7 dec 2017
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on Thursday morning brutalized Palestinian citizens, kidnapped three of them and raided homes in Ya’bad town, south of Jenin in the West Bank.
Local sources told the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) that all entrances to the town were closed for the third consecutive day as a punitive measure against the local residents following claims that a bus carrying Jewish settlers came under fire on a road near the illegal settlement of Mevo Dothan.
They added that Israeli soldiers intercepted and searched Palestinian vehicles at the main entrance to the town in the morning, which caused traffic jams on both sides of the road.
They also said that three young men from the town were taken prisoners during IOF raids on homes.
Local sources told the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) that all entrances to the town were closed for the third consecutive day as a punitive measure against the local residents following claims that a bus carrying Jewish settlers came under fire on a road near the illegal settlement of Mevo Dothan.
They added that Israeli soldiers intercepted and searched Palestinian vehicles at the main entrance to the town in the morning, which caused traffic jams on both sides of the road.
They also said that three young men from the town were taken prisoners during IOF raids on homes.
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) has reported that Israeli soldiers have abducted, on Thursday at dawn, 36 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including 22 from Qusra village, south of Nablus, during extensive invasions and violent searches of homes.
The Nablus office of the PPS, in northern West Bank, said dozens of soldiers surrounded and invaded Qusra village, and initiated extensive and violent searched of homes, before abducting 22 Palestinians, identified as:
Furthermore, the soldiers invaded homes in Ya’bad town, southwest of Jenin, and abducted four Palestinians, identified as:
In Ramallah, in central West Bank, the soldiers invaded the al-Jalazoun refugee camp, searched homes and abducted three Palestinians, identified as:
The soldiers also invaded Beit Fajjar town, south of Bethlehem, and abducted one Palestinian, identified as:
In addition, the soldiers invaded and searched many homes, in occupied East Jerusalem, and abducted six Palestinians. Their names remained unknown at the time of this report.
The Nablus office of the PPS, in northern West Bank, said dozens of soldiers surrounded and invaded Qusra village, and initiated extensive and violent searched of homes, before abducting 22 Palestinians, identified as:
- Mohammad Ibrahim Hasan.
- Ramah Ibrahim Hasan.
- Radwan Qassem Shehada.
- Adham No’man Kanaan.
- Mohammad Jawdat Odeh.
- Mohammad Shehada Odeh.
- Ra’fat Ramadan Odeh.
- Haitham Ayman Hamdan.
- Ribhi Shaker Samara.
- Yazan Mohammad Samara.
- Morad Mohammad Samara.
- Akram Taiseer Odeh.
- Mohammad Ibrahim Wadi.
- Ramzi Fathi Hasan.
- Rami Yousef Hasan.
- Yazan Rami Hasan.
- Qussai Mahmoud Abu Reeda.
- Seniour Sharif Odeh.
- Mohammad Nasr Hasan.
- Allan Sayel Hasan.
- Mohammad Aqla Hasan.
- Fuad Yousef Hasan.
Furthermore, the soldiers invaded homes in Ya’bad town, southwest of Jenin, and abducted four Palestinians, identified as:
- Abdullah Herzallah, 24.
- Mohammad Jihad Abu Bakr. 18.
- Sharaf Mohammad Abu Bakr, 25.
- Ahmad Abdul-Hakim Abu Bakr.
In Ramallah, in central West Bank, the soldiers invaded the al-Jalazoun refugee camp, searched homes and abducted three Palestinians, identified as:
- Maher Dalaysha.
- Nidal Jihad Oleyyan.
- Ata Orabi.
The soldiers also invaded Beit Fajjar town, south of Bethlehem, and abducted one Palestinian, identified as:
- Mohammad Jihad Taqatqa.
In addition, the soldiers invaded and searched many homes, in occupied East Jerusalem, and abducted six Palestinians. Their names remained unknown at the time of this report.
