27 jan 2016
Israeli soldiers kidnapped, on Wednesday at noon, a young Palestinian woman while leaving the Al-Aqsa Mosque through the Council Gate, in occupied Jerusalem, and took her to an interrogation center in the city. Army kidnaps four fishers in northern Gaza.
Eyewitnesses said the soldiers stopped and questioned the young woman, while she was trying to leave the Al-Aqsa mosque, and abducted her. Several Palestinian women tried to prevent the soldiers from abducting the young woman, but they pushed them away. Meanwhile, several Israeli settlers, under heavy police and military protection, stormed the courtyards of Al-Aqsa, while the Palestinian Muslim worshipers were not allowed through.
In related news, the soldiers kidnapped a Palestinian teen, 17 years of age, after stopping him on the Qalandia terminal, north of occupied Jerusalem. The army claimed the teen "carried a knife."
In the Gaza Strip, Palestinian sources said that Israeli Navy ships attacked Palestinian fishing boats, in Gaza territorial waters in the Sudaniyya area, in northern Gaza, and kidnapped four fishers.
Eyewitnesses said the soldiers stopped and questioned the young woman, while she was trying to leave the Al-Aqsa mosque, and abducted her. Several Palestinian women tried to prevent the soldiers from abducting the young woman, but they pushed them away. Meanwhile, several Israeli settlers, under heavy police and military protection, stormed the courtyards of Al-Aqsa, while the Palestinian Muslim worshipers were not allowed through.
In related news, the soldiers kidnapped a Palestinian teen, 17 years of age, after stopping him on the Qalandia terminal, north of occupied Jerusalem. The army claimed the teen "carried a knife."
In the Gaza Strip, Palestinian sources said that Israeli Navy ships attacked Palestinian fishing boats, in Gaza territorial waters in the Sudaniyya area, in northern Gaza, and kidnapped four fishers.
In response to an op-ed written for The Wall Street Journa,l by Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely accusing Palestinians of utilizing foreign aid to support terrorism, Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah said: “Israel’s Deputy FM is using fiction to whitewash Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and the crimes committed by Israeli colonial settlers.”
The Palestinian government, according to Hamdallah, “operates on the principals of accountability and transparency, especially when it comes to public funds and foreign aid.”
Hamdallah said, according to the PNN, that the latest attacks on the Palestinian government by Hotovely, and others in the Israeli government, “represent an act of desperation in order to distract from the real issues on the ground such as, the occupation of Palestinian territories, the illegal settlement movement, the appropriation of Palestinian resources, the suffocating siege on Gaza, the extrajudicial killings of Palestinian minors, and the torture Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.”
Hamdallah added: “The Deputy FM of Israel should disclose the sources of funding, local & foreign, that her government funnels to illegal settlements where many extremists reside, some of them are terrorists that have Palestinian blood on their hands, instead of using smoke and mirrors to deceive the international community.”
Archive IMEMC story: 05/24/15 Hotovely: "The whole land of Israel belongs to the Jews”
The Palestinian government, according to Hamdallah, “operates on the principals of accountability and transparency, especially when it comes to public funds and foreign aid.”
Hamdallah said, according to the PNN, that the latest attacks on the Palestinian government by Hotovely, and others in the Israeli government, “represent an act of desperation in order to distract from the real issues on the ground such as, the occupation of Palestinian territories, the illegal settlement movement, the appropriation of Palestinian resources, the suffocating siege on Gaza, the extrajudicial killings of Palestinian minors, and the torture Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.”
Hamdallah added: “The Deputy FM of Israel should disclose the sources of funding, local & foreign, that her government funnels to illegal settlements where many extremists reside, some of them are terrorists that have Palestinian blood on their hands, instead of using smoke and mirrors to deceive the international community.”
Archive IMEMC story: 05/24/15 Hotovely: "The whole land of Israel belongs to the Jews”
26 jan 2016
Eleven Jewish settlers Tuesday morning stormed the plazas of the Aqsa Mosque from the Magharebah gate under tightened security measures by Israeli policemen who escorted settlers until they went out from al-Silsilah gate.
