28 sept 2013
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Rafah crossing keeps Palestinians caged at both sides
Newborn baby died Saturday after he made his way to life Friday on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing. Ministry of Interior reported medial resources as saying that Mohamed al- Mashharawi was born Friday at night at the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing after his mother waited long without being allowed to cross into the Gaza Strip. "The child’s mother Iman Mashharawi coming from Algeria on a visit to Gaza was had to pass the night at the Egyptian crossing’s cafeteria before giving birth to Mohammed on Saturday," the sources said. |
Palestinian citizen al-Mashharawi gave her child in late at Friday’s night who died this morning at the crossing.
Up to the moment, one bus, three ambulances, and a number of Ministry of Religious Affairs coordinators for ‘pilgrimage to Mecca’ season have been allowed in the Egyptian territories.
The crossing should have been open today, Saturday, for those booked to travel on the 8th, and 9th of September, as well as those turned back in the past openings of the crossing, and for stuck students.
Malfunction in computer network at the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing disrupted operation, Director General of Border Crossings in Gaza said, citing the Egyptian authorities.
Up to the moment, one bus, three ambulances, and a number of Ministry of Religious Affairs coordinators for ‘pilgrimage to Mecca’ season have been allowed in the Egyptian territories.
The crossing should have been open today, Saturday, for those booked to travel on the 8th, and 9th of September, as well as those turned back in the past openings of the crossing, and for stuck students.
Malfunction in computer network at the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing disrupted operation, Director General of Border Crossings in Gaza said, citing the Egyptian authorities.
26 sept 2013
Family of Ihsan Abu-Sitta
Five days after his death, the family and friends of Ihsan Abu-Sitta are still in shock. The Palestinian worker died in Tel Aviv after his boss tossed him to the side of the road when he was injured at work; he was left to bleed to death.
People came from all over the occupied West Bank, the Negev Desert and Jaffa to attend his funeral in Askar refugee camp on the outskirts of Nablus. Amira Hass, writing in Haaretz newspaper, said that family and friends from Gaza are still waiting for permits from the Israelis to allow them to travel to pay their respects.
According to Hass, people cannot believe the manner in which Abu-Sitta was left to die. “It is painful,” said Ziad Abu-Sitta, a relative of the dead man.
“The employer didn’t even call an ambulance.”
The fifty-seven year old did not heed his family’s advice to stop working in Israel for the simple reason that the daily wage he earned was three times what one of his three married sons made working in Nablus. “His desire to provide for our large family overshadowed the challenges he faced while entering Israel without a permit,” said Abu-Sitta’s youngest son, Hassan. “These included the constant fear of being caught by the police and spending days without work and away from his family, which he visited once every two or three weeks.”
Many of his family members who have worked or still work in Israel can’t believe that this happened. “Israelis collect stray cats off the streets and give them homes,” they told Haaretz, “so it is hard to believe how they did that to Ihsan.”
When an ambulance was eventually called and Abu-Sitta was taken to Sourasky Medical Centre, one of the nurses went through the contacts on his mobile phone and called one at random. The number turned out to be one of his relatives from Jaffa, who contacted another relative who finally contacted the family in Askar camp. That was at about 5:30 pm on Monday, September 16; it was only through the Israeli media that the family heard about what had happened.
Abu-Sitta did not talk much about his job, as he was facing difficulties in finding an employer assigned by the Israeli employment office, in the context of the limit of Palestinian workers set by the Israeli government. As such, he was forced to live between temporary jobs here and there. His wife Suad, his three sons and four daughters did not know where and how he left the West Bank without a permit to go to work in Israel. They do not know how long he worked for his final employer who tossed him, while injured, onto the side of the road; according to Haaretz, though, they do know that the callous man was called “Ravi”. During Ramadan, Abu-Sitta got a one month permit from 8am-10pm in order to visit his family, and he used it to stay in Israel and work.
Ihsan Abu-Sitta’s family was among the 1,100 families expelled from their village of Al-Saqiya during the Nakba (Catastrophe) of 1948. His parents worked in the village of Jaftalk in the Jordan Valley as farm labourers, and spent their time between the village and the refugee camp.
As his family grew, Ihsan added extra floors to his house in Askar Camp. Six years ago, he underwent an angioplasty, but that did not stop him from going to work in Israel. The last time he spent 5 days at home with his children and grandchildren was during the Jewish New Year. According to Hassan, he had started working in Israel 25 years ago and until the second Intifada he had obtained permits to work for a contractor from Netanya; his sister, Raja’a, said he started working when he was 16 years old for the Mekorot Company.
Amira Hass visited the bereaved family’s home and found out that Ihsan had wanted to give Hassan an education; the young man left his education in order to work and bring some money into the family home.
The dead man’s mother, said Hass, is 75 year old Fatima. As she sits on the side of her bed with great sadness in her eyes, she still does not know that her son was left to bleed to death by the side of the road. Hassan insists that the family will spare her that terrible final detail.
Five days after his death, the family and friends of Ihsan Abu-Sitta are still in shock. The Palestinian worker died in Tel Aviv after his boss tossed him to the side of the road when he was injured at work; he was left to bleed to death.
People came from all over the occupied West Bank, the Negev Desert and Jaffa to attend his funeral in Askar refugee camp on the outskirts of Nablus. Amira Hass, writing in Haaretz newspaper, said that family and friends from Gaza are still waiting for permits from the Israelis to allow them to travel to pay their respects.
According to Hass, people cannot believe the manner in which Abu-Sitta was left to die. “It is painful,” said Ziad Abu-Sitta, a relative of the dead man.
“The employer didn’t even call an ambulance.”
The fifty-seven year old did not heed his family’s advice to stop working in Israel for the simple reason that the daily wage he earned was three times what one of his three married sons made working in Nablus. “His desire to provide for our large family overshadowed the challenges he faced while entering Israel without a permit,” said Abu-Sitta’s youngest son, Hassan. “These included the constant fear of being caught by the police and spending days without work and away from his family, which he visited once every two or three weeks.”
Many of his family members who have worked or still work in Israel can’t believe that this happened. “Israelis collect stray cats off the streets and give them homes,” they told Haaretz, “so it is hard to believe how they did that to Ihsan.”
When an ambulance was eventually called and Abu-Sitta was taken to Sourasky Medical Centre, one of the nurses went through the contacts on his mobile phone and called one at random. The number turned out to be one of his relatives from Jaffa, who contacted another relative who finally contacted the family in Askar camp. That was at about 5:30 pm on Monday, September 16; it was only through the Israeli media that the family heard about what had happened.
