30 apr 2011
Jewish settlers raid Kifl Hares in bid to claim shrine
Thousands of Jewish settlers raided Friday the West Bank town of Kifl Hares north of Salfit to perform traditional prayers at what they have claimed is the tomb of Joshua the son of Nun.
Israeli Radio put the number of settlers that raided the site from Thursday night to Friday morning at 15,000. They were protected by Israel occupation forces (IOF).
Among the worshipers were Rabbi Yona Metzger and Israeli minister Yuli-Yoel Edelstein and four members from the Israeli Knesset.
The IOF banned Palestinians from roaming or mobilizing as Jews made prayers at the tomb.
According to a fresh report by the PIC, there are three Islamic shrines in Kifl Hares, Dhul-Kifl, Dhul-Nun, and a shrine built by Sultan Saladin, which Israelis wish to convert into a biblical site, naming it the shrine of Joshua, who led Moses' army into Palestine from Jericho.
Palestinians fear Israel wants to hijack the shrine in the center of the village and add it to the alleged Jewish heritage list, as was done with Ibrahimi and Bilal Ben Rabah mosques.
The Sultan Saladin shrine lies amid the town's old houses and has such Islamic features as a dome and green prayer niche facing Makkah.
The place was built by Sultan Saladin. Locals say they saw inside the date of construction etched in a rock alongside a Quranic verse.
Itamar Murder Suspect's Facebook Page, Rotter's Cozy Relationship With Shin Bet
In this day and age it seems like every teenager has their own Facebook page. It appears suspected murderers too are members of the club. One of the two suspects in the murder of the Fogel family, Amjad Awad, has his own Facebook page. There may not be that much that is odd or unusual about that. But nonetheless, there are a few oddities about this one.
First, the account appears to have Wall postings from only a three-day period in November. Very few people on Facebook join and post for three days and then go silent. So I wonder whether this is what happened or whether other postings more proximate to the dates of the murder may've been removed either by family or the Shabak. What's there now deals mostly with girls and sports. One wishes that those were the interests he'd continued to pursue as a teenager instead of the activity he turned to after this period.
Even more odd is that a Rotter member posted the precise personal image of the murder suspect from his Facebook page around April 12th, several days the Shabak announced his arrest. The case was under a strict gag order (except for the reporting here naturally). There can only be two reasons for this: either the Rotterite is a member of the security services or the image was leaked to him by a member of the security services. Why would Shabak do such a thing? Possibly because the image is so bizarre making the suspect look a bit like a gay hairdresser.
The disjunctions between the preening in the photo and the heinous acts of which he was accused would make him subject to even greater ridicule. Needless to say, the Rotter thread with his image has been taken downas the site often does when the gag is protective of the prerogatives of the security services. In the cases of other gags, Rotter seems more willing to hew to an independent path and retain these threads.All of which means that Rotter appears to have an ultra-cozy relationship with Israeli security forces. Nothing particularly wrong with that as long as everyone realizes that such members of Rotter have their own vested interests in what they upload there and the arguments they present there.
29 apr 2011
Palestinians say settlers hurled stones at cars
Palestinian Authority officials say that settlers hurled stones at vehicles traveling on Route 55 in northern Samaria. No injuries were reported but some cars were damages, the sources said.
IDF troops were dispatched to the area and dispersed the stone-throwers.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4062377,00.html
Aqsa foundation accused IOA of facilitating settlers' desecration of Aqsa Mosque
The Aqsa Foundation for Endowment and Heritage (AFEH) has accused Thursday that Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) of helping and protecting Israeli settlers desecrating the Aqsa Mosque.
According to sources in AFEH, a group of Israeli female soldiers were seen roaming the plazas of the Mosque under tight protection from tens of Israeli occupation soldiers Thursday.
AFEH added that a group of Israeli engineers carrying maps of the alleged Third temple were also seen strolling inside and searching certain parts of the Mosque, warning that the IOA exploits Jewish festivals to give legitimacy to such provocative desecration measures.
The organization further said that the Palestinian people in Jerusalem and in the 1948- occupied Palestinian land would protect the Mosque at all costs, describing the foundation's activities in the Mosque as the safeguard against those Israeli measures.
"The IOA is trying to create facts on the ground by bringing those settlers into the Aqsa Mosque during Jewish religious occasions in order to create an atmosphere of acceptance in the Palestinian community that those practices are normal," AFEH pointed out.
28 apr 2011
Savage Jewish settlers attack farmers in Qana valley
About 10 Jewish settlers brutally attacked on Wednesday Palestinian farmers in Qana valley near Salfit city.
Eyewitness said the settlers showered the farmers with stones and severely beat them. A number of farmers sustained injuries, including two women and one man.
In a separate incident, a group of extremist Jewish settlers desecrated Yousuf's Tomb in Nablus city at an early hour Thursday.
According to local sources, the settlers entered at dawn the Tomb under Israeli military protection and withdrew from there later in the morning.
Less than one week after the killing of an armed settler at Yousuf's Tomb, a group of extremist settlers on Wednesday had threatened to storm Nablus city to perform provocative rites in the Tomb.
They warned Israeli military officials of the consequences of banning them from going to Tomb or attacking them.
Settlers 'attack farmers' near Nablus
A group of settlers attacked farmers in Wadi Qana in Nablus on Wednesday, locals said.
Farmers were having breakfast at 10.30 a.m. near a spring of water, according to witnesses, when the group of settlers hurled stones toward them and warned the farmers to leave the place.
The settlers were about 10 in number, they said.
Local official Nathmi Salman said the attack was one of a number of incidents in recent months.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=382775
Palestinians burn Joseph's Tomb, Jews denied access
Just days after Palestinian police officers murdered a Jewish worshipper at Joseph's Tomb in Nablus, an Arab mob once again set fire to the burial place of the biblical patriarch on Tuesday.
It is still unclear whether Tuesday's riot was in celebration of the killing of 25-year-old Ben Yosef Livnat as he prayed at the shrine on Sunday, or in protest over ongoing Jewish visits to the holy site.
It is not the first time the Palestinians have burned and otherwise desecrated Joseph's Tomb, which in addition to housing the burial place of the biblical figure, is also the site of a small yeshiva.
The so-called "Oslo Accords" signed between Israel and the Palestinians in 1995 stipulated that Joseph's Tomb would remain an Israeli-controlled enclave open to Jewish worshippers and religious students.
But at the start of the Al Aqsa Intifada in 2000, a Palestinian mob backed by Palestinian Authority police officers assaulted Joseph's Tomb, killing an Israeli soldier in the process. Israel subsequently surrendered control of the site on the condition that the Palestinian Authority would protect and maintain it.
Instead, the Palestinians immediately destroyed the domed tomb and set fire to the yeshiva. Numerous times over the past few years, visiting Jews have reported signs of fires, swastikas and other graffiti and desecration of both the tomb and Jewish prayer books.
The repeated assaults on Joseph's Tomb have not deterred some Jews from visiting the site on a regular basis. But their ability to do so may become increasingly difficult.
On Wednesday, the Israeli army arrested a group of 30 Orthodox Jews determined to pray at Joseph's Tomb. Army officials said they can not guarantee the safety of Jews who enter the site.
Settlers return to Nablus holy site days after shooting
Israeli forces detained some 40 settlers from the extremist "Hilltop Youth" movement who entered the Balata refugee camp in Nablus late Wednesday, Israeli media reported.
The teenagers bypassed Israeli army and police checkpoints before entering the area, which is under full Palestinians security control.
The Israeli army fired stun grenades and detained several of the activists for questioning, the Israeli news site Ynet reported. The army and police are still searching for additional teens, Ynet said.
On Sunday, an Israeli settler was shot dead and four others were injured after a group of Jewish worshippers snuck into Nablus without coordinating with Palestinian or Israeli security.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=382782
27 apr 2011
Savage Jewish settlers burn commercial stores in Al-Khalil old city
Armed Jewish settlers attacked at dawn Tuesday Palestinian commercial stores with Molotov cocktails in Kazazeen souk (market) in the old city of Al-Khalil burning down four of them and all goods inside them.
Owners of these stores are Shaban Hashlamoun, Mohamed Al-Shalloudi, Atta Al-Shweiki and Abdelhameed Al-Natsha.
Firefighters from Al-Khalil municipal council tried to enter the old city to extinguish the fire, but the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) blocked their way at the pretext the area was a closed military zone.
Eyewitnesses said they saw armed Jewish settlers in Kazazeen souk dancing in circles, singing and shouting racist chants against Arabs before culminating their revelry with an arson attack on the stores.
"We know the settlers torched our stores in order to expel us from our old city and fully take it over, but they can never achieve that and we are staying in the city even if we get killed," one of the Palestinian store owners said.
"They offered us huge amounts of money to sell our stores, and one of their leaders told us, 'You have an open check,' but we kicked them out and we told them to leave along with their lackeys because our [Palestinian] land is more precious than our blood and they cannot take a grain of its soil," he added.
Jewish settlers raid Kifl Hares in bid to claim shrine
Thousands of Jewish settlers raided Friday the West Bank town of Kifl Hares north of Salfit to perform traditional prayers at what they have claimed is the tomb of Joshua the son of Nun.
Israeli Radio put the number of settlers that raided the site from Thursday night to Friday morning at 15,000. They were protected by Israel occupation forces (IOF).
Among the worshipers were Rabbi Yona Metzger and Israeli minister Yuli-Yoel Edelstein and four members from the Israeli Knesset.
The IOF banned Palestinians from roaming or mobilizing as Jews made prayers at the tomb.
According to a fresh report by the PIC, there are three Islamic shrines in Kifl Hares, Dhul-Kifl, Dhul-Nun, and a shrine built by Sultan Saladin, which Israelis wish to convert into a biblical site, naming it the shrine of Joshua, who led Moses' army into Palestine from Jericho.
Palestinians fear Israel wants to hijack the shrine in the center of the village and add it to the alleged Jewish heritage list, as was done with Ibrahimi and Bilal Ben Rabah mosques.
The Sultan Saladin shrine lies amid the town's old houses and has such Islamic features as a dome and green prayer niche facing Makkah.
The place was built by Sultan Saladin. Locals say they saw inside the date of construction etched in a rock alongside a Quranic verse.
Itamar Murder Suspect's Facebook Page, Rotter's Cozy Relationship With Shin Bet
In this day and age it seems like every teenager has their own Facebook page. It appears suspected murderers too are members of the club. One of the two suspects in the murder of the Fogel family, Amjad Awad, has his own Facebook page. There may not be that much that is odd or unusual about that. But nonetheless, there are a few oddities about this one.
First, the account appears to have Wall postings from only a three-day period in November. Very few people on Facebook join and post for three days and then go silent. So I wonder whether this is what happened or whether other postings more proximate to the dates of the murder may've been removed either by family or the Shabak. What's there now deals mostly with girls and sports. One wishes that those were the interests he'd continued to pursue as a teenager instead of the activity he turned to after this period.
Even more odd is that a Rotter member posted the precise personal image of the murder suspect from his Facebook page around April 12th, several days the Shabak announced his arrest. The case was under a strict gag order (except for the reporting here naturally). There can only be two reasons for this: either the Rotterite is a member of the security services or the image was leaked to him by a member of the security services. Why would Shabak do such a thing? Possibly because the image is so bizarre making the suspect look a bit like a gay hairdresser.
The disjunctions between the preening in the photo and the heinous acts of which he was accused would make him subject to even greater ridicule. Needless to say, the Rotter thread with his image has been taken downas the site often does when the gag is protective of the prerogatives of the security services. In the cases of other gags, Rotter seems more willing to hew to an independent path and retain these threads.All of which means that Rotter appears to have an ultra-cozy relationship with Israeli security forces. Nothing particularly wrong with that as long as everyone realizes that such members of Rotter have their own vested interests in what they upload there and the arguments they present there.
29 apr 2011
Palestinians say settlers hurled stones at cars
Palestinian Authority officials say that settlers hurled stones at vehicles traveling on Route 55 in northern Samaria. No injuries were reported but some cars were damages, the sources said.
IDF troops were dispatched to the area and dispersed the stone-throwers.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4062377,00.html
Aqsa foundation accused IOA of facilitating settlers' desecration of Aqsa Mosque
The Aqsa Foundation for Endowment and Heritage (AFEH) has accused Thursday that Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) of helping and protecting Israeli settlers desecrating the Aqsa Mosque.
According to sources in AFEH, a group of Israeli female soldiers were seen roaming the plazas of the Mosque under tight protection from tens of Israeli occupation soldiers Thursday.
AFEH added that a group of Israeli engineers carrying maps of the alleged Third temple were also seen strolling inside and searching certain parts of the Mosque, warning that the IOA exploits Jewish festivals to give legitimacy to such provocative desecration measures.
The organization further said that the Palestinian people in Jerusalem and in the 1948- occupied Palestinian land would protect the Mosque at all costs, describing the foundation's activities in the Mosque as the safeguard against those Israeli measures.
"The IOA is trying to create facts on the ground by bringing those settlers into the Aqsa Mosque during Jewish religious occasions in order to create an atmosphere of acceptance in the Palestinian community that those practices are normal," AFEH pointed out.
28 apr 2011
Savage Jewish settlers attack farmers in Qana valley
About 10 Jewish settlers brutally attacked on Wednesday Palestinian farmers in Qana valley near Salfit city.
Eyewitness said the settlers showered the farmers with stones and severely beat them. A number of farmers sustained injuries, including two women and one man.
In a separate incident, a group of extremist Jewish settlers desecrated Yousuf's Tomb in Nablus city at an early hour Thursday.
According to local sources, the settlers entered at dawn the Tomb under Israeli military protection and withdrew from there later in the morning.
Less than one week after the killing of an armed settler at Yousuf's Tomb, a group of extremist settlers on Wednesday had threatened to storm Nablus city to perform provocative rites in the Tomb.
They warned Israeli military officials of the consequences of banning them from going to Tomb or attacking them.
Settlers 'attack farmers' near Nablus
A group of settlers attacked farmers in Wadi Qana in Nablus on Wednesday, locals said.
Farmers were having breakfast at 10.30 a.m. near a spring of water, according to witnesses, when the group of settlers hurled stones toward them and warned the farmers to leave the place.
The settlers were about 10 in number, they said.
Local official Nathmi Salman said the attack was one of a number of incidents in recent months.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=382775
Palestinians burn Joseph's Tomb, Jews denied access
Just days after Palestinian police officers murdered a Jewish worshipper at Joseph's Tomb in Nablus, an Arab mob once again set fire to the burial place of the biblical patriarch on Tuesday.
It is still unclear whether Tuesday's riot was in celebration of the killing of 25-year-old Ben Yosef Livnat as he prayed at the shrine on Sunday, or in protest over ongoing Jewish visits to the holy site.
It is not the first time the Palestinians have burned and otherwise desecrated Joseph's Tomb, which in addition to housing the burial place of the biblical figure, is also the site of a small yeshiva.
The so-called "Oslo Accords" signed between Israel and the Palestinians in 1995 stipulated that Joseph's Tomb would remain an Israeli-controlled enclave open to Jewish worshippers and religious students.
But at the start of the Al Aqsa Intifada in 2000, a Palestinian mob backed by Palestinian Authority police officers assaulted Joseph's Tomb, killing an Israeli soldier in the process. Israel subsequently surrendered control of the site on the condition that the Palestinian Authority would protect and maintain it.
Instead, the Palestinians immediately destroyed the domed tomb and set fire to the yeshiva. Numerous times over the past few years, visiting Jews have reported signs of fires, swastikas and other graffiti and desecration of both the tomb and Jewish prayer books.
The repeated assaults on Joseph's Tomb have not deterred some Jews from visiting the site on a regular basis. But their ability to do so may become increasingly difficult.
On Wednesday, the Israeli army arrested a group of 30 Orthodox Jews determined to pray at Joseph's Tomb. Army officials said they can not guarantee the safety of Jews who enter the site.
Settlers return to Nablus holy site days after shooting
Israeli forces detained some 40 settlers from the extremist "Hilltop Youth" movement who entered the Balata refugee camp in Nablus late Wednesday, Israeli media reported.
The teenagers bypassed Israeli army and police checkpoints before entering the area, which is under full Palestinians security control.
The Israeli army fired stun grenades and detained several of the activists for questioning, the Israeli news site Ynet reported. The army and police are still searching for additional teens, Ynet said.
