2012 settler population growing almost three times as fast as national rate
Jerusalem Post 17 Sept by Tovah Lazaroff — Settlement population now represents 4.2% of overall population, according to CBS — The growth rate of the settler population in 2012 was five percent, which means that the number of Israelis in the West Bank increased at a pace almost three times as fast as the nation’s 1.9 percent growth rate last year, according to numbers released Monday by the Central Bureau of Statistics. Put in real numbers, the number of West Bank settlers in 2012 was 341,400, up by 16,200 from the 2011 population of 325,200, according to the CBS. The 11,100 babies born to settler families in 2012 contributed to 68.5 percent of the population growth, while the remaining 31.5 percent increase came from the 5,100 people who moved into West Bank settlements last year.
link to www.jpost.com
Israel closes al-Aqsa mosque to worshipers
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 18 Sept — Israeli troops forcibly entered the al-Aqsa mosque compound on Wednesday and deployed heavily around the entrances, preventing Palestinian worshipers from accessing the area, locals said. Israeli troops entered the compound through the Moroccan Gate and the Chain Gate and denied all Palestinians, including women and chidlren, entry to the area. Around 500 students who study at religious schools in the al-Aqsa compound were also denied access to their schools, witnesses said. Meanwhile, a group of ultra-orthodox Jews were allowed entry to the area at around 8 a.m. through the Moroccan Gate. Dozens of Palestinian worshipers who were in the mosque hurled stones at the group, before being chased by Israeli forces. They were then held in the southern mosque and attacked with pepper spray, witnesses said. Hundreds of worshipers gathered near the main gates leading to al-Aqsa in protest against restricted access to the area. Israeli officers hit several people, including women, with clubs near the Bab al-Huta. A series of recent visits by Israeli rightists have created a sense of fear among al-Aqsa authorities about control of the holy site. Head of the Islamic Higher Commission, Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, told Ma’an last week that repeated incursions by Jewish extremists “confirm Israeli ambitions and the risks to the mosque.”
link to www.maannews.net
Israel issues evacuation orders to 20 Jerusalem families
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 18 Sept — Israeli authorities issued evacuation orders to 20 Palestinian families in the al-Qarmi neighborhood of Jerusalem’s Old City on Wednesday, locals said. Israeli municipality staff posted orders reading “Beware, building at risk, do not enter” on three properties in the Old City. Three staff members from Israel’s Gihon water company were also present, and took pictures of damaged water pipes around the properties. Israeli authorities gave the home-owners 30 days to repair the buildings, after which time they will be fined 150 shekels ($42) per day. “The Israeli municipality asked us to evacuate 4 rooms on the top floor due to cracks visible from outside the house, and they told me I cannot enter the house,” home-owner Ismail al-Asmar said. Thareea al-Jaabati told Ma’an that 30 days was not enough time to repair the buildings, adding that she would not give up her house even it it means sleeping outside to protect it. Salim Wahba, another resident, said that it would take at least two months to repair the properties. [are these the houses supposedly damaged by Israeli underground tunneling?]
link to www.maannews.net
Israel tells Palestinian to demolish own house near Wall
JERUSALEM (WAFA) 16 Sept — The Israeli military authorities Wednesday ordered a Palestinian to demolish his own two-story house in the town of Abu Dis, southeast of Jerusalem, under the pretext it was built too close to the segregation wall, according to the house owner Mutaz Badr. He said an army force informed him that he has one week to demolish his house or the army will demolish it and force him to pay all costs. The house is around 25 meters behind the 9-meter high concrete wall Israel has built in the 1990s to separate occupied East Jerusalem from its neighboring towns and villages.
link to english.wafa.ps
Israeli plan to build new road in Occupied Jerusalem
NAZARETH (PIC) 1 Sept — Israeli occupation authorities declared a new project to establish a new road linking between Gush Etzion settlement bloc and the Dead Sea, according to the Daily Maariv newspaper. A number of Israeli ministers and officials are scheduled Tuesday to visit the Gush Etzion bloc in the West Bank to check on the project, according to the newspaper report. The road is expected to pass through areas supposedly under control of the Palestinian Authority, which could lead to a major glitch in the current negotiations between the PA and Israel.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk
Official: Israeli forces demolish Jordan Valley village
JENIN (Ma‘an) 16 Sept — Israeli bulldozers destroyed a Palestinian village in the Jordan Valley on Monday, leaving over 100 people homeless, a local official said. Aref Daraghmeh, the mayor of al-Malih and al-Madarib villages, told Ma‘an that a large Israeli military force accompanied bulldozers to the site of Khirbet Makhool village in Tubas, before demolishing homes and agricultural structures. The villagers, who are mainly Bedouins, were given no prior notice about the demolitions, Daraghmeh said. At least 120 people have been made homeless by the demolition, the official added, calling on rights groups to prevent forced displacement. Israel is trying to Judaize the Jordan Valley, he said, calling the area a key battleground in the conflict with Israel.
