9 apr 2014
Palestinian government said the number of solidarity delegations to Gaza has decreased by 95% since July 2013. Media Office of the cabinet said in a report that 218 solidarity delegations visited the besieged Gaza Strip during last year, most of which during January.
The number of solidarity delegations peaked last January at 55 composed of 1281 members, followed by February with 42 delegations composed of 1219 members.
The delegations arrived in Gaza during the last four months were only four with 38 supporters.
Palestinians in Gaza have been under an extreme economic Israeli blockade since 2007, exacerbated Egypt destroying most of the border tunnels, which Gazans used to compensate for the Israeli closure, smuggling fuel and building materials in the first place.
A recent UN report said that an estimated 1.6 million people in the Gaza Strip suffer from food insecurity and they are in need for urgent food aids.
The outgoing head of the U.N. agency that aids Palestinian refugees urged Israel and Egypt on Tuesday to lift their border restrictions on the Gaza Strip, Reuters news agency reported.
The number of solidarity delegations peaked last January at 55 composed of 1281 members, followed by February with 42 delegations composed of 1219 members.
The delegations arrived in Gaza during the last four months were only four with 38 supporters.
Palestinians in Gaza have been under an extreme economic Israeli blockade since 2007, exacerbated Egypt destroying most of the border tunnels, which Gazans used to compensate for the Israeli closure, smuggling fuel and building materials in the first place.
A recent UN report said that an estimated 1.6 million people in the Gaza Strip suffer from food insecurity and they are in need for urgent food aids.
The outgoing head of the U.N. agency that aids Palestinian refugees urged Israel and Egypt on Tuesday to lift their border restrictions on the Gaza Strip, Reuters news agency reported.
Lands razed in Negev and to the west of Hebron.
Israeli forces, stationed on the borders with the Gaza Strip, on Wednesday, opened fire on a residential area adjacent to the borders near Khan Yunes, according to media sources.
A WAFA correspondent said that soldiers opened live fire towards homes in an area to the east of Khan Yunes. No injuries were reported among local residents.
Meanwhile, Israeli army vehicles, tanks and bulldozers continued their daily raids and razing of private-owned agricultural areas near the borders, amid sporadic gunfire and flying reconnaissance aircrafts over the southern parts of the Gaza Strip.
In a related matter, Israeli naval forces in the early morning hours opened a hail of gunfire towards Palestinian fishermen’s boats off Khan Yunes and Rafah, forcing them to head to shore. No injuries were reported.
Also on Wednesday, in the morning, Israeli forces razed Palestinian-owned land in Abu al-Zuluf area to the west of Hebron, according to an activist.
Forces, backed with bulldozers and heavy machinery, razed land belonging to residents of Tarqumiyah, a town located to the northwest of Hebron, said Head of Taffuh Local Council Mahmoud Zreiqat.
The land is located in Abu al-Zuluf area between Adora, an illegal Israeli settlement built on Palestinian-owned land belonging to residents of Tarqumiyah, and ‘Ayn Farʻa, an area that has many springs and belong to residents of Dura, noted Zreiqat.
He said that settlers from Adora and Telem, another illegal Israeli settlement, installed steel poles and wires in the land, in order to seize it as a prelude for expanding the two settlements and connect them together.
Residents were able to remove some of the poles and wires, said Mayor of Tarqumiyah, Sami Fatafta.
Israeli bulldozers, on Wednesday, demolished several Palestinian Bedouin houses in the Negev desert, locals said, according to Ma'an News Agency.
Police vehicles escorted bulldozers across the Negev as they demolished a number of structures in villages not recognized by Israeli authorities.
In the village of al-Zaarura, bulldozers demolished two houses belonging to the Abu Judah family, witnesses said.
Locals in the village of Kseifa said that bulldozers demolished houses and tore down trees.
Demolitions across the Negev are still ongoing, residents told Ma'an Wednesday afternoon.
Yesterday, hundreds of Palestinians and activists planted olive trees in land threatened with seizure by Israel, in the village of Kherbat Samra near Tubas, in the northern Jordan Valley.
The event, which was attended by Tubas governor Rabih al-Khundagji, is part of the popular resistance campaign against the Israeli procedures of confiscating Palestinian private-owned land for the benefit of settlement construction.
Forces attempted to prevent Palestinians from planting the trees but residents refused to leave and proceeded to plant hundreds of dunums of land with olive trees.
Al-Khundagji said that the continued Israeli attempts to seize the Palestinian land and imposition of facts on ground are rejected, stressing in the meantime the Palestinian people’s right to safeguard their land against Israeli takeover by similar means.
In al-Tawani area, to the east of Yatta, in the Hebron district, school children were attacked by Israeli settlers, injuring two, according to a local activist and police sources.
Coordinator of the Anti-wall and Settlement Popular Committee Rateb jabour said that settlers, under the protection of Israeli forces, physically attacked students of al-Tawani school and hurled stones at them, causing two female children, aged 13, to sustain bruises and wounds.
A press release issued by the Police Public Relations Department stated that the two children were severely beaten by Israeli settlers while they were outside their house and, as a result, they sustained moderate wounds and were taken to the hospital to receive medical treatment.
Meanwhile, soldiers sealed off the Jerusalem-Hebron road after fires broke out in a military watchtower set up at the entrance of Beit Ummar.
Also in Hebron, on Wednesday, WAFA reports that a Palestinian elderly was severely attacked and injured by both Israeli settlers and soldiers in al-Tawani and Um al-Kahir to the east of Yatta in Hebron district, according to an activist.
Forces severely beat 55-year-old Khadra al-Hathalin, causing her to lose consciousness and sustain bruises. She was transferred to a hospital for treatment, said Coordinator of the Anti-wall and Settlement Popular Committee Rateb Jubur.
In Jerusalem, Israeli settlers entered al-Aqsa Mosque, in a provocative visit, assaulting and harassing outdoor female students under police protection, according to witnesses.
They said that police allowed the entrance of settlers in small groups during the early morning hours, provoking worshipers and students who chanted religious slogans in protest of the entrance of the extremists to the holy site.
Settlers, under police protection, attacked the students and worshipers, spit at them while using foul language against them.
Meanwhile, Israeli police, stationed at the gates leading to the mosque, continued to impose intensive restrictions on Palestinian worshipers’ entry to the mosque, especially on youth who are ordered to hand over their ID cards to soldiers before they are alowed to enter the mosque.
Furthermore, Israeli forces and police abducted seven people in Jerusalem, Hebron and Bethlehem as well as serving notices for the demolition of two Palestinian-owned shops, according to reports by local and security sources.
Israeli police kidnapped four youth, in Jerusalem, after raiding their houses in the Old City, raising the number of overall abductions, in Jerusalem, to 14 in less than a month.
Meanwhile in Hebron, the army kidnapped a 16-year-old in the village of Tabaqa near Dora, to the west of Hebron. They also took a youth, aged 28, in Hebron and led him to an unknown destination.
Forces further stormed the nearby village of Deir Samet and served local residents with notices to demolish two stores in the area. Meanwhile, army forces set military checkpoints at the entrance to several towns in Hebron district, checking drivers’ and passengers’ identity cards and causing a traffic jam in the process.
In Bethlehem, occupation forces stormed a home in As-Saf Street, in the city, and ordered its owner to take them to the workplace of his 20-year-old son, where they took him away.
Israeli forces, stationed on the borders with the Gaza Strip, on Wednesday, opened fire on a residential area adjacent to the borders near Khan Yunes, according to media sources.
A WAFA correspondent said that soldiers opened live fire towards homes in an area to the east of Khan Yunes. No injuries were reported among local residents.
