18 may 2017
The United Nations (UN) condemned the murder of the Palestinian young man Mu’taz Bani Shamsa, 23, and the injury of the AP cameraman Majdi Eshtaiyeh in a shooting attack carried out on Thursday by a Jewish settler near Nablus city.
In a press statement on Thursday, the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East, Nickolay Mladenov, called for conducting quick comprehensive investigations and bringing the suspects to account.
In a press statement on Thursday, the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East, Nickolay Mladenov, called for conducting quick comprehensive investigations and bringing the suspects to account.
Mutaz Hussein Hilal Bani Shamsa, 23, was fatally shot by an Israeli settler near Huwwara checkpoint in the occupied West Bank on 18 May. An AP photographer was shot and injured by the settler in the same incident.
An Israeli settler shot and killed a young Palestinian man in the northern occupied West Bank on Thursday.
Mutaz Hussein Hilal Bani Shamsa, 23, died shortly after he was shot in the head by the settler who opened fire at a group of protesters. The settler also shot AP photographer Majdi Eshtayya, injuring him in the hand.
Shamsa was one of about 200 Palestinians who had gathered at the Huwwara military checkpoint, near Nablus, to demonstrate in solidarity with the mass Palestinian prisoner hunger strike that entered its second month this week.
Also on Thursday, Israeli soldiers fired on demonstrators at a protest in Ramallah, wounding at least one Palestinian.
Following the shooting of Shamsa and Eshtayya, the settler fled the scene, running over several Palestinians and crashing into an ambulance on his way.
An Israeli settler shot and killed a young Palestinian man in the northern occupied West Bank on Thursday.
Mutaz Hussein Hilal Bani Shamsa, 23, died shortly after he was shot in the head by the settler who opened fire at a group of protesters. The settler also shot AP photographer Majdi Eshtayya, injuring him in the hand.
Shamsa was one of about 200 Palestinians who had gathered at the Huwwara military checkpoint, near Nablus, to demonstrate in solidarity with the mass Palestinian prisoner hunger strike that entered its second month this week.
Also on Thursday, Israeli soldiers fired on demonstrators at a protest in Ramallah, wounding at least one Palestinian.
Following the shooting of Shamsa and Eshtayya, the settler fled the scene, running over several Palestinians and crashing into an ambulance on his way.
|
|
The video above shows that Israelis fired tear gas and other dispersal weapons at the protesters, forcing them to retreat.
Another video of the same scene, after the protesters’ dispersal, shows the settler’s vehicle, a silver hatchback, stopped by the ambulance. Through the tinted windows, it shows what appears to be the settler firing his gun again.
Shooting in “random manner”
The United Nations and the Associated Press are calling for a full investigation into Thursday’s shooting.
Israeli police have already stated that the settler is not considered a criminal suspect, while the army said the incident is under review.
Ahmad Jibril, the head of the ambulance and emergency department at the Palestine Red Crescent Society, told the Ma’an News Agency that he saw the settler get out of his vehicle and open fire at Palestinians “in a random manner.”
Jibril also reported that the settler crashed into three people and a Red Crescent ambulance after he shot Shamsa and Eshtayya.
The settler has said his vehicle came under attack by protesters and claimed he fired his gun in self-defense.
“Praise God, fortunately I managed to get away after looking death in the face. They almost lynched me,” the shooter said in a videotaped statement that he made to the police after he filed a complaint against the Palestinian protesters.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports that “he refused to answer additional questions.”
The police distributed the settler’s statement to the media and immediately came to his defense.
“He was in a critical, life-threatening situation,” said Israeli police spokesperson Micky Rosenfeld.
The shooter, whose identity has not been revealed, lives in the Itamar settlement, which is built on land seized - from [PDF] Nablus-area villagers in violation of international law.
Settler impunity
Far-right Israeli minister Naftali Bennett praised the settler’s actions.
“In order to prevent a lynching, he fired at his attackers and killed one of them,” Bennett said.
