15 feb 2011
The Palestinian Authority has agreed to compensate the families of two Jewish settlers killed in a resistance operation 15 years ago, Israeli Radio said Tuesday.
The compensation will go to the families of Efrat and Yaron Ungar who were shot dead by Palestinian resistance fighters while driving through the Beit Shemwesh area. They had filed a $116 million lawsuit against the PA in a Rhode Island court.
The PA settled to pay an undisclosed amount of compensation.
Israel has made no efforts to pay compensation for the treacherous killing of thousands of Palestinians.
Abu Zuhri denounces PA compensation to Israelis
Dr. Sami Abu Zuhri has denounced the Fatah-controlled PA financial compensations to families of settlers killed in resistance operations.
He described the act in a statement to the PIC on Tuesday as a "national crime" that displayed the PA's absolute subordination to Israel and its disrespect of Palestinian blood.
The PA thus declared it was denying the role of resistance and was apologizing for its operations, the spokesman underlined, adding that the step affirmed that the PA leadership should step down and should be prosecuted.
Islamic Jihad: PA compensation for settler lives confers legitimacy to Israel
Senior Islamic Jihad official Khadir Habib described the Palestinian Authority's court settlement to pay compensation for the death's of two Jewish settlers as a stab in the back of the struggle and national liberation waged by the Palestinians defending their lives and land.
The PA settled in court to compensate the families of two Jewish settlers killed in resistance operations.
The move came at a turbulent time for the PA, which lost popularity after leaked documents revealed it had offered concessions to the occupying entity of Israel on unprecedented amounts of land and on Palestinian refugees' right of return.
At a time when demands for government reforms sent shockwaves across the Arab world, PA officials made decisions for presidential elections and had its cabinet of ministers resign, in a bid to win back credibility.
But reality resurfaced Tuesday when the PA agreed to compensate for the deaths of illegal settlers killed by resistance forces fifteen years ago.
[The move] was a shameful scandal and a huge offense and criminalizes the lawful resistance in the face of the occupation and its crimes, Habib said Tuesday.
He also emphasized the need for a solution to the PA, saying it is has made continued concessions to Israel and perpetuated the Palestinian political split though its political and security commitments.
The split is reinforced by the PA's agendas, programs and policies that conflict with national objectives set out for by Palestinian forces and factions, he said. These policies are also unacceptable to the people, so an authority that does not reflect the people's aspirations and dreams may not stay.
Meanwhile, the Islamic Jihad Movement tried to call the cards in the PA cabinet resignation.
The changes that happened in Fayyad's government are only a formality and are changes in the names and ministries, and is not a real change aimed at reform, said another Islamic Jihad leader Dawud Shehab.
The authority in Ramallah is very concerned over its fate after it lost its greatest supporting political ally with the downfall of the Hosni Mubarak regime. And it is trying varied means to circumvent real reform, Shehab said.
He called on the PA to kick off talks with Hamas and other Palestinian factions and agree to a national program to cope with the Israeli occupation and threats to the Palestinian cause rather than attempts to circumvent national reconciliation and dialogue.
The compensation will go to the families of Efrat and Yaron Ungar who were shot dead by Palestinian resistance fighters while driving through the Beit Shemwesh area. They had filed a $116 million lawsuit against the PA in a Rhode Island court.
The PA settled to pay an undisclosed amount of compensation.
Israel has made no efforts to pay compensation for the treacherous killing of thousands of Palestinians.
Abu Zuhri denounces PA compensation to Israelis
Dr. Sami Abu Zuhri has denounced the Fatah-controlled PA financial compensations to families of settlers killed in resistance operations.
He described the act in a statement to the PIC on Tuesday as a "national crime" that displayed the PA's absolute subordination to Israel and its disrespect of Palestinian blood.
The PA thus declared it was denying the role of resistance and was apologizing for its operations, the spokesman underlined, adding that the step affirmed that the PA leadership should step down and should be prosecuted.
Islamic Jihad: PA compensation for settler lives confers legitimacy to Israel
Senior Islamic Jihad official Khadir Habib described the Palestinian Authority's court settlement to pay compensation for the death's of two Jewish settlers as a stab in the back of the struggle and national liberation waged by the Palestinians defending their lives and land.
The PA settled in court to compensate the families of two Jewish settlers killed in resistance operations.
The move came at a turbulent time for the PA, which lost popularity after leaked documents revealed it had offered concessions to the occupying entity of Israel on unprecedented amounts of land and on Palestinian refugees' right of return.
At a time when demands for government reforms sent shockwaves across the Arab world, PA officials made decisions for presidential elections and had its cabinet of ministers resign, in a bid to win back credibility.
But reality resurfaced Tuesday when the PA agreed to compensate for the deaths of illegal settlers killed by resistance forces fifteen years ago.
[The move] was a shameful scandal and a huge offense and criminalizes the lawful resistance in the face of the occupation and its crimes, Habib said Tuesday.
He also emphasized the need for a solution to the PA, saying it is has made continued concessions to Israel and perpetuated the Palestinian political split though its political and security commitments.
The split is reinforced by the PA's agendas, programs and policies that conflict with national objectives set out for by Palestinian forces and factions, he said. These policies are also unacceptable to the people, so an authority that does not reflect the people's aspirations and dreams may not stay.
Meanwhile, the Islamic Jihad Movement tried to call the cards in the PA cabinet resignation.
The changes that happened in Fayyad's government are only a formality and are changes in the names and ministries, and is not a real change aimed at reform, said another Islamic Jihad leader Dawud Shehab.
The authority in Ramallah is very concerned over its fate after it lost its greatest supporting political ally with the downfall of the Hosni Mubarak regime. And it is trying varied means to circumvent real reform, Shehab said.
He called on the PA to kick off talks with Hamas and other Palestinian factions and agree to a national program to cope with the Israeli occupation and threats to the Palestinian cause rather than attempts to circumvent national reconciliation and dialogue.
Palestinian medical sources reported, on Tuesday evening, that a Palestinian youth was shot and wounded by settlers fire near Jaloud village, south of Nablus, in the northern part of the West Bank.
Ghassan Douglas, in charge of the settlements file in the northern West Bank for the Palestinian Authority, reported that settlers from the Kida settlement, east of Jaloud village, opened live fire at Wael Mahmoud Ayed, 17 years old, wounding him in the abdomen.
Ayed was farming his land in Khallit al-Wista area in the village. He was moved to Rafidia Governmental hospital in Nablus suffering mild-to-moderate injuries.
The attack is one of dozens of repeated attacks and escalation carried out by the settlers against the local residents in Nablus, Hebron and several parts of the occupied West Bank.
Settlers uproot olive tree saplings, IOF troops raid southern Gaza
Jewish settlers uprooted dozens of olive tree saplings in Beit Ummar village, north of Al-Khalil, on Monday, local sources reported.
They said that settlers pulled out 250 olive tree saplings which were planted only a few days ago in a solidarity campaign with farmers whose lands are located near the Karmi Tzur settlement.
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) assaulted farmers in the same area injuring two of them including a 15-year-old boy.
The IOF soldiers also rounded up four Palestinians over the past 24 hours two in Al-Khalil and two in Yabad, south of Jenin, after searching many homes in the village.
In the Gaza Strip, IOF troops raided an area east of Khan Younis, south of the Strip, firing indiscriminately and bulldozing lands.
Ghassan Douglas, in charge of the settlements file in the northern West Bank for the Palestinian Authority, reported that settlers from the Kida settlement, east of Jaloud village, opened live fire at Wael Mahmoud Ayed, 17 years old, wounding him in the abdomen.
Ayed was farming his land in Khallit al-Wista area in the village. He was moved to Rafidia Governmental hospital in Nablus suffering mild-to-moderate injuries.
The attack is one of dozens of repeated attacks and escalation carried out by the settlers against the local residents in Nablus, Hebron and several parts of the occupied West Bank.
Settlers uproot olive tree saplings, IOF troops raid southern Gaza
Jewish settlers uprooted dozens of olive tree saplings in Beit Ummar village, north of Al-Khalil, on Monday, local sources reported.
They said that settlers pulled out 250 olive tree saplings which were planted only a few days ago in a solidarity campaign with farmers whose lands are located near the Karmi Tzur settlement.
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) assaulted farmers in the same area injuring two of them including a 15-year-old boy.
The IOF soldiers also rounded up four Palestinians over the past 24 hours two in Al-Khalil and two in Yabad, south of Jenin, after searching many homes in the village.
In the Gaza Strip, IOF troops raided an area east of Khan Younis, south of the Strip, firing indiscriminately and bulldozing lands.
14 feb 2011
Armed Israeli settlers storm Palestinian village near Hebron
A group of heavily-armed Israeli settlers stormed the village of Beit Ummar, in the southern part of the West Bank, on Sunday night, harassing and threatening villagers but causing no injuries, according to local eyewitnesses.
The incident took place just two days after a large non-violent protest was held in the nearby city of Hebron challenging a planned 'marathon run' by Israeli settlers through Palestinian towns and villages. Settlers in the Hebron area are among the most violent toward Palestinians, with dozens of incidents of harassment and violence documented in the last two months alone.
According to Mohammed Ayyad Awad, a village official in Beit Ummar, a crowd of settlers rushed through the village late Sunday night, at least two of whom were carrying automatic weapons. The settlers who came into the village on foot were followed by a group of settlers in a car, which drove through the village, harassing the residents, then headed toward a nearby military outpost.
The area around the village of Beit Ummar has been slated by Israeli settlers for an expansion of their colony located on stolen village land, and a number of violent assaults on Palestinian farmers trying to harvest their crops have taken place in recent months.
