17 apr 2014
Arbitrary demolition and search processes in al-Khalil and Nablus have been launched by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) at dawn Thursday. Five Palestinian native citizens were arrested in the process. According to local sources, Palestinian youngster Nihad Radhi Abdul Karim, 22, was arrested and carried to an unidentified destination after IOF stormed his house and ransacked it.
Mass arbitrary break-ins were carried out by IOF troops at dawn time in Yabad town south of Jenin. Several targeted houses were photographed by IOF soldiers in the southern quarter and Malloul area, according to the same sources.
The sources further documented incursions at an early morning hour in Mithloun, Zababde and Sanour towns where IOF military vehicles have been roaming several alleys and streets. Tough bullying and interrogation procedures were forced on the passers-by and a number of commercial buildings were raided and rummaged through.
In the same context, IOF invaded Beit Oua town in al-Khalil and arrested three Palestinian youths, in their twenties, after searching their homes at 3a.m.
IOF soldiers have been heavily deployed in al-Khalil crossroads and main entrances for three uninterrupted days. Military checkpoints are being set up by IOF to control traffic under the security pretext.
In a separate event, Israeli Occupation Authorities (IOA) renewed, for the second time in less than four months, the administrative detention of Palestinian student Nael Taysir Khalaf, 24, whose father, detainee Tasir Khalaf, has already been sentenced to seven years on unconfirmed charges of a potential membership in the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas.
An Islamic Bloc spokesperson in al-Khalil University corroborated the arrest data. The latter further told PIC news reporter that Nael enrolled in al-Khalil University after IOA banned him from pursuing law studies in Sudan.
Nael Tayssir Khalaf is currently imprisoned within the same jail as his father.
PIC news reporter further stated, quoting eye-witnesses, that Khaled Samih Draghma was arrested by IOF under unproven charges that he was planning to stab an Israeli soldier.
According to the eye-witnesses, Draghma’s son, Jalal, 19, was severely beaten by Jewish settlers, who invaded his house and uprooted all of its trees. They added that an IOF patrol later broke into his house and arrested him on the fake charge of attempting to stab one of those settlers.
Mass arbitrary break-ins were carried out by IOF troops at dawn time in Yabad town south of Jenin. Several targeted houses were photographed by IOF soldiers in the southern quarter and Malloul area, according to the same sources.
The sources further documented incursions at an early morning hour in Mithloun, Zababde and Sanour towns where IOF military vehicles have been roaming several alleys and streets. Tough bullying and interrogation procedures were forced on the passers-by and a number of commercial buildings were raided and rummaged through.
In the same context, IOF invaded Beit Oua town in al-Khalil and arrested three Palestinian youths, in their twenties, after searching their homes at 3a.m.
IOF soldiers have been heavily deployed in al-Khalil crossroads and main entrances for three uninterrupted days. Military checkpoints are being set up by IOF to control traffic under the security pretext.
In a separate event, Israeli Occupation Authorities (IOA) renewed, for the second time in less than four months, the administrative detention of Palestinian student Nael Taysir Khalaf, 24, whose father, detainee Tasir Khalaf, has already been sentenced to seven years on unconfirmed charges of a potential membership in the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas.
An Islamic Bloc spokesperson in al-Khalil University corroborated the arrest data. The latter further told PIC news reporter that Nael enrolled in al-Khalil University after IOA banned him from pursuing law studies in Sudan.
Nael Tayssir Khalaf is currently imprisoned within the same jail as his father.
PIC news reporter further stated, quoting eye-witnesses, that Khaled Samih Draghma was arrested by IOF under unproven charges that he was planning to stab an Israeli soldier.
According to the eye-witnesses, Draghma’s son, Jalal, 19, was severely beaten by Jewish settlers, who invaded his house and uprooted all of its trees. They added that an IOF patrol later broke into his house and arrested him on the fake charge of attempting to stab one of those settlers.
Hundreds of Israeli settlers stormed on Thursday Yatta village southern al-Khalil under Israeli forces’ heavy protection. Meanwhile, violent clashes broke out in Tariq ibn Ziyad crossroads between IOF soldiers and citizens in a suburb south of Al-Khalil city. Local sources said that hundreds of Israeli settlers stormed Yatta town to perform Talmudic rituals in blatant provocation to Palestinian citizens, creating a state of panic among women and children.
The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) closed since the morning hours the town in order to pave the way for Israeli settlers' marches to mark Jewish holidays.
Meanwhile, violent clashes erupted at Tariq ibn Ziyad crossroads southern al-Khalil city, where Israeli soldiers fired tear gas bombs at a secondary school in the area.
Eyewitnesses told the PIC reporter that clashes broke out when Israeli forces fired tear gas canisters inside Tariq ibn Ziyad school. A number of breathing problems were reported among the students after inhaling tear gas.
In their turn, Palestinian students threw stones and empty bottles at Israeli soldiers.
The sources added that the clashes have been raging for the past three days in that same suburb in light of the continued settlers' break-ins and attacks under the pretext of marking Jewish holidays.
The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) closed since the morning hours the town in order to pave the way for Israeli settlers' marches to mark Jewish holidays.
Meanwhile, violent clashes erupted at Tariq ibn Ziyad crossroads southern al-Khalil city, where Israeli soldiers fired tear gas bombs at a secondary school in the area.
Eyewitnesses told the PIC reporter that clashes broke out when Israeli forces fired tear gas canisters inside Tariq ibn Ziyad school. A number of breathing problems were reported among the students after inhaling tear gas.
In their turn, Palestinian students threw stones and empty bottles at Israeli soldiers.
The sources added that the clashes have been raging for the past three days in that same suburb in light of the continued settlers' break-ins and attacks under the pretext of marking Jewish holidays.
Several Palestinians were injured on Thursday during clashes between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian villagers in the Bethlehem village of Tuqu, locals said.
Israeli soldiers fired rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas canisters at school students in Tuqu after raiding the village, witnesses said.
Several students and local residents suffered light injuries as a result of the tear gas.
