20 aug 2016
The Israeli Occupation Authority (IOA) extended the illegal administrative detention order against member of the general secretariat of the Palestinian journalists syndicate Omar Nazzal.
The captive’s wife, Marline, said that the extension decision was issued for three months for the second consecutive time.
She revealed that her husband, who is detained in solitary confinement in Ofer Israeli jail, was supposed to be released next Monday.
The family has no idea about his health condition in light of his continuation of hunger strike for 16 days in a row in solidarity with prisoner Bilal Kayed, she added. The wife also pointed out that the Red Cross and the lawyer of her husband have been banned from visiting her husband since August 04.
Human rights institutions condemned the arrest of Nazzal and perceived it as a violation of journalists’ rights. They urged the UN Security Council and the EU along with all concerned syndicates to work on releasing Palestinian pressmen from Israeli prisons.
On April 23, Israeli forces arrested Nazzal at al-Karama crossing, which connects the West Bank to Jordan, while he was heading to Bosnia to attend an international journalism conference.
The captive’s wife, Marline, said that the extension decision was issued for three months for the second consecutive time.
She revealed that her husband, who is detained in solitary confinement in Ofer Israeli jail, was supposed to be released next Monday.
The family has no idea about his health condition in light of his continuation of hunger strike for 16 days in a row in solidarity with prisoner Bilal Kayed, she added. The wife also pointed out that the Red Cross and the lawyer of her husband have been banned from visiting her husband since August 04.
Human rights institutions condemned the arrest of Nazzal and perceived it as a violation of journalists’ rights. They urged the UN Security Council and the EU along with all concerned syndicates to work on releasing Palestinian pressmen from Israeli prisons.
On April 23, Israeli forces arrested Nazzal at al-Karama crossing, which connects the West Bank to Jordan, while he was heading to Bosnia to attend an international journalism conference.
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Palestinian Journalist of the Al-Mayadeen News Agency said that the Israeli army investigators closed her case against a soldier who shot her with a concussion grenade in the face, allegedly after being unable “to positively identify him.”
The incident took place on October 4th 2015, in the el-‘Eesawiyya town, in occupied Jerusalem, following the death of Fadi Alloun, who was killed by the army. Journalist Hana’ Mahameed was shot in her face when the soldiers fired at many journalists who gathered in the area. Mahameed said she will continue to follow her case through lawyers, as the Israeli side is not interested in a serious investigation. The Israeli Justice Ministry’s Police Investigation Unit (Mahash) claimed it conducted the needed investigations, and that it allegedly examined pictures and videos of the incident, “but was unable to identify the soldier who fired the concussion grenade at her.” It also claimed that the police and soldiers “acted within regulations, according to the circumstances of the incident, the and did not violate any laws.” “The decision made by Mahash does not surprise me, we know of countless of cases that were not prosecuted, or even investigated,” Mahameed told the Maan News Agency, “This unit is not independent, |
and not objective, but it was the only available option for me to file a complaint with.”
Mahameed added that she will stay in contact with specialized lawyers, and will ask Mahash for a copy of its alleged investigation. She also stated that appealing against the decision is part of the process, and is even willing to head to the Supreme Court if needed.
The soldiers invaded al-‘Eesawiyya town during morning hours, shortly after Alloun was killed, and surrounded his home, before firing gas bombs and concussion grenades at journalists who gathered in the area.
“Our cars were marked with Press signs, our vests, our helmets, our cameras and even our microphones,” she stated, “My team and I were also near many other journalists clearly visible to the soldiers, and above all, there were no clashes for the army to be firing at.”
After being shot in the face, several young men carried her to a Palestinian ambulance that was stopped at the main entrance of al-‘Eesawiyya, and despite her injury, a soldier stopped them, and questioned the wounded journalist.
Israeli daily, Haaretz, said Arab Member of Knesset (MK) Yousef Jabarin of the Unified Arab List, filed a complaint with the Police Investigation Unit, stating the reporter was wearing a press uniform with a reflective bulletproof vest, and a clearly marked helmet.
“There is no way that she, and other journalists, were not targeted, and above all, there was no need for the army to open fire,” Jabarin said, “But the soldiers opened fire, and violated the military’s own regulations.”
