13 june 2014
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Twenty-eight Palestinians were injured and eight detained during clashes that broke out after Israeli forces stormed the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City after Friday prayers.
Israeli forces stormed the holy compound, which is the third-holiest site in Islam, after worshipers began marching in support of more than 125 Palestinian administrative detainees who have been on hunger strike for more than 50 days. The march left through the Moroccan and Chain Gates, at which point groups of special forces began firing stun grenades and rubber-coated steel bullets toward worshipers. |
Special forces also began beating worshipers with batons, including ambulance crews and journalists on the scene, while another Israeli unit besieged the worshipers in the Al-Aqsa Qibli Mosque and closed the doors and launched stun grenades and pepper gas into it.
A fourth unit besieged worshipers inside the Marwani Mosque, and fired stun grenades and gas at worshipers, who were mostly elderly, according to the Al-Aqsa mosque director.
After the end of clashes, police set up a checkpoint at the doors of the Al-Aqsa mosque and began checking identity cards. They detained eight Palestinians during the checks, according to police.
A doctor at Al-Aqsa medical clinic Ziad Sorour said that 28 Palestinians were injured by shrapnel from the stun grenades. The wounds were primarily in the back and the legs and he described them as "moderate" injuries.
Sorour said that the majority of the injured were treated in two of the Al-Aqsa compound's clinics, at the Cotton Sellers' Gate and at the Al-Aqsa Qibli Mosque, and none were taken to hospitals.
Al-Aqsa mosque director Sheikh Omar al-Kiswani told Ma'an that the clashes lasted about 15 minutes, and that four elderly men were injured in the Qibli Mosque. Dozens also suffered from excessive tear gas inhalation when they were trapped in the Al-Aqsa Qibli and Marwani mosques.
The President of the Supreme Islamic Council and preacher at the Al-Aqsa mosque Sheikh Akrama Sabri told Ma'an that "the military incursion of Al-Aqsa is unjustifiable and aims to violate the sanctity of the mosque and spread terror in the hearts of worshipers," condemning the continuous attacks on Al-Aqsa that he said violate Palestinian freedom of worship.
A 2012 US State Department report decried Israeli restrictions on Palestinian freedom to worship in Jerusalem, saying: "Strict closures and curfews imposed by the Israeli government negatively affected residents' ability to practice their religion at holy sites, including the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, as well as the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem."
Al-Aqsa is located in East Jerusalem, a part of the internationally recognized Palestinian territories that have been occupied by the Israeli military since 1967.
The arrest of 8 Jerusalemites after exiting Al-Aqsa Mosque
The Israeli forces arrested 8 Jerusalemites on Friday noon while they were exiting Al-Aqsa Mosque on charges of throwing stones and participating in the clashes that broke out in Al-Aqsa courtyards.
Mohammad Mahmoud, Al-Dameer organization lawyer, said that the Israeli forces arrested: 13-year old Mohammad Abu Sbeih, 16-year old Saleh Sandouka, Amer Mohammad Abbasi, Mohammad Abu Susheh, Hamzeh Salhyeh, Yazan Jundi, Amer Husari and Mohammad Abbasi and they are currently being interrogated in Al-Qishleh police center.
A fourth unit besieged worshipers inside the Marwani Mosque, and fired stun grenades and gas at worshipers, who were mostly elderly, according to the Al-Aqsa mosque director.
After the end of clashes, police set up a checkpoint at the doors of the Al-Aqsa mosque and began checking identity cards. They detained eight Palestinians during the checks, according to police.
A doctor at Al-Aqsa medical clinic Ziad Sorour said that 28 Palestinians were injured by shrapnel from the stun grenades. The wounds were primarily in the back and the legs and he described them as "moderate" injuries.
Sorour said that the majority of the injured were treated in two of the Al-Aqsa compound's clinics, at the Cotton Sellers' Gate and at the Al-Aqsa Qibli Mosque, and none were taken to hospitals.
Al-Aqsa mosque director Sheikh Omar al-Kiswani told Ma'an that the clashes lasted about 15 minutes, and that four elderly men were injured in the Qibli Mosque. Dozens also suffered from excessive tear gas inhalation when they were trapped in the Al-Aqsa Qibli and Marwani mosques.
The President of the Supreme Islamic Council and preacher at the Al-Aqsa mosque Sheikh Akrama Sabri told Ma'an that "the military incursion of Al-Aqsa is unjustifiable and aims to violate the sanctity of the mosque and spread terror in the hearts of worshipers," condemning the continuous attacks on Al-Aqsa that he said violate Palestinian freedom of worship.
A 2012 US State Department report decried Israeli restrictions on Palestinian freedom to worship in Jerusalem, saying: "Strict closures and curfews imposed by the Israeli government negatively affected residents' ability to practice their religion at holy sites, including the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, as well as the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem."
Al-Aqsa is located in East Jerusalem, a part of the internationally recognized Palestinian territories that have been occupied by the Israeli military since 1967.
The arrest of 8 Jerusalemites after exiting Al-Aqsa Mosque
The Israeli forces arrested 8 Jerusalemites on Friday noon while they were exiting Al-Aqsa Mosque on charges of throwing stones and participating in the clashes that broke out in Al-Aqsa courtyards.
Mohammad Mahmoud, Al-Dameer organization lawyer, said that the Israeli forces arrested: 13-year old Mohammad Abu Sbeih, 16-year old Saleh Sandouka, Amer Mohammad Abbasi, Mohammad Abu Susheh, Hamzeh Salhyeh, Yazan Jundi, Amer Husari and Mohammad Abbasi and they are currently being interrogated in Al-Qishleh police center.
