30 july 2015
Amnesty International: 'Strong evidence' that Israel committed war crimes and possible crimes against humanity. 'Nobody can claim that they don't know what happened on Friday the 1st of August. We are closer now to justice than we were before.'
Israeli troops committed war crimes and possible crimes against humanity during and after 'Black Friday' on 1 August in last year's Gaza war, according to a report released Wednesday by Amnesty International and Forensic Architecture.
In Rafah between the 1st and 4th of August 2014, Israeli forces killed at least 135 Palestinian civilians, including 75 children, in their search for captured Israeli soldier, Lieutenant Hadar Goldin. A ceasefire had been called shortly before his capture on 1 August, leading many Palestinian civilians to believe it was safe to return to their homes. The intense attacks subsequently faced by local residents were unexpected and likened by one eyewitness to 'a machi,e making mincemeat out of people without mercy'.
The online report uses detailed eyewitness testimonials as well as cutting edge techniques from Forensic Architecture, a research team based at Goldsmiths, University of London. Forensic Architecture used photos, videos and satellite imagery in order to piece together the chronology of events. Studying shadows and smoke plumes enabled the researchers to determine the time and location of an attack, supported by eyewitness accounts, videos and photos from social media. Eyal Weizman, director of Forensic Architecture, says this report enables Israel's military narrative to be countered by a 'much more powerful narrative from people on the ground'.
The Israeli military search for Lieutenant Goldin led to a disproportionate offensive against local Palestinians and the implementation of the 'Hannibal Directive'. Amnesty International reports that under this directive, Israeli forces are permitted to respond to the capture of a soldier with 'intense firepower'. This led to a 'gloves off' policy of indiscriminate killing of civilians and attacks against hospitals, schools and ambulances. Philip Luther, Director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Amnesty International, stated that 'the obligation to take precautions to avoid the loss of civilian lives was completely neglected'.
Statements from Israeli army commanders and soldiers made to the Givati Brigade inquiry and the Israeli NGO Breaking the Silence indicate that the large number of civilians killed may have been a collective punishment for the population of Rafah for the capture of an Israeli soldier. Furthermore, this violent reaction continued even after the body of Lieutenant Goldin had been located.
Many of these attacks have been found to seriously violate international law and constituted breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention. If these violations were part of a systematic attack on civilians in Rafah, directed by state policy, they may also constitute crimes against humanity.
Deborah Hyams, from Amnesty International, stated that there was 'a role for the ICC' in this investigation and that she hoped 'this evidence would be considered by the office of the prosecutor'. The report strongly recommends that the Israeli authorities should reform their own investigations system so that it meets international standards while also revising their methods and tactics of fighting in densely populated areas such as Gaza.
Saleh Hijazi, a researcher for Amnesty International, said: 'Nobody can claim that they don't know what happened on Friday the 1st of August. We are closer now to justice than we were before.'
Israeli troops committed war crimes and possible crimes against humanity during and after 'Black Friday' on 1 August in last year's Gaza war, according to a report released Wednesday by Amnesty International and Forensic Architecture.
In Rafah between the 1st and 4th of August 2014, Israeli forces killed at least 135 Palestinian civilians, including 75 children, in their search for captured Israeli soldier, Lieutenant Hadar Goldin. A ceasefire had been called shortly before his capture on 1 August, leading many Palestinian civilians to believe it was safe to return to their homes. The intense attacks subsequently faced by local residents were unexpected and likened by one eyewitness to 'a machi,e making mincemeat out of people without mercy'.
The online report uses detailed eyewitness testimonials as well as cutting edge techniques from Forensic Architecture, a research team based at Goldsmiths, University of London. Forensic Architecture used photos, videos and satellite imagery in order to piece together the chronology of events. Studying shadows and smoke plumes enabled the researchers to determine the time and location of an attack, supported by eyewitness accounts, videos and photos from social media. Eyal Weizman, director of Forensic Architecture, says this report enables Israel's military narrative to be countered by a 'much more powerful narrative from people on the ground'.
The Israeli military search for Lieutenant Goldin led to a disproportionate offensive against local Palestinians and the implementation of the 'Hannibal Directive'. Amnesty International reports that under this directive, Israeli forces are permitted to respond to the capture of a soldier with 'intense firepower'. This led to a 'gloves off' policy of indiscriminate killing of civilians and attacks against hospitals, schools and ambulances. Philip Luther, Director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Amnesty International, stated that 'the obligation to take precautions to avoid the loss of civilian lives was completely neglected'.
Statements from Israeli army commanders and soldiers made to the Givati Brigade inquiry and the Israeli NGO Breaking the Silence indicate that the large number of civilians killed may have been a collective punishment for the population of Rafah for the capture of an Israeli soldier. Furthermore, this violent reaction continued even after the body of Lieutenant Goldin had been located.