link to www.maannews.net
Israeli forces destroy workshop in Jenin
JENIN (Ma‘an) 18 Sept — Israeli forces razed a coal manufacturing workshop and seized wood in Bartaa near Jenin on Tuesday, business officials said. The workshop owner told Ma‘an that a military bulldozer razed the site and seized 30,000 shekels worth of wood from the workshop. He was given no prior notice, he said.
link to www.maannews.net
Construction at new settlement damages archaeological sites
SALFIT (Ma‘an) 17 Sept – Israeli bulldozers continued to level private Palestinian lands in Salfit district in the central West Bank setting up infrastructure of a new Israeli settlement to be called Leshem … A Palestinian researcher who monitors settlement activities in Salfit, Khalid Maali, pointed out Tuesday that three major archaeological sites were damaged as a result of construction work in the area. Khirbet al-Shajarah (Tree Hamlet), Mughur al-Shams (Sun Caves) and Deir Samaan, he said, sustained major damage. Maali highlighted that Israeli antiquities authorities carried out excavations in Khirbet al-Shajarah a few years ago “and stole antiquities.” The area contains a large number of ancient wells, walls and huge rock engravings. Mughor al-Shams, according to Maali, is a fascinating archaeological site. It has ancient amphitheaters, caves and vast pools similar to Solomon’s Pools in the Bethlehem area. The location is under serious threat as the Israeli industrial zone Barkan near Ariel settlement has been expanding to the site. According to Maali, Israeli bulldozers destroyed caves and rock engravings which archeologists believe they were used for pressing grapes.
link to www.maannews.net
Israeli forces raid former settlement near Nablus
JENIN (Ma‘an) 18 Sept — Israeli forces on Tuesday raided an area of land near Nablus which was formally the site of Homesh settlement, locals said. On Monday, Israel’s military said that land confiscated in 1978 by a military order would be returned to its Palestinian owners. The land, which belonged to the village of Burqa, was used to build the settlement of Homesh, which was evacuated in 2005. Witnesses said that five military vehicles raided the area on Tuesday and remained there for over three hours. They then left the area without providing an explanation, locals said. Palestinians say that armed Jewish settlers have been trickling back to try and reestablish a permanent presence there. “Thirty-five years have passed since the land was taken from its lawful owners and now we have been informed that they can lawfully return to their land,” Yesh Din said in a statement on Monday. “To our regret, we are well aware of the permanent and illegal presence of Israelis at the site,” it went on. “We hope…that the law will be enforced and the Israelis staying there will be removed and the Palestinian owners can return safely to their lands.”
link to www.maannews.net
Palestinian family trapped in home as blaze raged in Israeli chemical plant
TULKAREM (Electronic Intifada) 17 Sept by Patrick O. Strickland — Small flames were still burning and smoke was blowing into the downwind neighborhood ten days after a massive explosion in an illegal Israeli industrial area on the outskirts of the Palestinian city of Tulkarem in the occupied West Bank. According to the Arabic-language al-Fajer TV News, the explosion took place around 11pm on Thursday, 5 September and the fire broke out at a nylon factory. Israeli occupation forces fired tear gas canisters on local youth that gathered at a junction near the factory. Cellphone videos and photos captured by local residents show that flames ranged between 10 and 15 meters in height. “They [Israeli firefighters] only put out the fire that was edging towards other Israeli factories,” Abdelhadi Salman, whose three-story home sits on the street in front of the factory, told The Electronic Intifada. Gesturing to a completely charred and blackened plot of farmland in front of the factory, Salman said that the fire that had spread to Palestinian land was not extinguished until Palestinian firefighters were allowed to approach the scene much later. Eyad al-Jallad lives approximately 100 meters from the factory. “When people came outside after hearing the explosion to see what was happening, soldiers attacked them with tear gas,” al-Jallad said. “With the smoke and the tear gas everywhere, we had to stay inside and seal the windows.” Because Israeli soldiers were blocking the junction in front of their house, al-Jallad’s family was trapped inside. “If the fire had spread any further and caught my house on fire, we would have died,” he added.
link to electronicintifada.net
Farmers: Wild boars released by settlers destroy land
SALFIT (Ma‘an) 17 Sept — Palestinian farmers in Salfit on Tuesday accused settlers of releasing wild boars onto their land to damage their crops. Wild boars damaged a number of plum trees, fig trees, vineyards and other agricultural crops, farmers in the Wadi Shaer area of Salfit told Ma‘an. Farmers accuse settlers of deliberately releasing the boars onto their land. Residents and local officials in the area have for several years complained that settlers release boars, which have caused injuries and destroy land in the rural communities. The Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem says that while Israel claims it cannot control the wild boar population in the area, and the purposeful release of pigs cannot be confirmed, Israel’s separation wall has pushed the animals to search for new habitats.
link to www.maannews.net
Settlers contaminate water container near Bethlehem
BETHLEHEM (WAFA) 16 Sept — Israeli settlers Monday contaminated a water container used to store water for drinking and for agricultural purposes belonging to a resident of al-Khader, south of Bethlehem, according to a local activist. Coordinator of the committee against the apartheid wall, Ahmad Salah, told WAFA that settlers broke into the container, swam in it and also performed Jewish prayers. He said that this is not the first attack by settlers against the village residents; settlers have been destroying and contaminating water wells while soldiers prevent farmers from building new wells in their land under the pretext that they need to obtain a permit first.