In addition, the Israeli military has begun construction of the Annexation Wall through the middle of the village's land, and non-violent protests have taken place every week for the last several months to challenge the illegal confiscation of the land.
The Israeli military spokesperson told a reporter from the Ma'an News Agency that the military had no knowledge of the Israeli settler provocation in Beit Ummar Sunday night.
Settlers storm village
A group of armed Jewish settlers stormed the village of Beit Ummar, Al-Khalil, on Sunday night as the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) were closing all entrances to the town, locals reported.
They told the PIC that the IOF troops besieged the village and roamed its suburbs looking for settlers, adding that ten of those settlers armed with machineguns were seen inside the village.
Earlier on Sunday, eyewitnesses said that the soldiers took away two Palestinian youths after beating them in Al-Khalil city.
Armed Israeli settlers storm Palestinian village near Hebron
A group of heavily-armed Israeli settlers stormed the village of Beit Ummar, in the southern part of the West Bank, on Sunday night, harassing and threatening villagers but causing no injuries, according to local eyewitnesses.
The incident took place just two days after a large non-violent protest was held in the nearby city of Hebron challenging a planned 'marathon run' by Israeli settlers through Palestinian towns and villages. Settlers in the Hebron area are among the most violent toward Palestinians, with dozens of incidents of harassment and violence documented in the last two months alone.
According to Mohammed Ayyad Awad, a village official in Beit Ummar, a crowd of settlers rushed through the village late Sunday night, at least two of whom were carrying automatic weapons. The settlers who came into the village on foot were followed by a group of settlers in a car, which drove through the village, harassing the residents, then headed toward a nearby military outpost.
The area around the village of Beit Ummar has been slated by Israeli settlers for an expansion of their colony located on stolen village land, and a number of violent assaults on Palestinian farmers trying to harvest their crops have taken place in recent months.
In addition, the Israeli military has begun construction of the Annexation Wall through the middle of the village's land, and non-violent protests have taken place every week for the last several months to challenge the illegal confiscation of the land.
The Israeli military spokesperson told a reporter from the Ma'an News Agency that the military had no knowledge of the Israeli settler provocation in Beit Ummar Sunday night.
Settlers storm village
A group of armed Jewish settlers stormed the village of Beit Ummar, Al-Khalil, on Sunday night as the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) were closing all entrances to the town, locals reported.
They told the PIC that the IOF troops besieged the village and roamed its suburbs looking for settlers, adding that ten of those settlers armed with machineguns were seen inside the village.
Earlier on Sunday, eyewitnesses said that the soldiers took away two Palestinian youths after beating them in Al-Khalil city.
13 feb 2011
Beit Ummer residents say harassed by settlers
A small group of armed settlers entered the town of Beit Ummar Sunday night, local sources said, describing a tense scene in the area and closed roads in and out.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said she was unaware of any activity in the area.
Town spokesman Mohammad Ayyad Awad said two armed settlers and a few others were walking around the residential area, causing residents to fear leaving their homes.
The settlers, he said, were seen walking toward the military outpost outside of the town, while a second group in a car made a turn around the area, then left.
Beit Ummer residents say harassed by settlers
A small group of armed settlers entered the town of Beit Ummar Sunday night, local sources said, describing a tense scene in the area and closed roads in and out.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said she was unaware of any activity in the area.
Town spokesman Mohammad Ayyad Awad said two armed settlers and a few others were walking around the residential area, causing residents to fear leaving their homes.
The settlers, he said, were seen walking toward the military outpost outside of the town, while a second group in a car made a turn around the area, then left.
12 feb 2011
Hussam Rawidi 24
A Palestinian man was beaten to death at the hands of Jewish settlers in Aqab village in central occupied Jerusalem on Friday during confrontations in the town with Israeli occupation troops.
Hebrew daily Yediot Ahronot quoted Israeli police as saying that the unidentified youth was severely beaten by Jewish settlers who attacked citizens in the village.
It said that the young man was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead and later taken to Abu Kabir forensic institute.
Meanwhile, a number of other Jerusalemites suffered breathing difficulty as a result of inhaling the tear gas fired by the Israeli forces during the confrontations in the vicinity of the sit-in tent in Bustan suburb in Silwan town.
A Palestinian man was beaten to death at the hands of Jewish settlers in Aqab village in central occupied Jerusalem on Friday during confrontations in the town with Israeli occupation troops.
Hebrew daily Yediot Ahronot quoted Israeli police as saying that the unidentified youth was severely beaten by Jewish settlers who attacked citizens in the village.
It said that the young man was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead and later taken to Abu Kabir forensic institute.
Meanwhile, a number of other Jerusalemites suffered breathing difficulty as a result of inhaling the tear gas fired by the Israeli forces during the confrontations in the vicinity of the sit-in tent in Bustan suburb in Silwan town.
11 feb 2011
Settlers hold marathon in Hebron city center
Israeli far-right supporters are expected to join settlers in a marathon planned in the West Bank city of Hebron on Friday, a local Palestinian youth group said.
The route of the Jewish-only race runs through the heart of the occupied city, starting at an illegal settlement and passing through Al-Ja'bari and Jibr neighborhoods, past the Ibrahimi Mosque and down Shohada Street.
Settlers from across the West Bank are expected to join residents of Hebron's illegal outposts and the Kiryat Arba settlement, Youth Against Settlements said.
YAS coordinator Issa Amer warned Palestinian residents living close to the track that the Israeli army may declare their neighborhoods a closed military zone.
He appealed to locals to take precautions against attacks by settlers, and appealed to the international community to pressure Israel to prevent "provocative acts" by settlers and the army.
In Hebron, settlers live in the heart of the occupied city, and frequently attack their Palestinian neighbors under the guard of the Israeli military.
According to the Israeli rights group B'Tselem, "Over the years, settlers in the city have routinely abused the city's Palestinian residents, sometimes using extreme violence."
Further, due to the increased presence of Israeli soldiers in the city center, "Violence, arbitrary house searches, seizure of houses, harassment, detaining passersby, and humiliating treatment have become part of daily reality for Palestinians," the organization says.
"Soldiers are generally positioned on every street corner in and near the settlement points, but in most cases they do nothing to protect Palestinians from the settlers' attacks."
Settlers hold marathon in Hebron city center
Israeli far-right supporters are expected to join settlers in a marathon planned in the West Bank city of Hebron on Friday, a local Palestinian youth group said.
The route of the Jewish-only race runs through the heart of the occupied city, starting at an illegal settlement and passing through Al-Ja'bari and Jibr neighborhoods, past the Ibrahimi Mosque and down Shohada Street.
Settlers from across the West Bank are expected to join residents of Hebron's illegal outposts and the Kiryat Arba settlement, Youth Against Settlements said.
YAS coordinator Issa Amer warned Palestinian residents living close to the track that the Israeli army may declare their neighborhoods a closed military zone.
He appealed to locals to take precautions against attacks by settlers, and appealed to the international community to pressure Israel to prevent "provocative acts" by settlers and the army.
In Hebron, settlers live in the heart of the occupied city, and frequently attack their Palestinian neighbors under the guard of the Israeli military.
According to the Israeli rights group B'Tselem, "Over the years, settlers in the city have routinely abused the city's Palestinian residents, sometimes using extreme violence."
Further, due to the increased presence of Israeli soldiers in the city center, "Violence, arbitrary house searches, seizure of houses, harassment, detaining passersby, and humiliating treatment have become part of daily reality for Palestinians," the organization says.
"Soldiers are generally positioned on every street corner in and near the settlement points, but in most cases they do nothing to protect Palestinians from the settlers' attacks."
10 feb 2011
Jews and three right-wing Israeli ministers desecrate Joseph's Tomb in Nablus
Hundreds of extremist Jewish settlers and three ministers desecrated last night Joseph's Tomb in Nablus city and some of them caused havoc in a nearby Palestinian girls' school.
The visit was made under protection from Israeli soldiers and Palestinian authority security militias.
Local sources said that unlike previous occasions when the PA militias disappear from the streets and stay in their headquarters during such Jewish visits to the Tomb, many identified members of security apparatuses dressed in civilian clothes were seen this time deployed throughout Nablus.
The sources added that a group of these settlers stormed a girls' school near the Tomb and savagely damaged things inside it.
The Hebrew radio reported Thursday morning that three Israeli ministers, Moshe Kahlon, Yuli Edelstein and Daniel Hershkowitz went along about one thousand settlers to the Tomb under heavy military protection.
Jews and three right-wing Israeli ministers desecrate Joseph's Tomb in Nablus
Hundreds of extremist Jewish settlers and three ministers desecrated last night Joseph's Tomb in Nablus city and some of them caused havoc in a nearby Palestinian girls' school.
The visit was made under protection from Israeli soldiers and Palestinian authority security militias.
Local sources said that unlike previous occasions when the PA militias disappear from the streets and stay in their headquarters during such Jewish visits to the Tomb, many identified members of security apparatuses dressed in civilian clothes were seen this time deployed throughout Nablus.
The sources added that a group of these settlers stormed a girls' school near the Tomb and savagely damaged things inside it.
The Hebrew radio reported Thursday morning that three Israeli ministers, Moshe Kahlon, Yuli Edelstein and Daniel Hershkowitz went along about one thousand settlers to the Tomb under heavy military protection.
9 feb 2011
Jewish settlers in the West Bank city of Al-Khalil attempted to block on Tuesday Spanish MP Trinidad Jiménez from entering the Old City during a three-day visit she paid there.
Spain along with other EU states have spent millions since 1999 to renovate an Arab neighborhood in the city. When finished the project will have doubled the population of 1,500.
Jiménez was visiting to monitor the project's development.
Jews angered protested at the district's entrance and accused her of racism and taking sides with the Palestinians. She refused to speak with them. The protesters were then dispersed by the Israeli occupation army.
