28 nov 2018
In a ruling that directly violates international law and conventions against the use of torture, the Israeli High Court ruled Monday that Israeli intelligence officers were justified in their use of torture against a Palestinian prisoner. The ruling sets a precedent for the future use of torture and the expansion of such techniques used against Palestinians held in Israeli custody.
The case, which involved Palestinian prisoner Fares Tbeish, was brought to the Israeli High Court after lower courts ruled that the torture was justified.
In 2012, the case alleges, Israeli officials from the Shin Bet intelligence agency forced Tbeish into stress positions, inculding arching and tying the body in the “banana” position. They also subjected him to severe physical and mental violence, including beatings.
The ruling was made by a three-justice panel of Yitzhak Amit, David Mintz and Yosef Elron. The three judges ruled that no policy changes needed to be made, and that the current policy and practice regarding torture is sufficient.
According to the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, “In interrogating Palestinian residents of the Occupied Territories, the Israel Security Agency (ISA, also known by the Hebrew acronyms Shin Bet or Shabak) routinely used methods that constituted ill-treatment and even torture until the late 1990s”.
The group states, “In September 1999, following a series of petitions filed by human rights organizations and by Palestinians interrogated by the ISA, Israel’s High Court of Justice (HCJ) ruled that Israeli law does not empower ISA interrogators to use physical means in interrogation. The justices ruled that the specific methods discussed in the petitions – including painful binding, shaking, placing a sack on a person’s head for prolonged periods of time and sleep deprivation – were unlawful.
“However, they also held that ISA agents who exceed their authority and use ‘physical pressure’ may not necessarily bear criminal responsibility for their actions, if they are later found to have used these methods in a “ticking bomb” case, based on the ‘necessity defense’. Following this ruling, reports of torture and ill-treatment in ISA interrogations did drop.
However, ISA agents continued to use interrogation methods that constitute abuse and even torture, relying on the court’s recognition of the “ticking bomb” exception. These methods were not limited to exceptional cases and quickly became standard interrogation policy.”
In December 2017, according to the Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post, a court ruling made it easier for the intelligence agencies to justify torture – but such techniques still violate international law.
According to Al Jazeera, “more than 1,000 complaints from Palestinians have been submitted to a government watchdog body over the past 18 years, but this is the first time one has led to a criminal investigation.
“Many Palestinians are jailed based on confessions either they or other Palestinians make during Shin Bet questioning. Israeli military courts almost never examine how such confessions were obtained or whether they are reliable, say lawyers, contributing to a 99.7 percent conviction rate.
“Last month, in freeing a Palestinian man who was jailed based on a false confession, an Israeli court accused the Shin Bet of using techniques that were “liable to induce innocent people to admit to acts that they did not commit’”.
According to the Electronic Intifada, “The impunity extends to circumstances where there is strong evidence that torture led to the death of a detainee, such as Arafat Jaradat, a 33-year-old father of two who died after an Israeli interrogation in Megiddo prison in 2013.”
Israeli legal scholar Itamar Mann told the Middle East Monitor that this ruling is “probably the most permissive as of yet in terms of accepting physical abuse as a legitimate method of interrogation in national security cases”.
According to Mann, the court’s judgement means that “anyone who is
(1) part of a designated terrorist organization (such as Hamas); and
(2) is involved in armed activity, may be subject to ‘special methods’ [i.e. torture] if
(3) no other way to obtain crucial information is available”.
The case, which involved Palestinian prisoner Fares Tbeish, was brought to the Israeli High Court after lower courts ruled that the torture was justified.
In 2012, the case alleges, Israeli officials from the Shin Bet intelligence agency forced Tbeish into stress positions, inculding arching and tying the body in the “banana” position. They also subjected him to severe physical and mental violence, including beatings.
The ruling was made by a three-justice panel of Yitzhak Amit, David Mintz and Yosef Elron. The three judges ruled that no policy changes needed to be made, and that the current policy and practice regarding torture is sufficient.
