12 apr 2017
Landmines is one of the common means of killing which spread in various conflict zones in the world, including Palestine, which is still suffering from mines in various areas, despite the removal of large numbers of them.
According to the statistics of The Palestinian Mine Action Center in 2017, mines have killed 300 Palestinians and left nearly 26,000 others handicapped.
Statistics also suggest the existence of a million and a half mines scattered in 166 fields, all the way from Jenin to Hebron, especially in the border areas.
Ahmad Masaid, a resident of the Jordan Valley, says the Valley has the largest number of mines in Palestine, as well as ordnances left by the Israeli occupation forces, which also claimed the lives of many Palestinians.
He added, “The Israeli occupation exerted all possible means to control the Palestinian side of the Jordan Valley, including planting hundreds of agricultural acres with mines.
Some Palestinian communities, such as Khirbit Yizra and Wadi al-Malih, overlook these mines.”
He continued, “There are hundreds of Palestinians, who lost their lives or had their limbs amputated, turning them into powerless handicapped persons, due to these mines which surround Palestinian villages and communities. These mines are present in a terrifying manner in mountains and valleys.”
No fence zone
He pointed out that the danger lies in the fact that there are many minefields in the occupied Jordan Valley, without having clear information about the whereabouts of these mines, in terms of numbers and places, and even without having a fence or warning signs, which indicate the locations of these mines.
The Israeli occupation army had randomly planted these mines. Palestinian farmers are denied access into their agricultural lands after they were declared closed military zones, Masaid said.
An expert, who works with a UN team to combat mines, told the PIC reporter, following a talk he gave on the International Day against Mines, “The danger of mines is still present in Palestine. They take several forms starting from 1967 and even earlier, as well as new planted mines such as those planted following the 2014 war on Gaza.”
He added, “We work in the Gaza Strip to remove mines and the remains of wars the Gaza Strip had experienced, especially the last two wars. We defused 129 bombs and removed 29 tons of military ordnance.”
Obstacle for development
Engineer Mazen Awad, who supervises some development projects in the West Bank, told the PIC reporter that in addition to the fact that mines cause loss of life, especially for Palestinian shepherds and farmers, they also hinder development in Palestine.
He added, “Many of these mines are in lands that could be used for industrial or agricultural purposes. They pose as an obstacle to the development of the Palestinian economy.”
According to the statistics of The Palestinian Mine Action Center in 2017, mines have killed 300 Palestinians and left nearly 26,000 others handicapped.
Statistics also suggest the existence of a million and a half mines scattered in 166 fields, all the way from Jenin to Hebron, especially in the border areas.
Ahmad Masaid, a resident of the Jordan Valley, says the Valley has the largest number of mines in Palestine, as well as ordnances left by the Israeli occupation forces, which also claimed the lives of many Palestinians.
He added, “The Israeli occupation exerted all possible means to control the Palestinian side of the Jordan Valley, including planting hundreds of agricultural acres with mines.
Some Palestinian communities, such as Khirbit Yizra and Wadi al-Malih, overlook these mines.”
He continued, “There are hundreds of Palestinians, who lost their lives or had their limbs amputated, turning them into powerless handicapped persons, due to these mines which surround Palestinian villages and communities. These mines are present in a terrifying manner in mountains and valleys.”
No fence zone
He pointed out that the danger lies in the fact that there are many minefields in the occupied Jordan Valley, without having clear information about the whereabouts of these mines, in terms of numbers and places, and even without having a fence or warning signs, which indicate the locations of these mines.
The Israeli occupation army had randomly planted these mines. Palestinian farmers are denied access into their agricultural lands after they were declared closed military zones, Masaid said.
An expert, who works with a UN team to combat mines, told the PIC reporter, following a talk he gave on the International Day against Mines, “The danger of mines is still present in Palestine. They take several forms starting from 1967 and even earlier, as well as new planted mines such as those planted following the 2014 war on Gaza.”
