20 mar 2014
(Xinhua) -- An absolute majority among the Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip believe that things are heading in the wrong direction, a public opinion survey showed Wednesday. Sixty-six percent of the 1,200 sample people believe that things are heading in the wrong direction, while 49 percent said they are pessimistic about the future, according to the study conducted in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank by the Arab World Research and Development Center (AWRAD).
The poll, which was published on Wednesday, showed that 53 percent of respondents say that their family's economic situation is worse than it was a year ago. In contrast, 33 percent of them that it has stayed the same.
The Gaza Strip, ruled by Hamas movement, has been under a tight Israeli blockade and Egyptian security measures for around eight years, while the West Bank suffers from expansion of settlement and deteriorated economy.
Due to the Israeli policies, rates of poverty and unemployment, mainly in Gaza have grown, while a stalemate peace process had created a status of disappointment among the Palestinians.
The poll said that 52 percent support a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, while 46 percent oppose.
The U.S.-sponsored peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians were resumed last July and the two sides were given a nine-month ultimatum to hummer out a peace deal.
However, Israeli and Palestinian officials had earlier declared that no progress had been so far achieved. Even the visit of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to Washington and his meeting with President Barack Obama hadn't achieved any progress.
The poll showed that 48 percent of respondents believe that the "Kerry Peace Plan" or Framework Agreement will fail in producing a final status agreement, adding "20 years after Oslo, 64 percent believe that Palestinians are now farther from achieving their goal of a Palestinian state."
It also showed that 55 percent of respondents say that they have received limited or no information on the current round of negotiations, and that 49 percent support the current round of negotiations, while 44 percent oppose it.
The poll said that 44 percent of Palestinian do not support a resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli situation involving further concessions, even if President Abbas states that it would best serve Palestinian interests.
It also showed that 77 percent of the respondents believe that the Palestinians are serious about negotiations leading to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, while only 13 percent believe the same about Israel.
The survey was conducted on March 9 and 11, and published on Wednesday.
The poll, which was published on Wednesday, showed that 53 percent of respondents say that their family's economic situation is worse than it was a year ago. In contrast, 33 percent of them that it has stayed the same.
The Gaza Strip, ruled by Hamas movement, has been under a tight Israeli blockade and Egyptian security measures for around eight years, while the West Bank suffers from expansion of settlement and deteriorated economy.
Due to the Israeli policies, rates of poverty and unemployment, mainly in Gaza have grown, while a stalemate peace process had created a status of disappointment among the Palestinians.
The poll said that 52 percent support a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, while 46 percent oppose.
The U.S.-sponsored peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians were resumed last July and the two sides were given a nine-month ultimatum to hummer out a peace deal.
However, Israeli and Palestinian officials had earlier declared that no progress had been so far achieved. Even the visit of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to Washington and his meeting with President Barack Obama hadn't achieved any progress.
The poll showed that 48 percent of respondents believe that the "Kerry Peace Plan" or Framework Agreement will fail in producing a final status agreement, adding "20 years after Oslo, 64 percent believe that Palestinians are now farther from achieving their goal of a Palestinian state."
It also showed that 55 percent of respondents say that they have received limited or no information on the current round of negotiations, and that 49 percent support the current round of negotiations, while 44 percent oppose it.
The poll said that 44 percent of Palestinian do not support a resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli situation involving further concessions, even if President Abbas states that it would best serve Palestinian interests.
It also showed that 77 percent of the respondents believe that the Palestinians are serious about negotiations leading to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, while only 13 percent believe the same about Israel.
The survey was conducted on March 9 and 11, and published on Wednesday.
The Arab organization for human rights (AOHR) in London said it is deeply concerned over Israel's unjustified killing of Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian lands. In a press release, the Arab organization stated that the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) killed on Wednesday morning 16-year-old Sami Shawamreh, from Deir Al-Asal village in Al-Khalil, and kept his body in custody, at the pretext he tried to breach the apartheid wall.
