
I have not forgotten any of you, friends everywhere. It is true that I cannot meet you now, but you faces have not disappeared from my mind. Your principles cannot be separated from mine, and your convictions remain united with mine—what you believe in is what I believe in. These prison walls have not and cannot change that. They have not and cannot stop me from loving you more. I still meet with you in ‘The Land of Sad Oranges’, and ‘Um Saad’ is still our mother. I am sure you still hear the “knocking on the walls of the tank.” We will not stop knocking back until all the refugees return to their homes and to their grandfathers’ houses. We will not stop knocking the walls of the tanks until every friend is able to visit us in Palestine—all of Palestine, its land, its waters, its air, and the whole national territory.
This dark period will not last long. We must keep faith. Faith begets hope, and hope begets work, and work is the road to freedom. Freedom is priceless, it is the prize. This work must be done collectively, however small the impact, because the small steps meet to become an army. One noble morning, we will become a noble army, the army of the idea, the army which believes in its people, like my own belief in my people—it is limitless.
We leave our cells and the prison walls only through the world of literature. We read books to the point of becoming part of the characters that tell their stories and novels. We make them one of the doors that takes us out of the darkness of the prison. The occupation finds all kinds of ways and procedures to prevent and complicate reaching out to prisoners.
When I heard the news that many of my thoughts and dreams have become a reality—because you have achieved them on my behalf—I became certain that I am not in fact imprisoned. I see my continuation in each of you. I see my freedom in your eyes. I have heard my voice in your cries. They imprisoned our bodies, but they cannot and will never be able to imprison our ideas.
Here in prison, we derive our energy to persist from you, when you persist. Many of us are only recently detained, and our hearts are filled with joy when we meet prisoners who we have heard stories about for decades, whose pictures we have held high countless times, prisoners who stirred our own passion since the days of our childhood and who fortify our hearts as we move from our cells to the occupation’s courtrooms.
I assure you: we are far from being brought to our end. We are stronger than they are able to weaken us. We are deeper than they are able to cut us. We are boundless. Let me say finally, I will see you soon. I will emerge as you have always known me and better yet, and I will meet you at the behest of a single word: freedom.
Hassan Karajah, Beersheba Prison, Occupied Palestine
Israeli forces Saturday arrested two brothers from the town of as-Samu’, south of Hebron, according to Security sources. They told WAFA that Israeli soldiers arrested the two brothers, who work as shepherds, and erected military checkpoints at the entrances of the towns of Sa’ir and Halhul, north of Hebron and al-Fawwar refugee camp and Kharsa village to the south.
They also searched the cars of the residents and inspected their personal documents.
They also searched the cars of the residents and inspected their personal documents.
Israeli forces have banned a recently freed Palestinian prisoner from entering the West Bank, citing security concerns.
Alaa al-Ali said he received a warrant this week from Israeli forces prohibiting him from entering the West Bank, reportedly to protect the "security of the state."
Al-Ali, from Jerusalem, was released three months ago after spending 12 years in an Israeli prison.
Alaa al-Ali said he received a warrant this week from Israeli forces prohibiting him from entering the West Bank, reportedly to protect the "security of the state."
Al-Ali, from Jerusalem, was released three months ago after spending 12 years in an Israeli prison.
The IDF arrested three Palestinians who were swimming in the sea opposite the northern Gaza Strip, in an area restricted to Palestinians.
The three were arrested by the Navy and taken for a security forces interrogation.
Israeli navy arrests three Palestinian swimmers off Gaza coast
Israeli navy forces detained three Palestinians at the pretext of swimming toward the restricted sea area off the coast of Gaza Strip on Saturday. Hebrew press reported that the Israeli navy spotted the three while swimming toward the out-of-bound area and took them in.
Palestinian security sources said that the three were fishermen and were all from Shati refugee camp to the west of Gaza city.
The three were arrested by the Navy and taken for a security forces interrogation.
Israeli navy arrests three Palestinian swimmers off Gaza coast
Israeli navy forces detained three Palestinians at the pretext of swimming toward the restricted sea area off the coast of Gaza Strip on Saturday. Hebrew press reported that the Israeli navy spotted the three while swimming toward the out-of-bound area and took them in.
Palestinian security sources said that the three were fishermen and were all from Shati refugee camp to the west of Gaza city.
