26 feb 2015
An Israeli soldier confronts a Palestinian man attempting to plant an olive tree sapling earlier this month near the West Bank city of Ramallah
The Israeli elections scheduled for March 17 should constitute a triumph, a celebration of democracy and a proud reminder that the nation in which Arab citizens have the most meaningful vote is, yes, Israel.Yet Israeli settlements here on the West Bank mar the elections, and the future of the country itself. The 350,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank — not even counting those in Arab East Jerusalem — impede any Middle East peace and stain Israel’s image.
But let’s be clear: The reason to oppose settlements is not just that they are bad for Israel and America, but also that this nibbling of Arab land is just plain wrong. It’s a land grab. The result is a “brutal occupation force,” in the words of the late Avraham Shalom, a former chief of the Israeli internal security force, Shin Bet.
Most Israeli settlers are not violent. But plenty are — even stoning American consular officials early this year — and they mostly get away with it because settlements are an arm of an expansive Israeli policy. The larger problem is not violent settlers, but the occupation.
“We planted 5,000 trees last year,” Mahmood Ahmed, a Palestinian farmer near Sinjil told me. “Settlers cut them all down with shears or uprooted them.”
Israel has enormous security challenges, but it’s hard to see the threat posed by 69-year-old Abed al-Majeed, who has sent all 12 of his children to university. He told me he used to have 300 sheep grazing on family land in Qusra but that nearby settlers often attack him when he is on his own land; he rolled up his pant leg to show a scar where he said a settler shot him in 2013. Now he is down to 100 sheep.
“I can’t graze my sheep on my own land,” he said. “If I go there, settlers will beat me.” (video)
Sarit Michaeli of B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights group, accompanied me here and said that the allegations are fully credible. Sometimes Palestinians exaggerate numbers, she said, but the larger pattern is undeniable: “the expulsion of Palestinians from wide areas of their agricultural land in the West Bank.”
Elsewhere, I saw graffiti that said “Death to Arabs” in Hebrew, heard Palestinians say that their olive trees had been poisoned or their tires slashed, and talked to an Arab family whose house was firebombed in the middle of the night, leaving the children traumatized.
The violence, of course, cuts both ways, and some Israeli settlers have been murdered by Palestinians. I just as easily could have talked to settler children traumatized by Palestinian violence. But that’s the point: As long as Israel maintains these settlements, illegal in the eyes of most of the world, both sides will suffer.
To its credit, Israel sometimes lets democratic institutions work for Palestinians. In the southern West Bank, I met farmers who, with the help of a watchdog group, Rabbis for Human Rights, used Israeli courts to regain some land after being blocked by settlers. But they pointed wistfully at an olive grove that they are not allowed to enter because it is next to an outpost of a Jewish settlement.
Continue reading the main story - Continue reading the main story - Continue reading the main story They haven’t been able to set foot in the orchard for years, but I, as an outsider, was able to walk right into it. A settler confronted me, declined to be interviewed, and disappeared again — but the Palestinians who planted the trees cannot harvest their own olives.
A unit of Israeli soldiers soon showed up to make sure that there was no trouble. They were respectful, but, if they were really there to administer the law, they would dismantle the settlement outpost, which is illegal under Israeli as well as international law.
Kerem Navot, an Israeli civil society organization, has documented “the wholesale takeover of agricultural lands” by Israeli settlers. It notes that this takeover is backed by the Israeli government “despite the blatant illegality of much of the activity, even in terms of Israeli law.”
There are, of course, far worse human rights abuses in the Middle East; indeed, Israeli journalists, lawyers, historians and aid groups are often exquisitely fair to Palestinians. Yet the occupation is particularly offensive to me because it is conducted by the United States’ ally, underwritten with our tax dollars, supported by tax-deductible contributions to settlement groups, and carried out by American bulldozers and weaponry, and presided over by a prime minister who is scheduled to speak to Congress next week.
At a time when Saudi Arabia is flogging dissidents, Egypt is sentencing them to death, and Syria is bombing them, Israel should stand as a model. Unfortunately, it squanders political capital and antagonizes even its friends with its naked land grab in the West Bank. That’s something that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might discuss in his address to Congress.
The Israeli elections scheduled for March 17 should constitute a triumph, a celebration of democracy and a proud reminder that the nation in which Arab citizens have the most meaningful vote is, yes, Israel.Yet Israeli settlements here on the West Bank mar the elections, and the future of the country itself. The 350,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank — not even counting those in Arab East Jerusalem — impede any Middle East peace and stain Israel’s image.
But let’s be clear: The reason to oppose settlements is not just that they are bad for Israel and America, but also that this nibbling of Arab land is just plain wrong. It’s a land grab. The result is a “brutal occupation force,” in the words of the late Avraham Shalom, a former chief of the Israeli internal security force, Shin Bet.