According to the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, “In interrogating Palestinian residents of the Occupied Territories, the Israel Security Agency (ISA, also known by the Hebrew acronyms Shin Bet or Shabak) routinely used methods that constituted ill-treatment and even torture until the late 1990s”.
The group states, “In September 1999, following a series of petitions filed by human rights organizations and by Palestinians interrogated by the ISA, Israel’s High Court of Justice (HCJ) ruled that Israeli law does not empower ISA interrogators to use physical means in interrogation. The justices ruled that the specific methods discussed in the petitions – including painful binding, shaking, placing a sack on a person’s head for prolonged periods of time and sleep deprivation – were unlawful.
“However, they also held that ISA agents who exceed their authority and use ‘physical pressure’ may not necessarily bear criminal responsibility for their actions, if they are later found to have used these methods in a “ticking bomb” case, based on the ‘necessity defense’. Following this ruling, reports of torture and ill-treatment in ISA interrogations did drop.
However, ISA agents continued to use interrogation methods that constitute abuse and even torture, relying on the court’s recognition of the “ticking bomb” exception. These methods were not limited to exceptional cases and quickly became standard interrogation policy.”
In December 2017, according to the Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post, a court ruling made it easier for the intelligence agencies to justify torture – but such techniques still violate international law.
According to Al Jazeera, “more than 1,000 complaints from Palestinians have been submitted to a government watchdog body over the past 18 years, but this is the first time one has led to a criminal investigation.
“Many Palestinians are jailed based on confessions either they or other Palestinians make during Shin Bet questioning. Israeli military courts almost never examine how such confessions were obtained or whether they are reliable, say lawyers, contributing to a 99.7 percent conviction rate.
“Last month, in freeing a Palestinian man who was jailed based on a false confession, an Israeli court accused the Shin Bet of using techniques that were “liable to induce innocent people to admit to acts that they did not commit’”.
According to the Electronic Intifada, “The impunity extends to circumstances where there is strong evidence that torture led to the death of a detainee, such as Arafat Jaradat, a 33-year-old father of two who died after an Israeli interrogation in Megiddo prison in 2013.”
Israeli legal scholar Itamar Mann told the Middle East Monitor that this ruling is “probably the most permissive as of yet in terms of accepting physical abuse as a legitimate method of interrogation in national security cases”.
According to Mann, the court’s judgement means that “anyone who is
(1) part of a designated terrorist organization (such as Hamas); and
(2) is involved in armed activity, may be subject to ‘special methods’ [i.e. torture] if
(3) no other way to obtain crucial information is available”.
Nael al-Barghouthi, a Palestinian from the West Bank village of Kobar, has spent nearly four decades in Israeli prisons. In 2009, he broke the Guinness World Record for the world’s longest-serving political prisoner.
Israeli occupation forces initially detained Barghouthi in April 1978, but he was released in a 2011 prisoner exchange deal before being rearrested three years later.
After being freed in 2011, Barghouthi tried to return to a normal life - but he had missed an entire generation. The simple lifestyle that he knew decades earlier had changed; many of his loved ones were dead, and the buildings and fields he remembered as a child had been consumed by urban development.
Deep roots
While he was out of prison, Barghouthi married his longtime sweetheart, Eman Nafe, who herself had spent 10 years in Israeli prison.
He spent much of his time around olive trees, which relieved his nostalgia and showed the importance of deep roots in the face of time. These trees were the heritage of his forefathers - the identity of Palestine that Barghouthi loved and fought for, and the reason he spent so much of his life in the darkness of prison.
In his few years of freedom, Barghouthi worked in olive groves, watering, trimming and picking the harvest. The occupation gave him little time to enjoy his peace: he was arrested again in the summer of 2014 and sentenced to 30 months in prison for under flimsy charges of violating the terms of his release. Just as he was due to be freed, an Israeli military tribunal issued an order reinstating his life sentence, plus an additional 18 years.
Barghouthi’s story, and his suffering over all these decades, raises many questions. Where does one find the strength to spend almost all of one's life in prison?
Four decades is a long time to live in pain, sadness, oppression and deprivation. How many people were born during that time, and how many passed away? How many moments of joy, sadness, reunion and separation? How many warm nights with family and friends were missed? How many opportunities and experiences were lost?