On Sunday, an Israeli settler was shot dead and four others were injured after a group of Jewish worshippers snuck into Nablus without coordinating with Palestinian or Israeli security.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=382782
27 apr 2011
Savage Jewish settlers burn commercial stores in Al-Khalil old city
Armed Jewish settlers attacked at dawn Tuesday Palestinian commercial stores with Molotov cocktails in Kazazeen souk (market) in the old city of Al-Khalil burning down four of them and all goods inside them.
Owners of these stores are Shaban Hashlamoun, Mohamed Al-Shalloudi, Atta Al-Shweiki and Abdelhameed Al-Natsha.
Firefighters from Al-Khalil municipal council tried to enter the old city to extinguish the fire, but the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) blocked their way at the pretext the area was a closed military zone.
Eyewitnesses said they saw armed Jewish settlers in Kazazeen souk dancing in circles, singing and shouting racist chants against Arabs before culminating their revelry with an arson attack on the stores.
"We know the settlers torched our stores in order to expel us from our old city and fully take it over, but they can never achieve that and we are staying in the city even if we get killed," one of the Palestinian store owners said.
"They offered us huge amounts of money to sell our stores, and one of their leaders told us, 'You have an open check,' but we kicked them out and we told them to leave along with their lackeys because our [Palestinian] land is more precious than our blood and they cannot take a grain of its soil," he added.
26 apr 2011
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Settlers Attack Palestinians in Hebron Old City
Israeli Settlers attacked on Tuesday Palestinians inside the Old city of Hebron, southern West Bank and injured one man.
Witnesses told local media that Firas al-Khateb was attacked by settlers with gas spray and rooks near the illegal settlement of Tal Romida in Hebron old city.
Doctors at Hebron hospital said that al-Khateb was slightly injured and suffered effects of gas inhalation due to the settlers attack.
Jewish settlers spray Palestinian citizen with poisonous gas
A Palestinian young man suffered breathing difficulty after Jewish settlers sprayed him with poisonous gas in the Old City of Al-Khalil on Tuesday, local sources said.
They added that the youth, Firas Al-Khatib, was hospitalized for treatment of resulting breathing problems.
Jewish settlers daily assault Palestinian citizens, land, and property in the West Bank under protection of the Israeli occupation forces and collusion of Ramallah security militias.
Palestinian Authority to probe shooting death of Israeli in Nablus
Jewish worshipper killed by Palestinian Authority security services during the Israelis' unauthorized visit to Joseph's Tomb.
Palestinian Military Intelligence is investigating the killing of a Bratslav Hasid, Ben-Yosef Livnat, early Sunday morning by the Palestinian police in Nablus. The worshippers had reportedly sneaked into Joseph's Tomb.
The investigation is focusing on the Palestinian police's shooting at the Israeli vehicles that entered the city carrying Hasidim who planned to pray at Joseph's Tomb. Their arrival had not been coordinated with the Palestinian or Israeli security forces.
Nablus Governor Jibrin al-Bakri and the heads of the Palestinian security services in the city met with their Israeli counterparts on Sunday night in an effort to calm the situation. The Palestinian Authority also announced that it was setting up a committee to investigate the incident.
During the incident Sunday, Livnat, a Jerusalem resident, was killed and four other Israelis were wounded when a group of Hasidim tried to break through a Palestinian police checkpoint in Nablus. The worshippers entered the city, contrary to orders by the Israel Defense Forces, to pray at Joseph's Tomb.
According to the Nablus governor, settlers arrived at the scene and threw stones at the Palestinian police. He said the policemen fired in the air to disperse the Israelis and that one of the vehicles carrying Hasidim tried to break through a checkpoint, not heeding calls to stop after the officers had fired in the air.
Ziad Otman, a spokesman for the governor, told Haaretz that the worshippers entered the Tomb compound without prior arrangement. He said the Israelis arrived at the site at about 5 A.M. Sunday and that all other details of the incident were being investigated.
The Palestinian spokesman said the agreement with Israel lays responsibility for the upkeep and running of the site on the PA, and that the site is open to every believer - Jew, Christian or Muslim. "But access must be coordinated first," he said.
Otman stressed that the PA does not want an escalation. He said that many times before settlers have damaged property at the site belonging to a nearby school.
After the incident, Palestinian youths tried to start a fire at the Tomb, but Palestinian firefighters put it out immediately. Three Palestinians were also reported injured in villages near Nablus in what are believed to be retaliatory attacks.
Since the IDF pulled out of the Tomb compound in October 2000, groups of Bratslav Hasidim and settlers from around Nablus have regularly tried to enter the city to pray at the site, near the Balata refugee camp south of the city. These attempts continue despite the IDF's efforts to keep the worshippers out, because the site is in Area A, closed to Israeli citizens.
Two years ago, as security cooperation between the IDF and Palestinian Authority improved, an organized monthly prayer has been held at the site, prearranged with the Palestinians and under Israeli security protection. Nonetheless, the Hasidim and the settlers continue to try to sneak into the city to enter the site.
On Saturday night, Givati Brigade troops were deployed to the south of the city, having received intelligence that there would be an attempt by Israelis to sneak into Nablus. The IDF is still investigating whether the Hasidim managed to bypass the checkpoints or whether they entered the city after the troops were recalled at about 5 A.M.
"We were there all night," said a Givati officer. "But we don't have enough troops to block every entry all the time, and we left at 5 A.M. After all, we also need to fight terrorists."
According to the information the IDF has so far, three vehicles with about 15 Hasidim entered Nablus between 5 A.M. and 5:30 A.M., reaching the site. They were discovered almost immediately by the Palestinian police, who have a permanent position nearby. They called out to the Hasidim several minutes after the worshippers entered and began praying.
The Hasidim emerged and entered their vehicles, not heeding the calls of the Palestinian officers to stop. They began driving in an attempt to bypass the checkpoint. The police fired in the air, and when the Hasidim did not stop, the police fired at the vehicles.
The bullets hit two vehicles, killing Livnat and wounding four others, one seriously. The vehicles did not stop and made it to a nearby IDF headquarters south of the city, where the wounded were taken to the hospital by helicopter.
The IDF refused to describe the incident as an attack. A senior officer at Central Command said that "this was a problem in communication between the two sides. The Bratslav Hasidim broke through the checkpoint and the officers fired in the air first. They didn't have to continue shooting at them, but we can't say there was a premeditated attempt to harm them."
Meanwhile, hundreds yesterday attended Livnat's funeral on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin and Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar were present.
Culture and Sports Minister Limor Livnat, Ben-Yosef Livnat's aunt, said "my nephew was killed by a terrorist disguised as a Palestinian policeman, just because he wanted to pray. He was a person who just wanted to do good."
According to the minister, "My nephew was named after Shlomo Ben-Yosef, who gave his life for the Land of Israel, and now my nephew has been murdered for the Land of Israel."
Israeli Settlers attacked on Tuesday Palestinians inside the Old city of Hebron, southern West Bank and injured one man.
Witnesses told local media that Firas al-Khateb was attacked by settlers with gas spray and rooks near the illegal settlement of Tal Romida in Hebron old city.
Doctors at Hebron hospital said that al-Khateb was slightly injured and suffered effects of gas inhalation due to the settlers attack.
Jewish settlers spray Palestinian citizen with poisonous gas
A Palestinian young man suffered breathing difficulty after Jewish settlers sprayed him with poisonous gas in the Old City of Al-Khalil on Tuesday, local sources said.
They added that the youth, Firas Al-Khatib, was hospitalized for treatment of resulting breathing problems.
Jewish settlers daily assault Palestinian citizens, land, and property in the West Bank under protection of the Israeli occupation forces and collusion of Ramallah security militias.
Palestinian Authority to probe shooting death of Israeli in Nablus
Jewish worshipper killed by Palestinian Authority security services during the Israelis' unauthorized visit to Joseph's Tomb.
Palestinian Military Intelligence is investigating the killing of a Bratslav Hasid, Ben-Yosef Livnat, early Sunday morning by the Palestinian police in Nablus. The worshippers had reportedly sneaked into Joseph's Tomb.
The investigation is focusing on the Palestinian police's shooting at the Israeli vehicles that entered the city carrying Hasidim who planned to pray at Joseph's Tomb. Their arrival had not been coordinated with the Palestinian or Israeli security forces.
Nablus Governor Jibrin al-Bakri and the heads of the Palestinian security services in the city met with their Israeli counterparts on Sunday night in an effort to calm the situation. The Palestinian Authority also announced that it was setting up a committee to investigate the incident.
During the incident Sunday, Livnat, a Jerusalem resident, was killed and four other Israelis were wounded when a group of Hasidim tried to break through a Palestinian police checkpoint in Nablus. The worshippers entered the city, contrary to orders by the Israel Defense Forces, to pray at Joseph's Tomb.
According to the Nablus governor, settlers arrived at the scene and threw stones at the Palestinian police. He said the policemen fired in the air to disperse the Israelis and that one of the vehicles carrying Hasidim tried to break through a checkpoint, not heeding calls to stop after the officers had fired in the air.
Ziad Otman, a spokesman for the governor, told Haaretz that the worshippers entered the Tomb compound without prior arrangement. He said the Israelis arrived at the site at about 5 A.M. Sunday and that all other details of the incident were being investigated.
The Palestinian spokesman said the agreement with Israel lays responsibility for the upkeep and running of the site on the PA, and that the site is open to every believer - Jew, Christian or Muslim. "But access must be coordinated first," he said.
Otman stressed that the PA does not want an escalation. He said that many times before settlers have damaged property at the site belonging to a nearby school.
After the incident, Palestinian youths tried to start a fire at the Tomb, but Palestinian firefighters put it out immediately. Three Palestinians were also reported injured in villages near Nablus in what are believed to be retaliatory attacks.
Since the IDF pulled out of the Tomb compound in October 2000, groups of Bratslav Hasidim and settlers from around Nablus have regularly tried to enter the city to pray at the site, near the Balata refugee camp south of the city. These attempts continue despite the IDF's efforts to keep the worshippers out, because the site is in Area A, closed to Israeli citizens.
Two years ago, as security cooperation between the IDF and Palestinian Authority improved, an organized monthly prayer has been held at the site, prearranged with the Palestinians and under Israeli security protection. Nonetheless, the Hasidim and the settlers continue to try to sneak into the city to enter the site.
On Saturday night, Givati Brigade troops were deployed to the south of the city, having received intelligence that there would be an attempt by Israelis to sneak into Nablus. The IDF is still investigating whether the Hasidim managed to bypass the checkpoints or whether they entered the city after the troops were recalled at about 5 A.M.
"We were there all night," said a Givati officer. "But we don't have enough troops to block every entry all the time, and we left at 5 A.M. After all, we also need to fight terrorists."
According to the information the IDF has so far, three vehicles with about 15 Hasidim entered Nablus between 5 A.M. and 5:30 A.M., reaching the site. They were discovered almost immediately by the Palestinian police, who have a permanent position nearby. They called out to the Hasidim several minutes after the worshippers entered and began praying.
The Hasidim emerged and entered their vehicles, not heeding the calls of the Palestinian officers to stop. They began driving in an attempt to bypass the checkpoint. The police fired in the air, and when the Hasidim did not stop, the police fired at the vehicles.
The bullets hit two vehicles, killing Livnat and wounding four others, one seriously. The vehicles did not stop and made it to a nearby IDF headquarters south of the city, where the wounded were taken to the hospital by helicopter.
The IDF refused to describe the incident as an attack. A senior officer at Central Command said that "this was a problem in communication between the two sides. The Bratslav Hasidim broke through the checkpoint and the officers fired in the air first. They didn't have to continue shooting at them, but we can't say there was a premeditated attempt to harm them."
Meanwhile, hundreds yesterday attended Livnat's funeral on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin and Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar were present.
Culture and Sports Minister Limor Livnat, Ben-Yosef Livnat's aunt, said "my nephew was killed by a terrorist disguised as a Palestinian policeman, just because he wanted to pray. He was a person who just wanted to do good."
According to the minister, "My nephew was named after Shlomo Ben-Yosef, who gave his life for the Land of Israel, and now my nephew has been murdered for the Land of Israel."
25 apr 2011
Jewish settler opens random fire at Palestinian homes in OJ
A Jewish settler opened indiscriminate fire at Palestinian homes in the main street of Wadi Al-Juz suburb in occupied eastern Jerusalem on Sunday.
Eyewitnesses said they heard the sound of gunshots and when they got out of their homes they saw the armed settler opening fire and did not stop when he saw them.
Fanatic Jewish groups use the main street in Wadi Al-Juz for their movement to and from settlement outposts during their celebration of the Jewish Passover.
PA must not give in to Israeli blackmail following Nablus incident
by Khalid Amayreh
The fatal shooting of a fanatical Jewish settler near Nablus on Sunday, ostensibly at the hands of a Palestinian policeman, is being taken advantage of rather excessively by the Zionist regime.
The settlers themselves, who always portray themselves as perpetual victims, went on a rampage of violence and terror against innocent Palestinian civilians in several localities in the West Bank . A Number of Palestinians are reported to have been injured, some seriously.
Other settlers in other parts of the West Bank have vowed to carry out acts of terror against innocent but unprotected Palestinian villagers and travelers.
Israeli government officials from the prime minister to the lowest ranking cabinet minister have lost their composure, claiming that whoever shot the fanatical settler must have been a terrorist dressed in a military uniform. The Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu urged the Palestinian Authority (PA) that it ought to take "harsh steps" against whoever fired at the settler.
Speaking in a threatening tone, and apparently seeking to placate genocidal settlers, Netanyahu demanded that the PA take serious and swift steps against "the terrorists who committed this criminal act."
Defense Minister Ehud Barak, the certified war criminal who carries on his hands tons of innocent Palestinian blood, also spoke in threatening tones, ignoring the fact that thousands of Palestinians have been killed by the Zionist killing machine.
The weak PA regime is apparently caving in to Zionist pressure. The PA governor of Nablus Jebril Bakri said a thorough investigation into the incident would be carried out soon. He stopped short of saying that the police officer accused of shooting the settler would be prosecuted.
It is hoped that the PA will not succumb to Zionist pressure and blackmail. After all, it was the settler and his fellow terrorists and fanatics who stormed an area that is supposed to be under full PA security control. The fanatical and genocidal terrorists did so in violation of even outstanding instructions by the Israeli occupation army which bars settlers' entry into Nablus without prior coordination with the PA and without government escort.
Hence, one could argue convincingly and logically that the Palestinian police officers in the area behaved in accordance with instructions under existing circumstances.
Indeed, how else a Palestinian police officer should have behaved, watching a group of armed and fanatical settlers about to storm a heavily-populated Palestinian neighborhood? Should he have allowed the settler to proceed, perhaps to carry out acts of terror and murder against innocent women, men and children as the arch-terrorist Baruch Goldstein did at the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron in 1994?
More to the point, it is well known that the settlers are really para-military terrorists awaiting an opportune time to murder Palestinians, steal their land, and vandalize their property.
Indeed, even without having a dead settler at hand, the settlers would still attack Palestinians with or without a reason. It is well known, for example, that the settlers have torched several Mosques in various parts of the West Bank as part of the so-called "price tag policy" whereby Palestinians and their property would be attacked every time the Israeli occupation army moved to dismantle a settler outpost.
Interestingly, the Israeli occupation army has consistently failed to provide the unprotected Palestinians with protection against settler violence, terror, and savagery.
In the final analysis, a snake wouldn't bite its own tail and the settlers themselves wouldn't wage their organized terror against the legitimate people of the land without a certain level of coordination or connivance with the army.
The settlers, whether we like or not and regardless of Israeli propaganda, are the Judeo Nazis of our time, as they have been labeled by some Jewish intellectuals. Imagine how these supremacist thugs relate to Palestinians and you will realize that decent Jews wouldn't want to live with them, not only in the same neighborhood, but in the same town.
It is well known that the settlers, these inherently racist Judeo Nazis, are indoctrinated in a hateful ideology they say is based on teachings of the Talmud and Torah. This virulent doctrine, which is rejected by many decent Jews but adopted rather blindly and zealously by a majority of Israeli Jews, gives non-Jews in occupied Palestine the choice between enslavement to Jews, as symbolized by the Biblical terms water carriers and wood hewers, and violent deportation or expulsion. If these two alternatives didn't work, then the third alternative would be genocide.