He added, “We work in the Gaza Strip to remove mines and the remains of wars the Gaza Strip had experienced, especially the last two wars. We defused 129 bombs and removed 29 tons of military ordnance.”
Obstacle for development
Engineer Mazen Awad, who supervises some development projects in the West Bank, told the PIC reporter that in addition to the fact that mines cause loss of life, especially for Palestinian shepherds and farmers, they also hinder development in Palestine.
He added, “Many of these mines are in lands that could be used for industrial or agricultural purposes. They pose as an obstacle to the development of the Palestinian economy.”
10 apr 2017
Jassem Muhammad Nakhla 17
Palestinian teenager Jassem Muhammad Nakhla, who was shot and grievously injured by Israeli forces near the al-Jalazun refugee camp in the central occupied West Bank in March, succumbed to his wounds on Monday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health reported.
Nakhla, who his family said was 17 years old contrary to earlier reports, died in an Israeli hospital in Tel Aviv after Israeli forces shot him in the head and foot on March 23 when he was in a vehicle with three other young Palestinians.
One of the other youths, 17-year-old Muhammad Mahmoud Ibrahim al-Hattab, died that day, while the two others, Muhammad Hattab, 18, and Muhammad Moussa Nakhla, 18, were also seriously wounded.
Medical sources told Ma’an on Monday that Nakhla had been clinically dead since he was injured, and had been kept on life support since.
Both Jassem and Muhammad Nakhla were transferred for treatment in Israel on March 28 in an attempt to save their lives, while Hattab remained at the Palestine Medical Complex in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah.
A spokesperson for the Ichilov Medical Center, where the two youths were initially taken, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Jassem Nakhla's death and Muhammad Nakhla's health condition.
The circumstances of the shooting have been highly contested, as local sources told Ma'an at the time of the deadly shooting that Israeli soldiers in a military tower near the entrance of the camp, which is located adjacent to the illegal Israeli settlement of Beit El, fired heavily towards the teens’ vehicle while they were inside.
An Israeli army spokesperson claimed at the time that the boys were throwing Molotov cocktails at the settlement, and that they were outside of their car when they were shot.
However, video and photographic footage taken by locals at the scene following the shooting showed the vehicle riddled with bullets, windows shattered, and blood staining the seats, casting doubt on the Israeli army’s narrative of the event.
When questioned by Ma’an in March about how the teens could have re-entered their car and driven away from the scene after being injured with multiple rounds of live fire to the head and chest, the Israeli army spokesperson said she could not comment.
The Israeli army did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday about Nakhla’s passing, nor about whether an Israeli investigation into the shooting had yielded any results.
Nakhla is the 18th Palestinian to be confirmed killed by Israeli forces this year, and marked the fourth time that Israeli forces fatally shot a Palestinian minor since the beginning of 2017.
In all four instances when Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian minor this year, the Israeli army claimed that the teenagers were throwing Molotov cocktails. However, the Israeli versions of events have been heavily contested, notably in the al-Jalazun case and in that of 17-year-old Qusay Hassan al-Umour in January, as video evidence and investigations led rights groups to brand al-Umour’s death an unlawful and unjustified killing.
In many cases, Israel’s version of events has been disputed by witnesses, activists, and rights groups who have denounced what they have termed a "shoot-to-kill" policy against Palestinians who did not constitute a threat at the time of their death, or who could have been subdued in a non-lethal manner -- amid a backdrop of impunity for Israelis who committed the killings.
Palestinian teenager Jassem Muhammad Nakhla, who was shot and grievously injured by Israeli forces near the al-Jalazun refugee camp in the central occupied West Bank in March, succumbed to his wounds on Monday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health reported.
Nakhla, who his family said was 17 years old contrary to earlier reports, died in an Israeli hospital in Tel Aviv after Israeli forces shot him in the head and foot on March 23 when he was in a vehicle with three other young Palestinians.
One of the other youths, 17-year-old Muhammad Mahmoud Ibrahim al-Hattab, died that day, while the two others, Muhammad Hattab, 18, and Muhammad Moussa Nakhla, 18, were also seriously wounded.
