20 jan 2019

Israeli bulldozers on Sunday demolished a Palestinian home in al-Lod City at the pretext of unlicensed construction.
According to local sources, bulldozers escorted by Israeli police forces stormed Karam At-Tuffah neighborhood in the city and reduced a house to rubble.
The house, which was destroyed for the second time, belonged to a Palestinian called Mahmoud Abu Soa’louk.
The Israeli municipal authorities refuse to provide Abu Soa’louk with a permit to build a house on his own land.
According to local sources, bulldozers escorted by Israeli police forces stormed Karam At-Tuffah neighborhood in the city and reduced a house to rubble.
The house, which was destroyed for the second time, belonged to a Palestinian called Mahmoud Abu Soa’louk.
The Israeli municipal authorities refuse to provide Abu Soa’louk with a permit to build a house on his own land.

Israeli soldiers invaded, on Sunday at dawn, Kobar town, northwest of the central West Bank city of Ramallah, and handed the family of a slain son, and his detained brother, a military order for the demolition of their home.
Media sources said dozens of soldiers invaded Kobar after surrounding it, and stormed the home of the imprisoned Omar Barghouthi, 66, the father of Saleh Barghouthi, who was assassinated by the army on December 12, 2018, and Assem Barghouthi, who was abducted by the soldiers on December 13th, 2018, along with his father.
It is worth mentioning that Omar Barghouthi received a six-month Administrative Detention order, without charges or trial.
The army claimed Saleh was allegedly “involved” in a shooting targeting colonialist settlers, in December of last year.
Furthermore, the soldiers invaded many neighborhoods in Ramallah city, and several surrounding villages and towns.
The soldiers also invaded Tal village, south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus, and installed a military roadblock in Bir al-Ghazal area, before stopping and searching dozens of cars, and interrogated many Palestinians while inspecting their ID cards.
In addition, the soldiers invaded an area, near a gas station in Azzoun town, east of Qalqilia city, in northern West Bank, and confiscated a motorcycle, after detaining its owner.
Media sources said dozens of soldiers invaded Kobar after surrounding it, and stormed the home of the imprisoned Omar Barghouthi, 66, the father of Saleh Barghouthi, who was assassinated by the army on December 12, 2018, and Assem Barghouthi, who was abducted by the soldiers on December 13th, 2018, along with his father.
It is worth mentioning that Omar Barghouthi received a six-month Administrative Detention order, without charges or trial.
The army claimed Saleh was allegedly “involved” in a shooting targeting colonialist settlers, in December of last year.
Furthermore, the soldiers invaded many neighborhoods in Ramallah city, and several surrounding villages and towns.
The soldiers also invaded Tal village, south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus, and installed a military roadblock in Bir al-Ghazal area, before stopping and searching dozens of cars, and interrogated many Palestinians while inspecting their ID cards.
In addition, the soldiers invaded an area, near a gas station in Azzoun town, east of Qalqilia city, in northern West Bank, and confiscated a motorcycle, after detaining its owner.
19 jan 2019

The Israeli authorities forced the family of Safouri in Tur’an village, north of Nazareth in Israel (the 1948 occupied lands), to demolish their own home after all the efforts to save the house failed. video
A Palestinian mother and her four children have been living in the house for about 20 years.
45-year-old Saba Safouri, the homeowner, told Arab48 website that the house had been built on the land of her ancestors, who were forced by the occupation to leave for Syria and Jordan.
She added that the Israeli authorities appropriated the land under the absentee property law, which it enacted in order to legalize the expropriation of Palestinian property, whose owners left behind after expelling them from Palestine.
“After we received the first demolition warning, we kept trying for long years to purchase our land from the state [Israel], but we were facing a wall of rejection every time at the pretext that the law says that any structure build on state land must be demolished first before talking about purchasing the land,” Safouri said.
A Palestinian mother and her four children have been living in the house for about 20 years.
45-year-old Saba Safouri, the homeowner, told Arab48 website that the house had been built on the land of her ancestors, who were forced by the occupation to leave for Syria and Jordan.
She added that the Israeli authorities appropriated the land under the absentee property law, which it enacted in order to legalize the expropriation of Palestinian property, whose owners left behind after expelling them from Palestine.
“After we received the first demolition warning, we kept trying for long years to purchase our land from the state [Israel], but we were facing a wall of rejection every time at the pretext that the law says that any structure build on state land must be demolished first before talking about purchasing the land,” Safouri said.