Four settlers were also injured during the clashes and taken for treatment in the illegal settlement of Efrat.
An Israeli army spokeswoman did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
Israeli soldiers fired rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas canisters at school students in Tuqu after raiding the village, witnesses said.
Several students and local residents suffered light injuries as a result of the tear gas.
Four settlers were also injured during the clashes and taken for treatment in the illegal settlement of Efrat.
An Israeli army spokeswoman did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
Israeli forces detained a Palestinian farmer in Nablus on Wednesday on suspicion of attempting to stab a settler after a group assaulted him and cut down his olive trees.
Palestinian security officials told Ma'an that settlers from Maale Levona assaulted Khalid Samih Daraghmah and his son while they were tending their trees south of Nablus near al-Lubban ash-Sharqiyah.
Jalal Daraghmah, 19, was brutally beaten during the attack.
The farmers filed a complaint at the Palestinian liaison department, who referred it to the Israeli office.
After reporting the assault, Israeli forces arrested Samih Daraghmah after claiming he had tried to stab one of the settlers.
In 2013, there were 399 incidents of settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Over 90 percent of investigations into settler violence by Israeli police fail to lead to an indictment.
More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in settlements across the West Bank and East Jerusalem, in contravention of international law.
Palestinian security officials told Ma'an that settlers from Maale Levona assaulted Khalid Samih Daraghmah and his son while they were tending their trees south of Nablus near al-Lubban ash-Sharqiyah.
Jalal Daraghmah, 19, was brutally beaten during the attack.
The farmers filed a complaint at the Palestinian liaison department, who referred it to the Israeli office.
After reporting the assault, Israeli forces arrested Samih Daraghmah after claiming he had tried to stab one of the settlers.
In 2013, there were 399 incidents of settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Over 90 percent of investigations into settler violence by Israeli police fail to lead to an indictment.
More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in settlements across the West Bank and East Jerusalem, in contravention of international law.
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) raided Beita and Hawara towns south of Nablus at midnight Wednesday. Hawara was declared a closed military zone after a settler’s car tipped over onto its side. “A settler’s car was shot near Quza crossroad on the outskirts of Beita’s main entrance. The settler lost control as the car deviated from its projected track and flipped over,” eye-witnesses told PIC news reporter.
Following the car’s rollover, dozens of Israeli military troops encircled the area after having stormed Beita and Hawara villages and closed Hawara checkpoint and the Oudela crossroad.”
IOF ordered the Palestinian shopkeepers on the main street to close their shops after having already declared Hawara a closed military zone.
IOF soldiers heavily deployed in the Hawara and Beita plains under the pretext that they were searching for the wanted shooter, using flare bombs in the process, according to eye-witnesses.
A large number of Israeli settlers gathered near Yitzhar crossroad, where they violently attacked Palestinian vehicles that were passing by.
Hawara area has been a permanent target for Israeli settlement schemes because of its strategic positioning as a joint between different settlements in Nablus.
Occupation declares villages as "closed military zones", arrests youth in WB
The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) declared Thursday Beita and Howara villages, south of Nablus closed military zones after turning over an Israeli settler's car. Local Palestinian sources said the IOF arrived the villages and carried out wide razing works, shooting sonic bombs.
They closed the shops and declared Howara and Beita closed military zones.
Sources explained that the vehicle was caught fire after turning over. Dozens of Israeli settlers then came and rioted the area near Yitzhar settlement.
In a separate context, the IOF arrested Thursday at dawn a youth from Beit Rima village in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah.
Local Sources said that the IOF arrested youth Mohammed Al- Remawi, 24, after raiding the village.
Following the car’s rollover, dozens of Israeli military troops encircled the area after having stormed Beita and Hawara villages and closed Hawara checkpoint and the Oudela crossroad.”
IOF ordered the Palestinian shopkeepers on the main street to close their shops after having already declared Hawara a closed military zone.
IOF soldiers heavily deployed in the Hawara and Beita plains under the pretext that they were searching for the wanted shooter, using flare bombs in the process, according to eye-witnesses.
A large number of Israeli settlers gathered near Yitzhar crossroad, where they violently attacked Palestinian vehicles that were passing by.
Hawara area has been a permanent target for Israeli settlement schemes because of its strategic positioning as a joint between different settlements in Nablus.
Occupation declares villages as "closed military zones", arrests youth in WB
The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) declared Thursday Beita and Howara villages, south of Nablus closed military zones after turning over an Israeli settler's car. Local Palestinian sources said the IOF arrived the villages and carried out wide razing works, shooting sonic bombs.
They closed the shops and declared Howara and Beita closed military zones.
Sources explained that the vehicle was caught fire after turning over. Dozens of Israeli settlers then came and rioted the area near Yitzhar settlement.
In a separate context, the IOF arrested Thursday at dawn a youth from Beit Rima village in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah.
Local Sources said that the IOF arrested youth Mohammed Al- Remawi, 24, after raiding the village.
16 apr 2014
The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) evacuated on Wednesday Beersheba Street in al-Khalil in order to pave the way for Israeli settlers' marches to mark Jewish holidays. Eyewitnesses told PIC reporter that IOF soldiers stormed Beersheba Street and forced Palestinian citizens to leave the area as a prelude to the Israeli settlers' collective break-in into an alleged Jewish shrine.
The sources added that dozens of Palestinians have gathered at nearby Bab al-Zawiya in an attempt to confront settlers' possible attacks on Palestinian civilians.
Meanwhile, IOF soldiers prevented on Wednesday, for the first time, thousands of Israeli settlers from entering the Ibrahimi Mosque in al-Khalil out of fear of possible resistance attacks against them.
Thousands of settlers were supposed today to break into Ibrahimi Mosque to perform Talmudic rituals on the occasion of Passover; however Israeli forces prevented them citing security threats.
In another incident, Israeli settlers stormed a Palestinian street leading to Nahalin and Jaba'a villages close to Gush Etzion settlement bloc south of Bethlehem on Tuesday night.