Many of these attacks have been found to seriously violate international law and constituted breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention. If these violations were part of a systematic attack on civilians in Rafah, directed by state policy, they may also constitute crimes against humanity.
Deborah Hyams, from Amnesty International, stated that there was 'a role for the ICC' in this investigation and that she hoped 'this evidence would be considered by the office of the prosecutor'. The report strongly recommends that the Israeli authorities should reform their own investigations system so that it meets international standards while also revising their methods and tactics of fighting in densely populated areas such as Gaza.
Saleh Hijazi, a researcher for Amnesty International, said: 'Nobody can claim that they don't know what happened on Friday the 1st of August. We are closer now to justice than we were before.'
29 july 2015
Rights group calls for
prosecutions for the IDF's severe military response to the capture
of soldier Hadar Goldin during Operation Protective Edge.
An analysis of an Israeli assault in the Gaza Strip following the capture of one of its soldiers during last year's war in the Palestinian territory shows "strong evidence" of war crimes, Amnesty International said Wednesday.
The London-based rights group called for those responsible for the alleged offenses to be prosecuted as it published a detailed analysis of the Israeli military operation using eyewitness accounts, satellite imagery, photos and videos.
"There is strong evidence that Israeli forces committed war crimes in their relentless and massive bombardment of residential areas of Rafah in order to foil the capture of Lieutenant Hadar Goldin, displaying a shocking disregard for civilian lives," Philip Luther, director of the Middle East and North Africa Program at Amnesty International, said in a statement.
"They carried out a series of disproportionate or otherwise indiscriminate attacks, which they have completely failed to investigate independently." Israel strongly denied the accusations, calling Amnesty's report "fundamentally flawed in its methodologies, in its facts, in its legal analysis and in its conclusions."
"When one reads the report, the impression is given that the (Israeli military) was fighting against itself - as there is almost no mention of the military actions of Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist organizations," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
The incidents addressed in the report centered on August 1, 2014, which has become known as "Black Friday," when Goldin was captured shortly after a ceasefire was announced. He was later declared dead. In response, the military was said to have implemented the so-called Hannibal Directive - a controversial procedure which allows for an intensive military response to prevent the capture of the soldier at all costs.
Israel bombed the city of Rafah and the surrounding area in the southern Gaza Strip near the border with Egypt. According to Amnesty, at least 135 civilians were killed in the air and ground assault.
"Massive and prolonged bombardment began without warning while masses of people were on the streets, and many of them, especially those in vehicles, became targets," Amnesty said.
"Eyewitness accounts described horrifying scenes of chaos and panic as an inferno of fire from F-16 jets, drones, helicopters and artillery rained down on the streets, striking civilians on foot or in cars, as well as ambulances and other vehicles evacuating the wounded." Amnesty partnered with researchers from Forensic Architecture, based at Goldsmiths, University of London, for the report.
Israel accused Amnesty of "a false narrative - claiming that four days of military operations by the IDF were in direct response to the killing and kidnapping of one IDF soldier," the foreign ministry said. "It seems that Amnesty forgot that there was an ongoing conflict - during which the IDF was operating to stop rocket fire and neutralize cross-border assault tunnels, and Palestinian terrorist organizations were actively engaging in intensive conflict against the IDF from within the civilian environment."
Last summer's 50-day war took a heavy toll on Gaza, killing over 2,000 Palestinians, including more than 500 children. Seventy-three people were killed on the Israeli side, including 67 soldiers.
Amnesty's new report takes soldiers' quotes out of context (updated)
Amnesty International today is releasing yet another report that tries to prove Israel committed war crimes in last year's Gaza war, this time regarding the events surrounding the kidnapping of Lt. Hadar Goldin in Rafah - who was abducted during a ceasefire.
Just like the Gaza Platform, the upcoming report uses the services of the anti-Zionist "Forensics Architecture" team to take one-sided evidence and twist it to make it look like an impartial investigation.
At the moment, only the executive summary is available. Yet even its use of sources proves its bias.
It quotes two IDF soldiers who were interviewed by "Breaking the Silence" to prove purposeful Israeli fire into civilian areas.
An Israeli infantry officer described to Israeli NGO Breaking the Silence the events that
ensued after the Hannibal Directive was announced on the radio:
“The minute ‘Hannibal Directive’ is declared on the radio, there are consequences. There’s a fire procedure called the ‘Hannibal fire procedure’ – you fire at every suspicious place that merges with a central route. You don’t spare any means.” Here's the entire testimony:
So I heard that the reconnaissance platoon got into a confrontation, and that it looked like we were talking about two [IDF soldiers] dead and one captured. That’s when the mess got started. The minute ‘Hannibal Directive’ is declared on the radio, there are consequences. There’s a fire procedure called the ‘Hannibal fire procedure’ – you fire at every suspicious place that merges with a central route. You don’t spare any means. A thousand shells were fired that Friday morning, at all the central intersections. The entire Tancher [Route] (the continuation of Highway 4 in Gaza) was bombed. The air force attacked places inside Rafah City, places in which we knew there were Hamas militants. Was there collateral damage to houses? I’m sure there was. It was very intense, that incident. After the area was hit by 1,000 shells that Friday morning, I saw Tancher in ruins. Everything totally wrecked. Even the BtS soldier says that there was no intent to hurt civilians and that no civilian structures were directly targeted..
