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Mohamed Abu Khudeir, 16, june 12 2014 Burned alive by settlers |
6 july 2014
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Jerusalem court releases Tariq Abu Khdeir on bail; Tampa teen remembers little of incident.
A Jerusalem court released US-Palestinian teen Tariq Abu Khdeir on bail Sunday morning. Khdeir, whose cousin was brutally murdered last week, told reporters he vaguely remembered the vicious beating he received. "I was attacked by police. I woke up in the hospital." Khdeir, suspected of throwing Molotov cocktails and rocks and of injuring an officer, was detained last Thursday. A video clip circulated on the Internet on Saturday showed two Israeli border police holding down and repeatedly pummeling a masked youth before carrying him away. "I remember standing and watching the group of people. They came from the side of me and I tried to run away," he told reporters. The family of Khdeir, from Tampa, Florida, who was visiting relatives in East Jerusalem, says he was the target of the punches, although the footage is blurred and the victim cannot be identified as he appears also to be wearing a head covering. A later part of the video shows Khdeir's face with a heavy black eye and swollen lip. He is a cousin of Mohammed Abu Khdeir, the youth whom Palestinians believe was abducted and murdered by far-right Israelis on Wednesday. The Israeli Justice Ministry said in a statement that the police investigations |
department was looking into the incident. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said Khdeir was one of six rioters caught and detained in the incident, three of whom were found to be carrying knives.
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki confirmed that Tariq Khdeir was visited by a consular officer on Saturday.
"We are profoundly troubled by reports that he was severely beaten while in police custody and strongly condemn any excessive use of force. We are calling for a speedy, transparent and credible investigation and full accountability for any excessive use of force," Psaki said.
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki confirmed that Tariq Khdeir was visited by a consular officer on Saturday.
"We are profoundly troubled by reports that he was severely beaten while in police custody and strongly condemn any excessive use of force. We are calling for a speedy, transparent and credible investigation and full accountability for any excessive use of force," Psaki said.
15-year old Palestinian-America Tariq beaten by Israeli police
A Tampa, Florida boy who was visiting relatives in Jerusalem when he was grabbed by undercover Israeli officers and badly beaten in the face and head received a visit from U.S. officials Saturday, in advance of his court hearing Sunday.
Tariq Abu Khdeir, 15, is the cousin of Mohammed Abu Khdeir, who was burned to death on Wednesday morning, apparently by the same group of Israelis who were seen forcing him into a car outside a mosque in Shu’fat, East Jerusalem just before 4 am on Wednesday. Despite video footage of the abduction, and the license plate number having been captured by eyewitnesses, the Israeli police have failed to identify or detain the killers of Mohammed Abu Khdeir.
The day after his cousin’s murder, 15-year old Tariq was grabbed by undercover Israeli forces in Shu’fat, where protests had broken out calling for justice for Mohammed. A witness in a nearby apartment building captured video footage of the attack, which shows three men holding and repeatedly beating a prone Palestinian with their fists and other objects.
He was then carried into a police van and taken into custody with dozens of other Palestinians who had been swept up in the police crackdown on the protests. Police denied him medical treatment for over five hours, despite his badly-swollen head and broken nose.
Representative of the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem confirmed that officials had visited Tariq, who is still in Israeli custody, on Saturday, and issued a statement that “We are profoundly troubled by reports that he was severely beaten while in police custody, and strongly condemn any excessive use of force.”
U.S. officials rarely intervene in cases involving Palestinians detained or brutalized by Israeli forces, even when those detained are U.S. citizens. In this case, however, with extensive family connections across the U.S., the Abu Khdeir family have pressured U.S. officials to take action – particularly since the family has already suffered the loss of 16-year old Mohammed, who was burned to death, presumably by Israeli settlers, on Wednesday.
The Palestinian Prisoner Rights group Addameer also took up the case of Tariq Abu Khdeir, stating, “No charges or accusations have been brought against Tarek, yet his despite his young age and unlawful treatment, his detention has been extended until the morning of Sunday 6 July in the Court of First Instances in Jerusalem.
“Tarek is one of 11 Palestinians who were beaten and arrested in Shofat last night following the brutal murder of 16-year old child Mohammad Abu Khdeir, who was found beaten and burned on the ruins of Palestinian destroyed village Deir Yassin hours after he was kidnapped in a retribution act. The Israeli government has instated a gag-order regarding the circumstances of Mohammad’s kidnapping and murder.
“The continued state-sanctioned violence against children is unlawful and unacceptable.
