16 sept 2012
Settlers uproot trees in al-Khalil
A group of Israeli settlers uprooted on Friday evening olive trees in the south of al-Khalil, while scores of them stormed al-Majour area near Dura.
Local sources said that the settlers had uprooted more than 15 olive trees, under the protection of occupation forces, near the town of Yatta, south of al-Khalil.
Eyewitnesses told "PIC" that hundreds of settlers broke into the districts of al-Majour and Rajam Abu Hilal in the South of Dura, south of al-Khalil, and toured near a Palestinian school in the area, protected by Israeli soldiers.
The groups of settlers stormed Wadi Abu Qamra in Dura on Friday morning causing concerns among citizens about the occupation intentions of setting up settlements in those areas.
Jewish settlers defile Aqsa Mosque this morning
About 60 Jewish settlers escorted by armed policemen stormed on Sunday morning the Aqsa Mosque and performed Talmudic rituals in its courtyard.
According to eyewitnesses, the number of Jewish settlers started to increase around the Mosque as there are Zionist groups calling on its followers to desecrate the Aqsa Mosque intensively during the season of the Jewish holidays which started this afternoon and would continue for a month.
The Israeli occupation forces have tightened since the morning hours their restrictions on the Palestinians visiting the Aqa Mosque and prevented hundreds of Palestinian worshipers from entering the Mosque.
However, there are already tens of Palestinian worshipers and young scholars inside the Mosque to defend it.
Youths raise the Palestinian flag on the Israeli military camp in Bethlehem
Palestinian youths raised the Palestinian flag on an Israeli military camp near the settlement of "Etzion" near Bethlehem in the southern occupied West Bank.
Eyewitnesses told Quds Press that dozens of Palestinian youths protested, on Saturday, against the settlers' attacks on Palestinians and their properties and places of worship. The protesters succeeded to access the main street connecting Al-Khalil and Jerusalem before being forced to leave by the Israeli soldiers.
The participants, raising the Palestinian flag, condemned the settlers' recent attack against a mosque near the town of Dura, southern Al-Khalil, where they wrote racist slogans on the mosque's walls and tried to burn it.
Israel restricts movement of Jerusalemites for Jewish celebrations
The Israeli police started to tighten its security measures against the natives in occupied Jerusalem on the occasion of the Jewish celebrations.
The Jewish celebrations, including the Hebrew new year, Yom Kippur and Sukkot, will start on the morning of Sunday.
The police said it would deploy large reinforcements of its forces and border guards throughout the holy city especially during the evening and would establish new barriers and checkpoints.
Such measure would restrict the movement of the Palestinian natives of Jerusalem and expose them to police harassment as happens every year.
The Jewish settlers also intensify their attacks and provocative acts against the Palestinians in the holy city during their celebrations.
15 sept 2012
Scores of settlers break into Dura south of al-Khalil
Dozens settlers stormed on Friday morning the area of Wadi Abu Qamra in Dura, south of al-Khalil.
The citizen Abu Hassan Omar told PIC that between 250 to 300 settlers stormed the Wadi Abu Qamra in the east of Dura, south of al-Khalil, protected by Israeli occupation soldiers, and started provoking the residents.
The groups of settlers had stormed the region, which is rich of agricultural crops and water wells, earlier in a sign to the occupation's intention to seize tracts of lands there.
Settlers attack and injure Palestinians south of Nablus
Three Palestinians, including a woman, were injured on Friday evening when they were attacked by extremist Jewish settlers near Za'tara roadblock, south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus.
Local sources reported that the settlers hurled rocks at a Palestinian car near the roadblock injuring the passengers who were traveling from Ramallah to Qalqilya. The settlers then proceeded to beat the two men and woman who were traveling in the car.
The three were taken to Rafidia hospital in Nablus.
14 sept 2012
PNN: Hundreds of Settlers Attack Palestinians in Hebron
Hundreds of Jewish settlers raided Wad Abu al-Qamrah area south of Durah in Hebron, south of the West Bank, under 'strict' security protection of Israeli authorities.
Our reporter said that settlers broke into several areas and neighbourhoods in Hebron and at these moments, settlers reached Rajam Abu Hilal area in the same city.
Eyewitnesses said that settlers crossed the road that links between Durah and al-Fawar, attacked Palestinians' vehicles with stones.
Settlers, who came from Beit Hagai nearby settlement, sneaked between the houses and residential areas until they reached the city centre.
Settlers continue to carry out attacks on Palestinians and their properties in Hebron, in order to seize them for the favour of the settlements.
Settler group tours Hebron lands
More than 150 Israeli settlers toured Palestinian agricultural lands in south Hebron on Friday morning, locals said.
No clashes were reported.
The group proceeded through the Wadi Abu Qamra area near Dura, on lands owned by Abdel al-Hai Shaheen, under military protection, residents said. They also surrounded a local school and mosque, the witnesses added.
Israeli settlers living in communities in the West Bank, which are illegal under international law, regularly enter Palestinian villages sparking confrontations.
Some settlers champion a 'price tag' policy, wreaking violence on Palestinians and their property as punishment for measures against Israeli settlements.
Israel says 44 settlements on expropriated Palestinian land
The Israeli government is seeking court approval for the construction of settler homes on private Palestinian land in more than 40 settlements, an Israeli news report said Thursday.
All Israeli settlements on built occupied Palestinian land are illegal under international law. But Israel classes some settlements as legal, while others it says are built without following government and legal requirements, but they often receive retroactive approval.
The Israeli High Court ruled in 1979 that the army could no longer confiscate West Bank land from Palestinian land-owners for settlement building, but only for "military purposes."
Despite the ruling, Israeli daily Haaretz said the state prosecution admitted in a recent case that 44 settlements were erected totally or partially based on expropriation orders for private land that were initially issued for military purposes.
The state argued that the High Court ruling "does not prevent exploiting the potential of these communities (settlements)."
It is asking for court permission to use its judgment in planning settlement construction on private Palestinian lands.
The response was made in a case brought by a Palestinian from Ramallah village Dura al-Qara against the expansion of Beit El settlement on his land.
Israeli court rules settlers own Hebron building
An Israel court ruled on Thursday that settlers had legally purchased a Palestinian home in the center of Hebron, and it should be handed over to them within 30 days, Israeli press said.
Beit Hameriva (the House of Contention) was built in 1995 in the al-Ras neighborhood which links Israeli settlement Kiryat Arba to the Ibrahimi Mosque.
Israeli settlers took over the building in 2007 saying they had purchased it from Palestinians, but the sale was disputed in Israel's Hgh Court High Court, and in 2008 the settlers were evacuated.
The Jerusalem District Court on Thursday said the settlers legally purchased the building from the 'Tal Building and Investments Karnei Shomron' Israeli daily Haaretz reported.
Around 800 Jewish settlers live in Hebron's Old City, among 30,000 Palestinians in the parts of the ancient city that are under Israeli control.
13 sept 2012
Palestine foundation condemns Israel for mosque concert
A Palestinian foundation has condemned Israel’s holding of a concert to celebrate the Jewish new year, Rosh Hashanah in the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Mosque -- one of the holiest sites in Islam -- in al-Quds [Jerusalem].
Al-Aqsa Foundation for Endowment and Heritage on Thursday slammed the event, held at a venue within the courtyard, as "the violation of Al-Aqsa Mosque's sanctity," news website worldbulletin.net reported.
The foundation called on the Muslim world "to step up and stop attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque and al-Quds [Jerusalem]."
Last week, Israeli authorities were forced to call off a wine festival, planned to be held in the courtyard of the former Great Mosque in the city of Beersheba in the Occupied Territories, in the face of strong opposition and protests by Muslims. The mosque was established in 705 CE.
Court: Settlers purchased Hebron house legally
Following five years of deliberations, Jerusalem court dismisses Palestinian's claim that deal to purchase house was never finalized. Kiryat Arba council head: Jews have right to settle in all of Israel.
The Jerusalem District Court on Thursday ruled that the State must return a house in Hebron to settlers who were evicted from it in December 2008, stating that they had purchased it legally.
Judge Moshe Baram determined that the Palestinian owner's claim that the purchase agreement had been annulled before it was finalized was not credible. He ordered the Palestinian to pay NIS 50,000 (about $13,000) in legal fees.
The affair began in March of 2007 when Jewish settlers moved into the so-called "house of contention," located on the main road linking Kiryat Arba to the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron. In response Faizi Rajabi, the seller, filed a police complaint saying he was the owner and that the purchase agreement was never finalized.
