27 june 2014
Israeli police on Friday dispersed a protest on “the day of wrath” in Umm al-Fahm in support of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
Hundreds of Palestinian-Israelis rallied in Umm al-Fahm, but they were stopped by Israeli forces after they closed down Wadi Arra street.
Clashes then broke out as police fired tear gas and stun grenades at protesters who responded by throwing rocks.
Sources in the village said that four people were injured.
Police spokeswoman Luba Samari said in a statement that two police officers were lightly wounded and treated at the scene.
Hundreds of Palestinian-Israelis rallied in Umm al-Fahm, but they were stopped by Israeli forces after they closed down Wadi Arra street.
Clashes then broke out as police fired tear gas and stun grenades at protesters who responded by throwing rocks.
Sources in the village said that four people were injured.
Police spokeswoman Luba Samari said in a statement that two police officers were lightly wounded and treated at the scene.
The UN security council failed for the second time to condemn Israel over its large-scale military operation in search of the three missing settlers in the West Bank.
According to Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, Arab and Muslim countries group, that includes Saudi Arabia and Iran, Qatar, and Kuwait, officially demanded the UN security council to condemn Israel's military operation in the West Bank.
The Arab-Muslim request was tabled by Russian ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin during a closed session of the UN security council.
This was the second time in the past few days that the Arab-Muslim attempt to condemn Israel at the security council fails, the newspaper said.
According to Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, Arab and Muslim countries group, that includes Saudi Arabia and Iran, Qatar, and Kuwait, officially demanded the UN security council to condemn Israel's military operation in the West Bank.
The Arab-Muslim request was tabled by Russian ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin during a closed session of the UN security council.
This was the second time in the past few days that the Arab-Muslim attempt to condemn Israel at the security council fails, the newspaper said.
Israeli forces attacked a weekly Nabi Salih weekly march against the occupation and settlements on Friday.
The march set off from al-Shuhadaa square in the center of the village. Dozens of Palestinians, foreigners and activists participated in the march.
Protesters repeated slogans against the occupation, settlements and "international silence," and they called for national unity.
Clashes erupted after the Israeli forces suppressed the march using tear-gas canisters and rubber-coated steel bullets. Youths threw rocks at soldiers.
Dozens choked on tear gas and some were injured with rubber-coated bullets, and randomly fired tear-gas canisters set fire to nearby lands.
Israeli forces had shut the entrances of the village early Friday with dozens of soldiers inside declaring it a military zone.
During a weekly march in Bilin in Ramallah, meanwhile, dozens of Palestinians and foreigners were injured and choked on tear gas when Israeli forces suppressed the march.
Israeli forces fired rubber-coated steel bullets, tear-gas canisters and sound grenades at protestors when they approached the separation wall.
The march was called for by the Popular Resistance Committees in Bilin, where protestors waved the Palestinian flag, the Algerian flag, pictures of prisoners. They held signs against administrative detention, and they shouted slogans and national songs.
Another weekly march was attacked by Israeli forces in al-Maasara village in Bethlehem.
The march was called by the Popular Resistance Committees of the village in support of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, and hunger striking prisoner Ayman Itbeish, who has been on strike in Israeli jails for more than 100 days.
Dozens of locals and foreigners participated in the march; they held Palestinian flags and repeated slogans in solidarity with the prisoners.
Israeli soldiers at the entrance of the village prevented the protestors from reaching the nearby confiscated lands and declared the entrance of the village a closed military zone.
The march set off from al-Shuhadaa square in the center of the village. Dozens of Palestinians, foreigners and activists participated in the march.
Protesters repeated slogans against the occupation, settlements and "international silence," and they called for national unity.
Clashes erupted after the Israeli forces suppressed the march using tear-gas canisters and rubber-coated steel bullets. Youths threw rocks at soldiers.
Dozens choked on tear gas and some were injured with rubber-coated bullets, and randomly fired tear-gas canisters set fire to nearby lands.
Israeli forces had shut the entrances of the village early Friday with dozens of soldiers inside declaring it a military zone.
During a weekly march in Bilin in Ramallah, meanwhile, dozens of Palestinians and foreigners were injured and choked on tear gas when Israeli forces suppressed the march.
Israeli forces fired rubber-coated steel bullets, tear-gas canisters and sound grenades at protestors when they approached the separation wall.