Administrative detainees in the Israeli occupation jails announced launching protest steps against policy of administrative detention at the beginning of September that will develop into open hunger strike in October. Fouad Khuffash, director of the Ahrar Center for Prisoners' Studies and Human Rights, said that after discussions, the prisoners in the Negev and Ofer prisons decided to start protest steps in rejection of the policy of administrative detention.
The prisoners called for supporting them at the popular and media levels, to help them achieve their demands.
There are approximately 180 prisoners held under administrative detention, without trial or charge, in the Israeli jails mostly in the Negev desert prison.
The prisoners called for supporting them at the popular and media levels, to help them achieve their demands.
There are approximately 180 prisoners held under administrative detention, without trial or charge, in the Israeli jails mostly in the Negev desert prison.
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) stormed on Friday afternoon the town of Yatta, south of al-Khalil, and searched the house of liberated prisoner Khaled Makhamra. PIC's correspondent said the IOF stormed Yatta from its northern entrance on Friday afternoon and surrounded and searched the house of the liberated captive Makhamra.
He added that during the raid the IOF soldiers brought with them Makhamra’s brother captive Ibrahim who has been detained for more than two weeks in the Ashkelon interrogation center.
Israeli soldiers had stormed the house of Makharma many times during the past two years. The raids were usually accompanied with clashes that led once to the death of Palestinian boy Zakaria Abu Aram and the detention of many other young men.
Makhamra had been also summoned to the headquarters of the Israeli intelligence in Etzion several times.
Makhamra had been sentenced to life imprisonment. He spent in Israeli jails six years and was released in October 2011 under the Wafaa al-Ahrar prisoners exchange deal.
He added that during the raid the IOF soldiers brought with them Makhamra’s brother captive Ibrahim who has been detained for more than two weeks in the Ashkelon interrogation center.
Israeli soldiers had stormed the house of Makharma many times during the past two years. The raids were usually accompanied with clashes that led once to the death of Palestinian boy Zakaria Abu Aram and the detention of many other young men.
Makhamra had been also summoned to the headquarters of the Israeli intelligence in Etzion several times.
Makhamra had been sentenced to life imprisonment. He spent in Israeli jails six years and was released in October 2011 under the Wafaa al-Ahrar prisoners exchange deal.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is extremely concerned about the worsening health of seven Palestinian detainees who are on long-term hunger strike. The ICRC is particularly worried about Imad Abdelaziz Abdallah Batran, who has been on hunger strike for several weeks.
"The life of hunger striker Imad Batran is at immediate risk unless the detaining authorities find a prompt solution," said Juan Pedro Schaerer, the head of the ICRC delegation in Israel and the occupied territories. Any solution has to take into consideration the fact that, under resolutions adopted by the World Medical Association, detainees are entitled to freely choose whether to consent to be fed or to receive medical treatment. It is essential that their choice be respected and their dignity preserved.
Since the hunger strikes began, ICRC delegates and medical staff have regularly visited the detainees to monitor their health and the way they are treated. The ICRC has also helped their families to maintain contact with them.
"The life of hunger striker Imad Batran is at immediate risk unless the detaining authorities find a prompt solution," said Juan Pedro Schaerer, the head of the ICRC delegation in Israel and the occupied territories. Any solution has to take into consideration the fact that, under resolutions adopted by the World Medical Association, detainees are entitled to freely choose whether to consent to be fed or to receive medical treatment. It is essential that their choice be respected and their dignity preserved.
Since the hunger strikes began, ICRC delegates and medical staff have regularly visited the detainees to monitor their health and the way they are treated. The ICRC has also helped their families to maintain contact with them.
Israeli authorities detained three women affiliated to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a senior party official said Saturday.
Israeli forces detained Muyassar Atiyani, Lenan Abu Ghalama and Lina Jawabra while they were visiting Palestinian friends in Israel, said Zahir Shashtiri.
The women are all from Nablus in the northern West Bank.
Shashtiri said Israel was "still implementing an aggressive policy against the Palestinian people despite resumption of absurd negotiations."
Israeli forces detained Muyassar Atiyani, Lenan Abu Ghalama and Lina Jawabra while they were visiting Palestinian friends in Israel, said Zahir Shashtiri.
The women are all from Nablus in the northern West Bank.
Shashtiri said Israel was "still implementing an aggressive policy against the Palestinian people despite resumption of absurd negotiations."
Dozens of Israeli soldiers invaded, on Friday evening, the village of Beita south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus, and kidnapped five Palestinians; clashes and injuries have been reported.