link to english.wafa.ps
Hung out to dry — 20 years of denying Palestinian water rights
EWASH — 13 September, 2013 marks the twentieth anniversary of the signing of the Oslo Accords. Since then, Palestinians have come no closer to achieving their basic water rights. In the West Bank, Palestinians have access to less water per capita than they did in 1993 due to Israel’s continued exploitation of the shared mountain aquifer, and the restrictions it imposes on the development of essential Palestinian water infrastructure. As a result, Palestinians are increasingly dependent on purchased water from Israel to meet their basic water needs. In the Gaza Strip, less than 5 percent of the water extracted from the Coastal aquifer – the only source of water available to Palestinians due to unfair water allocations and Israel’s blockade – is safe to drink. The denial of Palestinian water rights has become a permanent feature under the Oslo Interim Accords. Access to safe, reliable and adequate water supplies is a basic right, and should not be held hostage to negotiations or a final agreement. It is time to think outside of the Oslo framework. It is time to act on water.
link to www.ewash.org
Restriction of movement
13 years of closure: Once a vibrant commercial center, Beitin near Ramallah has become a ghost village
B’Tselem 10 Sept — …Until the second intifada, the village thrived both socially and economically. Because of its vicinity to Ramallah and the large volume of traffic passing through, many businesses were established in the village and much money was invested in construction for residential purposes and in the development of medical services. The village population increased by hundreds of people who chose to rent homes in the village because of its convenient location … At present, the village is accessible only through the northern entrance that leads to the village of ‘Ein Yabrud. To get from Beitin’s northern exit to al-Birah one must follow a 15-kilometer long route that snakes around nearby villages, instead of driving just one kilometer or so from the village’s main exit to al-Birah. The cost of one-way public transportation from the village to Ramallah rose sharply from 2 NIS before the entrance was blocked off to 7 NIS after … The main road in the village is now deserted. Very few cars pass through and many of the businesses by the side of the road are closed. Buildings stand vacant and agricultural lands have been neglected. In addition, the blocked access to Road 60 has cut off Beitin from the village of Burqah to the south, severing the strong ties between the two villages.
link to www.btselem.org
Northern Jordan Valley shut down as residents ordered out
AL-MALEH, JORDAN VALLEY (WAFA) 17 Sept – The Israeli army Tuesday closed all checkpoints leading to the northern Jordan Valley area and prevented students and teachers from passing through them to reach their schools, according to Aref Daraghme, head of al-Maleh village council. He said the soldiers had already ordered more than 100 people living in the area to evacuate it and leave their homes for several days while they carry out military exercise in the area. The families left early in the morning, he said. Daraghme warned that the army normally uses live ammunition during the drill and they leave behind several live shells after they finish and leave the area, which could pose serious threat to the children and residents after they return to their homes.
link to english.wafa.ps
Press release: Ministry of Interior: 43% of the family unification applications rejected between 2000 and 2013
Society of St. Yves 16 Sept — In response to a request by the Society of St. Yves under the Freedom of Information Act, the Israeli Ministry of Interior published figures on family unification applications between the years 2000 to 2013, child registration applications from 2004-2013 and cases in front of the Humanitarian Committee from 2007-2013. Since 2000, the Ministry of Interior rejected 43% of the family unification applications and 24% of the child registration applications. It must be pointed out that the Ministry of Interior denied the registration of 12 children due to security reasons – speaking of minors under 14 years old.
link to saintyves.org
Official: Allenby crossing to extend hours
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 16 Sept – The Allenby Bridge crossing between the West Bank and Jordan will operate from 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. after midnight every day except on Fridays and Saturdays starting next week, a Palestinian official says. Minister of civil affairs Hussein al-Sheikh told Ma‘an Monday that the decision was made after negotiations between the Palestinian side and Israel.
link to www.maannews.net
Violence / Raids / Attacks / Clashes / Illegal arrests
Israeli forces kill man in Jenin Camp
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 17 Sept — Israeli forces killed a man in Jenin refugee camp on Tuesday during an arrest raid, locals said. Islam al-Tubasi, 22, was shot in the leg after Israeli soldiers raided his family home in Jenin refugee camp. He was arrested and taken to a hospital in Israel, where he died from his injuries, sources told Ma‘an. “Special units stormed the house after Israeli forces bombed the door and immediately went to the roof of the home where Islam sleeps. He tried to escape and they shot him and then dragged him out of the house and took him to an unknown destination,” family members told Ma‘an. A large patrol of around 20 Israeli military vehicles entered the camp at dawn and raided several homes. Clashes broke out with local residents following the shooting of al-Tubasi, with dozens of camp residents injured by stun grenades, tear gas and live fire, Wafa reported.