The organization said that the childhood in the Palestinian lands is without protection and violated by Israel.
It added that the Palestinian children are exposed to killing and arrest without any reason and deprived of the basic rights enshrined in international law.
AOHR called on the international community to put an end to Israel's crimes against the Palestinian people and take action to protect children.
Nine Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank and Gaza since the beginning of March.
The organization said that the childhood in the Palestinian lands is without protection and violated by Israel.
It added that the Palestinian children are exposed to killing and arrest without any reason and deprived of the basic rights enshrined in international law.
AOHR called on the international community to put an end to Israel's crimes against the Palestinian people and take action to protect children.
Nine Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank and Gaza since the beginning of March.
19 mar 2014
Israeli military forces have killed 56 Palestinians and injured 897 since the resumption of peace negotiations with Israel in July, the Palestine Liberation Organization said Tuesday.
"Israeli violations of international law and human rights continued unabated. Rather than demonstrate goodwill during this period, Israel has done the opposite, with the aim of derailing the US peace efforts led by Secretary of State Kerry," a PLO statement said.
There have been over 500 settler attacks on Palestinian civilians and their property in the occupied West Bank and Israeli forces have arrested over 3,000 Palestinians in 3,767 military raids.
Israel has also begun work on 10,509 housing units in illegal settlement while simultaneously demolishing 146 Palestinian homes, the PLO said.
The numbers did not include 15-year-old Yousef Nayif Yousef Shawamrah Abu Akar, who was shot and killed by Israeli forces on Wednesday in the southern West Bank.
Witnesses said the victim had been foraging for local plants when he was shot, but the army claimed he and two others had been vandalizing the security fence.
Peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians were relaunched in July under the auspices of the United States after nearly three years of impasse.
Israel's government has announced the construction of thousands of housing units in illegal settlements since peace talks began.
The internationally recognized Palestinian territories of which the West Bank and East Jerusalem form a part have been occupied by the Israeli military since 1967.
"Israeli violations of international law and human rights continued unabated. Rather than demonstrate goodwill during this period, Israel has done the opposite, with the aim of derailing the US peace efforts led by Secretary of State Kerry," a PLO statement said.
There have been over 500 settler attacks on Palestinian civilians and their property in the occupied West Bank and Israeli forces have arrested over 3,000 Palestinians in 3,767 military raids.
Israel has also begun work on 10,509 housing units in illegal settlement while simultaneously demolishing 146 Palestinian homes, the PLO said.
The numbers did not include 15-year-old Yousef Nayif Yousef Shawamrah Abu Akar, who was shot and killed by Israeli forces on Wednesday in the southern West Bank.
Witnesses said the victim had been foraging for local plants when he was shot, but the army claimed he and two others had been vandalizing the security fence.
Peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians were relaunched in July under the auspices of the United States after nearly three years of impasse.
Israel's government has announced the construction of thousands of housing units in illegal settlements since peace talks began.
The internationally recognized Palestinian territories of which the West Bank and East Jerusalem form a part have been occupied by the Israeli military since 1967.
18 mar 2014
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Palestinian woman lives in Ras Shehada neighborhood
The East Jerusalem neighborhoods of Ras Shehada, Ras Khamis, Dahyat A’salam and the Shuafat refugee camp, which are cut off from the rest of the city by the separation wall, have gone without running water since March 4. Locals say that Ras Shehada has had problems with water for more than two months, and Ras Khamis for more than 15 days, generally with low pressure and occasional cut-offs, and that this is the worst extended outage that these neighborhoods have ever experienced. |
With the rooftop reserve tanks now emptied, residents have no choice but to buy water at high prices from local vendors.