Meanwhile, Israeli army vehicles, tanks and bulldozers continued their daily raids and razing of private-owned agricultural areas near the borders, amid sporadic gunfire and flying reconnaissance aircrafts over the southern parts of the Gaza Strip.
In a related matter, Israeli naval forces in the early morning hours opened a hail of gunfire towards Palestinian fishermen’s boats off Khan Yunes and Rafah, forcing them to head to shore. No injuries were reported.
Also on Wednesday, in the morning, Israeli forces razed Palestinian-owned land in Abu al-Zuluf area to the west of Hebron, according to an activist.
Forces, backed with bulldozers and heavy machinery, razed land belonging to residents of Tarqumiyah, a town located to the northwest of Hebron, said Head of Taffuh Local Council Mahmoud Zreiqat.
The land is located in Abu al-Zuluf area between Adora, an illegal Israeli settlement built on Palestinian-owned land belonging to residents of Tarqumiyah, and ‘Ayn Farʻa, an area that has many springs and belong to residents of Dura, noted Zreiqat.
He said that settlers from Adora and Telem, another illegal Israeli settlement, installed steel poles and wires in the land, in order to seize it as a prelude for expanding the two settlements and connect them together.
Residents were able to remove some of the poles and wires, said Mayor of Tarqumiyah, Sami Fatafta.
Israeli bulldozers, on Wednesday, demolished several Palestinian Bedouin houses in the Negev desert, locals said, according to Ma'an News Agency.
Police vehicles escorted bulldozers across the Negev as they demolished a number of structures in villages not recognized by Israeli authorities.
In the village of al-Zaarura, bulldozers demolished two houses belonging to the Abu Judah family, witnesses said.
Locals in the village of Kseifa said that bulldozers demolished houses and tore down trees.
Demolitions across the Negev are still ongoing, residents told Ma'an Wednesday afternoon.
Yesterday, hundreds of Palestinians and activists planted olive trees in land threatened with seizure by Israel, in the village of Kherbat Samra near Tubas, in the northern Jordan Valley.
The event, which was attended by Tubas governor Rabih al-Khundagji, is part of the popular resistance campaign against the Israeli procedures of confiscating Palestinian private-owned land for the benefit of settlement construction.
Forces attempted to prevent Palestinians from planting the trees but residents refused to leave and proceeded to plant hundreds of dunums of land with olive trees.
Al-Khundagji said that the continued Israeli attempts to seize the Palestinian land and imposition of facts on ground are rejected, stressing in the meantime the Palestinian people’s right to safeguard their land against Israeli takeover by similar means.
In al-Tawani area, to the east of Yatta, in the Hebron district, school children were attacked by Israeli settlers, injuring two, according to a local activist and police sources.
Coordinator of the Anti-wall and Settlement Popular Committee Rateb jabour said that settlers, under the protection of Israeli forces, physically attacked students of al-Tawani school and hurled stones at them, causing two female children, aged 13, to sustain bruises and wounds.
A press release issued by the Police Public Relations Department stated that the two children were severely beaten by Israeli settlers while they were outside their house and, as a result, they sustained moderate wounds and were taken to the hospital to receive medical treatment.
Meanwhile, soldiers sealed off the Jerusalem-Hebron road after fires broke out in a military watchtower set up at the entrance of Beit Ummar.
Also in Hebron, on Wednesday, WAFA reports that a Palestinian elderly was severely attacked and injured by both Israeli settlers and soldiers in al-Tawani and Um al-Kahir to the east of Yatta in Hebron district, according to an activist.
Forces severely beat 55-year-old Khadra al-Hathalin, causing her to lose consciousness and sustain bruises. She was transferred to a hospital for treatment, said Coordinator of the Anti-wall and Settlement Popular Committee Rateb Jubur.
In Jerusalem, Israeli settlers entered al-Aqsa Mosque, in a provocative visit, assaulting and harassing outdoor female students under police protection, according to witnesses.
They said that police allowed the entrance of settlers in small groups during the early morning hours, provoking worshipers and students who chanted religious slogans in protest of the entrance of the extremists to the holy site.
Settlers, under police protection, attacked the students and worshipers, spit at them while using foul language against them.
Meanwhile, Israeli police, stationed at the gates leading to the mosque, continued to impose intensive restrictions on Palestinian worshipers’ entry to the mosque, especially on youth who are ordered to hand over their ID cards to soldiers before they are alowed to enter the mosque.
Furthermore, Israeli forces and police abducted seven people in Jerusalem, Hebron and Bethlehem as well as serving notices for the demolition of two Palestinian-owned shops, according to reports by local and security sources.
Israeli police kidnapped four youth, in Jerusalem, after raiding their houses in the Old City, raising the number of overall abductions, in Jerusalem, to 14 in less than a month.
Meanwhile in Hebron, the army kidnapped a 16-year-old in the village of Tabaqa near Dora, to the west of Hebron. They also took a youth, aged 28, in Hebron and led him to an unknown destination.
Forces further stormed the nearby village of Deir Samet and served local residents with notices to demolish two stores in the area. Meanwhile, army forces set military checkpoints at the entrance to several towns in Hebron district, checking drivers’ and passengers’ identity cards and causing a traffic jam in the process.
In Bethlehem, occupation forces stormed a home in As-Saf Street, in the city, and ordered its owner to take them to the workplace of his 20-year-old son, where they took him away.
Human rights data indicated the escalation of Israeli attacks launched against Palestinian citizens of Occupied Jerusalem last March. Brutal violations have been carried out by Israeli institutions targeting the Palestinian native citizens and their holy sites. Wadi Hilwe Information Center said in a report on Tuesday that al-Aqsa Mosque has been ceaselessly raided by more than 1,250 Israeli fanatics, soldiers and students of Jewish colleges who roamed al-Aqsa courtyards and corridors. Many Jewish invaders trying to perform their religious rituals within al-Aqsa were immediately stopped by the mosque’s guardians.
The center further documented the presence of Uri Ariel, Israeli Housing Minister, and Moshe Feiglin, the Knesset’s deputy speaker, in the raids which were further escalated by the several attacks led by extremist Rabbi Yehuda Glick and other fanatical groups. 20 Palestinians, including 4 ladies and two children, were also blocked by the Israeli Occupation Authorities (IOA) from entering al-Aqsa Mosque for different periods.
According to the report, 120 Jerusalemites were arrested last march, including 40 minors aged between 13 and 17.
The report documented several serious breaches of Israeli and international detention laws during arrest and investigation processes. Several Palestinians have been arrested after having their houses brutally stormed and searched at dawn time, while others were brutally captured from Jerusalem streets and al-Aqsa courtyards without notifying their families of the arrest.
The Center said that investigators in several custody and investigation centers in Occupied Jerusalem took in children for questioning without the presence of their parents as dictated by the law. The children were also enchained throughout the arrest.
IOF soldiers have also arrested four ladies, trying to go into al-Aqsa, and the five following lawyers: Shireen Issawi, Amjad Safadi, Amr Iskafi, Nadim Gharib and Mahmoud Abu Snina under the pretext of a potential transmission of funds and letters to Hamas and the Islamic Jihad Movement.
The center further documented the presence of Uri Ariel, Israeli Housing Minister, and Moshe Feiglin, the Knesset’s deputy speaker, in the raids which were further escalated by the several attacks led by extremist Rabbi Yehuda Glick and other fanatical groups. 20 Palestinians, including 4 ladies and two children, were also blocked by the Israeli Occupation Authorities (IOA) from entering al-Aqsa Mosque for different periods.
According to the report, 120 Jerusalemites were arrested last march, including 40 minors aged between 13 and 17.
