14 mar 2013
Settler Woman, Her Children, Injured In The West Bank
Israeli Ynet News reported Thursday that a settler woman and her 3-year-old toddler have been injured after a number of Palestinians hurled stones at settlers vehicles driving on Route 5 that connects Tel Aviv with the Ariel illegal settlement in the northern part of the occupied West Bank.
The Ynet said that the woman’s car crashed after stones were hurled at her car; the woman, 40, and two of her daughters (ages 4 and 5) were moderately injured, while here three-year-old toddler was critically wounded.
According to the Ynet report, the woman’s car crashed into a truck that was driving on the road at the time of the incident; that the truck driver was mildly injured. A settlement bus driver also sustained mild injuries in the attack.
The truck driver told the Israeli Police that he heard a crash and saw stones on the road, so he pulled over thinking he had a flat tire, but when her returned to his truck he realized that the woman’s car had crashed into the back of his truck and was “practically buried under it”, the Ynet News reported.
Israel soldiers arrived at the scene and started a large-scale campaign in an attempt to locate the persons who hurled stones at the settlers’ vehicles.
The Ynet also reported that, several hours after the initial incident, a 10-year-old Israeli child was also lightly wounded when stones were hurled at settlers’ vehicles on the same road.
The situation in the West Bank has been escalating, with clashes reported in different cities, towns and refugee camp, following the death of Arafat Jaradat, 30, a Palestinian political prisoner who was tortured to death, on February 23, at an Israeli interrogation facility, in addition to the death of Mohammad At-Teety, 25, who was shot and killed on Tuesday by an Israeli dum-dum bullet to the head, in the Al-Fawwar refugee camp, in Hebron.
Earlier on Thursday, the army invaded various communities in the occupied West Bank, broke into and searched dozens of homes and kidnapped 23 Palestinians.
The Ynet said that the woman’s car crashed after stones were hurled at her car; the woman, 40, and two of her daughters (ages 4 and 5) were moderately injured, while here three-year-old toddler was critically wounded.
According to the Ynet report, the woman’s car crashed into a truck that was driving on the road at the time of the incident; that the truck driver was mildly injured. A settlement bus driver also sustained mild injuries in the attack.
The truck driver told the Israeli Police that he heard a crash and saw stones on the road, so he pulled over thinking he had a flat tire, but when her returned to his truck he realized that the woman’s car had crashed into the back of his truck and was “practically buried under it”, the Ynet News reported.
Israel soldiers arrived at the scene and started a large-scale campaign in an attempt to locate the persons who hurled stones at the settlers’ vehicles.
The Ynet also reported that, several hours after the initial incident, a 10-year-old Israeli child was also lightly wounded when stones were hurled at settlers’ vehicles on the same road.
The situation in the West Bank has been escalating, with clashes reported in different cities, towns and refugee camp, following the death of Arafat Jaradat, 30, a Palestinian political prisoner who was tortured to death, on February 23, at an Israeli interrogation facility, in addition to the death of Mohammad At-Teety, 25, who was shot and killed on Tuesday by an Israeli dum-dum bullet to the head, in the Al-Fawwar refugee camp, in Hebron.
Earlier on Thursday, the army invaded various communities in the occupied West Bank, broke into and searched dozens of homes and kidnapped 23 Palestinians.
13 mar 2013
Palestinian child injured in settler’s attack
Nine-year-old child Yassin Iqnaybi was injured in his face and hand in a Jewish settler’s attack in the Old City of Al-Khalil on Tuesday.
Local sources said that a Jewish settler threw stones at a group of schoolchildren while on their way to school wounding the child in his face and hand.
They said that the child was hospitalized with moderate wounds.
The sources noted that the settler ran away when people gathered and Israeli forces arrived to the scene.
Local sources said that a Jewish settler threw stones at a group of schoolchildren while on their way to school wounding the child in his face and hand.
They said that the child was hospitalized with moderate wounds.
The sources noted that the settler ran away when people gathered and Israeli forces arrived to the scene.
Scores of Jewish settlers storm Aqsa mosque
Scores of Jewish settlers stormed the holy Aqsa mosque on Wednesday morning under heavy police escort at a time Palestinian female students are still denied entry.
Eyewitnesses said that dozens of settlers barged into the Aqsa yards in groups and performed Talmudic rituals.
The witnesses pointed out that Israeli police were still denying access into the Aqsa for women, who wish to study the Quran in the holy site, for the third day running.
They said that policemen handed those women orders to stay away from the mosque but they refused to sign the orders.
Eyewitnesses said that dozens of settlers barged into the Aqsa yards in groups and performed Talmudic rituals.
The witnesses pointed out that Israeli police were still denying access into the Aqsa for women, who wish to study the Quran in the holy site, for the third day running.
They said that policemen handed those women orders to stay away from the mosque but they refused to sign the orders.
Settlers Cut Dozens Of Olive Trees In Nablus
Tuesday evening March 13, 2013, a number of extremist Israeli settlers cut dozens of Palestinian olive trees near Qaryout village, south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus.
The settlers came from the Rachel illegal settlement, and cut more than 120 trees in the eastern area, close to the settlement.
The trees belong to resident Mohammad Ahmad Shihada Miqbil.
Israeli settlers carried out dozens of attacks targeting Palestinians lands, orchards, homes and property in different parts of the occupied West Bank, and occupied East Jerusalem.
Last Friday morning, March 8, Israeli settlers uprooted around 120 olive trees in al-Sawya village south of Nablus Friday morning.
Local sources reported that about 90 olive saplings, and 30 fully-grown olive trees, owned by two Palestinians from the village, were uprooted.
The settlers also came from the Rachel illegal settlement.
On Tuesday February 5 2013, a number of extremist Israeli settlers torched two Palestinian vehicles in the Dir Jareer village, north of the central West Bank city of Ramallah, and wrote racist graffiti on the walls of a number of homes in the village.
The settlers came from the Rachel illegal settlement, and cut more than 120 trees in the eastern area, close to the settlement.
The trees belong to resident Mohammad Ahmad Shihada Miqbil.
Israeli settlers carried out dozens of attacks targeting Palestinians lands, orchards, homes and property in different parts of the occupied West Bank, and occupied East Jerusalem.
Last Friday morning, March 8, Israeli settlers uprooted around 120 olive trees in al-Sawya village south of Nablus Friday morning.
Local sources reported that about 90 olive saplings, and 30 fully-grown olive trees, owned by two Palestinians from the village, were uprooted.
The settlers also came from the Rachel illegal settlement.
On Tuesday February 5 2013, a number of extremist Israeli settlers torched two Palestinian vehicles in the Dir Jareer village, north of the central West Bank city of Ramallah, and wrote racist graffiti on the walls of a number of homes in the village.
12 mar 2013
Jewish settler runs over child then speeds away
A Jewish settler ran over a Jerusalemite child in the main street of Tur suburb in occupied Jerusalem on Monday then sped away.
Eyewitnesses said that 8-year-old Nadi Juwailes was taken to Makased hospital where her injuries were described as light.
The locals said that the settler is known to them but they could not catch him as he sped away immediately after running over the little girl.
Eyewitnesses said that 8-year-old Nadi Juwailes was taken to Makased hospital where her injuries were described as light.
The locals said that the settler is known to them but they could not catch him as he sped away immediately after running over the little girl.
Dozens of Jewish settlers desecrate Aqsa mosque
Dozens of Jewish settlers burst into the holy Aqsa mosque in occupied Jerusalem on Tuesday morning and roamed in its plazas.
Islamic Awqaf sources said that around 50 settlers barged into the Aqsa plazas in groups under heavy police escort.
The sources noted that the settlers’ storming of the holy mosque under police and border police escort recently escalated, adding that the practice had heightened tension in the mosque especially among students who come to the mosque to study the Quran.
Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation authorities denied access for Palestinian women into the holy site for the second straight day without giving any reason.