Hundreds of Palestinian citizens and Israeli and international activists rallied on Friday in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in east Jerusalem in solidarity with five families there whom the Israeli occupation authority want to evict.
According to Anadolu news agency, the participants carried placards condemning Israel’s settlement activities in Sheikh Jarrah.
Some banners read “Sheikh Jarrah is Palestine, “Stop the settlements in east Jerusalem” and “Freedom for Sheikh Jarrah.”
Leftist member of the Knesset Mossi Raz (Meretz), who participated in the protest, told Anadolu that there would be ongoing protests against the eviction of Palestinian citizens from their homes in Jerusalem until the Israeli government changed such racist practice.
“Unfortunately, all we can do is to just protest,” he added.
He affirmed that “the settlers take advantage of the fact that the Israel law is biased in their favor and does not care about the Palestinians.
In late November, Israel’s high court rejected the Sabbagh and Hamad families’ appeals against their evictions. Residents of Sheikh Jarrah fear that decision could lead to a new wave of evictions affecting as many as 11 families and 500 people.
According to Anadolu news agency, the participants carried placards condemning Israel’s settlement activities in Sheikh Jarrah.
Some banners read “Sheikh Jarrah is Palestine, “Stop the settlements in east Jerusalem” and “Freedom for Sheikh Jarrah.”
Leftist member of the Knesset Mossi Raz (Meretz), who participated in the protest, told Anadolu that there would be ongoing protests against the eviction of Palestinian citizens from their homes in Jerusalem until the Israeli government changed such racist practice.
“Unfortunately, all we can do is to just protest,” he added.
He affirmed that “the settlers take advantage of the fact that the Israel law is biased in their favor and does not care about the Palestinians.
In late November, Israel’s high court rejected the Sabbagh and Hamad families’ appeals against their evictions. Residents of Sheikh Jarrah fear that decision could lead to a new wave of evictions affecting as many as 11 families and 500 people.
18 jan 2019
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The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) demolished at dawn Friday the family home of the Palestinian injured teenager Khalil Youssef Jabarin in the West Bank village of Yatta near al-Khalil, local sources affirmed.
According to the reports, a large military force stormed Jabarin's and blew up the third floor of the two-story building after evacuating it. video 12 family members were left homeless as a result. video video In September, 16-year-old Khalil Jabarin was arrested by Israeli forces after being shot and injured in his leg and hand for allegedly stabbing two Israeli settlers. Earlier Thursday, Israeli forces released 15-year-old Ihab Jabarin, Khalil’s brother, after spending several months in Israeli jails. |

Despite extreme weather conditions, the Israeli occupation demolished ten Palestinian homes in the occupied Jordan Valley, on Thursday morning.
As it rained, the Israeli demolition left several Palestinians homeless, including women and children.
Israeli occupation forces demolish Palestinian homes and turn tens of Palestinians homeless, including children and women, on a daily basis.
They demolish the homes under the pretext of building without licenses or plans to develop the areas where the Palestinian homes are built, while building permits are rarely given at all, if ever.
Meanwhile, Israeli authorities have been working hard to build settlement units for illegal Jewish settlers in the occupied Palestinian territories.
On Wednesday evening, the West Bank and Jerusalem witnessed a strong drop in temperature, accompanied by rains, thunderstorms, hail and snow, according to the PNN.
The snow fell and the roofs of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock.
As it rained, the Israeli demolition left several Palestinians homeless, including women and children.
Israeli occupation forces demolish Palestinian homes and turn tens of Palestinians homeless, including children and women, on a daily basis.
They demolish the homes under the pretext of building without licenses or plans to develop the areas where the Palestinian homes are built, while building permits are rarely given at all, if ever.
Meanwhile, Israeli authorities have been working hard to build settlement units for illegal Jewish settlers in the occupied Palestinian territories.
On Wednesday evening, the West Bank and Jerusalem witnessed a strong drop in temperature, accompanied by rains, thunderstorms, hail and snow, according to the PNN.
The snow fell and the roofs of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock.
17 jan 2019