Unfortunately, these thugs are not a small minority in Israel . One can argue rather candidly that they now represent the mainstream in Israel as the Israeli Jewish society continues to drift to a kind of Jewish fascism and jingoism that is reminiscent to Germany in the late 1920s and early 1930s.
More to the point, it is crystal clear that the settlers and their supporters are the main and central obstacle to any prospective dignified peace deal between Jews and Arabs in occupied Palestine.
Hence, one exaggerates very little by saying that unless the government of Israel seriously reins in these thugs, there will be more and more bloodshed and violence and terror, because the Palestinian people will not allow themselves to be intimidated or terrorized by the settlers.
Once again, we hope the PA won't budge to Zionist arrogance and insolence. After all, settler blood is not more precious than Palestinian blood which has been spilt superfluously in Gaza recently.
Succumbing to Zionist dictates, God forbid would only underscore PA subservience to the will of the Israeli occupation.
PA orders its security elements not to open fire at Israelis in self-defense
The Fatah-controlled Palestinian authority (PA) in Ramallah issued strict instructions to its security apparatuses in the West Bank not to open fire at Israeli troops or settlers even if it was in self-defense.
The source affirmed that the leaders of the PA security apparatuses told their cadres that they would not be lenient with anyone of them shooting at Israeli troops and settlers under any reason, even if it was for self-defense because such act would be detrimental to the higher national interests and only serve the occupation as they said.
He noted that the PA intelligence apparatus embarked on Sunday morning on interrogating all policeman and security elements who were present in the area where the attack on some settlers happened.
Widespread popular outrage is prevailing in Nablus city because of the shameful and cowardly attitude of the PA security forces towards the killing of one settler at Yousuf's Tomb east of Nablus.
As the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) stormed Nablus without prior notice following the incident, the Palestinian citizens saw all the PA security forces, even the traffic policemen, leaving their posts, disappearing from the streets and shutting down their headquarters and institutions.
Eyewitnesses told the PIC that the PA security men stationed near Yousuf's Tomb left their posts and vanished quickly when the IOF entered the eastern part of Nablus city, but later they appeared after the IOF withdrew.
They affirmed that after the withdrawal of the invading Israeli troops from the scene following violent clashes with Palestinian young men, a large number of angry citizens poured into the Tomb and set fire to it.
The Israeli investigations showed that one of the PA national security men opened fire at a group of Israelis after they refused to comply with orders to evacuate the Tomb because there was no prior coordination with the Israeli side.
An eyewitness affirmed to the PIC that he heard the sound of gunfire from an Israeli automatic weapon, M16, and it was followed by the sound of shooting from a Kalashnikov gun which is used by all PA security men.
He expressed his belief that one of the Jewish settlers visiting Yousuf's Tomb started to open fire at the PA national security men who responded in self-defense to the settler.
Settlers attack
Jewish settler opens random fire at Palestinian homes in OJ
A Jewish settler opened indiscriminate fire at Palestinian homes in the main street of Wadi Al-Juz suburb in occupied eastern Jerusalem on Sunday.
Eyewitnesses said they heard the sound of gunshots and when they got out of their homes they saw the armed settler opening fire and did not stop when he saw them.
Fanatic Jewish groups use the main street in Wadi Al-Juz for their movement to and from settlement outposts during their celebration of the Jewish Passover.
PA must not give in to Israeli blackmail following Nablus incident
by Khalid Amayreh
The fatal shooting of a fanatical Jewish settler near Nablus on Sunday, ostensibly at the hands of a Palestinian policeman, is being taken advantage of rather excessively by the Zionist regime.
The settlers themselves, who always portray themselves as perpetual victims, went on a rampage of violence and terror against innocent Palestinian civilians in several localities in the West Bank . A Number of Palestinians are reported to have been injured, some seriously.
Other settlers in other parts of the West Bank have vowed to carry out acts of terror against innocent but unprotected Palestinian villagers and travelers.
Israeli government officials from the prime minister to the lowest ranking cabinet minister have lost their composure, claiming that whoever shot the fanatical settler must have been a terrorist dressed in a military uniform. The Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu urged the Palestinian Authority (PA) that it ought to take "harsh steps" against whoever fired at the settler.
Speaking in a threatening tone, and apparently seeking to placate genocidal settlers, Netanyahu demanded that the PA take serious and swift steps against "the terrorists who committed this criminal act."
Defense Minister Ehud Barak, the certified war criminal who carries on his hands tons of innocent Palestinian blood, also spoke in threatening tones, ignoring the fact that thousands of Palestinians have been killed by the Zionist killing machine.
The weak PA regime is apparently caving in to Zionist pressure. The PA governor of Nablus Jebril Bakri said a thorough investigation into the incident would be carried out soon. He stopped short of saying that the police officer accused of shooting the settler would be prosecuted.
It is hoped that the PA will not succumb to Zionist pressure and blackmail. After all, it was the settler and his fellow terrorists and fanatics who stormed an area that is supposed to be under full PA security control. The fanatical and genocidal terrorists did so in violation of even outstanding instructions by the Israeli occupation army which bars settlers' entry into Nablus without prior coordination with the PA and without government escort.
Hence, one could argue convincingly and logically that the Palestinian police officers in the area behaved in accordance with instructions under existing circumstances.
Indeed, how else a Palestinian police officer should have behaved, watching a group of armed and fanatical settlers about to storm a heavily-populated Palestinian neighborhood? Should he have allowed the settler to proceed, perhaps to carry out acts of terror and murder against innocent women, men and children as the arch-terrorist Baruch Goldstein did at the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron in 1994?
More to the point, it is well known that the settlers are really para-military terrorists awaiting an opportune time to murder Palestinians, steal their land, and vandalize their property.
Indeed, even without having a dead settler at hand, the settlers would still attack Palestinians with or without a reason. It is well known, for example, that the settlers have torched several Mosques in various parts of the West Bank as part of the so-called "price tag policy" whereby Palestinians and their property would be attacked every time the Israeli occupation army moved to dismantle a settler outpost.
Interestingly, the Israeli occupation army has consistently failed to provide the unprotected Palestinians with protection against settler violence, terror, and savagery.
In the final analysis, a snake wouldn't bite its own tail and the settlers themselves wouldn't wage their organized terror against the legitimate people of the land without a certain level of coordination or connivance with the army.
The settlers, whether we like or not and regardless of Israeli propaganda, are the Judeo Nazis of our time, as they have been labeled by some Jewish intellectuals. Imagine how these supremacist thugs relate to Palestinians and you will realize that decent Jews wouldn't want to live with them, not only in the same neighborhood, but in the same town.
It is well known that the settlers, these inherently racist Judeo Nazis, are indoctrinated in a hateful ideology they say is based on teachings of the Talmud and Torah. This virulent doctrine, which is rejected by many decent Jews but adopted rather blindly and zealously by a majority of Israeli Jews, gives non-Jews in occupied Palestine the choice between enslavement to Jews, as symbolized by the Biblical terms water carriers and wood hewers, and violent deportation or expulsion. If these two alternatives didn't work, then the third alternative would be genocide.
Unfortunately, these thugs are not a small minority in Israel . One can argue rather candidly that they now represent the mainstream in Israel as the Israeli Jewish society continues to drift to a kind of Jewish fascism and jingoism that is reminiscent to Germany in the late 1920s and early 1930s.
More to the point, it is crystal clear that the settlers and their supporters are the main and central obstacle to any prospective dignified peace deal between Jews and Arabs in occupied Palestine.
Hence, one exaggerates very little by saying that unless the government of Israel seriously reins in these thugs, there will be more and more bloodshed and violence and terror, because the Palestinian people will not allow themselves to be intimidated or terrorized by the settlers.
Once again, we hope the PA won't budge to Zionist arrogance and insolence. After all, settler blood is not more precious than Palestinian blood which has been spilt superfluously in Gaza recently.
Succumbing to Zionist dictates, God forbid would only underscore PA subservience to the will of the Israeli occupation.
PA orders its security elements not to open fire at Israelis in self-defense
The Fatah-controlled Palestinian authority (PA) in Ramallah issued strict instructions to its security apparatuses in the West Bank not to open fire at Israeli troops or settlers even if it was in self-defense.
The source affirmed that the leaders of the PA security apparatuses told their cadres that they would not be lenient with anyone of them shooting at Israeli troops and settlers under any reason, even if it was for self-defense because such act would be detrimental to the higher national interests and only serve the occupation as they said.
He noted that the PA intelligence apparatus embarked on Sunday morning on interrogating all policeman and security elements who were present in the area where the attack on some settlers happened.
Widespread popular outrage is prevailing in Nablus city because of the shameful and cowardly attitude of the PA security forces towards the killing of one settler at Yousuf's Tomb east of Nablus.
As the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) stormed Nablus without prior notice following the incident, the Palestinian citizens saw all the PA security forces, even the traffic policemen, leaving their posts, disappearing from the streets and shutting down their headquarters and institutions.
Eyewitnesses told the PIC that the PA security men stationed near Yousuf's Tomb left their posts and vanished quickly when the IOF entered the eastern part of Nablus city, but later they appeared after the IOF withdrew.
They affirmed that after the withdrawal of the invading Israeli troops from the scene following violent clashes with Palestinian young men, a large number of angry citizens poured into the Tomb and set fire to it.
The Israeli investigations showed that one of the PA national security men opened fire at a group of Israelis after they refused to comply with orders to evacuate the Tomb because there was no prior coordination with the Israeli side.
An eyewitness affirmed to the PIC that he heard the sound of gunfire from an Israeli automatic weapon, M16, and it was followed by the sound of shooting from a Kalashnikov gun which is used by all PA security men.
He expressed his belief that one of the Jewish settlers visiting Yousuf's Tomb started to open fire at the PA national security men who responded in self-defense to the settler.
Settlers attack
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Clashes erupted Sunday morning between armed Israeli settlers and Palestinian security officers when dozens of armed ultra-Orthodox settlers broke into a Palestinian checkpoint near the Joseph tomb site in the city of Nablus, without coordinating with the Palestinian side and without the required escort of Israeli forces, violating a protocol agreed upon between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
Unprovoked settler attack and military house invasion in Shuhada Street, Hebron At approximately 11pm on Sunday 24, two Palestinians were physically beaten, one also attacked with pepper spray, by Israeli settlers in Hebron. Shortly afterwards, a reported 20 Israeli soldiers forcibly entered a house in Shuhada Street and ordered all under 16s out into the street. |
According to a man interviewed by the ISM who lived in the house, two Palestinians, a middle-aged woman and a young man, were hit and the young man pepper-sprayed by Israeli settlers in the unprovoked attack. They fled to Checkpoint 56 located at the end of Shuhada Street.
Around 20 Israeli soldiers forcibly entered the Shuhada Street house containing three families which included young children. The soldiers then demanded that all children under 16 leave the house. The families refused this demand. The man interviewed by the ISM was then forcibly removed from his house, pushed up against a wall and searched by the military.
Whilst the two attacked Palestinians were giving their statements to the police at Checkpoint 56, two Israeli settlers, one heavily armed, watched close by. Witnesses from the Shuhada Street house were taken to the police station to give their statements. The ISM is not aware of any Israeli settlers having been questioned by the police.
Jewish settlers smash window shields of Palestinian car
Jewish settlers from Kiryat Arba east of Al-Khalil city went on the rampage on Monday and attacked nearby Palestinian homes and damaged property.
Witnesses told the PIC that the settlers smashed the window shield of Mohammed Al-Qaymeri's car, which was parked in front of his house, and threw stones at him.
Meanwhile, young men from nearby Arub refugee camp in Al-Khalil threw stones and empty bottles at Israeli occupation soldiers who fired at them stun grenades and teargas canisters. No injuries were reported.
The Israeli forces closed all entrances to Al-Khalil city on Monday morning and arrested three Palestinian university students.
For 2nd year, settlement sewage floods town
Residents in the flashpoint town of Beit Ummar accused Israeli settlers Monday or opening sewage pipes and causing a flood of human waste in fields growing grapes.
The flood is the second in as many years, coming almost a year to the day after a 2010 flood from the Kfar Etzion settlement.
Spokesman for the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Agriculture office in the southern West Bank Awad Abu Sway, said a pipe running north of the town near Wad Shakhat was opened, covering more than 10 dunums of privately-owned vineyards with waste.
Ibrahim Odeh Sabarneh, one of the Sabarna brothers who own the flooded fields, said he was plowing the earth on Sunday morning and did not see any contamination at all. He accused settlers of "taking advantage of the night" and opening the pipes.
"This is no coincidence, this is not the first time this has happened," Sabarneh said.
On 22 April 2010, seven dunums of the Sabarneh family land was flooded with sewage.
An Israeli Civil Administration representative confirmed the incident at the time, saying a pump from the Kfar Etzion settlement stopped working due to a power malfunction and sewage overflowed from the network. The official said the matter was a mistake, and as soon as the Beit Ummar governor notified officials of the issue the problem was rectified.
A spokesman from the Israeli government body could not be reached for comment on the latest incident.
Abu Sway condemned the flooding, saying it was another example of settler aggression against Palestinians, and part of a continued effort to drive residents off of their lands.
The town of Beit Ummar has been a flashpoint in recent months, with regular Israeli military patrols and detention campaigns sparking clashes between local teens and soldiers.
Israeli forces said a fence was being put up on one side of the village near the main road, citing rock throwing and the safety of settler cars passing by. Beit Ummar residents said the fence, and several road blocks being erected at the same time were violations of their right to freedom of movement and condemned the construction.
Each week, activist groups from the town organize anti-settlement protests, often joined by Israeli and international solidarity activists. The protesters march toward the illegal settlement of Karmi Zur, and demand an end to land confiscations and settler aggression.
Around 20 Israeli soldiers forcibly entered the Shuhada Street house containing three families which included young children. The soldiers then demanded that all children under 16 leave the house. The families refused this demand. The man interviewed by the ISM was then forcibly removed from his house, pushed up against a wall and searched by the military.
Whilst the two attacked Palestinians were giving their statements to the police at Checkpoint 56, two Israeli settlers, one heavily armed, watched close by. Witnesses from the Shuhada Street house were taken to the police station to give their statements. The ISM is not aware of any Israeli settlers having been questioned by the police.
Jewish settlers smash window shields of Palestinian car
Jewish settlers from Kiryat Arba east of Al-Khalil city went on the rampage on Monday and attacked nearby Palestinian homes and damaged property.
Witnesses told the PIC that the settlers smashed the window shield of Mohammed Al-Qaymeri's car, which was parked in front of his house, and threw stones at him.
Meanwhile, young men from nearby Arub refugee camp in Al-Khalil threw stones and empty bottles at Israeli occupation soldiers who fired at them stun grenades and teargas canisters. No injuries were reported.
The Israeli forces closed all entrances to Al-Khalil city on Monday morning and arrested three Palestinian university students.
For 2nd year, settlement sewage floods town
Residents in the flashpoint town of Beit Ummar accused Israeli settlers Monday or opening sewage pipes and causing a flood of human waste in fields growing grapes.
The flood is the second in as many years, coming almost a year to the day after a 2010 flood from the Kfar Etzion settlement.
Spokesman for the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Agriculture office in the southern West Bank Awad Abu Sway, said a pipe running north of the town near Wad Shakhat was opened, covering more than 10 dunums of privately-owned vineyards with waste.
Ibrahim Odeh Sabarneh, one of the Sabarna brothers who own the flooded fields, said he was plowing the earth on Sunday morning and did not see any contamination at all. He accused settlers of "taking advantage of the night" and opening the pipes.
"This is no coincidence, this is not the first time this has happened," Sabarneh said.
On 22 April 2010, seven dunums of the Sabarneh family land was flooded with sewage.
An Israeli Civil Administration representative confirmed the incident at the time, saying a pump from the Kfar Etzion settlement stopped working due to a power malfunction and sewage overflowed from the network. The official said the matter was a mistake, and as soon as the Beit Ummar governor notified officials of the issue the problem was rectified.
A spokesman from the Israeli government body could not be reached for comment on the latest incident.
Abu Sway condemned the flooding, saying it was another example of settler aggression against Palestinians, and part of a continued effort to drive residents off of their lands.
The town of Beit Ummar has been a flashpoint in recent months, with regular Israeli military patrols and detention campaigns sparking clashes between local teens and soldiers.
Israeli forces said a fence was being put up on one side of the village near the main road, citing rock throwing and the safety of settler cars passing by. Beit Ummar residents said the fence, and several road blocks being erected at the same time were violations of their right to freedom of movement and condemned the construction.