“Addameer urges immediate action and calls on the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the United States consulate and all regional embassies and consulates, human rights organizations and journalists to attend Tarek Abu Khdeir’s hearing on Sunday 6 July to investigate the intensified aggression against Palestinian children.”
updated from: 15-year-old Cousin of Murdered Teen Beaten by Police in Shu'fat
Fri, 04 Jul 2014 11:34:02
A Palestinian teenager identified by local sources as the cousin of the 16-year-old who was murdered on Wednesday was beaten and abducted by Israeli police on Thursday, and was refused medical treatment for his broken nose and other injuries while in custody.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society has reported that over 170 Palestinians have been injured since Monday, when the bodies of three Israeli teenagers who had gone missing two weeks earlier were found.
15-year old Tariq was allegedly participating in one of several protests that took place in Shu'fat and nearby areas after Muhammad Abu Khdeir, 16, was abducted by Israelis, according to eyewitnesses, and later found burned to death on Wednesday.
Hundreds of Palestinians took part in the protests, which were met with tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets and concussion grenades. At least three incidents have been reported of Israeli police and military using live ammunition against the demonstrators. Of the 170 injured since Monday, at least six are journalists.
Since his death Wednesday, the family of Muhammed Abu Khdeir has faced interrogations, DNA tests and a misinformation campaign started by the Israeli police to claim, based on no evidence, that the boy was killed in a family dispute -- in addition to the Israeli police refusing to look at surveillance video showing the assailants, which would normally be a major part of an investigation.
The attack on the 15-year-old appears to be the latest affront to a family that is mourning the brutal death of a child. Tariq is a Palestinian-American who was staying with family in Jerusalem when he was beaten and abducted by Israeli police. The full extent of his injuries is still unknown.
A Tampa, Florida boy who was visiting relatives in Jerusalem when he was grabbed by undercover Israeli officers and badly beaten in the face and head received a visit from U.S. officials Saturday, in advance of his court hearing Sunday.
Tariq Abu Khdeir, 15, is the cousin of Mohammed Abu Khdeir, who was burned to death on Wednesday morning, apparently by the same group of Israelis who were seen forcing him into a car outside a mosque in Shu’fat, East Jerusalem just before 4 am on Wednesday. Despite video footage of the abduction, and the license plate number having been captured by eyewitnesses, the Israeli police have failed to identify or detain the killers of Mohammed Abu Khdeir.
The day after his cousin’s murder, 15-year old Tariq was grabbed by undercover Israeli forces in Shu’fat, where protests had broken out calling for justice for Mohammed. A witness in a nearby apartment building captured video footage of the attack, which shows three men holding and repeatedly beating a prone Palestinian with their fists and other objects.
He was then carried into a police van and taken into custody with dozens of other Palestinians who had been swept up in the police crackdown on the protests. Police denied him medical treatment for over five hours, despite his badly-swollen head and broken nose.
Representative of the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem confirmed that officials had visited Tariq, who is still in Israeli custody, on Saturday, and issued a statement that “We are profoundly troubled by reports that he was severely beaten while in police custody, and strongly condemn any excessive use of force.”
U.S. officials rarely intervene in cases involving Palestinians detained or brutalized by Israeli forces, even when those detained are U.S. citizens. In this case, however, with extensive family connections across the U.S., the Abu Khdeir family have pressured U.S. officials to take action – particularly since the family has already suffered the loss of 16-year old Mohammed, who was burned to death, presumably by Israeli settlers, on Wednesday.
The Palestinian Prisoner Rights group Addameer also took up the case of Tariq Abu Khdeir, stating, “No charges or accusations have been brought against Tarek, yet his despite his young age and unlawful treatment, his detention has been extended until the morning of Sunday 6 July in the Court of First Instances in Jerusalem.
“Tarek is one of 11 Palestinians who were beaten and arrested in Shofat last night following the brutal murder of 16-year old child Mohammad Abu Khdeir, who was found beaten and burned on the ruins of Palestinian destroyed village Deir Yassin hours after he was kidnapped in a retribution act. The Israeli government has instated a gag-order regarding the circumstances of Mohammad’s kidnapping and murder.
“The continued state-sanctioned violence against children is unlawful and unacceptable.