Israel’s Science and Technology Minister Ofir Akunis (Likud) has called for the imposition of sovereignty over the occupied West Bank immediately after the elections to the 21st Knesset, set to be held in April.
"We must accelerate the pace of construction in Samaria and Judea, first and foremost to ensure our natural right to our land and to prevent the catastrophe, and what I defined in the past as the suicide of the State of Israel, and that would be: The establishment of a Palestinian terror state in this place,” claimed Akunis.
"We have stopped tunnels from Lebanon to communities in the Galilee Panhandle. Anyone who wants tunnels leading to Kfar Saba, Ra'anana and Herzliya, let them support a Palestinian state," Akunis added. "Since we do not want this, and we do not want to see rockets fired at Israeli communities, we want to see settlement of a much larger scale here."
He called for an increase in the budget of the occupation forces in the West Bank.
"One of the first steps of the 21st Knesset must be the application of Israeli sovereignty over Jewish areas in Judea and Samaria," added the Science and Technology Minister.
"We must accelerate the pace of construction in Samaria and Judea, first and foremost to ensure our natural right to our land and to prevent the catastrophe, and what I defined in the past as the suicide of the State of Israel, and that would be: The establishment of a Palestinian terror state in this place,” claimed Akunis.
"We have stopped tunnels from Lebanon to communities in the Galilee Panhandle. Anyone who wants tunnels leading to Kfar Saba, Ra'anana and Herzliya, let them support a Palestinian state," Akunis added. "Since we do not want this, and we do not want to see rockets fired at Israeli communities, we want to see settlement of a much larger scale here."
He called for an increase in the budget of the occupation forces in the West Bank.
"One of the first steps of the 21st Knesset must be the application of Israeli sovereignty over Jewish areas in Judea and Samaria," added the Science and Technology Minister.
16 jan 2019

The Israeli occupation authorities on Wednesday morning demolished two Palestinian residential buildings in the northern Jordan Valley.
Local activist Hamza Zbeidat told Quds Press that Israeli bulldozers, escorted by an army force, stormed Fasayel area and demolished a caravan where the Palestinian citizen Ali Abayat and his family lived.
Zbeidat said that Abayat, his wife and their four children were left in the open without shelter from the biting cold.
He called on concerned authorities to intervene and provide shelter to the homeless family.
Israeli bulldozers, in a neighboring area, demolished another Palestinian home inhabited by a seven-member family, according to Zbeidat.
Israel constantly targets the Palestinians living in the Jordan Valley with demolition and eviction orders under various pretexts. Israel seeks to empty the area, which is of great importance at the agricultural and military level, of Palestinians.
Local activist Hamza Zbeidat told Quds Press that Israeli bulldozers, escorted by an army force, stormed Fasayel area and demolished a caravan where the Palestinian citizen Ali Abayat and his family lived.
Zbeidat said that Abayat, his wife and their four children were left in the open without shelter from the biting cold.
He called on concerned authorities to intervene and provide shelter to the homeless family.
Israeli bulldozers, in a neighboring area, demolished another Palestinian home inhabited by a seven-member family, according to Zbeidat.
Israel constantly targets the Palestinians living in the Jordan Valley with demolition and eviction orders under various pretexts. Israel seeks to empty the area, which is of great importance at the agricultural and military level, of Palestinians.

Israeli forces raided the house of a Palestinian prisoner, who carried out a stabbing attack against Israeli settlers last September, in Yatta City in the southern occupied West Bank district of Hebron on Wednesday, in preparation to demolish it.
Coordinator of the National and Popular Committee in southern Hebron, Rateb al-Jbour, said that Israeli forces raided the house of Khalil al-Jabbarin, 17, who had carried out a stabbing attack in the Gush Etzion settlement south of Hebron, last September, killing one Israeli settler.
Israeli soldiers took footage of the house in preparation to demolish it.
In December, Israeli forces had delivered the family a demolition notice, allowing the family until January 2nd, 2019 to appeal against the order.
Israel always demolishes family homes of Palestinians, who were involved in attacking Israelis as part of its collective punishment policy against the Palestinian people.
Israel has come under harsh condemnation over the past several years for its response to attacks committed by Palestinians on Israelis, which rights groups have said amounted to "collective punishment" on family members and entire communities in a clear violation of international law.
Israeli human rights group B'Tselem says that "The people who bear the brunt of the (punitive) demolitions are relatives – including women, the elderly, and children – whom Israel does not suspect of involvement in any offense."
"In the vast majority of cases, the person whose actions prompted the demolition was not even living in the house at the time of the demolition," adds the group.
"The official objective of the house demolition policy is deterrence … yet the deterrent effect of house demolitions has never been proven."
It concluded that "Since this constitutes deliberate harm to innocents, it is clear that even if house demolition had the desired deterrent effect, it would, nevertheless, remain unlawful."
Coordinator of the National and Popular Committee in southern Hebron, Rateb al-Jbour, said that Israeli forces raided the house of Khalil al-Jabbarin, 17, who had carried out a stabbing attack in the Gush Etzion settlement south of Hebron, last September, killing one Israeli settler.
Israeli soldiers took footage of the house in preparation to demolish it.
In December, Israeli forces had delivered the family a demolition notice, allowing the family until January 2nd, 2019 to appeal against the order.
Israel always demolishes family homes of Palestinians, who were involved in attacking Israelis as part of its collective punishment policy against the Palestinian people.
Israel has come under harsh condemnation over the past several years for its response to attacks committed by Palestinians on Israelis, which rights groups have said amounted to "collective punishment" on family members and entire communities in a clear violation of international law.
Israeli human rights group B'Tselem says that "The people who bear the brunt of the (punitive) demolitions are relatives – including women, the elderly, and children – whom Israel does not suspect of involvement in any offense."
"In the vast majority of cases, the person whose actions prompted the demolition was not even living in the house at the time of the demolition," adds the group.
"The official objective of the house demolition policy is deterrence … yet the deterrent effect of house demolitions has never been proven."
It concluded that "Since this constitutes deliberate harm to innocents, it is clear that even if house demolition had the desired deterrent effect, it would, nevertheless, remain unlawful."

