24 july 2013
Palestinian photographer Mohammed Al-Azza recovering in hospital after being shot in the cheek
In the middle of the night on June 30, Israeli forces invaded the Aida-area home of Palestinian photographer Mohamed Al-Azza, assaulted him and his family, and then arbitrarily detained him until July 11 when he was freed on a bail of 1,500 shekels. On July 25, an Israeli military court will rule on his case.
After sustaining severe injuries during his arrest June 30, Al-Azza was transferred to a hospital for three days, and then sent back to prison. In an Israeli military court, the Israeli security forces charged that Al-Azza participated in “violent and illegal” activities. Reporters Without Borders reported that, “as a journalist, [Al-Azza] has covered demonstrations in support of detainees on hunger strike and protests against the November 2012 offensive in Gaza.”
On April 8, in the Aida refugee camp near Bethlehem, an Israeli soldier shot Al-Azza in the right cheekbone with a rubber-coated steel bullet. Al-Azza, who was working for Palestine News Network (PNN), sustained a broken right cheekbone, and underwent two surgeries to remove the bullet. Reporters Without Borders has urged the Israeli security forces to investigate this deliberate shooting of a journalist, to punish the soldier responsible, and to end “the complete impunity enjoyed by IDF soldiers responsible for violence against journalists.”
In the middle of the night on June 30, Israeli forces invaded the Aida-area home of Palestinian photographer Mohamed Al-Azza, assaulted him and his family, and then arbitrarily detained him until July 11 when he was freed on a bail of 1,500 shekels. On July 25, an Israeli military court will rule on his case.
After sustaining severe injuries during his arrest June 30, Al-Azza was transferred to a hospital for three days, and then sent back to prison. In an Israeli military court, the Israeli security forces charged that Al-Azza participated in “violent and illegal” activities. Reporters Without Borders reported that, “as a journalist, [Al-Azza] has covered demonstrations in support of detainees on hunger strike and protests against the November 2012 offensive in Gaza.”
On April 8, in the Aida refugee camp near Bethlehem, an Israeli soldier shot Al-Azza in the right cheekbone with a rubber-coated steel bullet. Al-Azza, who was working for Palestine News Network (PNN), sustained a broken right cheekbone, and underwent two surgeries to remove the bullet. Reporters Without Borders has urged the Israeli security forces to investigate this deliberate shooting of a journalist, to punish the soldier responsible, and to end “the complete impunity enjoyed by IDF soldiers responsible for violence against journalists.”
Palestinian prisoners from inside Israel must be included in any political agreement, their families said Wednesday.
At a meeting of the Arab Association for Prisoners, families of prisoners from inside Israel said a peace deal must include the unconditional release of their relatives, particularly those who have spent several decades in Israeli jails.
Some 103 Palestinians are considered veteran prisoners, including 14 from inside Israel.
Israel will release 80 Palestinians detained before the 1993 Oslo Accords as part of an agreement to renew peace negotiations, an Israeli official said Monday.
The association said it was not confident about Israeli intentions to release prisoners, despite verbal assurances from President Mahmoud Abbas.
"In the last two decades of negotiations, we have heard news and confirmation about releasing veteran prisoners," the association said in a statement.
"We call on the Palestinian leadership to give us a clear and honest information about this matter."
At a meeting of the Arab Association for Prisoners, families of prisoners from inside Israel said a peace deal must include the unconditional release of their relatives, particularly those who have spent several decades in Israeli jails.
Some 103 Palestinians are considered veteran prisoners, including 14 from inside Israel.
Israel will release 80 Palestinians detained before the 1993 Oslo Accords as part of an agreement to renew peace negotiations, an Israeli official said Monday.
The association said it was not confident about Israeli intentions to release prisoners, despite verbal assurances from President Mahmoud Abbas.
"In the last two decades of negotiations, we have heard news and confirmation about releasing veteran prisoners," the association said in a statement.
"We call on the Palestinian leadership to give us a clear and honest information about this matter."
Israeli forces on Wednesday informed the family of Luay Adi that the 26-year-old is in Israeli custody, a local official said.
Adi, from Beit Ummar near Hebron, went missing after leaving his home on Monday.
Israeli authorities on Wednesday telephoned Adi's parents and informed them that he is being held at Etzion detention center, Beit Ummar popular committee spokesman Mohammad Awad told Ma'an.
Adi was previously released earlier this year on a two-year suspended sentence after spending 14 months in an Israeli jail.
Adi, from Beit Ummar near Hebron, went missing after leaving his home on Monday.
Israeli authorities on Wednesday telephoned Adi's parents and informed them that he is being held at Etzion detention center, Beit Ummar popular committee spokesman Mohammad Awad told Ma'an.
Adi was previously released earlier this year on a two-year suspended sentence after spending 14 months in an Israeli jail.
Dozens of students from the Arab American University in Jenin participated in a vigil on Tuesday to protest the arrest of journalist Yousef Abdul Latif Shalabi, aged 23, by the Israeli occupation forces (IOF). Students and a number of university lecturers took part in the vigil called for by the Department of Arabic Language and Media at the university.
The protesters raised banners condemning the arrest of their colleague Shalabi and a number of other students from the Arab American University by the IOF during the last week, calling to expose the occupation crimes against the Palestinian people in general and the students in particular.
Media lecturer at the University Mahmoud Khallouf said that chasing university students and journalists in the West Bank is a violation of international laws and conventions, stressing that the freedom of speech and expression is a right for all.
Khallouf hailed the university students for their participation in the vigil, considering that this move represents a clear message to the occupation that all its repressive procedures will not affect journalistic work
Israeli soldiers raided and searched the house of journalist Yousef Shalabi at dawn Monday, then arrested him and took him to an unknown destination.
Shalabi has been earlier detained by the PA security apparatuses. His house was also raided and searched many times on charges of his affiliation with Hamas movement.
The protesters raised banners condemning the arrest of their colleague Shalabi and a number of other students from the Arab American University by the IOF during the last week, calling to expose the occupation crimes against the Palestinian people in general and the students in particular.
Media lecturer at the University Mahmoud Khallouf said that chasing university students and journalists in the West Bank is a violation of international laws and conventions, stressing that the freedom of speech and expression is a right for all.
Khallouf hailed the university students for their participation in the vigil, considering that this move represents a clear message to the occupation that all its repressive procedures will not affect journalistic work
Israeli soldiers raided and searched the house of journalist Yousef Shalabi at dawn Monday, then arrested him and took him to an unknown destination.
Shalabi has been earlier detained by the PA security apparatuses. His house was also raided and searched many times on charges of his affiliation with Hamas movement.
The Israeli Occupation Authorities (IOA) have renewed Tuesday the administrative detention of the director of the Palestine Center for Prisoners' Affairs Ossama Shaheen for the third consecutive time. The administrative detention of Ossama Shaheen, detained in Negev prison, was renewed for three more months for the third time in row.
Shaheen was detained in October 2012 where he was turned to administrative detention. He spent more than 6 years in Israeli jails.
Shaheen was detained in October 2012 where he was turned to administrative detention. He spent more than 6 years in Israeli jails.
Israeli forces arrested a Palestinian man at the Erez crossing in northern Gaza on Tuesday, Palestinian security officials said.
Hussam al-Zanin was accompanying his sick mother to Israel for treatment, but was detained by Israeli forces.
Al-Zanin's mother was then asked to return to Gaza by Israeli forces at the border.
Hussam al-Zanin was accompanying his sick mother to Israel for treatment, but was detained by Israeli forces.
Al-Zanin's mother was then asked to return to Gaza by Israeli forces at the border.
Families of prisoners from East Jerusalem and inside Israel Wednesday boycotted a planned visit to their sons in an Israeli jail to protest mistreatment by guards of the Israel Prison Service, according to the Prisoner Club. It said, in a statement, that the prison authorities at Nafha prison in the Naqab desert decided not to continue with the visit planned by the Red Cross as a result of what they said was humiliating treatment.
Families boarded four buses and went in private cars to the prison since two in the morning to be there on time to visit their sons.
However, they were mistreated and ordered to go through humiliating search and those who protested were not allowed in.
In the end, the families decided not to continue with the visit and return Jerusalem to protest the mistreatment to the Red Cross office.
Families boarded four buses and went in private cars to the prison since two in the morning to be there on time to visit their sons.
However, they were mistreated and ordered to go through humiliating search and those who protested were not allowed in.
In the end, the families decided not to continue with the visit and return Jerusalem to protest the mistreatment to the Red Cross office.
The Jordanian prisoners in Israeli jails have entered their 80th day of the hunger strike which they started on 2 May. Lawyer Hanan Al-Khatib, who visited the prisoners in Ramla jail, said that the hunger strikers threatened to stop taking fluids and drinking water if the prison administration kept detaining them in the section of mental patients and ignoring their serious health conditions.
The lawyer affirmed that the Israeli administration of Ramla jail deliberately humiliate the hunger strikers in general, especially the Jordanians who are detained in the section of mental patients inside a room with an insulated glass window.
She added that the Jordanian hunger strikers are exposed to daily search raids during which they are forced to stand naked for search and their belongings are tampered with amid insults of the jailers.