“Addameer urges immediate action and calls on the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the United States consulate and all regional embassies and consulates, human rights organizations and journalists to attend Tarek Abu Khdeir’s hearing on Sunday 6 July to investigate the intensified aggression against Palestinian children.”
updated from: 15-year-old Cousin of Murdered Teen Beaten by Police in Shu'fat
Fri, 04 Jul 2014 11:34:02
A Palestinian teenager identified by local sources as the cousin of the 16-year-old who was murdered on Wednesday was beaten and abducted by Israeli police on Thursday, and was refused medical treatment for his broken nose and other injuries while in custody.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society has reported that over 170 Palestinians have been injured since Monday, when the bodies of three Israeli teenagers who had gone missing two weeks earlier were found.
15-year old Tariq was allegedly participating in one of several protests that took place in Shu'fat and nearby areas after Muhammad Abu Khdeir, 16, was abducted by Israelis, according to eyewitnesses, and later found burned to death on Wednesday.
Hundreds of Palestinians took part in the protests, which were met with tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets and concussion grenades. At least three incidents have been reported of Israeli police and military using live ammunition against the demonstrators. Of the 170 injured since Monday, at least six are journalists.
Since his death Wednesday, the family of Muhammed Abu Khdeir has faced interrogations, DNA tests and a misinformation campaign started by the Israeli police to claim, based on no evidence, that the boy was killed in a family dispute -- in addition to the Israeli police refusing to look at surveillance video showing the assailants, which would normally be a major part of an investigation.
The attack on the 15-year-old appears to be the latest affront to a family that is mourning the brutal death of a child. Tariq is a Palestinian-American who was staying with family in Jerusalem when he was beaten and abducted by Israeli police. The full extent of his injuries is still unknown.
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'There is no place for such murderers in our society,' Netanyahu says after security officials arrest a number of far-right Jews for role in kidnapping, murder of Arab teen Abu Khdeir.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent his condolences to the family of the Palestinian teen who was kidnapped and murdered at the hands of Jewish extremists in response to the murder of the three missing Israeli teens who were presumed to be murdered. Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas urged the UN to intervene in the investigation. "I wish to send my condolences to the family of the teen and promise them that we will find those behind this horrific crime and bring them to justice. There is no place for such murders in our society," the prime minister said. Authorities on Sunday announced the arrests of several Jewish suspects in the death of Mohammed Abu Khdeir, who was abducted and killed last week, marking a major breakthrough in a case that has sparked violent protests in Arab areas of Jerusalem and northern Israel. In a joint statement, Police and the Shin Bet said the suspects were arrested early Sunday. They remained in custody and were being interrogated by the Shin Bet. Police had investigated various motives for Abu Khdeir's death, including criminal or personal motives. But officials said Sunday they believed the killers acted on nationalistic grounds. |
Visiting the families of the three Israeli teens, Netanyahu said he does not "differentiate between terror and terror." He promised to act firmly in the face incitement, and added that "I condemn calls of 'death to Arabs' just like I condemn calls of 'death to Jews… This is a sensitive time and I urge everyone to act responsibly." Netanyahu referenced a Facebook post by a Palestinian teen who seemed to express support of the murder of the three Israeli teens, writing "3:0 for Palestinian and we're not even in the World Cup."
"I was horrified from the cruelty of it," Netanyahu said. "We will not allow radicals, no matter from which side, to set our region ablaze and shed blood. We can't accept it and we reject 'price-tags' like we reject to throwing stones and firebombs," the prime minister said, attempted to draw a parallel between Arab and Jewish violence of recent days.
Speaking with the families of Gil-Ad Shaer, Naftali Frenkel, and Eyal Yifrach, Netanyahu reiterated his past claim that the boys were kidnapped by Hamas and urged the PA to work to bring those behind it to justice. "I promised the families we will continue to support them even after the days of mourning ends.
We know who is behind the kidnap and murder (of the three boys) and we will get to them," the prime minister vowed. He also urged the Palestinian Authority to help find the boys' killer, saying their murders embarked on their murderous mission from part of the West Bank under the PA's control. "Just like we found Abu Khdeir's killer in a number of days… the PA has the responsibility to do everything they can to arrest their killers."
A harsh debate took place between Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman during the weekly cabinet meeting earlier Sunday, with the two locking horns over Netanyahu’s demand that ministers keep quiet regarding the political and security situation. Netanyahu said: “Those who criticize are irresponsible, there are some who take advantage of the situation that has been created.”
To which Lieberman quickly responded: “You are the last who can talk about the subject, you spoke to the press before you spoke with the cabinet. "The things I say are part of my regular policy, I am not taking advantage of the situation. You said you would use an iron fist against Hamas and didn’t stand behind that statement."