US urged not to veto anti-Israeli draft
Thousands of US citizens, American groups and organizations have called on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to pass a resolution against Israeli war crimes in Palestine.
The move comes as the UNSC prepares to debate a resolution on illegal Israeli settlement activities in the West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem).
The draft Security Council resolution reaffirms that Israel's settlements "are illegal and constitute a major obstacle to the achievement of a just, lasting and comprehensive peace" in the Middle East.
However, the administration of US President Barak Obama has threatened to use its veto power to once again protect Israel from abiding by international law.
"New York is not the place to resolve the longstanding conflict and outstanding issues between the Israelis and the Palestinians," US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had said in January, in a statement which almost certainly affirms Obama's plan to veto the vote.
On Wednesday, political activist Richard Grave, told IRNA that America's credibility in the world is threatened by its constant protection of Israel.
In a petition, launched by the US Campaign to End Israeli Occupation, the signatories warned that a veto would only damage Obama's reliability, as it would clearly contradict what the US president has been saying for the past 19 months.
Since his rise to power in 2009, Obama has made a settlement freeze the focus of his attempts to resurrect direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
The signatories also reminded the US president of his 2009 speech in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, where he said the United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements and urged Israel to stop its construction activity.
Tel Aviv's continued construction in the occupied West Bank and East al-Quds is seen as the main bone of contention between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, and is blamed for derailing several rounds of talks between the two sides.
Apart from that, according to rights groups, Israeli settlers terrorize, harass and kill Palestinians on a daily basis without fear of recrimination or legal ramifications.
For example, on January 27, an Israeli settler shot dead Odai Qadous, an 18-year-old shepherd tending his flock of sheep in the West Bank. And on the very next day, more than 100 Israeli settlers stormed the same region, fatally shooting 15-year-old Yousef Ekhlil.
The tragic deaths serve as a stark reminder that the half million Israeli settlers, protected by the US-equipped Israeli army, are responsible for some of the most egregious human rights abuses suffered by Palestinians every day, the petition read.
Despite international criticisms, the US, a staunch ally to Israel, has, so far, vetoed over 40 anti-Israeli resolutions sought by the council since 1972.
Since 2004, Washington has prevented the adoption of four other resolutions that called for Tel Aviv to halt its operations in the Gaza Strip.
Analysts believe that Washington's unwavering support for Tel Aviv has made the United States an accomplice in Israeli actions.
IDF station in Hebron made off limits to settlers after 30 years
The Mitkanim outpost, adjacent to the city's Avraham Avinu neighborhood, served as a shortcut to Shuhada Street, one of Hebron's main arteries.
The Israel Defense Forces has finally closed one of its main outposts in Hebron to Jewish settlers.
The Mitkanim outpost, adjacent to the city's Avraham Avinu neighborhood, is permanently staffed by a company of soldiers. But while all other army bases and outposts nationwide are closed to civilians unless they obtain a special permit, Mitkanim has served Avraham Avinu residents for 30 years as a shortcut to Shuhada Street, which is one of Hebron's main arteries.
Many soldiers and officers have complained about this practice in the past, noting that civilians, including children, are roaming about amid soldiers preparing to go out on patrol, when all their weapons are lying around. There have even been cases in which arms and ammunition disappeared from the outpost and were later found in the homes of Hebron settlers. But until recently, such complaints were always dismissed by superior officers with the phrase "that's how things are in Hebron."
Three weeks ago, however, the commander of the Hebron Brigade, Col. Guy Hazut, finally decided to end the practice and ordered the outpost closed to civilians. At the same time, a new exit from Avraham Avinu to Shuhada Street was opened for the settlers' use.
"It was impossible to let the situation continue," explained an officer serving in the city. "What would have happened if a child had played with a hand grenade and pulled out the pin?"
Army sources said that despite the opening of the new exit to Shuhada Street, settlers objected to the decision. But Noam Arnon, a spokesman for Hebron's Jewish community, denied this. He termed the decision "appropriate," asserting that it had been made "after some half-witted Arab entered the outpost and ran amok."
Officers in the area said there has recently been a decrease in tensions between both settlers and soldiers and settlers and Palestinians in Hebron. "The settlers are sick of their image as the lunatics from Hebron," one said, "so they are taking care to keep out extremist elements who had been coming from the hilltops in Samaria [the northern West Bank] in order to clash with Palestinians in the city."
Settlers have also been doing nightly rounds of the city's army outposts to distribute coffee and cake.
"As long as there's no incitement to disobey army orders, we don't prevent soldiers from accepting coffee and cake" from the settlers, a senior officer explained.
Spain along with other EU states have spent millions since 1999 to renovate an Arab neighborhood in the city. When finished the project will have doubled the population of 1,500.
Jiménez was visiting to monitor the project's development.
Jews angered protested at the district's entrance and accused her of racism and taking sides with the Palestinians. She refused to speak with them. The protesters were then dispersed by the Israeli occupation army.
US urged not to veto anti-Israeli draft
Thousands of US citizens, American groups and organizations have called on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to pass a resolution against Israeli war crimes in Palestine.
The move comes as the UNSC prepares to debate a resolution on illegal Israeli settlement activities in the West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem).
The draft Security Council resolution reaffirms that Israel's settlements "are illegal and constitute a major obstacle to the achievement of a just, lasting and comprehensive peace" in the Middle East.
However, the administration of US President Barak Obama has threatened to use its veto power to once again protect Israel from abiding by international law.
"New York is not the place to resolve the longstanding conflict and outstanding issues between the Israelis and the Palestinians," US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had said in January, in a statement which almost certainly affirms Obama's plan to veto the vote.
On Wednesday, political activist Richard Grave, told IRNA that America's credibility in the world is threatened by its constant protection of Israel.
In a petition, launched by the US Campaign to End Israeli Occupation, the signatories warned that a veto would only damage Obama's reliability, as it would clearly contradict what the US president has been saying for the past 19 months.
Since his rise to power in 2009, Obama has made a settlement freeze the focus of his attempts to resurrect direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
The signatories also reminded the US president of his 2009 speech in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, where he said the United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements and urged Israel to stop its construction activity.
Tel Aviv's continued construction in the occupied West Bank and East al-Quds is seen as the main bone of contention between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, and is blamed for derailing several rounds of talks between the two sides.
Apart from that, according to rights groups, Israeli settlers terrorize, harass and kill Palestinians on a daily basis without fear of recrimination or legal ramifications.
For example, on January 27, an Israeli settler shot dead Odai Qadous, an 18-year-old shepherd tending his flock of sheep in the West Bank. And on the very next day, more than 100 Israeli settlers stormed the same region, fatally shooting 15-year-old Yousef Ekhlil.
The tragic deaths serve as a stark reminder that the half million Israeli settlers, protected by the US-equipped Israeli army, are responsible for some of the most egregious human rights abuses suffered by Palestinians every day, the petition read.
Despite international criticisms, the US, a staunch ally to Israel, has, so far, vetoed over 40 anti-Israeli resolutions sought by the council since 1972.
Since 2004, Washington has prevented the adoption of four other resolutions that called for Tel Aviv to halt its operations in the Gaza Strip.
Analysts believe that Washington's unwavering support for Tel Aviv has made the United States an accomplice in Israeli actions.
IDF station in Hebron made off limits to settlers after 30 years
The Mitkanim outpost, adjacent to the city's Avraham Avinu neighborhood, served as a shortcut to Shuhada Street, one of Hebron's main arteries.
The Israel Defense Forces has finally closed one of its main outposts in Hebron to Jewish settlers.
The Mitkanim outpost, adjacent to the city's Avraham Avinu neighborhood, is permanently staffed by a company of soldiers. But while all other army bases and outposts nationwide are closed to civilians unless they obtain a special permit, Mitkanim has served Avraham Avinu residents for 30 years as a shortcut to Shuhada Street, which is one of Hebron's main arteries.
Many soldiers and officers have complained about this practice in the past, noting that civilians, including children, are roaming about amid soldiers preparing to go out on patrol, when all their weapons are lying around. There have even been cases in which arms and ammunition disappeared from the outpost and were later found in the homes of Hebron settlers. But until recently, such complaints were always dismissed by superior officers with the phrase "that's how things are in Hebron."
Three weeks ago, however, the commander of the Hebron Brigade, Col. Guy Hazut, finally decided to end the practice and ordered the outpost closed to civilians. At the same time, a new exit from Avraham Avinu to Shuhada Street was opened for the settlers' use.
"It was impossible to let the situation continue," explained an officer serving in the city. "What would have happened if a child had played with a hand grenade and pulled out the pin?"
Army sources said that despite the opening of the new exit to Shuhada Street, settlers objected to the decision. But Noam Arnon, a spokesman for Hebron's Jewish community, denied this. He termed the decision "appropriate," asserting that it had been made "after some half-witted Arab entered the outpost and ran amok."
Officers in the area said there has recently been a decrease in tensions between both settlers and soldiers and settlers and Palestinians in Hebron. "The settlers are sick of their image as the lunatics from Hebron," one said, "so they are taking care to keep out extremist elements who had been coming from the hilltops in Samaria [the northern West Bank] in order to clash with Palestinians in the city."
Settlers have also been doing nightly rounds of the city's army outposts to distribute coffee and cake.
"As long as there's no incitement to disobey army orders, we don't prevent soldiers from accepting coffee and cake" from the settlers, a senior officer explained.
8 feb 2011
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On the afternoon of 7 February 2011, three Israeli settlers from Havat Ma'on outpost chased a group of 12 Palestinian schoolchildren who were walking home from school.