Following a lengthy legal battle, security forces removed the settlers from the house, also known as "Beit HaShalom," in December 2008. The eviction led to a series of violent clashes between settlers and security forces. Following the eviction, it was determined that the house would remain in the State's hands until the court rules on the settlers' ownership claims.
On Thursday Judge Baram ordered the State to prepare to turn the house over to the settlers within a month. However, the judge stressed that he is not ordering the Civil Administration to pursue legal measures that would allow the settlers to live in the house. Jews who purchase a home in the territories cannot move into it without the Civil Administration's authorization.
The settlers lauded the court's decision and said they were convinced it would pave the way for the return of the Machpelah house to Jewish hands. Settlers were evicted from the Machpelah house five months ago.
"The verdict bolsters our claim that Jews have a right to settle in all parts of the Land of Israel," said Malachi Levinger, head of the Kiryat Arba Hebron Council. "I urge the government of Israel to allow the settlers to return to the house immediately, and at the same time rectify the injustice that was done at the Machpelah house."
In response to the ruling, Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz called on Defense Minister Ehud Barak to "instruct the Civil Administration to authorize the deal and allow the Jewish families to move into the house.
"The defense minister's decision (to evacuate the home) was reckless and was aimed at fanning the flames. Jews have always lived in Hebron, and they will continue to do so," the minister added.
Yesha Council head Danny Dayan urged Barak and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to "uphold the court's decision and not try to thwart it using various tricks."
Settler’s Vehicle Rams Child In Bethlehem
A Palestinian child was seriously injured after being hit by a settlers’ vehicle as she was walking home from school in Tiqoua’ village, near the West Bank city of Bethlehem.
Medical sources reported that the child was identified as Hayat Mohammad Suleiman, 8 years old. She was walking back home from school on the main road that is also used by Israeli settlers living in illegal Israeli settlements in the area.
The sources added that an Israeli ambulance arrived at the scene and moved the child to Hadassah Israeli Hospital in Jerusalem.
Last month, 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.
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.
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.
Several claims were filed with the Israeli police and the military in the occupied territories regarding hit and run ramming incidents carried out by Israeli settlers, but no actual measures were taken on the ground.
Israeli settler runs over a Palestinian child in Bethlehem
An Israeli settler, on Wednesday, ran over a Palestinian child, 8, while on her way home from school, near Tuqu village in Bethlehem.
Hayat Mahmoud Soboh was crossing a main road on her way home from school when she was knocked down by a settler's car, locals said.
The sources added that the ambulance arrived on scene, and transported the girl to the Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital for treatment.
Settlers appropriate Palestinian land in Khader village
A group of Jewish settlers seized a tract of Palestinian land in Khader village south of Bethlehem and embarked on cultivating it.
Coordinator of the popular committee against the wall in the village Ahmed Salah said the settlers appropriated an area of two dunums adjacent to Efrat settlement that was built illegally on Palestinian land.
Salah noted that the Israeli occupation forces prevent Khader villagers from reaching their agricultural lands near Efrat settlement and demand them to get access permits from the security administrator of the settlement.
Israel and its settlers have escalated lately the annexation of large tracts of Palestinian land in Khader village as they did in Daher Ein Masour and Khelat Al-Fahm areas of the village.
Settlers Occupy Palestinian Lands Near Bethlehem
The Palestine News & Info Agency (WAFA) reported Thursday that a number of extremist settlers occupied privately-owned Palestinian lands that belong to residents of the Al-Khader town, near the West Bank city of Bethlehem.
Ahmad Salah, Coordinator of the Popular Committee Against the Wall in Al-Khader, told WAFA that the settlers occupied 2 Dunams (0.494 Acres) located in Irq Ath-Theeba area, close to the Efrat illegal settlement that was built on lands belonging to the residents. The two Dunams belong to resident Yousef Mahmoud Ghneim.
Salah said that Israeli soldiers prevented the villagers from reaching their lands, and added that the army requires all residents, who have lands close to Efrat settlement, to obtain permits from “security coordinator” of the settlement, in order to be able to enter their own lands and orchards.
He further stated that Al-Khader is facing a serious escalation as Israeli settlers, protected by the army, carried out several recent attacks, while the settlers also occupied large areas of Palestinian lands in order to build parks in different areas including “Ein Masour” and “Khallit Al-Fahem”.
Salah voiced an appeal to human rights and legal groups to intervene and stop the Israeli polices of land theft practiced against the reidents, and to ensure the residents are able to enter their vineyards this season, especially due to significant losses the villagers endured in previous seasons as the army prevented them from entering their lands.
In August, a group of Israeli settlers planted a Palestinian land that they illegally took over in May, near Al-Khader town. The settlers were seen planting 5 Dunams of farmland that they illegally occupied three months ago.
PA Ministry: Settlement 'university' upgrade illegal
The Palestinian Authority Ministry of Higher Education on Thursday condemned the Israeli government's approval to upgrade an education center in a West Bank settlement to the status of university.
The Israeli cabinet on Sunday approved the measure, even though the Israeli High Court is still considering a petition to block the move, Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post reported.
"The Ministry reaffirms that all Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, constitute a grave violation of international law and that any and all facts on the ground created within these illegal settlements are considered null and void in international law," a ministry statement said.
"Any dealing with this so-called university contradicts the spirit and principles of academic freedom, tolerance, and respect for international law," it continued, calling for world education bodies to boycott the settlement institution.
"The Ministry considers the Israeli government's upgrade of this settler establishment to be a clear indication of its commitment to intransigence and rejection of its clear obligations as an occupying Power under international law," the statement noted.
12 sept 2012
Settlers Deface Mosque Near Hebron
A group of extremist Israeli settlers defaced, on Tuesday at dawn, a mosque in Emresh village, south of Doura town, near the southern West Bank city of Hebron.
The settlers came from Etnael illegal settlement, built on privately-owned lands that belong to the residents in the area.
The settlers wrote racist graffiti that read “Death to Arabs”, “Price Tag”, and several other racist graffiti.
Extremist settlers are behind hundreds of attacks that did not only target the residents and their lands, but also targeted graveyards, mosques and churches in different parts of Palestine.
Last week, a group of extremist Israeli settlers attacked the Latrun Christian Monastery in occupied Jerusalem, and wrote racist graffiti describing Jesus as a “Monkey”, and other graffiti against the Christian religion in general.
Last month, several extremist Israeli settlers invaded the Awarta village, east of the northern West Bank city of Nablus, and wrote racist graffiti on the walls of several homes, and the deface the local mosque.
Earlier in February this year, extremist Israelis wrote “Death to Christians” on the walls of a Jerusalem church, and slashed the tires of vehicles parked in the area.
The attacks fall under the “Price Tag” attacks carried out by extremist Israeli settlers against the Palestinian people, their lands and property, such attacks have been carried out against several mosques, including some that were completely burnt, and several churches.
Settlers Perform Religious Rituals in Al-Aqsa Mosque
On Wednesday 12th September, more than 30 settlers raided al-Aqsa mosque to perform their religious rituals under the protection of the Israeli occupation police.
Al-Aqsa mosque's guards said that settlers stormed al-Aqsa mosque from al-Magharbeh gate, roamed in its yards and performed their Talmudic and religious rituals.
The guards also said that Palestinians worshipers were almost going to start confrontations with Israeli police, but the police threatened them that if they started the confrontations they would be arrested and deported from al-Aqsa mosque.
The guards added that several international tourists who were with the settlers behaved in a way that violates the ethics and Sanctity of the mosque.
Since the early hours of the morning, more than 200 Palestinian worshipers existed at the mosque.
10 sept 2012
Settlers break into Qasra village in Nablus and destroy olive trees
A group of Israeli settlers stormed on Saturday evening, Qasra village in the south of Nablus city, and destroyed a number of olive trees.
PA official monitoring settler activities in West Bank Ghassan Daghlas said that over 30 settlers attacked the Palestinian citizens in the south of the village, and destroyed many olive trees and water well in the region.
Confrontations erupted between Palestinian citizens and the settlers in the region and the occupation army forces intervened to protect settlers, and fired tear gas and rubber bullets at Palestinian citizens, injuring 15 of them.
Settlers attack several vehicles belonging to Palestinians in Silwan
A group of Israeli settlers punctured, on Sunday morning, tires of a number of Palestinians' cars parked in front of their owners' houses in Wadi Hilweh in Silwan, in occupied city of Jerusalem.