Abbas urges UN intervention
Abbas called Sunday on UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to form an international committee to investigate crimes and violations committed against the Palestinians people, including the burning and killing of Abu Khdeir, Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
During a meeting with UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Robert Serry, Abbas said, “15-year-old Mohammad Abu Khadeir was burnt alive, 16 Palestinians, including children and women were killed during the past two weeks, aside from the ongoing kidnapping attempts and assaults against children,” alluding to the case of Abu Khdeir’s cousin, Tariq Abu Khdeir, who was severely beaten up by Israeli police.
“We all saw through the media the face of Tariq Abu Khdeir distorted with injuries by criminal settlers’ groups that must be considered illegal and illegitimate organizations,” WAFA reported Abbas as saying.
“I have requested an international protection for the Palestinian people, giving the Israeli authorities refusal to prosecute these settler’s groups, stressing the rise in settlers’ attacks against Palestinians, which have increased by 41% since the first half of 2014."
"I was horrified from the cruelty of it," Netanyahu said. "We will not allow radicals, no matter from which side, to set our region ablaze and shed blood. We can't accept it and we reject 'price-tags' like we reject to throwing stones and firebombs," the prime minister said, attempted to draw a parallel between Arab and Jewish violence of recent days.
Speaking with the families of Gil-Ad Shaer, Naftali Frenkel, and Eyal Yifrach, Netanyahu reiterated his past claim that the boys were kidnapped by Hamas and urged the PA to work to bring those behind it to justice. "I promised the families we will continue to support them even after the days of mourning ends.
We know who is behind the kidnap and murder (of the three boys) and we will get to them," the prime minister vowed. He also urged the Palestinian Authority to help find the boys' killer, saying their murders embarked on their murderous mission from part of the West Bank under the PA's control. "Just like we found Abu Khdeir's killer in a number of days… the PA has the responsibility to do everything they can to arrest their killers."
A harsh debate took place between Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman during the weekly cabinet meeting earlier Sunday, with the two locking horns over Netanyahu’s demand that ministers keep quiet regarding the political and security situation. Netanyahu said: “Those who criticize are irresponsible, there are some who take advantage of the situation that has been created.”
To which Lieberman quickly responded: “You are the last who can talk about the subject, you spoke to the press before you spoke with the cabinet. "The things I say are part of my regular policy, I am not taking advantage of the situation. You said you would use an iron fist against Hamas and didn’t stand behind that statement."
Abbas urges UN intervention
Abbas called Sunday on UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to form an international committee to investigate crimes and violations committed against the Palestinians people, including the burning and killing of Abu Khdeir, Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
During a meeting with UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Robert Serry, Abbas said, “15-year-old Mohammad Abu Khadeir was burnt alive, 16 Palestinians, including children and women were killed during the past two weeks, aside from the ongoing kidnapping attempts and assaults against children,” alluding to the case of Abu Khdeir’s cousin, Tariq Abu Khdeir, who was severely beaten up by Israeli police.
“We all saw through the media the face of Tariq Abu Khdeir distorted with injuries by criminal settlers’ groups that must be considered illegal and illegitimate organizations,” WAFA reported Abbas as saying.
“I have requested an international protection for the Palestinian people, giving the Israeli authorities refusal to prosecute these settler’s groups, stressing the rise in settlers’ attacks against Palestinians, which have increased by 41% since the first half of 2014."
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Israeli authorities have arrested six suspects in their investigation into the murder of a Palestinian teenager who was killed in a possible revenge attack.
Israeli media reported Sunday that police believe the motive behind the murder of 16-year-old Mohammed Abu Khdeir was connected to the deaths of three Israeli teenagers in the occupied West Bank days earlier. Late Friday, a senior Palestinian official said that a preliminary autopsy report showed Abu Khdeir was burnt alive by his kidnappers. Attorney General Muhammad Abd al-Ghani Uweili told Ma'an Abu Khdeir's autopsy showed soot in the victim's lungs and respiratory tract, indicating he was alive and breathing while he was being burnt. |
Abu Khdeir also had a head injury, but died from complications as a result of being burnt, Uweili said.
A final autopsy will be released later, he added.
The autopsy was conducted at Abu Kabir Forensic Institute in Israel in the presence of Palestinian coroner Dr Sabir al-Aloul, the director of the Institute of Forensic Medicine at al-Quds University.
Palestinians say right-wing Israelis kidnapped and killed Abu Khdeir, whose body was found early Wednesday in a forest near West Jerusalem.
The murder is thought to be a revenge attack in response to the kidnapping and killing of three Israeli teens, who were buried the day before.
Israeli police say the circumstances behind Abu Khdeir's killing remain unclear.
