26 aug 2012
Settlers invest in creation of international coalitions to support radical agenda
The Samaria Regional Council, the local government of the northern West Bank settlements, is investing in the creation of international coalitions to support the settlement project.
The council hosts parliamentarians, senate and congress members and international journalists. Head of Samaria Regional Council: “This is a public diplomacy war in every way vis-à-vis Saudi money and radical leftist organizations. One who sees the reality in Samaria often becomes a friend.”
Last week the Samaria Regional Council hosted an official study tour by a senior advisor to the President of the southern African country of Lesotho. The tour included visits to area settlements, vineyards, organic farms and the Barkan Industrial Zone, and ended with a promise by the advisor to organise an “official senior delegation from Lesotho which will come to Samaria soon. We want to learn from you how to build…a flourishing area…I saw flourishing communities, amazing organic agriculture.”
This tour is one of many organized by the Strategic Unit of the Samaria Regional Council in cooperation with the Shomron Liason Office, an independent NGO affiliated with the regional council. Yossi Dagan, Head of the Strategic Unit, told the settler-affiliated media outlet Arutz 7 that they have “hosted more than fifty parliament members from Europe, two senators and five congress members from the United States, along with tens of foreign journalists. All of them were exposed for the first time to the actual reality in Samaria.”
Dagan provides these visits with international, apocalyptic importance, noting that “Most of them understand the roots of the Jewish people in Samaria and the clear importance of the settlement to the state of Israel and the West which is defending itself from fundamentalist Islam.”
“This is a public diplomacy war in every way vis-à-vis the Saudi money and radical leftist organizations. One who arrives and sees the reality in Samaria often becomes a friend,” Dagan adds.
Gershon Mesika, Head of the Samaria Regional Council, states that they “will continue to create brave coalitions in the world. The state of Israel stands before a wave of incitement founded on ignorance on the one hand and incitement of radical leftist organizations on the other. This is a strategic move both for settlements and the entire state of Israel.”
Sheikh Sabri: The Jewish settler's violations in Jerusalem rose seriously
Head of the higher Islamic council Sheikh Ikrima Sabri said the increasing attacks which the Palestinian natives were exposed to lately by Jewish settlers had become a matter of serious concern.
In a press release on Sunday, Sheikh Sabri said the growing attacks that have been noticed recently against the Jerusalemites indicate that the Jewish settlers feel encouraged to commit more violations to prove their presence and their increase in the holy city.
He added that these attacks and violations are also aimed at forcing the natives to leave their holy city.
The head of the Islamic council in Jerusalem also accused the right-wing Israeli government of playing dumb on purpose towards its settlers' excesses and crimes and taking no punitive measure against them.
The Sheikh warned that the Israeli street tends to be more extremist than ever while the Israeli government is standing idly with nothing to do to control this escalating situation which could turn uncontrollable.
25 aug 2012
Jewish settlers ruin olive trees south of Al-Khalil
A gang of Jewish settlers from Havat Maon settlement at dawn Saturday destroyed about 40 olive trees in Al-Hamra area of Tuwani village south of Al-Khalil city.
Local sources said the settlers cut off the trees' branches that were full of olive fruits and wrote racist slurs against Arabs on a water well belonging to Rabaei family.
In the morning of the same day, dozens of villagers and Palestinian and foreign peace activists gathered in this olive land to protest the attacks waged systematically by the Jewish settlers against the Palestinians and their property south of Al-Khalil.
Locals: Settlers destroy crops in Ramallah villages
Settlers destroyed agricultural crops in two Ramallah villages on Saturday, locals said.
Farmer Ramadan Sabri Abu Kamish told Ma'an that settlers from Hallamish uprooted trees and destroyed crops belonging to Jammala and Deir Ammar villages, northwest of Ramallah.
The settlers damaged the land using sharp tools, Abu Kamish said, adding that he pleaded with the settlers to stop but that they didn't listen and said he should complain to the police.
Around a dunam and a half of land was damaged, representing a financial loss of 60,000 shekels ($15,000), he added.
PA considers legal action against Israeli officials, settlers
The Palestinian Authority is considering taking legal action against Israeli leaders and settlers who practice “terrorism” against the Palestinian people, a legal advisor to President Mahmoud Abbas said Friday.
Hasan al-Auri told Ma’an that the PA would seek to sue Israeli officials in international courts, and to prosecute settlers in national courts in countries where it is allowed to prosecute foreigners.
Al-Auri highlighted that the PA had started to update the Middle East Quartet, the United Nations and world countries on the violations settlers practice against the Palestinian people under protection of the Israeli forces who “as the occupier should protect the people under occupation rather than watch as they are being assaulted.”
The PA, added Abbas’ legal advisor, avoided suing settlers in Israeli courts because Israel would protect them “using false justifications to their conduct.”
Through such legal action against settlers and Israeli officials, the PA is seeking to expose the crimes committed against the Palestinian people in an attempt to deter perpetrators.
However, al-Auri pointed out that the PA would more likely be the underdog because a legal term in the Oslo Accords clearly states that the PA can’t impose punishments on any Israeli. Furthermore, he added, Palestine isn’t a member state of the UN, and so it can’t file legal cases against state leaders.
If the PA succeeds to obtain a status of non-member state in the UN General Assembly, it will be easier to sue Israeli officials in the International Criminal Court. Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Liberman will be one of those Israeli officials to be sued for the “terrorism” he practices against the Palestinian people.
24 aug 2012
State prepares for forced evacuation of West Bank outpost residents
Migron settlers were said to have met during the night to decide whether or not to cooperate and leave the settlement on Sunday or defy the orders and stay.
Israel's security forces are preparing to forcibly evict the 30 Migron families living on land that is undisputedly privately owned by Palestinians.
The settlers were said to have met during the night to decide whether or not to cooperate and leave the settlement on Sunday or defy the orders and stay.
On Tuesday, the Israeli High Court of Justice will convene and consider the appeal made by 17 Migron families, which implores the court to overturn the decision and allow them to stay in their homes, citing claims that they had legally purchased the land.
Until the court hands down its ruling they cannot be evicted. The settlers say that the fate of the entire settlement should be decided only once the court rules, but Benny Begin, the minister responsible for overseeing the eviction, and the security forces have decided to evict the 30 families that aren't part of the appeal process before the court considers the appeal on Tuesday. This is in keeping with Supreme Court Justice Asher Grunis ruling that the eviction must take place "before the hearing."
On Thursday, Defense Ministry officials told the settlers that the ministry's relocation service, which facilitated the Amona settlers' relocation, would be at their disposal as of Sunday, in accordance with an agreement that was signed with the settlers, which stipulated in return for the settlers' voluntary evacuation they will be provided with an alternate compound. If the settlers fail to comply, the military will evict them by force with the deadline being Tuesday morning.