Most Israeli settlers are not violent. But plenty are — even stoning American consular officials early this year — and they mostly get away with it because settlements are an arm of an expansive Israeli policy. The larger problem is not violent settlers, but the occupation.
“We planted 5,000 trees last year,” Mahmood Ahmed, a Palestinian farmer near Sinjil told me. “Settlers cut them all down with shears or uprooted them.”
Israel has enormous security challenges, but it’s hard to see the threat posed by 69-year-old Abed al-Majeed, who has sent all 12 of his children to university. He told me he used to have 300 sheep grazing on family land in Qusra but that nearby settlers often attack him when he is on his own land; he rolled up his pant leg to show a scar where he said a settler shot him in 2013. Now he is down to 100 sheep.
“I can’t graze my sheep on my own land,” he said. “If I go there, settlers will beat me.” (video)
Sarit Michaeli of B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights group, accompanied me here and said that the allegations are fully credible. Sometimes Palestinians exaggerate numbers, she said, but the larger pattern is undeniable: “the expulsion of Palestinians from wide areas of their agricultural land in the West Bank.”
Elsewhere, I saw graffiti that said “Death to Arabs” in Hebrew, heard Palestinians say that their olive trees had been poisoned or their tires slashed, and talked to an Arab family whose house was firebombed in the middle of the night, leaving the children traumatized.
The violence, of course, cuts both ways, and some Israeli settlers have been murdered by Palestinians. I just as easily could have talked to settler children traumatized by Palestinian violence. But that’s the point: As long as Israel maintains these settlements, illegal in the eyes of most of the world, both sides will suffer.
To its credit, Israel sometimes lets democratic institutions work for Palestinians. In the southern West Bank, I met farmers who, with the help of a watchdog group, Rabbis for Human Rights, used Israeli courts to regain some land after being blocked by settlers. But they pointed wistfully at an olive grove that they are not allowed to enter because it is next to an outpost of a Jewish settlement.
Continue reading the main story - Continue reading the main story - Continue reading the main story They haven’t been able to set foot in the orchard for years, but I, as an outsider, was able to walk right into it. A settler confronted me, declined to be interviewed, and disappeared again — but the Palestinians who planted the trees cannot harvest their own olives.
A unit of Israeli soldiers soon showed up to make sure that there was no trouble. They were respectful, but, if they were really there to administer the law, they would dismantle the settlement outpost, which is illegal under Israeli as well as international law.
Kerem Navot, an Israeli civil society organization, has documented “the wholesale takeover of agricultural lands” by Israeli settlers. It notes that this takeover is backed by the Israeli government “despite the blatant illegality of much of the activity, even in terms of Israeli law.”
There are, of course, far worse human rights abuses in the Middle East; indeed, Israeli journalists, lawyers, historians and aid groups are often exquisitely fair to Palestinians. Yet the occupation is particularly offensive to me because it is conducted by the United States’ ally, underwritten with our tax dollars, supported by tax-deductible contributions to settlement groups, and carried out by American bulldozers and weaponry, and presided over by a prime minister who is scheduled to speak to Congress next week.
At a time when Saudi Arabia is flogging dissidents, Egypt is sentencing them to death, and Syria is bombing them, Israel should stand as a model. Unfortunately, it squanders political capital and antagonizes even its friends with its naked land grab in the West Bank. That’s something that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might discuss in his address to Congress.
At least two Palestinian citizens suffered rubber bullet injuries, while
others suffered breathing problems after inhaling tear gas fired by
Israeli forces during clashes in Azzoun town eastern of Qalqiliya.
The clashes broke out when Israeli soldiers suppressed a peaceful march at the eastern gate to the town.
Israeli forces intensively fired rubber bullets and tear gas grenades at the activists who marched in protest against the Israeli continued closure of the gate.
The participants, in turn, responded by throwing stones towards the Israeli forces.
Meanwhile, one Israeli soldier was injured Thursday afternoon during clashes in Aroub refugee camp near al-Khalil to the south of occupied West Bank.
The Hebrew radio claimed the injured soldier was transferred to hospital in occupied Jerusalem for treatment as he suffers slight wounds.
The clashes broke out when Israeli soldiers suppressed a peaceful march at the eastern gate to the town.
Israeli forces intensively fired rubber bullets and tear gas grenades at the activists who marched in protest against the Israeli continued closure of the gate.
The participants, in turn, responded by throwing stones towards the Israeli forces.
Meanwhile, one Israeli soldier was injured Thursday afternoon during clashes in Aroub refugee camp near al-Khalil to the south of occupied West Bank.
The Hebrew radio claimed the injured soldier was transferred to hospital in occupied Jerusalem for treatment as he suffers slight wounds.
The Arab League on Wednesday called on secretary-general of the UN Ban Ki-moon and international child rights organizations to immediately intervene to curb Israel's crimes and violations against the Palestinians, especially the children.