Source: Jewish extremists held over Palestinian teen murder
Israeli police have arrested a group of Jewish extremists in connection with the kidnap and murder of a Palestinian teenager in East Jerusalem, an Israeli official said Sunday.
"Apparently the people arrested in relation to the case belong to an extremist Jewish group," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity, shortly after the website of the Haaretz newspaper reported six arrests in connection with the case.
The kidnap and murder on Wednesday sparked four straight days of riots which began in annexed East Jerusalem but on Saturday spread to more than half a dozen Palestinian towns within Israel.
Details of the case have been subjected to a strict gag order.
Earlier, police acknowledged for the first time there were “indications that the background to the killing was nationalistic.”
It followed days of growing suspicion that Wednesday’s murder was carried out by extremist Jews in revenge for last month’s abduction and murder of three Israeli teenagers in the occupied West Bank.
Israeli police have also arrested dozens of people protesting against the 16-year-old boy, who was shown in an autopsy to have been burned alive in what many Palestinians believe was a revenge killing by Jewish extremists after the kidnap and murder of three Israeli teenagers in the occupied West Bank last month.
“Around 35 people were arrested overnight, almost half of them minors,” police spokeswoman Luba Samri said.
Of those, 22 were arrested in and around the northern city of Nazareth, the most populous Palestinian town in Israel.
The rest were arrested in Taibe in the north and the Triangle region around Umm el-Fahm, an Islamist stronghold northeast of Tel Aviv, where clashes continued into Sunday, Samri added.
“We are demonstrating against this incitement to hatred by Israelis online, who are saying ‘death to Arabs’,” one demonstrator in the Triangle town of Qalansuwa told army radio.
Palestinian-American teen badly beaten
Israel police confirmed they had opened an internal investigation into allegations of police brutality following the publication of a video showing border police beating a handcuffed detainee.
The video was released as news emerged that a 15-year-old Palestinian with US citizenship had been badly beaten while in police custody in East Jerusalem, triggering condemnation from the US State Department.
He was due to appear in court on Sunday morning.
The latest round of violence began on June 12 with the kidnap and subsequent murder of three Israeli teenagers in an attack Israel blamed on Hamas.
The kidnapping triggered a major army crackdown on the West Bank, with more than 400 Palestinians arrested, two-thirds of them Hamas members, and six people killed in clashes sparked by the arrests.
Two days after their bodies were found, a Palestinian of similar age from East Jerusalem was kidnapped and killed, sparking clashes which on Saturday spread to Palestinian towns in Israel.
Tensions have also been high in and around Gaza, where Hamas has its stronghold, with militants responding to the West Bank crackdown with rocket fire on southern Israel.
The military, meanwhile, carried out 10 air strikes on Gaza in response to persistent rocket fire into southern Israel as hopes faded of a renewed truce with the Hamas.
The air force has hit back with almost nightly strikes, which have killed three Palestinian militants so far.
On Saturday, militants fired 15 rockets and mortar rounds at Israel, two of which targeted the southern city of Beersheva some 25 miles from the Palestinian territory, police said.
It was the first time the city had been targeted since the army’s last major operation in Gaza, named "Pillar of Defense," in November 2012.
The air force responded with new strikes early on Sunday, none of which caused casualties.
“Following constant rocket fire at Israeli communities in the south, (Israel Air Force) aircraft targeted 10 terror sites in the central and southern Gaza Strip, including concealed rocket launchers and a weapon manufacturing facility,” a statement said.
Also on Sunday, the army said it had arrested a Palestinian in the flashpoint southern West Bank city of Hebron, whom the Israeli media suggested was somehow linked to the kidnap and murder of the three teenagers.
Israel has named two Hamas militants from Hebron as the prime suspects — Marwan Qawasmeh and Amer Abu Eishe. Both remain at large.
A final autopsy will be released later, he added.
The autopsy was conducted at Abu Kabir Forensic Institute in Israel in the presence of Palestinian coroner Dr Sabir al-Aloul, the director of the Institute of Forensic Medicine at al-Quds University.
Palestinians say right-wing Israelis kidnapped and killed Abu Khdeir, whose body was found early Wednesday in a forest near West Jerusalem.
The murder is thought to be a revenge attack in response to the kidnapping and killing of three Israeli teens, who were buried the day before.
Israeli police say the circumstances behind Abu Khdeir's killing remain unclear.
Source: Jewish extremists held over Palestinian teen murder
Israeli police have arrested a group of Jewish extremists in connection with the kidnap and murder of a Palestinian teenager in East Jerusalem, an Israeli official said Sunday.