Full of hope
All of these things were happening in a world that was so close, yet so distant. Barghouthi was barred from the world, seeing only darkness and hearing only chains.
He and I spoke by phone after his release in 2011. A direct meeting was out of the question, due to the separation between Gaza and the West Bank. When we spoke, I didn't hear the voice of a broken person destroyed by years of suffering. His voice was vibrant and strong, full of hope and positive energy.
He talked about the inevitability of freedom for Palestine. He told me about his personal plans for work and starting a family. I wondered about the source of this hope that defeated oppression, and I realized that his deep belief in the cause for which he was imprisoned was stronger than his concerns over losing all those years of his life.
Barghouthi's rearrest violated the terms of the prisoner exchange deal brokered by Egypt in 2011, which stipulated that those released could not be rearrested and retried on old charges. This violation highlights the politicization of Israel's judiciary, a tool in the government's hand to levy political pressure against Palestinians without any legal basis.
And Barghouthi is not alone: According to prisoners’ rights group Addameer, as of September, there were more than 5,600 Palestinian political prisoners, hundreds of whom were serving life sentences. Dozens of women and hundreds of children were among those detained.
A high price
Israel commits clear violations of international humanitarian law in its treatment of Palestinian prisoners, from denying them adequate medical care, to forcing mothers to give birth while handcuffed to hospital beds. There is also physical and psychological torture during interrogations, deprivation of visitation rights, solitary confinement and administrative detention without charges.
These violations show Israel's confidence that the international community will not take action, laying the groundwork for additional violations against Palestinian prisoners.
As we call for justice for our prisoners, we cannot forget the central problem of the occupation. It is difficult to imagine obtaining justice for prisoners when the very foundation of Israel as a state comprises a flagrant violation of international humanitarian laws and norms.
Barghouthi's punishment for seeking the freedom of his people, in addition to the suffering of all his fellow prisoners, reminds the world of the occupation’s devastating impact. Nations established on the ruins of other people's rights cannot become normal states. Foundations built on injustice and hegemony will always provoke resistance among those who love freedom. They will always choose revolution and confrontation, even if it costs them everything.
- Ahmed Abu Artema is a Palestinian journalist and peace activist. Born in Rafah in 1984, he is a refugee from Al Ramla village. His article appeared in the Middle East Eye.
Israeli occupation forces initially detained Barghouthi in April 1978, but he was released in a 2011 prisoner exchange deal before being rearrested three years later.
After being freed in 2011, Barghouthi tried to return to a normal life - but he had missed an entire generation. The simple lifestyle that he knew decades earlier had changed; many of his loved ones were dead, and the buildings and fields he remembered as a child had been consumed by urban development.
Deep roots
While he was out of prison, Barghouthi married his longtime sweetheart, Eman Nafe, who herself had spent 10 years in Israeli prison.
He spent much of his time around olive trees, which relieved his nostalgia and showed the importance of deep roots in the face of time. These trees were the heritage of his forefathers - the identity of Palestine that Barghouthi loved and fought for, and the reason he spent so much of his life in the darkness of prison.
In his few years of freedom, Barghouthi worked in olive groves, watering, trimming and picking the harvest. The occupation gave him little time to enjoy his peace: he was arrested again in the summer of 2014 and sentenced to 30 months in prison for under flimsy charges of violating the terms of his release. Just as he was due to be freed, an Israeli military tribunal issued an order reinstating his life sentence, plus an additional 18 years.
Barghouthi’s story, and his suffering over all these decades, raises many questions. Where does one find the strength to spend almost all of one's life in prison?
Four decades is a long time to live in pain, sadness, oppression and deprivation. How many people were born during that time, and how many passed away? How many moments of joy, sadness, reunion and separation? How many warm nights with family and friends were missed? How many opportunities and experiences were lost?
Full of hope
All of these things were happening in a world that was so close, yet so distant. Barghouthi was barred from the world, seeing only darkness and hearing only chains.