According to the agreement, if the settlers do not comply with the eviction notice they will not technically be entitled to the compound prepared for them by security forces, though they plan on allowing the settlers with access to the compound either way.
23 aug 2012
2 Arab teens reportedly assaulted in Tel Aviv
Settlers invest in creation of international coalitions to support radical agenda
The Samaria Regional Council, the local government of the northern West Bank settlements, is investing in the creation of international coalitions to support the settlement project.
The council hosts parliamentarians, senate and congress members and international journalists. Head of Samaria Regional Council: “This is a public diplomacy war in every way vis-à-vis Saudi money and radical leftist organizations. One who sees the reality in Samaria often becomes a friend.”
Last week the Samaria Regional Council hosted an official study tour by a senior advisor to the President of the southern African country of Lesotho. The tour included visits to area settlements, vineyards, organic farms and the Barkan Industrial Zone, and ended with a promise by the advisor to organise an “official senior delegation from Lesotho which will come to Samaria soon. We want to learn from you how to build…a flourishing area…I saw flourishing communities, amazing organic agriculture.”
This tour is one of many organized by the Strategic Unit of the Samaria Regional Council in cooperation with the Shomron Liason Office, an independent NGO affiliated with the regional council. Yossi Dagan, Head of the Strategic Unit, told the settler-affiliated media outlet Arutz 7 that they have “hosted more than fifty parliament members from Europe, two senators and five congress members from the United States, along with tens of foreign journalists. All of them were exposed for the first time to the actual reality in Samaria.”
Dagan provides these visits with international, apocalyptic importance, noting that “Most of them understand the roots of the Jewish people in Samaria and the clear importance of the settlement to the state of Israel and the West which is defending itself from fundamentalist Islam.”
“This is a public diplomacy war in every way vis-à-vis the Saudi money and radical leftist organizations. One who arrives and sees the reality in Samaria often becomes a friend,” Dagan adds.
Gershon Mesika, Head of the Samaria Regional Council, states that they “will continue to create brave coalitions in the world. The state of Israel stands before a wave of incitement founded on ignorance on the one hand and incitement of radical leftist organizations on the other. This is a strategic move both for settlements and the entire state of Israel.”
Sheikh Sabri: The Jewish settler's violations in Jerusalem rose seriously
Head of the higher Islamic council Sheikh Ikrima Sabri said the increasing attacks which the Palestinian natives were exposed to lately by Jewish settlers had become a matter of serious concern.
In a press release on Sunday, Sheikh Sabri said the growing attacks that have been noticed recently against the Jerusalemites indicate that the Jewish settlers feel encouraged to commit more violations to prove their presence and their increase in the holy city.
He added that these attacks and violations are also aimed at forcing the natives to leave their holy city.
The head of the Islamic council in Jerusalem also accused the right-wing Israeli government of playing dumb on purpose towards its settlers' excesses and crimes and taking no punitive measure against them.
The Sheikh warned that the Israeli street tends to be more extremist than ever while the Israeli government is standing idly with nothing to do to control this escalating situation which could turn uncontrollable.
25 aug 2012
Jewish settlers ruin olive trees south of Al-Khalil
A gang of Jewish settlers from Havat Maon settlement at dawn Saturday destroyed about 40 olive trees in Al-Hamra area of Tuwani village south of Al-Khalil city.
Local sources said the settlers cut off the trees' branches that were full of olive fruits and wrote racist slurs against Arabs on a water well belonging to Rabaei family.
In the morning of the same day, dozens of villagers and Palestinian and foreign peace activists gathered in this olive land to protest the attacks waged systematically by the Jewish settlers against the Palestinians and their property south of Al-Khalil.
Locals: Settlers destroy crops in Ramallah villages
Settlers destroyed agricultural crops in two Ramallah villages on Saturday, locals said.
Farmer Ramadan Sabri Abu Kamish told Ma'an that settlers from Hallamish uprooted trees and destroyed crops belonging to Jammala and Deir Ammar villages, northwest of Ramallah.
The settlers damaged the land using sharp tools, Abu Kamish said, adding that he pleaded with the settlers to stop but that they didn't listen and said he should complain to the police.
Around a dunam and a half of land was damaged, representing a financial loss of 60,000 shekels ($15,000), he added.
PA considers legal action against Israeli officials, settlers
The Palestinian Authority is considering taking legal action against Israeli leaders and settlers who practice “terrorism” against the Palestinian people, a legal advisor to President Mahmoud Abbas said Friday.
Hasan al-Auri told Ma’an that the PA would seek to sue Israeli officials in international courts, and to prosecute settlers in national courts in countries where it is allowed to prosecute foreigners.
Al-Auri highlighted that the PA had started to update the Middle East Quartet, the United Nations and world countries on the violations settlers practice against the Palestinian people under protection of the Israeli forces who “as the occupier should protect the people under occupation rather than watch as they are being assaulted.”
The PA, added Abbas’ legal advisor, avoided suing settlers in Israeli courts because Israel would protect them “using false justifications to their conduct.”
Through such legal action against settlers and Israeli officials, the PA is seeking to expose the crimes committed against the Palestinian people in an attempt to deter perpetrators.
However, al-Auri pointed out that the PA would more likely be the underdog because a legal term in the Oslo Accords clearly states that the PA can’t impose punishments on any Israeli. Furthermore, he added, Palestine isn’t a member state of the UN, and so it can’t file legal cases against state leaders.
If the PA succeeds to obtain a status of non-member state in the UN General Assembly, it will be easier to sue Israeli officials in the International Criminal Court. Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Liberman will be one of those Israeli officials to be sued for the “terrorism” he practices against the Palestinian people.
24 aug 2012
State prepares for forced evacuation of West Bank outpost residents
Migron settlers were said to have met during the night to decide whether or not to cooperate and leave the settlement on Sunday or defy the orders and stay.
Israel's security forces are preparing to forcibly evict the 30 Migron families living on land that is undisputedly privately owned by Palestinians.
The settlers were said to have met during the night to decide whether or not to cooperate and leave the settlement on Sunday or defy the orders and stay.
On Tuesday, the Israeli High Court of Justice will convene and consider the appeal made by 17 Migron families, which implores the court to overturn the decision and allow them to stay in their homes, citing claims that they had legally purchased the land.
Until the court hands down its ruling they cannot be evicted. The settlers say that the fate of the entire settlement should be decided only once the court rules, but Benny Begin, the minister responsible for overseeing the eviction, and the security forces have decided to evict the 30 families that aren't part of the appeal process before the court considers the appeal on Tuesday. This is in keeping with Supreme Court Justice Asher Grunis ruling that the eviction must take place "before the hearing."