The department of Palestine and the occupied Arab territories at the Arab League said in a report that Palestinian children at blooming ages get either killed, kidnapped or abused by Israeli soldiers every day in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Its report pointed out that the killing of 16-year-old Mohamed Sanqurat last year in east Jerusalem led to the discovery that the Israeli police had used black sponge-tipped bullets to suppress angry Palestinian demonstrations in the West Bank, Jerusalem, and the 1948 occupied lands protesting Israel's last war on Gaza.
"Secret orders had been issued for the Israeli police to use the lethal black sponge-tipped bullets against Palestinian protesters in violation of the law and without providing the policemen with standards and guidelines on how to use them," the report stated.
The report affirmed that the Association for Civil Rights in Israel had documented four cases of children having been seriously wounded after being shot with sponge-tipped bullets.
It added that the legal adviser of the Israeli police in Jerusalem, Michael Frankenberg, also admitted that the Israeli police had used this kind of bullets about six months ago without setting usage guidelines.
This type of bullets are actually very lethal and cause serious physical damage to the victim upon impact.
The department of Palestine and the occupied Arab territories at the Arab League said in a report that Palestinian children at blooming ages get either killed, kidnapped or abused by Israeli soldiers every day in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Its report pointed out that the killing of 16-year-old Mohamed Sanqurat last year in east Jerusalem led to the discovery that the Israeli police had used black sponge-tipped bullets to suppress angry Palestinian demonstrations in the West Bank, Jerusalem, and the 1948 occupied lands protesting Israel's last war on Gaza.
"Secret orders had been issued for the Israeli police to use the lethal black sponge-tipped bullets against Palestinian protesters in violation of the law and without providing the policemen with standards and guidelines on how to use them," the report stated.
The report affirmed that the Association for Civil Rights in Israel had documented four cases of children having been seriously wounded after being shot with sponge-tipped bullets.
It added that the legal adviser of the Israeli police in Jerusalem, Michael Frankenberg, also admitted that the Israeli police had used this kind of bullets about six months ago without setting usage guidelines.
This type of bullets are actually very lethal and cause serious physical damage to the victim upon impact.
A group of approximately 20 Israeli colonizers, illegally squatting in Hebron city, in the southern part of the occupied West Bank, attacked on Wednesday a Palestinian shop causing excessive property damage. Soldiers kidnapped the shop owner and his neighbor.
The Hebron Defense Committee has reported that the Israeli attackers, headed by extremist right-winger Baruch Marzel, who lives in Tal Romeida illegal outpost, invaded a shop, belonging to resident Abdulraouf al-Mohtaseb, causing excessive damage to many goods, especially those displayed outside his store.
The attackers also assaulted the shop owner, and struck him on the head, and also assaulted his son, causing various bruises and a cuts in his arm.
The Committee said Israeli officers, and soldiers, were standing just a few meters away from the store, but did not even attempt to intervene and remove the assailants.
Instead, the soldiers kidnapped Abdulraouf and one of his neighbors, while trying to file a complaint against the fanatic Israeli assailants.
The attack came amidst a provocative tour by Marzel and his followers, in addition to some journalist covering Marzel’s campaign for the upcoming Knesset election.
The Hebron Defense Committee stated that Marzel seems to be trying to run his campaign on a platform of hatred towards the Palestinians.
The Hebron Defense Committee has reported that the Israeli attackers, headed by extremist right-winger Baruch Marzel, who lives in Tal Romeida illegal outpost, invaded a shop, belonging to resident Abdulraouf al-Mohtaseb, causing excessive damage to many goods, especially those displayed outside his store.
The attackers also assaulted the shop owner, and struck him on the head, and also assaulted his son, causing various bruises and a cuts in his arm.
The Committee said Israeli officers, and soldiers, were standing just a few meters away from the store, but did not even attempt to intervene and remove the assailants.
Instead, the soldiers kidnapped Abdulraouf and one of his neighbors, while trying to file a complaint against the fanatic Israeli assailants.
The attack came amidst a provocative tour by Marzel and his followers, in addition to some journalist covering Marzel’s campaign for the upcoming Knesset election.
The Hebron Defense Committee stated that Marzel seems to be trying to run his campaign on a platform of hatred towards the Palestinians.
A Palestinian young man suffered a rubber bullet injury and many others suffocated from tear gas during violent clashes with Israeli troops on Wednesday evening in Ein Loza neighborhood of Silwan district, south of the Aqsa Mosque.
Spokesman for the Wadi Hilweh Information Center Majdi al-Abbasi said that Israeli soldiers stormed the neighborhood, which prompted a group of young men to block its roads with garbage containers and hurl them with firecrackers, stones and Molotov cocktails.
Abbasi added that the soldiers responded by randomly and intensively firing a hail of tear gas and stun grenades, and rubber bullets at the young men and nearby houses, which caused a number of families inside their homes to suffer from inhaling tear gas.