Mahameed added that she will stay in contact with specialized lawyers, and will ask Mahash for a copy of its alleged investigation. She also stated that appealing against the decision is part of the process, and is even willing to head to the Supreme Court if needed.
The soldiers invaded al-‘Eesawiyya town during morning hours, shortly after Alloun was killed, and surrounded his home, before firing gas bombs and concussion grenades at journalists who gathered in the area.
“Our cars were marked with Press signs, our vests, our helmets, our cameras and even our microphones,” she stated, “My team and I were also near many other journalists clearly visible to the soldiers, and above all, there were no clashes for the army to be firing at.”
After being shot in the face, several young men carried her to a Palestinian ambulance that was stopped at the main entrance of al-‘Eesawiyya, and despite her injury, a soldier stopped them, and questioned the wounded journalist.
Israeli daily, Haaretz, said Arab Member of Knesset (MK) Yousef Jabarin of the Unified Arab List, filed a complaint with the Police Investigation Unit, stating the reporter was wearing a press uniform with a reflective bulletproof vest, and a clearly marked helmet.
“There is no way that she, and other journalists, were not targeted, and above all, there was no need for the army to open fire,” Jabarin said, “But the soldiers opened fire, and violated the military’s own regulations.”
18 aug 2016
Dozens of Arab journalists in Israel on Wednesday staged a sit-in outside the police precinct in Wadi Ara town, south of Haifa city, in protest at their exposure to systematic harassment and racist acts by the Israeli police.
The participants in the sit-in, which was called for by the coalition of Arab journalists in Israel (the 1948 occupied territory), carried banners denouncing the blatant discrimination policy pursued by the Israeli police against them.
In press remarks during the protest, Arab Knesset member Hanin Zoabi condemned the Israeli police for their discriminatory practices against Arab journalists in Israel.
"The Israeli police has proven that it deals with every Arab citizen, regardless of his position, as an enemy," Zoabi said. She also expressed her dismay at the absence of journalists working for Israeli and Hebrew media outlets from the protest.
"They have to denounce this kind of treatment because they are working in the same filed."
The protest took place after two journalists working for Arab news websites were exposed to maltreatment by an Israeli policeman as they were trying to cover the drone crash incident that happened last week in Zalafa village. The policeman also prevented them from entering the scene and only allowed in Jewish journalists.
The participants in the sit-in, which was called for by the coalition of Arab journalists in Israel (the 1948 occupied territory), carried banners denouncing the blatant discrimination policy pursued by the Israeli police against them.
In press remarks during the protest, Arab Knesset member Hanin Zoabi condemned the Israeli police for their discriminatory practices against Arab journalists in Israel.
"The Israeli police has proven that it deals with every Arab citizen, regardless of his position, as an enemy," Zoabi said. She also expressed her dismay at the absence of journalists working for Israeli and Hebrew media outlets from the protest.
"They have to denounce this kind of treatment because they are working in the same filed."
The protest took place after two journalists working for Arab news websites were exposed to maltreatment by an Israeli policeman as they were trying to cover the drone crash incident that happened last week in Zalafa village. The policeman also prevented them from entering the scene and only allowed in Jewish journalists.
16 aug 2016
11 Palestinian civilians were kidnapped by the Israeli occupation forces (IOF), including a minor, and a four-month-old girl was left injured at dawn Tuesday in an arbitrary abduction sweep launched across the occupied West Bank and Occupied Jerusalem.
The Israeli occupation army claimed responsibility for the abduction of six Palestinians from the occupied West Bank on allegations of involvement in anti-occupation activities.
Reporting from Jenin, a PIC news correspondent said a large Israeli army patrol rolled into the Jenin refugee camp and kidnapped the ex-prisoner Mustafa al-Kneiri and his son.
A few days earlier, Israeli news outlets claimed al-Kneiri was arrested in 1948 Occupied Palestine on charges of an attempted anti-occupation attack.
However, investigations showed that al-Kneiri did not enter the 1948 occupied territories and was rather at his workplace in Jenin, where he was arrested at the crack of dawn.