The march was called for by the Popular Resistance Committees in Bilin, where protestors waved the Palestinian flag, the Algerian flag, pictures of prisoners. They held signs against administrative detention, and they shouted slogans and national songs.
Another weekly march was attacked by Israeli forces in al-Maasara village in Bethlehem.
The march was called by the Popular Resistance Committees of the village in support of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, and hunger striking prisoner Ayman Itbeish, who has been on strike in Israeli jails for more than 100 days.
Dozens of locals and foreigners participated in the march; they held Palestinian flags and repeated slogans in solidarity with the prisoners.
Israeli soldiers at the entrance of the village prevented the protestors from reaching the nearby confiscated lands and declared the entrance of the village a closed military zone.
Israeli forces detained a 17-year-old Palestinian after assaulting and injuring him in his head, face and hands, a Palestinian Prisoner’s Society lawyer said.
PPS lawyer Anan Khader, who visited the detainee, Taher Ziad Taher Aqraa, at Huwwara detention center, said that Israeli forces fired tear-gas canisters at Aqraa while he was watering his family’s plants in Qalqiliya, assaulted him with the butts of their rifles and boots, and hit him in the head, face and body.
The lawyer added that Aqraa was moved near a settlement for treatment and would later be taken for interrogation.
The director of the PPS highlighted that these assaults against Palestinians and especially minors are “barbarian” and that Israel does not respect laws or the rights of children.
PPS lawyer Anan Khader, who visited the detainee, Taher Ziad Taher Aqraa, at Huwwara detention center, said that Israeli forces fired tear-gas canisters at Aqraa while he was watering his family’s plants in Qalqiliya, assaulted him with the butts of their rifles and boots, and hit him in the head, face and body.
The lawyer added that Aqraa was moved near a settlement for treatment and would later be taken for interrogation.
The director of the PPS highlighted that these assaults against Palestinians and especially minors are “barbarian” and that Israel does not respect laws or the rights of children.
Two Palestinians were killed and two others wounded on Friday afternoon after the Israeli air force bombed the car they were traveling in near al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza City.
A Ma'an reporter said that an Israeli plane had targeted a black Kia vehicle, killing Muhammad al-Fasih and Usama al-Hassumi.
The two were apparently affiliated with the Nasser Saladin Brigades, the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees.
The Popular Resistance Committees is a Gaza-based militant group that opposes negotiations with Israel and frequently fires rockets from Gaza.
It has no connection to the local popular resistance committees against the separation wall that exist throughout the West Bank.
An Israeli military spokeswoman did not return calls seeking comment.
The strike comes amid increased tensions across the region as an Israeli military campaign across the West Bank enters into its second week.
The campaign, which is the largest deployment since the early 2000s, has left eight Palestinians dead, more than 130 wounded, and more than 560 detained.
It has also meant near nightly airstrikes for Gaza, as Israeli forces pound the besieged coastal enclave in response to rocket attacks by local militants angry about the West Bank offensive.
A Ma'an reporter said that an Israeli plane had targeted a black Kia vehicle, killing Muhammad al-Fasih and Usama al-Hassumi.
The two were apparently affiliated with the Nasser Saladin Brigades, the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees.
The Popular Resistance Committees is a Gaza-based militant group that opposes negotiations with Israel and frequently fires rockets from Gaza.
It has no connection to the local popular resistance committees against the separation wall that exist throughout the West Bank.
An Israeli military spokeswoman did not return calls seeking comment.
The strike comes amid increased tensions across the region as an Israeli military campaign across the West Bank enters into its second week.
The campaign, which is the largest deployment since the early 2000s, has left eight Palestinians dead, more than 130 wounded, and more than 560 detained.
It has also meant near nightly airstrikes for Gaza, as Israeli forces pound the besieged coastal enclave in response to rocket attacks by local militants angry about the West Bank offensive.
Rubhiya Abd al-Rahman Darwish, 75, was taken to the hospital after Israeli forces fired Skunk water with a cannon into her home
By Alex Shams
Rubhiya Abd al-Rahman Darwish was taking a nap on the couch of her family home on Sunday when she was awoken with a start by the sound of shattering glass.
"I saw a burst of water breaking through the window, when suddenly an intense odor hit and I passed out from the smell, so they had to take me to the hospital," the 75-year-old woman told Ma'an during an interview in her small apartment in Bethlehem's Aida refugee camp.
