12 july 2012
Israelis Write Anti-Arab Slogans on Property near Hebron
Israeli settlers Thursday spray-painted anti-Arab graffiti on Palestinian tents in Khirbet Susiya, a locale in the south of Hebron, according to local sources.
Ratib al-Jabour, coordinator of the Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements in the southern West Bank city of Hebron, told WAFA that settlers wrote offensive slogans on tents and water tanks, inciting revenge against Arabs and calling to expel them.
He said residents in Susiya are regularly harassed by Israeli settlers and soldiers, including threats of house demolition and banning farmers from working in their land and shepherds from herding their sheep.
UN confirms rise in settler attacks on Palestinians
The UN and NGOs confirmed that Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians have risen sharply, due to friction between both sides and the Israeli settlers' desire to intimidate or take revenge.
"Last year, the number of settler attacks resulting in Palestinian casualties and property damage increased by more than a third; since 2009 it increased by nearly 150%," revealed by a joint statement signed by the UN High Commissioner for Human rights, the UN children fund UNICEF, the Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Palestine and Israel, Israeli NGOs Yesh Din and B'Tselem and Palestinian NGO Al-Haq.
"There are two distinct phenomena," B'Tselem director Jessica Montell told a joint news conference with representatives of the other groups in Ramallah.
She cited "the price tag phenomenon which is actually related to settlers feeling threatened when there are military measures against settlements."
Furthermore, "violence is a means of displacing Palestinians and expanding the settlement in a very explicit way," she added.
Participants at the news conference denounced the Israeli authorities' attitude and the de-facto impunity enjoyed by perpetrators, and urged them to take responsibility as the occupying power.
More than 90 percent of the complaints filed against settlers in recent years have not been addressed, according to the United Nations.
"From the soldier on the ground and all the way up through the military, the police and the government, a much higher priority is given to Palestinian violence than to violence against
Palestinians," Montell lamented.
More than 340,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank and about 200,000 in settlement neighborhoods in occupied and annexed east Jerusalem, among some 2.6 million Palestinians.
Israeli settler violence increases in Palestine: UN agencies, NGOs
Israelis Write Anti-Arab Slogans on Property near Hebron
Israeli settlers Thursday spray-painted anti-Arab graffiti on Palestinian tents in Khirbet Susiya, a locale in the south of Hebron, according to local sources.
Ratib al-Jabour, coordinator of the Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements in the southern West Bank city of Hebron, told WAFA that settlers wrote offensive slogans on tents and water tanks, inciting revenge against Arabs and calling to expel them.
He said residents in Susiya are regularly harassed by Israeli settlers and soldiers, including threats of house demolition and banning farmers from working in their land and shepherds from herding their sheep.
UN confirms rise in settler attacks on Palestinians
The UN and NGOs confirmed that Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians have risen sharply, due to friction between both sides and the Israeli settlers' desire to intimidate or take revenge.
"Last year, the number of settler attacks resulting in Palestinian casualties and property damage increased by more than a third; since 2009 it increased by nearly 150%," revealed by a joint statement signed by the UN High Commissioner for Human rights, the UN children fund UNICEF, the Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Palestine and Israel, Israeli NGOs Yesh Din and B'Tselem and Palestinian NGO Al-Haq.
"There are two distinct phenomena," B'Tselem director Jessica Montell told a joint news conference with representatives of the other groups in Ramallah.
She cited "the price tag phenomenon which is actually related to settlers feeling threatened when there are military measures against settlements."
Furthermore, "violence is a means of displacing Palestinians and expanding the settlement in a very explicit way," she added.
Participants at the news conference denounced the Israeli authorities' attitude and the de-facto impunity enjoyed by perpetrators, and urged them to take responsibility as the occupying power.
More than 90 percent of the complaints filed against settlers in recent years have not been addressed, according to the United Nations.
"From the soldier on the ground and all the way up through the military, the police and the government, a much higher priority is given to Palestinian violence than to violence against
Palestinians," Montell lamented.
More than 340,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank and about 200,000 in settlement neighborhoods in occupied and annexed east Jerusalem, among some 2.6 million Palestinians.
Israeli settler violence increases in Palestine: UN agencies, NGOs
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Israeli settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem) has increased sharply since 2009, says a group of UN agencies and NGOs.
“Last year, the number of settler attacks resulting in Palestinian casualties and property damage increased by more than a third; since 2009 it increased by nearly 150 percent,” said a July 11 joint statement issued by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI), the Palestinian NGO Al-Haq and the Israeli NGOs Yesh Din and B’Tselem. Jessica Montell, the director of B’Tselem, said in a joint press conference with representatives of the other groups in the West Bank city of |
Ramallah on Wednesday that there were “two distinct phenomena” regarding the issue.
The first was the “price tag phenomenon” and the second was “displacing Palestinians” and expanding the illegal settlements in “a very explicit way.”
Pauline Nunu of the EAPPI also stated that the Israeli settlement expansion is “scaring the Palestinians and threatening them and forcing them to leave their community so that the settlers will take over the land.”
According to the UN figures, over 90 percent of complaints filed against Israeli settlers have not been addressed in recent years.
The participants at the Wednesday press conference also censured the Tel Aviv regime over the issue of settler violence. Illegal Israeli settlers often assault the Palestinians or vandalize their properties in the occupied territories.
On June 17, an Israeli settler shot dead two Palestinians in the city of al-Khalil in the southern West Bank.
More than half a million Israelis live in over 120 illegal settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem).
10 july 2012
AL-KHALIL: Israeli military forcefully shuts down Old City
On 10 July the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) entered the old city of Hebron without warning or explanation, and with great force shut down every shop in the old market (suuq).
At 16:50, after twenty minutes of searching shops and tunnels, the IDF ordered every shopkeeper in H2* from Bab il Baledeyya to the Mosque gate to close within five minutes and evacuate the area. They also detonated percussion grenades at close range to shopkeepers and pedestrians whom they had trapped in the narrow streets of the suuq and searched many homes.
At 16:30, two members of the Christian Peacemaker Teams on regular patrol witnessed approximately forty IDF soldiers enter the old city through the Ibrahimi Mosque checkpoint. The soldiers searched shops and the upper and lower tunnels in a tactical parade. Twenty soldiers quickly moved into TIPH Park. There they cornered a Palestinian man, trapped him inside a concrete structure and detained him. Other soldiers moved north, yelled and gave commands to shopkeepers and pedestrians throughout the suuq, while they continued to search shops and tunnels.
The CPT members monitored and recorded the action and moved freely for a time. Then the IDF forced the CPT team and other pedestrians north and instructed the shopkeepers to close. The CPT members walked to the north end of the suuq to find another forty to fifty soldiers engaged in the same tactics as those on the southern end of the suuq. The soldiers at the north end of the suuq blocked the exit and ordered all in the suuq to evacuate through the south checkpoint.
Without warning the IDF threw a percussion grenade into the crowd and it exploded less than five meters from one CPT member. Panic and chaos ensued in the narrow corridor as the crowd pushed south. Within a minute of the first percussion grenade, a second exploded to the south pushing pedestrians north. Soldiers trapped over one hundred shopkeepers and shoppers, both local and international, in the suuq with nowhere to go. Suddenly they released all of them allowing them to exit at either end.
Over the next hour IDF soldiers searched many local homes. Witnesses said they threw a percussion grenade into each home before entering. Once the suuq was empty the IDF blocked local residents’ access to their homes in the Suuq. At 18:15 the IDF began retreating into the base at Bab I Baledeyya. As they did, the shopkeepers detained by the IDF on the south of the suuq came flooding out of the north end and dispersed to their homes for the night. The assault ended by 18:30 as the soldiers retreated to their barracks. CPT is not aware of any arrests during the assault. “This seemed very much like a high intensity training exercise at the expense of the Palestinian people,” one CPT member commented.
*In H2, a portion of Al-Khalil (Hebron) that includes the heart of the Old City, the Israeli military restricts the movement of more than 30,000 Palestinians while allowing 500 Jewish settlers to move freely.
IOF soldiers close Old City in Al-Khalil
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) closed the Old City and commercial stores in Al-Khalil on Tuesday night after confrontations between citizens and IOF soldiers.
Issa Amre, an activist in the Old City, said that IOF soldiers blocked traffic in and out of the Old City, explaining that the soldiers closed the neighborhood after Jewish settlers threw stones at Palestinians who responded likewise.
Amre said that panic spread in the market after IOF soldiers fired rubber bullets and gas canisters inside the marketplace.
He said that many citizens suffered breathing difficulty while a teenage girl was wounded when a gas canister directly hit her hand.
Jewish settlers attack Palestinian vehicles in Al-Khalil
Dozens of Jewish settlers attacked Palestinian vehicles last night at the northern entrance to Al-Khalil city. Local sources told the PIC that dozens of settlers intercepted Palestinian cars at Nabi Yunis and attacked them with stones and batons.
They said that many window shields were smashed in the attack, adding that Israeli army and police forces were in the area but did not interfere to stop the attack.
20 Jewish settlers roam Aqsa plazas
Twenty Jewish settlers stormed the Aqsa mosque plazas on Tuesday morning amidst heavy Israeli security protection.
The Quds media center said that the entire holy site was monitored by Israeli soldiers.