On Thursday, Defense Ministry officials told the settlers that the ministry's relocation service, which facilitated the Amona settlers' relocation, would be at their disposal as of Sunday, in accordance with an agreement that was signed with the settlers, which stipulated in return for the settlers' voluntary evacuation they will be provided with an alternate compound. If the settlers fail to comply, the military will evict them by force with the deadline being Tuesday morning.
According to the agreement, if the settlers do not comply with the eviction notice they will not technically be entitled to the compound prepared for them by security forces, though they plan on allowing the settlers with access to the compound either way.
23 aug 2012
2 Arab teens reportedly assaulted in Tel Aviv
Victim required eight stitches
East Jerusalem residents claim three armed men assaulted them in Tel Aviv parking lot. MK Tibi: Hunting season for Arabs is upon us.
Two east Jerusalem teens are claiming they were assaulted by three men in Tel Aviv earlier this week in what could be another case of racist violence after last week's Jerusalem lynch.
One suffered a head injury and required eight stitches and the other sustained light wounds.
Suhib Hushia, 19, said he and his friend were assaulted on their way back from a Tel Aviv beach as they stopped at a parking lot to ask for directions.
"Suddenly three armed men approached us and started yelling at us," he recalled. "We explained we were looking for directions but they shouted at us to leave."
According to Hushia, one of the men was wearing a spike glove and slapped his friend. The three then assaulted Hushia using various objects he was unable to see.
Suhib's brother reported that damage was caused to the victims' car. He noted that the two had called the police and Magen David Adom but that no forces were sent to the scene as the operators could not understand the two who do not speak Hebrew.
He noted that officers at the Jerusalem police station, where they tried to file a complaint after the incident, told them to return later in the day as there was no Arabic-speaking officer. "This shows us the police's powerlessness in dealing with racist assaults against Arabs."
"I thought I was going to die," Subib said, adding that the assailants had called him a "dirty Arab" and other swear words.
MK Ahmad Tibi (United Arab List Ta'al) said in response, "Hunting season for Arabs is at its height with support from a rightist government and racist Knesset." He blamed the Israel Police for allowing hate crimes against Arabs to happen.
"Imagine Israel's response had the tables been turned and a Jew was lynched at an Arab town. We are outraged and appalled over the wave of racist violence sweeping the country sponsored by the Right."
Police said that no complaint was made in the case.
"Three men arrived at the station. An officer noticed contusions on their bodies and advised them to get medical treatment and then file a complaint at the Jerusalem police station, which is nearer to their place of residence," the Tel Aviv District Police spokeswoman said. She added that police are working to trace the assailants.
Settlers Write Racist Graffiti In Nablus village
A number of extremist Israeli settlers invaded, on Wednesday at dawn, the Awarta village, east of the northern West Bank city of Nablus, and wrote racist graffiti on the walls of several homes.
Ghassan Douglas, in charge of the Settlements File at the Palestinian Authority in the northern part of the West Bank, stated that a number of extremist settlers living in Itamar illegal settlement, wrote the graffiti on several home walls, and fled the scene after the residents noticed them.
Douglas added that the settlers also attempted to torch two cars at the eastern entrance of the town.
The settlers spilled fuel on the two vehicles but fled the scene after the residents saw them trying to burn the cars. The two cars belong to residents Nidal and Eyad Qawareeq.
Attacks carried out by extremist settlers against the Palestinians have been sharply escalating, targeting Palestinian civilians, orchards and farmlands, homes and property, in addition to defacing , vandalizing and torching several mosques and churches.
Several were also carried out against Israeli peace groups and leftist organizations, especially settlement watchdog groups and human rights organizations in the country.
Jewish settlers start farming confiscated Palestinian land
Jewish settlers started to farm Palestinian land they seized by force near Al-Khader village, Bethlehem province, local sources said.
Ahmed Salah, the coordinator of the popular committee in the village, told Quds Press on Thursday that the five dunums, around 5000 square meters, were located in an area called Ein Qassis and were owned by Suleiman Salah.
He said that a group of settlers ploughed the land as a preliminary procedure before planting fruitful trees in it.
Salah pointed out that a settler named Hananiya, who led the settlers in farming the land, is leading a rabid campaign against Al-Khader village land and nearby villages. He said that the settler every now and then confiscate pieces of Palestinian land and annex them to Jewish settlements.
Settler’s Vehicle Rams Child In Hebron
An Israeli settler driving in Jaber Neighborhood, in the southern West Bank of Hebron, hit a Palestinian child then drove off in what appears to be a ramming attack, medical sources reported.
Nasser Qabaja, a Red Crescent official in Hebron, said that the child was moved to an Israeli hospital upon request of her family.
Medical sources said that the child suffered moderate injuries, and that she suffered various cuts and bruises.
Late in January this year, an Israeli driver hit a Palestinian teenager at a checkpoint near Jerusalem, and then drove off in an apparent ramming attack.
Some of the witnesses present at the scene were able to document the license number of the vehicle, but Israeli police did not take the information when it was presented to them.
Although several previous ramming incidents have been reported to the Israeli police and military, no investigations of these incidents have been carried out by the Israeli authorities.
Medics: Settler runs over child in Hebron
An Israeli settler on Wednesday ran over a Palestinian child in Hebron's Old City, medics said.
Red Crescent official Nasser Qabaja told Ma'an the girl was taken to an Israeli hospital by an Israeli ambulance at the request of her parents.
Qabaja said she was moderately injured.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said Israeli forces had evacuated the girl and that the matter was in the hands of the Israeli police.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces detained 23-year-old Mutaz Khalil at the entrance to Beit Ummar village, north of Hebron, local official Muhammad Awad said.
High Court Delays Deliberations Of Settlers Eviction From Hebron Home
The Israeli High Court delayed deliberations in a case filed by Israel’s Peace Now Movement on behalf of a Palestinian family demanding Israel to remove Israeli settlers squatting in a home they occupied in the heart of Hebron City, in the southern part of the West Bank.
The home is located in what is now known as Beit Ezra illegal outpost in Hebron.
The Israeli Court also decided to pay Peace Now and the family NIS 5000 each for expenses they endured due to the fact that deliberations on the case have been repeatedly delayed upon request of the Israeli government, the Arabs48 news website reported.
In related news, Israeli soldiers kidnapped on Wednesday a Palestinian young man at the entrance of Beit Ummar town, near Hebron.
Mohammad Awad, member of the Popular Committee Against the Wall, reported that soldiers ambushed Mo’taz Ahmad Khalil, 23, and kidnapped him directly after he parked his car and stepped out of it.
Israeli poll reveals sharp rise in racism against Arabs and Africans
An Israeli opinion poll unveiled a sharp rise in the prevalence of racism and extremism among Jews towards the Arab natives and African immigrants.
The poll, which was conducted by Tel Aviv university on the occasion of the new educational year, stated that more than half of the Jewish students at the secondary level and graduates from high schools refuse to live with or near Arabs.