The Israeli prison authority have shut down Shatta prison in Beisan city and evacuated all Palestinian prisoners on Thursday evening, claiming the discovery of an underground tunnel leading to the jail, Hebrew media sources said.
The tunnel was discovered when Israeli prison guards were conducting a routine search operation in the surrounding areas, the sources added.
Prison officials said that the tunnel is believed to be old and no one has ever used it to escape from the prison.
The Israeli police has launched an investigation into the incident.
The tunnel was discovered when Israeli prison guards were conducting a routine search operation in the surrounding areas, the sources added.
Prison officials said that the tunnel is believed to be old and no one has ever used it to escape from the prison.
The Israeli police has launched an investigation into the incident.
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on Thursday rounded up two Palestinian young men, including one with a disability, from Beit Ummar, north of al-Khalil, and another youth from Jenin. According to eyewitnesses, the IOF arrested two young men during their presence in their own land in Beit Ummar and took them to the nearby Etzion post.
The IOF also raided a horse farm in Marj Ibn Amer plain in Jenin and arrested a Palestinian young farmer named Hasan Zakarna, local sources reported.
The IOF also raided a horse farm in Marj Ibn Amer plain in Jenin and arrested a Palestinian young farmer named Hasan Zakarna, local sources reported.
The Israeli supreme court in occupied Jerusalem on Thursday evening sentenced 16-year-old Obeida Is'eid to 18 months in prison, in addition to another10 months suspended for three years.
Obeida has been held in Sharon prison for seven months on allegations of having thrown Molotov cocktails, the child’s father reported.
Obeida's younger brother, Othman, has been under house arrest for seven months and denied, ever since, the right to go to school.
Obeida has been held in Sharon prison for seven months on allegations of having thrown Molotov cocktails, the child’s father reported.
Obeida's younger brother, Othman, has been under house arrest for seven months and denied, ever since, the right to go to school.
Palestinian Researcher and head of the Census Department at the Palestinian Ministry of Detainees, Abdul-Nasser Ferwana, stated that the Palestinian political prisoners, held by Israel, have the legitimate right to use all options to break free, and escape their illegitimate detention.
His statements came after the Israeli Prison Authority announced, Friday, that it located a tunnel under a bathroom in one of the rooms in Shatta Prison, where Palestinian detainees are serving life-terms.
The Prison Authority also said the detainees who tried to escape even modified their clothes to look like prison guards, in an attempt to facilitate their escape.
It stated that the four-meter long, and half-meter wide, tunnel was located in a section where detainees of the Islamic Jihad are held, adding that all 120 detainees held in that section were transferred to different Israeli prisons.
Ferwana stated that the detainees have the right to ensure their freedom, to return home to their families, and that this right includes attempting to escape from prison, individually and in groups.
“All political options are shut, the detainees have little chance of being freed, and are facing atrocities and ongoing violations”, Ferwana said, “The detainees used whatever techniques and methods they could, in an attempt to gain their freedom”.
“Such escape attempts date back to when Israel occupied historic Palestine in 1948; the largest escape in the history of the region was on July 31, 1958, when around 190 detainees rebelled, and held several jailors captive, and eventually 77 detainees managed to escape”.
The Palestinian official stated that many escape attempts were unsuccessful, but one of the most successful attempts, following the Israeli occupation of the whole of Palestine in 1967, was an escape from the Central Israeli Prison in Gaza, when six detainees managed to escape.
“Despite strict Israeli security and military measures, the detainees frequently attempted to escape, and Israel escalated its violations against all detainees”, Ferwana said, “Israel also used those attempts in order to impose tighter illegitimate measures against the other detainees”.
His statements came after the Israeli Prison Authority announced, Friday, that it located a tunnel under a bathroom in one of the rooms in Shatta Prison, where Palestinian detainees are serving life-terms.
The Prison Authority also said the detainees who tried to escape even modified their clothes to look like prison guards, in an attempt to facilitate their escape.
It stated that the four-meter long, and half-meter wide, tunnel was located in a section where detainees of the Islamic Jihad are held, adding that all 120 detainees held in that section were transferred to different Israeli prisons.
Ferwana stated that the detainees have the right to ensure their freedom, to return home to their families, and that this right includes attempting to escape from prison, individually and in groups.
“All political options are shut, the detainees have little chance of being freed, and are facing atrocities and ongoing violations”, Ferwana said, “The detainees used whatever techniques and methods they could, in an attempt to gain their freedom”.
“Such escape attempts date back to when Israel occupied historic Palestine in 1948; the largest escape in the history of the region was on July 31, 1958, when around 190 detainees rebelled, and held several jailors captive, and eventually 77 detainees managed to escape”.
The Palestinian official stated that many escape attempts were unsuccessful, but one of the most successful attempts, following the Israeli occupation of the whole of Palestine in 1967, was an escape from the Central Israeli Prison in Gaza, when six detainees managed to escape.
“Despite strict Israeli security and military measures, the detainees frequently attempted to escape, and Israel escalated its violations against all detainees”, Ferwana said, “Israel also used those attempts in order to impose tighter illegitimate measures against the other detainees”.
Palestinian administrative detainees continued their hunger strike for 51st day running demanding an end to their illegal detention.
The Israeli prison authority has taken punitive measures against several hunger strikers to force them to beak their strike, and isolated many of them in special cells and hospital rooms.
Hunger strikers' families have called for intensifying popular events and sit-ins in solidarity with the Palestinian prisoners' protest steps.
Meanwhile, human rights sources confirmed that 5000 Palestinian detainees are expected to join the hunger strike in solidarity with the administrative detainees.