The immediate exoneration of the settler without even the pretense of a thorough investigation fits a broader pattern.
Human rights - organizations have frequently criticized senior Israeli officials for encouraging soldiers and civilians to shoot to kill Palestinians even where there is no danger to their lives.
Israeli soldiers and police enjoy near total impunity for killing and injuring Palestinians.
This impunity extends to settlers who attack Palestinians as well. The human rights group B’Tselem says that Israel’s “undeclared policy” toward violence by settlers is “lenient and conciliatory.”
“Perpetrators are rarely tried, and many cases are not investigated at all or are closed with no operative conclusions,” B’Tselem adds.
Between 2013 and 2016 just eight percent of the “ideologically motivated” settler crimes against Palestinians tracked by the Israeli human rights group Yesh Din resulted in indictments.
Following the shooting on Thursday, another Israeli settler handed out chocolate bars to Israeli vehicles near the Huwwara checkpoint, in celebration of the slaying of Shamsa:
Another video of the same scene, after the protesters’ dispersal, shows the settler’s vehicle, a silver hatchback, stopped by the ambulance. Through the tinted windows, it shows what appears to be the settler firing his gun again.
Shooting in “random manner”
The United Nations and the Associated Press are calling for a full investigation into Thursday’s shooting.
Israeli police have already stated that the settler is not considered a criminal suspect, while the army said the incident is under review.
Ahmad Jibril, the head of the ambulance and emergency department at the Palestine Red Crescent Society, told the Ma’an News Agency that he saw the settler get out of his vehicle and open fire at Palestinians “in a random manner.”
Jibril also reported that the settler crashed into three people and a Red Crescent ambulance after he shot Shamsa and Eshtayya.
The settler has said his vehicle came under attack by protesters and claimed he fired his gun in self-defense.
“Praise God, fortunately I managed to get away after looking death in the face. They almost lynched me,” the shooter said in a videotaped statement that he made to the police after he filed a complaint against the Palestinian protesters.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports that “he refused to answer additional questions.”
The police distributed the settler’s statement to the media and immediately came to his defense.
“He was in a critical, life-threatening situation,” said Israeli police spokesperson Micky Rosenfeld.
The shooter, whose identity has not been revealed, lives in the Itamar settlement, which is built on land seized - from [PDF] Nablus-area villagers in violation of international law.
Settler impunity
Far-right Israeli minister Naftali Bennett praised the settler’s actions.
“In order to prevent a lynching, he fired at his attackers and killed one of them,” Bennett said.
The immediate exoneration of the settler without even the pretense of a thorough investigation fits a broader pattern.
Human rights - organizations have frequently criticized senior Israeli officials for encouraging soldiers and civilians to shoot to kill Palestinians even where there is no danger to their lives.
Israeli soldiers and police enjoy near total impunity for killing and injuring Palestinians.
This impunity extends to settlers who attack Palestinians as well. The human rights group B’Tselem says that Israel’s “undeclared policy” toward violence by settlers is “lenient and conciliatory.”
“Perpetrators are rarely tried, and many cases are not investigated at all or are closed with no operative conclusions,” B’Tselem adds.
Between 2013 and 2016 just eight percent of the “ideologically motivated” settler crimes against Palestinians tracked by the Israeli human rights group Yesh Din resulted in indictments.
Following the shooting on Thursday, another Israeli settler handed out chocolate bars to Israeli vehicles near the Huwwara checkpoint, in celebration of the slaying of Shamsa:
|
“We killed a Palestinian vandal today,” the man says in a video, which shows him distributing the candy bars with the protection of Israeli soldiers, according to the Ma’an News Agency.