The Israeli Border Police, who were located on an adjacent hill for the duration of the incident, arrived at the scene after the Palestinian children had safely distanced themselves from the settlers. The Border Police stopped and spoke with the settlers, two of whom remained masked during the entire conversation with the authorities. Since 2001, Israeli settlers from Havat Ma'on have routinely attacked the children on their journey to and from school, but it was not until November 2004 that Israeli authorities established a daily military escort. |
Despite the Israeli military escort, the children have been victims of violence 104 times between November 2004 and June 2010.
For more information:
The Dangerous Road to Education: Palestinian Students Suffer under Settler Violence and Military Negligence at http://www.cpt.org/work/palestine
music: "Thursday Night on Pearl Street" by Hollidayrain -
www.dance-industries.com/Hollidayrain/
Fayyad demands intervention to stop settler violence
International pressure must be brought to bear on Israeli settlers in the West Bank to halt their use of violence and constant harassment of Palestinians, premier Salam Fayyad said Monday.
Speaking with UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Navi Pillary, who is on an official visit to Palestine, Fayyad blamed the Israeli government for "terrorist acts" committed by settlers, and cited the shooting deaths of two teens in January.
"It is time the international community stopped treating Israel as a state above the law," Fayyad said, demanding that international work be put into protecting Palestinians.
Amid what officials had already called a rise in settler violence -- with reports of assaults on farmers, attempted hit-and-runs, and shooting injuries -- two teenagers were shot and killed in separate incidents. On Jan. 27 a settler shot a teen farmer in the northern West Bank, and the following day a second teen was shot near Hebron and pronounced dead hours later.
The shootings came just weeks after Israeli authorities announced a program to confiscate weapons handed out to settlers by the government during the First Intifada.
Human rights and the separation wall
During Pillary's visit, Fayyad accompanied him to the Jerusalem-area village of Beit Iksa, stuck in a no-man's-land within the Green Line but trapped on the Israeli side of the separation wall, next to the Ramot Allon settlement.
In the village, Fayyad and the UN official visited Sabri Ghareib, whose home is surrounded with a barbed-wire fence, in which Israeli forces installed an electronic gate which opens to allow the family members in and out of their village. The residents of the area must still cross military checkpoints to pass through to the adjacent village of Beit Surik.
Pillary called the continued settlement expansion in East Jerusalem and the West Bank "inhumane," saying that "We know citizens suffer and face threats, and as UN Commissioner for Human Rights, I will play my role and try to reduce their suffering."
For more information:
The Dangerous Road to Education: Palestinian Students Suffer under Settler Violence and Military Negligence at http://www.cpt.org/work/palestine
music: "Thursday Night on Pearl Street" by Hollidayrain -
www.dance-industries.com/Hollidayrain/
Fayyad demands intervention to stop settler violence
International pressure must be brought to bear on Israeli settlers in the West Bank to halt their use of violence and constant harassment of Palestinians, premier Salam Fayyad said Monday.
Speaking with UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Navi Pillary, who is on an official visit to Palestine, Fayyad blamed the Israeli government for "terrorist acts" committed by settlers, and cited the shooting deaths of two teens in January.
"It is time the international community stopped treating Israel as a state above the law," Fayyad said, demanding that international work be put into protecting Palestinians.
Amid what officials had already called a rise in settler violence -- with reports of assaults on farmers, attempted hit-and-runs, and shooting injuries -- two teenagers were shot and killed in separate incidents. On Jan. 27 a settler shot a teen farmer in the northern West Bank, and the following day a second teen was shot near Hebron and pronounced dead hours later.
The shootings came just weeks after Israeli authorities announced a program to confiscate weapons handed out to settlers by the government during the First Intifada.
Human rights and the separation wall
During Pillary's visit, Fayyad accompanied him to the Jerusalem-area village of Beit Iksa, stuck in a no-man's-land within the Green Line but trapped on the Israeli side of the separation wall, next to the Ramot Allon settlement.
In the village, Fayyad and the UN official visited Sabri Ghareib, whose home is surrounded with a barbed-wire fence, in which Israeli forces installed an electronic gate which opens to allow the family members in and out of their village. The residents of the area must still cross military checkpoints to pass through to the adjacent village of Beit Surik.
Pillary called the continued settlement expansion in East Jerusalem and the West Bank "inhumane," saying that "We know citizens suffer and face threats, and as UN Commissioner for Human Rights, I will play my role and try to reduce their suffering."
7 feb 2011
Jewish settlers bulldoze archeological sites
Jewish settlers started on Sunday to bulldoze vast areas of Deir Sama'an in Kufr Al-Dik village west of Salfit, which is famous for its archeological sites.
Eyewitnesses reported that the area is strategic and fertile and is rich in Roman relics, describing it as one of the most important archeological sites in Salfit district.
The inhabitants said that they could not enter that area for the past eight years after the establishment of a settlement outpost near it.
Kufr Al-Dik is known for its Roman and Byzantine relics such as churches and monasteries, mostly built in the Byzantine era as they served as rest houses for pilgrims coming from Constantinople to visit Jerusalem and Bethlehem.
Israel approves settler plans for Jerusalem homes
The city council on Monday approved plans for construction of 16 new apartments by a Jewish settlement group in the Sheikh Jarrah district of Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem, a councillor said.
The move drew an angry response from the Palestinian Authority, for whom settlement construction is one of the bitterest elements of the conflict, and which scuppered the latest round of US-brokered direct peace talks.
Yosef Pepe Alalu, a city councillor with the dovish Meretz party, told AFP the municipality's building and planning committee approved two plans for the building of up to 16 housing units on two separate sites in Sheikh Jarrah.
"There were two plans filed, on both [sites] there are currently small houses" which are owned by Palestinians, he said. One is inhabited, while the other is empty.
"This approval is the first stage," he told AFP. The move still had to be rubber-stamped by an interior ministry committee. "It will be at least a year before we see anything."
A spokesman for the municipality said that the projects in question were "private and not municipal," and that permits were never issued on the basis of the applicant's "religion, color or creed."
But the Palestinian Authority issued a statement saying the city council's approval of the projects was more evidence of a "continued policy of ethnic cleansing, of uprooting humanity and of the imposition of facts on the ground."
Alalu agreed.
"This is the settlers and the right, together with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and [Mayor] Nir Barakat, working together to Judaize this neighborhood," he said.
"The problem is that this is an invasion of a Palestinian neighborhood, this is not one of the Jewish neighborhoods that has been agreed will remain with Israel, like Gilo," Alalu said, referring to a large Jewish district in East Jerusalem.
Israeli activists working to stop creeping settlement activity in Sheikh Jarrah, just north of Jerusalem's Old City, said the move would see the demolition of the two buildings, one of which is home to three local families.
Avner Inbar of the Sheikh Jarrah Solidarity Movement said the families, who live in the Im Haroun compound, had lost a legal battle with the settlers over ownership of the land six months ago.
"When the municipality says these are private projects and that it has only played a bureaucratic role, it is very misleading because it is Israeli law which has allowed for this land to be basically confiscated by the state of Israel," he said.
"This is an entirely new settlement and the vision is to connect it with other Jewish settlements in the area, to create continuity of Jewish building between west Jerusalem and Mount Scopus."
Israel captured the city's still mainly Arab eastern sector from Jordan in the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed it in a move not recognized by the international community.
Israel sees Jerusalem as its "eternal, undivided" capital and does not consider construction in the east to be settlement activity.
The Palestinians, however, want East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state and fiercely contest any actions to extend Israel's control over the sector.
Jewish settlers bulldoze archeological sites
Jewish settlers started on Sunday to bulldoze vast areas of Deir Sama'an in Kufr Al-Dik village west of Salfit, which is famous for its archeological sites.
Eyewitnesses reported that the area is strategic and fertile and is rich in Roman relics, describing it as one of the most important archeological sites in Salfit district.
The inhabitants said that they could not enter that area for the past eight years after the establishment of a settlement outpost near it.
Kufr Al-Dik is known for its Roman and Byzantine relics such as churches and monasteries, mostly built in the Byzantine era as they served as rest houses for pilgrims coming from Constantinople to visit Jerusalem and Bethlehem.
Israel approves settler plans for Jerusalem homes
The city council on Monday approved plans for construction of 16 new apartments by a Jewish settlement group in the Sheikh Jarrah district of Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem, a councillor said.
The move drew an angry response from the Palestinian Authority, for whom settlement construction is one of the bitterest elements of the conflict, and which scuppered the latest round of US-brokered direct peace talks.
Yosef Pepe Alalu, a city councillor with the dovish Meretz party, told AFP the municipality's building and planning committee approved two plans for the building of up to 16 housing units on two separate sites in Sheikh Jarrah.
"There were two plans filed, on both [sites] there are currently small houses" which are owned by Palestinians, he said. One is inhabited, while the other is empty.
"This approval is the first stage," he told AFP. The move still had to be rubber-stamped by an interior ministry committee. "It will be at least a year before we see anything."
A spokesman for the municipality said that the projects in question were "private and not municipal," and that permits were never issued on the basis of the applicant's "religion, color or creed."
But the Palestinian Authority issued a statement saying the city council's approval of the projects was more evidence of a "continued policy of ethnic cleansing, of uprooting humanity and of the imposition of facts on the ground."
Alalu agreed.
"This is the settlers and the right, together with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and [Mayor] Nir Barakat, working together to Judaize this neighborhood," he said.
"The problem is that this is an invasion of a Palestinian neighborhood, this is not one of the Jewish neighborhoods that has been agreed will remain with Israel, like Gilo," Alalu said, referring to a large Jewish district in East Jerusalem.
Israeli activists working to stop creeping settlement activity in Sheikh Jarrah, just north of Jerusalem's Old City, said the move would see the demolition of the two buildings, one of which is home to three local families.