According to Haaretz newspaper which published the survey results on Wednesday, 55 percent of the high school students polled refuses to live with or near Arabs, while 59 percent of them saw that Israel has to expel all Jewish immigrants from Africa.
The poll also revealed that a large percentage of young Jews, about 60 percent, do not want to serve in the army or fight for Israel and 39 percent of them believed in the need for recruiting religious Jews and Arabs to serve in the army.
22 aug 2012
Palestinians Fear Settlers Plan to Takeover Solomon Pools
Palestinians Wednesday expressed concern that Jewish settlers are planning to take over the historic Solomon Pools located in al-Khader, a town south of Bethlehem, through performing religious rituals there, according to an activist.
Coordinator of the Committee against the Apartheid Wall Ahmad Salah told WAFA that around 70 settlers arrived at Solomon Pools under army protection and performed religious rituals there.
He added that Israeli forces target the pools in addition to the nearby convention center in an attempt to annex the ancient Solomon Pools area to a nearby settlement.
Solomon Pools are considered a major Palestinian historical site in Bethlehem and consist of three open cisterns fed from an underground spring.
Settlers 'break into' Solomon's pools near Bethlehem
A group of settlers broke into Solomon's pools near Bethlehem on Wednesday, a local committee coordinator said.
Over 70 settlers accompanied by Israeli forces entered the area via the northern section of Um-Rukbeh, Ahmad Salah said.
The settlers were from Efrat and have been known to perform religious ceremonies at the pools area, Salah added.
Settlers 'attempt to set fire' to cars in Nablus village
Settlers attempted to set fire to two cars and wrote racist slogans in a Nablus village on Wednesday, a Palestinian Authority official said.
Ghassan Doughlas, who monitors settlement activity in the northern West Bank, told Ma'an that settlers from Itamar raided the village of Awarta and poured petrol over cars belonging to Nidal Qawariq and Eyah Qawariq.
The settlers also sprayed racist slogans on several walls in the village but failed to ignite the petrol before fleeing, Doughlas said.
The PA official called on the international community to end racist attacks by settlers against Palestinians.
On Tuesday, a group of Jewish settlers tried to set fire to a Palestinian home near Nablus. Settlers from the Hafad Gilad illegal outpost attacked Farid Tawil's home in Farata village, Doughlas said.
Last Thursday, five Palestinians were seriously injured when settlers hurled a firebomb at their car near Bethlehem. Two four-year-old children suffered first-degree burns in the incident, which Israel's vice-premier Moshe Yaalaon described as "an act of terrorism."
Settlers are rarely prosecuted for acts of violence against Palestinians.
Settlers Invade Nablus Village
A number of extremist Israeli settlers invaded, on Wednesday at dawn, the village of Awarta, near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, and tried to torch two Palestinian cars after writing racist graffiti against the Palestinians.
Local sources reported that the settlers came from Itamar illegal settlement, built on Palestinian lands, near Awarta village, east of Nablus.
The sources added that the settlers wrote anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian graffiti on the walls of some homes, and fled the scene after some residents noticed them.
The attack is the latest of a series of seriously escalating attacks carried out by extremist settlers against the Palestinians and their property.
On Tuesday at dawn, a number of armed extremist Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian home in Far’ata village, west of the northern West Bank city of Nablus, and tried to torch it.
One of the attacked youths, identified as Jamal Julani, 17, is currently in a serious condition at the Hadassah Israeli hospital in Jerusalem.
Last Thursday, settlers hurled a firebomb at a Palestinian Taxi causing severe injuries to Ayman Mohammad Ghayatha, 36, his wife Jamila Abdul-Hai, 28, their children; Mohammad, 5, and Eman, 4, and Hasan Mohammad Hasan Ghayatha, 26. The Taxi driver, Bassam Mohammad Ghayatha, 55, was also injured.
Medical sources said that the wounded family suffered fourth degree burns, the worst degree of burns as the flesh is burnt to the bone, and that their condition is deteriorating.
In Jerusalem Friday, August 17, a mob of Israelis chanting 'Death to Arabs' attacked three young Palestinians, nearly killing one and severely wounding the other two.
The attack took place in Zion Square, where three as-yet unidentified Palestinian youth were walking when the mob began beating them, chanting ethnic slurs including “A Jew is a soul and an Arab is a son of a b--”
On Monday, the Israeli Police apprehended seven Israeli youths suspected of involvement in the lynch attack.
A similar 'lynch mob' type incident took place in March in Jerusalem's Malha Mall. Despite the submission of cellphone video footage to the Israeli police to help identify the assailants, no investigation was done and no arrests were ever made.
Instead, according to journalist Ali Abunimah, “Israel’s Hasbara [propaganda] machinery jumped into action, denying there was a pervasive problem with racism. The Jewish Agency’s online hasbara chief Avi Mayer even mounted a publicity stunt where he went to Malha Mall to distribute candy.”
Israel to Pursue Evacuation of Migron Settlers to New West Bank Settlement
Israel is to pursue the evacuation of settlers from the illegal West Bank outpost of Migron, the Israeli Attorney General's Office said in a statement to the Israeli High Court on Monday.
However, the settlers will be not be removed from the West Bank, but will be moved to a new settlement just 2km from Migron. The new outpost is due to be built on the land of the Palestinian village of Mukhmas in the Israeli-controlled Area C of the West Bank, which is classified by Israel as state-owned land, Israeli NGO Peace Now told PNN.
The evacuation of Migron, which has most recently been set for August 28th, has been delayed several times since the Israeli High Court ruled last summer that the outpost must be evacuated due to it being built on what Israel recognises to be private Palestinian land.
"We recall that all of the buildings in Migron are illegal and that demolition orders were issued many years ago," the Attorney General's Office stated.
The statement comes in response to a petition to the High Court last month by 17 of the 50 settler families living in Migron to let them stay in the illegal outpost. The petition claimed that the families had bought three plots of land in the settlement and so should be allowed to remain on those.
However, Peace Now's Settlement Watch Director Hagit Ofran told PNN that they were certain that the purchases were based on forged documents.
The Israeli statement acknowledged that Peace Now's attorney Michael Sfard, who initially petitioned the High Court on behalf of the Palestinian landowners, had already claimed that the purchases of Lots 2, 10 and 23 were founded on fraudulent documents, and said that police were investigating the claims.
The state noted that access to Lot 2 would involve trespassing on adjacent Palestinian property. The statement also pointed out that the settlers had only claimed to have purchased 25% of Lot 23, and that its usage would infringe the rights of the Palestinians who own the rest.
However, the Attorney General's Office asked the High Court to allow vacant buildings on Lot 10 to be left standing for a further 90 days after the planned August 28th eviction, while the settlers' purchase claims are being investigated.