“I am distributing candy to celebrate the killing. I want to congratulate the Israeli people for the vandal’s death.” Shamsa is the fourth person killed by Israelis in less than a week and the second to die while demonstrating in support of the hunger strikers. Israeli forces killed Saba Abu Ubeid, 23, in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh last Friday during confrontations with soldiers following a march. Israeli forces also killed a Jordanian citizen who attacked an Israeli officer |
in the Old City of occupied East Jerusalem, and a Gaza fisherman died after being shot by the Israeli navy.
On Wednesday, an Israeli settler shot a Palestinian youth demonstrating near Ramallah in support of the hunger strikers. Israeli forces arrested the 19-year-old protester but reportedly took no action against the settler who shot him.
Shamsa, from the Palestinian village of Beita, is the 24th Palestinian to be killed by Israeli forces or settlers this year.
Hunger strikers’ health declines sharplyOn Wednesday, the Palestinian Authority’s committee on prisoners’ affairs announced that all 1,300 Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike had been transferred to just three prisons that have makeshift field hospitals set up in response to the hunger strike.
Palestinian prisoners have refused food for 32 days, while Israeli authorities refuse to negotiate over their demands. The condition of the strikers has sharply declined and many are experiencing chronic vomiting, vision impairment, fainting and significant weight loss.
The striking prisoners are demanding improvements in conditions, an end to solitary confinement and heavy restrictions on family visits, and for Israel to stop using administrative detention – prolonged imprisonment without charge or trial.
The Israel Prison Service denies that all prisoners have been transferred, claiming only those in the Naqab (Negev) region had been moved.
Some fear the move indicates Israel may begin force-feeding the prisoners.
The committee coordinating media for the strike said the field hospitals are unfit and ill-equipped to provide medical care.
“In these clinics, the role of doctors resembles the role of jailers who offer all kinds of food to the sick detainees and offer to provide medical treatment in return for ending the strike,” the committee said.
On Wednesday, an Israeli settler shot a Palestinian youth demonstrating near Ramallah in support of the hunger strikers. Israeli forces arrested the 19-year-old protester but reportedly took no action against the settler who shot him.
Shamsa, from the Palestinian village of Beita, is the 24th Palestinian to be killed by Israeli forces or settlers this year.
Hunger strikers’ health declines sharplyOn Wednesday, the Palestinian Authority’s committee on prisoners’ affairs announced that all 1,300 Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike had been transferred to just three prisons that have makeshift field hospitals set up in response to the hunger strike.
Palestinian prisoners have refused food for 32 days, while Israeli authorities refuse to negotiate over their demands. The condition of the strikers has sharply declined and many are experiencing chronic vomiting, vision impairment, fainting and significant weight loss.
The striking prisoners are demanding improvements in conditions, an end to solitary confinement and heavy restrictions on family visits, and for Israel to stop using administrative detention – prolonged imprisonment without charge or trial.
The Israel Prison Service denies that all prisoners have been transferred, claiming only those in the Naqab (Negev) region had been moved.
Some fear the move indicates Israel may begin force-feeding the prisoners.
The committee coordinating media for the strike said the field hospitals are unfit and ill-equipped to provide medical care.
“In these clinics, the role of doctors resembles the role of jailers who offer all kinds of food to the sick detainees and offer to provide medical treatment in return for ending the strike,” the committee said.
Israeli settlement societies called for intensifying settler incursions into al-Aqsa Mosque and the Old City of Occupied Jerusalem in order to mark the 50th anniversary of occupying Jerusalem and to celebrate the so called reunification of Jerusalem.
The calls coincide with the US President Donald Trump’s visit to Bethlehem next week in order to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Head of the Supreme Islamic Committee in Occupied Jerusalem Ekrema Sabri said these provocative calls will lead to more conflict and tension in the area.
Director of the al-Aqsa Mosque Sheikh Omar al-Kiswani pointed out that 62 settlers along with 49 Israeli guides and students stormed al-Aqsa Mosque on Wednesday.
Kiswani told the PIC reporter that Israeli police offered protection to settlers during the incursions and went on restricting the access of Muslim worshipers to the holy shrine.