Tawfiq Hassan Abu Hadwan, one of the residents of Wadi Hilweh, said that a group of five settlers arrived, on a white Citroën, to the region where three of them started puncturing tires of the parked cars belonging to Palestinian citizens under the protection of the other two who were carrying arms.
Abu Hadwan added that one of the Israeli police patrol (border guards) had been watching from afar the aggressors, but did not intervene to prevent this attack.
He pointed out that the neighborhood's residents did not try to confront the settlers who were heavily armed, because they thought that they are elements of Special Forces.
Yet, when some youths tried to confront the Jewish settlers, they fled from the neighborhood, followed by the border guards’ patrol, stated Abu Hadwan.
Jews and tourists party all night behind Aqsa Mosque's mihrab
Al-Aqsa foundation for endowment and heritage said hundreds of Jewish settlers and foreigners from different nationalities attended on Sunday evening a noisy dancing and singing party held in the Umayyad Palaces area behind the Aqsa Mosque's mihrab (niche).
The party continued until midnight and the loud sound of music and singing disturbed the Palestinian worshipers as they were performing their Magharib and Isha prayers inside the Aqsa Mosque.
The foundation said this party was part of a series of the Hebrew new year's celebrations which falls next week.
It noted that the Israeli occupation authority and Jewish groups invest such parties and concerts to propagate their Jewish claims about the holy city and tell tourists fabricated stories.
9 sept 2012
Official: 15 hurt in Nablus village after settler raid
After Israeli settlers raided the northern West Bank village of Qusra on Saturday night, clashes with Israeli forces injured 15 Palestinians from the village, a local official said.
Around 30 settlers from the Esh Kodesh settler outpost descended on the village in the evening, PA official Ghassan Daghlas told Ma’an. They uprooted several olive trees and destroyed water wells, before assaulting some villagers, he added.
Israeli forces arrived and fired tear gas and rubber bullets, Daghlas continued. The clashes continued for several hours and left 15 people from the village injured, he said.
An Israeli army spokeswoman said forces used riot dispersal means to disperse a clash between Palestinians and Israelis, but said no one needed evacuation.
Qusra lies near several settlements and outposts and is the site of regular assaults by their residents.
Issam Kamal Odeh, 33, died from Israeli army fire in September 2011 after soldiers came to the village after a settler raid.
6 arrested over attack on Palestinian in Jerusalem
Five Israeli teenagers were arrested on Saturday on suspicion of attacking a Palestinian man in Jerusalem, Israeli media reported.
Ibrahim Abu-Taah, 28, from Wadi Joz, was driving home a co-worker to Katamon in south Jerusalem when a group of young Israelis attacked him, breaking his leg in two places with a metal rod.
Israeli police arrested five teenagers on Saturday and expect more arrests, Haaretz said. Another person was arrested on Sunday, news site Ynet said.
Three of the suspects admitted taking part in the beating, and said they did it because they thought "the Arab was exploiting a Jewish girl," according to the Haaretz report. Israel Grants University Status to Settlement College The Israeli government Sunday granted the university status to Ariel college, which is located in the illegal settlement of Ariel in the West Bank, according to Israeli media reports.
This decision came following a vote by the Council for Higher Education in Judea and Samaria. 11 voted in favor of the decision; while 2 against.
Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, praised this decision and said that Israel is in need of more universities in light of the increasing number of population, “Ariel Settlement will remain under Israel’s control forever,” he said.
Settler security guard killed by car in north West Bank
An Israeli security guard for a settlement in the northern West Bank was killed on Sunday when he was hit by a car, Israeli news site Ynet reported.
The 50-year-old was checking for Palestinian cars trying to enter Israel on the road near Oranit settlement, south of Qalqiliya, the report said.
The driver fled the scene and police are searching for suspects, it continued.
Police nab 3 suspects in deadly W. Bank hit-and-run
Police have arrested three suspects in a deadly hit-and-run accident Sunday morning that took the life of Lior Farhi on the 505 highway in the West Bank.
Police have placed a gag order on the case, but spokesman for the Judea and Samaria police district, Ch.- Insp. Dudi Asraf confirmed that one of the suspects is the owner of the car involved in the crash, a Kfar Qassem resident who shortly after the accident went to the Rosh Ayin police station to report his car stolen, and was promptly arrested and held for questioning.
The other suspects are two Israeli Arabs from Jaffa, who were arrested in the city several hours after the crash.
Asraf confirmed that the Shin Bet General Security Services has been assisting in the investigation of the accident, which they don’t believe was a terror attack or carried out for nationalist motives.
The 50-year-old Farhi worked as the security officer at the western Samaria settlement of Shaarei Tikvah. On Sunday morning he and another Israeli were filming an attempt to sneak illegal Palestinian workers into an Israeli car near the Green Line, when they were spotted by the alleged smugglers. Farhi then reportedly stood in the highway and tried to stop the car but was run over, Asraf said.
Paramedics evacuated Farhi from the scene, but he succumbed to his wounds in an ambulance on the way to Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikvah.
Shortly thereafter the car was found abandoned on the side of the road near the Oranit interchange, and police and Shin Bet investigators began tracing the car to the suspects arrested later in the day.
As of Sunday night, the investigation was still ongoing and police were still examining possible further suspects.
8 sept 2012
Israeli forces, illegal settlers attack West Bank farmers
A group of illegal Jewish settlers along with Israeli soldiers has attacked Palestinian farmers in the occupied Palestinian territory of West Bank, injuring three of them.
Israeli soldiers and settlers scuffled with Palestinians as they prevented them from working on their lands. Israeli troops even fired gun shots during the clashes on Saturday.
The incident came two days after several Jewish settlers assaulted a number of Palestinians in Qasra village, which is located south of Nablus.
Head of the village council Abd al-Atheem said on September 6 that the illegal settlers, under Israeli soldiers’ protection, attacked the southern part of the village and pointed their guns at Palestinians to make them leave their lands.
He added that Israeli troops demanded Palestinians to show all their records of land ownership.
Rights groups have repeatedly accused Israeli troops of refusing to protect Palestinians against the Jewish settlers. Former West Bank Division Commander Brigadier General Nitzan Alon has also said that Israeli soldiers have not been working enough to stop settler attacks on Palestinians.
Israeli settlers, mostly armed, regularly attack Palestinian villages and farms and set fire to their mosques, olive groves and other properties in the occupied West Bank under the so-called “price tag” policy. However, the Tel Aviv regime rarely detains the assailants.
The extremists say the “price tag” attacks are carried out against any Israeli policy “to reduce the presence of settlers and settlements on occupied Palestinian land in the West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem).”
The Israeli settlements are considered illegal by the UN and most countries because those territories were captured by Israel in a war in 1967, and are hence seen as being subject to the Geneva Conventions, which forbids construction on occupied lands.
Not only has the presence and continued expansion of these settlements been a major source of international criticism against Israel, but they are also considered one of the main obstacles to Middle East peace.
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).
Settlers burn 130 olive trees in northern West Bank
Israeli settlers set fire to around 130 olive trees in a northern West Bank village on Friday, locals said.
Residents of Immanuel settlement set fire to the lands while residents were at Friday prayers, locals said. Fawzi Al-Ghanem, owner of the land, told Ma'an that civil defense crews brought the blaze under control but only after his trees had been destroyed.
Israeli police also arrived on the scene, which is located adjacent to the Israeli settlement, he said.
Earlier Friday, residents of Eli settlement entered another village in the northern West Bank, Qaryut, torching olive and almond trees, villagers said.
On Wednesday, European Union representatives said they were concerned at the rising number and severity of "continuous settler violence and deliberate provocations against Palestinian civilians."
The EU missions in Jerusalem and Ramallah called on Israel to prevent settler violence, protect Palestinians, and bring perpetrators to justice.
Three Palestinians injured in confrontations south of Nablus
Three Palestinians were injured on Saturday evening during confrontations between the Israeli occupation forces and the residents of the village of Qasra to the south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus.
The confrontations broke out after a group of extremist Jewish settlers tried to enter the village and attack farmers and the locals tried to defend themselves prompting the occupation army to start firing teargas and stun grenades at the Palestinians to protect the settlers.
7 sept 2012
Extremist Settlers Attack A Palestinian In Jerusalem
Settlers uproot trees in al-Khalil
A group of Israeli settlers uprooted on Friday evening olive trees in the south of al-Khalil, while scores of them stormed al-Majour area near Dura.