The Israeli police on Wednesday morning raided the family house of the Palestinian martyr Uday Abu Jamal in Jabal al-Mukabber town in Jerusalem.
Eyewitnesses said that the police, accompanied by intelligence officers, stormed the house, searched it, locked the family up in one room, and seized a computer and cell phones.
Abu Jamal's brother Mutaz, 23, has been held in Israeli jails for two years.
Eyewitnesses said that the police, accompanied by intelligence officers, stormed the house, searched it, locked the family up in one room, and seized a computer and cell phones.
Abu Jamal's brother Mutaz, 23, has been held in Israeli jails for two years.

Israeli soldiers invaded, on Wednesday morning, Fasayel Palestinian village, north of Jericho city in the occupied West Bank, and demolished a residential shed.
The soldiers surrounded the small community before invading it, and demolished a residential shed, owned by Abdul-Hadi Obeyyat, allegedly for being built without a permit.
The owner said that he received the demolition order four months ago, before he hired a lawyer, but the soldiers demolished the 30 square/meter shed, although the case is still in Israeli courts.
The Palestinian and his family were rendered homes as a result of the demolition.
In related news, the soldiers closed the main entrance of Azzoun town, east of the northern West Bank city of Qalqilia, by closing the iron gate of the illegal Annexation Wall and prevented the Palestinians from entering or leaving it.
It is worth mentioning that Azzoun is surrounded by the illegal Annexation Wall, five iron gates, surveillance cameras, roadblocks and six colonies.
The soldiers surrounded the small community before invading it, and demolished a residential shed, owned by Abdul-Hadi Obeyyat, allegedly for being built without a permit.
The owner said that he received the demolition order four months ago, before he hired a lawyer, but the soldiers demolished the 30 square/meter shed, although the case is still in Israeli courts.
The Palestinian and his family were rendered homes as a result of the demolition.
In related news, the soldiers closed the main entrance of Azzoun town, east of the northern West Bank city of Qalqilia, by closing the iron gate of the illegal Annexation Wall and prevented the Palestinians from entering or leaving it.
It is worth mentioning that Azzoun is surrounded by the illegal Annexation Wall, five iron gates, surveillance cameras, roadblocks and six colonies.