Two more Palestinian youths, in their 20’s of age, were kidnapped by the IOF from their own homes in the Jenin refugee camp. The IOF further kidnapped three Palestinians from al-Khalil.
Violent clashes burst out shortly after the occupation troops broke into the city and cordoned off the Fawar refugee camp, to the south.
Youngster Muhammad Nassar and journalist Ahmad Abu Awad, along with other protesters, sustained rubber bullet injuries and breathing disorders during the clashes.
The IOF also re-arrested the ex-prisoner Rajeh Abu Ajmiyeh a few days after he was released from Israeli jails.
Activist Muhammad Awad said the IOF kidnapped an ex-prisoner and a university student, both teenagers, from Beit Ummar town. 15-year-old minor Ward Ibrahim Awad was also kidnapped by the IOF in the assault.
At the same time, the Israeli army troops stormed Surif town, to the northwest of al-Khalil, and summoned several Palestinian youths to questioning.
Four-month-old toddler Farah Youssef choked on teargas shortly after the IOF rolled into Qalqilya’s eastern town of Kfar Qaddum and showered civilian homes with teargas canisters.
22-year-old Salah Subh was kidnapped by the occupation soldiers from the area. The IOF reportedly wreaked havoc on civilian homes in Nablus, hours after the occupation army claimed responsibility for the abduction of three youngsters from Hawara town, to the south, under the pretext that they attempted to creep into the Itamar illegal settlement.
Meanwhile, family members of ex-prisoner Jihad Wadah al-Qutb, 23, said the IOF kidnapped their son on Monday evening at the Zaatara checkpoint, in southern Nablus. The campaign culminated in the abduction of Ashraf Saleh Hijazi from Jerusalem’s southeastern town of Jabal al-Mukbir.
The Israeli occupation army claimed responsibility for the abduction of six Palestinians from the occupied West Bank on allegations of involvement in anti-occupation activities.
Reporting from Jenin, a PIC news correspondent said a large Israeli army patrol rolled into the Jenin refugee camp and kidnapped the ex-prisoner Mustafa al-Kneiri and his son.
A few days earlier, Israeli news outlets claimed al-Kneiri was arrested in 1948 Occupied Palestine on charges of an attempted anti-occupation attack.
However, investigations showed that al-Kneiri did not enter the 1948 occupied territories and was rather at his workplace in Jenin, where he was arrested at the crack of dawn.
Two more Palestinian youths, in their 20’s of age, were kidnapped by the IOF from their own homes in the Jenin refugee camp. The IOF further kidnapped three Palestinians from al-Khalil.
Violent clashes burst out shortly after the occupation troops broke into the city and cordoned off the Fawar refugee camp, to the south.
Youngster Muhammad Nassar and journalist Ahmad Abu Awad, along with other protesters, sustained rubber bullet injuries and breathing disorders during the clashes.
The IOF also re-arrested the ex-prisoner Rajeh Abu Ajmiyeh a few days after he was released from Israeli jails.
Activist Muhammad Awad said the IOF kidnapped an ex-prisoner and a university student, both teenagers, from Beit Ummar town. 15-year-old minor Ward Ibrahim Awad was also kidnapped by the IOF in the assault.
At the same time, the Israeli army troops stormed Surif town, to the northwest of al-Khalil, and summoned several Palestinian youths to questioning.
Four-month-old toddler Farah Youssef choked on teargas shortly after the IOF rolled into Qalqilya’s eastern town of Kfar Qaddum and showered civilian homes with teargas canisters.
22-year-old Salah Subh was kidnapped by the occupation soldiers from the area. The IOF reportedly wreaked havoc on civilian homes in Nablus, hours after the occupation army claimed responsibility for the abduction of three youngsters from Hawara town, to the south, under the pretext that they attempted to creep into the Itamar illegal settlement.
Meanwhile, family members of ex-prisoner Jihad Wadah al-Qutb, 23, said the IOF kidnapped their son on Monday evening at the Zaatara checkpoint, in southern Nablus. The campaign culminated in the abduction of Ashraf Saleh Hijazi from Jerusalem’s southeastern town of Jabal al-Mukbir.
10 aug 2016
Journalist Omar Nazal, 53, launched cries for help over Israeli threats to force-feed him, a lawyer said Tuesday.