Spokesman for the Wadi Hilweh Information Center Majdi al-Abbasi said that Israeli soldiers stormed the neighborhood, which prompted a group of young men to block its roads with garbage containers and hurl them with firecrackers, stones and Molotov cocktails.
Abbasi added that the soldiers responded by randomly and intensively firing a hail of tear gas and stun grenades, and rubber bullets at the young men and nearby houses, which caused a number of families inside their homes to suffer from inhaling tear gas.
25 feb 2015
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On the 24th of February in occupied Al-Khalil (Hebron), Israeli forces opened fire on dancing Palestinian youth, firing tear gas and throwing stun grenades at group of young children performing a traditional Palestinian dance as a form of protest in front of Shuhada checkpoint.
The fifteen young dancers, Palestinian girls and boys between the ages of six and twelve, gathered to perform dabke, a traditional Palestinian dance, in an event organized by local Palestinian activist group Youth Against Settlements. They staged their dance on the open street in Bab Al-Zawiye (in the H1 – officially Palestinian Authority-controlled – part of Hebron) near Shuhada checkpoint, as part of a week of actions planned by Palestinian organizers around the annual Open Shuhada Street campaign. The children began performing under heavy military surveillance, as at least thirteen soldiers occupied roofs surrounding the entrance to the checkpoint. Even before the demonstration had begun, Israeli forces closed Shuhada checkpoint to Palestinian men, only allowing a few women through. Shuhada checkpoint controls the main access between Bab Al-Zawiye and the the H2 (fully Israeli-controlled) neighborhood of Tel Rumeida. On the H2 side, the checkpoint faces Shuhada street, and soldiers restrict |
Palestinian access onto the short portion of Shuhada street where they are still allowed to walk.
“As soon as the dancing kids moved closer to the checkpoint, soldiers immediately attacked with two tear gas grenades and two stun grenades,” reported an ISM volunteer who witnessed the incident. “Israeli soldiers fired tear gas even though the children were not throwing stones.”
After first fleeing the assault, the Palestinian children managed to continue dancing even as around twenty soldiers and eight border police advanced from the checkpoint into Bab Al-Zawiye. Israeli forces threw a dozen stun grenades after a few youth began throwing stones at the checkpoint.
Clashes continued for about an hour and a half, as Israeli soldiers and border police fired even more rounds of tear gas, several additional stun grenades, and eventually rubber-coated steel bullets at Palestinian youth. Advancing further and further into the commercial center of Bab Al-Zawiye, they ended up shooting into the crowded streets of the city’s market area. Local activists reported that two Palestinians suffered injuries from rubber-coated steel bullets.
February 25 marks the 21-year anniversary of the Ibrahimi Mosque massacre; in 1994 US-born extremist settler Baruch Goldstein murdered 29 Palestinian worshipers inside the Al-Khalil mosque and injured dozens more. In the time following the attack, Israeli authorities initiated a crackdown, not on those occupying the city’s illegal settlements, but on Palestinians. Israel put in place policies, including the closure of Shuhada street, which would eventually lead to Al-Khalil becoming the divided city it is today.
Children in H2, which includes Al-Khalil’s historic Old City and once-thriving market, constantly endure the violence and daily humiliations of Israeli military occupation. Children living in the neighborhoods of H2 are routinely tear gassed on their way to school and face arrest, attack and daily harassment at checkpoints. The Open Shuhada Street actions are a yearly expression of resistance to Israel’s Apartheid system, as Palestinians young and old demand and end to the occupation.
“As soon as the dancing kids moved closer to the checkpoint, soldiers immediately attacked with two tear gas grenades and two stun grenades,” reported an ISM volunteer who witnessed the incident. “Israeli soldiers fired tear gas even though the children were not throwing stones.”
After first fleeing the assault, the Palestinian children managed to continue dancing even as around twenty soldiers and eight border police advanced from the checkpoint into Bab Al-Zawiye. Israeli forces threw a dozen stun grenades after a few youth began throwing stones at the checkpoint.
Clashes continued for about an hour and a half, as Israeli soldiers and border police fired even more rounds of tear gas, several additional stun grenades, and eventually rubber-coated steel bullets at Palestinian youth. Advancing further and further into the commercial center of Bab Al-Zawiye, they ended up shooting into the crowded streets of the city’s market area. Local activists reported that two Palestinians suffered injuries from rubber-coated steel bullets.
February 25 marks the 21-year anniversary of the Ibrahimi Mosque massacre; in 1994 US-born extremist settler Baruch Goldstein murdered 29 Palestinian worshipers inside the Al-Khalil mosque and injured dozens more. In the time following the attack, Israeli authorities initiated a crackdown, not on those occupying the city’s illegal settlements, but on Palestinians. Israel put in place policies, including the closure of Shuhada street, which would eventually lead to Al-Khalil becoming the divided city it is today.