The report documented several serious breaches of Israeli and international detention laws during arrest and investigation processes. Several Palestinians have been arrested after having their houses brutally stormed and searched at dawn time, while others were brutally captured from Jerusalem streets and al-Aqsa courtyards without notifying their families of the arrest.
The Center said that investigators in several custody and investigation centers in Occupied Jerusalem took in children for questioning without the presence of their parents as dictated by the law. The children were also enchained throughout the arrest.
IOF soldiers have also arrested four ladies, trying to go into al-Aqsa, and the five following lawyers: Shireen Issawi, Amjad Safadi, Amr Iskafi, Nadim Gharib and Mahmoud Abu Snina under the pretext of a potential transmission of funds and letters to Hamas and the Islamic Jihad Movement.
To help improve the life of the 1.9 million Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territories, Rowley called upon the international community to give $390 million in aid
UN's Coordinator of Humanitarian Affairs in the Palestinian Territories James Rowley has called for Israel to lift the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip and to reopen the closed legal crossings. In a press conference held at the UNRWA headquarters in Gaza, Rowley said that although 2013 was the "quietest" year in recent history on the Gaza-Israeli front, the Palestinians in Gaza have witnessed their worst life situation in decades.
Rowley also called upon Egypt to open the Rafah Crossing for passengers, goods and necessary medical supplies. He suggested for the crossing to at least function as it did before July 2013.
He acknowledged Egypt's security concerns, but at the same time said Egypt has to consider the humanitarian needs of the people living in Gaza. He added that the UN considers Egypt to bear some responsibility for the life of Gaza's residents, but stressed that Israel bears full responsibility for the siege.
To help improve the life of the 1.9 million Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territories, Rowley called upon the international community to give $390 million in aid.
Regarding the fishermen in Gaza, the UN official called for allowing them to sail freely in the sea and for the farmers to move freely on their farms adjacent or close to the Palestinian-Israeli border.
During the same press conference, a representative of the World Food Programme spoke about the dangerous situation of food security in the Strip. He noted that food insecurity in Gaza has increased from 48 per cent to 57 per cent.
He stressed that the international community must continue helping the residents of the Gaza Strip in order to meet the huge need for food.
UN's Coordinator of Humanitarian Affairs in the Palestinian Territories James Rowley has called for Israel to lift the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip and to reopen the closed legal crossings. In a press conference held at the UNRWA headquarters in Gaza, Rowley said that although 2013 was the "quietest" year in recent history on the Gaza-Israeli front, the Palestinians in Gaza have witnessed their worst life situation in decades.
Rowley also called upon Egypt to open the Rafah Crossing for passengers, goods and necessary medical supplies. He suggested for the crossing to at least function as it did before July 2013.
He acknowledged Egypt's security concerns, but at the same time said Egypt has to consider the humanitarian needs of the people living in Gaza. He added that the UN considers Egypt to bear some responsibility for the life of Gaza's residents, but stressed that Israel bears full responsibility for the siege.
To help improve the life of the 1.9 million Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territories, Rowley called upon the international community to give $390 million in aid.
Regarding the fishermen in Gaza, the UN official called for allowing them to sail freely in the sea and for the farmers to move freely on their farms adjacent or close to the Palestinian-Israeli border.
During the same press conference, a representative of the World Food Programme spoke about the dangerous situation of food security in the Strip. He noted that food insecurity in Gaza has increased from 48 per cent to 57 per cent.
He stressed that the international community must continue helping the residents of the Gaza Strip in order to meet the huge need for food.
8 apr 2014
The prisoners' center for studies, a Palestinian human rights group, said that Israel is the only state in the world which has been detaining dozens of dead Palestinians and Arabs for more than 30 years in military graveyards. Director of the center Ra'fat Hamdouna explained that Israel refuses to turn in to the Palestinian families the remains of their martyred relatives, who have been buried since 1978 in cemeteries made especially for them by the Israeli army.
Hamdouna added that Israel buried the remains of fallen Palestinian, Lebanese and Arab fighters in graveyards it calls the "Numbers Graveyards" referring to many bodies buried nameless with a number attached to each grave.
He stressed that Israel violated the international law when it disrespected the dignity of deceased persons and buried them in a humiliating manner without any regard for any Islamic funeral and burial observances.
He also pointed out that Israel is committed under international law to return the bodies and remains of the Palestinians buried in those graveyards to the Palestinian authorities.
Hamdouna added that Israel buried the remains of fallen Palestinian, Lebanese and Arab fighters in graveyards it calls the "Numbers Graveyards" referring to many bodies buried nameless with a number attached to each grave.
He stressed that Israel violated the international law when it disrespected the dignity of deceased persons and buried them in a humiliating manner without any regard for any Islamic funeral and burial observances.
He also pointed out that Israel is committed under international law to return the bodies and remains of the Palestinians buried in those graveyards to the Palestinian authorities.
An estimated 1.6 million people in the Gaza Strip suffer from food insecurity and they are in need for urgent food aids, according to the United Nation(UN). UN Humanitarian Coordinator James W Rawley said Monday during a press conference, “ the repercussions of the food insecurity in Gaza are very painful.” “The hard living conditions constitute a big challenge to our work here,” he added.
“The people in Gaza are facing big challenges and they need to live in peace and tranquility,” he said.
“The economic conditions in Gaza are deteriorating, therefore trade should be activated” Rawley pointed out, calling on the Egyptian authorities to find a commercial zone and allow the entry of goods and materials through Rafah border crossing.
He said the Israeli occupation’s closure of the crossings undermined the development processes in the strip, so he demanded Israel to allow the access of construction materials into Gaza for humanitarian projects.
Deputy Director of UNRWA operations in Gaza, Mr. Scott Anderson demonstrated the Gaza’s conditions saying the unemployment increased by 38%, about 800,000 Palestinian refugees are suffering food insecurity, and those who are in need of social safety and food aids have risen at an average of 44% to 57% over the last year.
Mr Andrson implied the deteriorated health condition in Gaza and the need to provide social safety and food security nets. He also pointed the spread of diseases due to targeting zoos and death of its animals.
He stressed the importance of supporting the unemployed people and the owners of the factories damaged due to the siege imposed by the Israeli occupation since 2007.
UNRWA exerts efforts to improve the economic situation in Gaza and support Gazans to live in dignity and peace, he said
He called on the international community to help alleviate the suffering of Palestinian people and support their steadfastness, stressing their right to have electricity, fresh water and desalination plants.
“The people in Gaza are facing big challenges and they need to live in peace and tranquility,” he said.
“The economic conditions in Gaza are deteriorating, therefore trade should be activated” Rawley pointed out, calling on the Egyptian authorities to find a commercial zone and allow the entry of goods and materials through Rafah border crossing.
He said the Israeli occupation’s closure of the crossings undermined the development processes in the strip, so he demanded Israel to allow the access of construction materials into Gaza for humanitarian projects.
Deputy Director of UNRWA operations in Gaza, Mr. Scott Anderson demonstrated the Gaza’s conditions saying the unemployment increased by 38%, about 800,000 Palestinian refugees are suffering food insecurity, and those who are in need of social safety and food aids have risen at an average of 44% to 57% over the last year.
Mr Andrson implied the deteriorated health condition in Gaza and the need to provide social safety and food security nets. He also pointed the spread of diseases due to targeting zoos and death of its animals.
He stressed the importance of supporting the unemployed people and the owners of the factories damaged due to the siege imposed by the Israeli occupation since 2007.
UNRWA exerts efforts to improve the economic situation in Gaza and support Gazans to live in dignity and peace, he said
He called on the international community to help alleviate the suffering of Palestinian people and support their steadfastness, stressing their right to have electricity, fresh water and desalination plants.