Israeli forces returned to the camp at around 6 a.m., leading to clashes in which several young Palestinians were shot in the lower body with live fire, witnesses said. Salah Nael Ghazzawi, 13, was shot in the leg and taken to hospital for treatment.
link to www.maannews.net
Jenin man killed in ‘cold blood’, family says
JENIN (Ma‘an) 17 Sept — A man killed by Israeli forces in Jenin on Tuesday was executed in cold blood after confirming his identity to soldiers, family members said. Islam al-Tubasi, 22, died from gunshot wounds during an Israeli raid on Jenin refugee camp, sources said. Al-Tubasi’s brother, Ibrahim, told Ma‘an that there was an explosion at the family home at around 6 a.m. “I was sleeping on the second floor. Our house is a three-story building. I was surprised when I saw Israeli undercover forces, dressed in black, raiding the second floor. They assaulted me, and asked me my first name. When I told them my name is Ibrahim, they held me inside the bathroom on the second floor. They assaulted my mother who was also on the second floor,” Ibrahim told Ma‘an. Another brother, Mustafa, said that after Israeli forces shot Islam in the leg they forced him to go to the roof to identity him. The soldiers then dragged Islam’s body downstairs and Mustafa says he heard several more gunshots. “I am sure that Islam was shot dead before he was transferred to hospital via military ambulance,” he added. Kamal al-Tubasi said that Israeli forces shot Islam in the leg as he lay in bed, before dragging him downstairs and executing him … Local sources said that Israeli forces killed one of al-Tubasi’s brothers in 2006. He was allegedly active in Islamic Jihad. The killing of Islam al-Tubasi is the latest in a string of violent incidents in refugee camps in recent weeks.
link to www.maannews.net
Maj.-Gen. Alon: Refugee camps mustn’t become terror havens
Ynet 18 Sept by Ron Ben-Yishai – For the third time over the past few weeks, IDF forces encountered early Tuesday morning armed and organized resistance during a nighttime operation to arrest terror suspects, this time in Jenin. Until recently, the Palestinian resistance to the arrests was spontaneous and unarmed … According to the IDF Central Command chief, the Tanzim and Islamic Jihad gunmen behind the attacks on Israeli soldiers are residents of refugee camps who have declared they do not accept the authority of the regime in Ramallah or the “one law, one weapon” principle which Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s security forces are trying to enforce. The gunmen claim they are being denied jobs and benefits which the PA offers to cronies and are therefore challenging the regime and its security arrangements with Israel. This phenomenon is potentially explosive as far as Israel is concerned, as the entry of IDF forces into the refugee camps may ignite a broader confrontation on the ground.
link to www.ynetnews.com
Settler assaults man in East Jerusalem, family says
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 16 Sept — An Israeli settler assaulted a man in East Jerusalem on Sunday, locals said. Maher Ahmad Mousa Abu Liel, 48, was moderately injured after a settler hit him with a metal rod in the neighborhood of Issawiya, his sister told Ma‘an. Abu Liel was heading to his shop in the Jerusalem neighborhood when he saw a settler assaulting a group local children with an iron rod. He rushed to intervene and was struck over the head with the metal stick, causing severe bleeding. He was transferred to Hadassa hospital for treatment. Israeli police detained the settler, Abu Liel’s sister said.
link to www.maannews.net
Injured Palestinian construction worker left to die on Tel Aviv street
[with video] Haaretz 17 Sept by Yaniv Kubovich — An unauthorized Palestinian construction worker from the West Bank who was seriously injured while doing renovation work in Tel Aviv on Monday was left to die on the sidewalk, witnesses said. The victim, Ahsan Abu-Srur, 54, from the Askfar refugee camp near Nablus, was apparently abandoned by his employer, without any attempt to assist him. The body was found lying on the sidewalk outside 7 Ben Atar Street, in south Tel Aviv by passersby, and then taken to Ichilov hospital in Tel Aviv, where he was pronounced dead. Several eyewitnesses told Haaretz that they had seen the contractor arriving at the apartment where the renovations were being done. He noticed the laborer was apparently critically injured and, with the help of two workers, dragged the man to the sidewalk opposite and left him there, without helping him … The first one to offer help was Nicolas Cascallar Marquis, a Krav Maga teacher who began to resuscitate the worker. Marquis said that the worker was still alive while he was trying to resuscitate him, but in very serious condition.
link to www.haaretz.com
Gunmen shoot, injure wedding singer in Jenin
JENIN (Ma‘an) 18 Sept — Unidentified gunmen shot and injured a wedding singer and his brother in the Jenin district late Tuesday, locals said. Basil Jabarin and his brother Anas, both from al-Tayba, were on their way home after singing at a wedding party in the neighboring village when their car came under fire. The attack took place on a road between Silat al-Harithiya and Tinnik, north of Jenin. Both men were evacuated to hospital with leg injuries.
link to www.maannews.net
Settlers hurl stones at car carrying Ma‘an board members
QALQILIYA (Ma‘an) 17 Sept — Settlers threw stones at a vehicle carrying members of Ma‘an’s board of directors on Monday. Tareq Jabara, a member of the board, told Ma’an that settlers from Bet Eli hurled stones at their car on the Ramallah – al-Jalazun road. No injuries were reported. The car suffered light material damage.
link to www.maannews.net
Israeli forces detain 14 in West Bank raids
SALFIT (Ma‘an) 16 Sept — Israeli forces detained 14 Palestinians in the West Bank overnight Sunday, locals and Israel’s army said. In Salfit, Israeli forces raided the village of Deir Istiya and detained Ahed Ezzat Mansour, Moath Abed al-Halim Mansour, and Khalil Ahmad Mansuor, witnesses said. Six Israeli military jeeps raided the area accompanied by a foot patrol. They inspected several properties and fired rubber[-coated steel] bullets at a teenager, Saed Mansour, after raiding his family home.
