5 feb 2016
Two Palestinian girls were detained, after allegedly attempting to attack an Israeli security guard at a bus station in the central Israeli city of Ramla, on Thursday.
An Israeli police spokesperson identified the two girls as 13-year-olds from the al-Jawarish area of Ramla.
"The two arrived at the central bus station in Ramle, when the security guard asked them to identify themselves before going into search machine, they stabbed him," they said, adding that one of the teens was carrying a school bag.
Another police spokesperson said that a security guard was "lightly" injured, according to Ma'an News Agency.
A photo was shared, on social media, of two kitchen knives scattered amongst school papers at the scene of the incident. The knives appeared to be clean, with no signs of blood.
While reports of Palestinian attacks against Israelis have surged, since a wave of unrest began in October, the vast majority of reports have surfaced from the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The incident comes one day after three Palestinian youth were shot dead in front of East Jerusalem's Damascus gate, following a fatal attack on a 19-year-old Israeli Border Police officer. Another was seriously inured.
On Sunday, a Palestinian Authority police officer was shot dead after he opened fire on Israeli soldiers stationed at an Israeli military checkpoint near the Beit El settlement, north of Ramallah, in the West Bank, injuring three soldiers.
This attack came just after a 17-year-old Israeli was stabbed and injured, in Jerusalem's Old City, on Saturday. Israeli police reported that a 16-year-old Palestinian from an East Jerusalem neighborhood later turned himself in, claiming responsibility for the attack.
Rights groups question the legitimacy of many reports, while efforts by the international community to quell recent violence and return Israeli and Palestinian leadership to negotiations have, so far, failed.
In the video , an Israeli soldier is clearly seen (1:30) to toss a knife at a young Palestinian woman, demanding that she retrieve it from the ground, thus forcing her to visibly take on the role of a terrorism suspect.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon, meanwhile, criticized Israeli policy last month, saying that it was "human nature" for Palestinians to react violently to Israel's nearly 50-year military occupation.
Ban condemned the series of violent attacks carried out by Palestinians in recent months, but said that Israeli security measures were failing to "address the profound sense of alienation and despair driving some Palestinians -- especially young people."
An Israeli police spokesperson identified the two girls as 13-year-olds from the al-Jawarish area of Ramla.
"The two arrived at the central bus station in Ramle, when the security guard asked them to identify themselves before going into search machine, they stabbed him," they said, adding that one of the teens was carrying a school bag.
Another police spokesperson said that a security guard was "lightly" injured, according to Ma'an News Agency.
A photo was shared, on social media, of two kitchen knives scattered amongst school papers at the scene of the incident. The knives appeared to be clean, with no signs of blood.
While reports of Palestinian attacks against Israelis have surged, since a wave of unrest began in October, the vast majority of reports have surfaced from the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The incident comes one day after three Palestinian youth were shot dead in front of East Jerusalem's Damascus gate, following a fatal attack on a 19-year-old Israeli Border Police officer. Another was seriously inured.
On Sunday, a Palestinian Authority police officer was shot dead after he opened fire on Israeli soldiers stationed at an Israeli military checkpoint near the Beit El settlement, north of Ramallah, in the West Bank, injuring three soldiers.
This attack came just after a 17-year-old Israeli was stabbed and injured, in Jerusalem's Old City, on Saturday. Israeli police reported that a 16-year-old Palestinian from an East Jerusalem neighborhood later turned himself in, claiming responsibility for the attack.
Rights groups question the legitimacy of many reports, while efforts by the international community to quell recent violence and return Israeli and Palestinian leadership to negotiations have, so far, failed.
In the video , an Israeli soldier is clearly seen (1:30) to toss a knife at a young Palestinian woman, demanding that she retrieve it from the ground, thus forcing her to visibly take on the role of a terrorism suspect.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon, meanwhile, criticized Israeli policy last month, saying that it was "human nature" for Palestinians to react violently to Israel's nearly 50-year military occupation.
Ban condemned the series of violent attacks carried out by Palestinians in recent months, but said that Israeli security measures were failing to "address the profound sense of alienation and despair driving some Palestinians -- especially young people."
Haitham Ismael Mohammad al-Baw 14
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) shot and killed a Palestinian boy in Halhoul, in northern al-Khalil, Friday afternoon and arrested another after injuring him.
The Palestinian ministry of health said in a statement that 17-year-old Haitham Ismail al-Bu was killed by IOF gunfire in Wadi al-Shannar area in Halhoul.
Local sources said that IOF soldiers in a military patrol fired at the boy in the northern area of the town, adding that another minor was rounded up after being shot and wounded in the same area.
For its part, the Hebrew website 0404 claimed that two Palestinians were trying to toss a firebomb on a bus carrying settlers on road 60 when the soldiers spotted them.
It added that the soldiers fired at both killing one on the spot then arrested the other after wounding him. The Palestinian Red Crescent society said that the soldiers did not allow its ambulance crews to reach al-Bu who was hit with a bullet in the head and fell from a high rock.
He was left to bleed to death while the other wounded youngster was arrested, it added.
Army Kills A Child, Kidnaps Another, In Hebron
Palestinian medical sources have reported, Friday, that Israeli soldiers shot and killed a child from Halhoul town, north of the southern West Bank city of Hebron, and kidnapped another.
The slain Palestinian child has been identified as Haitham Ismael Mohammad al-Baw, 14, from Halhoul town.
The army also kidnapped another Palestinian who was with al-Baw, in the al-Hawawer area, in Halhoul, after the soldiers invaded it.
The Israeli military claimed that the two Palestinians "attempted to throw Molotov cocktails," on Israeli soldiers, stationed on a military roadblock in the area.
Palestinian medics moved the body of the slain Palestinian to the al-Ahli hospital, in Hebron.
He is related to Hasan Jihad al-Baw, 22, from Halhoul town, who died on November, 13, 2015, after an Israeli soldier shot him in the heart.
In related news, clashes took place near the al-Jalazoun refugee camp, north of Ramallah, after Israeli soldiers invaded it.
The army fired rubber-coated steel bullets and gas bombs, causing dozens of residents to suffer the effects of tear gas inhalation.
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) shot and killed a Palestinian boy in Halhoul, in northern al-Khalil, Friday afternoon and arrested another after injuring him.
The Palestinian ministry of health said in a statement that 17-year-old Haitham Ismail al-Bu was killed by IOF gunfire in Wadi al-Shannar area in Halhoul.
Local sources said that IOF soldiers in a military patrol fired at the boy in the northern area of the town, adding that another minor was rounded up after being shot and wounded in the same area.
For its part, the Hebrew website 0404 claimed that two Palestinians were trying to toss a firebomb on a bus carrying settlers on road 60 when the soldiers spotted them.
It added that the soldiers fired at both killing one on the spot then arrested the other after wounding him. The Palestinian Red Crescent society said that the soldiers did not allow its ambulance crews to reach al-Bu who was hit with a bullet in the head and fell from a high rock.
He was left to bleed to death while the other wounded youngster was arrested, it added.
Army Kills A Child, Kidnaps Another, In Hebron
Palestinian medical sources have reported, Friday, that Israeli soldiers shot and killed a child from Halhoul town, north of the southern West Bank city of Hebron, and kidnapped another.
The slain Palestinian child has been identified as Haitham Ismael Mohammad al-Baw, 14, from Halhoul town.
The army also kidnapped another Palestinian who was with al-Baw, in the al-Hawawer area, in Halhoul, after the soldiers invaded it.
The Israeli military claimed that the two Palestinians "attempted to throw Molotov cocktails," on Israeli soldiers, stationed on a military roadblock in the area.
Palestinian medics moved the body of the slain Palestinian to the al-Ahli hospital, in Hebron.
