14 apr 2012
Jewish settlers assault Palestinian woman
Jewish settlers assault Palestinian woman

Jewish settlers attacked a Palestinian woman to the east of Yatta, south of Al-Khalil, on Friday evening using sharp tools, her brother said.
Ali Nawaja said that his sister Samiha had survived what he described as a murder attempt, adding that she was taken to hospital where her condition was described as stable.
He said that Palestinian citizens, rushed to save his sister, who was facing certain death at the hands of those settlers.
Ali said that his sister was watching her sheep herd grazing when the settlers attacked her.
He appealed to all human rights groups to intervene and bridle the Jewish settlers, who enjoy full protection on the part of the Israeli occupation forces.
Jewish settlers assault an old man and his son
Jewish settlers from Kiryat Arba settlement in Al-Khalil attacked an old man and his son while farming their land in Al-Khalil, the son told the PIC reporter on Saturday.
He said that his 63-year-old father Shaker Al-Tamimi was carried to hospital after ten settlers attacked them in their field on Friday evening.
The son, 19, said that the settlers uprooted dozens of olive trees and other plantations in their land and nearby fields spreading fear among the women and children who were in those fields.
He said that land owners have complained to the Israeli occupation government regarding those repeated attacks, which also targeted their livestock, but their complaints fell on deaf ears.
13 apr 2012
Settlers uproot olive trees near Yatta
Zionist settlers uprooted, on Friday, about 100 olive trees near the town of Yatta, in al-Khalil city southern the occupied West Bank, and ejected the land's owners.
Ratib Al-Jibour, the coordinator of the popular committee in Yatta, said that a group of settlers, from Ma'oun settlement, uprooted no less than 100 olive trees owned by Jebril Mousa Reb;i in Kherobeh area east Altawana village, bulldozing 10 dunums of the land, according to Quds Press Agency.
He added that a group of settlers pursued shepherds in that area and international activists who came to film the settlers' brutality, and when they had reached Altoana village they started throwing stones on the residents' houses under occupation police and army protection.
Jibour said that such brutal and barbaric settlers' practices are aimed at evicting inhabitants of the area in a bid to control it, urging national and international human rights organizations to immediately intervene to put an end to such practices that prove the settlers' arrogance supported by the occupation government.
12 apr 2012
Three Palestinian farmers wounded in Jewish settlers attack
Three Palestinian farmers from Aqraba village, near Nablus, were wounded on Thursday morning after Jewish settlers attacked them.
Hamza Dairiya, a member of the committee in defense of Aqraba land, said that a group of settlers attacked the farmers while returning home with sheep heads and cows.
He said that the settlers threw stones at the farmers before attacking them with sticks injuring three of them.
Dairiya said that dozens of Israeli armored vehicles and ambulance cars were seen in the area, which is still tense. He said that hundreds of Jewish settlers arrived to the scene and were preventing any help to the wounded farmers.
11 apr 2012
Palestinian Believed Kidnapped by Setters Found with Hands Tied
A Palestinian from the Hebron area town of Beit Ummar who was declared missing on Tuesday was found alive on Wednesday in a remote area with his hands tied, according to a local activist.
Muhammad Salibi, 24, was found with his hands tied and in a state of shock, said Muhammad Awad, a member of the Beit Ummar Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements.
Salibi was believed kidnapped by settlers from Karmi Tsur, an illegal settlement built on Beit Ummar village land, making him the second case of kidnapping in three days. He was taken to hospital for treatment.
Settlers Assault Woman in Hebron Area
A group of masked Jewish settlers Wednesday severely beat a Palestinian woman from Wadi Susiya, south of the southern West Bank city of Hebron, causing her cuts and bruises all over her body, according to a local activist.
Ratib al-Jabour, coordinator of the Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements in southern Hebron, told WAFA that Samiha Nawaja’a, 40, was severely beaten by seven masked settlers while she was near her house located adjacent to the Israeli settlement of Susiya, built illegally on Palestinian land.
He said the settlers beat Nawaja’a until several local shepherds who were in the area rushed to save her.
Palestinian woman seriously injured in settlers’ attack
A Palestinian woman was hospitalized with serious injuries in her head after a group of Jewish settlers attacked her near Yatta village, south of Al-Khalil.
An eyewitness said that 40-year-old Samiha Nawaja was attacked by a group of masked Jewish settlers from the nearby settlement of Susiya.
He said that Israeli occupation soldiers escorted the settlers away from the scene of the incident back into the settlement after Palestinian citizens came to the yells of the woman.
Malek Ghannam, working with the Palestinian Red Crescent, said that the woman was taken to a clinic in Yatta then to a hospital in Al-Khalil in view of seriousness of her injury.
Jewish settlers have recently escalated their attacks on inhabitants of the eastern areas of Yatta in a bid to terrorize them away from their land. Some of those attacks were documented by camera.
Palestinians Injured Trying to Stop Settlers near Al-Aqsa
A number of Palestinians were injured Wednesday when they tried to stop Jewish settlers from holding religious ritual at one of the gates to al-Haram al-Sharif (the Holy Sanctuary) that leads to Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem, according to officials from the Muslim trust, the Waqf.
They said a group of fanatic Jews attempted to storm al-Aqsa compound from Bab al-Majlis after performing religious rituals near it when mosque guards stopped them.
Clashes broke out between the fanatics and the guards causing harm to one of the guards, they said.
Police intervened to later allow the fanatics to tour the outside yards of al-Aqsa Mosque compound but without holding any religious rituals.
Acts by Jewish fanatics against al-Aqsa Mosque increase during Jewish holidays. Jews claim the site was the location of the first and second Jewish temples some 3000 years ago and therefore want to destroy the mosque, the third holiest site in Islam, and replace it with the third temple.
Non-Muslims are allowed to enter the yards of al-Aqsa Mosque only through Magharbe Gate, which runs alongside the wall of the Buraq, known to Jews as the Western Wall.
Aqsa guard injured in quarrel with Jewish settlers
Khaled Abu Nijme, an Aqsa mosque guard, was injured in a squabble with Jewish settlers who were trying to enter the holy site on Wednesday morning.
Safa press agency said that the guards confronted a group of 30 settlers who were trying to enter the Aqsa plazas leading to a fistfight in which Abu Nijme was injured.
It added that the Israeli occupation police then intervened and allowed the settlers to enter and stroll in the Aqsa plazas under the pretext of “foreign tourism”.
Jewish settlers and foreign tourists are allowed into the holy compound on daily basis under protection of Israeli police and border guards.
Settlers Establish New Outpost East of Ramallah
Dozens of Jewish settlers erected a new outpost near the “Hashmonaim” settlement east of the West Bank city of Ramallah under the name “Or Hadash" (new light).
“Yedioth Ahronoth” newspaper reported, on Wednesday, the story on its website, stating that the extremist settlers intend to stay in that plot and establish a permanent outpost where they erected a temporary building and carried out several activities.
The newspaper pointed out that "Daniella Weiss," "Kedumim" former Mayor and one of the leaders of "Nahalat" settlement, was involved in the establishment of the new outpost.
Weiss said in her speech to the settlers “Israel will decide its fate by itself, in spite of what had been published and said to the US president Obama and the American administration, we know that this land belongs to the Jewish people and we have the right to build on it.”
9 apr 2012
Fire broke out in the Ibrahimi Mosque as settlers desecrate it
Zionist and Palestinian sources said that a fire broke out on Monday morning in the Ibrahimi Mosque in Al-Khalil (in the West Bank) during its storming by the Zionist usurpers while Muslims are barred from entering the Mosque for two days.
Director of Al-Khalil Endowments Zeid Al-Jabari affirmed that a small fire was caused by the usurpers' use of candles, while they were performing Talmudic rituals in the Hebrew feast of Passover, and that it caused no damage to the Mosque.
Al-Jabari told "Quds Press" agency that he contacted the Zionist side and the liaison officer in the area told him that the fire resulted from candles and the incident did not result in any damage to the mosque, according to occupation's claim.
He also asserted that "the Israeli media is striving for escalating the situation through overstating the event and for dragging the Palestinians toward a big confrontation."
The Hebrew Website, "Walla," stated that there were no injuries caused by the outbreak of the fire except of minor damage in one of the prayer halls and that the Zionist firefighters managed to control the fire and extinguished it.