Medical sources told Ma’an on Monday that Nakhla had been clinically dead since he was injured, and had been kept on life support since.
Both Jassem and Muhammad Nakhla were transferred for treatment in Israel on March 28 in an attempt to save their lives, while Hattab remained at the Palestine Medical Complex in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah.
A spokesperson for the Ichilov Medical Center, where the two youths were initially taken, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Jassem Nakhla's death and Muhammad Nakhla's health condition.
The circumstances of the shooting have been highly contested, as local sources told Ma'an at the time of the deadly shooting that Israeli soldiers in a military tower near the entrance of the camp, which is located adjacent to the illegal Israeli settlement of Beit El, fired heavily towards the teens’ vehicle while they were inside.
An Israeli army spokesperson claimed at the time that the boys were throwing Molotov cocktails at the settlement, and that they were outside of their car when they were shot.
However, video and photographic footage taken by locals at the scene following the shooting showed the vehicle riddled with bullets, windows shattered, and blood staining the seats, casting doubt on the Israeli army’s narrative of the event.
When questioned by Ma’an in March about how the teens could have re-entered their car and driven away from the scene after being injured with multiple rounds of live fire to the head and chest, the Israeli army spokesperson said she could not comment.
The Israeli army did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday about Nakhla’s passing, nor about whether an Israeli investigation into the shooting had yielded any results.
Nakhla is the 18th Palestinian to be confirmed killed by Israeli forces this year, and marked the fourth time that Israeli forces fatally shot a Palestinian minor since the beginning of 2017.
In all four instances when Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian minor this year, the Israeli army claimed that the teenagers were throwing Molotov cocktails. However, the Israeli versions of events have been heavily contested, notably in the al-Jalazun case and in that of 17-year-old Qusay Hassan al-Umour in January, as video evidence and investigations led rights groups to brand al-Umour’s death an unlawful and unjustified killing.
In many cases, Israel’s version of events has been disputed by witnesses, activists, and rights groups who have denounced what they have termed a "shoot-to-kill" policy against Palestinians who did not constitute a threat at the time of their death, or who could have been subdued in a non-lethal manner -- amid a backdrop of impunity for Israelis who committed the killings.
9 apr 2017
Imad Ahmad Abu Eid al-Ayyayda 32
A Palestinian man succumbed to wounds sustained during a vehicular accident four months earlier, relatives told Ma’an.
Palestinian worker Imad Ahmad Abu Eid al-Ayyayda, 32, from the southern occupied West Bank village of al-Shuyukh, died on Sunday in the Beilinson Hospital in the Israeli city of Petah Tikva, where he had been receiving medical care since the accident, his uncle said.
Al-Ayyayda was injured while working in Israel, the uncle said, although no further details were provided regarding the nature of the accident.
Israel has one of the highest rates of construction site accidents in the world, according to Israeli newspaper Haaretz, with 480 people killed in construction accidents between 2000 and 2015.
Tens of thousands of Palestinian workers are forced to seek a living by working inside Israel and illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank due to crippling unemployment in the West Bank, as the growth of an independent Palestinian economy has been stifled under the ongoing Israeli military occupation, according rights groups.
A Palestinian man succumbed to wounds sustained during a vehicular accident four months earlier, relatives told Ma’an.
Palestinian worker Imad Ahmad Abu Eid al-Ayyayda, 32, from the southern occupied West Bank village of al-Shuyukh, died on Sunday in the Beilinson Hospital in the Israeli city of Petah Tikva, where he had been receiving medical care since the accident, his uncle said.
Al-Ayyayda was injured while working in Israel, the uncle said, although no further details were provided regarding the nature of the accident.
Israel has one of the highest rates of construction site accidents in the world, according to Israeli newspaper Haaretz, with 480 people killed in construction accidents between 2000 and 2015.
Tens of thousands of Palestinian workers are forced to seek a living by working inside Israel and illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank due to crippling unemployment in the West Bank, as the growth of an independent Palestinian economy has been stifled under the ongoing Israeli military occupation, according rights groups.