6 dec 2017
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) arrested eight Palestinian citizens during a Tuesday night and Wednesday dawn incursions into various areas in the West Bank, while a number of Palestinian citizens were injured during the clashes that erupted between the Palestinian youths and the invading Israeli soldiers.
The Israeli army said in a statement that its forces arrested eight Palestinians, who the statement described as ‘wanted’, including seven at the pretext of carrying out activities related to popular resistance against the Israeli occupation.
The IOF launched raids and arrests in the cities of Tubas, Tulkarem, Bethlehem and al-Khalil, including the storming of Palestinian homes and forcing families out in the cold weather.
In Bethlehem, the IOF arrested the child Ali Khaled Najjar, 14, from Nahalin town.
Israeli troops stormed the house of the Hamas MP in the city of Tulkarem, Abdul Rahman Zidan, and arrested his son, Anas.
In al-Khalil, IOF soldiers raided the town of Beit Ummar, north of the city, in four military vehicles, and stormed the area adjacent to the settlement of Karmi Tzur south of Beit Ummar, and arrested a young man.
According to the PIC reporter, the forces stormed the house of Nadi Salem Sabarneh, held the entire family in a room, searched the house and destroyed its furniture. The invading forces arrested Anas Yousef Sabarna and took him to a detention center in Etzion settlement bloc.
In Tubas, the occupation forces raided the Farsi area in Wadi al-Maleh, east of the city, in the northern Jordan Valley, and arrested Wadih Alan Daraghmeh, after raiding the Bedouin tents and searching them in the area.
Sources told the PIC reporter that Israeli soldiers raided and searched the tents and interrogated the residents, including women and children.
At dawn, a large number of civilians, including women and children, suffered breathing problems due to the IOF-fired teargas during clashes in the town of Tayasir, to the east of Tubas city.
Local sources told the PIC reporter that the clashes began at the entrance of the town at the junction of Tayasir and then spread to the streets, and the occupation forces fired teargas intensively on the houses.
The IOF raided the houses of Nasser Abu Khudair and Mohammed Anboussi, assaulted the occupants and interrogated them, before they arrested Obeida Mohammed Anbosi, and took him to an unknown destination.
On Wednesday morning, clashes broke out between Palestinian youths and Israeli occupation forces to the east of Nablus after dozens of settlers stormed the Tomb of Joseph in the city under the protection of an army battalion.
In Jenin, in the northern West Bank, the IOF continued to block all entrances to the town of Ya'bad to the south of the city.
Local sources told the PIC reporter that the Israeli soldiers cut all roads linking the town of Ya'bad and the surrounding areas, and broke into the houses of citizens, beating them violently, and smashing down furniture in some houses.
The sources added that the military bulldozers started in the early morning to build sand barriers there, closing all entrances, and restricting the movement in and out of the town near the main entrance, where a permanent Israeli barrier is present.
Locals said that the Israeli soldiers are hiding at the entrance of the town, beating and questioning citizens passing from there, and detaining them for long periods.
These actions followed an incursion and siege of the town, which began on Tuesday evening after the IOF claimed that an attack against a bus loaded with Israeli settlers took place at the Dotan military checkpoint near the settlement of Dotan.
The Israeli army said in a statement that its forces arrested eight Palestinians, who the statement described as ‘wanted’, including seven at the pretext of carrying out activities related to popular resistance against the Israeli occupation.
The IOF launched raids and arrests in the cities of Tubas, Tulkarem, Bethlehem and al-Khalil, including the storming of Palestinian homes and forcing families out in the cold weather.
In Bethlehem, the IOF arrested the child Ali Khaled Najjar, 14, from Nahalin town.
Israeli troops stormed the house of the Hamas MP in the city of Tulkarem, Abdul Rahman Zidan, and arrested his son, Anas.
In al-Khalil, IOF soldiers raided the town of Beit Ummar, north of the city, in four military vehicles, and stormed the area adjacent to the settlement of Karmi Tzur south of Beit Ummar, and arrested a young man.