The center said that the settlers toured the plazas starting with the Islamic museum area facing the Maghareba gate then roamed the other plazas.
Zionist provocative march in Nazareth on Sunday
Jewish extremists plan to protest in the Palestinian city of Nazareth, within the territories occupied in 1948, next week, in an attempt to incite against Palestinians refusing military service in the occupation army.
Extremist activists headed by MK Michal Ben-Ari of the "National Union" radical party, and the right-wing extremist activist Baruch Marzel said that they would organize a demonstration in the city of Nazareth, to demand "equality in bearing the burden and national service by Arabs," with about 80 people in participation.
The march is going to be held under police protection after granting the organizers the permission to demonstrate in the city of Nazereth, noting that hundreds of police forces will be deployed along the march to avoid friction with the Palestinians, according to a statement issued by the Israeli police.
Popular committee in the city of Nazereth, including different national parties and figures, called on the Arab citizens in Nazereth to address the Israeli right wing demonstration.
It is noteworthy that many of the clashes have occurred after Jewish extremists had deliberately organized provocative demonstrations in the Palestinian neighborhoods under police protection.
Jewish settlers storm Jericho to pray in synagogue
Large numbers of Israeli occupation forces (IOF) were deployed in Jericho to protect 15 Jewish settlers who visited a synagogue in the city.
Local sources told the PIC reporter on Tuesday that the settlers repeat their visit to the synagogue, called Naran, every now and then under IOF protection.
The sources noted that PA security disappears from the streets of the city shortly before the arrival of those escorted settlers.
9 july 2012
Israeli panel backs legalizing settler outposts
A government-appointed committee on Monday proposed granting official status to dozens of unauthorized settler outposts in the West Bank, challenging the world view that Israeli settlement there is illegal.
The non-binding legal opinion, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had sought, could be used by the right-wing leader to address criticism at home and abroad of his declared plans to build more homes for Jews on land Palestinians want for a state.
Three months ago, his governing coalition drew Palestinian and international condemnation when it retroactively legalized three West Bank outposts built without official sanction.
But the panel, chaired by a former Israeli Supreme Court justice who has written pro-settlement opinions from the bench, reaffirmed Israel's long-held view that the West Bank is not occupied territory and that settling Jews there is legal.
The opinion, yet to be formally accepted by the government and swiftly disputed by the Palestinians, flew in the face of a World Court ruling that all settlements are illegal because of their location on occupied land.
The Israeli committee disputed that ruling, arguing Israel's control of the West Bank does not constitute occupation as no country had sovereignty over the territory when it was captured from Jordan in a 1967 war.
"Therefore, according to international law, Israelis have the legal right to settle in Judea and Samaria and the establishment of settlements cannot, in and of itself, be considered to be illegal," it said, using the Biblical names for the West Bank.
Jordan captured the West Bank, which had been part of British-mandated Palestine, in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war and annexed it in a move that never won international recognition.
Israel has built some 120 settlements in the West Bank. Dozens of unauthorized outposts, which past Israeli governments had pledged to remove, have also gone up in the territory.
PALESTINIAN ANGER
Palestinians say the enclaves will deny them a viable and contiguous state, a view that has won wide international support. Their peace talks with Israel collapsed in 2010 over the settlement issue.
"All settlements are illegal according to international law and international resolutions," Nabil Abu Rdeineh, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said of the committee's report.
"The Israeli government must cease settlement activity and curb settler attacks and adhere to international resolutions if it wants to achieve peace," Abu Rdeineh added. Addressing the issue of unsanctioned settlement outposts, the committee echoed a 2005 government report in determining that they had been established "with the knowledge, encouragement and tacit agreement of the most senior political level".
But unlike the 2005 document, which said quiet government support and funding for unauthorized settlements were illegal, the new report recommended expanding them.
The time had come, it said, to complete formal "planning and zoning procedures" and to set the "municipal jurisdiction" of each outpost, taking into consideration their growing populations.
"Pending completion of those proceedings and examination of the possibility of granting valid building permits, the state is advised to avoid carrying out demolition orders," the panel said.
Yariv Oppenheimer of the anti-settlement group Peace Now said the panel had "delivered the goods" for the Israeli right.
"The legal world is a wonderful one, just choose a position and you will always be able to find a legal expert who can defend it," he said on Army Radio. "The committee has forgotten that there are 2.5 million stateless Palestinians under Israeli military rule."
'Government must legalize settlements'
Committee headed by Justice Edmond Levy says 'Israel not occupation force'; State must 'ease land acquisition for Jews residing in Judea and Samaria'.
Israel must legalize the majority of illegal West Bank outposts, a committee appointed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to review the legal status of such communities recommended, Ynet learned Monday.
The panel, headed by Supreme Court Justice (Ret.) Edmond Levy, also ruled that the State must devise ways to "ease land acquisition and zoning protocols for Jews residing in Judea and Samaria."
The committee's recommendations were submitted to Netanyahu in June, but have yet to be made public.
The Levy Committee, formed in January and comprised of Levy, Tel Aviv District Court Judge (Ret.) Tehiya Shapira and Dr. Alan Baker an international law expert, who was part of the team that devised the Oslo Accords, met harsh criticism from the Left, which claimed it was biased.
The committee's findings stand to significantly change the legal reality in the West Bank, especially when compared to the 2005 Sasson Report on construction in the West Bank, which deemed 120 outposts as illegal.
Tackling the issue of sovereignty, the Levy Committee ruled that in its operations in the West Bank, "Israel does not meet the criteria of 'military occupation' as defined under international law."
The ruling is based on the fact that "no other legal entity has ever had its sovereignty over the area cemented under international law," the committee said, adding that the latter included Jordan, which ruled the area prior to the Six Day War.
West Bank settlements are legal since that is no provision in the international law that deems that having Jewish population in the area is illegal, the report added.
The committee further noted that in ruling over the latter, it did favor legal opinions submitted by right-wing organizations over those presented by Peace Now and Yesh Din and B'Tselem.
'Settlements formed at State's bidding'
As for the matter of Israeli construction in the West Bank – and especially the question of illegal outpost – the committee ruled that the State must find a way to legalize and regulate the construction.
West Bank settlements and outposts were created as the State's bidding, the report said, and the settlement movement was encouraged to continue its mission.
The report further urges the government to regulate the outposts' municipal status, enable natural growth, accelerate the regulation of zoning and planning and refrain from executing any demolition orders pending further legal review.
Contradicting current government policy, the committee also stressed that the Civil Administration must allow private construction within existing communities' limits; including in areas where there is IDF presence.
Justice Levy criticized the "lack of clear government direction and policy" in regards to West Bank settlements.
"The conduct we discovered vis-à-vis the Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria is unbecoming of a nation that has made the rule of law one of its primary objectives," he wrote.
Still, the committee's recommendations are not mandating. Netanyahu is likely to ask the Ministerial Committee on Settlements to review the report.
Teen settlers 'stone car near Bethlehem'
A group of teenage settlers threw stones at a Palestinian man driving in the southern West Bank early Monday, smashing his windshield and causing moderate injuries, a local committee spokesman said.
Ibrahim Khalil Sabarnah, 35, was driving near Elazar settlement, built on land belonging to Palestinians in al-Khader, when five teens hurled stones at him, anti-wall and settlements committee spokesman Muhammad Ayyad Awad said.
Sabarneh's hand was injured after the windshield smashed, Awad said. He said Israeli security officials stationed at Elazar did not intervene.
Human rights organization: Settlers release wild boars to attack Palestinians
The Arab Organization for Human Rights in Britain said that wild boars have been released by the Israelis into Palestinian villages in an attempt to force the Palestinian residents to leave their lands.
According to a report issued by the Organization on Monday July 9, the Israelis have been raising the wild boars in large numbers in the settlements, so they can release them in the evening into Palestinian residential areas to destroy agricultural crops, to attack the citizens and terrorize the children.
"This weapon (the wild boars) has been used by the settlers for over eight years," stated the report, adding that the occupation forces have been refusing to provide the local authorities with the means to fight them.
The Organization's statement also revealed that the settlers have been burning the crops, uprooting the olive trees, shooting the civilians and occupying the houses and the lands of Palestinians, while guarded and protected by the Israeli soldiers.
It further noted that: "The elimination of these boars need trained crews familiar with using means to control them … However, the occupation authorities have been deliberately and purposefully refusing to provide any assistance."
Palestinian hurt in hit-and-run near Hebron
Muhammad Abdul Mahareq, 14, sustained injuries and his left leg was broken after a settler struck him with his car and drove off in the Susiya area south of Hebron, medics said Monday.
Nasser Qabaja, an official in the Red Crescent, said Marareq was moderately injured and was taken to the Al-Ahli hospital for treatment.
The child told ambulance officials that a settler struck him and drove off.
More than 200 soldiers, settlers storm Aqsa mosque
More than 200 Israeli soldiers, in uniform, and Jewish settlers stormed the holy Aqsa mosque on Monday in the company of hundreds of tourists.
The Palestinians-48 website said that the settlers and soldiers entered the Aqsa through Bab Al-Maghareba gate and provocatively roamed the mosque’s plazas.
It said that the soldiers threatened Palestinian children inside the site against approaching the tourists.
Jewish settlers and soldiers in uniform have recently escalated their storming of the Aqsa mosque while Palestinian worshippers are barred from entry or harassed at its gates.