Local sources said that the settlers had uprooted more than 15 olive trees, under the protection of occupation forces, near the town of Yatta, south of al-Khalil.
Eyewitnesses told "PIC" that hundreds of settlers broke into the districts of al-Majour and Rajam Abu Hilal in the South of Dura, south of al-Khalil, and toured near a Palestinian school in the area, protected by Israeli soldiers.
The groups of settlers stormed Wadi Abu Qamra in Dura on Friday morning causing concerns among citizens about the occupation intentions of setting up settlements in those areas.
Jewish settlers defile Aqsa Mosque this morning
About 60 Jewish settlers escorted by armed policemen stormed on Sunday morning the Aqsa Mosque and performed Talmudic rituals in its courtyard.
According to eyewitnesses, the number of Jewish settlers started to increase around the Mosque as there are Zionist groups calling on its followers to desecrate the Aqsa Mosque intensively during the season of the Jewish holidays which started this afternoon and would continue for a month.
The Israeli occupation forces have tightened since the morning hours their restrictions on the Palestinians visiting the Aqa Mosque and prevented hundreds of Palestinian worshipers from entering the Mosque.
However, there are already tens of Palestinian worshipers and young scholars inside the Mosque to defend it.
Youths raise the Palestinian flag on the Israeli military camp in Bethlehem
Palestinian youths raised the Palestinian flag on an Israeli military camp near the settlement of "Etzion" near Bethlehem in the southern occupied West Bank.
Eyewitnesses told Quds Press that dozens of Palestinian youths protested, on Saturday, against the settlers' attacks on Palestinians and their properties and places of worship. The protesters succeeded to access the main street connecting Al-Khalil and Jerusalem before being forced to leave by the Israeli soldiers.
The participants, raising the Palestinian flag, condemned the settlers' recent attack against a mosque near the town of Dura, southern Al-Khalil, where they wrote racist slogans on the mosque's walls and tried to burn it.
Israel restricts movement of Jerusalemites for Jewish celebrations
The Israeli police started to tighten its security measures against the natives in occupied Jerusalem on the occasion of the Jewish celebrations.
The Jewish celebrations, including the Hebrew new year, Yom Kippur and Sukkot, will start on the morning of Sunday.
The police said it would deploy large reinforcements of its forces and border guards throughout the holy city especially during the evening and would establish new barriers and checkpoints.
Such measure would restrict the movement of the Palestinian natives of Jerusalem and expose them to police harassment as happens every year.
The Jewish settlers also intensify their attacks and provocative acts against the Palestinians in the holy city during their celebrations.
15 sept 2012
Scores of settlers break into Dura south of al-Khalil
Dozens settlers stormed on Friday morning the area of Wadi Abu Qamra in Dura, south of al-Khalil.
The citizen Abu Hassan Omar told PIC that between 250 to 300 settlers stormed the Wadi Abu Qamra in the east of Dura, south of al-Khalil, protected by Israeli occupation soldiers, and started provoking the residents.
The groups of settlers had stormed the region, which is rich of agricultural crops and water wells, earlier in a sign to the occupation's intention to seize tracts of lands there.
Settlers attack and injure Palestinians south of Nablus
Three Palestinians, including a woman, were injured on Friday evening when they were attacked by extremist Jewish settlers near Za'tara roadblock, south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus.
Local sources reported that the settlers hurled rocks at a Palestinian car near the roadblock injuring the passengers who were traveling from Ramallah to Qalqilya. The settlers then proceeded to beat the two men and woman who were traveling in the car.
The three were taken to Rafidia hospital in Nablus.
14 sept 2012
PNN: Hundreds of Settlers Attack Palestinians in Hebron
Hundreds of Jewish settlers raided Wad Abu al-Qamrah area south of Durah in Hebron, south of the West Bank, under 'strict' security protection of Israeli authorities.
Our reporter said that settlers broke into several areas and neighbourhoods in Hebron and at these moments, settlers reached Rajam Abu Hilal area in the same city.
Eyewitnesses said that settlers crossed the road that links between Durah and al-Fawar, attacked Palestinians' vehicles with stones.
Settlers, who came from Beit Hagai nearby settlement, sneaked between the houses and residential areas until they reached the city centre.
Settlers continue to carry out attacks on Palestinians and their properties in Hebron, in order to seize them for the favour of the settlements.
Settler group tours Hebron lands
More than 150 Israeli settlers toured Palestinian agricultural lands in south Hebron on Friday morning, locals said.
No clashes were reported.
The group proceeded through the Wadi Abu Qamra area near Dura, on lands owned by Abdel al-Hai Shaheen, under military protection, residents said. They also surrounded a local school and mosque, the witnesses added.
Israeli settlers living in communities in the West Bank, which are illegal under international law, regularly enter Palestinian villages sparking confrontations.
Some settlers champion a 'price tag' policy, wreaking violence on Palestinians and their property as punishment for measures against Israeli settlements.
Israel says 44 settlements on expropriated Palestinian land
The Israeli government is seeking court approval for the construction of settler homes on private Palestinian land in more than 40 settlements, an Israeli news report said Thursday.
All Israeli settlements on built occupied Palestinian land are illegal under international law. But Israel classes some settlements as legal, while others it says are built without following government and legal requirements, but they often receive retroactive approval.
The Israeli High Court ruled in 1979 that the army could no longer confiscate West Bank land from Palestinian land-owners for settlement building, but only for "military purposes."
Despite the ruling, Israeli daily Haaretz said the state prosecution admitted in a recent case that 44 settlements were erected totally or partially based on expropriation orders for private land that were initially issued for military purposes.
The state argued that the High Court ruling "does not prevent exploiting the potential of these communities (settlements)."
It is asking for court permission to use its judgment in planning settlement construction on private Palestinian lands.
The response was made in a case brought by a Palestinian from Ramallah village Dura al-Qara against the expansion of Beit El settlement on his land.
Israeli court rules settlers own Hebron building
An Israel court ruled on Thursday that settlers had legally purchased a Palestinian home in the center of Hebron, and it should be handed over to them within 30 days, Israeli press said.
Beit Hameriva (the House of Contention) was built in 1995 in the al-Ras neighborhood which links Israeli settlement Kiryat Arba to the Ibrahimi Mosque.
Israeli settlers took over the building in 2007 saying they had purchased it from Palestinians, but the sale was disputed in Israel's Hgh Court High Court, and in 2008 the settlers were evacuated.
The Jerusalem District Court on Thursday said the settlers legally purchased the building from the 'Tal Building and Investments Karnei Shomron' Israeli daily Haaretz reported.
Around 800 Jewish settlers live in Hebron's Old City, among 30,000 Palestinians in the parts of the ancient city that are under Israeli control.
13 sept 2012
Palestine foundation condemns Israel for mosque concert
A Palestinian foundation has condemned Israel’s holding of a concert to celebrate the Jewish new year, Rosh Hashanah in the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Mosque -- one of the holiest sites in Islam -- in al-Quds [Jerusalem].
Al-Aqsa Foundation for Endowment and Heritage on Thursday slammed the event, held at a venue within the courtyard, as "the violation of Al-Aqsa Mosque's sanctity," news website worldbulletin.net reported.
The foundation called on the Muslim world "to step up and stop attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque and al-Quds [Jerusalem]."
Last week, Israeli authorities were forced to call off a wine festival, planned to be held in the courtyard of the former Great Mosque in the city of Beersheba in the Occupied Territories, in the face of strong opposition and protests by Muslims. The mosque was established in 705 CE.
Court: Settlers purchased Hebron house legally
Following five years of deliberations, Jerusalem court dismisses Palestinian's claim that deal to purchase house was never finalized. Kiryat Arba council head: Jews have right to settle in all of Israel.
The Jerusalem District Court on Thursday ruled that the State must return a house in Hebron to settlers who were evicted from it in December 2008, stating that they had purchased it legally.
Judge Moshe Baram determined that the Palestinian owner's claim that the purchase agreement had been annulled before it was finalized was not credible. He ordered the Palestinian to pay NIS 50,000 (about $13,000) in legal fees.
The affair began in March of 2007 when Jewish settlers moved into the so-called "house of contention," located on the main road linking Kiryat Arba to the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron. In response Faizi Rajabi, the seller, filed a police complaint saying he was the owner and that the purchase agreement was never finalized.
