14 june 2014
Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip demonstrate Israeli "confusion" amid an ongoing search to find three Israeli settlers missing in the West Bank, the Hamas movement said Saturday.
Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said in a statement that Israel's targeting of the al-Qassam Brigades military base in the southern Gaza Strip reflects "deterioration of the morale of the Israeli leadership."
"The Israeli leadership is attempting to repair its morale after the incident in Hebron," Barhoum said, referring to the disappearance of three Jewish settlers from the southern West Bank in what some believe may have been a kidnapping.
The Israeli army said it launched airstrikes on two military sites in southern Gaza on Saturday in response to rockets fired from the Strip into Israel.
No injuries from either strike were reported.
Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said in a statement that Israel's targeting of the al-Qassam Brigades military base in the southern Gaza Strip reflects "deterioration of the morale of the Israeli leadership."
"The Israeli leadership is attempting to repair its morale after the incident in Hebron," Barhoum said, referring to the disappearance of three Jewish settlers from the southern West Bank in what some believe may have been a kidnapping.
The Israeli army said it launched airstrikes on two military sites in southern Gaza on Saturday in response to rockets fired from the Strip into Israel.
No injuries from either strike were reported.
Osama Shahin
The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) stormed the home of head of Palestine Center for Prisoners Studies Osama Shahin, 30, in al-Khalil on Friday.
A PIC reporter said that IOF soldiers handed Shahin a notification for interrogation at the Israeli intelligence headquarters in Etzion settlement.
Shahin said that Israeli soldiers had stormed his home twice this week and handed him a similar notification. He added that he went for the rendezvous and waited for 6 hours but with no interrogation taking place.
Shahin, a father of a baby, is a former detainee in Israeli and PA jails. He suffers from ankle sprain.
In a similar incident, IOF soldiers stormed on Friday the home of Dr. Mohammed Ghazal, a university lecturer in Nablus.
Family sources reported that a large number of IOF soldiers surrounded and stormed the house late at night before detaining Dr. Ghazal in a separate room.
An Israeli officer questioned Dr. Ghazal for long hours concerning reconciliation file and Palestinian prisoners' ongoing hunger strike.
Dr. Ghazal, a lecturer at An-Najah University in Nablus, had spent nearly a year in administrative detention.
Meanwhile, IOF swept on Saturday morning areas in the vicinity of the Arab American University in Jenin, where Israeli soldiers deployed in the main street leading to the University.
Combing operations were also carried out in the surrounding areas, eyewitnesses told the PIC reporter.
The sources pointed out that the occupation forces stopped some vehicles carrying university students, and checked their identity cards, in addition to raiding the outskirts of Jenin.
The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) stormed the home of head of Palestine Center for Prisoners Studies Osama Shahin, 30, in al-Khalil on Friday.
A PIC reporter said that IOF soldiers handed Shahin a notification for interrogation at the Israeli intelligence headquarters in Etzion settlement.
Shahin said that Israeli soldiers had stormed his home twice this week and handed him a similar notification. He added that he went for the rendezvous and waited for 6 hours but with no interrogation taking place.
Shahin, a father of a baby, is a former detainee in Israeli and PA jails. He suffers from ankle sprain.
In a similar incident, IOF soldiers stormed on Friday the home of Dr. Mohammed Ghazal, a university lecturer in Nablus.
Family sources reported that a large number of IOF soldiers surrounded and stormed the house late at night before detaining Dr. Ghazal in a separate room.
An Israeli officer questioned Dr. Ghazal for long hours concerning reconciliation file and Palestinian prisoners' ongoing hunger strike.
Dr. Ghazal, a lecturer at An-Najah University in Nablus, had spent nearly a year in administrative detention.
Meanwhile, IOF swept on Saturday morning areas in the vicinity of the Arab American University in Jenin, where Israeli soldiers deployed in the main street leading to the University.
Combing operations were also carried out in the surrounding areas, eyewitnesses told the PIC reporter.
The sources pointed out that the occupation forces stopped some vehicles carrying university students, and checked their identity cards, in addition to raiding the outskirts of Jenin.
Israeli warplanes on Saturday morning targeted two open areas in the southern governorates of Khan Younis and Rafah, causing no injuries. Al Ray correspondent said that a missile launched by an Israeli drone on a training zone that belongs to the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas Movement, east of Khan Younis, followed by an Apache helicopter missile.
The raids caused partial damage to the property inside the site, he said.
In Rafah, our correspondent reported that an Apache helicopter targeted an agricultural land near the Saudi neighborhood in Tal al-Sultan area, west of the city center.
Ambulances arrived at the scene but found no casualties as a result of the raid.
Palestinian media reported unusual deployment of the Israeli military vehicles along the east borders of the Gaza Strip on Friday overnight and an intensified flying of Israeli drones.
The Israeli occupation army declared Friday that three teenagers went ‘missing’ near Gush Etzion settlement near Hebron.
In a brief statement following the announcement of the missing Israelis, who are expected to be kidnaped by Palestinians, the spokesperson of the Al Qassam Brigades said “The [Israeli] occupier will not rest [comfortably] as long as a West Bank resistance fighter is alive.”
Abu Obaida did not claim responsibility for the kidnapping.
The raids caused partial damage to the property inside the site, he said.
In Rafah, our correspondent reported that an Apache helicopter targeted an agricultural land near the Saudi neighborhood in Tal al-Sultan area, west of the city center.
Ambulances arrived at the scene but found no casualties as a result of the raid.
Palestinian media reported unusual deployment of the Israeli military vehicles along the east borders of the Gaza Strip on Friday overnight and an intensified flying of Israeli drones.