Ronit Sela, director of a human rights project in East Jerusalem for the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), wrote a letter last week to Infrastructure Minister Silvan Shalom which said, in part:
“In a conversation with Mr. Eli Cohen, Associate Director of The Gihon Corporation, the water corporation responsible for supply water to Jerusalem, ACRI was told that the company’s water systems and gauges did not indicate that there was any problem with the water supply to these areas. This however does not change the harsh reality of tens of thousands of people, including infants, children, women and the sick, being left without water. It is essential to remember that the right to water is a fundamental right, the absence of which has serious implications on the right to life and health.”
The Gihon Corporation and the Jerusalem Municipality correctly assert that the current water infrastructure in these neighborhoods is insufficient to meet the water demands of the residents. Indeed, this grave situation has been exacerbated in recent years by natural population growth together with the erection of the separation barrier that disconnects them from the rest of the city. It is the responsibility of the Ministry of National Infrastructure to intervene to find an immediate solution to this water shortage and ensure that these residents have access in the long term to a secure water supply.
This week, ACRI is going to the High Court to file an urgent petition on behalf of area residents calling on the National Water Authority and HaGihon to address the problem.
To be continued........
By Activestills
Ronit Sela, director of a human rights project in East Jerusalem for the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), wrote a letter last week to Infrastructure Minister Silvan Shalom which said, in part:
“In a conversation with Mr. Eli Cohen, Associate Director of The Gihon Corporation, the water corporation responsible for supply water to Jerusalem, ACRI was told that the company’s water systems and gauges did not indicate that there was any problem with the water supply to these areas. This however does not change the harsh reality of tens of thousands of people, including infants, children, women and the sick, being left without water. It is essential to remember that the right to water is a fundamental right, the absence of which has serious implications on the right to life and health.”
The Gihon Corporation and the Jerusalem Municipality correctly assert that the current water infrastructure in these neighborhoods is insufficient to meet the water demands of the residents. Indeed, this grave situation has been exacerbated in recent years by natural population growth together with the erection of the separation barrier that disconnects them from the rest of the city. It is the responsibility of the Ministry of National Infrastructure to intervene to find an immediate solution to this water shortage and ensure that these residents have access in the long term to a secure water supply.
This week, ACRI is going to the High Court to file an urgent petition on behalf of area residents calling on the National Water Authority and HaGihon to address the problem.
To be continued........
By Activestills
Israeli colonial settlements in the WB
By Jonathan Ferziger
Thirty percent of West Bank settlers living farthest from Israel’s boundaries are willing to leave their homes if fairly compensated, even without a peace agreement, a study showed.
The report released today by Israel’s Blue White Future peace group focuses on 100,000 Israelis living outside larger settlement blocs. It excludes some 250,000 residents in the bigger settlements. The numbers rise to 50 percent if a peace agreement is reached; 40 percent would refuse to leave.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is trying to persuade Palestinians and Israelis to agree on a framework for continuing peace negotiations beyond the nine months they originally approved, ending April 29. President Barack Obama meets with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas today at the White House to push for the agreement after a March 3 visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
A voluntary evacuation “would unequivocally demonstrate that Israel is serious about seeking a two-state solution” and “increase the chance of the negotiation track succeeding,” said Gilead Sher, a former Israeli peace negotiator who is the group’s co-chairman.
The government hasn’t indicated that it is working on such a plan.
The survey of 501 settlers conducted in August had a margin of error of 4.5 percentage points.
Source: BloombergBusinessweek
By Jonathan Ferziger
Thirty percent of West Bank settlers living farthest from Israel’s boundaries are willing to leave their homes if fairly compensated, even without a peace agreement, a study showed.
The report released today by Israel’s Blue White Future peace group focuses on 100,000 Israelis living outside larger settlement blocs. It excludes some 250,000 residents in the bigger settlements. The numbers rise to 50 percent if a peace agreement is reached; 40 percent would refuse to leave.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is trying to persuade Palestinians and Israelis to agree on a framework for continuing peace negotiations beyond the nine months they originally approved, ending April 29. President Barack Obama meets with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas today at the White House to push for the agreement after a March 3 visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
A voluntary evacuation “would unequivocally demonstrate that Israel is serious about seeking a two-state solution” and “increase the chance of the negotiation track succeeding,” said Gilead Sher, a former Israeli peace negotiator who is the group’s co-chairman.