Al-Jabari further mentioned that the occupation authorities closed the Ibrahimi Mosque in the face of Muslim worshipers for two days starting from Sunday and ending on Tuesday.
According to Al-Jabari, the occupation authorities is going to close the Ibrahimi Mosque in full -including Al-Khalil Endowments section - in order to provide full freedom for the Zionist usurpers to celebrate what the Jewish Passover.
The Ibrahimi Mosque has been divided according to the so-called Shamgar commission report, which was formed following the Ibrahimi Mosque massacre and which was committed by the settler, "Baruch Goldstein" in 1994. More than 60 percent of the mosque becomes under the control of Israeli occupation all year round.
Thousands of Zionist usurpers desecrate the Ibrahim Mosque in Al-Khalil
More than ten thousand Jewish settlers, on Monday, gathered at the Ibrahimi Mosque in Al-Khalil in the occupied west bank, to celebrate the Jewish Passover.
According to eyewitnesses, the Zionists arrived in buses from the extended and scattered settlements all around the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem to join those who came from the Kiryat Arba settlement in Al-Khalil city.
Thousands of Zionists gathered in the courtyard and the entrance of the Ibrahimi Mosque and in the roads leading to it, under the protection of the Zionist soldiers and accompanied by very tight security.
Besides, the occupation forces closed the areas of Tariq ibn Ziyad and Sahla as well as the old town's streets in the city leading to the Ibrahimi Mosque
It should be noted that the occupation authorities announced last night of the closure of the Ibrahimi Mosque for two successive days.
In Nablus, meanwhile, the occupation’s bulldozers continued for the second day consecutively working in usurped "Itsaar" in the south of Nablus and guarded by a large force of the occupation army
Ghassan Daglas, the official in charge of settlements file in the northern West Bank, said bulldozers started working since yesterday in Itsaar and on the citizens' lands belonging to the village of Burin, at tens of meters distance from Umm Ayman Soufan's house.
Ghassan Daglas called on human rights organizations to intervene to stop the bulldozing, which apparently comes in preparation for the expansion of the settlements at the expense of Palestinian land.
In Jenin, on Monday dozens of settlers broke into areas in south of Jenin, to enable buses carrying large groups of them to move on towards the Homesh settlement.
Local sources said that the settlers had gathered at the entrances to towns Jaba, wassilat dahr and Araba, in the south of Jenin and tried to stop all the citizens' vehicles and insulted the Palestinians under the protection of the occupying army.
They also broke into "Homesh" chanting Jewish hymns on the occasion of Jewish holidays and erected tents in the region.
Zionist Settlers Defile Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque
Dozens of extremist settlers took to the streets of Jerusalem's old city performing Talmudic rituals and dances in celebration of the Passover provoking the feelings of the residents of the occupied city.
Guards of al-Aqsa mosque confirmed that dozens of extremist settlers defiled the holy Aqsa mosque since the early-morning hours, according to Jerusalem Information Center.
The guards added that the Zionist settlers broke into the Aqsa Mosque in small, consecutive and non-stop groups from the Maghareba gate that leads to al-Buraq Wall, where extremists gather, under the Zionist police protection.
The center said that a number of Jerusalemites and 1948-Palestinians were inside the Mosque since the early-morning hours to protect it from the settlers' attempt to perform the Talmudic rituals and rites or any violation in the holy place.
Extremist leaders have urged the Zionists to participate massively in the so-called "the ascent to the Temple Mount" on the Passover, as a reference to storming the Aqsa mosque and trying to divide it and impose their control over it, religious and national leaders said.
Resheq: Arabs, Muslims should protect Aqsa mosque
Political bureau member of Hamas Ezzet Al-Resheq has called on Arabs and Muslims to protect the Aqsa mosque in occupied Jerusalem.
Resheq lashed out at the repeated Jewish settlers’ storming of the Aqsa mosque in a statement on his Facebook page on Monday.
He described the Jewish settlers’ storming of the Aqsa as “racist” and “provocative”, adding that such acts should not pass without any reaction.
Around 90 Jewish settlers had stormed the Aqsa plazas on Sunday under tight security measures by Israeli occupation security while a group of them danced and reveled in a provocative manner on their departure through Silsila gate.
8 apr 2012
Settlers Raid Agricultural Land near Jenin
Tens of Israeli settlers Sunday raided an agricultural land south of Jenin, under the protection of the Israeli army, according to security sources.
They added the settlers provoked and verbally assaulted the Palestinian residents in the area.
Meanwhile, Israeli soldiers raided Zabouba, a village west of Jenin, and fired tear gas and stun grenades against the villagers.
Jewish settlers desecrate the Aqsa mosque
Dozens of Jewish settlers broke into the holy Aqsa mosque in occupied Jerusalem on Sunday morning under Israeli police protection.
Local sources said that 50 settlers barged into the holy compound from the Maghareba gate to celebrate Pesach, a Jewish feast that started on Friday and ends in eight days’ time.
The Jewish settlers danced and reveled near the Silsila gate.
The Israeli occupation police were deployed in the holy city to protect settlers’ celebrations of Pesach (Passover).
7 apr 2012
Palestinian man chased by settlers dies after his tractor crashed
Fadi Zaitoun, from the village of Beita, south of Nablus, died late Thursday evening of injuries he sustained when his tractor crashed on its side as he was being chased by Jewish settlers from Yitzhar.
Eyewitnesses said that Zaitoun was on his tractor ploughing village land when settlers from the nearby settlement of Yitzhar started chasing him. As he tried to flee on his tractor, the tractor crashed on its side and he was critically injured. He was taken to Rafidya hospital in Nablus, where he succumbed to his injuries.
Yitzhar is notorious for its extremist settlers. It was a rabbi from Yitzhar who co-authored the "Handbook for the killing of Gentiles" in which he said that it was permissible to kill Palestinian children, so that they do not grow to be “terrorists like their parents.”
Meanwhile, Israeli occupation authorities declared a closure on the West Bank starting midnight Thursday till mid-night Saturday because of the Jewish Passover holiday.
6 apr 2012
Israel to spend NIS 25 million on temporary housing for Migron settlers
The High Court of Justice ordered the evacuation of the illegal West Bank outpost last month; temporary housing will cost NIS 25 million, and the government will most likely foot the bill.
The state is set to spend NIS 25 million to build a temporary housing site for Migron's settlers, who have been ordered to leave the West Bank outpost by August. A team headed by cabinet secretary Zvi Hauser is due to meet Sunday to find a source for the money from the budget.
The High Court of Justice last month ordered the state to evacuate the illegal West Bank outpost and dismantle it by August, after rejecting an agreement between the settlers and state to defer the evacuation by three years.
The Mateh Binyamin Regional Council yesterday began construction work on a temporary housing site for the Migron settlers in the Yekev compound, about two kilometers from the outpost. A permanent neighborhood for the evacuated settlers is also planned on that site.
The council, under whose jurisdiction Migron falls, permitted the construction on the basis of an approved plan for a tourist site, which will now be converted to a housing site.
The temporary site will consist of public structures, 50 prefabricated homes and minimal infrastructure, at at estimated cost of NIS 500,000 per family, totaling NIS 25 million, an official said. The state will probably foot the bill, it was learned.
The permanent neighborhood will require more comprehensive construction work and is expected to cost tens of millions of shekels.
Migron's settlers are to pay for building the permanent houses themselves, the official said.
"We decided to establish facts on the ground and, by our power as a regional council, ordered to prepare the area for mobile homes and later permanent ones for Migron's settlers," said council head Avi Roeh.
The settlers themselves have not decided what they should do. Some of them say they must not trust the government any more, and there is no point in reaching understandings with it.
Others say that if the government is willing to build a permanent site for them on the basis of their agreement, and see what may legally be preserved in the old outpost, they should move to the temporary site rather than wait for forcible eviction.
A council official said if the settlers are able to move to the temporary site by August 1, he believes they will leave Migron voluntarily.
Meanwhile, the state told the High Court yesterday it would not demolish three structures being built on private Palestinian land in the Beit El settlement at this time, despite its commitment to do so.
The structures are being built on lands of the Palestinian village Dura al-Kara in the West Bank. Since the High Court ruling on Elon Moreh in 1979, building homes on private Palestinian land has been prohibited.
Following the construction in Beit El, which began some 18 months ago, the landowners petitioned the court to stop the work. The court issued a temporary injunction against the construction.