Here's Amnesty's second quote:
An artillery soldier said his battery was “firing at a maximum fire rate” right into inhabited areas.
The full testimony:
During occasions when there was a significant amount of fire [directed at our forces], or during the ground incursion to Gaza – to Shuja’iyya – I know my unit fired a lot. One of the senior officers in my unit talked about how we had fired [at targets] that were in very close proximity to our forces, how we had really saved them. He said it was an important mission and that apparently during it we had also killed a number of civilians. They said that tragically, some uninvolved civilians were apparently hit, but that it was a situation where it would either be our troops or civilians [being harmed]. He said that it wasn’t even a question, that it was obvious that our troops [came first]. They emphasized the fact that that was obviously not done on purpose.
Did he say what the mission itself was, what the role of the [artillery] battery was? To assist them with artillery fire. If they need flare shells, or if they need smoke to conceal themselves, or, of course, if they need explosive shells to evacuate [forces from the field]. The battery fired 900 shells [that night], and the battalion fired about 1,200 or 1,500, I think. There were certain stages during which we were firing at a maximum fire rate – after Goldin was kidnapped, (an IDF soldier captured near Rafah) and in Shuja’iyya. Keep in mind that breaking the Silence itself cherry picks IDF soldiers' testimonies already to make the IDF look as bad as possible. Amnesty is further taking the BtS quotes out of context as evidence of war crimes.
It is not a war crime, or a violation of international law, to prioritize soldier's lives higher than unintended civilian casualties. On the contrary - it is what a normal military commander is supposed to do in every army on Earth. But Amnesty does not like to tel its readers what actual international law is.
Other quotes that Amnesty supposedly claims as evidence of "war crimes" are not directly quoted in the executive summary - we just have to trust Amnesty that these quotes exist and mean what they claim they mean:
Public statements by Israeli army commanders and soldiers after the conflict provide compelling reasons to conclude that some attacks that killed civilians and destroyed homes and property were intentionally carried out and motivated by a desire for revenge – to teach a lesson to, or punish, the population of Rafah for the capture of Lieutenant Goldin.
There is consequently strong evidence that many such attacks in Rafah between 1 and 4 August were serious violations of international humanitarian law and constituted grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention or other war crimes. If they have quotes like that, why not use them in this summary? Because the quotes are not nearly as clear-cut as Amnesty wants the world to believe, and they know that reporters will trust their analysis of the quotes rather than evaluate them directly.
Interestingly, the executive summary doesn't mention the number of civilians killed in this operation. BtS said "between 41-150 Palestinians were killed, many of them civilians." That is a very imprecise number. It will be interesting to see if the Forensics Architecture team, supposedly committed to unbiased research, bothered during the past year to determine exactly how many civilians were actually killed during these three days of unbridled firepower in an urban battlefield where Hamas is purposefully hiding among civilians.
Civilians were killed in Rafah. It was tragic. Amnesty wants the world to believe that it was deliberate and they are willing to spend lots of money and effort to twist the truth to reach their pre-determined conclusions.
UPDATE: The final report does not contain a single quote that indicates that IDF soldiers intended to "take revenge." The only quote from a soldier that mentions "revenge" says the exact opposite: '“Anyone who abducts should know that he will pay a price. This was not revenge. "
Amnesty is lying.
An analysis of an Israeli assault in the Gaza Strip following the capture of one of its soldiers during last year's war in the Palestinian territory shows "strong evidence" of war crimes, Amnesty International said Wednesday.
The London-based rights group called for those responsible for the alleged offenses to be prosecuted as it published a detailed analysis of the Israeli military operation using eyewitness accounts, satellite imagery, photos and videos.
"There is strong evidence that Israeli forces committed war crimes in their relentless and massive bombardment of residential areas of Rafah in order to foil the capture of Lieutenant Hadar Goldin, displaying a shocking disregard for civilian lives," Philip Luther, director of the Middle East and North Africa Program at Amnesty International, said in a statement.
"They carried out a series of disproportionate or otherwise indiscriminate attacks, which they have completely failed to investigate independently." Israel strongly denied the accusations, calling Amnesty's report "fundamentally flawed in its methodologies, in its facts, in its legal analysis and in its conclusions."