According to Quds Press, Muslim worshipers visited the Aqsa Mosque despite severe cold weather and confronted settlers’ incursion by chanting “Allah the Greatest”. They got gathered and recited verses of the Holy Quran as well.
Sheikh Ekrema Sabri, head of the Supreme Islamic Committee in Jerusalem, pointed out that Judaization and excavation works by Israeli forces are ceaseless in the holy city.
He underlined, however, that the Israeli project aiming at dividing the Aqsa Mosque among Muslims and Jews has been foiled by Jerusalem Intifada.
According to Quds Press, Muslim worshipers visited the Aqsa Mosque despite severe cold weather and confronted settlers’ incursion by chanting “Allah the Greatest”. They got gathered and recited verses of the Holy Quran as well.
Sheikh Ekrema Sabri, head of the Supreme Islamic Committee in Jerusalem, pointed out that Judaization and excavation works by Israeli forces are ceaseless in the holy city.
He underlined, however, that the Israeli project aiming at dividing the Aqsa Mosque among Muslims and Jews has been foiled by Jerusalem Intifada.
25 jan 2016
The Palestinian Reconstruction Committee in the southern occupied West Bank province of al-Khalil warned on Monday of Israeli intents to take over a home in the city in favor of illegal settlers.
Al-Khalil’s Reconstruction Committee said historical documents prove that Palestinians are the only owners of the homes built in the Old City of al-Khalil and that none of these houses shall turn into a bargaining chip with the Israeli occupation government.
Reports have recently been released by Israeli news outlets on an underway agreement between the occupation government and the settlers to hold sway over one of two homes that were misappropriated sometime earlier and to move the settlers back into the house.
The committee held the Israeli occupation government responsible for the projected upshots of such an “illegitimate decision” which infringes all international laws, and fans the flames of the simmering violence rocking the occupied Palestinian territories.
Al-Khalil’s Reconstruction Committee said historical documents prove that Palestinians are the only owners of the homes built in the Old City of al-Khalil and that none of these houses shall turn into a bargaining chip with the Israeli occupation government.
Reports have recently been released by Israeli news outlets on an underway agreement between the occupation government and the settlers to hold sway over one of two homes that were misappropriated sometime earlier and to move the settlers back into the house.
The committee held the Israeli occupation government responsible for the projected upshots of such an “illegitimate decision” which infringes all international laws, and fans the flames of the simmering violence rocking the occupied Palestinian territories.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed, during the Sunday government meeting, to support settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem, and to seek "a legal process to allow the settlers to return" to the two Hebron buildings they were evicted from, Thursday.
His statements about the "evicted settlers in Hebron" refer to the two buildings they occupied, Thursday, near the Ibrahimi Mosque, in the southern West Bank city of Hebron.
Israel said the two buildings will remain shut “until the court reaches a final decision regarding their ownership.”
The eviction caused Netanyahu's coalition partners, especially extreme right wing factions, to lash out on him and his Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, who ordered the removal of the settlers.
Netanyahu said the eviction was a legal issue, and that he will always support all settlement activities in the occupied West Bank, including Jerusalem.
He added that the legality of the "purchase of the two homes is being examined," adding said once his government examines "the purchase documents", and approves it, the settlers will be allowed back, and reiterated his government's support of all settlement activities.
"Should the legal process take more than a week, it will be presented to the ministerial cabinet for deliberation," he said.
Netanyahu faced strong criticism from his extreme right-wing coalition partners, and ministers, after the army removed the settlers.
The settlers stormed and occupied the two Palestinian homes in Hebron, last Thursday, while throwing stones and hurling insults on the Palestinians.
The homes belong to Fawwaz Qafisha, Shams al-Zatari, and Hussein al-Zatari on al-Sahla Street, near the Ibrahimi mosque, in Hebron.