The settlers stoned Palestinian vehicles passing by, damaging some of them, while threatening Palestinian citizens to prevent them from using the street.
The settlers have recently stepped up their attacks against Palestinian citizens in the area.
The sources added that dozens of Palestinians have gathered at nearby Bab al-Zawiya in an attempt to confront settlers' possible attacks on Palestinian civilians.
Meanwhile, IOF soldiers prevented on Wednesday, for the first time, thousands of Israeli settlers from entering the Ibrahimi Mosque in al-Khalil out of fear of possible resistance attacks against them.
Thousands of settlers were supposed today to break into Ibrahimi Mosque to perform Talmudic rituals on the occasion of Passover; however Israeli forces prevented them citing security threats.
In another incident, Israeli settlers stormed a Palestinian street leading to Nahalin and Jaba'a villages close to Gush Etzion settlement bloc south of Bethlehem on Tuesday night.
The settlers stoned Palestinian vehicles passing by, damaging some of them, while threatening Palestinian citizens to prevent them from using the street.
The settlers have recently stepped up their attacks against Palestinian citizens in the area.
Israeli settlers released wild pigs on Palestinian farmlands in Salfit in the occupied West Bank in an attempt to damage the Palestinian agricultural crops. Palestinian researcher, who monitors settlement activities in Salfit, Khalid Maali, pointed out on Wednesday that settlers' pigs attacks caused severe damages to the Palestinian farmlands.
" The farmers in Salfit are suffering severe losses in every planting season due to the attacks of wild pigs that didn't exist before the construction of the Israeli colonial settlements." Maali said
Maali added that the settlers aimed to damage the farmlands to force the Palestinian farmers to leave their lands under the pretext that they are wastelands.
" The farmers in Salfit are suffering severe losses in every planting season due to the attacks of wild pigs that didn't exist before the construction of the Israeli colonial settlements." Maali said
Maali added that the settlers aimed to damage the farmlands to force the Palestinian farmers to leave their lands under the pretext that they are wastelands.
At least 25 Palestinians have been injured, while several others have been kidnapped, after Israeli soldiers and settlers broke into the yards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, in occupied East Jerusalem.
The soldiers fired firebombs, gas bombs, concussion grenades, and physically assaulted the worshipers, inflicting this large number of injuries.
The Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA) has reported that the soldiers also attacked Mohammad Mojahed, one of the guards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and kidnapped him, and that more settlers and soldiers and settlers have gathered in the area.
An employee of the Ministry of Waqf in occupied Jerusalem, said dozens of soldiers and settlers are surrounding the area, and are trying to remove the Palestinians by force as the settlers are planning to pray in the yards of the mosque.
He added that the soldiers have also been heavily deployed in different parts of the Old City of occupied Jerusalem, and that the Police declared the area a closed military zone to all Palestinians.
The soldiers also closed the al-Magharba Gate, shortly after it opened it to allow tourists and settlers through, an issue that led to further tension especially since a large number of Palestinians were pushed away, and were removed from the mosque area.
Local sources said the army later withdrew from the yards of the al-Aqsa mosque, leaving dozens of injuries, and took the kidnapped mosque guard to a local police station in the occupied city.
Soldiers and settlers are still heavily deployed around the mosque area, and in different parts of the Old City.
Updated From
Army Invades The Al-Aqsa Mosque In Occupied Jerusalem
Wed, 16 Apr 2014 09:07:31
[Wednesday Morning, April 16 2014] Dozens of Israeli soldiers, undercover forces and police officers invaded the yards of the al-Aqsa Mosque, in occupied East Jerusalem, and fired gas bombs and concussion grenades at local worshiper causing several injuries.
Eyewitnesses said the soldiers completely surrounded the mosque, and invaded its yards, mainly from the al-Magharba Gate, and that the soldiers also surrounded the al-Qebly Mosque, and chased dozens of worshipers.
Hundreds of Palestinians flocked to the mosque, especially after the some Israeli groups announced they intend to break into the the mosque for prayers marking the Jewish Pesach.
The Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA) has reported that more than a thousand soldiers surrounded the mosque, and encircled the worshipers before clashing with them.
The soldiers fired firebombs, gas bombs, concussion grenades, and physically assaulted the worshipers, inflicting this large number of injuries.
The Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA) has reported that the soldiers also attacked Mohammad Mojahed, one of the guards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and kidnapped him, and that more settlers and soldiers and settlers have gathered in the area.
An employee of the Ministry of Waqf in occupied Jerusalem, said dozens of soldiers and settlers are surrounding the area, and are trying to remove the Palestinians by force as the settlers are planning to pray in the yards of the mosque.
He added that the soldiers have also been heavily deployed in different parts of the Old City of occupied Jerusalem, and that the Police declared the area a closed military zone to all Palestinians.
The soldiers also closed the al-Magharba Gate, shortly after it opened it to allow tourists and settlers through, an issue that led to further tension especially since a large number of Palestinians were pushed away, and were removed from the mosque area.
Local sources said the army later withdrew from the yards of the al-Aqsa mosque, leaving dozens of injuries, and took the kidnapped mosque guard to a local police station in the occupied city.
Soldiers and settlers are still heavily deployed around the mosque area, and in different parts of the Old City.
Updated From
Army Invades The Al-Aqsa Mosque In Occupied Jerusalem
Wed, 16 Apr 2014 09:07:31
[Wednesday Morning, April 16 2014] Dozens of Israeli soldiers, undercover forces and police officers invaded the yards of the al-Aqsa Mosque, in occupied East Jerusalem, and fired gas bombs and concussion grenades at local worshiper causing several injuries.
Eyewitnesses said the soldiers completely surrounded the mosque, and invaded its yards, mainly from the al-Magharba Gate, and that the soldiers also surrounded the al-Qebly Mosque, and chased dozens of worshipers.
Hundreds of Palestinians flocked to the mosque, especially after the some Israeli groups announced they intend to break into the the mosque for prayers marking the Jewish Pesach.
The Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA) has reported that more than a thousand soldiers surrounded the mosque, and encircled the worshipers before clashing with them.
A number of extremist settlers threw, on Tuesday at night, stones at Palestinian cars driving near the Gush Etzion Israeli settlement, south of the West Bank city of Bethlehem.
Palestinian security sources said settlers of the Beit Ayin illegal settlement of the Gush Etzion settlement bloc, threw stones and empty bottles at Palestinian cars on a road linking between Nahhalin and the al-Jab’a villages.
The attack led to property damage but no injuries, local sources.
Settler groups recently escalated their assaults against the Palestinians, their lands and their cars, in the same area, causing excessive property damage and several injuries.
Palestinian security sources said settlers of the Beit Ayin illegal settlement of the Gush Etzion settlement bloc, threw stones and empty bottles at Palestinian cars on a road linking between Nahhalin and the al-Jab’a villages.
The attack led to property damage but no injuries, local sources.
Settler groups recently escalated their assaults against the Palestinians, their lands and their cars, in the same area, causing excessive property damage and several injuries.
15 apr 2014
On Sunday 13 April 2014 in the early afternoon, Israeli settlers with assistance from the Israeli occupation forces started moving into the so-called Rajabi building in Hebron. After seven years of litigation, on 11 March 2014, the Israeli Supreme Court handed over the building to the settlers despite previous court rulings that said that the relevant purchase documents and power of attorneys had been forged.
Early this morning, the Israeli Minister of Defence Moshe Ya’alon approved the settlers to move into the building. As a result, three families entered the building later the day and started preparing the building for occupation.
The settlers were observed cleaning the house, bringing in pieces of furniture and fixing the windows. The occupation forces provided the settlers with power generators and water tanks to help them in their efforts as the building is not connected to the electricity or water grid.
According to Israeli sources, the settlers are to hold a Passover Seder dinner on the site during the upcoming holiday and ten more families are to move into the building after the end of the Passover.
Local Palestinians voiced their fears that the creation of a new settlement will cause further violations of their rights and violence against them. During 2007 and 2008, when settlers were dwelling in the building, the community witnessed multiple attacks by the settlers as well as routine house searches and arbitrary detentions by the occupation forces.
Following their eviction by the Israeli police and army in December 2008, the settlers went on a rampage torching Palestinian property and assaulting Palestinians.
Source:INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT
Early this morning, the Israeli Minister of Defence Moshe Ya’alon approved the settlers to move into the building. As a result, three families entered the building later the day and started preparing the building for occupation.
The settlers were observed cleaning the house, bringing in pieces of furniture and fixing the windows. The occupation forces provided the settlers with power generators and water tanks to help them in their efforts as the building is not connected to the electricity or water grid.
According to Israeli sources, the settlers are to hold a Passover Seder dinner on the site during the upcoming holiday and ten more families are to move into the building after the end of the Passover.
Local Palestinians voiced their fears that the creation of a new settlement will cause further violations of their rights and violence against them. During 2007 and 2008, when settlers were dwelling in the building, the community witnessed multiple attacks by the settlers as well as routine house searches and arbitrary detentions by the occupation forces.
Following their eviction by the Israeli police and army in December 2008, the settlers went on a rampage torching Palestinian property and assaulting Palestinians.
Source:INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT
14 apr 2014
Palestinian gunmen shot and killed one person and injured two others in a
car driven by an Israeli settler in the occupied West Bank on Monday,
Israel's military said.
The Palestinians shot at the car in Tarqumiyah near Hebron in the West Bank, killing one person and injuring two passengers, according to Israeli news reports.
The victims were in their vehicle at the time of the shooting.
A 40-year-old man, presumably the father, was pronounced dead, while the mother was in serious condition, and the child suffered only light injuries, Channel 2 reported.
Police said Israeli forces were searching the scene for suspects.
Reports: 3 hurt in shooting on Israeli car
Palestinian gunmen shot and injured at least three Israeli settlers on Monday in the occupied West Bank, news reports said.
Israel's Ynet news site reported that at least two Israelis were wounded when Palestinians shot at their car in Tarqumiyah near Hebron in the West Bank.
An Israeli army spokeswoman said the military was checking the reports.
Israelis wounded in Palestinian shooting near Hebron
Man reportedly in critical condition, child seriously hurt in attack near West Bank city of Hebron.
At least two Israelis were wounded Monday evening when Palestinian gunmen opened fire on their car in Tarqumiyah near Hebron in the West Bank. Initial reports said a man had sustained critical wounds, a child was in seriously hurt and two others were in moderate condition. Paramedics at the scene were giving the man CPR.
The IDF could only confirm two wounded and could not confirm the severity of their injuries.
IDF forces were searching the area in an attempt to locate the terrorists behind the attack.
The Palestinians shot at the car in Tarqumiyah near Hebron in the West Bank, killing one person and injuring two passengers, according to Israeli news reports.
The victims were in their vehicle at the time of the shooting.
A 40-year-old man, presumably the father, was pronounced dead, while the mother was in serious condition, and the child suffered only light injuries, Channel 2 reported.
Police said Israeli forces were searching the scene for suspects.
Reports: 3 hurt in shooting on Israeli car
Palestinian gunmen shot and injured at least three Israeli settlers on Monday in the occupied West Bank, news reports said.
Israel's Ynet news site reported that at least two Israelis were wounded when Palestinians shot at their car in Tarqumiyah near Hebron in the West Bank.
An Israeli army spokeswoman said the military was checking the reports.
Israelis wounded in Palestinian shooting near Hebron
Man reportedly in critical condition, child seriously hurt in attack near West Bank city of Hebron.
At least two Israelis were wounded Monday evening when Palestinian gunmen opened fire on their car in Tarqumiyah near Hebron in the West Bank. Initial reports said a man had sustained critical wounds, a child was in seriously hurt and two others were in moderate condition. Paramedics at the scene were giving the man CPR.