Abu-Sitta did not talk much about his job, as he was facing difficulties in finding an employer assigned by the Israeli employment office, in the context of the limit of Palestinian workers set by the Israeli government. As such, he was forced to live between temporary jobs here and there. His wife Suad, his three sons and four daughters did not know where and how he left the West Bank without a permit to go to work in Israel. They do not know how long he worked for his final employer who tossed him, while injured, onto the side of the road; according to Haaretz, though, they do know that the callous man was called “Ravi”. During Ramadan, Abu-Sitta got a one month permit from 8am-10pm in order to visit his family, and he used it to stay in Israel and work.
Ihsan Abu-Sitta’s family was among the 1,100 families expelled from their village of Al-Saqiya during the Nakba (Catastrophe) of 1948. His parents worked in the village of Jaftalk in the Jordan Valley as farm labourers, and spent their time between the village and the refugee camp.
As his family grew, Ihsan added extra floors to his house in Askar Camp. Six years ago, he underwent an angioplasty, but that did not stop him from going to work in Israel. The last time he spent 5 days at home with his children and grandchildren was during the Jewish New Year. According to Hassan, he had started working in Israel 25 years ago and until the second Intifada he had obtained permits to work for a contractor from Netanya; his sister, Raja’a, said he started working when he was 16 years old for the Mekorot Company.
Amira Hass visited the bereaved family’s home and found out that Ihsan had wanted to give Hassan an education; the young man left his education in order to work and bring some money into the family home.
The dead man’s mother, said Hass, is 75 year old Fatima. As she sits on the side of her bed with great sadness in her eyes, she still does not know that her son was left to bleed to death by the side of the road. Hassan insists that the family will spare her that terrible final detail.
24 sept 2013
Before his meeting with Obama, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with Jewish leaders Monday to condemn the deaths of two Israeli soldiers last weekend. Abbas also called on Israel to condemn the killing of 4 Palestinians by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF), who died over the past few weeks, Israel Radio reported.
Abbas, planning to meet with US President Barack Obama on Tuesday, is in New York to give an address to the UN General Assembly.
The comments came in response to complaints made by Israel to the US claiming that the Palestinian Authority had failed to cease violence against Israel and Israelis. This complaint was provoked by the death of two Israeli soldiers over the weekend.
Abbas condemned all acts of violence, adding that he expects Israel to similarly condemn the killing of four Palestinians by Israeli forces in recent weeks.
Abbas was also quoted as saying that the idea of one bi-national state is becoming more popular among Palestinians, despite his own preference for a two-state solution.
Abbas, planning to meet with US President Barack Obama on Tuesday, is in New York to give an address to the UN General Assembly.
The comments came in response to complaints made by Israel to the US claiming that the Palestinian Authority had failed to cease violence against Israel and Israelis. This complaint was provoked by the death of two Israeli soldiers over the weekend.
Abbas condemned all acts of violence, adding that he expects Israel to similarly condemn the killing of four Palestinians by Israeli forces in recent weeks.
Abbas was also quoted as saying that the idea of one bi-national state is becoming more popular among Palestinians, despite his own preference for a two-state solution.
Activists in Ramallah hold a mock funeral to protest the Palestinian Authority’s continued negotiations with Israel and coordination with its military, 28 August
Since the resumption of the most recent episode of the bogus, US-brokered “peace” talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority in August, five Palestinians have been murdered by Israeli occupation forces. The latest was 22-year-old Islam Toubassi, assassinated in Jenin refugee camp on 17 September.
Among the five martyrs were three young Palestinian men killed on the morning of 26 August in the Qalandiya refugee camp, near Ramallah.
That day now seems like any another day, a painful — albeit distant — memory for some, and an occasion of unspeakable grief that turned the lives of three families upside down.
It should not be normal for heavily-armed soldiers to invade a refugee camp at dawn. Nor should it be normal for an occupying army to kill three unarmed Palestinians in cold blood and to injure dozens of other civilians, armed with nothing but rocks. The daily frequency with which Israel conducts those raids, however, makes this kind of terror and intimidation routine.
Israel is committing all of these crimes while the self-avowed Palestinian Authority unashamedly continues the “peace” talks charade and security collaboration with the Israeli occupation.
Lip service Meanwhile, Palestinians are left with nothing but pointless lip service from Mahmoud Abbas. After every violation, he claims that those violations might damage the futile “peace” process.
Abbas’ shy condemnation of Israel means nothing for the families of Rubeen Zayid, Younis Jahjouh and Jihad Aslan, the three young Palestinians killed by Israeli occupation soldiers in Qalandiya refugee camp on 26 August.
Witnessing the funerals of three martyrs is never easy, let alone writing about the experience objectively.
How can anyone accurately describe the suffering of a mother who had just lost her eldest son? How can one express support for a young woman whose husband — and the father of her son — was killed on his way to work for no crime but being a Palestinian?
How could anyone remain objective while listening to an elderly woman inconsolably begging her slain nephew to come back: “Jihad, my love, why did you leave me? Who will look after me now that they have taken your life away?”
How is it possible to describe the bitterness of watching journalists race to take pictures of sobbing Palestinian women, reminding me of these lines by Mahmoud Darwish: “To them my wound has become an exhibit for a tourist who loves collecting photographs.”
Parallel lines? And is there any polite manner in which you can comment on the speech of one Fatah official who attended the funeral and declared in his speech: “We believe that negotiations and resistance are parallel lines?”
There are moments that leave us completely and utterly speechless, unable to articulate the turmoil of emotions that overwhelm us. And even though it seems that Palestinians have gotten used to grief after 65 years of an ongoing Nakba or catastrophe, this should not in an way normalize the killing of one individual.
Jihad Aslan was just 19 but he had already lived through a lifetime of suffering. He was arrested by the Israeli occupation at the age of 15, spending a couple of years in jail, according to his relatives.
He was shot in his leg by Israeli soldiers briefly after his release. His arrest and injury meant that he couldn’t finish high school or find a job due to a permanent disability in his foot.
As the fatal raid began, he took two injured relatives to an ambulance before being shot himself and later succumbing to his wounds in a hospital.
For many, Jihad’s story is nothing special. He would go down as just another statistic, just another number in the endless lists of victims of the “Palestinian-Israeli conflict.” His story, the story of thousands of Palestinian youngsters whose lives were destroyed by a callous occupation, is irrelevant for an “international community,” whose only concern is maintaining Israel’s security.