The journalist was quoted by a lawyer from the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS), who visited him in the Ofer jail, as stating that the Israeli suppressive units of Nahshon threatened him, right after the end of his court trial, with force-feeding and torture.
He added that the Israeli suppressive units locked him in the Israeli Bosta vehicle for hours until he choked.
Nazal vowed to continue his hunger strike which he initiated on August 4 in protest at being held administratively, with neither charge nor trial, in Israeli prisons and in solidarity with hunger-striker Bilal al-Kayed, who has been starving for a couple of months on the same account.
Nazal, a member of the General Secretariat of the Journalists’ Union, was arrested by the occupation forces on April 23. He is the father of three girls.
The journalist was quoted by a lawyer from the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS), who visited him in the Ofer jail, as stating that the Israeli suppressive units of Nahshon threatened him, right after the end of his court trial, with force-feeding and torture.
He added that the Israeli suppressive units locked him in the Israeli Bosta vehicle for hours until he choked.
Nazal vowed to continue his hunger strike which he initiated on August 4 in protest at being held administratively, with neither charge nor trial, in Israeli prisons and in solidarity with hunger-striker Bilal al-Kayed, who has been starving for a couple of months on the same account.
Nazal, a member of the General Secretariat of the Journalists’ Union, was arrested by the occupation forces on April 23. He is the father of three girls.
9 aug 2016
The pro-Palestine Algerian journalist Amal Mourabiti died at the Frantz Fanon hospital after exposure to a traffic accident in Blida province, in northern Algeria.
Journalist Mourabiti succumbed to the wounds she sustained in a deadly accident in Blida city on Thursday.
Mourabiti is most known for her writings on the Palestinian cause and the prisoners’ issue for over ten years.
She was reportedly about to publish a book on the Palestinian prisoners’ cause. Her love for her profession and her dynamic personality have been acknowledged by her friends, colleagues, and family members.
The Palestinian Journalists’ Forum mourned the deceased and offered condolences to her family, colleagues, and the Algerian people.
The forum urged all journalists to follow Mourabiti’s footsteps and mobilize support for the Palestinian cause and people in the face of the Israeli occupation.
Journalist Mourabiti succumbed to the wounds she sustained in a deadly accident in Blida city on Thursday.
Mourabiti is most known for her writings on the Palestinian cause and the prisoners’ issue for over ten years.
She was reportedly about to publish a book on the Palestinian prisoners’ cause. Her love for her profession and her dynamic personality have been acknowledged by her friends, colleagues, and family members.
The Palestinian Journalists’ Forum mourned the deceased and offered condolences to her family, colleagues, and the Algerian people.
The forum urged all journalists to follow Mourabiti’s footsteps and mobilize support for the Palestinian cause and people in the face of the Israeli occupation.
6 aug 2016
Palestinian photojournalist Ashraf Abu Amra from the city of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip has appealed to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate for assistance to travel to Moscow from the blockaded coastal enclave to accept an award.
Abu Amra won second place in the Top News category for the Andrei Stenin International Press Photo Contest, it was announced on Thursday.
More than 7,000 young photojournalists from 71 countries competed for the awards in different five categories.
Abu Amra was also a winner in the 2015 competition, but unable to travel outside of the Gaza Strip due to the ongoing Israeli blockade of the territory.
The awards ceremony is scheduled to be held on Aug. 30.
“This award means a lot to me. Through my participation in the ceremony, I would be representing Palestine in a competition joined by the most outstanding journalists from all over the world. My goal is to raise the voice of Palestine in front of the whole world,” Amra told Ma’an on Saturday.
Abu Amra was awarded for a photo he captured in 2015 of bereaved Palestinian father Yahya Hassan, holding the body of his two-year old daughter Rahaf during her funeral. Rahaf was killed by an Israeli airstrike in October.
Abu Amra won second place in the Top News category for the Andrei Stenin International Press Photo Contest, it was announced on Thursday.
More than 7,000 young photojournalists from 71 countries competed for the awards in different five categories.
Abu Amra was also a winner in the 2015 competition, but unable to travel outside of the Gaza Strip due to the ongoing Israeli blockade of the territory.