The army said the eviction came because the alleged purchase was never verified, and because the setters moved in without the approval of the military, the political and security leadership in the country.
Israel’s colonies in the occupied territories, including in East Jerusalem, are illegal under International Law and the Fourth Geneva Conventions, to which Israel is a signatory.
They are largely built on private Palestinian property, while many are built on what Israel classifies as “state lands.”
Article 4, paragraph six, of the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention says, "the occupying power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies."
Article 85(4)(a) of the Additional Protocol of 1977, reiterates Article 4, and states that "the transfer by the occupying power of parts of its civilian population into the territory it occupies is a grave breech of the protocol."
In addition, the ICC Statute (International Criminal Court) states that "the transfer, directly or indirectly, by the occupying power of parts of its civilian population into the territory it occupies constitutes a war crime in international armed conflicts."
His statements about the "evicted settlers in Hebron" refer to the two buildings they occupied, Thursday, near the Ibrahimi Mosque, in the southern West Bank city of Hebron.
Israel said the two buildings will remain shut “until the court reaches a final decision regarding their ownership.”
The eviction caused Netanyahu's coalition partners, especially extreme right wing factions, to lash out on him and his Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, who ordered the removal of the settlers.
Netanyahu said the eviction was a legal issue, and that he will always support all settlement activities in the occupied West Bank, including Jerusalem.
He added that the legality of the "purchase of the two homes is being examined," adding said once his government examines "the purchase documents", and approves it, the settlers will be allowed back, and reiterated his government's support of all settlement activities.
"Should the legal process take more than a week, it will be presented to the ministerial cabinet for deliberation," he said.
Netanyahu faced strong criticism from his extreme right-wing coalition partners, and ministers, after the army removed the settlers.
The settlers stormed and occupied the two Palestinian homes in Hebron, last Thursday, while throwing stones and hurling insults on the Palestinians.
The homes belong to Fawwaz Qafisha, Shams al-Zatari, and Hussein al-Zatari on al-Sahla Street, near the Ibrahimi mosque, in Hebron.
The army said the eviction came because the alleged purchase was never verified, and because the setters moved in without the approval of the military, the political and security leadership in the country.
Israel’s colonies in the occupied territories, including in East Jerusalem, are illegal under International Law and the Fourth Geneva Conventions, to which Israel is a signatory.
They are largely built on private Palestinian property, while many are built on what Israel classifies as “state lands.”
Article 4, paragraph six, of the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention says, "the occupying power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies."
Article 85(4)(a) of the Additional Protocol of 1977, reiterates Article 4, and states that "the transfer by the occupying power of parts of its civilian population into the territory it occupies is a grave breech of the protocol."
In addition, the ICC Statute (International Criminal Court) states that "the transfer, directly or indirectly, by the occupying power of parts of its civilian population into the territory it occupies constitutes a war crime in international armed conflicts."
24 jan 2016
Groups of Jewish settlers Sunday morning stormed the plazas of the Aqsa Mosque from the Magharebah gate under the protection of Israeli police and Special Forces.
Some of the settlers attempted to perform Talmudic rituals inside the Muslims’ holy site, but, Muslim sit-inners along with worshipers confronted those settlers by chanting “Allah the Greatest”.
Israeli policemen stationed at the various gates of the Aqsa barred Jerusalemite women, whose names are listed in the ban of entry list, from entering the Aqsa Mosque. The women challenged policemen by siting-in and reciting verses of the Holy Quran at the Aqsa’s gates.
Other Jerusalemite men, who are also on the banned list, also sat-in near the gates, recited the Holy Quran and performed prayers in protest against the ban of entry decision.
Israeli settlers deliberately desecrate the courtyards of the Aqsa Mosque at 7:00 o’clock in the morning every day making advantage of the small numbers of Muslims at that early time.
Some of the settlers attempted to perform Talmudic rituals inside the Muslims’ holy site, but, Muslim sit-inners along with worshipers confronted those settlers by chanting “Allah the Greatest”.