General strike was also declared in occupied Jerusalem on Thursday in solidarity with hunger striking administrative detainees amid heavy Israeli military presence.
The Israeli prison authority has taken punitive measures against several hunger strikers to force them to beak their strike, and isolated many of them in special cells and hospital rooms.
Hunger strikers' families have called for intensifying popular events and sit-ins in solidarity with the Palestinian prisoners' protest steps.
Meanwhile, human rights sources confirmed that 5000 Palestinian detainees are expected to join the hunger strike in solidarity with the administrative detainees.
General strike was also declared in occupied Jerusalem on Thursday in solidarity with hunger striking administrative detainees amid heavy Israeli military presence.
12 june 2014
Al-Dameer organization lawyer, Mohammad Mahmoud, said that the Magistrate court judge released on Thursday Anas Darwish, Mahmoud Obeid and Natheer Obeid without any conditions.
He added that the judge extended the arrest of the child Ibrahim Yamani and Salim Tawil until 15/06/2014 and pointed out that he had submitted an appeal against the judge’s decision and that a session will be held on Friday to discuss the appeal.
The judge also extended the arrest of the 17-year old child Mohammad Firawi until 16/06/2014.
The lawyer added that the Magistrate judge decided to release Mohammad Zuheikeh on condition of house arrest for 7 days but the public prosecution appealed the decision and the judge extended the arrest of Mohammad until Friday in order to present him to the District court judge.
He added that the judge extended the arrest of the child Ibrahim Yamani and Salim Tawil until 15/06/2014 and pointed out that he had submitted an appeal against the judge’s decision and that a session will be held on Friday to discuss the appeal.
The judge also extended the arrest of the 17-year old child Mohammad Firawi until 16/06/2014.
The lawyer added that the Magistrate judge decided to release Mohammad Zuheikeh on condition of house arrest for 7 days but the public prosecution appealed the decision and the judge extended the arrest of Mohammad until Friday in order to present him to the District court judge.
Israeli forces on Thursday afternoon detained two Palestinians, including a physically disabled man, in Beit Ummar north of Hebron.
Spokesman for the Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements Muhammad Awad said that Israeli forces detained Muhammed Hani Younis Bahr, 38, and an unidentified individual, in the area of Wad al-Arn in northern Beit Ummar.
Muhammad Awad said that "the residents were in their lands with their car parked nearby when suddenly Israeli forces surrounded them."
"The forces searched their car, handcuffed the other man, and took him in their vehicle, while a policeman and a soldier drove their car to near Etzion military camp."
He added that Bahr was driven in the car, as he is unable to walk.
An Israeli military spokeswoman did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
Spokesman for the Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements Muhammad Awad said that Israeli forces detained Muhammed Hani Younis Bahr, 38, and an unidentified individual, in the area of Wad al-Arn in northern Beit Ummar.
Muhammad Awad said that "the residents were in their lands with their car parked nearby when suddenly Israeli forces surrounded them."
"The forces searched their car, handcuffed the other man, and took him in their vehicle, while a policeman and a soldier drove their car to near Etzion military camp."
He added that Bahr was driven in the car, as he is unable to walk.
An Israeli military spokeswoman did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
Twenty Palestinian prisoners have announced their decision to join an open hunger strike in solidarity with around 125 administrative prisoners who have been refusing food for 50 days in protest against their indefinite detention without trial.
The 20 prisoners, who are affiliated with the leftist party Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, said in a letter sent from jail that they intend to stay on hunger strike until the demands of the administrative prisoners are answered, or otherwise until death.
The more than 125 striking prisoners launched their campaign on April 24 in protest against Israel's continued use of detention without trial against Palestinians despite a 2012 promise to limit the use of administrative detention to exceptional cases.
That promise came as a result of a hunger strike involving more than 2,000 Palestinians that brought many to the brink of death.
Palestinians held in administrative detention are often held without charge or trial for months and without access to the evidence leading to their detention, even though international law stipulates this tactic only be used in exceptional circumstances.
The 20 prisoners, who are affiliated with the leftist party Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, said in a letter sent from jail that they intend to stay on hunger strike until the demands of the administrative prisoners are answered, or otherwise until death.
The more than 125 striking prisoners launched their campaign on April 24 in protest against Israel's continued use of detention without trial against Palestinians despite a 2012 promise to limit the use of administrative detention to exceptional cases.
That promise came as a result of a hunger strike involving more than 2,000 Palestinians that brought many to the brink of death.
Palestinians held in administrative detention are often held without charge or trial for months and without access to the evidence leading to their detention, even though international law stipulates this tactic only be used in exceptional circumstances.
Israeli Prison Service transferred the leader in Hamas movement Sheikh Adnan Abu Tebana, from al-Khalil, to Soroka Hospital after serious deterioration in his health condition. Abu Tebana's family told the PIC reporter that their father has recently suffered serious health deterioration due to his continued hunger strike for 50 consecutive days.
Abu Tebana suffers breathing difficulties and frequent fainting. His son Ezzidine Abu Tebana, held in Israeli jails, has also been on hunger strike for 50 days.
Abu Tebana’s family called on international human rights institutions to intervene and save the lives of Palestinian prisoners who suffer very poor detention and health conditions in Israeli jails.
Abu Tebana, who has a Ph.D. in Islamic history studies, was arrested in October 2013 during an Israeli arrest campaign targeting Palestinian MPs.
Meanwhile, Israeli authorities extended the administrative detention of the detainee Mohab Junaidi, 27, who declared hunger strike 50 days ago along with dozens of administrative detainees in Israeli custody.