1 apr 2017
Ahmad Zaher Fathi Ghazal 17
A Palestinian youth was shot dead on Saturday afternoon by Israeli gunfire in the Old City of Occupied Jerusalem after stabbing two Israeli soldiers.
Israeli channel ten announced the injury of two soldiers, while, Israeli police spokeswoman Luba Samri said a stabbing attack was carried out and the stabber was under control.
Palestinian Health Ministry announced later on the martyrdom of a Palestinian young man, who was not identified yet, after being gunned down by Israeli forces in al-Wad Street in Occupied Jerusalem.
Israeli police who closed all the roads leading to the scene are still investigating in the anti-occupation stabbing attack.
Israeli Police Kills A Palestinian Teen In Jerusalem
Israeli police officers shot and killed, on Saturday afternoon, a Palestinian teenage boy from Nablus, in the northern part of the West Bank, after he reportedly stabbed a police officer and two other Israeli settlers, in the al-Wad Street, leading to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, in occupied East Jerusalem.
The army later forced all stores shut, and abducted 20 Palestinians, including 17 merchants.
The slain teen has later been identified as Ahmad Zaher Fathi Ghazal, 17, from Nablus city, while Israeli sources said that one police officer, was moderately injured, and two Israeli civilians, 18 and 23 years of age, suffered mild wounds in the incident.
Israeli daily Haaretz quoted the police claiming that “the suspect stabbed two persons, and ran away before trying to hide in a residential building where he was chased by the police and injured an officer during an ensuing struggle, before another officer shot him dead.”
Following the incident, the soldiers closed Bab al-‘Amoud, leading to the Sahera Gate and al-Waad Street, before calling for reinforcement, and imposed a tight siege in the area, preventing the Palestinians, including journalists, from entering.
Clashes later took place in the area, before the soldiers and police officers abducted 20 Palestinians, including 17 merchants, and forced all Palestinian stores shut. Video
A Palestinian youth was shot dead on Saturday afternoon by Israeli gunfire in the Old City of Occupied Jerusalem after stabbing two Israeli soldiers.
Israeli channel ten announced the injury of two soldiers, while, Israeli police spokeswoman Luba Samri said a stabbing attack was carried out and the stabber was under control.
Palestinian Health Ministry announced later on the martyrdom of a Palestinian young man, who was not identified yet, after being gunned down by Israeli forces in al-Wad Street in Occupied Jerusalem.
Israeli police who closed all the roads leading to the scene are still investigating in the anti-occupation stabbing attack.
Israeli Police Kills A Palestinian Teen In Jerusalem
Israeli police officers shot and killed, on Saturday afternoon, a Palestinian teenage boy from Nablus, in the northern part of the West Bank, after he reportedly stabbed a police officer and two other Israeli settlers, in the al-Wad Street, leading to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, in occupied East Jerusalem.
The army later forced all stores shut, and abducted 20 Palestinians, including 17 merchants.
The slain teen has later been identified as Ahmad Zaher Fathi Ghazal, 17, from Nablus city, while Israeli sources said that one police officer, was moderately injured, and two Israeli civilians, 18 and 23 years of age, suffered mild wounds in the incident.
Israeli daily Haaretz quoted the police claiming that “the suspect stabbed two persons, and ran away before trying to hide in a residential building where he was chased by the police and injured an officer during an ensuing struggle, before another officer shot him dead.”
Following the incident, the soldiers closed Bab al-‘Amoud, leading to the Sahera Gate and al-Waad Street, before calling for reinforcement, and imposed a tight siege in the area, preventing the Palestinians, including journalists, from entering.
Clashes later took place in the area, before the soldiers and police officers abducted 20 Palestinians, including 17 merchants, and forced all Palestinian stores shut. Video
29 mar 2017
Siham Rateb Nimir 49
Israeli police forces shot and killed a Palestinian woman Wednesday afternoon in occupied Jerusalem after allegedly trying to stab a policeman.