Each week, activist groups from the town organize anti-settlement protests, often joined by Israeli and international solidarity activists. The protesters march toward the illegal settlement of Karmi Zur, and demand an end to land confiscations and settler aggression.
24 apr 2011
13 year old Boy among 5 injured by settler stones in north
Five were injured by settler stone throwers on Sunday, medics said, as members of communities of Israeli Jews residing illegally in the West Bank launched rocks from several areas in the north.
Among the injured, medics said, was a 13-year-old boy who was taken to the Rafidiya Government Hospital in Nablus for treatment of head wounds.
Two others from the village of Urif, were injured when rocks they said were thrown by settlers smashed their car's windshield as they drove near the village of Huwwara.
Murad Mustafa Al-Yatem, a taxi driver, said settlers torched his car as it was parked next to his home near the village of Burin south of Nablus.
Settlers were reported throwing rocks from a hilltop near the village of Beit Furik and at the Madama junction, south of Nablus, from early in the afternoon.
At Madama, locals said the rock throwing sparked clashes. No injuries were reported.
Earlier Sunday, a group of settlers tried to illegally enter Joseph's Tomb in the West Bank city of Nablus. Under Israeli law, settlers wishing to enter the religious site in the center of a Palestinian residential district must request a military escort. Officials said the settlers made no attempt to coordinate the visit.
One man was killed and four wounded when they came under fire as they left the shrine.
Palestinian security officials said officers told the settlers they were not authorized to be there without coordination but the group responded by pointing their guns toward Palestinian police.
Security forces first fired warning shots into the air, according to Palestinian officials.
The Israeli military said Palestinian officials notified Israeli coordinators that a Palestinian policeman shot in the group's direction after identifying suspicious movements.
Palestinian Authority security spokesman Adnan Dmeiri told Ma'an a committee had been formed to investigate the incident.
Jewish Settler Opens Fire in East Jerusalem Neighborhood
A Jewish settler opened fire Sunday in the streets of Wadi al-Joz neighborhood of East Jerusalem causing panic among the neighborhood's Palestinian residents, according to witnesses.
Moaz al-Za'tari, director of al-Maqdesee for Social Development, said the settler acted hysterically and people stayed home in fear of being shot by the settler, waiting for the Israeli police to come and arrest him.
He warned the residents against similar acts by extremist Jewish groups who roam the neighborhood's streets during the Jewish Passover holiday.
After settler killed in Nablus; Three Palestinians Injured by Army Fire
Nablus PNN At least three Palestinian civilians were injured by Israeli army fire on Sunday during clashes in Nablus that started after a settler was killed in the city.
One settler was killed, five injured, when a group of armed settlers tried to raid Joseph's Tomb located in Nablus city. Palestinian police said that the settlers did not stop at the Palestinian security checkpoint outside Joseph's Tomb; police officers fired warning shot in the air, Palestinian security sources reported.
The Israeli army said that the Palestinian police killed the settler but the killing was not politically oriented.
After the settler was killed Israeli military forces invaded Nablus and clashed with local youth, three Palestinian were injured by the army gunfire, medical sources reported.
Moreover a group of Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian cars leaving and entering Nablus, damage was reported but no injuries.
Hundreds of settlers attack Palestinian cars in Nablus
Hundreds of Jewish settlers attacked Sunday the cars of Palestinians south and east of the West Bank city of Nablus.
The aggression came just hours after a Jewish settler was killed and four others injured, one of them critically, during a shooting by a Palestinian policeman near Yousuf's Tomb in the city.
Angry settlers blocked the roads entering the city of Nablus and hurled stones at cars driven by Palestinians, witnesses reported. Several car windows were broken.
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) closed the Hawara checkpoint south of Nablus following the settler attacks.
Settlers gathered at the intersection of the Burin village and at the Beit Fourik checkpoint near Nablus and attacked Palestinians, witnesses added.
A Palestinian man and his son aged 11 were injured after Jewish settlers struck their vehicle with rocks near the Hawara checkpoint south of Nablus. They were transported to hospital.
The same day, following the Nablus shooting, Knesset member Michael Ben-Ari made calls to the Israeli government to regain control of Yousuf's Tomb, where the incident took place. He urged for an immediate establishment of a Yeshiva there.
Rep. Tzipi Hutobli said the deadly shooting proves that freedom of safe access to the tomb cannot be guaranteed without Israeli control of the site. She said she sees no reason why the Tomb should be less important to Israelis than the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem.
Meanwhile, the IOF has tightened measures at permanent and random checkpoints in the northern and central West Bank, causing traffic jams and obstructing movement.
Witnesses said soldiers have been stopping and searching cars and checking the identification of their passengers without report of arrest.
Security has been tightened on the Hawara checkpoint south of Nablus because of the movement of Jewish settlers into the area after the shooting Sunday morning.
update: Nablus governor says PA notified of death after settlers fled
13 year old Boy among 5 injured by settler stones in north
Five were injured by settler stone throwers on Sunday, medics said, as members of communities of Israeli Jews residing illegally in the West Bank launched rocks from several areas in the north.
Among the injured, medics said, was a 13-year-old boy who was taken to the Rafidiya Government Hospital in Nablus for treatment of head wounds.
Two others from the village of Urif, were injured when rocks they said were thrown by settlers smashed their car's windshield as they drove near the village of Huwwara.
Murad Mustafa Al-Yatem, a taxi driver, said settlers torched his car as it was parked next to his home near the village of Burin south of Nablus.
Settlers were reported throwing rocks from a hilltop near the village of Beit Furik and at the Madama junction, south of Nablus, from early in the afternoon.
At Madama, locals said the rock throwing sparked clashes. No injuries were reported.
Earlier Sunday, a group of settlers tried to illegally enter Joseph's Tomb in the West Bank city of Nablus. Under Israeli law, settlers wishing to enter the religious site in the center of a Palestinian residential district must request a military escort. Officials said the settlers made no attempt to coordinate the visit.
One man was killed and four wounded when they came under fire as they left the shrine.
Palestinian security officials said officers told the settlers they were not authorized to be there without coordination but the group responded by pointing their guns toward Palestinian police.
Security forces first fired warning shots into the air, according to Palestinian officials.
The Israeli military said Palestinian officials notified Israeli coordinators that a Palestinian policeman shot in the group's direction after identifying suspicious movements.
Palestinian Authority security spokesman Adnan Dmeiri told Ma'an a committee had been formed to investigate the incident.
Jewish Settler Opens Fire in East Jerusalem Neighborhood
A Jewish settler opened fire Sunday in the streets of Wadi al-Joz neighborhood of East Jerusalem causing panic among the neighborhood's Palestinian residents, according to witnesses.
Moaz al-Za'tari, director of al-Maqdesee for Social Development, said the settler acted hysterically and people stayed home in fear of being shot by the settler, waiting for the Israeli police to come and arrest him.
He warned the residents against similar acts by extremist Jewish groups who roam the neighborhood's streets during the Jewish Passover holiday.
After settler killed in Nablus; Three Palestinians Injured by Army Fire
Nablus PNN At least three Palestinian civilians were injured by Israeli army fire on Sunday during clashes in Nablus that started after a settler was killed in the city.
One settler was killed, five injured, when a group of armed settlers tried to raid Joseph's Tomb located in Nablus city. Palestinian police said that the settlers did not stop at the Palestinian security checkpoint outside Joseph's Tomb; police officers fired warning shot in the air, Palestinian security sources reported.
The Israeli army said that the Palestinian police killed the settler but the killing was not politically oriented.
After the settler was killed Israeli military forces invaded Nablus and clashed with local youth, three Palestinian were injured by the army gunfire, medical sources reported.
Moreover a group of Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian cars leaving and entering Nablus, damage was reported but no injuries.
Hundreds of settlers attack Palestinian cars in Nablus
Hundreds of Jewish settlers attacked Sunday the cars of Palestinians south and east of the West Bank city of Nablus.
The aggression came just hours after a Jewish settler was killed and four others injured, one of them critically, during a shooting by a Palestinian policeman near Yousuf's Tomb in the city.
Angry settlers blocked the roads entering the city of Nablus and hurled stones at cars driven by Palestinians, witnesses reported. Several car windows were broken.
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) closed the Hawara checkpoint south of Nablus following the settler attacks.
Settlers gathered at the intersection of the Burin village and at the Beit Fourik checkpoint near Nablus and attacked Palestinians, witnesses added.
A Palestinian man and his son aged 11 were injured after Jewish settlers struck their vehicle with rocks near the Hawara checkpoint south of Nablus. They were transported to hospital.
The same day, following the Nablus shooting, Knesset member Michael Ben-Ari made calls to the Israeli government to regain control of Yousuf's Tomb, where the incident took place. He urged for an immediate establishment of a Yeshiva there.
Rep. Tzipi Hutobli said the deadly shooting proves that freedom of safe access to the tomb cannot be guaranteed without Israeli control of the site. She said she sees no reason why the Tomb should be less important to Israelis than the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem.
Meanwhile, the IOF has tightened measures at permanent and random checkpoints in the northern and central West Bank, causing traffic jams and obstructing movement.
Witnesses said soldiers have been stopping and searching cars and checking the identification of their passengers without report of arrest.
Security has been tightened on the Hawara checkpoint south of Nablus because of the movement of Jewish settlers into the area after the shooting Sunday morning.
update: Nablus governor says PA notified of death after settlers fled
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An Israeli settler was shot dead and four others were injured early Sunday after a group of Jewish worshippers snuck into Nablus without coordinating with Palestinian or Israeli security, officials said.
Settler sources named the man killed in the incident as Jerusalem resident Ben-Yosef Livnat, a 24-year-old father of four who is the nephew of hawkish culture minister Limor Livnat, and was born in the Nablus-area settlement Elon Moreh. Nablus governor Jimil Al-Bakri gave an account of the incident following a police investigation, saying that at 5:45 a.m., five cars carrynig 30 settlers from Jerusalem entered Joseph's Tomb, then split off into two groups. "They threw stones and carried out provocative acts against |
Palestinians," A-Bakri told Ma'an. When police were made aware of the incidents, officers were deployed to the area and set up a checkpoint near the road, firing into the air in an attempt to disperse the group of settlers, he said.
When the shots were fired, Al-Bakri continued, settlers returned to their cars rapidly, driving into the plastic barrier set up on the road, fleeing the scene.
"It was only after the cars left that were were informed by Israel that one had been killed and five others injured," the official said.
"The Palestinian Authority has formed an investigating committee headed by Palestinian military intelligence and security department officials," he said, noting that field investigations had begun and that guards at the scene had been detained for questioning.
Palestinian officers told Ma'an earlier that settlers had pulled their weapons and pointed them at the PA security, which had informed the settler group that they were not permitted to be in the area without an Israeli military guard.
Both Palestinian security and Israel's military confirmed no coordination attempts had been made for an escort for the settler group.
Security forces first fired warning shots into the air, according to Palestinian officials, while a statement from Israel's army said Palestinian officials said shots were fired "after identifying suspicious movements."
Yaakov David Ha'ivri, a settler leader in the northern West Bank, said the ncident put "a great question mark over the ability of the Palestinian Authority to protect the security of Jewish worshipers," he said. "It could encourage the Israeli side to take more responsibility."
Visits to the tomb, in the Nablus-area town of Balatta, have in the past years been conducted at night. Israeli forces enter the area and impose a military curfew, preventing civilians from leaving their homes from the hours of midnight to dawn.
Palestinian police operating in the area during a Israeli military operation are told to evacuate.
Palestinian Authority security services spokesman Adnan Dmeiri told Ma'an that officers on duty at the site had been summoned to give testimonies as witnesses to the incident, but said none had been detained.
Dmeiri said a committee had been formed to investigate the shooting but said it would not include Israeli officials. He denied media reports that the investigation would be under US supervision.
Mixed reactions
"This was an abnormal event which does not characterize the nature of the relationship," an Israeli military official told Ynet, a news site based in Tel Aviv. "It is possible that the group's failure to coordinate the visit caused a misunderstanding," the official said.
The governor of Nablus, Jibril Al-Bakri, added that the shooting was unintentional and said it was still being investigated.
The army said its senior officials were expected to meet with Palestinian security officers Sunday to examine the incident.
Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak issued a statement "strongly condemning" the incident and calling on the army and Palestinian Authority to investigate.
"No breakdown in coordination can justify an event of this nature and firing at innocent people," he said.
Following the incident, Israeli forces closed the Beit Furik checkpoint east of Nablus and intensified inspections at Za'tara and Huwwara checkpoints in the area.
Clashes erupted around Joseph's Tomb as Israeli forces launched tear gas at young Palestinians protesting in the area.
After Israeli forces withdrew, Palestinians set fire to the site.
AFP contributed to this report
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=381521
3 hasidim placed under house arrest following Joseph's Tomb shooting
Petah Tikva Magistrate's Court placed under a two-day house arrest three Breslov Hasidim arrested after the shooting incident Sunday morning, in suspicion of violating a restricted military zone order.
The court permitted the three to attend prayer services with the escort of family members and ordered them to pay bail of NIS 5,000 each (about $1,400).
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4060226,00.html
Police seek remand for 3 Breslovers involved in Nablus shooting
The police asked the Petah Tikva Magistrate's Court to remand three Breslov hasidim for five days, for violating a restricted military zone order.
The motion said that the three, along with several others, entered the Joseph Tomb compound on Sunday morning sans the proper permits. The act resulted in the shooting incident that left one Israeli dead and five others injured.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4060213,00.html
Rightists threaten vengeance over Nablus shooting
Shortly prior to funeral of Ben-Yosef Livnat, killed in Joseph's Tomb shooting presumably by Palestinian policemen, settlers embark on price tag retaliation following Palestinian agitation.
Shortly prior to the funeral of Nablus shooting victim Ben-Yosef Livnat, who was killed Sunday morning in a shooting at Joseph's Tomb, presumably by Palestinian policemen, settlers embarked on a price tag retaliation, stoning a Palestinian car. A Palestinian child was reportedly hurt.
In retaliation to that, Palestinians stoned Israeli cars, injuring an Israeli youth. Two homes and two cars were reportedly set on fire in the village of Hawara, on the funeral procession route.
Meanwhile, the Hawara-Yitzhar Junction in the West Bank was blocked after violent clashes broke out between mourners and Palestinian residents. Large numbers of IDF and police forces used tear gas in their attempts to disperse the rioters.
Right wing elements have declared that the latest price tag activities were "only the beginning" and that the settlers intend to continue taking vengeance over the Sunday morning killing.
Palestinian sources told Ynet that a group of masked men started throwing rocks at two locations: The first, dozens of meters from the Hawara junction and the other at the entrance to the village of Burin south of Hebron.
A Burin resident said that "settlers arrived at the village and started throwing rocks at cars." He claims that one of the Palestinian vehicles standing on the side of the road was set on fire.
Earlier, dozens of Palestinians gathered at Joseph's Tomb and attempted to set it alight. The fire was put out by local firemen.
The IDF Judea and Samaria Division and Border Guard officers prepared in advance for the possibility of price tag incidents.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4060202,00.html
Prof. Qassem criticizes Israeli-PA probe into Nablus shooting Sunday
Dr. Abdul-Sattar Qassem, political sciences professor at Al-Najah University in Nablus, has strongly criticized investigations carried out jointly between Israeli security forces and those of the Palestinian Authority after a Nablus shooting where Palestinians were suspected of killing a Jewish settler and injuring three more.
The Fatah authority is tied with the Israeli occupier. It has no choice but to form such a committee immediately. If it doesn't, it won't operate, and won't eat, and won't receive funds, Qassem said in statements to the PIC.
The political analyst condemned resistance forces over their shortcomings in carrying out duties in the West Bank.
Our first duty is to confront the [Israeli occupier] in order to achieve freedom to establish a real Palestinian state and restore the national rights, most prominently, the right of return, he said.
Qassem said operations like the one that occurred in Nablus Sunday morning place Israeli settlers in real trouble, forcing large numbers of them to leave the occupied West Bank.
He emphasized that there is no security calm in the West Bank but only subservience and humiliation.
This is not a calm nor peace. There is an occupation. Those who suffer from occupation do not discuss a security calm but think instead about how to remove the occupation. The PA's arguments [for security coordination with Israel] are desperate and outside the logic of human history. They always seek for justification to implement degrading agreements with the Zionist entity.