Children in H2, which includes Al-Khalil’s historic Old City and once-thriving market, constantly endure the violence and daily humiliations of Israeli military occupation. Children living in the neighborhoods of H2 are routinely tear gassed on their way to school and face arrest, attack and daily harassment at checkpoints. The Open Shuhada Street actions are a yearly expression of resistance to Israel’s Apartheid system, as Palestinians young and old demand and end to the occupation.
Israeli forces opened fire at farmers in the central Gaza Strip, on Wednesday, according to witnesses.
Locals told Ma'an News Agency that soldiers stationed in military towers on the border, east of Deir al-Balah, opened fire at farmers in the area.
The farmers fled the area, with no injuries reported.
An Israeli army spokeswoman said that "two people approached the border fence in a prohibited area and Israeli forces opened fire in the air."
Israeli forces frequently shoot at farmers and other civilians inside the Gaza Strip if they approach large swathes of land near the border that the Israeli military has deemed off-limits to Palestinians.
Israeli forces opened fire at farmers near Khan Younis on Tuesday, as well, while a similar incident was reported near Rafah, on Sunday.
According to UNOCHA, 17 percent of Gaza's total land area and 35 percent of its agricultural land were within the buffer zone as of 2010, directly affecting the lives and livelihoods of more than 100,000 Gazans.
The continuous attacks are also in flagrant violation of the August ceasefire, mediated by Egypt, between Israel and Hamas.
Locals told Ma'an News Agency that soldiers stationed in military towers on the border, east of Deir al-Balah, opened fire at farmers in the area.
The farmers fled the area, with no injuries reported.
An Israeli army spokeswoman said that "two people approached the border fence in a prohibited area and Israeli forces opened fire in the air."
Israeli forces frequently shoot at farmers and other civilians inside the Gaza Strip if they approach large swathes of land near the border that the Israeli military has deemed off-limits to Palestinians.
Israeli forces opened fire at farmers near Khan Younis on Tuesday, as well, while a similar incident was reported near Rafah, on Sunday.
According to UNOCHA, 17 percent of Gaza's total land area and 35 percent of its agricultural land were within the buffer zone as of 2010, directly affecting the lives and livelihoods of more than 100,000 Gazans.
The continuous attacks are also in flagrant violation of the August ceasefire, mediated by Egypt, between Israel and Hamas.
Many casualties, including injuries and suffocation cases, have been reported among Palestinian youths who participated in clashes with Israeli soldiers in al-Khalil at noon Wednesday. The clashes erupted after the Jewish extremist settler Baruch Marzel stormed the city of al-Khalil.
Eyewitnesses said that violent confrontations have broken out in central al-Khalil. Palestinian youths confronted Marzel’s unwelcome “visit” to the city whereas the IOF soldiers showered the Palestinian protesters with teargas canisters, stun grenades and rubber bullets.
Baruch Marzel is one of the most notorious Jewish extremists. He lives in Rumeida Jewish settlement outpost in al-Khalil city.
Marzel is renowned for his hostility towards the Arab and Palestinian people and for his provocative tours in the Old City of al-Khalil.
He has committed many violations against al-Khalil inhabitants including assaulting the owners of shops and stalls in the Old City.
Eyewitnesses said that violent confrontations have broken out in central al-Khalil. Palestinian youths confronted Marzel’s unwelcome “visit” to the city whereas the IOF soldiers showered the Palestinian protesters with teargas canisters, stun grenades and rubber bullets.
Baruch Marzel is one of the most notorious Jewish extremists. He lives in Rumeida Jewish settlement outpost in al-Khalil city.
Marzel is renowned for his hostility towards the Arab and Palestinian people and for his provocative tours in the Old City of al-Khalil.
He has committed many violations against al-Khalil inhabitants including assaulting the owners of shops and stalls in the Old City.
A number of armed Israeli extremists opened fire, on Wednesday at dawn, targeting a number of Palestinian homes in Nahhalin village, west of the West Bank city of Bethlehem, causing damage but no injuries. Soldiers fire gas bombs on schoolchildren in Jerusalem.
Local sources said extremists from Beitar Illit illegal colony, drove their motorcycles on a bypass road that was recently paved as part of an electricity network for the colony, and fired dozens of rounds of live ammunition.
The attack targeted homes in the Schools Street, and the al-‘Ein neighborhood; no injuries were reported.
Residents from Nahhalin said Israeli fanatics recently escalated their attacks against them, and their property, and uprooted farmlands in addition to flooding the lands with wastewater, and throwing stones on Palestinian cars.
In addition, soldiers fired several gas bombs on Palestinian schoolchildren in the at-Tour town, overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem, causing scores of children to suffer the effects of tear gas inhalation.
Local sources said extremists from Beitar Illit illegal colony, drove their motorcycles on a bypass road that was recently paved as part of an electricity network for the colony, and fired dozens of rounds of live ammunition.