Last April the state undertook to demolish the structures within a year, unless their status was regulated. The Civil Administration denied the contractor's request for building permits.
Yesterday evening, 48 hours before the allotted time for demolition ends, the State Prosecution told the court that the government needed more time to make a decision.
"The government was apprised of more facts gathered by the Civil Administration regarding the construction in Beit El and its security aspects," prosecuting attorney Hila Gorni said.
She attached to her response a deposition by Col. Ilan Malka, chief operations officer for the Central Command, saying the IDF wants to get through Nakba Day (in May ) and then allocate troops for the demolition.
The petitioners' attorney, Michael Sfard, said: "The state's announcement is no less than scandalous. Two days before the time to carry out its commitment to the court expires, it says it intends to break its word.
"If the breach was for operative reasons, perhaps the petitioners would have agreed to a short delay. But the state's announcement shows the cabinet wants to reopen and reexamine the entire issue."
5 apr 2012
Armed Settlers Attack Farmers near Nablus
Armed Jewish settlers attacked on Thursday farmers near Aqraba, southeast of Nablus, according to a local activist.
Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors settlement activities in the north of the West Bank, said settlers opened fired at farmers who were plowing their land in an area known as Wadi Yanoon without causing any injury.
Farmers confronted the settlers and forced them to leave the area before Israeli soldiers had intervened and arrested one of the farmers and seized keys for the tractors used to plow the land.
Prime Minister Salam Fayyad had earlier visited the same area to encourage farmers to work on their land.
4 apr 2012
European Parliamentarians: Israel Should be Held Accountable for its Actions
A five-member European Parliament delegation on a visit to the occupied territories expressed shock at Israeli settlers’ violence against Palestinian civilians, a statement by the delegation said Wednesday.
“The delegation witnessed the impact of the Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem and Area C in the West Bank and was shocked by evidence of the Israeli settler violence against peaceful inhabitants as reported by UN and international humanitarian organisations,” said the statement.
“The delegation condemns the Israeli policy of the special planning and zoning controls in the occupied Palestinian territories, which has led to the demolition of habitable houses and destruction of valuable infrastructure projects many of which have been funded through the European Union and its Member States taxpayers,” it added.
The primary purpose of the visit is to focus on the internal reconciliation, the situation in Area C, the Israeli settlements, water issue, political prisoners and the attacks on the media.
The delegation, led by Irish European Parliament member Emer Costello, met with the elected representatives of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) and saw firsthand the conditions on the ground of the Palestinian people living in the territories.
The conclusion for the delegation is that the Oslo agreements with the division into Areas A, B and C, which was intended to be an interim arrangement, have turned out to be a burden for the Palestinians and are used by Israel as a legitimation for a de facto annexation.
Israel’s obligations as an occupying power are not being met and Israel is violating International Law by denying the Palestinian citizens their basic human rights (freedom of movement, access to water, evictions from their homes etc).
The delegation called on the EU High Representative (HR) and the Member States to demand Israel adhere to international law in the occupied territories and refrain from any upgrading in the relationship with Israel.
“Measures must to be taken to ensure that products made in the settlements do not receive any preferential treatment in the EU market,” said the statement. “Moreover, the HR and the Member States should seek appropriate compensation from the Israeli authorities for any European project or service provided for the Palestinian people which are destroyed by Israel.”
The Delegation is composed of the Chair Emer Costello (S&D, Ir), Vice-Chair Margrete Auken (Greens, Dk) and Members Nicolo Rinaldi (ALDE, It), Roza Thun (EPP, Pl) and Norbert Neuser (S&D, De).
Israeli Army Evicts Settlers from Hebron Home
Ali Nawaja said that his sister Samiha had survived what he described as a murder attempt, adding that she was taken to hospital where her condition was described as stable.
He said that Palestinian citizens, rushed to save his sister, who was facing certain death at the hands of those settlers.
Ali said that his sister was watching her sheep herd grazing when the settlers attacked her.
He appealed to all human rights groups to intervene and bridle the Jewish settlers, who enjoy full protection on the part of the Israeli occupation forces.
Jewish settlers assault an old man and his son
Jewish settlers from Kiryat Arba settlement in Al-Khalil attacked an old man and his son while farming their land in Al-Khalil, the son told the PIC reporter on Saturday.
He said that his 63-year-old father Shaker Al-Tamimi was carried to hospital after ten settlers attacked them in their field on Friday evening.
The son, 19, said that the settlers uprooted dozens of olive trees and other plantations in their land and nearby fields spreading fear among the women and children who were in those fields.
He said that land owners have complained to the Israeli occupation government regarding those repeated attacks, which also targeted their livestock, but their complaints fell on deaf ears.
13 apr 2012
Settlers uproot olive trees near Yatta
Zionist settlers uprooted, on Friday, about 100 olive trees near the town of Yatta, in al-Khalil city southern the occupied West Bank, and ejected the land's owners.
Ratib Al-Jibour, the coordinator of the popular committee in Yatta, said that a group of settlers, from Ma'oun settlement, uprooted no less than 100 olive trees owned by Jebril Mousa Reb;i in Kherobeh area east Altawana village, bulldozing 10 dunums of the land, according to Quds Press Agency.
He added that a group of settlers pursued shepherds in that area and international activists who came to film the settlers' brutality, and when they had reached Altoana village they started throwing stones on the residents' houses under occupation police and army protection.
Jibour said that such brutal and barbaric settlers' practices are aimed at evicting inhabitants of the area in a bid to control it, urging national and international human rights organizations to immediately intervene to put an end to such practices that prove the settlers' arrogance supported by the occupation government.
12 apr 2012
Three Palestinian farmers wounded in Jewish settlers attack
Three Palestinian farmers from Aqraba village, near Nablus, were wounded on Thursday morning after Jewish settlers attacked them.
Hamza Dairiya, a member of the committee in defense of Aqraba land, said that a group of settlers attacked the farmers while returning home with sheep heads and cows.
He said that the settlers threw stones at the farmers before attacking them with sticks injuring three of them.
Dairiya said that dozens of Israeli armored vehicles and ambulance cars were seen in the area, which is still tense. He said that hundreds of Jewish settlers arrived to the scene and were preventing any help to the wounded farmers.
11 apr 2012
Palestinian Believed Kidnapped by Setters Found with Hands Tied
A Palestinian from the Hebron area town of Beit Ummar who was declared missing on Tuesday was found alive on Wednesday in a remote area with his hands tied, according to a local activist.
Muhammad Salibi, 24, was found with his hands tied and in a state of shock, said Muhammad Awad, a member of the Beit Ummar Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements.
Salibi was believed kidnapped by settlers from Karmi Tsur, an illegal settlement built on Beit Ummar village land, making him the second case of kidnapping in three days. He was taken to hospital for treatment.
Settlers Assault Woman in Hebron Area
A group of masked Jewish settlers Wednesday severely beat a Palestinian woman from Wadi Susiya, south of the southern West Bank city of Hebron, causing her cuts and bruises all over her body, according to a local activist.
Ratib al-Jabour, coordinator of the Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements in southern Hebron, told WAFA that Samiha Nawaja’a, 40, was severely beaten by seven masked settlers while she was near her house located adjacent to the Israeli settlement of Susiya, built illegally on Palestinian land.
He said the settlers beat Nawaja’a until several local shepherds who were in the area rushed to save her.
Palestinian woman seriously injured in settlers’ attack
A Palestinian woman was hospitalized with serious injuries in her head after a group of Jewish settlers attacked her near Yatta village, south of Al-Khalil.
An eyewitness said that 40-year-old Samiha Nawaja was attacked by a group of masked Jewish settlers from the nearby settlement of Susiya.
He said that Israeli occupation soldiers escorted the settlers away from the scene of the incident back into the settlement after Palestinian citizens came to the yells of the woman.
Malek Ghannam, working with the Palestinian Red Crescent, said that the woman was taken to a clinic in Yatta then to a hospital in Al-Khalil in view of seriousness of her injury.
Jewish settlers have recently escalated their attacks on inhabitants of the eastern areas of Yatta in a bid to terrorize them away from their land. Some of those attacks were documented by camera.
Palestinians Injured Trying to Stop Settlers near Al-Aqsa
A number of Palestinians were injured Wednesday when they tried to stop Jewish settlers from holding religious ritual at one of the gates to al-Haram al-Sharif (the Holy Sanctuary) that leads to Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem, according to officials from the Muslim trust, the Waqf.