Local sources said that dozens of soldiers invaded the village, broke into and violently searched several homes, causing property damage, and kidnapped the five Palestinians, the Maan News Agency has reported.
Four of the kidnapped residents have been identified as Mazin Fawzi Dweikat, 19, Mansour Ahmad Hamayel, 22, Ammar Yousef Hamayel, 21, and Azzouz Mousa Hamayel, 17.
The sources added that the soldiers also fired dozens of flares, gas bombs and concussion grenades in a number of neighborhoods in the village.
The army claimed that the invasion was carried out after Molotov cocktails was hurled at Israeli military vehicles driving at the Beita Junction, south of the village.
IOF soldiers arrest five youths south of Nablus
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) raided the village of Beita, south of Nablus, on Friday evening and arrested a number of Palestinian young men. Local sources said that a big number of soldiers in 15 army vehicles stormed the town, surrounded the houses of a number of citizens, and arrested five young men. Inhabitants responded to the raid by throwing stones and empty bottles at the soldiers.
In another incident, IOF soldiers closed on Saturday a street west of Dura town, south of al-Khalil, under the pretext of providing security for the settlers.
Eyewitnesses told the PIC that the occupation troops closed the iron gate they set up near Khirbet Salama and another gate at the end of the street near the village of Beit Awwa, under the pretext of providing security for the settlers from Njihut settlement built on Palestinian land.
The witnesses pointed out that the IOF closes the street every week on Saturdays which directly affects thousands of citizens who are using it.
Local sources said that dozens of soldiers invaded the village, broke into and violently searched several homes, causing property damage, and kidnapped the five Palestinians, the Maan News Agency has reported.
Four of the kidnapped residents have been identified as Mazin Fawzi Dweikat, 19, Mansour Ahmad Hamayel, 22, Ammar Yousef Hamayel, 21, and Azzouz Mousa Hamayel, 17.
The sources added that the soldiers also fired dozens of flares, gas bombs and concussion grenades in a number of neighborhoods in the village.
The army claimed that the invasion was carried out after Molotov cocktails was hurled at Israeli military vehicles driving at the Beita Junction, south of the village.
IOF soldiers arrest five youths south of Nablus
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) raided the village of Beita, south of Nablus, on Friday evening and arrested a number of Palestinian young men. Local sources said that a big number of soldiers in 15 army vehicles stormed the town, surrounded the houses of a number of citizens, and arrested five young men. Inhabitants responded to the raid by throwing stones and empty bottles at the soldiers.
In another incident, IOF soldiers closed on Saturday a street west of Dura town, south of al-Khalil, under the pretext of providing security for the settlers.
Eyewitnesses told the PIC that the occupation troops closed the iron gate they set up near Khirbet Salama and another gate at the end of the street near the village of Beit Awwa, under the pretext of providing security for the settlers from Njihut settlement built on Palestinian land.
The witnesses pointed out that the IOF closes the street every week on Saturdays which directly affects thousands of citizens who are using it.
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Yesterday, four people were violently arrested at a peaceful demonstration taking place near the village of Al-Masara, on the outskirts of Hebron(Al Khalil). Around 60 demonstrators calling for the dismantlement of illegal Israeli settlements upon Palestinian land were attacked and disbanded by Israeli soldiers within minutes.
At around 11.30am the procession began, with many people waving flags and calling chants of freedom. An Israeli military vehicle drove by, turned around and blocked the road. Within two minutes two more military jeeps and one Police car had joined the blockade. Heavily armed soldiers stormed the procession, splitting the group into two and beating protesters to the ground. The soldiers pushed protesters back and formed a wall of plastic shields. Four men including two international and two Palestinian protesters were arrested. |
Abed was holding a camera and documenting the demonstration when he was quickly grabbed and pushed by an Israel soldier. Abed shouted at the soldier to let go of his arm and tried to pull away from the soldiers grasp. The soldier responded by strangling and arresting him. Another protester, Muad Al-lahham, was arrested while calmly waving a Palestinian flag.
Local Palestinians are incensed by the continuous settlement expansion and subsequent annexation of their land that deliberately prevents farmers from harvesting their crops. This disabling act of aggression has led to local Palestinian families being financially crippled. As an act of resistance, the local people regularly hold peaceful demonstrations that are consistently met with force from the Israeli occupation. These acts, usually held on Juma’a, often use symbolism to convey their message. Two weeks ago the locals erected a tent on occupied Palestinian land, as a mark of resistance to the Israeli settlements.