Rights Group says 12 Prisoners are now on Hunger Strike
A Palestinian human rights group said Wednesday that 12 prisoners in Israeli jails are currently on hunger strike. Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association said the 12 prisoners are:
Ayman Hamdan, on strike for 88 days,
Emad Al-Batran, 79 days,
Ayman Tabeesh, 63 days,
Mohammad Tabeesh, 43 days,
Adel Hareebat, 63 days,
Husam Matir, 54 days,
Abd Al Majid Khdeirat, 24 days,
Abdallah Barghouthi, 84 days,
Mohammad Rimawi, 84 days,
Munir Mar’ee, 84 days, Alaa Hamad, 84 days, and
Hamza Othman, 79 days.
It said the Israel Prison Service is mistreating the 12 Palestinian and Jordanian hunger strikers.
Addameer said that punishment of the striking prisoners escalates and the hunger strikers are beginning to be denied lawyers’ visits.
“This continuous policy of banning lawyers who visit the hunger strikers restricts the work of human rights organizations and further isolates the prisoners from the outside world in an attempt to break their strike,” said Addameer.
It said prisoners have reported that the Prison Service has tried many tactics to break their hunger strike, including putting them in cells with criminal prisoners, cooking and eating near their cells, and “roughing them up” while they are handcuffed to their hospital beds.
The lawyer affirmed that the Israeli administration of Ramla jail deliberately humiliate the hunger strikers in general, especially the Jordanians who are detained in the section of mental patients inside a room with an insulated glass window.
She added that the Jordanian hunger strikers are exposed to daily search raids during which they are forced to stand naked for search and their belongings are tampered with amid insults of the jailers.
Rights Group says 12 Prisoners are now on Hunger Strike
A Palestinian human rights group said Wednesday that 12 prisoners in Israeli jails are currently on hunger strike. Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association said the 12 prisoners are:
Ayman Hamdan, on strike for 88 days,
Emad Al-Batran, 79 days,
Ayman Tabeesh, 63 days,
Mohammad Tabeesh, 43 days,
Adel Hareebat, 63 days,
Husam Matir, 54 days,
Abd Al Majid Khdeirat, 24 days,
Abdallah Barghouthi, 84 days,
Mohammad Rimawi, 84 days,
Munir Mar’ee, 84 days, Alaa Hamad, 84 days, and
Hamza Othman, 79 days.
It said the Israel Prison Service is mistreating the 12 Palestinian and Jordanian hunger strikers.
Addameer said that punishment of the striking prisoners escalates and the hunger strikers are beginning to be denied lawyers’ visits.
“This continuous policy of banning lawyers who visit the hunger strikers restricts the work of human rights organizations and further isolates the prisoners from the outside world in an attempt to break their strike,” said Addameer.
It said prisoners have reported that the Prison Service has tried many tactics to break their hunger strike, including putting them in cells with criminal prisoners, cooking and eating near their cells, and “roughing them up” while they are handcuffed to their hospital beds.
Israeli occupation forces arrested on Wednesday, two Palestinians from the village of Tkou' and Hadaseh area, east of Bethlehem.
Security source said that Israeli forces arrested at dawn, the 22-year-old Hamzeh Salem Ta'amreh from the village of Tkou', after raiding and searching his family house.
The source added, the 24-year-old Palestinians Anas Adel Jwaresh from Hadaseh area was also arrested at Al-Karama Border Crossing as he was coming back home from Jordan.
Security source said that Israeli forces arrested at dawn, the 22-year-old Hamzeh Salem Ta'amreh from the village of Tkou', after raiding and searching his family house.
The source added, the 24-year-old Palestinians Anas Adel Jwaresh from Hadaseh area was also arrested at Al-Karama Border Crossing as he was coming back home from Jordan.
A human rights group warned of the health deterioration of detained academician Dr. Mustafa Al-Shanar who has been held in Israeli detention since last April. The Tadamun foundation for human rights said in a statement on Tuesday that Shanar, a lecturer at the Najah University, suffered two heart attacks last month.
It said that the Israeli prison authorities transferred the lecturer to Afula hospital and Megiddo prison clinic following the “severe” heart attacks.
Tadamun highlighted that Shanar was treated while both his feet and hands were shackled and his body chained to the hospital bed. It warned that Shanar’s life was in danger.
Israeli occupation forces arrested Shanar, 51, on 30th April after storming his house in Nablus and sentenced him to administrative detention for four months.
It said that the Israeli prison authorities transferred the lecturer to Afula hospital and Megiddo prison clinic following the “severe” heart attacks.
Tadamun highlighted that Shanar was treated while both his feet and hands were shackled and his body chained to the hospital bed. It warned that Shanar’s life was in danger.
Israeli occupation forces arrested Shanar, 51, on 30th April after storming his house in Nablus and sentenced him to administrative detention for four months.
23 july 2013
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Five Palestinian boys, aged 16-17, are facing 25 years to life in prison for alleged stone throwing. The boys were each charged with 25 counts of attempted murder after being accused of causing an accident in which a settler driven car crashed into parked truck near Salfit, occupied West Bank. On Thursday evening March 14th, a car driven by Adva Biton, resident of illegal settlement of Yakir, crashed into the back of a parked truck on Road 5 in Salfit governorate, occupied Palestinian territories.
The driver and her 3 daughters were injured in the accident, one of the children – seriously. Adva Biton claimed that the crash was caused by Palestinian kids throwing rocks at her car. A truck driver initially testified that he stopped because of flat a tire, later he changed his testimony stating that he allegedly saw stones laying by the road. There were no other witnesses of the accident that day. |
19 minors from the villages of Hares and Kifl Hares were arrested as a result of the car crash. None of the kids had any previous convictions or problems over stone throwing. Some of the children were kept in solitary confinement for up to two weeks and experienced abuse and mis-treatment during detention.
Most of the boys were released after initial interrogations. Ali Shamlawi, Mohammed Kleib, Mohammed Suleiman, Ammar Souf and Tamer Souf, all of them in between 16-17 years old, are still being detained and held in the Israeli adult prison in Megido. These are the Hares Boys.
The Hares Boys are charged with 25 counts of attempted murder each and face 25 years to life in prison. Each count of attempted murder comes from every stone allegedly thrown at cars driving along Road 5. The case rests on one boy’s confession, retrieved during a questionable interrogation when neither the boys lawyer or parents were allowed to be present. Originally no witnesses were present at the scene of the accident. However 61 witnesses from surrounding settlements came forward only after the case got attention from the media, some of them claiming that they saw kids throwing stones and damaging some of their cars.
Ali’s mother pleads for international attention
The mother of Ali Shamlawi has vivid memories of the last night she saw her son. 15 to 20 soldiers stormed the house at around 3am, their faces concealed by a black ski masks. None of them would give any reason for the night incursion. For the Shamlawi family, what had happened three days before was just a car accident; they could not imagine that the event had been defined by the Israeli media as a “terrorist attack”, and their 16-years-old son accused of being one of the “terrorists” responsible for it. Ali’s mother insists her child is innocent: “When the car crashed into the truck, the boys were already in the village. They were coming home from their trip to the mountain, where they went to eat green almonds. When they heard the crash, they were in front of the school, so they couldn’t have been throwing stones”.
The hardest memory is the sentence pronounced by a soldier before Ali was handcuffed and brought to an unspecified destination: “Kiss goodbye to your mother, because you might not see her again”. Ali’s mother sobs as she repeats these words, and then adds: “At first I thought he said this just to scare us, but now I see that he really meant that”. If the prosecution succeeds in sentencing the boys to 25 years of prison, Ali might see his family again until he is 41 years old.
While the boy was being pushed out of the house, Ali’s father approached an intelligence agent, “I asked him to tell the soldiers not to hit my son on the shoulder. He just had an operation and it hurts really bad. When we managed to visit Ali in jail, after two months from his detention, he told us that they always hit him there on purpose”.
While in jail Ali has been brutally beaten up on a daily basis and threatened that if he does not admit being guilty, his mother and sister will be brought to the prison and humiliated by stripping off their clothes. For the first 16 days of detention, Ali was placed in an isolation cell, with no food, water or access to the toilet for 14 hours.
Ali’s mother denounces a system that forces children to sign a declaration of culpability: “He is a 16 years-old child, how much do you think he could resist under this pressure before confessing?” Since she is not able to bring her son home, her main concern is that his story does not go unheard, but brings new understanding to the suffering of the Palestinians: “I want all the people to come to the court and see what democracy in Israel really is.”
Implications of the Hares Boys’ case
Head of the right wing Yisrael Beitenu party Avigdor Lieberman voiced his hope that stone-throwers would be treated the same as individuals firing live ammunition and military rules of engagement would be updated accordingly. This case could set a dangerous precedent if five Palestinian boys are convicted despite the lack of evidence to support the accusations. This legal precedent would allow Israeli military courts, in which Palestinians are tried, to convict Palestinian kids, as young as 12 years old, for attempted murder in cases of stone throwing. Read more on detention of Palestinian in preceding article on the Palestine monitor.
Extensive information on the Hares Boys case and ways you can get involved in helping them can be found on dedicated website for the Hares Boys.
Most of the boys were released after initial interrogations. Ali Shamlawi, Mohammed Kleib, Mohammed Suleiman, Ammar Souf and Tamer Souf, all of them in between 16-17 years old, are still being detained and held in the Israeli adult prison in Megido. These are the Hares Boys.