They said a group of fanatic Jews attempted to storm al-Aqsa compound from Bab al-Majlis after performing religious rituals near it when mosque guards stopped them.
Clashes broke out between the fanatics and the guards causing harm to one of the guards, they said.
Police intervened to later allow the fanatics to tour the outside yards of al-Aqsa Mosque compound but without holding any religious rituals.
Acts by Jewish fanatics against al-Aqsa Mosque increase during Jewish holidays. Jews claim the site was the location of the first and second Jewish temples some 3000 years ago and therefore want to destroy the mosque, the third holiest site in Islam, and replace it with the third temple.
Non-Muslims are allowed to enter the yards of al-Aqsa Mosque only through Magharbe Gate, which runs alongside the wall of the Buraq, known to Jews as the Western Wall.
Aqsa guard injured in quarrel with Jewish settlers
Khaled Abu Nijme, an Aqsa mosque guard, was injured in a squabble with Jewish settlers who were trying to enter the holy site on Wednesday morning.
Safa press agency said that the guards confronted a group of 30 settlers who were trying to enter the Aqsa plazas leading to a fistfight in which Abu Nijme was injured.
It added that the Israeli occupation police then intervened and allowed the settlers to enter and stroll in the Aqsa plazas under the pretext of “foreign tourism”.
Jewish settlers and foreign tourists are allowed into the holy compound on daily basis under protection of Israeli police and border guards.
Settlers Establish New Outpost East of Ramallah
Dozens of Jewish settlers erected a new outpost near the “Hashmonaim” settlement east of the West Bank city of Ramallah under the name “Or Hadash" (new light).
“Yedioth Ahronoth” newspaper reported, on Wednesday, the story on its website, stating that the extremist settlers intend to stay in that plot and establish a permanent outpost where they erected a temporary building and carried out several activities.
The newspaper pointed out that "Daniella Weiss," "Kedumim" former Mayor and one of the leaders of "Nahalat" settlement, was involved in the establishment of the new outpost.
Weiss said in her speech to the settlers “Israel will decide its fate by itself, in spite of what had been published and said to the US president Obama and the American administration, we know that this land belongs to the Jewish people and we have the right to build on it.”
9 apr 2012
Fire broke out in the Ibrahimi Mosque as settlers desecrate it
Zionist and Palestinian sources said that a fire broke out on Monday morning in the Ibrahimi Mosque in Al-Khalil (in the West Bank) during its storming by the Zionist usurpers while Muslims are barred from entering the Mosque for two days.
Director of Al-Khalil Endowments Zeid Al-Jabari affirmed that a small fire was caused by the usurpers' use of candles, while they were performing Talmudic rituals in the Hebrew feast of Passover, and that it caused no damage to the Mosque.
Al-Jabari told "Quds Press" agency that he contacted the Zionist side and the liaison officer in the area told him that the fire resulted from candles and the incident did not result in any damage to the mosque, according to occupation's claim.
He also asserted that "the Israeli media is striving for escalating the situation through overstating the event and for dragging the Palestinians toward a big confrontation."
The Hebrew Website, "Walla," stated that there were no injuries caused by the outbreak of the fire except of minor damage in one of the prayer halls and that the Zionist firefighters managed to control the fire and extinguished it.
Al-Jabari further mentioned that the occupation authorities closed the Ibrahimi Mosque in the face of Muslim worshipers for two days starting from Sunday and ending on Tuesday.
According to Al-Jabari, the occupation authorities is going to close the Ibrahimi Mosque in full -including Al-Khalil Endowments section - in order to provide full freedom for the Zionist usurpers to celebrate what the Jewish Passover.
The Ibrahimi Mosque has been divided according to the so-called Shamgar commission report, which was formed following the Ibrahimi Mosque massacre and which was committed by the settler, "Baruch Goldstein" in 1994. More than 60 percent of the mosque becomes under the control of Israeli occupation all year round.
Thousands of Zionist usurpers desecrate the Ibrahim Mosque in Al-Khalil
More than ten thousand Jewish settlers, on Monday, gathered at the Ibrahimi Mosque in Al-Khalil in the occupied west bank, to celebrate the Jewish Passover.
According to eyewitnesses, the Zionists arrived in buses from the extended and scattered settlements all around the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem to join those who came from the Kiryat Arba settlement in Al-Khalil city.
Thousands of Zionists gathered in the courtyard and the entrance of the Ibrahimi Mosque and in the roads leading to it, under the protection of the Zionist soldiers and accompanied by very tight security.
Besides, the occupation forces closed the areas of Tariq ibn Ziyad and Sahla as well as the old town's streets in the city leading to the Ibrahimi Mosque
It should be noted that the occupation authorities announced last night of the closure of the Ibrahimi Mosque for two successive days.
In Nablus, meanwhile, the occupation’s bulldozers continued for the second day consecutively working in usurped "Itsaar" in the south of Nablus and guarded by a large force of the occupation army
Ghassan Daglas, the official in charge of settlements file in the northern West Bank, said bulldozers started working since yesterday in Itsaar and on the citizens' lands belonging to the village of Burin, at tens of meters distance from Umm Ayman Soufan's house.
Ghassan Daglas called on human rights organizations to intervene to stop the bulldozing, which apparently comes in preparation for the expansion of the settlements at the expense of Palestinian land.
In Jenin, on Monday dozens of settlers broke into areas in south of Jenin, to enable buses carrying large groups of them to move on towards the Homesh settlement.
Local sources said that the settlers had gathered at the entrances to towns Jaba, wassilat dahr and Araba, in the south of Jenin and tried to stop all the citizens' vehicles and insulted the Palestinians under the protection of the occupying army.
They also broke into "Homesh" chanting Jewish hymns on the occasion of Jewish holidays and erected tents in the region.
Zionist Settlers Defile Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque
Dozens of extremist settlers took to the streets of Jerusalem's old city performing Talmudic rituals and dances in celebration of the Passover provoking the feelings of the residents of the occupied city.
Guards of al-Aqsa mosque confirmed that dozens of extremist settlers defiled the holy Aqsa mosque since the early-morning hours, according to Jerusalem Information Center.
The guards added that the Zionist settlers broke into the Aqsa Mosque in small, consecutive and non-stop groups from the Maghareba gate that leads to al-Buraq Wall, where extremists gather, under the Zionist police protection.
The center said that a number of Jerusalemites and 1948-Palestinians were inside the Mosque since the early-morning hours to protect it from the settlers' attempt to perform the Talmudic rituals and rites or any violation in the holy place.
Extremist leaders have urged the Zionists to participate massively in the so-called "the ascent to the Temple Mount" on the Passover, as a reference to storming the Aqsa mosque and trying to divide it and impose their control over it, religious and national leaders said.
Resheq: Arabs, Muslims should protect Aqsa mosque
Political bureau member of Hamas Ezzet Al-Resheq has called on Arabs and Muslims to protect the Aqsa mosque in occupied Jerusalem.
Resheq lashed out at the repeated Jewish settlers’ storming of the Aqsa mosque in a statement on his Facebook page on Monday.
He described the Jewish settlers’ storming of the Aqsa as “racist” and “provocative”, adding that such acts should not pass without any reaction.
Around 90 Jewish settlers had stormed the Aqsa plazas on Sunday under tight security measures by Israeli occupation security while a group of them danced and reveled in a provocative manner on their departure through Silsila gate.
8 apr 2012
Settlers Raid Agricultural Land near Jenin
Tens of Israeli settlers Sunday raided an agricultural land south of Jenin, under the protection of the Israeli army, according to security sources.
They added the settlers provoked and verbally assaulted the Palestinian residents in the area.
Meanwhile, Israeli soldiers raided Zabouba, a village west of Jenin, and fired tear gas and stun grenades against the villagers.
Jewish settlers desecrate the Aqsa mosque
Dozens of Jewish settlers broke into the holy Aqsa mosque in occupied Jerusalem on Sunday morning under Israeli police protection.
Local sources said that 50 settlers barged into the holy compound from the Maghareba gate to celebrate Pesach, a Jewish feast that started on Friday and ends in eight days’ time.
The Jewish settlers danced and reveled near the Silsila gate.
The Israeli occupation police were deployed in the holy city to protect settlers’ celebrations of Pesach (Passover).