Palestinians here are used to being arrested at their demonstrations. Yesterday, Mahmoud from Al-Masara had his permit taken from him, which is indicative of imminent arrest. For Mahmoud, this is routine and he calmly smoked a cigarette while soldiers decided his fate. Mahmoud was allowed to maintain his freedom, but he never knows when an arrest may come. Asked why he continues to protest he said: “[our] goal is to live in peace and to have our freedom like anybody else in the world. [Israelis] have occupied Palestine, but they can never occupy our minds.”
The majority of protesters came from the villages of Beit Ummar and Al-Masara, which are both affected by Highway 60 that was built by Israeli authorities. The highway cuts through the villages, dividing people from their farm lands. As well as this, the inhabitants of the Israeli settlement of Kami Tzur that is close to the villages use intimidation and force in attempt to prevent the farmers harvesting their crops. The force used by the Israeli army at yesterday’s protest demonstrates the intolerance toward peaceful protesters who make a stand against this injustice.
Local Palestinians are incensed by the continuous settlement expansion and subsequent annexation of their land that deliberately prevents farmers from harvesting their crops. This disabling act of aggression has led to local Palestinian families being financially crippled. As an act of resistance, the local people regularly hold peaceful demonstrations that are consistently met with force from the Israeli occupation. These acts, usually held on Juma’a, often use symbolism to convey their message. Two weeks ago the locals erected a tent on occupied Palestinian land, as a mark of resistance to the Israeli settlements.
Palestinians here are used to being arrested at their demonstrations. Yesterday, Mahmoud from Al-Masara had his permit taken from him, which is indicative of imminent arrest. For Mahmoud, this is routine and he calmly smoked a cigarette while soldiers decided his fate. Mahmoud was allowed to maintain his freedom, but he never knows when an arrest may come. Asked why he continues to protest he said: “[our] goal is to live in peace and to have our freedom like anybody else in the world. [Israelis] have occupied Palestine, but they can never occupy our minds.”
The majority of protesters came from the villages of Beit Ummar and Al-Masara, which are both affected by Highway 60 that was built by Israeli authorities. The highway cuts through the villages, dividing people from their farm lands. As well as this, the inhabitants of the Israeli settlement of Kami Tzur that is close to the villages use intimidation and force in attempt to prevent the farmers harvesting their crops. The force used by the Israeli army at yesterday’s protest demonstrates the intolerance toward peaceful protesters who make a stand against this injustice.
Israeli suppression of peaceful anti-settlement marches in W. Bank continues
Scores of Palestinian and foreign activists suffered injuries on Friday afternoon when the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) attacked their weekly marches against settlement activities in the West Bank. In Kafr Qaddum village, the IOF subdued a rally held after the Friday prayers demanding the Israeli regime to reopen the main road of the village.
The intensity of the tear gas fired by the IOF at the protestors caused many cases of severe suffocation.
Some children also suffocated when the IOF deliberately fired tear gas grenades at nearby houses during their suppression of the protest.
Members of the Belgian group "Artists against the Wall" were among other foreign activists who participated in the Kafr Qaddum march.
The anti-settlement march of Masarah village, southwest of Bethlehem, also received its share of weekly oppression at the hands of the IOF.
Hasan Berejah, coordinator of the popular committee in Bethlehem, said that the IOF attacked the weekly rally in Masarah village, which led to the outbreak of clashes between them and the protestors.
Berejah added that Israeli soldiers physically attacked journalists, and arrested Palestinian protestors and two Italian activists during the events.
A number of Palestinian and foreign activists also took part in the Bil'in village anti-wall march that was held yesterday.
The IOF prevented the march from reaching the wall and fired a barrage of tear gas grenades at the protestors.
Scores of Palestinian and foreign activists suffered injuries on Friday afternoon when the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) attacked their weekly marches against settlement activities in the West Bank. In Kafr Qaddum village, the IOF subdued a rally held after the Friday prayers demanding the Israeli regime to reopen the main road of the village.
The intensity of the tear gas fired by the IOF at the protestors caused many cases of severe suffocation.
Some children also suffocated when the IOF deliberately fired tear gas grenades at nearby houses during their suppression of the protest.
Members of the Belgian group "Artists against the Wall" were among other foreign activists who participated in the Kafr Qaddum march.
The anti-settlement march of Masarah village, southwest of Bethlehem, also received its share of weekly oppression at the hands of the IOF.