8 july 2012
Incitement case against Safed rabbi dropped
The first was the “price tag phenomenon” and the second was “displacing Palestinians” and expanding the illegal settlements in “a very explicit way.”
Pauline Nunu of the EAPPI also stated that the Israeli settlement expansion is “scaring the Palestinians and threatening them and forcing them to leave their community so that the settlers will take over the land.”
According to the UN figures, over 90 percent of complaints filed against Israeli settlers have not been addressed in recent years.
The participants at the Wednesday press conference also censured the Tel Aviv regime over the issue of settler violence. Illegal Israeli settlers often assault the Palestinians or vandalize their properties in the occupied territories.
On June 17, an Israeli settler shot dead two Palestinians in the city of al-Khalil in the southern West Bank.
More than half a million Israelis live in over 120 illegal settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem).
10 july 2012
AL-KHALIL: Israeli military forcefully shuts down Old City
On 10 July the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) entered the old city of Hebron without warning or explanation, and with great force shut down every shop in the old market (suuq).
At 16:50, after twenty minutes of searching shops and tunnels, the IDF ordered every shopkeeper in H2* from Bab il Baledeyya to the Mosque gate to close within five minutes and evacuate the area. They also detonated percussion grenades at close range to shopkeepers and pedestrians whom they had trapped in the narrow streets of the suuq and searched many homes.
At 16:30, two members of the Christian Peacemaker Teams on regular patrol witnessed approximately forty IDF soldiers enter the old city through the Ibrahimi Mosque checkpoint. The soldiers searched shops and the upper and lower tunnels in a tactical parade. Twenty soldiers quickly moved into TIPH Park. There they cornered a Palestinian man, trapped him inside a concrete structure and detained him. Other soldiers moved north, yelled and gave commands to shopkeepers and pedestrians throughout the suuq, while they continued to search shops and tunnels.
The CPT members monitored and recorded the action and moved freely for a time. Then the IDF forced the CPT team and other pedestrians north and instructed the shopkeepers to close. The CPT members walked to the north end of the suuq to find another forty to fifty soldiers engaged in the same tactics as those on the southern end of the suuq. The soldiers at the north end of the suuq blocked the exit and ordered all in the suuq to evacuate through the south checkpoint.
Without warning the IDF threw a percussion grenade into the crowd and it exploded less than five meters from one CPT member. Panic and chaos ensued in the narrow corridor as the crowd pushed south. Within a minute of the first percussion grenade, a second exploded to the south pushing pedestrians north. Soldiers trapped over one hundred shopkeepers and shoppers, both local and international, in the suuq with nowhere to go. Suddenly they released all of them allowing them to exit at either end.
Over the next hour IDF soldiers searched many local homes. Witnesses said they threw a percussion grenade into each home before entering. Once the suuq was empty the IDF blocked local residents’ access to their homes in the Suuq. At 18:15 the IDF began retreating into the base at Bab I Baledeyya. As they did, the shopkeepers detained by the IDF on the south of the suuq came flooding out of the north end and dispersed to their homes for the night. The assault ended by 18:30 as the soldiers retreated to their barracks. CPT is not aware of any arrests during the assault. “This seemed very much like a high intensity training exercise at the expense of the Palestinian people,” one CPT member commented.
*In H2, a portion of Al-Khalil (Hebron) that includes the heart of the Old City, the Israeli military restricts the movement of more than 30,000 Palestinians while allowing 500 Jewish settlers to move freely.
IOF soldiers close Old City in Al-Khalil
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) closed the Old City and commercial stores in Al-Khalil on Tuesday night after confrontations between citizens and IOF soldiers.
Issa Amre, an activist in the Old City, said that IOF soldiers blocked traffic in and out of the Old City, explaining that the soldiers closed the neighborhood after Jewish settlers threw stones at Palestinians who responded likewise.
Amre said that panic spread in the market after IOF soldiers fired rubber bullets and gas canisters inside the marketplace.
He said that many citizens suffered breathing difficulty while a teenage girl was wounded when a gas canister directly hit her hand.
Jewish settlers attack Palestinian vehicles in Al-Khalil
Dozens of Jewish settlers attacked Palestinian vehicles last night at the northern entrance to Al-Khalil city. Local sources told the PIC that dozens of settlers intercepted Palestinian cars at Nabi Yunis and attacked them with stones and batons.
They said that many window shields were smashed in the attack, adding that Israeli army and police forces were in the area but did not interfere to stop the attack.
20 Jewish settlers roam Aqsa plazas
Twenty Jewish settlers stormed the Aqsa mosque plazas on Tuesday morning amidst heavy Israeli security protection.
The Quds media center said that the entire holy site was monitored by Israeli soldiers.
The center said that the settlers toured the plazas starting with the Islamic museum area facing the Maghareba gate then roamed the other plazas.
Zionist provocative march in Nazareth on Sunday
Jewish extremists plan to protest in the Palestinian city of Nazareth, within the territories occupied in 1948, next week, in an attempt to incite against Palestinians refusing military service in the occupation army.
Extremist activists headed by MK Michal Ben-Ari of the "National Union" radical party, and the right-wing extremist activist Baruch Marzel said that they would organize a demonstration in the city of Nazareth, to demand "equality in bearing the burden and national service by Arabs," with about 80 people in participation.
The march is going to be held under police protection after granting the organizers the permission to demonstrate in the city of Nazereth, noting that hundreds of police forces will be deployed along the march to avoid friction with the Palestinians, according to a statement issued by the Israeli police.
Popular committee in the city of Nazereth, including different national parties and figures, called on the Arab citizens in Nazereth to address the Israeli right wing demonstration.
It is noteworthy that many of the clashes have occurred after Jewish extremists had deliberately organized provocative demonstrations in the Palestinian neighborhoods under police protection.
Jewish settlers storm Jericho to pray in synagogue
Large numbers of Israeli occupation forces (IOF) were deployed in Jericho to protect 15 Jewish settlers who visited a synagogue in the city.
Local sources told the PIC reporter on Tuesday that the settlers repeat their visit to the synagogue, called Naran, every now and then under IOF protection.
The sources noted that PA security disappears from the streets of the city shortly before the arrival of those escorted settlers.
9 july 2012
Israeli panel backs legalizing settler outposts
A government-appointed committee on Monday proposed granting official status to dozens of unauthorized settler outposts in the West Bank, challenging the world view that Israeli settlement there is illegal.
The non-binding legal opinion, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had sought, could be used by the right-wing leader to address criticism at home and abroad of his declared plans to build more homes for Jews on land Palestinians want for a state.
Three months ago, his governing coalition drew Palestinian and international condemnation when it retroactively legalized three West Bank outposts built without official sanction.
But the panel, chaired by a former Israeli Supreme Court justice who has written pro-settlement opinions from the bench, reaffirmed Israel's long-held view that the West Bank is not occupied territory and that settling Jews there is legal.
The opinion, yet to be formally accepted by the government and swiftly disputed by the Palestinians, flew in the face of a World Court ruling that all settlements are illegal because of their location on occupied land.
The Israeli committee disputed that ruling, arguing Israel's control of the West Bank does not constitute occupation as no country had sovereignty over the territory when it was captured from Jordan in a 1967 war.
"Therefore, according to international law, Israelis have the legal right to settle in Judea and Samaria and the establishment of settlements cannot, in and of itself, be considered to be illegal," it said, using the Biblical names for the West Bank.
Jordan captured the West Bank, which had been part of British-mandated Palestine, in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war and annexed it in a move that never won international recognition.
Israel has built some 120 settlements in the West Bank. Dozens of unauthorized outposts, which past Israeli governments had pledged to remove, have also gone up in the territory.
PALESTINIAN ANGER
Palestinians say the enclaves will deny them a viable and contiguous state, a view that has won wide international support. Their peace talks with Israel collapsed in 2010 over the settlement issue.
"All settlements are illegal according to international law and international resolutions," Nabil Abu Rdeineh, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said of the committee's report.
"The Israeli government must cease settlement activity and curb settler attacks and adhere to international resolutions if it wants to achieve peace," Abu Rdeineh added. Addressing the issue of unsanctioned settlement outposts, the committee echoed a 2005 government report in determining that they had been established "with the knowledge, encouragement and tacit agreement of the most senior political level".
But unlike the 2005 document, which said quiet government support and funding for unauthorized settlements were illegal, the new report recommended expanding them.
The time had come, it said, to complete formal "planning and zoning procedures" and to set the "municipal jurisdiction" of each outpost, taking into consideration their growing populations.
"Pending completion of those proceedings and examination of the possibility of granting valid building permits, the state is advised to avoid carrying out demolition orders," the panel said.
Yariv Oppenheimer of the anti-settlement group Peace Now said the panel had "delivered the goods" for the Israeli right.
"The legal world is a wonderful one, just choose a position and you will always be able to find a legal expert who can defend it," he said on Army Radio. "The committee has forgotten that there are 2.5 million stateless Palestinians under Israeli military rule."
'Government must legalize settlements'
Committee headed by Justice Edmond Levy says 'Israel not occupation force'; State must 'ease land acquisition for Jews residing in Judea and Samaria'.