He is related to Hasan Jihad al-Baw, 22, from Halhoul town, who died on November, 13, 2015, after an Israeli soldier shot him in the heart.
In related news, clashes took place near the al-Jalazoun refugee camp, north of Ramallah, after Israeli soldiers invaded it.
The army fired rubber-coated steel bullets and gas bombs, causing dozens of residents to suffer the effects of tear gas inhalation.
By Ramzy Baroud
By Friday, January 29, Palestinian journalist Mohammed al-Qeq had spent 66-days on hunger strike in Israeli jails. Just before he fell into his third coma, a day earlier, he sent a public message through his lawyers, the gist of which was: freedom or death.
Al-Qeq is 33-years of age, married and a father of two. Photos circulating of him online and on Palestinian streets show the face of a bespectacled, handsome man. The reality though is quite different.
“He’s in a very bad situation. He fell into his third coma in recent days, and his weight has dropped to 30 kilograms (66 pounds),” Ashraf Abu Sneina, one of al-Qeq’s attorneys, told Al Jazeera.
Al-Qeq was arrested under yet another notorious Israeli law called the ‘administrative detention’ law. Ominous predictions of al-Qeq’s imminent death have been looming for days with no end in sight to his elongated ordeal. Unfortunately for a man who believes that the only tool of defense and protest he has against apartheid Israel is his body, the Red Cross and other international groups took many days to so much as acknowledge the case of this news reporter who had refused food and medical treatment since November 24, 2015.
Al-Qeq, works for Saudi Arabia’s Almajd TV network and was arrested at his home in Ramallah on November 21st. In its statement, issued more than 60 days after he entered into his hunger strike, ICRC described the situation as ‘critical’, unequivocally stating the reality of Al-Qeq’s “life being at risk.” On January 27, the European Union also expressed its view of being “especially concerned” about al-Qeq’s deteriorating health. Under the ‘administrative detention’ law, Israel has affectively held Palestinians and Arab prisoners without offering reasons for their arrests, practically since the state was founded in 1948.
In fact, it is argued that this law which is principally founded on ‘secret evidence’ dates back to the British Mandate government’s Emergency Regulations. After Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem in 1967, it clutched at straw in its desperate efforts to find whatever legal justifications it could for holding prisoners without trials. These efforts were eventually articulated in the Israeli Law on Authorities in State of Emergency in 1979.
This law was some sort of compromise between the internal intelligence (Shin Bet), the state and the court system, with the ultimate aim of providing the façade and apparent backing of a legal cover for what is considered in international law and most country laws as illegal. The Shin Bet was thus allowed to use whatever coercive measures – including physical and psychological torture – to exact ‘forced’ confessions from Palestinian prisoners over the course of six months, renewable by a court order without trial or charges.
Khader Adnan, 37, from Jenin, was held under administrative detention law for years. Israeli intelligence had no evidence to indict him of any particular charge, despite accusations that he was a valued member of the Islamic Jihad organization. He was set free on July 12, 2015.This occurred only after he too resorted to undergoing several hunger strikes, and two particularly long ones: early in 2012 a hunger strike lasted for 66 days, and another, in May 2015, lasted for 56 days. Each time, Adnan reached the point where death, as is the case for al-Qeq, was also becoming a real possibility.
When we asked him what compelled him to follow that dangerous path twice, his answer was immediate: “repeated arrests, the savagery of the way I was arrested, the brutality of the interrogation and finally the prolonged administrative detention”- without trial. Administrative detentions are like legal black holes. They offer no escape routes and no rights for the prisoner whatsoever, but wins the interrogators time to break the spirit of the prisoner, forcing him or her to surrender or even admit, under torture, to things that he or she never committed in the first place.
“It is our last and only choice,” says Mohammed Allan, 33, from Nablus, who underwent a hunger strike for so long that it resulted in brain damage, and nearly cost him his life.
“When you feel that all the doors are sealed, and you stand there humiliated and alone, knowing in advance that the court system is a charade, one is left with no other option but a hunger strike,” he says. “First, I made my intentions clear by refusing three meals in a row, and by sending a written note through the Dover (Hebrew for a prisoner who serves as a spokesperson for a prison ward).” Then, the punishment commences.
It is like a psychological warfare between the prison authorities, state and legal system apparatuses against a single individual,” which, according to Allan lasts for 50-60 days. “Almost instantly, a hunger striker is thrown into solitary confinement, denied access to a mattress and blanket and other basic necessities. Only after six weeks or so, do Israeli prison authorities agree to talk to lawyers representing hunger strikers to discuss various proposals.
But within that period of time, the prisoner is left entirely unaided, separated from the other prisoners and subjected to an uninterrupted campaign of intimidation and threats. Mental torture is far worse than hunger,” says Allan.
“You cannot even go to the bathroom anymore; you cannot stand on your own; you are even two weak to wipe the vomit that involuntarily gushes out of your mouth into your beard and chest.” Allan almost died in prison, and despite a court order that permitted prison authorities to force-feed him (a practice seen internationally as a form of torture), doctors at Soroka hospital refused to act upon the instructions.
In mid-August 2015, Allan was placed on life support when he lost consciousness. His severe malnutrition resulted in brain damage. A third freed hunger striker, Ayman Sharawneh, originally from Dura, Hebron, but who has been deported to Gaza, describes hunger strikes as the “last bullet” in a fight for freedom that could possibly end in death. Sharawneh, like Adnan and others we talked to, was bitter about the lack of adequate support he received while dying in jail. “All organizations, Palestinian or international, usually fall short,” he says.
“They spring into action after the prisoner had gone through many days of torture.” He says that 2 years and 8 months after he was deported to Gaza, he is experiencing severe pain throughout his body, particularly in his kidneys. While undergoing the extended hunger strike “I started to lose my hair, suffered from constant nausea, sharp pain in my guts, threw up yellow liquid, then dark liquid, then I could hardly see anything.
I had an excruciating headache and then I began to suffer from fissures all over my skin and body.” He agrees with Adnan that ‘individual hunger strikes’ should not be understood as a self-centered act. “Mohammed Al-Qeq is not striking for himself,” says Adnan. “He is striking on behalf of all political prisoners,” whose number is estimated by prisoners’ rights groupAddameer at nearly 7,000.
According to Adnan, the issue of hunger strikes should not be seen as a battle within Israeli jails, but as part and parcel of the Palestinian people’s fight against military occupation. While the three prisoners affirmed their solidarity with Al-Qeq, they called for a much greater support for the hunger-striking journalist and thousands like him, many of whom are held indefinitely under administrative detentions.
The list of well-known Palestinian hunger strikers exceeds Al-Qeq, Adnan, Allan and Sharawneh and includes many others, not forgetting Samir Issawi, Hana Shalabi, Thaer Halahleh and Bilal Thiab. But what all of these former hunger strikers seem to have in common is their insistence that their battles were never concerned with the freedom of individuals only, but of an entire group of desperate, oppressed and outraged people. (With reporting by Yousef Aljamal)
– Dr. Ramzy Baroud has been writing about the Middle East for over 20 years. He is an internationally-syndicated columnist, a media consultant, an author of several books and the founder of PalestineChronicle.com.
Family: Hunger-striker’s health going for worse
The family of the Palestinian hunger-striker Muhammad al-Qeiq said Friday that their son has gone through a critical health turn in the early morning hours. Al-Qeiq’s family said the hunger-striker could not respond to those who were present with him at the hospital room.
Al-Qeiq had earlier told al-Majd TV Channel in a phone interview that he would continue his hunger strike until he restores his freedom. Al-Qeiq expressed his gratitude to the campaign initiated in solidarity with him.