Although she is used to Israeli soldiers throwing tear gas canisters into the alleyway beside her home, Darwish was surprised to find that this time they had come with a cannon to hose down the sides of local homes with putrid-smelling water.
"I went to the hospital and they gave me a shot, but the poison started coming out of my mouth and nose. I started screaming because my back was hurting, and it hasn't stopped," the elderly woman, who said she suffers from from diabetes, hypertension, and a heart condition, told Ma'an.
"All my clothes were ruined, and we had to throw all the quilts and mattress out," she said.
"Why do they do this to us?"
Locals say that the daytime attack on their homes was completely unprovoked and unexpected, and many expressed shock at the fact that Israeli forces had covered the camp in a layer of an unknown, repulsive substance.
Known as "Skunk," the Israeli military has been using the chemical since at least 2008 as a form of non-lethal crowd control. Palestinians, however, simply call the liquid "shit," after the smell that can stay for weeks on clothes, body, walls, and furniture.
An Israeli military spokesperson contacted by Ma'an did not return a request for comment on Skunk's chemical makeup, or on the purpose of the raid. However, Israeli human rights watchdog B'Tselem says that the military has in the past said that the substance is organic, although it has not divulged its ingredients.
A B'Tselem report on Skunk also confirmed the recurrent usage of the substance -- which causes nausea and vomiting, especially among children and the elderly -- against Palestinian homes, "raising suspicions that the Skunk is being used punitively against villages where regular weekly demonstrations are held."
Near the camp, on what used to be the main Hebron-Jerusalem road but is now cut off by the Israeli separation wall, a large water cannon was even installed earlier this year beside a military tower to spray the water at locals, highlighting how quickly Skunk has been integrated into the Israeli army's arsenal.
Salah Ajarma, the director of a nearby cultural center, said that a group of children had been walking about fifty meters from where the separation wall cuts through the camp when Israeli soldiers started firing tear gas canisters at them.
"The soldiers then came down and followed the kids," Ajarma told Ma'an during an interview at his office at the Lajee Center, "and as we stood watching from the center with a group of visiting foreigners and journalists, the soldiers began cursing vile words at us and at the children in Arabic, to make sure we understood."
In the week before the attack, Israeli soldiers had thrown tear gas canisters at groups of children when they gathered near the center after morning exams ended, and so Ajarma said he was expecting the usual threats again on Sunday.
"I was surprised, though, when the soldiers came back with a big vehicle with a pump on top of it and they started spraying everything with a chemical substance with a terrible smell," he said.
"They weren't trying to hit to protesters, there weren't even any protesters in the street! They shot at the homes of people and into their windows, regardless of whether they were open or closed," he added.
After the raid, residents emerged from their homes, horrified to find the alleyways and homes of the camps covered in a foul-smelling coat of liquid. For the next few hours locals attempted to clean it up, and while they managed to get rid of the worst of the smell, when a Ma'an reporter visited the scene three days later, the smell still hung heavy in the air.
"People don't even know what the substance in is in order to clean it," Ajarma said, "and we do not know what the chemicals are made of. We tried to clean it with chlorine but there was a chemical reaction, giving off an even more killer smell," he added.
Noting that this is the third time the army has sprayed Skunk in the camp, Ajarma said that in the winter the smell had stayed for 10-15 days, and a row of trees hit by the water had since shriveled up and died.
"This chemical could have effects that we don't know about, on the nature in the camp, and on the future generations," Ajarma worried.
Nidal Al-Azza, a volunteer at the Lajee Center, told Ma'an that the soldiers were "having fun" throughout the raid, mocking residents as they shot the cannon into homes and even taking pictures of themselves beside it.
"There was a dog above one of the walls on the street where they were spraying houses, and so they aimed at it and started shooting the water," Al-Azza said.
"After almost hitting it twice, the dog started barking, and on the third time the soldiers hit the dog straight on with the water cannon and they all started laughing," he added.
Al-Azza said that although he was unsure of the purpose of the Israeli raid, he believed that they had done it in order to pressure residents into stopping protesters in the camp, who often throw rocks at the Israeli soldiers stationed nearby.
"They win sometimes, and people get mad and tell the protesters to stop," Al-Azza told Ma'an.
"But other people reject this pressure and say: 'What does it mean to hit us with this kind of stuff?' It's not just an insult, it's as if we're not even human beings!"