Israel must legalize the majority of illegal West Bank outposts, a committee appointed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to review the legal status of such communities recommended, Ynet learned Monday.
The panel, headed by Supreme Court Justice (Ret.) Edmond Levy, also ruled that the State must devise ways to "ease land acquisition and zoning protocols for Jews residing in Judea and Samaria."
The committee's recommendations were submitted to Netanyahu in June, but have yet to be made public.
The Levy Committee, formed in January and comprised of Levy, Tel Aviv District Court Judge (Ret.) Tehiya Shapira and Dr. Alan Baker an international law expert, who was part of the team that devised the Oslo Accords, met harsh criticism from the Left, which claimed it was biased.
The committee's findings stand to significantly change the legal reality in the West Bank, especially when compared to the 2005 Sasson Report on construction in the West Bank, which deemed 120 outposts as illegal.
Tackling the issue of sovereignty, the Levy Committee ruled that in its operations in the West Bank, "Israel does not meet the criteria of 'military occupation' as defined under international law."
The ruling is based on the fact that "no other legal entity has ever had its sovereignty over the area cemented under international law," the committee said, adding that the latter included Jordan, which ruled the area prior to the Six Day War.
West Bank settlements are legal since that is no provision in the international law that deems that having Jewish population in the area is illegal, the report added.
The committee further noted that in ruling over the latter, it did favor legal opinions submitted by right-wing organizations over those presented by Peace Now and Yesh Din and B'Tselem.
'Settlements formed at State's bidding'
As for the matter of Israeli construction in the West Bank – and especially the question of illegal outpost – the committee ruled that the State must find a way to legalize and regulate the construction.
West Bank settlements and outposts were created as the State's bidding, the report said, and the settlement movement was encouraged to continue its mission.
The report further urges the government to regulate the outposts' municipal status, enable natural growth, accelerate the regulation of zoning and planning and refrain from executing any demolition orders pending further legal review.
Contradicting current government policy, the committee also stressed that the Civil Administration must allow private construction within existing communities' limits; including in areas where there is IDF presence.
Justice Levy criticized the "lack of clear government direction and policy" in regards to West Bank settlements.
"The conduct we discovered vis-à-vis the Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria is unbecoming of a nation that has made the rule of law one of its primary objectives," he wrote.
Still, the committee's recommendations are not mandating. Netanyahu is likely to ask the Ministerial Committee on Settlements to review the report.
Teen settlers 'stone car near Bethlehem'
A group of teenage settlers threw stones at a Palestinian man driving in the southern West Bank early Monday, smashing his windshield and causing moderate injuries, a local committee spokesman said.
Ibrahim Khalil Sabarnah, 35, was driving near Elazar settlement, built on land belonging to Palestinians in al-Khader, when five teens hurled stones at him, anti-wall and settlements committee spokesman Muhammad Ayyad Awad said.
Sabarneh's hand was injured after the windshield smashed, Awad said. He said Israeli security officials stationed at Elazar did not intervene.
Human rights organization: Settlers release wild boars to attack Palestinians
The Arab Organization for Human Rights in Britain said that wild boars have been released by the Israelis into Palestinian villages in an attempt to force the Palestinian residents to leave their lands.
According to a report issued by the Organization on Monday July 9, the Israelis have been raising the wild boars in large numbers in the settlements, so they can release them in the evening into Palestinian residential areas to destroy agricultural crops, to attack the citizens and terrorize the children.
"This weapon (the wild boars) has been used by the settlers for over eight years," stated the report, adding that the occupation forces have been refusing to provide the local authorities with the means to fight them.
The Organization's statement also revealed that the settlers have been burning the crops, uprooting the olive trees, shooting the civilians and occupying the houses and the lands of Palestinians, while guarded and protected by the Israeli soldiers.
It further noted that: "The elimination of these boars need trained crews familiar with using means to control them … However, the occupation authorities have been deliberately and purposefully refusing to provide any assistance."
Palestinian hurt in hit-and-run near Hebron
Muhammad Abdul Mahareq, 14, sustained injuries and his left leg was broken after a settler struck him with his car and drove off in the Susiya area south of Hebron, medics said Monday.
Nasser Qabaja, an official in the Red Crescent, said Marareq was moderately injured and was taken to the Al-Ahli hospital for treatment.
The child told ambulance officials that a settler struck him and drove off.
More than 200 soldiers, settlers storm Aqsa mosque
More than 200 Israeli soldiers, in uniform, and Jewish settlers stormed the holy Aqsa mosque on Monday in the company of hundreds of tourists.
The Palestinians-48 website said that the settlers and soldiers entered the Aqsa through Bab Al-Maghareba gate and provocatively roamed the mosque’s plazas.
It said that the soldiers threatened Palestinian children inside the site against approaching the tourists.
Jewish settlers and soldiers in uniform have recently escalated their storming of the Aqsa mosque while Palestinian worshippers are barred from entry or harassed at its gates.
8 july 2012
Incitement case against Safed rabbi dropped
Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu
AG halts probe into Rabbi Eliyahu's alleged anti-Arab comments due to lack of evidence.
Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein has decided to dismiss the case against Safed Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, who was being investigated over some inciting remarks that were attributed to him in the media.
Last November, the attorney general had ordered a probe into the rabbi on suspicion of incitement to racism after he allegedly told reporters that the Arab culture is cruel and is predisposed towards violence and theft.
The comments were purportedly said in support of an edict issued by Eliyahu and 50 other rabbis, warning followers against renting or selling homes to anyone who isn't Jewish.
Weinstein decided to throw out the case at the request of the State Prosecutor's Office after investigators found no evidence that the quotes "correctly reflected the statements that were actually made."
Among other leads, the investigators probed the journalists who quoted Eliyahu; none had recorded his speech. According to the statement, some reporters admitted that they could have tweaked the content.
The prosecution therefore could not rule out the possibility of a discrepancy that could have occurred between Eliyahu's actual remarks and they way they were quoted.
Weinstein also noted that Eliyahu and the other rabbis responsible for the real estate-related ban released a statement claiming that their decree was not meant to come off as discriminatory against non-Jews.
"The State of Israel is obligated to treat all its citizens equally," the rabbis' statement read. "This approach is based in the Torah and the law."
Attorney Aviad Hacohen, who represents Eliyahu, told Ynet that the attorney general's decision "echoes our stance that a conflict of opinions, no matter how extreme, should not be handled by the criminal system."
Settlers, intelligence agents inside Aqsa
Jewish settlers and agents of the Israeli intelligence stormed the holy Aqsa mosque on Sunday and strolled in its plazas.
The Aqsa foundation said in a statement that the mosque was receiving hundreds of children from 1948 occupied Palestine on the same day.
It said that the visit was included in their summer camps’ program, noting that 54 coaches carried the children from various northern areas of occupied Palestine.
Jerusalem children and women are also present inside the Aqsa as part of projects to maintain constant presence in the holy site in face of the repeated settlers’ storming.
Jewish settler stabs Palestinian shepherd
A Jewish settler stabbed a Palestinian shepherd from Aqraba village, south of Nablus, on Saturday, eyewitnesses said.
They said that a group of settlers attacked Palestinian farmers and shepherds while tending to their land and rearing their sheep.
The settlers stabbed the shepherd and dozens of his sheep and cattle heads, the witnesses said, adding that the shepherd suffered moderate wounds.
Settlers routinely attack villages to the south of Nablus.
Settlers and soldiers attack village near Nablus, injuring 5
AG halts probe into Rabbi Eliyahu's alleged anti-Arab comments due to lack of evidence.
Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein has decided to dismiss the case against Safed Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, who was being investigated over some inciting remarks that were attributed to him in the media.
Last November, the attorney general had ordered a probe into the rabbi on suspicion of incitement to racism after he allegedly told reporters that the Arab culture is cruel and is predisposed towards violence and theft.
The comments were purportedly said in support of an edict issued by Eliyahu and 50 other rabbis, warning followers against renting or selling homes to anyone who isn't Jewish.
Weinstein decided to throw out the case at the request of the State Prosecutor's Office after investigators found no evidence that the quotes "correctly reflected the statements that were actually made."
Among other leads, the investigators probed the journalists who quoted Eliyahu; none had recorded his speech. According to the statement, some reporters admitted that they could have tweaked the content.
The prosecution therefore could not rule out the possibility of a discrepancy that could have occurred between Eliyahu's actual remarks and they way they were quoted.
Weinstein also noted that Eliyahu and the other rabbis responsible for the real estate-related ban released a statement claiming that their decree was not meant to come off as discriminatory against non-Jews.
"The State of Israel is obligated to treat all its citizens equally," the rabbis' statement read. "This approach is based in the Torah and the law."
Attorney Aviad Hacohen, who represents Eliyahu, told Ynet that the attorney general's decision "echoes our stance that a conflict of opinions, no matter how extreme, should not be handled by the criminal system."
Settlers, intelligence agents inside Aqsa
Jewish settlers and agents of the Israeli intelligence stormed the holy Aqsa mosque on Sunday and strolled in its plazas.
The Aqsa foundation said in a statement that the mosque was receiving hundreds of children from 1948 occupied Palestine on the same day.
It said that the visit was included in their summer camps’ program, noting that 54 coaches carried the children from various northern areas of occupied Palestine.
Jerusalem children and women are also present inside the Aqsa as part of projects to maintain constant presence in the holy site in face of the repeated settlers’ storming.