Islamic Awqaf sources said that around 50 settlers barged into the Aqsa plazas in groups under heavy police escort.
The sources noted that the settlers’ storming of the holy mosque under police and border police escort recently escalated, adding that the practice had heightened tension in the mosque especially among students who come to the mosque to study the Quran.
Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation authorities denied access for Palestinian women into the holy site for the second straight day without giving any reason.
15 Families Ordered Out Of Their Residence, Lands, Near Hebron
The Israeli army handed 15 Palestinian families living in Al-Janoub area, east if Sair town in the southern West Bank district of Hebron, military warrants ordering them to leave their homes and lands.
The army cited “military considerations” to its new decision that is similar to dozens of orders issued by the army in the area.
The fifteen families are facing eviction and displacement due to the Israeli decision, the Maan News agency has reported.
Maan quoted resident ‘Abed Shalalda stating that fifteen families, including his own, were ordered out of the area, and were told that the army will resort to violence “should they fail to comply”.
The families in this area live in tents; some even live in caves and ancient structures, as the Israeli military and the Israeli Civil Administration Office operating in the occupied West Bank do not recognize their residency rights.
Shalalda said that the families have deeds proving ownership of the land, but the army is not recognizing these documents.
Bedouin tribes in Hebron, as well as in different parts of the West Bank, and in the Negev desert are subject to ongoing violations and attacks carried out by the Israeli Authorities,
Over the weekend a group of fundamentalist Israeli settlers assaulted three Palestinian schoolchildren in Jaba’ village, north of occupied East Jerusalem. The three are brothers; this is the second attack against them since Thursday.
Mahmoud Abu Ghaya, a resident of the Al-Jahaleen Bedouin village, stated that the setters attacked three schoolchildren while walking to school inflicting various injuries.
In 2005, Israel approved the so-called “Negev Development Plan” aiming at building shopping centers and tourist areas, but at the same time displacing around some 65.000 Bedouins living in what Israel refers to as “unrecognized villages”.
Al-Araqeeb village in the Negev is one of the most impacted “unrecognized villages” as it was destroyed more than 41 times.
The “Prawer plan” calls for annexing more than 700.000 Dunams (185329 acres) and displacing the residents by demolishing 14 villages in the area.
All unrecognized villages in the Negev are under continuing Israeli attacks and violations, as Tel Aviv does not recognize the residents' right to live on their land -- land they inhabited long before the 1948 creation of the state of Israel in historic Palestine.
Unrecognized villages in the Negev are under continuing Israeli attacks and violations, as Tel Aviv does not recognize the residents' right to live on their land -- land they inhabited long before the 1948 creation of the state of Israel in historic Palestine.
The army cited “military considerations” to its new decision that is similar to dozens of orders issued by the army in the area.
The fifteen families are facing eviction and displacement due to the Israeli decision, the Maan News agency has reported.
Maan quoted resident ‘Abed Shalalda stating that fifteen families, including his own, were ordered out of the area, and were told that the army will resort to violence “should they fail to comply”.
The families in this area live in tents; some even live in caves and ancient structures, as the Israeli military and the Israeli Civil Administration Office operating in the occupied West Bank do not recognize their residency rights.
Shalalda said that the families have deeds proving ownership of the land, but the army is not recognizing these documents.
Bedouin tribes in Hebron, as well as in different parts of the West Bank, and in the Negev desert are subject to ongoing violations and attacks carried out by the Israeli Authorities,
Over the weekend a group of fundamentalist Israeli settlers assaulted three Palestinian schoolchildren in Jaba’ village, north of occupied East Jerusalem. The three are brothers; this is the second attack against them since Thursday.
Mahmoud Abu Ghaya, a resident of the Al-Jahaleen Bedouin village, stated that the setters attacked three schoolchildren while walking to school inflicting various injuries.
In 2005, Israel approved the so-called “Negev Development Plan” aiming at building shopping centers and tourist areas, but at the same time displacing around some 65.000 Bedouins living in what Israel refers to as “unrecognized villages”.
Al-Araqeeb village in the Negev is one of the most impacted “unrecognized villages” as it was destroyed more than 41 times.
The “Prawer plan” calls for annexing more than 700.000 Dunams (185329 acres) and displacing the residents by demolishing 14 villages in the area.
All unrecognized villages in the Negev are under continuing Israeli attacks and violations, as Tel Aviv does not recognize the residents' right to live on their land -- land they inhabited long before the 1948 creation of the state of Israel in historic Palestine.
Unrecognized villages in the Negev are under continuing Israeli attacks and violations, as Tel Aviv does not recognize the residents' right to live on their land -- land they inhabited long before the 1948 creation of the state of Israel in historic Palestine.
11 mar 2013
Jewish fanatic women storm Aqsa
A group of Jewish fanatic women stormed the Aqsa mosque on Monday under heavy police protection.
Islamic Awqaf officials objected to the step but the police ignored them and escorted the women inside the Qibli mosque.
At the same time, Israeli police blocked entry of Palestinian women into the Aqsa as dozens of them gathered in front of Bab Al-Asbat gate demanding right of entry to attend religious study courses.
Islamic Awqaf officials objected to the step but the police ignored them and escorted the women inside the Qibli mosque.
At the same time, Israeli police blocked entry of Palestinian women into the Aqsa as dozens of them gathered in front of Bab Al-Asbat gate demanding right of entry to attend religious study courses.
Confrontations in Nablus after settlers enter Nabi Yusuf tomb
Hundreds of Jewish settlers burst into Nabi Yusuf tomb to the east of Nablus before dawn Monday under heavy Israeli military escort.
Locals said that violent confrontations between Israeli occupation forces and inhabitants took place after the settlers’ arrival. They said that IOF soldiers fired teargas canisters at the protestors and houses in the vicinity of the tomb.
In the same context, scores of IOF soldiers broke into the eastern suburbs of Nablus city at dawn and clashed with young men until morning.
Locals said that violent confrontations between Israeli occupation forces and inhabitants took place after the settlers’ arrival. They said that IOF soldiers fired teargas canisters at the protestors and houses in the vicinity of the tomb.
In the same context, scores of IOF soldiers broke into the eastern suburbs of Nablus city at dawn and clashed with young men until morning.
Jewish settlers attack civilians and their property in Al-Khalil village
Jewish settlers attacked Palestinian citizens and their property in the village of Yatta, south of Al-Khalil, on Sunday.
Local sources said that the settlers came from Ma’on settlement, east of Yatta, and attacked citizens and their vehicles using stones and batons in terrorizing civilians
They said that Israeli occupation forces protected settlers during the attack.
Local sources said that the settlers came from Ma’on settlement, east of Yatta, and attacked citizens and their vehicles using stones and batons in terrorizing civilians
They said that Israeli occupation forces protected settlers during the attack.
Experts probe reach of toxins from West Bank landfill
"They drank from the dark water, and then they died," a Bedouin shepherd boy says of the putrid black liquid oozing from the ground.
Half a mile to the east, insects are devouring the carcasses of two animals - one sheep and a goat - rotting in a dry riverbed.
From the level of decomposition, it's clear they died recently. What isn't so clear is how, but a new environmental survey is turning up clues about toxins in the air and water here.
The area, Wadi Abu Hindi, is downstream from the busiest commercial waste site in the occupied West Bank, in a valley overshadowed on both sides by Israeli settlements.
The "dark water" is leachate, liquid produced by compression. Here, it refers to runoff from hundreds of thousands of tons of garbage crammed into a hilltop east of Jerusalem. Rainfall washes it down the less stable eastern slope, where it meets freshwater streams.
"This is very dangerous," says Nader al-Khateeb, a sanitation expert and former chief engineer for the Bethlehem water authority, after reviewing photographs of the site for Ma'an. "It is highly, highly toxic. It could easily percolate into the groundwater," al-Khateeb says.