He and I spoke by phone after his release in 2011. A direct meeting was out of the question, due to the separation between Gaza and the West Bank. When we spoke, I didn't hear the voice of a broken person destroyed by years of suffering. His voice was vibrant and strong, full of hope and positive energy.
He talked about the inevitability of freedom for Palestine. He told me about his personal plans for work and starting a family. I wondered about the source of this hope that defeated oppression, and I realized that his deep belief in the cause for which he was imprisoned was stronger than his concerns over losing all those years of his life.
Barghouthi's rearrest violated the terms of the prisoner exchange deal brokered by Egypt in 2011, which stipulated that those released could not be rearrested and retried on old charges. This violation highlights the politicization of Israel's judiciary, a tool in the government's hand to levy political pressure against Palestinians without any legal basis.
And Barghouthi is not alone: According to prisoners’ rights group Addameer, as of September, there were more than 5,600 Palestinian political prisoners, hundreds of whom were serving life sentences. Dozens of women and hundreds of children were among those detained.
A high price
Israel commits clear violations of international humanitarian law in its treatment of Palestinian prisoners, from denying them adequate medical care, to forcing mothers to give birth while handcuffed to hospital beds. There is also physical and psychological torture during interrogations, deprivation of visitation rights, solitary confinement and administrative detention without charges.
These violations show Israel's confidence that the international community will not take action, laying the groundwork for additional violations against Palestinian prisoners.
As we call for justice for our prisoners, we cannot forget the central problem of the occupation. It is difficult to imagine obtaining justice for prisoners when the very foundation of Israel as a state comprises a flagrant violation of international humanitarian laws and norms.
Barghouthi's punishment for seeking the freedom of his people, in addition to the suffering of all his fellow prisoners, reminds the world of the occupation’s devastating impact. Nations established on the ruins of other people's rights cannot become normal states. Foundations built on injustice and hegemony will always provoke resistance among those who love freedom. They will always choose revolution and confrontation, even if it costs them everything.
- Ahmed Abu Artema is a Palestinian journalist and peace activist. Born in Rafah in 1984, he is a refugee from Al Ramla village. His article appeared in the Middle East Eye.
Palestinian prisoner Ameen Shkeirat, aged 43, has been incarcerated for the 15th consecutive year in Israeli occupation dungeons.
According to Muhjat al-Quds Foundation for Prisoners, Ameen, from Jerusalem’s occupied town of al-Sawahra, has spent nearly 15 years in Israeli prisons.
Ameen was kidnapped by the Israeli occupation forces on November 27, 2004, and sentenced to two-life terms and three years over charges of involvement in anti-occupation attacks that led to the death of two Israeli settlers.
Born on March 20, 1975 and affiliated with the Islamic Jihad resistance movement in the occupied Palestinian territories, Ameen is the father of four children. He is currently incarcerated in the Israeli Ramon lock-up.
According to Muhjat al-Quds Foundation for Prisoners, Ameen, from Jerusalem’s occupied town of al-Sawahra, has spent nearly 15 years in Israeli prisons.
Ameen was kidnapped by the Israeli occupation forces on November 27, 2004, and sentenced to two-life terms and three years over charges of involvement in anti-occupation attacks that led to the death of two Israeli settlers.
Born on March 20, 1975 and affiliated with the Islamic Jihad resistance movement in the occupied Palestinian territories, Ameen is the father of four children. He is currently incarcerated in the Israeli Ramon lock-up.
Israeli soldiers abducted, on Wednesday at dawn, at least eighteen Palestinians from their homes, in several parts of the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) has reported.
The soldiers invaded dozens of communities across the occupied West Bank, before storming and ransacking homes, and interrogated scores of Palestinians while inspecting their ID cards.
The army also installed roadblocks on many areas in the occupied territory, before stopping and searching dozens of cars, and interrogated the residents while inspecting their ID cards.
The PPS added that children and former political prisoners, are among the abducted Palestinians.
One of the Palestinians, identified as Zeidan Saleh Hawashin, from Jenin refugee camp, was abducted while crossing Barta’a military roadblock, southwest of the northern West Bank city of Jenin.