Palestinian Prisoners Society revealed on Thursday that Junaidi, held in Israeli hospital, was supposed to be released today especially that he was detained since February 2013.
Abu Tebana suffers breathing difficulties and frequent fainting. His son Ezzidine Abu Tebana, held in Israeli jails, has also been on hunger strike for 50 days.
Abu Tebana’s family called on international human rights institutions to intervene and save the lives of Palestinian prisoners who suffer very poor detention and health conditions in Israeli jails.
Abu Tebana, who has a Ph.D. in Islamic history studies, was arrested in October 2013 during an Israeli arrest campaign targeting Palestinian MPs.
Meanwhile, Israeli authorities extended the administrative detention of the detainee Mohab Junaidi, 27, who declared hunger strike 50 days ago along with dozens of administrative detainees in Israeli custody.
Palestinian Prisoners Society revealed on Thursday that Junaidi, held in Israeli hospital, was supposed to be released today especially that he was detained since February 2013.
Shopkeepers in East Jerusalem closed their stores on Thursday to show solidarity with hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners.
The strike was called by national and Islamic groups in Jerusalem and sees shops closed in the busy areas of Saladin Street, Bab al-Zahara, Sultan al-Suleiman Street, and parts of the Old City.
"The prisoners are facing the occupation with a strong will and determination. Those prisoners are defending our dignity and our Jerusalem," a statement by local groups in Jerusalem said.
A sit-in protest is also planned outside of the Red Cross offices in Sheikh Jarrah.
Meanwhile, over 50 members of the Palestinian People's Party began a solidarity hunger-strike to support Palestinian administrative detainees.
Nasser al-Far, a PPP representative for the prisoners' committee, called for local and international pressure on Israel to abide by the Geneva Conventions.
Some 125 prisoners in Israeli jails began a hunger strike on April 24 against Israel's policy of holding Palestinians in custody indefinitely without charge or trial.
Around 80 prisoners are being held in civilian hospitals in Israel as a result of the hunger strike, which prisoner rights group Addameer called the longest collective action of its kind in Palestinian history.
The strike was called by national and Islamic groups in Jerusalem and sees shops closed in the busy areas of Saladin Street, Bab al-Zahara, Sultan al-Suleiman Street, and parts of the Old City.
"The prisoners are facing the occupation with a strong will and determination. Those prisoners are defending our dignity and our Jerusalem," a statement by local groups in Jerusalem said.
A sit-in protest is also planned outside of the Red Cross offices in Sheikh Jarrah.
Meanwhile, over 50 members of the Palestinian People's Party began a solidarity hunger-strike to support Palestinian administrative detainees.
Nasser al-Far, a PPP representative for the prisoners' committee, called for local and international pressure on Israel to abide by the Geneva Conventions.
Some 125 prisoners in Israeli jails began a hunger strike on April 24 against Israel's policy of holding Palestinians in custody indefinitely without charge or trial.
Around 80 prisoners are being held in civilian hospitals in Israel as a result of the hunger strike, which prisoner rights group Addameer called the longest collective action of its kind in Palestinian history.
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) arrested the Palestinian national team player Sameh Maraabeh on suspicion of carrying out activities in favor of Hamas Movement, Israeli media sources claimed. Maraabeh was arrested in April after his return along with team members from a training session in Qatar on suspicion of meeting with the liberated prisoner Talal Shreim in Doha, the sources added.
The Israeli media alleged that Maraabeh took funding, a mobile phone, and a written letter from Shreim to hand them over to an activist affiliated to Hamas n Qalqiliya.
The sources claimed that he made use of sports in order to leave the country to carry out contacts with Hamas Movement.
The Israeli media alleged that Maraabeh took funding, a mobile phone, and a written letter from Shreim to hand them over to an activist affiliated to Hamas n Qalqiliya.
The sources claimed that he made use of sports in order to leave the country to carry out contacts with Hamas Movement.
Israeli occupation forces arrested five Palestinian citizens Wednesday evening after raiding several houses and shops in the Jerusalem village of Isawiya and the eastern neighborhood of Jenin in the northern West Bank. "Wadi Hilweh" Information Center quoted local sources as saying that large force of the Israeli army stormed the village, raided several houses and shops, and arrested Lutfi Dare,44, Ali Derbas ,38, Mohamed Ragab Obeid,19, Yasser Darwish ,and Mohammed Jibril Darwish.
Citizens in the Village said that the occupation forces put roadblocks in the roads of the village as violent clashes broke out between Palestinian citizens and Israeli soldiers which fired sound bombs and rubber-coated steel bullets.
In Jenin, Israeli forces raided Thursday at dawn five homes in Jenin and arrested Abdel Fattah Abu Jafar ,22 , and Mutassim Abu Jafar,25 .
Israeli occupation forces routinely carry out arrest raids in the West Bank. Around 40 percent of Palestinian men living in the occupied territories have been detained by Israel at some point in their lives.
Citizens in the Village said that the occupation forces put roadblocks in the roads of the village as violent clashes broke out between Palestinian citizens and Israeli soldiers which fired sound bombs and rubber-coated steel bullets.
In Jenin, Israeli forces raided Thursday at dawn five homes in Jenin and arrested Abdel Fattah Abu Jafar ,22 , and Mutassim Abu Jafar,25 .
Israeli occupation forces routinely carry out arrest raids in the West Bank. Around 40 percent of Palestinian men living in the occupied territories have been detained by Israel at some point in their lives.
Administrative detainees in Israeli jails entered on Thursday the 50th day in a row of hunger strike. They want to send a message to the Israeli occupation that they are steadfast despite the Israeli decisions that allow the arbitrary detention without charge or trial, activists said.