Qassem called on the PA security agencies to terminate security agreements with Israel that force the Palestinians to coordinate with Israeli security apparatuses.
Settlers smash Palestinians' cars near Nablus
Dozens of settlers smashed Palestinians' cars around Nablus on Sunday hours after the shooting death of an Israeli in the city.
Settlers threw rocks and smashed several cars on Huwarra Road near Beit Furik and at Madama junction, south of Nablus, a Ma'an correspondent reported.
Clashes erupted between Palestinians and settlers near Madama junction, locals said, but no injuries were reported.
Earlier Sunday, a group of settlers tried to enter Joseph's Tomb in the West Bank city of Nablus without prior coordination with Israeli or Palestinian security.
One man was killed and four wounded when they came under fire as they left the shrine.
Palestinian security officials said officers told the settlers they were not authorized to be there without coordination but the group responded by pointing their guns toward Palestinian police.
Security forces first fired warning shots into the air, according to Palestinian officials.
The Israeli military said Palestinian officials notified Israeli coordinators that a Palestinian policeman shot in the group's direction "after identifying suspicious movements."
Palestinian Authority security spokesman Adnan Dmeiri told Ma'an a committee had been formed to investigate the incident.
Fatah opens probe into Nablus shooting
The West Bank-ruling Fatah party has announced opening an investigation into the shooting targeting a group of Jewish settlers in Nablus city.
One settler was killed and three moderately and seriously injured in the shooting near Yousuf'sTomb in the northern part of the city.
Jibrin al-Bakri, the governor of Nablus province, has vowed that Palestinian Authority intelligence militias would announce the results of the investigations as soon as possible.
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) is said to have asked the PA security militias to remain in their positions until investigations are complete and the area is combed.
Meanwhile, the education directorate in Nablus has suspended office hours at schools near where the incident took place.
The move reflects fears that Israeli soldiers would clash with students protesting that Jewish settlers infiltrated into the area.
The IOF has announced that that Palestinian officials have informed Israeli occupation authorities that it was a Palestinian policeman who fired at the settlers who intruded into the Yousuf'sTomb area.
According to Palestinian sources, dozens of armed settlers infiltrated the area without prior coordination with the Israeli army. When PA security service officers arrived, they informed them that entry was prohibited without prior coordination. But the settlers proceeded to raise their weapons and refused to refrain from entering. Disputes then began to take place.
The PA officers then shot into the air, the source added. When shots rang off, Israeli soldiers stationed at the military tower fired at Mount Tour opposite the Tomb, killing a settler and injuring the three others.
Barak: Nablus shooting a murder
IDF says PA responsible for Joseph's Tomb shooting that left one Israeli dead, five injured; Defense Minister Barak says 'no coordination mishap justifies shooting at innocent people'.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak condemned Sunday's shooting incident near Joseph's Tomb, calling it "a murder." The shooting left one Israeli dead and five injured.
Barak's office said: "No coordination mishap justifies this kind of outcome or the shooting of innocent people." Barak ordered the IDF to investigate, as well as demanded "the PA take swift and full measures against the shooters."
The IDF said that it viewed the incident gravely and expected a full investigation by the Palestinian Authority. The latter, said a military source has already launched an investigation, as well as expressed their regret about the incident's outcome.
Earlier, a senior IDF official in the Shomron Spatial Brigade said the Palestinian Authority was responsible for the shooting: "We hold the PA responsible for its troops and will pursue the matter to its fullest extent."
The officer refused to comment about a possible extradition request for the individuals involved by Israel.
An initial military investigation revealed that the Israeli worshipers entered Joseph's Tomb without coordinating their visit in advance. Around 5:45 am and after a Palestinian security patrol attempted to stop them they clashed with local security forces.
Palestinian police officers fired several warning shots in the air, before directing fire at two of the three vehicles present.
According to military sources, an IDF forensics team was dispatched to the scene after discussions with the PA to that effect. "We've collected shell-casings and other evidence found at the scene and the investigation in ongoing.
"As we understand it, four Palestinian officers involved in the shooting have been detained. We know the Palestinian policemen attempted to stop the Hassidim and deployed a road spike strip that they moved.
"We are also looking into a claim, that we think is false, that the Palestinian policemen were stoned," said the military source.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4060182,00.html
Report: Palestinians set Joseph's Tomb on fire
Nablus agitated after shooting of Israelis; masses gather near holy site, several youths try to set compound ablaze. 'Sight was reminiscent of Second Indifada,' witness says.
Unrest rattled the West Bank city of Nablus Sunday following the shooting of Breslov Hassidim visiting the Palestinian-controlled Joseph's Tomb in the city.
Twenty-four year old Ben-Yosef Livnat, a father of four from Jerusalem and Minister Limor Livnat's nephew was killed, and five others were wounded.
Palestinian sources reported local Palestinian youths gathered around the Tomb's compound shortly after the incident and set it on fire.
A group of Palestinian youngsters rolled burning tires into the Tomb's plaza, which was renovated only a few months ago.
A Palestinian source said black smoke towered over the gravesite, adding the sight was "reminiscent of the days of the Second Indifada."
Palestinian fire fighters and police forces were called to the scene. No substantial damage was caused to the compound.
Palestinian security forces are now heavily deployed in the area to maintain order.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4060163,00.html
Witness: Shooters yell Allahu Akbar
Breslov Hassid injured in shooting tells Ynet: 'They were shooting to kill, It was crazy'. Incident fatality Ben-Yosef Livnat will be buried today in Jerusalem.
A group of Breslov Hassidim's regular twilight visit to Joseph's Tomb in Palestinian controlled Nablus came to a tragically violent end Sunday: According to one of the Breslovers, Palestinian police officers fired at the convoy as they were on their way in to the Tomb.
The fire continued as they left, killing Ben-Yosef Livnat a 24 year-old father of four from Jerusalem nephew of Minister Limor Livnat and injuring five others.
The Palestinians have a different version to the Sunday events. A Palestinian-IDF joint investigation continues.
Minister Limor Livnat is en route to the settlement of Elon Moreh to meet the deceased's family. The funeral will take place in Jerusalem.
One of the Breslovers who was in the second car in the convoy and was lightly wounded told Ynet: "We arrived at the tomb like on many occasions in the past. Near the tomb we saw a spikes chain. One of the guys jumped out of the car and moved it aside.
"At this point a uniformed Palestinian police officer with a Kalashnikov in a jeep woke his colleagues up and they started firing into the air I was in the front seat. We started driving fast in the direction of the tomb; we got out of the vehicles and kissed the tomb.
"When we got back to the vehicles the police shot at the vehicles, they were screaming 'Allahu Akbar'. It was crazy, they were shooting to kill. I screamed at the driver to drive out of there quickly. When we got to Har Bracha we attended to the wounded."
Palestinian security forces have arrested one suspect in connection with the shooting, who is recounting his version of events with additional members from the patrol force. Palestinian sources who spoke to the IDF have claimed that the shooting was preceded by the Breslovers throwing rocks at the Palestinian police.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4060142,00.html
IDF: Nablus shooting not a terror attack
When the shots were fired, Al-Bakri continued, settlers returned to their cars rapidly, driving into the plastic barrier set up on the road, fleeing the scene.
"It was only after the cars left that were were informed by Israel that one had been killed and five others injured," the official said.
"The Palestinian Authority has formed an investigating committee headed by Palestinian military intelligence and security department officials," he said, noting that field investigations had begun and that guards at the scene had been detained for questioning.
Palestinian officers told Ma'an earlier that settlers had pulled their weapons and pointed them at the PA security, which had informed the settler group that they were not permitted to be in the area without an Israeli military guard.
Both Palestinian security and Israel's military confirmed no coordination attempts had been made for an escort for the settler group.
Security forces first fired warning shots into the air, according to Palestinian officials, while a statement from Israel's army said Palestinian officials said shots were fired "after identifying suspicious movements."
Yaakov David Ha'ivri, a settler leader in the northern West Bank, said the ncident put "a great question mark over the ability of the Palestinian Authority to protect the security of Jewish worshipers," he said. "It could encourage the Israeli side to take more responsibility."
Visits to the tomb, in the Nablus-area town of Balatta, have in the past years been conducted at night. Israeli forces enter the area and impose a military curfew, preventing civilians from leaving their homes from the hours of midnight to dawn.
Palestinian police operating in the area during a Israeli military operation are told to evacuate.
Palestinian Authority security services spokesman Adnan Dmeiri told Ma'an that officers on duty at the site had been summoned to give testimonies as witnesses to the incident, but said none had been detained.
Dmeiri said a committee had been formed to investigate the shooting but said it would not include Israeli officials. He denied media reports that the investigation would be under US supervision.
Mixed reactions
"This was an abnormal event which does not characterize the nature of the relationship," an Israeli military official told Ynet, a news site based in Tel Aviv. "It is possible that the group's failure to coordinate the visit caused a misunderstanding," the official said.
The governor of Nablus, Jibril Al-Bakri, added that the shooting was unintentional and said it was still being investigated.
The army said its senior officials were expected to meet with Palestinian security officers Sunday to examine the incident.
Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak issued a statement "strongly condemning" the incident and calling on the army and Palestinian Authority to investigate.
"No breakdown in coordination can justify an event of this nature and firing at innocent people," he said.
Following the incident, Israeli forces closed the Beit Furik checkpoint east of Nablus and intensified inspections at Za'tara and Huwwara checkpoints in the area.
Clashes erupted around Joseph's Tomb as Israeli forces launched tear gas at young Palestinians protesting in the area.
After Israeli forces withdrew, Palestinians set fire to the site.
AFP contributed to this report
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=381521
3 hasidim placed under house arrest following Joseph's Tomb shooting
Petah Tikva Magistrate's Court placed under a two-day house arrest three Breslov Hasidim arrested after the shooting incident Sunday morning, in suspicion of violating a restricted military zone order.
The court permitted the three to attend prayer services with the escort of family members and ordered them to pay bail of NIS 5,000 each (about $1,400).
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4060226,00.html
Police seek remand for 3 Breslovers involved in Nablus shooting
The police asked the Petah Tikva Magistrate's Court to remand three Breslov hasidim for five days, for violating a restricted military zone order.
The motion said that the three, along with several others, entered the Joseph Tomb compound on Sunday morning sans the proper permits. The act resulted in the shooting incident that left one Israeli dead and five others injured.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4060213,00.html
Rightists threaten vengeance over Nablus shooting
Shortly prior to funeral of Ben-Yosef Livnat, killed in Joseph's Tomb shooting presumably by Palestinian policemen, settlers embark on price tag retaliation following Palestinian agitation.
Shortly prior to the funeral of Nablus shooting victim Ben-Yosef Livnat, who was killed Sunday morning in a shooting at Joseph's Tomb, presumably by Palestinian policemen, settlers embarked on a price tag retaliation, stoning a Palestinian car. A Palestinian child was reportedly hurt.
In retaliation to that, Palestinians stoned Israeli cars, injuring an Israeli youth. Two homes and two cars were reportedly set on fire in the village of Hawara, on the funeral procession route.
Meanwhile, the Hawara-Yitzhar Junction in the West Bank was blocked after violent clashes broke out between mourners and Palestinian residents. Large numbers of IDF and police forces used tear gas in their attempts to disperse the rioters.
Right wing elements have declared that the latest price tag activities were "only the beginning" and that the settlers intend to continue taking vengeance over the Sunday morning killing.
Palestinian sources told Ynet that a group of masked men started throwing rocks at two locations: The first, dozens of meters from the Hawara junction and the other at the entrance to the village of Burin south of Hebron.
A Burin resident said that "settlers arrived at the village and started throwing rocks at cars." He claims that one of the Palestinian vehicles standing on the side of the road was set on fire.
Earlier, dozens of Palestinians gathered at Joseph's Tomb and attempted to set it alight. The fire was put out by local firemen.
The IDF Judea and Samaria Division and Border Guard officers prepared in advance for the possibility of price tag incidents.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4060202,00.html
Prof. Qassem criticizes Israeli-PA probe into Nablus shooting Sunday
Dr. Abdul-Sattar Qassem, political sciences professor at Al-Najah University in Nablus, has strongly criticized investigations carried out jointly between Israeli security forces and those of the Palestinian Authority after a Nablus shooting where Palestinians were suspected of killing a Jewish settler and injuring three more.
The Fatah authority is tied with the Israeli occupier. It has no choice but to form such a committee immediately. If it doesn't, it won't operate, and won't eat, and won't receive funds, Qassem said in statements to the PIC.
The political analyst condemned resistance forces over their shortcomings in carrying out duties in the West Bank.
Our first duty is to confront the [Israeli occupier] in order to achieve freedom to establish a real Palestinian state and restore the national rights, most prominently, the right of return, he said.
Qassem said operations like the one that occurred in Nablus Sunday morning place Israeli settlers in real trouble, forcing large numbers of them to leave the occupied West Bank.
He emphasized that there is no security calm in the West Bank but only subservience and humiliation.
This is not a calm nor peace. There is an occupation. Those who suffer from occupation do not discuss a security calm but think instead about how to remove the occupation. The PA's arguments [for security coordination with Israel] are desperate and outside the logic of human history. They always seek for justification to implement degrading agreements with the Zionist entity.
Qassem called on the PA security agencies to terminate security agreements with Israel that force the Palestinians to coordinate with Israeli security apparatuses.
Settlers smash Palestinians' cars near Nablus
Dozens of settlers smashed Palestinians' cars around Nablus on Sunday hours after the shooting death of an Israeli in the city.
Settlers threw rocks and smashed several cars on Huwarra Road near Beit Furik and at Madama junction, south of Nablus, a Ma'an correspondent reported.
Clashes erupted between Palestinians and settlers near Madama junction, locals said, but no injuries were reported.
Earlier Sunday, a group of settlers tried to enter Joseph's Tomb in the West Bank city of Nablus without prior coordination with Israeli or Palestinian security.
One man was killed and four wounded when they came under fire as they left the shrine.
Palestinian security officials said officers told the settlers they were not authorized to be there without coordination but the group responded by pointing their guns toward Palestinian police.
Security forces first fired warning shots into the air, according to Palestinian officials.
The Israeli military said Palestinian officials notified Israeli coordinators that a Palestinian policeman shot in the group's direction "after identifying suspicious movements."
Palestinian Authority security spokesman Adnan Dmeiri told Ma'an a committee had been formed to investigate the incident.
Fatah opens probe into Nablus shooting
The West Bank-ruling Fatah party has announced opening an investigation into the shooting targeting a group of Jewish settlers in Nablus city.
One settler was killed and three moderately and seriously injured in the shooting near Yousuf'sTomb in the northern part of the city.
Jibrin al-Bakri, the governor of Nablus province, has vowed that Palestinian Authority intelligence militias would announce the results of the investigations as soon as possible.
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) is said to have asked the PA security militias to remain in their positions until investigations are complete and the area is combed.
Meanwhile, the education directorate in Nablus has suspended office hours at schools near where the incident took place.
The move reflects fears that Israeli soldiers would clash with students protesting that Jewish settlers infiltrated into the area.
The IOF has announced that that Palestinian officials have informed Israeli occupation authorities that it was a Palestinian policeman who fired at the settlers who intruded into the Yousuf'sTomb area.
According to Palestinian sources, dozens of armed settlers infiltrated the area without prior coordination with the Israeli army. When PA security service officers arrived, they informed them that entry was prohibited without prior coordination. But the settlers proceeded to raise their weapons and refused to refrain from entering. Disputes then began to take place.
The PA officers then shot into the air, the source added. When shots rang off, Israeli soldiers stationed at the military tower fired at Mount Tour opposite the Tomb, killing a settler and injuring the three others.
Barak: Nablus shooting a murder
IDF says PA responsible for Joseph's Tomb shooting that left one Israeli dead, five injured; Defense Minister Barak says 'no coordination mishap justifies shooting at innocent people'.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak condemned Sunday's shooting incident near Joseph's Tomb, calling it "a murder." The shooting left one Israeli dead and five injured.
Barak's office said: "No coordination mishap justifies this kind of outcome or the shooting of innocent people." Barak ordered the IDF to investigate, as well as demanded "the PA take swift and full measures against the shooters."
The IDF said that it viewed the incident gravely and expected a full investigation by the Palestinian Authority. The latter, said a military source has already launched an investigation, as well as expressed their regret about the incident's outcome.