"When one reads the report, the impression is given that the (Israeli military) was fighting against itself - as there is almost no mention of the military actions of Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist organizations," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
The incidents addressed in the report centered on August 1, 2014, which has become known as "Black Friday," when Goldin was captured shortly after a ceasefire was announced. He was later declared dead. In response, the military was said to have implemented the so-called Hannibal Directive - a controversial procedure which allows for an intensive military response to prevent the capture of the soldier at all costs.
Israel bombed the city of Rafah and the surrounding area in the southern Gaza Strip near the border with Egypt. According to Amnesty, at least 135 civilians were killed in the air and ground assault.
"Massive and prolonged bombardment began without warning while masses of people were on the streets, and many of them, especially those in vehicles, became targets," Amnesty said.
"Eyewitness accounts described horrifying scenes of chaos and panic as an inferno of fire from F-16 jets, drones, helicopters and artillery rained down on the streets, striking civilians on foot or in cars, as well as ambulances and other vehicles evacuating the wounded." Amnesty partnered with researchers from Forensic Architecture, based at Goldsmiths, University of London, for the report.
Israel accused Amnesty of "a false narrative - claiming that four days of military operations by the IDF were in direct response to the killing and kidnapping of one IDF soldier," the foreign ministry said. "It seems that Amnesty forgot that there was an ongoing conflict - during which the IDF was operating to stop rocket fire and neutralize cross-border assault tunnels, and Palestinian terrorist organizations were actively engaging in intensive conflict against the IDF from within the civilian environment."
Last summer's 50-day war took a heavy toll on Gaza, killing over 2,000 Palestinians, including more than 500 children. Seventy-three people were killed on the Israeli side, including 67 soldiers.
Amnesty's new report takes soldiers' quotes out of context (updated)
Amnesty International today is releasing yet another report that tries to prove Israel committed war crimes in last year's Gaza war, this time regarding the events surrounding the kidnapping of Lt. Hadar Goldin in Rafah - who was abducted during a ceasefire.
Just like the Gaza Platform, the upcoming report uses the services of the anti-Zionist "Forensics Architecture" team to take one-sided evidence and twist it to make it look like an impartial investigation.
At the moment, only the executive summary is available. Yet even its use of sources proves its bias.
It quotes two IDF soldiers who were interviewed by "Breaking the Silence" to prove purposeful Israeli fire into civilian areas.
An Israeli infantry officer described to Israeli NGO Breaking the Silence the events that
ensued after the Hannibal Directive was announced on the radio:
“The minute ‘Hannibal Directive’ is declared on the radio, there are consequences. There’s a fire procedure called the ‘Hannibal fire procedure’ – you fire at every suspicious place that merges with a central route. You don’t spare any means.” Here's the entire testimony:
So I heard that the reconnaissance platoon got into a confrontation, and that it looked like we were talking about two [IDF soldiers] dead and one captured. That’s when the mess got started. The minute ‘Hannibal Directive’ is declared on the radio, there are consequences. There’s a fire procedure called the ‘Hannibal fire procedure’ – you fire at every suspicious place that merges with a central route. You don’t spare any means. A thousand shells were fired that Friday morning, at all the central intersections. The entire Tancher [Route] (the continuation of Highway 4 in Gaza) was bombed. The air force attacked places inside Rafah City, places in which we knew there were Hamas militants. Was there collateral damage to houses? I’m sure there was. It was very intense, that incident. After the area was hit by 1,000 shells that Friday morning, I saw Tancher in ruins. Everything totally wrecked. Even the BtS soldier says that there was no intent to hurt civilians and that no civilian structures were directly targeted..
Here's Amnesty's second quote:
An artillery soldier said his battery was “firing at a maximum fire rate” right into inhabited areas.
The full testimony:
During occasions when there was a significant amount of fire [directed at our forces], or during the ground incursion to Gaza – to Shuja’iyya – I know my unit fired a lot. One of the senior officers in my unit talked about how we had fired [at targets] that were in very close proximity to our forces, how we had really saved them. He said it was an important mission and that apparently during it we had also killed a number of civilians. They said that tragically, some uninvolved civilians were apparently hit, but that it was a situation where it would either be our troops or civilians [being harmed]. He said that it wasn’t even a question, that it was obvious that our troops [came first]. They emphasized the fact that that was obviously not done on purpose.
Did he say what the mission itself was, what the role of the [artillery] battery was? To assist them with artillery fire. If they need flare shells, or if they need smoke to conceal themselves, or, of course, if they need explosive shells to evacuate [forces from the field]. The battery fired 900 shells [that night], and the battalion fired about 1,200 or 1,500, I think. There were certain stages during which we were firing at a maximum fire rate – after Goldin was kidnapped, (an IDF soldier captured near Rafah) and in Shuja’iyya. Keep in mind that breaking the Silence itself cherry picks IDF soldiers' testimonies already to make the IDF look as bad as possible. Amnesty is further taking the BtS quotes out of context as evidence of war crimes.