Remembering is essential Remembering Jihad Aslan and other victims of Israel’s colonialism is essential, not just because of the recent clashes in Hebron and the arrest campaigns that followed the killing of two Israeli soldiers in the past week.
The US State Department condemned the killings of the soldiers as “terror,” a word it has never used to describe Israel’s routine killing and maiming of Palestinian civilians.
This reflects perverse thinking in many “Western” circles that turns the colonial aggressor and its army into the victim and the victim into the aggressor.
But Palestinians, like all occupied and colonized peoples, have a legitimate right to resist.
In 1970, the UN General Assembly affirmed “the legitimacy of the struggle of peoples under colonial and alien domination recognized as being entitled to the right of self-determination to restore to themselves that right by any means at their disposal.” Until Palestinians are free, that right applies to them too.
In no way can the killing of armed occupation soldiers be equated with the killing of indigenous, occupied people. These events do, however, highlight the hypocrisy of world powers that treat resistance as a crime and occupation as routine.
Recent events in Hebron and the clashes in Jenin and Qalandiya refugee camps before them show that if a third intifada does break out, it will start either in Hebron or the refugee camps. These places are targeted by both the Israeli occupation and its proxy, the Palestinian Authority. And they are always the first to rise up against both.
Budour Youssef Hassan is a Palestinian anarchist and law graduate based in occupied Jerusalem. She can be followed on Twitter @Budour48.
Since the resumption of the most recent episode of the bogus, US-brokered “peace” talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority in August, five Palestinians have been murdered by Israeli occupation forces. The latest was 22-year-old Islam Toubassi, assassinated in Jenin refugee camp on 17 September.
Among the five martyrs were three young Palestinian men killed on the morning of 26 August in the Qalandiya refugee camp, near Ramallah.
That day now seems like any another day, a painful — albeit distant — memory for some, and an occasion of unspeakable grief that turned the lives of three families upside down.
It should not be normal for heavily-armed soldiers to invade a refugee camp at dawn. Nor should it be normal for an occupying army to kill three unarmed Palestinians in cold blood and to injure dozens of other civilians, armed with nothing but rocks. The daily frequency with which Israel conducts those raids, however, makes this kind of terror and intimidation routine.
Israel is committing all of these crimes while the self-avowed Palestinian Authority unashamedly continues the “peace” talks charade and security collaboration with the Israeli occupation.
Lip service Meanwhile, Palestinians are left with nothing but pointless lip service from Mahmoud Abbas. After every violation, he claims that those violations might damage the futile “peace” process.
Abbas’ shy condemnation of Israel means nothing for the families of Rubeen Zayid, Younis Jahjouh and Jihad Aslan, the three young Palestinians killed by Israeli occupation soldiers in Qalandiya refugee camp on 26 August.
Witnessing the funerals of three martyrs is never easy, let alone writing about the experience objectively.
How can anyone accurately describe the suffering of a mother who had just lost her eldest son? How can one express support for a young woman whose husband — and the father of her son — was killed on his way to work for no crime but being a Palestinian?
How could anyone remain objective while listening to an elderly woman inconsolably begging her slain nephew to come back: “Jihad, my love, why did you leave me? Who will look after me now that they have taken your life away?”
How is it possible to describe the bitterness of watching journalists race to take pictures of sobbing Palestinian women, reminding me of these lines by Mahmoud Darwish: “To them my wound has become an exhibit for a tourist who loves collecting photographs.”
Parallel lines? And is there any polite manner in which you can comment on the speech of one Fatah official who attended the funeral and declared in his speech: “We believe that negotiations and resistance are parallel lines?”
There are moments that leave us completely and utterly speechless, unable to articulate the turmoil of emotions that overwhelm us. And even though it seems that Palestinians have gotten used to grief after 65 years of an ongoing Nakba or catastrophe, this should not in an way normalize the killing of one individual.
Jihad Aslan was just 19 but he had already lived through a lifetime of suffering. He was arrested by the Israeli occupation at the age of 15, spending a couple of years in jail, according to his relatives.
He was shot in his leg by Israeli soldiers briefly after his release. His arrest and injury meant that he couldn’t finish high school or find a job due to a permanent disability in his foot.
As the fatal raid began, he took two injured relatives to an ambulance before being shot himself and later succumbing to his wounds in a hospital.
For many, Jihad’s story is nothing special. He would go down as just another statistic, just another number in the endless lists of victims of the “Palestinian-Israeli conflict.” His story, the story of thousands of Palestinian youngsters whose lives were destroyed by a callous occupation, is irrelevant for an “international community,” whose only concern is maintaining Israel’s security.
Remembering is essential Remembering Jihad Aslan and other victims of Israel’s colonialism is essential, not just because of the recent clashes in Hebron and the arrest campaigns that followed the killing of two Israeli soldiers in the past week.
The US State Department condemned the killings of the soldiers as “terror,” a word it has never used to describe Israel’s routine killing and maiming of Palestinian civilians.
This reflects perverse thinking in many “Western” circles that turns the colonial aggressor and its army into the victim and the victim into the aggressor.
But Palestinians, like all occupied and colonized peoples, have a legitimate right to resist.
In 1970, the UN General Assembly affirmed “the legitimacy of the struggle of peoples under colonial and alien domination recognized as being entitled to the right of self-determination to restore to themselves that right by any means at their disposal.” Until Palestinians are free, that right applies to them too.
In no way can the killing of armed occupation soldiers be equated with the killing of indigenous, occupied people. These events do, however, highlight the hypocrisy of world powers that treat resistance as a crime and occupation as routine.
Recent events in Hebron and the clashes in Jenin and Qalandiya refugee camps before them show that if a third intifada does break out, it will start either in Hebron or the refugee camps. These places are targeted by both the Israeli occupation and its proxy, the Palestinian Authority. And they are always the first to rise up against both.
Budour Youssef Hassan is a Palestinian anarchist and law graduate based in occupied Jerusalem. She can be followed on Twitter @Budour48.
A 40-year-old heart patient died in Breij refugee camp in central Gaza Strip on Monday night after he was blocked from travel via the Rafah border crossing for treatment abroad. Brother of the deceased man, Wa’el Abu Saada, told the PIC reporter that Wa’el had tried more than once to travel via Rafah crossing en route to Jordan for treatment but was always denied permission by the Egyptian authorities.
The patient has been suffering from heart disease over the past ten years and was hoping to undergo a surgery in Jordan to implant a pacemaker for his heart after his health condition worsened over the past two years.