7 apr 2014
Ahrar Center for Prisoner Studies and Human Rights said in a report on Monday that Palestinians killed by Israeli occupation forces (IOF) reached 20, including 12 in the Gaza Strip and 8 in the West Bank, since the start of the year. The casualties included an old woman in Gaza and a boy in the West Bank, the reported pointed out.
Ahrar Center’s chairman and activist Fouad Khuffash confirmed the official presence of several documented testimonies corroborating the intentional and planned shooting launched on Palestinian civilians by IOF, to whom neither sex nor age seem to make a difference. Youngsters, women and even children are all targets of the Israeli bullets.
Khuffash urged Palestinian Authority to form investigation committees that would both document and scrutinize the crimes committed by the Israeli occupation against Palestinians along with the countless cases of live ammunition shootings being unwarrantedly and arbitrarily launched on Palestinians.
Ahrar Center’s chairman and activist Fouad Khuffash confirmed the official presence of several documented testimonies corroborating the intentional and planned shooting launched on Palestinian civilians by IOF, to whom neither sex nor age seem to make a difference. Youngsters, women and even children are all targets of the Israeli bullets.
Khuffash urged Palestinian Authority to form investigation committees that would both document and scrutinize the crimes committed by the Israeli occupation against Palestinians along with the countless cases of live ammunition shootings being unwarrantedly and arbitrarily launched on Palestinians.
The US government should support rather than oppose Palestinian actions to join international treaties that promote respect for human rights. On April 1, 2014, the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, signed accession instruments for 15 treaties, including the core treaties on human rights and the laws of war. On April 2, the US ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, testified in front of Congress, that in response to the “new Palestinian actions” that the “solemn commitment” by the US to “stand with Israel,” “extends to our firm opposition to any and all unilateral [Palestinian] actions in the international arena.”
“It is disturbing that the Obama administration, which already has a record of resisting international accountability for Israeli rights abuses, would also oppose steps to adopt treaties requiring Palestinian authorities to uphold human rights,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “The US should press both the Palestinians and the Israelis to better abide by international human rights standards.”
Palestine’s adoption of human rights and laws-of-war treaties would not cause any change in Israel’s international legal obligations.
Abbas signed letters of accession to core human rights treaties including the International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the conventions on the rights of the child; the elimination of discrimination against women; and against torture, apartheid, and genocide. Abbas also signed requests for Palestine to accede to treaties on the laws of war, including the Hague Regulations of 1907, the four Geneva Conventions of 1949, and their first additional protocol.
The human rights treaties he signed would impose obligations on the Palestinian government to respect, protect, and fulfill the human rights of people under their authority and effective control. The Palestinian Authority in the West Bank was not eligible to sign human rights treaties but its officials had repeatedly pledged to uphold human rights norms. Human Rights Watch has documented serious abuses by Palestinian security forces, including torture, arbitrary arrest, and the suppression of free speech and assembly.
Ratification of the Hague Regulations and Geneva Conventions would strengthen the obligations of Palestinian forces to abide by international rules on armed conflict. Palestinian armed groups are already obliged by customary international law on armed conflict, including prohibitions on targeting civilians and on carrying out attacks that do not discriminate between civilians and combatants. Armed groups in Gaza, which operate outside the authority or effective control of the Palestinian leadership that signed the treaties, have committed war crimes by launching indiscriminate rocket attacks against Israeli population centers.
Abbas signed the treaties for the state of Palestine, which the UN General Assembly granted non-member observer state status in 2012.
The US appears to oppose Palestine joining human rights treaties in part because it is afraid they will gain greater support for Palestinian statehood outside the framework of negotiations with Israel. According to Power’s testimony to a congressional subcommitteeon April 2, the US has “a monthly meeting with the Israelis” to coordinate responses to possible Palestinian actions at the UN, which the US is concerned could upset peace negotiations. Power said that the US had been “fighting on every front” before peace negotiations restarted in 2013 to prevent such Palestinian actions. Discussing US legislation that bars US funding from UN agencies that accept Palestine as a member, Power noted, “The spirit behind the legislation is to deter Palestinian action [at the UN], that is what we do all the time and that is what we will continue to do.”
The US may also fear that the Palestinian moves are only a first step towards joining the International Criminal Court (ICC). But Abbas did not sign the Rome Statute of the ICC, which would allow the court to have jurisdiction over war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide committed in Palestine or by Palestinians. Power, in her remarks, said that the US is “absolutely adamant” that Palestine should not join the ICC because it “really poses a profound threat to Israel” and would be “devastating to the peace process.”
In either case, the US is mistaken to oppose a step that might lead to greater respect for rights, which could help create a better environment for peace negotiations, Human Rights Watch said.
“The US should stop allowing its separate concerns to stand in the way of a step that could enhance Palestinian authorities’ and armed groups’ respect for basic rights,” Stork said. “The US made the wrong decision to oppose greater rights protections.”
On April 1, the day Abbas signed the accession instruments for the treaties, Israel reissued tenders for the construction of 708 settlement housing units in the Israeli settlement of Gilo, while Israeli forces demolished 32 Palestinian-owned homes and other structures in the occupied West Bank, forcibly displacing 60 people, according to data collected by Ir Amim, an Israeli civil society group, and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Under the Geneva Conventions and the ICC statute, settlement construction and the deliberate forcible transfer of civilians from their homes and communities in occupied territory are war crimes.
Israel has ratified core human rights treaties but officially claims that its rights obligations do not extend to Palestinians in the territory it occupies, where it says the laws of armed conflict apply exclusively. UN rights bodies have completely rejected this argument on the basis that an occupying power’s human rights obligations extend to people living under its effective control. Israel additionally claims, also in the face of nearly universal rejection, that the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits transferring its civilian population into occupied territory, does not apply to its settlements in the West Bank.
Source: HUMAN RIHGHTS WATCH
“It is disturbing that the Obama administration, which already has a record of resisting international accountability for Israeli rights abuses, would also oppose steps to adopt treaties requiring Palestinian authorities to uphold human rights,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “The US should press both the Palestinians and the Israelis to better abide by international human rights standards.”
Palestine’s adoption of human rights and laws-of-war treaties would not cause any change in Israel’s international legal obligations.
Abbas signed letters of accession to core human rights treaties including the International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the conventions on the rights of the child; the elimination of discrimination against women; and against torture, apartheid, and genocide. Abbas also signed requests for Palestine to accede to treaties on the laws of war, including the Hague Regulations of 1907, the four Geneva Conventions of 1949, and their first additional protocol.
The human rights treaties he signed would impose obligations on the Palestinian government to respect, protect, and fulfill the human rights of people under their authority and effective control. The Palestinian Authority in the West Bank was not eligible to sign human rights treaties but its officials had repeatedly pledged to uphold human rights norms. Human Rights Watch has documented serious abuses by Palestinian security forces, including torture, arbitrary arrest, and the suppression of free speech and assembly.
Ratification of the Hague Regulations and Geneva Conventions would strengthen the obligations of Palestinian forces to abide by international rules on armed conflict. Palestinian armed groups are already obliged by customary international law on armed conflict, including prohibitions on targeting civilians and on carrying out attacks that do not discriminate between civilians and combatants. Armed groups in Gaza, which operate outside the authority or effective control of the Palestinian leadership that signed the treaties, have committed war crimes by launching indiscriminate rocket attacks against Israeli population centers.
Abbas signed the treaties for the state of Palestine, which the UN General Assembly granted non-member observer state status in 2012.