In Hebron, Israel’s army raided the home of jailed Palestinian official Hatem Shqaifeh and detained his son, 17, and brother.
Abdullah al-Jeidi, 18, was also detained in a raid, while Abdullah Masalmeh was arrested in Beit Awwa and Muhammad Yousef Ikhlayel, 18, in Beit Ummar.
Israeli forces detained Hamzeh Nathmi Abadi, 21, at the Karameh crossing with Jordan early Monday, witnesses said.
Israel’s army also raided ‘Arraba village in Jenin and briefly detained dozens of residents. Soldiers then set up a military checkpoint at a junction leading to Fahma village and inspected the IDs of local Palestinians.
An Israeli army spokeswoman said 14 Palestinians were detained overnight, one in Tulkarem, one in Nablus, three in Qalqiliya, one in Ramallah, one in Beit Ummar, one in Tuqu‘, and five in Hebron.
[IMEMC: In Bethlehem, soldiers kidnapped Mohammad Adel Al-‘Amour, 23, and kidnapped lawyer Anas Barghouthi, at the Container roadblock northeast of Bethlehem. Furthermore, dozens of soldiers invaded Al-Khader town, south of Bethlehem, broke into and searched several homes causing excessive property damage.]
link to www.maannews.net
Nine Palestinians kidnapped in West Bank
IMEMC — Tuesday at dawn [September 17, 2013] Israeli soldiers invaded various areas in the occupied West Bank, broke into dozens of homes, and searched them, before kidnapping at least nine Palestinians. Local sources in Beit Ummar town, north of the southern West bank city of Hebron, have reported that dozens of soldiers invaded the town, violently broke into and searched several homes, and kidnapped two residents. The two have been identified as Aktham Yousef Ikhlayyel, 20, and Zein Hashem Abu Hashem, 17 …
Furthermore, dozens of soldiers invaded the town in Ithna, west of Hebron, and Yatta city, south of Hebron, in addition to the Al-Fawwar refugee camp.
Two more Palestinians have been kidnapped after the army invaded ‘Aboud village, north of the central West Bank city of Ramallah, and two more in Betunia, west of Ramallah. The two residents who were kidnapped in Betunia have been identified as Tha’er Fakher Ya’coub, and Abdul-Aziz Jibreel.
Several military jeeps also invaded Qalqilia city, in the northern part of the West Bank; and kidnapped two residents; the army claimed that the two are “wanted for security violations”.
Several Israeli military jeeps also invaded the Jenin refugee camp, in the northern West Bank city of Jenin, and shot and injured one youth, and kidnapped him.
link to www.imemc.org
Israeli police kidnap deputy head of Islamic Movement
IMEMC — [Tuesday September 17, 2013] The Israeli Police arrested the deputy head of the Islamic Movement in Historic Palestine, Sheikh Kamal Khatib, and the movement’s Advisor for Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque Affairs, Ali Abu Sheikha. The Al-Aqsa Foundation for Waqf and Heritage issued a statement revealing that the Israeli Police is accusing the two officials of ‘incitement that led to violence and disorder in the Al-Aqsa Mosque area’. They will be sent to the District Court in occupied Jerusalem on Wednesday, the Foundation said. Sheikh Khatib was kidnapped when the police approached him as he was heading to the Al-Aqsa Mosque for evening prayers, while Sheikh Abu Sheikha was ordered to head to the Al-Maskobiyya detention and interrogation facility. Both officials were interrogated in room 4 in Al-Maskobiyya, known as “minorities’ interrogation room”, the Al-Aqsa Foundation said. Islamic Movement spokesperson Zahi Njeidat stated that the Israeli allegations are false, and that the Israeli occupation wants sole control and domination over the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
link to www.imemc.org
Detainees / Court actions
Video: Palestinian girl last had a hug from her imprisoned dad 10 years ago
Electronic Intifada 17 Sept by Adri Nieuwhof — “I don’t want to grow up without him,” says Zeina, 12, a Palestinian girl from the Ras al-Amud neighborhood of eastern occupied Jerusalem, whose dad has been jailed since she was a baby. Defence for Children International – Palestine Section (DCI) has released this brief video in which Zeina speaks of her longing to be reunited with her father who is serving a 20-year sentence. Zeina’s story highlights the plight of Palestinian children growing up without parents because Israel jails thousands of Palestinian political prisoners who are tried in military courts without due process and frequently based on “secret evidence.” In the video, Zeina says how a large plot of land was confiscated for the construction of apartments for Israeli settlers: “So my dad and some guys from Silwan put up tents and protested. So the police took them all away and against the wishes of the residents of Ras al-Amud the settlement was built.”