Israeli policemen stationed at the various gates of the Aqsa barred Jerusalemite women, whose names are listed in the ban of entry list, from entering the Aqsa Mosque. The women challenged policemen by siting-in and reciting verses of the Holy Quran at the Aqsa’s gates.
Other Jerusalemite men, who are also on the banned list, also sat-in near the gates, recited the Holy Quran and performed prayers in protest against the ban of entry decision.
Israeli settlers deliberately desecrate the courtyards of the Aqsa Mosque at 7:00 o’clock in the morning every day making advantage of the small numbers of Muslims at that early time.
A horde of fanatic Israelis set fire, late on Saturday evening, to a Palestinian school in Tuba, in northern 1948 Occupied Palestine.
The Israeli Channel Two, said a Palestinian school in Tuba went up in flames and that the perpetrators are most probably members of Israel’s terrorist Price Tag gang.
At around 11 p.m. locals caught site of wild fires flaring across school classrooms.
Firefighters rushed to the scene and put out the fire.
Israel’s Price Tag gang is a terrorist group that saw the day in 2008 and has, ever since, been engaged in preplanned terrorist crimes against Palestinian civilians and Islamic and Christian holy places of worship.
The Israeli Channel Two, said a Palestinian school in Tuba went up in flames and that the perpetrators are most probably members of Israel’s terrorist Price Tag gang.
At around 11 p.m. locals caught site of wild fires flaring across school classrooms.
Firefighters rushed to the scene and put out the fire.
Israel’s Price Tag gang is a terrorist group that saw the day in 2008 and has, ever since, been engaged in preplanned terrorist crimes against Palestinian civilians and Islamic and Christian holy places of worship.
Chief Israeli Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu announced Tuesday, on Facebook, that Palestinians should be executed in order to establish safety in Israel.
“Israeli army has to stop arresting Palestinians,” he posted on his Facebook wall, “but, it must execute them and leave no one alive.”
According to the PNN, Eliyahu is well known for his racist behavior and controversial statements about Arabs and Muslims. He has been calling on the government to carry out state-sanctioned revenge against Arabs in order to, in his words, "restore Israel’s deterrence."
The hard-right wing and bloodthirsty Chief Rabbi of Safed, and also a member of the Chief Rabbinate Council additionally declared that the Palestinians are the enemy of the Israeli occupation state and they “must be destroyed and crushed in order to end violence.”
In 2007, according to the Jerusalem Post, Eliyahu was quoted saying that “If they don’t stop after we kill 100, then we must kill a thousand. And if they do not stop after 1,000 then we must kill 10,000. If they still don’t stop we must kill 100.000, even a million.”
In 2012, Eliyahu was charged for racist statements. Among these were, according to Israel national news: “The Arab culture is very cruel,” and “The Arabs behave according to different codes, and violent norms that have turned into ideology.”
The rabbi allegedly stated that examples of this new Arab “ideology” now include stealing farm equipment from Jews and blackmailing farmers for protection against thefts. He also supposedly said that “the minute you make room for Arabs among Jews, it takes five minutes before they start to do whatever they want.” The justice ministry dropped the charges because the statements ‘may’ have been altered by reporters.
The Jerusalem Post reported him saying: “Should we leave them alive in order to then free them in another gesture to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas? The fact that they still have a desire to commit terrorist attacks shows that we are not operating strongly enough,” he said.
Explaining more about his fatwa, Eliyahu wrote, on his facebook, page that “the Israel Police officers who do keep terrorist Palestinians alive should be prosecuted under the law.”
He went on: “We must not allow a Palestinian to survive after he was arrested. If you leave him alive, there is a fear that he will be released and kill other people.” He added: “We must eradicate this evil from within our midst.”
“Israeli army has to stop arresting Palestinians,” he posted on his Facebook wall, “but, it must execute them and leave no one alive.”
According to the PNN, Eliyahu is well known for his racist behavior and controversial statements about Arabs and Muslims. He has been calling on the government to carry out state-sanctioned revenge against Arabs in order to, in his words, "restore Israel’s deterrence."