Israeli occupation, added the activists, are trying to derail the strike but the prisoners have refused any solution that does not end the administrative detention totally.
Prisoner families, human rights organizations and activists called on the world to support prisoners’ issue and to highlight it internationally by all means.
Palestinian Ministry of Health, for its part, threatened to pursue Israeli hospitals that force the hunger strikers to take food, warning of the consequences of applying this law.
The ministry appealed to all international and humanitarian bodies to interfere quickly to rescue the lives of the hunger strikers, denouncing the occupation repressive measures against them.
The hunger strike commenced on 24 April 2014 when approximately 120 detainees began refusing food in protest of their continued administrative detention, which is detention without charge or trial.
Since then the hunger strike has escalated as more administrative detainees and prisoners have joined the strike. The youngest hunger striker, Ahmad Rimawi, is just 19 years old.
Israeli occupation, added the activists, are trying to derail the strike but the prisoners have refused any solution that does not end the administrative detention totally.
Prisoner families, human rights organizations and activists called on the world to support prisoners’ issue and to highlight it internationally by all means.
Palestinian Ministry of Health, for its part, threatened to pursue Israeli hospitals that force the hunger strikers to take food, warning of the consequences of applying this law.
The ministry appealed to all international and humanitarian bodies to interfere quickly to rescue the lives of the hunger strikers, denouncing the occupation repressive measures against them.
The hunger strike commenced on 24 April 2014 when approximately 120 detainees began refusing food in protest of their continued administrative detention, which is detention without charge or trial.
Since then the hunger strike has escalated as more administrative detainees and prisoners have joined the strike. The youngest hunger striker, Ahmad Rimawi, is just 19 years old.
Palestinians, live in Israel, participated in a sit-in on Wednesday evening and Thursday in solidarity with Palestinian administrative detainees in the Israeli prisons. ''Egh'dhab Min Ajjel Al'assra'' action group organized the sit-in at the ''Al'asseer'' Square near Haifa and called on the citizens to participate.
The group pointed out that a peaceful march in solidarity with the prisoners started at 8.00 pm, followed by a lecture and artistic programs about the administration detention at 9.00 pm.
In this respect, the National and Islamic bodies in the occupied east Jerusalem are to organize a solidarity commercial strike in E. Jeruslem with the Palestinian administrative detainees who declared an open-ended hunger strike on last April,24.
The bodies expressed their proud of the detainees who defend Jerusalem and the dignity of the Palestinian people and land.
They called on the traders to take part in the strike and participate in the solidarity stand-in with the prisoners that started at 5.00pm at the ''Red Cross'' HQ in the same day.
The hunger strike started on 24 April 2014 when approximately 120 detainees began refusing food in protest of their continued administrative detention.
Since then, the hunger strike has escalated as more administrative detainees and prisoners joined it.
The group pointed out that a peaceful march in solidarity with the prisoners started at 8.00 pm, followed by a lecture and artistic programs about the administration detention at 9.00 pm.
In this respect, the National and Islamic bodies in the occupied east Jerusalem are to organize a solidarity commercial strike in E. Jeruslem with the Palestinian administrative detainees who declared an open-ended hunger strike on last April,24.
The bodies expressed their proud of the detainees who defend Jerusalem and the dignity of the Palestinian people and land.
They called on the traders to take part in the strike and participate in the solidarity stand-in with the prisoners that started at 5.00pm at the ''Red Cross'' HQ in the same day.
The hunger strike started on 24 April 2014 when approximately 120 detainees began refusing food in protest of their continued administrative detention.
Since then, the hunger strike has escalated as more administrative detainees and prisoners joined it.
Three Palestinian citizens of Israel were arrested on Sunday morning during a confrontation with Israeli police and land authorities who had raided an activist camp in the village of Iqrit, located near the Lebanese border in Israel’s northern Galilee region. The three young men who were arrested were Wlaa Sbeit, Nidal Khoury and Jerias Khayyat.
In October 1948, the Israeli military occupied Iqrit and expelled its uniformly Christian residents. Three years later, the Israeli High Court ruled that the displaced could return to the village, but a unit of soldiers demolished all of the homes and structures with dynamite and other explosives on Christmas Day in 1951.
Only an historical church and a graveyard were left intact and remain standing today, and the majority of the refugees were “internally displaced” — exiled from Iqrit yet remaining in the newly-born state of Israel and taking citizenship there.
Since their forced displacement, many of Iqrit’s residents and their descendants have visited the village’s remains annually to pay homage to their heritage and to observe Christian holidays and the anniversary of their displacement.
In August 2012, a group of about a dozen Palestinian youth activists — all of them descendants of refugees from the village — returned to Iqrit and began to rebuild parts of the destroyed village. Since then, they’ve been living there in tents and the lone church.
“Violent behavior”
Speaking to MintPress News by telephone, Shadia Sbeit, a media spokesperson for Iqrit, said Israel Land Administration officers and police forces arrived in the village at around 10:00 am on Sunday.
“We think it was because the day before we had held a memorial for a family that was displaced from Iqrit [in 1948],” she explained.
Land management officers uprooted the activists’ garden and confiscated their belongings, including furniture, camping supplies, food and personal items, as well as mattresses and blankets.
When the young people attempted to prevent Israel Land Administration officers from taking their personal belongings, such as cellphones, police officers intervened to arrest them.
“There was violent behavior and unnecessary force,” Sbeit said. “Three people were kicking Nidal [Khoury] while he was on the ground.”
Wlaa Sbeit, Khoury and Khayyat were subsequently arrested and taken to an Israeli police station in Nahariya for interrogation.