Jewish settler stabs Palestinian shepherd
A Jewish settler stabbed a Palestinian shepherd from Aqraba village, south of Nablus, on Saturday, eyewitnesses said.
They said that a group of settlers attacked Palestinian farmers and shepherds while tending to their land and rearing their sheep.
The settlers stabbed the shepherd and dozens of his sheep and cattle heads, the witnesses said, adding that the shepherd suffered moderate wounds.
Settlers routinely attack villages to the south of Nablus.
Settlers and soldiers attack village near Nablus, injuring 5
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On Saturday 7 July, 2012, the village of Yanoun, located 12km southeast
of Nablus, was attacked by illegal settlers from the illegal Itamar
settlement.
Five Palestinians were injured in the attack and large sections of agricultural land were set ablaze. The attack began at roughly 2pm. The illegal settlers descended on the village and began setting fire to sections of land and firing on sheep while they were grazing. In the course of the attack on Yanoun, 5 resident of Aqraba, (the neighbouring village) were injured to varying degrees. Two men, Ibrahim Hamid Ibrahim, and Adwan Rajih bini Naber were beaten by settlers, and |
another, Joudat Hamid Ibrahim was stabbed in the shoulder
after being beaten as well. When the Israeli Forces arrived, they
joined in the attacks, injuring two more.
Hakimun Ahmed Yusuf Bini Jaber, 42, was shot in the arm with live ammunition by an Israeli soldier and Ashraf Adel Hamid Ibrahim, 29, was shot in the back with a tear gas canister when the soldiers attempted to scatter villagers who were to aid the injured.
The villagers who were aiding the injured attempted to carry the injured men to ambulances, but Israeli soldiers blocked the roads and refused to let them through. The Israeli military and illegal settlers also stopped residents from putting out the fires.
The first ambulance to leave was reportedly stopped at Huwwara checkpoint en route to a hospital in Nablus. Two of the injured men were taken from the ambulance and held in Israeli custody for an undetermined period of time. The second and third ambulance were not allowed to depart with those wounded for two hours.
After the attacks had stopped, Israeli soldiers still held Adwan Rajih Bini Jaber captive, refusing to allow the ambulance carrying him to depart. Illegal settlers stood by heavily armed, protecting the fires that they had set to Palestinian land.
Nearing 6pm, illegal settlers and Israeli soldiers once again advanced on the Palestinians, as internationals gathered to show solidarity, which ending in the firing of tear gas canisters and live ammunition into the air.
Yanoun and its residents have been subject to attacks by illegal settlers from Itamar for many years. On October 19, 2002, there was a temporary mass exodus due to the harassment, drawing parallels with the refugees created in 1948.
The villagers returned little by little in the weeks following, with the help of peace activists from Ta’ayush & other groups but the village still suffers from violent attacks regardless.
7 july 2012
Official: Palestinian stabbed, shot in settler attack near Nablus
A Palestinian man was shot by Israeli forces in the northern West Bank on Saturday, after which a group of Israeli settlers stabbed him repeatedly, a Palestinian official said.
Jawdat Bani Jabir, 43, was shot in the face and the foot by soldiers in Yanun village, south of Nablus, governorate official Ghassan Daghlas told Ma'an.
A group of Israeli settlers who had descended into the village proceeded to stab him in several places, Daghlas added. Jabir's condition could not be immediately confirmed.
An Israeli army spokesman said he was looking into the incident.
Daghlas said the settlers had entered Yanun village, and fatally stabbed five cattle. He pointed out that the village depends on agriculture and livestock.
Villagers came out to defend their homes, the official added.
Yanun is surrounded by Israeli settler outposts, illegal under both international and Israeli law.
6 july 2012
EU parliament condemns Israel's violence against Palestinians
The European lawmakers have condemned acts of violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem).
In a resolution adopted by the European Parliament on Thursday, the lawmakers also urged Israel to bring the perpetrators of such acts to justice.
In recent years, extremist Israeli settlers in the West Bank have often assaulted Palestinians and vandalized their property. However, Tel Aviv rarely detains the assailants.
The parliament also called for "an immediate end to house demolitions, evictions and forced displacement of Palestinians."
Palestinians say that their efforts to construct a free and independent Palestinian state will prove fruitless as long as Israel continues to demolish Palestinians' homes.
Meanwhile, Tel Aviv was urged to stop its illegal settlement projects in the occupied territories. The resolution said the projects are "a major obstacle to peace efforts."
Israel occupied the West Bank as well as East al-Quds, considered by Palestinians as the capital of their homeland, during the 1967 Six-Day War.
European MPs condemn Israeli settlers' practices against Palestinians
The European Parliament condemned on Thursday the Israeli settlers' attacks and harassments against the Palestinian people in occupied Jerusalem and the West Bank
Settlers Seize Five Dunums of Land, Bethlehem
On Friday, 6th July, Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that a group of settlers seized five dunums belonged to Ali Khader Issa, 67, from al-Khader village, south of Bethlehem.
Coordinator of the Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlement, Ahmad Salah, said that a group of settlers seized a land in Ein Qasis area, west of the village, estimated by five dunums and placed a mobile house.
Salah also said that the Civil Administration informed the Palestinian owner that these five dunums are part of the Israel's lands, thus he is forbidden from entering or working in his land. He also said that Issa was always subjected to the Israeli harassments; previously the Israeli occupation forces uprooted 85 olive trees from his land, released their dogs and closed the agricultural route that leads to his agricultural land.
5 july 2012
The Netherlands block EU Report about Settler Violence
Hakimun Ahmed Yusuf Bini Jaber, 42, was shot in the arm with live ammunition by an Israeli soldier and Ashraf Adel Hamid Ibrahim, 29, was shot in the back with a tear gas canister when the soldiers attempted to scatter villagers who were to aid the injured.
The villagers who were aiding the injured attempted to carry the injured men to ambulances, but Israeli soldiers blocked the roads and refused to let them through. The Israeli military and illegal settlers also stopped residents from putting out the fires.
The first ambulance to leave was reportedly stopped at Huwwara checkpoint en route to a hospital in Nablus. Two of the injured men were taken from the ambulance and held in Israeli custody for an undetermined period of time. The second and third ambulance were not allowed to depart with those wounded for two hours.
After the attacks had stopped, Israeli soldiers still held Adwan Rajih Bini Jaber captive, refusing to allow the ambulance carrying him to depart. Illegal settlers stood by heavily armed, protecting the fires that they had set to Palestinian land.
Nearing 6pm, illegal settlers and Israeli soldiers once again advanced on the Palestinians, as internationals gathered to show solidarity, which ending in the firing of tear gas canisters and live ammunition into the air.
Yanoun and its residents have been subject to attacks by illegal settlers from Itamar for many years. On October 19, 2002, there was a temporary mass exodus due to the harassment, drawing parallels with the refugees created in 1948.
The villagers returned little by little in the weeks following, with the help of peace activists from Ta’ayush & other groups but the village still suffers from violent attacks regardless.
7 july 2012
Official: Palestinian stabbed, shot in settler attack near Nablus
A Palestinian man was shot by Israeli forces in the northern West Bank on Saturday, after which a group of Israeli settlers stabbed him repeatedly, a Palestinian official said.
Jawdat Bani Jabir, 43, was shot in the face and the foot by soldiers in Yanun village, south of Nablus, governorate official Ghassan Daghlas told Ma'an.
A group of Israeli settlers who had descended into the village proceeded to stab him in several places, Daghlas added. Jabir's condition could not be immediately confirmed.
An Israeli army spokesman said he was looking into the incident.
Daghlas said the settlers had entered Yanun village, and fatally stabbed five cattle. He pointed out that the village depends on agriculture and livestock.
Villagers came out to defend their homes, the official added.
Yanun is surrounded by Israeli settler outposts, illegal under both international and Israeli law.
6 july 2012
EU parliament condemns Israel's violence against Palestinians
The European lawmakers have condemned acts of violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem).
In a resolution adopted by the European Parliament on Thursday, the lawmakers also urged Israel to bring the perpetrators of such acts to justice.
In recent years, extremist Israeli settlers in the West Bank have often assaulted Palestinians and vandalized their property. However, Tel Aviv rarely detains the assailants.
The parliament also called for "an immediate end to house demolitions, evictions and forced displacement of Palestinians."
Palestinians say that their efforts to construct a free and independent Palestinian state will prove fruitless as long as Israel continues to demolish Palestinians' homes.
Meanwhile, Tel Aviv was urged to stop its illegal settlement projects in the occupied territories. The resolution said the projects are "a major obstacle to peace efforts."
Israel occupied the West Bank as well as East al-Quds, considered by Palestinians as the capital of their homeland, during the 1967 Six-Day War.
European MPs condemn Israeli settlers' practices against Palestinians
The European Parliament condemned on Thursday the Israeli settlers' attacks and harassments against the Palestinian people in occupied Jerusalem and the West Bank
Settlers Seize Five Dunums of Land, Bethlehem
On Friday, 6th July, Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that a group of settlers seized five dunums belonged to Ali Khader Issa, 67, from al-Khader village, south of Bethlehem.
Coordinator of the Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlement, Ahmad Salah, said that a group of settlers seized a land in Ein Qasis area, west of the village, estimated by five dunums and placed a mobile house.