The hard-right wing and bloodthirsty Chief Rabbi of Safed, and also a member of the Chief Rabbinate Council additionally declared that the Palestinians are the enemy of the Israeli occupation state and they “must be destroyed and crushed in order to end violence.”
In 2007, according to the Jerusalem Post, Eliyahu was quoted saying that “If they don’t stop after we kill 100, then we must kill a thousand. And if they do not stop after 1,000 then we must kill 10,000. If they still don’t stop we must kill 100.000, even a million.”
In 2012, Eliyahu was charged for racist statements. Among these were, according to Israel national news: “The Arab culture is very cruel,” and “The Arabs behave according to different codes, and violent norms that have turned into ideology.”
The rabbi allegedly stated that examples of this new Arab “ideology” now include stealing farm equipment from Jews and blackmailing farmers for protection against thefts. He also supposedly said that “the minute you make room for Arabs among Jews, it takes five minutes before they start to do whatever they want.” The justice ministry dropped the charges because the statements ‘may’ have been altered by reporters.
The Jerusalem Post reported him saying: “Should we leave them alive in order to then free them in another gesture to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas? The fact that they still have a desire to commit terrorist attacks shows that we are not operating strongly enough,” he said.
Explaining more about his fatwa, Eliyahu wrote, on his facebook, page that “the Israel Police officers who do keep terrorist Palestinians alive should be prosecuted under the law.”
He went on: “We must not allow a Palestinian to survive after he was arrested. If you leave him alive, there is a fear that he will be released and kill other people.” He added: “We must eradicate this evil from within our midst.”
23 jan 2016
Israeli forces, Friday morning, evicted dozens of Israeli settlers from two buildings believed to belong to Palestinians in Hebron's Old City, a day after the settlers forced their way into them.
An Israeli police spokesperson said, according to Ma'an News Agency, that Border Police had removed more than 80 settlers from the homes. "All the people that illegally entered the buildings have been removed," he said. He added that the homes were afterward "sealed and closed off," and that Israeli courts would determine their future status.
Israeli far-right news site Arutz Sheva reported, Thursday, that the settlers claim to have purchased the buildings from Palestinians.
The settlers stormed the homes in the tense city center, on Thursday afternoon, under the protection of the Israeli army and police forces. Arutz Sheva published video footage of the settlers thanking the soldiers and officers. Jawad Abu Aisheh, deputy head of local activist group Youth Against Settlements, said that dozens of settlers broke through the buildings' back doors and stormed the buildings.
He said: "The Border Police did not do anything to stop them."
Instead, he said that police forces began firing tear gas canisters at Palestinians protesting the settlers' actions. He said that at least five Palestinians had to be treated for excessive tear gas inhalation.
Abu Aisheh added that the buildings belonged to Hebron's al-Zakari family, and were being rented out to members of the al-Qafisheh family.
The decision by Israeli courts regarding the status of the homes comes as the Old City continues to stand at the heart of tensions in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The area -- known as H2 and under full Israeli military control -- is home to an enclave of Jewish settlers living in the center of the West Bank’s largest Palestinian city.
The flashpoint Old City was declared a closed military zone in November following the recent wave of unrest, and Palestinian residents have come under higher-than-average restrictions by the Israeli military that Israeli rights group B’Tselem has called “draconian.”
Friday’s settler eviction from the homes raised a row among Israeli politicians, with members of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, threatening to leave Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition if the buildings remain evacuated.
Israeli media reported that MK’s from political parties Likud and Habayit Hayehudi said they would no longer be obligated to stay in the coalition and would work to bring down the government if the eviction continues.
An Israeli police spokesperson said, according to Ma'an News Agency, that Border Police had removed more than 80 settlers from the homes. "All the people that illegally entered the buildings have been removed," he said. He added that the homes were afterward "sealed and closed off," and that Israeli courts would determine their future status.