He said the Israeli court rule to freeze his administrative detention while keeping him locked up in Israeli hospitals aim at thwarting the solidarity campaign. Al-Qeiq has been on a hunger strike for the 73rd day.
He was arrested from his family home in Ramallah on November 21 and had reportedly been subjected to harsh torture during the investigation procedure, which made him declare his hunger strike.
Al-Qeeq Barely Able To Speak Or Hear
By Friday, January 29, Palestinian journalist Mohammed al-Qeq had spent 66-days on hunger strike in Israeli jails. Just before he fell into his third coma, a day earlier, he sent a public message through his lawyers, the gist of which was: freedom or death.
Al-Qeq is 33-years of age, married and a father of two. Photos circulating of him online and on Palestinian streets show the face of a bespectacled, handsome man. The reality though is quite different.
“He’s in a very bad situation. He fell into his third coma in recent days, and his weight has dropped to 30 kilograms (66 pounds),” Ashraf Abu Sneina, one of al-Qeq’s attorneys, told Al Jazeera.
Al-Qeq was arrested under yet another notorious Israeli law called the ‘administrative detention’ law. Ominous predictions of al-Qeq’s imminent death have been looming for days with no end in sight to his elongated ordeal. Unfortunately for a man who believes that the only tool of defense and protest he has against apartheid Israel is his body, the Red Cross and other international groups took many days to so much as acknowledge the case of this news reporter who had refused food and medical treatment since November 24, 2015.
Al-Qeq, works for Saudi Arabia’s Almajd TV network and was arrested at his home in Ramallah on November 21st. In its statement, issued more than 60 days after he entered into his hunger strike, ICRC described the situation as ‘critical’, unequivocally stating the reality of Al-Qeq’s “life being at risk.” On January 27, the European Union also expressed its view of being “especially concerned” about al-Qeq’s deteriorating health. Under the ‘administrative detention’ law, Israel has affectively held Palestinians and Arab prisoners without offering reasons for their arrests, practically since the state was founded in 1948.
In fact, it is argued that this law which is principally founded on ‘secret evidence’ dates back to the British Mandate government’s Emergency Regulations. After Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem in 1967, it clutched at straw in its desperate efforts to find whatever legal justifications it could for holding prisoners without trials. These efforts were eventually articulated in the Israeli Law on Authorities in State of Emergency in 1979.
This law was some sort of compromise between the internal intelligence (Shin Bet), the state and the court system, with the ultimate aim of providing the façade and apparent backing of a legal cover for what is considered in international law and most country laws as illegal. The Shin Bet was thus allowed to use whatever coercive measures – including physical and psychological torture – to exact ‘forced’ confessions from Palestinian prisoners over the course of six months, renewable by a court order without trial or charges.
Khader Adnan, 37, from Jenin, was held under administrative detention law for years. Israeli intelligence had no evidence to indict him of any particular charge, despite accusations that he was a valued member of the Islamic Jihad organization. He was set free on July 12, 2015.This occurred only after he too resorted to undergoing several hunger strikes, and two particularly long ones: early in 2012 a hunger strike lasted for 66 days, and another, in May 2015, lasted for 56 days. Each time, Adnan reached the point where death, as is the case for al-Qeq, was also becoming a real possibility.
When we asked him what compelled him to follow that dangerous path twice, his answer was immediate: “repeated arrests, the savagery of the way I was arrested, the brutality of the interrogation and finally the prolonged administrative detention”- without trial. Administrative detentions are like legal black holes. They offer no escape routes and no rights for the prisoner whatsoever, but wins the interrogators time to break the spirit of the prisoner, forcing him or her to surrender or even admit, under torture, to things that he or she never committed in the first place.
“It is our last and only choice,” says Mohammed Allan, 33, from Nablus, who underwent a hunger strike for so long that it resulted in brain damage, and nearly cost him his life.
“When you feel that all the doors are sealed, and you stand there humiliated and alone, knowing in advance that the court system is a charade, one is left with no other option but a hunger strike,” he says. “First, I made my intentions clear by refusing three meals in a row, and by sending a written note through the Dover (Hebrew for a prisoner who serves as a spokesperson for a prison ward).” Then, the punishment commences.
It is like a psychological warfare between the prison authorities, state and legal system apparatuses against a single individual,” which, according to Allan lasts for 50-60 days. “Almost instantly, a hunger striker is thrown into solitary confinement, denied access to a mattress and blanket and other basic necessities. Only after six weeks or so, do Israeli prison authorities agree to talk to lawyers representing hunger strikers to discuss various proposals.
But within that period of time, the prisoner is left entirely unaided, separated from the other prisoners and subjected to an uninterrupted campaign of intimidation and threats. Mental torture is far worse than hunger,” says Allan.
“You cannot even go to the bathroom anymore; you cannot stand on your own; you are even two weak to wipe the vomit that involuntarily gushes out of your mouth into your beard and chest.” Allan almost died in prison, and despite a court order that permitted prison authorities to force-feed him (a practice seen internationally as a form of torture), doctors at Soroka hospital refused to act upon the instructions.
In mid-August 2015, Allan was placed on life support when he lost consciousness. His severe malnutrition resulted in brain damage. A third freed hunger striker, Ayman Sharawneh, originally from Dura, Hebron, but who has been deported to Gaza, describes hunger strikes as the “last bullet” in a fight for freedom that could possibly end in death. Sharawneh, like Adnan and others we talked to, was bitter about the lack of adequate support he received while dying in jail. “All organizations, Palestinian or international, usually fall short,” he says.
“They spring into action after the prisoner had gone through many days of torture.” He says that 2 years and 8 months after he was deported to Gaza, he is experiencing severe pain throughout his body, particularly in his kidneys. While undergoing the extended hunger strike “I started to lose my hair, suffered from constant nausea, sharp pain in my guts, threw up yellow liquid, then dark liquid, then I could hardly see anything.
I had an excruciating headache and then I began to suffer from fissures all over my skin and body.” He agrees with Adnan that ‘individual hunger strikes’ should not be understood as a self-centered act. “Mohammed Al-Qeq is not striking for himself,” says Adnan. “He is striking on behalf of all political prisoners,” whose number is estimated by prisoners’ rights groupAddameer at nearly 7,000.
According to Adnan, the issue of hunger strikes should not be seen as a battle within Israeli jails, but as part and parcel of the Palestinian people’s fight against military occupation. While the three prisoners affirmed their solidarity with Al-Qeq, they called for a much greater support for the hunger-striking journalist and thousands like him, many of whom are held indefinitely under administrative detentions.
The list of well-known Palestinian hunger strikers exceeds Al-Qeq, Adnan, Allan and Sharawneh and includes many others, not forgetting Samir Issawi, Hana Shalabi, Thaer Halahleh and Bilal Thiab. But what all of these former hunger strikers seem to have in common is their insistence that their battles were never concerned with the freedom of individuals only, but of an entire group of desperate, oppressed and outraged people. (With reporting by Yousef Aljamal)
– Dr. Ramzy Baroud has been writing about the Middle East for over 20 years. He is an internationally-syndicated columnist, a media consultant, an author of several books and the founder of PalestineChronicle.com.
Family: Hunger-striker’s health going for worse
The family of the Palestinian hunger-striker Muhammad al-Qeiq said Friday that their son has gone through a critical health turn in the early morning hours. Al-Qeiq’s family said the hunger-striker could not respond to those who were present with him at the hospital room.
Al-Qeiq had earlier told al-Majd TV Channel in a phone interview that he would continue his hunger strike until he restores his freedom. Al-Qeiq expressed his gratitude to the campaign initiated in solidarity with him.
He said the Israeli court rule to freeze his administrative detention while keeping him locked up in Israeli hospitals aim at thwarting the solidarity campaign. Al-Qeiq has been on a hunger strike for the 73rd day.