The US appears to oppose Palestine joining human rights treaties in part because it is afraid they will gain greater support for Palestinian statehood outside the framework of negotiations with Israel. According to Power’s testimony to a congressional subcommitteeon April 2, the US has “a monthly meeting with the Israelis” to coordinate responses to possible Palestinian actions at the UN, which the US is concerned could upset peace negotiations. Power said that the US had been “fighting on every front” before peace negotiations restarted in 2013 to prevent such Palestinian actions. Discussing US legislation that bars US funding from UN agencies that accept Palestine as a member, Power noted, “The spirit behind the legislation is to deter Palestinian action [at the UN], that is what we do all the time and that is what we will continue to do.”
The US may also fear that the Palestinian moves are only a first step towards joining the International Criminal Court (ICC). But Abbas did not sign the Rome Statute of the ICC, which would allow the court to have jurisdiction over war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide committed in Palestine or by Palestinians. Power, in her remarks, said that the US is “absolutely adamant” that Palestine should not join the ICC because it “really poses a profound threat to Israel” and would be “devastating to the peace process.”
In either case, the US is mistaken to oppose a step that might lead to greater respect for rights, which could help create a better environment for peace negotiations, Human Rights Watch said.
“The US should stop allowing its separate concerns to stand in the way of a step that could enhance Palestinian authorities’ and armed groups’ respect for basic rights,” Stork said. “The US made the wrong decision to oppose greater rights protections.”
On April 1, the day Abbas signed the accession instruments for the treaties, Israel reissued tenders for the construction of 708 settlement housing units in the Israeli settlement of Gilo, while Israeli forces demolished 32 Palestinian-owned homes and other structures in the occupied West Bank, forcibly displacing 60 people, according to data collected by Ir Amim, an Israeli civil society group, and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Under the Geneva Conventions and the ICC statute, settlement construction and the deliberate forcible transfer of civilians from their homes and communities in occupied territory are war crimes.
Israel has ratified core human rights treaties but officially claims that its rights obligations do not extend to Palestinians in the territory it occupies, where it says the laws of armed conflict apply exclusively. UN rights bodies have completely rejected this argument on the basis that an occupying power’s human rights obligations extend to people living under its effective control. Israel additionally claims, also in the face of nearly universal rejection, that the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits transferring its civilian population into occupied territory, does not apply to its settlements in the West Bank.
Source: HUMAN RIHGHTS WATCH
Israeli troops abduct Palestinian child
In its Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories for the week of 27 March - 02 April 2014, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) found that Israeli forces wounded 7 Palestinian civilians, including 3 children, in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, while a civilian sustained a bullet wound in the West Bank when a settler opened fire at him.
Israeli navy forces fired at Palestinian fishing boats in the sea 4 times.
Israeli attacks in the West Bank:
In the West Bank, Israeli forces used excessive force against peaceful demonstrations organised by Palestinian civilians, international and Israeli human rights defenders in protest at the construction of the annexation wall and settlement activities in the West Bank. As a result, dozens of civilians suffered tear gas inhalation and others sustained bruises as they were beaten up by Israeli soldiers.
In the same context, 6 civilians, including 3 children, were wounded during other peaceful demonstrations at the western entrance of Selwad village, northeast of Ramallah; Beit Ommar village, north of Hebron; and Kofur Qaddoum village, northeast of Qalqilya. In addition, 3 women suffered tear gas inhalation during a demonstration at the southern entrance of al-Jalazoun refugee camp, north of Ramallah, on 28 March 2014.
On the same day, an 11-year-old child sustained a bullet wound to the right leg while he was standing in front of his house in Beit Ommar village, north of Hebron, and was then abducted by Israeli soldiers from his family house.
Israeli forces conducted 68 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. 23 Palestinian civilians were abducted. Israeli forces established dozens of checkpoints in the West Bank. At least 8 Palestinian civilians, including two children, were abducted at checkpoints in the West Bank.
During the reporting period, Israeli forces conducted at least 68 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. During these incursions, Israeli forces abducted at least 23 Palestinians.
On 28 March 2014, Israeli forces maltreated Yusef 'Allami (52) when they raided his house near Beit Ommar village, north of Hebron. They searched the house and threatened to demolish his house as it was built without a license.
On the same day, Israeli forces maltreated Shadi Seder (31) when they raided his house in Hebron's Old Town. They sprayed pepper spray into his face and his mother's. Israeli forces also abducted the aforementioned person, his brother and neighbour.
Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip:
In the Gaza Strip, on 27 March 2014, Israeli forces stationed along the border fence, east of Beit Hanoun town in the northern Gaza Strip, fired live ammunition and gas canisters at hundreds of Palestinian civilians who organized demonstrations to mark the Land Day. As a result, a 37-year-old journalist and a 20-year-old civilian suffered tear gas inhalation.
On 29 March 2014, Israeli forces stationed along the border fence, east of Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, opened fire at a group of youngsters who approached the border fence to throw stones at Israeli soldiers. As a result, an 18-year-old civilian sustained a bullet wound to the left thigh. His wound was moderate.
On 31 March 2014, Israeli forces stationed along the border fence, east and north of Khuza'a village, east of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, opened fire at dozens of Palestinians who organized a demonstration and headed towards the border fence marking the Land Day. However, no casualties were reported.
In the context of targeting Palestinian fishermen in the sea, Israeli navy forces opened fire 4 times at Palestinian fishing boats on 29 and 31 March and 01 April 2014, but no casualties were reported.
Israel continued to impose a total closure and has isolated the Gaza Strip from the outside world.
Israeli settlement activities:
Israeli forces continued to support settlement activities in the West Bank and Israeli settlers continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property.
On 30 March 2014, a 24-year-old civilian sustained a bullet wound to the left leg when a settler opened fire at him on " Yitzhar" bypass road.
Israel continued efforts to create a Jewish majority in the occupied East Jerusalem. Two civilians were obliged to demolish two residential barracks by their own.
A Palestinian sustained a bullet wound as a settler opened fire at him.
8 residential tents and 4 livestock barns were demolished.
18 civilian facilities in the Northern Jordan Valley were demolished, due to which 38 civilians, including 22 children, became homeless.
7 residential rooms, south of Hebron, were demolished, due to which 95 civilians became homeless.
Israeli attacks on non-violent demonstrations:
During the reporting period, Israeli soldiers used excessive force against peaceful demonstrations organised by Palestinian civilians, international and Israeli human rights defenders in protest at the construction of the annexation wall and settlement activities in the West Bank.
As a result, a number of demonstrators suffered tear gas inhalation and others sustained bruises as they were beaten up by Israeli soldiers.
In the same context, 6 Palestinian civilians, including 3 children, were wounded during other protests organized at the western entrance of Selwad village, northeast of Ramallah; Beit Ommar village, north of Hebron; and Kofur Qaddoum village, northeast of Qalqilia. Three women suffered tear gas inhalation during a demonstration at the southern entrance of al-Jalazone refugee camp, north of Ramallah, on 28 March 2014.
Following the Friday Prayer, 28 March 2014, dozens of Palestinian civilians and international and Israeli human rights defenders organised a peaceful demonstration in Bil’in, west of Ramallah, in protest at the construction of the annexation wall and settlement activities. Demonstrators took the streets raising the Palestinian flags and headed to the liberated territories near the annexation wall. Israeli forces had closed all the entrances of the village since the morning in order to prevent Palestinian and international activists and journalists from participating in the demonstration. Demonstrators marched adjacent to the cement wall and tried to cross the fence before Israeli forces that are stationed behind the wall, in the western area, and a large number of soldiers deployed along it, fired live bullets, tear gas canisters, rubber-coated steel bullets, sound bombs and skunk water at them and chased them into the olive fields.
As a result, a number of demonstrators suffered tear gas inhalation and others sustained bruises as they were beaten up by Israeli soldiers.