Israeli far-right news site Arutz Sheva reported, Thursday, that the settlers claim to have purchased the buildings from Palestinians.
The settlers stormed the homes in the tense city center, on Thursday afternoon, under the protection of the Israeli army and police forces. Arutz Sheva published video footage of the settlers thanking the soldiers and officers. Jawad Abu Aisheh, deputy head of local activist group Youth Against Settlements, said that dozens of settlers broke through the buildings' back doors and stormed the buildings.
He said: "The Border Police did not do anything to stop them."
Instead, he said that police forces began firing tear gas canisters at Palestinians protesting the settlers' actions. He said that at least five Palestinians had to be treated for excessive tear gas inhalation.
Abu Aisheh added that the buildings belonged to Hebron's al-Zakari family, and were being rented out to members of the al-Qafisheh family.
The decision by Israeli courts regarding the status of the homes comes as the Old City continues to stand at the heart of tensions in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The area -- known as H2 and under full Israeli military control -- is home to an enclave of Jewish settlers living in the center of the West Bank’s largest Palestinian city.
The flashpoint Old City was declared a closed military zone in November following the recent wave of unrest, and Palestinian residents have come under higher-than-average restrictions by the Israeli military that Israeli rights group B’Tselem has called “draconian.”
Friday’s settler eviction from the homes raised a row among Israeli politicians, with members of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, threatening to leave Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition if the buildings remain evacuated.
Israeli media reported that MK’s from political parties Likud and Habayit Hayehudi said they would no longer be obligated to stay in the coalition and would work to bring down the government if the eviction continues.
22 jan 2016
A group of Israeli settlers attacked at dawn Friday the Latin cemetery in Nazareth city within the Green Line and sprayed racist graffiti in English on three graves.
Israeli police claimed that an investigation has been opened into the incident.
Settlers often carry out such "Price Tag" attacks on Islamic and Christian sites, most cases are either left unsolved or the perpetrators are never prosecuted.
The attack came as part of Israeli systematic aggressions targeting the Arab, Islamic and Christian presence in occupied Palestine.
Israeli police claimed that an investigation has been opened into the incident.
Settlers often carry out such "Price Tag" attacks on Islamic and Christian sites, most cases are either left unsolved or the perpetrators are never prosecuted.
The attack came as part of Israeli systematic aggressions targeting the Arab, Islamic and Christian presence in occupied Palestine.
Israeli settlers, on Thursday, attacked a number of Palestinian homes in the center of Hebron, throwing stones and verbally abusing residents, according to a local activist with Israeli rights group B'Tselem.
Raed Abu Rmeila said settlers attacked the homes of Fawaz Qafisha, Shams al-Zatari, and Hussein al-Zatari on al-Sahla Street, near the flashpoint Ibrahimi Mosque in the Old City of the southern occupied West Bank city of Hebron.
Rmeila said settlers, accompanied by Israeli soldiers, broke several doors in the area and threw rocks at the homes, while screaming insults at the families. The settlers were reportedly positioned on rooftops as well as the main street.
The activist added, according to Ma'an, that Israeli forces responded by firing tear gas at Palestinian homes, causing several residents to suffer severe tear gas inhalation.
An Israeli army spokesperson said that "(Israeli) forces received reports of clashes between Palestinians and Israelis in Hebron, and security forces called for both sides to halt and used riot dispersal means in order to prevent a further escalation of violence."
Mistreatment of Palestinians in the Hebron area has been common since the city was divided in the 1990s after a US-born settler, Baruch Goldstein, massacred 29 Palestinians inside the Ibrahimi Mosque.
The majority of the city was placed under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority, while the Old City and surrounding areas were placed under Israeli military control in a sector known as H2.
The area is home to 30,000 Palestinians and around 800 Israeli settlers who live under the protection of Israeli forces. Hebron residents frequently report attacks and harassment by the settlers carried out in the presence of the forces.