The government hasn’t indicated that it is working on such a plan.
The survey of 501 settlers conducted in August had a margin of error of 4.5 percentage points.
Source: BloombergBusinessweek
The Arab organization for human rights (AOHR) in London expressed its deep concern over the daily Jewish violation of the Aqsa Mosque's sanctity, especially during the morning hours.
In a press release on Monday, the Arab organization stated that Jewish temple groups have desecrated the Aqsa Mosque during last February and until now more than 1,000 times, noting that Jewish extremist figures like minister of housing Uri Ariel led those desecration break-ins at the Mosque. AOHR warned that the recurrence of the Jewish break-ins at the Aqsa Mosque heralds grave dangers that could lead to its division spatially and temporally as a prelude to the building of the alleged temple on its ruins.
It also pointed to the gravity of the escalating Israeli measures in the Old City of Jerusalem, including the closure of roads and streets leading to the holy city in order to prevent the Palestinians from frequenting the Aqsa Mosque and thus provide safe passageways for the Jews' desecration tours under police protection.
The Israeli police escalated its assaults on teachers and students who attend religious sessions at the Aqsa Mosque and banned five teachers from entering the Mosque for several months, the organization said.
Dozens of Palestinian worshipers also suffered injuries as they were trying to fend off Jewish settlers and prevent them from defiling the Mosque, it added.
AOHR appealed to the Arab and Islamic governments to urgently move at the UN level to take decisive action putting an end to the daily Jewish break-ins at the Aqsa Mosque, whose existence has become under constant threat.
In a press release on Monday, the Arab organization stated that Jewish temple groups have desecrated the Aqsa Mosque during last February and until now more than 1,000 times, noting that Jewish extremist figures like minister of housing Uri Ariel led those desecration break-ins at the Mosque. AOHR warned that the recurrence of the Jewish break-ins at the Aqsa Mosque heralds grave dangers that could lead to its division spatially and temporally as a prelude to the building of the alleged temple on its ruins.
It also pointed to the gravity of the escalating Israeli measures in the Old City of Jerusalem, including the closure of roads and streets leading to the holy city in order to prevent the Palestinians from frequenting the Aqsa Mosque and thus provide safe passageways for the Jews' desecration tours under police protection.
The Israeli police escalated its assaults on teachers and students who attend religious sessions at the Aqsa Mosque and banned five teachers from entering the Mosque for several months, the organization said.
Dozens of Palestinian worshipers also suffered injuries as they were trying to fend off Jewish settlers and prevent them from defiling the Mosque, it added.
AOHR appealed to the Arab and Islamic governments to urgently move at the UN level to take decisive action putting an end to the daily Jewish break-ins at the Aqsa Mosque, whose existence has become under constant threat.
17 mar 2014
The Euro-mid observer for human rights said the Israeli detention of Palestinian children rose during the last two months by 80 percent compared with the average monthly arrests in the past two years. In a report released on Monday, the Euro-mid observer stated that the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) kidnapped 740 Palestinian minors during the first two months of the current year, adding that 465 of them were held for one week or more.
The Geneva-based rights group explained that the detention of children averaged about 200 arrest incidents every month in 2013 and 197 children in 2012, in accordance with data collected from the Israeli prison authority.
However, the first month of the current year 2014 saw the detention of 350 children and 390 others were detained in February, 465 of them were kept in prison for one week or more.
The number of detentions among children in the last two months show that the monthly rate of arrests among children grew by about 80 percent compared to last year's arrests.
According to its report, most of the children were arrested because of their alleged involvement in throwing stones at Israeli military or police patrols, participating in protests against settlement activities or writing slogans against Israel on walls.