He and other experts believe the liquid's presence in the valley reflects one of several engineering failures at the Abu Dis landfill, an Israeli dump site that processes trash from both sides of the Green Line.
So great is the threat that in 2011, Israeli authorities declared the facility unsalvageable and ordered it shuttered by 2013. Yet it remains a hive of activity today, blasting untreated methane into the air and runoff into the water of the valley below.
Amer Marei, a hydrogeologist at Al-Quds University, is leading the first comprehensive study on the environmental effects of these toxins on nearby residential areas.
Initial findings show carcinogen levels in both the water and the air that exceed World Health Organization standards and reach populations never previously thought to be at risk.
"If I am categorizing the problem, the biggest is air pollution," Marei said Sunday during a visit to the site.
"Toxic gases emitted in the atmosphere, known as TVOCs, reach a maximum of 440 micrograms per cubic meter (of air)" in samples from Abu Dis, al-Ezariya and al-Sawahira al-Sharqiya. "At a rate of 1 microgram ... six per million would be expected to contract leukemia. So, multiply that by 440."
The findings are new, and they have not been replicated outside Marei's lab. But he says the team's soil, air and water samples are being preserved for independent analysis, which he welcomes.
And experts uninvolved in the research say the findings fit with the facility's history of mismanagement by a company based in Maale Adumim settlement. The site was not prepared to host a landfill when construction began decades ago, and it lacks basic safeguards like concrete and asphalt.
Officials at Israel's environmental protection ministry told Ma'an this week that they intend to eventually shut down the facility, citing similar safety and health concerns.
"The dump in Abu Dis causes serious environmental harm," according to a September 2012 assessment by the ministry made available Thursday in an email.
The statement acknowledged that the facility's infrastructure "is not designed to prevent land pollution, and there are concerns that the groundwater might be polluted."
But it offered no firm timetable for closing it down, and a spokesman was unable to produce one. He referred inquiries to Israel's Jerusalem municipality, which was told to stop using the site by this month. A spokeswoman declined to confirm if the municipality was cooperating.
Marei is hesitant to discuss the conflict with Israel, but he finds the lack of urgency troubling from an environmental perspective.
"My question for them is would they allow such a site to be built inside Israel? And would they let the situation that we see happening here happen there? I don't think they would."
Nader al-Khateeb is the director and co-founder of a Palestinian environmental group that promotes coexistence with Israel, but he too has little patience for the internal political wrangling that permits the facility to continue operating when all involved are aware of the risks.
"Things get lost between who's responsible and who's not responsible. In the end, who pays the price? It is the Palestinian residents who are the victims," he says.
"The occupier should not use the occupied's land as a dumping site for their garbage."
Even though the site is in Area C, the 60 percent of the West Bank under full control of the Israeli military, both experts faulted the PA for its lack of attention to the crisis.
"The Palestinian environmental protection agency needs to take its responsibility in bringing the issue of this problem to the public and to the international community," says Marei.
Al-Khateeb agrees: "We are not doing enough within our rights under international law and taking such cases to international courts to stop such practices."
A spokesman for the Palestinian environmental protection agency did not return calls but a day after Ma'an TV raised the issue, health ministry vehicles were seen driving into Wadi Abu Hindi.
Like all visitors, they were greeted first by an uncovered reservoir the size of a swimming pool and filled with liquid collected from the landfill's eastern side.
During rainstorms, this tank sometimes overflows into a riverbed and toward the Bedouin encampment. With enough rain, it can reach streams leading to the Jordan River.
Some residents of the Bedouin area find employment with the landfill, and they aren't eager to talk on the record about the site's environmental footprint.
Away from the cameras, though, one father expressed fears about the polluted stream's effects on the community, particularly on the health of his young children.
"When it rains, it becomes like a blood river," he said, pointing toward the valley.
George Hale. Mirna al-Atrash and May Issa contributed reporting.
Half a mile to the east, insects are devouring the carcasses of two animals - one sheep and a goat - rotting in a dry riverbed.
From the level of decomposition, it's clear they died recently. What isn't so clear is how, but a new environmental survey is turning up clues about toxins in the air and water here.
The area, Wadi Abu Hindi, is downstream from the busiest commercial waste site in the occupied West Bank, in a valley overshadowed on both sides by Israeli settlements.
The "dark water" is leachate, liquid produced by compression. Here, it refers to runoff from hundreds of thousands of tons of garbage crammed into a hilltop east of Jerusalem. Rainfall washes it down the less stable eastern slope, where it meets freshwater streams.
"This is very dangerous," says Nader al-Khateeb, a sanitation expert and former chief engineer for the Bethlehem water authority, after reviewing photographs of the site for Ma'an. "It is highly, highly toxic. It could easily percolate into the groundwater," al-Khateeb says.
He and other experts believe the liquid's presence in the valley reflects one of several engineering failures at the Abu Dis landfill, an Israeli dump site that processes trash from both sides of the Green Line.
So great is the threat that in 2011, Israeli authorities declared the facility unsalvageable and ordered it shuttered by 2013. Yet it remains a hive of activity today, blasting untreated methane into the air and runoff into the water of the valley below.
Amer Marei, a hydrogeologist at Al-Quds University, is leading the first comprehensive study on the environmental effects of these toxins on nearby residential areas.
Initial findings show carcinogen levels in both the water and the air that exceed World Health Organization standards and reach populations never previously thought to be at risk.
"If I am categorizing the problem, the biggest is air pollution," Marei said Sunday during a visit to the site.
"Toxic gases emitted in the atmosphere, known as TVOCs, reach a maximum of 440 micrograms per cubic meter (of air)" in samples from Abu Dis, al-Ezariya and al-Sawahira al-Sharqiya. "At a rate of 1 microgram ... six per million would be expected to contract leukemia. So, multiply that by 440."
The findings are new, and they have not been replicated outside Marei's lab. But he says the team's soil, air and water samples are being preserved for independent analysis, which he welcomes.
And experts uninvolved in the research say the findings fit with the facility's history of mismanagement by a company based in Maale Adumim settlement. The site was not prepared to host a landfill when construction began decades ago, and it lacks basic safeguards like concrete and asphalt.
Officials at Israel's environmental protection ministry told Ma'an this week that they intend to eventually shut down the facility, citing similar safety and health concerns.
"The dump in Abu Dis causes serious environmental harm," according to a September 2012 assessment by the ministry made available Thursday in an email.
The statement acknowledged that the facility's infrastructure "is not designed to prevent land pollution, and there are concerns that the groundwater might be polluted."
But it offered no firm timetable for closing it down, and a spokesman was unable to produce one. He referred inquiries to Israel's Jerusalem municipality, which was told to stop using the site by this month. A spokeswoman declined to confirm if the municipality was cooperating.
Marei is hesitant to discuss the conflict with Israel, but he finds the lack of urgency troubling from an environmental perspective.
"My question for them is would they allow such a site to be built inside Israel? And would they let the situation that we see happening here happen there? I don't think they would."
Nader al-Khateeb is the director and co-founder of a Palestinian environmental group that promotes coexistence with Israel, but he too has little patience for the internal political wrangling that permits the facility to continue operating when all involved are aware of the risks.
"Things get lost between who's responsible and who's not responsible. In the end, who pays the price? It is the Palestinian residents who are the victims," he says.
"The occupier should not use the occupied's land as a dumping site for their garbage."
Even though the site is in Area C, the 60 percent of the West Bank under full control of the Israeli military, both experts faulted the PA for its lack of attention to the crisis.
"The Palestinian environmental protection agency needs to take its responsibility in bringing the issue of this problem to the public and to the international community," says Marei.
Al-Khateeb agrees: "We are not doing enough within our rights under international law and taking such cases to international courts to stop such practices."
A spokesman for the Palestinian environmental protection agency did not return calls but a day after Ma'an TV raised the issue, health ministry vehicles were seen driving into Wadi Abu Hindi.