The IDF could only confirm two wounded and could not confirm the severity of their injuries.
IDF forces were searching the area in an attempt to locate the terrorists behind the attack.
Violent clashes broke out Monday morning between Palestinian youths and a group of settlers in Burin village south of Nablus.
The PIC reporter said that Israeli settlers from Bracha settlement have attacked, under Israeli occupation forces' protection, Palestinian workers while maintaining agricultural roads east of the village.
The reported noted that even Israeli settlers' children took part in pelting Palestinian bulldozers stationed in Manathir neighborhood.
For their part, IOF soldiers fired tear gas bombs towards Palestinian youths and workers to protect the invading settlers.
No injuries were reported during the clashes that are still ongoing, while Palestinian workers continued their maintenance work despite Israeli settlers' threats.
Meanwhile, a group of settlers roamed the Shuhada Street in al-Khalil on Monday morning under IOF protection in provocation to Palestinian citizens.
The settlers shouted at and terrorized children while passing-by, in addition to storming Palestinian homes and threatening their owners, eyewitnesses told the PIC reporter.
The PIC reporter said that Israeli settlers from Bracha settlement have attacked, under Israeli occupation forces' protection, Palestinian workers while maintaining agricultural roads east of the village.
The reported noted that even Israeli settlers' children took part in pelting Palestinian bulldozers stationed in Manathir neighborhood.
For their part, IOF soldiers fired tear gas bombs towards Palestinian youths and workers to protect the invading settlers.
No injuries were reported during the clashes that are still ongoing, while Palestinian workers continued their maintenance work despite Israeli settlers' threats.
Meanwhile, a group of settlers roamed the Shuhada Street in al-Khalil on Monday morning under IOF protection in provocation to Palestinian citizens.
The settlers shouted at and terrorized children while passing-by, in addition to storming Palestinian homes and threatening their owners, eyewitnesses told the PIC reporter.
Israeli war minister Moshe Ya’alon gave permission to three Israeli families to break into the so-called Rugby building in al-Khalil city, as the court and the head of the Israeli Civil Administration have already ruled. Israel radio said that the building was evacuated for more than five years after the Supreme Court rejected the objection made by two Palestinian native citizens who said they are the house’s owners.
The Court ruled that the new Jewish purchasers are the building’s “legitimate owners” and that the settlement council in the West Bank welcomed the decision and wished for more professional and rapid actions in similar future situations.
Yariv Oppenheimer, current Secretary-General of Peace Now Movement said, “The allowance of settlers into the building is a pretext to bring negotiations to a halt,” charging that Ya’alon had “bowed to extremist right-wingers.”
The Court ruled that the new Jewish purchasers are the building’s “legitimate owners” and that the settlement council in the West Bank welcomed the decision and wished for more professional and rapid actions in similar future situations.
Yariv Oppenheimer, current Secretary-General of Peace Now Movement said, “The allowance of settlers into the building is a pretext to bring negotiations to a halt,” charging that Ya’alon had “bowed to extremist right-wingers.”
13 apr 2014
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On Thursday April 10 the Israeli military escort failed to accompany the Palestinian children from the South Hebron Hills villages of Tuba and Maghayir Al Abeed as they returned home from school.
The children reached the meeting point with the military escort at 12:15 pm and the escort was supposed to arrive at 12:30 pm, as every Thursday. The meeting place is a dangerous area, situated close to the Israeli settlement of Ma’on and the illegal outpost of Havat Ma’on. International volunteers made numerous phone calls to the District Coordination Liaison (DCL) office and directly to the Israeli army office, but the escort failed to arrive. |
So at 1:20 pm the children decided to walk home via a longer path that crosses Palestinian- owned lands very close to the south-western side of Havat Ma’on. Because of the danger, international volunteers accompanied the children. At 1:50 pm two young Israeli settlers attacked the children and volunteers, throwing rocks with slingshots. The attack lasted about three minutes and forced the children to run toward the hills in order to reach the Palestinian village of Tuba.
The misconduct of the Israeli military escort often endangers the Palestinian children, whom the soldiers are obligated to protect. The schoolchildren were also attacked by Israeli settlers on April 9, while the escort was present.
The misconduct of the Israeli military escort often endangers the Palestinian children, whom the soldiers are obligated to protect. The schoolchildren were also attacked by Israeli settlers on April 9, while the escort was present.
Israeli border police officers try to prevent Jewish settlers from interrupting Palestinian traffic after a stabbing attack near the West Bank Jewish settlement of Yitzhar
By Shlomi Elder
“If one of us was to throw a stone at a soldier, you would put the entire city under curfew. Soldiers would have entered the homes at night and removed the men. You would have forced us to reveal who threw the stone, even if it was a child,” says Hussam Hassan, owner of a pastry and baklava store in downtown Nablus. “But when the settlers act this way to soldiers, the soldiers are afraid of them. If that’s what they do to soldiers, think of what they do to us.”
Hassan expresses the feelings of many Palestinian residents of the Nablus district who are well-acquainted with the Yitzhar settlement. Yitzhar was established in 1983 as a Nahal [paramilitary] settlement; it was first called “Rogan,” a kind of joke at the expense of Ronald Reagan, who called for a settlement freeze just the day before it was built. Over the years, families settled the place, and after the evacuation of Joseph’s tomb in Nablus at the beginning of the second intifada in 2000, the Od Yosef Chai (Joseph Still Lives) rabbinical college was also transferred to Yitzhar. Numerous of those who call themselves the “hilltop youths” live in Yitzhar and several outposts have been established within its boundaries.
Over the years, Yitzhar has become the most extremist settlement in the West Bank, mainly because of a group that earned the nickname “A Handful of Lawbreakers.” These individuals came to Yitzhar and settled in its territory or nearby in the illegal outposts. Numerous “price-tag” actions, attributed to Yitzhar, have been perpetrated, including destruction of Palestinian property and equipment, uprooting of trees and spray-painted graffiti in nearby villages such as Asira al-Qibliya. The Yitzhar settlers did not even try to conceal their identities; in fact, they signed their names in the graffiti slogans they painted on houses in the villages of Urif and Burin.