The Israeli occupation army declared Friday that three teenagers went ‘missing’ near Gush Etzion settlement near Hebron.
In a brief statement following the announcement of the missing Israelis, who are expected to be kidnaped by Palestinians, the spokesperson of the Al Qassam Brigades said “The [Israeli] occupier will not rest [comfortably] as long as a West Bank resistance fighter is alive.”
Abu Obaida did not claim responsibility for the kidnapping.
The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) raided at dawn Saturday different parts of al-Khalil city under air reconnaissance and helicopters cover, as part of the search operation for the three missing settlers. More than 100 military vehicles and helicopters took part in the search operation in different towns and neighborhoods in al-Khalil, where dozens of homes were stormed and violently searched.
On the other hand, local sources said that Israeli forces stormed Palestinian shops after blowing up their doors in order to confiscate their surveillance cameras.
The IOF earlier declared the disappearance of three Israeli settlers from Gush Etzion settlement while driving from it to occupied Jerusalem.
Meanwhile, local sources in Halhul town, northern al-Khalil, said that violent clashes broke out on Friday night when IOF soldiers tried to confiscate the monitoring cameras installed in the town’s streets as part of the search operation.
Eyewitnesses reported that a Palestinian youth was hit with live bullets in his chest, while another young man was wounded by a rubber bullet. Arrests were also reported during the clashes.
Similar clashes and raid operations were carried out on Friday night in Dura town, Fawwar refugee camp and different parts of al-Khalil city.
A state of anticipation has prevailed among Palestinians following the three Israeli settlers went missing.
Meanwhile, Yediot Ahronot Hebrew newspaper said that an aggressive operation is expected to be carried out by the IOF in the West Bank, particularly in al-Khalil.
This operation is already well underway, collecting information and preventing potential movement by “possible kidnappers”, according to the newspaper.
“Afterwards will undoubtedly come the moment when the kidnappers announce their demands and then will come the hour that will test the entire Israeli government”, Yediot Ahronot continued.
Israeli army spokesman Moti Almoz said that the army did not receive the needed information and details concerning the “kidnapping” of the three youths, but he suggested that everyone should be patient.
In a press conference held on Friday, he said the search activities require intelligence and operational sensitivity.
Israeli military sources said that the incident is expected to be a “kidnap operation” with the aim of trading those settlers with Palestinian prisoners.
On the other hand, Israeli media sources said that Palestinian prisoners have celebrated in their cells in Israeli jails following news reporting the missing of three settlers.
Palestinian prisoners had previously called for the kidnapping Israelis to achieve their release, the sources added.
Palestinian administrative detainees have been on hunger strike for 53 days demanding an end to their illegal administrative detention amid their serious health deterioration.
Meanwhile, Yediot Ahronot revealed Friday evening that an Israeli settler had survived the “kidnap operation” after he came out late.
The son of Bnei Akiva religious schools' director Danni Hershenberg suffered a nervous breakdown after his colleagues went missing especially that he was supposed to be with them.
On the other hand, local sources said that Israeli forces stormed Palestinian shops after blowing up their doors in order to confiscate their surveillance cameras.
The IOF earlier declared the disappearance of three Israeli settlers from Gush Etzion settlement while driving from it to occupied Jerusalem.
Meanwhile, local sources in Halhul town, northern al-Khalil, said that violent clashes broke out on Friday night when IOF soldiers tried to confiscate the monitoring cameras installed in the town’s streets as part of the search operation.
Eyewitnesses reported that a Palestinian youth was hit with live bullets in his chest, while another young man was wounded by a rubber bullet. Arrests were also reported during the clashes.
Similar clashes and raid operations were carried out on Friday night in Dura town, Fawwar refugee camp and different parts of al-Khalil city.
A state of anticipation has prevailed among Palestinians following the three Israeli settlers went missing.
Meanwhile, Yediot Ahronot Hebrew newspaper said that an aggressive operation is expected to be carried out by the IOF in the West Bank, particularly in al-Khalil.
This operation is already well underway, collecting information and preventing potential movement by “possible kidnappers”, according to the newspaper.
“Afterwards will undoubtedly come the moment when the kidnappers announce their demands and then will come the hour that will test the entire Israeli government”, Yediot Ahronot continued.
Israeli army spokesman Moti Almoz said that the army did not receive the needed information and details concerning the “kidnapping” of the three youths, but he suggested that everyone should be patient.
In a press conference held on Friday, he said the search activities require intelligence and operational sensitivity.
Israeli military sources said that the incident is expected to be a “kidnap operation” with the aim of trading those settlers with Palestinian prisoners.
On the other hand, Israeli media sources said that Palestinian prisoners have celebrated in their cells in Israeli jails following news reporting the missing of three settlers.
Palestinian prisoners had previously called for the kidnapping Israelis to achieve their release, the sources added.
Palestinian administrative detainees have been on hunger strike for 53 days demanding an end to their illegal administrative detention amid their serious health deterioration.
Meanwhile, Yediot Ahronot revealed Friday evening that an Israeli settler had survived the “kidnap operation” after he came out late.
The son of Bnei Akiva religious schools' director Danni Hershenberg suffered a nervous breakdown after his colleagues went missing especially that he was supposed to be with them.
Car Attacked By Settlers - Archive
Palestinian medical sources said three Palestinian were moderately wounded after a number of settlers hurled stones at their car while driving near the entrance of Jensafut village, near the northern West Bank city of Qalqilia.
Eyewitnesses stated that a number of settlers, of the Karmie Shomron illegal settlement, attacked the car causing the driver to lose control, before the vehicle crashed and flipped over.