Wa’el Abu Saada died in a heart attack on Monday night before arriving at Shuhada Al-Aqsa hospital in Deir Al-Balah.
The patient has been suffering from heart disease over the past ten years and was hoping to undergo a surgery in Jordan to implant a pacemaker for his heart after his health condition worsened over the past two years.
Wa’el Abu Saada died in a heart attack on Monday night before arriving at Shuhada Al-Aqsa hospital in Deir Al-Balah.
19 sept 2013
Israeli Forces Use Excessive Force Killing Palestinian Civilian and Wounding 4 Others, Including 3 Children, in Jenin Refugee Camp.
In an excessive use of lethal force, on Tuesday morning, 17 September 2013, Israeli occupation forces killed a Palestinian civilian and wounded 4 others, including 3 children, in Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank.
According to investigations conducted by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) and the testimonies of the victim’s two brothers – Kamal, 34, and Mustafa, 23, at approximately 02:30 on Tuesday, 17 September 2013, Israeli forces in about 22 military vehicles moved into Jenin refugee camp, west of Jenin town.
A number of young men gathered and threw stones at Israeli military vehicles.
In response, Israeli soldiers fired rubber-coated metal bullets and sound bombs.
The clashes continued for a few hours, but no casualties were reported. At approximately 06:00, Israeli forces moved back to edges of the camp.
Half an hour later, a special unit of Israeli forces backed with 4 military vehicles moved into the camp. They stationed in the center of the camp.
Israeli soldiers who were in black military uniform raided 3-storey apartment building belonging to Hussam al-Tubasi. Israeli soldiers blew up the doors of the house and stepped up to a room on the roof where the owner’s sons, Islam, 20, and Mustafa, 23, live.
Islam and Mustafa got out of their room to find out what was going on as they heard explosions. Immediately, Israeli soldiers kicked Mustafa, pushed him to the ground and handcuffed him.
He saw Israeli soldiers pushing Islam into the room. Two Israeli soldiers then pulled Mustafa down to the second floor and held him in a bathroom.
In the meantime, sounds of shooting were being heard on the roof.
A few minutes, Israeli soldier stepped down taking Islam who was bleeding. They fired at his legs again in front of the building and took him.
Soon after, Israeli forces brought backups into the camp. A number of young men and children gathered and threw stones and home-made hand grenades at Israeli forces that were surrounding al-Tubassi’s house. Israeli soldiers opened fire indiscriminately.
As a result, 4 civilians, including 3 children, were wounded:
1) Saladin Na’el Ghazzawi, 23, wounded by a bullet to the right thigh;
2) Mohammed Khaled Taleb, 12, wounded a by a bullet to the thigh;
3) Abdul Rahman Taha Abu Sirriya, 12, wounded by a bullet to the right knee; and
4) Mohammed Wa’el Ghazzawi, 16, wounded by a bullet to the right foot.
In the afternoon, an ambulance of Palestine Red Crescent Society moved to Salem military post, northwest of Jenin, and received Islam’s body as he had be pronounced dead in an Israeli hospital.
The body was taken to Jenin Hospital, where medical sources stated that the victim was hit by 2 live bullets to the abdomen and 2 ones to the legs.
It should be noted that Tubassi is the third civilian killed in Jenin refugee camp in 4 weeks. On 20 August 2013, Israeli forces killed Majd Mohammed al-Shahla, 21, and wounded 3 others, including 17-year-old Kareem Subhi Abu Sbaih, who succumbed to his wound on 31 August 2013.
PCHR is deeply concerned over this crime, which further proves the use of excessive force by Israeli forces against the Palestinian civilians in disregard for the civilians’ lives.
Therefore, PCHR calls upon the international community to take immediate and effective actions to put an end to such crimes and reiterates its call for the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 to fulfill their obligations under Article 1; i.e., to respect and to ensure respect for the Convention in all circumstances, and their obligation under Article 146 to prosecute persons alleged to commit grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
These grave breaches constitute war crimes under Article 147 of the same Convention and Protocol (I) Additional to the Geneva Conventions.
Public Document
In an excessive use of lethal force, on Tuesday morning, 17 September 2013, Israeli occupation forces killed a Palestinian civilian and wounded 4 others, including 3 children, in Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank.
According to investigations conducted by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) and the testimonies of the victim’s two brothers – Kamal, 34, and Mustafa, 23, at approximately 02:30 on Tuesday, 17 September 2013, Israeli forces in about 22 military vehicles moved into Jenin refugee camp, west of Jenin town.
A number of young men gathered and threw stones at Israeli military vehicles.
In response, Israeli soldiers fired rubber-coated metal bullets and sound bombs.
The clashes continued for a few hours, but no casualties were reported. At approximately 06:00, Israeli forces moved back to edges of the camp.
Half an hour later, a special unit of Israeli forces backed with 4 military vehicles moved into the camp. They stationed in the center of the camp.
Israeli soldiers who were in black military uniform raided 3-storey apartment building belonging to Hussam al-Tubasi. Israeli soldiers blew up the doors of the house and stepped up to a room on the roof where the owner’s sons, Islam, 20, and Mustafa, 23, live.
Islam and Mustafa got out of their room to find out what was going on as they heard explosions. Immediately, Israeli soldiers kicked Mustafa, pushed him to the ground and handcuffed him.
He saw Israeli soldiers pushing Islam into the room. Two Israeli soldiers then pulled Mustafa down to the second floor and held him in a bathroom.
In the meantime, sounds of shooting were being heard on the roof.
A few minutes, Israeli soldier stepped down taking Islam who was bleeding. They fired at his legs again in front of the building and took him.
Soon after, Israeli forces brought backups into the camp. A number of young men and children gathered and threw stones and home-made hand grenades at Israeli forces that were surrounding al-Tubassi’s house. Israeli soldiers opened fire indiscriminately.
As a result, 4 civilians, including 3 children, were wounded:
1) Saladin Na’el Ghazzawi, 23, wounded by a bullet to the right thigh;
2) Mohammed Khaled Taleb, 12, wounded a by a bullet to the thigh;
3) Abdul Rahman Taha Abu Sirriya, 12, wounded by a bullet to the right knee; and
4) Mohammed Wa’el Ghazzawi, 16, wounded by a bullet to the right foot.
In the afternoon, an ambulance of Palestine Red Crescent Society moved to Salem military post, northwest of Jenin, and received Islam’s body as he had be pronounced dead in an Israeli hospital.