7 apr 2012
Palestinian man chased by settlers dies after his tractor crashed
Fadi Zaitoun, from the village of Beita, south of Nablus, died late Thursday evening of injuries he sustained when his tractor crashed on its side as he was being chased by Jewish settlers from Yitzhar.
Eyewitnesses said that Zaitoun was on his tractor ploughing village land when settlers from the nearby settlement of Yitzhar started chasing him. As he tried to flee on his tractor, the tractor crashed on its side and he was critically injured. He was taken to Rafidya hospital in Nablus, where he succumbed to his injuries.
Yitzhar is notorious for its extremist settlers. It was a rabbi from Yitzhar who co-authored the "Handbook for the killing of Gentiles" in which he said that it was permissible to kill Palestinian children, so that they do not grow to be “terrorists like their parents.”
Meanwhile, Israeli occupation authorities declared a closure on the West Bank starting midnight Thursday till mid-night Saturday because of the Jewish Passover holiday.
6 apr 2012
Israel to spend NIS 25 million on temporary housing for Migron settlers
The High Court of Justice ordered the evacuation of the illegal West Bank outpost last month; temporary housing will cost NIS 25 million, and the government will most likely foot the bill.
The state is set to spend NIS 25 million to build a temporary housing site for Migron's settlers, who have been ordered to leave the West Bank outpost by August. A team headed by cabinet secretary Zvi Hauser is due to meet Sunday to find a source for the money from the budget.
The High Court of Justice last month ordered the state to evacuate the illegal West Bank outpost and dismantle it by August, after rejecting an agreement between the settlers and state to defer the evacuation by three years.
The Mateh Binyamin Regional Council yesterday began construction work on a temporary housing site for the Migron settlers in the Yekev compound, about two kilometers from the outpost. A permanent neighborhood for the evacuated settlers is also planned on that site.
The council, under whose jurisdiction Migron falls, permitted the construction on the basis of an approved plan for a tourist site, which will now be converted to a housing site.
The temporary site will consist of public structures, 50 prefabricated homes and minimal infrastructure, at at estimated cost of NIS 500,000 per family, totaling NIS 25 million, an official said. The state will probably foot the bill, it was learned.
The permanent neighborhood will require more comprehensive construction work and is expected to cost tens of millions of shekels.
Migron's settlers are to pay for building the permanent houses themselves, the official said.
"We decided to establish facts on the ground and, by our power as a regional council, ordered to prepare the area for mobile homes and later permanent ones for Migron's settlers," said council head Avi Roeh.
The settlers themselves have not decided what they should do. Some of them say they must not trust the government any more, and there is no point in reaching understandings with it.
Others say that if the government is willing to build a permanent site for them on the basis of their agreement, and see what may legally be preserved in the old outpost, they should move to the temporary site rather than wait for forcible eviction.
A council official said if the settlers are able to move to the temporary site by August 1, he believes they will leave Migron voluntarily.
Meanwhile, the state told the High Court yesterday it would not demolish three structures being built on private Palestinian land in the Beit El settlement at this time, despite its commitment to do so.
The structures are being built on lands of the Palestinian village Dura al-Kara in the West Bank. Since the High Court ruling on Elon Moreh in 1979, building homes on private Palestinian land has been prohibited.
Following the construction in Beit El, which began some 18 months ago, the landowners petitioned the court to stop the work. The court issued a temporary injunction against the construction.
Last April the state undertook to demolish the structures within a year, unless their status was regulated. The Civil Administration denied the contractor's request for building permits.
Yesterday evening, 48 hours before the allotted time for demolition ends, the State Prosecution told the court that the government needed more time to make a decision.
"The government was apprised of more facts gathered by the Civil Administration regarding the construction in Beit El and its security aspects," prosecuting attorney Hila Gorni said.
She attached to her response a deposition by Col. Ilan Malka, chief operations officer for the Central Command, saying the IDF wants to get through Nakba Day (in May ) and then allocate troops for the demolition.
The petitioners' attorney, Michael Sfard, said: "The state's announcement is no less than scandalous. Two days before the time to carry out its commitment to the court expires, it says it intends to break its word.
"If the breach was for operative reasons, perhaps the petitioners would have agreed to a short delay. But the state's announcement shows the cabinet wants to reopen and reexamine the entire issue."
5 apr 2012
Armed Settlers Attack Farmers near Nablus
Armed Jewish settlers attacked on Thursday farmers near Aqraba, southeast of Nablus, according to a local activist.
Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors settlement activities in the north of the West Bank, said settlers opened fired at farmers who were plowing their land in an area known as Wadi Yanoon without causing any injury.
Farmers confronted the settlers and forced them to leave the area before Israeli soldiers had intervened and arrested one of the farmers and seized keys for the tractors used to plow the land.
Prime Minister Salam Fayyad had earlier visited the same area to encourage farmers to work on their land.
4 apr 2012
European Parliamentarians: Israel Should be Held Accountable for its Actions
A five-member European Parliament delegation on a visit to the occupied territories expressed shock at Israeli settlers’ violence against Palestinian civilians, a statement by the delegation said Wednesday.
“The delegation witnessed the impact of the Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem and Area C in the West Bank and was shocked by evidence of the Israeli settler violence against peaceful inhabitants as reported by UN and international humanitarian organisations,” said the statement.
“The delegation condemns the Israeli policy of the special planning and zoning controls in the occupied Palestinian territories, which has led to the demolition of habitable houses and destruction of valuable infrastructure projects many of which have been funded through the European Union and its Member States taxpayers,” it added.
The primary purpose of the visit is to focus on the internal reconciliation, the situation in Area C, the Israeli settlements, water issue, political prisoners and the attacks on the media.
The delegation, led by Irish European Parliament member Emer Costello, met with the elected representatives of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) and saw firsthand the conditions on the ground of the Palestinian people living in the territories.
The conclusion for the delegation is that the Oslo agreements with the division into Areas A, B and C, which was intended to be an interim arrangement, have turned out to be a burden for the Palestinians and are used by Israel as a legitimation for a de facto annexation.
Israel’s obligations as an occupying power are not being met and Israel is violating International Law by denying the Palestinian citizens their basic human rights (freedom of movement, access to water, evictions from their homes etc).
The delegation called on the EU High Representative (HR) and the Member States to demand Israel adhere to international law in the occupied territories and refrain from any upgrading in the relationship with Israel.
“Measures must to be taken to ensure that products made in the settlements do not receive any preferential treatment in the EU market,” said the statement. “Moreover, the HR and the Member States should seek appropriate compensation from the Israeli authorities for any European project or service provided for the Palestinian people which are destroyed by Israel.”
The Delegation is composed of the Chair Emer Costello (S&D, Ir), Vice-Chair Margrete Auken (Greens, Dk) and Members Nicolo Rinaldi (ALDE, It), Roza Thun (EPP, Pl) and Norbert Neuser (S&D, De).
Israeli Army Evicts Settlers from Hebron Home
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The Israeli army evicted Wednesday a number of Jewish settlers who last week took over a Palestinian-owned building in the old city of Hebron, according to officials from the Committee to Rebuild Hebron.
They said the settlers were forced to evacuate the three-floor building owned by the Abu Rajab family located near the Ibrahimi mosque in an area under full Israeli control where some 300 settlers live among about 30,000 Palestinians. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak had ordered the eviction in spite of objections from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and many other right wing government ministers and lawmakers. The Israeli government said it will study the settlers’ claim that they |
bought the house before it decides if they can return to the building or not. The Abu Rajab family denied claims that the house was sold to settlers and insisted to keep the building.
Settlers Expand Illegal Outpost near Hebron
Israeli settlers from the illegal outpost of Avigal near Yatta, a town south of Hebron, Wednesday started construction work to expand the outpost, according to a local activist.
The Popular Committee Coordinator in Yatta, Rateb Jabour, told WAFA that Avigal settlers started laying foundations of new building in the outpost, despite an Israeli court order to evict them and return the land to its Palestinian owner.
Settlement Expanded Despite Court Evacuation Order
Settlers from Avigal, east of Yatta in Hebron area, started work on expanding the settlement despite an Israeli court ruling to evacuate it, a local activist said Wednesday.
Ratib al-Jabour, coordinator of the Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements in Yatta, said the settlers began expansion work on the settlement by building foundations for new structures despite a decision by an Israeli court to evacuate the land, owned by three different Palestinian families.