Avner Inbar of the Sheikh Jarrah Solidarity Movement said the families, who live in the Im Haroun compound, had lost a legal battle with the settlers over ownership of the land six months ago.
"When the municipality says these are private projects and that it has only played a bureaucratic role, it is very misleading because it is Israeli law which has allowed for this land to be basically confiscated by the state of Israel," he said.
"This is an entirely new settlement and the vision is to connect it with other Jewish settlements in the area, to create continuity of Jewish building between west Jerusalem and Mount Scopus."
Israel captured the city's still mainly Arab eastern sector from Jordan in the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed it in a move not recognized by the international community.
Israel sees Jerusalem as its "eternal, undivided" capital and does not consider construction in the east to be settlement activity.
The Palestinians, however, want East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state and fiercely contest any actions to extend Israel's control over the sector.
5 feb 2011
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Around 100 settlers from Bat Ayn settlement descended upon the Palestinian villages of Saffa and nearby Beit Ommar in the southern West Bank, shooting 17-year-old Yousef Fakhri Ikhlayl in his head, leaving him critically injured.
Doctors have announced that Yousef is currently brain-dead in a Hebron hospital. The large group of armed settlers began shooting towards Palestinian homes in Saffa at around 9am, leaving Bilal injured. At the same time, a second group of settlers attacked an area of Beit Ommar called Jodor. Yousef was shot in the head in this area while he was standing in grapes vines he had planted on his family's land. |
Dozens of Palestinians from Beit Ommar and the nearby village of Surif began coming to the area to defend their communities. Seven jeeps of Israeli Forces also arrived in the area and escorted the settlers back to Bat Ayn
This is the second settler attack with live ammunition on Palestinians in as many days. On January 27th, Uday Maher Qadous was shot and killed in Iraq Burin, in the Nablus district, by armed settlers as he was working his land.
In today's attack, settlers also shot 16-year-old Bilal Mohammad Abed Al-Qador with live ammunition in his arm.
Yousef Fahkri Ikhlayl is from the village of Beit Ommar and has worked on initiatives with the Palestine Solidarity Project, an anti-occupation organization in Beit Ommar. In the summer of 2010, Yousef attended the Center for Freedom and Justice's Freedom Flotilla Summer Camp where he engaged in educational projects, community service, and unarmed demonstrations against the Israeli occupation. In the fall of 2010 Yousef was a participant in a youth photography class also sponsored by the center.
Settlers from Bat Ayn routinely attack and harass Palestinians in the Beit Ommar area. In January 27th, 2011 settlers in the area destroyed several hundred olive trees belonging to Palestinian farmers.
This is the second settler attack with live ammunition on Palestinians in as many days. On January 27th, Uday Maher Qadous was shot and killed in Iraq Burin, in the Nablus district, by armed settlers as he was working his land.
In today's attack, settlers also shot 16-year-old Bilal Mohammad Abed Al-Qador with live ammunition in his arm.
Yousef Fahkri Ikhlayl is from the village of Beit Ommar and has worked on initiatives with the Palestine Solidarity Project, an anti-occupation organization in Beit Ommar. In the summer of 2010, Yousef attended the Center for Freedom and Justice's Freedom Flotilla Summer Camp where he engaged in educational projects, community service, and unarmed demonstrations against the Israeli occupation. In the fall of 2010 Yousef was a participant in a youth photography class also sponsored by the center.
Settlers from Bat Ayn routinely attack and harass Palestinians in the Beit Ommar area. In January 27th, 2011 settlers in the area destroyed several hundred olive trees belonging to Palestinian farmers.
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Imagine that into your beautiful vibrant city moves this woman, who, along with her highly-funded terrorist friends, tries to take it over through genocide. This is the reality in Hebron, Palestine.
Meet Miriam Levinger, U.S. citizen from the Bronx, New York... the mother of the Israeli colonial settlers in the 'West Bank' Filmed in Tel Rumeida, Hebron, Palestine See the second video in this Miriam series Zionist Miriam Levinger is from the Bronx, New York and is living illegally as a colonial occupier in Al Khalil / Hebron, Palestine, fully supported for decades by the United States government to carry out genocide against the indigenous Palestinian people of the city. Miriam Levinger and her fellow colonial settlers work together with the colonial Israeli army and police to make the lives of the Palestinian families of the city into a living Hell, in an attempt to force them to leave their land. This genocide is fully funded by the United States government through the stolen money of the U.S. people's tax money to the tune of $11 -13 million dollars a DAY. Most people in the U.S. have no idea of the ongoing and constant genocide that is happening in Palestine, or that they themselves are paying for it, because they are lied to constantly by their government, who steals their money at the same time. |
4 feb 2011
Israeli settlers cause environmental damage to Bethlehem villages
Israeli settlers on Thursday caused environmental damage to fields belonging to residents of the villages of Husan, Wadi Fokin and Nahalin to the west of Bethlehem when they pumped large amounts of waste water the fields.
Olive trees and plantations of Palestinian farmers in the villages were damaged, said Osama Shakarneh, head of the Nahaleen village council.
He added that the incident wasn't isolated as the settlers repeatedly attack those villages and carryout such barbaric practices against Palestinian lands in a bid to confiscate and usurp them.
Moreover, Shakarneh pointed out that bad condition in the three villages was also aggravated when the Israeli electricity company erected high voltage poles across the village of Nahaleen on lands owned by the Palestinian farmers.
Meanwhile, the IOF troops stationed at the Atarah checkpoint, north of Ramallah, intentionally caused traffic jam after they held Palestinian vehicles for long hours for "security" reasons, badly affecting students and sick people seeking medical treatment.
Atarah checkpoint is a vital route for Palestinian commuters as it separates the north of West Bank from central and southern regions that made the IOF troops seal it off any time they wish to harass the commuters and disrupt schools and businesses.
Israeli settlers cause environmental damage to Bethlehem villages
Israeli settlers on Thursday caused environmental damage to fields belonging to residents of the villages of Husan, Wadi Fokin and Nahalin to the west of Bethlehem when they pumped large amounts of waste water the fields.
Olive trees and plantations of Palestinian farmers in the villages were damaged, said Osama Shakarneh, head of the Nahaleen village council.
He added that the incident wasn't isolated as the settlers repeatedly attack those villages and carryout such barbaric practices against Palestinian lands in a bid to confiscate and usurp them.
Moreover, Shakarneh pointed out that bad condition in the three villages was also aggravated when the Israeli electricity company erected high voltage poles across the village of Nahaleen on lands owned by the Palestinian farmers.
Meanwhile, the IOF troops stationed at the Atarah checkpoint, north of Ramallah, intentionally caused traffic jam after they held Palestinian vehicles for long hours for "security" reasons, badly affecting students and sick people seeking medical treatment.
Atarah checkpoint is a vital route for Palestinian commuters as it separates the north of West Bank from central and southern regions that made the IOF troops seal it off any time they wish to harass the commuters and disrupt schools and businesses.
3 feb 2011
[Note: The following release was written by members of Operation Dove, who, along with CPT live as an international presence in At-Tuwani, South Hebron Hills.
According to the Fourth Geneva Convention, the Hague Regulations, the International Court of Justice, and several United Nations resolutions, all Israeli settlements and outposts in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal. Most settlement outposts, including Havat Ma'on (Hill 833), are considered illegal also under Israeli law.]
Umm al Kheir, South Hebron Hills, West Bank On Sunday, 23 January 2011, two volunteers from Operation Dove, who were accompanying shepherds of the village of Umm Al Kheir, were attacked by two settlers from Karmel settlement.
At about 9:00 a.m. the volunteers arrived in Umm Al Kheir village to escort the Palestinian shepherds across a nearby hill. Previously on 21 January 2011, settlers from Karmel, under the protection of the IDF and the Border Police, planted a row of trees on the top of the hill, thus obstructing Palestinian shepherds access to the land where they usually graze their flocks.
The Palestinians villagers asked for an international presence to monitor the situation and to help prevent incidents with the settlers.
Ten minutes after the beginning of the accompaniment, two settlers from the Karmel outpost attacked the volunteers, kicking and punching the. The settlers succeeded in grabbing one volunteer's video camera, but the other volunteer managed to take pictures of the event and of the two settlers' faces.
After the attack, the volunteers headed for a Border Police jeep that was in the area but had not witnessed the event. After explaining what happened, the Border Police retrieved Operation Dove's video camera from the settlers. The police arrived later.
One of the settlers, who did not physically take part in the attack, came close to the internationals as they stood next to the Border Police and Police. He said that he would give back the video camera, if the internationals deleted all the pictures of the attack and of the settlers' faces.
The volunteers refused to accept the deal and after about one hour, they had their video camera back. The camera was not broken, but all the video had been deleted. Accompanied by the police, the Operation Dove members went to the Israeli police station in Kiryat Arba to make a complaint.
Episodes like this are frequent in the South Hebron Hills, where the national-religious settlers from the settlements and the outposts attack Palestinians and internationals with impunity, to force farmers and shepherds to leave their lands. Many attacks of them occur with army and police complicity.
Operation Dove and Christian Peacemaker Teams have maintained an international presence in At-Tuwani and South Hebron Hills since 2004.
According to the Fourth Geneva Convention, the Hague Regulations, the International Court of Justice, and several United Nations resolutions, all Israeli settlements and outposts in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal. Most settlement outposts, including Havat Ma'on (Hill 833), are considered illegal also under Israeli law.]
Umm al Kheir, South Hebron Hills, West Bank On Sunday, 23 January 2011, two volunteers from Operation Dove, who were accompanying shepherds of the village of Umm Al Kheir, were attacked by two settlers from Karmel settlement.