The body was taken to Jenin Hospital, where medical sources stated that the victim was hit by 2 live bullets to the abdomen and 2 ones to the legs.
It should be noted that Tubassi is the third civilian killed in Jenin refugee camp in 4 weeks. On 20 August 2013, Israeli forces killed Majd Mohammed al-Shahla, 21, and wounded 3 others, including 17-year-old Kareem Subhi Abu Sbaih, who succumbed to his wound on 31 August 2013.
PCHR is deeply concerned over this crime, which further proves the use of excessive force by Israeli forces against the Palestinian civilians in disregard for the civilians’ lives.
Therefore, PCHR calls upon the international community to take immediate and effective actions to put an end to such crimes and reiterates its call for the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 to fulfill their obligations under Article 1; i.e., to respect and to ensure respect for the Convention in all circumstances, and their obligation under Article 146 to prosecute persons alleged to commit grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
These grave breaches constitute war crimes under Article 147 of the same Convention and Protocol (I) Additional to the Geneva Conventions.
Public Document
18 sept 2013
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Thousands of Palestinians marched on Tuesday afternoon in the funeral procession of the slain young man Islam Tobasi in Jenin city, amid chants demanding the Palestinian Authority to give the Palestinian resistance a free hand to defend its people in the West Bank. The participants marched across the streets of Jenin while chanting slogans condemning the PA and its security cooperation with the Israeli occupation regime.
The procession also saw violent clashes between some of the participants and the PA security forces which fired tear gas grenades at them. The body of Tobasi was then buried at Al-Shuhada cemetery in Jenin refugee camp in the absence of PA officials whose presence was unwelcome. |
For its part, the Islamic Jihad Movement mourned the death of Islam Tobasi, who was killed on Tuesday morning by Israeli soldiers after his detention in Jenin refugee camp.
Islamic Jihad considered what happened to Tobasi a cold-blooded execution of an unarmed civilian and another crime committed by the Israeli occupation against the Palestinians in Jenin refugee camp.
The Movement held the Israeli occupation regime fully responsible for the consequences of its crime and urged the Palestinians in the West Bank to revolt against the Israeli occupation forces.
In a related incident, scores of Palestinian young men rallied outside the PA headquarters in Jenin city on the afternoon of the same day and clashed with the PA security guards in the area.
The angry young men threw stones at the headquarters and the PA security guards and chanted slogans describing the PA as a puppet authority and condemning its security ties with the occupation.
Many protestors sustained tear gas injuries during the events.
Resheq condemns the IOF murder of Tobasi
Member of the political bureau of Hamas movement Ezzat Resheq condemned the raid into a house in Jenin refugee camp, and the killing of a young man by the Israeli occupation forces. Israeli soldiers in armored and military vehicles stormed a house in the Jenin refugee camp and killed the Palestinian youth Islam Hossam Tobasi, aged 19.
Resheq said, in a press statement on Tuesday, "This is a new crime to be added to the series of the Israeli ongoing crimes against the Palestinian people. The crime is committed regardless of the negotiations and security coordination between the (Palestinian) Authority and the occupation."
He stressed that Israel is using the futile negotiations, to cover its abuses and attacks on the unarmed civilians.
The Hamas official called on the Palestinian Authority and all the Palestinian forces and factions to take bold steps vis-à-vis the Israeli continued crimes in the occupied West Bank, and urged the PA to halt the negotiations and all forms of security coordination with the occupation.
He also called on the Palestinian people to resist the occupation crimes and plans.
Resheq offered condolences to the family of the martyr Husam Tobasi and hailed the Palestinian people in the Jenin refugee camp and in the cities and villages of the occupied West Bank for their steadfastness in face of the occupation’s criminal practices.
Islamic Jihad considered what happened to Tobasi a cold-blooded execution of an unarmed civilian and another crime committed by the Israeli occupation against the Palestinians in Jenin refugee camp.
The Movement held the Israeli occupation regime fully responsible for the consequences of its crime and urged the Palestinians in the West Bank to revolt against the Israeli occupation forces.
In a related incident, scores of Palestinian young men rallied outside the PA headquarters in Jenin city on the afternoon of the same day and clashed with the PA security guards in the area.
The angry young men threw stones at the headquarters and the PA security guards and chanted slogans describing the PA as a puppet authority and condemning its security ties with the occupation.
Many protestors sustained tear gas injuries during the events.
Resheq condemns the IOF murder of Tobasi
Member of the political bureau of Hamas movement Ezzat Resheq condemned the raid into a house in Jenin refugee camp, and the killing of a young man by the Israeli occupation forces. Israeli soldiers in armored and military vehicles stormed a house in the Jenin refugee camp and killed the Palestinian youth Islam Hossam Tobasi, aged 19.
Resheq said, in a press statement on Tuesday, "This is a new crime to be added to the series of the Israeli ongoing crimes against the Palestinian people. The crime is committed regardless of the negotiations and security coordination between the (Palestinian) Authority and the occupation."
He stressed that Israel is using the futile negotiations, to cover its abuses and attacks on the unarmed civilians.
The Hamas official called on the Palestinian Authority and all the Palestinian forces and factions to take bold steps vis-à-vis the Israeli continued crimes in the occupied West Bank, and urged the PA to halt the negotiations and all forms of security coordination with the occupation.
He also called on the Palestinian people to resist the occupation crimes and plans.
Resheq offered condolences to the family of the martyr Husam Tobasi and hailed the Palestinian people in the Jenin refugee camp and in the cities and villages of the occupied West Bank for their steadfastness in face of the occupation’s criminal practices.
Ehsan Abu Srour 54 (Ihsan Abu-Sitta)
A Palestinian worker working for an Israeli contractor, without work permit, was seriously injured at a renovation site in Tel Aviv, and instead for calling for professional medical help, the Israeli contractor dragged him onto the ground and left him to die on the sidewalk.
Israeli daily, Haaretz, has reported that the Palestinian man, identified as Ehsan Abu Srour, 54, from the Askar refugee camp, in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, suffered serious injuries and was abandoned by the contractor, who did not even try to resuscitate him or call for help.
Haaretz said that the man died on the sidewalk in an area south of Tel Aviv, and that a passerby found his body in the morning. The body was then moved to Ichilov Hospital in the city.
The deceased, was left without any help until a teacher, identified as Nicolas Cascallar, tried to resuscitate him after he noticed that he was alive but in a very serious condition. He told Haaretz that liquids were coming out of the mouth of the Palestinian worker.