According to the PIC reporter, the forces stormed the house of Nadi Salem Sabarneh, held the entire family in a room, searched the house and destroyed its furniture. The invading forces arrested Anas Yousef Sabarna and took him to a detention center in Etzion settlement bloc.
In Tubas, the occupation forces raided the Farsi area in Wadi al-Maleh, east of the city, in the northern Jordan Valley, and arrested Wadih Alan Daraghmeh, after raiding the Bedouin tents and searching them in the area.
Sources told the PIC reporter that Israeli soldiers raided and searched the tents and interrogated the residents, including women and children.
At dawn, a large number of civilians, including women and children, suffered breathing problems due to the IOF-fired teargas during clashes in the town of Tayasir, to the east of Tubas city.
Local sources told the PIC reporter that the clashes began at the entrance of the town at the junction of Tayasir and then spread to the streets, and the occupation forces fired teargas intensively on the houses.
The IOF raided the houses of Nasser Abu Khudair and Mohammed Anboussi, assaulted the occupants and interrogated them, before they arrested Obeida Mohammed Anbosi, and took him to an unknown destination.
On Wednesday morning, clashes broke out between Palestinian youths and Israeli occupation forces to the east of Nablus after dozens of settlers stormed the Tomb of Joseph in the city under the protection of an army battalion.
In Jenin, in the northern West Bank, the IOF continued to block all entrances to the town of Ya'bad to the south of the city.
Local sources told the PIC reporter that the Israeli soldiers cut all roads linking the town of Ya'bad and the surrounding areas, and broke into the houses of citizens, beating them violently, and smashing down furniture in some houses.
The sources added that the military bulldozers started in the early morning to build sand barriers there, closing all entrances, and restricting the movement in and out of the town near the main entrance, where a permanent Israeli barrier is present.
Locals said that the Israeli soldiers are hiding at the entrance of the town, beating and questioning citizens passing from there, and detaining them for long periods.
These actions followed an incursion and siege of the town, which began on Tuesday evening after the IOF claimed that an attack against a bus loaded with Israeli settlers took place at the Dotan military checkpoint near the settlement of Dotan.
The Hebron office of the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) has reported that Israeli soldiers have abducted, Wednesday, three Palestinians, and searched many homes, in Halhoul, Yatta and Beit Ummar, in the southern West Bank governorate of Hebron.
Dozens of soldiers invaded Halhoul town, north of Hebron, and conducted violent searches of homes, before abducting Mohammad Ibrahim Abu Rayyan, 35.
Owners of some of the invaded homes have been identified as former political prisoner, Mohammad Moheeb al-Baw, in addition to Mohammad Moheeb Zama’ra, Mohammad Yousef Zama’ra, and Khalil Mohammad Zama’ra.
In addition, the soldiers invaded the ath-Thaher area, south of Beit Ummar, north of Hebron, searched homes and abducted Anas Yousef Sabarna, 20.
Another Palestinian, identified as Aseed Mohammad al-Hreini, was abducted from his home in Yatta town, south of Hebron.
Furthermore, the soldiers installed many roadblocks on main roads leading to several villages, towns and refugee camp, in Hebron Governorate, stopped and searched dozens of cars, and interrogated many Palestinians while inspecting their ID cards.
Dozens of soldiers invaded Halhoul town, north of Hebron, and conducted violent searches of homes, before abducting Mohammad Ibrahim Abu Rayyan, 35.
Owners of some of the invaded homes have been identified as former political prisoner, Mohammad Moheeb al-Baw, in addition to Mohammad Moheeb Zama’ra, Mohammad Yousef Zama’ra, and Khalil Mohammad Zama’ra.
In addition, the soldiers invaded the ath-Thaher area, south of Beit Ummar, north of Hebron, searched homes and abducted Anas Yousef Sabarna, 20.