Like all visitors, they were greeted first by an uncovered reservoir the size of a swimming pool and filled with liquid collected from the landfill's eastern side.
During rainstorms, this tank sometimes overflows into a riverbed and toward the Bedouin encampment. With enough rain, it can reach streams leading to the Jordan River.
Some residents of the Bedouin area find employment with the landfill, and they aren't eager to talk on the record about the site's environmental footprint.
Away from the cameras, though, one father expressed fears about the polluted stream's effects on the community, particularly on the health of his young children.
"When it rains, it becomes like a blood river," he said, pointing toward the valley.
George Hale. Mirna al-Atrash and May Issa contributed reporting.
Settlers Hurl Stones At A Palestinian Car Near Hebron
A number of extremist Israeli settlers of the Ma’on illegal settlement, built on Palestinian lands that belong to residents of Yatta town south of the southern West Bank city of Hebron, hurled stones at a Palestinian car causing excessive damage but no injuries.
Rateb Al-Jabour, Coordinator of the Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements in Yatta, told the Palestine News & Info Agency (WAFA) that the settlers hurled stones at the car of Shaher Hamamda, 40, as he and his family were driving on Road 60 in the area.
On Sunday evening, Israeli soldiers installed a roadblock at the entrance of Sa’ir town, north of Hebron, stopped and searched several vehicles, and violently attacked a number of residents.
Earlier on Sunday, the army kidnapped former political prisoner, Issa Ali Awad, 25, from Beit Ummar near Hebron, as he was heading to his work. He was moved the Asqalan Prison.
Also on Sunday, the army kidnaped two Palestinians from Ras Al-‘Amoud in occupied East Jerusalem, and in Jerusalem’s Old City.
The two have been identified as Salem Mahmoud Abu Thiab, 21, from Silwan, and Mahmoud Khaled Miqdad, from Bab Hatta area, in the old city.
They were both moved to the Al-Maskobiyya interrogation facility in the city, while Miqdad was release later on, but was ordered to return to the interrogation center on Monday for further interrogation.
Rateb Al-Jabour, Coordinator of the Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements in Yatta, told the Palestine News & Info Agency (WAFA) that the settlers hurled stones at the car of Shaher Hamamda, 40, as he and his family were driving on Road 60 in the area.
On Sunday evening, Israeli soldiers installed a roadblock at the entrance of Sa’ir town, north of Hebron, stopped and searched several vehicles, and violently attacked a number of residents.
Earlier on Sunday, the army kidnapped former political prisoner, Issa Ali Awad, 25, from Beit Ummar near Hebron, as he was heading to his work. He was moved the Asqalan Prison.
Also on Sunday, the army kidnaped two Palestinians from Ras Al-‘Amoud in occupied East Jerusalem, and in Jerusalem’s Old City.
The two have been identified as Salem Mahmoud Abu Thiab, 21, from Silwan, and Mahmoud Khaled Miqdad, from Bab Hatta area, in the old city.
They were both moved to the Al-Maskobiyya interrogation facility in the city, while Miqdad was release later on, but was ordered to return to the interrogation center on Monday for further interrogation.
Arab Woman, Her Daughter, Verbally Assaulted In Nazareth
Mariam Issa
The Arabs48 news website reported Sunday that three extremist Israeli Jews in Natzeret Illit, in Nazareth, have verbally assaulted an Arab woman and her daughter.
The extremists also spat at the two women and cursed at them while telling them that they should leave the city.
Mariam Issa, 57, and her daughter, 27, live in Natzeret Illit, and were verbally assaulted by Israeli youths who also live in the area, the Arabs48 added.
She filed a complaint to the Israeli Police, and the Police apprehended the assailants but conditionally released them later on.
There have been several similar incidents of racial violence carried out against Arabs and Palestinians in Israel, including the recent attack against an Arab woman at the light rail station in Jerusalem.
The woman was attacked by a number of Israeli women, who also tried to remove her hijab.
On Wednesday evening March 6, a number of extremist Israeli settlers hurled stones at a Palestinian car driven by a young Palestinian woman in “Keryat Shmone” road, in occupied Jerusalem. The woman was driving her car, and was accompanied by a Jewish-Israeli woman.
Also, an Arab day laborer was verbally assaulted in Jaffa city, and an Arab couple were assaulted in Tiberius.
The Arabs48 news website reported Sunday that three extremist Israeli Jews in Natzeret Illit, in Nazareth, have verbally assaulted an Arab woman and her daughter.
The extremists also spat at the two women and cursed at them while telling them that they should leave the city.
Mariam Issa, 57, and her daughter, 27, live in Natzeret Illit, and were verbally assaulted by Israeli youths who also live in the area, the Arabs48 added.
She filed a complaint to the Israeli Police, and the Police apprehended the assailants but conditionally released them later on.
There have been several similar incidents of racial violence carried out against Arabs and Palestinians in Israel, including the recent attack against an Arab woman at the light rail station in Jerusalem.
The woman was attacked by a number of Israeli women, who also tried to remove her hijab.
On Wednesday evening March 6, a number of extremist Israeli settlers hurled stones at a Palestinian car driven by a young Palestinian woman in “Keryat Shmone” road, in occupied Jerusalem. The woman was driving her car, and was accompanied by a Jewish-Israeli woman.
Also, an Arab day laborer was verbally assaulted in Jaffa city, and an Arab couple were assaulted in Tiberius.
10 mar 2013
Bat Ayin settlers attack Palestinian farmer in his land
Fanatic Jewish settlers attacked on Saturday morning a Palestinian farmer during his presence in his agricultural land in Beit Ummar town in Al-Khalil city.
Coordinator of the popular committee against settlement in Beit Ummar Mohamed Awad reported that about 30 Jewish settlers from Bat Ayin settlement verbally and physically attacked farmer Mohamed Al-Salibi, 67, as he was working his land along with sons in Abu Rish area.
Salibi noted that the settlers came aboard a car belonging to a security officer from Bat Ayin settlement, while Israeli soldiers and policemen were watching and doing nothing to protect the farmer against the assailants.
In a separate incident, the IOF on the morning of the same day detained more than 30 Palestinians from Al-Yatim family in Yatta town for more than three hours after they went to Khirba area for a picnic and confiscated two of their vehicles.
Coordinator of the popular committee against settlement in Beit Ummar Mohamed Awad reported that about 30 Jewish settlers from Bat Ayin settlement verbally and physically attacked farmer Mohamed Al-Salibi, 67, as he was working his land along with sons in Abu Rish area.
Salibi noted that the settlers came aboard a car belonging to a security officer from Bat Ayin settlement, while Israeli soldiers and policemen were watching and doing nothing to protect the farmer against the assailants.
In a separate incident, the IOF on the morning of the same day detained more than 30 Palestinians from Al-Yatim family in Yatta town for more than three hours after they went to Khirba area for a picnic and confiscated two of their vehicles.
9 mar 2013
Villages northwest of Nablus launch anti-settlement event
Popular Committee against Wall and Settlements in villages northwest of Nablus launched its first event on Friday in rejection of Israeli abuses represented in dumping sewage of Shavei Shomron settlement on the villages’ lands.
One of the Committee's members said in a statement to the PIC that more than 100 citizens from the villages of Burqa, Sebastia and Naqoura demonstrated on Friday in the region and confronted the Israeli occupation forces that tried to stop them and attacked them.
He pointed out that many villagers suffered suffocation as the Israeli soldiers have been firing tear gas grenades during clashes between Palestinian youths and Israeli forces.
The member of the popular committee stressed that this event will be arranged to be a weekly demonstration against settlers’ attacks to prevent them from continuing to dump sewage on the lands, stressing that the coming weeks will witness more activities.
Sebastia’s residents say sewage flowing from the nearby settlement onto their fields is causing substantial damage to crops and poisoning their olive trees.