It is not a war crime, or a violation of international law, to prioritize soldier's lives higher than unintended civilian casualties. On the contrary - it is what a normal military commander is supposed to do in every army on Earth. But Amnesty does not like to tel its readers what actual international law is.
Other quotes that Amnesty supposedly claims as evidence of "war crimes" are not directly quoted in the executive summary - we just have to trust Amnesty that these quotes exist and mean what they claim they mean:
Public statements by Israeli army commanders and soldiers after the conflict provide compelling reasons to conclude that some attacks that killed civilians and destroyed homes and property were intentionally carried out and motivated by a desire for revenge – to teach a lesson to, or punish, the population of Rafah for the capture of Lieutenant Goldin.
There is consequently strong evidence that many such attacks in Rafah between 1 and 4 August were serious violations of international humanitarian law and constituted grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention or other war crimes. If they have quotes like that, why not use them in this summary? Because the quotes are not nearly as clear-cut as Amnesty wants the world to believe, and they know that reporters will trust their analysis of the quotes rather than evaluate them directly.
Interestingly, the executive summary doesn't mention the number of civilians killed in this operation. BtS said "between 41-150 Palestinians were killed, many of them civilians." That is a very imprecise number. It will be interesting to see if the Forensics Architecture team, supposedly committed to unbiased research, bothered during the past year to determine exactly how many civilians were actually killed during these three days of unbridled firepower in an urban battlefield where Hamas is purposefully hiding among civilians.
Civilians were killed in Rafah. It was tragic. Amnesty wants the world to believe that it was deliberate and they are willing to spend lots of money and effort to twist the truth to reach their pre-determined conclusions.
UPDATE: The final report does not contain a single quote that indicates that IDF soldiers intended to "take revenge." The only quote from a soldier that mentions "revenge" says the exact opposite: '“Anyone who abducts should know that he will pay a price. This was not revenge. "
Amnesty is lying.
23 july 2015
The Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) said that Israeli soldiers have kidnapped, Thursday, three Palestinians from the northern West Bank districts of Qalqilia and Nablus. Two children have also been kidnapped in occupied Jerusalem.
The PPS said one of the kidnapped Palestinians, identified as Ameed Nasser Shalabi, from Nablus, was taken prisoner as he was trying to cross the al-Karama Crossing on his way to Jordan, for medical treatment abroad.
Shalabi is a former political prisoner who was held for three and a half years, before he was released under the Shalit Prisoners Swap agreement in 2011.
Soldiers also invaded Qalqilia, and kidnapped two Palestinians identified as Nasr Beida, 20, and Amin Jamal Hindi, 20 years of age.
Amin is the son of detainee Jamal Hindi, who is serving a twenty-two year term.
In addition, the Wadi Hilweh Information Center in Silwan (Silwanic) has reported that the soldiers kidnapped two children in Beit Hanina neighborhood, north of occupied Jerusalem.
Silwanic said the soldiers kidnapped Khalil Abu Issa, 15, and Yousef Abu Radwan, 15, and took them to an interrogation center in occupied Jerusalem.
The PPS said one of the kidnapped Palestinians, identified as Ameed Nasser Shalabi, from Nablus, was taken prisoner as he was trying to cross the al-Karama Crossing on his way to Jordan, for medical treatment abroad.
Shalabi is a former political prisoner who was held for three and a half years, before he was released under the Shalit Prisoners Swap agreement in 2011.
Soldiers also invaded Qalqilia, and kidnapped two Palestinians identified as Nasr Beida, 20, and Amin Jamal Hindi, 20 years of age.
Amin is the son of detainee Jamal Hindi, who is serving a twenty-two year term.
In addition, the Wadi Hilweh Information Center in Silwan (Silwanic) has reported that the soldiers kidnapped two children in Beit Hanina neighborhood, north of occupied Jerusalem.
Silwanic said the soldiers kidnapped Khalil Abu Issa, 15, and Yousef Abu Radwan, 15, and took them to an interrogation center in occupied Jerusalem.
21 july 2015
Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, said there will be no new negotiation on any swap deal unless Israel releases the ex-detainees who were freed in the Shalit-swap deal and rearrested recently.
“Re-arresting of ex-detainees runs contrary to the agreement of Shalit swap deal and will not blackmail or pressure Hamas movement”, Sami Abu Zuhri, Hamas spokesman, said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Israel has no choice but to release the ex-detainees in order to start negotiations for any new prisoner exchange deal”, he said.
Israeli forces re-arrested a number of Palestinian ex-detainees who were released within Shalit swap deal signed in 2011. A thousand of Palestinian captives were released in return for releasing the Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, who was detained in 2006 and remained as prisoner in resistance captivity for five years.
“Re-arresting of ex-detainees runs contrary to the agreement of Shalit swap deal and will not blackmail or pressure Hamas movement”, Sami Abu Zuhri, Hamas spokesman, said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Israel has no choice but to release the ex-detainees in order to start negotiations for any new prisoner exchange deal”, he said.