Talking to Haaretz, several eyewitnesses said that they saw the contractor arriving at the construction site, and that after he saw that the man was seriously injured, he and two other workers, dragged him to the sidewalk where they left him for dead.
Another witness said that he shouted at the contractor and the workers after they threw the seriously injured man onto the sidewalk, and that he even saw the injured worker in the construction site just a few minutes before he was injured.
He also said that anther witnesses even suggested calling for an ambulance, tried to give them their phones to call 911, but the contractor just locked the apartment and told his workers to run away.
Haaretz added that a Palestinian worker, identified as Hussam Faraji, told their reporter that he has been working for the Israeli contractor for a long time, and has been working that site for about a week.
He said that it seems that the worker was working with a hammer, and apparently something fell on him causing serious injuries, and that he witnessed the contractor and two other workers carrying the worker by the hands and feet before they threw him onto the opposite side.
The worker told Haaretz that he confronted the contractor, telling him that he should call for an ambulance, try to save the man, “instead of just throwing him like a dog, but he locked the site and escaped”.
Talking to Haaretz, the Israeli contractor denied the “allegation” and said that he gave testimony to the Police in which he said that “he tried to resuscitate the man for about an hour”, and that he has no connection to the apartment where the accident happened.
However, Faraji said that the man has been working for the contractor for over a week.
The contractor initially denied knowing the man, but later said the worker came to the site only to offer a price estimate.
A Palestinian worker working for an Israeli contractor, without work permit, was seriously injured at a renovation site in Tel Aviv, and instead for calling for professional medical help, the Israeli contractor dragged him onto the ground and left him to die on the sidewalk.
Israeli daily, Haaretz, has reported that the Palestinian man, identified as Ehsan Abu Srour, 54, from the Askar refugee camp, in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, suffered serious injuries and was abandoned by the contractor, who did not even try to resuscitate him or call for help.
Haaretz said that the man died on the sidewalk in an area south of Tel Aviv, and that a passerby found his body in the morning. The body was then moved to Ichilov Hospital in the city.
The deceased, was left without any help until a teacher, identified as Nicolas Cascallar, tried to resuscitate him after he noticed that he was alive but in a very serious condition. He told Haaretz that liquids were coming out of the mouth of the Palestinian worker.
Talking to Haaretz, several eyewitnesses said that they saw the contractor arriving at the construction site, and that after he saw that the man was seriously injured, he and two other workers, dragged him to the sidewalk where they left him for dead.
Another witness said that he shouted at the contractor and the workers after they threw the seriously injured man onto the sidewalk, and that he even saw the injured worker in the construction site just a few minutes before he was injured.
He also said that anther witnesses even suggested calling for an ambulance, tried to give them their phones to call 911, but the contractor just locked the apartment and told his workers to run away.
Haaretz added that a Palestinian worker, identified as Hussam Faraji, told their reporter that he has been working for the Israeli contractor for a long time, and has been working that site for about a week.
He said that it seems that the worker was working with a hammer, and apparently something fell on him causing serious injuries, and that he witnessed the contractor and two other workers carrying the worker by the hands and feet before they threw him onto the opposite side.
The worker told Haaretz that he confronted the contractor, telling him that he should call for an ambulance, try to save the man, “instead of just throwing him like a dog, but he locked the site and escaped”.
Talking to Haaretz, the Israeli contractor denied the “allegation” and said that he gave testimony to the Police in which he said that “he tried to resuscitate the man for about an hour”, and that he has no connection to the apartment where the accident happened.
However, Faraji said that the man has been working for the contractor for over a week.
The contractor initially denied knowing the man, but later said the worker came to the site only to offer a price estimate.
A Palestinian human rights center charged that the Israeli occupation forces deliberately assassinated Islam Al-Tobasi, who died of gunshot wounds two hours after his arrest. The Israeli soldiers had savagely broken into Tobasi's house on Tuesday morning amid heavy gunfire. They shot him directly in his foot although he did not pose any threat to them. Once they approached him, they shot him again and dragged him brutally on the ground despite his bleeding, Palestine Center for Prisoners' Studies said.
Tobasi died shortly after being transferred to hospital where he did not receive any first aid, the center added.
The human rights center held the IOF fully responsible for the deliberate field execution especially that the martyr was not armed and did not pose any threat to the Israeli soldiers.
Around 75 Palestinians were killed in the same way since 1967, they were all registered within Captive Movement's martyrs list where they were shot and killed after being arrested and kidnapped either from hospitals or ambulance vehicles, the center said.
Islam is the brother of the martyr Ahmed Tobasi and the captive Said Tbasi who was arrested since November 2012 and sentenced to 32 life sentences for being affiliated with al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad.
The center called for reactivating armed resistance in the West Bank in response to the Israeli continued crimes of murder, detention, Judaization, confiscation, demolition and deportation against Palestinian citizens and properties.
Tobasi died shortly after being transferred to hospital where he did not receive any first aid, the center added.
The human rights center held the IOF fully responsible for the deliberate field execution especially that the martyr was not armed and did not pose any threat to the Israeli soldiers.
Around 75 Palestinians were killed in the same way since 1967, they were all registered within Captive Movement's martyrs list where they were shot and killed after being arrested and kidnapped either from hospitals or ambulance vehicles, the center said.
Islam is the brother of the martyr Ahmed Tobasi and the captive Said Tbasi who was arrested since November 2012 and sentenced to 32 life sentences for being affiliated with al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad.
The center called for reactivating armed resistance in the West Bank in response to the Israeli continued crimes of murder, detention, Judaization, confiscation, demolition and deportation against Palestinian citizens and properties.
17 sept 2013
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A young girl stands by the door of her home in Jenin camp, which was damaged during an Israeli arrest raid on Sept. 17
A man killed by Israeli forces in Jenin on Tuesday was executed in cold blood after confirming his identity to soldiers, family members said. Islam al-Tubasi, 22, died from gunshot wounds during an Israeli raid on Jenin refugee camp, sources said. Al-Tubasi's brother, Ibrahim, told Ma'an that there was an explosion at the family home at around 6 a.m. |
"I was sleeping on the second floor. Our house is a three-story building. I was surprised when I saw Israeli undercover forces, dressed in black, raiding the second floor. They assaulted me, and asked me my first name. When I told them my name is Ibrahim, they held me inside the bathroom on the second floor. They assaulted my mother who was also on the second floor," Ibrahim told Ma'an.
Another brother, Mustafa, said that after Israeli forces shot Islam in the leg they forced him to go to the roof to identity him. The soldiers then dragged Islam's body downstairs and Mustafa says he heard several more gunshots.