link to electronicintifada.net
Israel transfers cancer patient to hospital
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 16 Sept – Israel’s prison service on Monday transferred a Palestinian prisoner held in Rimon prison to Suruka Medical Center in Beersheba after a sudden decline as a result of throat cancer he has been suffering. A statement by the Palestinian prisoner’s society highlighted that 38-year-old Mahmoud Salih al-Sharha was in serious condition. The statement added that since al-Sharha was diagnosed with a tumor, he “has not received any treatment.” The prisoner’s family told Ma’an that he was diagnosed with cancer two years ago.
link to www.maannews.net
District court sentences 8 Jerusalemites from Shu‘fat refugee camp
Silwan, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) 17 Sept — The District court judge sentenced on Monday 8 Jerusalemites from Shu’fat refugee camp for actual imprisonment of periods that varied between 17-44 months [as opposed to administrative detention, one supposes]. Wadi Hilweh Information Center was informed that the court sentenced on Monday several young men and two minors from Shu‘fat refugee camp, they are: Ahmad Sandouka for 44 months of actual imprisonment and suspended probation of 12 months for 3 years, minors Ahmad Shihada and Ahmad Tawil for 24 months each, Haitham Tarteer for 27 months, Amir Dibs for 29 months, Hamza Dibs for 25 months in addition to a suspended probation of 9 months for 3 years. The court also sentenced the minor Malik Mheisen for 33 months of actual imprisonment and a suspended probation of 10 months for 3 years. The Israeli forces had arrested the young men and the children last November on charges of throwing Molotov cocktails at the military checkpoint that is established at the entrance of Shu‘fat refugee camp. They also accused Ahmad Sandouka of closing Sheikh Jarrah Street and attacking police cars.
link to silwanic.net
Inconsistencies in the testimony of police individuals on the charges against In‘aam Qlambo
Silwan, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) 15 Sept — Jerusalemite prisoner In‘aam Qlambo was lately presented to the Israeli Magistrate court judge to hear witnesses regarding the charges against her which include: participating in an illegal protest and obstructing police work in addition to assaulting police individuals on the 2nd of April, 2013. Mufeed Al-Hajj, the Palestinian prisoner’s club lawyer, said that his client was presented to the Magistrate court judge last Wednesday, and police individuals gave their testimonies regarding the charges submitted against her. It was obvious through the recording of video cameras installed in Damascus Gate that his client did not attack any police personnel like they claim. She only moved her hands while they were trying to arrest her and this is considered “obstructing police work”; contradictions in police testimonies were obvious too.
link to silwanic.net
The release of Eyad Al-A’war after being acquitted of the charges against him
Silwan, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) 15 Sept — The District court judge acquitted on Sunday 42-year old Eyad Al-A’war from Silwan for lack of evidence against him. Mohammad Mahmoud, Al-Dameer organization lawyer, said that the Magistrate court judge decided to release Eyad Al-A’war during the session since the general prosecution was unable to prove the charges against him which was throwing stones in Silwan; noting that a hearing session was held last July to hear witnesses, and Sunday’s session was a continuation to hearing witnesses, and there was a contradiction in the statements of the witnesses in the session and lack of proof of evidence against him. Lawyer Mahmoud pointed out that the judge decided to release Eyad on Sunday with no conditions and acquitted him of the charges against him; note that Eyad was arrested on 19/05/2013 from his house in Silwan [Acquittals are unusual - but note that he spent four months in jail beforehand]
link to silwanic.net
Gaza under blockade
Fighter injured in Gaza clashes with Israeli troops
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 18 Sept — A Palestinian fighter was injured early Wednesday in clashes with Israeli forces in north Gaza, witnesses and medics said. Several Israeli military vehicles and infantry troops crossed into a border area in north Gaza, clashing with fighters stationed in the area. A helicopter provided air cover to the ground forces, witnesses said. It is unclear to which faction the fighter belonged.
link to www.maannews.net
Israeli vehicles enter border area in south Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 17 Sept — Israeli military vehicles entered a border area with south Gaza on Tuesday, locals said. Israeli vehicles penetrated 150 meters into an area of land east of Khan Younis, witnesses said. Several areas of Palestinian land were leveled and Israeli forces opened fire on people in the area, causing them to flee. No injuries were reported.
link to www.maannews.net
Gaza students protest closure of Rafah crossing
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 16 Sept — Dozens of Palestinian students protested in front of the Rafah crossing in Gaza on Monday, demanding that Egyptian authorities reopen the border terminal. Students held signs demanding that officials allow access to students studying in Egypt. Momen Broud, a student representative, told Ma‘an that the future of dozens of students had been destroyed by the closure of Rafah and the difficulty in reaching Egyptian universities to sit exams. The Palestinian Authority ambassador to Egypt, Barakat al-Farra, on Saturday urged Gazan students enrolled in Egyptian universities to send their details to the embassy in Cairo so that arrangements can be made to obtain special permits to allow students to cross into Egypt. The ambassador told Ma‘an that his team will contact Egyptian universities to try to delay examinations for Palestinian students who are not able to cross into the country.