The majority of the reported arrest cases took place after midnight and involved intimidation methods and violations against the detained children and their families.
During the detention process, the Israeli police or military forces, in all arrest cases, refused to tell the parents or anyone of their relatives about the place they were taking their sons to.
The reprot underlined that Israel's persistence in the arrest of Palestinian children constitutes a violation of the UN convention of the rights of the child, which states in article 37 that "no child shall be deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily. The arrest, detention or imprisonment of a child shall be in conformity with the law and shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time."
The Geneva-based rights group explained that the detention of children averaged about 200 arrest incidents every month in 2013 and 197 children in 2012, in accordance with data collected from the Israeli prison authority.
However, the first month of the current year 2014 saw the detention of 350 children and 390 others were detained in February, 465 of them were kept in prison for one week or more.
The number of detentions among children in the last two months show that the monthly rate of arrests among children grew by about 80 percent compared to last year's arrests.
According to its report, most of the children were arrested because of their alleged involvement in throwing stones at Israeli military or police patrols, participating in protests against settlement activities or writing slogans against Israel on walls.
The majority of the reported arrest cases took place after midnight and involved intimidation methods and violations against the detained children and their families.
During the detention process, the Israeli police or military forces, in all arrest cases, refused to tell the parents or anyone of their relatives about the place they were taking their sons to.
The reprot underlined that Israel's persistence in the arrest of Palestinian children constitutes a violation of the UN convention of the rights of the child, which states in article 37 that "no child shall be deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily. The arrest, detention or imprisonment of a child shall be in conformity with the law and shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time."
ALRAY Wa'ed Association for Prisoners and Ex-prisoners said on Sunday the number of administrative Palestinian prisoners in the Israeli prisons raised to 203 in March. Wa’ed pointed out that Israeli courts extended the detention for more than 118 prisoners. The courts extended detention of some for the third time in a row.
This step is considered as an escalation committed by the racist Israeli occupation in response to the Palestinian prisoners’ protests against the policy of administrative detention, Wa’ed added .
The association stressed that the beginning of next April will witness a significant action by the administrative prisoners to protest again against this unjust dangerous policy. “They determine to end the policy of administrative detention, even if it leads to declare an open-ended hunger strike,” Wa’ed added.
Palestinians have been subjected to administrative detention since the beginning of the Israeli Occupation in 1967 and before that time, under the British Mandate. The frequency of the use of this kind of detention has fluctuated throughout Israel’s occupation, and has been steadily rising since the outbreak of the second intifada in September 2000.
According to B’tselem, At the end of January 2014, 4,881 Palestinian detainees and prisoners were held in Israeli prisons, 373 of them from the Gaza Strip.
This step is considered as an escalation committed by the racist Israeli occupation in response to the Palestinian prisoners’ protests against the policy of administrative detention, Wa’ed added .
The association stressed that the beginning of next April will witness a significant action by the administrative prisoners to protest again against this unjust dangerous policy. “They determine to end the policy of administrative detention, even if it leads to declare an open-ended hunger strike,” Wa’ed added.
Palestinians have been subjected to administrative detention since the beginning of the Israeli Occupation in 1967 and before that time, under the British Mandate. The frequency of the use of this kind of detention has fluctuated throughout Israel’s occupation, and has been steadily rising since the outbreak of the second intifada in September 2000.
According to B’tselem, At the end of January 2014, 4,881 Palestinian detainees and prisoners were held in Israeli prisons, 373 of them from the Gaza Strip.
15 mar 2014
Dr Ashraf al-Qidra, the spokesman for Ministry of Health
A Gaza official said the number of the Gaza Palestinians killed by Israel since early 2014 as a result of military escalation increased to 18. Ashraf al-Qidra, the spokesman for Ministry of Health, said Friday in a facebook post that “the number of martyrs has risen to 18, with Beit Hanon town resident Aisha al-Hamdin dying of her wounds sustained on Thursday evening,”
Qidra pointed out that the 110 Gazans were injured during the said period, mostly by live ammunition and airstrikes over several areas of the Strip.