On the same day, dozens of Palestinian civilians organised a peaceful demonstration in the centre of Ni’lin village, west of Ramallah, in protest at the construction of the annexation wall and settlement activities. Demonstrators took the streets and headed to the annexation wall. Israeli forces closed the gates of the wall with barbwires and prevented the demonstrators from crossing to the land behind it before they responded by throwing stones.
As a result, many civilians suffered tear gas inhalation and bruises as they were beaten up by Israeli soldiers.
Around the same time, dozens of Palestinian civilians and Israeli and international human rights defenders organised a peaceful demonstration in Nabi Saleh village, southwest of Ramallah, in protest at the construction of the annexation wall and settlement activities. Demonstrators made their way in the streets raising the Palestinian flags and chanting slogans against the occupation and in support of the Palestinian unity resistance, and then they headed to the lands that the settlers are trying to rob by force near “Halamish” settlement. Israeli forces closed all the entrances of the village since the morning to prevent Palestinian and international activists and journalists from participating in the demonstration. When they arrived at the land, demonstrators were met by live bullets, tear gas canisters, rubber-coated steel bullets, sound bombs and skunk water and were chased into the village.
As a result, many civilians suffered tear gas inhalation and others sustained bruises due to being beaten up by Israeli soldiers.
On Friday, 28 March 2014, dozens of children and young men gathered at the southern entrance of al-Jalazoun refugee camp, north of Ramallah. They were about 300 meters away from the fence of "Beit Eil" settlement. Israeli forces stationed in the area fired live ammunition, rubber-coated metal bullets, sound bombs and tear gas canisters.
As a result, a number of civilians suffered tear gas inhalation. Of the wounded were three women: Amina Taleb Mohammed 'Attari (82); Sabrin Malek Mohammed Attari (25); and Majeda Issa Attiya Abu Aisha (54).
On the same day, dozens of Palestinian young men gathered at the western entrance of Selwad village, northeast of Ramallah on the road between Selwad village and Yabrod village near Street (60) to throw stones at the aforementioned street. In response, Israeli soldiers attempted to raid houses overlooking the clashes area to turn them into military sites, but residents of the houses denied them access to their houses.
As a result, two civilians were wounded and then taken to Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah to receive the necessary medical treatment. The first 26-year-old male sustained a bullet wound to the left leg and the second 18-year-old male sustained a bullet wound to the right knee.
Moreover, dozens of civilians suffered tear gas inhalation and others sustained bruises as they were beaten up by Israeli soldiers. Israeli soldiers also stopped a vehicle driven by Mohammed Omar Hamed (20) and obliged him to step out. When they asked his brother Nabil (22), who is handicapped due to a previous injury in the spine by Israeli forces, to step out as well, they attacked him by gun butts on his shoulder. Mohammed was taken to Ofer detention facility, but he was released at approximately 21:00.
At approximately 13:30, a peaceful demonstration was organized by dozens of Palestinians in Beit Ommar village, north of Hebron. They raised Palestinian flags and chanted patriot slogans. When they approached Asida area that is about 300 meters away from the village's entrance, Israeli forces deployed and started firing sound bombs, tear gas canisters and rubber-coated metal bullets in response. As a result, a number of demonstrators suffered tear gas inhalation. In the meantime, military vehicles accompanied by a vehicle to spray wastewater moved into the village. The vehicle sprayed wastewater over stores at the entrance of the village. In addition, Israeli soldiers chased boys in al-Shaikh and al-Zahlaqan neighbourhoods and fired live ammunition indiscriminately.
As a result, Qais Mohammed Kamel Abu Maria (11) sustained a bullet wound to the right thigh, as Israeli soldiers fired at him from a distance of 10 meters while he was standing in front of his house. The child entered inside, but Israeli soldiers raided the house and abducted him. When his mother intervened, an Israeli soldier pushed her away, so she lost consciousness. The child was taken to "Kfar Etzion" settlement. He was offered first aid and then delivered to a Palestinian ambulance that took him to Hebron Hospital. It was found that he sustained a deep wound. He was offered the necessary medical treatment and then discharged.
The child said to a PCHR fieldworker: "I am a 5th-grade student in Hettin school. Our house is about 300 meters away from the Israeli surveillance site at the entrance of the village. At approximately 17:00 on Sunday, 30 March 2014, I heard gunfire around the house. Other students at school told me it was the Land Day, so I realized clashes had erupted. I went out to see what was happening. I was standing on a high place about 10 meters away from the house. I saw students throwing stones at Israeli soldiers. The boys asked me to go away, so I approached the house door. I saw a soldier who took position and fired at me from a distance of about 10 meters.
I felt something had hit my left thigh from the back. I ran towards the house, but the same soldier raided the house and pointed his gun at me, my mother Feryal (34) and uncle Sajed (38). He caught me from the back and pulled me to the outside. My mother tried to stop him but it vain. He took me to the military watchtower although I kept telling him that my leg was hurting. Another soldier pulled my hair and another one slapped me on the face and hit me by a gun butt to my back.
The soldier pulled me from my hair to the watchtower and then forced me to get into a jeep. My mother hurried to help me, but a soldier pushed her away and she lost consciousness. They offered me first aid in the jeep. I stayed there for about 3 hours. A PRCS's ambulance arrived then and took me to Hebron Hospital."
At approximately 16:00 on Saturday, 29 March 2014, Palestinian civilians and international activists organised a peaceful demonstration in the centre of Kufor Qaddoum village, northwest of Qalqilia, and headed towards the eastern entrance of the village to mark the Land Day. Clashes erupted between the demonstrators and Israeli forces that fired sound bombs and tear gas canisters.
As a result, 3 civilians, including 2 children, were wounded and 2 others suffered tear gas inhalation. KHaled Morad Ishtaiwi (9) sustained a bullet wound to the right leg; a 17-year-old male sustained a bullet wound to the back and a 23-year-old male sustained a bullet wound to the right leg.
Recommendations to the international community:
Due to the number and severity of Israeli human rights violations this week, the PCHR made several recommendations to the international community. Among these were a recommendation that calls on States that apply the principle of universal jurisdiction not to surrender to Israeli pressure to limit universal jurisdiction to perpetuate the impunity enjoyed by suspected Israeli war criminals.
The PCHR calls upon the international community to act in order to stop all Israeli settlement expansion activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories through imposing sanctions on Israeli settlements and criminalizing trading with them
For the full text of the report, click on the link
In its Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories for the week of 27 March - 02 April 2014, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) found that Israeli forces wounded 7 Palestinian civilians, including 3 children, in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, while a civilian sustained a bullet wound in the West Bank when a settler opened fire at him.
Israeli navy forces fired at Palestinian fishing boats in the sea 4 times.
Israeli attacks in the West Bank:
In the West Bank, Israeli forces used excessive force against peaceful demonstrations organised by Palestinian civilians, international and Israeli human rights defenders in protest at the construction of the annexation wall and settlement activities in the West Bank. As a result, dozens of civilians suffered tear gas inhalation and others sustained bruises as they were beaten up by Israeli soldiers.
In the same context, 6 civilians, including 3 children, were wounded during other peaceful demonstrations at the western entrance of Selwad village, northeast of Ramallah; Beit Ommar village, north of Hebron; and Kofur Qaddoum village, northeast of Qalqilya. In addition, 3 women suffered tear gas inhalation during a demonstration at the southern entrance of al-Jalazoun refugee camp, north of Ramallah, on 28 March 2014.
On the same day, an 11-year-old child sustained a bullet wound to the right leg while he was standing in front of his house in Beit Ommar village, north of Hebron, and was then abducted by Israeli soldiers from his family house.
Israeli forces conducted 68 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. 23 Palestinian civilians were abducted. Israeli forces established dozens of checkpoints in the West Bank. At least 8 Palestinian civilians, including two children, were abducted at checkpoints in the West Bank.