Al-Azza said that many people, however, were resigned to such attacks by military forces. "It's useless to say that this is against our human rights, because that is not a language that Israel knows. What use is it to ask why they do this to people?"
Darwish, the 75-year-old woman who passed out after soldiers sprayed the putrid-smelling water into her window, expressed her resignation at the repeated Israeli attacks on her home.
A refugee originally from the village of Malha near Jerusalem, Darwish was forced to leave her home with her family when Zionist forces came and destroyed the town in 1948.
"Where should we do?" she asked, sitting on the couch of her small apartment as she looked up at the roughly-patched up window broken by the water cannon.
"They kicked us out of our homeland, and what are we supposed to do? Where are we supposed to go?"
By Alex Shams
Rubhiya Abd al-Rahman Darwish was taking a nap on the couch of her family home on Sunday when she was awoken with a start by the sound of shattering glass.
"I saw a burst of water breaking through the window, when suddenly an intense odor hit and I passed out from the smell, so they had to take me to the hospital," the 75-year-old woman told Ma'an during an interview in her small apartment in Bethlehem's Aida refugee camp.
Although she is used to Israeli soldiers throwing tear gas canisters into the alleyway beside her home, Darwish was surprised to find that this time they had come with a cannon to hose down the sides of local homes with putrid-smelling water.
"I went to the hospital and they gave me a shot, but the poison started coming out of my mouth and nose. I started screaming because my back was hurting, and it hasn't stopped," the elderly woman, who said she suffers from from diabetes, hypertension, and a heart condition, told Ma'an.
"All my clothes were ruined, and we had to throw all the quilts and mattress out," she said.
"Why do they do this to us?"
Locals say that the daytime attack on their homes was completely unprovoked and unexpected, and many expressed shock at the fact that Israeli forces had covered the camp in a layer of an unknown, repulsive substance.
Known as "Skunk," the Israeli military has been using the chemical since at least 2008 as a form of non-lethal crowd control. Palestinians, however, simply call the liquid "shit," after the smell that can stay for weeks on clothes, body, walls, and furniture.
An Israeli military spokesperson contacted by Ma'an did not return a request for comment on Skunk's chemical makeup, or on the purpose of the raid. However, Israeli human rights watchdog B'Tselem says that the military has in the past said that the substance is organic, although it has not divulged its ingredients.
A B'Tselem report on Skunk also confirmed the recurrent usage of the substance -- which causes nausea and vomiting, especially among children and the elderly -- against Palestinian homes, "raising suspicions that the Skunk is being used punitively against villages where regular weekly demonstrations are held."
Near the camp, on what used to be the main Hebron-Jerusalem road but is now cut off by the Israeli separation wall, a large water cannon was even installed earlier this year beside a military tower to spray the water at locals, highlighting how quickly Skunk has been integrated into the Israeli army's arsenal.
Salah Ajarma, the director of a nearby cultural center, said that a group of children had been walking about fifty meters from where the separation wall cuts through the camp when Israeli soldiers started firing tear gas canisters at them.
"The soldiers then came down and followed the kids," Ajarma told Ma'an during an interview at his office at the Lajee Center, "and as we stood watching from the center with a group of visiting foreigners and journalists, the soldiers began cursing vile words at us and at the children in Arabic, to make sure we understood."
In the week before the attack, Israeli soldiers had thrown tear gas canisters at groups of children when they gathered near the center after morning exams ended, and so Ajarma said he was expecting the usual threats again on Sunday.
"I was surprised, though, when the soldiers came back with a big vehicle with a pump on top of it and they started spraying everything with a chemical substance with a terrible smell," he said.
"They weren't trying to hit to protesters, there weren't even any protesters in the street! They shot at the homes of people and into their windows, regardless of whether they were open or closed," he added.
After the raid, residents emerged from their homes, horrified to find the alleyways and homes of the camps covered in a foul-smelling coat of liquid. For the next few hours locals attempted to clean it up, and while they managed to get rid of the worst of the smell, when a Ma'an reporter visited the scene three days later, the smell still hung heavy in the air.
"People don't even know what the substance in is in order to clean it," Ajarma said, "and we do not know what the chemicals are made of. We tried to clean it with chlorine but there was a chemical reaction, giving off an even more killer smell," he added.