Salah Abu Ramadan, resident of Asira al-Qibliya and active Fatah member, established a group of volunteers to guard the village at night from the settlers. Abu Ramadan says that even American Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro took the unusual step seven months ago of turning to Israel’s Civil Administration in the West Bank, to take action against the Yitzhar settlers who damaged the property of American aid organization USAID that built a water reservoir in the village. Salah says that the Yitzhar settlers used to come to the village every day, attack the organization’s workers, spray-paint messages and graffiti on the heavy machinery operating in the territory. They even ignited a structure built in the worksite, with a Molotov cocktail.
“We know them,” Abu Ramadan argues. “People here even know them by name. Everyone in the village knows who they are. We would tell the engineers who damaged the equipment, they would talk to the Civil Administration, and nothing would happen. Everyone is afraid of them, everyone.”
According to Maj. Gen. (Res.) Gadi Shamni, former head of the IDF’s Central Command, the Yitzhar hooligans are treated with kid gloves because “they have a strong lobby in the Knesset and the incredible back-up of the local settlement leadership, of the rabbis and of the lenient court.”
The violent events perpetrated by Yitzhar people do not usually receive media attention and do not become public knowledge, perhaps because these incidents have become routine. But this week, April 7, the attack by Yitzhar settlers on IDF soldiers, including reservists posted there to protect the residents, raised a great public storm.
When I told Khaled Paour of Nablus that the attack on the soldiers was condemned by many members of Israel’s entire political and security spectrum, he laughed. “Why is it that when they attack us, destroy cars and shoot at shepherds, no one raises hell? A year ago, three settlers struck me on my head. I was driving in my car with two friends, they stopped us in the middle of the road, took me out of the car and started to hit me on the head. Luckily, a military jeep passed and the soldiers convinced them to leave me alone. They didn’t shoot at them, they didn’t arrest them, they only asked them to leave us alone and afterward asked us what we were doing there. I said that we only drove by and they stopped us, so the soldiers started to ask questions as if we were the guilty ones. The settlers spit at us, cursed and threw stones.”
I asked if they complained. “Who, us?” wondered Paour and started to laugh at the question he felt was so illogical. The inquiry of the latest incident in Yitzhar also reveals that the reserve soldiers stood on the sidelines and did nothing. “They, the settlers, told the soldiers to stand on the side so that they wouldn’t get hurt, and the soldiers stood there, frustrated and shamefaced. They didn’t feel threatened, so they didn’t open fire,” said a reserve officer in the debriefing.
To date only eight suspects have been arrested, despite that the “frustrated and shamefaced’ soldiers reported that they were attacked by dozens of settlers. The arrest of the eight will not root out the phenomenon. “If one of us would slash the tires of an IDF jeep, they would arrest 200 people,” says Hassan, “By us, everyone was saying how, from the whole mess, only eight were arrested. But we are gratified over this ruckus, so that everyone should know what kind of hooligans you have and how they threaten everyone. Maybe now, something will be done against them.”
Meanwhile, the members of the Yitzhar secretariat sent a letter to the residents in which they strongly condemned the strike on the security forces, and even threatened to resign from their posts unless real, substantive steps were taken against the rioters. But the secretariat members did not specify who should take the appropriate measures: The IDF? Shin Bet? The police? Or perhaps the Yitzhar members themselves, those who are not connected to the violent acts of what used to be called “a handful of lawbreakers’ and have now become so many.
Source: ALMONITOR
By Shlomi Elder
“If one of us was to throw a stone at a soldier, you would put the entire city under curfew. Soldiers would have entered the homes at night and removed the men. You would have forced us to reveal who threw the stone, even if it was a child,” says Hussam Hassan, owner of a pastry and baklava store in downtown Nablus. “But when the settlers act this way to soldiers, the soldiers are afraid of them. If that’s what they do to soldiers, think of what they do to us.”
Hassan expresses the feelings of many Palestinian residents of the Nablus district who are well-acquainted with the Yitzhar settlement. Yitzhar was established in 1983 as a Nahal [paramilitary] settlement; it was first called “Rogan,” a kind of joke at the expense of Ronald Reagan, who called for a settlement freeze just the day before it was built. Over the years, families settled the place, and after the evacuation of Joseph’s tomb in Nablus at the beginning of the second intifada in 2000, the Od Yosef Chai (Joseph Still Lives) rabbinical college was also transferred to Yitzhar. Numerous of those who call themselves the “hilltop youths” live in Yitzhar and several outposts have been established within its boundaries.
Over the years, Yitzhar has become the most extremist settlement in the West Bank, mainly because of a group that earned the nickname “A Handful of Lawbreakers.” These individuals came to Yitzhar and settled in its territory or nearby in the illegal outposts. Numerous “price-tag” actions, attributed to Yitzhar, have been perpetrated, including destruction of Palestinian property and equipment, uprooting of trees and spray-painted graffiti in nearby villages such as Asira al-Qibliya. The Yitzhar settlers did not even try to conceal their identities; in fact, they signed their names in the graffiti slogans they painted on houses in the villages of Urif and Burin.
Salah Abu Ramadan, resident of Asira al-Qibliya and active Fatah member, established a group of volunteers to guard the village at night from the settlers. Abu Ramadan says that even American Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro took the unusual step seven months ago of turning to Israel’s Civil Administration in the West Bank, to take action against the Yitzhar settlers who damaged the property of American aid organization USAID that built a water reservoir in the village. Salah says that the Yitzhar settlers used to come to the village every day, attack the organization’s workers, spray-paint messages and graffiti on the heavy machinery operating in the territory. They even ignited a structure built in the worksite, with a Molotov cocktail.
“We know them,” Abu Ramadan argues. “People here even know them by name. Everyone in the village knows who they are. We would tell the engineers who damaged the equipment, they would talk to the Civil Administration, and nothing would happen. Everyone is afraid of them, everyone.”