Another Palestinian, identified as Aseed Mohammad al-Hreini, was abducted from his home in Yatta town, south of Hebron.
Furthermore, the soldiers installed many roadblocks on main roads leading to several villages, towns and refugee camp, in Hebron Governorate, stopped and searched dozens of cars, and interrogated many Palestinians while inspecting their ID cards.
Soldiers Abduct A Palestinian Teen, A Young Man, And Beat Up Two Siblings In Their Homes, Near Jenin
Israeli soldiers abducted, on Tuesday evening, a Palestinian teenage boy from Jenin refugee camp, in addition to a young man in Siris village, south of Jenin, and invaded two homes before beating up two siblings, in Ya’bad town, west of Jenin, and closing Dothan military roadblock, in Jenin governorate, in northern West Bank.
The Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) said the soldiers abducted Waseem Matahen, 16, in the Salem Israeli Military Court.
The PPS stated that Matahen, from Jenin refugee camp, was attending the trial of his detained friend, when the soldiers abducted him.
In addition, the soldiers invaded Siris village, south of Jenin, and abducted Saffah Fawzi Qteit, after storming his home and ransacking it.
Furthermore, the soldiers invaded Ya’bad town, southwest of Jenin, before breaking into and ransacking the homes of Yahia Abu Shalma, and his brother Ghattas.
The soldiers forced the two families out of their homes while violently searching them, and beat up Ghattas’s sons, Ya’ish and Laith.
The families said that the soldiers interrogated them in the cold, after the army alleged that live wounds were fired at the Dothan military roadblock, on the main road between Jenin and Tulkarem.
The army installed many roadblocks in the area, while dozens of soldiers were deployed around Ya’bad town, before conducting extensive military searches in olive orchards, and completely closed Dothan roadblock.
The Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) said the soldiers abducted Waseem Matahen, 16, in the Salem Israeli Military Court.
The PPS stated that Matahen, from Jenin refugee camp, was attending the trial of his detained friend, when the soldiers abducted him.
In addition, the soldiers invaded Siris village, south of Jenin, and abducted Saffah Fawzi Qteit, after storming his home and ransacking it.
Furthermore, the soldiers invaded Ya’bad town, southwest of Jenin, before breaking into and ransacking the homes of Yahia Abu Shalma, and his brother Ghattas.
The soldiers forced the two families out of their homes while violently searching them, and beat up Ghattas’s sons, Ya’ish and Laith.
The families said that the soldiers interrogated them in the cold, after the army alleged that live wounds were fired at the Dothan military roadblock, on the main road between Jenin and Tulkarem.
The army installed many roadblocks in the area, while dozens of soldiers were deployed around Ya’bad town, before conducting extensive military searches in olive orchards, and completely closed Dothan roadblock.
5 dec 2017
The policy of the international world, which gives a blind eye for the Israeli violations against the Palestinians, encourages the Israelis to carry out more crimes.
Israel’s mistreatment of Palestinian children is not a new development but rather one example of its many breaches of international law and international humanitarian law. While it has in the past faced criticisms for its maltreatment of Palestinian children, particularly in relation to minors that are taken into custody and brought before its military courts, this has not been matched with solid action.
It is therefore encouraging that this may be about to change, and in the United States of all places. The Promoting Human Rights by Ending Israeli Military Detention of Palestinian Children [PDF] Act requires the Secretary of State to certify annually that funds obligated or expended in the previous year by the United States for assistance to Israel “do not support military detention, interrogation, abuse, or ill-treatment of Palestinian children, and for other purposes”. The legislation leaves financial assistance already committed to Israel in place.
The bill notes that Israel ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child on 3 October 1991, which states— (A) in article 37(a), that “no child shall be subject to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”. It states that “In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, there are two separate legal systems, with Israeli military law imposed on Palestinians and Israeli civilian law applied to Israeli settlers”.