The calls coincide with the US President Donald Trump’s visit to Bethlehem next week in order to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Head of the Supreme Islamic Committee in Occupied Jerusalem Ekrema Sabri said these provocative calls will lead to more conflict and tension in the area.
Director of the al-Aqsa Mosque Sheikh Omar al-Kiswani pointed out that 62 settlers along with 49 Israeli guides and students stormed al-Aqsa Mosque on Wednesday.
Kiswani told the PIC reporter that Israeli police offered protection to settlers during the incursions and went on restricting the access of Muslim worshipers to the holy shrine.
Mutaz Bani Shamseh 23
A Palestinian young man was killed and a journalist was injured in a shooting attack carried out on Thursday by a Jewish settler.
The attack took place during clashes that erupted in a solidarity march with the hunger striking prisoners in Israeli jails on Huwara street south of Nablus city.
Palestinian Health Ministry identified the martyr as Mutaz Bani Shamseh, 23, from Beita town east of Nablus. The wounded journalist was also identified as Majdi Eshtaiyeh, an AP cameraman. He was shot in the hand while covering the event.
Eyewitnesses told the PIC reporter that a Jewish settler approached the marchers, opened his gunfire directly at the young man and shot him in the head. He shortly died after the shooting, they said.
A Palestinian young man was killed and a journalist was injured in a shooting attack carried out on Thursday by a Jewish settler.
The attack took place during clashes that erupted in a solidarity march with the hunger striking prisoners in Israeli jails on Huwara street south of Nablus city.
Palestinian Health Ministry identified the martyr as Mutaz Bani Shamseh, 23, from Beita town east of Nablus. The wounded journalist was also identified as Majdi Eshtaiyeh, an AP cameraman. He was shot in the hand while covering the event.
Eyewitnesses told the PIC reporter that a Jewish settler approached the marchers, opened his gunfire directly at the young man and shot him in the head. He shortly died after the shooting, they said.
17 may 2017
A 19-year-old Palestinian youth, Ibrahim Hamed, from Silwad town near Ramallah, was shot on Wednesday morning by a Jewish settler on Street 60, which is used by settlers in the area.
Eyewitnesses reported that the settlers' shooting attack took place when Palestinian youths tried to close the bypass road in the area as a solidarity move with Palestinian hunger strikers in Israeli jails who have entered day 31 of consecutive fasting.
Local sources said that Israeli occupation forces arrested the wounded young man and barred Palestinian medics from approaching him.
Eyewitnesses reported that the settlers' shooting attack took place when Palestinian youths tried to close the bypass road in the area as a solidarity move with Palestinian hunger strikers in Israeli jails who have entered day 31 of consecutive fasting.
Local sources said that Israeli occupation forces arrested the wounded young man and barred Palestinian medics from approaching him.
15 may 2017
Medical sources have reported, Sunday, that a Palestinian man suffered moderate wounds, after an Israeli colonist rammed him with his car, east of Hebron, in the southern part of the occupied West Bank.
The sources identified the wounded man as Ghassan al-Mohtasib, 35, and added that he was moved to the Hebron governmental hospital for treatment.
The incident took place near the al-Baq’a Junction, on the bypass road #60, used by both Israeli colonists and Palestinians.
Like numerous previous incidents, the driver fled the scene.
The sources identified the wounded man as Ghassan al-Mohtasib, 35, and added that he was moved to the Hebron governmental hospital for treatment.
The incident took place near the al-Baq’a Junction, on the bypass road #60, used by both Israeli colonists and Palestinians.
Like numerous previous incidents, the driver fled the scene.
11 may 2017
Israeli bulldozers from Leshem settlement on Thursday morning carried out new digging and razing activities on Palestinian agricultural and grazing lands in Deir Ballut town, west of Salfit province.
Eyewitnesses reported that the bulldozers razed olive trees, agricultural lands and pastures specifically in the areas of ash-Shamiyat and Bab al-Marj, east of the town.