Earlier, a senior IDF official in the Shomron Spatial Brigade said the Palestinian Authority was responsible for the shooting: "We hold the PA responsible for its troops and will pursue the matter to its fullest extent."
The officer refused to comment about a possible extradition request for the individuals involved by Israel.
An initial military investigation revealed that the Israeli worshipers entered Joseph's Tomb without coordinating their visit in advance. Around 5:45 am and after a Palestinian security patrol attempted to stop them they clashed with local security forces.
Palestinian police officers fired several warning shots in the air, before directing fire at two of the three vehicles present.
According to military sources, an IDF forensics team was dispatched to the scene after discussions with the PA to that effect. "We've collected shell-casings and other evidence found at the scene and the investigation in ongoing.
"As we understand it, four Palestinian officers involved in the shooting have been detained. We know the Palestinian policemen attempted to stop the Hassidim and deployed a road spike strip that they moved.
"We are also looking into a claim, that we think is false, that the Palestinian policemen were stoned," said the military source.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4060182,00.html
Report: Palestinians set Joseph's Tomb on fire
Nablus agitated after shooting of Israelis; masses gather near holy site, several youths try to set compound ablaze. 'Sight was reminiscent of Second Indifada,' witness says.
Unrest rattled the West Bank city of Nablus Sunday following the shooting of Breslov Hassidim visiting the Palestinian-controlled Joseph's Tomb in the city.
Twenty-four year old Ben-Yosef Livnat, a father of four from Jerusalem and Minister Limor Livnat's nephew was killed, and five others were wounded.
Palestinian sources reported local Palestinian youths gathered around the Tomb's compound shortly after the incident and set it on fire.
A group of Palestinian youngsters rolled burning tires into the Tomb's plaza, which was renovated only a few months ago.
A Palestinian source said black smoke towered over the gravesite, adding the sight was "reminiscent of the days of the Second Indifada."
Palestinian fire fighters and police forces were called to the scene. No substantial damage was caused to the compound.
Palestinian security forces are now heavily deployed in the area to maintain order.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4060163,00.html
Witness: Shooters yell Allahu Akbar
Breslov Hassid injured in shooting tells Ynet: 'They were shooting to kill, It was crazy'. Incident fatality Ben-Yosef Livnat will be buried today in Jerusalem.
A group of Breslov Hassidim's regular twilight visit to Joseph's Tomb in Palestinian controlled Nablus came to a tragically violent end Sunday: According to one of the Breslovers, Palestinian police officers fired at the convoy as they were on their way in to the Tomb.
The fire continued as they left, killing Ben-Yosef Livnat a 24 year-old father of four from Jerusalem nephew of Minister Limor Livnat and injuring five others.
The Palestinians have a different version to the Sunday events. A Palestinian-IDF joint investigation continues.
Minister Limor Livnat is en route to the settlement of Elon Moreh to meet the deceased's family. The funeral will take place in Jerusalem.
One of the Breslovers who was in the second car in the convoy and was lightly wounded told Ynet: "We arrived at the tomb like on many occasions in the past. Near the tomb we saw a spikes chain. One of the guys jumped out of the car and moved it aside.
"At this point a uniformed Palestinian police officer with a Kalashnikov in a jeep woke his colleagues up and they started firing into the air I was in the front seat. We started driving fast in the direction of the tomb; we got out of the vehicles and kissed the tomb.
"When we got back to the vehicles the police shot at the vehicles, they were screaming 'Allahu Akbar'. It was crazy, they were shooting to kill. I screamed at the driver to drive out of there quickly. When we got to Har Bracha we attended to the wounded."
Palestinian security forces have arrested one suspect in connection with the shooting, who is recounting his version of events with additional members from the patrol force. Palestinian sources who spoke to the IDF have claimed that the shooting was preceded by the Breslovers throwing rocks at the Palestinian police.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4060142,00.html
IDF: Nablus shooting not a terror attack
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Military, Palestinians investigating shooting of Israelis near Joseph's Tomb. Initial details suggest event was security incident. Settlers: This was cold blooded murder.
IDF and Palestinian security forces have launched an investigation into Sunday's deadly shooting near Joseph's Tomb in the West Bank city of Nablus. One Israeli was killed and five others sustained serious to mild injuries in the shooting, which took place around 6 am. One of the initial leads in the investigation is that the group 15 Breslov Hassidim traveling in three cars failed to coordinate their arrival at the Tomb with the necessary authorities. |
A military source told Ynet that the shooting was not an act of terror, adding the incident could have been prevented, had the group simply coordinated their arrival to the area in advance.
Israeli and Palestinians security officials are scheduled to meet later Sunday, to coordinate the joint investigation.
IDF sources said that Palestinian security forces have the police officer suspected of shooting at the convoy in custody.
Governor of Nablus Jibril al-Bakri told Ynet that the shooting was unintentional, calling it a "security incident."
He added that Nablus security forces operated in full coordination with the IDF. "Many Israeli enter the area, but they all do so with permits and military approval. In this case, there was not advanced coordination. In such cases, the Palestinian police detains the vehicle and hands over the Israelis to the IDF. This time, for reasons that are nor clear, they had to open fire. This was not a terror shooting attack."
Al-Bakri further said several warning shots were fired prior to the fire on the vehicles themselves and stressed the incident was under investigation.
Generally, the coordination between Israeli and Palestinian security forces in the area is effective. The GOC Central Command said that in many cases Palestinian security forces work to extract Israelis who enter Palestinian cities safely, and the IDF sector commanders are in daily contact with their Palestinian counterparts.
"This was an abnormal event which does not characterize the nature of the relationship," a military source said. "It is possible that the group's failure to coordinate the visit caused a misunderstanding. The matter is under investigation."
'Cold blooded murder'
Still, both Breslovers and settlers are convinced otherwise. A relative of the fatality a 24-year-old father of four from Jerusalem told Ynet that "the Israeli government, which disgracefully abandoned Joseph's Tomb, arming tens of thousand of killers with guns, now notes another disgrace, which will not end until Jews are properly reinstated in Nablus.
"If the government fails to protect the holy sites, as required in the Oslo Accords, is it any wonder the Arabs behave this way?"
Gershon Mesika head of the Shomron Regional Council said that the Palestinian officers were clearly at fault: "Breslov Hassidim come to the Tomb to pray every week. They know them but for some reason, they decided to open fire this time." He went on to call the incident a "massacre."
MK Michael Ben Ari (National Union) commented on the shooting, saying: "Monsters called the Palestinian Authority and an enemy army were formed here. These are terrorists, who shot people in the back and confirmed the kill.
"Anyone justifying this murder but saying they entered a restricted area justifies the same terror that says the entire Jewish presence in the Holy Land is illegal. Joseph's Tomb should be under full Israeli control. This enemy army must be dismantled."
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4060124,00.html
1 killed, 5 injured in shooting near Nablus
Group of Israelis heading to Joseph's Tomb for prayers comes under Palestinian fire, which leaves one dead, several in serious to mild condition. IDF investigating possibility men failed to coordinate arrival with necessary authorities.
A group of 15 Israelis en route to Joseph's Tomb, near the West Bank city of Nablus, came under fire Sunday.
One man, a 24 year-old father of four from Jerusalem was killed and five others suffered serious to moderate injuries and were air-lifted to the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva.
The group, comprising of Breslov Hassisim, was reportedly traveling in a three-car convoy. Initial details suggest that while driving back from prayers, around 6 am, they came across a flash checkpoint and then came under fire shot at them from a Palestinian jeep. The fire continued even after the vehicles began to escape. Two of the three Israeli cars sustained gunfire damage.
According to reports, the injured were able to make it to a nearby military base after the shooting, where the man who suffered mortal wounds succumbed to his injuries.
Initial IDF investigation suggests the group may have failed to coordinate their arrival at the Tomb with the necessity authorities and may have been shot by Palestinian security forces. Sources told Ynet that the identity of the shooter is known.
Magen David Adom reported that emergency services dispatched to the scene had no choice but to declare one of the injured, a man in his 30s, dead at the scene. Another man (20) was air-lifted to the Rabin medical center suffering from a serious abdominal injury and is undergoing emergency surgery.
A 17-year-old boy suffered moderate gunshot wound to the shoulder and several others, who suffered mild injuries and were treated on site.
Magen David Adom Spokesman Zachi Heller added that "MDA and IDF medical teams arrived at the Samaria Division base, where the injured arrived. A man who was serious wounded was medevaced by a military helicopter.
Generally, the coordination between Israeli and Palestinian security forces in the area is effective. A full investigation into the incident has been launched. The GOC Central Command said that in many cases Palestinian security forces work to extract Israelis who enter Palestinian cities safely, and the IDF sector commanders are in daily contact with their Palestinian counterparts.
"This was an abnormal event which does not characterize the nature of the relationship," a military source said. "It is possible that the group's failure to coordinate the visit caused a misunderstanding. The matter is under investigation."
Governor of Nablus Jibril al-Bakri told Ynet that the shooting was unintentional, calling it a "security incident" and not a "shooting attack."
He added that the group aroused suspicion, as it entered the West Bank city without coordinating the visit. He further said several warning shots were fired prior to the fire on the vehicles themselves.
Al-Bakri stressed the incident was under investigation and refused to say weather the shooters were indeed members of the Palestinian police.
Palestinian eyewitnesses said that the group was not accompanied by IDF soldiers, as customary; adding the shooting took place not far from the Balata refugee camp, a mere dozen yards away from the Tomb. The Palestinians added that the hassidim clashed with Palestinian security forces, apparently over the former's refusal to heed the latter's calls to stop.
Gershon Mesika head of the Shomron Regional Council said that the Palestinian officers were clearly at fault: "Breslov Hassidim come to the Tomb to pray every week. They know them but for some reason, they decided to open fire this time."
Since the end of the Al-Aqsa Intifada, Joseph's Tomb has been under Palestinian control. The IDF allows organized groups to visit the premises at night, under heavy guard. Nevertheless Breslov Hassidim often arrive at the Tomb sans coordination with the proper authorities.
In 2003, a group of Breslov Hassidim attempting to enter the premises unannounced also came under fire, leaving two seriously injured.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4060103,00.html
Israeli settler shot dead, 3 injured in Nablus
An Israeli settler was shot dead and three others were injured early Sunday after a group of settlers snuck into Nablus without coordinating with Palestinian or Israeli security, officials said.
Palestinian security officials told Ma'an that dozens of armed ultra-Orthodox settlers entered the Joseph's Tomb site without coordinating with the Palestinian side and thus they were not escorted by Israeli forces.
The Palestinian officers told them they were not allowed to be there without coordination, but they did not obey the orders. Instead, they pulled out their own guns and pointed them toward Palestinian officers.
Security forces first fired warning shots into the air, according to Palestinian officials.
An Israeli army spokesman confirmed that a "group of civilians were fired upon after entering Nablus, without coordination, for prayer reasons. One was killed and four others were injured to various degrees."
In a statement, the army said Palestinian officials had told Israeli coordination officers in the West Bank that a Palestinian policeman fired in the direction of the settlers "after identifying suspicious movements."
Yaakov David Ha'ivri, a settler leader in the northern West Bank, said the shooters opened fire as three cars left the site. The worshipers did not coordinate with Israeli security before visiting, he confirmed.
The incident put "a great question mark over the ability of the Palestinian Authority to protect the security of Jewish worshipers," he said. "It could encourage the Israeli side to take more responsibility."
Israeli and Palestinian officials quickly attempted to cool tensions.
"This was an abnormal event which does not characterize the nature of the relationship," an Israeli military official told Ynet, a news site based in Tel Aviv. "It is possible that the group's failure to coordinate the visit caused a misunderstanding. The incident is under investigation," the official said.
The army said its senior officials were expected to meet with Palestinian security officers Sunday to examine the incident.
The governor of Nablus, Jibril Al-Bakri, added that the shooting was unintentional.
22 apr 2011
Vineyard flooded with settlement sewage
Hebron Ma'an Israeli settlers opened a sewage pipe running toward the Hebron-area town of Beit Ummar on Wednesday night, flooding a Palestinian vineyard with wastewater, local officials said.
By opening the sewage pipe, residents of the Gush Etzion settlement bloc destroyed some 70,000 square meters of the vineyard belonging to the Sabarneh family, experts visiting the site said.
The land, in the Wad Shakhat area of northern Beit Ummar, was ruined by the flood of sewage, along with the crop after it was contaminated by the untreated wastewater, land experts who arrived at the scene along with the village mayor said.
An Israeli Civil Administration representative confirmed the incident, saying a pump from the Kfar Etzion settlement stopped working due to a power malfunction and sewage overflowed from the network. The official said the matter was a mistake, and as soon as the Beit Ummar governor notified officials of the issue the problem was rectified.
Military officials said compensation for the mistake would likely have to be sought in court.
Residents of Beit Ummar said the mayor informed Israel's Civil Administration office of the incident, and that he asked Israeli police to investigate what was behind the disaster.
"As far as I know, the mayor of Kfar Etzion called and apologized," the Civil Administration representative said.
Settlers Disrupt Israeli Left Wing Protest Calling For Palestinian Statehood
A group of extremist Israeli settlers disrupted on Thursday evening a peaceful rally held by Israeli left-wing activists and Israel Prize Laureates calling for an independent Palestinian State.
The settlers blew their bullhorns and shouted slurs at the protestors describing them as traitors, and stating that Kahane was right referring to slain terrorist Me'er Kahane the founder of the outlawed Kach movement.
Around 21 Israeli Prize Laureates were among the protestors. The Israeli Police did not attempt to remove the settlers as they usually do when right-wing settlers hold protests and events, the Maan News Agency reported.
The clashes prompted a statement from Israeli Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, who called for showing restraint.
Barak stated that words like traitors or treason should not be used, and that Israel might have to make important decisions, adding that all Israelis want a secure and strong state.
Israeli Academics and winners of Israel Prize signed an appeal for the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Former head of Israel's Academy of Science, Menachem Yaari, an Israeli painter and sculptor, Danni Karavan, and the founder of leftist Meretz party, Shulamit Aloni, were among the signatories. Maan reported.
The petition states that the signatories welcome the Palestinian position to head to the United Nations in order to seek recognition of a Palestinian State in Palestinian territories illegally occupied by Israel in the 1967-six-day war.
The petition also states that the Unites Nations partition plan can only be implemented by ending the Israeli occupation. The also called for the creation two democratic nations, Jewish and Arab.
21 apr 2011
Settlers attack Assira Alqblia
Israeli and Palestinians security officials are scheduled to meet later Sunday, to coordinate the joint investigation.
IDF sources said that Palestinian security forces have the police officer suspected of shooting at the convoy in custody.
Governor of Nablus Jibril al-Bakri told Ynet that the shooting was unintentional, calling it a "security incident."
He added that Nablus security forces operated in full coordination with the IDF. "Many Israeli enter the area, but they all do so with permits and military approval. In this case, there was not advanced coordination. In such cases, the Palestinian police detains the vehicle and hands over the Israelis to the IDF. This time, for reasons that are nor clear, they had to open fire. This was not a terror shooting attack."
Al-Bakri further said several warning shots were fired prior to the fire on the vehicles themselves and stressed the incident was under investigation.
Generally, the coordination between Israeli and Palestinian security forces in the area is effective. The GOC Central Command said that in many cases Palestinian security forces work to extract Israelis who enter Palestinian cities safely, and the IDF sector commanders are in daily contact with their Palestinian counterparts.
"This was an abnormal event which does not characterize the nature of the relationship," a military source said. "It is possible that the group's failure to coordinate the visit caused a misunderstanding. The matter is under investigation."
'Cold blooded murder'
Still, both Breslovers and settlers are convinced otherwise. A relative of the fatality a 24-year-old father of four from Jerusalem told Ynet that "the Israeli government, which disgracefully abandoned Joseph's Tomb, arming tens of thousand of killers with guns, now notes another disgrace, which will not end until Jews are properly reinstated in Nablus.
"If the government fails to protect the holy sites, as required in the Oslo Accords, is it any wonder the Arabs behave this way?"
Gershon Mesika head of the Shomron Regional Council said that the Palestinian officers were clearly at fault: "Breslov Hassidim come to the Tomb to pray every week. They know them but for some reason, they decided to open fire this time." He went on to call the incident a "massacre."
MK Michael Ben Ari (National Union) commented on the shooting, saying: "Monsters called the Palestinian Authority and an enemy army were formed here. These are terrorists, who shot people in the back and confirmed the kill.