Salah also said that the Civil Administration informed the Palestinian owner that these five dunums are part of the Israel's lands, thus he is forbidden from entering or working in his land. He also said that Issa was always subjected to the Israeli harassments; previously the Israeli occupation forces uprooted 85 olive trees from his land, released their dogs and closed the agricultural route that leads to his agricultural land.
5 july 2012
The Netherlands block EU Report about Settler Violence
Rosenthal
Today The Rights Forum released an internal EU report about the violence of Israeli settlers. As the sole EU country, the Netherlands recently blocked publication of the report “general reservation”. Because of this, Foreign Minister Rosenthal has to justify himself this evening in a parliamentary debate. Disclosure of the report serves an open and thorough public discussion of the implications of the Dutch Middle East policy, which is urgently desired.
The by The Netherlands blocked report is dated February 2012 and is an update of a report on settler violence that EU diplomats have drafted in April 2011. Report and update paint a shocking picture about the increase and severity of violence of settlers against Palestinian civilians and their property. The update about the year 2011 mentions that 411 incidents of settler violence occurred, a strong increase compared to 2010; that nearly ten thousand trees have been destroyed by settlers; and that the Israeli authorities so far fail to protect the Palestinian population.
The report (1) and update (2) can be read below. The “(*)” behind the title of the update refers to an important sentence at the end of the document: ‘NL places a general reserve on the document “- the reservation with which the Dutch government blocks the report at this time.
The Report and update have been leaked by unknowns through and reached the The Rights Forum indirectly. After publications in NRC Handelsblad and international newspapers, the opposition requested a parliamentary debate. This “public consultation” will be held tonight from 18.30 – 20.30 (Amsterdam Time) and can be followed by live stream on the internet. Also Dutch obstruction of another EU report will be on the agenda. Read also our press release and in-depth information in the file settler violence.
Settlers Cut Down 120 Olive Trees near Nablus
Israeli settlers Thursday cut down around 120 olive trees near the village of Yatma, south of Nablus, according to a local activist.
Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors settlement activities in the north of the West Bank, said settlers from the nearby settlement of Kefar Tappuach cut 120 olives in private Palestinian land. Settler violence against Palestinians and property in the West Bank has been strongly condemned by several world governments and international agencies.
Eghbariye: Israeli government backing settlers in their attacks
The Arab member of the Israeli parliament Dr. Afo Eghbariye has accused the Israeli government of backing the Jewish settlers in their attacks against Palestinians and their property.
Eghbariye said in a press release on Wednesday that the Netanyahu government was showing off its evacuation of Ulpana settlement outpost, built on Palestinian private land, while covertly supporting settlers to launch the so-called “Price Tag” attacks.
He said that the attacks, which included destroying cultivated land, burning mosques, and desecrating graves, were even launched in 1948 occupied Palestine.
The MP said that the settler gangs were assaulting Palestinians under the very eyes of the Israeli troops.
He said that the soldiers themselves attack Palestinian civilians, citing the kicking and beating of a 9-year-old Palestinian boy at the hands of Israeli border guards in Al-Khalil a few days ago and the killing of a 10-year-old boy in Bilin village and other crimes.
The Settlers of 'Rotem' Seize More Lands in the Northern Jordan Valley
Wednesday, 4th July, the settlers of 'Rotem', built on the Palestinian lands in the northern Jordan Valley, have established this morning foundations for new facilities outside the boundaries of the settlement.
The head of the Bedouin village council in the northern Jordan Valley, Aref Daraghmeh, said that this process of expansion had been done silently, without the announcement of tender offers or the announcement of confiscation of the lands which are included in this settlement and that this process had included foundations for new facilities.
Daraghmeh pointed out that the settlers of 'Rotem' had included new lands for their settlement and they had seized a hill nearby from the settlement and they had put a fence around it.
The lands that were seized are considered as one of the most fertile agricultural areas in the Jordan Valley in addition to being rich pastoral areas.
In the same context, our correspondent reported that the settlers of 'Bracha' built on the territory of Nablus, had expanded their settlement in the same way some time ago. Jewish settlers in Palestine: the most notorious squatters in the world.
Today The Rights Forum released an internal EU report about the violence of Israeli settlers. As the sole EU country, the Netherlands recently blocked publication of the report “general reservation”. Because of this, Foreign Minister Rosenthal has to justify himself this evening in a parliamentary debate. Disclosure of the report serves an open and thorough public discussion of the implications of the Dutch Middle East policy, which is urgently desired.
The by The Netherlands blocked report is dated February 2012 and is an update of a report on settler violence that EU diplomats have drafted in April 2011. Report and update paint a shocking picture about the increase and severity of violence of settlers against Palestinian civilians and their property. The update about the year 2011 mentions that 411 incidents of settler violence occurred, a strong increase compared to 2010; that nearly ten thousand trees have been destroyed by settlers; and that the Israeli authorities so far fail to protect the Palestinian population.
The report (1) and update (2) can be read below. The “(*)” behind the title of the update refers to an important sentence at the end of the document: ‘NL places a general reserve on the document “- the reservation with which the Dutch government blocks the report at this time.
The Report and update have been leaked by unknowns through and reached the The Rights Forum indirectly. After publications in NRC Handelsblad and international newspapers, the opposition requested a parliamentary debate. This “public consultation” will be held tonight from 18.30 – 20.30 (Amsterdam Time) and can be followed by live stream on the internet. Also Dutch obstruction of another EU report will be on the agenda. Read also our press release and in-depth information in the file settler violence.
Settlers Cut Down 120 Olive Trees near Nablus
Israeli settlers Thursday cut down around 120 olive trees near the village of Yatma, south of Nablus, according to a local activist.
Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors settlement activities in the north of the West Bank, said settlers from the nearby settlement of Kefar Tappuach cut 120 olives in private Palestinian land. Settler violence against Palestinians and property in the West Bank has been strongly condemned by several world governments and international agencies.
Eghbariye: Israeli government backing settlers in their attacks
The Arab member of the Israeli parliament Dr. Afo Eghbariye has accused the Israeli government of backing the Jewish settlers in their attacks against Palestinians and their property.
Eghbariye said in a press release on Wednesday that the Netanyahu government was showing off its evacuation of Ulpana settlement outpost, built on Palestinian private land, while covertly supporting settlers to launch the so-called “Price Tag” attacks.
He said that the attacks, which included destroying cultivated land, burning mosques, and desecrating graves, were even launched in 1948 occupied Palestine.
The MP said that the settler gangs were assaulting Palestinians under the very eyes of the Israeli troops.
He said that the soldiers themselves attack Palestinian civilians, citing the kicking and beating of a 9-year-old Palestinian boy at the hands of Israeli border guards in Al-Khalil a few days ago and the killing of a 10-year-old boy in Bilin village and other crimes.
The Settlers of 'Rotem' Seize More Lands in the Northern Jordan Valley
Wednesday, 4th July, the settlers of 'Rotem', built on the Palestinian lands in the northern Jordan Valley, have established this morning foundations for new facilities outside the boundaries of the settlement.
The head of the Bedouin village council in the northern Jordan Valley, Aref Daraghmeh, said that this process of expansion had been done silently, without the announcement of tender offers or the announcement of confiscation of the lands which are included in this settlement and that this process had included foundations for new facilities.
Daraghmeh pointed out that the settlers of 'Rotem' had included new lands for their settlement and they had seized a hill nearby from the settlement and they had put a fence around it.
The lands that were seized are considered as one of the most fertile agricultural areas in the Jordan Valley in addition to being rich pastoral areas.
In the same context, our correspondent reported that the settlers of 'Bracha' built on the territory of Nablus, had expanded their settlement in the same way some time ago. Jewish settlers in Palestine: the most notorious squatters in the world.
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Israeli settlers have been slowly nibbling away at Palestine's West Bank territory for four decades. 300,000 setllers now occupy outposts that range in size from plywood shacks to full-blown suburban housing complexes. Their abundance has grounded the much-ballyhooed two-state solution to a halt.
VICE correspondent Simon Ostrovsky travels from Tel Aviv to the remote West Bank outposts where young Israelis squat for the sake of their heritage. But first, Simon pops in for some quick counter-terrorism training with a member of Israel's Special Forces, just in case. Israeli settlers justify their expansion into the West Bank by digging up ancient artifacts that supposedly prove that they've occupied that patch of land for longer than the Palestinians. |
The twist is that the settlers have the Palestinians do the actual digging under the "supervision" of the Israeli army. Simon stumbles upon
one of these infamous archaeological digs and finds that the Israelis
are less than eager for their operation to be caught on camera.
Meet Simcha and Yosef, a pair of teenage settlers at the Havat Gilad outpost in the West Bank doing what Israeli settlers do best: building and re-building houses without a permit.
Simon gets mixed up in the West Bank Land Day protests, where Palestinians annually clash with the Israeli army.
Simon travels to Asira al-Qibliya, a Palestinian town that is learning how to defend itself against attacks from the Israeli settlers one hill away.
4 july 2012
Settlers attack a Jerusalemite girl and young man from Jenin
The Information center of "Wadi Helwa" revealed on Tuesday, that a Jerusalemite young girl was subjected to a racist attack last Thursday in the town of Silwan in Jerusalem.