The majority of the casualties affected by the Israeli violence were in residential districts at the time of shelling or shooting, he added.
A Gaza official said the number of the Gaza Palestinians killed by Israel since early 2014 as a result of military escalation increased to 18. Ashraf al-Qidra, the spokesman for Ministry of Health, said Friday in a facebook post that “the number of martyrs has risen to 18, with Beit Hanon town resident Aisha al-Hamdin dying of her wounds sustained on Thursday evening,”
Qidra pointed out that the 110 Gazans were injured during the said period, mostly by live ammunition and airstrikes over several areas of the Strip.
The majority of the casualties affected by the Israeli violence were in residential districts at the time of shelling or shooting, he added.
14 mar 2014
By Ben White
Israel famously prides itself on having, in the words of Ehud Barak, "the most moral army in the world". Some of Israel's apologists even claim that accusations the country's soldiers fire on civilians, including children, are nothing more than an anti-Semitic 'blood libel'.
Contrast this rhetorical bluster, however, with the carefully documented accounts since the start of the year by several human rights groups of Israeli forces' targeting, and in many cases, killing unarmed Palestinian civilians.
In January, Human Rights Watch published a shocking account of Israeli soldiers "hiding near schools, apparently to make arrests" having killed "children who posed no apparent threat". One example given was the case of Wajih al-Ramahi, a 15-year-old shot in the back in al-Jalazun refugee camp. The organisation noted a culture of impunity, with only 16 security officials indicted since September 2000 for unlawfully killing Palestinians, and just six convicted.
Now, Defence for Children International-Palestine Section (DCI-Palestine) has provided further evidence of what it calls "the use of live ammunition by soldiers to fire at unarmed Palestinian children" around al-Jalazun camp. On 3 March, the organisation published details of three teenagers shot by Israeli soldiers in recent weeks, including one shot in the neck with live ammunition, and another shot in the leg en route to a game of football.
These accounts fit with the detailed Amnesty International report published at the end of February, where the human rights group slammed "a callous disregard for human life" showed by Israeli forces in the West Bank. Documenting the killing of Palestinian civilians, "including children", Amnesty described Israeli soldiers as using "unnecessary, arbitrary and brutal force", including evidence of "wilful killings" that constitute "war crimes".
Meanwhile, in the Gaza Strip, Israel is also shooting Palestinians with impunity. According to Israeli NGO B'Tselem, five civilians have been killed by Israeli forces near the perimeter fence in the last three months. The most recent case was the shooting to death of Amneh Qdeih, a 57-year old mentally ill woman who had apparently wandered off from a nearby family wedding.
Other victims included 16-year-old 'Adnan Abu Khater, shot in the abdomen on 2 January by Israeli soldiers, dying the next day of his wounds. A B'Tselem field researcher documented 55 Palestinians injured by Israeli forces over a period of ten weeks - 43 from live fire, 10 from rubber-coated metal bullets, and 2 struck by teargas canisters.
DCI-Palestine has also reported on the targeting of Palestinians in Gaza, including 11-year-old Fadel Abu Odwan, shot by Israeli soldiers on 21 February, and left without medical attention for three hours. The doctor who treated Fadel said that the injury will cause "lifelong physical and psychological damage" and "will certainly affect his ability to marry and have children".
DCI-Palestine cites figures from the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) who documented Israeli forces killing 1 child and wounding 6 in the Gaza Strip thus far in 2014. PCHR co-published a report with the Geneva-based Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) in February, detailing how Israeli forces killed 127 civilians in Gaza's 'no go areas' near the fence and at sea between June 2007 and July 2013.