Israeli soldiers abducted, on Wednesday at dawn, six Palestinians, including three children, in Jerusalem and Bethlehem governorates, in the occupied West Bank, after the army invaded many homes and violently searched them.
The Bethlehem office of the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) has reported that the soldiers invaded Teqoua’ town, east of the city, searched homes and abducted Hazem Abed Sabah, 18, Mohammad Khaled al-‘Amour, 15, and Mohammad Hashem Sha’er, 32.
It added that the soldiers also invaded and searched homes in Husan town, west of Bethlehem, and abducted Ibrahim Khaled Hamamra, 20.
Furthermore, the soldiers invaded and searched homes in Beit Fajjar town, south of Bethlehem, and interrogated the families.
In occupied Jerusalem, the soldiers invaded Qalandia refugee camp, north of the city, searched homes and abducted two children, identified as Omar Zayed and Mohammad Hammad.
It is worth mentioning that the army said that its soldiers have arrested ten Palestinians, in several parts of the West Bank, in addition to confiscating six lathe machines, in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, allegedly used to manufacture weapons, and 10.000 Shekels from a few homes.
The Bethlehem office of the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) has reported that the soldiers invaded Teqoua’ town, east of the city, searched homes and abducted Hazem Abed Sabah, 18, Mohammad Khaled al-‘Amour, 15, and Mohammad Hashem Sha’er, 32.
It added that the soldiers also invaded and searched homes in Husan town, west of Bethlehem, and abducted Ibrahim Khaled Hamamra, 20.
Furthermore, the soldiers invaded and searched homes in Beit Fajjar town, south of Bethlehem, and interrogated the families.
In occupied Jerusalem, the soldiers invaded Qalandia refugee camp, north of the city, searched homes and abducted two children, identified as Omar Zayed and Mohammad Hammad.
It is worth mentioning that the army said that its soldiers have arrested ten Palestinians, in several parts of the West Bank, in addition to confiscating six lathe machines, in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, allegedly used to manufacture weapons, and 10.000 Shekels from a few homes.

Israeli military courts have imposed fines topping $16m, on West Bank Palestinians, from 2015 to 2017, “even though the great majority of the offenses do not involve the harming of people or property.”
According to a report by Haaretz, “the money is deposited in the Israeli Civil Administration’s accounts in the West Bank and is managed by an officer also subordinate to Israeli finance ministry.”
The report cites examples of fines, such as the December 2018 conviction of a Beit Ummar resident, for throwing a stone at Israeli occupation forces “from an unknown distance.”
Although “the stone did not hit anyone and caused no damage,” he was jailed for six months and fined 2,000 shekels ($550).
In October 2018, a military judge convicted a 45-year-old man of what the court considered a “hostile terrorist offense” – namely, “he went on a family picnic holding a hunting rifle with one bullet in it.”
In a plea deal, “he was sentenced to two months in prison and fined 3,000 shekels ($800).”
Haaretz article notes how “experience shows that a Palestinian cannot be released from detention or prison without paying the fine imposed on him, regardless of the offense’s severity.”
“The fines imposed on Palestinians in the military courts are extremely exaggerated, both in their scope compared with the size of the population and its economic ability,” Combatants for Peace told Haaretz.
According to Days of Palestine, a member of the group also told the paper that in the Jordan Valley region of the West Bank, fines to release tractors that Israeli occupation authorities “had confiscated from farmers [forbidding them to cultivate their land] sometimes reached 4,000 shekels ($1,100).”
According to a report by Haaretz, “the money is deposited in the Israeli Civil Administration’s accounts in the West Bank and is managed by an officer also subordinate to Israeli finance ministry.”
The report cites examples of fines, such as the December 2018 conviction of a Beit Ummar resident, for throwing a stone at Israeli occupation forces “from an unknown distance.”
Although “the stone did not hit anyone and caused no damage,” he was jailed for six months and fined 2,000 shekels ($550).
In October 2018, a military judge convicted a 45-year-old man of what the court considered a “hostile terrorist offense” – namely, “he went on a family picnic holding a hunting rifle with one bullet in it.”
In a plea deal, “he was sentenced to two months in prison and fined 3,000 shekels ($800).”
Haaretz article notes how “experience shows that a Palestinian cannot be released from detention or prison without paying the fine imposed on him, regardless of the offense’s severity.”
“The fines imposed on Palestinians in the military courts are extremely exaggerated, both in their scope compared with the size of the population and its economic ability,” Combatants for Peace told Haaretz.
According to Days of Palestine, a member of the group also told the paper that in the Jordan Valley region of the West Bank, fines to release tractors that Israeli occupation authorities “had confiscated from farmers [forbidding them to cultivate their land] sometimes reached 4,000 shekels ($1,100).”

The Israeli army destroyed the crops of Palestinian farmers when its bulldozers opened a one-kilometer-long road in the area of al-Burj, Northern Jordan Valley, PNN reports.
Hundreds of Israeli soldiers later, Tuesday morning, carried out military drills on the agricultural land that belongs to Palestinians.
The army also forced 13 families in the area of Ibziq, north of Tubas, to leave their homes for the same purpose, according to WAFA.
Hundreds of Israeli soldiers later, Tuesday morning, carried out military drills on the agricultural land that belongs to Palestinians.
The army also forced 13 families in the area of Ibziq, north of Tubas, to leave their homes for the same purpose, according to WAFA.