At about 9:00 a.m. the volunteers arrived in Umm Al Kheir village to escort the Palestinian shepherds across a nearby hill. Previously on 21 January 2011, settlers from Karmel, under the protection of the IDF and the Border Police, planted a row of trees on the top of the hill, thus obstructing Palestinian shepherds access to the land where they usually graze their flocks.
The Palestinians villagers asked for an international presence to monitor the situation and to help prevent incidents with the settlers.
Ten minutes after the beginning of the accompaniment, two settlers from the Karmel outpost attacked the volunteers, kicking and punching the. The settlers succeeded in grabbing one volunteer's video camera, but the other volunteer managed to take pictures of the event and of the two settlers' faces.
After the attack, the volunteers headed for a Border Police jeep that was in the area but had not witnessed the event. After explaining what happened, the Border Police retrieved Operation Dove's video camera from the settlers. The police arrived later.
One of the settlers, who did not physically take part in the attack, came close to the internationals as they stood next to the Border Police and Police. He said that he would give back the video camera, if the internationals deleted all the pictures of the attack and of the settlers' faces.
The volunteers refused to accept the deal and after about one hour, they had their video camera back. The camera was not broken, but all the video had been deleted. Accompanied by the police, the Operation Dove members went to the Israeli police station in Kiryat Arba to make a complaint.
Episodes like this are frequent in the South Hebron Hills, where the national-religious settlers from the settlements and the outposts attack Palestinians and internationals with impunity, to force farmers and shepherds to leave their lands. Many attacks of them occur with army and police complicity.
Operation Dove and Christian Peacemaker Teams have maintained an international presence in At-Tuwani and South Hebron Hills since 2004.
2 feb 2011
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A Jewish settler was captured on video shooting dead a Palestinian man in plain view of Israeli soldiers.
The Israeli Ynet newspaper posted the clip caught on a surveillance camera on a nearby Israeli watchtower in the Nablus village of Iraq Burin. The troops claimed the victim Uday Qadous, 19, and another Palestinian were hurling rocks at the settler, who then chased them down and shot at them. The film details otherwise. Qadous was pronounced dead by Palestinian medics on Thursday. |
He was hit in the chest with several bullets and lost his life shortly after his arrival at the Rafidia Hospital in Nablus, medics said.
Settlers kill 2 Palestinian teens, soldiers attack funeral
Human Rights Settlers kill 2 Palestinian teens, soldiers attack funeral The Electronic Intifada 4 February 2011 nab13-27jan11.jpg Palestinians carry the body of Uday Qadous who was shot and killed by an Israeli settler near the village Iraq Burin in the occupied West Bank on 27 January. (Rami Swidan/MaanImages)
Israeli settlers shot and killed two Palestinian teenagers in separate incidents in the occupied West Bank as Israeli forces continued to shoot at Palestinian laborers in Gaza and arrest and beat civilians in other parts of the country, including children. The Electronic Intifada brings you this special news brief on events related to Israeli violence against Palestinians.
Iraq Burin
An Israeli settler allegedly from the illegal Barkha settlement shot and killed 19-year-old Uday Qadous after they engaged in a verbal altercation, on 27 January in the northern West Bank village of Iraq Burin, near Nablus.
Palestinian human rights organization Al Haq investigated the shooting and stated that Uday and his cousin, Umar, were working in their fields when Uday went looking for some of their sheep that had gone missing (“Updates on the Killing of Udayy Qadoush by a Settler in Iraq Bourin,” 1 February 2011).
“Shortly after, Umar became worried about his cousin and went to look for him in the fields,” Al Haq stated. “He found Uday standing near an unpaved military road (connecting Barkha settlement and the local military base) and a settler was standing opposite him, about 10 meters away; the two were quarreling verbally.”
“As they moved away, Umar could no longer see them but heard a bullet shot and saw the settler running away from the scene of the incident. The settler had a light-complexion, blonde hair and wearing a Kippa, carrying a black backpack and a pistol on the side of his waist,” Al Haq reported.
The shooting was caught on Israeli military cameras, and was made public on YouTube (IDF Camera 28-Jan-2011: Israeli Settler Kill a Palestinian (Uday Qadous) in Iraq Burin). The brief video appears to show Uday fall to the ground suddenly as he is moving away from the settler.
Medical officials in the Rafadiya hospital in Nablus confirmed that Qadous was shot at point-blank range in the upper torso, with a bullet ripping through his lung, Ma’an news agency reported (“Autopsy on teen slain by settler completed,” 28 January 2011).
Beit Ommar
The next day in the southern West Bank village of Beit Ommar, a large group of Israeli settlers from the nearby illegal Bat Ayn settlement descended on the outskirts of the village and opened fire. Yousef Fakhri Ikhlayl, aged 17, was shot in the head while standing in his family’s vineyard.
Another 16-year-old boy from Beit Ommar was shot in the arm, but survived the attack.
Ikhlayl remained brain-dead in a hospital in Hebron before succumbing to his wounds early the next morning, according to Beit Ommar-based activism group Palestine Solidarity Project (PSP). PSP reported that at least 100 settlers took part in Friday’s attack, which began when armed members of the group began firing at Palestinian homes in the Saffa area adjacent to Beit Ommar. At the same time, PSP added, other settlers opened fire in the Jodor neighborhood, where Ikhlayl was standing (“Beit Ommar youth killed by Israeli settlers,” 28 January 2011).
Dozens of villagers from Beit Ommar and nearby Surif immediately came to the area “to defend their communities,” PSP stated, adding that seven Israeli military jeeps arrived and “escorted the settlers back to Bay Ayn [settlement].”
Ikhlayl was recently a participant in a youth photography class sponsored by the village-based Center for Freedom and Justice, and had been active with PSP in educational projects and community service-oriented initiatives.
Bekah Wolf, co-founder of PSP, worked closely with Ikhlayl and stated in the press release that “Yousef was a kid who hoped for a better future for Palestine.”
Wolf continued, “His life was ended prematurely by right-wing extremists. People around the world should be outraged by his shooting, and should work to bring his attackers to justice.”
Approximately 10,000 people filled the streets of Beit Ommar as residents carried Ikhlayl’s body and held Palestinian flags in his funeral on 29 January, PSP reported.
As the crowd marched closer to the Israeli sniper tower at the entrance to the village, on their way to the cemetery, Israeli soldiers attacked the funeral procession with sound grenades and tear gas canisters, while some residents threw stones at the fortified tower (“Funeral of Yousef Ikhlayl attacked by Israeli military, dozens injured,” 29 January 2011).
Soon afterwards, Israeli military jeeps arrived and soldiers “began shooting live [ammunition] and rubber bullets,” PSP added. “Most of the crowd dispersed at this point, carrying the injured people away. Several residents stayed and continued to confront the occupying army with stones.”
Dozens were wounded in the attacks.
PSP reported that Israeli soldiers also fired on a Palestinian ambulance attempting to give medical relief to an injured person.
Days before Ikhlayl’s killing, settlers from the same illegal settlement destroyed several hundred olive trees in Beit Ommar, PSP stated (“Settlers destroy more trees in Beit Ommar,” 28 January 2011).
Earlier in the week, on 27 January, the Israeli military arrested two young boys from Beit Ommar. PSP reported that 11-year-old Hamza Ahmed Abu Hashem and 12-year-old Bilal Mahmood Awad were arrested while they played soccer near their homes (“Israeli forces arrest two Palestinian boys ages 11 and 12 in Beit Ommar,” 27 January 2011).
“Bilal and Hamza were taken to the nearby Israeli settlement of Karmei Tsur and then transferred to the police station in Kiryat Arba settlement in Hebron,” PSP stated.
Hamza is the son of a community activist with the Beit Ommar-based National Committee Against the Wall and Settlements, a group that organizes weekly unarmed demonstrations against the Israeli occupation and the encroaching settlements.
At press time, PSP said that Hamza was released but Bilal was still being held in Israeli detention.
Bekah Wolf told The Electronic Intifada that on 3 February, another two Palestinian youths were arrested by Israeli soldiers, who detained them at Karmei Tsur settlement. Both of the boys are 17 years-old, according to Wolf.
Family members of one of the youths were badly beaten, she reported, when the soldiers entered their house. PSP members were also assaulted by Israeli soldiers when they attempted to find out information about the two boys. Another 26-year-old man was arrested also on 3 February by Israeli soldiers at the entrance to Beit Ommar, Wolf added.
Nabi Saleh
Israeli soldiers also arrested several Palestinian children in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh last week according to a report from The International Middle East Media Center (IMEMC). On Sunday, 23 January, Israeli forces arrested 14-year-old Islam al-Tamimi in a pre-dawn raid, IMEMC reported (“An-Nabi Saleh Popular Committee Leader Beaten, Two Children Arrested,” 26 January 2011).
The report added that this was the second time in three weeks that Islam was arrested, and was interrogated for eight hours during his detention last week.
Islam was “denied access to legal counsel for the first five hours, during which he confessed to throwing stones during the weekly protest against the annexation wall,” IMEMC reported, “and his parents were denied access to their son during the interrogation; their legal right.” Islam’s brother, 10-year-old Karim al-Tamini, was arrested on Tuesday, IMEMC reported, but was released after seven hours in custody.
On 26 January, the Israeli military arrested two 15-year-old boys along with Bassem Tamimi, leader of the Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements in Nabi Saleh, IMEMC stated.
Joseph Dana, independent journalist, contributor to The Electronic Intifada, and media coordinator for the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee, reported that Israeli forces applied torture techniques on Islam al-Tamimi during the interrogation (“Harsh interrogations of children escalate in Nabi Saleh,” 31 January 2011).