The Israeli government's responses to such reports are almost comically desperate: Foreign Ministry spokesperson Yigal Palmor claimed that Amnesty's report itself "smacks of...racism". Daniel Taub, Israel's Ambassador to the UK, accused Amnesty of an "obsessive focus on Israel". In 2013, out of 846 'Reports' and 'Urgent Actions' listed on Amnesty's online library, only 14 - or 1.7% - are tagged 'Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories'.
Human Rights Watch, Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, Amnesty International, DCI-Palestine, Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, B'Tselem - these different human rights group agree on one, disturbing truth: Israeli soldiers are shooting Palestinian civilians. The article was taken from MEMO website and here follows the link: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/blogs/politics/10184-human-rights-groups-agree-israel-is-shooting-palestinian-civilians.
Israel famously prides itself on having, in the words of Ehud Barak, "the most moral army in the world". Some of Israel's apologists even claim that accusations the country's soldiers fire on civilians, including children, are nothing more than an anti-Semitic 'blood libel'.
Contrast this rhetorical bluster, however, with the carefully documented accounts since the start of the year by several human rights groups of Israeli forces' targeting, and in many cases, killing unarmed Palestinian civilians.
In January, Human Rights Watch published a shocking account of Israeli soldiers "hiding near schools, apparently to make arrests" having killed "children who posed no apparent threat". One example given was the case of Wajih al-Ramahi, a 15-year-old shot in the back in al-Jalazun refugee camp. The organisation noted a culture of impunity, with only 16 security officials indicted since September 2000 for unlawfully killing Palestinians, and just six convicted.
Now, Defence for Children International-Palestine Section (DCI-Palestine) has provided further evidence of what it calls "the use of live ammunition by soldiers to fire at unarmed Palestinian children" around al-Jalazun camp. On 3 March, the organisation published details of three teenagers shot by Israeli soldiers in recent weeks, including one shot in the neck with live ammunition, and another shot in the leg en route to a game of football.
These accounts fit with the detailed Amnesty International report published at the end of February, where the human rights group slammed "a callous disregard for human life" showed by Israeli forces in the West Bank. Documenting the killing of Palestinian civilians, "including children", Amnesty described Israeli soldiers as using "unnecessary, arbitrary and brutal force", including evidence of "wilful killings" that constitute "war crimes".
Meanwhile, in the Gaza Strip, Israel is also shooting Palestinians with impunity. According to Israeli NGO B'Tselem, five civilians have been killed by Israeli forces near the perimeter fence in the last three months. The most recent case was the shooting to death of Amneh Qdeih, a 57-year old mentally ill woman who had apparently wandered off from a nearby family wedding.
Other victims included 16-year-old 'Adnan Abu Khater, shot in the abdomen on 2 January by Israeli soldiers, dying the next day of his wounds. A B'Tselem field researcher documented 55 Palestinians injured by Israeli forces over a period of ten weeks - 43 from live fire, 10 from rubber-coated metal bullets, and 2 struck by teargas canisters.
DCI-Palestine has also reported on the targeting of Palestinians in Gaza, including 11-year-old Fadel Abu Odwan, shot by Israeli soldiers on 21 February, and left without medical attention for three hours. The doctor who treated Fadel said that the injury will cause "lifelong physical and psychological damage" and "will certainly affect his ability to marry and have children".
DCI-Palestine cites figures from the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) who documented Israeli forces killing 1 child and wounding 6 in the Gaza Strip thus far in 2014. PCHR co-published a report with the Geneva-based Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) in February, detailing how Israeli forces killed 127 civilians in Gaza's 'no go areas' near the fence and at sea between June 2007 and July 2013.
The Israeli government's responses to such reports are almost comically desperate: Foreign Ministry spokesperson Yigal Palmor claimed that Amnesty's report itself "smacks of...racism". Daniel Taub, Israel's Ambassador to the UK, accused Amnesty of an "obsessive focus on Israel". In 2013, out of 846 'Reports' and 'Urgent Actions' listed on Amnesty's online library, only 14 - or 1.7% - are tagged 'Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories'.