3 apr 2012
Israeli minister: State should encourage settler takeover of Hebron home
Comments by Likud's Yisrael Katz come amid apparent disagreement between defense establishment, Netanyahu's office as to the proper response to the structure's capture; Netanyahu to discuss issue in panel with Barak.
Jewish settlers who took over a house in Hebron's Arab area should be allowed to stay, a top Israel minister said on Tuesday, adding that similar actions, as long as they are done through the proper legal channels, should be encouraged.
The comments, made by Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz came amid a debate within Israel's leadership as to the way in which the state should respond to Sunday's takeover.
Hebron’s mayor Khaled Osaily told Israel’s Army Radio that it can be easily proven that the house’s bill of sale was fake. “It’s all fake,” Osaily said, “The person who sold the house to the settlers is not the owner…I am sure of this.”
Osaily further commented on the controversy surrounding the settlement expansion in the city. “Another house will bring peace? This will bring closeness between people? On the contrary, this will only create problems.”
On Monday, the Israel Defense Forces issued an eviction order for the settlers, according to which they had until Tuesday at 3:00 PM to evacuate the house on their own will, after which "the authorities will act to restore the building to its previous state.
However, later in the day Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly asked Defense Minister Ehud Barak to postpone the evacuation, with officials in Netanyahu's office saying the premier asked Barak "to allow the settlers to pursue action through legal channels."
The prime minister's office did not say so directly, but Netanyahu's comment to Barak means the delay of the evacuation of the settlers, which was scheduled to take place on Tuesday at 3 P.M. During a visit by several MKs to the Hebron house on Tuesday, Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz said he admired the settlers for standing their ground.
"I came here to support the settlers. I think Jews have a right to buy a house anywhere in the world, and I'll do everything to allow them to stay," Katz said, adding that "as long as it is done legally it must be encouraged.
The Likud minister also criticized the Palestinian Authority for what he said were threats against the Palestinian sellers of the house, saying that the "government should demand their release."
"Ehud Barak won't decide the eviction by himself," Katz said, adding that "if anyone would have appealed the legality of the purchase, then that would be a different matter."
"The decision to evict isn’t the Defense Ministry's, but the government's," Katz added.
The security establishment has called the takeover a provocation, and says that the settlers' presence in the house constitutes a public disturbance. However, the move has won the support of some politicians.
The settlers said they purchased the property legally. Their representatives showed records of the deal on Sunday, including money transfers, to Military Advocate General staff.
The house is located in a closed military zone, but Jewish community activists come and go freely through the area.
Netanyahu is scheduled to discuss the status of the Hebron takeover during session planned for 18:00, due to also include Barak, Vice Prime Minister Moshe Ya'alon, as well as representatives from the Civil Administration and the Defense Ministry.
The main topic of the debate was supposed to be the legal status of the Ulpana neighborhood of the West Bank settlement of Beit El; however, the Hebron house was added to the agenda following the IDF's eviction order as well as Netanyahu's wish to delay the move.
Netanyahu will arrive at the session immediately following a special press conference marking three years since the formation of his government.
Settlers Expand Illegal Outpost near Hebron
Israeli settlers from the illegal outpost of Avigal near Yatta, a town south of Hebron, Wednesday started construction work to expand the outpost, according to a local activist.
The Popular Committee Coordinator in Yatta, Rateb Jabour, told WAFA that Avigal settlers started laying foundations of new building in the outpost, despite an Israeli court order to evict them and return the land to its Palestinian owner.
Settlement Expanded Despite Court Evacuation Order
Settlers from Avigal, east of Yatta in Hebron area, started work on expanding the settlement despite an Israeli court ruling to evacuate it, a local activist said Wednesday.
Ratib al-Jabour, coordinator of the Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements in Yatta, said the settlers began expansion work on the settlement by building foundations for new structures despite a decision by an Israeli court to evacuate the land, owned by three different Palestinian families.
3 apr 2012
Israeli minister: State should encourage settler takeover of Hebron home
Comments by Likud's Yisrael Katz come amid apparent disagreement between defense establishment, Netanyahu's office as to the proper response to the structure's capture; Netanyahu to discuss issue in panel with Barak.
Jewish settlers who took over a house in Hebron's Arab area should be allowed to stay, a top Israel minister said on Tuesday, adding that similar actions, as long as they are done through the proper legal channels, should be encouraged.
The comments, made by Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz came amid a debate within Israel's leadership as to the way in which the state should respond to Sunday's takeover.
Hebron’s mayor Khaled Osaily told Israel’s Army Radio that it can be easily proven that the house’s bill of sale was fake. “It’s all fake,” Osaily said, “The person who sold the house to the settlers is not the owner…I am sure of this.”
Osaily further commented on the controversy surrounding the settlement expansion in the city. “Another house will bring peace? This will bring closeness between people? On the contrary, this will only create problems.”
On Monday, the Israel Defense Forces issued an eviction order for the settlers, according to which they had until Tuesday at 3:00 PM to evacuate the house on their own will, after which "the authorities will act to restore the building to its previous state.
However, later in the day Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly asked Defense Minister Ehud Barak to postpone the evacuation, with officials in Netanyahu's office saying the premier asked Barak "to allow the settlers to pursue action through legal channels."
The prime minister's office did not say so directly, but Netanyahu's comment to Barak means the delay of the evacuation of the settlers, which was scheduled to take place on Tuesday at 3 P.M. During a visit by several MKs to the Hebron house on Tuesday, Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz said he admired the settlers for standing their ground.
"I came here to support the settlers. I think Jews have a right to buy a house anywhere in the world, and I'll do everything to allow them to stay," Katz said, adding that "as long as it is done legally it must be encouraged.
The Likud minister also criticized the Palestinian Authority for what he said were threats against the Palestinian sellers of the house, saying that the "government should demand their release."
"Ehud Barak won't decide the eviction by himself," Katz said, adding that "if anyone would have appealed the legality of the purchase, then that would be a different matter."
"The decision to evict isn’t the Defense Ministry's, but the government's," Katz added.
The security establishment has called the takeover a provocation, and says that the settlers' presence in the house constitutes a public disturbance. However, the move has won the support of some politicians.
The settlers said they purchased the property legally. Their representatives showed records of the deal on Sunday, including money transfers, to Military Advocate General staff.
The house is located in a closed military zone, but Jewish community activists come and go freely through the area.
Netanyahu is scheduled to discuss the status of the Hebron takeover during session planned for 18:00, due to also include Barak, Vice Prime Minister Moshe Ya'alon, as well as representatives from the Civil Administration and the Defense Ministry.
The main topic of the debate was supposed to be the legal status of the Ulpana neighborhood of the West Bank settlement of Beit El; however, the Hebron house was added to the agenda following the IDF's eviction order as well as Netanyahu's wish to delay the move.
Netanyahu will arrive at the session immediately following a special press conference marking three years since the formation of his government.
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MK Tzippy Hotovely at Beit HaMachpela in Hebron
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IDF's deadline for evacuation of Hebron house passes; Netanyahu to convene special meeting to discuss next step
Meeting comes as defense establishment, Netanyahu disagree on proper response to the structure's capture; Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz says settlers should be allowed to stay.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold a special meeting on Tuesday to discuss the eviction order for settlers who invaded a Hebron home.
On Monday, the Israel Defense Forces issued an eviction order for the settlers, according to which they had until Tuesday at 3:00 PM to evacuate the house on their own will, after which "the authorities will act to restore the building to its previous state."
The meeting will be attended by Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Vice Prime Minister Moshe Ya'alon, Minister without Portfolio Benny Begin representatives of the Ministry of Defense and the Civil Administration.
On Tuesday, a top Israel minister said that Jewish settlers should be allowed to stay, adding that similar actions, as long as they are done through the proper legal channels, should be encouraged.
The comments, made by Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz came amid a debate within Israel's leadership as to the way in which the state should respond to Sunday's takeover.
Hebron’s mayor Khaled Osaily told Israel’s Army Radio that it can be easily proven that the house’s bill of sale was fake. “It’s all fake,” Osaily said, “[url=Palestinians deny sale of Machpelah house Palestinian family who lived in contested Hebron property says it never sold it to anyone; settlers forged ownership papers ]The person who sold the house[/url] to the settlers is not the owner…I am sure of this.”
Osaily further commented on the controversy surrounding the settlement expansion in the city. “Another house will bring peace? This will bring closeness between people? On the contrary, this will only create problems.”