One of the Committee's members said in a statement to the PIC that more than 100 citizens from the villages of Burqa, Sebastia and Naqoura demonstrated on Friday in the region and confronted the Israeli occupation forces that tried to stop them and attacked them.
He pointed out that many villagers suffered suffocation as the Israeli soldiers have been firing tear gas grenades during clashes between Palestinian youths and Israeli forces.
The member of the popular committee stressed that this event will be arranged to be a weekly demonstration against settlers’ attacks to prevent them from continuing to dump sewage on the lands, stressing that the coming weeks will witness more activities.
Sebastia’s residents say sewage flowing from the nearby settlement onto their fields is causing substantial damage to crops and poisoning their olive trees.
Jewish settlers chop down more than 100 olive trees in Nablus village
Jewish settlers chopped down more than one hundred olive trees in Sawiya village, south of Nablus city, on Friday night. Abdulrahim Yusuf, the chairman of the village’s municipal council, said that farmers were stunned at the site of their chopped off trees when they went to their farms on Saturday morning.
He said that the settlers chopped down one hundred trees and damaged dozens others and wrote “price tag” on the iron barrels that are used to protect the trees.
The mayor pointed out that this was not the first such attack by settlers from Rahil settlement on the land of Sawiya, recalling that they had previously damaged hundreds of trees and attacked citizens and their property.
He said that the settlers chopped down one hundred trees and damaged dozens others and wrote “price tag” on the iron barrels that are used to protect the trees.
The mayor pointed out that this was not the first such attack by settlers from Rahil settlement on the land of Sawiya, recalling that they had previously damaged hundreds of trees and attacked citizens and their property.
8 mar 2013
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Israeli settlers attempt to seize land in al-Khalil
A number of Israeli settlers broke into a land belonging to Aqnepe family in Tel Rumeida area in al-Khalil on Thursday.
The group of settlers stormed, under the protection of the occupation forces, a land belonging to Agrepe family in Tel Rumeida in an attempt to take control over it and turn it into a center for the settlers, eyewitnesses told PIC reporter.
The sources said that a state of tension prevailed in the area amid intensive presence of occupation forces protecting the settlers and their racist practices.
In the same context, hundreds of Israeli students stormed on Thursday the old town of al-Khalil and Ibrahimi mosque area.
Hundreds of extremist settlers and seminary students, accompanied by Israeli soldiers, stormed different districts in the old town and the Ibrahimi mosque area in al-Khalil in the West Bank in light of the Israeli settlers' violations and provocations under the IOF protection, the activist Issa Amro told PIC reporter.
Groups of settlers have carried out several attacks against the Palestinian citizens' properties during the past few days in the city of al-Khalil in order to expel them in favor of settlement expansion that besieges the city and the Ibrahimi mosque.
The group of settlers stormed, under the protection of the occupation forces, a land belonging to Agrepe family in Tel Rumeida in an attempt to take control over it and turn it into a center for the settlers, eyewitnesses told PIC reporter.
The sources said that a state of tension prevailed in the area amid intensive presence of occupation forces protecting the settlers and their racist practices.
In the same context, hundreds of Israeli students stormed on Thursday the old town of al-Khalil and Ibrahimi mosque area.
Hundreds of extremist settlers and seminary students, accompanied by Israeli soldiers, stormed different districts in the old town and the Ibrahimi mosque area in al-Khalil in the West Bank in light of the Israeli settlers' violations and provocations under the IOF protection, the activist Issa Amro told PIC reporter.
Groups of settlers have carried out several attacks against the Palestinian citizens' properties during the past few days in the city of al-Khalil in order to expel them in favor of settlement expansion that besieges the city and the Ibrahimi mosque.
7 mar 2013
Confrontations in Nablus after settlers storm Nabi Yusuf tomb
Hundreds of Jewish settlers stormed Nabi Yusuf shrine east of Nablus under heavy Israeli military protection at dawn Thursday.
Eyewitnesses said that the settlers offered rituals and called Arabs bad names during their “visit” to the shrine.
They said that Israeli occupation soldiers sealed off the entire area of the shrine and occupied nearby rooftops triggering confrontations with locals. They added that the soldiers fired teargas at protesting inhabitants.
Eyewitnesses said that the settlers offered rituals and called Arabs bad names during their “visit” to the shrine.
They said that Israeli occupation soldiers sealed off the entire area of the shrine and occupied nearby rooftops triggering confrontations with locals. They added that the soldiers fired teargas at protesting inhabitants.
6 mar 2013
IOA sets up a new road near Nablus in favor of an Israeli settler
The Israeli Occupation Authorities (IOA) inaugurated on Tuesday a new road through Palestinian agricultural land near the city of Nablus in the northern West Bank, in favor of an Israeli settler who seized a piece of land in the area.
“An Israeli bulldozer continued to work for the second day to set up a road for a Jewish settler seized an agricultural land near the Khirbet Yanun of the town Aqraba near the city of Nablus," the Committee for the Defense of Aqraba's lands confirmed, pointing out that this step will lead to confiscate more agricultural land in the area.
The Palestinian committee explained that "the mentioned road is hundreds of meters long and links between Itamar settlement and the confiscated land, noting that the occupation continues to target the area, aiming to seize hundreds of dunums of the villagers' agricultural lands.
“An Israeli bulldozer continued to work for the second day to set up a road for a Jewish settler seized an agricultural land near the Khirbet Yanun of the town Aqraba near the city of Nablus," the Committee for the Defense of Aqraba's lands confirmed, pointing out that this step will lead to confiscate more agricultural land in the area.
The Palestinian committee explained that "the mentioned road is hundreds of meters long and links between Itamar settlement and the confiscated land, noting that the occupation continues to target the area, aiming to seize hundreds of dunums of the villagers' agricultural lands.
5 mar 2013
Settlers Cut 60 Olive Trees Near Bethlehem
The Palestine News Network (PNN) has reported that a number of extremist Israeli settlers cut, on Tuesday morning, nearly 60 Palestinian olive trees that belong to a resident of Nahhalin town, in the Bethlehem District.
Owner of orchard, Taha Fannoun, told PNN that settlers of the nearby Beit Ayin illegal settlement carried out the attack.
Fannoun added that he filed a complaint to the Israeli Police, and said that this attack is not an isolated incident as the settlers are responsible for dozens of attacks against Palestinian lands and residents in the area.
In related news, Palestinian medical sources reported on Monday evening that a Palestinian youth from Doha town, west of Bethlehem, was injured after being attacked and beaten by Israeli soldiers.
The youth, Malek Abdul-Aziz Adawi, 17, suffered moderate injuries and was moved to the Beit Jalal governmental hospital.
Jewish settlers uproot more than 50 olive trees in Nahalin village
A group of extremist Jewish settlers destroyed on Tuesday morning a vast tract of agricultural land and uprooted more than 50 olive trees in Nahalin village near Bethlehem city. Eyewitnesses reported that dozens of settlers went on the rampage through the Palestinian land, which is located near Gush Etzion settlement.
In another incident, some Palestinian workers were surprised after they finished their jobs on Monday evening to see racist slurs and threats sprayed on their cars parked at the entrance to Shiloh settlement, which is located near Nablus and Ramallah cities.
The Palestinian workers usually park their cars close to the Israeli security guards at the entrance to the settlement.
Owner of orchard, Taha Fannoun, told PNN that settlers of the nearby Beit Ayin illegal settlement carried out the attack.
Fannoun added that he filed a complaint to the Israeli Police, and said that this attack is not an isolated incident as the settlers are responsible for dozens of attacks against Palestinian lands and residents in the area.
In related news, Palestinian medical sources reported on Monday evening that a Palestinian youth from Doha town, west of Bethlehem, was injured after being attacked and beaten by Israeli soldiers.
The youth, Malek Abdul-Aziz Adawi, 17, suffered moderate injuries and was moved to the Beit Jalal governmental hospital.