“Problematic arrests”
“The first problem is that upon arrival the land authorities and police did not introduce themselves or explain why they were present,” Oram Mahameed, an attorney for Adalah Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights, told MintPress. “This is required by Israeli law.”
He explained that when he visited them after their interrogation there were “bruises on the face and the arms” on two of the three young men, who were given “charges related to preventing Israeli authorities from completing their work.”
“It seems that they hit them solely for shouting, and shouting isn’t an offense,” Mahameed continued, adding that it was the first documented case he was aware of in which land authorities — not police — were the ones using force.
On Monday morning, a local magistrate court decided to extend Khoury’s detention until Wednesday, and the other two detainees were released and put under house arrest until June 16.
The judge also ruled that Wlaa Sbeit and Jerias Khayyat are prohibited from entering Iqrit for 60 days — a type of ruling that is generally reserved for situations in which an individual or group poses a threat to others.
“But they are not a danger to Iqrit,” Mahameed said. “It is clear that this was a political decision by Israeli authorities who did not like the youth’s return to the village.”
Although Shadia Sbeit, the group’s spokesperson, said this was the first case of arrests in the last two years, Iqrit-based activists described a pattern of harassment by Israeli authorities, including monitoring, regular visits from Israel Land Administration officers and unofficial police interviews.
Returned to “difficult conditions”
In recent years, activists have held summer camps in the village to teach the history of Iqrit and other issues pertaining to Palestinians in Israel.
In August 2012, a group of youth activists decided not to wait for the permission of Israeli authorities and returned to the village on their own. Since then, they have hosted regular cultural events, holiday celebrations and political forums there.
Ameer Ashqar, 20, is among those who have lived in Iqrit on a regular basis since August 2012. His grandparents were driven out of Iqrit in 1948 and resettled in the nearby town of Kafr Yassif, asrecently reported by MintPress.
Ashqar explained that the activists have faced “difficult conditions” since their return, particularly during the last two winters. “We get electricity from a solar system, so we were getting electricity for maybe a quarter of a day or half a day at best,” he told MintPress.
“Our generators didn’t always work, and the weather conditions were very rough at times,” he added.
Ashqar and the others have resided permanently in a single room in the church, which had to be renovated in order to make it safe enough for living. “Every now and then the church floods because of the rain and snow during the winter.”
“The police always come and bother us,” he said. “They come, ask questions, and confiscate property. They come and take whatever they want and leave.”
During this year’sEaster celebrations in Iqrit, a number Israeli surveillance drones hummed overhead, including two that crashed in a nearby field.
“Scared”
Elsewhere, activists have adopted the young people’s tactic in Iqrit toreturn to Kafr Baram, another destroyed Galilee village hugging the Israel-Lebanon border.
For months, Israeli authorities demolished anything activists in Kafr Baram built and uprooted their plants and gardens. Despite an appeal to stay on their land, an Israeli court last week ruled against them and ordered their eviction for Wednesday.
Nadim Nashif, director of Balanda, a Haifa-based Palestinian advocacy group, said that Israel is afraid that what has happened to Iqrit could spread to other demolished Palestinian areas across present-day Israel.
Israel “does not want to allow a precedent of people returning to their villages and staying there permanently, so they are increasingly aggressively pushing them out,” Nashif told MintPress.
“The government wants to tell them they can go to their villages but not stay there in any kind of permanent way… it’s scared that more [internal] refugees will begin returning to their ancestral lands.”
Around 25 percent of Palestinians who remained in the state of Israel after its establishment were internally displaced, added Nashif, who hopes to see similar initiatives spread to other depopulated Palestinians areas in Israel.
Israeli policies are often sculpted to maintain a Jewish majority in the country, including some 50 laws discriminating against the 1.7 million Palestinian citizens of Israel by limiting their political expression and access to land and other state resources, according to Adalah’s online database.
In March, Israel’s hardline right-wing foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman proposed transferring part of Israel’s minority of Palestinian citizens from their land to a potential Palestinian state.
“Israel doesn’t like that the return of Palestinians to Iqrit, and Kafr Baram has raised international awareness about the issue of internal refugees,” Nashif concluded.
In October 1948, the Israeli military occupied Iqrit and expelled its uniformly Christian residents. Three years later, the Israeli High Court ruled that the displaced could return to the village, but a unit of soldiers demolished all of the homes and structures with dynamite and other explosives on Christmas Day in 1951.
Only an historical church and a graveyard were left intact and remain standing today, and the majority of the refugees were “internally displaced” — exiled from Iqrit yet remaining in the newly-born state of Israel and taking citizenship there.
Since their forced displacement, many of Iqrit’s residents and their descendants have visited the village’s remains annually to pay homage to their heritage and to observe Christian holidays and the anniversary of their displacement.
In August 2012, a group of about a dozen Palestinian youth activists — all of them descendants of refugees from the village — returned to Iqrit and began to rebuild parts of the destroyed village. Since then, they’ve been living there in tents and the lone church.
“Violent behavior”
Speaking to MintPress News by telephone, Shadia Sbeit, a media spokesperson for Iqrit, said Israel Land Administration officers and police forces arrived in the village at around 10:00 am on Sunday.
“We think it was because the day before we had held a memorial for a family that was displaced from Iqrit [in 1948],” she explained.
Land management officers uprooted the activists’ garden and confiscated their belongings, including furniture, camping supplies, food and personal items, as well as mattresses and blankets.
When the young people attempted to prevent Israel Land Administration officers from taking their personal belongings, such as cellphones, police officers intervened to arrest them.