The Abducted Palestinians have been identified as:
The soldiers invaded dozens of communities across the occupied West Bank, before storming and ransacking homes, and interrogated scores of Palestinians while inspecting their ID cards.
The army also installed roadblocks on many areas in the occupied territory, before stopping and searching dozens of cars, and interrogated the residents while inspecting their ID cards.
The PPS added that children and former political prisoners, are among the abducted Palestinians.
One of the Palestinians, identified as Zeidan Saleh Hawashin, from Jenin refugee camp, was abducted while crossing Barta’a military roadblock, southwest of the northern West Bank city of Jenin.
The Abducted Palestinians have been identified as:
- Rami Shehada Shebani, 22, Arraba, Jenin.
- Zeidan Saleh Hawashin, 19, Jenin refugee camp, Jenin.
- Adnan Ahmad al-Hosary, (former political prisoner), Tulkarem refugee camp, Tulkarem.
- Mosab Adnan al-Hosary, (former political prisoner), Tulkarem refugee camp.
- Ahmad Matrouk, Tulkarem refugee camp.
- Hussein Howeidi, Tulkarem refugee camp.
- Hasan Howeidi, Tulkarem refugee camp.
- Ahmad Abu Jamous, Tulkarem refugee camp.
- Hatem Fuqaha’, (former political prisoner), Kafr al-Lubbad, Tulkarem.
- Issa Sawafta, Tubas.
- Mahmoud Sawafta, Tubas.
- Anas Fadel, Askar refugee camp, Nablus.
- Ahmad Mustafa Abu Leil, 15, Askar refugee camp.
- Nidal Safwan Salim, 16, Azzoun, Qalqilia.
- Zeid Osama Rajabi, Hebron.
- Maan Nayef Badawi, 15, al-‘Arroub refugee camp, Hebron.
- Mo’taz Abu Zneid, Doura, Hebron.
- Rezeq Rayyan, (former political prisoner), Qarawat Bank Hassan, Salfit.
Israel's Beersheba court on Tuesday issued an 18-month prison sentence against Gaza's Freedom Flotilla captain Suheil al-Amoudi.
Head of Waed Association Abdullah Qandil told Quds Press that the Israeli occupation authorities accused al-Amoudi, 56, of crossing the sea border, providing illegal services, and working for Hamas.
Qandil said that the Israeli court accused the Palestinian captain of providing services to Hamas and purchasing two boats between 2015 and 2016 for the anti-siege Freedom Flotilla campaign.
He added that al-Amoudi suffers from high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart problems, noting that he is even prevented from taking his medicines by the Israel Prison Service.
Head of Waed Association Abdullah Qandil told Quds Press that the Israeli occupation authorities accused al-Amoudi, 56, of crossing the sea border, providing illegal services, and working for Hamas.
Qandil said that the Israeli court accused the Palestinian captain of providing services to Hamas and purchasing two boats between 2015 and 2016 for the anti-siege Freedom Flotilla campaign.
He added that al-Amoudi suffers from high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart problems, noting that he is even prevented from taking his medicines by the Israel Prison Service.
27 nov 2018
The Israeli occupation police on Tuesday evening arrested several Palestinian citizens participating in a sit-in staged in the holy city in solidarity with detainees in Israeli jails, including Jerusalem mayor Adnan Ghaith.
A reporter for the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) said that police forces assaulted the protesters and arrested some of them.
The police also prevented journalists from covering the sit-in and the events that resulted from their assault on the participants.
The participants were protesting the recent arbitrary arrest of Ghaith and several citizens affiliated with Fatah.
A reporter for the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) said that police forces assaulted the protesters and arrested some of them.
The police also prevented journalists from covering the sit-in and the events that resulted from their assault on the participants.
The participants were protesting the recent arbitrary arrest of Ghaith and several citizens affiliated with Fatah.
An Israeli undercover unit kidnapped on Tuesday evening a Palestinian youth and brutally attacked two of his relatives in Shuweika, north of Tulkarem, in the northern West Bank.
Local sources told PIC field reporter that an undercover unit intercepted a Palestinian car before proceeding to smash its rear windows.