Hasan Berejah, coordinator of the popular committee in Bethlehem, said that the IOF attacked the weekly rally in Masarah village, which led to the outbreak of clashes between them and the protestors.
Berejah added that Israeli soldiers physically attacked journalists, and arrested Palestinian protestors and two Italian activists during the events.
A number of Palestinian and foreign activists also took part in the Bil'in village anti-wall march that was held yesterday.
The IOF prevented the march from reaching the wall and fired a barrage of tear gas grenades at the protestors.
16 aug 2013
The Palestinian Prisoner Society (PPS) reported that the health of Palestinian captive Husam Matar, who enters his 76th day of open-ended hunger strike, has seriously deteriorated. In a statement on Friday, the PPS said that Matar was taken from Ramlah prison hospital to Tel Hashomer hospital since two weeks after his health seriously deteriorated, adding that despite the serious deterioration in his health the Israeli prison administration were preventing lawyers from seeing him recently.
The PPS said that its lawyer is trying to visit him today to check on his health condition.
Husam Matar, from Jerusalem, is a father of two and has been imprisoned since 2007. He is serving life in Israeli jails.
The PPS said that its lawyer is trying to visit him today to check on his health condition.
Husam Matar, from Jerusalem, is a father of two and has been imprisoned since 2007. He is serving life in Israeli jails.
Israeli authorities arrested three Palestinian women while they were visiting liberated captive Wourud al-Qassem in the town of Kafr Kassem in the 1948 occupied territories on Thursday evening. Activist in the Popular Front Shaher Shashtari said the occupation forces arrested the three activists from the house of the freed prisoner Wourud, as they were visiting her.
Israeli authorities directly transferred the activists to Hasharon prison for women without informing them about the charge against them.
Israeli authorities directly transferred the activists to Hasharon prison for women without informing them about the charge against them.
Muhammad Mona
The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) demanded the release of “Qud press News Agency” correspondent in Nablus Mohamed Mona and “Watan TV” cameraman Mohamed Awad who were arrested by the IOF from their homes in Nablus and Budrus village west of Ramallah during August. MADA denounced the policy of detaining journalists, which is against all international human rights conventions.
MADA urged the international community to pressure Israel to release the journalists detained in prisons and stop the policy of administrative detention for journalists, where they are imprisoned without charge or trial.
The center pointed out that other journalists are held in Israeli jails as well, such as the journalists Walid Khaled, arrested on 6th March 2013, and Baker Attili arrested on 10th August 2013.
The journalist Mohamed Mona was arrested on 7 August 2013 after raiding and searching his house. The IOF confiscated his computer, cell phone, and some papers. Mona was transferred to administrative detention for 6 months on Tuesday 13th August 2013 without pressing any charges against him.
The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) demanded the release of “Qud press News Agency” correspondent in Nablus Mohamed Mona and “Watan TV” cameraman Mohamed Awad who were arrested by the IOF from their homes in Nablus and Budrus village west of Ramallah during August. MADA denounced the policy of detaining journalists, which is against all international human rights conventions.
MADA urged the international community to pressure Israel to release the journalists detained in prisons and stop the policy of administrative detention for journalists, where they are imprisoned without charge or trial.
The center pointed out that other journalists are held in Israeli jails as well, such as the journalists Walid Khaled, arrested on 6th March 2013, and Baker Attili arrested on 10th August 2013.
The journalist Mohamed Mona was arrested on 7 August 2013 after raiding and searching his house. The IOF confiscated his computer, cell phone, and some papers. Mona was transferred to administrative detention for 6 months on Tuesday 13th August 2013 without pressing any charges against him.
Israeli occupation forces assaulted a number of participants in al-Masara weekly demonstration protesting against the Apartheid wall and settlement on Friday morning.
Photographers, who were covering the protest, said that Israeli forces brutally assaulted some of the protesters in the march, including journalists.
Photographers, who were covering the protest, said that Israeli forces brutally assaulted some of the protesters in the march, including journalists.
Abdul Rahman Younes
Israeli soldiers assaulted Abdul Rahman Younes, a photographer and correspondent at al-Quds.com newspaper, before arresting him.
It's worth mentioning that al-Masara march is one of the weekly demonstrations that take place every Friday to denounce the practices of the Israeli occupation, especially the Apartheid Wall and the settlement expansion in areas south of Bethlehem.
Israeli soldiers assaulted Abdul Rahman Younes, a photographer and correspondent at al-Quds.com newspaper, before arresting him.