Commenting on the state's request, Ofran said, "The government is doing everything in favour of the settlers, including attempts to leave houses on Palestinian land, which means the Palestinians won't be able to return."
"They [the Israeli government] will use security excuses and guards [to ensure this]," she added.
The government's statement did not mention the date of the evacuation. Any further action on Migron is being postponed until a High Court hearing on August 28th, the same date as the planned evacuation.
A spokesperson for the Israeli Justice Ministry refused to comment further on the statement, neither confirming nor denying whether Palestinians would be able to return to their land, and refusing to specify the date of the evacuation and where the settlers would be evacuated to.
The Attorney General's Office's statement was accompanied by an affadavit signed by Likud Minister Benny Begin. The document, seen by PNN, says that the statement represents that views of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak.
All settlements in the occupied West Bank are considered illegal by the international community under international law.
East Jerusalem residents claim three armed men assaulted them in Tel Aviv parking lot. MK Tibi: Hunting season for Arabs is upon us.
Two east Jerusalem teens are claiming they were assaulted by three men in Tel Aviv earlier this week in what could be another case of racist violence after last week's Jerusalem lynch.
One suffered a head injury and required eight stitches and the other sustained light wounds.
Suhib Hushia, 19, said he and his friend were assaulted on their way back from a Tel Aviv beach as they stopped at a parking lot to ask for directions.
"Suddenly three armed men approached us and started yelling at us," he recalled. "We explained we were looking for directions but they shouted at us to leave."
According to Hushia, one of the men was wearing a spike glove and slapped his friend. The three then assaulted Hushia using various objects he was unable to see.
Suhib's brother reported that damage was caused to the victims' car. He noted that the two had called the police and Magen David Adom but that no forces were sent to the scene as the operators could not understand the two who do not speak Hebrew.
He noted that officers at the Jerusalem police station, where they tried to file a complaint after the incident, told them to return later in the day as there was no Arabic-speaking officer. "This shows us the police's powerlessness in dealing with racist assaults against Arabs."
"I thought I was going to die," Subib said, adding that the assailants had called him a "dirty Arab" and other swear words.
MK Ahmad Tibi (United Arab List Ta'al) said in response, "Hunting season for Arabs is at its height with support from a rightist government and racist Knesset." He blamed the Israel Police for allowing hate crimes against Arabs to happen.
"Imagine Israel's response had the tables been turned and a Jew was lynched at an Arab town. We are outraged and appalled over the wave of racist violence sweeping the country sponsored by the Right."
Police said that no complaint was made in the case.
"Three men arrived at the station. An officer noticed contusions on their bodies and advised them to get medical treatment and then file a complaint at the Jerusalem police station, which is nearer to their place of residence," the Tel Aviv District Police spokeswoman said. She added that police are working to trace the assailants.
Settlers Write Racist Graffiti In Nablus village
A number of extremist Israeli settlers invaded, on Wednesday at dawn, the Awarta village, east of the northern West Bank city of Nablus, and wrote racist graffiti on the walls of several homes.
Ghassan Douglas, in charge of the Settlements File at the Palestinian Authority in the northern part of the West Bank, stated that a number of extremist settlers living in Itamar illegal settlement, wrote the graffiti on several home walls, and fled the scene after the residents noticed them.
Douglas added that the settlers also attempted to torch two cars at the eastern entrance of the town.
The settlers spilled fuel on the two vehicles but fled the scene after the residents saw them trying to burn the cars. The two cars belong to residents Nidal and Eyad Qawareeq.
Attacks carried out by extremist settlers against the Palestinians have been sharply escalating, targeting Palestinian civilians, orchards and farmlands, homes and property, in addition to defacing , vandalizing and torching several mosques and churches.
Several were also carried out against Israeli peace groups and leftist organizations, especially settlement watchdog groups and human rights organizations in the country.
Jewish settlers start farming confiscated Palestinian land
Jewish settlers started to farm Palestinian land they seized by force near Al-Khader village, Bethlehem province, local sources said.
Ahmed Salah, the coordinator of the popular committee in the village, told Quds Press on Thursday that the five dunums, around 5000 square meters, were located in an area called Ein Qassis and were owned by Suleiman Salah.
He said that a group of settlers ploughed the land as a preliminary procedure before planting fruitful trees in it.
Salah pointed out that a settler named Hananiya, who led the settlers in farming the land, is leading a rabid campaign against Al-Khader village land and nearby villages. He said that the settler every now and then confiscate pieces of Palestinian land and annex them to Jewish settlements.
Settler’s Vehicle Rams Child In Hebron
An Israeli settler driving in Jaber Neighborhood, in the southern West Bank of Hebron, hit a Palestinian child then drove off in what appears to be a ramming attack, medical sources reported.
Nasser Qabaja, a Red Crescent official in Hebron, said that the child was moved to an Israeli hospital upon request of her family.
Medical sources said that the child suffered moderate injuries, and that she suffered various cuts and bruises.
Late in January this year, an Israeli driver hit a Palestinian teenager at a checkpoint near Jerusalem, and then drove off in an apparent ramming attack.
Some of the witnesses present at the scene were able to document the license number of the vehicle, but Israeli police did not take the information when it was presented to them.
Although several previous ramming incidents have been reported to the Israeli police and military, no investigations of these incidents have been carried out by the Israeli authorities.
Medics: Settler runs over child in Hebron
An Israeli settler on Wednesday ran over a Palestinian child in Hebron's Old City, medics said.
Red Crescent official Nasser Qabaja told Ma'an the girl was taken to an Israeli hospital by an Israeli ambulance at the request of her parents.
Qabaja said she was moderately injured.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said Israeli forces had evacuated the girl and that the matter was in the hands of the Israeli police.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces detained 23-year-old Mutaz Khalil at the entrance to Beit Ummar village, north of Hebron, local official Muhammad Awad said.
High Court Delays Deliberations Of Settlers Eviction From Hebron Home
The Israeli High Court delayed deliberations in a case filed by Israel’s Peace Now Movement on behalf of a Palestinian family demanding Israel to remove Israeli settlers squatting in a home they occupied in the heart of Hebron City, in the southern part of the West Bank.
The home is located in what is now known as Beit Ezra illegal outpost in Hebron.
The Israeli Court also decided to pay Peace Now and the family NIS 5000 each for expenses they endured due to the fact that deliberations on the case have been repeatedly delayed upon request of the Israeli government, the Arabs48 news website reported.
In related news, Israeli soldiers kidnapped on Wednesday a Palestinian young man at the entrance of Beit Ummar town, near Hebron.
Mohammad Awad, member of the Popular Committee Against the Wall, reported that soldiers ambushed Mo’taz Ahmad Khalil, 23, and kidnapped him directly after he parked his car and stepped out of it.