Following a lengthy legal battle, security forces removed the settlers from the house, also known as "Beit HaShalom," in December 2008. The eviction led to a series of violent clashes between settlers and security forces. Following the eviction, it was determined that the house would remain in the State's hands until the court rules on the settlers' ownership claims.
On Thursday Judge Baram ordered the State to prepare to turn the house over to the settlers within a month. However, the judge stressed that he is not ordering the Civil Administration to pursue legal measures that would allow the settlers to live in the house. Jews who purchase a home in the territories cannot move into it without the Civil Administration's authorization.
The settlers lauded the court's decision and said they were convinced it would pave the way for the return of the Machpelah house to Jewish hands. Settlers were evicted from the Machpelah house five months ago.
"The verdict bolsters our claim that Jews have a right to settle in all parts of the Land of Israel," said Malachi Levinger, head of the Kiryat Arba Hebron Council. "I urge the government of Israel to allow the settlers to return to the house immediately, and at the same time rectify the injustice that was done at the Machpelah house."
In response to the ruling, Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz called on Defense Minister Ehud Barak to "instruct the Civil Administration to authorize the deal and allow the Jewish families to move into the house.
"The defense minister's decision (to evacuate the home) was reckless and was aimed at fanning the flames. Jews have always lived in Hebron, and they will continue to do so," the minister added.
Yesha Council head Danny Dayan urged Barak and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to "uphold the court's decision and not try to thwart it using various tricks."
Settler’s Vehicle Rams Child In Bethlehem
A Palestinian child was seriously injured after being hit by a settlers’ vehicle as she was walking home from school in Tiqoua’ village, near the West Bank city of Bethlehem.
Medical sources reported that the child was identified as Hayat Mohammad Suleiman, 8 years old. She was walking back home from school on the main road that is also used by Israeli settlers living in illegal Israeli settlements in the area.
The sources added that an Israeli ambulance arrived at the scene and moved the child to Hadassah Israeli Hospital in Jerusalem.
Last month, 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.
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.
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.
Several claims were filed with the Israeli police and the military in the occupied territories regarding hit and run ramming incidents carried out by Israeli settlers, but no actual measures were taken on the ground.
Israeli settler runs over a Palestinian child in Bethlehem
An Israeli settler, on Wednesday, ran over a Palestinian child, 8, while on her way home from school, near Tuqu village in Bethlehem.
Hayat Mahmoud Soboh was crossing a main road on her way home from school when she was knocked down by a settler's car, locals said.
The sources added that the ambulance arrived on scene, and transported the girl to the Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital for treatment.
Settlers appropriate Palestinian land in Khader village
A group of Jewish settlers seized a tract of Palestinian land in Khader village south of Bethlehem and embarked on cultivating it.
Coordinator of the popular committee against the wall in the village Ahmed Salah said the settlers appropriated an area of two dunums adjacent to Efrat settlement that was built illegally on Palestinian land.
Salah noted that the Israeli occupation forces prevent Khader villagers from reaching their agricultural lands near Efrat settlement and demand them to get access permits from the security administrator of the settlement.
Israel and its settlers have escalated lately the annexation of large tracts of Palestinian land in Khader village as they did in Daher Ein Masour and Khelat Al-Fahm areas of the village.
Settlers Occupy Palestinian Lands Near Bethlehem
The Palestine News & Info Agency (WAFA) reported Thursday that a number of extremist settlers occupied privately-owned Palestinian lands that belong to residents of the Al-Khader town, near the West Bank city of Bethlehem.
Ahmad Salah, Coordinator of the Popular Committee Against the Wall in Al-Khader, told WAFA that the settlers occupied 2 Dunams (0.494 Acres) located in Irq Ath-Theeba area, close to the Efrat illegal settlement that was built on lands belonging to the residents. The two Dunams belong to resident Yousef Mahmoud Ghneim.
Salah said that Israeli soldiers prevented the villagers from reaching their lands, and added that the army requires all residents, who have lands close to Efrat settlement, to obtain permits from “security coordinator” of the settlement, in order to be able to enter their own lands and orchards.
He further stated that Al-Khader is facing a serious escalation as Israeli settlers, protected by the army, carried out several recent attacks, while the settlers also occupied large areas of Palestinian lands in order to build parks in different areas including “Ein Masour” and “Khallit Al-Fahem”.
Salah voiced an appeal to human rights and legal groups to intervene and stop the Israeli polices of land theft practiced against the reidents, and to ensure the residents are able to enter their vineyards this season, especially due to significant losses the villagers endured in previous seasons as the army prevented them from entering their lands.
In August, a group of Israeli settlers planted a Palestinian land that they illegally took over in May, near Al-Khader town. The settlers were seen planting 5 Dunams of farmland that they illegally occupied three months ago.
PA Ministry: Settlement 'university' upgrade illegal
The Palestinian Authority Ministry of Higher Education on Thursday condemned the Israeli government's approval to upgrade an education center in a West Bank settlement to the status of university.
The Israeli cabinet on Sunday approved the measure, even though the Israeli High Court is still considering a petition to block the move, Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post reported.
"The Ministry reaffirms that all Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, constitute a grave violation of international law and that any and all facts on the ground created within these illegal settlements are considered null and void in international law," a ministry statement said.
"Any dealing with this so-called university contradicts the spirit and principles of academic freedom, tolerance, and respect for international law," it continued, calling for world education bodies to boycott the settlement institution.
"The Ministry considers the Israeli government's upgrade of this settler establishment to be a clear indication of its commitment to intransigence and rejection of its clear obligations as an occupying Power under international law," the statement noted.
12 sept 2012
Settlers Deface Mosque Near Hebron
A group of extremist Israeli settlers defaced, on Tuesday at dawn, a mosque in Emresh village, south of Doura town, near the southern West Bank city of Hebron.
The settlers came from Etnael illegal settlement, built on privately-owned lands that belong to the residents in the area.
The settlers wrote racist graffiti that read “Death to Arabs”, “Price Tag”, and several other racist graffiti.
Extremist settlers are behind hundreds of attacks that did not only target the residents and their lands, but also targeted graveyards, mosques and churches in different parts of Palestine.
Last week, a group of extremist Israeli settlers attacked the Latrun Christian Monastery in occupied Jerusalem, and wrote racist graffiti describing Jesus as a “Monkey”, and other graffiti against the Christian religion in general.
Last month, several extremist Israeli settlers invaded the Awarta village, east of the northern West Bank city of Nablus, and wrote racist graffiti on the walls of several homes, and the deface the local mosque.
Earlier in February this year, extremist Israelis wrote “Death to Christians” on the walls of a Jerusalem church, and slashed the tires of vehicles parked in the area.
The attacks fall under the “Price Tag” attacks carried out by extremist Israeli settlers against the Palestinian people, their lands and property, such attacks have been carried out against several mosques, including some that were completely burnt, and several churches.
Settlers Perform Religious Rituals in Al-Aqsa Mosque
On Wednesday 12th September, more than 30 settlers raided al-Aqsa mosque to perform their religious rituals under the protection of the Israeli occupation police.
Al-Aqsa mosque's guards said that settlers stormed al-Aqsa mosque from al-Magharbeh gate, roamed in its yards and performed their Talmudic and religious rituals.
The guards also said that Palestinians worshipers were almost going to start confrontations with Israeli police, but the police threatened them that if they started the confrontations they would be arrested and deported from al-Aqsa mosque.
The guards added that several international tourists who were with the settlers behaved in a way that violates the ethics and Sanctity of the mosque.
Since the early hours of the morning, more than 200 Palestinian worshipers existed at the mosque.
10 sept 2012
Settlers break into Qasra village in Nablus and destroy olive trees
A group of Israeli settlers stormed on Saturday evening, Qasra village in the south of Nablus city, and destroyed a number of olive trees.
PA official monitoring settler activities in West Bank Ghassan Daghlas said that over 30 settlers attacked the Palestinian citizens in the south of the village, and destroyed many olive trees and water well in the region.
Confrontations erupted between Palestinian citizens and the settlers in the region and the occupation army forces intervened to protect settlers, and fired tear gas and rubber bullets at Palestinian citizens, injuring 15 of them.
Settlers attack several vehicles belonging to Palestinians in Silwan
A group of Israeli settlers punctured, on Sunday morning, tires of a number of Palestinians' cars parked in front of their owners' houses in Wadi Hilweh in Silwan, in occupied city of Jerusalem.