The Hares Boys are charged with 25 counts of attempted murder each and face 25 years to life in prison. Each count of attempted murder comes from every stone allegedly thrown at cars driving along Road 5. The case rests on one boy’s confession, retrieved during a questionable interrogation when neither the boys lawyer or parents were allowed to be present. Originally no witnesses were present at the scene of the accident. However 61 witnesses from surrounding settlements came forward only after the case got attention from the media, some of them claiming that they saw kids throwing stones and damaging some of their cars.
Ali’s mother pleads for international attention
The mother of Ali Shamlawi has vivid memories of the last night she saw her son. 15 to 20 soldiers stormed the house at around 3am, their faces concealed by a black ski masks. None of them would give any reason for the night incursion. For the Shamlawi family, what had happened three days before was just a car accident; they could not imagine that the event had been defined by the Israeli media as a “terrorist attack”, and their 16-years-old son accused of being one of the “terrorists” responsible for it. Ali’s mother insists her child is innocent: “When the car crashed into the truck, the boys were already in the village. They were coming home from their trip to the mountain, where they went to eat green almonds. When they heard the crash, they were in front of the school, so they couldn’t have been throwing stones”.
The hardest memory is the sentence pronounced by a soldier before Ali was handcuffed and brought to an unspecified destination: “Kiss goodbye to your mother, because you might not see her again”. Ali’s mother sobs as she repeats these words, and then adds: “At first I thought he said this just to scare us, but now I see that he really meant that”. If the prosecution succeeds in sentencing the boys to 25 years of prison, Ali might see his family again until he is 41 years old.
While the boy was being pushed out of the house, Ali’s father approached an intelligence agent, “I asked him to tell the soldiers not to hit my son on the shoulder. He just had an operation and it hurts really bad. When we managed to visit Ali in jail, after two months from his detention, he told us that they always hit him there on purpose”.
While in jail Ali has been brutally beaten up on a daily basis and threatened that if he does not admit being guilty, his mother and sister will be brought to the prison and humiliated by stripping off their clothes. For the first 16 days of detention, Ali was placed in an isolation cell, with no food, water or access to the toilet for 14 hours.
Ali’s mother denounces a system that forces children to sign a declaration of culpability: “He is a 16 years-old child, how much do you think he could resist under this pressure before confessing?” Since she is not able to bring her son home, her main concern is that his story does not go unheard, but brings new understanding to the suffering of the Palestinians: “I want all the people to come to the court and see what democracy in Israel really is.”
Implications of the Hares Boys’ case
Head of the right wing Yisrael Beitenu party Avigdor Lieberman voiced his hope that stone-throwers would be treated the same as individuals firing live ammunition and military rules of engagement would be updated accordingly. This case could set a dangerous precedent if five Palestinian boys are convicted despite the lack of evidence to support the accusations. This legal precedent would allow Israeli military courts, in which Palestinians are tried, to convict Palestinian kids, as young as 12 years old, for attempted murder in cases of stone throwing. Read more on detention of Palestinian in preceding article on the Palestine monitor.
Extensive information on the Hares Boys case and ways you can get involved in helping them can be found on dedicated website for the Hares Boys.
Palestinian human rights sources warned of the state of tension that prevails among Palestinian prisoners in Ofer prison after the prison administration insisted on shackling the hands and legs of prisoners during the lawyers visits. The prisoners held in Ofer decided to refuse coming out for visits as long as the prison administration continues such procedure.
Lawyer for Palestinian Prisoners' Society (PPS) said that this problem has started since the tenth of June, and that until now the Ofer prison administration has continued procedures that aim to abuse and humiliate the detainees.
PPS considered the Israeli Prison Service's measure a part of the persistent policy of repression and torture adopted against the captives.
The prisoners stressed on their rejection of such procedure and confirmed that they will not back off from their decision until the halt of this arbitrary step.
Lawyer for Palestinian Prisoners' Society (PPS) said that this problem has started since the tenth of June, and that until now the Ofer prison administration has continued procedures that aim to abuse and humiliate the detainees.
PPS considered the Israeli Prison Service's measure a part of the persistent policy of repression and torture adopted against the captives.
The prisoners stressed on their rejection of such procedure and confirmed that they will not back off from their decision until the halt of this arbitrary step.
An Israeli patrol arrested the Jerusalemite citizen Fathi Abu Dwih, aged 35 from the Jabal Mukaber south of Jerusalem, and attacked him. Abu Dwih told PIC's correspondent that he was hit by members of the border patrol. He was handcuffed and blindfolded without justification.
Abu Dwih said that elements of the patrol took him to the Mascobiya detention center where he has been detained for a week without standing before the judge so that he will not see the bruises caused by the soldiers' assault.
Abu Dwih said that elements of the patrol took him to the Mascobiya detention center where he has been detained for a week without standing before the judge so that he will not see the bruises caused by the soldiers' assault.
Israel's South Prosecutor's Office filed an indictment against two of Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh's sisters due to their prior visit to the Gaza Strip. They are charged with illegally leaving the country.
According to the indictment, Sabah Haniyeh, 47, and Laila Abu Rukayek, 63, from Tel Sheba, left the country to visit relatives, including Haniyeh himself, through Egypt, even though their requests were denied.
According to the indictment, Sabah Haniyeh, 47, and Laila Abu Rukayek, 63, from Tel Sheba, left the country to visit relatives, including Haniyeh himself, through Egypt, even though their requests were denied.
Ahrar center for prisoners’ studies and human rights has called on human rights groups and international organizations to intervene and demand the release of Dirar Abu Sisi from isolation in Israeli jails. Fuad Al-Khuffash, director of the center, said on Tuesday that after the Israeli occupation authorities ended the isolation of prisoner Awad Al-Saidi only Abu Sisi was left in isolation.
He said that the Shabak asks court in a summary trial to extend the isolation of Abu Sisi once every six months.
The Israeli Mossad, foreign intelligence, kidnapped Abu Sisi from the Ukraine in February 2011 and took him to 1948 occupied Palestine where he was subjected to cruel investigation, Khafsh said, adding that he was held in isolation since then.
Abu Sisi, married with six children, is a holder of PhD in electric engineering.
He said that the Shabak asks court in a summary trial to extend the isolation of Abu Sisi once every six months.
The Israeli Mossad, foreign intelligence, kidnapped Abu Sisi from the Ukraine in February 2011 and took him to 1948 occupied Palestine where he was subjected to cruel investigation, Khafsh said, adding that he was held in isolation since then.
Abu Sisi, married with six children, is a holder of PhD in electric engineering.
The Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) refused to release Hamas leader Ra’fat Nassif after completing his imprisonment sentence and instead ordered him held in administrative custody, without charge or trial. Osama Makbul, a lawyer with the Tadamun foundation for human rights, said that the IOA held Nassif, 47, in administration detention as of Tuesday for six months only two days before his supposed release.
Makbul recalled that the IOA had arrested Nassif on 12/2/2013 after storming his home in Tulkarem and ordered him detained under administrative custody but on 18/4/2013 he was taken to Petah Tikwa detention center and sentenced to six months in jail starting with date of his arrest after the prosecution tabled an indictment list against him.
The lawyer described administrative detention as “illegal” and a punishment used against prisoners by the Israeli intelligence at will.
Nassif, a Hamas leader in the northern West Bank, served 12 years in Israeli jails in aggregate, mostly in administrative custody.
Makbul recalled that the IOA had arrested Nassif on 12/2/2013 after storming his home in Tulkarem and ordered him detained under administrative custody but on 18/4/2013 he was taken to Petah Tikwa detention center and sentenced to six months in jail starting with date of his arrest after the prosecution tabled an indictment list against him.
The lawyer described administrative detention as “illegal” and a punishment used against prisoners by the Israeli intelligence at will.
Nassif, a Hamas leader in the northern West Bank, served 12 years in Israeli jails in aggregate, mostly in administrative custody.
A solidarity sin-in tent was pitched in Bethlehem to support Palestinian and Jordanian hunger striking prisoners in Israeli jails. Participants hoisted photos of hunger strikers and posters with national slogans demanding their immediate release.
The event was organized by the prisoner’s society, relatives of hunger strikers, and activists in prisoners’ rights.
The event was organized by the prisoner’s society, relatives of hunger strikers, and activists in prisoners’ rights.
Palestinian premier Ismail Haneyya said that there are contacts underway with Cairo to stop the Egyptian media incitement against the Palestinians, reiterating his government's keenness on not interfering in the Egyptian and Arab internal affairs. Haneyya made his remarks during a sit-in in solidarity with the prisoners held on Monday evening outside the office of the UN high representative.
"We have no role inside the Egyptian arena and there is no proof that one of our people is involved in any way in the Egyptian or Arab scene. It is not in our mutual interest to let this unjust campaign continue against us," Haneyya stated in a speech during the sit-in.
He appealed to the Egyptian media to be responsible and feel the seriousness of their campaign and its damaging effects on Egypt and Palestine.
As for the prisoners, premier Haneyya highlighted that the Hamas Movement would never forsake the prisoners in Israeli jails, affirming that their freedom is top on the agenda of the Palestinian resistance in Gaza.
He urged Jordan to assume its responsibility for protecting the lives of its hunger strikers in Israeli jails.