They added that settlers buried waste material in the area, voicing fear that the buried waste could be hazardous.
Leshem settlement, which was established illegally on annexed West Bank lands in 2013, keeps expanding at the expense of Palestinian towns in the area.
Eyewitnesses reported that the bulldozers razed olive trees, agricultural lands and pastures specifically in the areas of ash-Shamiyat and Bab al-Marj, east of the town.
They added that settlers buried waste material in the area, voicing fear that the buried waste could be hazardous.
Leshem settlement, which was established illegally on annexed West Bank lands in 2013, keeps expanding at the expense of Palestinian towns in the area.
67 Jewish settlers stormed on Thursday morning the plazas of al-Aqsa Mosque in Occupied Jerusalem amid Israeli police tightened security measures.
According to Quds Press news agency, 44 settlers broke into the holy shrine in the morning shift from the Israeli-controlled al-Magharebah gate and roamed its courtyards while receiving explanations on the alleged Temple of Solomon.
Three members of Israeli intelligence apparatus along with twenty Jewish students and guides stormed al-Aqsa Mosque’s plazas in the afternoon shift, Quds Press added.
According to Quds Press news agency, 44 settlers broke into the holy shrine in the morning shift from the Israeli-controlled al-Magharebah gate and roamed its courtyards while receiving explanations on the alleged Temple of Solomon.
Three members of Israeli intelligence apparatus along with twenty Jewish students and guides stormed al-Aqsa Mosque’s plazas in the afternoon shift, Quds Press added.
10 may 2017
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) stormed on Wednesday evening the West Bank town of Sabastia north of Nablus city for the second time in 24 hours.
Eyewitnesses said that Israeli patrols raided the historic area in the town leading to a state of tension and mobilization among Palestinian families and visitors who were present at the site.
Several patrols escorted by some buses carrying Jewish settlers stormed the same town last night.
Eyewitnesses said that Israeli patrols raided the historic area in the town leading to a state of tension and mobilization among Palestinian families and visitors who were present at the site.
Several patrols escorted by some buses carrying Jewish settlers stormed the same town last night.
Fanatic Jewish settlers of Bracha Settlement torched on Wednesday tens of agricultural dunums in Bourin town south of Nablus city. The losses were not estimated yet.
Eyewitnesses told Anadolu news agency that extremist settlers attacked the inhabitants during their attempt to extinguish the fire.
The settlers abducted a Palestinian child before his father along with other people managed to rescue him.
Bourin town, every now and then, witnesses clashes due to settlers' repeated violations and offensive practices against Palestinian families and their properties.
Eyewitnesses told Anadolu news agency that extremist settlers attacked the inhabitants during their attempt to extinguish the fire.
The settlers abducted a Palestinian child before his father along with other people managed to rescue him.
Bourin town, every now and then, witnesses clashes due to settlers' repeated violations and offensive practices against Palestinian families and their properties.
9 may 2017
Extremist Jewish settlers at dawn Tuesday vandalized dozens of Palestinian cars with racist slurs and slashed their tires in renewed terror attacks in Occupied Jerusalem and the Galilee.
Some 20 cars were found vandalized on Route 21 in east Jerusalem along the border between the Jewish ultra-Orthodox settlement of Ramat Shlomo and the Arab Shuafat neighborhood.
The words “price tag,” a right-wing slogan used in Jewish terror attacks, were daubed on some vehicles and several tires were slashed, according to the Israeli police. Cars were also spray-painted with the words “Pikar the King” and “administrative price tag.”
A wall in the neighborhood was also spray-painted with words insulting Prophet Muhammad.
The graffiti, Pikar the King, was in clear reference to Elkana Pikar, a resident of the hardline settlement of Yitzhar seen as a leader of young right-wing Jewish extremists known as the hilltop youth.
In the Galilee village of Na’ura, walls of homes were found with price tag graffiti and eight cars had tires slashed, the police said later in the morning.