According to Maj. Gen. (Res.) Gadi Shamni, former head of the IDF’s Central Command, the Yitzhar hooligans are treated with kid gloves because “they have a strong lobby in the Knesset and the incredible back-up of the local settlement leadership, of the rabbis and of the lenient court.”
The violent events perpetrated by Yitzhar people do not usually receive media attention and do not become public knowledge, perhaps because these incidents have become routine. But this week, April 7, the attack by Yitzhar settlers on IDF soldiers, including reservists posted there to protect the residents, raised a great public storm.
When I told Khaled Paour of Nablus that the attack on the soldiers was condemned by many members of Israel’s entire political and security spectrum, he laughed. “Why is it that when they attack us, destroy cars and shoot at shepherds, no one raises hell? A year ago, three settlers struck me on my head. I was driving in my car with two friends, they stopped us in the middle of the road, took me out of the car and started to hit me on the head. Luckily, a military jeep passed and the soldiers convinced them to leave me alone. They didn’t shoot at them, they didn’t arrest them, they only asked them to leave us alone and afterward asked us what we were doing there. I said that we only drove by and they stopped us, so the soldiers started to ask questions as if we were the guilty ones. The settlers spit at us, cursed and threw stones.”
I asked if they complained. “Who, us?” wondered Paour and started to laugh at the question he felt was so illogical. The inquiry of the latest incident in Yitzhar also reveals that the reserve soldiers stood on the sidelines and did nothing. “They, the settlers, told the soldiers to stand on the side so that they wouldn’t get hurt, and the soldiers stood there, frustrated and shamefaced. They didn’t feel threatened, so they didn’t open fire,” said a reserve officer in the debriefing.
To date only eight suspects have been arrested, despite that the “frustrated and shamefaced’ soldiers reported that they were attacked by dozens of settlers. The arrest of the eight will not root out the phenomenon. “If one of us would slash the tires of an IDF jeep, they would arrest 200 people,” says Hassan, “By us, everyone was saying how, from the whole mess, only eight were arrested. But we are gratified over this ruckus, so that everyone should know what kind of hooligans you have and how they threaten everyone. Maybe now, something will be done against them.”
Meanwhile, the members of the Yitzhar secretariat sent a letter to the residents in which they strongly condemned the strike on the security forces, and even threatened to resign from their posts unless real, substantive steps were taken against the rioters. But the secretariat members did not specify who should take the appropriate measures: The IDF? Shin Bet? The police? Or perhaps the Yitzhar members themselves, those who are not connected to the violent acts of what used to be called “a handful of lawbreakers’ and have now become so many.
Source: ALMONITOR
Israeli colonial settlers of Beit Hadasa settlement backed by the Israeli occupation soldiers assaulted Palestinian citizens after raiding their houses in al-Shohadaa street, central the West Bank city of Hebron.
The settlers attacked the houses of Mufid and Zidan al-Sharabati before beating them, local sources reported.
They said the Israeli soldiers joined the Israeli settlers and beat al-Haj Mufid,48 and his brother Zidan,44, causing them suffer bruises and contusions.
The brothers were transferred to al-Khalil Governmental Hospital. The Israeli soldiers kidnapped Zidan from the ambulance despite his injury and took him to an interrogation center in Kiryat Arba settlement, the sources added.
Witnesses pointed out clashes erupted between the family and the Israeli settlers who threatened and insulted them using obscene language and prevented media from picturing the incident.
A state of fear prevailed among the Sharabati’s family especially their children.
The settlers attacked the houses of Mufid and Zidan al-Sharabati before beating them, local sources reported.
They said the Israeli soldiers joined the Israeli settlers and beat al-Haj Mufid,48 and his brother Zidan,44, causing them suffer bruises and contusions.
The brothers were transferred to al-Khalil Governmental Hospital. The Israeli soldiers kidnapped Zidan from the ambulance despite his injury and took him to an interrogation center in Kiryat Arba settlement, the sources added.
Witnesses pointed out clashes erupted between the family and the Israeli settlers who threatened and insulted them using obscene language and prevented media from picturing the incident.
A state of fear prevailed among the Sharabati’s family especially their children.
Former spy chiefs criticise politicians for failing to sufficiently condemn attacks on Israeli soldiers by Jewish settlers.
By Tom Rayner, Middle East Reporter
In the lexicon of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, there's a Hebrew phrase now picking up some momentum - "machbesat milim" or "word laundering". A person accused of "word laundering" takes an illegal or violent act and neutralises it through tame description. That's the charge being levelled at the ranking players in the Israeli government, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu included, over their handling of a series of violent attacks on Israeli soldiers by Jewish settlers.
Those pointing fingers are a group of former heads of the Shin Bet, Israel's internal intelligence agency, tasked with co-ordinating counter-terrorism operations. The men have become known as "The Gatekeepers", after they were interviewed in an Oscar-nominated documentary by the same title last year, which revealed their concerns over the implications of an absence of peace with the Palestinians.
As former heads of the Shin Bet, their views hold weight - not peaceniks, not liberals, but hardened men of the security establishment. They have spoken out following attacks by Jewish extremists on an Israeli Defence Forces outpost, which theoretically protects the residents of the West Bank settlement of Yitzhar. For three consecutive days this week, extremist settlers from Yitzhar have led violent confrontations targeting soldiers.
Eight people were injured, military equipment was destroyed, stones were thrown, tyres were burnt - all as a protest against the recent demolition of five buildings deemed illegal by the Israeli authorities. Mr Gillon said: "There aren't any results because the government hasn't told GSS (Shin Bet) director Yoram Cohen to deliver results, despite the enormous damage that this is causing us.
"They deal with those agitators with kid gloves, and that's why they don’t talk during interrogation. But there are interrogation methods, and even the worst Hamas activists ultimately talk." Yuval Diskin, who served as director between 2005 and 2011, went further still - alluding to the risk of political assassinations if Jewish extremists are allowed to act with impunity.