It further notes that the Israeli military detains around 500 to 700 Palestinian children between the ages of 12 and 17 each year and prosecutes them before a military court system which the bill says “lacks basic and fundamental guarantees of due process in violation of international standards”.
Defence for Children International Palestine (DCIP) notes that “Israel has the dubious distinction of being the only country in the world that systematically prosecutes an estimated 500 to 700 children each year in military courts that lack fundamental fair trial rights and protections”. It further states that in 590 cases documented by DCIP between 2012 and 2016, 72 per cent of Palestinian child detainees reported physical violence and 66 per cent faced verbal abuse and humiliation.
According to Khaled Quzmar, General Director of DCIP, “despite ongoing engagement with UN bodies and repeated calls to abide by international law, Israeli military and police continue night arrests, physical violence, coercion, and threats against Palestinian children”.
The recent introduction of the bill in the US Congress aims to prevent US tax dollars from paying for human rights violations against Palestinian children during the course of Israeli military detention. It aims to establish, as a minimum safeguard, a US demand for basic due process rights for and an absolute prohibition against torture and ill-treatment of Palestinian children arrested and prosecuted within the Israeli military court system.
In 2012 the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office commissioned a report [PDF] by nine lawyers on the issue of Palestinian children. Among its conclusions it found that “Israel is in breach of articles 2 (discrimination), 3 (child’s best interests), 37(b) (premature resort to detention), (c) (non-separation from adults) and (d) (prompt access to lawyers) and 40 (use of shackles) 111 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child”. It further concluded that based on its findings “Israel will also be in breach of the prohibition on cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment in article 37(a) of the Convention. Transportation of child prisoners into Israel is in breach of article 76 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Failure to translate Military Order 1676 from Hebrew is a violation of article 65 of the Fourth Geneva Convention”.
The report made four core recommendations and 40 specific recommendations. The sheer volume of the recommendations highlights the extent of the breaches that need to be addressed by the Israeli authorities. Rather than work to address the recommendations of the report in 2016, Israel refused to cooperate with a team making a follow-up visit to review the extent to which the recommendations had been addressed. This led to the cancelation of the visit and the British FCO failed to convince the Israelis to reinstate it.
Responding to a question from the Chair of the Britain-Palestine All Party Parliamentary Group, then Foreign Office Minister Tobias Ellwood said: “I expressed my strong disappointment at Israel’s unwillingness to host this follow-up visit with Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely during my visit to Israel on 18 February. Officials from the British Embassy in Tel Aviv, including the ambassador, also lobbied the Israeli Ministry for Foreign Affairs to cooperate with the visit, and will continue to follow up. We remain committed to working with Israel to secure improvements to the practices surrounding children in detention in Israel.”
The UK parliament has recently been considering the issue of Palestinian children and their treatment by Israel. This was initially expressed through a parliamentary instrument called the Early Day Motion (EDM). EDM 563 was issued on 20 November and states that “this House notes with concern that hundreds of Palestinian children continue to be arrested, detained and tried in Israeli military courts, despite the practice involving widespread and systematic violations of international law and being widely condemned.”
The motion “notes the disparity between the treatment of Israeli and Palestinian children by Israeli authorities and calls for those authorities to treat Palestinian children in a way that is not inferior to the way they would any Israeli child.”
EDM 563 notes with concern “that the recommendations of Unicef’s 2013 Children in Israeli Military Detention Report remain largely unmet and calls on the government to urgently engage with the Israeli government to end the widespread and systemic human rights violations suffered by Palestinian children in Israeli military custody.”
At the time of writing 65 members of parliament had signed the motion (out of 650). This includes support from individual MPs from all political parties in England Scotland and Wales.
The recent moves in Congress and the UK parliament to highlight Israel’s abuse of the rights of Palestinian children have been welcomed by Palestinians and their supporters. It has taken decades for the rights of children to gain any real attention. If the bill in the US passes then it would signal a real change in policy in that it will condition some funding to Israel on respect for human rights and specifically for Palestinian children. If it fails then the message to Palestinian children will be that America is willing for the bar to be set lower for them than for Israeli children. A well supported EDM in the UK Parliament will highlight the issue and that will allow its sponsors to seek real action from government to pressure Israel to change its unacceptable treatment of Palestinian children, both morally and legally.