Israeli forces re-arrested a number of Palestinian ex-detainees who were released within Shalit swap deal signed in 2011. A thousand of Palestinian captives were released in return for releasing the Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, who was detained in 2006 and remained as prisoner in resistance captivity for five years.
Political bureau member of Hamas, Ezzet al-Resheq, dubbed on Monday an Israeli bill recently proposed by MK Nissan Slomiansky (Jewish Home) and seeking to redouble punishment for Palestinian ex-prisoners, a renewed manifestation of Israeli sadism and criminality.
The legislation seeks to redouble punishment for the Palestinian detainees released in the Wafa al-Ahrar prisoner swap deal if they resume involvement in any anti-occupation activities.
Resheq said the proposed bill is a barefaced proof of the inherently chaotic state of affairs rocking the Israeli occupation and the Netanyahu government.
He said the release of Palestinian prisoners remains on the top of the resistance agenda.
Hebrew media outlets had claimed the Israeli occupation forces nabbed a Hamas cell accountable for West Bank shooting attacks.
The captive cell members admitted that they have been recruited by the ex-prisoner Ahmad al-Najar, deported to Jordan, the same sources further alleged.
The legislation seeks to redouble punishment for the Palestinian detainees released in the Wafa al-Ahrar prisoner swap deal if they resume involvement in any anti-occupation activities.
Resheq said the proposed bill is a barefaced proof of the inherently chaotic state of affairs rocking the Israeli occupation and the Netanyahu government.
He said the release of Palestinian prisoners remains on the top of the resistance agenda.
Hebrew media outlets had claimed the Israeli occupation forces nabbed a Hamas cell accountable for West Bank shooting attacks.
The captive cell members admitted that they have been recruited by the ex-prisoner Ahmad al-Najar, deported to Jordan, the same sources further alleged.
Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, has expressed its strong belief that Israel's intelligence would not be able to find any information about the fate of its captive soldier Shaul Aaron.
"Today, the prisoners have a new hope of getting their freedom soon while the enemy is still confused, and it will remain impotent to get any information about its captive solider despite its use of all intelligence means in its possession," al-Qassam Brigades stated Monday on its website.
"On 20/07/2014 at dawn, 0:45 am, men from the Brigades were able to capture soldier Shaul Aaron in an operation in the east of Gaza City, during which 14 [Israeli] soldiers were killed and dozens injured, including the commander of the Golani Brigade Ghassan Alian," the Brigades added.
Al-Qassam Brigades, however, did not give any information stating if the Israeli soldier is dead or still alive.
"Today, the prisoners have a new hope of getting their freedom soon while the enemy is still confused, and it will remain impotent to get any information about its captive solider despite its use of all intelligence means in its possession," al-Qassam Brigades stated Monday on its website.
"On 20/07/2014 at dawn, 0:45 am, men from the Brigades were able to capture soldier Shaul Aaron in an operation in the east of Gaza City, during which 14 [Israeli] soldiers were killed and dozens injured, including the commander of the Golani Brigade Ghassan Alian," the Brigades added.
Al-Qassam Brigades, however, did not give any information stating if the Israeli soldier is dead or still alive.
20 july 2015
Top row from left to
right: Danny Gonen, Malachi Rosenfeld and Baruch Mizrahi. Bottom row:
Eyal Yifrach, Gilad Sha'er and Naftali Frenkel. All were killed in
incidents involving those released in the Shalit deal with Hamas.
Nearly four years after 1,000 convicted terrorists were released from prison in exchange for Gilad Shalit, some have returned to violence, leading to the death of 6 Israelis so far.
Authorities cleared for publication Sunday that the terror cell responsible for the murder of Malachi Rosenfeld last month, was led by a Hamas operative released during the deal for Gilad Shalit nearly four years ago.
The bigger story however, raises more challenging questions than that of the circumstances surrounding Rosenfeld's death; six Israelis have been killed since April 2014 in incidents involving those released during the Shalit deal - perhaps fewer than some feared, but enough to throw Israel's policy of prisoner release back into doubt.
Security officials are hesitant to discuss the matter. They do point out however, that those released in the Shalit deal who have returned to militant activity, have done so in different roles and capacities than before. None of those officials have disputed that the Shalit deal may have increased motivation within Hamas to abduct Israelis, particularly soldiers and minors, as a bargaining chip to raise the organization's profile in the West Bank.
Dozens of abduction attempts have been reported in the West Bank since the Shalit deal, most of which were pre-empted by intelligence and arrests by the Shin Bet.
The IDF has closely followed those released in the Shalit deal and 39 of them were arrested among the 53 former prisoners that were returned to Israeli jails during Operation Brother's Keeper in the summer of 2014.