Human Rights Watch, Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, Amnesty International, DCI-Palestine, Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, B'Tselem - these different human rights group agree on one, disturbing truth: Israeli soldiers are shooting Palestinian civilians. The article was taken from MEMO website and here follows the link: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/blogs/politics/10184-human-rights-groups-agree-israel-is-shooting-palestinian-civilians.
Jaffar Sadaqa
The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) is concerned for the status of freedom of expression in Palestine, after a complaint was submitted by the Minister of Finance Mr. Shukri Bshara against Jaffar Sadaqa, a journalist who wrote a report about the ministry, especially that his report tackled the accountability of the ministry.
The complaint included charges of defaming the government and the Ministry of Finance and sabotaged its relations with donors as reported by Sadaqa. The complaint is considered a pressure to restrain the media's ability and freedom to follow and report on public institutions, and an attempt to suppress freedom of expression, which is guaranteed by the Palestinian Basic Law and The Press and Publications Law.
Article (26) The Palestinian Press and Publication law states: "if a Press Publication publishes an incorrect news item or article that includes incorrect information related to the public interest, the responsible chief editor shall publish a written reply or correction which he receives from the concerned authority, free of charge, in the issue following the date on which the reply or correction is received and in the same place and font in which the same news item or article was published in the press publication".
MADA is asking the Minister of Finance, who is a public figure and may be subject to criticism and accountability, to withdraw the complaint submitted against Sadaqa, and we ask the media outlet "that Sadaqa works for" to refrain from conducting any investigation, because he did not commit any administrative violations and regarding the content and accuracy of the information contained in his report, the Press and Publications Law existed to rule in such issues.
Knowing that the responsibility for publishing according to the law does not fall on the journalist alone, but on the chief editor and the owner, in accordance to Article 42, which states: "A public right action in respect of crimes relating to Periodical Publications provided for in this law shall be brought against the responsible chief editor of the publication and the writer of the article as principle actors. The owner of the Press Publication, the chief editor and the writer shall be jointly liable for personal rights arising from such crimes and for litigation expenses. The owner shall not be subjected to any criminal liability, unless his complicity or actual interference in the crime is proven".(also page 8)
The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) is concerned for the status of freedom of expression in Palestine, after a complaint was submitted by the Minister of Finance Mr. Shukri Bshara against Jaffar Sadaqa, a journalist who wrote a report about the ministry, especially that his report tackled the accountability of the ministry.
The complaint included charges of defaming the government and the Ministry of Finance and sabotaged its relations with donors as reported by Sadaqa. The complaint is considered a pressure to restrain the media's ability and freedom to follow and report on public institutions, and an attempt to suppress freedom of expression, which is guaranteed by the Palestinian Basic Law and The Press and Publications Law.
Article (26) The Palestinian Press and Publication law states: "if a Press Publication publishes an incorrect news item or article that includes incorrect information related to the public interest, the responsible chief editor shall publish a written reply or correction which he receives from the concerned authority, free of charge, in the issue following the date on which the reply or correction is received and in the same place and font in which the same news item or article was published in the press publication".
MADA is asking the Minister of Finance, who is a public figure and may be subject to criticism and accountability, to withdraw the complaint submitted against Sadaqa, and we ask the media outlet "that Sadaqa works for" to refrain from conducting any investigation, because he did not commit any administrative violations and regarding the content and accuracy of the information contained in his report, the Press and Publications Law existed to rule in such issues.
Knowing that the responsibility for publishing according to the law does not fall on the journalist alone, but on the chief editor and the owner, in accordance to Article 42, which states: "A public right action in respect of crimes relating to Periodical Publications provided for in this law shall be brought against the responsible chief editor of the publication and the writer of the article as principle actors. The owner of the Press Publication, the chief editor and the writer shall be jointly liable for personal rights arising from such crimes and for litigation expenses. The owner shall not be subjected to any criminal liability, unless his complicity or actual interference in the crime is proven".(also page 8)