He was arrested from his family home in Ramallah on November 21 and had reportedly been subjected to harsh torture during the investigation procedure, which made him declare his hunger strike.
Al-Qeeq Barely Able To Speak Or Hear
|
|
A video published, Thursday, revealed that hunger striking detainee, journalist Mohammad al-Qeeq, who started his strike 72 days ago, became barely able to speak or hear, lost a significant amount of weight, and is in a rapidly declining health condition.
The video, filmed during a visit by Arab Member of Knesset Osama Saadi, showed al-Qeeq unable to even utter a few words, yet, saying his strike continues as long as he is held under arbitrary Administrative Detention, without charges or trial. Al-Qeeq was responding to an Israeli court decision to keep him held under Administrative Detention, without presenting any indictment against him, a decision solely based on the allegation of a “secret file,” -- a file neither the detainee, nor his lawyer, have access to. |
"The second phase has not started yet; nobody should ever think it is over," al-Qeeq stated, "I still have a long road ahead, and I will continue this path."
Commenting on the court’s decision regarding ending his strike, without releasing him, al-Qeeq said; "They are trying to fool the world; however, I am ongoing with my strike for freedom; this strike will only end when am a free man in the West Bank."
His statement about being a free man in the West Bank is meant to send a message that has no intention to accept any deal that would lead to his release in return for being forced into exile, or sent to Gaza, instead of returning home in Ramallah.
Al-Qeeq works for the al-Majd TV, an Islamic channel in Saudi Arabia, and was repeatedly arrested and imprisoned by Israel and the Palestinian security forces.
His latest arrest was carried out by the Israeli army on November 11, 2015, after the soldiers invaded his home.
His wife, Faiha', who is also a journalist, said the soldiers surrounded their home, smashed several windows and doors, and violently searched the property before confiscating his mobile phone and computer.
Commenting on the court’s decision regarding ending his strike, without releasing him, al-Qeeq said; "They are trying to fool the world; however, I am ongoing with my strike for freedom; this strike will only end when am a free man in the West Bank."
His statement about being a free man in the West Bank is meant to send a message that has no intention to accept any deal that would lead to his release in return for being forced into exile, or sent to Gaza, instead of returning home in Ramallah.
Al-Qeeq works for the al-Majd TV, an Islamic channel in Saudi Arabia, and was repeatedly arrested and imprisoned by Israel and the Palestinian security forces.
His latest arrest was carried out by the Israeli army on November 11, 2015, after the soldiers invaded his home.
His wife, Faiha', who is also a journalist, said the soldiers surrounded their home, smashed several windows and doors, and violently searched the property before confiscating his mobile phone and computer.
A renewed wave of violent clashes broke out at dawn Friday in the besieged Qalandiya town, south of Jenin city, which saw widespread raids on homes by the Israeli occupation forces (IOF).
Local sources told the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) that confrontations took place between angry young men and Israeli soldiers near the main entrance to Qabatiya.
Similar events happened in the areas of al-Maqahi, Jabal al-Damuni and al-Zakarneh. The IOF also raided several homes in different areas of the town and threatened families to take mass punitive measures against them if their young men continued to attack Israelis.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army is still imposing a cordon on Qabatiya and closing all entrances, according to different local sources. The IOF also kidnapped last night and during its dawn raids on homes today five Palestinian young men from the town.
Qabatiya town has been seeing for two days a violent IOF campaign after the Israeli government declared it a closed military zone following Wednesday's attack in Jerusalem, which was carried out by three young men, two of them from the town. The young men killed an Israeli police officer and critically wounded another.
Local sources told the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) that confrontations took place between angry young men and Israeli soldiers near the main entrance to Qabatiya.
Similar events happened in the areas of al-Maqahi, Jabal al-Damuni and al-Zakarneh. The IOF also raided several homes in different areas of the town and threatened families to take mass punitive measures against them if their young men continued to attack Israelis.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army is still imposing a cordon on Qabatiya and closing all entrances, according to different local sources. The IOF also kidnapped last night and during its dawn raids on homes today five Palestinian young men from the town.
Qabatiya town has been seeing for two days a violent IOF campaign after the Israeli government declared it a closed military zone following Wednesday's attack in Jerusalem, which was carried out by three young men, two of them from the town. The young men killed an Israeli police officer and critically wounded another.
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) kidnapped 11 Palestinian youngsters and notified the demolition of six civilian homes in an arbitrary sweep launched across the occupied West Bank and Occupied Jerusalem overnight Thursday and at dawn Friday.
A PIC journalist said the IOF kidnapped 20-year-old Hassan Urduniyeh after they wreaked havoc on his family home in eastern Nablus province.
Two more Palestinians were kidnapped by the IOF from Nablus. The IOF further kidnapped a Palestinian citizen from his own home in the central West Bank province of Ramallah and two others from their family homes in Occupied Jerusalem.
Meanwhile, five Palestinian civilians were kidnapped by the occupation troops from Jenin’s southern town of Qabatiya at predawn time. Jenin’s deputy governor Kamal Abu al-Rub said the occupation army tightened the siege imposed on Qabatiya and closed its access roads before Palestinian passengers and merchants.
He added that the heavy spates of teargas canisters discharged by the IOF on Wednesday burned down dozens of fruit and vegetable packages. The IOF also notified the confiscation and demolition of prisoner Amjad Aleiwi’s home on allegations of his connection with an anti-occupation attack carried out in eastern Nablus a few months earlier.
A similar notification was handed to the family of prisoner Zayd Amer in Amman Street, in Nablus. Some three months ago, the Israeli occupation knocked down the family homes of Palestinian prisoners on the same charges.
Meanwhile, IOF soldiers raided the family homes of the two slain Palestinians Ihab and Abdul Rahman Msudi in al-Sharif Mount, in al-Khalil, and ravaged the buildings at the crack of dawn, before they forced out the native inhabitants and took measurements of the homes.
The IOF further threatened to raze the homes of the two slain anti-occupation activists Omar Assaf and Anan Abu Habseh in the Qalandiya refugee camp, in northern Occupied Jerusalem.
A PIC journalist said the IOF kidnapped 20-year-old Hassan Urduniyeh after they wreaked havoc on his family home in eastern Nablus province.
Two more Palestinians were kidnapped by the IOF from Nablus. The IOF further kidnapped a Palestinian citizen from his own home in the central West Bank province of Ramallah and two others from their family homes in Occupied Jerusalem.
Meanwhile, five Palestinian civilians were kidnapped by the occupation troops from Jenin’s southern town of Qabatiya at predawn time. Jenin’s deputy governor Kamal Abu al-Rub said the occupation army tightened the siege imposed on Qabatiya and closed its access roads before Palestinian passengers and merchants.
He added that the heavy spates of teargas canisters discharged by the IOF on Wednesday burned down dozens of fruit and vegetable packages. The IOF also notified the confiscation and demolition of prisoner Amjad Aleiwi’s home on allegations of his connection with an anti-occupation attack carried out in eastern Nablus a few months earlier.
A similar notification was handed to the family of prisoner Zayd Amer in Amman Street, in Nablus. Some three months ago, the Israeli occupation knocked down the family homes of Palestinian prisoners on the same charges.
Meanwhile, IOF soldiers raided the family homes of the two slain Palestinians Ihab and Abdul Rahman Msudi in al-Sharif Mount, in al-Khalil, and ravaged the buildings at the crack of dawn, before they forced out the native inhabitants and took measurements of the homes.
The IOF further threatened to raze the homes of the two slain anti-occupation activists Omar Assaf and Anan Abu Habseh in the Qalandiya refugee camp, in northern Occupied Jerusalem.