During the reporting period, Israeli forces conducted at least 68 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. During these incursions, Israeli forces abducted at least 23 Palestinians.
On 28 March 2014, Israeli forces maltreated Yusef 'Allami (52) when they raided his house near Beit Ommar village, north of Hebron. They searched the house and threatened to demolish his house as it was built without a license.
On the same day, Israeli forces maltreated Shadi Seder (31) when they raided his house in Hebron's Old Town. They sprayed pepper spray into his face and his mother's. Israeli forces also abducted the aforementioned person, his brother and neighbour.
Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip:
In the Gaza Strip, on 27 March 2014, Israeli forces stationed along the border fence, east of Beit Hanoun town in the northern Gaza Strip, fired live ammunition and gas canisters at hundreds of Palestinian civilians who organized demonstrations to mark the Land Day. As a result, a 37-year-old journalist and a 20-year-old civilian suffered tear gas inhalation.
On 29 March 2014, Israeli forces stationed along the border fence, east of Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, opened fire at a group of youngsters who approached the border fence to throw stones at Israeli soldiers. As a result, an 18-year-old civilian sustained a bullet wound to the left thigh. His wound was moderate.
On 31 March 2014, Israeli forces stationed along the border fence, east and north of Khuza'a village, east of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, opened fire at dozens of Palestinians who organized a demonstration and headed towards the border fence marking the Land Day. However, no casualties were reported.
In the context of targeting Palestinian fishermen in the sea, Israeli navy forces opened fire 4 times at Palestinian fishing boats on 29 and 31 March and 01 April 2014, but no casualties were reported.
Israel continued to impose a total closure and has isolated the Gaza Strip from the outside world.
Israeli settlement activities:
Israeli forces continued to support settlement activities in the West Bank and Israeli settlers continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property.
On 30 March 2014, a 24-year-old civilian sustained a bullet wound to the left leg when a settler opened fire at him on " Yitzhar" bypass road.
Israel continued efforts to create a Jewish majority in the occupied East Jerusalem. Two civilians were obliged to demolish two residential barracks by their own.
A Palestinian sustained a bullet wound as a settler opened fire at him.
8 residential tents and 4 livestock barns were demolished.
18 civilian facilities in the Northern Jordan Valley were demolished, due to which 38 civilians, including 22 children, became homeless.
7 residential rooms, south of Hebron, were demolished, due to which 95 civilians became homeless.
Israeli attacks on non-violent demonstrations:
During the reporting period, Israeli soldiers used excessive force against peaceful demonstrations organised by Palestinian civilians, international and Israeli human rights defenders in protest at the construction of the annexation wall and settlement activities in the West Bank.
As a result, a number of demonstrators suffered tear gas inhalation and others sustained bruises as they were beaten up by Israeli soldiers.
In the same context, 6 Palestinian civilians, including 3 children, were wounded during other protests organized at the western entrance of Selwad village, northeast of Ramallah; Beit Ommar village, north of Hebron; and Kofur Qaddoum village, northeast of Qalqilia. Three women suffered tear gas inhalation during a demonstration at the southern entrance of al-Jalazone refugee camp, north of Ramallah, on 28 March 2014.
Following the Friday Prayer, 28 March 2014, dozens of Palestinian civilians and international and Israeli human rights defenders organised a peaceful demonstration in Bil’in, west of Ramallah, in protest at the construction of the annexation wall and settlement activities. Demonstrators took the streets raising the Palestinian flags and headed to the liberated territories near the annexation wall. Israeli forces had closed all the entrances of the village since the morning in order to prevent Palestinian and international activists and journalists from participating in the demonstration. Demonstrators marched adjacent to the cement wall and tried to cross the fence before Israeli forces that are stationed behind the wall, in the western area, and a large number of soldiers deployed along it, fired live bullets, tear gas canisters, rubber-coated steel bullets, sound bombs and skunk water at them and chased them into the olive fields.
As a result, a number of demonstrators suffered tear gas inhalation and others sustained bruises as they were beaten up by Israeli soldiers.
On the same day, dozens of Palestinian civilians organised a peaceful demonstration in the centre of Ni’lin village, west of Ramallah, in protest at the construction of the annexation wall and settlement activities. Demonstrators took the streets and headed to the annexation wall. Israeli forces closed the gates of the wall with barbwires and prevented the demonstrators from crossing to the land behind it before they responded by throwing stones.
As a result, many civilians suffered tear gas inhalation and bruises as they were beaten up by Israeli soldiers.
Around the same time, dozens of Palestinian civilians and Israeli and international human rights defenders organised a peaceful demonstration in Nabi Saleh village, southwest of Ramallah, in protest at the construction of the annexation wall and settlement activities. Demonstrators made their way in the streets raising the Palestinian flags and chanting slogans against the occupation and in support of the Palestinian unity resistance, and then they headed to the lands that the settlers are trying to rob by force near “Halamish” settlement. Israeli forces closed all the entrances of the village since the morning to prevent Palestinian and international activists and journalists from participating in the demonstration. When they arrived at the land, demonstrators were met by live bullets, tear gas canisters, rubber-coated steel bullets, sound bombs and skunk water and were chased into the village.
As a result, many civilians suffered tear gas inhalation and others sustained bruises due to being beaten up by Israeli soldiers.
On Friday, 28 March 2014, dozens of children and young men gathered at the southern entrance of al-Jalazoun refugee camp, north of Ramallah. They were about 300 meters away from the fence of "Beit Eil" settlement. Israeli forces stationed in the area fired live ammunition, rubber-coated metal bullets, sound bombs and tear gas canisters.
As a result, a number of civilians suffered tear gas inhalation. Of the wounded were three women: Amina Taleb Mohammed 'Attari (82); Sabrin Malek Mohammed Attari (25); and Majeda Issa Attiya Abu Aisha (54).
On the same day, dozens of Palestinian young men gathered at the western entrance of Selwad village, northeast of Ramallah on the road between Selwad village and Yabrod village near Street (60) to throw stones at the aforementioned street. In response, Israeli soldiers attempted to raid houses overlooking the clashes area to turn them into military sites, but residents of the houses denied them access to their houses.
As a result, two civilians were wounded and then taken to Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah to receive the necessary medical treatment. The first 26-year-old male sustained a bullet wound to the left leg and the second 18-year-old male sustained a bullet wound to the right knee.
Moreover, dozens of civilians suffered tear gas inhalation and others sustained bruises as they were beaten up by Israeli soldiers. Israeli soldiers also stopped a vehicle driven by Mohammed Omar Hamed (20) and obliged him to step out. When they asked his brother Nabil (22), who is handicapped due to a previous injury in the spine by Israeli forces, to step out as well, they attacked him by gun butts on his shoulder. Mohammed was taken to Ofer detention facility, but he was released at approximately 21:00.
At approximately 13:30, a peaceful demonstration was organized by dozens of Palestinians in Beit Ommar village, north of Hebron. They raised Palestinian flags and chanted patriot slogans. When they approached Asida area that is about 300 meters away from the village's entrance, Israeli forces deployed and started firing sound bombs, tear gas canisters and rubber-coated metal bullets in response. As a result, a number of demonstrators suffered tear gas inhalation. In the meantime, military vehicles accompanied by a vehicle to spray wastewater moved into the village. The vehicle sprayed wastewater over stores at the entrance of the village. In addition, Israeli soldiers chased boys in al-Shaikh and al-Zahlaqan neighbourhoods and fired live ammunition indiscriminately.