Israeli poll reveals sharp rise in racism against Arabs and Africans
An Israeli opinion poll unveiled a sharp rise in the prevalence of racism and extremism among Jews towards the Arab natives and African immigrants.
The poll, which was conducted by Tel Aviv university on the occasion of the new educational year, stated that more than half of the Jewish students at the secondary level and graduates from high schools refuse to live with or near Arabs.
According to Haaretz newspaper which published the survey results on Wednesday, 55 percent of the high school students polled refuses to live with or near Arabs, while 59 percent of them saw that Israel has to expel all Jewish immigrants from Africa.
The poll also revealed that a large percentage of young Jews, about 60 percent, do not want to serve in the army or fight for Israel and 39 percent of them believed in the need for recruiting religious Jews and Arabs to serve in the army.
22 aug 2012
Palestinians Fear Settlers Plan to Takeover Solomon Pools
Palestinians Wednesday expressed concern that Jewish settlers are planning to take over the historic Solomon Pools located in al-Khader, a town south of Bethlehem, through performing religious rituals there, according to an activist.
Coordinator of the Committee against the Apartheid Wall Ahmad Salah told WAFA that around 70 settlers arrived at Solomon Pools under army protection and performed religious rituals there.
He added that Israeli forces target the pools in addition to the nearby convention center in an attempt to annex the ancient Solomon Pools area to a nearby settlement.
Solomon Pools are considered a major Palestinian historical site in Bethlehem and consist of three open cisterns fed from an underground spring.
Settlers 'break into' Solomon's pools near Bethlehem
A group of settlers broke into Solomon's pools near Bethlehem on Wednesday, a local committee coordinator said.
Over 70 settlers accompanied by Israeli forces entered the area via the northern section of Um-Rukbeh, Ahmad Salah said.
The settlers were from Efrat and have been known to perform religious ceremonies at the pools area, Salah added.
Settlers 'attempt to set fire' to cars in Nablus village
Settlers attempted to set fire to two cars and wrote racist slogans in a Nablus village on Wednesday, a Palestinian Authority official said.
Ghassan Doughlas, who monitors settlement activity in the northern West Bank, told Ma'an that settlers from Itamar raided the village of Awarta and poured petrol over cars belonging to Nidal Qawariq and Eyah Qawariq.
The settlers also sprayed racist slogans on several walls in the village but failed to ignite the petrol before fleeing, Doughlas said.
The PA official called on the international community to end racist attacks by settlers against Palestinians.
On Tuesday, a group of Jewish settlers tried to set fire to a Palestinian home near Nablus. Settlers from the Hafad Gilad illegal outpost attacked Farid Tawil's home in Farata village, Doughlas said.
Last Thursday, five Palestinians were seriously injured when settlers hurled a firebomb at their car near Bethlehem. Two four-year-old children suffered first-degree burns in the incident, which Israel's vice-premier Moshe Yaalaon described as "an act of terrorism."
Settlers are rarely prosecuted for acts of violence against Palestinians.
Settlers Invade Nablus Village
A number of extremist Israeli settlers invaded, on Wednesday at dawn, the village of Awarta, near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, and tried to torch two Palestinian cars after writing racist graffiti against the Palestinians.
Local sources reported that the settlers came from Itamar illegal settlement, built on Palestinian lands, near Awarta village, east of Nablus.
The sources added that the settlers wrote anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian graffiti on the walls of some homes, and fled the scene after some residents noticed them.
The attack is the latest of a series of seriously escalating attacks carried out by extremist settlers against the Palestinians and their property.
On Tuesday at dawn, a number of armed extremist Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian home in Far’ata village, west of the northern West Bank city of Nablus, and tried to torch it.
One of the attacked youths, identified as Jamal Julani, 17, is currently in a serious condition at the Hadassah Israeli hospital in Jerusalem.
Last Thursday, settlers hurled a firebomb at a Palestinian Taxi causing severe injuries to Ayman Mohammad Ghayatha, 36, his wife Jamila Abdul-Hai, 28, their children; Mohammad, 5, and Eman, 4, and Hasan Mohammad Hasan Ghayatha, 26. The Taxi driver, Bassam Mohammad Ghayatha, 55, was also injured.
Medical sources said that the wounded family suffered fourth degree burns, the worst degree of burns as the flesh is burnt to the bone, and that their condition is deteriorating.
In Jerusalem Friday, August 17, a mob of Israelis chanting 'Death to Arabs' attacked three young Palestinians, nearly killing one and severely wounding the other two.
The attack took place in Zion Square, where three as-yet unidentified Palestinian youth were walking when the mob began beating them, chanting ethnic slurs including “A Jew is a soul and an Arab is a son of a b--”
On Monday, the Israeli Police apprehended seven Israeli youths suspected of involvement in the lynch attack.
A similar 'lynch mob' type incident took place in March in Jerusalem's Malha Mall. Despite the submission of cellphone video footage to the Israeli police to help identify the assailants, no investigation was done and no arrests were ever made.
Instead, according to journalist Ali Abunimah, “Israel’s Hasbara [propaganda] machinery jumped into action, denying there was a pervasive problem with racism. The Jewish Agency’s online hasbara chief Avi Mayer even mounted a publicity stunt where he went to Malha Mall to distribute candy.”
Israel to Pursue Evacuation of Migron Settlers to New West Bank Settlement
Israel is to pursue the evacuation of settlers from the illegal West Bank outpost of Migron, the Israeli Attorney General's Office said in a statement to the Israeli High Court on Monday.
However, the settlers will be not be removed from the West Bank, but will be moved to a new settlement just 2km from Migron. The new outpost is due to be built on the land of the Palestinian village of Mukhmas in the Israeli-controlled Area C of the West Bank, which is classified by Israel as state-owned land, Israeli NGO Peace Now told PNN.
The evacuation of Migron, which has most recently been set for August 28th, has been delayed several times since the Israeli High Court ruled last summer that the outpost must be evacuated due to it being built on what Israel recognises to be private Palestinian land.
"We recall that all of the buildings in Migron are illegal and that demolition orders were issued many years ago," the Attorney General's Office stated.
The statement comes in response to a petition to the High Court last month by 17 of the 50 settler families living in Migron to let them stay in the illegal outpost. The petition claimed that the families had bought three plots of land in the settlement and so should be allowed to remain on those.
However, Peace Now's Settlement Watch Director Hagit Ofran told PNN that they were certain that the purchases were based on forged documents.
The Israeli statement acknowledged that Peace Now's attorney Michael Sfard, who initially petitioned the High Court on behalf of the Palestinian landowners, had already claimed that the purchases of Lots 2, 10 and 23 were founded on fraudulent documents, and said that police were investigating the claims.