"The events in Yitzhar are another expression of the mounting separatism of communities in some of the settlements in Judea and Samaria," he said. "The people who are involved in operations of that kind against Palestinians and Arab Israeli citizens or against the IDF are liable, in the future, to use live weapons against soldiers and against leaders." The only member of "The Gatekeepers" group who offered a less critical view was Yaakov Peri - currently serving in Mr Netanyahu's governing coalition as science minister.
Mr Peri, who was director between 1988 and 1994, pointed to the fact the government has condemned the attacks clearly, and arrests have been made. He said: "The government has spoken clearly - any attack on the IDF can be construed as terrorism, just as any price tag operation and any violent action that undermines the foundations of the state can be construed as terrorism. "There isn’t any word laundering here. The Israel police is already dealing with these events, and if it needs the GSS' assistance, I presume that it will receive it. "After all, we’re not talking about a particularly complex crime, and there’s no need to use sophisticated forces to capture a few dozen hooligans, when everyone knows who they are.
"Something grave was done here, but we need to keep things in proportion - they’re a lot simpler than the way people are trying to cast them". Jewish settlements in the West Bank are one of the central issues in the faltering negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, coordinated by US Secretary of State John Kerry.
Deemed illegal by the international community and under international law, it is the continued construction of such settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories that many diplomats say poses a serious threat to the possibility of reaching a genuine two-state solution. Even those Israeli politicians supportive of the settlements, such as deputy defence minister Danny Danon, have acknowledged that the violence in Yitzhar could be deeply damaging to the settler movement in the context of the negotiations. This view was underlined by Israeli justice minister Tzipi Livni, who is the minister responsible for the talks with the Palestinian leadership.
She said: "Everything is connected. Therefore, we see a phenomenon that has risen from the fact that we have not arrived at an agreement. "The events that occurred in Yitzhar are a good example of this ...
The kinds of lines that are crossed in the West Bank make it hard to speak of democracy. "As a result, an ideology has flourished that does not recognise the rule of law, that does not recognise us or what we represent. "Anyone who believes in democracy, government and the rule of law cannot close their eyes to this problem or accept it.
Source: SKY NEWS HD
By Tom Rayner, Middle East Reporter
In the lexicon of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, there's a Hebrew phrase now picking up some momentum - "machbesat milim" or "word laundering". A person accused of "word laundering" takes an illegal or violent act and neutralises it through tame description. That's the charge being levelled at the ranking players in the Israeli government, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu included, over their handling of a series of violent attacks on Israeli soldiers by Jewish settlers.
Those pointing fingers are a group of former heads of the Shin Bet, Israel's internal intelligence agency, tasked with co-ordinating counter-terrorism operations. The men have become known as "The Gatekeepers", after they were interviewed in an Oscar-nominated documentary by the same title last year, which revealed their concerns over the implications of an absence of peace with the Palestinians.
As former heads of the Shin Bet, their views hold weight - not peaceniks, not liberals, but hardened men of the security establishment. They have spoken out following attacks by Jewish extremists on an Israeli Defence Forces outpost, which theoretically protects the residents of the West Bank settlement of Yitzhar. For three consecutive days this week, extremist settlers from Yitzhar have led violent confrontations targeting soldiers.
Eight people were injured, military equipment was destroyed, stones were thrown, tyres were burnt - all as a protest against the recent demolition of five buildings deemed illegal by the Israeli authorities. Mr Gillon said: "There aren't any results because the government hasn't told GSS (Shin Bet) director Yoram Cohen to deliver results, despite the enormous damage that this is causing us.
"They deal with those agitators with kid gloves, and that's why they don’t talk during interrogation. But there are interrogation methods, and even the worst Hamas activists ultimately talk." Yuval Diskin, who served as director between 2005 and 2011, went further still - alluding to the risk of political assassinations if Jewish extremists are allowed to act with impunity.
"The events in Yitzhar are another expression of the mounting separatism of communities in some of the settlements in Judea and Samaria," he said. "The people who are involved in operations of that kind against Palestinians and Arab Israeli citizens or against the IDF are liable, in the future, to use live weapons against soldiers and against leaders." The only member of "The Gatekeepers" group who offered a less critical view was Yaakov Peri - currently serving in Mr Netanyahu's governing coalition as science minister.
Mr Peri, who was director between 1988 and 1994, pointed to the fact the government has condemned the attacks clearly, and arrests have been made. He said: "The government has spoken clearly - any attack on the IDF can be construed as terrorism, just as any price tag operation and any violent action that undermines the foundations of the state can be construed as terrorism. "There isn’t any word laundering here. The Israel police is already dealing with these events, and if it needs the GSS' assistance, I presume that it will receive it. "After all, we’re not talking about a particularly complex crime, and there’s no need to use sophisticated forces to capture a few dozen hooligans, when everyone knows who they are.
"Something grave was done here, but we need to keep things in proportion - they’re a lot simpler than the way people are trying to cast them". Jewish settlements in the West Bank are one of the central issues in the faltering negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, coordinated by US Secretary of State John Kerry.
Deemed illegal by the international community and under international law, it is the continued construction of such settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories that many diplomats say poses a serious threat to the possibility of reaching a genuine two-state solution. Even those Israeli politicians supportive of the settlements, such as deputy defence minister Danny Danon, have acknowledged that the violence in Yitzhar could be deeply damaging to the settler movement in the context of the negotiations. This view was underlined by Israeli justice minister Tzipi Livni, who is the minister responsible for the talks with the Palestinian leadership.
She said: "Everything is connected. Therefore, we see a phenomenon that has risen from the fact that we have not arrived at an agreement. "The events that occurred in Yitzhar are a good example of this ...
The kinds of lines that are crossed in the West Bank make it hard to speak of democracy. "As a result, an ideology has flourished that does not recognise the rule of law, that does not recognise us or what we represent. "Anyone who believes in democracy, government and the rule of law cannot close their eyes to this problem or accept it.
Source: SKY NEWS HD