Since November, the residential area of the Old City off Al-Shuhada street, as well as the Tel Rumeida area, has been designated a closed military zone by the Israeli army following a number of violent encounters in the area. The order was renewed earlier this month, banning all entry to the areas aside from its Palestinian residents and Israeli settlers.
Palestinian residents were forced to register in order to gain access to their homes and have reported higher-than-average difficulty travelling through the nearly 20 checkpoints that stand across the Old City.
Israeli settlers take over Palestinian homes in al-Khalil
Israeli settlers have taken over a number of Palestinian houses near the Ibrahimi Mosque in al-Khalil to the south of the occupied West Bank.
Eyewitnesses told Quds Press that dozens of settlers accompanied by Israeli soldiers violently attacked a number of houses in Sahla Street near the Ibrahimi Mosque and confiscated a number of them.
Israeli flags were raised on the seized houses, the sources added.
The provocative settlers’ attack sparked violent clashes between local residents and Israeli forces who fired tear gas bombs at the local houses.
Several residents choked on tear gas fired by the occupation troops.
The occupied Palestinian territories have witnessed a rise in settler violence against Palestinians in recent months.
Shockwaves were sent throughout the international community in July last year, when Israeli extremists carried out an arson attack against two Palestinian houses in the West Bank town of Duma, killing Palestinian infant, Ali Dawabsheh, and fatally injuring his parents.
Raed Abu Rmeila said settlers attacked the homes of Fawaz Qafisha, Shams al-Zatari, and Hussein al-Zatari on al-Sahla Street, near the flashpoint Ibrahimi Mosque in the Old City of the southern occupied West Bank city of Hebron.
Rmeila said settlers, accompanied by Israeli soldiers, broke several doors in the area and threw rocks at the homes, while screaming insults at the families. The settlers were reportedly positioned on rooftops as well as the main street.
The activist added, according to Ma'an, that Israeli forces responded by firing tear gas at Palestinian homes, causing several residents to suffer severe tear gas inhalation.
An Israeli army spokesperson said that "(Israeli) forces received reports of clashes between Palestinians and Israelis in Hebron, and security forces called for both sides to halt and used riot dispersal means in order to prevent a further escalation of violence."
Mistreatment of Palestinians in the Hebron area has been common since the city was divided in the 1990s after a US-born settler, Baruch Goldstein, massacred 29 Palestinians inside the Ibrahimi Mosque.
The majority of the city was placed under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority, while the Old City and surrounding areas were placed under Israeli military control in a sector known as H2.
The area is home to 30,000 Palestinians and around 800 Israeli settlers who live under the protection of Israeli forces. Hebron residents frequently report attacks and harassment by the settlers carried out in the presence of the forces.
Since November, the residential area of the Old City off Al-Shuhada street, as well as the Tel Rumeida area, has been designated a closed military zone by the Israeli army following a number of violent encounters in the area. The order was renewed earlier this month, banning all entry to the areas aside from its Palestinian residents and Israeli settlers.
Palestinian residents were forced to register in order to gain access to their homes and have reported higher-than-average difficulty travelling through the nearly 20 checkpoints that stand across the Old City.
Israeli settlers take over Palestinian homes in al-Khalil
Israeli settlers have taken over a number of Palestinian houses near the Ibrahimi Mosque in al-Khalil to the south of the occupied West Bank.
Eyewitnesses told Quds Press that dozens of settlers accompanied by Israeli soldiers violently attacked a number of houses in Sahla Street near the Ibrahimi Mosque and confiscated a number of them.
Israeli flags were raised on the seized houses, the sources added.
The provocative settlers’ attack sparked violent clashes between local residents and Israeli forces who fired tear gas bombs at the local houses.
Several residents choked on tear gas fired by the occupation troops.
The occupied Palestinian territories have witnessed a rise in settler violence against Palestinians in recent months.
Shockwaves were sent throughout the international community in July last year, when Israeli extremists carried out an arson attack against two Palestinian houses in the West Bank town of Duma, killing Palestinian infant, Ali Dawabsheh, and fatally injuring his parents.