15 Israelis Attack Palestinian Worker in Jerusalem
Around 15 Israelis Tuesday attacked a Palestinian worker in Jerusalem, injuring him and causing bruises all over his body, according to local sources.
Ahmad Younis, 42, from the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem, was on his way to work in western Jerusalem when around 15 Israelis battered and kicked him, said a member of his family.
Younis’ injuries were reported moderate and he was transferred to the hospital for treatment.
2 apr 2012
Netanyahu asked Barak to delay evacuation of Hebron house
PM asked Barak to allow Jewish settlers who took over a house in Palestinian part of Hebron to exhaust their legal options; IDF previously gave settlers 24 hours to evacuate.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked Defense Minister Ehud Barak to postpone the evacuation of settlers who took over a house in the Arab part of the West Bank city of Hebron last week.
According to officials in Netanyahu's office, the prime minister asked Barak "to allow the settlers to pursue action through legal channels."
The prime minister's office did not say so directly, but Netanyahu's comment to Barak means the delay of the evacuation of the settlers, which was scheduled to take place on Tuesday at 3 P.M.
A defense official said that that the Israel Defense Forces will allow the settlers to prove that the house is legally theirs by Tuesday at 3 P.M.
"If they do not succeed to prove it, the defense establishment will then enforce the law based on its judgment," he said, adding that the IDF will enforce the law, but the question of when will be based on operational considerations.
Earlier Monday, the IDF has issued an eviction order for the settlers. According to the order, the settlers have until Tuesday at 3:00 PM to evacuate the house on their own will, after which "the authorities will act to restore the building to its previous state."
The security establishment has called the takeover a provocation, and says that the settlers' presence in the house constitutes a public disturbance. However, the move has won the support of some politicians.
The settlers said they purchased the property legally. Their representatives showed records of the deal on Sunday, including money transfers, to Military Advocate General staff.
The house is located in a closed military zone, but Jewish community activists come and go freely through the area.
A key figure in the land purchase is Assaf Nehmad, a former Shin Bet security service man, who speaks Arabic and helps settlers purchase land from Arab owners who may be unwilling to sell to someone they know is Jewish.
Nehmad owns 99 percent of the company that purchased the house, Al-Aydun al-Akarat, which he founded in 2010 when the settlers first started trying to buy the house.
According to material presented Sunday to the Military Advocate General's staff, the house was registered to two Palestinians, one of whom bequeathed ti to a Palestinian man by the name of Hosni al-Tamimi. Tamimi sold it to a front man for the settlers, Mohammed Abu-Shahala, who sold it to Al-Aydun.
Sources in Hebron said that Abu-Shahala, who is originally from Gaza, was an officer in the Palestinian Authority security forces, which is how he got to the West Bank.
Report: Israeli army orders Hebron settlers evacuate
The Israeli army on Monday gave Israeli settlers 24 hours to evacuate a home they took over in Hebron on Thursday, Israeli media reported.
Israeli settlers seized the house belonging to the Abu Rajab family and say they have proof they purchased the property legally, the Israeli daily Haaretz said.
Israeli settlement monitoring group Peace Now said the owners claim that the property was never sold and filed a complaint with police.
Peace Now says settlers are in any case not allowed to enter the house without the approval of the Israeli defense minister for the purchase of the property, according to laws applied in the West Bank.
The settlers must leave the property by Tuesday at 3 p.m., after which "the authorities will act to restore the building to its previous state," Haaretz quoted the eviction order saying.
3 Violently Arrested As 20 Attempt to Occupy House in Hebron
Three people from Hebron have been arrested after a group of 20 activists attempted to occupy an empty house that had been previously belonged to Palestinians in the heart of the Old City in Hebron.
The house had been owned by Palestinians but they had moved out after being harassed by settlers. The house was then used as a military post by the Israeli Occupying Force and more recently has been frequented by six settler families, who claimed legal ownership of the house. The first floor of the house was occupied by the family members of the Palestinian owner, Abu Taleb Radjeb.
Upon occupying the house, the group of activists attempted to clean the house and furnish it, whilst blocking off the front entrance. A large military presence showed up and broke into the house. They threw the furniture out, smashing it into the street and violently arrested three people including Issa Amro, one of the core founders of Youth Against Settlements.
A member of YAS stated 'Zionist occupation forces evicted Youth Against Settlements activists from a Palestinian home near the Beit Romano settlement. Excessive force, tear gas, sound grenades, and wastewater was used on the activists, some of the people injured'
Hebron is the largest Palestinian city in the West Bank, but has been condered by some to be the lens of the occupation, as it homes around 600 Israeli Settlers who live in H2 area, where they are protected by the Israeli Occupying Force, as The Palestinian Authority has no derestriction in this area.
Palestinian Martyr in Ramallah, Settler Injured In Jerusalem
Meeting comes as defense establishment, Netanyahu disagree on proper response to the structure's capture; Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz says settlers should be allowed to stay.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold a special meeting on Tuesday to discuss the eviction order for settlers who invaded a Hebron home.
On Monday, the Israel Defense Forces issued an eviction order for the settlers, according to which they had until Tuesday at 3:00 PM to evacuate the house on their own will, after which "the authorities will act to restore the building to its previous state."
The meeting will be attended by Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Vice Prime Minister Moshe Ya'alon, Minister without Portfolio Benny Begin representatives of the Ministry of Defense and the Civil Administration.
On Tuesday, a top Israel minister said that Jewish settlers should be allowed to stay, adding that similar actions, as long as they are done through the proper legal channels, should be encouraged.
The comments, made by Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz came amid a debate within Israel's leadership as to the way in which the state should respond to Sunday's takeover.
Hebron’s mayor Khaled Osaily told Israel’s Army Radio that it can be easily proven that the house’s bill of sale was fake. “It’s all fake,” Osaily said, “[url=Palestinians deny sale of Machpelah house Palestinian family who lived in contested Hebron property says it never sold it to anyone; settlers forged ownership papers ]The person who sold the house[/url] to the settlers is not the owner…I am sure of this.”
Osaily further commented on the controversy surrounding the settlement expansion in the city. “Another house will bring peace? This will bring closeness between people? On the contrary, this will only create problems.”
15 Israelis Attack Palestinian Worker in Jerusalem
Around 15 Israelis Tuesday attacked a Palestinian worker in Jerusalem, injuring him and causing bruises all over his body, according to local sources.
Ahmad Younis, 42, from the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem, was on his way to work in western Jerusalem when around 15 Israelis battered and kicked him, said a member of his family.
Younis’ injuries were reported moderate and he was transferred to the hospital for treatment.
2 apr 2012
Netanyahu asked Barak to delay evacuation of Hebron house
PM asked Barak to allow Jewish settlers who took over a house in Palestinian part of Hebron to exhaust their legal options; IDF previously gave settlers 24 hours to evacuate.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked Defense Minister Ehud Barak to postpone the evacuation of settlers who took over a house in the Arab part of the West Bank city of Hebron last week.
According to officials in Netanyahu's office, the prime minister asked Barak "to allow the settlers to pursue action through legal channels."
The prime minister's office did not say so directly, but Netanyahu's comment to Barak means the delay of the evacuation of the settlers, which was scheduled to take place on Tuesday at 3 P.M.
A defense official said that that the Israel Defense Forces will allow the settlers to prove that the house is legally theirs by Tuesday at 3 P.M.
"If they do not succeed to prove it, the defense establishment will then enforce the law based on its judgment," he said, adding that the IDF will enforce the law, but the question of when will be based on operational considerations.
Earlier Monday, the IDF has issued an eviction order for the settlers. According to the order, the settlers have until Tuesday at 3:00 PM to evacuate the house on their own will, after which "the authorities will act to restore the building to its previous state."
The security establishment has called the takeover a provocation, and says that the settlers' presence in the house constitutes a public disturbance. However, the move has won the support of some politicians.
The settlers said they purchased the property legally. Their representatives showed records of the deal on Sunday, including money transfers, to Military Advocate General staff.
The house is located in a closed military zone, but Jewish community activists come and go freely through the area.
A key figure in the land purchase is Assaf Nehmad, a former Shin Bet security service man, who speaks Arabic and helps settlers purchase land from Arab owners who may be unwilling to sell to someone they know is Jewish.
Nehmad owns 99 percent of the company that purchased the house, Al-Aydun al-Akarat, which he founded in 2010 when the settlers first started trying to buy the house.