The unit beat up the youth, Mohammed Hussain, and his father, in addition to another family member who was on board of the car.
Mohammed was later kidnapped and led to an unknown destination.
Local sources told PIC field reporter that an undercover unit intercepted a Palestinian car before proceeding to smash its rear windows.
The unit beat up the youth, Mohammed Hussain, and his father, in addition to another family member who was on board of the car.
Mohammed was later kidnapped and led to an unknown destination.
The Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners' Affairs Committee confirmed, on Tuesday, that Palestinian prisoner, Mahmoud Atallah, continues his open hunger strike for the 15th day against being held in solitary confinement for over five months.
The committee pointed out that Atallah’s health has deteriorated as he stopped drinking water. He suffers from severe stomach aches, continuous dizziness and overall weakness in his body.
The committee added that Atallah, a resident from the northern occupied West Bank city of Nablus, has been imprisoned for 17 years and is currently held in solitary confinement in the Israeli prison of Ashkelon.
According to prisoners rights group Addameer, there are 5,580 Palestinians being held in Israeli prisons as of November.
The committee pointed out that Atallah’s health has deteriorated as he stopped drinking water. He suffers from severe stomach aches, continuous dizziness and overall weakness in his body.
The committee added that Atallah, a resident from the northern occupied West Bank city of Nablus, has been imprisoned for 17 years and is currently held in solitary confinement in the Israeli prison of Ashkelon.
According to prisoners rights group Addameer, there are 5,580 Palestinians being held in Israeli prisons as of November.
Scores of Palestinians were arrested by the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) at daybreak Tuesday in abduction sweeps rocking the West Bank.
Overnight, an Israeli patrol rolled into Qalqilya’s eastern town of Azzoun and attacked Palestinian anti-occupation youth with randomly-discharged spates of bullet fire, injuring a young man in his leg.
A number of Palestinian young men were kidnapped by the IOF in the assault.
At the same time, Israeli soldiers stormed Ramallah’s western village of al-Janiya and wreaked havoc on civilian homes. A Palestinian youth was summoned to questioning at the Ofer detention center, southwest of Ramallah.
Palestinian ex-prisoner Muayad Ghazi was also kidnapped by the occupation forces from his family home in Jama’in town, in Nablus.
The IOF further broke into Jenin and cordoned off the Jenin-Haifa thoroughfare with a military checkpoint. A young man was kidnapped from the city.
Palestinian civilians reportedly choked on teargas fired by the occupation forces in clashes that burst out in Jenin’s eastern corners.
Meanwhile, a Palestinian child, identified as Nour al-Hindi, was kidnapped by the IOF from al-Khalil’s northern town of Beit Ummar.
An iron gate was step up by the Israeli military at the main entrance to Kelkes village, south of al-Khalil.
In the meantime, the occupation army threatened to demolish the family home of 17-year-old Palestinian boy Khalil Jabareen, from Yatta town, over allegations of his involvement in an anti-occupation stabbing attack carried out on September 16, 2018 near Gush Etzion settlement outpost, south of Bethlehem. A fanatic Israeli settler died in the alleged attack.
Army Abducts Ten Palestinians in The West Bank
Israeli soldiers abducted, on Tuesday at dawn, at least ten Palestinians from their homes, in several parts of the occupied West Bank.
The soldiers stormed and ransacked dozens of homes, and interrogated many Palestinians while inspecting their ID cards, before abducting at least ten, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) has reported.
The PPS office in Qalqilia, in northern West Bank, said the soldiers abducted Zaki Daoud, a member of the Administrative Board of an Islamic Athletic Club, in addition to Yazan Abdul-Rahman Daoud, 22, Shadi As’ad Radwan, 38, Jawad Ahmad Suwwan, Mos’ab Ma’zouz Dallal and Mohammad Bilal Freij.
Furthermore, the soldiers abducted a young man, identified as Shehada al-Habash, from his home in Jenin, also in northern West Bank.
In Nablus, in northern West Bank, the soldiers abducted a former political prisoner, identified Moayyad Ahmad Ghazi, and Jamal Abu Omar from his home in Jamma’in town, southwest of Nablus.