The state noted that access to Lot 2 would involve trespassing on adjacent Palestinian property. The statement also pointed out that the settlers had only claimed to have purchased 25% of Lot 23, and that its usage would infringe the rights of the Palestinians who own the rest.
However, the Attorney General's Office asked the High Court to allow vacant buildings on Lot 10 to be left standing for a further 90 days after the planned August 28th eviction, while the settlers' purchase claims are being investigated.
Commenting on the state's request, Ofran said, "The government is doing everything in favour of the settlers, including attempts to leave houses on Palestinian land, which means the Palestinians won't be able to return."
"They [the Israeli government] will use security excuses and guards [to ensure this]," she added.
The government's statement did not mention the date of the evacuation. Any further action on Migron is being postponed until a High Court hearing on August 28th, the same date as the planned evacuation.
A spokesperson for the Israeli Justice Ministry refused to comment further on the statement, neither confirming nor denying whether Palestinians would be able to return to their land, and refusing to specify the date of the evacuation and where the settlers would be evacuated to.
The Attorney General's Office's statement was accompanied by an affadavit signed by Likud Minister Benny Begin. The document, seen by PNN, says that the statement represents that views of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak.
All settlements in the occupied West Bank are considered illegal by the international community under international law.
21 aug 2012
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A 5-year-old boy brutally savaged by a large group of dogs set free by Israeli settlers. The bruised kid is in need of multiple surgeries including facial reconstructive surgery.
Karmel Moayyad Shkair was with his family in his home town of Azawiyeh. He was playing with his friends before a group of Israeli settlers entered the area with a large pack of dogs. The dogs attacked the children, before the family could intercept. Karmel was luckily saved but he suffered severe injuries. The village lies near the illegal Kannat settlement which is infamous in the area for housing extremist settlers. The villagers remain consistently vulnerable to attacks. |
The attack against the 5-year-old Karmel is just one of the numerous such incidents which are seldom documented. The family claim that there is little protection against arbitrary attacks by settlers in the area and that the Israeli army serves to protect rather than prosecute the perpetrators.
A 15-year-old Jewish boy arrested on suspicion of being involved in what police have described as the "lynching" of 17-year-old Jamal Julani admitted to hitting the Palestinian teenager in court on Monday, and said, "For all I care, let him die. He's an Arab."
"He cursed my mother. He can die. A Jew can't go through Damascus Gate without getting stabbed. Everyone hit him, there were some 40 people there and all of them hit him," Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports that the boy said.
The 15-year-old is suspected by police to have been the first to strike Julani during the attack last Thursday night, kicking him in the chest and causing him to fall to the ground. When paramedics arrived on the scene shortly after the attackers ran away, Julani had no pulse and CPR and defibrillators had to be used for ten minutes before his heart restarted.
"He cursed my mother. He can die. A Jew can't go through Damascus Gate without getting stabbed. Everyone hit him, there were some 40 people there and all of them hit him," Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports that the boy said.
The 15-year-old is suspected by police to have been the first to strike Julani during the attack last Thursday night, kicking him in the chest and causing him to fall to the ground. When paramedics arrived on the scene shortly after the attackers ran away, Julani had no pulse and CPR and defibrillators had to be used for ten minutes before his heart restarted.
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Advanced Staff Sergeant Shmuel Shenhav said on Sunday, "This was an extremely severe crime. Only a miracle saved him from death."
Two more teenagers were arrested over the incident on Monday, bringing the total number of arrests to seven, with more still expected to follow. The Jewish teenagers are all aged between 13 and 19, and include two girls aged 15 and 17 Jerusalem police official, Ronen Avnieli told Israeli media that police believe that prior to the attack one of the Jewish girls claimed to the rest of the group of teenagers that she had been raped by an Arab several weeks earlier. The boys in the group then decided to look for Arabs to beat up to |
avenge the girl, who has also been arrested. Julani and his three cousins happened to be walking through Zion Square at that time.
Eyewitnesses reported seeing the group shout insults at the four Palestinians before attacking them. Two of Julani's cousins told Haaretz that they had done nothing to provoke the attack.
Police also told Israeli media that hundreds of people had stood by while the attack took place and did nothing to stop it.
Julani is still recovering from the attack in Hadassah University Medical Center, Ein Karem. On Sunday a hospital spokeswoman said that the 17-year-old no longer needed to use a respirator and has been moved out of intensive care.
Palestinian Wounded By Settlers Molotov Bomb Is in Serious Condition
The Palestine News Network (PNN) reported that resident Ayman Hasan Ghayatha, 36, who was wounded along with his family by a firebomb hurled by extremist Israeli settlers at a Palestinian taxi near Bethlehem on Thursday, is now in a serious condition at the Hadassah Israeli hospital in Jerusalem.
Resident Ribhi Ghayatha told the PNN that Ayman was directly hit by the firebomb in his abdomen leading to serious injuries; Mohammad is currently at the Intensive Care Unit in Hadassah Israeli Hospital in Jerusalem.
Ribhi added Ayman suffered several serious injuries, in addition to an injury that led to a hole close to his heart.
Head of the Emergency Department of the Red Crescent in Bethlehem, Abdul-Halim Ja’afra, reported that wounded residents were identified as Bassam (cab driver) Mahmoud Ghayatha, 55, Ayman Hassan Ghayatha, 35, his wife Jamila Abdul-Hai, 28, their children; Mohammad, 5, and Eman, 4, and Hasan Mohammad Hasan Ghayatha, 26.
As for the family members, Ribhi said that their health conditions are gradually deteriorating due to severe injuries and fourth degree burns, the worst degree of burns as the flesh is burnt to the bone.
The settlers who hurled the firebomb apparently mixed it with chemicals to inflict maximum harm, medical sources reported.
Jamila Ghayatha, the wife of Ayman, is currently facing several health complications. The Taxi driver, Bassam Mahmoud Ghayatha, is also in a serious condition.
Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, sent letters to Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, and Prime Minister, Salaam Fayyad, informing them that his government will apprehend the assailants.
On Monday, Israel arrested five Israeli teenage settlers who participated in a lynch mob attack against a 17-year-old Palestinian youth, in Jerusalem on Friday, causing serious injuries that landed him at the Intensive Care Unit.
The Israeli Police said that intends to conduct more arrests as the investigation continues.
Chanting 'Death to Arabs', the settlers attacked three young Palestinians, nearly killing one and severely wounding the other two.
PNN reported that resident Jamal Julani was left fighting for his life after being attacked in “Zion Square” in Jerusalem. He was surrounded by approximately a dozen young settlers who kept beating and kicking him even after he fell unconscious.
(On 26 August 2012, three Israeli settler children, aged between 12 and 13 years, were arrested on suspicion of involvement in the attack. One boy was conditionally released by a civilian judge on 29 August, and the other two were conditionally released the following day.