The Palestinian Health Ministry affirmed that an unidentified woman was shot to death by Israeli police near Bab al-Amoud Gate.
Local sources later identified the woman as 49-year-old Siham Rateb Nimir, the mother of the martyr Mustafa Nimir from Shufat refugee camp in Occupied Jerusalem.
Israeli police said in a statement that the woman attempted to stab a police officer at the Old City's Bab al-Amoud Gate before being "neutralized" by the Israeli forces.
Tight military restrictions were imposed in the area following the incident.
Moments later, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said that the Israeli police prevented its medical crews from approaching the woman.
A second girl was evacuated from the scene by the Palestinian ambulance crews after being brutally attacked by Israeli forces, the sources added.
Palestinian woman shot dead in Jerusalem’s Old City
A Palestinian woman was shot and killed by Israeli Border Police at the Damascus Gate to Jerusalem’s Old City on Wednesday, the site of several such slayings since October 2015.
Siham al-Nimir, 49, is the only woman among the 15 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces and armed civilians so far this year.
Al-Nimir was shot and killed after allegedly brandishing a pair of scissors at a group of officers.
The police released an image of al-Nimir recorded shortly before she was shot dead:
Israeli police forces shot and killed a Palestinian woman Wednesday afternoon in occupied Jerusalem after allegedly trying to stab a policeman.
The Palestinian Health Ministry affirmed that an unidentified woman was shot to death by Israeli police near Bab al-Amoud Gate.
Local sources later identified the woman as 49-year-old Siham Rateb Nimir, the mother of the martyr Mustafa Nimir from Shufat refugee camp in Occupied Jerusalem.
Israeli police said in a statement that the woman attempted to stab a police officer at the Old City's Bab al-Amoud Gate before being "neutralized" by the Israeli forces.
Tight military restrictions were imposed in the area following the incident.
Moments later, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said that the Israeli police prevented its medical crews from approaching the woman.
A second girl was evacuated from the scene by the Palestinian ambulance crews after being brutally attacked by Israeli forces, the sources added.
Palestinian woman shot dead in Jerusalem’s Old City
A Palestinian woman was shot and killed by Israeli Border Police at the Damascus Gate to Jerusalem’s Old City on Wednesday, the site of several such slayings since October 2015.
Siham al-Nimir, 49, is the only woman among the 15 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces and armed civilians so far this year.
Al-Nimir was shot and killed after allegedly brandishing a pair of scissors at a group of officers.
The police released an image of al-Nimir recorded shortly before she was shot dead:
The image shows that a police barricade separated her from the paramilitary officers, suggesting that she did not pose an immediate threat to their lives. The image also shows there were multiple bystanders at the busy entrance to Jerusalem’s Old City. No Israeli officers were injured during the incident.
Video released by the Israeli police shows a Border Police officer stating that he saw al-Nimir “walking around, completely stressed out, she came toward me and started shouting.”
Witnesses told Palestinian media that Israeli forces prevented emergency medics from treating al-Nimir. Israeli media reported that she was declared dead by Israel’s emergency medical service within minutes of being shot.
Son killed by Israeli police months earlier
Numerous human rights groups, a United Nations human rights investigator, and the US State Department [PDF] and American lawmakers have all raised concerns about Israel’s reflexive use of deadly force against alleged Palestinian attackers over the past year and a half. Amnesty International stated last September that several such cases should be investigated as possible extrajudicial executions.
More than 250 Palestinians and three foreign nationals have been killed by Israeli forces and armed civilians since October 2015. Approximately 40 Israelis and two foreign nationals have been killed by Palestinians during that same period.
Al-Nimir’s daughter was reported to have been arrested at the site where her mother was shot:
Video released by the Israeli police shows a Border Police officer stating that he saw al-Nimir “walking around, completely stressed out, she came toward me and started shouting.”
Witnesses told Palestinian media that Israeli forces prevented emergency medics from treating al-Nimir. Israeli media reported that she was declared dead by Israel’s emergency medical service within minutes of being shot.