“Administrative revenge” was also found painted on homes’ walls in the village, in possible reference to Pikar.
Dozens of so-called price tag attacks, usually involving arson and graffiti, have been carried out by Jewish terrorists against Palestinians in the occupied territories.
In all previous attacks, the Israeli police announced they had launched investigations, but they deliberately failed to capture the perpetrators for politically-motivated reasons.
Some 20 cars were found vandalized on Route 21 in east Jerusalem along the border between the Jewish ultra-Orthodox settlement of Ramat Shlomo and the Arab Shuafat neighborhood.
The words “price tag,” a right-wing slogan used in Jewish terror attacks, were daubed on some vehicles and several tires were slashed, according to the Israeli police. Cars were also spray-painted with the words “Pikar the King” and “administrative price tag.”
A wall in the neighborhood was also spray-painted with words insulting Prophet Muhammad.
The graffiti, Pikar the King, was in clear reference to Elkana Pikar, a resident of the hardline settlement of Yitzhar seen as a leader of young right-wing Jewish extremists known as the hilltop youth.
In the Galilee village of Na’ura, walls of homes were found with price tag graffiti and eight cars had tires slashed, the police said later in the morning.
“Administrative revenge” was also found painted on homes’ walls in the village, in possible reference to Pikar.
Dozens of so-called price tag attacks, usually involving arson and graffiti, have been carried out by Jewish terrorists against Palestinians in the occupied territories.
In all previous attacks, the Israeli police announced they had launched investigations, but they deliberately failed to capture the perpetrators for politically-motivated reasons.
8 may 2017
A group of Jewish settlers rioted Sunday night at the site of an evicted settlement south of Jenin city in the northern West Bank under protection of Israeli occupation forces.
Local sources told the PIC reporter that settlers, escorted by IOF soldiers, came to the site by bus. The soldiers were earlier deployed in the area of the settlement, which was evicted in 2005, to provide protection for the settlers.
Fanatic settlers chanted racist anti-Arab slogans calling for killing and expelling Palestinians. They also performed Talmudic rituals before exiting the place.
Local sources told the PIC reporter that settlers, escorted by IOF soldiers, came to the site by bus. The soldiers were earlier deployed in the area of the settlement, which was evicted in 2005, to provide protection for the settlers.
Fanatic settlers chanted racist anti-Arab slogans calling for killing and expelling Palestinians. They also performed Talmudic rituals before exiting the place.
72 Jewish settlers stormed on Monday the plazas of al-Aqsa Mosque in Occupied Jerusalem amid tightened security measures.
According to Quds Press news agency, the settlers broke into the holy shrine from al-Magharebah gate.
They provocatively toured its courtyards and performed Talmudic rituals under the protection of Israeli police, Quds Press added.
According to Quds Press news agency, the settlers broke into the holy shrine from al-Magharebah gate.
They provocatively toured its courtyards and performed Talmudic rituals under the protection of Israeli police, Quds Press added.
6 may 2017
A wild pig attacked, on Friday night, a 10-year-old child in the town of Yamoun, west of Jenin, causing injury to her hand, according to local sources.
According to WAFA, they said that Alaa Houshieh was admitted to hospital after her hand was bit by a pig.
Palestinians say Israeli settlers let wild pigs run loose in the fields to attack farmers and villagers as a way to keep them off their land.
The residents, who say they never before had wild pigs in the West Bank until the settlers came there, have urged the Palestinian Authority to help get rid of the wild pigs in their areas, which have become a threat to them, particularly children.
According to WAFA, they said that Alaa Houshieh was admitted to hospital after her hand was bit by a pig.
Palestinians say Israeli settlers let wild pigs run loose in the fields to attack farmers and villagers as a way to keep them off their land.
The residents, who say they never before had wild pigs in the West Bank until the settlers came there, have urged the Palestinian Authority to help get rid of the wild pigs in their areas, which have become a threat to them, particularly children.