Jewish settlers uproot more than 50 olive trees in Nahalin village
A group of extremist Jewish settlers destroyed on Tuesday morning a vast tract of agricultural land and uprooted more than 50 olive trees in Nahalin village near Bethlehem city. Eyewitnesses reported that dozens of settlers went on the rampage through the Palestinian land, which is located near Gush Etzion settlement.
In another incident, some Palestinian workers were surprised after they finished their jobs on Monday evening to see racist slurs and threats sprayed on their cars parked at the entrance to Shiloh settlement, which is located near Nablus and Ramallah cities.
The Palestinian workers usually park their cars close to the Israeli security guards at the entrance to the settlement.
4 mar 2013
Israel Introduces 'Palestinian Only' Bus Lines in Jerusalem
Starting on Monday, certain buses running from the West Bank into central Israel will have separate lines for Jews and Arabs.
The Afikim bus company will begin operating Palestinian-only bus lines from the checkpoints to Gush Dan to prevent Palestinians from boarding buses with Jewish passengers. Palestinians are not allowed to enter settlements, and instead board buses from several bus stops on the Trans-Samaria highway.
Last November, Haaretz reported that the Transportation Ministry was looking into such a plan due to pressure from the late mayor of Ariel, Ron Nahman, and the head of the Karnei Shomron Local Council. They said residents had complained that Palestinians on their buses were a security risk.
The buses will begin operating Monday morning at the Eyal crossing to take the Palestinians to work in Israel. Transportation Ministry officials are not officially calling them segregated buses, but rather bus lines intended to relieve the distress of the Palestinian workers. Ynet has reported that fliers are being distributed to Palestinian workers notifying them of the coming changes.
Any Palestinian who holds an entrance permit to the State of Israel is allowed by law to use public transportation. Officials at the Samaria and Judea District Police have said there is no change in the operation of the rest of the buses, nor is there any intention to remove Palestinians from other bus lines. But Haaretz has in the past reported incidents when Palestinians were taken off of buses, and witnesses at checkpoints say that such incidents are ongoing.
Ofra Yeshua-Lyth is a member of Machsom Watch, a female advocacy group monitoring West Bank checkpoints. She says that recently, Bus 286 from Tel Aviv to Samaria arrived at a checkpoint filled with Palestinian workers. She filed the following report:
"Police officer Advanced Staff Sergeant Major Shai Zecharia stops the bus at the bus stop. Soldiers order all the Palestinians off the bus. The first thing they do is collect all their identity cards as they get off. One by one, the Palestinians are told to go away from the bus stop and walk to the Azzun Atma checkpoint, which is about 2.5 kilometers away from the Shaar Shomron interchange. All of them responded with restraint and sadness, at most asking why. Here and there they received answers such as, 'You're not allowed on Highway 5' and 'You're not allowed on public transportation.' Advanced Staff Sergeant Major Zecharia gave some vital information to one of the older Palestinians who had arrived there, telling him: You should ride in special vans, not on Israeli buses."
In response to the report, the Transportation Ministry said it "has not issued any instruction or prohibition that prevents Palestinian workers from riding the public bus lines in Israel or in Judea and Samaria. Furthermore, the Transportation Ministry is not authorized to prevent any passangers from riding those lines."
"The two new lines that will be run as of tomorrow (Monday) are intended to improve the services to Palestinian workers that enter Israel via the Eyal Crossing," the ministry's statement continued, adding that the new lines will replace the "pirate" driving services who have been transporting Palestinian workers "at exorbitant prices and in an irregular fashion."
According to the ministry, the new lines will depart from the Tzofim area near Qalqilyah and will transport workers to their places of work in the Sharon region and Tel Aviv, at "especially cheap prices." For example, the tariff for traveling to Kfar Sava or Raanana will be NIS 5.1, and to Tel Aviv will cost NIS 10.6. This is compared to some NIS 40 that passengers have been charged by the private transportation services for each direction, the ministry said.
"The new lines will lessen the burden that has formed on buses as a result of the increase in numbers of working permits provided to Palestinians, who are permitted to work in Israel and will contribute to the improvements of services, for the betterment of Israelis and Palestinians as one", the statement said.
The Samaria and Judea District Police have yet to respond to the report.
The Afikim bus company will begin operating Palestinian-only bus lines from the checkpoints to Gush Dan to prevent Palestinians from boarding buses with Jewish passengers. Palestinians are not allowed to enter settlements, and instead board buses from several bus stops on the Trans-Samaria highway.
Last November, Haaretz reported that the Transportation Ministry was looking into such a plan due to pressure from the late mayor of Ariel, Ron Nahman, and the head of the Karnei Shomron Local Council. They said residents had complained that Palestinians on their buses were a security risk.
The buses will begin operating Monday morning at the Eyal crossing to take the Palestinians to work in Israel. Transportation Ministry officials are not officially calling them segregated buses, but rather bus lines intended to relieve the distress of the Palestinian workers. Ynet has reported that fliers are being distributed to Palestinian workers notifying them of the coming changes.
Any Palestinian who holds an entrance permit to the State of Israel is allowed by law to use public transportation. Officials at the Samaria and Judea District Police have said there is no change in the operation of the rest of the buses, nor is there any intention to remove Palestinians from other bus lines. But Haaretz has in the past reported incidents when Palestinians were taken off of buses, and witnesses at checkpoints say that such incidents are ongoing.
Ofra Yeshua-Lyth is a member of Machsom Watch, a female advocacy group monitoring West Bank checkpoints. She says that recently, Bus 286 from Tel Aviv to Samaria arrived at a checkpoint filled with Palestinian workers. She filed the following report:
"Police officer Advanced Staff Sergeant Major Shai Zecharia stops the bus at the bus stop. Soldiers order all the Palestinians off the bus. The first thing they do is collect all their identity cards as they get off. One by one, the Palestinians are told to go away from the bus stop and walk to the Azzun Atma checkpoint, which is about 2.5 kilometers away from the Shaar Shomron interchange. All of them responded with restraint and sadness, at most asking why. Here and there they received answers such as, 'You're not allowed on Highway 5' and 'You're not allowed on public transportation.' Advanced Staff Sergeant Major Zecharia gave some vital information to one of the older Palestinians who had arrived there, telling him: You should ride in special vans, not on Israeli buses."
In response to the report, the Transportation Ministry said it "has not issued any instruction or prohibition that prevents Palestinian workers from riding the public bus lines in Israel or in Judea and Samaria. Furthermore, the Transportation Ministry is not authorized to prevent any passangers from riding those lines."
"The two new lines that will be run as of tomorrow (Monday) are intended to improve the services to Palestinian workers that enter Israel via the Eyal Crossing," the ministry's statement continued, adding that the new lines will replace the "pirate" driving services who have been transporting Palestinian workers "at exorbitant prices and in an irregular fashion."
According to the ministry, the new lines will depart from the Tzofim area near Qalqilyah and will transport workers to their places of work in the Sharon region and Tel Aviv, at "especially cheap prices." For example, the tariff for traveling to Kfar Sava or Raanana will be NIS 5.1, and to Tel Aviv will cost NIS 10.6. This is compared to some NIS 40 that passengers have been charged by the private transportation services for each direction, the ministry said.
"The new lines will lessen the burden that has formed on buses as a result of the increase in numbers of working permits provided to Palestinians, who are permitted to work in Israel and will contribute to the improvements of services, for the betterment of Israelis and Palestinians as one", the statement said.
The Samaria and Judea District Police have yet to respond to the report.
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Israel introduces 'Palestinian only' bus lines, following complaints from Jewish settlers
A passanger waits at a bus stop
Afikim bus company to have special buses for Palestinian workers commuting from the West Bank to jobs in central Israel; announcement follows complaints from settlers that Palestinians are a security risk. Starting on Monday, certain buses running from the West Bank into central Israel will have separate lines for Jews and Arabs. The Afikim bus company will begin operating Palestinian-only bus lines from the checkpoints to Gush Dan to prevent Palestinians from boarding buses with Jewish passengers. |
Palestinians are not allowed to enter settlements, and instead board buses from several bus stops on the Trans-Samaria highway.