The awards ceremony is scheduled to be held on Aug. 30.
“This award means a lot to me. Through my participation in the ceremony, I would be representing Palestine in a competition joined by the most outstanding journalists from all over the world. My goal is to raise the voice of Palestine in front of the whole world,” Amra told Ma’an on Saturday.
Abu Amra was awarded for a photo he captured in 2015 of bereaved Palestinian father Yahya Hassan, holding the body of his two-year old daughter Rahaf during her funeral. Rahaf was killed by an Israeli airstrike in October.
(Photo: Ashraf Abu Amra)
Abu Amra’s appeal comes as Israel's military blockade of the Gaza Strip approaches nearly a decade.
The blockade has plunged the Gaza Strip’s more than 1.8 million Palestinians into poverty, while the destruction from three Israeli offensives over the past six years and slow reconstruction led the UN in September to warn that Gaza could be “uninhabitable” by 2020.
While Egypt’s Rafah border crossing has remained the main lifeline for Gazans to the outside world, Egyptian authorities have slowly sealed off movement through the border since democratically-elected president Muhammad Morsi was toppled by the Egyptian army in 2013.
Due to the constraints on Palestinian movement through the crossing, many are commonly barred from leaving or entering the Gaza Strip, some for months at a time, as the crossing is only periodically opened by Egyptian authorities, stranding Palestinians on both sides of the crossing during closures.
In 2015, the Rafah crossing was closed for 344 days. According to UN documentation, the crossing has been partially opened for 14 non-consecutive days since the beginning of 2016. Over 30,000 people are registered and waiting to cross, according to the Palestinian authorities in Gaza.
Abu Amra’s appeal comes as Israel's military blockade of the Gaza Strip approaches nearly a decade.
The blockade has plunged the Gaza Strip’s more than 1.8 million Palestinians into poverty, while the destruction from three Israeli offensives over the past six years and slow reconstruction led the UN in September to warn that Gaza could be “uninhabitable” by 2020.
While Egypt’s Rafah border crossing has remained the main lifeline for Gazans to the outside world, Egyptian authorities have slowly sealed off movement through the border since democratically-elected president Muhammad Morsi was toppled by the Egyptian army in 2013.
Due to the constraints on Palestinian movement through the crossing, many are commonly barred from leaving or entering the Gaza Strip, some for months at a time, as the crossing is only periodically opened by Egyptian authorities, stranding Palestinians on both sides of the crossing during closures.
In 2015, the Rafah crossing was closed for 344 days. According to UN documentation, the crossing has been partially opened for 14 non-consecutive days since the beginning of 2016. Over 30,000 people are registered and waiting to cross, according to the Palestinian authorities in Gaza.
5 aug 2016
A Palestinian journalist and a number of protesters sustained injuries on Friday as the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) aggressively disbanded peaceful anti-settlement marches in the West Bank.
The popular committee in Ni’lin village, in western Ramallah province, said the IOF violently attacked a march marking the eighth anniversary of the death of the Palestinian minor Youssef Ahmad Ameira, killed by the occupation troops in his 17’s of age, on August 4, 2008.
The march was also staged in solidarity with prisoner Bilal al-Kayed, who has been on a hunger strike for the 53rd consecutive day in protest at being transferred to administrative detention after the end of his 15-year-sentence in Israeli jails.
The popular committee in Ni’lin village, in western Ramallah province, said the IOF violently attacked a march marking the eighth anniversary of the death of the Palestinian minor Youssef Ahmad Ameira, killed by the occupation troops in his 17’s of age, on August 4, 2008.
The march was also staged in solidarity with prisoner Bilal al-Kayed, who has been on a hunger strike for the 53rd consecutive day in protest at being transferred to administrative detention after the end of his 15-year-sentence in Israeli jails.
Youssef Ahmad Ameira 17
The IOF attacked the protesters with randomly-discharged waves of bullet fire and teargas canisters, resulting in several suffocation cases. Journalist Hassan Dabous sustained wounds after he was directly hit with a teargas grenade from a very close range.
At the same time, dozens of Palestinian marchers choked on teargas unleashed by the IOF during a peaceful anti-settlement march staged in Kfar Qaddum village, to the east of Qalqilya.