In addition, the soldiers abducted a child, identified as Nour Abdul-Aziz al-Hindi, from his home in Beit Ummar town, north of Hebron, in the southern part of the West Bank.
The soldiers installed many roadblocks in several parts of the West Bank, stopped and searched dozens of cars, and interrogated many Palestinians while inspecting their ID cards.
Overnight, an Israeli patrol rolled into Qalqilya’s eastern town of Azzoun and attacked Palestinian anti-occupation youth with randomly-discharged spates of bullet fire, injuring a young man in his leg.
A number of Palestinian young men were kidnapped by the IOF in the assault.
At the same time, Israeli soldiers stormed Ramallah’s western village of al-Janiya and wreaked havoc on civilian homes. A Palestinian youth was summoned to questioning at the Ofer detention center, southwest of Ramallah.
Palestinian ex-prisoner Muayad Ghazi was also kidnapped by the occupation forces from his family home in Jama’in town, in Nablus.
The IOF further broke into Jenin and cordoned off the Jenin-Haifa thoroughfare with a military checkpoint. A young man was kidnapped from the city.
Palestinian civilians reportedly choked on teargas fired by the occupation forces in clashes that burst out in Jenin’s eastern corners.
Meanwhile, a Palestinian child, identified as Nour al-Hindi, was kidnapped by the IOF from al-Khalil’s northern town of Beit Ummar.
An iron gate was step up by the Israeli military at the main entrance to Kelkes village, south of al-Khalil.
In the meantime, the occupation army threatened to demolish the family home of 17-year-old Palestinian boy Khalil Jabareen, from Yatta town, over allegations of his involvement in an anti-occupation stabbing attack carried out on September 16, 2018 near Gush Etzion settlement outpost, south of Bethlehem. A fanatic Israeli settler died in the alleged attack.
Army Abducts Ten Palestinians in The West Bank
Israeli soldiers abducted, on Tuesday at dawn, at least ten Palestinians from their homes, in several parts of the occupied West Bank.
The soldiers stormed and ransacked dozens of homes, and interrogated many Palestinians while inspecting their ID cards, before abducting at least ten, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) has reported.
The PPS office in Qalqilia, in northern West Bank, said the soldiers abducted Zaki Daoud, a member of the Administrative Board of an Islamic Athletic Club, in addition to Yazan Abdul-Rahman Daoud, 22, Shadi As’ad Radwan, 38, Jawad Ahmad Suwwan, Mos’ab Ma’zouz Dallal and Mohammad Bilal Freij.
Furthermore, the soldiers abducted a young man, identified as Shehada al-Habash, from his home in Jenin, also in northern West Bank.
In Nablus, in northern West Bank, the soldiers abducted a former political prisoner, identified Moayyad Ahmad Ghazi, and Jamal Abu Omar from his home in Jamma’in town, southwest of Nablus.
In addition, the soldiers abducted a child, identified as Nour Abdul-Aziz al-Hindi, from his home in Beit Ummar town, north of Hebron, in the southern part of the West Bank.
The soldiers installed many roadblocks in several parts of the West Bank, stopped and searched dozens of cars, and interrogated many Palestinians while inspecting their ID cards.
Israeli soldiers abducted, on Monday evening, two young Palestinian men from Yassid town, north of northern West Bank city of Nablus, after surrounding a building where the army believed Ashraf Na’alwa was hiding.
Media sources in Nablus said dozens of soldiers, accompanied by military bulldozers, invaded the town, and surrounded a building, before using loud speakers ordering “Ashraf to surrender.”
They added that the soldiers then stormed the building and searched it, but realized that Ashraf was not there.
The Israeli army has been constantly on the search for Ashraf Na’alwa, from Shweika village, in the northern West Bank governorate of Tulkarem, since he carried out a fatal shooting in Burkan Israeli colony, on October 7th, 2018, killing two settlers.
The two Israelis, who were killed in the shooting, have been identified as Kim Levengrond Yehezkel, 28, from Rosh HaAyin, and Ziv Hagbi, 35, from Rishon LeZion.