The three wounded Palestinians have been identified as Abdul-Qader Hussein Samhan, Mohamad Abdullah Omran, and Mohammad Ahmad Hussein.
They were moved to the Darwish Nazzal Governmental hospital in Qalqilia.
Several settler attacks have also been reported in different parts of the occupied West Bank.
Palestinian medical sources said three Palestinian were moderately wounded after a number of settlers hurled stones at their car while driving near the entrance of Jensafut village, near the northern West Bank city of Qalqilia.
Eyewitnesses stated that a number of settlers, of the Karmie Shomron illegal settlement, attacked the car causing the driver to lose control, before the vehicle crashed and flipped over.
The three wounded Palestinians have been identified as Abdul-Qader Hussein Samhan, Mohamad Abdullah Omran, and Mohammad Ahmad Hussein.
They were moved to the Darwish Nazzal Governmental hospital in Qalqilia.
Several settler attacks have also been reported in different parts of the occupied West Bank.
In the Gaza Strip, Israeli navy boats opened fire at several Palestinian fishing boats, near the Gaza City shore, causing extensive damage but no injuries.
Israeli Naval Boats Open Fire on Gaza Palestinian Fishermen
Israeli naval boats opened fire Saturday on Palestinian fishing boats offshore Gaza. According to WAFA reporter, gunfire was heard in the northwest of Gaza; it transpired that Israeli naval boats opened fire on Palestinian fishermen and their boats offshore al-Sudaniya, located to the northwest of Gaza, causing extensive damage to the boats but no injuries were reported.
Israel has restricted the fishing zone designated for the Palestinians to three nautical miles, violating an Egyptian–brokered cease fire agreement signed in November 2012 stipulating that Israel increase the fishing zone to six nautical miles, which reduced fishermen’s intake.
The current three-nautical-mile fishing zone falls drastically short of the twenty nautical miles allocated to Palestinian fishermen in the 1993 Oslo Accords.
3 Palestinians injured in settlers’ attack
Jewish settlers threw stones at a Palestinian car while passing near the entrance of Jensafout village along the Qalqiliya-Nablus road injuring three citizens. Local sources in the village said that settlers from the Kermi Shomron settlement pelted the car with stones and the driver could not control the car that turned turtle as a result.
They said that the three citizens were carried to hospital in Qalqiliya city where their condition was described as “moderate”.
Israeli settlers hurl stones at Palestinian cars, try to kidnap child
A horde of Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian vehicles on Friday evening and Saturday morning on the passageways between Nablus and Ramallah, while another Israeli mob tried to kidnap a Palestinian child in al-Khalil. A group of extremist settlers stationed at the main crossroads between Nablus and Ramallah, including the Yitzhar, Zaatara, and Eli crossroads, and hurled stones at Palestinian vehicles, eye-witnesses told a PIC correspondent.
The windshields of more than 15 cars were smashed in the process.
In a related event, another mob of frenzied settlers attempted to kidnap a Palestinian child in Susia, east of Yatta, in the West Bank province of al-Khalil on Saturday.
“The settlers kept chasing my son Bashar along a distance of 50 meters in an attempt to snatch him,” the child’s father told a PIC correspondent.
As the Israeli occupation forces came by, the Palestinian natives were forced out of the spot, the father added.
A state of remarkable anxiety overwhelmed the natives for fear of other projected sadistic assaults to be launched by the Israeli settlers.
Israeli Naval Boats Open Fire on Gaza Palestinian Fishermen
Israeli naval boats opened fire Saturday on Palestinian fishing boats offshore Gaza. According to WAFA reporter, gunfire was heard in the northwest of Gaza; it transpired that Israeli naval boats opened fire on Palestinian fishermen and their boats offshore al-Sudaniya, located to the northwest of Gaza, causing extensive damage to the boats but no injuries were reported.
Israel has restricted the fishing zone designated for the Palestinians to three nautical miles, violating an Egyptian–brokered cease fire agreement signed in November 2012 stipulating that Israel increase the fishing zone to six nautical miles, which reduced fishermen’s intake.
The current three-nautical-mile fishing zone falls drastically short of the twenty nautical miles allocated to Palestinian fishermen in the 1993 Oslo Accords.
3 Palestinians injured in settlers’ attack
Jewish settlers threw stones at a Palestinian car while passing near the entrance of Jensafout village along the Qalqiliya-Nablus road injuring three citizens. Local sources in the village said that settlers from the Kermi Shomron settlement pelted the car with stones and the driver could not control the car that turned turtle as a result.
They said that the three citizens were carried to hospital in Qalqiliya city where their condition was described as “moderate”.
Israeli settlers hurl stones at Palestinian cars, try to kidnap child
A horde of Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian vehicles on Friday evening and Saturday morning on the passageways between Nablus and Ramallah, while another Israeli mob tried to kidnap a Palestinian child in al-Khalil. A group of extremist settlers stationed at the main crossroads between Nablus and Ramallah, including the Yitzhar, Zaatara, and Eli crossroads, and hurled stones at Palestinian vehicles, eye-witnesses told a PIC correspondent.
The windshields of more than 15 cars were smashed in the process.
In a related event, another mob of frenzied settlers attempted to kidnap a Palestinian child in Susia, east of Yatta, in the West Bank province of al-Khalil on Saturday.
“The settlers kept chasing my son Bashar along a distance of 50 meters in an attempt to snatch him,” the child’s father told a PIC correspondent.
As the Israeli occupation forces came by, the Palestinian natives were forced out of the spot, the father added.
A state of remarkable anxiety overwhelmed the natives for fear of other projected sadistic assaults to be launched by the Israeli settlers.