It is time Palestinian children were finally protected from abuse by their occupiers. Israel is comfortable in its abuse and will only change when the international community acts to help them. As for Israel, a state without a moral compass, when it comes to Palestinians it could at least apply the same law and practices of dealing with Palestinian children as it does its own children.
Professor Kamel Hawwash is a British Palestinian engineering academic based at the University of Birmingham. He is a commentator on Middle East affairs, Vice Chair of the British Palestinian Policy Council (BPPC) and a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC).
~ Middle East Monitor/Days of Palestine
Israel’s mistreatment of Palestinian children is not a new development but rather one example of its many breaches of international law and international humanitarian law. While it has in the past faced criticisms for its maltreatment of Palestinian children, particularly in relation to minors that are taken into custody and brought before its military courts, this has not been matched with solid action.
It is therefore encouraging that this may be about to change, and in the United States of all places. The Promoting Human Rights by Ending Israeli Military Detention of Palestinian Children [PDF] Act requires the Secretary of State to certify annually that funds obligated or expended in the previous year by the United States for assistance to Israel “do not support military detention, interrogation, abuse, or ill-treatment of Palestinian children, and for other purposes”. The legislation leaves financial assistance already committed to Israel in place.
The bill notes that Israel ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child on 3 October 1991, which states— (A) in article 37(a), that “no child shall be subject to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”. It states that “In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, there are two separate legal systems, with Israeli military law imposed on Palestinians and Israeli civilian law applied to Israeli settlers”.
It further notes that the Israeli military detains around 500 to 700 Palestinian children between the ages of 12 and 17 each year and prosecutes them before a military court system which the bill says “lacks basic and fundamental guarantees of due process in violation of international standards”.
Defence for Children International Palestine (DCIP) notes that “Israel has the dubious distinction of being the only country in the world that systematically prosecutes an estimated 500 to 700 children each year in military courts that lack fundamental fair trial rights and protections”. It further states that in 590 cases documented by DCIP between 2012 and 2016, 72 per cent of Palestinian child detainees reported physical violence and 66 per cent faced verbal abuse and humiliation.
According to Khaled Quzmar, General Director of DCIP, “despite ongoing engagement with UN bodies and repeated calls to abide by international law, Israeli military and police continue night arrests, physical violence, coercion, and threats against Palestinian children”.
The recent introduction of the bill in the US Congress aims to prevent US tax dollars from paying for human rights violations against Palestinian children during the course of Israeli military detention. It aims to establish, as a minimum safeguard, a US demand for basic due process rights for and an absolute prohibition against torture and ill-treatment of Palestinian children arrested and prosecuted within the Israeli military court system.
In 2012 the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office commissioned a report [PDF] by nine lawyers on the issue of Palestinian children. Among its conclusions it found that “Israel is in breach of articles 2 (discrimination), 3 (child’s best interests), 37(b) (premature resort to detention), (c) (non-separation from adults) and (d) (prompt access to lawyers) and 40 (use of shackles) 111 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child”. It further concluded that based on its findings “Israel will also be in breach of the prohibition on cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment in article 37(a) of the Convention. Transportation of child prisoners into Israel is in breach of article 76 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Failure to translate Military Order 1676 from Hebrew is a violation of article 65 of the Fourth Geneva Convention”.
The report made four core recommendations and 40 specific recommendations. The sheer volume of the recommendations highlights the extent of the breaches that need to be addressed by the Israeli authorities. Rather than work to address the recommendations of the report in 2016, Israel refused to cooperate with a team making a follow-up visit to review the extent to which the recommendations had been addressed. This led to the cancelation of the visit and the British FCO failed to convince the Israelis to reinstate it.