Palestinian journalist Muhammad al-Qeiq announced Thursday his decision to continue his hunger strike in Israeli jails in protest at being detained in the Afula hospital.
Al-Qeiq, who has been on an open-ended hunger strike for 73 days running, jotted down a note during a visit paid to him by his lawyer, following an Israeli court decision to suspend his administrative detention: “The court rule is just formal.
It aims at pulling the wool over the world’s eyes. I will continue my hunger strike until I restore my freedom.” Live snapshots published by lawyer Ashraf Abu Esneineh from the Afula hospital show al-Qeiq as having gone through a remarkable weight loss.
Earlier the Palestinian Prisoner Society (PPS) said in a statement the Israeli Supreme Court turned down al-Qeiq’s appeals to end his detention and ruled for only suspending his administrative detention. The PPS said the court rule is “unacceptable and serious” for it bears witness to Israel’s reluctance vis-à-vis al-Qeiq’s critical condition.
Lawyers Iyad Mesq, Ashraf Abu Esneieh, and Kamel al-Natur, who attended the hearing, said the decision gives room for re-detaining al-Qeiq after he fully recovers, just as was the case with prisoner Muhammad Allan.
They added that the court issued the decision only due to al-Qeiq’s critical health status. According to the lawyers, the Israeli occupation is taking revenge of al-Qeiq and turning deaf ears to his legitimate calls to end his administrative detention.
Al-Qeiq’s family also expressed their firm rejection of the court rule dubbing it an attempt to hoodwink the public opinion by freezing the hunger-striker’s administrative term while keeping him locked up in the Afula hospital against his will.
The family warned of Israeli intents to force-feed al-Qeiq and resume the administrative term after his recovery. Head of the prisoners and ex-prisoners’ committee, Issa Qaraqe, also said that al-Qeiq has initiated his hunger strike not only in protest at being held administratively in Israeli jails but also in protest at being treated by Israeli medics.
Al-Qeiq, who has been on an open-ended hunger strike for 73 days running, jotted down a note during a visit paid to him by his lawyer, following an Israeli court decision to suspend his administrative detention: “The court rule is just formal.
It aims at pulling the wool over the world’s eyes. I will continue my hunger strike until I restore my freedom.” Live snapshots published by lawyer Ashraf Abu Esneineh from the Afula hospital show al-Qeiq as having gone through a remarkable weight loss.
Earlier the Palestinian Prisoner Society (PPS) said in a statement the Israeli Supreme Court turned down al-Qeiq’s appeals to end his detention and ruled for only suspending his administrative detention. The PPS said the court rule is “unacceptable and serious” for it bears witness to Israel’s reluctance vis-à-vis al-Qeiq’s critical condition.
Lawyers Iyad Mesq, Ashraf Abu Esneieh, and Kamel al-Natur, who attended the hearing, said the decision gives room for re-detaining al-Qeiq after he fully recovers, just as was the case with prisoner Muhammad Allan.
They added that the court issued the decision only due to al-Qeiq’s critical health status. According to the lawyers, the Israeli occupation is taking revenge of al-Qeiq and turning deaf ears to his legitimate calls to end his administrative detention.
Al-Qeiq’s family also expressed their firm rejection of the court rule dubbing it an attempt to hoodwink the public opinion by freezing the hunger-striker’s administrative term while keeping him locked up in the Afula hospital against his will.
The family warned of Israeli intents to force-feed al-Qeiq and resume the administrative term after his recovery. Head of the prisoners and ex-prisoners’ committee, Issa Qaraqe, also said that al-Qeiq has initiated his hunger strike not only in protest at being held administratively in Israeli jails but also in protest at being treated by Israeli medics.
At least 30 Palestinian civilians sustained wounds on Thursday evening in fresh clashes with the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) in Jenin’s southern town of Qabatiya, in the northern occupied West Bank.
A PIC reporter quoted local medics as stating that four Palestinians were hit with live ammunition and three others were injured with rubber bullets while the other casualties choked on teargas.
A young protester was also hit by an Israeli army jeep.
Eye-witnesses said violent clashes flared up near the western entrance to Qabatiya, where the occupation patrols attacked the protesters with randomly-shot barrages of bullet fire.
The IOF summoned military reinforcement on the access roads to the town, denying Palestinians access out of and into the area. The IOF kidnapped over 15 Palestinians in the ongoing clashes that have been rocking Qabatiya.
Qabatiya rescue paramedics also said the clashes culminated in injuries among 30 Palestinians. The IOF prevented the Red Crescent ambulances from reaching the scene to evacuate the casualties to hospitals.
Earlier, on Wednesday, the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, gave instructions to impose a tight siege on Qabatiya and step up arrests against Palestinian anti-occupation activists.
Tension has been running high after three Palestinian youngsters were murdered by the Israeli troops on Wednesday following an anti-occupation operation that killed an Israeli soldier and left three others wounded in Jerusalem’s Bab al-Amoud area.
The three slain youths are natives of Qabatiya. Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation authorities ordered the cancellation of the work permits of the families and relatives of the three slain Palestinian youths, in the first move of its kind since the start of the Jerusalem Uprising, on October 1.
A PIC reporter quoted local medics as stating that four Palestinians were hit with live ammunition and three others were injured with rubber bullets while the other casualties choked on teargas.
A young protester was also hit by an Israeli army jeep.
Eye-witnesses said violent clashes flared up near the western entrance to Qabatiya, where the occupation patrols attacked the protesters with randomly-shot barrages of bullet fire.
The IOF summoned military reinforcement on the access roads to the town, denying Palestinians access out of and into the area. The IOF kidnapped over 15 Palestinians in the ongoing clashes that have been rocking Qabatiya.
Qabatiya rescue paramedics also said the clashes culminated in injuries among 30 Palestinians. The IOF prevented the Red Crescent ambulances from reaching the scene to evacuate the casualties to hospitals.
Earlier, on Wednesday, the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, gave instructions to impose a tight siege on Qabatiya and step up arrests against Palestinian anti-occupation activists.
Tension has been running high after three Palestinian youngsters were murdered by the Israeli troops on Wednesday following an anti-occupation operation that killed an Israeli soldier and left three others wounded in Jerusalem’s Bab al-Amoud area.
The three slain youths are natives of Qabatiya. Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation authorities ordered the cancellation of the work permits of the families and relatives of the three slain Palestinian youths, in the first move of its kind since the start of the Jerusalem Uprising, on October 1.
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) quelled a peaceful march of students called for by the youth movement in Mount Scopus in Occupied Jerusalem.
The march demanded the delivery of Palestinian martyrs’ bodies detained by Israeli authorities.
Quds Press quoted the activist Shadi Elaiyan as saying that clashes with IOF soldiers erupted after firing fireworks at the Israeli settlement of Armon Hanatziv.
He pointed out that the Israeli troops arrested one of the Palestinian demonstrators and unleashed tear gas canisters as well as sound grenades at the participants. Israeli Occupation Authority (IOA) is still holding the bodies of ten Jerusalemite martyrs including three from Mount Scopus town.
The march demanded the delivery of Palestinian martyrs’ bodies detained by Israeli authorities.
Quds Press quoted the activist Shadi Elaiyan as saying that clashes with IOF soldiers erupted after firing fireworks at the Israeli settlement of Armon Hanatziv.
He pointed out that the Israeli troops arrested one of the Palestinian demonstrators and unleashed tear gas canisters as well as sound grenades at the participants. Israeli Occupation Authority (IOA) is still holding the bodies of ten Jerusalemite martyrs including three from Mount Scopus town.
4 feb 2016
The occupation authorities recently transferred the 11-year old Mohammad Ismaeel Hoshyeh to an internal institute in the city of Akko.