The attack targeted homes in the Schools Street, and the al-‘Ein neighborhood; no injuries were reported.
Residents from Nahhalin said Israeli fanatics recently escalated their attacks against them, and their property, and uprooted farmlands in addition to flooding the lands with wastewater, and throwing stones on Palestinian cars.
In addition, soldiers fired several gas bombs on Palestinian schoolchildren in the at-Tour town, overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem, causing scores of children to suffer the effects of tear gas inhalation.
A number of injuries were reported during clashes broke out in Zabouba town to the west of Jenin on Wednesday, while a young man was nabbed in Qabatiya town and a minor in al-Khalil.
Local sources confirmed that Israeli military vehicles raided Zabouba town and stationed in its neighborhoods, which led to the outbreak of violent clashes.
Teargas and sound bombs were heavily fired during the confrontation, causing breathing problems among the local residents, the sources added.
On the other hand, a 21-year-old was nabbed in Qabatiya town to the east of Jenin after being summoned for investigation in Salem military camp.
In al-Khalil, IOF soldiers raided different parts of Dura and Beit Ummar towns, and arrested a liberated prisoner after raiding and searching his home.
The detainee was taken to an unknown detention center, while Israeli soldiers carried out a search campaign into a number of local homes.
IOF soldiers also arrested a 14-year-old student after firing teargas grenades at the Ibrahimia school near the Ibrahimi mosque.
Local sources confirmed that Israeli military vehicles raided Zabouba town and stationed in its neighborhoods, which led to the outbreak of violent clashes.
Teargas and sound bombs were heavily fired during the confrontation, causing breathing problems among the local residents, the sources added.
On the other hand, a 21-year-old was nabbed in Qabatiya town to the east of Jenin after being summoned for investigation in Salem military camp.
In al-Khalil, IOF soldiers raided different parts of Dura and Beit Ummar towns, and arrested a liberated prisoner after raiding and searching his home.
The detainee was taken to an unknown detention center, while Israeli soldiers carried out a search campaign into a number of local homes.
IOF soldiers also arrested a 14-year-old student after firing teargas grenades at the Ibrahimia school near the Ibrahimi mosque.
Star of David, biblical phrases scrawled on wall of West Bank mosque set ablaze in hate crime attack.
A Palestinian mosque in the West Bank was attacked overnight Tuesday in what appears to be yet another possible 'price tag' hate crime attack by extremists settlers.
Palestinian residents say that a mosque in Jab'a, near Bethlehem, was set on fire Tuesday night and sprayed with Hebrew-language graffiti. The mosque sustained some damage, and according to local residents, Jewish settlers were seen near the mosque.
Biblical phrases and a Star of David were spray-painted onto the structure, reinforcing claims it was Jewish settlers behind the attack. The IDF said it was investigating.
Jibreen al-Bakri, governor of the Bethlehem region, says the mosque in the village of Jab'a near Bethlehem was set alight at dawn Wednesday, damaging the mosque's walls and carpeted floor. No one was hurt in the overnight attack in Al-Jaba'ah village near Bethlehem, during which the mosque's windows were broken and something burning was thrown inside, Mayor No'man Hamdan said.
"God's mercy and people's alertness when the fire started prevented it from consuming the entire mosque. Part of the carpets burned," he told Reuters.
Hebrew graffiti was left on the walls that read "we want the redemption of Zion" and "revenge" alongside a Jewish Star of David.
Jewish vandals have targeted mosques, churches, Palestinian vehicles, dovish Israeli groups and even IDF military bases in so called "price tag" attacks to protest Israeli government actions against settler activity.
A Palestinian mosque in the West Bank was attacked overnight Tuesday in what appears to be yet another possible 'price tag' hate crime attack by extremists settlers.
Palestinian residents say that a mosque in Jab'a, near Bethlehem, was set on fire Tuesday night and sprayed with Hebrew-language graffiti. The mosque sustained some damage, and according to local residents, Jewish settlers were seen near the mosque.
Biblical phrases and a Star of David were spray-painted onto the structure, reinforcing claims it was Jewish settlers behind the attack. The IDF said it was investigating.
Jibreen al-Bakri, governor of the Bethlehem region, says the mosque in the village of Jab'a near Bethlehem was set alight at dawn Wednesday, damaging the mosque's walls and carpeted floor. No one was hurt in the overnight attack in Al-Jaba'ah village near Bethlehem, during which the mosque's windows were broken and something burning was thrown inside, Mayor No'man Hamdan said.
"God's mercy and people's alertness when the fire started prevented it from consuming the entire mosque. Part of the carpets burned," he told Reuters.
Hebrew graffiti was left on the walls that read "we want the redemption of Zion" and "revenge" alongside a Jewish Star of David.
Jewish vandals have targeted mosques, churches, Palestinian vehicles, dovish Israeli groups and even IDF military bases in so called "price tag" attacks to protest Israeli government actions against settler activity.