As a result, Qais Mohammed Kamel Abu Maria (11) sustained a bullet wound to the right thigh, as Israeli soldiers fired at him from a distance of 10 meters while he was standing in front of his house. The child entered inside, but Israeli soldiers raided the house and abducted him. When his mother intervened, an Israeli soldier pushed her away, so she lost consciousness. The child was taken to "Kfar Etzion" settlement. He was offered first aid and then delivered to a Palestinian ambulance that took him to Hebron Hospital. It was found that he sustained a deep wound. He was offered the necessary medical treatment and then discharged.
The child said to a PCHR fieldworker: "I am a 5th-grade student in Hettin school. Our house is about 300 meters away from the Israeli surveillance site at the entrance of the village. At approximately 17:00 on Sunday, 30 March 2014, I heard gunfire around the house. Other students at school told me it was the Land Day, so I realized clashes had erupted. I went out to see what was happening. I was standing on a high place about 10 meters away from the house. I saw students throwing stones at Israeli soldiers. The boys asked me to go away, so I approached the house door. I saw a soldier who took position and fired at me from a distance of about 10 meters.
I felt something had hit my left thigh from the back. I ran towards the house, but the same soldier raided the house and pointed his gun at me, my mother Feryal (34) and uncle Sajed (38). He caught me from the back and pulled me to the outside. My mother tried to stop him but it vain. He took me to the military watchtower although I kept telling him that my leg was hurting. Another soldier pulled my hair and another one slapped me on the face and hit me by a gun butt to my back.
The soldier pulled me from my hair to the watchtower and then forced me to get into a jeep. My mother hurried to help me, but a soldier pushed her away and she lost consciousness. They offered me first aid in the jeep. I stayed there for about 3 hours. A PRCS's ambulance arrived then and took me to Hebron Hospital."
At approximately 16:00 on Saturday, 29 March 2014, Palestinian civilians and international activists organised a peaceful demonstration in the centre of Kufor Qaddoum village, northwest of Qalqilia, and headed towards the eastern entrance of the village to mark the Land Day. Clashes erupted between the demonstrators and Israeli forces that fired sound bombs and tear gas canisters.
As a result, 3 civilians, including 2 children, were wounded and 2 others suffered tear gas inhalation. KHaled Morad Ishtaiwi (9) sustained a bullet wound to the right leg; a 17-year-old male sustained a bullet wound to the back and a 23-year-old male sustained a bullet wound to the right leg.
Recommendations to the international community:
Due to the number and severity of Israeli human rights violations this week, the PCHR made several recommendations to the international community. Among these were a recommendation that calls on States that apply the principle of universal jurisdiction not to surrender to Israeli pressure to limit universal jurisdiction to perpetuate the impunity enjoyed by suspected Israeli war criminals.
The PCHR calls upon the international community to act in order to stop all Israeli settlement expansion activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories through imposing sanctions on Israeli settlements and criminalizing trading with them
For the full text of the report, click on the link
5 apr 2014
Over 1,500 Palestinian children have been killed by Israeli forces since the year 2000, the Palestinian Authority minister of social affairs said Saturday.
Marking Palestinian Children's Day, Kamal al-Sharafi said in a statement that 1,520 Palestinian children have been killed and approximately 6,000 injured by the Israeli military in the past 14 years.
More than 10,000 have been arrested, al-Sharafi added, and 200 are currently being held in Israeli prisons.
"Protecting and supporting children should be a national responsibility," he said, calling upon the Palestinian Authority to ratify a law for the protection of minors.
Palestinians mark Children's Day on April 5 each year.
The United Nations Children Fund said in a 2013 report that 700 Palestinian children aged 12 to 17, most of them boys, are arrested, interrogated and detained by the Israeli military, police, and security agents every year in the occupied West Bank.
In the report, UNICEF said it identified examples of practices that "amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment according to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention against Torture."
Marking Palestinian Children's Day, Kamal al-Sharafi said in a statement that 1,520 Palestinian children have been killed and approximately 6,000 injured by the Israeli military in the past 14 years.
More than 10,000 have been arrested, al-Sharafi added, and 200 are currently being held in Israeli prisons.
"Protecting and supporting children should be a national responsibility," he said, calling upon the Palestinian Authority to ratify a law for the protection of minors.
Palestinians mark Children's Day on April 5 each year.
The United Nations Children Fund said in a 2013 report that 700 Palestinian children aged 12 to 17, most of them boys, are arrested, interrogated and detained by the Israeli military, police, and security agents every year in the occupied West Bank.
In the report, UNICEF said it identified examples of practices that "amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment according to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention against Torture."
3 apr 2014
The EU Representative, Mr. John Gatt-Rutter on Wednesday, presented to the Palestinian Authority Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Riad Al Malki, the 2013 European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) progress report for Palestine.
In its annual Progress Reports, the European Union takes stock of progress on reform by countries within the ENP and identifies areas where further efforts are needed.
The European Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy first published the annual "neighbourhood package" on March 2014 which includes progress reports on the EU's closest neighbors.
"In 2013 the EU and the Palestinian Authority agreed to deepen relations on the basis of an agreed agenda for reform over five years - the ENP Action Plan. This sets out reform priorities in all areas of EU-Palestinian cooperation. It also lays down the foundation for deeper EU – Palestinian relations. The 2013 progress report is the first annual assessment of steps taken to implement these agreed reform measures" said the EU Representative, Mr John Gatt-Rutter.
"The single most significant development in 2013 was the return to direct talks between Palestinians and Israelis thereby renewing hope of a peaceful, negotiated solution to the conflict. It has also created new opportunities for deepening the EU's relations with both parties. In December the European Foreign Affairs Council announced that, in the context of a final status agreement, the EU is ready to offer a Special Privileged Partnership to both parties. Such a partnership would bring substantial economic, trade and other benefits to both", he added.
The report acknowledges that the Israeli occupation and the restrictions it imposes are significant hindrances to Palestinian economic development and remain the biggest obstacle to reforms, especially as regards the PA's financial sustainability. The lack of progress in intra-Palestinian reconciliation also remains a major challenge.
Nevertheless it recognizes that there is scope for the Palestinian Authority to accelerate reforms in areas within its control notably as regards the civil service and pensions, justice and security as well as conditions in Palestinian prisons. It also highlights the need to create an enabling environment for journalists and take further steps to address violence against women.
In its annual Progress Reports, the European Union takes stock of progress on reform by countries within the ENP and identifies areas where further efforts are needed.
The European Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy first published the annual "neighbourhood package" on March 2014 which includes progress reports on the EU's closest neighbors.
"In 2013 the EU and the Palestinian Authority agreed to deepen relations on the basis of an agreed agenda for reform over five years - the ENP Action Plan. This sets out reform priorities in all areas of EU-Palestinian cooperation. It also lays down the foundation for deeper EU – Palestinian relations. The 2013 progress report is the first annual assessment of steps taken to implement these agreed reform measures" said the EU Representative, Mr John Gatt-Rutter.
"The single most significant development in 2013 was the return to direct talks between Palestinians and Israelis thereby renewing hope of a peaceful, negotiated solution to the conflict. It has also created new opportunities for deepening the EU's relations with both parties. In December the European Foreign Affairs Council announced that, in the context of a final status agreement, the EU is ready to offer a Special Privileged Partnership to both parties. Such a partnership would bring substantial economic, trade and other benefits to both", he added.
The report acknowledges that the Israeli occupation and the restrictions it imposes are significant hindrances to Palestinian economic development and remain the biggest obstacle to reforms, especially as regards the PA's financial sustainability. The lack of progress in intra-Palestinian reconciliation also remains a major challenge.
Nevertheless it recognizes that there is scope for the Palestinian Authority to accelerate reforms in areas within its control notably as regards the civil service and pensions, justice and security as well as conditions in Palestinian prisons. It also highlights the need to create an enabling environment for journalists and take further steps to address violence against women.