Mohammad’s mother explained that the occupation forces arrested her son last Sunday morning and interrogated him at Al-Qishleh police center in the Old City of Jerusalem. He was then transferred to Al-Maskobyeh in West Jerusalem on charges of participating in the stabbing of a settler in the area of Damascus Gate in Jerusalem. He was interrogated alone and his parents were not allowed to attend the interrogation contrary to what the Israeli law states.
She added that the occupation authorities decided to transfer her son to an internal institution without telling her about the name and location of the institute. According to the social affairs, Mohammad will be initially detained for one week with the option of an extension.
Lawyer Mohammad Mahmoud explained that Hoshyeh is detained in Akko institute and expects an extension under the pretext of the inability of his family to take care of him.
Lawyer Mahmoud added that Hoshyeh was interrogated regarding the stabbing of a settler in the area of Damascus Gate in Jerusalem on the 30th of January. No indictment was submitted against him and he was not detained in interrogation center since he is under the age of responsibility (under 12 years old).
The internal institutions are not different from the occupation’s prisons as the administration imposed restrictions on the detainees and visits are only allowed once a week; they are also not allowed to leave the institution.
Mohammad’s mother explained that the occupation forces arrested her son last Sunday morning and interrogated him at Al-Qishleh police center in the Old City of Jerusalem. He was then transferred to Al-Maskobyeh in West Jerusalem on charges of participating in the stabbing of a settler in the area of Damascus Gate in Jerusalem. He was interrogated alone and his parents were not allowed to attend the interrogation contrary to what the Israeli law states.
She added that the occupation authorities decided to transfer her son to an internal institution without telling her about the name and location of the institute. According to the social affairs, Mohammad will be initially detained for one week with the option of an extension.
Lawyer Mohammad Mahmoud explained that Hoshyeh is detained in Akko institute and expects an extension under the pretext of the inability of his family to take care of him.
Lawyer Mahmoud added that Hoshyeh was interrogated regarding the stabbing of a settler in the area of Damascus Gate in Jerusalem on the 30th of January. No indictment was submitted against him and he was not detained in interrogation center since he is under the age of responsibility (under 12 years old).
The internal institutions are not different from the occupation’s prisons as the administration imposed restrictions on the detainees and visits are only allowed once a week; they are also not allowed to leave the institution.
Israeli soldiers have kidnapped, overnight and at dawn Thursday, at least 27 Palestinians, including children, in different parts of the occupied West Bank, including Jerusalem.
The Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) has reported that the soldiers kidnapped three children in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, in occupied Jerusalem.
The three, Hamza Abdullah, 13, Mohammad Tha’er Farhan, 13, and Qassam Shehada, 13, are from Qalandia refugee camp.
Also in Jerusalem, the soldiers kidnapped Khaled Abu Ghosh, 15, Abed Abu Saima, 15, Mousa Dirar Darweesh, 20, Ali Bader, 22, Musa Dari, Mohammad Ahmad Dari, 17, Mohammad Jaber, Mohammad Ghrouf, Jihad Za’tary, 14, Sa’ad Rokon, and Nour Shalabi, 18.
In Jenin, in the northern part of the occupied West Bank, the soldiers stormed and ransacked many homes, interrogated families and kidnapped seven Palestinians identified as Mo’tasem Mahmoud Kamil, Tareq Ahmad Kamil, Mo’men Nasri Abu ar-Rob, Ahmad Abdulafu Nazzal, Thaer Mohammad Abu Ghorab, Ahmad Rashed Abdul-Jaleel and Husam Ezzat Dahhoun, 38.
In Hebron, the soldiers kidnapped Khalil Haitham Ayyad, Hani Masalma and Mohammad Ahmad al-Fakhouri, while Dhoha Jihad Hasan al-Baw, 18 from Halhoul town near Hebron, who went missing a few days ago, was taken prisoner in Jaffa city.
Dhoha is the sister of Hasan Jihad al-Baw, 22, from Halhoul town, a law student of the Al-Quds University, who was killed by Israeli army fire, after a soldier shot him in the heart, on November 14, 2015.
Furthermore, the soldiers invaded Aqbat Jabr refugee camp, in Jericho, and kidnapped Ahmad Khalil Ibrahim, 26, while residents Taha Hussein Oleymi, from Tulkarem, was kidnapped on the al-Karama border terminal, while traveling back home from Jordan.
The Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) has reported that the soldiers kidnapped three children in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, in occupied Jerusalem.
The three, Hamza Abdullah, 13, Mohammad Tha’er Farhan, 13, and Qassam Shehada, 13, are from Qalandia refugee camp.
Also in Jerusalem, the soldiers kidnapped Khaled Abu Ghosh, 15, Abed Abu Saima, 15, Mousa Dirar Darweesh, 20, Ali Bader, 22, Musa Dari, Mohammad Ahmad Dari, 17, Mohammad Jaber, Mohammad Ghrouf, Jihad Za’tary, 14, Sa’ad Rokon, and Nour Shalabi, 18.
In Jenin, in the northern part of the occupied West Bank, the soldiers stormed and ransacked many homes, interrogated families and kidnapped seven Palestinians identified as Mo’tasem Mahmoud Kamil, Tareq Ahmad Kamil, Mo’men Nasri Abu ar-Rob, Ahmad Abdulafu Nazzal, Thaer Mohammad Abu Ghorab, Ahmad Rashed Abdul-Jaleel and Husam Ezzat Dahhoun, 38.
In Hebron, the soldiers kidnapped Khalil Haitham Ayyad, Hani Masalma and Mohammad Ahmad al-Fakhouri, while Dhoha Jihad Hasan al-Baw, 18 from Halhoul town near Hebron, who went missing a few days ago, was taken prisoner in Jaffa city.
Dhoha is the sister of Hasan Jihad al-Baw, 22, from Halhoul town, a law student of the Al-Quds University, who was killed by Israeli army fire, after a soldier shot him in the heart, on November 14, 2015.
Furthermore, the soldiers invaded Aqbat Jabr refugee camp, in Jericho, and kidnapped Ahmad Khalil Ibrahim, 26, while residents Taha Hussein Oleymi, from Tulkarem, was kidnapped on the al-Karama border terminal, while traveling back home from Jordan.
This morning, February 4, 2016, Dr. Mahmoud Mahamid, a member of Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (PHRI), visited Muhammad Al-Qeeq, who has been on a hunger strike for 71 days and is at imminent risk of death.
Dr. Mahamid reported that Al-Qeeq's condition was extremely grave and that most of the conversation took place through notes because he could barely speak or even hear.
Al-Qeeq reiterated his refusal to be examined or treated as long as he remains in administrative detention.
The visit took place following the hospital’s ethics committee's decision last night to allow treatment of Al-Qeeq against his will, based on the deterioration in his health situation and the risk to his life.
This decision contradicts medical ethics, which forbid the forced treatment of a competent and lucid person.
However, in this case and in at least one more occasion, medical staff refused to force-treat Al-Qeeq as long as he was conscious and competent.
This conduct is particularly encouraging since, as previously reported, medical staff did treat Al-Qeeq against his will a few weeks ago.
PHRI calls to respect the medical teams' autonomy and professional judgment and not to exert pressure on them.
The responsibility to save Al-Qeeq's life is entirely in the hands of the Israeli authorities, who have arrested him without charges or trial and must free him without delay.
In addition, a hearing will take place today at the High Court of Justice following a petition submitted by PHRI against the shackling of Al-Qeeq to his bed, in contravention to procedures and despite his grave condition.
The petition was submitted following the decision by the District Court to delay the hearing and avoid ruling on the organization's petition to remove the shackles despite its urgency.
PHRI demands the immediate removal of the shackles which are being used time and again to break hunger strikers’ spirits.