The center stated that the girl, Arin Demeiri, was battered and humiliated by Israeli students at a religious school in that region where they filmed the assault in total systemic racism practiced against Palestinians.
The center quoted the girl's mother as saying that her daughter is in very bad psychological state due to the brutal attack she had faced.
In the same context, a Palestinian young man, Mohammed Maali,19, from the town Ojja south of Jenin, was seriously injured and was evacuated to Tel Hishmeur hospital in the city of Jaffa in 48- occupied territory after he was attacked by extremist Jewish settlers while on his way to work.
The General Federation of Trade Unions in Jenin denounced this brutal attack and said, in a statement, that the settlers took turns in beating and cursing him for a long time till he was transferred to Tel Hishmeur hospital in Jaffa then to Jenin hospital.
The statement pointed out that police officers, dressed as doctors, attended the Israeli hospital and interrogated him for a long time about the attack's circumstances, and then asked him to sign a paper written in Hebrew but he refused.
The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, B'Tselem, has published, on Monday, a video showing Israeli border policeman kicking Palestinian child, Abd Al Rahman Burgan, 9, near the Ibrahimi Mosque in Al-Khalil in the southern West Bank.
Settlers Seize Land in Northern Jordan Valley
Israeli settlers from Rotem settlement in north of the Jordan Valley Wednesday seized Palestinian land around the settlement for expansion purposes, according to head of Al-Maleh village council Aref Daraghmeh.
He said settlers silently took over land to place new caravans and add rooms to the existing buildings without previous announcement of land confiscation or of building bids. They had also fenced a nearby hilltop and confiscated it, he said.
Daraghmeh said the land taken by settlers is considered among the richest agricultural land in the area.
Jewish settlers uproot Palestinian olive trees
Jewish settlers uprooted 41 Palestinian olive trees to the west of Til village, west of Nablus, on Tuesday, Ghassan Daghlas, in charge of monitoring settlement activity north of the West Bank, said.
He said that settlers from a nearby settlement outpost destroyed the fruitful trees owned by Nayef Rihan from Til village.
Daghlas denounced the act and called on human rights groups to pressure Israel into bridling its settlers’ ceaseless attacks against Palestinian citizens and their property.
In another incident, Jewish settlers wrote hostile slogans such as “Death to Arabs”, “Kahane was right” and other slogans on walls of water wells in villages near Al-Khalil earlier Tuesday.
3 july 2012
Jewish settlers throw rocks at Palestinian family, fired at a camel herd killing one
Jewish settlers attacked a Palestinian family while tending to their land in Husan village, west of Bethlehem, on Monday evening.
The farmer, Faeq Al-Hamamre, said that the settlers came from the Beitar Elit settlement and threw stones at him and his family in their land, which is adjacent to the settlement.
In another incident, a group of settlers fired at a camel herd near Taqu village, east of Bethlehem, on Monday night killing one of them and wounding a number of others.
Official: Settlers destroy olive trees in Nablus village
Israeli settlers on Tuesday destroyed dozens of olive trees in a northern West Bank village, a PA official said.
Residents of Havat Gilad outpost entered a private field owned by Nayif Raihan, from Tell village south of Nablus, and chopped down 41 trees, Ghassan Daghlas, a PA official monitoring settlement activity in the area, said.
In 2011, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that settler attacks had increased by 50 percent on the previous year.
The Nablus area experienced the majority of settler violence during this period, with settlers routinely destroying Palestinian agricultural crops, vandalizing property, and physically assaulting locals, according to a study by The Palestine Center.
All Jewish-only settlements in the occupied West Bank are illegal under international law.
2 july 2012
Dozens of soldiers and settlers break into Aqsa mosque
Dozens of Israeli soldiers and settlers stormed the Aqsa mosque on Monday in three groups and strolled inside its plazas.
The Aqsa Foundation for Endowment and Heritage (AFEH) said that one of the Israeli officers walked beside workers, who were busy with repair works inside the Aqsa, and took photos of them.
It said in a press release that the Israeli occupation authority had no right whatsoever to interfere in the affairs of the Aqsa mosque, which is the sole responsibility of the Awqaf department.
AFEH said that the entire Islamic world supports the Awqaf in its maintenance work in the holy site.
The Hebrew media have lately launched a campaign against the Awqaf for its maintenance works in the Dome of the Rock.
1 juli 2012
Israeli court extends deadline for removal of settler homes
Israel's Supreme Court on Sunday granted the state a four-month extension to remove five apartment blocks built illegally on Palestinian-owned land in a Jewish settlement on the occupied West Bank.
The court had ruled the homes, in the Ulpana outpost of the Beit El settlement, must be torn down by July 1.
The 30 families who lived in the buildings moved out last week to nearby temporary accommodation under a deal with the government to go quietly after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to construct 851 new settler homes in the West Bank.
In granting an extension until Nov. 15, the court said the demolition could be delayed now that the dwellings it deemed illegal were empty.
Israel is already hard-put to defend settlement activity in the face of world opinion. Palestinians, who seek statehood in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, fear the enclaves built on land Israel captured in a 1967 war will deny them a viable country.
Netanyahu angered settler leaders by helping to defeat the passage of legislation aimed at circumventing the court ruling to remove the apartment blocks.
He has suggested a plan that would avoid destroying the houses, by instead cutting through their foundations and moving them to another part of the settlement where no land ownership claim is pending in court.
About 311,000 Israeli settlers and 2.5 million Palestinians live in the West Bank, not including East Jerusalem.
The United Nations deems all Israeli settlements in the West Bank to be illegal.
Israeli Courts Fine Prisoners to Compensate Settlers, says Official
An Israeli military court imposed fines on Palestinian prisoners to compensate Jewish settlers it claimed were hurt by the Palestinians, Minister of Prisoners Issa Qaraqi said on Friday.
He said the military court started for the first time and in obvious violation of international law and conventions to force Palestinians held on charges of attacking settlers to pay fines to compensate the settlers for whatever harm was caused to them.
If the prisoners or their families refuse to pay the fine, said Qaraqi, the prisoners will spend more time in prison over their term.
“This is a new policy aimed at empowering the settlers to continue with their attacks against the Palestinians instead of arresting them,” he said.
Families of prisoners from the village of Azzoun in the Qalqilia area told Qaraqi that their sons who were recently sentenced by an Israeli military court were ordered to pay heavy fines in addition to long prison terms after they were found guilty of throwing rocks at settlers who attacked their village.
One prisoner was ordered to pay more than $1500 and was sentenced to 12 years in prison, while six others received between five and nine years prison sentences and fined around $1500 each in what observers thought were extremely heavy sentences and fines against youth who tried to stop settlers from attacking their village and destroying its property and crops.
Jewish settlers engage in clashes with citizens on leaving Nabi Yusuf tomb
Dozens of Jewish settlers stormed the Nabi Yusuf tomb east of Nablus at dawn Sunday under tight security and protection measures on the part of the Israeli occupation forces.
The IOF troops were deployed in the area surrounding the tomb after sealing it off and occupied rooftops of high buildings to protect the settlers.
The settlers deliberately raised their voices while performing their rituals at the tomb, which they believe is the tomb of prophet Yusuf, to disturb the Palestinian citizens residing nearby.
Citizens threw stones and empty bottles at the settlers during their departure from the site.
Jewish settlers throw stones at Palestinian cars
Jewish settlers threw stones at Palestinian cars passing near Beit El settlement near Ramallah on Saturday night, eyewitnesses said.
They said that the settlers stood near the old Nablus street connecting Ramallah with Nablus and threw stones at passing Palestinian cars.
The witnesses said that traffic came to a halt and citizens could not move between the two provinces on the street.
30 june 2012
Jewish settlers burn hundreds of dunums of cultivated land
Jewish settlers set on fire hundreds of dunums of cultivated land in Wadi Qana west of Salfit on Friday as part of their systematic sabotaging of Palestinian land and property.
Local sources said that the settlers came from Aman’il settlement with the intention to start a big fire in the Palestinian land and crops.
They said that the blaze destroyed hundreds of trees in the area and was controlled after four hours.
Activist: 2 arrested in Beit Ummar
Israeli forces detained two young Palestinian men at a checkpoint at the main entrance to Beit Ummar near Hebron in the southern West Bank on Friday, a local activist said.
Muhammad Awad identified the detainees as 23-year-olds Ahmad Muhammad al-Alami and Mahmoud Abdul Hamid al-Alami.
Separately, settlers attacked a vegetable peddler and his son while they were driving their truck back from Nahhalin village to Beit Ummar, according to Awad, who is on the local popular committee.
Settlers obstructed Salem Sabarnah, 40, and his son Samir, 9, and smashed the windshield of their truck, he said. He added that the settlers then attacked the man and his son causing bruises before Israeli forces arrived.
A Palestinian ambulance also arrived and took Sabarnah and his son to the public hospital in Hebron, Awad added highlighting that Israeli soldiers “did nothing at all to the attackers.”
Meet Simcha and Yosef, a pair of teenage settlers at the Havat Gilad outpost in the West Bank doing what Israeli settlers do best: building and re-building houses without a permit.
Simon gets mixed up in the West Bank Land Day protests, where Palestinians annually clash with the Israeli army.