"Anyone justifying this murder but saying they entered a restricted area justifies the same terror that says the entire Jewish presence in the Holy Land is illegal. Joseph's Tomb should be under full Israeli control. This enemy army must be dismantled."
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4060124,00.html
1 killed, 5 injured in shooting near Nablus
Group of Israelis heading to Joseph's Tomb for prayers comes under Palestinian fire, which leaves one dead, several in serious to mild condition. IDF investigating possibility men failed to coordinate arrival with necessary authorities.
A group of 15 Israelis en route to Joseph's Tomb, near the West Bank city of Nablus, came under fire Sunday.
One man, a 24 year-old father of four from Jerusalem was killed and five others suffered serious to moderate injuries and were air-lifted to the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva.
The group, comprising of Breslov Hassisim, was reportedly traveling in a three-car convoy. Initial details suggest that while driving back from prayers, around 6 am, they came across a flash checkpoint and then came under fire shot at them from a Palestinian jeep. The fire continued even after the vehicles began to escape. Two of the three Israeli cars sustained gunfire damage.
According to reports, the injured were able to make it to a nearby military base after the shooting, where the man who suffered mortal wounds succumbed to his injuries.
Initial IDF investigation suggests the group may have failed to coordinate their arrival at the Tomb with the necessity authorities and may have been shot by Palestinian security forces. Sources told Ynet that the identity of the shooter is known.
Magen David Adom reported that emergency services dispatched to the scene had no choice but to declare one of the injured, a man in his 30s, dead at the scene. Another man (20) was air-lifted to the Rabin medical center suffering from a serious abdominal injury and is undergoing emergency surgery.
A 17-year-old boy suffered moderate gunshot wound to the shoulder and several others, who suffered mild injuries and were treated on site.
Magen David Adom Spokesman Zachi Heller added that "MDA and IDF medical teams arrived at the Samaria Division base, where the injured arrived. A man who was serious wounded was medevaced by a military helicopter.
Generally, the coordination between Israeli and Palestinian security forces in the area is effective. A full investigation into the incident has been launched. The GOC Central Command said that in many cases Palestinian security forces work to extract Israelis who enter Palestinian cities safely, and the IDF sector commanders are in daily contact with their Palestinian counterparts.
"This was an abnormal event which does not characterize the nature of the relationship," a military source said. "It is possible that the group's failure to coordinate the visit caused a misunderstanding. The matter is under investigation."
Governor of Nablus Jibril al-Bakri told Ynet that the shooting was unintentional, calling it a "security incident" and not a "shooting attack."
He added that the group aroused suspicion, as it entered the West Bank city without coordinating the visit. He further said several warning shots were fired prior to the fire on the vehicles themselves.
Al-Bakri stressed the incident was under investigation and refused to say weather the shooters were indeed members of the Palestinian police.
Palestinian eyewitnesses said that the group was not accompanied by IDF soldiers, as customary; adding the shooting took place not far from the Balata refugee camp, a mere dozen yards away from the Tomb. The Palestinians added that the hassidim clashed with Palestinian security forces, apparently over the former's refusal to heed the latter's calls to stop.
Gershon Mesika head of the Shomron Regional Council said that the Palestinian officers were clearly at fault: "Breslov Hassidim come to the Tomb to pray every week. They know them but for some reason, they decided to open fire this time."
Since the end of the Al-Aqsa Intifada, Joseph's Tomb has been under Palestinian control. The IDF allows organized groups to visit the premises at night, under heavy guard. Nevertheless Breslov Hassidim often arrive at the Tomb sans coordination with the proper authorities.
In 2003, a group of Breslov Hassidim attempting to enter the premises unannounced also came under fire, leaving two seriously injured.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4060103,00.html
Israeli settler shot dead, 3 injured in Nablus
An Israeli settler was shot dead and three others were injured early Sunday after a group of settlers snuck into Nablus without coordinating with Palestinian or Israeli security, officials said.
Palestinian security officials told Ma'an that dozens of armed ultra-Orthodox settlers entered the Joseph's Tomb site without coordinating with the Palestinian side and thus they were not escorted by Israeli forces.
The Palestinian officers told them they were not allowed to be there without coordination, but they did not obey the orders. Instead, they pulled out their own guns and pointed them toward Palestinian officers.
Security forces first fired warning shots into the air, according to Palestinian officials.
An Israeli army spokesman confirmed that a "group of civilians were fired upon after entering Nablus, without coordination, for prayer reasons. One was killed and four others were injured to various degrees."
In a statement, the army said Palestinian officials had told Israeli coordination officers in the West Bank that a Palestinian policeman fired in the direction of the settlers "after identifying suspicious movements."
Yaakov David Ha'ivri, a settler leader in the northern West Bank, said the shooters opened fire as three cars left the site. The worshipers did not coordinate with Israeli security before visiting, he confirmed.
The incident put "a great question mark over the ability of the Palestinian Authority to protect the security of Jewish worshipers," he said. "It could encourage the Israeli side to take more responsibility."
Israeli and Palestinian officials quickly attempted to cool tensions.
"This was an abnormal event which does not characterize the nature of the relationship," an Israeli military official told Ynet, a news site based in Tel Aviv. "It is possible that the group's failure to coordinate the visit caused a misunderstanding. The incident is under investigation," the official said.
The army said its senior officials were expected to meet with Palestinian security officers Sunday to examine the incident.
The governor of Nablus, Jibril Al-Bakri, added that the shooting was unintentional.
22 apr 2011
Vineyard flooded with settlement sewage
Hebron Ma'an Israeli settlers opened a sewage pipe running toward the Hebron-area town of Beit Ummar on Wednesday night, flooding a Palestinian vineyard with wastewater, local officials said.
By opening the sewage pipe, residents of the Gush Etzion settlement bloc destroyed some 70,000 square meters of the vineyard belonging to the Sabarneh family, experts visiting the site said.
The land, in the Wad Shakhat area of northern Beit Ummar, was ruined by the flood of sewage, along with the crop after it was contaminated by the untreated wastewater, land experts who arrived at the scene along with the village mayor said.
An Israeli Civil Administration representative confirmed the incident, saying a pump from the Kfar Etzion settlement stopped working due to a power malfunction and sewage overflowed from the network. The official said the matter was a mistake, and as soon as the Beit Ummar governor notified officials of the issue the problem was rectified.
Military officials said compensation for the mistake would likely have to be sought in court.
Residents of Beit Ummar said the mayor informed Israel's Civil Administration office of the incident, and that he asked Israeli police to investigate what was behind the disaster.
"As far as I know, the mayor of Kfar Etzion called and apologized," the Civil Administration representative said.
Settlers Disrupt Israeli Left Wing Protest Calling For Palestinian Statehood
A group of extremist Israeli settlers disrupted on Thursday evening a peaceful rally held by Israeli left-wing activists and Israel Prize Laureates calling for an independent Palestinian State.
The settlers blew their bullhorns and shouted slurs at the protestors describing them as traitors, and stating that Kahane was right referring to slain terrorist Me'er Kahane the founder of the outlawed Kach movement.
Around 21 Israeli Prize Laureates were among the protestors. The Israeli Police did not attempt to remove the settlers as they usually do when right-wing settlers hold protests and events, the Maan News Agency reported.
The clashes prompted a statement from Israeli Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, who called for showing restraint.
Barak stated that words like traitors or treason should not be used, and that Israel might have to make important decisions, adding that all Israelis want a secure and strong state.
Israeli Academics and winners of Israel Prize signed an appeal for the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Former head of Israel's Academy of Science, Menachem Yaari, an Israeli painter and sculptor, Danni Karavan, and the founder of leftist Meretz party, Shulamit Aloni, were among the signatories. Maan reported.
The petition states that the signatories welcome the Palestinian position to head to the United Nations in order to seek recognition of a Palestinian State in Palestinian territories illegally occupied by Israel in the 1967-six-day war.
The petition also states that the Unites Nations partition plan can only be implemented by ending the Israeli occupation. The also called for the creation two democratic nations, Jewish and Arab.
21 apr 2011
Settlers attack Assira Alqblia
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Settlers from the illegal settlement of Yitzah attack the village of Assira Alqblia in the presence of the Israeli army
New settlement founded, dismantled The newest illegal settlement in the West Bank was dismantled overnight on Wednesday, hours after hundreds of settlers had gathered to announce the land grab. Settlers had arrived Wednesday afternoon at a patch of land east of Itamar, and named the outpost "Regev", according to reports in the Israeli press. The newest illegal settlement, however, was dismantled by Israeli forces overnight, a spokesman for the country's Civil Administration told Ma'an |
The site chosen for the move was two-hundred meters away from the home of the Fogel family, five members of which were found murdered in their beds in March. Creating a new settlement on the site followed moves from the local settler community to create an outpost in honor of the slain, which included three children.
Built on what officials from the neighboring Palestinian village of Awarta said were privately owned Palestinian lands, the settlement was a move to take control of more lands in "Area C," which remains under total Israeli control, press reports said.
"Regev is not part of Itamar. It is outside of the fences ... overlooking the city of Shekhem [Nablus]... Idealistic people are joining us ... people with a strong feeling for the land of Israel," Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz quoted settlement leader Daniella Weiss as saying at the event opening the outpost.
Buses carrying the settlers to the celebration on Wednesday blocked off the road to the adjacent village of Awarta, where residents endured a month of house-to-house searches, overnight raids, massive sweeps of detentions, interrogations and forced DNA tests, carried out in the search for those behind the Fogel family murders.
Two Awarta teenagers were identified last week as having been charged with the murders. Families of both are contesting the charges.
At the new settlement, tents were erected and banners hoisted Wednesday, announcing its establishment.
According to Haaretz, "bored Border Police soldiers watched the proceedings," on Wednesday.
Under the Geneva Conventions, it is illegal to transfer populations to occupied areas.
According to a report from Israel's rights group Peace Now, 40 percent of the land on which Israeli settlements are built is privately owned by Palestinians. Much of the rest has been declared "state land," according to the report "often by controversial means and mostly for the benefit of the settlements."
IOF carry out violent raid on Tareq Ibn Ziyad school in Al-Khalil
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on Thursday morning violently stormed Tareq Ibn Ziyad school in the Old City of Al-Khalil and terrorized its students and teachers.
Eyewitnesses said the IOF encircled the school, knocked down its main gate before spreading in its courtyard.
They also broke into classrooms in a violent way forcing students and teachers to gather in the school yard.
The IOF have not given an explanation for such savage act.
In another incident, the IOF and Jewish settlers intensified their attacks against Palestinian citizens and their property in Al-Khalil city on the occasion of their purim holiday.
The IOF stormed many villages and towns in Al-Khalil city during this Jewish occasion and erected barriers throughout the city searching cars, checking IDs, and detaining citizens.
The armed Jewish settlers, for their part, under military protection carried out many burglaries and acts of sabotage against the Palestinians and their agricultural property, while the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) issued decisions ordering some Palestinian farmers and villagers to evacuate their lands and hand them over to settlers.
In the same context, Jewish settlers on Thursday morning started to carry out construction activities to expand an outpost near Itamar settlement that was build on the territory of Awarta village southeast of Nablus city.
Palestinian sources said the IOF soldiers, for their part, embarked on building a road leading to this new outpost that the settlers established in response to the killing of five settlers from Itamar.
The IOF also proceeded to set up electricity towers in the area to power three mobile homes and three tents erected by the settlers.
20 apr 2011
Union: Settlers, soldiers attack Palestinian journalists
Three journalists were injured Tuesday when Israeli soldiers and settlers attacked them in the Burin village near the West Bank city of Nablus, the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate said Wednesday.
Three photographers covering settler violence in the eastern neighborhood of Burin in Nablus city were attacked, the PJS and media watchdog MADA said in separate statements.
Ja’far Zahid Ashtiyeh of Agence France-Presse, Nasser Ishtayeh of The Associated Press, and Wagdy Mohammed Shtayyeh of the APA agency were attacked by stone-throwing settlers.
As they attempted to flee, Wajdi and Nasser were beaten by soldiers.
"We tried to stay away," Ashtiyeh said, but soldiers "beat Nasser to the ground causing severe bruising and savagely beat Wagdy both with their arms and rifle butts, where he sustained a broken and bleeding nose."
MADA condemned the attacks on journalists and the "continued crackdown on their work."
The PJS, which represents Ma'an employees, said it would file a complaint with the International Federation of Journalists, the global organization of which the syndicate is the local affiliate.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=380705
Israeli Settlers Make My Point
By Yousef
Yesterday we presented an analysis of data covering several years worth of Israeli settler violence and approximately 3,000 instances of attacks. We presented numbers, graphs, pictures and video of attacks that were both statistically and analytically solid. Yet, despite the fact that this research took months and that it will continue to serve as an important resource on this issue, Israeli settlers yesterday made my point in only a few hours.
You see, by the time I was done with the presentation, which can be seen in its entirety below, I came back to my desk only to find an e-mail about how Israeli settlers attacked school children in the village of Tuwani in the Hebron governorate. I spoke specifically about the perils facing this particular Palestinian village at 25 minutes in. So it came as no surprise to me that Palestinian school children had rocks thrown at them by Israeli settler children as the settler parents watched. This is a regular occurrence for the school children of Tuwani, so much so in fact, that special escorts have to be arranged to take them to and from school out of fear of settler attacks.
One of the main points of the presentation was that settler violence happens all the time even though we might not hear about it. You might think that the instance of settler violence in Tuwani on the same day as this presentation is enough to prove that point, but in case there was any doubt, colonists in the north of the West Bank had other things on their mind.
That's right, yet another settler attack took place against the Palestinian village of Burin, right around the time we were making this presentation. At about 28 minutes in I discuss the village of Burin and why it falls prey to more settler violence than any other Palestinian village. It is located in between two of the most violent colonies in the West Bank, Yitzhar and Bracha.
Settler violence, contrary to what many may believe, is not retaliatory nor is it simply a response to Israeli government actions against outposts which have been called "price tag" events. It is a symptom of occupation. The stratification of security jurisdiction created by the Oslo accords allows settlers to have free reign over Palestinian populations living in Areas B and C. We see upwards of 90% of all settler violence incidents occuring in these areas precisely because there is no law enforcement deterrent to acts of violence against Palestinian civilians. As you can see from the chart above, settler violence is dramatically on the rise over the past few years. In 2006 the average number of settler violence events per month was about 20; in 2010 it nearly tripled, with just over 57 per month.
Our event yesterday was an attempt to sound the alarm on a violent phenomenon which is targeting Palestinian civilians and their property more and more each year. The violent settlers which attacked Palestinians in Burin and Tuwani yesterday only help make this point.
300 right wing activists build transient structures near Itamar
Around 300 right wing activists arrived at the Regev outpost near the settlement of Itamar in the West Bank Wednesday and constructed a number of transient structures.
The activists said that 20 families would be spending the night at the outpost which was constructed after the Itamar massacres in March. There have been no reports of clashes with security forces.
Israeli Settlers Attack Palestinian School Children near Hebron
An Israeli settler from the illegal Israeli outpost of Havat Ma'on, south of Hebron, watched as his children hurled stones with slings at Palestinian children walking from the village of Tuba to school in the village of At-Tuwani Tuesday morning, according to statement by international rights group. “Their father was in his house, watching to make sure that we wouldn't cause problems with his sons,” said Ali, one of the schoolchildren who walks the path by the outpost every day to get to school. “They wanted to make problems with us,” he said, “but we didn't make problems, we kept walking to school.”
According to the schoolchildren, the Israeli children were very young.
“They were only as big as Hamze,” the Palestinians said, pointing at one of their seven-year-old schoolmates.
Israeli soldiers who were escorting the Palestinian children confirmed the presence of the settler children but denied that there was any problem. When internationals asked the soldiers if they had seen the settlers, one soldier replied, “Yes, but they ran away,” said the statement by Christian Peacemaker Teams and Operation Dove.
A Palestinian neighbor, however, learning of the incident, insisted that it was a problem for settler children to hurl stones with slingshots at passing schoolchildren.
“They're young now” he said. “But their aim will get more accurate as they get older.”
On the afternoon of the same day, seven Israeli teenage boys walked out of Havat Ma'on and approached the Palestinian schoolchildren, who were waiting for the Israeli military to escort them past the outpost.
While the Palestinian schoolchildren retreated, the teenagers stopped and talked with Israeli soldiers before returning to the outpost, chanting “Nazi! Nazi!”