Jordan Valley
Israeli soldiers beat and arrested a 19-year-old Palestinian farmer in the Hadidiya region of the northern Jordan Valley as he grazed his livestock, the Jordan Valley Solidarity Project (JVSP) reported on 2 February (“A young man beaten and kidnapped by soldiers in Hadidiya”).
After being beaten by the soldiers, Ghazi Bsharat was taken to a nearby military detention center and released several hours later.
JVSP also reported that approximately 30 Israeli settlers from the illegal settlement of Maskiyot attacked Palestinians in Ein al Helwe, also in the northern Jordan Valley, on 29 January. A woman and her 11-year-old daughter were beaten and threatened with future violence in what residents say are attempts by settlers to force Palestinians to leave the area (“New settler aggression in Ein Il Hilwe,” 29 January 2011).
Silwan, Occupied East Jerusalem
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center (SILWANIC) reported that Israeli forces set a Palestinian home on fire on Friday, 28 January, after they fired rounds of tear gas canisters inside the house, located in the Baten al-Hawa area of Silwan (“Palestinian home set ablaze under volleys of tear gas,” 28 January 2011).
Following the destruction of the home, Israeli security services, including police, opened fire on Palestinian residents who protested the presence of the armed forces. SILWANIC reported that a 12-year-old boy was injured when a rubber bullet hit him in his face.
Later on, as protests intensified in the Baten al-Hawa area, SILWANIC reported that Israeli settlers “joined the violence” perpetrated by the Israeli armed forces, while Palestinian youth threw molotov cocktails at soldiers who had occupied the roof of a nearby home. Fire bombs were also hurled at the illegal Beit Yonatan settlement inside the neighborhood (“Youth aim Molotovs at soldiers on occupied roof,” 28 January 2011).
Gaza Strip
Israeli snipers stationed along the Gaza boundary opened fire on a 21-year-old Palestinian man on 31 January, The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) reported (“Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” 27 January - 2 February 2011).
Israeli soldiers inside sniper towers near Beit Lahiya town “fired at a number of Palestinian workers who were collecting scraps of construction materials from a site where the evacuated Israeli settlement of ‘Elli Sinai’ used to stand,” PCHR reported.
“Mohammed Zakaria Halawa, 21, from Jabalya, was wounded by a bullet to the left leg, when he was nearly 150 meters away from the border,” PCHR added. Rising poverty and the 4-year-long Israeli blockade in the occupied Gaza Strip has forced many Palestinian laborers to collect raw industrial material and rubble from areas near the “buffer zone,” a 300-meter-long militarized area along the northern, eastern and maritime boundaries.
As The Electronic Intifada has reported, more than 100 Palestinians have been shot since March 2010 while collecting material to use for industrial construction. Israel’s blockade has severely restricted the import of construction materials into Gaza.
On 2 February, Israeli warplanes bombed tunnels along the Gaza-Egypt border, reported Agence-France Presse (AFP). The Israeli military claimed its aerial attacks were in response to Palestinian-fired homemade rockets on Monday night, which landed across the boundary and caused no injuries. No one was injured in the Israeli airstrike (“Israeli planes hit Gaza tunnels, no casualties,” 2 February 2011).
Dhammash
Finally, in the village of Dhammash, near Tel Aviv, Israeli police arrested and severely beat members of the Shaaban family on 22 January, accusing them of “harboring illegal workers,” according to a report by independent journalist Max Blumenthal (“‘The days of ‘48 have come again.’ 15 minutes from Tel Aviv, Israel creates a new refugee camp,” 26 January 2011).
Police in the town of Lydd, “violently arrested Ali, Farida, and five members of [the Shaaban] family,” Blumenthal reported, adding that their detention was unknown until the following Monday, two days later. A judge then extended their imprisonment until the following Thursday “on the grounds of secret evidence the Shaaban family’s lawyer was not allowed to view — a tactic familiar to Israel’s military courts in the West Bank.”
A mobile phone video posted on YouTube showed Israeli police beating members of the Shaaban family.
For more than a year, the Palestinian residents of Dhammash have been living under regular police harassment and constant threat of losing their homes in their village, which has been “unrecognized” by the State of Israel since 1948. Residents of Dhammash are Israeli citizens and pay taxes, but do not receive any services as the state refuses to acknowledge their presence.
The Electronic Intifada has reported on the situation for Palestinians inside Dhammash and the adjacent segregated city of Lydd, where recent demolitions of Palestinian homes have left entire families homeless.
Rights group releases testimony from deadly settler attack
An Israeli settler with a light-complexion, blond hair, wearing a Kippa, carrying a black backpack and a pistol on the side of his waist was the gunman who shot and killed Uday Qadous, testimony from Ramallah-based rights group Al-Haq revealed Wednesday.
Qadous, 19, was shot dead and found by his cousin on 26 January. Israeli forces said at the time that an investigation had been launched.
In Al-Haq's latest report, the organization said it collected further testimony from Uday's cousin, Omar, who heard the shot that killed his cousin.
Settlers kill 2 Palestinian teens, soldiers attack funeral
Human Rights Settlers kill 2 Palestinian teens, soldiers attack funeral The Electronic Intifada 4 February 2011 nab13-27jan11.jpg Palestinians carry the body of Uday Qadous who was shot and killed by an Israeli settler near the village Iraq Burin in the occupied West Bank on 27 January. (Rami Swidan/MaanImages)
Israeli settlers shot and killed two Palestinian teenagers in separate incidents in the occupied West Bank as Israeli forces continued to shoot at Palestinian laborers in Gaza and arrest and beat civilians in other parts of the country, including children. The Electronic Intifada brings you this special news brief on events related to Israeli violence against Palestinians.
Iraq Burin
An Israeli settler allegedly from the illegal Barkha settlement shot and killed 19-year-old Uday Qadous after they engaged in a verbal altercation, on 27 January in the northern West Bank village of Iraq Burin, near Nablus.
Palestinian human rights organization Al Haq investigated the shooting and stated that Uday and his cousin, Umar, were working in their fields when Uday went looking for some of their sheep that had gone missing (“Updates on the Killing of Udayy Qadoush by a Settler in Iraq Bourin,” 1 February 2011).
“Shortly after, Umar became worried about his cousin and went to look for him in the fields,” Al Haq stated. “He found Uday standing near an unpaved military road (connecting Barkha settlement and the local military base) and a settler was standing opposite him, about 10 meters away; the two were quarreling verbally.”
“As they moved away, Umar could no longer see them but heard a bullet shot and saw the settler running away from the scene of the incident. The settler had a light-complexion, blonde hair and wearing a Kippa, carrying a black backpack and a pistol on the side of his waist,” Al Haq reported.
The shooting was caught on Israeli military cameras, and was made public on YouTube (IDF Camera 28-Jan-2011: Israeli Settler Kill a Palestinian (Uday Qadous) in Iraq Burin). The brief video appears to show Uday fall to the ground suddenly as he is moving away from the settler.
Medical officials in the Rafadiya hospital in Nablus confirmed that Qadous was shot at point-blank range in the upper torso, with a bullet ripping through his lung, Ma’an news agency reported (“Autopsy on teen slain by settler completed,” 28 January 2011).
Beit Ommar
The next day in the southern West Bank village of Beit Ommar, a large group of Israeli settlers from the nearby illegal Bat Ayn settlement descended on the outskirts of the village and opened fire. Yousef Fakhri Ikhlayl, aged 17, was shot in the head while standing in his family’s vineyard.
Another 16-year-old boy from Beit Ommar was shot in the arm, but survived the attack.
Ikhlayl remained brain-dead in a hospital in Hebron before succumbing to his wounds early the next morning, according to Beit Ommar-based activism group Palestine Solidarity Project (PSP). PSP reported that at least 100 settlers took part in Friday’s attack, which began when armed members of the group began firing at Palestinian homes in the Saffa area adjacent to Beit Ommar. At the same time, PSP added, other settlers opened fire in the Jodor neighborhood, where Ikhlayl was standing (“Beit Ommar youth killed by Israeli settlers,” 28 January 2011).
Dozens of villagers from Beit Ommar and nearby Surif immediately came to the area “to defend their communities,” PSP stated, adding that seven Israeli military jeeps arrived and “escorted the settlers back to Bay Ayn [settlement].”
Ikhlayl was recently a participant in a youth photography class sponsored by the village-based Center for Freedom and Justice, and had been active with PSP in educational projects and community service-oriented initiatives.
Bekah Wolf, co-founder of PSP, worked closely with Ikhlayl and stated in the press release that “Yousef was a kid who hoped for a better future for Palestine.”
Wolf continued, “His life was ended prematurely by right-wing extremists. People around the world should be outraged by his shooting, and should work to bring his attackers to justice.”
Approximately 10,000 people filled the streets of Beit Ommar as residents carried Ikhlayl’s body and held Palestinian flags in his funeral on 29 January, PSP reported.
As the crowd marched closer to the Israeli sniper tower at the entrance to the village, on their way to the cemetery, Israeli soldiers attacked the funeral procession with sound grenades and tear gas canisters, while some residents threw stones at the fortified tower (“Funeral of Yousef Ikhlayl attacked by Israeli military, dozens injured,” 29 January 2011).
Soon afterwards, Israeli military jeeps arrived and soldiers “began shooting live [ammunition] and rubber bullets,” PSP added. “Most of the crowd dispersed at this point, carrying the injured people away. Several residents stayed and continued to confront the occupying army with stones.”
Dozens were wounded in the attacks.
PSP reported that Israeli soldiers also fired on a Palestinian ambulance attempting to give medical relief to an injured person.
Days before Ikhlayl’s killing, settlers from the same illegal settlement destroyed several hundred olive trees in Beit Ommar, PSP stated (“Settlers destroy more trees in Beit Ommar,” 28 January 2011).