It's worth mentioning that al-Masara march is one of the weekly demonstrations that take place every Friday to denounce the practices of the Israeli occupation, especially the Apartheid Wall and the settlement expansion in areas south of Bethlehem.
15 aug 2013
Israeli authorities have given veteran Palestinian prisoners released Tuesday maps showing the places and streets they can go to within their own cities, says a freed prisoner.
Samir Naneesh from Nablus in the northern West Bank had been detained in May 1989 and was sentenced to life imprisonment after he was convicted of killing an Israeli soldier by throwing a stone at him.
He told Ma’an Thursday that the Israelis warned him and all freed prisoners that they would be detained again if they do not adhere with certain instructions the Israelis gave them.
According to Naneesh, freed prisoners shouldn’t leave their cities or participate in any demonstrations or activities against Israel’s security. Violators will be taken back to prison, he added.
The Fatah-affiliated veteran prisoner highlighted during a reception organized by the movement in Nablus that his release was a dream he awaited impatiently.
Naneesh’s parents died while he was in custody.
“I was surprised most when I saw how my nephews and nieces have matured. Dozens of boys and girls have become men and women, and I thought they were still children.”
He added: “I have my own plans for the future. First, I would like to get married and build a family like other citizens, then I will think of next stage.”
Samir Naneesh from Nablus in the northern West Bank had been detained in May 1989 and was sentenced to life imprisonment after he was convicted of killing an Israeli soldier by throwing a stone at him.
He told Ma’an Thursday that the Israelis warned him and all freed prisoners that they would be detained again if they do not adhere with certain instructions the Israelis gave them.
According to Naneesh, freed prisoners shouldn’t leave their cities or participate in any demonstrations or activities against Israel’s security. Violators will be taken back to prison, he added.
The Fatah-affiliated veteran prisoner highlighted during a reception organized by the movement in Nablus that his release was a dream he awaited impatiently.
Naneesh’s parents died while he was in custody.
“I was surprised most when I saw how my nephews and nieces have matured. Dozens of boys and girls have become men and women, and I thought they were still children.”
He added: “I have my own plans for the future. First, I would like to get married and build a family like other citizens, then I will think of next stage.”
Jordanian prisoner Abdullah al-Barghouthi was transferred from Afula hospital to Ramle prison hospital despite his sharp health deterioration after 104 days on hunger strike, human rights sources said. The Mandela institution for Palestinian prisoners’ affairs confirmed that al-Barghouthi was transferred to Ramle prison clinic after suspending his hunger strike since Sunday.
The institution expressed grave concern over al-Barghouthi's health status especially that he was transferred from Afula prison before he recovered as part of the Israeli arbitrary policy against the hunger strikers.
The human rights institution stressed the need to transfer al-Barghouthi and the four Jordanian prisoners who went on hunger strike immediately to a specialized hospital.
The institution expressed grave concern over al-Barghouthi's health status especially that he was transferred from Afula prison before he recovered as part of the Israeli arbitrary policy against the hunger strikers.
The human rights institution stressed the need to transfer al-Barghouthi and the four Jordanian prisoners who went on hunger strike immediately to a specialized hospital.
The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) demanded Israel to stop all of its violations against Palestinians journalists, and to release all detained reporters in compliance with International Law.
MADA said that, on August 7, Israeli soldiers kidnapped Mohammad Mona, a reporter working for the Al-Quds Press Media Agency, after breaking into his home, and violently searching it, in the northern West Bank city of Nablus.
The Center added that, on August 8, another journalist, identified as Mohammad Awad, a cameraman working for Wattan TV, from Bodrus village, west of the central West Bank city of Ramallah, was also kidnapped by the army after the dozens of soldiers broke into his home and searched it.
His brother told MADA that the soldiers confiscated the personal computer of Awad, his mobile phone and several documents.
He was sentenced to six months in arbitrary Administrative Detention without charges.
The Center said that, on March 6, the army kidnapped a journalist identified as Waleed Khaled, and on March 10, the soldiers kidnapped another journalist identified as Baker Al-Atteely. Both are also held under Administrative Detention orders.
MADA strongly denounced the ongoing and escalating Israeli violations against the journalists, and demanded the International Community to oblige Israel to release all detained reporters, as they imprisonment violates all human rights treaties.
It added that Israel must end its illegitimate Administrative Detention policies against the Palestinians, including journalists, adding that the detainees held under Administrative Detention are imprisoned without charges, or a fair trial.