Nearly four years after 1,000 convicted terrorists were released from prison in exchange for Gilad Shalit, some have returned to violence, leading to the death of 6 Israelis so far.
Authorities cleared for publication Sunday that the terror cell responsible for the murder of Malachi Rosenfeld last month, was led by a Hamas operative released during the deal for Gilad Shalit nearly four years ago.
The bigger story however, raises more challenging questions than that of the circumstances surrounding Rosenfeld's death; six Israelis have been killed since April 2014 in incidents involving those released during the Shalit deal - perhaps fewer than some feared, but enough to throw Israel's policy of prisoner release back into doubt.
Security officials are hesitant to discuss the matter. They do point out however, that those released in the Shalit deal who have returned to militant activity, have done so in different roles and capacities than before. None of those officials have disputed that the Shalit deal may have increased motivation within Hamas to abduct Israelis, particularly soldiers and minors, as a bargaining chip to raise the organization's profile in the West Bank.
Dozens of abduction attempts have been reported in the West Bank since the Shalit deal, most of which were pre-empted by intelligence and arrests by the Shin Bet.
The IDF has closely followed those released in the Shalit deal and 39 of them were arrested among the 53 former prisoners that were returned to Israeli jails during Operation Brother's Keeper in the summer of 2014.
19 july 2015
Leader of cell is Hamas operative released in Shalit deal; terror cell also behind shooting at MDA ambulance.
Israeli security forces have arrested the terror cell responsible for the murder of Malachi Rosenfeld last month near Shvut Rachel in the West Bank, it was cleared for publication on Sunday.
This terror cell was also behind a shooting two days earlier at a Magen David Adom ambulance and other Israeli vehicles near Beitin, which ended without casualties. The cell members admitted to have committed these attacks and attempting to commit another attack on June 6, 2015.
The brains behind the terror cell, Ahmad Najar, a Hamas operative, was not among the suspects arrested. He was imprisoned in Israel several times in the past, most recently from December 2003 until October 2011 over his involvement in a shooting attack that claimed the lives of six Israelis. After his release as part of the Shalit deal and expulsion to Gaza, Najar moved to Jordan, where he has been working to organize and fund terror attacks.
His brother, Amjad Najar, also a Hamas operative, was arrested on July 7. In his interrogation he admitted to facilitating the transfer of instructions, weapons and funding from his brother in Jordan to the West Bank for the attack. He was previously arrested in the 1990s for involvement in terror activities.
Abdallah Ischak was also arrested on July 7. In his interrogation, he admitted to being directly involved in the two attacks, saying he drove the car used by the cell and participated in other armed activity. He was previously in Israeli jail in 2010-2011 for arms trade and terror activities. In 2006, he was involved in the planning of a terror attack.
Fa'ez Hamed, a Hamas commander, was arrested on July 9. In his interrogation, he admitted to planning the attacks and being involved in another attempted attack. He was arrested several times in the past for his activity within Hamas.
Jamal Younes, Ahmad Najar's father-in-law, was arrested on July 10. In his interrogation, he admitted to scrapping the car used in the attack, mediating on an arms deal for the attack, and to meeting Ahmad Najar in Jordan.
Some of the cell members were arrested by the Palestinian security forces, among them Mu'ad Hamed, who led the terror cell and committed the shooting in both attacks and Ahmad Shibrawi, who helped plan the attacks and provided the weapons used. Both Hamed and Shibrawi, Hamas operatives, were arrested several times in the past for his involvement in planning terror attacks.
The Palestinian Authority has recently conducted the largest wave of arrests in years against Hamas operatives in the West Bank. Arrests were made all across the West Bank and included 170 Hamas operatives. Two weeks ago, a Palestinian security official told Ynet that there was a direct link between the series of recent shooting attacks in the West Bank and the wave of arrests.
Israeli security forces have arrested the terror cell responsible for the murder of Malachi Rosenfeld last month near Shvut Rachel in the West Bank, it was cleared for publication on Sunday.
This terror cell was also behind a shooting two days earlier at a Magen David Adom ambulance and other Israeli vehicles near Beitin, which ended without casualties. The cell members admitted to have committed these attacks and attempting to commit another attack on June 6, 2015.
The brains behind the terror cell, Ahmad Najar, a Hamas operative, was not among the suspects arrested. He was imprisoned in Israel several times in the past, most recently from December 2003 until October 2011 over his involvement in a shooting attack that claimed the lives of six Israelis. After his release as part of the Shalit deal and expulsion to Gaza, Najar moved to Jordan, where he has been working to organize and fund terror attacks.
His brother, Amjad Najar, also a Hamas operative, was arrested on July 7. In his interrogation he admitted to facilitating the transfer of instructions, weapons and funding from his brother in Jordan to the West Bank for the attack. He was previously arrested in the 1990s for involvement in terror activities.