Noting that this is the third time the army has sprayed Skunk in the camp, Ajarma said that in the winter the smell had stayed for 10-15 days, and a row of trees hit by the water had since shriveled up and died.
"This chemical could have effects that we don't know about, on the nature in the camp, and on the future generations," Ajarma worried.
Nidal Al-Azza, a volunteer at the Lajee Center, told Ma'an that the soldiers were "having fun" throughout the raid, mocking residents as they shot the cannon into homes and even taking pictures of themselves beside it.
"There was a dog above one of the walls on the street where they were spraying houses, and so they aimed at it and started shooting the water," Al-Azza said.
"After almost hitting it twice, the dog started barking, and on the third time the soldiers hit the dog straight on with the water cannon and they all started laughing," he added.
Al-Azza said that although he was unsure of the purpose of the Israeli raid, he believed that they had done it in order to pressure residents into stopping protesters in the camp, who often throw rocks at the Israeli soldiers stationed nearby.
"They win sometimes, and people get mad and tell the protesters to stop," Al-Azza told Ma'an.
"But other people reject this pressure and say: 'What does it mean to hit us with this kind of stuff?' It's not just an insult, it's as if we're not even human beings!"
Al-Azza said that many people, however, were resigned to such attacks by military forces. "It's useless to say that this is against our human rights, because that is not a language that Israel knows. What use is it to ask why they do this to people?"
Darwish, the 75-year-old woman who passed out after soldiers sprayed the putrid-smelling water into her window, expressed her resignation at the repeated Israeli attacks on her home.
A refugee originally from the village of Malha near Jerusalem, Darwish was forced to leave her home with her family when Zionist forces came and destroyed the town in 1948.
"Where should we do?" she asked, sitting on the couch of her small apartment as she looked up at the roughly-patched up window broken by the water cannon.
"They kicked us out of our homeland, and what are we supposed to do? Where are we supposed to go?"
Three Palestinians were injured early Friday during clashes with Israeli soldiers near Balata refugee camp near Nablus.
Israeli forces raided the camp just east of Nablus, leading to clashes as local youths protested the incursion.
Israeli soldiers shot live fire and rubber-coated steel bullets at the youths, injuring three.
Palestinian medical sources said that Ahmad Hashash, 23, was hit in his left foot, Muhammad Khader Abdo, 20, was hit in his right hand, and Muhammad Dweikat, 20, was hit with a rubber-coated bullet in his left eye.
The three were then taken for treatment to Rafidia Public hospital in Nablus, where their injuries were described as "moderate."
Israeli forces also raided the Nablus-area villages of Salem, Aqraba and Qablan over night, invading several houses. No detentions, however, were reported during those raids.
The home of Hamas official Ahmad al-Hajj Ali, in al-Ein refugee camp, also known as Ein Beit el Ma, in western Nablus, was also raided over night, for the third time since the beginning of an Israeli arrest campaign three weeks ago.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said that Israeli forces were in Nablus overnight, with no further details.
Israel launched a massive arrest campaign across the West Bank after three Israeli youths went missing from a settlement in the occupied West Bank two weeks ago.
Authorities said that the youths were "kidnapped" and blamed Hamas, an accusation the group has vigorously denied.
Since the beginning of the campaign, eight Palestinians have died during Israeli raids, more than 125 have been injured, and more than 566 have been detained.
Israeli forces raided the camp just east of Nablus, leading to clashes as local youths protested the incursion.
Israeli soldiers shot live fire and rubber-coated steel bullets at the youths, injuring three.
Palestinian medical sources said that Ahmad Hashash, 23, was hit in his left foot, Muhammad Khader Abdo, 20, was hit in his right hand, and Muhammad Dweikat, 20, was hit with a rubber-coated bullet in his left eye.
The three were then taken for treatment to Rafidia Public hospital in Nablus, where their injuries were described as "moderate."
Israeli forces also raided the Nablus-area villages of Salem, Aqraba and Qablan over night, invading several houses. No detentions, however, were reported during those raids.
The home of Hamas official Ahmad al-Hajj Ali, in al-Ein refugee camp, also known as Ein Beit el Ma, in western Nablus, was also raided over night, for the third time since the beginning of an Israeli arrest campaign three weeks ago.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said that Israeli forces were in Nablus overnight, with no further details.