link to www.maannews.net
Egypt to open Rafah for special cases
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) updated 18 Sept – Egyptian authorities will open the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip in a limited way Wednesday and Thursday for special cases, Palestinian sources say. The Egyptians notified the Palestinian Authority that the crossing would operate four hours a day to allow patients and students to leave. The move came in response to a request by President Mahmoud Abbas, they said.
link to www.maannews.net
Israel eases curbs on building materials for Gaza
GAZA CITY (AFP) 17 Sept — Israel is to allow limited quantities of building materials for use by the private sector into the blockaded Gaza Strip starting from Sunday, a Palestinian official said. After “efforts exerted by the Palestinian Authority, Israel has agreed for the first time in six years for building materials such as cement, iron and gravel to be brought into Gaza from Sunday” through the Kerem Shalom goods crossing, said Raed Fattouh, PA official in charge of Gaza supplies. An Israeli official who asked not to be named confirmed the move, telling AFP it was a bid to “strengthen the economy and support (President Mahmoud) Abbas.” The quantities allowed in per day would be 1,600 tons of gravel, 800 tons of cement and 400 tons of iron, Fattouh said. Israel had also began constructing a water line that would double the amount of water to the Gaza from five million to 10 million cubic meters a year, the Israeli official noted. A Hamas government official told AFP allowing building materials into Gaza was a positive development, but insufficient. “It’s a positive step, but Gaza needs 6,000 tons of gravel, 4,000 of cement and 1,500 of iron per day,” deputy economy minister Hatem Oweida said.
Building materials have long been smuggled from Egypt into Gaza through tunnels underneath the border town of Rafah, but the Egyptian army recently destroyed many of those after ousting president Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood, a Hamas ally.
link to www.maannews.net
IDF to stop securing border communities
Ynet 17 Sept — The IDF will stop securing communities adjacent to the northern and southern borders, the IDF’s Operations Branch has decided. A total of 22 towns situated near the Lebanese border, Sinai and the Gaza Strip will no longer enjoy army security. West Bank settlements were not included in the decision, which prompted anger in the Gaza vicinity area.
link to www.ynetnews.com
Palestinian refugees elsewhere
Two boats with 270 asylum seekers land in Italy
ROME (AFP) 17 Sept — Two boats carrying around 270 mainly Syrian asylum seekers landed on Italian shores on Monday, the latest of thousands of refugees fleeing the war-torn country to arrive in Italy, officials said. The first boat carrying 150 people — all of them believed to be Syrian — arrived on the tiny island of Vendicari, just off Sicily, early on Monday. The second vessel had 120 people on board, including 28 women and 50 minors. They came from Egypt, the Palestinian Territories and Syria. A third boat with 270 migrants issued a distress call via satellite phone, saying the vessel was adrift and a pregnant woman on board was in labor. More than 22,000 migrants have landed on the coast of southern Italy so far this year — nearly three times the total number for all of 2012 — including many Eritreans, Somalis and Syrians.
link to www.maannews.net
Another sad tragedy in a series of tragedies
Egyptian Chronicles 17 Sept by ‘Zeinobia’ — I am sorry but I cannot find any other suitable title to describe what the Syrian refugees suffer from in Egypt now.The Syrian refugees are now trying to flee Egypt even it is going to cost them not only their lives but also their freedom. It is sad as Egypt was among the safe places for them. Today another group of Syrian and Palestinian refugees were arrested during a fail attempt to emigrate illegally from Egypt to Italy in one of a ship from Alexandria. It is not the first but today things went from bad to worse. The coastal guards opened their fire on one of those illegal emigrations killing two of the refugees “30 years old and 50 years old” in the boat and injuring other refugees including a lady. The rest of the refugees “about 100” were detained in inhuman conditions at the Monatzah 2nd police station. By the way another group of refugees “about 70” were arrested also today while they were at one of the cafes near the port.
link to egyptianchronicles.blogspot.com
Video: Two Palestinian refugees from Syria killed by Egyptian police when fleeing Egypt for Italy
Al-Quds Satellite TV (Arabic) via Team Palestina — ‘Two Palestinian Syrians were shot dead by Egyptian police who opened fire on a boat of refugees fleeing to Italy today. Other passengers put in prison in Egypt. This hasn’t been in western media. Please share widely.’
link to youtube.com
Other news
Erekat: Still no justice for Sabra and Shatila victims
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 16 Sept — PLO official Saeb Erekat said Monday that there has been no justice for the Palestinian victims of the Sabra and Shatila massacre 31 years ago in Lebanon. “On the 31st anniversary of the Sabra and Shatila massacre, we take this opportunity to remember the victims of that dreaded episode and recall the importance of working to end impunity for such crimes,” Erekat said. “Thirty-one years later, there is still no justice for the victims. In fact, those responsible, including then Defence Minister Ariel Sharon, would go on to have very successful political careers, adding further insult to the injury.” The 1982 massacre took place in Beirut after the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, when Christian Phalangist militias entered the refugee camp under Israeli military watch to wreak retribution for the alleged assassination of their leader Bachir Gemayel. Over three days, Palestinian refugees were killed in droves. At the time, the number of dead was estimated at 700, but eyewitness British reporter Robert Fisk says the number is closer to 1,700. The Palestinian Red Crescent estimates that 3,000 civilians were killed. With Palestinian fighters having withdrawn from Lebanon just a few weeks prior, and the Israeli army in effective control of the area around the camp, the residents were absolutely defenseless. Israeli soldiers in control of the perimeter of the camps did not stop the slaughter, firing flares overhead at night to aid the Phalangist gunmen.