"Apparently the people arrested in relation to the case belong to an extremist Jewish group," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity, shortly after the website of the Haaretz newspaper reported six arrests in connection with the case.
The kidnap and murder on Wednesday sparked four straight days of riots which began in annexed East Jerusalem but on Saturday spread to more than half a dozen Palestinian towns within Israel.
Details of the case have been subjected to a strict gag order.
Earlier, police acknowledged for the first time there were “indications that the background to the killing was nationalistic.”
It followed days of growing suspicion that Wednesday’s murder was carried out by extremist Jews in revenge for last month’s abduction and murder of three Israeli teenagers in the occupied West Bank.
Israeli police have also arrested dozens of people protesting against the 16-year-old boy, who was shown in an autopsy to have been burned alive in what many Palestinians believe was a revenge killing by Jewish extremists after the kidnap and murder of three Israeli teenagers in the occupied West Bank last month.
“Around 35 people were arrested overnight, almost half of them minors,” police spokeswoman Luba Samri said.
Of those, 22 were arrested in and around the northern city of Nazareth, the most populous Palestinian town in Israel.
The rest were arrested in Taibe in the north and the Triangle region around Umm el-Fahm, an Islamist stronghold northeast of Tel Aviv, where clashes continued into Sunday, Samri added.
“We are demonstrating against this incitement to hatred by Israelis online, who are saying ‘death to Arabs’,” one demonstrator in the Triangle town of Qalansuwa told army radio.
Palestinian-American teen badly beaten
Israel police confirmed they had opened an internal investigation into allegations of police brutality following the publication of a video showing border police beating a handcuffed detainee.
The video was released as news emerged that a 15-year-old Palestinian with US citizenship had been badly beaten while in police custody in East Jerusalem, triggering condemnation from the US State Department.
He was due to appear in court on Sunday morning.
The latest round of violence began on June 12 with the kidnap and subsequent murder of three Israeli teenagers in an attack Israel blamed on Hamas.
The kidnapping triggered a major army crackdown on the West Bank, with more than 400 Palestinians arrested, two-thirds of them Hamas members, and six people killed in clashes sparked by the arrests.
Two days after their bodies were found, a Palestinian of similar age from East Jerusalem was kidnapped and killed, sparking clashes which on Saturday spread to Palestinian towns in Israel.
Tensions have also been high in and around Gaza, where Hamas has its stronghold, with militants responding to the West Bank crackdown with rocket fire on southern Israel.
The military, meanwhile, carried out 10 air strikes on Gaza in response to persistent rocket fire into southern Israel as hopes faded of a renewed truce with the Hamas.
The air force has hit back with almost nightly strikes, which have killed three Palestinian militants so far.
On Saturday, militants fired 15 rockets and mortar rounds at Israel, two of which targeted the southern city of Beersheva some 25 miles from the Palestinian territory, police said.
It was the first time the city had been targeted since the army’s last major operation in Gaza, named "Pillar of Defense," in November 2012.
The air force responded with new strikes early on Sunday, none of which caused casualties.
“Following constant rocket fire at Israeli communities in the south, (Israel Air Force) aircraft targeted 10 terror sites in the central and southern Gaza Strip, including concealed rocket launchers and a weapon manufacturing facility,” a statement said.
Also on Sunday, the army said it had arrested a Palestinian in the flashpoint southern West Bank city of Hebron, whom the Israeli media suggested was somehow linked to the kidnap and murder of the three teenagers.
Israel has named two Hamas militants from Hebron as the prime suspects — Marwan Qawasmeh and Amer Abu Eishe. Both remain at large.
5 july 2014
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The Electronic Intifada has obtained video images showing the faces of two of the suspected kidnappers and murderers of Muhammad Abu Khudair, the Palestinian teenager who was abducted on Wednesday morning, burned alive and dumped in a Jerusalem forest.
The footage comes from a security camera on the building owned by Hussein Abu Khudair, Muhammad’s father.
Muhammad was kidnapped from right outside the building in an apparent racially-motivated reprisal for the killings of three Israeli teens whose bodies were found in the occupied West Bank last Monday.
The video above was taken on a mobile phone pointed at a computer belonging to Hussein Abu Khudair that was playing the original video from the security camera.
Israeli police were present at the time the mobile phone footage was shot and their voices can be heard in the background, but they were apparently unaware that the mobile phone video was being made.
A short time later, around 6am on 2 July, just over two hours after Muhammad disappeared, Israeli police confiscated the laptop containing the original file.