Israel launched a massive arrest campaign across the West Bank after three Israeli youths went missing from a settlement in the occupied West Bank two weeks ago.
Authorities said that the youths were "kidnapped" and blamed Hamas, an accusation the group has vigorously denied.
Since the beginning of the campaign, eight Palestinians have died during Israeli raids, more than 125 have been injured, and more than 566 have been detained.
Six Palestinians were injured on Friday morning after Israeli tanks fired into the southern Gaza Strip from the border, medical officials said.
Spokesman for the Ministry of Health in Gaza Ashraf al-Qidra told Ma'an that five Palestinians including a pregnant woman and an 11-year-old boy were injured by the artillery fire, and were taken to the Algerian Hospital in Abasan al-Kabeera southeast of Khan Younis.
Al-Qidra added that the sixth victim, a 27-year-old, was taken to the Gaza European Hospital with broken fingers suffered as a result of the attack.
Eyewitnesses said that the tank fire damaged the Hoda and Taqwa mosques in the area as well as a number of nearby homes.
The Israeli military confirmed the attack in a statement, saying that the tank fire came in response to an explosion targeting Israeli forces "operating adjacent to the security fence" in the area.
"The force responded with tank fire towards lookout posts used to guide the attack against the forces," the military said.
It added that no Israeli forces had been wounded in the initial explosion.
Spokesman for the Ministry of Health in Gaza Ashraf al-Qidra told Ma'an that five Palestinians including a pregnant woman and an 11-year-old boy were injured by the artillery fire, and were taken to the Algerian Hospital in Abasan al-Kabeera southeast of Khan Younis.
Al-Qidra added that the sixth victim, a 27-year-old, was taken to the Gaza European Hospital with broken fingers suffered as a result of the attack.
Eyewitnesses said that the tank fire damaged the Hoda and Taqwa mosques in the area as well as a number of nearby homes.
The Israeli military confirmed the attack in a statement, saying that the tank fire came in response to an explosion targeting Israeli forces "operating adjacent to the security fence" in the area.
"The force responded with tank fire towards lookout posts used to guide the attack against the forces," the military said.
It added that no Israeli forces had been wounded in the initial explosion.
Israeli forces have launched air strikes on the Gaza Strip on a near nightly basis for the last two weeks, as rockets fired from the strip into Israel have increased in response to a major arrest campaign in the West Bank that has led to the deaths of 8 Palestinians and the detention of 566.
The Gaza Strip has been under a severe economic blockade imposed by Israel since 2007.
Child, Pregnant Woman, Among Five Injured in Israeli Bombardment
Palestinian medical sources have reported, on Friday, that five Palestinians, including a child and a pregnant woman, have been injured when the Israeli army fired artillery shells into Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
Dr. Ashraf al-Qodra, spokesperson of the Ministry of Health in Gaza, stated that the five Palestinians, including an eleven-year old child, and the pregnant woman, were wounded were the soldiers fired several shells into a neighborhood east of Khuza’a town.
He added that the wounded Palestinians were moved to the Algerian Hospital and the Gaza-European European Hospital.
Eyewitnesses said Israeli shells also struck several homes and two mosques, causing excessive property damage.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army alleged that an explosive charge detonated near a military vehicle driving close to the border fence, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
The army said the explosive caused damage to the vehicle, but no injuries, and that the soldiers fired a number of artillery shells into the area.
The Gaza Strip has been under a severe economic blockade imposed by Israel since 2007.
Child, Pregnant Woman, Among Five Injured in Israeli Bombardment
Palestinian medical sources have reported, on Friday, that five Palestinians, including a child and a pregnant woman, have been injured when the Israeli army fired artillery shells into Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
Dr. Ashraf al-Qodra, spokesperson of the Ministry of Health in Gaza, stated that the five Palestinians, including an eleven-year old child, and the pregnant woman, were wounded were the soldiers fired several shells into a neighborhood east of Khuza’a town.
He added that the wounded Palestinians were moved to the Algerian Hospital and the Gaza-European European Hospital.
Eyewitnesses said Israeli shells also struck several homes and two mosques, causing excessive property damage.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army alleged that an explosive charge detonated near a military vehicle driving close to the border fence, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
The army said the explosive caused damage to the vehicle, but no injuries, and that the soldiers fired a number of artillery shells into the area.