Last November, Haaretz reported that the Transportation Ministry was looking into such a plan due to pressure from the late mayor of Ariel, Ron Nahman, and the head of the Karnei Shomron Local Council. They said residents had complained that Palestinians on their buses were a security risk.
The buses will begin operating Monday morning at the Eyal crossing to take the Palestinians to work in Israel. Transportation Ministry officials are not officially calling them segregated buses, but rather bus lines intended to relieve the distress of the Palestinian workers. Ynet has reported that fliers are being distributed to Palestinian workers notifying them of the coming changes.
Any Palestinian who holds an entrance permit to the State of Israel is allowed by law to use public transportation. Officials at the Samaria and Judea District Police have said there is no change in the operation of the rest of the buses, nor is there any intention to remove Palestinians from other bus lines. But Haaretz has in the past reported incidents when Palestinians were taken off of buses, and witnesses at checkpoints say that such incidents are ongoing.
Ofra Yeshua-Lyth is a member of Machsom Watch, a female advocacy group monitoring West Bank checkpoints. She says that recently, Bus 286 from Tel Aviv to Samaria arrived at a checkpoint filled with Palestinian workers. She filed the following report:
"Police officer Advanced Staff Sergeant Major Shai Zecharia stops the bus at the bus stop. Soldiers order all the Palestinians off the bus. The first thing they do is collect all their identity cards as they get off. One by one, the Palestinians are told to go away from the bus stop and walk to the Azzun Atma checkpoint, which is about 2.5 kilometers away from the Shaar Shomron interchange. All of them responded with restraint and sadness, at most asking why. Here and there they received answers such as, ‘You’re not allowed on Highway 5’ and ‘You’re not allowed on public transportation.’ Advanced Staff Sergeant Major Zecharia gave some vital information to one of the older Palestinians who had arrived there, telling him: You should ride in special vans, not on Israeli buses.”
In response to the report, the Transportation Ministry said it "has not issued any instruction or prohibition that prevents Palestinian workers from riding the public bus lines in Israel or in Judea and Samaria. Furthermore, the Transportation Ministry is not authorized to prevent any passangers from riding those lines."
"The two new lines that will be run as of tomorrow (Monday) are intended to improve the services to Palestinian workers that enter Israel via the Eyal Crossing," the ministry's statement continued, adding that the new lines will replace the "pirate" driving services who have been transporting Palestinian workers "at exorbitant prices and in an irregular fashion."
According to the ministry, the new lines will depart from the Tzofim area near Qalqilyah and will transport workers to their places of work in the Sharon region and Tel Aviv, at "especially cheap prices." For example, the tariff for traveling to Kfar Sava or Raanana will be NIS 5.1, and to Tel Aviv will cost NIS 10.6. This is compared to some NIS 40 that passengers have been charged by the private transportation services for each direction, the ministry said.
"The new lines will lessen the burden that has formed on buses as a result of the increase in numbers of working permits provided to Palestinians, who are permitted to work in Israel and will contribute to the improvements of services, for the betterment of Israelis and Palestinians as one", the statement said.
The Samaria and Judea District Police have yet to respond to the report.
Last November, Haaretz reported that the Transportation Ministry was looking into such a plan due to pressure from the late mayor of Ariel, Ron Nahman, and the head of the Karnei Shomron Local Council. They said residents had complained that Palestinians on their buses were a security risk.
The buses will begin operating Monday morning at the Eyal crossing to take the Palestinians to work in Israel. Transportation Ministry officials are not officially calling them segregated buses, but rather bus lines intended to relieve the distress of the Palestinian workers. Ynet has reported that fliers are being distributed to Palestinian workers notifying them of the coming changes.
Any Palestinian who holds an entrance permit to the State of Israel is allowed by law to use public transportation. Officials at the Samaria and Judea District Police have said there is no change in the operation of the rest of the buses, nor is there any intention to remove Palestinians from other bus lines. But Haaretz has in the past reported incidents when Palestinians were taken off of buses, and witnesses at checkpoints say that such incidents are ongoing.
Ofra Yeshua-Lyth is a member of Machsom Watch, a female advocacy group monitoring West Bank checkpoints. She says that recently, Bus 286 from Tel Aviv to Samaria arrived at a checkpoint filled with Palestinian workers. She filed the following report:
"Police officer Advanced Staff Sergeant Major Shai Zecharia stops the bus at the bus stop. Soldiers order all the Palestinians off the bus. The first thing they do is collect all their identity cards as they get off. One by one, the Palestinians are told to go away from the bus stop and walk to the Azzun Atma checkpoint, which is about 2.5 kilometers away from the Shaar Shomron interchange. All of them responded with restraint and sadness, at most asking why. Here and there they received answers such as, ‘You’re not allowed on Highway 5’ and ‘You’re not allowed on public transportation.’ Advanced Staff Sergeant Major Zecharia gave some vital information to one of the older Palestinians who had arrived there, telling him: You should ride in special vans, not on Israeli buses.”
In response to the report, the Transportation Ministry said it "has not issued any instruction or prohibition that prevents Palestinian workers from riding the public bus lines in Israel or in Judea and Samaria. Furthermore, the Transportation Ministry is not authorized to prevent any passangers from riding those lines."
"The two new lines that will be run as of tomorrow (Monday) are intended to improve the services to Palestinian workers that enter Israel via the Eyal Crossing," the ministry's statement continued, adding that the new lines will replace the "pirate" driving services who have been transporting Palestinian workers "at exorbitant prices and in an irregular fashion."
According to the ministry, the new lines will depart from the Tzofim area near Qalqilyah and will transport workers to their places of work in the Sharon region and Tel Aviv, at "especially cheap prices." For example, the tariff for traveling to Kfar Sava or Raanana will be NIS 5.1, and to Tel Aviv will cost NIS 10.6. This is compared to some NIS 40 that passengers have been charged by the private transportation services for each direction, the ministry said.
"The new lines will lessen the burden that has formed on buses as a result of the increase in numbers of working permits provided to Palestinians, who are permitted to work in Israel and will contribute to the improvements of services, for the betterment of Israelis and Palestinians as one", the statement said.
The Samaria and Judea District Police have yet to respond to the report.
Jewish settlers assault three Palestinian children
Jewish settlers assaulted and beat up a number of Palestinian schoolchildren from Jaba village, north of occupied Jerusalem, on Sunday.
Mahmoud Abu Ghaya, a member of the Arab Jahalin tribe, told the PIC that the tribal families in Jaba had asked for protection from the Palestinian education ministry for their children in face of settlers’ attacks.
He said that three brothers were attacked by Jewish settlers, who ambushed them near a crossing.
Mohammed Kaabna, the father of the three kids Bayan, 6, and the twins Amer and Ali, 9, said that his children were assaulted by the same group of settlers from Adam settlement also last Thursday.
He said that his children were very scared and one of them did not go to school after what he has gone through.
Mahmoud Abu Ghaya, a member of the Arab Jahalin tribe, told the PIC that the tribal families in Jaba had asked for protection from the Palestinian education ministry for their children in face of settlers’ attacks.
He said that three brothers were attacked by Jewish settlers, who ambushed them near a crossing.
Mohammed Kaabna, the father of the three kids Bayan, 6, and the twins Amer and Ali, 9, said that his children were assaulted by the same group of settlers from Adam settlement also last Thursday.
He said that his children were very scared and one of them did not go to school after what he has gone through.
3 mar 2013
Israeli officer shakes hand with settler who attacked Palestinians
On Saturday, masked Israeli settlers were caught on camera shaking hands with Israeli border guards stationed in the village of Umm al-Amad, south of Hebron, then proceeded to harass a group of Palestinian cattle herders while the border guards stood by and watched without intervening.