Faces of suspected killers The video shows two young men walking in from the top left of the frame, one wearing a white t-shirt and one wearing a black t-shirt. The one with the white t-shirt is gesturing with his left hand.
They then stop, at the bottom right of the frame, as if they are talking to someone who is not visible in the video, presumably Muhammad. The man in the white t-shirt continues to gesture vigorously.
This still image shows their faces. Though not clear, this would likely be sufficient for authorities to identify them and the original footage taken by the police would almost certainly be much clearer. While this still image has appeared on several website, the video above is published for the first time, here at The Electronic Intifada.
Second CCTV video shows kidnapping The Electronic Intifada separately obtained security camera footage taken from across the road, which Muhammad’s family says shows his kidnapping.
The Guardian previously published a short clip of this second video, as Bushra Abu Khdeir, an aunt of Muhammad, comments on it.
These frames taken from the video, running in a short loop can be visually matched to the first clip above showing the alleged murderers from close up.
In the full video, the men first appear at 3:50:14am on Wednesday, 2 July.
Following their appearance the two men approach the spot where Muhammad was said to be sitting on the steps of the building.
At 3:50:26, a car appears in front of where the men are standing. The car moves forward and then reverses.
Some kind of altercation is visible and then the figures disappear into the car which moves off at high speed.
Israel has placed a gag order on Israeli media reporting details of the case.
The footage comes from a security camera on the building owned by Hussein Abu Khudair, Muhammad’s father.
Muhammad was kidnapped from right outside the building in an apparent racially-motivated reprisal for the killings of three Israeli teens whose bodies were found in the occupied West Bank last Monday.
The video above was taken on a mobile phone pointed at a computer belonging to Hussein Abu Khudair that was playing the original video from the security camera.
Israeli police were present at the time the mobile phone footage was shot and their voices can be heard in the background, but they were apparently unaware that the mobile phone video was being made.
A short time later, around 6am on 2 July, just over two hours after Muhammad disappeared, Israeli police confiscated the laptop containing the original file.
Faces of suspected killers The video shows two young men walking in from the top left of the frame, one wearing a white t-shirt and one wearing a black t-shirt. The one with the white t-shirt is gesturing with his left hand.
They then stop, at the bottom right of the frame, as if they are talking to someone who is not visible in the video, presumably Muhammad. The man in the white t-shirt continues to gesture vigorously.
This still image shows their faces. Though not clear, this would likely be sufficient for authorities to identify them and the original footage taken by the police would almost certainly be much clearer. While this still image has appeared on several website, the video above is published for the first time, here at The Electronic Intifada.
Second CCTV video shows kidnapping The Electronic Intifada separately obtained security camera footage taken from across the road, which Muhammad’s family says shows his kidnapping.
The Guardian previously published a short clip of this second video, as Bushra Abu Khdeir, an aunt of Muhammad, comments on it.
These frames taken from the video, running in a short loop can be visually matched to the first clip above showing the alleged murderers from close up.
In the full video, the men first appear at 3:50:14am on Wednesday, 2 July.
Following their appearance the two men approach the spot where Muhammad was said to be sitting on the steps of the building.
At 3:50:26, a car appears in front of where the men are standing. The car moves forward and then reverses.
Some kind of altercation is visible and then the figures disappear into the car which moves off at high speed.
Israel has placed a gag order on Israeli media reporting details of the case.
Initial autopsy reports reveal that 16-year-old Muhammad Hussein Abu Khdeir died due to burns and other complications resulting from the fire.
General Palestinian Prosecutor, Mohammad Abul-Ghani al-Oweiwy, attended the West Bank autopsy after body was handed over to a medical team.
Forensic studies found chars in the lungs, indicating that Muhammad was still breathing while he was being burned, according to WAFA. 90% of the child's body was burned, varying from 1st to 4th degree in severity.
The child was also beaten on the head, as signs of beating and concussion were clear.
The Palestinan Forensic Center has taken samples and tissues from the body, to be submitted for further analysis before a final detailed report can be revealed, according to Arabs48.
16-year-old Muhammad Hussein Abu Khdeir was abducted from outside his home, in the Shu'fat district of occupied East Jerusalem, by a group of Israelis who forced him into a car and sped off.
The teen’s burned body was found hours later in a vacant lot in another part of the city, sparking protests in his home neighborhood which are ongoing at the time of this report.
Over 200 Palestinians have been injured by Israeli army fire in ongoing clashes with Israeli soldiers, in different parts of occupied Jerusalem and nearby towns, following the abduction.