Son killed by Israeli police months earlier
Numerous human rights groups, a United Nations human rights investigator, and the US State Department [PDF] and American lawmakers have all raised concerns about Israel’s reflexive use of deadly force against alleged Palestinian attackers over the past year and a half. Amnesty International stated last September that several such cases should be investigated as possible extrajudicial executions.
More than 250 Palestinians and three foreign nationals have been killed by Israeli forces and armed civilians since October 2015. Approximately 40 Israelis and two foreign nationals have been killed by Palestinians during that same period.
Al-Nimir’s daughter was reported to have been arrested at the site where her mother was shot:
Israeli forces raided a neighborhood near the Shuafat refugee camp in East Jerusalem, where the al-Nimir family lives, on Wednesday night.
Camp residents confronted Israeli forces at the Shuafat camp checkpoint on Wednesday night.
The woman slain in Jerusalem on Wednesday is the mother of Mustafa al-Nimir, 27, who was shot dead by police in Shuafat camp last September.
Israel immediately claimed that the young man was attempting a car ramming attack on soldiers who had deployed in the camp, but soon admitted that no such attack was taking place when forces opened fire on the vehicle in which Mustafa al-Nimir and his brother-in-law were traveling.
Despite this retraction, Ali al-Nimir, 25, who was driving the car, was charged with “criminally negligent homicide, driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, driving without a license and driving without insurance,” the Tel Aviv newspaper Haaretz reported.
Ali al-Nimir recently signed a plea deal in exchange for a reduced sentence, according to Haaretz.
Jerusalem
Siham al-Nimir is the second Palestinian killed by Israeli police in Jerusalem’s Old City this month. Ibrahim Matar, 25, was shot dead at a police post near the Lion’s Gate entrance to al-Aqsa mosque after allegedly stabbing and wounding two officers shortly before dawn prayers on 13 March.
The ongoing wave of deadly violence that began in October 2015 was provoked by Israel’s unchecked assaults and incursions in the al-Aqsa mosque compound.
Earlier this week, 10 Palestinian security guards were detained, most during raids on their homes, after they prevented an Israeli archaeologist from trying to remove a stone from an underground section below the al-Qibli mosque in the compound, the Ma’an News Agency reported.
“The archaeologist was removed from the area, which is closed to the public, but later tried to re-enter via the underground Marwani prayer hall, when the security guards once again rejected him,” Ma’an added.
Camp residents confronted Israeli forces at the Shuafat camp checkpoint on Wednesday night.
The woman slain in Jerusalem on Wednesday is the mother of Mustafa al-Nimir, 27, who was shot dead by police in Shuafat camp last September.
Israel immediately claimed that the young man was attempting a car ramming attack on soldiers who had deployed in the camp, but soon admitted that no such attack was taking place when forces opened fire on the vehicle in which Mustafa al-Nimir and his brother-in-law were traveling.
Despite this retraction, Ali al-Nimir, 25, who was driving the car, was charged with “criminally negligent homicide, driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, driving without a license and driving without insurance,” the Tel Aviv newspaper Haaretz reported.
Ali al-Nimir recently signed a plea deal in exchange for a reduced sentence, according to Haaretz.
Jerusalem
Siham al-Nimir is the second Palestinian killed by Israeli police in Jerusalem’s Old City this month. Ibrahim Matar, 25, was shot dead at a police post near the Lion’s Gate entrance to al-Aqsa mosque after allegedly stabbing and wounding two officers shortly before dawn prayers on 13 March.
The ongoing wave of deadly violence that began in October 2015 was provoked by Israel’s unchecked assaults and incursions in the al-Aqsa mosque compound.
Earlier this week, 10 Palestinian security guards were detained, most during raids on their homes, after they prevented an Israeli archaeologist from trying to remove a stone from an underground section below the al-Qibli mosque in the compound, the Ma’an News Agency reported.
“The archaeologist was removed from the area, which is closed to the public, but later tried to re-enter via the underground Marwani prayer hall, when the security guards once again rejected him,” Ma’an added.