Palestinian sources, in the besieged coastal region, have reported that several Israeli war jets have been flying over various areas of the Gaza Strip, while Israel also ordered all border and trade terminals in Gaza shut, as the search for three Israeli settlers, missing in the West Bank, continues amidst the assumption they have been kidnapped, and might have been moved to Gaza.
The Milad News Agency has reported that several Israeli fighter jets, and drones, have been seen over various areas in Gaza, especially over the eastern part of the Gaza Strip, the closest to Hebron, in the southern part of the occupied West Bank, although without geographical contiguity.
Milad also stated that different armed resistance groups have vacated their camps and military centers, while field leaders, even political leaders, are now hiding due to possible Israeli military strikes, assassinations and the possibility of a massive military invasion.
Israel announced all border and trade terminals in the Gaza Strip are now closed until further notice.
The missing Israeli settlers are students of a Yeshiva near the Gush Etzion settlement in the occupied West Bank.
Israeli daily Haaretz has reported that two of the missing settlers are 16 years old, one is 19, and that one of them holds U.S. citizenship.
It added that the army is trying to determine whether the stolen Israeli car that was found torched in the southern Hebron Hill has anything to do with the issue, and that Israel’s security devices and the army believe “the kidnapping was carried out by a well-organized, and well-prepared cell”.
Israel believes the “fighters who abducted the settlers might try to move them to Gaza”.
The army also installed dozens of roadblocks in different parts of the West Bank, especially in the Hebron district, and in different areas in the Bethlehem district.
Israeli TV, Channel 2, has reported that the Ministerial Cabinet of the Israeli government held a session discussing the “abduction” of the three soldiers”, and stated that the search could last for several days, or even weeks, especially since Israel, so far, has no information that could get it closer to pinpointing their location.
Israel said that the disappearance of the three Israelis comes as “a result of the interim unity government”, following the reconciliation and unity deal, signed between Fateh and Hamas movements.
Although no factions have claimed responsibility for the abduction of the three Israelis, Israeli sources alleged “a Salafist Islamic group, affiliated with al-Qaida, claimed responsibility for the abduction”. The report was never confirmed.
The three Israelis were hitchhiking in the West Bank on Thursday when they went missing.
The Milad News Agency has reported that several Israeli fighter jets, and drones, have been seen over various areas in Gaza, especially over the eastern part of the Gaza Strip, the closest to Hebron, in the southern part of the occupied West Bank, although without geographical contiguity.
Milad also stated that different armed resistance groups have vacated their camps and military centers, while field leaders, even political leaders, are now hiding due to possible Israeli military strikes, assassinations and the possibility of a massive military invasion.
Israel announced all border and trade terminals in the Gaza Strip are now closed until further notice.
The missing Israeli settlers are students of a Yeshiva near the Gush Etzion settlement in the occupied West Bank.
Israeli daily Haaretz has reported that two of the missing settlers are 16 years old, one is 19, and that one of them holds U.S. citizenship.
It added that the army is trying to determine whether the stolen Israeli car that was found torched in the southern Hebron Hill has anything to do with the issue, and that Israel’s security devices and the army believe “the kidnapping was carried out by a well-organized, and well-prepared cell”.
Israel believes the “fighters who abducted the settlers might try to move them to Gaza”.
The army also installed dozens of roadblocks in different parts of the West Bank, especially in the Hebron district, and in different areas in the Bethlehem district.
Israeli TV, Channel 2, has reported that the Ministerial Cabinet of the Israeli government held a session discussing the “abduction” of the three soldiers”, and stated that the search could last for several days, or even weeks, especially since Israel, so far, has no information that could get it closer to pinpointing their location.
Israel said that the disappearance of the three Israelis comes as “a result of the interim unity government”, following the reconciliation and unity deal, signed between Fateh and Hamas movements.
Although no factions have claimed responsibility for the abduction of the three Israelis, Israeli sources alleged “a Salafist Islamic group, affiliated with al-Qaida, claimed responsibility for the abduction”. The report was never confirmed.
The three Israelis were hitchhiking in the West Bank on Thursday when they went missing.
13 june 2014
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Three journalists were injured and dozens suffered from excessive tear gas inhalation as Israeli forces dispersed a weekly protest in Bilin village near Ramallah.
Israeli forces fired rubber-coated steel bullets, stun grenades, and tear gas at protesters as they neared their lands near the wall, injuring photographer Abbas al-Momini with a rubber-coated steel bullet in the pelvis, and Palestine TV cameraman Shamekh Jagoub and photographer Haitham Khatib with tear-gas canisters in the abdomen. Participants raised Palestinian flags and posters of prisoners as they marched throughout the village chanting songs for unity and in support of prisoners. Protesters wore prisoner uniforms and played football in front of the prison. |
Hundreds of Israeli soldiers have been undertaking military training exercises in the south Hebron hills for the past five days, causing widespread restrictions and disruptions for local Palestinian residents.
Operation Dove, a peace group which works in the area, said Thursday that hundreds of soldiers have deployed by military bases near the villages of Jinba and Mirkez.
The Israeli soldiers have set up tents to sleep in and store military equipment and are deploying in groups within nearby villages to carry out training exercises.
Local Palestinians have suffered restrictions on their freedom of movement during the training, with several agricultural fields damaged by the troops.
Shepherds reported being chased away with their flocks by Israeli soldiers, while others say they were assaulted, Operation Dove said.
During the night, local villagers say the Israeli soldiers have been using explosives and have even entered the villages, frightening residents.
The south Hebron hills, under full Israeli control in Area C, are home to around 4,000 Palestinians.
Located near the Green Line, a combination of illegal and violent settler outposts, designated firing zones, and demolition orders put immense pressure on the community.