Responding to a question from the Chair of the Britain-Palestine All Party Parliamentary Group, then Foreign Office Minister Tobias Ellwood said: “I expressed my strong disappointment at Israel’s unwillingness to host this follow-up visit with Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely during my visit to Israel on 18 February. Officials from the British Embassy in Tel Aviv, including the ambassador, also lobbied the Israeli Ministry for Foreign Affairs to cooperate with the visit, and will continue to follow up. We remain committed to working with Israel to secure improvements to the practices surrounding children in detention in Israel.”
The UK parliament has recently been considering the issue of Palestinian children and their treatment by Israel. This was initially expressed through a parliamentary instrument called the Early Day Motion (EDM). EDM 563 was issued on 20 November and states that “this House notes with concern that hundreds of Palestinian children continue to be arrested, detained and tried in Israeli military courts, despite the practice involving widespread and systematic violations of international law and being widely condemned.”
The motion “notes the disparity between the treatment of Israeli and Palestinian children by Israeli authorities and calls for those authorities to treat Palestinian children in a way that is not inferior to the way they would any Israeli child.”
EDM 563 notes with concern “that the recommendations of Unicef’s 2013 Children in Israeli Military Detention Report remain largely unmet and calls on the government to urgently engage with the Israeli government to end the widespread and systemic human rights violations suffered by Palestinian children in Israeli military custody.”
At the time of writing 65 members of parliament had signed the motion (out of 650). This includes support from individual MPs from all political parties in England Scotland and Wales.
The recent moves in Congress and the UK parliament to highlight Israel’s abuse of the rights of Palestinian children have been welcomed by Palestinians and their supporters. It has taken decades for the rights of children to gain any real attention. If the bill in the US passes then it would signal a real change in policy in that it will condition some funding to Israel on respect for human rights and specifically for Palestinian children. If it fails then the message to Palestinian children will be that America is willing for the bar to be set lower for them than for Israeli children. A well supported EDM in the UK Parliament will highlight the issue and that will allow its sponsors to seek real action from government to pressure Israel to change its unacceptable treatment of Palestinian children, both morally and legally.
It is time Palestinian children were finally protected from abuse by their occupiers. Israel is comfortable in its abuse and will only change when the international community acts to help them. As for Israel, a state without a moral compass, when it comes to Palestinians it could at least apply the same law and practices of dealing with Palestinian children as it does its own children.
Professor Kamel Hawwash is a British Palestinian engineering academic based at the University of Birmingham. He is a commentator on Middle East affairs, Vice Chair of the British Palestinian Policy Council (BPPC) and a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC).
~ Middle East Monitor/Days of Palestine
Israeli soldiers abducted, overnight until dawn hours Tuesday, seven Palestinians, including five children and one woman, from their homes, in several parts of occupied East Jerusalem.
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) said the soldiers abducted a young man, identified as Ahmad Zahran, from northwest Jerusalem.
It added that the soldiers also invaded Kafr Aqab neighborhood, north of Jerusalem, stormed and searched homes, and abducted a woman and two of her children, before moving them to an interrogation facility.
Furthermore, the Wadi Hilweh Information Center in Silwan (Silwanic) said the soldiers also invaded homes in the town, and abducted Khaled Fawwaz Abu Qalbein, 14, Mohammad Hani al-Haimouni, 12, and Abdullah al-‘Abbassi, 13.
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) said the soldiers abducted a young man, identified as Ahmad Zahran, from northwest Jerusalem.
It added that the soldiers also invaded Kafr Aqab neighborhood, north of Jerusalem, stormed and searched homes, and abducted a woman and two of her children, before moving them to an interrogation facility.
Furthermore, the Wadi Hilweh Information Center in Silwan (Silwanic) said the soldiers also invaded homes in the town, and abducted Khaled Fawwaz Abu Qalbein, 14, Mohammad Hani al-Haimouni, 12, and Abdullah al-‘Abbassi, 13.