Dr. Mahamid reported that Al-Qeeq's condition was extremely grave and that most of the conversation took place through notes because he could barely speak or even hear.
Al-Qeeq reiterated his refusal to be examined or treated as long as he remains in administrative detention.
The visit took place following the hospital’s ethics committee's decision last night to allow treatment of Al-Qeeq against his will, based on the deterioration in his health situation and the risk to his life.
This decision contradicts medical ethics, which forbid the forced treatment of a competent and lucid person.
However, in this case and in at least one more occasion, medical staff refused to force-treat Al-Qeeq as long as he was conscious and competent.
This conduct is particularly encouraging since, as previously reported, medical staff did treat Al-Qeeq against his will a few weeks ago.
PHRI calls to respect the medical teams' autonomy and professional judgment and not to exert pressure on them.
The responsibility to save Al-Qeeq's life is entirely in the hands of the Israeli authorities, who have arrested him without charges or trial and must free him without delay.
In addition, a hearing will take place today at the High Court of Justice following a petition submitted by PHRI against the shackling of Al-Qeeq to his bed, in contravention to procedures and despite his grave condition.
The petition was submitted following the decision by the District Court to delay the hearing and avoid ruling on the organization's petition to remove the shackles despite its urgency.
PHRI demands the immediate removal of the shackles which are being used time and again to break hunger strikers’ spirits.
The condition of Palestinian administrative detainee who has been on a hunger strike for two and a half months has deteriorated in recent days, Haaretz reported Thursday.
The ethics committee of Ha’amek Hospital in Afula convened Wednesday with representatives from the Israel Prison Service to discuss the case of Mohammed al-Qeiq, who has been on a hunger strike for 72 days to protest his detention without trial.
Al-Qeiq is refusing any nourishment, including liquids. The hospital said that at this point it was merely monitoring his medical condition without intervening. It added that there were no plans to force-feed him.
“All treatment is subject to the laws of the land and in keeping with medical ethics,” the hospital statement said. Attorney Jawad Boulos, who heads the legal department of the Palestinian Prisoners Society, told Haaretz that the ethics committee had convened because al-Qeiq’s medical condition had deteriorated in the past few days.
The ethics committee of Ha’amek Hospital in Afula convened Wednesday with representatives from the Israel Prison Service to discuss the case of Mohammed al-Qeiq, who has been on a hunger strike for 72 days to protest his detention without trial.
Al-Qeiq is refusing any nourishment, including liquids. The hospital said that at this point it was merely monitoring his medical condition without intervening. It added that there were no plans to force-feed him.
“All treatment is subject to the laws of the land and in keeping with medical ethics,” the hospital statement said. Attorney Jawad Boulos, who heads the legal department of the Palestinian Prisoners Society, told Haaretz that the ethics committee had convened because al-Qeiq’s medical condition had deteriorated in the past few days.
The last report from Wednesday morning stressed that he was very weak and had difficulty speaking and hearing, but that he was conscious and aware and was refusing liquids or any other assistance. According to Boulos, because of al-Qeiq’s worsening condition, another hearing is to take place on Thursday to discuss the petition against his administrative detention and the request to release him due to his medical condition.
According to Boulos, as of Wednesday afternoon there had been no contacts with the military prosecution regarding a possible deal, as had been arranged in the cases of previous hunger strikers Muhammad Allan and Khader Adnan.
Meanwhile Wednesday, the Nazareth District Court postponed a hearing on a petition submitted by Physicians for Human Rights against the fact that al-Qeiq was tied to his bed and was otherwise restrained. The hearing has been rescheduled for next week. Demonstrations and vigils protesting al-Qeiq’s detention are being held throughout the West Bank and in front of the hospital.
On Thursday, a rally on his behalf is slated to take place in Haifa. Al-Qeiq was arrested on November 21 in connection with his alleged involvement in anti-occupation activities. Video
According to Boulos, as of Wednesday afternoon there had been no contacts with the military prosecution regarding a possible deal, as had been arranged in the cases of previous hunger strikers Muhammad Allan and Khader Adnan.
Meanwhile Wednesday, the Nazareth District Court postponed a hearing on a petition submitted by Physicians for Human Rights against the fact that al-Qeiq was tied to his bed and was otherwise restrained. The hearing has been rescheduled for next week. Demonstrations and vigils protesting al-Qeiq’s detention are being held throughout the West Bank and in front of the hospital.
On Thursday, a rally on his behalf is slated to take place in Haifa. Al-Qeiq was arrested on November 21 in connection with his alleged involvement in anti-occupation activities. Video
|
|
An Israeli security guard on Thursday morning suffered injuries in an alleged stabbing attack at the entrance to the Ramla bus station, north of occupied Palestine.
The Hebrew website 0404 claimed that two Arab teenage girls carried out the stabbing attack. 0404 added that policemen arrested the two girls after opening fire at them. A video recording posted on the Internet has showed a policeman brutally dealing with one of the wounded girls and trampling her underfoot. |
The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) launched at dawn Thursday a large-scale raid campaign across occupied Jerusalem and West Bank.
21 detainees were rounded up during the campaign. Israeli website 0404 claimed that 16 “wanted Palestinians” were detained this morning for being involved in anti-occupation attacks.
The arrests were mainly carried out in Nablus, Jenin, Qalqilia, Ramallah, Bethlehem, and al-Khalil, the sources added.
At least six arrests were reported near Jenin, while one young man was detained in Nablus for being affiliated with Hamas Movement. Four other youths were arrested to the north of occupied Jerusalem, whereas four similar arrests were carried out in al-Khalil.
One detainee was taken from Jericho. Along the same line, Palestinian sources affirmed that two more youths were arrested in Qatna town north of occupied Jerusalem after Israeli police forces violently stormed their houses. Two other youths were kidnapped from their houses in Nablus and al-Khalil.
Earlier Wednesday, a 17-year-old girl from Halhul town north of al-Khalil was arrested for entering Palestinian occupied territories within the Green Line without Israeli permit. Two other youths were arrested at an Israeli military checkpoint north of Bethlehem while another was detained at Karama crossing on his way back from Jordan.
21 detainees were rounded up during the campaign. Israeli website 0404 claimed that 16 “wanted Palestinians” were detained this morning for being involved in anti-occupation attacks.
The arrests were mainly carried out in Nablus, Jenin, Qalqilia, Ramallah, Bethlehem, and al-Khalil, the sources added.
At least six arrests were reported near Jenin, while one young man was detained in Nablus for being affiliated with Hamas Movement. Four other youths were arrested to the north of occupied Jerusalem, whereas four similar arrests were carried out in al-Khalil.
One detainee was taken from Jericho. Along the same line, Palestinian sources affirmed that two more youths were arrested in Qatna town north of occupied Jerusalem after Israeli police forces violently stormed their houses. Two other youths were kidnapped from their houses in Nablus and al-Khalil.
Earlier Wednesday, a 17-year-old girl from Halhul town north of al-Khalil was arrested for entering Palestinian occupied territories within the Green Line without Israeli permit. Two other youths were arrested at an Israeli military checkpoint north of Bethlehem while another was detained at Karama crossing on his way back from Jordan.
The Israeli Prison Service (IPS) transferred on Wednesday the hunger striker prisoner Kayed Abu Rish, 46, from his solitary confinement in Megiddo prison to Afula Hospital due to his health deterioration.
Abu Rish had declared his hunger strike on January 14 protesting against his administrative detention that was recently extended for six additional months.
The hunger striker started suffering from constant headache, frequent dizziness, and faintness and tiredness all over his body.
He also suffers from gunshot wounds in his foot and back as he was shot and injured during the first Palestinian Intifada.