Operation Dove, a peace group which works in the area, said Thursday that hundreds of soldiers have deployed by military bases near the villages of Jinba and Mirkez.
The Israeli soldiers have set up tents to sleep in and store military equipment and are deploying in groups within nearby villages to carry out training exercises.
Local Palestinians have suffered restrictions on their freedom of movement during the training, with several agricultural fields damaged by the troops.
Shepherds reported being chased away with their flocks by Israeli soldiers, while others say they were assaulted, Operation Dove said.
During the night, local villagers say the Israeli soldiers have been using explosives and have even entered the villages, frightening residents.
The south Hebron hills, under full Israeli control in Area C, are home to around 4,000 Palestinians.
Located near the Green Line, a combination of illegal and violent settler outposts, designated firing zones, and demolition orders put immense pressure on the community.
Clashes broke out in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of al-Issawiya on Thursday for the 5th day in a row, locals said.
Mohammad Abu al-Homs, a monitoring committee official, told Ma'an that a large number of Israeli forces raided al-Issawiya after being deployed for hours at the entrance to the neighborhood.
Israeli forces raided house, shops and physically assaulted several people, leading al-Homs to say that the neighborhood had turned into a "training ground" for Israel.
Over 25 people from the neighborhood have been detained by Israeli forces over the past five days, he added.
Mohammad Abu al-Homs, a monitoring committee official, told Ma'an that a large number of Israeli forces raided al-Issawiya after being deployed for hours at the entrance to the neighborhood.
Israeli forces raided house, shops and physically assaulted several people, leading al-Homs to say that the neighborhood had turned into a "training ground" for Israel.
Over 25 people from the neighborhood have been detained by Israeli forces over the past five days, he added.
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Twenty-eight Palestinians were injured and eight detained during clashes that broke out after Israeli forces stormed the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City after Friday prayers.
Israeli forces stormed the holy compound, which is the third-holiest site in Islam, after worshipers began marching in support of more than 125 Palestinian administrative detainees who have been on hunger strike for more than 50 days. The march left through the Moroccan and Chain Gates, at which point groups of special forces began firing stun grenades and rubber-coated steel bullets toward worshipers. |
Special forces also began beating worshipers with batons, including ambulance crews and journalists on the scene, while another Israeli unit besieged the worshipers in the Al-Aqsa Qibli Mosque and closed the doors and launched stun grenades and pepper gas into it.
A fourth unit besieged worshipers inside the Marwani Mosque, and fired stun grenades and gas at worshipers, who were mostly elderly, according to the Al-Aqsa mosque director.
After the end of clashes, police set up a checkpoint at the doors of the Al-Aqsa mosque and began checking identity cards. They detained eight Palestinians during the checks, according to police.
A doctor at Al-Aqsa medical clinic Ziad Sorour said that 28 Palestinians were injured by shrapnel from the stun grenades. The wounds were primarily in the back and the legs and he described them as "moderate" injuries.
Sorour said that the majority of the injured were treated in two of the Al-Aqsa compound's clinics, at the Cotton Sellers' Gate and at the Al-Aqsa Qibli Mosque, and none were taken to hospitals.
Al-Aqsa mosque director Sheikh Omar al-Kiswani told Ma'an that the clashes lasted about 15 minutes, and that four elderly men were injured in the Qibli Mosque. Dozens also suffered from excessive tear gas inhalation when they were trapped in the Al-Aqsa Qibli and Marwani mosques.
The President of the Supreme Islamic Council and preacher at the Al-Aqsa mosque Sheikh Akrama Sabri told Ma'an that "the military incursion of Al-Aqsa is unjustifiable and aims to violate the sanctity of the mosque and spread terror in the hearts of worshipers," condemning the continuous attacks on Al-Aqsa that he said violate Palestinian freedom of worship.
A 2012 US State Department report decried Israeli restrictions on Palestinian freedom to worship in Jerusalem, saying: "Strict closures and curfews imposed by the Israeli government negatively affected residents' ability to practice their religion at holy sites, including the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, as well as the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem."
Al-Aqsa is located in East Jerusalem, a part of the internationally recognized Palestinian territories that have been occupied by the Israeli military since 1967.
A fourth unit besieged worshipers inside the Marwani Mosque, and fired stun grenades and gas at worshipers, who were mostly elderly, according to the Al-Aqsa mosque director.
After the end of clashes, police set up a checkpoint at the doors of the Al-Aqsa mosque and began checking identity cards. They detained eight Palestinians during the checks, according to police.
A doctor at Al-Aqsa medical clinic Ziad Sorour said that 28 Palestinians were injured by shrapnel from the stun grenades. The wounds were primarily in the back and the legs and he described them as "moderate" injuries.
Sorour said that the majority of the injured were treated in two of the Al-Aqsa compound's clinics, at the Cotton Sellers' Gate and at the Al-Aqsa Qibli Mosque, and none were taken to hospitals.
Al-Aqsa mosque director Sheikh Omar al-Kiswani told Ma'an that the clashes lasted about 15 minutes, and that four elderly men were injured in the Qibli Mosque. Dozens also suffered from excessive tear gas inhalation when they were trapped in the Al-Aqsa Qibli and Marwani mosques.
The President of the Supreme Islamic Council and preacher at the Al-Aqsa mosque Sheikh Akrama Sabri told Ma'an that "the military incursion of Al-Aqsa is unjustifiable and aims to violate the sanctity of the mosque and spread terror in the hearts of worshipers," condemning the continuous attacks on Al-Aqsa that he said violate Palestinian freedom of worship.
A 2012 US State Department report decried Israeli restrictions on Palestinian freedom to worship in Jerusalem, saying: "Strict closures and curfews imposed by the Israeli government negatively affected residents' ability to practice their religion at holy sites, including the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, as well as the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem."