MADA said that, on August 7, Israeli soldiers kidnapped Mohammad Mona, a reporter working for the Al-Quds Press Media Agency, after breaking into his home, and violently searching it, in the northern West Bank city of Nablus.
The Center added that, on August 8, another journalist, identified as Mohammad Awad, a cameraman working for Wattan TV, from Bodrus village, west of the central West Bank city of Ramallah, was also kidnapped by the army after the dozens of soldiers broke into his home and searched it.
His brother told MADA that the soldiers confiscated the personal computer of Awad, his mobile phone and several documents.
He was sentenced to six months in arbitrary Administrative Detention without charges.
The Center said that, on March 6, the army kidnapped a journalist identified as Waleed Khaled, and on March 10, the soldiers kidnapped another journalist identified as Baker Al-Atteely. Both are also held under Administrative Detention orders.
MADA strongly denounced the ongoing and escalating Israeli violations against the journalists, and demanded the International Community to oblige Israel to release all detained reporters, as they imprisonment violates all human rights treaties.
It added that Israel must end its illegitimate Administrative Detention policies against the Palestinians, including journalists, adding that the detainees held under Administrative Detention are imprisoned without charges, or a fair trial.
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Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, stated late on Wednesday at night, that the Palestinian Authority will act on ensuring the release of all Palestinian political prisoners held by Israel”.
His statements came in the central West Bank city of Ramallah, as he welcomed the 11 West Bank detainees who were released by Israel in the first sage of releasing detainees who have been imprisoned since before the first Oslo Peace Agreement of 1994. “We celebrate your release, we congratulate ourselves, and our people”, Abbas stated while welcoming the freed political prisoners, “The rest of the detainees will be released, more brothers will be coming back home to you”.
“Please allow me to salute you, our people, the families of the detainees, and all detainees”, the President said, “We will not rest until all of our sons are back among us, God willing, welcome back home, we will meeting in Jerusalem”. Fifteen more detainees have been release and have been sent back home in the Gaza Strip where they were welcomed by thousands of Palestinians, political and social figures. |
The Israeli Occupation Forces waged Wednesday large arrest campaign throughout West Bank where 17 Palestinians were arrested for being “wanted” by the IOF intelligence Shabak. More than 17 Palestinians were detained from the villages and towns of Qalqilya, Nablus in the northern West Bank, in addition Ramallah and Bethlehem in the southern West Bank.
A large military force has stormed Kafr Qadum in Qalqilya and arrested three Palestinians including a minor after storming their houses, local activists said.
In Ramallah, Israeli forces arrested eight Palestinians includng seven students at Bir Zeit University affiliated to Fatah movement, and took them to an unknown destination.
In Nablus, Israeli military forces raided Awarta and Rujeib villages and arrested four Palestinians.
In Bethlehem, Israeli occupation forces stormed at dawn al-Khader and Nahhalin villages and arrested two Palestinians during clashes.
Israel Arrests 9 Palestinians from West Bank Cities
An Israeli Army spokesperson said that Israeli forces arrested nine Palestinians from different cities in the West Bank on claims they are "wanted" for the Israeli authorities.
He also said that the arrests were carried out in Ramallah, Hebron and Jenin. A Palestinian in Deir Jarer village was arrested, along with three men who were accompanying him, on one of the checkpoints on claims he had a gun.
Israeli Army Forces also arrested five Palestinians from the village of Durah in Hebron, claiming that one of the detainees was "wanted".
The spokesperson added that the forces also arrested a Palestinian from the city of Jenin.
Seven Palestinians Kidnapped In West Bank
Israeli soldiers invaded various areas in the occupied West Bank, and kidnapped seven Palestinians. Clashes and injuries have been reported in Jenin and the Jenin refugee camp.
The invasions took place during early dawn hours, Thursday, while the invading soldiers fired dozens of flares and concussion grenades.
Local sources in Jenin, in the northern part of the occupied West Bank, have reported that dozens of soldiers invaded the city and its refugee camp, broke into and violently searched several homes and kidnapped two Palestinians.
The two have been identified as Ahmad Hasan Shabrawy and Fadi Kamal As-Sabbagh. Soldiers also forced several families out of their homes, and violently searched them while interrogating the residents; excessive damage was reported.
Local youths hurled stones and empty bottles at the invading soldiers who fired flares, gas bombs, concussion grenades, and rounds of live ammunition, especially in Haifa Street and Al-Jabriyyat area.