"Jordan should employ all its relations to free its prisoners, who are in detention because of their fight for the central cause of Palestine," he stated.
The premier also criticized the UN and its security council for not taking action against Israel's suppression of the prisoners.
"You must shoulder your responsibility for our men and women in jail. Such silence on the occupation's terrorism, its isolation of men and women, and its sadism can only be explained as part of conspiracy against our people, our prisoners and our resistance factions," he emphasized.
"We have no role inside the Egyptian arena and there is no proof that one of our people is involved in any way in the Egyptian or Arab scene. It is not in our mutual interest to let this unjust campaign continue against us," Haneyya stated in a speech during the sit-in.
He appealed to the Egyptian media to be responsible and feel the seriousness of their campaign and its damaging effects on Egypt and Palestine.
As for the prisoners, premier Haneyya highlighted that the Hamas Movement would never forsake the prisoners in Israeli jails, affirming that their freedom is top on the agenda of the Palestinian resistance in Gaza.
He urged Jordan to assume its responsibility for protecting the lives of its hunger strikers in Israeli jails.
"Jordan should employ all its relations to free its prisoners, who are in detention because of their fight for the central cause of Palestine," he stated.
The premier also criticized the UN and its security council for not taking action against Israel's suppression of the prisoners.
"You must shoulder your responsibility for our men and women in jail. Such silence on the occupation's terrorism, its isolation of men and women, and its sadism can only be explained as part of conspiracy against our people, our prisoners and our resistance factions," he emphasized.
The Palestinian prisoners of Jerusalem and the 1948 occupied lands expressed their fears that the Palestinian authority (PA) intends to accept Israel's decision to exclude their names from the list of prisoners to be released, describing the PA's passivity in this regard as a death sentence against them.
In a statement released by the prisoners on Monday, the prisoners of Jerusalem and the 1948 occupied lands called on the PA leadership and all political forces to shoulder their national, moral and humanitarian responsibilities towards their issue and consider the sacrifices they had made for the just cause of Palestine.
"We have just heard that veteran prisoners will be released according to a US-brokered agreement between the PA and Israel, and based on what we have got from the Israeli media, without any Palestinian refutation, 82 out of 103 veteran prisoners on the list will be released, while the prisoners of Jerusalem and the 1948 occupied lands will be excluded and they number 23 detainees serving more than 30 years in jail," they underlined.
In a related context, Tadamun foundation for human rights said that Israel's successive governments dealt with the Palestinian long-serving prisoners in its jails as "political hostages."
"The occupation still uses the issue of the long-serving prisoners and their release as a pressure means against the Palestinian authority during negotiation rounds, which took place during the last two decades," Tadamun foundation stated in a press release on Monday.
It said that the intended release of a group of long-serving prisoners as an incentive step to encourage the PA to return to the negotiation table reflected that Israel is holding these detainees for mere political purposes unrelated to its alleged security concerns.
The foundation expressed its belief that some long-serving prisoners would be kept in prison in order for Israel to use them as a bargaining chip in the future.
For its part, the Arab association for the prisoners in the 1948 occupied lands called on the families of Palestinian prisoners not to deal with the Israeli news reports about the names of detainees to be released from Israeli jails as part of a US-brokered agreement between the PA and Israel to revive the peace process.
In a press release on Sunday, the association stressed the need for waiting for the PA to release an official statement in this regard.
It appealed to the foreign and local media outlets to be careful not to spread any rumors concerning the names of detainees to be released from Israeli jails so as to avoid any confusion that could be created among the prisoners and their families.
UFree: Israel Should Release All Prisoners for Peace Process Success
UFree Network to defend the rights of Palestinian prisoners called on releasing all Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jails. This comes in a wake of news that Israel will release a small number of prisoners as per Palestinian condition to restart negotiations.
Israeli official sources announced that 80 prisoners most of them imprisoned prior Oslo accord will be released. This came as Palestinian Authority (PA) demanded this step as a condition to resume frozen negotiations. The request of releasing prisoners included those from 1948 territories.
UFree therefore stressed on releasing all Palestinian prisoners not only a limited number. The peace process has always proved dishonest intention from the Israeli side as more thousands have been imprisoned since Oslo accord signed in 1993 between Israel and PA.
Khaled Waleed, UFree coordinator said in a press statement that Israel is demanded to release all prisoners as goodwill for true peace.
"Thousands of Palestinian prisoners are in Israeli jails under made-up accusations and have been persecuted illegally. This includes women, children and sick prisoners. The continuation of detaining those segments of prisoners is illegal as per international law, especially the Universal Declaration of Human Rights." Stated Waleed
In the same context, the family of Dirar Abu Sisi, who was kidnapped in Ukraine over 2 years ago, called on the Palestinian Authority to include Dirar within the list of names predicted to be freed. Abu sisi has been subject to constant torture and interrogation which caused him health complications.
In a statement released by the prisoners on Monday, the prisoners of Jerusalem and the 1948 occupied lands called on the PA leadership and all political forces to shoulder their national, moral and humanitarian responsibilities towards their issue and consider the sacrifices they had made for the just cause of Palestine.
"We have just heard that veteran prisoners will be released according to a US-brokered agreement between the PA and Israel, and based on what we have got from the Israeli media, without any Palestinian refutation, 82 out of 103 veteran prisoners on the list will be released, while the prisoners of Jerusalem and the 1948 occupied lands will be excluded and they number 23 detainees serving more than 30 years in jail," they underlined.
In a related context, Tadamun foundation for human rights said that Israel's successive governments dealt with the Palestinian long-serving prisoners in its jails as "political hostages."
"The occupation still uses the issue of the long-serving prisoners and their release as a pressure means against the Palestinian authority during negotiation rounds, which took place during the last two decades," Tadamun foundation stated in a press release on Monday.
It said that the intended release of a group of long-serving prisoners as an incentive step to encourage the PA to return to the negotiation table reflected that Israel is holding these detainees for mere political purposes unrelated to its alleged security concerns.
The foundation expressed its belief that some long-serving prisoners would be kept in prison in order for Israel to use them as a bargaining chip in the future.
For its part, the Arab association for the prisoners in the 1948 occupied lands called on the families of Palestinian prisoners not to deal with the Israeli news reports about the names of detainees to be released from Israeli jails as part of a US-brokered agreement between the PA and Israel to revive the peace process.
In a press release on Sunday, the association stressed the need for waiting for the PA to release an official statement in this regard.
It appealed to the foreign and local media outlets to be careful not to spread any rumors concerning the names of detainees to be released from Israeli jails so as to avoid any confusion that could be created among the prisoners and their families.
UFree: Israel Should Release All Prisoners for Peace Process Success
UFree Network to defend the rights of Palestinian prisoners called on releasing all Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jails. This comes in a wake of news that Israel will release a small number of prisoners as per Palestinian condition to restart negotiations.
Israeli official sources announced that 80 prisoners most of them imprisoned prior Oslo accord will be released. This came as Palestinian Authority (PA) demanded this step as a condition to resume frozen negotiations. The request of releasing prisoners included those from 1948 territories.
UFree therefore stressed on releasing all Palestinian prisoners not only a limited number. The peace process has always proved dishonest intention from the Israeli side as more thousands have been imprisoned since Oslo accord signed in 1993 between Israel and PA.
Khaled Waleed, UFree coordinator said in a press statement that Israel is demanded to release all prisoners as goodwill for true peace.
"Thousands of Palestinian prisoners are in Israeli jails under made-up accusations and have been persecuted illegally. This includes women, children and sick prisoners. The continuation of detaining those segments of prisoners is illegal as per international law, especially the Universal Declaration of Human Rights." Stated Waleed
In the same context, the family of Dirar Abu Sisi, who was kidnapped in Ukraine over 2 years ago, called on the Palestinian Authority to include Dirar within the list of names predicted to be freed. Abu sisi has been subject to constant torture and interrogation which caused him health complications.
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) arrested a young man in Nablus city at dawn Tuesday after what locals described as an unprecedented search campaign. The sources said that big numbers of IOF soldiers raided the city’s northern and central suburbs and searched many homes looking for “wanted” Palestinians.
They said that the soldiers ransacked the home of Saba Al-Ayesh family looking for their son Ahmed and when they could not find him they took his brother Mohammed.
The sources said that the soldiers threatened to arrest the entire family if Ahmed did not give himself in.
However, the sources pointed out that the soldiers managed later on to arrest Ahmed.
Meanwhile, the soldiers interrogated a member of Qayem family after detaining him for hours.
Confrontations were reported between the raiding soldiers and young men in the city, locals said, adding that the soldiers fired live bullets, teargas, and stun grenades at the unarmed youngsters who threw stones and empty bottles at the soldiers.
Injuries and Arrests during an IOF Raid on Nablus
A number of Palestinians injured and two arrested during an IOF raid on several neighborhoods in Nablus city.
Security sources said that Israeli forces raided several neighborhoods in the city and stormed al-Dwar area where clashes erupted with the Palestinians.
Israeli forces shot rubber-coated bullets toward the Palestinians, injuring Mustafa Khalil Hamameh with a bullet in his foot and Walid Maqboul with a sound bomb fired toward him. Tamer Qandel, Wajdy Maqboul and Alaa Jamous suffered suffocation due to tear gas inhalation.