Hebron Home Ransacked By Israeli Soldiers
A number of fanatic Israeli settlers, and soldiers, stormed late on Thursday at night a number of homes belong to members of the al-Ja’bary family in the southern West Bank city of Hebron, wounding several Palestinians, including children, and kidnapping ten.
Local sources said the invaders stormed homes in the al-Ras neighborhood, in the center of Hebron city, and assaulted the families.
Medical sources said several children were among the wounded, and that all injured Palestinians have been moved to the Hebron Governmental Hospital, suffering mild-to-moderate injuries.
Resident Bassam al-Ja’bary told the Maan News Agency that dozens of settlers, accompanied by a large number of Israeli soldiers, stormed the homes, and assaulted the families.
He added that the soldiers were holding knives, waving them close to the children, and threatened for kill them.
When the family tried to stop them, the army kidnapped approximately ten Palestinians.
Local medics arrived at the scene and moved the following residents to the local Hebron Hospital:
Hoda Bassam al-Ja’bary - suffered a cut in her arm by a soldier carrying an army knife, Noura Fahd al-Ja’bary, Dalal Mohammad al-Ja’bary, Thareefa Mohammad al-Ja’bary, Eid Bassam al-Ja’bary, Morad Mohammad Fahd al-Ja’bary, Nasser Fahd al-Ja’bary, Rami Mohammad Sa’id al-Ja’bary; most of them are children.
Bassam identified some of the kidnapped Palestinians as Fahd Nasser al-Ja’bary, Fares Nasser al-Ja’bary, Tha’er Nasser al-Ja’bary, Makroom Nasser al-Ja’bary, and Radi Bassam al-Ja’bary.
He said the soldiers assaulted the kidnapped family members, taking them prisoner while they were still bleeding.
10 wounded as Israeli settlers, soldiers attack Hebron family
Israeli settlers accompanied by soldiers early Friday raided a Palestinian home in Hebron and assaulted ten members of a family, who were mostly children, before soldiers detained ten other individuals from the house.
Settlers from the Kiryat Arba settlement near Hebron attacked houses belonging to the al-Jaabari family in al-Ras neighborhood of central Hebron while they were escorted by a large number of soldiers.
The family told Ma'an that "soldiers tried to kill the innocent children with a dagger, and when the family fought back they detained some of them."
The injured were taken to Hebron Public Hospital in ambulances and private cars. Most of the those wounded in the assault were children.
Among the 10 individuals were: Huda Bassam al-Jaabari, Noura Fahd al-Jaabari, Dalal Muhammad al-Jaabari, Tharifa Muhammad al-Jaabari, Eid Bassam al-Jaabari, Murad Muhammad Fahd al-Jaabari, Nasser Fahd al-Jaabari and Rami Muhammad Said al-Jaabari.
Their injuries were reported as light and moderate.
Israeli forces also detained 10 individuals from the family during the assault, including: Fahd Nasser al-Jaabari, Fares Nasser al-Jaabari, Thair Nasser al-Jaabari, Makroum Nasser al-Jaabari and Radi Bassam al-Jaabari.
An Israeli army spokeswoman said that a "clash" had ocurred between the settlers and Palestinians in which "mutual rock-hurling took place."
She added that when Israeli soldiers arrived to "disperse the riot, Palestinians started throwing rocks and tried to seize their weapons."
She said that two soldiers were injured by Palestinians, while eight Palestinians were detained by the soldiers in the course of the riot.
No Israeli settlers were detained, however.
The Jaabari family lives on land directly beside the Jewish settlement areas of Kiryat Arba and Givat Haavot.
The family used to live in the area of Givat Haavot, before they were evicted in order to make way for the Jewish-only settlement.
The family is regularly subjected to harassment by local settlers who seek to expand areas under their control, and the army has rarely acted on family complaints about the incidents.
A number of fanatic Israeli settlers, and soldiers, stormed late on Thursday at night a number of homes belong to members of the al-Ja’bary family in the southern West Bank city of Hebron, wounding several Palestinians, including children, and kidnapping ten.
Local sources said the invaders stormed homes in the al-Ras neighborhood, in the center of Hebron city, and assaulted the families.
Medical sources said several children were among the wounded, and that all injured Palestinians have been moved to the Hebron Governmental Hospital, suffering mild-to-moderate injuries.
Resident Bassam al-Ja’bary told the Maan News Agency that dozens of settlers, accompanied by a large number of Israeli soldiers, stormed the homes, and assaulted the families.