Earlier in the week, on 27 January, the Israeli military arrested two young boys from Beit Ommar. PSP reported that 11-year-old Hamza Ahmed Abu Hashem and 12-year-old Bilal Mahmood Awad were arrested while they played soccer near their homes (“Israeli forces arrest two Palestinian boys ages 11 and 12 in Beit Ommar,” 27 January 2011).
“Bilal and Hamza were taken to the nearby Israeli settlement of Karmei Tsur and then transferred to the police station in Kiryat Arba settlement in Hebron,” PSP stated.
Hamza is the son of a community activist with the Beit Ommar-based National Committee Against the Wall and Settlements, a group that organizes weekly unarmed demonstrations against the Israeli occupation and the encroaching settlements.
At press time, PSP said that Hamza was released but Bilal was still being held in Israeli detention.
Bekah Wolf told The Electronic Intifada that on 3 February, another two Palestinian youths were arrested by Israeli soldiers, who detained them at Karmei Tsur settlement. Both of the boys are 17 years-old, according to Wolf.
Family members of one of the youths were badly beaten, she reported, when the soldiers entered their house. PSP members were also assaulted by Israeli soldiers when they attempted to find out information about the two boys. Another 26-year-old man was arrested also on 3 February by Israeli soldiers at the entrance to Beit Ommar, Wolf added.
Nabi Saleh
Israeli soldiers also arrested several Palestinian children in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh last week according to a report from The International Middle East Media Center (IMEMC). On Sunday, 23 January, Israeli forces arrested 14-year-old Islam al-Tamimi in a pre-dawn raid, IMEMC reported (“An-Nabi Saleh Popular Committee Leader Beaten, Two Children Arrested,” 26 January 2011).
The report added that this was the second time in three weeks that Islam was arrested, and was interrogated for eight hours during his detention last week.
Islam was “denied access to legal counsel for the first five hours, during which he confessed to throwing stones during the weekly protest against the annexation wall,” IMEMC reported, “and his parents were denied access to their son during the interrogation; their legal right.” Islam’s brother, 10-year-old Karim al-Tamini, was arrested on Tuesday, IMEMC reported, but was released after seven hours in custody.
On 26 January, the Israeli military arrested two 15-year-old boys along with Bassem Tamimi, leader of the Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements in Nabi Saleh, IMEMC stated.
Joseph Dana, independent journalist, contributor to The Electronic Intifada, and media coordinator for the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee, reported that Israeli forces applied torture techniques on Islam al-Tamimi during the interrogation (“Harsh interrogations of children escalate in Nabi Saleh,” 31 January 2011).
Jordan Valley
Israeli soldiers beat and arrested a 19-year-old Palestinian farmer in the Hadidiya region of the northern Jordan Valley as he grazed his livestock, the Jordan Valley Solidarity Project (JVSP) reported on 2 February (“A young man beaten and kidnapped by soldiers in Hadidiya”).
After being beaten by the soldiers, Ghazi Bsharat was taken to a nearby military detention center and released several hours later.
JVSP also reported that approximately 30 Israeli settlers from the illegal settlement of Maskiyot attacked Palestinians in Ein al Helwe, also in the northern Jordan Valley, on 29 January. A woman and her 11-year-old daughter were beaten and threatened with future violence in what residents say are attempts by settlers to force Palestinians to leave the area (“New settler aggression in Ein Il Hilwe,” 29 January 2011).
Silwan, Occupied East Jerusalem
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center (SILWANIC) reported that Israeli forces set a Palestinian home on fire on Friday, 28 January, after they fired rounds of tear gas canisters inside the house, located in the Baten al-Hawa area of Silwan (“Palestinian home set ablaze under volleys of tear gas,” 28 January 2011).
Following the destruction of the home, Israeli security services, including police, opened fire on Palestinian residents who protested the presence of the armed forces. SILWANIC reported that a 12-year-old boy was injured when a rubber bullet hit him in his face.
Later on, as protests intensified in the Baten al-Hawa area, SILWANIC reported that Israeli settlers “joined the violence” perpetrated by the Israeli armed forces, while Palestinian youth threw molotov cocktails at soldiers who had occupied the roof of a nearby home. Fire bombs were also hurled at the illegal Beit Yonatan settlement inside the neighborhood (“Youth aim Molotovs at soldiers on occupied roof,” 28 January 2011).
Gaza Strip
Israeli snipers stationed along the Gaza boundary opened fire on a 21-year-old Palestinian man on 31 January, The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) reported (“Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” 27 January - 2 February 2011).
Israeli soldiers inside sniper towers near Beit Lahiya town “fired at a number of Palestinian workers who were collecting scraps of construction materials from a site where the evacuated Israeli settlement of ‘Elli Sinai’ used to stand,” PCHR reported.
“Mohammed Zakaria Halawa, 21, from Jabalya, was wounded by a bullet to the left leg, when he was nearly 150 meters away from the border,” PCHR added. Rising poverty and the 4-year-long Israeli blockade in the occupied Gaza Strip has forced many Palestinian laborers to collect raw industrial material and rubble from areas near the “buffer zone,” a 300-meter-long militarized area along the northern, eastern and maritime boundaries.
As The Electronic Intifada has reported, more than 100 Palestinians have been shot since March 2010 while collecting material to use for industrial construction. Israel’s blockade has severely restricted the import of construction materials into Gaza.
On 2 February, Israeli warplanes bombed tunnels along the Gaza-Egypt border, reported Agence-France Presse (AFP). The Israeli military claimed its aerial attacks were in response to Palestinian-fired homemade rockets on Monday night, which landed across the boundary and caused no injuries. No one was injured in the Israeli airstrike (“Israeli planes hit Gaza tunnels, no casualties,” 2 February 2011).
Dhammash
Finally, in the village of Dhammash, near Tel Aviv, Israeli police arrested and severely beat members of the Shaaban family on 22 January, accusing them of “harboring illegal workers,” according to a report by independent journalist Max Blumenthal (“‘The days of ‘48 have come again.’ 15 minutes from Tel Aviv, Israel creates a new refugee camp,” 26 January 2011).
Police in the town of Lydd, “violently arrested Ali, Farida, and five members of [the Shaaban] family,” Blumenthal reported, adding that their detention was unknown until the following Monday, two days later. A judge then extended their imprisonment until the following Thursday “on the grounds of secret evidence the Shaaban family’s lawyer was not allowed to view — a tactic familiar to Israel’s military courts in the West Bank.”
A mobile phone video posted on YouTube showed Israeli police beating members of the Shaaban family.
For more than a year, the Palestinian residents of Dhammash have been living under regular police harassment and constant threat of losing their homes in their village, which has been “unrecognized” by the State of Israel since 1948. Residents of Dhammash are Israeli citizens and pay taxes, but do not receive any services as the state refuses to acknowledge their presence.
The Electronic Intifada has reported on the situation for Palestinians inside Dhammash and the adjacent segregated city of Lydd, where recent demolitions of Palestinian homes have left entire families homeless.
Rights group releases testimony from deadly settler attack
An Israeli settler with a light-complexion, blond hair, wearing a Kippa, carrying a black backpack and a pistol on the side of his waist was the gunman who shot and killed Uday Qadous, testimony from Ramallah-based rights group Al-Haq revealed Wednesday.
Qadous, 19, was shot dead and found by his cousin on 26 January. Israeli forces said at the time that an investigation had been launched.
In Al-Haq's latest report, the organization said it collected further testimony from Uday's cousin, Omar, who heard the shot that killed his cousin.
When Omar went to look for Uday, Al-Haq reported, he found his cousin standing near an unpaved military road which connects that illegal Israeli settlement of Barkha to the nearby Israeli military base. A settler was standing opposite him, about 10 metres away; the two were quarrelling verbally.
As they moved away, Omar could no longer see them, the report said, but heard a bullet shot and saw the blond settler running away from the scene of the incident.
The cousin said he found Uday "lying on the ground, blood coming out of his mouth as he was making sneezing noises momentarily before he fell unconscious," the report said.
Omar ran toward the village, found two men to help carry Uday, and then came across a man with a horse who took the young man's body to an ambulance, and then to hospital, where he was declared dead.
The testimony updated an earlier report from the group, which it said needed clarifications.
As they moved away, Omar could no longer see them, the report said, but heard a bullet shot and saw the blond settler running away from the scene of the incident.
The cousin said he found Uday "lying on the ground, blood coming out of his mouth as he was making sneezing noises momentarily before he fell unconscious," the report said.
Omar ran toward the village, found two men to help carry Uday, and then came across a man with a horse who took the young man's body to an ambulance, and then to hospital, where he was declared dead.
The testimony updated an earlier report from the group, which it said needed clarifications.
1 feb 2011
Settlers start to cultivate Palestinian land east of Al-Khalil
A group of Jewish settlers on Monday planted trees in Palestinian farmland in Baka'a area east of Al-Khalil city in preparation for taking full control of the area, eyewitnesses reported.
They told the PIC that dozens of armed settlers, who were escorted by army soldiers, came from Kiryat Arba settlement and planted the trees.
Baka'a is a constant target for settlers from Kiryat Arba who want to annex its land to the settlement, which was already established on land usurped from the same area.
Settlers start to cultivate Palestinian land east of Al-Khalil
A group of Jewish settlers on Monday planted trees in Palestinian farmland in Baka'a area east of Al-Khalil city in preparation for taking full control of the area, eyewitnesses reported.
They told the PIC that dozens of armed settlers, who were escorted by army soldiers, came from Kiryat Arba settlement and planted the trees.
Baka'a is a constant target for settlers from Kiryat Arba who want to annex its land to the settlement, which was already established on land usurped from the same area.