The sources added that an Israeli force raided al-Jabal al-Shamali area, broke into the house of Sabe' al-Eish family, arrested two of their sons: Ahmed, 19, and Mohammed, 18.
They said that the soldiers ransacked the home of Saba Al-Ayesh family looking for their son Ahmed and when they could not find him they took his brother Mohammed.
The sources said that the soldiers threatened to arrest the entire family if Ahmed did not give himself in.
However, the sources pointed out that the soldiers managed later on to arrest Ahmed.
Meanwhile, the soldiers interrogated a member of Qayem family after detaining him for hours.
Confrontations were reported between the raiding soldiers and young men in the city, locals said, adding that the soldiers fired live bullets, teargas, and stun grenades at the unarmed youngsters who threw stones and empty bottles at the soldiers.
Injuries and Arrests during an IOF Raid on Nablus
A number of Palestinians injured and two arrested during an IOF raid on several neighborhoods in Nablus city.
Security sources said that Israeli forces raided several neighborhoods in the city and stormed al-Dwar area where clashes erupted with the Palestinians.
Israeli forces shot rubber-coated bullets toward the Palestinians, injuring Mustafa Khalil Hamameh with a bullet in his foot and Walid Maqboul with a sound bomb fired toward him. Tamer Qandel, Wajdy Maqboul and Alaa Jamous suffered suffocation due to tear gas inhalation.
The sources added that an Israeli force raided al-Jabal al-Shamali area, broke into the house of Sabe' al-Eish family, arrested two of their sons: Ahmed, 19, and Mohammed, 18.
22 july 2013
Ahmed Bani Jaber, the Palestinian sentenced to 30 years in prison after being convicted of raping a girl in the parking lot in Tel Aviv’s Gan Ha’ir, filed an appeal with the Supreme Court regarding his sentence.
In the request, he said that the sentence was influenced by media pressure.
The victim's lawyer Roni Aloni Sedovnik, said in response, "No appeal can be accepted. He didn’t arbitrarily get such a serious punishment."
In the request, he said that the sentence was influenced by media pressure.
The victim's lawyer Roni Aloni Sedovnik, said in response, "No appeal can be accepted. He didn’t arbitrarily get such a serious punishment."
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) raided the village of Ateel and Allar in Tulkarem at dawn Monday and rounded up two young men after violent clashes. Local sources said that young men threw stones at the invading troops, who responded by firing heavily.
They said that the soldiers arrested Yousef Shalabi, a graduate of the Arab American University in Jenin – journalism faculty.
Meanwhile, IOF units raided Allar, a nearby village, and nabbed Mohammed Shadid, 22, after searching his family home.
They said that the soldiers arrested Yousef Shalabi, a graduate of the Arab American University in Jenin – journalism faculty.
Meanwhile, IOF units raided Allar, a nearby village, and nabbed Mohammed Shadid, 22, after searching his family home.
The Palestinian prisoner society said that eight hunger strikers, three of them Jordanians, are exposed to tremendous pressures by the Israeli administration of Ramla jail to dissuade them from continuing their hunger strike. The lawyer of the prisoner society quoted Jordanian hunger striker Munir Mar'ei as saying that he and two other prisoners are being held in the section of mental patients in the infirmary of Ramla jail in order to pressure them into ending their hunger strike.
The prisoner noted that they cannot sleep because the mental patients keep screaming and causing noises especially at night, adding that providing them with water takes more than one hour.
He also said that they are being held in an unhealthy cell with a doorless restroom.
Mar'ei affirmed that the Israeli prison administration told them that the Israeli regime does not care about their issue and would not consider their release.
According to the prisoner society, a number of hunger strikers, who are being held in the infirmary of Ramla jail, suffer from a sharp decline in their heart rates and in the levels of salts and minerals in their bodies.
The prisoner noted that they cannot sleep because the mental patients keep screaming and causing noises especially at night, adding that providing them with water takes more than one hour.
He also said that they are being held in an unhealthy cell with a doorless restroom.
Mar'ei affirmed that the Israeli prison administration told them that the Israeli regime does not care about their issue and would not consider their release.
According to the prisoner society, a number of hunger strikers, who are being held in the infirmary of Ramla jail, suffer from a sharp decline in their heart rates and in the levels of salts and minerals in their bodies.
The Israeli court in Ofer turned down a request by lawyer of Ayed Dudeen for his release from administrative custody, without trial or charge. Local sources said that the court refused to accept an appeal by Dudeen, 47, who will enter his third year in administrative detention next month.
Dudeen, from Dura in Al-Khalil, was arrested on several occasions on the part of the Israeli occupation forces and served 16 years in Israeli jails en aggregate mostly as an administrative detainee.
Dudeen, a Hamas supporter, was arrested in August 2011 and has refused a deportation offer in return for his release.
Dudeen, from Dura in Al-Khalil, was arrested on several occasions on the part of the Israeli occupation forces and served 16 years in Israeli jails en aggregate mostly as an administrative detainee.
Dudeen, a Hamas supporter, was arrested in August 2011 and has refused a deportation offer in return for his release.
Israel is set to decide on the release of around 80 long-serving Palestinian prisoners ahead of renewed peace talks, an Israeli official said on Monday.
US Secretary of State John Kerry announced on Friday that Israeli and Palestinian negotiators had agreed to meet to prepare a resumption of direct peace talks, stalled since 2010.
"The prisoner releases will start when talks commence," the Israeli official told AFP on condition of anonymity. "We're talking about releasing them in stages."
There were "some 80 prisoners" set to be released, all of them "pre-Oslo," the official added, referring to Palestinians imprisoned before the 1993 Oslo peace accords.
The official would not say when a decision on their release would be made, and by whom -- whether the issue would go before the government, ministers or just Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israeli radio said Netanyahu would present the issue to his cabinet "in the next few days" ahead of the first meeting between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators scheduled for early next week.
The official could not confirm the report.
The last round of direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians broke down in 2010 over the issue of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Kerry on Friday gave away very little about the initial agreement.
Israeli officials have hailed it as a "success" as it did not entail the Palestinian "preconditions" of a freeze on settlement construction or the pre-1967 borders as a basis for negotiations.
But president Mahmoud Abbas has repeatedly stressed his demands for a freeze on settlement building on occupied land and release of prisoners held by Israel must be met before the talks can resume.
Sawalma: Prisoners' release is a legitimate right, not a precondition for talks
The leader in Hamas movement Ghanem Sawalma, who was released Sunday after serving two years in administrative detention, stated that the prisoners suffer very difficult detention conditions in Israeli jails amid international and local silence. The 47-year-old stated that the prisoners demand their issue to be highlighted and popular support for their plight to be activated.
Concerning the resumption of the twenty-year old “peace process”, the liberated prisoner said that the prisoners' issue should not be used as an excuse to re-start negotiations at the expense of the Palestinian fateful issues particularly the right of return.
He called on the PA to work for the release of all prisoners especially the old and patient captives as a legitimate right and not a precondition for negotiations.
Meanwhile, Palestine center for prisoners' studies considered the Israeli news concerning the release of a small number of old prisoners as per Palestinian condition to restart negotiations as a manipulation of the feelings of prisoners' families.
The center pointed out that the sole source for this news is the Israeli media that have published different Israeli official statements aiming to create a state of tension among the prisoners and their families to pressure the Palestinian party for more concessions.
Some Israeli officials stated that only limited number of prisoners will be released, while others declared that only elderly prisoners will be liberated. For its part, Walla Israeli website stated that 80 prisoners most of them imprisoned prior to the Oslo accord will be released, the center noted.
The Palestinian human rights center called on PA to guard against Israeli lies and manipulations, pointing out to the previous failed negotiation.
Bereaved father urges State not to release prisoners
Knesset committee discusses prisoners' release ahead of peace talks; Eliyahu Kremni, whose son's murderer might be released, says: Put a stop to this. MK Regev: A terrorist should stay in prison for the rest of his life
Though peace talks have yet to restart, the issue of releasing Palestinian prisoners continues to stir heated debates in Israel. The Knesset's Internal Affairs Committee held special deliberations on the issue Monday, during which chairwoman Miri Regev said, "A terrorist should stay in prison for the rest of his life. In Israel, you'd be better off as a security prisoner than you would as a criminal one.
You'd get better terms." MK Regev addressed the fact that the gesture of releasing prisoners was an American initiative: "For 20 years the US has been hardening its heart, and president after president refuses to release Jonathan Pollard in the name of the national honor of the American people. If we are speaking of gestures, I'd like to see the US grant a gesture that is the release of Pollard."
Representatives of the Israel Prison Service, the Justice Ministry and the Prime Minister's Office also attended the Knesset committee meeting. Also in attendance was Eliyahu Kremni, whose son Ronen was murdered 23 years ago with his friend Lior Toubol. The two were on their way to see friends in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Pisgat Ze'ev, and their bodies were found two days later in a nearby valley. Their killers are on the list of prisoners who are to be released. 'The killers got four life sentences for four murders of which they were convicted," Kremni told the committee. They haven’t even completed one life sentence. At the time I signed I was willing that one of my son's killers be released in exchange for releasing Gilad Shalit.