He added that the soldiers were holding knives, waving them close to the children, and threatened for kill them.
When the family tried to stop them, the army kidnapped approximately ten Palestinians.
Local medics arrived at the scene and moved the following residents to the local Hebron Hospital:
Hoda Bassam al-Ja’bary - suffered a cut in her arm by a soldier carrying an army knife, Noura Fahd al-Ja’bary, Dalal Mohammad al-Ja’bary, Thareefa Mohammad al-Ja’bary, Eid Bassam al-Ja’bary, Morad Mohammad Fahd al-Ja’bary, Nasser Fahd al-Ja’bary, Rami Mohammad Sa’id al-Ja’bary; most of them are children.
Bassam identified some of the kidnapped Palestinians as Fahd Nasser al-Ja’bary, Fares Nasser al-Ja’bary, Tha’er Nasser al-Ja’bary, Makroom Nasser al-Ja’bary, and Radi Bassam al-Ja’bary.
He said the soldiers assaulted the kidnapped family members, taking them prisoner while they were still bleeding.
10 wounded as Israeli settlers, soldiers attack Hebron family
Israeli settlers accompanied by soldiers early Friday raided a Palestinian home in Hebron and assaulted ten members of a family, who were mostly children, before soldiers detained ten other individuals from the house.
Settlers from the Kiryat Arba settlement near Hebron attacked houses belonging to the al-Jaabari family in al-Ras neighborhood of central Hebron while they were escorted by a large number of soldiers.
The family told Ma'an that "soldiers tried to kill the innocent children with a dagger, and when the family fought back they detained some of them."
The injured were taken to Hebron Public Hospital in ambulances and private cars. Most of the those wounded in the assault were children.
Among the 10 individuals were: Huda Bassam al-Jaabari, Noura Fahd al-Jaabari, Dalal Muhammad al-Jaabari, Tharifa Muhammad al-Jaabari, Eid Bassam al-Jaabari, Murad Muhammad Fahd al-Jaabari, Nasser Fahd al-Jaabari and Rami Muhammad Said al-Jaabari.
Their injuries were reported as light and moderate.
Israeli forces also detained 10 individuals from the family during the assault, including: Fahd Nasser al-Jaabari, Fares Nasser al-Jaabari, Thair Nasser al-Jaabari, Makroum Nasser al-Jaabari and Radi Bassam al-Jaabari.
An Israeli army spokeswoman said that a "clash" had ocurred between the settlers and Palestinians in which "mutual rock-hurling took place."
She added that when Israeli soldiers arrived to "disperse the riot, Palestinians started throwing rocks and tried to seize their weapons."
She said that two soldiers were injured by Palestinians, while eight Palestinians were detained by the soldiers in the course of the riot.
No Israeli settlers were detained, however.
The Jaabari family lives on land directly beside the Jewish settlement areas of Kiryat Arba and Givat Haavot.
The family used to live in the area of Givat Haavot, before they were evicted in order to make way for the Jewish-only settlement.
The family is regularly subjected to harassment by local settlers who seek to expand areas under their control, and the army has rarely acted on family complaints about the incidents.
Israeli forces raided several Palestinian-owned shops, today, in the village of Bataʻa Ash-Sahrqiya, to the south of Jenin, provoking residents and inciting further violence, according to security sources.
During the raid, forces ransacked several shops and seized the contents of a shoe store, according to WAFA Palestinian News and Info Agency.
Following the assault, clashes erupted in which soldiers fired tear gas canisters and stun grenades toward residents.
Several locals suffered from tear gas inhalation, and two Palestinians were abducted by Israeli forces.
The city of Jenin, known in ancient times as "Ein-Jenin", overlooks the Jordan Valley and is part of the internationally recognized Palestinian Territory occupied by Israel since 1967.
During the raid, forces ransacked several shops and seized the contents of a shoe store, according to WAFA Palestinian News and Info Agency.
Following the assault, clashes erupted in which soldiers fired tear gas canisters and stun grenades toward residents.
Several locals suffered from tear gas inhalation, and two Palestinians were abducted by Israeli forces.
The city of Jenin, known in ancient times as "Ein-Jenin", overlooks the Jordan Valley and is part of the internationally recognized Palestinian Territory occupied by Israel since 1967.