Tawfiq Hassan Abu Hadwan, one of the residents of Wadi Hilweh, said that a group of five settlers arrived, on a white Citroën, to the region where three of them started puncturing tires of the parked cars belonging to Palestinian citizens under the protection of the other two who were carrying arms.
Abu Hadwan added that one of the Israeli police patrol (border guards) had been watching from afar the aggressors, but did not intervene to prevent this attack.
He pointed out that the neighborhood's residents did not try to confront the settlers who were heavily armed, because they thought that they are elements of Special Forces.
Yet, when some youths tried to confront the Jewish settlers, they fled from the neighborhood, followed by the border guards’ patrol, stated Abu Hadwan.
Jews and tourists party all night behind Aqsa Mosque's mihrab
Al-Aqsa foundation for endowment and heritage said hundreds of Jewish settlers and foreigners from different nationalities attended on Sunday evening a noisy dancing and singing party held in the Umayyad Palaces area behind the Aqsa Mosque's mihrab (niche).
The party continued until midnight and the loud sound of music and singing disturbed the Palestinian worshipers as they were performing their Magharib and Isha prayers inside the Aqsa Mosque.
The foundation said this party was part of a series of the Hebrew new year's celebrations which falls next week.
It noted that the Israeli occupation authority and Jewish groups invest such parties and concerts to propagate their Jewish claims about the holy city and tell tourists fabricated stories.
9 sept 2012
Official: 15 hurt in Nablus village after settler raid
After Israeli settlers raided the northern West Bank village of Qusra on Saturday night, clashes with Israeli forces injured 15 Palestinians from the village, a local official said.
Around 30 settlers from the Esh Kodesh settler outpost descended on the village in the evening, PA official Ghassan Daghlas told Ma’an. They uprooted several olive trees and destroyed water wells, before assaulting some villagers, he added.
Israeli forces arrived and fired tear gas and rubber bullets, Daghlas continued. The clashes continued for several hours and left 15 people from the village injured, he said.
An Israeli army spokeswoman said forces used riot dispersal means to disperse a clash between Palestinians and Israelis, but said no one needed evacuation.
Qusra lies near several settlements and outposts and is the site of regular assaults by their residents.
Issam Kamal Odeh, 33, died from Israeli army fire in September 2011 after soldiers came to the village after a settler raid.
6 arrested over attack on Palestinian in Jerusalem
Five Israeli teenagers were arrested on Saturday on suspicion of attacking a Palestinian man in Jerusalem, Israeli media reported.
Ibrahim Abu-Taah, 28, from Wadi Joz, was driving home a co-worker to Katamon in south Jerusalem when a group of young Israelis attacked him, breaking his leg in two places with a metal rod.
Israeli police arrested five teenagers on Saturday and expect more arrests, Haaretz said. Another person was arrested on Sunday, news site Ynet said.
Three of the suspects admitted taking part in the beating, and said they did it because they thought "the Arab was exploiting a Jewish girl," according to the Haaretz report. Israel Grants University Status to Settlement College The Israeli government Sunday granted the university status to Ariel college, which is located in the illegal settlement of Ariel in the West Bank, according to Israeli media reports.
This decision came following a vote by the Council for Higher Education in Judea and Samaria. 11 voted in favor of the decision; while 2 against.
Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, praised this decision and said that Israel is in need of more universities in light of the increasing number of population, “Ariel Settlement will remain under Israel’s control forever,” he said.
Settler security guard killed by car in north West Bank
An Israeli security guard for a settlement in the northern West Bank was killed on Sunday when he was hit by a car, Israeli news site Ynet reported.
The 50-year-old was checking for Palestinian cars trying to enter Israel on the road near Oranit settlement, south of Qalqiliya, the report said.
The driver fled the scene and police are searching for suspects, it continued.
Police nab 3 suspects in deadly W. Bank hit-and-run
Police have arrested three suspects in a deadly hit-and-run accident Sunday morning that took the life of Lior Farhi on the 505 highway in the West Bank.
Police have placed a gag order on the case, but spokesman for the Judea and Samaria police district, Ch.- Insp. Dudi Asraf confirmed that one of the suspects is the owner of the car involved in the crash, a Kfar Qassem resident who shortly after the accident went to the Rosh Ayin police station to report his car stolen, and was promptly arrested and held for questioning.
The other suspects are two Israeli Arabs from Jaffa, who were arrested in the city several hours after the crash.
Asraf confirmed that the Shin Bet General Security Services has been assisting in the investigation of the accident, which they don’t believe was a terror attack or carried out for nationalist motives.
The 50-year-old Farhi worked as the security officer at the western Samaria settlement of Shaarei Tikvah. On Sunday morning he and another Israeli were filming an attempt to sneak illegal Palestinian workers into an Israeli car near the Green Line, when they were spotted by the alleged smugglers. Farhi then reportedly stood in the highway and tried to stop the car but was run over, Asraf said.
Paramedics evacuated Farhi from the scene, but he succumbed to his wounds in an ambulance on the way to Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikvah.
Shortly thereafter the car was found abandoned on the side of the road near the Oranit interchange, and police and Shin Bet investigators began tracing the car to the suspects arrested later in the day.
As of Sunday night, the investigation was still ongoing and police were still examining possible further suspects.
8 sept 2012
Israeli forces, illegal settlers attack West Bank farmers
A group of illegal Jewish settlers along with Israeli soldiers has attacked Palestinian farmers in the occupied Palestinian territory of West Bank, injuring three of them.
Israeli soldiers and settlers scuffled with Palestinians as they prevented them from working on their lands. Israeli troops even fired gun shots during the clashes on Saturday.
The incident came two days after several Jewish settlers assaulted a number of Palestinians in Qasra village, which is located south of Nablus.
Head of the village council Abd al-Atheem said on September 6 that the illegal settlers, under Israeli soldiers’ protection, attacked the southern part of the village and pointed their guns at Palestinians to make them leave their lands.
He added that Israeli troops demanded Palestinians to show all their records of land ownership.
Rights groups have repeatedly accused Israeli troops of refusing to protect Palestinians against the Jewish settlers. Former West Bank Division Commander Brigadier General Nitzan Alon has also said that Israeli soldiers have not been working enough to stop settler attacks on Palestinians.
Israeli settlers, mostly armed, regularly attack Palestinian villages and farms and set fire to their mosques, olive groves and other properties in the occupied West Bank under the so-called “price tag” policy. However, the Tel Aviv regime rarely detains the assailants.
The extremists say the “price tag” attacks are carried out against any Israeli policy “to reduce the presence of settlers and settlements on occupied Palestinian land in the West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem).”
The Israeli settlements are considered illegal by the UN and most countries because those territories were captured by Israel in a war in 1967, and are hence seen as being subject to the Geneva Conventions, which forbids construction on occupied lands.
Not only has the presence and continued expansion of these settlements been a major source of international criticism against Israel, but they are also considered one of the main obstacles to Middle East peace.
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).
Settlers burn 130 olive trees in northern West Bank
Israeli settlers set fire to around 130 olive trees in a northern West Bank village on Friday, locals said.
Residents of Immanuel settlement set fire to the lands while residents were at Friday prayers, locals said. Fawzi Al-Ghanem, owner of the land, told Ma'an that civil defense crews brought the blaze under control but only after his trees had been destroyed.
Israeli police also arrived on the scene, which is located adjacent to the Israeli settlement, he said.
Earlier Friday, residents of Eli settlement entered another village in the northern West Bank, Qaryut, torching olive and almond trees, villagers said.
On Wednesday, European Union representatives said they were concerned at the rising number and severity of "continuous settler violence and deliberate provocations against Palestinian civilians."
The EU missions in Jerusalem and Ramallah called on Israel to prevent settler violence, protect Palestinians, and bring perpetrators to justice.
Three Palestinians injured in confrontations south of Nablus
Three Palestinians were injured on Saturday evening during confrontations between the Israeli occupation forces and the residents of the village of Qasra to the south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus.
The confrontations broke out after a group of extremist Jewish settlers tried to enter the village and attack farmers and the locals tried to defend themselves prompting the occupation army to start firing teargas and stun grenades at the Palestinians to protect the settlers.
7 sept 2012
Extremist Settlers Attack A Palestinian In Jerusalem
A group of Israeli extremists violently attacked, on Thursday at night, a Palestinian young man in Al-Qatamon neighborhood, in occupied Jerusalem; the young man suffered two fractures in his leg. This is the second attack of its kind that takes places in Jerusalem in less than three weeks.