Since then, the army constantly invaded his family’s homes, and homes belonging to his siblings, relatives and friends, and frequently abducted many of them, including his mother, father, sister and brothers.
On October 15th, dozens of Israeli soldiers invaded his home, and handed his family an official order for the demolition of their home.
Media sources in Nablus said dozens of soldiers, accompanied by military bulldozers, invaded the town, and surrounded a building, before using loud speakers ordering “Ashraf to surrender.”
They added that the soldiers then stormed the building and searched it, but realized that Ashraf was not there.
The Israeli army has been constantly on the search for Ashraf Na’alwa, from Shweika village, in the northern West Bank governorate of Tulkarem, since he carried out a fatal shooting in Burkan Israeli colony, on October 7th, 2018, killing two settlers.
The two Israelis, who were killed in the shooting, have been identified as Kim Levengrond Yehezkel, 28, from Rosh HaAyin, and Ziv Hagbi, 35, from Rishon LeZion.
Since then, the army constantly invaded his family’s homes, and homes belonging to his siblings, relatives and friends, and frequently abducted many of them, including his mother, father, sister and brothers.
On October 15th, dozens of Israeli soldiers invaded his home, and handed his family an official order for the demolition of their home.
An Israeli court has rejected an appeal filed against the extension of the remand of the Palestinian governor of Jerusalem, Adnan Ghaith, who was detained by the Israeli occupation forces on Sunday.
Ghaith’s lawyer filed an appeal against the Israeli occupation’s decision to extend his detention until Thursday under the pretext of investigation procedures.
Ghaith was arrested on Sunday during a predawn Israeli military raid on his home in the occupied Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan. No reasons were given for the arbitrary arrest.
A number of Fatah officials were also detained overnight on Sunday during a large-scale abduction sweep launched by the occupation forces across Jerusalem city.
Ghaith’s lawyer filed an appeal against the Israeli occupation’s decision to extend his detention until Thursday under the pretext of investigation procedures.
Ghaith was arrested on Sunday during a predawn Israeli military raid on his home in the occupied Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan. No reasons were given for the arbitrary arrest.
A number of Fatah officials were also detained overnight on Sunday during a large-scale abduction sweep launched by the occupation forces across Jerusalem city.
The Israeli parliament (Knesset) on Monday approved a bill cancelling shortened sentence for Palestinian prisoners for its first reading in the Knesset plenum.
According to the bill submitted by MKs Miki Zohar (Likud), Anat Berko (Likud) and Oded Forer (Yisrael Beitenu), those sentenced to prison for anti-occupation attacks or attempted attacks, which, according to the bill, constitute acts of terror, will not be eligible for parole.
“The law is meant to prevent or reduce terror,” claimed MK Zohar, the chairman of the knesset committee that advanced the bill. “A criminal act carried out for criminal purposes is usually carried out individually by one person against another, while criminal acts by terrorists are carried out against all the citizens of Israel and the State of Israel. Therefore, we are trying to create a balance of deterrence, because terrorists know there is a good chance their sentence will be reduced by a third."
"We believe it is the will of the people not to forgive or pardon terrorists who harm the security of the state,” he added. “I want to sever their hopes of having a third of their sentence deducted.”
According to the bill submitted by MKs Miki Zohar (Likud), Anat Berko (Likud) and Oded Forer (Yisrael Beitenu), those sentenced to prison for anti-occupation attacks or attempted attacks, which, according to the bill, constitute acts of terror, will not be eligible for parole.
“The law is meant to prevent or reduce terror,” claimed MK Zohar, the chairman of the knesset committee that advanced the bill. “A criminal act carried out for criminal purposes is usually carried out individually by one person against another, while criminal acts by terrorists are carried out against all the citizens of Israel and the State of Israel. Therefore, we are trying to create a balance of deterrence, because terrorists know there is a good chance their sentence will be reduced by a third."
"We believe it is the will of the people not to forgive or pardon terrorists who harm the security of the state,” he added. “I want to sever their hopes of having a third of their sentence deducted.”