A spokesperson for the border guard told Israeli newspaper Haaretz, “Border Police officers seek to enforce law and order in a manner that treats all sides equally.
Such dialogue, which incorporates both sides without bias, should not be seen as an attempt to take sides.” However, the pictures of the incident, and eyewitnesses who were present, confirm that the guards clearly took the side of the Israeli settlers in this incident.
Before the settlers arrived on the scene, the Israeli guards blocked the Palestinian herders from accessing their land. When the settlers arrived, they were allowed full access to the Palestinians' land, and began shouting threats and anti-Arab epithets at the farmers and throwing stones.
At no point did the Israeli border guards attempt to intervene and stop the attacks, according to eyewitnesses. The guards and settlers appeared to be acting in concert to deny the Palestinians access to their lands.
According to the cattle herders, this is a frequent occurrence in the village, since the Israeli settlement of Otniel was built on land stolen from the village. The settlers frequently attack farmers and herders, and the Israeli military allows the attacks to take place, as well as assisting the settlers in their harassment of the Palestinians.
The group 'Breaking the Silence', made up of former Israeli soldiers, has presented testimony from many former soldiers documenting this type of collusion between Israeli soldiers and settlers, particularly in the Hebron area.
A spokesperson for the border guard told Israeli newspaper Haaretz, “Border Police officers seek to enforce law and order in a manner that treats all sides equally.
Such dialogue, which incorporates both sides without bias, should not be seen as an attempt to take sides.” However, the pictures of the incident, and eyewitnesses who were present, confirm that the guards clearly took the side of the Israeli settlers in this incident.
Before the settlers arrived on the scene, the Israeli guards blocked the Palestinian herders from accessing their land. When the settlers arrived, they were allowed full access to the Palestinians' land, and began shouting threats and anti-Arab epithets at the farmers and throwing stones.
At no point did the Israeli border guards attempt to intervene and stop the attacks, according to eyewitnesses. The guards and settlers appeared to be acting in concert to deny the Palestinians access to their lands.
According to the cattle herders, this is a frequent occurrence in the village, since the Israeli settlement of Otniel was built on land stolen from the village. The settlers frequently attack farmers and herders, and the Israeli military allows the attacks to take place, as well as assisting the settlers in their harassment of the Palestinians.
The group 'Breaking the Silence', made up of former Israeli soldiers, has presented testimony from many former soldiers documenting this type of collusion between Israeli soldiers and settlers, particularly in the Hebron area.
Israeli settlers' attacks continue in West Bank cities
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) stormed the village of Burka, north of the city of Nablus in the northern West Bank at dawn on Sunday and Saturday, where they raided a number of houses and summoned a number of Palestinians.
IOF troops raided a number of houses and wreaked havoc on them, and summoned the student at the Faculty of Engineering at Birzeit University, Hossam Salah, after raiding his family home, eyewitnesses confirmed.
In the same context, Israeli settlers raided the evacuated Homesh settlement on Saturday to perform religious rituals under the protection of the occupation forces.
The occupation forces came to protect hundreds of settlers who stormed the evacuated settlement, where they closed the main road between the towns of Jenin and Nablus, near the evacuated settlement in 2005.
The settlers, under the protection of large Israeli forces, have insulted Palestinian citizens and tried to assault them, the sources added.
On the other hand, Popular Committee in the village of Kasrah south of the city of Nablus has confronted Israeli settlers' attack on the village on Saturday.
IOF troops raided a number of houses and wreaked havoc on them, and summoned the student at the Faculty of Engineering at Birzeit University, Hossam Salah, after raiding his family home, eyewitnesses confirmed.
In the same context, Israeli settlers raided the evacuated Homesh settlement on Saturday to perform religious rituals under the protection of the occupation forces.
The occupation forces came to protect hundreds of settlers who stormed the evacuated settlement, where they closed the main road between the towns of Jenin and Nablus, near the evacuated settlement in 2005.
The settlers, under the protection of large Israeli forces, have insulted Palestinian citizens and tried to assault them, the sources added.
On the other hand, Popular Committee in the village of Kasrah south of the city of Nablus has confronted Israeli settlers' attack on the village on Saturday.
2 mar 2013
Israeli officer writes: “It's a shame the Arab whore didn't die”
In response to Monday's attack by a group of Israelis on a Palestinian woman in Jerusalem, Israeli police officer Ariel Shapiro posted on his Facebook page, “Good! It's a shame the Arab whore didn't die [in the attack]”.
The attack took place as the Palestinian woman waited at a light rail station in Jerusalem. A group of Jewish Israelis approached her and began punching and kicking her, then ripping off her headscarf.
A witness to the assault told the Israeli paper Ma'ariv, “There were about 100 Orthodox and yeshiva students who disembarked the tramway and spotted an Arab woman accompanied by an older man. It developed into arguing and yelling, and I don’t know what the content was that everyone jumped on her.” In addition, according to the witness, an Israeli security officer passively watched the attack and smiled as the attackers tore off the woman's religious headscarf.
The attack took place as the Palestinian woman waited at a light rail station in Jerusalem. A group of Jewish Israelis approached her and began punching and kicking her, then ripping off her headscarf.
A witness to the assault told the Israeli paper Ma'ariv, “There were about 100 Orthodox and yeshiva students who disembarked the tramway and spotted an Arab woman accompanied by an older man. It developed into arguing and yelling, and I don’t know what the content was that everyone jumped on her.” In addition, according to the witness, an Israeli security officer passively watched the attack and smiled as the attackers tore off the woman's religious headscarf.
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Screenshot of Shapiro’s Facebook page along with the offending status message
The Facebook posting by the Israeli officer is just the latest in a string of incidents involving Israeli soldiers posting offensive and disturbing content on social media. Just a week earlier, a photo posted by an Israeli soldier showing a Palestinian child in the crosshairs of a sniper rifle went viral on the internet – but the officer was not charged for posting it. |
According to a recent study by the Israeli human rights group Yesh Din found that out of 103 investigations opened in 2012 into alleged offenses committed by Israeli soldiers in the occupied territories against Palestinians and their property, not a single one has so far resulted in any charges.
From 2009-2011, Yesh Din says in its latest report, just 2.62 percent of investigations led to charges. And from 2005-11, just six percent of criminal investigations launched by the Israeli army’s criminal investigation division against soldiers suspected of criminal violent activity against Palestinians and their property ended with charges being filed.
Former Israeli soldiers with 'Breaking the Silence' have described the 'culture of impunity' among Israeli soldiers, in which brutality is rewarded and extreme acts of violence go unpunished.
Many more of the disturbing photos posted in recent years by Israeli soldiers as 'trophies' on their Facebook pages can be seen at the link below. They include an eight-year old girl with blood all over her face after she was hit by a rubber-coated steel bullet while on the roof of her house, and instead of calling an ambulance, Israeli soldiers decided to detain her and her mother. Another well-publicized photo shows a dead Palestinian boy with blood all over his chest laid out in a position of 'crucifixion'.
From 2009-2011, Yesh Din says in its latest report, just 2.62 percent of investigations led to charges. And from 2005-11, just six percent of criminal investigations launched by the Israeli army’s criminal investigation division against soldiers suspected of criminal violent activity against Palestinians and their property ended with charges being filed.
Former Israeli soldiers with 'Breaking the Silence' have described the 'culture of impunity' among Israeli soldiers, in which brutality is rewarded and extreme acts of violence go unpunished.
Many more of the disturbing photos posted in recent years by Israeli soldiers as 'trophies' on their Facebook pages can be seen at the link below. They include an eight-year old girl with blood all over her face after she was hit by a rubber-coated steel bullet while on the roof of her house, and instead of calling an ambulance, Israeli soldiers decided to detain her and her mother. Another well-publicized photo shows a dead Palestinian boy with blood all over his chest laid out in a position of 'crucifixion'.