According to material presented Sunday to the Military Advocate General's staff, the house was registered to two Palestinians, one of whom bequeathed ti to a Palestinian man by the name of Hosni al-Tamimi. Tamimi sold it to a front man for the settlers, Mohammed Abu-Shahala, who sold it to Al-Aydun.
Sources in Hebron said that Abu-Shahala, who is originally from Gaza, was an officer in the Palestinian Authority security forces, which is how he got to the West Bank.
Report: Israeli army orders Hebron settlers evacuate
The Israeli army on Monday gave Israeli settlers 24 hours to evacuate a home they took over in Hebron on Thursday, Israeli media reported.
Israeli settlers seized the house belonging to the Abu Rajab family and say they have proof they purchased the property legally, the Israeli daily Haaretz said.
Israeli settlement monitoring group Peace Now said the owners claim that the property was never sold and filed a complaint with police.
Peace Now says settlers are in any case not allowed to enter the house without the approval of the Israeli defense minister for the purchase of the property, according to laws applied in the West Bank.
The settlers must leave the property by Tuesday at 3 p.m., after which "the authorities will act to restore the building to its previous state," Haaretz quoted the eviction order saying.
3 Violently Arrested As 20 Attempt to Occupy House in Hebron
Three people from Hebron have been arrested after a group of 20 activists attempted to occupy an empty house that had been previously belonged to Palestinians in the heart of the Old City in Hebron.
The house had been owned by Palestinians but they had moved out after being harassed by settlers. The house was then used as a military post by the Israeli Occupying Force and more recently has been frequented by six settler families, who claimed legal ownership of the house. The first floor of the house was occupied by the family members of the Palestinian owner, Abu Taleb Radjeb.
Upon occupying the house, the group of activists attempted to clean the house and furnish it, whilst blocking off the front entrance. A large military presence showed up and broke into the house. They threw the furniture out, smashing it into the street and violently arrested three people including Issa Amro, one of the core founders of Youth Against Settlements.
A member of YAS stated 'Zionist occupation forces evicted Youth Against Settlements activists from a Palestinian home near the Beit Romano settlement. Excessive force, tear gas, sound grenades, and wastewater was used on the activists, some of the people injured'
Hebron is the largest Palestinian city in the West Bank, but has been condered by some to be the lens of the occupation, as it homes around 600 Israeli Settlers who live in H2 area, where they are protected by the Israeli Occupying Force, as The Palestinian Authority has no derestriction in this area.
Palestinian Martyr in Ramallah, Settler Injured In Jerusalem

Rashad Theib Shoukha, 28
On Monday, 2nd April, Palestinian sources announced the death of Rashad Deeb, a 28 year-old Palestinian who sustained serious injuries after being shot in his home by Israeli forces in Ramoun village, east of Ramallah on Tuesday, March, 27.
Israeli forces raided the home of the Deeb family, and shot Rashad and his two brothers Akram and Anwar. Soldiers arrested and transferred them to Israeli hospitals. Doctors described Rashad's health condition as critical while his two brothers remained in stable condition.
Israeli forces claimed that a soldier was wounded during the house raid after he was stabbed, and was transferred to an Israeli hospital for treatment.
In a separate incident, Hebrew sources claim that a Palestinian youth hit a settler in his seventies with an axe to his head near the Damascus gate and escaped.
The same sources said that Israeli forces have begun a search party, looking for the Palestinian youth.
The settler was transferred to Hadassah hospital in Western Jerusalem for treatment and is in stable condition.
1 apr 2012
Jewish settlers batter Palestinian citizens including two women
Jewish settlers attacked and battered four Palestinians from Salfit city in the road between Salfit and Ramallah provinces on Saturday, local sources said.
They said that the four, two men and two women, were collecting wild plants in the area when they were assaulted by the settlers with batons and iron bars.
The sources said that one of the four was badly hit in his head and suffered serious injuries. They said that one of the women had her right hand broken along with her left hand fingers. The other two suffered minor injuries and were all hospitalized.
Palestinians, leftists barricade themselves inside Hebron house
Group protests entrance of settlers into Machpelah House, two detained by police forces. Likud ministers to decide fate of disputed house on Monday.
Security forces on Sunday evening detained two out of some 30 protesters who barricaded themselves inside an abandoned house near the Shavei Hebron yeshiva in Hebron.
The group, which included some 30 Palestinians and left wing activists, marched toward the Romano house, where the yeshiva is located, in protest of several dozen settlers who barricaded themselves in a Hebron house last week, claiming they purchased it from its Palestinian owner.
The settlers claim that they have all the legal documents attesting to the purchase of what has been dubbed the "Machpelah House."
Police and IDF forces encircled the barricaded house and declared it a restricted military zone. Shortly after, the protesters dispersed and police forces detained two activists.
"We broke into the house to expose the double standard of the Israeli legal system," said Issa Amar, one of the Palestinian activists who was arrested.
"On Thursday settlers took over a house in Hebron, but no one cleared them out. We weren’t armed – we entered the house legally," Amar noted, adding that the house used to be an IDF post, but is now standing empty.
Earlier on Sunday, the residents of the Machpelah House presented the Civil Administration with the deed of the house, which has to be approved by Defense Minister Ehud Barak.
Likud ministers are scheduled to convene Monday in order to discuss the transaction.
"We are happy that they didn't leave the decision up to Barak, who is the one who forcefully evicted the house of peace. We hope that the deal will be approved tomorrow and we can celebrate Passover with the rest of Israel," said the residents of the Machpelah house.
On Monday, 2nd April, Palestinian sources announced the death of Rashad Deeb, a 28 year-old Palestinian who sustained serious injuries after being shot in his home by Israeli forces in Ramoun village, east of Ramallah on Tuesday, March, 27.
Israeli forces raided the home of the Deeb family, and shot Rashad and his two brothers Akram and Anwar. Soldiers arrested and transferred them to Israeli hospitals. Doctors described Rashad's health condition as critical while his two brothers remained in stable condition.
Israeli forces claimed that a soldier was wounded during the house raid after he was stabbed, and was transferred to an Israeli hospital for treatment.
In a separate incident, Hebrew sources claim that a Palestinian youth hit a settler in his seventies with an axe to his head near the Damascus gate and escaped.
The same sources said that Israeli forces have begun a search party, looking for the Palestinian youth.
The settler was transferred to Hadassah hospital in Western Jerusalem for treatment and is in stable condition.
1 apr 2012
Jewish settlers batter Palestinian citizens including two women
Jewish settlers attacked and battered four Palestinians from Salfit city in the road between Salfit and Ramallah provinces on Saturday, local sources said.
They said that the four, two men and two women, were collecting wild plants in the area when they were assaulted by the settlers with batons and iron bars.
The sources said that one of the four was badly hit in his head and suffered serious injuries. They said that one of the women had her right hand broken along with her left hand fingers. The other two suffered minor injuries and were all hospitalized.
Palestinians, leftists barricade themselves inside Hebron house
Group protests entrance of settlers into Machpelah House, two detained by police forces. Likud ministers to decide fate of disputed house on Monday.
Security forces on Sunday evening detained two out of some 30 protesters who barricaded themselves inside an abandoned house near the Shavei Hebron yeshiva in Hebron.
The group, which included some 30 Palestinians and left wing activists, marched toward the Romano house, where the yeshiva is located, in protest of several dozen settlers who barricaded themselves in a Hebron house last week, claiming they purchased it from its Palestinian owner.
The settlers claim that they have all the legal documents attesting to the purchase of what has been dubbed the "Machpelah House."
Police and IDF forces encircled the barricaded house and declared it a restricted military zone. Shortly after, the protesters dispersed and police forces detained two activists.
"We broke into the house to expose the double standard of the Israeli legal system," said Issa Amar, one of the Palestinian activists who was arrested.
"On Thursday settlers took over a house in Hebron, but no one cleared them out. We weren’t armed – we entered the house legally," Amar noted, adding that the house used to be an IDF post, but is now standing empty.
Earlier on Sunday, the residents of the Machpelah House presented the Civil Administration with the deed of the house, which has to be approved by Defense Minister Ehud Barak.
Likud ministers are scheduled to convene Monday in order to discuss the transaction.
"We are happy that they didn't leave the decision up to Barak, who is the one who forcefully evicted the house of peace. We hope that the deal will be approved tomorrow and we can celebrate Passover with the rest of Israel," said the residents of the Machpelah house.