Al-Aqsa is located in East Jerusalem, a part of the internationally recognized Palestinian territories that have been occupied by the Israeli military since 1967.
12 june 2014
The town of al-‘Eesawiyya, in occupied Jerusalem, remains under tight siege by Israeli military and police for the fifth day, under constant attacks and home invasions, while several Palestinians have been kidnapped, and many assaulted.
Several residents in the town told the WAFA Palestinian News Agency that the soldiers are also using a helicopter during the invasions, and that undercover soldiers have repeatedly army infiltrated the town.
WAFA added that the army fired flares, several gas bombs, concussion grenades and rubber-coated metal bullets, causing several injuries among the residents and medics.
Raed Abu Ryala al-‘Eesawy told WAFA that the army broke into a number of homes and stores, attacked and kidnapped several Palestinians.
Some of the kidnapped have been identified as: Ali Derbas, 38, after being assaulted in his own home, Mohammad Rajab Obeid, 19, from a restaurant where he works, in addition to Lufty Khalil Dary, 44, Yasser Darwish and Mohammad Jebril Darwish.
The soldiers also assaulted dozens of residents, including women and children, while dozens received treatment for the effects of tear gas inhalation in local clinics.
Local sources said tension is still mounting in the town amidst fears of further invasions and assaults, targeting the residents, their homes and property, especially since the army and police began imposing fines, writing tickets and increasing restrictions on residents.
The police started an extensive campaign against the Palestinian town and its residents five days ago, searching dozens of homes and stores, and kidnapping several residents.
On Wednesday evening, soldiers invaded the town, broke into several homes and stores, violently searched them and kidnapped five Palestinians.
Several residents in the town told the WAFA Palestinian News Agency that the soldiers are also using a helicopter during the invasions, and that undercover soldiers have repeatedly army infiltrated the town.
WAFA added that the army fired flares, several gas bombs, concussion grenades and rubber-coated metal bullets, causing several injuries among the residents and medics.
Raed Abu Ryala al-‘Eesawy told WAFA that the army broke into a number of homes and stores, attacked and kidnapped several Palestinians.
Some of the kidnapped have been identified as: Ali Derbas, 38, after being assaulted in his own home, Mohammad Rajab Obeid, 19, from a restaurant where he works, in addition to Lufty Khalil Dary, 44, Yasser Darwish and Mohammad Jebril Darwish.
The soldiers also assaulted dozens of residents, including women and children, while dozens received treatment for the effects of tear gas inhalation in local clinics.
Local sources said tension is still mounting in the town amidst fears of further invasions and assaults, targeting the residents, their homes and property, especially since the army and police began imposing fines, writing tickets and increasing restrictions on residents.
The police started an extensive campaign against the Palestinian town and its residents five days ago, searching dozens of homes and stores, and kidnapping several residents.
On Wednesday evening, soldiers invaded the town, broke into several homes and stores, violently searched them and kidnapped five Palestinians.
Three Palestinian citizens of Israel were arrested on Sunday morning during a confrontation with Israeli police and land authorities who had raided an activist camp in the village of Iqrit, located near the Lebanese border in Israel’s northern Galilee region. The three young men who were arrested were Wlaa Sbeit, Nidal Khoury and Jerias Khayyat.
In October 1948, the Israeli military occupied Iqrit and expelled its uniformly Christian residents. Three years later, the Israeli High Court ruled that the displaced could return to the village, but a unit of soldiers demolished all of the homes and structures with dynamite and other explosives on Christmas Day in 1951.
Only an historical church and a graveyard were left intact and remain standing today, and the majority of the refugees were “internally displaced” — exiled from Iqrit yet remaining in the newly-born state of Israel and taking citizenship there.
Since their forced displacement, many of Iqrit’s residents and their descendants have visited the village’s remains annually to pay homage to their heritage and to observe Christian holidays and the anniversary of their displacement.
In August 2012, a group of about a dozen Palestinian youth activists — all of them descendants of refugees from the village — returned to Iqrit and began to rebuild parts of the destroyed village. Since then, they’ve been living there in tents and the lone church.
“Violent behavior”
Speaking to MintPress News by telephone, Shadia Sbeit, a media spokesperson for Iqrit, said Israel Land Administration officers and police forces arrived in the village at around 10:00 am on Sunday.
“We think it was because the day before we had held a memorial for a family that was displaced from Iqrit [in 1948],” she explained.
Land management officers uprooted the activists’ garden and confiscated their belongings, including furniture, camping supplies, food and personal items, as well as mattresses and blankets.
When the young people attempted to prevent Israel Land Administration officers from taking their personal belongings, such as cellphones, police officers intervened to arrest them.
“There was violent behavior and unnecessary force,” Sbeit said. “Three people were kicking Nidal [Khoury] while he was on the ground.”
Wlaa Sbeit, Khoury and Khayyat were subsequently arrested and taken to an Israeli police station in Nahariya for interrogation.
“Problematic arrests”
“The first problem is that upon arrival the land authorities and police did not introduce themselves or explain why they were present,” Oram Mahameed, an attorney for Adalah Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights, told MintPress. “This is required by Israeli law.”
He explained that when he visited them after their interrogation there were “bruises on the face and the arms” on two of the three young men, who were given “charges related to preventing Israeli authorities from completing their work.”
“It seems that they hit them solely for shouting, and shouting isn’t an offense,” Mahameed continued, adding that it was the first documented case he was aware of in which land authorities — not police — were the ones using force.