Now I urge people's hearts to look at my side of this. In the name of all the bereaved families, in the name of everyone whose heart is still bleeding, please, consider putting a stop to this." According to Director of the Department of Pardons at the Justice Ministry, Emi Palmor, since 2003 Israel has released 430 prisoners at the Tenebaum deal, 1,000 at the Shalit deal, 400 for the release of Azam Azam, and an additional group, the number of which was not divulged, for the release of Ilan Grapel. Moreover, Israel has released between 200 and 400 additional prisoners, under five various occasions over the past decade.
When asked who was in charge of choosing which prisoners would be released, Palmor replied, "The ministerial echelon passes on the names to a Justice Ministry committee. Over the past years, the lists did not consist of prisoners with blood on their hands." Regarding the prisoners included in the "pre-Oslo" group, Palmor added "It is a list of 82 people who were convicted of security offenses. The list has been under debate for years… each and every one of them has blood on his hands."
US Secretary of State John Kerry announced on Friday that Israeli and Palestinian negotiators had agreed to meet to prepare a resumption of direct peace talks, stalled since 2010.
"The prisoner releases will start when talks commence," the Israeli official told AFP on condition of anonymity. "We're talking about releasing them in stages."
There were "some 80 prisoners" set to be released, all of them "pre-Oslo," the official added, referring to Palestinians imprisoned before the 1993 Oslo peace accords.
The official would not say when a decision on their release would be made, and by whom -- whether the issue would go before the government, ministers or just Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israeli radio said Netanyahu would present the issue to his cabinet "in the next few days" ahead of the first meeting between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators scheduled for early next week.
The official could not confirm the report.
The last round of direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians broke down in 2010 over the issue of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Kerry on Friday gave away very little about the initial agreement.
Israeli officials have hailed it as a "success" as it did not entail the Palestinian "preconditions" of a freeze on settlement construction or the pre-1967 borders as a basis for negotiations.
But president Mahmoud Abbas has repeatedly stressed his demands for a freeze on settlement building on occupied land and release of prisoners held by Israel must be met before the talks can resume.
Sawalma: Prisoners' release is a legitimate right, not a precondition for talks
The leader in Hamas movement Ghanem Sawalma, who was released Sunday after serving two years in administrative detention, stated that the prisoners suffer very difficult detention conditions in Israeli jails amid international and local silence. The 47-year-old stated that the prisoners demand their issue to be highlighted and popular support for their plight to be activated.
Concerning the resumption of the twenty-year old “peace process”, the liberated prisoner said that the prisoners' issue should not be used as an excuse to re-start negotiations at the expense of the Palestinian fateful issues particularly the right of return.
He called on the PA to work for the release of all prisoners especially the old and patient captives as a legitimate right and not a precondition for negotiations.
Meanwhile, Palestine center for prisoners' studies considered the Israeli news concerning the release of a small number of old prisoners as per Palestinian condition to restart negotiations as a manipulation of the feelings of prisoners' families.
The center pointed out that the sole source for this news is the Israeli media that have published different Israeli official statements aiming to create a state of tension among the prisoners and their families to pressure the Palestinian party for more concessions.
Some Israeli officials stated that only limited number of prisoners will be released, while others declared that only elderly prisoners will be liberated. For its part, Walla Israeli website stated that 80 prisoners most of them imprisoned prior to the Oslo accord will be released, the center noted.
The Palestinian human rights center called on PA to guard against Israeli lies and manipulations, pointing out to the previous failed negotiation.
Bereaved father urges State not to release prisoners
Knesset committee discusses prisoners' release ahead of peace talks; Eliyahu Kremni, whose son's murderer might be released, says: Put a stop to this. MK Regev: A terrorist should stay in prison for the rest of his life
Though peace talks have yet to restart, the issue of releasing Palestinian prisoners continues to stir heated debates in Israel. The Knesset's Internal Affairs Committee held special deliberations on the issue Monday, during which chairwoman Miri Regev said, "A terrorist should stay in prison for the rest of his life. In Israel, you'd be better off as a security prisoner than you would as a criminal one.
You'd get better terms." MK Regev addressed the fact that the gesture of releasing prisoners was an American initiative: "For 20 years the US has been hardening its heart, and president after president refuses to release Jonathan Pollard in the name of the national honor of the American people. If we are speaking of gestures, I'd like to see the US grant a gesture that is the release of Pollard."
Representatives of the Israel Prison Service, the Justice Ministry and the Prime Minister's Office also attended the Knesset committee meeting. Also in attendance was Eliyahu Kremni, whose son Ronen was murdered 23 years ago with his friend Lior Toubol. The two were on their way to see friends in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Pisgat Ze'ev, and their bodies were found two days later in a nearby valley. Their killers are on the list of prisoners who are to be released. 'The killers got four life sentences for four murders of which they were convicted," Kremni told the committee. They haven’t even completed one life sentence. At the time I signed I was willing that one of my son's killers be released in exchange for releasing Gilad Shalit.
Now I urge people's hearts to look at my side of this. In the name of all the bereaved families, in the name of everyone whose heart is still bleeding, please, consider putting a stop to this." According to Director of the Department of Pardons at the Justice Ministry, Emi Palmor, since 2003 Israel has released 430 prisoners at the Tenebaum deal, 1,000 at the Shalit deal, 400 for the release of Azam Azam, and an additional group, the number of which was not divulged, for the release of Ilan Grapel. Moreover, Israel has released between 200 and 400 additional prisoners, under five various occasions over the past decade.
When asked who was in charge of choosing which prisoners would be released, Palmor replied, "The ministerial echelon passes on the names to a Justice Ministry committee. Over the past years, the lists did not consist of prisoners with blood on their hands." Regarding the prisoners included in the "pre-Oslo" group, Palmor added "It is a list of 82 people who were convicted of security offenses. The list has been under debate for years… each and every one of them has blood on his hands."
Israeli Occupation Forces stormed on Monday, the two villages of Atil and Alar, north of Tulkarem, arrested two Palestinians and took them to an unknown location.
Local sources said that Israeli military vehicles raided the village of Alar and arrested Mohammed Fateh Shadid, 22, after searching his house and rummaging with its contents.
The forces also raided Atil village and arrested the 23-year-old Yousef Abdul Latif Shalabi.
In Bethlehem, Israeli forces arrested a Palestinian from Wad Fokin village, west of Bethlehem while being at Jerusalem.
Security source said that Israeli forces arrested the 54-year-old Imad Ezzat Manasreh in the city of Jerusalem, his workplace.
Local sources said that Israeli military vehicles raided the village of Alar and arrested Mohammed Fateh Shadid, 22, after searching his house and rummaging with its contents.
The forces also raided Atil village and arrested the 23-year-old Yousef Abdul Latif Shalabi.
In Bethlehem, Israeli forces arrested a Palestinian from Wad Fokin village, west of Bethlehem while being at Jerusalem.
Security source said that Israeli forces arrested the 54-year-old Imad Ezzat Manasreh in the city of Jerusalem, his workplace.
A police officer arrested on Monday morning, a Palestinian man in his 20s from Tulkarem after he threatened a woman with a utility knife, Israeli media outlets claimed.
the media sources reported, one of the police officers heard the screaming of the 68-year-old woman who resides near his house in Afula. He arrived to her house and saw a Palestinian man holding a knife and threatening the women. The police officer raised his gun toward the young Palestinian ordering him to release the woman and then arrested him.
The woman told the police that the young man held the knife to her throat without any reason.
The Israeli police revealed that an investigation has been launched into the incident's circumstances to determine whether the incident was criminally or nationalistically-motivated.
They added that the suspect will also be questioned by the Shin Bet Israel's internal security service.
the media sources reported, one of the police officers heard the screaming of the 68-year-old woman who resides near his house in Afula. He arrived to her house and saw a Palestinian man holding a knife and threatening the women. The police officer raised his gun toward the young Palestinian ordering him to release the woman and then arrested him.
The woman told the police that the young man held the knife to her throat without any reason.
The Israeli police revealed that an investigation has been launched into the incident's circumstances to determine whether the incident was criminally or nationalistically-motivated.
They added that the suspect will also be questioned by the Shin Bet Israel's internal security service.
21 july 2013
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) arrested on Sunday three Palestinians, one of them a young man from the city of Jenin kidnapped by a special military unit. Palestinian local sources said a special undercover force arrested on Sunday morning Sa'ed Abu Obeid from the village of Kafr Qad, in the center of the city of Jenin, and transferred him to an unknown destination.
They added that another Israeli force raided and searched the house of the young man's wife, and questioned its inhabitants.
In the city of Qalqilya; eyewitnesses reported that the IOF stormed the town at dawn and arrested the liberated prisoner Ibrahim Attia after storming and searching his home.
Another Israeli force at dawn Sunday raided the house of liberated captive Kassem Hijazi Jabari, aged 25, in the center of the city of al-Khalil and arrested him, only a few days after his release from PA jails.
They added that another Israeli force raided and searched the house of the young man's wife, and questioned its inhabitants.
In the city of Qalqilya; eyewitnesses reported that the IOF stormed the town at dawn and arrested the liberated prisoner Ibrahim Attia after storming and searching his home.
Another Israeli force at dawn Sunday raided the house of liberated captive Kassem Hijazi Jabari, aged 25, in the center of the city of al-Khalil and arrested him, only a few days after his release from PA jails.