Israeli soldiers abducted, earlier Tuesday, one Palestinian near the northern West Bank city of Jenin, and two others from the southern West Bank governorate of Hebron. On Monday evening, the soldiers shot and injured a Palestinian driver near Hebron.
Media sources in Jenin said the soldiers invaded Jilqamous village, east of Jenin, and abducted Motea’ Jamil al-Hajj, after storming his home and violently searching it.
Furthermore, the soldiers installed a roadblock on the Jenin-Nablus road, before stopping and searching dozens of cars, and interrogated many Palestinians while inspecting their ID cards.
The army also installed a military roadblock, near the central West Bank city of Ramallah, and abducted Ahmad Yousef al-Hroub, 22, from Deir Samit town, southwest of Hebron.
In related news, the soldiers invaded Yatta town, south of Hebron, searched homes and abducted Haitham Jamil Awad, 28.
In addition, the soldiers invaded Beit Ummar town, north of Hebron, broke into and ransacked the homes of two former political prisoners, identified as Jalal Ahmad Breigheeth, and Jalal Qassem ae-Ra’ey.
The army also installed roadblocks on main roads leading to many towns, villages and refugee camps, in Hebron governorate, before stopping and searching dozens of cars, and interrogated many residents while inspecting their ID cards.
On Monday evening, the soldiers shot and injured a Palestinian man after opening fire at his car on the road between al-Karmel and Ma’on villages, in Masafer Yatta area, south of Hebron.
It remains unknown why the soldiers targeted the Palestinian car; the soldiers conducted searches in surrounding farmlands and areas, but were unable to locate him. The soldiers then closed all minor, and unpaved roads in the area, after surrounding it.
Furthermore, the soldiers abducted, overnight until dawn hours Tuesday, seven Palestinians, including five children and one woman, from their homes, in several parts of occupied East Jerusalem.
On Tuesday morning, the soldiers, accompanied by a military bulldozers, invaded Shu’fat refugee camp, northeast of Jerusalem, raising fears among the Palestinians of possible demolitions.
Media sources in Jenin said the soldiers invaded Jilqamous village, east of Jenin, and abducted Motea’ Jamil al-Hajj, after storming his home and violently searching it.
Furthermore, the soldiers installed a roadblock on the Jenin-Nablus road, before stopping and searching dozens of cars, and interrogated many Palestinians while inspecting their ID cards.
The army also installed a military roadblock, near the central West Bank city of Ramallah, and abducted Ahmad Yousef al-Hroub, 22, from Deir Samit town, southwest of Hebron.
In related news, the soldiers invaded Yatta town, south of Hebron, searched homes and abducted Haitham Jamil Awad, 28.
In addition, the soldiers invaded Beit Ummar town, north of Hebron, broke into and ransacked the homes of two former political prisoners, identified as Jalal Ahmad Breigheeth, and Jalal Qassem ae-Ra’ey.
The army also installed roadblocks on main roads leading to many towns, villages and refugee camps, in Hebron governorate, before stopping and searching dozens of cars, and interrogated many residents while inspecting their ID cards.
On Monday evening, the soldiers shot and injured a Palestinian man after opening fire at his car on the road between al-Karmel and Ma’on villages, in Masafer Yatta area, south of Hebron.
It remains unknown why the soldiers targeted the Palestinian car; the soldiers conducted searches in surrounding farmlands and areas, but were unable to locate him. The soldiers then closed all minor, and unpaved roads in the area, after surrounding it.
Furthermore, the soldiers abducted, overnight until dawn hours Tuesday, seven Palestinians, including five children and one woman, from their homes, in several parts of occupied East Jerusalem.
On Tuesday morning, the soldiers, accompanied by a military bulldozers, invaded Shu’fat refugee camp, northeast of Jerusalem, raising fears among the Palestinians of possible demolitions.