On Monday morning, a local magistrate court decided to extend Khoury’s detention until Wednesday, and the other two detainees were released and put under house arrest until June 16.
The judge also ruled that Wlaa Sbeit and Jerias Khayyat are prohibited from entering Iqrit for 60 days — a type of ruling that is generally reserved for situations in which an individual or group poses a threat to others.
“But they are not a danger to Iqrit,” Mahameed said. “It is clear that this was a political decision by Israeli authorities who did not like the youth’s return to the village.”
Although Shadia Sbeit, the group’s spokesperson, said this was the first case of arrests in the last two years, Iqrit-based activists described a pattern of harassment by Israeli authorities, including monitoring, regular visits from Israel Land Administration officers and unofficial police interviews.
Returned to “difficult conditions”
In recent years, activists have held summer camps in the village to teach the history of Iqrit and other issues pertaining to Palestinians in Israel.
In August 2012, a group of youth activists decided not to wait for the permission of Israeli authorities and returned to the village on their own. Since then, they have hosted regular cultural events, holiday celebrations and political forums there.
Ameer Ashqar, 20, is among those who have lived in Iqrit on a regular basis since August 2012. His grandparents were driven out of Iqrit in 1948 and resettled in the nearby town of Kafr Yassif, asrecently reported by MintPress.
Ashqar explained that the activists have faced “difficult conditions” since their return, particularly during the last two winters. “We get electricity from a solar system, so we were getting electricity for maybe a quarter of a day or half a day at best,” he told MintPress.
“Our generators didn’t always work, and the weather conditions were very rough at times,” he added.
Ashqar and the others have resided permanently in a single room in the church, which had to be renovated in order to make it safe enough for living. “Every now and then the church floods because of the rain and snow during the winter.”
“The police always come and bother us,” he said. “They come, ask questions, and confiscate property. They come and take whatever they want and leave.”
During this year’sEaster celebrations in Iqrit, a number Israeli surveillance drones hummed overhead, including two that crashed in a nearby field.
“Scared”
Elsewhere, activists have adopted the young people’s tactic in Iqrit toreturn to Kafr Baram, another destroyed Galilee village hugging the Israel-Lebanon border.
For months, Israeli authorities demolished anything activists in Kafr Baram built and uprooted their plants and gardens. Despite an appeal to stay on their land, an Israeli court last week ruled against them and ordered their eviction for Wednesday.
Nadim Nashif, director of Balanda, a Haifa-based Palestinian advocacy group, said that Israel is afraid that what has happened to Iqrit could spread to other demolished Palestinian areas across present-day Israel.
Israel “does not want to allow a precedent of people returning to their villages and staying there permanently, so they are increasingly aggressively pushing them out,” Nashif told MintPress.
“The government wants to tell them they can go to their villages but not stay there in any kind of permanent way… it’s scared that more [internal] refugees will begin returning to their ancestral lands.”
Around 25 percent of Palestinians who remained in the state of Israel after its establishment were internally displaced, added Nashif, who hopes to see similar initiatives spread to other depopulated Palestinians areas in Israel.
Israeli policies are often sculpted to maintain a Jewish majority in the country, including some 50 laws discriminating against the 1.7 million Palestinian citizens of Israel by limiting their political expression and access to land and other state resources, according to Adalah’s online database.
In March, Israel’s hardline right-wing foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman proposed transferring part of Israel’s minority of Palestinian citizens from their land to a potential Palestinian state.
“Israel doesn’t like that the return of Palestinians to Iqrit, and Kafr Baram has raised international awareness about the issue of internal refugees,” Nashif concluded.
In October 1948, the Israeli military occupied Iqrit and expelled its uniformly Christian residents. Three years later, the Israeli High Court ruled that the displaced could return to the village, but a unit of soldiers demolished all of the homes and structures with dynamite and other explosives on Christmas Day in 1951.
Only an historical church and a graveyard were left intact and remain standing today, and the majority of the refugees were “internally displaced” — exiled from Iqrit yet remaining in the newly-born state of Israel and taking citizenship there.
Since their forced displacement, many of Iqrit’s residents and their descendants have visited the village’s remains annually to pay homage to their heritage and to observe Christian holidays and the anniversary of their displacement.
In August 2012, a group of about a dozen Palestinian youth activists — all of them descendants of refugees from the village — returned to Iqrit and began to rebuild parts of the destroyed village. Since then, they’ve been living there in tents and the lone church.
“Violent behavior”
Speaking to MintPress News by telephone, Shadia Sbeit, a media spokesperson for Iqrit, said Israel Land Administration officers and police forces arrived in the village at around 10:00 am on Sunday.
“We think it was because the day before we had held a memorial for a family that was displaced from Iqrit [in 1948],” she explained.
Land management officers uprooted the activists’ garden and confiscated their belongings, including furniture, camping supplies, food and personal items, as well as mattresses and blankets.
When the young people attempted to prevent Israel Land Administration officers from taking their personal belongings, such as cellphones, police officers intervened to arrest them.
“There was violent behavior and unnecessary force,” Sbeit said. “Three people were kicking Nidal [Khoury] while he was on the ground.”
Wlaa Sbeit, Khoury and Khayyat were subsequently arrested and taken to an Israeli police station in Nahariya for interrogation.
“Problematic arrests”
“The first problem is that upon arrival the land authorities and police did not introduce themselves or explain why they were present,” Oram Mahameed, an attorney for Adalah Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights, told MintPress. “This is required by Israeli law.”
He explained that when he visited them after their interrogation there were “bruises on the face and the arms” on two of the three young men, who were given “charges related to preventing Israeli authorities from completing their work.”