"I am sure that Islam was shot dead before he was transferred to hospital via military ambulance," he added.
Kamal al-Tubasi said that Israeli forces shot Islam in the leg as he lay in bed, before dragging him downstairs and executing him.
Witnesses in the camp confirmed that they saw Israeli special units enter the building and go onto the roof, where Islam was sleeping.
Another brother, Mustafa, said that after Israeli forces shot Islam in the leg they forced him to go to the roof to identity him. The soldiers then dragged Islam's body downstairs and Mustafa says he heard several more gunshots.
"I am sure that Islam was shot dead before he was transferred to hospital via military ambulance," he added.
Kamal al-Tubasi said that Israeli forces shot Islam in the leg as he lay in bed, before dragging him downstairs and executing him.
Witnesses in the camp confirmed that they saw Israeli special units enter the building and go onto the roof, where Islam was sleeping.
Clashes broke out with local residents following the shooting of al-Tubasi, with dozens of camp residents injured by stun grenades, tear gas and live fire.
Salah Nael Ghazzawi, 13, was shot in the leg and taken to hospital for treatment.
Israel's army said in a statement that shots were fired at Israeli soldiers while arresting a "wanted terror activist."
"The wanted suspect was injured, evacuated by military forces for further treatment and later died of his wounds in an Israeli Hospital," the statement said.
Local sources said that Israeli forces killed one of al-Tubasi's brothers in 2006. He was allegedly active in Islamic Jihad.
The killing of Islam al-Tubasi is the latest in a string of violent incidents in refugee camps in recent weeks.
On August 26, Israeli security forces shot dead three people and wounded 19 during fierce clashes that lasted for hours in the Qalandiya camp.
The week before, Israeli troops shot dead one man and wounded two during an operation to arrest an alleged Palestinian militant in Jenin camp.
Last week soldiers and Palestinians exchanged fire at the Balata camp, in Nablus, as troops escorted Jewish worshippers to a to a flashpoint shrine there.
There were no fatalities in that incident, but four Palestinians were wounded, two by live fire and two by rubber-coated bullets , Palestinian medical sources said.
Salah Nael Ghazzawi, 13, was shot in the leg and taken to hospital for treatment.
Israel's army said in a statement that shots were fired at Israeli soldiers while arresting a "wanted terror activist."
"The wanted suspect was injured, evacuated by military forces for further treatment and later died of his wounds in an Israeli Hospital," the statement said.
Local sources said that Israeli forces killed one of al-Tubasi's brothers in 2006. He was allegedly active in Islamic Jihad.
The killing of Islam al-Tubasi is the latest in a string of violent incidents in refugee camps in recent weeks.
On August 26, Israeli security forces shot dead three people and wounded 19 during fierce clashes that lasted for hours in the Qalandiya camp.
The week before, Israeli troops shot dead one man and wounded two during an operation to arrest an alleged Palestinian militant in Jenin camp.
Last week soldiers and Palestinians exchanged fire at the Balata camp, in Nablus, as troops escorted Jewish worshippers to a to a flashpoint shrine there.
There were no fatalities in that incident, but four Palestinians were wounded, two by live fire and two by rubber-coated bullets , Palestinian medical sources said.
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Islam Husam Toubasy 19
Palestinian medical sources have reported that a Palestinian youth was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers invading his home in the Jenin refugee camp, in the northern West Bank city of Jenin. Dozens of residents have been injured during ensuing clashes, and one was kidnapped. The Maan News Agency has reported that a large Israeli military force invaded that camp, during late night hours, and that the soldiers broke into and violently searched dozens of homes. The invasion led to clashes with local youths who hurled stones and empty bottles at the invading forces. |
Medical sources said that resident Islam Husam Toubasy, 19, was shot by rounds of live ammunition fired at him by the invasion soldiers who broke into his home after detonating its door.
His family told Maan that, immediately after invading their property, the soldiers headed to the rooftop where Islam sleeps in his room, and shot him in the foot before dragging him onto the ground, taking him out of his home while he was heavily bleeding.
His brother, Kamal, stated that after the soldiers shot and injured Islam, and dragged him out of the home, undercover soldiers of the Israeli army shot him again, the Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA) has reported.
The army then moved him to the Al Khodeira hospital, inside the 1948 territories, where he died due to the massive bleeding he suffered as a result of his injury.
The family said that the soldiers forced them in one room, and that they saw Islam bleeding and unconscious before the soldiers took him away. The soldiers did not allow the family to help their son.
Army then withdrew from the camp, but re-invaded it, and the city of Jenin, in the morning, leading to clashes with dozens of local youths.
Eyewitnesses said that at least twenty armored Israeli military vehicles, and a military ambulance, invaded the area, leading to clashes with dozens of students heading to their school.
The soldiers fired more rounds of live ammunition, gas bombs and concussion grenades at the residents leading to several injuries.
One of the wounded, Nael Ghazzawy, 13, was shot by a live round in his leg while standing at the balcony of his home.
Soldiers also kidnapped a resident identified as Mohammad Bassam Al-Fayed, 21, and took him to an unknown destination.
It is worth mentioning that, in 2006, undercover soldiers of the Israeli army, shot and killed Ahmad, the brother of Islam, and demolished his home. Their brother Sa’id, is a political prisoner held by Israel after being sentenced to 32 years imprisonment by a military court.
Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli soldiers invaded various Palestinian communities in different parts of the occupied West Bank, and kidnapped at least nine Palestinians.
On Monday, Israeli soldiers kidnapped at least fifteen Palestinians, including a legislator, in different parts of the occupied West Bank.
The invasions are part of daily violations carried out by the army against the Palestinians and their property in different parts of occupied Palestine.
Palestinian Dies of Wounds Sustained during Ongoing Clashes in Jenin Refugee Camp
His family told Maan that, immediately after invading their property, the soldiers headed to the rooftop where Islam sleeps in his room, and shot him in the foot before dragging him onto the ground, taking him out of his home while he was heavily bleeding.
His brother, Kamal, stated that after the soldiers shot and injured Islam, and dragged him out of the home, undercover soldiers of the Israeli army shot him again, the Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA) has reported.
The army then moved him to the Al Khodeira hospital, inside the 1948 territories, where he died due to the massive bleeding he suffered as a result of his injury.
The family said that the soldiers forced them in one room, and that they saw Islam bleeding and unconscious before the soldiers took him away. The soldiers did not allow the family to help their son.