“There was violent behavior and unnecessary force,” Sbeit said. “Three people were kicking Nidal [Khoury] while he was on the ground.”
Wlaa Sbeit, Khoury and Khayyat were subsequently arrested and taken to an Israeli police station in Nahariya for interrogation.
“Problematic arrests”
“The first problem is that upon arrival the land authorities and police did not introduce themselves or explain why they were present,” Oram Mahameed, an attorney for Adalah Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights, told MintPress. “This is required by Israeli law.”
He explained that when he visited them after their interrogation there were “bruises on the face and the arms” on two of the three young men, who were given “charges related to preventing Israeli authorities from completing their work.”
“It seems that they hit them solely for shouting, and shouting isn’t an offense,” Mahameed continued, adding that it was the first documented case he was aware of in which land authorities — not police — were the ones using force.
On Monday morning, a local magistrate court decided to extend Khoury’s detention until Wednesday, and the other two detainees were released and put under house arrest until June 16.
The judge also ruled that Wlaa Sbeit and Jerias Khayyat are prohibited from entering Iqrit for 60 days — a type of ruling that is generally reserved for situations in which an individual or group poses a threat to others.
“But they are not a danger to Iqrit,” Mahameed said. “It is clear that this was a political decision by Israeli authorities who did not like the youth’s return to the village.”
Although Shadia Sbeit, the group’s spokesperson, said this was the first case of arrests in the last two years, Iqrit-based activists described a pattern of harassment by Israeli authorities, including monitoring, regular visits from Israel Land Administration officers and unofficial police interviews.
Returned to “difficult conditions”
In recent years, activists have held summer camps in the village to teach the history of Iqrit and other issues pertaining to Palestinians in Israel.
In August 2012, a group of youth activists decided not to wait for the permission of Israeli authorities and returned to the village on their own. Since then, they have hosted regular cultural events, holiday celebrations and political forums there.
Ameer Ashqar, 20, is among those who have lived in Iqrit on a regular basis since August 2012. His grandparents were driven out of Iqrit in 1948 and resettled in the nearby town of Kafr Yassif, asrecently reported by MintPress.
Ashqar explained that the activists have faced “difficult conditions” since their return, particularly during the last two winters. “We get electricity from a solar system, so we were getting electricity for maybe a quarter of a day or half a day at best,” he told MintPress.
“Our generators didn’t always work, and the weather conditions were very rough at times,” he added.
Ashqar and the others have resided permanently in a single room in the church, which had to be renovated in order to make it safe enough for living. “Every now and then the church floods because of the rain and snow during the winter.”
“The police always come and bother us,” he said. “They come, ask questions, and confiscate property. They come and take whatever they want and leave.”
During this year’sEaster celebrations in Iqrit, a number Israeli surveillance drones hummed overhead, including two that crashed in a nearby field.
“Scared”
Elsewhere, activists have adopted the young people’s tactic in Iqrit toreturn to Kafr Baram, another destroyed Galilee village hugging the Israel-Lebanon border.
For months, Israeli authorities demolished anything activists in Kafr Baram built and uprooted their plants and gardens. Despite an appeal to stay on their land, an Israeli court last week ruled against them and ordered their eviction for Wednesday.
Nadim Nashif, director of Balanda, a Haifa-based Palestinian advocacy group, said that Israel is afraid that what has happened to Iqrit could spread to other demolished Palestinian areas across present-day Israel.
Israel “does not want to allow a precedent of people returning to their villages and staying there permanently, so they are increasingly aggressively pushing them out,” Nashif told MintPress.
“The government wants to tell them they can go to their villages but not stay there in any kind of permanent way… it’s scared that more [internal] refugees will begin returning to their ancestral lands.”
Around 25 percent of Palestinians who remained in the state of Israel after its establishment were internally displaced, added Nashif, who hopes to see similar initiatives spread to other depopulated Palestinians areas in Israel.
Israeli policies are often sculpted to maintain a Jewish majority in the country, including some 50 laws discriminating against the 1.7 million Palestinian citizens of Israel by limiting their political expression and access to land and other state resources, according to Adalah’s online database.
In March, Israel’s hardline right-wing foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman proposed transferring part of Israel’s minority of Palestinian citizens from their land to a potential Palestinian state.
“Israel doesn’t like that the return of Palestinians to Iqrit, and Kafr Baram has raised international awareness about the issue of internal refugees,” Nashif concluded.
The Palestinian detainee Ayman Atabish has been without food for 105 days, amid serious deterioration in his health condition. The hunger striker Atabish, sentenced administratively to 6 months with neither charge nor trial, vowed to keep going until all of his fair demands are met.
Along the same line, his family expressed concerns over their son’s health status especially that his heart muscles are weakening because of the hunger strike.
Prisoner Atabish, from al-Khalil, was arrested by the Israeli Occupation Authorities (IOA) 5 times, during which he initiated three hunger strikes.
Atabish is hospitalized at Assaf HaRofeh medical center, where he has been diagnosed with critical health problems including stomachaches, renal diseases, and breathing difficulties, media sources reported.
Atabish had already been, a year ago, on hunger strike for 105 days, that ended with IOA’s promises to set him free. However, the detainee renewed his strike as the IOA reneged on its release promises and extended his administrative detention period.
Meanwhile, Palestinian national and Islamic forces declared general strike in occupied Jerusalem on Thursday, in solidarity with administrative detainees' hunger strike.
Jerusalemite traders declared their commitment to the general strike in solidarity with hunger strikers in Israeli jails and in protest against Israeli violations against them.
The national forces declared their intention to organize a sit-in in solidarity with the prisoners outside the Red Cross headquarters in occupied Jerusalem on Thursday.