link to www.maannews.net
Fatah leader accosted in visit to Aqsa mosque
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 18 Sept — Lawmaker Azzam al-Ahmad was accosted by a group of people upon entering the al-Aqsa compound accompanied by a Jordanian delegation on Tuesday. Witnesses said a group of Palestinians blocked the path of the Fatah leader and ordered him to leave the mosque before verbally abusing him. The group was protesting his statements about entering Gaza on top of an Egyptian tank, onlookers observed. Sheikh Azzam al-Khatib, the director of Jerusalem endowments, told Ma‘an that the “al-Aqsa mosque is for all Muslims whatever their political views. Whoever comes here must be respected.”
link to www.maannews.net
Palestinian officials: Peace talks held in Jerusalem
RAMALLAH (AFP) 16 Sept — Negotiators were holding peace talks in Jerusalem on Monday, Palestinian officials told AFP, although Israeli sources refused to confirm the meetings. Meetings between the two sides, launched in Jerusalem in August, have been mostly held in secret under a US-requested media blackout, and the Palestinian sources declined to be identified. During a flying visit on Sunday focused on the Syria conflict, US Secretary of State John Kerry held talks in Jerusalem with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Kerry kept his remarks on the peace talks to a minimum … Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, meanwhile, a week after meeting Kerry in London, rejected the notion of an Israeli military presence in the Jordan Valley of the West Bank under any final-status agreement.
link to www.maannews.net
Israel security delegation in Cairo to discuss Sinai
CAIRO (Ma‘an) 18 Sept — An Israeli security delegation arrived in Cairo Tuesday in a short visit to discuss the situation in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula, security sources said. The Egyptian sources said that an Israeli delegation coming from Tel Aviv arrived in Cairo Tuesday and would stay there for a few hours to meet with officials. The same sources said the delegation came on a special jet from Tel Aviv.
link to www.maannews.net
Mohammad Assaf, UNRWA’s ambassador for youth, surprises Amari School students
UNRWA 17 Sept [Arabic] — The Arab Idol visits a school for girls, talks with students. The girls sing Ya Teer Tayer with him.
link to youtube.com
First female Palestinian paratroopers train in Russia
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 17 Sept — Four female officers in the Palestinian national security service have received training in Russia as paratroopers, a security official told Ma‘an Tuesday. “Four women in their early twenties were chosen for this unprecedented experience in the Arab world, and in Palestine in particular,” Hafith Rifaay, a national security spokesman told Ma‘an. “They hovered like hawks in the sky seeking to raise the name of a homeland which has always been present in the international arena,” he added.
link to www.maannews.net
Groups denounce ‘honor’ killing of woman
RAMALLAH (WAFA) 16 Sept — Several groups that fight for the rights of women in the Palestinian society condemned in statements published Monday the so-called ‘honor’ killing of women. Women also participated in a protest outside the Palestinian parliament building in Ramallah demanding stricter rules against people involved in honor killing. The statement and protest came after a mother from the town of Yatta, south of Hebron, killed her 21-year-old handicapped daughter on Thursday in what she claimed was to protect the family honor after a man apparently had assaulted her daughter. The groups denounced the crime as ‘a disgrace’ for every Palestinian who does not speak out or act to put an end to crimes against women that normally go unpunished. They said that even though dozens of cases of ‘honor killing’ have been reported in the Palestinian society, yet no attempt has been made to change the laws in a way to make such crimes punishable to the maximum. [Google 'shame societies' vs. 'guilt societies']
link to english.wafa.ps
High Court: Infiltrators cannot be held for 3 years
Ynet 16 Sept by Aviel Magnezi — Court rules that change to infiltration law, allowing detention of infiltrators for three years without trial, is unconstitutional, in conflict with Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty. Judges: Effects will be hard on [presumably Jewish] residents of south Tel Aviv.
link to www.ynetnews.com
Israeli teachers fear civics textbook biased by right-wing reviewer
Haaretz 17 Sept by Yarden Skop — There is only one academic adviser reviewing changes to primary civics textbook, and no Arab input — The Civics Teachers Council is demanding that another academic adviser be appointed to review changes being made to the primary high school civics textbook, saying that the only person to review the revisions to date has known right-wing views and that this could result in a biased text. “Because of the sensitivity of the subject and the utmost importance of having a varied, complex and in-depth presentation of various views so that the diverse groupings in Israeli society will be able to identify with what is written in [the textbook], we believe it is crucial that another academic adviser be appointed whose worldview differs from that of the current adviser,” the teachers wrote to the Education Ministry’s acting head civics inspector, Eliraz Kraus.
link to www.haaretz.com