Simon travels to Asira al-Qibliya, a Palestinian town that is learning how to defend itself against attacks from the Israeli settlers one hill away.
4 july 2012
Settlers attack a Jerusalemite girl and young man from Jenin
The Information center of "Wadi Helwa" revealed on Tuesday, that a Jerusalemite young girl was subjected to a racist attack last Thursday in the town of Silwan in Jerusalem.
The center stated that the girl, Arin Demeiri, was battered and humiliated by Israeli students at a religious school in that region where they filmed the assault in total systemic racism practiced against Palestinians.
The center quoted the girl's mother as saying that her daughter is in very bad psychological state due to the brutal attack she had faced.
In the same context, a Palestinian young man, Mohammed Maali,19, from the town Ojja south of Jenin, was seriously injured and was evacuated to Tel Hishmeur hospital in the city of Jaffa in 48- occupied territory after he was attacked by extremist Jewish settlers while on his way to work.
The General Federation of Trade Unions in Jenin denounced this brutal attack and said, in a statement, that the settlers took turns in beating and cursing him for a long time till he was transferred to Tel Hishmeur hospital in Jaffa then to Jenin hospital.
The statement pointed out that police officers, dressed as doctors, attended the Israeli hospital and interrogated him for a long time about the attack's circumstances, and then asked him to sign a paper written in Hebrew but he refused.
The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, B'Tselem, has published, on Monday, a video showing Israeli border policeman kicking Palestinian child, Abd Al Rahman Burgan, 9, near the Ibrahimi Mosque in Al-Khalil in the southern West Bank.
Settlers Seize Land in Northern Jordan Valley
Israeli settlers from Rotem settlement in north of the Jordan Valley Wednesday seized Palestinian land around the settlement for expansion purposes, according to head of Al-Maleh village council Aref Daraghmeh.
He said settlers silently took over land to place new caravans and add rooms to the existing buildings without previous announcement of land confiscation or of building bids. They had also fenced a nearby hilltop and confiscated it, he said.
Daraghmeh said the land taken by settlers is considered among the richest agricultural land in the area.
Jewish settlers uproot Palestinian olive trees
Jewish settlers uprooted 41 Palestinian olive trees to the west of Til village, west of Nablus, on Tuesday, Ghassan Daghlas, in charge of monitoring settlement activity north of the West Bank, said.
He said that settlers from a nearby settlement outpost destroyed the fruitful trees owned by Nayef Rihan from Til village.
Daghlas denounced the act and called on human rights groups to pressure Israel into bridling its settlers’ ceaseless attacks against Palestinian citizens and their property.
In another incident, Jewish settlers wrote hostile slogans such as “Death to Arabs”, “Kahane was right” and other slogans on walls of water wells in villages near Al-Khalil earlier Tuesday.
3 july 2012
Jewish settlers throw rocks at Palestinian family, fired at a camel herd killing one
Jewish settlers attacked a Palestinian family while tending to their land in Husan village, west of Bethlehem, on Monday evening.
The farmer, Faeq Al-Hamamre, said that the settlers came from the Beitar Elit settlement and threw stones at him and his family in their land, which is adjacent to the settlement.
In another incident, a group of settlers fired at a camel herd near Taqu village, east of Bethlehem, on Monday night killing one of them and wounding a number of others.
Official: Settlers destroy olive trees in Nablus village
Israeli settlers on Tuesday destroyed dozens of olive trees in a northern West Bank village, a PA official said.
Residents of Havat Gilad outpost entered a private field owned by Nayif Raihan, from Tell village south of Nablus, and chopped down 41 trees, Ghassan Daghlas, a PA official monitoring settlement activity in the area, said.
In 2011, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that settler attacks had increased by 50 percent on the previous year.
The Nablus area experienced the majority of settler violence during this period, with settlers routinely destroying Palestinian agricultural crops, vandalizing property, and physically assaulting locals, according to a study by The Palestine Center.
All Jewish-only settlements in the occupied West Bank are illegal under international law.
2 july 2012
Dozens of soldiers and settlers break into Aqsa mosque
Dozens of Israeli soldiers and settlers stormed the Aqsa mosque on Monday in three groups and strolled inside its plazas.
The Aqsa Foundation for Endowment and Heritage (AFEH) said that one of the Israeli officers walked beside workers, who were busy with repair works inside the Aqsa, and took photos of them.
It said in a press release that the Israeli occupation authority had no right whatsoever to interfere in the affairs of the Aqsa mosque, which is the sole responsibility of the Awqaf department.
AFEH said that the entire Islamic world supports the Awqaf in its maintenance work in the holy site.
The Hebrew media have lately launched a campaign against the Awqaf for its maintenance works in the Dome of the Rock.
1 juli 2012
Israeli court extends deadline for removal of settler homes
Israel's Supreme Court on Sunday granted the state a four-month extension to remove five apartment blocks built illegally on Palestinian-owned land in a Jewish settlement on the occupied West Bank.
The court had ruled the homes, in the Ulpana outpost of the Beit El settlement, must be torn down by July 1.
The 30 families who lived in the buildings moved out last week to nearby temporary accommodation under a deal with the government to go quietly after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to construct 851 new settler homes in the West Bank.
In granting an extension until Nov. 15, the court said the demolition could be delayed now that the dwellings it deemed illegal were empty.
Israel is already hard-put to defend settlement activity in the face of world opinion. Palestinians, who seek statehood in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, fear the enclaves built on land Israel captured in a 1967 war will deny them a viable country.
Netanyahu angered settler leaders by helping to defeat the passage of legislation aimed at circumventing the court ruling to remove the apartment blocks.
He has suggested a plan that would avoid destroying the houses, by instead cutting through their foundations and moving them to another part of the settlement where no land ownership claim is pending in court.
About 311,000 Israeli settlers and 2.5 million Palestinians live in the West Bank, not including East Jerusalem.
The United Nations deems all Israeli settlements in the West Bank to be illegal.
Israeli Courts Fine Prisoners to Compensate Settlers, says Official
An Israeli military court imposed fines on Palestinian prisoners to compensate Jewish settlers it claimed were hurt by the Palestinians, Minister of Prisoners Issa Qaraqi said on Friday.
He said the military court started for the first time and in obvious violation of international law and conventions to force Palestinians held on charges of attacking settlers to pay fines to compensate the settlers for whatever harm was caused to them.
If the prisoners or their families refuse to pay the fine, said Qaraqi, the prisoners will spend more time in prison over their term.
“This is a new policy aimed at empowering the settlers to continue with their attacks against the Palestinians instead of arresting them,” he said.
Families of prisoners from the village of Azzoun in the Qalqilia area told Qaraqi that their sons who were recently sentenced by an Israeli military court were ordered to pay heavy fines in addition to long prison terms after they were found guilty of throwing rocks at settlers who attacked their village.
One prisoner was ordered to pay more than $1500 and was sentenced to 12 years in prison, while six others received between five and nine years prison sentences and fined around $1500 each in what observers thought were extremely heavy sentences and fines against youth who tried to stop settlers from attacking their village and destroying its property and crops.
Jewish settlers engage in clashes with citizens on leaving Nabi Yusuf tomb
Dozens of Jewish settlers stormed the Nabi Yusuf tomb east of Nablus at dawn Sunday under tight security and protection measures on the part of the Israeli occupation forces.
The IOF troops were deployed in the area surrounding the tomb after sealing it off and occupied rooftops of high buildings to protect the settlers.
The settlers deliberately raised their voices while performing their rituals at the tomb, which they believe is the tomb of prophet Yusuf, to disturb the Palestinian citizens residing nearby.
Citizens threw stones and empty bottles at the settlers during their departure from the site.
Jewish settlers throw stones at Palestinian cars
Jewish settlers threw stones at Palestinian cars passing near Beit El settlement near Ramallah on Saturday night, eyewitnesses said.
They said that the settlers stood near the old Nablus street connecting Ramallah with Nablus and threw stones at passing Palestinian cars.
The witnesses said that traffic came to a halt and citizens could not move between the two provinces on the street.
30 june 2012
Jewish settlers burn hundreds of dunums of cultivated land
Jewish settlers set on fire hundreds of dunums of cultivated land in Wadi Qana west of Salfit on Friday as part of their systematic sabotaging of Palestinian land and property.
Local sources said that the settlers came from Aman’il settlement with the intention to start a big fire in the Palestinian land and crops.
They said that the blaze destroyed hundreds of trees in the area and was controlled after four hours.
Activist: 2 arrested in Beit Ummar
Israeli forces detained two young Palestinian men at a checkpoint at the main entrance to Beit Ummar near Hebron in the southern West Bank on Friday, a local activist said.
Muhammad Awad identified the detainees as 23-year-olds Ahmad Muhammad al-Alami and Mahmoud Abdul Hamid al-Alami.
Separately, settlers attacked a vegetable peddler and his son while they were driving their truck back from Nahhalin village to Beit Ummar, according to Awad, who is on the local popular committee.
Settlers obstructed Salem Sabarnah, 40, and his son Samir, 9, and smashed the windshield of their truck, he said. He added that the settlers then attacked the man and his son causing bruises before Israeli forces arrived.
A Palestinian ambulance also arrived and took Sabarnah and his son to the public hospital in Hebron, Awad added highlighting that Israeli soldiers “did nothing at all to the attackers.”