Several summoned for interrogation
Israeli forces abducted, early on Tuesday, nine Palestinians, including three ex-detainees and three minors, and summoned another from West Bank districts. Soldiers also prevented Yatta shepherds from grazing their livestock.
WAFA correspondence reports that Israeli forces raided Qalandia refugee camp to the north of Jerusalem, where they broke into and ransacked several houses, triggering clashes with locals.
Israeli soldiers and snipers who took over the rooftops of several houses opened live fire on young men, who, in turn, hurled stones and empty bottles at them.
Four Palestinian ex-detainees were detained during the raid. They were identified as Hamada Abu Shalbak, Mahmoud al-Zeir, Yazan al-Khatib and Ahmad Zuheir. No injuries were reported, however, during the clashes.
Meanwhile, police detained three Palestinian minors after breaking into their families’ houses in the Old City of Jerusalem.
Director of the Jerusalem chapter of the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS), Naser Qawwas, identified the minors as Mustafa, ‘Abud Abu Sneina and ‘Omar Ghnaim, all around 13 years of age.
Meanwhile, in the Nablus district, forces raided Rujeib village to the south of the city, where they kidnapped two brothers after breaking into their family’s house. PPS identified the detainees as Ahmad and Halabi al-Halabi.
In the Bethlehem district, forces raided Ad-Duheisha refugee camp, where they served Saleh al-J‘aidi, age 19, with a notice to appear before Israeli intelligence in the military base of Gush Etzion.
Also on Tuesday, Israeli soldierschased after Palestinian shepherds and prevented them from grazing their livestock in the Yatta locality, to the south of Hebron, according to a local activist.
Coordinator of the popular committee in southern Hebron, Rateb al-Jabour, said Israeli forces chased after shepherds in Khirbet At-Tawil, located near the Israeli settlement of Maon, built illegally on Palestinian-owned land in East Yatta, in an attempt to prevent them from entering the fields for the benefit of providing protection for settlers.
Forces further raided shepherds’ dwellings, causing financial damages to their contents.
Israeli forces abducted, early on Tuesday, nine Palestinians, including three ex-detainees and three minors, and summoned another from West Bank districts. Soldiers also prevented Yatta shepherds from grazing their livestock.
WAFA correspondence reports that Israeli forces raided Qalandia refugee camp to the north of Jerusalem, where they broke into and ransacked several houses, triggering clashes with locals.
Israeli soldiers and snipers who took over the rooftops of several houses opened live fire on young men, who, in turn, hurled stones and empty bottles at them.
Four Palestinian ex-detainees were detained during the raid. They were identified as Hamada Abu Shalbak, Mahmoud al-Zeir, Yazan al-Khatib and Ahmad Zuheir. No injuries were reported, however, during the clashes.
Meanwhile, police detained three Palestinian minors after breaking into their families’ houses in the Old City of Jerusalem.
Director of the Jerusalem chapter of the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS), Naser Qawwas, identified the minors as Mustafa, ‘Abud Abu Sneina and ‘Omar Ghnaim, all around 13 years of age.
Meanwhile, in the Nablus district, forces raided Rujeib village to the south of the city, where they kidnapped two brothers after breaking into their family’s house. PPS identified the detainees as Ahmad and Halabi al-Halabi.
In the Bethlehem district, forces raided Ad-Duheisha refugee camp, where they served Saleh al-J‘aidi, age 19, with a notice to appear before Israeli intelligence in the military base of Gush Etzion.
Also on Tuesday, Israeli soldierschased after Palestinian shepherds and prevented them from grazing their livestock in the Yatta locality, to the south of Hebron, according to a local activist.
Coordinator of the popular committee in southern Hebron, Rateb al-Jabour, said Israeli forces chased after shepherds in Khirbet At-Tawil, located near the Israeli settlement of Maon, built illegally on Palestinian-owned land in East Yatta, in an attempt to prevent them from entering the fields for the benefit of providing protection for settlers.
Forces further raided shepherds’ dwellings, causing financial damages to their contents.
ISM volunteers watching from the window of their house in Tel Rumeida counted at least 30 soldiers exiting the houses after the raid.
During the night of the February 22nd, Israeli occupation forces raided two homes belonging to the Edies family, in the Al-Khalil (Hebron) neighbourhood of Tel Rumeida.
At least thirty soldiers invaded the homes of Yahya Edies and Saleh Edies at around 2:30 am on Sunday morning. Mhammad Edies, one of Yahya’s sons, reported to ISM volunteers that soldiers threatened his family, telling them “if you don’t open the door in 5 minutes, we will blow it up.”
ISM volunteers watching from the window of their house in Tel Rumeida counted at least 30 soldiers exiting the houses after the raid.