Coordinator for the popular resistance committee Murad Shteiwi said the IOF soldiers rolled into the village shortly before the launch of the march and showered the area with teargas canisters and live rounds, resulting in several injuries among the protesters.
Earlier, at dawn time, the IOF stormed the village in several army jeeps and wreaked havoc on civilian homes in an attempt to quell anti-occupation activism in the area.
The IOF attacked the protesters with randomly-discharged waves of bullet fire and teargas canisters, resulting in several suffocation cases. Journalist Hassan Dabous sustained wounds after he was directly hit with a teargas grenade from a very close range.
At the same time, dozens of Palestinian marchers choked on teargas unleashed by the IOF during a peaceful anti-settlement march staged in Kfar Qaddum village, to the east of Qalqilya.
Coordinator for the popular resistance committee Murad Shteiwi said the IOF soldiers rolled into the village shortly before the launch of the march and showered the area with teargas canisters and live rounds, resulting in several injuries among the protesters.
Earlier, at dawn time, the IOF stormed the village in several army jeeps and wreaked havoc on civilian homes in an attempt to quell anti-occupation activism in the area.
4 aug 2016
Palestinian young men and journalists suffered injuries on Wednesday evening when Israeli soldiers near Ofer jail in Ramallah violently attacked the march they held in solidarity with hunger-striking prisoners.
Journalist Raghda Atma suffered a leg injury when a stun grenade hit her and one of the protesters suffered a rubber bullet injury, while many others suffocated by tear gas, according to eyewitnesses.
In a related development, the higher leading committee for Hamas prisoners in Israeli jails has declared a state of alert in Ofer jail in response to the transfer of prisoners from the Movement to other prisons and their exposure to maltreatment.
The Ofer administration transferred more than 200 prisoners to different prisons and isolated head of the Hamas leading committee, who went on open-ended hunger strike in response to the repressive measures.
Journalist Raghda Atma suffered a leg injury when a stun grenade hit her and one of the protesters suffered a rubber bullet injury, while many others suffocated by tear gas, according to eyewitnesses.
In a related development, the higher leading committee for Hamas prisoners in Israeli jails has declared a state of alert in Ofer jail in response to the transfer of prisoners from the Movement to other prisons and their exposure to maltreatment.
The Ofer administration transferred more than 200 prisoners to different prisons and isolated head of the Hamas leading committee, who went on open-ended hunger strike in response to the repressive measures.
2 aug 2016
The Journalist Support Committee (JSC) said that Israel's military and security forces committed 47 violations against journalists and media workers during July 2016.
In a recent report, the JSC said that the Israeli army and police arrested eight Palestinian journalists from Jerusalem, Qalqilya and Ramallah, and released most of them later during the month.
The Israeli authorities also extended the detention of journalist Adib al-Attrash and postponed the trial of another one called Samah Duweik.
According to the report, an administratively detained journalist named Malik al-Qadi was reportedly exposed to torture and maltreatment in an Israeli jail, which prompted him to go on hunger strike.
Other violations against journalists during the reporting month included raids on homes, confiscation of cars and cameras, assaults, harassment, banishment orders and removal of Facebook pages.
The report also highlighted several violations committed by the Palestinian Authority security apparatuses, including the arrest of journalists Mohamed Abu Juhaisha and Mohamed Khabisa, raids on homes, and banning journalists from holding a news conference.
In a recent report, the JSC said that the Israeli army and police arrested eight Palestinian journalists from Jerusalem, Qalqilya and Ramallah, and released most of them later during the month.
The Israeli authorities also extended the detention of journalist Adib al-Attrash and postponed the trial of another one called Samah Duweik.
According to the report, an administratively detained journalist named Malik al-Qadi was reportedly exposed to torture and maltreatment in an Israeli jail, which prompted him to go on hunger strike.
Other violations against journalists during the reporting month included raids on homes, confiscation of cars and cameras, assaults, harassment, banishment orders and removal of Facebook pages.
The report also highlighted several violations committed by the Palestinian Authority security apparatuses, including the arrest of journalists Mohamed Abu Juhaisha and Mohamed Khabisa, raids on homes, and banning journalists from holding a news conference.