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) broke into the home of wanted Palestinian activist Munir Al-Haroub in Dura town in Al-Khalil for the third time in less than a week. Sources close to the family said that the soldiers forced their way into the house at dawn Saturday and searched it before threatening the wife Andalib Shadid with detention if she did not tell the whereabouts of her husband.
They said that the soldiers served a summons to the wife for an intelligence interrogation.
The IOF has been looking for Haroub since April 2001 when he went underground after accusing him of being a member of the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas.
Haroub has five children, who did not see him for the past 12 years. He was previously arrested by the PA and is wanted by its security apparatuses.
IOF soldiers and PA security agents repeatedly storm his home and search it breaking and damaging furniture and belongings in the process.
They said that the soldiers served a summons to the wife for an intelligence interrogation.
The IOF has been looking for Haroub since April 2001 when he went underground after accusing him of being a member of the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas.
Haroub has five children, who did not see him for the past 12 years. He was previously arrested by the PA and is wanted by its security apparatuses.
IOF soldiers and PA security agents repeatedly storm his home and search it breaking and damaging furniture and belongings in the process.
The Israeli jailers on Saturday barred the Red Cross representative from visiting Jordanian hunger striker Abdullah Barghouthi in Afula hospital. Lawyer Hanan Al-Khatib stated that the Red Cross representative tried several times to enter Afula hospital to visit Barghouthi, but his attempts to see him failed.
Khatib added that the jailers also banned his wife and kids from visiting him, while the Israeli police detained his sister-in-law and her husband when they tried to get into the hospital.
She said that the Israeli doctors decided on Saturday to perform surgery on his left hand because of a blood clot in its veins, but they put it off for fear of health complications.
She added that the doctors are still unable to insert glucose injections into his veins because his body rejected them and swellings appeared in his arms.
The lawyer also said that Barghouthi became unable to receive anything except some liquid painkillers given to him through mouth, noting that he are still being shackled to his bed.
In a related context, Tadamun foundation for human rights said that a meeting took place two days ago in Ofer jails between senior Palestinian prisoners and Israeli intelligence officers to discuss the issue of the Jordanian hunger strikers in Israeli jails.
Lawyer of the foundation Mohamed Al-Abed quoted prisoner Mohamed Sabha as saying that the intelligence officers told them clearly during the meeting that it is impossible to release any of the Jordanian prisoners who are serving life sentences, especially prisoner Abdullah Al-Barghouthi, even if they die in jail.
Sabha added that the intelligence officers affirmed that this decision was issued by the upper political and security echelons of the Israeli government.
Khatib added that the jailers also banned his wife and kids from visiting him, while the Israeli police detained his sister-in-law and her husband when they tried to get into the hospital.
She said that the Israeli doctors decided on Saturday to perform surgery on his left hand because of a blood clot in its veins, but they put it off for fear of health complications.
She added that the doctors are still unable to insert glucose injections into his veins because his body rejected them and swellings appeared in his arms.
The lawyer also said that Barghouthi became unable to receive anything except some liquid painkillers given to him through mouth, noting that he are still being shackled to his bed.
In a related context, Tadamun foundation for human rights said that a meeting took place two days ago in Ofer jails between senior Palestinian prisoners and Israeli intelligence officers to discuss the issue of the Jordanian hunger strikers in Israeli jails.
Lawyer of the foundation Mohamed Al-Abed quoted prisoner Mohamed Sabha as saying that the intelligence officers told them clearly during the meeting that it is impossible to release any of the Jordanian prisoners who are serving life sentences, especially prisoner Abdullah Al-Barghouthi, even if they die in jail.
Sabha added that the intelligence officers affirmed that this decision was issued by the upper political and security echelons of the Israeli government.
20 july 2013
Settlers in Hebron attacked Palestinian homes in the Jabir neighborhood near the illegal settlement of Kiryat Arba late Friday.
Clashes broke out following the attack, as Palestinians defended their homes from extremist settlers, locals said.
Israeli forces arrived at the scene and detained a Palestinian minor, witnesses added.
A 1997 agreement split Hebron into areas of Palestinian and Israeli control.
The Israeli military-controlled H2 zone includes the ancient Old City, home of the revered Ibrahimi Mosque -- also split into a synagogue referred to as the Tomb of the Patriarchs -- and the once thriving Shuhada street, now just shuttered shops fronts and closed homes.
Clashes broke out following the attack, as Palestinians defended their homes from extremist settlers, locals said.
Israeli forces arrived at the scene and detained a Palestinian minor, witnesses added.
A 1997 agreement split Hebron into areas of Palestinian and Israeli control.
The Israeli military-controlled H2 zone includes the ancient Old City, home of the revered Ibrahimi Mosque -- also split into a synagogue referred to as the Tomb of the Patriarchs -- and the once thriving Shuhada street, now just shuttered shops fronts and closed homes.
Israel on Saturday announced it will release some Palestinian prisoners as a "gesture", as the two sides agreed to meet to pave the way for their first direct talks in three years.
The announcement came hours after US Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters in Amman late on Friday that Israeli and Palestinian negotiators had laid the groundwork to resume the frozen peace talks.
Kerry said that as a first step Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat and his Israeli counterpart Tzipi Livni would meet him in Washington "to begin initial talks within the next week or so".
The last round of direct talks broke down in 2010 over the issue of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. The issue of continued expansion of illegal Jewish settlements remains one of the biggest stumbling blocks between the two sides.
On Saturday, Israeli Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz said his government would engage in the staged release of a "limited number" of prisoners, some of whom have been in Israeli jails for 30 years.
Steinitz provided no other details but said "there will definitely be a certain gesture here".
Kerry's announcement came after he spent four days consulting the Israeli and Palestinian leadership from his base in an Amman hotel and a late Friday helicopter dash to the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah.
Just minutes before boarding a plane to fly home, Kerry told reporters both sides had reached "an agreement that establishes a basis for resuming direct final status negotiations".
"This is a significant and welcome step forward," he added, having doggedly pushed the two sides to agree to resume talks in six intense trips to the region since becoming the top US diplomat in February.
But he warned that the issues separating the sides were "difficult" and "complicated".
A US State Department official said Kerry had wrenched a commitment from both sides "on the core elements that will allow direct talks to begin".
The Israelis and Palestinians remain far apart on final status issues including the borders of a future Palestinian state, the right of return of Palestinian refugees, and the fate of Jerusalem which both want as their capital.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has also repeatedly called for a freeze to Israeli settlement building and a release of prisoners.
Analysts cautioned against reading too much into the latest developments.
Chico Menashe, diplomatic commentator for Israeli public radio, likened the situation to "a half-baked cake Kerry removed from the stove. Kerry convinced the Israelis and Palestinians it was edible, and both sides agreed to eat it."
Gal Berger, Palestinian affairs correspondent for Israel's public radio pointed to the fact that Yitzhak Molcho, the personal envoy of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has already been holding talks with Erakat, which were still ongoing.
"Now Livni is being added, but it is still not a meeting at the level of the leaders (Netanyahu and Abbas)," he said.
The Hamas movement which runs the Gaza Strip rejected a return to talks, its spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri saying Abbas had no legitimate right to negotiate on behalf of the Palestinian people.
He told AFP the movement "considers the Palestinian Authority's return to negotiations with the occupation to be at odds with the national consensus".
EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton warmly welcomed the agreement, adding her "great hope that we may finally see progress towards the objectives which they share along with their friends and allies around the world."
UN chief Ban Ki-moon called on both side sides to "show courage and responsibility" to ensure that once the talks resume that they can be sustained.
The announcement came hours after US Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters in Amman late on Friday that Israeli and Palestinian negotiators had laid the groundwork to resume the frozen peace talks.
Kerry said that as a first step Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat and his Israeli counterpart Tzipi Livni would meet him in Washington "to begin initial talks within the next week or so".
The last round of direct talks broke down in 2010 over the issue of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. The issue of continued expansion of illegal Jewish settlements remains one of the biggest stumbling blocks between the two sides.
On Saturday, Israeli Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz said his government would engage in the staged release of a "limited number" of prisoners, some of whom have been in Israeli jails for 30 years.
Steinitz provided no other details but said "there will definitely be a certain gesture here".
Kerry's announcement came after he spent four days consulting the Israeli and Palestinian leadership from his base in an Amman hotel and a late Friday helicopter dash to the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah.
Just minutes before boarding a plane to fly home, Kerry told reporters both sides had reached "an agreement that establishes a basis for resuming direct final status negotiations".
"This is a significant and welcome step forward," he added, having doggedly pushed the two sides to agree to resume talks in six intense trips to the region since becoming the top US diplomat in February.
But he warned that the issues separating the sides were "difficult" and "complicated".
A US State Department official said Kerry had wrenched a commitment from both sides "on the core elements that will allow direct talks to begin".
The Israelis and Palestinians remain far apart on final status issues including the borders of a future Palestinian state, the right of return of Palestinian refugees, and the fate of Jerusalem which both want as their capital.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has also repeatedly called for a freeze to Israeli settlement building and a release of prisoners.
Analysts cautioned against reading too much into the latest developments.
Chico Menashe, diplomatic commentator for Israeli public radio, likened the situation to "a half-baked cake Kerry removed from the stove. Kerry convinced the Israelis and Palestinians it was edible, and both sides agreed to eat it."