Medical sources identified the victim as Ibrahim Abu Ta’a, 28, from Wad Al-Jouz in Jerusalem; he works at the Mamilla Hotel in the area, Israeli daily, Haaretz, reported.
The Arabs48 news website reported that Abu Ta’a, along with several coworkers to a night club, and before they left the club, he and one of his friends walked a club worker to her apartment.
Once in front of the apartment of the woman, several Israeli extremists, who realized he was an Arab, attacked him and the Taxi driver, who drove, them tried to intervene but was unable to stop the attack.
One of the extremists struck Ta’a with an iron bar on his leg causing two fractures, while the rest started hitting and kicking him.
The attackers then fled the scene as the police was arriving and the victim was moved to an Israeli hospital.
Haaretz said that the Palestinian has been working at the hotel for several years, and that he was hospitalized for further treatment.
Last week, the Israeli Prosecution at the Central Court in Jerusalem filed indictments against eight extremist Israeli settlers who violently attacked a Palestinian in Jerusalem, on August 16, leading to serious injuries.
Another indictment was filed in the District Court in Jerusalem. The Palestinian young man, Jamal Joulani, 17, was attacked a large group of young Israeli extremists and suffered very serious injuries. The attackers left the scene after he fell unconscious.
Palestinian hospitalized after Jerusalem attack
A young Palestinian man from East Jerusalem was hospitalized early on Thursday after he was attacked by a group of young Israelis, a police spokeswoman said.
Israeli police are searching for the assailants, Luba Samari said.
Ibrahim Abu-Taah, 28, from Wadi Joz, was driving home a co-worker to Katamon in south Jerusalem when a group of young Israelis attacked him, hitting him in the leg with a metal rod, Israeli daily Haaretz reported.
His leg was broken in two places and he was taken to Jerusalem's Shaarei Tzedek hospital, the report said.
Settlers Attack Palestinians, South of Nablus
On Thursday 7th September, group of settlers attacked Palestinians from Qasra village, south of Nablus.
The head of Qasra's Village Council, Abdel Azim Wadi, said that a group of settlers attacked the southern area of the village, pointed guns at Palestinian who were at the place, and tried to expel them from their lands.
Israeli soldiers asked Palestinians to show them papers that verify their ownership of their lands.
Settlers set Nablus orchard ablaze
A group of settlers set fire to an orchard in a northern West Bank village on Friday morning, eyewitnesses told Ma'an.
Residents of Eli settlement entered Qaryut village, torching olive and almond trees, villagers said. The people of Qaryit rushed to the site to douse the flames, they added.
On Wednesday, European Union Representatives said they were concerned at the rising number and severity of "continuous settler violence and deliberate provocations against Palestinian civilians."
The EU missions in Jerusalem and Ramallah called on Israel to prevent settler violence, protect Palestinians, and bring perpetrators to justice.
The statement came the day after vandals torched the wooden door of Jerusalem's Latrun Monastery and daubed pro-settler graffiti on the building's stone walls. British Middle East Minister Alistair Burt called the attack "a shocking and deliberately provocative act on a place of worship."
In August, PA official Ghassan Daghlas warned Palestinians to be cautious of settler attacks ahead of the evacuation of illegal Israeli outpost Migron, near Ramallah, which went ahead last week.
The evacuation of the illegal Ulpana outpost in June led to a spate of "price tag" attacks on mosques, Palestinians and their property.
Migron: Officer urged cops to 'kill' settlers
Officer heard goading cops to act violently towards young activists during evacuation of outpost, video shows.
The eviction of the Migron residents last week appeared to have gone by without any major incidents, but video captured during the police operation showed otherwise. A senior officer was caught on tape as he goaded cops to act violently towards a group of young settlers who refused to vacate the West Bank outpost, and threatened to "kill" them.
The eviction operation went largely without resistance, save for the young activists who locked themselves in caravans, and in one instance climbed on top of a mobile home. The police waited until all the homes were cleared before placing ladders against the trailer in order to bring down the teens, who belong to the Hilltop Youth movement.
Commander Boaz Goldberg, who serves as a coordination officer at a police unit that oversees law enforcement operations, was heard repeatedly shouting "kill them," referring to activists who refused to come down.
"Get up there and kill them, get them down here so we can kill them," the officer screamed over and over, before telling one teen: "You're dead. You will die."
Another cop is heard telling one of the youths that he's lucky he's being videotaped, suggesting that he would have been treated in a rougher manner if cameras weren't around.
The inappropriate conduct was condemned by rightist groups, and the Yesha Human Rights Organization lodged a complaint against Goldberg with the Police Internal Investigations Department. The group stressed that the teens did not act violently and never put the officers in any danger.
The Shai District Police noted that the activists poured water and oil from the roof of the trailer, and that no one was injured during the event. Nevertheless, it said it would look into any complaints that are filed.
Group of settlers storm al-Aqsa Mosque
Moshe Feiglin, former Likud party candidate, stormed on Thursday morning al-Aqsa Mosque area accompanied by a group of settlers, and performed Jewish prayers amid tight security.
The Al-Aqsa Foundation for Waqf and Islamic Heritage said that Feiglin and the group of settlers entered the Aqsa plazas from the Mughrabi Gate, and headed to the mosque roofed tribal and tried to perform some Talmudic rituals, then toured around the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Eyewitnesses also confirmed that thirty elements, including Israeli officers and a group of right-wing Israeli Jews, stormed in the morning the southern Mosque in Al-Aqsa.
The foundation asserted in a press release, that al-Aqsa Mosque has been witnessing a state of tension because of this storming.
It stressed on the seriousness of the recurrent raids and the desecration of al-Aqsa Mosque, through which the occupation has been trying to impose its almost daily presence in al-Aqsa as a step towards imposing the division of Al-Aqsa Mosque between Muslims and Jews.
"Al-Aqsa Foundation" called on all Jerusalemites and the Palestinians from the territories occupied in 1948 to intensify their presence in al-Aqsa Mosque in order to protect it from such raids.
6 sept 2012
Occupation to close Ibrahimi Mosque five days
The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) decided to close the Ibrahimi Mosque in Al-Khalil city and prevent Muslim worshipers from entering it for five days this months, the Directorate of Endowments in Al-Khalil confirmed.
The Director of Endowments in al-Khalil, Zaid Al-Jabari affirmed that the IOA told the Islamic Waqf authority in Al-Khalil city that only the Jewish settlers would be allowed during the five days to enter the Ibrahimi Mosque to celebrate the Jewish New Year and Days of Atonement and Repentance.
He pointed out that the occupation usually closes the Ibrahimi mosque for ten days per year, under the resolutions of the "Shamgar" commission, which was formed after the massacre committed by the vindictive settler " Baruch Guldstein" against Palestinian worshipers in February 1994, which divided the mosque and prevented Muslims to enter it on Jewish holidays.
Jabari stressed that the Ibrahimi mosque and all its parts are an Islamic place, confirming that Jews have nothing to do with it.
The Ibrahimi Mosque's closure is a part of a series of ongoing attacks against Palestinian Muslim and Christian holy places.
He also called on the international community to intervene to stop the Israeli violations and attacks against the holy Islamic sites in Palestine.
Jewish settlers drink wine and revel in Beersheba Mosque
Dozens of fanatic Jewish settlers on Wednesday evening drank wine and partied in the courtyard of Beersheba Mosque in the city in violation of an Israeli official pledge to refrain from holding a wine festival in the Mosque.
The settlers deliberately breached the agreement that was reached between the organizers of Karama (dignity) protest and the Israeli municipal council in Beersheba city.
They were seen drinking wine and reveling in the Mosque's courtyard.
The higher guidance committee for the Negev Arabs had to cancel Karama rally which it was intending to stage in Beersheba Mosque to protest the Israeli intention to hold a wine party in the Mosque after the city municipal council promised not to bring in alcoholic drinks and called off its intended party.
Foundation: Rightists visit Aqsa Mosque
Thirty Israeli officers and a group of right-wing Israeli Jews entered the premises of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem Old City on Thursday, a religious authority said.
The Al-Aqsa Foundation for Waqf and Islamic Heritage said in a statement that former Likud party candidate Moshe Feiglin entered the mosque area accompanied by a group of "settlers."
The group performed Jewish prayers amid tight security, the authority said.