Abu Rish, who spent 16 years behind Israeli bars in separate arrests, was arrested from his house on January 13, 2015. He underwent a hunger strike for 36 days before being suspended after receiving Israeli promises to release him.
However, the Israeli authorities extended his administrative dentition once again for six months, pushing him to resume his hunger strike.
Abu Rish had declared his hunger strike on January 14 protesting against his administrative detention that was recently extended for six additional months.
The hunger striker started suffering from constant headache, frequent dizziness, and faintness and tiredness all over his body.
He also suffers from gunshot wounds in his foot and back as he was shot and injured during the first Palestinian Intifada.
Abu Rish, who spent 16 years behind Israeli bars in separate arrests, was arrested from his house on January 13, 2015. He underwent a hunger strike for 36 days before being suspended after receiving Israeli promises to release him.
However, the Israeli authorities extended his administrative dentition once again for six months, pushing him to resume his hunger strike.
IOF arrests dozens of activists for cultivating olive trees
The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) arrested Wednesday evening a 17-year-old girl from Halhul town north of al-Khalil. Israeli forces declared the arrest of the girl after she went missing over the past three days.
The detained girl is the sister of Hassan Albo who was shot and killed on November 13, 2015 during violent clashes.
Meanwhile, two Palestinians were arrested overnight at an Israeli make-shift checkpoint erected between Nablus and Jenin. Local sources told the PIC reporter that the two detainees were arrested when IOF stopped their car at the checkpoint.
Several other vehicles were stopped and searched in the area, the sources added. On the other hand, Israeli forces detained dozens of volunteers for several hours in order to prevent their work of planting olive saplings in Naqoura town north of Nablus.
The Israeli forces threatened to arrest the activists in an attempt to stop their volunteer work that is a part of the ‘Land is Ours’ campaign launched by the Arab Group for the Protection of Nature (APN) as part of the ‘One Million Tree’ program implemented by the organization. The campaign aims at protecting Palestinian lands located near Israeli outposts from settlement expansion.
The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) arrested Wednesday evening a 17-year-old girl from Halhul town north of al-Khalil. Israeli forces declared the arrest of the girl after she went missing over the past three days.
The detained girl is the sister of Hassan Albo who was shot and killed on November 13, 2015 during violent clashes.
Meanwhile, two Palestinians were arrested overnight at an Israeli make-shift checkpoint erected between Nablus and Jenin. Local sources told the PIC reporter that the two detainees were arrested when IOF stopped their car at the checkpoint.
Several other vehicles were stopped and searched in the area, the sources added. On the other hand, Israeli forces detained dozens of volunteers for several hours in order to prevent their work of planting olive saplings in Naqoura town north of Nablus.
The Israeli forces threatened to arrest the activists in an attempt to stop their volunteer work that is a part of the ‘Land is Ours’ campaign launched by the Arab Group for the Protection of Nature (APN) as part of the ‘One Million Tree’ program implemented by the organization. The campaign aims at protecting Palestinian lands located near Israeli outposts from settlement expansion.
Israeli soldiers kidnapped, Wednesday, eight Palestinians, including many children, in different parts of occupied Jerusalem, and injured two children -- one with special needs. The soldiers also invaded and searched several homes.
Mohammad Abu al-Hummus, member of the Follow-Up Committee in the al-‘Eesawiyya town in Jerusalem, said the soldiers invaded the town at dawn, and installed a military tent at its main entrance, and that the invasion lasted until late evening hours.
He added that the invasion led to clashes between dozens of local youngsters and the soldiers, and that the army fired several gas bombs, concussion grenades and rubber-coated steel bullets, in addition to holding a bus for 40 minutes.
The soldiers also invaded Dari neighborhood in the town, stormed and searched many homes, and attacked several Palestinians while ransacking their homes.
Abu al-Hummus further said that the soldiers fired concussion grenades and rubber-coated steel bullets in the neighborhood, causing several injuries, while two children, including one with special needs, fainted after the Israeli military assault.
In addition, the soldiers kidnapped Khaled Abu Gush, 15, Abed Abu Saima, 15, Mousa Dirar Darweesh, 20, Ali Bader, 22, and Mohammad Ahmad Dari, 17, in Bab al-Amoud area in Jerusalem. The soldiers claimed that Dari "carried a screw driver."
In Sheikh Jarrah area, in Jerusalem, the soldiers kidnapped three children, identified as Hamza Abdullah, 13, Mohammad Tha’er Sarhan, 13, and Qassem Shehada, 13; all from Qalandia refugee camp, north of Jerusalem.
The three children were taken prisoner after three Palestinians, and an Israeli soldier, were killed, following the armed attack in Jerusalem’s Damascus Gate.
The Palestinians have been identified as Ahmad Najeh Abu al-Rob, 21, Mohammad Abu Kamil, 20, both from Qabatia, and Ahmad Najeh Ismael, 22, from Jenin.
Following the attack, the soldiers sealed Jerusalem’s Old City and fired dozens of gas bombs and rubber-coated steel bullets on the Palestinians to force them out of the area.
The army also completely isolated the areas extending from Bab al-‘Amoud, Sultan Suleiman Street, Sahera Gate and Salaheddin Street, and pushed hundreds of soldiers into them.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, Israeli Army Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, Police Commissioner Roni Alsheikh, Attorney General Avichai Mandelbilt and a representative of the Shin Bet security service.
Israeli daily Haaretz said Israel has decided to impose a full closure on Qabatia town, and to send more troops to be deployed in different parts of the northern part of the West Bank.
Mohammad Abu al-Hummus, member of the Follow-Up Committee in the al-‘Eesawiyya town in Jerusalem, said the soldiers invaded the town at dawn, and installed a military tent at its main entrance, and that the invasion lasted until late evening hours.
He added that the invasion led to clashes between dozens of local youngsters and the soldiers, and that the army fired several gas bombs, concussion grenades and rubber-coated steel bullets, in addition to holding a bus for 40 minutes.
The soldiers also invaded Dari neighborhood in the town, stormed and searched many homes, and attacked several Palestinians while ransacking their homes.
Abu al-Hummus further said that the soldiers fired concussion grenades and rubber-coated steel bullets in the neighborhood, causing several injuries, while two children, including one with special needs, fainted after the Israeli military assault.
In addition, the soldiers kidnapped Khaled Abu Gush, 15, Abed Abu Saima, 15, Mousa Dirar Darweesh, 20, Ali Bader, 22, and Mohammad Ahmad Dari, 17, in Bab al-Amoud area in Jerusalem. The soldiers claimed that Dari "carried a screw driver."
In Sheikh Jarrah area, in Jerusalem, the soldiers kidnapped three children, identified as Hamza Abdullah, 13, Mohammad Tha’er Sarhan, 13, and Qassem Shehada, 13; all from Qalandia refugee camp, north of Jerusalem.
The three children were taken prisoner after three Palestinians, and an Israeli soldier, were killed, following the armed attack in Jerusalem’s Damascus Gate.
The Palestinians have been identified as Ahmad Najeh Abu al-Rob, 21, Mohammad Abu Kamil, 20, both from Qabatia, and Ahmad Najeh Ismael, 22, from Jenin.
Following the attack, the soldiers sealed Jerusalem’s Old City and fired dozens of gas bombs and rubber-coated steel bullets on the Palestinians to force them out of the area.
The army also completely isolated the areas extending from Bab al-‘Amoud, Sultan Suleiman Street, Sahera Gate and Salaheddin Street, and pushed hundreds of soldiers into them.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, Israeli Army Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, Police Commissioner Roni Alsheikh, Attorney General Avichai Mandelbilt and a representative of the Shin Bet security service.
Israeli daily Haaretz said Israel has decided to impose a full closure on Qabatia town, and to send more troops to be deployed in different parts of the northern part of the West Bank.