Medical sources have reported that dozens of residents have been treated for the effects of teargas inhalation. Dozens of soldiers also invaded the West Bank district of Bethlehem, and kidnapped four Palestinians after violently searching their homes.
Local sources have reported that residents Khaled Salah, 45, and Mohammad Al-Hreimy, 28, have been kidnapped in Al-Khader town, while resident Hashem Abu Mahameed was kidnapped in Za’tara village, east of Bethlehem, and resident Mohammad Nimir Ash-Sheikh, 18, was kidnapped in Batteer town.
Dozens of soldiers also invaded Doura town, south of the southern West Bank city of Hebron, and kidnapped one resident identified as Hatem Naji Amro after violently searching his home.
Soldiers also broke into the Islamic Charitable Society in the town, and searched it.
Furthermore, a number of Israeli military vehicles invaded Ithna town, west of Hebron, and searched one home after breaking into it.
The invasions, attacks and attests are part on ongoing and daily violations carried out by the Israeli army against the Palestinians in the occupied territories.
The invasions, attacks and attests are part on ongoing and daily violations carried out by the Israeli army against the Palestinians in the occupied territories.
A large military force has stormed Kafr Qadum in Qalqilya and arrested three Palestinians including a minor after storming their houses, local activists said.
In Ramallah, Israeli forces arrested eight Palestinians includng seven students at Bir Zeit University affiliated to Fatah movement, and took them to an unknown destination.
In Nablus, Israeli military forces raided Awarta and Rujeib villages and arrested four Palestinians.
In Bethlehem, Israeli occupation forces stormed at dawn al-Khader and Nahhalin villages and arrested two Palestinians during clashes.
Israel Arrests 9 Palestinians from West Bank Cities
An Israeli Army spokesperson said that Israeli forces arrested nine Palestinians from different cities in the West Bank on claims they are "wanted" for the Israeli authorities.
He also said that the arrests were carried out in Ramallah, Hebron and Jenin. A Palestinian in Deir Jarer village was arrested, along with three men who were accompanying him, on one of the checkpoints on claims he had a gun.
Israeli Army Forces also arrested five Palestinians from the village of Durah in Hebron, claiming that one of the detainees was "wanted".
The spokesperson added that the forces also arrested a Palestinian from the city of Jenin.
Seven Palestinians Kidnapped In West Bank
Israeli soldiers invaded various areas in the occupied West Bank, and kidnapped seven Palestinians. Clashes and injuries have been reported in Jenin and the Jenin refugee camp.
The invasions took place during early dawn hours, Thursday, while the invading soldiers fired dozens of flares and concussion grenades.
Local sources in Jenin, in the northern part of the occupied West Bank, have reported that dozens of soldiers invaded the city and its refugee camp, broke into and violently searched several homes and kidnapped two Palestinians.
The two have been identified as Ahmad Hasan Shabrawy and Fadi Kamal As-Sabbagh. Soldiers also forced several families out of their homes, and violently searched them while interrogating the residents; excessive damage was reported.
Local youths hurled stones and empty bottles at the invading soldiers who fired flares, gas bombs, concussion grenades, and rounds of live ammunition, especially in Haifa Street and Al-Jabriyyat area.
Medical sources have reported that dozens of residents have been treated for the effects of teargas inhalation. Dozens of soldiers also invaded the West Bank district of Bethlehem, and kidnapped four Palestinians after violently searching their homes.
Local sources have reported that residents Khaled Salah, 45, and Mohammad Al-Hreimy, 28, have been kidnapped in Al-Khader town, while resident Hashem Abu Mahameed was kidnapped in Za’tara village, east of Bethlehem, and resident Mohammad Nimir Ash-Sheikh, 18, was kidnapped in Batteer town.
Dozens of soldiers also invaded Doura town, south of the southern West Bank city of Hebron, and kidnapped one resident identified as Hatem Naji Amro after violently searching his home.
Soldiers also broke into the Islamic Charitable Society in the town, and searched it.
Furthermore, a number of Israeli military vehicles invaded Ithna town, west of Hebron, and searched one home after breaking into it.
The invasions, attacks and attests are part on ongoing and daily violations carried out by the Israeli army against the Palestinians in the occupied territories.
The invasions, attacks and attests are part on ongoing and daily violations carried out by the Israeli army against the Palestinians in the occupied territories.