The foundation called on the international community to prevent the visits to the compound.
Medical sources identified the victim as Ibrahim Abu Ta’a, 28, from Wad Al-Jouz in Jerusalem; he works at the Mamilla Hotel in the area, Israeli daily, Haaretz, reported.
The Arabs48 news website reported that Abu Ta’a, along with several coworkers to a night club, and before they left the club, he and one of his friends walked a club worker to her apartment.
Once in front of the apartment of the woman, several Israeli extremists, who realized he was an Arab, attacked him and the Taxi driver, who drove, them tried to intervene but was unable to stop the attack.
One of the extremists struck Ta’a with an iron bar on his leg causing two fractures, while the rest started hitting and kicking him.
The attackers then fled the scene as the police was arriving and the victim was moved to an Israeli hospital.
Haaretz said that the Palestinian has been working at the hotel for several years, and that he was hospitalized for further treatment.
Last week, the Israeli Prosecution at the Central Court in Jerusalem filed indictments against eight extremist Israeli settlers who violently attacked a Palestinian in Jerusalem, on August 16, leading to serious injuries.
Another indictment was filed in the District Court in Jerusalem. The Palestinian young man, Jamal Joulani, 17, was attacked a large group of young Israeli extremists and suffered very serious injuries. The attackers left the scene after he fell unconscious.
Palestinian hospitalized after Jerusalem attack
A young Palestinian man from East Jerusalem was hospitalized early on Thursday after he was attacked by a group of young Israelis, a police spokeswoman said.
Israeli police are searching for the assailants, Luba Samari said.
Ibrahim Abu-Taah, 28, from Wadi Joz, was driving home a co-worker to Katamon in south Jerusalem when a group of young Israelis attacked him, hitting him in the leg with a metal rod, Israeli daily Haaretz reported.
His leg was broken in two places and he was taken to Jerusalem's Shaarei Tzedek hospital, the report said.
Settlers Attack Palestinians, South of Nablus
On Thursday 7th September, group of settlers attacked Palestinians from Qasra village, south of Nablus.
The head of Qasra's Village Council, Abdel Azim Wadi, said that a group of settlers attacked the southern area of the village, pointed guns at Palestinian who were at the place, and tried to expel them from their lands.
Israeli soldiers asked Palestinians to show them papers that verify their ownership of their lands.
Settlers set Nablus orchard ablaze
A group of settlers set fire to an orchard in a northern West Bank village on Friday morning, eyewitnesses told Ma'an.
Residents of Eli settlement entered Qaryut village, torching olive and almond trees, villagers said. The people of Qaryit rushed to the site to douse the flames, they added.
On Wednesday, European Union Representatives said they were concerned at the rising number and severity of "continuous settler violence and deliberate provocations against Palestinian civilians."
The EU missions in Jerusalem and Ramallah called on Israel to prevent settler violence, protect Palestinians, and bring perpetrators to justice.
The statement came the day after vandals torched the wooden door of Jerusalem's Latrun Monastery and daubed pro-settler graffiti on the building's stone walls. British Middle East Minister Alistair Burt called the attack "a shocking and deliberately provocative act on a place of worship."
In August, PA official Ghassan Daghlas warned Palestinians to be cautious of settler attacks ahead of the evacuation of illegal Israeli outpost Migron, near Ramallah, which went ahead last week.
The evacuation of the illegal Ulpana outpost in June led to a spate of "price tag" attacks on mosques, Palestinians and their property.
Migron: Officer urged cops to 'kill' settlers
Officer heard goading cops to act violently towards young activists during evacuation of outpost, video shows.
The eviction of the Migron residents last week appeared to have gone by without any major incidents, but video captured during the police operation showed otherwise. A senior officer was caught on tape as he goaded cops to act violently towards a group of young settlers who refused to vacate the West Bank outpost, and threatened to "kill" them.
The eviction operation went largely without resistance, save for the young activists who locked themselves in caravans, and in one instance climbed on top of a mobile home. The police waited until all the homes were cleared before placing ladders against the trailer in order to bring down the teens, who belong to the Hilltop Youth movement.
Commander Boaz Goldberg, who serves as a coordination officer at a police unit that oversees law enforcement operations, was heard repeatedly shouting "kill them," referring to activists who refused to come down.
"Get up there and kill them, get them down here so we can kill them," the officer screamed over and over, before telling one teen: "You're dead. You will die."
Another cop is heard telling one of the youths that he's lucky he's being videotaped, suggesting that he would have been treated in a rougher manner if cameras weren't around.
The inappropriate conduct was condemned by rightist groups, and the Yesha Human Rights Organization lodged a complaint against Goldberg with the Police Internal Investigations Department. The group stressed that the teens did not act violently and never put the officers in any danger.
The Shai District Police noted that the activists poured water and oil from the roof of the trailer, and that no one was injured during the event. Nevertheless, it said it would look into any complaints that are filed.
Group of settlers storm al-Aqsa Mosque
Moshe Feiglin, former Likud party candidate, stormed on Thursday morning al-Aqsa Mosque area accompanied by a group of settlers, and performed Jewish prayers amid tight security.
The Al-Aqsa Foundation for Waqf and Islamic Heritage said that Feiglin and the group of settlers entered the Aqsa plazas from the Mughrabi Gate, and headed to the mosque roofed tribal and tried to perform some Talmudic rituals, then toured around the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Eyewitnesses also confirmed that thirty elements, including Israeli officers and a group of right-wing Israeli Jews, stormed in the morning the southern Mosque in Al-Aqsa.
The foundation asserted in a press release, that al-Aqsa Mosque has been witnessing a state of tension because of this storming.
It stressed on the seriousness of the recurrent raids and the desecration of al-Aqsa Mosque, through which the occupation has been trying to impose its almost daily presence in al-Aqsa as a step towards imposing the division of Al-Aqsa Mosque between Muslims and Jews.
"Al-Aqsa Foundation" called on all Jerusalemites and the Palestinians from the territories occupied in 1948 to intensify their presence in al-Aqsa Mosque in order to protect it from such raids.
6 sept 2012
Occupation to close Ibrahimi Mosque five days
The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) decided to close the Ibrahimi Mosque in Al-Khalil city and prevent Muslim worshipers from entering it for five days this months, the Directorate of Endowments in Al-Khalil confirmed.
The Director of Endowments in al-Khalil, Zaid Al-Jabari affirmed that the IOA told the Islamic Waqf authority in Al-Khalil city that only the Jewish settlers would be allowed during the five days to enter the Ibrahimi Mosque to celebrate the Jewish New Year and Days of Atonement and Repentance.
He pointed out that the occupation usually closes the Ibrahimi mosque for ten days per year, under the resolutions of the "Shamgar" commission, which was formed after the massacre committed by the vindictive settler " Baruch Guldstein" against Palestinian worshipers in February 1994, which divided the mosque and prevented Muslims to enter it on Jewish holidays.
Jabari stressed that the Ibrahimi mosque and all its parts are an Islamic place, confirming that Jews have nothing to do with it.
The Ibrahimi Mosque's closure is a part of a series of ongoing attacks against Palestinian Muslim and Christian holy places.
He also called on the international community to intervene to stop the Israeli violations and attacks against the holy Islamic sites in Palestine.
Jewish settlers drink wine and revel in Beersheba Mosque
Dozens of fanatic Jewish settlers on Wednesday evening drank wine and partied in the courtyard of Beersheba Mosque in the city in violation of an Israeli official pledge to refrain from holding a wine festival in the Mosque.
The settlers deliberately breached the agreement that was reached between the organizers of Karama (dignity) protest and the Israeli municipal council in Beersheba city.
They were seen drinking wine and reveling in the Mosque's courtyard.
The higher guidance committee for the Negev Arabs had to cancel Karama rally which it was intending to stage in Beersheba Mosque to protest the Israeli intention to hold a wine party in the Mosque after the city municipal council promised not to bring in alcoholic drinks and called off its intended party.
Foundation: Rightists visit Aqsa Mosque
Thirty Israeli officers and a group of right-wing Israeli Jews entered the premises of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem Old City on Thursday, a religious authority said.
The Al-Aqsa Foundation for Waqf and Islamic Heritage said in a statement that former Likud party candidate Moshe Feiglin entered the mosque area accompanied by a group of "settlers."
The group performed Jewish prayers amid tight security, the authority said.
The foundation called on the international community to prevent the visits to the compound.