This case highlights the discriminatory nature of the legal systems applied by the Israeli authorities in the West Bank. Whilst settler children are processed through Israel’s juvenile justice system and generally released on bail, Palestinian children accused of similar offences are prosecuted in military courts which deny children bail in at least 87 percent of cases, and have a conviction rate of 99.74 percent.)
Settlers 'try to torch Nablus home'
A group of Jewish settlers tried to set fire to a Palestinian home near Nablus early Tuesday morning, a Palestinian Authority official said.
Settlers from the Hafad Gilad illegal outpost attacked Farid Tawil's home in Farata village, said Ghassan Doughlas, who monitors settlement activity in the northern West Bank.
They tried to set fire to Tawil's home, which is at the entrance to the village, but Tawil and his family woke up and manage to stop them, Doughlas added.
On Friday, five Palestinians were seriously injured when settlers hurled a firebomb at their car near Bethlehem. Two four-year-old children suffered first-degree burns in the incident, which Israel's vice-premier Moshe Yaalaon described as "an act of terrorism."
Settlers are rarely prosecuted for acts of violence against Palestinians.
Jewish settlers start fire in a Palestinian house near Nablus
A group of Jewish settlers attacked a Palestinian house in Farta’a village to the west of Nablus and tried to burn it, local sources said.
Ghassan Daghlas, in charge of monitoring settlement activity north of the West Bank, said that 12 settlers started a fire at the entrance to the house of Farid Odeh on Monday night.
He added that the inhabitants woke up and rushed to extinguish the fire before it extends to the entire house and the settlers fled the scene.
Eyewitnesses reported seeing the group shout insults at the four Palestinians before attacking them. Two of Julani's cousins told Haaretz that they had done nothing to provoke the attack.
Police also told Israeli media that hundreds of people had stood by while the attack took place and did nothing to stop it.
Julani is still recovering from the attack in Hadassah University Medical Center, Ein Karem. On Sunday a hospital spokeswoman said that the 17-year-old no longer needed to use a respirator and has been moved out of intensive care.
Palestinian Wounded By Settlers Molotov Bomb Is in Serious Condition
The Palestine News Network (PNN) reported that resident Ayman Hasan Ghayatha, 36, who was wounded along with his family by a firebomb hurled by extremist Israeli settlers at a Palestinian taxi near Bethlehem on Thursday, is now in a serious condition at the Hadassah Israeli hospital in Jerusalem.
Resident Ribhi Ghayatha told the PNN that Ayman was directly hit by the firebomb in his abdomen leading to serious injuries; Mohammad is currently at the Intensive Care Unit in Hadassah Israeli Hospital in Jerusalem.
Ribhi added Ayman suffered several serious injuries, in addition to an injury that led to a hole close to his heart.
Head of the Emergency Department of the Red Crescent in Bethlehem, Abdul-Halim Ja’afra, reported that wounded residents were identified as Bassam (cab driver) Mahmoud Ghayatha, 55, Ayman Hassan Ghayatha, 35, his wife Jamila Abdul-Hai, 28, their children; Mohammad, 5, and Eman, 4, and Hasan Mohammad Hasan Ghayatha, 26.
As for the family members, Ribhi said that their health conditions are gradually deteriorating due to severe injuries and fourth degree burns, the worst degree of burns as the flesh is burnt to the bone.
The settlers who hurled the firebomb apparently mixed it with chemicals to inflict maximum harm, medical sources reported.
Jamila Ghayatha, the wife of Ayman, is currently facing several health complications. The Taxi driver, Bassam Mahmoud Ghayatha, is also in a serious condition.
Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, sent letters to Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, and Prime Minister, Salaam Fayyad, informing them that his government will apprehend the assailants.
On Monday, Israel arrested five Israeli teenage settlers who participated in a lynch mob attack against a 17-year-old Palestinian youth, in Jerusalem on Friday, causing serious injuries that landed him at the Intensive Care Unit.
The Israeli Police said that intends to conduct more arrests as the investigation continues.
Chanting 'Death to Arabs', the settlers attacked three young Palestinians, nearly killing one and severely wounding the other two.
PNN reported that resident Jamal Julani was left fighting for his life after being attacked in “Zion Square” in Jerusalem. He was surrounded by approximately a dozen young settlers who kept beating and kicking him even after he fell unconscious.
(On 26 August 2012, three Israeli settler children, aged between 12 and 13 years, were arrested on suspicion of involvement in the attack. One boy was conditionally released by a civilian judge on 29 August, and the other two were conditionally released the following day.
This case highlights the discriminatory nature of the legal systems applied by the Israeli authorities in the West Bank. Whilst settler children are processed through Israel’s juvenile justice system and generally released on bail, Palestinian children accused of similar offences are prosecuted in military courts which deny children bail in at least 87 percent of cases, and have a conviction rate of 99.74 percent.)
Settlers 'try to torch Nablus home'
A group of Jewish settlers tried to set fire to a Palestinian home near Nablus early Tuesday morning, a Palestinian Authority official said.
Settlers from the Hafad Gilad illegal outpost attacked Farid Tawil's home in Farata village, said Ghassan Doughlas, who monitors settlement activity in the northern West Bank.
They tried to set fire to Tawil's home, which is at the entrance to the village, but Tawil and his family woke up and manage to stop them, Doughlas added.
On Friday, five Palestinians were seriously injured when settlers hurled a firebomb at their car near Bethlehem. Two four-year-old children suffered first-degree burns in the incident, which Israel's vice-premier Moshe Yaalaon described as "an act of terrorism."
Settlers are rarely prosecuted for acts of violence against Palestinians.
Jewish settlers start fire in a Palestinian house near Nablus
A group of Jewish settlers attacked a Palestinian house in Farta’a village to the west of Nablus and tried to burn it, local sources said.
Ghassan Daghlas, in charge of monitoring settlement activity north of the West Bank, said that 12 settlers started a fire at the entrance to the house of Farid Odeh on Monday night.
He added that the inhabitants woke up and rushed to extinguish the fire before it extends to the entire house and the settlers fled the scene.
Settlers talk.....
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On 28th August the Supreme Court of Israel will decide the fate of 300 Jewish souls living in Migron a thriving community just 14 kilometres north of Yerushalayim.
Migron is situated in a very strategic position overlooking Route number 60 in Binyamin located on Government sanctioned land given to the community by the then PM Ariel Sharon in 1999. Attorney Howard Grief has highlighted that: "Migron was .....never private Arab property". This video titled "Let Migron Stay!" is a plea to both PM Binyamin Netanyahu and Chief Justice Asher Grunis to leave Migron alone to continue its "peaceful co-existence" with its Arab neighbours acting as a role model for other parts of Eretz Yisrael. |
In a good relationship with their neighbors...
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