Abdallah Ischak was also arrested on July 7. In his interrogation, he admitted to being directly involved in the two attacks, saying he drove the car used by the cell and participated in other armed activity. He was previously in Israeli jail in 2010-2011 for arms trade and terror activities. In 2006, he was involved in the planning of a terror attack.
Fa'ez Hamed, a Hamas commander, was arrested on July 9. In his interrogation, he admitted to planning the attacks and being involved in another attempted attack. He was arrested several times in the past for his activity within Hamas.
Jamal Younes, Ahmad Najar's father-in-law, was arrested on July 10. In his interrogation, he admitted to scrapping the car used in the attack, mediating on an arms deal for the attack, and to meeting Ahmad Najar in Jordan.
Some of the cell members were arrested by the Palestinian security forces, among them Mu'ad Hamed, who led the terror cell and committed the shooting in both attacks and Ahmad Shibrawi, who helped plan the attacks and provided the weapons used. Both Hamed and Shibrawi, Hamas operatives, were arrested several times in the past for his involvement in planning terror attacks.
The Palestinian Authority has recently conducted the largest wave of arrests in years against Hamas operatives in the West Bank. Arrests were made all across the West Bank and included 170 Hamas operatives. Two weeks ago, a Palestinian security official told Ynet that there was a direct link between the series of recent shooting attacks in the West Bank and the wave of arrests.
17 july 2015
Deputy head of Hamas’ political bureau Ismael Haniyeh declared Friday that his group will soon achieve its aims mainly ending Gaza siege and activate its reconstruction.
We approach our aims of ending Gaza siege, activating its reconstruction, and establishing a sea port, Haniyeh said during Eid prayers.
Israeli media report earlier revealed that indirect negotiations are carrying out between Hamas and Israel over reaching a long-term ceasefire in return of lifting the siege on Gaza.
He also pointed out during the sermon that a prison exchange deal will be reached soon.
Haniyeh stressed during the sermon that his movement will not take part of any talks over exchange deal before the release of 54 ex-prisoners kidnapped last summer by Israel after their release during Shalit swap deal in 2011.
On October 2011, nearly 1027 Palestinian prisoners were released from Israeli jails in exchange of the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit who was captured by Hamas in 2006.
54 of those released prisoners were re-arrested last summer following the kidnapping and killing of three Israeli soldiers in June.
Head of Hamas's political bureau Khaled Mishaal earlier said that Israel approached his Movement through a European intermediary to negotiate the release of Israeli soldiers captured by Hamas during the summer aggression on Gaza.
We approach our aims of ending Gaza siege, activating its reconstruction, and establishing a sea port, Haniyeh said during Eid prayers.
Israeli media report earlier revealed that indirect negotiations are carrying out between Hamas and Israel over reaching a long-term ceasefire in return of lifting the siege on Gaza.
He also pointed out during the sermon that a prison exchange deal will be reached soon.
Haniyeh stressed during the sermon that his movement will not take part of any talks over exchange deal before the release of 54 ex-prisoners kidnapped last summer by Israel after their release during Shalit swap deal in 2011.
On October 2011, nearly 1027 Palestinian prisoners were released from Israeli jails in exchange of the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit who was captured by Hamas in 2006.
54 of those released prisoners were re-arrested last summer following the kidnapping and killing of three Israeli soldiers in June.
Head of Hamas's political bureau Khaled Mishaal earlier said that Israel approached his Movement through a European intermediary to negotiate the release of Israeli soldiers captured by Hamas during the summer aggression on Gaza.
16 july 2015
Israel has proposed a swap deal to get back the bodies of two captive soldiers in return for 20 Palestinian martyrs, the Israeli Yediot Aharonot newspaper reported Thursday.
The newspaper quoted an Israeli security official as stating that indirect talks have been underway with Egypt so as to urge Hamas to release the bodies of the two soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin in return for the bodies of 20 Palestinians killed in last summer’s Israeli offensive.
No decision has yet been finalized as regards the proposal, the same source said.
The newspaper added that Hamas is trying to use the captive soldiers as bargaining chips for the release of more Palestinian detainees.
Observers said the Israeli occupation has done it all to seize scraps of information about the fate of the Israeli captives. Hamas, however, has insisted that no such data shall be propagated if all the recaptured Palestinians detainees are not released.
The newspaper quoted an Israeli security official as stating that indirect talks have been underway with Egypt so as to urge Hamas to release the bodies of the two soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin in return for the bodies of 20 Palestinians killed in last summer’s Israeli offensive.
No decision has yet been finalized as regards the proposal, the same source said.
The newspaper added that Hamas is trying to use the captive soldiers as bargaining chips for the release of more Palestinian detainees.
Observers said the Israeli occupation has done it all to seize scraps of information about the fate of the Israeli captives. Hamas, however, has insisted that no such data shall be propagated if all the recaptured Palestinians detainees are not released.
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