Israeli soldiers ordered the family of twelve, including five children between 5 months and 12 years old, to gather in one room. One of the family’s sons was unable to follow the soldiers’ orders, since he is disabled and cannot move by himself; only after some discussion was he finally allowed to stay in the room he was in.
The family was forced to stay inside that room for about an hour as the soldiers ransacked the house, upending furniture, strewing things all over the floor destroying the family’s belongings.
Israeli forces prevented ISM volunteers from documenting what was happening, pointing their guns and aiming lasers at them, yelling at and detaining those who attempted to leave their house to photograph the raid.
The following morning, a local a human rights activist reported that Israeli occupation forces had raided around 20 houses in Al-Khalil on that same night of the 21st to the 22nd of February alone.
Additional photos at ISM.
During the night of the February 22nd, Israeli occupation forces raided two homes belonging to the Edies family, in the Al-Khalil (Hebron) neighbourhood of Tel Rumeida.
At least thirty soldiers invaded the homes of Yahya Edies and Saleh Edies at around 2:30 am on Sunday morning. Mhammad Edies, one of Yahya’s sons, reported to ISM volunteers that soldiers threatened his family, telling them “if you don’t open the door in 5 minutes, we will blow it up.”
ISM volunteers watching from the window of their house in Tel Rumeida counted at least 30 soldiers exiting the houses after the raid.
Israeli soldiers ordered the family of twelve, including five children between 5 months and 12 years old, to gather in one room. One of the family’s sons was unable to follow the soldiers’ orders, since he is disabled and cannot move by himself; only after some discussion was he finally allowed to stay in the room he was in.
The family was forced to stay inside that room for about an hour as the soldiers ransacked the house, upending furniture, strewing things all over the floor destroying the family’s belongings.
Israeli forces prevented ISM volunteers from documenting what was happening, pointing their guns and aiming lasers at them, yelling at and detaining those who attempted to leave their house to photograph the raid.
The following morning, a local a human rights activist reported that Israeli occupation forces had raided around 20 houses in Al-Khalil on that same night of the 21st to the 22nd of February alone.
Additional photos at ISM.
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Eight young Palestinian men were wounded as clashes developed following an Israeli army raid on the Aida refugee camp early Monday morning.
After raiding the Bethlehem-area refugee camp, Israeli troops conducted an extensive search and arrest campaign through numerous homes in the Bethlehem-area camp. Dozens of young Palestinian men were taken from their homes and made to gather outside in the cold winter weather. |
A round of clashes broke out afternoon Tuesday between the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) and a group of unarmed Palestinian protesters at the Aroub refugee camp and Bab al-Zaouia in al-Khalil.
A wave of clashes flared up after the IOF troops stormed the Aroub refugee camp and attacked the unarmed protesters with randomly-shot volleys of rubber bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades, locals told the PIC.
The young Palestinian demonstrators reacted by hurling stones at the IOF soldiers.
The IOF patrols intensified their presence in the environs of the military watchtower and at the main entrances to the camp.
Ambushes had also reportedly been set up by the IOF officers around a number of civilian homes.
The violent clashes spread out to Bab al-Zaouia neighborhood, in central al-Khalil city, after the IOF denied Palestinian citizens’ access into al-Shouhadaa Street and the Old City.
The attack culminated in heavy spates of tear gas canisters and rubber bullets randomly unleashed by the IOF on Palestinian civilians and vehicles.
The Israeli occupation squads further broke into Palestinian family homes and stationed on their rooftops, resulting in a state of panic among children and women.
A wave of clashes flared up after the IOF troops stormed the Aroub refugee camp and attacked the unarmed protesters with randomly-shot volleys of rubber bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades, locals told the PIC.
The young Palestinian demonstrators reacted by hurling stones at the IOF soldiers.
The IOF patrols intensified their presence in the environs of the military watchtower and at the main entrances to the camp.
Ambushes had also reportedly been set up by the IOF officers around a number of civilian homes.
The violent clashes spread out to Bab al-Zaouia neighborhood, in central al-Khalil city, after the IOF denied Palestinian citizens’ access into al-Shouhadaa Street and the Old City.
The attack culminated in heavy spates of tear gas canisters and rubber bullets randomly unleashed by the IOF on Palestinian civilians and vehicles.
The Israeli occupation squads further broke into Palestinian family homes and stationed on their rooftops, resulting in a state of panic among children and women.
10-year-old Nour Karim Da’na sustained bruises afternoon Tuesday after she was hit by a settler guard’s jeep in Jerusalem’s town of Silwan.
By-standers at the scene said the settler ran over the Palestinian child in front of her family home, on her way to a nearby grocery store.
A Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance rushed the young casualty to a hospital to be urgently treated for the sustained wounds.
By-standers at the scene said the settler ran over the Palestinian child in front of her family home, on her way to a nearby grocery store.
A Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance rushed the young casualty to a hospital to be urgently treated for the sustained wounds.