Gal Berger, Palestinian affairs correspondent for Israel's public radio pointed to the fact that Yitzhak Molcho, the personal envoy of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has already been holding talks with Erakat, which were still ongoing.
"Now Livni is being added, but it is still not a meeting at the level of the leaders (Netanyahu and Abbas)," he said.
The Hamas movement which runs the Gaza Strip rejected a return to talks, its spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri saying Abbas had no legitimate right to negotiate on behalf of the Palestinian people.
He told AFP the movement "considers the Palestinian Authority's return to negotiations with the occupation to be at odds with the national consensus".
EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton warmly welcomed the agreement, adding her "great hope that we may finally see progress towards the objectives which they share along with their friends and allies around the world."
UN chief Ban Ki-moon called on both side sides to "show courage and responsibility" to ensure that once the talks resume that they can be sustained.
Israel officials said Saturday that they would not release hunger-striking prisoner Abdullah Barghouthi, even if his strike action threatens to kill him, a prisoners group said.
A lawyer from the Al-Tadamon human rights groups said he was informed by a Palestinian prisoner that a two-hour meeting was recently held between Israeli prison authorities and prisoners' representatives, with Israeli officials stressing that prisoners with life sentences would not be released.
A lawyer for the PA ministry of prisoners' affairs said Barghouthi, a Jordanian citizen, could go into a coma at any moment.
"I saw him breathing very heavily and he began to have fainting spells," Hanan al-Khatib said Friday after visiting him in Afula Hospital.
Barghouthi is tied to his bed by both his hands and feet, al-Khatib said, and has not been allowed visits from family members or ICRC representatives.
He has been on hungers strike since May 2 and is demanding to serve the remainder of his sentence in a Jordanian jail, under the Wadi Araba agreement between Jordan and Israel.
Barghouthi is also demanding that Israel disclose the whereabouts of 20 missing Jordanian prisoners and wants Israel to remove the bodies of Palestinians who died in Israeli custody from nameless graves.
Barghouthi is serving 67 life terms, the highest sentence ever handed down by an Israeli military court. He has been detained since March 2003.
A Hamas leader, Barghouthi was convicted of involvement in multiple attacks in Israel.
A lawyer from the Al-Tadamon human rights groups said he was informed by a Palestinian prisoner that a two-hour meeting was recently held between Israeli prison authorities and prisoners' representatives, with Israeli officials stressing that prisoners with life sentences would not be released.
A lawyer for the PA ministry of prisoners' affairs said Barghouthi, a Jordanian citizen, could go into a coma at any moment.
"I saw him breathing very heavily and he began to have fainting spells," Hanan al-Khatib said Friday after visiting him in Afula Hospital.
Barghouthi is tied to his bed by both his hands and feet, al-Khatib said, and has not been allowed visits from family members or ICRC representatives.
He has been on hungers strike since May 2 and is demanding to serve the remainder of his sentence in a Jordanian jail, under the Wadi Araba agreement between Jordan and Israel.
Barghouthi is also demanding that Israel disclose the whereabouts of 20 missing Jordanian prisoners and wants Israel to remove the bodies of Palestinians who died in Israeli custody from nameless graves.
Barghouthi is serving 67 life terms, the highest sentence ever handed down by an Israeli military court. He has been detained since March 2003.
A Hamas leader, Barghouthi was convicted of involvement in multiple attacks in Israel.
Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) deported a Canadian human rights activist on Friday few days after her arrest in Al-Khalil, the Youth Against Settlements group said in a statement on Saturday. It said that the IOA deported Sarah Ali, 26, after violently arresting her three days ago while observing the Israeli military’s violations of human rights while inspecting queued citizens at the entrances to the Ibrahimi mosque.
The statement said, “The group advocate’s attempts to stop the deportation failed; the activist was prevented to communicate with or say goodbye to her friends during her detention at Ben Gurion airport”.
Issa Amr, the coordinator of the group, appealed to the world community to adopt a serious stand against the Israeli deportation of foreign activists, describing the world’s silence vis-à-vis such practice as “shameful”.
The statement said, “The group advocate’s attempts to stop the deportation failed; the activist was prevented to communicate with or say goodbye to her friends during her detention at Ben Gurion airport”.
Issa Amr, the coordinator of the group, appealed to the world community to adopt a serious stand against the Israeli deportation of foreign activists, describing the world’s silence vis-à-vis such practice as “shameful”.
Israeli security services presented to the District Court in Beersheba on Friday morning an indictment with serious accusations against the prisoner Wael Hassan Abu Rida, aged 35 from the Gaza Strip. According to the indictment, Abu Rida, who was kidnapped by Israeli intelligence agents about a month ago in Egypt, was heading a group from the Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. He also operated within the Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, and later led groups affiliated with Hamas.
Israeli security services accused Abu Rida of carrying out many operations against the occupation since 2003, including shooting at Israeli tanks, planting an explosive device near the security fence in Gaza, training about 40 Palestinian militants, and planning to kidnap Israeli soldiers.
The detainee was also accused of planting and bombing an explosive device weighing 10 kilograms in 2006, planning to dig a tunnel from the Gaza Strip to carry out operations against Israeli soldiers, and being involved in an attempt to launch a missile.
Israeli security services accused Abu Rida of carrying out many operations against the occupation since 2003, including shooting at Israeli tanks, planting an explosive device near the security fence in Gaza, training about 40 Palestinian militants, and planning to kidnap Israeli soldiers.
The detainee was also accused of planting and bombing an explosive device weighing 10 kilograms in 2006, planning to dig a tunnel from the Gaza Strip to carry out operations against Israeli soldiers, and being involved in an attempt to launch a missile.
The Israeli prison administration refused an appeal to transfer two detained brothers to the same jail, although this is considered a right according to the occupation’s prison law. The mother of the two captives Muntasar and Amar Abu Galyun asked the Red Cross to exert pressure on the prison administration in order to put her two sons in the same jail so that she could visit them at the same time.
Muntasar is sentenced to five times life imprisonment and is held in Hadarim jail, while his brother Amar who is sentenced to 14 years imprisonment is detained in Megiddo.
Mrs. Galyun condemned the Israeli procedures of separating the detained brothers and making it difficult for their family members to visit them.
Muntasar is sentenced to five times life imprisonment and is held in Hadarim jail, while his brother Amar who is sentenced to 14 years imprisonment is detained in Megiddo.
Mrs. Galyun condemned the Israeli procedures of separating the detained brothers and making it difficult for their family members to visit them.
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Israeli occupation forces (IOF) kidnapped eight Palestinian citizens, including a child, in the occupied cities of Al-Khalil and Jerusalem. Local sources reported that the IOF stormed Halhoul town to the north of Al-Khalil city at dawn Saturday and kidnapped a 17-year-old young man named Mohamed Badawi from his home. Badawi was taken to Etzion detention center, south of Bethlehem.
The sources added that that another young man named Wadea Jaber was also taken prisoner during a raid on his house in Al-Khalil city. The IOF also kidnapped a child late Friday from his home in Jaber neighborhood in Al-Khalil immediately after a number of Jewish settlers from Kiryat Arba settlement |
attacked the house of Ziyad Al-Tamimi in the Old City.
Violent clashes also erupted between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian young men in Bab Al-Amoud area in east Jerusalem, during which plain-clothe soldiers detained two young men.
The events started after Israeli border soldiers in Bab Al-Amoud area kidnapped three Jerusalemite young men because they raised a Palestinian flag.
Violent clashes also erupted between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian young men in Bab Al-Amoud area in east Jerusalem, during which plain-clothe soldiers detained two young men.
The events started after Israeli border soldiers in Bab Al-Amoud area kidnapped three Jerusalemite young men because they raised a Palestinian flag.
An Israeli district court has sentenced a Palestinian minor Mohammed Raed Siam, 16-year-old, to 15 months imprisonment and 6 months suspended sentence for 3 years. Mohammed was arrested on January 1, 2013 where he spent 20 days in Maskubiya interrogation center. Under severe torture and huge stress and threats, he admitted that he had thrown stones and Molotov cocktails at Israeli settlements, his father told Silwan center.
The father underlined that the Israeli public prosecutor refused the medical committee's recommendation to release his son in light of his difficult psychological status due to the interrogation process.
Mohamed's lawyer has demanded his release during Thursday's session after his detention in Hasharon prison led to the disruption of his schooling.
The father underlined that the Israeli public prosecutor refused the medical committee's recommendation to release his son in light of his difficult psychological status due to the interrogation process.
Mohamed's lawyer has demanded his release during Thursday's session after his detention in Hasharon prison led to the disruption of his schooling.
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) stormed Saturday Azzun village in Qalqilya where they conducted search operations and arrested a Palestinian teenager and summoned a young man. More than eight military vehicles stormed the village at the early morning hours where they arrested Samer Thabet Ayes, 18, and summoned Mahmoud Yousef Al Hilal, 22, to the Israeli intelligence headquarters, local sources said.
The sources added that the Israeli forces closed the village entrance, pointing out that Azzun village is continuously subjected to Israeli break-ins and arrests particularly against minors.
The sources added that the Israeli forces closed the village entrance, pointing out that Azzun village is continuously subjected to Israeli break-ins and arrests particularly against minors.