“It seems that they hit them solely for shouting, and shouting isn’t an offense,” Mahameed continued, adding that it was the first documented case he was aware of in which land authorities — not police — were the ones using force.
On Monday morning, a local magistrate court decided to extend Khoury’s detention until Wednesday, and the other two detainees were released and put under house arrest until June 16.
The judge also ruled that Wlaa Sbeit and Jerias Khayyat are prohibited from entering Iqrit for 60 days — a type of ruling that is generally reserved for situations in which an individual or group poses a threat to others.
“But they are not a danger to Iqrit,” Mahameed said. “It is clear that this was a political decision by Israeli authorities who did not like the youth’s return to the village.”
Although Shadia Sbeit, the group’s spokesperson, said this was the first case of arrests in the last two years, Iqrit-based activists described a pattern of harassment by Israeli authorities, including monitoring, regular visits from Israel Land Administration officers and unofficial police interviews.
Returned to “difficult conditions”
In recent years, activists have held summer camps in the village to teach the history of Iqrit and other issues pertaining to Palestinians in Israel.
In August 2012, a group of youth activists decided not to wait for the permission of Israeli authorities and returned to the village on their own. Since then, they have hosted regular cultural events, holiday celebrations and political forums there.
Ameer Ashqar, 20, is among those who have lived in Iqrit on a regular basis since August 2012. His grandparents were driven out of Iqrit in 1948 and resettled in the nearby town of Kafr Yassif, asrecently reported by MintPress.
Ashqar explained that the activists have faced “difficult conditions” since their return, particularly during the last two winters. “We get electricity from a solar system, so we were getting electricity for maybe a quarter of a day or half a day at best,” he told MintPress.
“Our generators didn’t always work, and the weather conditions were very rough at times,” he added.
Ashqar and the others have resided permanently in a single room in the church, which had to be renovated in order to make it safe enough for living. “Every now and then the church floods because of the rain and snow during the winter.”
“The police always come and bother us,” he said. “They come, ask questions, and confiscate property. They come and take whatever they want and leave.”
During this year’sEaster celebrations in Iqrit, a number Israeli surveillance drones hummed overhead, including two that crashed in a nearby field.
“Scared”
Elsewhere, activists have adopted the young people’s tactic in Iqrit toreturn to Kafr Baram, another destroyed Galilee village hugging the Israel-Lebanon border.
For months, Israeli authorities demolished anything activists in Kafr Baram built and uprooted their plants and gardens. Despite an appeal to stay on their land, an Israeli court last week ruled against them and ordered their eviction for Wednesday.
Nadim Nashif, director of Balanda, a Haifa-based Palestinian advocacy group, said that Israel is afraid that what has happened to Iqrit could spread to other demolished Palestinian areas across present-day Israel.
Israel “does not want to allow a precedent of people returning to their villages and staying there permanently, so they are increasingly aggressively pushing them out,” Nashif told MintPress.
“The government wants to tell them they can go to their villages but not stay there in any kind of permanent way… it’s scared that more [internal] refugees will begin returning to their ancestral lands.”
Around 25 percent of Palestinians who remained in the state of Israel after its establishment were internally displaced, added Nashif, who hopes to see similar initiatives spread to other depopulated Palestinians areas in Israel.
Israeli policies are often sculpted to maintain a Jewish majority in the country, including some 50 laws discriminating against the 1.7 million Palestinian citizens of Israel by limiting their political expression and access to land and other state resources, according to Adalah’s online database.
In March, Israel’s hardline right-wing foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman proposed transferring part of Israel’s minority of Palestinian citizens from their land to a potential Palestinian state.
“Israel doesn’t like that the return of Palestinians to Iqrit, and Kafr Baram has raised international awareness about the issue of internal refugees,” Nashif concluded.
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Activists on Wednesday evening found several developed listening devices planted by Israeli army in Bdran village to the west of Ramallah in the West Bank. Activists said that the forces planted high-tech listening devices in cement blocks near the apartheid separation wall in the village lands.
Other listening devices may be existed in the area with different shapes, the activists warned called on the village residents to take caution and report on any suspicious objects,. Occupation forces routinely carry out arrest raids in the village to arrest young men and boys, depending on photos taken for them before. |
Israeli soldiers invaded the al-Eesawiyya town, in occupied East Jerusalem, broke into several homes and stores, violently searched them, and kidnapped five Palestinians.
The Maan News Agency has reported that the invasion is the fourth consecutive invasion in the past four days, and that Israeli police officers ticketed several Palestinians at random.
Maan said that the soldiers broke into several homes and stores, and kidnapped Ali Derbas, 38, after beating him in his own home, Mohammad Rajab Obeid, 19, from a restaurant where he works, in addition to Khalil Dary, 44, Yasser Darwish and Mohammad Jebril Darwish; all kidnapped from their homes after the soldiers broke into them.
Eyewitnesses said the soldiers assaulted several women and children during the invasion, adding that clashes later took place between the soldiers and local youths.
The army fired concussion grenades, gas bombs and rubber-coated metal bullets; no injuries.
The Maan News Agency has reported that the invasion is the fourth consecutive invasion in the past four days, and that Israeli police officers ticketed several Palestinians at random.
Maan said that the soldiers broke into several homes and stores, and kidnapped Ali Derbas, 38, after beating him in his own home, Mohammad Rajab Obeid, 19, from a restaurant where he works, in addition to Khalil Dary, 44, Yasser Darwish and Mohammad Jebril Darwish; all kidnapped from their homes after the soldiers broke into them.
Eyewitnesses said the soldiers assaulted several women and children during the invasion, adding that clashes later took place between the soldiers and local youths.
The army fired concussion grenades, gas bombs and rubber-coated metal bullets; no injuries.