His funeral was held July 4, 2014, amidst further clashes with Israeli forces.
Official: Autopsy shows Palestinian youth burnt alive
A preliminary autopsy report shows that 16-year-old Muhammad Abu Khdeir was burnt alive by his kidnappers, a senior Palestinian official said late Friday.
Attorney General Muhammad Abd al-Ghani Uweili told Ma'an Abu Khdeir's autopsy showed soot in the victim's lungs and respiratory tract, indicating he was alive and breathing while he was being burnt.
Abu Khdeir also had a head injury, but died from complications as a result of being burnt, Uweili said.
A final autopsy will be released later, he added.
The autopsy was conducted at Abu Kabir Forensic Institute in Israel in the presence of Palestinian coroner Dr. Sabir al-Aloul, the director of the Institute of Forensic Medicine at al-Quds University.
Palestinians say right-wing Israelis kidnapped and killed Abu Khdeir, whose body was found early Wednesday in a forest near West Jerusalem.
The murder is thought to be a revenge attack in response to the kidnapping and killing of three Israeli teens, who were buried the day before.
Israeli police say the circumstances behind Abu Khdeir's killing remain unclear.
OJ witnesses renewed violent clashes
Renewed violent clashes were reported in occupied Jerusalem at dawn Saturday and Friday night between angry Jerusalemites and Israeli police forces. Locals said that the clashes took place in most suburbs of occupied Jerusalem, adding that young men closed streets with burnt tires and rocks and threw firebombs and stones at Israeli policemen.
Masked youths blocked Jerusalem railway lines as Israeli police and border guards heavily fired teargas to disperse the demonstrators, protesting Jewish settlers’ cruel torture and murder of a Palestinian Jerusalemite boy a couple of days ago.
General Palestinian Prosecutor, Mohammad Abul-Ghani al-Oweiwy, attended the West Bank autopsy after body was handed over to a medical team.
Forensic studies found chars in the lungs, indicating that Muhammad was still breathing while he was being burned, according to WAFA. 90% of the child's body was burned, varying from 1st to 4th degree in severity.
The child was also beaten on the head, as signs of beating and concussion were clear.
The Palestinan Forensic Center has taken samples and tissues from the body, to be submitted for further analysis before a final detailed report can be revealed, according to Arabs48.
16-year-old Muhammad Hussein Abu Khdeir was abducted from outside his home, in the Shu'fat district of occupied East Jerusalem, by a group of Israelis who forced him into a car and sped off.
The teen’s burned body was found hours later in a vacant lot in another part of the city, sparking protests in his home neighborhood which are ongoing at the time of this report.
Over 200 Palestinians have been injured by Israeli army fire in ongoing clashes with Israeli soldiers, in different parts of occupied Jerusalem and nearby towns, following the abduction.
His funeral was held July 4, 2014, amidst further clashes with Israeli forces.
Official: Autopsy shows Palestinian youth burnt alive
A preliminary autopsy report shows that 16-year-old Muhammad Abu Khdeir was burnt alive by his kidnappers, a senior Palestinian official said late Friday.
Attorney General Muhammad Abd al-Ghani Uweili told Ma'an Abu Khdeir's autopsy showed soot in the victim's lungs and respiratory tract, indicating he was alive and breathing while he was being burnt.
Abu Khdeir also had a head injury, but died from complications as a result of being burnt, Uweili said.
A final autopsy will be released later, he added.
The autopsy was conducted at Abu Kabir Forensic Institute in Israel in the presence of Palestinian coroner Dr. Sabir al-Aloul, the director of the Institute of Forensic Medicine at al-Quds University.
Palestinians say right-wing Israelis kidnapped and killed Abu Khdeir, whose body was found early Wednesday in a forest near West Jerusalem.
The murder is thought to be a revenge attack in response to the kidnapping and killing of three Israeli teens, who were buried the day before.
Israeli police say the circumstances behind Abu Khdeir's killing remain unclear.
OJ witnesses renewed violent clashes
Renewed violent clashes were reported in occupied Jerusalem at dawn Saturday and Friday night between angry Jerusalemites and Israeli police forces. Locals said that the clashes took place in most suburbs of occupied Jerusalem, adding that young men closed streets with burnt tires and rocks and threw firebombs and stones at Israeli policemen.
Masked youths blocked Jerusalem railway lines as Israeli police and border guards heavily fired teargas to disperse the demonstrators, protesting Jewish settlers’ cruel torture and murder of a Palestinian Jerusalemite boy a couple of days ago.