Army then withdrew from the camp, but re-invaded it, and the city of Jenin, in the morning, leading to clashes with dozens of local youths.
Eyewitnesses said that at least twenty armored Israeli military vehicles, and a military ambulance, invaded the area, leading to clashes with dozens of students heading to their school.
The soldiers fired more rounds of live ammunition, gas bombs and concussion grenades at the residents leading to several injuries.
One of the wounded, Nael Ghazzawy, 13, was shot by a live round in his leg while standing at the balcony of his home.
Soldiers also kidnapped a resident identified as Mohammad Bassam Al-Fayed, 21, and took him to an unknown destination.
It is worth mentioning that, in 2006, undercover soldiers of the Israeli army, shot and killed Ahmad, the brother of Islam, and demolished his home. Their brother Sa’id, is a political prisoner held by Israel after being sentenced to 32 years imprisonment by a military court.
Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli soldiers invaded various Palestinian communities in different parts of the occupied West Bank, and kidnapped at least nine Palestinians.
On Monday, Israeli soldiers kidnapped at least fifteen Palestinians, including a legislator, in different parts of the occupied West Bank.
The invasions are part of daily violations carried out by the army against the Palestinians and their property in different parts of occupied Palestine.
Palestinian Dies of Wounds Sustained during Ongoing Clashes in Jenin Refugee Camp
A 19-year-old Palestinian, Islam Hussam Saed al-Tubasi died of injuries sustained a while ago, during the ongoing clashes in Jenin refugee camp Tuesday.
Tubasi was injured after Israeli forces raided his house at dawn, destroying doors, and arrested him. He died a while later in one of the hospitals inside the lands of 1948 after being brought by an Israeli ambulance.
Palestinian security sources said that more than 20 military vehicles raided the camp amid heavy fire, teargas and stun grenades. The forces broke into several houses and exploded their gates.
The violent clashes that erupted between young Palestinians and Israeli forces led to the injury of several Palestinians, including children, and several others suffered suffocation due to teargas inhalation. Among the children was a 13-year-old boy, Saleh Nael Ghazawi, after he was shot with a bullet to his left leg and was transferred to one of the hospitals in the city.
Israeli forces also arrested the 21-year-old Mohammed Bassam al-Fayed.
Tubasi was injured after Israeli forces raided his house at dawn, destroying doors, and arrested him. He died a while later in one of the hospitals inside the lands of 1948 after being brought by an Israeli ambulance.
Palestinian security sources said that more than 20 military vehicles raided the camp amid heavy fire, teargas and stun grenades. The forces broke into several houses and exploded their gates.
The violent clashes that erupted between young Palestinians and Israeli forces led to the injury of several Palestinians, including children, and several others suffered suffocation due to teargas inhalation. Among the children was a 13-year-old boy, Saleh Nael Ghazawi, after he was shot with a bullet to his left leg and was transferred to one of the hospitals in the city.
Israeli forces also arrested the 21-year-old Mohammed Bassam al-Fayed.
10 sept 2013
Military advocate general cites lack of evidence in 2009 death of Bassem Abu Rahmeh, whose story was documented in the Oscar-nominated film Five Broken Cameras.
Israel's military advocate general has closed the investigation into the circumstances of the death of a Palestinian during a demonstration in the West Bank village of Bil'in in April 2009, citing a lack of evidence.
Bassem Abu Rahmeh died after being struck in the chest by a tear-gas canister fired by a Border Policeman while protesting the separation barrier. His story, and that of the village, were documented in the Oscar-nominated film Five Broken Cameras.
The prosecutor for operational affairs submitted Military Advocate General Danny Efroni's opinion to the State Prosecution at the end of July. Efroni instructed to close the investigation after concluding that there was insufficient evidence to pursue legal steps against the soldiers involved.
Notice of the closure of the investigation, four and a half years after Abu Rahmeh's death, became known following the State's response the High Court appeal filed by Abu Rahmeh's mother last March. The appeal demanded that the military advocate general explain why no indictments were filed against those soldiers involved in the shooting.
A concurrent investigation was being conducted with the Judea and Samaria District Police due to the fact that Border Policeman were involved in the incident. The State's response indicates that in this case as well, the prosecution decided to close the police investigation against the suspected Border Policeman, after finding that the identity of the perpetrator could not be ascertained. As such, there was not sufficient evidence to warrant the pursuit of criminal proceedings.
The investigation was marred by difficulties from the very beginning: The military police only launched the investigation one year after Abu Rahmeh's death, in July 2010, and only as a result of appeals made by Israeli human rights organizations B'Tselem and Yesh Din. They based their appeal on video footage from the protest, as well as opinions of experts who determined the fire was directly aimed at Abu Rahmeh.
"The deputy state prosecutor also reached the conclusion that there is not enough evidence to prove that the fire was in breach of military order," the State Prosecution's lawyers explained.
Israel's military advocate general has closed the investigation into the circumstances of the death of a Palestinian during a demonstration in the West Bank village of Bil'in in April 2009, citing a lack of evidence.
Bassem Abu Rahmeh died after being struck in the chest by a tear-gas canister fired by a Border Policeman while protesting the separation barrier. His story, and that of the village, were documented in the Oscar-nominated film Five Broken Cameras.
The prosecutor for operational affairs submitted Military Advocate General Danny Efroni's opinion to the State Prosecution at the end of July. Efroni instructed to close the investigation after concluding that there was insufficient evidence to pursue legal steps against the soldiers involved.
Notice of the closure of the investigation, four and a half years after Abu Rahmeh's death, became known following the State's response the High Court appeal filed by Abu Rahmeh's mother last March. The appeal demanded that the military advocate general explain why no indictments were filed against those soldiers involved in the shooting.
A concurrent investigation was being conducted with the Judea and Samaria District Police due to the fact that Border Policeman were involved in the incident. The State's response indicates that in this case as well, the prosecution decided to close the police investigation against the suspected Border Policeman, after finding that the identity of the perpetrator could not be ascertained. As such, there was not sufficient evidence to warrant the pursuit of criminal proceedings.
The investigation was marred by difficulties from the very beginning: The military police only launched the investigation one year after Abu Rahmeh's death, in July 2010, and only as a result of appeals made by Israeli human rights organizations B'Tselem and Yesh Din. They based their appeal on video footage from the protest, as well as opinions of experts who determined the fire was directly aimed at Abu Rahmeh.
"The deputy state prosecutor also reached the conclusion that there is not enough evidence to prove that the fire was in breach of military order," the State Prosecution's lawyers explained.