Due to past violence by Israeli settlers against the Palestinian schoolchildren, the Israeli military daily escorts the children past the illegal outpost on their way to and from school. Despite the escort, which began in 2004, the schoolchildren have experienced over 100 incidents of settlers' threats and aggressions during the past seven years.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=15933
IOF soldiers, settlers storm WB cities, villages
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) stormed the city of Qalqilia on Wednesday, detained citizens, and questioned them before handing six of them summonses to the intelligence headquarters.
Local sources said that IOF troops in four army vehicles entered the city in the company of an intelligence officer ad picked a number of young men at random and questioned them.
IOF soldiers arrested a Palestinian youth in Bardala village, east of Tubas city, at a roadblock on its entrance on Wednesday. They later burst into the village and stole the car of a 55-year-old Palestinian man before leaving the village.
Similar roadblocks were installed east and west of Jenin city but no arrests were reported.
The soldiers in Awarta village installed electricity poles east of the village, its municipal council chairman Qaid Awad said in a radio statement.
He added that the electricity poles would be used to supply power to a number of settlers' caravans in addition to an army base to be pitched on 1000 dunums of village lands that were earlier confiscated. Awad warned that the IOA was planning to confiscate 4000 more dunums of the village land.
Meanwhile, eyewitnesses in Burin village, south of Nablus, said that dozens of Jewish settlers entered the village in buses on Wednesday morning.
Locals warned of possible attacks after the settlers on Tuesday assaulted and wounded a farmer. The head of the municipal council in the village said that the settlers were planning to set up a settlement outpost south of Nablus near the village.
Settlers Attack Nablus Village, One Resident Injured
Palestinian medical sources in Iraq-Burin village, near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, reported on Tuesday evening that one resident was shot and wounded after a group of extremist Israeli settlers attacked the village and broke into his home.
Dozens of armed settlers of the nearby Bracha illegal settlement, attacked several homes in the village and fired dozens of rounds of live ammunition.
The settlers also tried to break into the house of resident Boursly Eid in an attempt to place a huge sign on his rooftop.
Ghassan Douglas, in charge of settlements file in the northern part of the West Bank, said that the settler shot resident Eid twice in his arm and once in his waist.
The wounded resident was moved to the Rafidia governmental hospital in Nablus suffering mild-to-moderate wounds.
Earlier this month, settlers violently attacked and struck a 47-year-old man, east of Nablus city, causing fractures in his legs and arms.
The resident, Imad Salahat, from Tallouza village, was visiting one of his relatives when he was attacked by fundamentalist settlers. He was moved to Rafidia hospital for treatment.
The settlers also broke water pipes and placed rubble on a water spring that belongs to the residents of Madama village, south of Nablus.
http://www.imemc.org/article/61094
Built on what officials from the neighboring Palestinian village of Awarta said were privately owned Palestinian lands, the settlement was a move to take control of more lands in "Area C," which remains under total Israeli control, press reports said.
"Regev is not part of Itamar. It is outside of the fences ... overlooking the city of Shekhem [Nablus]... Idealistic people are joining us ... people with a strong feeling for the land of Israel," Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz quoted settlement leader Daniella Weiss as saying at the event opening the outpost.
Buses carrying the settlers to the celebration on Wednesday blocked off the road to the adjacent village of Awarta, where residents endured a month of house-to-house searches, overnight raids, massive sweeps of detentions, interrogations and forced DNA tests, carried out in the search for those behind the Fogel family murders.
Two Awarta teenagers were identified last week as having been charged with the murders. Families of both are contesting the charges.
At the new settlement, tents were erected and banners hoisted Wednesday, announcing its establishment.
According to Haaretz, "bored Border Police soldiers watched the proceedings," on Wednesday.
Under the Geneva Conventions, it is illegal to transfer populations to occupied areas.
According to a report from Israel's rights group Peace Now, 40 percent of the land on which Israeli settlements are built is privately owned by Palestinians. Much of the rest has been declared "state land," according to the report "often by controversial means and mostly for the benefit of the settlements."
IOF carry out violent raid on Tareq Ibn Ziyad school in Al-Khalil
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on Thursday morning violently stormed Tareq Ibn Ziyad school in the Old City of Al-Khalil and terrorized its students and teachers.
Eyewitnesses said the IOF encircled the school, knocked down its main gate before spreading in its courtyard.
They also broke into classrooms in a violent way forcing students and teachers to gather in the school yard.
The IOF have not given an explanation for such savage act.
In another incident, the IOF and Jewish settlers intensified their attacks against Palestinian citizens and their property in Al-Khalil city on the occasion of their purim holiday.
The IOF stormed many villages and towns in Al-Khalil city during this Jewish occasion and erected barriers throughout the city searching cars, checking IDs, and detaining citizens.
The armed Jewish settlers, for their part, under military protection carried out many burglaries and acts of sabotage against the Palestinians and their agricultural property, while the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) issued decisions ordering some Palestinian farmers and villagers to evacuate their lands and hand them over to settlers.
In the same context, Jewish settlers on Thursday morning started to carry out construction activities to expand an outpost near Itamar settlement that was build on the territory of Awarta village southeast of Nablus city.
Palestinian sources said the IOF soldiers, for their part, embarked on building a road leading to this new outpost that the settlers established in response to the killing of five settlers from Itamar.
The IOF also proceeded to set up electricity towers in the area to power three mobile homes and three tents erected by the settlers.
20 apr 2011
Union: Settlers, soldiers attack Palestinian journalists
Three journalists were injured Tuesday when Israeli soldiers and settlers attacked them in the Burin village near the West Bank city of Nablus, the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate said Wednesday.
Three photographers covering settler violence in the eastern neighborhood of Burin in Nablus city were attacked, the PJS and media watchdog MADA said in separate statements.
Ja’far Zahid Ashtiyeh of Agence France-Presse, Nasser Ishtayeh of The Associated Press, and Wagdy Mohammed Shtayyeh of the APA agency were attacked by stone-throwing settlers.
As they attempted to flee, Wajdi and Nasser were beaten by soldiers.
"We tried to stay away," Ashtiyeh said, but soldiers "beat Nasser to the ground causing severe bruising and savagely beat Wagdy both with their arms and rifle butts, where he sustained a broken and bleeding nose."
MADA condemned the attacks on journalists and the "continued crackdown on their work."
The PJS, which represents Ma'an employees, said it would file a complaint with the International Federation of Journalists, the global organization of which the syndicate is the local affiliate.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=380705
Israeli Settlers Make My Point
By Yousef
Yesterday we presented an analysis of data covering several years worth of Israeli settler violence and approximately 3,000 instances of attacks. We presented numbers, graphs, pictures and video of attacks that were both statistically and analytically solid. Yet, despite the fact that this research took months and that it will continue to serve as an important resource on this issue, Israeli settlers yesterday made my point in only a few hours.
You see, by the time I was done with the presentation, which can be seen in its entirety below, I came back to my desk only to find an e-mail about how Israeli settlers attacked school children in the village of Tuwani in the Hebron governorate. I spoke specifically about the perils facing this particular Palestinian village at 25 minutes in. So it came as no surprise to me that Palestinian school children had rocks thrown at them by Israeli settler children as the settler parents watched. This is a regular occurrence for the school children of Tuwani, so much so in fact, that special escorts have to be arranged to take them to and from school out of fear of settler attacks.
One of the main points of the presentation was that settler violence happens all the time even though we might not hear about it. You might think that the instance of settler violence in Tuwani on the same day as this presentation is enough to prove that point, but in case there was any doubt, colonists in the north of the West Bank had other things on their mind.
That's right, yet another settler attack took place against the Palestinian village of Burin, right around the time we were making this presentation. At about 28 minutes in I discuss the village of Burin and why it falls prey to more settler violence than any other Palestinian village. It is located in between two of the most violent colonies in the West Bank, Yitzhar and Bracha.
Settler violence, contrary to what many may believe, is not retaliatory nor is it simply a response to Israeli government actions against outposts which have been called "price tag" events. It is a symptom of occupation. The stratification of security jurisdiction created by the Oslo accords allows settlers to have free reign over Palestinian populations living in Areas B and C. We see upwards of 90% of all settler violence incidents occuring in these areas precisely because there is no law enforcement deterrent to acts of violence against Palestinian civilians. As you can see from the chart above, settler violence is dramatically on the rise over the past few years. In 2006 the average number of settler violence events per month was about 20; in 2010 it nearly tripled, with just over 57 per month.
Our event yesterday was an attempt to sound the alarm on a violent phenomenon which is targeting Palestinian civilians and their property more and more each year. The violent settlers which attacked Palestinians in Burin and Tuwani yesterday only help make this point.
300 right wing activists build transient structures near Itamar
Around 300 right wing activists arrived at the Regev outpost near the settlement of Itamar in the West Bank Wednesday and constructed a number of transient structures.
The activists said that 20 families would be spending the night at the outpost which was constructed after the Itamar massacres in March. There have been no reports of clashes with security forces.
Israeli Settlers Attack Palestinian School Children near Hebron
An Israeli settler from the illegal Israeli outpost of Havat Ma'on, south of Hebron, watched as his children hurled stones with slings at Palestinian children walking from the village of Tuba to school in the village of At-Tuwani Tuesday morning, according to statement by international rights group. “Their father was in his house, watching to make sure that we wouldn't cause problems with his sons,” said Ali, one of the schoolchildren who walks the path by the outpost every day to get to school. “They wanted to make problems with us,” he said, “but we didn't make problems, we kept walking to school.”
According to the schoolchildren, the Israeli children were very young.
“They were only as big as Hamze,” the Palestinians said, pointing at one of their seven-year-old schoolmates.
Israeli soldiers who were escorting the Palestinian children confirmed the presence of the settler children but denied that there was any problem. When internationals asked the soldiers if they had seen the settlers, one soldier replied, “Yes, but they ran away,” said the statement by Christian Peacemaker Teams and Operation Dove.
A Palestinian neighbor, however, learning of the incident, insisted that it was a problem for settler children to hurl stones with slingshots at passing schoolchildren.
“They're young now” he said. “But their aim will get more accurate as they get older.”
On the afternoon of the same day, seven Israeli teenage boys walked out of Havat Ma'on and approached the Palestinian schoolchildren, who were waiting for the Israeli military to escort them past the outpost.
While the Palestinian schoolchildren retreated, the teenagers stopped and talked with Israeli soldiers before returning to the outpost, chanting “Nazi! Nazi!”
Due to past violence by Israeli settlers against the Palestinian schoolchildren, the Israeli military daily escorts the children past the illegal outpost on their way to and from school. Despite the escort, which began in 2004, the schoolchildren have experienced over 100 incidents of settlers' threats and aggressions during the past seven years.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=15933
IOF soldiers, settlers storm WB cities, villages
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) stormed the city of Qalqilia on Wednesday, detained citizens, and questioned them before handing six of them summonses to the intelligence headquarters.
Local sources said that IOF troops in four army vehicles entered the city in the company of an intelligence officer ad picked a number of young men at random and questioned them.
IOF soldiers arrested a Palestinian youth in Bardala village, east of Tubas city, at a roadblock on its entrance on Wednesday. They later burst into the village and stole the car of a 55-year-old Palestinian man before leaving the village.
Similar roadblocks were installed east and west of Jenin city but no arrests were reported.
The soldiers in Awarta village installed electricity poles east of the village, its municipal council chairman Qaid Awad said in a radio statement.
He added that the electricity poles would be used to supply power to a number of settlers' caravans in addition to an army base to be pitched on 1000 dunums of village lands that were earlier confiscated. Awad warned that the IOA was planning to confiscate 4000 more dunums of the village land.
Meanwhile, eyewitnesses in Burin village, south of Nablus, said that dozens of Jewish settlers entered the village in buses on Wednesday morning.
Locals warned of possible attacks after the settlers on Tuesday assaulted and wounded a farmer. The head of the municipal council in the village said that the settlers were planning to set up a settlement outpost south of Nablus near the village.
Settlers Attack Nablus Village, One Resident Injured
Palestinian medical sources in Iraq-Burin village, near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, reported on Tuesday evening that one resident was shot and wounded after a group of extremist Israeli settlers attacked the village and broke into his home.
Dozens of armed settlers of the nearby Bracha illegal settlement, attacked several homes in the village and fired dozens of rounds of live ammunition.
The settlers also tried to break into the house of resident Boursly Eid in an attempt to place a huge sign on his rooftop.
Ghassan Douglas, in charge of settlements file in the northern part of the West Bank, said that the settler shot resident Eid twice in his arm and once in his waist.
The wounded resident was moved to the Rafidia governmental hospital in Nablus suffering mild-to-moderate wounds.
Earlier this month, settlers violently attacked and struck a 47-year-old man, east of Nablus city, causing fractures in his legs and arms.
The resident, Imad Salahat, from Tallouza village, was visiting one of his relatives when he was attacked by fundamentalist settlers. He was moved to Rafidia hospital for treatment.
The settlers also broke water pipes and placed rubble on a water spring that belongs to the residents of Madama village, south of Nablus.
http://www.imemc.org/article/61094
19 apr 2011
Settlers injure five Palestinians
Five Palestinians, including two photojournalists, have been injured in clashes with Israeli settlers in the northern West Bank.
Residents of the Har Brasha settlement threw stones at houses in the nearby Palestinian village of Burin, and young Palestinians threw stones back at them on Tuesday, a Press TV correspondent said.
Israeli soldiers then intervened and fired tear gas and rubber bullets at the Palestinians.
A local photojournalists had his nose broken and another was slightly hurt.
http://www.presstv.com/detail/175723.html
Jewish Settlers Injure 4 Palestinians in Nablus
A group of Jewish settlers raided Bourin, a Palestinian village south of Nablus, and shot at the residences, injuring four Palestinians, including a journalist who was severely beaten.
Ghassan Daghlas, the Palestinian official responsible for the settlement file in the northern West Bank, said that armed settlers from the nearby settlement rakha attacked the village and attempted to take over a house in order to raise a flag on top of it.
The Palestinian wounded was transferred to a hospital in Nablus city.
Israeli forces, meanwhile, raided the village, shot and launched tear gas at residents, causing the suffocation of dozens, including four journalists who were covering the attacks.
Settlers Hand Eviction Notices to Jerusalemite Residents
An extremist organization for settelments Tuesday handed eviction notices to ten Jerusalemite families in Sheikh Jarrah, a neighborhood in East Jerusalem.
Political Commissioner of Municipality of Jerusalem, Hussein Kiswani, told WAFA that settlers broke into a house and attempted to force the residents out, and took photos of some of the houses.
He added that the residents threatened with eviction Tuesday headed to Jerusalem municipality headquarter to follow up and hire attorneys for the case.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=15925
Settlers injure five Palestinians
Five Palestinians, including two photojournalists, have been injured in clashes with Israeli settlers in the northern West Bank.
Residents of the Har Brasha settlement threw stones at houses in the nearby Palestinian village of Burin, and young Palestinians threw stones back at them on Tuesday, a Press TV correspondent said.
Israeli soldiers then intervened and fired tear gas and rubber bullets at the Palestinians.
A local photojournalists had his nose broken and another was slightly hurt.
http://www.presstv.com/detail/175723.html
Jewish Settlers Injure 4 Palestinians in Nablus
A group of Jewish settlers raided Bourin, a Palestinian village south of Nablus, and shot at the residences, injuring four Palestinians, including a journalist who was severely beaten.
Ghassan Daghlas, the Palestinian official responsible for the settlement file in the northern West Bank, said that armed settlers from the nearby settlement rakha attacked the village and attempted to take over a house in order to raise a flag on top of it.
The Palestinian wounded was transferred to a hospital in Nablus city.
Israeli forces, meanwhile, raided the village, shot and launched tear gas at residents, causing the suffocation of dozens, including four journalists who were covering the attacks.
Settlers Hand Eviction Notices to Jerusalemite Residents
An extremist organization for settelments Tuesday handed eviction notices to ten Jerusalemite families in Sheikh Jarrah, a neighborhood in East Jerusalem.
Political Commissioner of Municipality of Jerusalem, Hussein Kiswani, told WAFA that settlers broke into a house and attempted to force the residents out, and took photos of some of the houses.
He added that the residents threatened with eviction Tuesday headed to Jerusalem municipality headquarter to follow up and hire attorneys for the case.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=15925