Along the same line, his family expressed concerns over their son’s health status especially that his heart muscles are weakening because of the hunger strike.
Prisoner Atabish, from al-Khalil, was arrested by the Israeli Occupation Authorities (IOA) 5 times, during which he initiated three hunger strikes.
Atabish is hospitalized at Assaf HaRofeh medical center, where he has been diagnosed with critical health problems including stomachaches, renal diseases, and breathing difficulties, media sources reported.
Atabish had already been, a year ago, on hunger strike for 105 days, that ended with IOA’s promises to set him free. However, the detainee renewed his strike as the IOA reneged on its release promises and extended his administrative detention period.
Meanwhile, Palestinian national and Islamic forces declared general strike in occupied Jerusalem on Thursday, in solidarity with administrative detainees' hunger strike.
Jerusalemite traders declared their commitment to the general strike in solidarity with hunger strikers in Israeli jails and in protest against Israeli violations against them.
The national forces declared their intention to organize a sit-in in solidarity with the prisoners outside the Red Cross headquarters in occupied Jerusalem on Thursday.
Several Israeli military jeeps invaded, on Thursday at dawn [June 12, 2014], the northern West Bank city of Jenin, kidnaped two Palestinians, and detained one resident for several hours. Soldiers also invaded Palestinian communities near Hebron, and searched homes.
Local sources said the soldiers kidnapped Abdul-Fattah Taleb Abu Ja’far, 22, and Mo’tasem Ahmad Abu Fa’far, 25, from Jenin, and took them to the nearby Salem military base.
Soldiers also confiscated the ID cards of two brothers, identified as Salem and Abdul-Rahman Abu Ja’far, after violently breaking into their home, and searching, leading to excessive property damage.
The Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA) has reported that the soldiers also invaded the home of Arafat Tawfiq Qandeel, 42, and detained him at the Salem base for several hours.
In related news, soldiers invaded the home of detainee Ali Bassam ‘Eetany, 22, in ‘Anza village, near Jenin, and searched it.
Also on Thursday, dozens of soldiers invaded Hebron city, in the southern part of the West Bank, and a nearby town, and broke into three homes.
WAFA said the soldiers invaded the home of Arafat Abu Rammouz, in Abu Sneina neighborhood in the Old City of Hebron, and the homes of Issa Khaleely Sharafeyya and Mohammad Radhi ad-Da’ajna, in Al-Karmel village, east of Yattat town, south of Hebron.
The soldiers searched the three homes after detaining the families, and withdrew from the area later on.
On Wednesday evening, soldiers invaded the al-Eesawiyya town, in occupied East Jerusalem, broke into several homes and stores, violently searched them, and kidnapped five Palestinians.
Local sources said the soldiers kidnapped Abdul-Fattah Taleb Abu Ja’far, 22, and Mo’tasem Ahmad Abu Fa’far, 25, from Jenin, and took them to the nearby Salem military base.
Soldiers also confiscated the ID cards of two brothers, identified as Salem and Abdul-Rahman Abu Ja’far, after violently breaking into their home, and searching, leading to excessive property damage.
The Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA) has reported that the soldiers also invaded the home of Arafat Tawfiq Qandeel, 42, and detained him at the Salem base for several hours.
In related news, soldiers invaded the home of detainee Ali Bassam ‘Eetany, 22, in ‘Anza village, near Jenin, and searched it.
Also on Thursday, dozens of soldiers invaded Hebron city, in the southern part of the West Bank, and a nearby town, and broke into three homes.
WAFA said the soldiers invaded the home of Arafat Abu Rammouz, in Abu Sneina neighborhood in the Old City of Hebron, and the homes of Issa Khaleely Sharafeyya and Mohammad Radhi ad-Da’ajna, in Al-Karmel village, east of Yattat town, south of Hebron.
The soldiers searched the three homes after detaining the families, and withdrew from the area later on.
On Wednesday evening, soldiers invaded the al-Eesawiyya town, in occupied East Jerusalem, broke into several homes and stores, violently searched them, and kidnapped five Palestinians.
Israeli soldiers invaded the al-Eesawiyya town, in occupied East Jerusalem, broke into several homes and stores, violently searched them, and kidnapped five Palestinians.
The Maan News Agency has reported that the invasion is the fourth consecutive invasion in the past four days, and that Israeli police officers ticketed several Palestinians at random.
Maan said that the soldiers broke into several homes and stores, and kidnapped Ali Derbas, 38, after beating him in his own home, Mohammad Rajab Obeid, 19, from a restaurant where he works, in addition to Khalil Dary, 44, Yasser Darwish and Mohammad Jebril Darwish; all kidnapped from their homes after the soldiers broke into them.
Eyewitnesses said the soldiers assaulted several women and children during the invasion, adding that clashes later took place between the soldiers and local youths.
The army fired concussion grenades, gas bombs and rubber-coated metal bullets; no injuries.
The Maan News Agency has reported that the invasion is the fourth consecutive invasion in the past four days, and that Israeli police officers ticketed several Palestinians at random.
Maan said that the soldiers broke into several homes and stores, and kidnapped Ali Derbas, 38, after beating him in his own home, Mohammad Rajab Obeid, 19, from a restaurant where he works, in addition to Khalil Dary, 44, Yasser Darwish and Mohammad Jebril Darwish; all kidnapped from their homes after the soldiers broke into them.
Eyewitnesses said the soldiers assaulted several women and children during the invasion, adding that clashes later took place between the soldiers and local youths.
The army fired concussion grenades, gas bombs and rubber-coated metal bullets; no injuries.
