Settler violence on the rise: homes stoned near Jenin, East Jerusalem tagged with racist graffiti
IMEMC/Agencies 5 Aug — Israeli Jewish settlers last night attacked Palestinian homes with stones as they provocatively approached the outskirts of Silat ad-Daher, some 20 kilometers to the south of Jenin in northern West Bank, security sources told WAFA. The settlers, who also chanted racist slogans against Arabs and Palestinians, provoked a scuffle with angry local Palestinians who forced them out of the area. The village is close to what was known as Homesh and Sa-Nur, two Israeli settlements which were evicted after Israel’s unilateral disengagement from Gaza and four other settlements and a military base in northern West Bank in 2005. On July 30, some 200 settlers organized an overnight hike to the former settlement in an attempt to resettle there before they were forced to leave by the Israeli army. According to Israeli media, among those who attempted to reoccupy the former settlement were families who were evicted in 2005 as well as rabbis, public figures, and MK Bezalel Smotrich from the nationalist Jewish Home party . . .
In related news, the PNN reports that extremist Israeli settlers, on Wednesday morning, have sprayed hate slogans on walls of homes and shops near Damascus gate in East Jerusalem, calling for “Death of Arabs.” Jerusalem sources said that such groups have often targeted not only houses and shops, but also mosques and churches in Jerusalem, in addition to repetitive arson attacks. None of the attackers were sanctioned by Israeli government. For their part, Israeli occupation authorities claimed to have opened an investigation in the matter, but Jerusalem locals assured that these investigations are never taken seriously. They added that, if detained, the attackers are released under the claim that they have mental issues.
http://www.imemc.org/article/72530
How Israeli taxpayers subsidize ‘Jewish terror’
+972 mag 5 Aug by Natasha Roth — Honenu, an organization that provides legal services to suspected terrorists, violent settlers and gives financial support to their families, receives tax-deductible donations in both Israel and the United States — What do Yitzhak Rabin’s assassin, the murderers of Mohammed Abu Khdeir and the arsonists convicted of setting fire to Jerusalem’s Jewish-Arab Hand in Hand school have in common, apart from their violent extremism? All have received legal representation or some other form of assistance from Honenu, a self-proclaimed “Israeli Zionist legal aid organization.” Based in Kiryat Arba, a settlement next to Hebron that is home to the grave of Jewish terrorist Baruch Goldstein (itself located in a park named after leader of the Kach terrorist group Meir Kahane), Honenu has tasked itself with a clear vision: to come to the aid of “[s]oldiers and civilians who find themselves in legal entanglements due to defending themselves against Arab aggression, or due to their love for Israel.” In Honenu’s eyes, they are defending “noble citizens” who have “acted on behalf of Am Yisrael [the people of Israel].” To explore Honenu’s past and present client list of “noble citizens” is to read a timeline of some of the most heinous acts of Jewish terrorism in recent memory. Chances are that if you have read about a “price tag” attack, a violent assault on or killing of Palestinians by Jewish Israelis, or any other “ideological crime” of this nature in recent years, the perpetrators have been assisted in some way by Honenu.
http://972mag.com/how-israeli-taxpayers-subsidize-jewish-terror/109768/
Leader of extremist Israeli organization calls for torching churches
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 6 Aug — The leader of a Jewish extremist group in Israel allegedly called for arson attacks on churches in front of Israeli students, Israeli media reported on Thursday. Benzi Gopstein, leader of anti-Arab group Lehava, allegedly called for the burning of churches at a panel held this week for Jewish yeshiva students, using ancient Halachic, or Jewish law, to condemn what he called Christian “idol worship.” When a journalist at the panel informed Gopstein that he was on camera and could be arrested for his comments, Gopstein said he is prepared to spend 50 years in jail for his remarks, according to a video of the panel released by the Haredi website Kikar Shabbat. After the release of the video, Gopstein said he “stressed several times” that he was “not calling to take operative steps,” instead he said that it is “the responsibility of the government, not of individuals” to abolish the Christian practice of idol worship.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=766899
Jewish terrorism
Father of slain Palestinian infant dies of his wounds
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 8 Aug — Saad Dawabsha, the father of 18-month-old Ali Dawabsha who was burned alive in an arson attack by Israeli extremists on July 31, died from his injuries early Saturday morning, local sources told Ma‘an. Saad, 30, suffered from third-degree burns covering 80 percent of his body, the Palestinian Minister of Health told Ma‘an, and was fighting for his life for more than a week before succumbing to his wounds. Local sources from the family’s village of Duma in the northern West Bank told Ma‘an that the family had been notified of the death of Saad soon after he passed, and added that the 30-year-old would be laid to rest on Saturday. Saad’s wife Riham Dawabsha remains in critical condition and suffers third-degree burns across 90 percent of her body.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=766921
Extremist settlers attack another home in Duma
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 8 Aug — Extremist Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian home with firebombs and rocks in the village of Duma south of Nablus in the northern West Bank on Saturday morning, Palestinian officials told Ma‘an. Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors settler activities in the northern West Bank, told Ma‘an that “a number of extremist settlers hurled two firebombs at the home of Mahmoud Fazza al-Kaabna.” The fire bombs, Daghlas said, landed on the outer wall of the home near a window, but did not make it inside the house. The attackers also hurled stones at the house, with one of them hitting al-Kaabna in the abdomen. The settler attack took place a week after the deadly arson attack which killed 18-month-old Ali Dawabsha and his father Saad from the same village. The mother Riham and 4-year-old brother Ahmad are still struggling for their lives after they sustained third-degree burns on most of their bodies.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=766922
Following fatal settler attack, Israeli army raids Dawabshe family homes in the West Bank village of Duma
Mondoweiss 6 Aug by Allison Deger — While a manhunt is underway to apprehend the Israeli killers of 18-month old Ali Dawabshe, the Palestinian baby burned to death in a settler arson attack last Friday, for the past two nights more than one hundred Israeli soldiers and Shin Beit security officials have raided the homes of the Dawabshe family in the West Bank village of Duma near Nablus. Speaking to Mondoweiss via telephone, Nasser Dawabshe, an uncle of the deceased, said that at 2:00 am Wednesday morning 30 Israeli army Jeeps with approximately 150 soldiers arrived in Duma. He said they woke sleeping members of the Dawabshe family, removed them from their houses, and searched the buildings until around 4:30 am. “I was on my way home when I saw the Jeeps,” Nasser Dawabshe said, explaining that he attempted to hide, but Israeli border police noticed him and approached. “The actual soldiers, themselves, treated us like shit, but the commanders and the generals and the intelligence service were more respectful,” he said. Nasser says the security forces asked him what he thought of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Based on the line of questioning Nasser suspected the raid was to determine if any family members were considering retaliatory attacks against Israeli civilians. Earlier this week the Dawabshe family opened their homes to more than 100 Israelis from the group Tag Meir, an anti “price tag” group that protests attacks on Palestinians carried out by Israeli extremists. Nasser also spoke at a Israeli demonstration in Tel Aviv against the killing of his nephew, sharing the stage with Israeli opposition leader Isaac Herzog and head of the leftist Israeli political party Meretz, Zahava Gal-On. According to Nasser, the Israeli military returned to Duma Wednesday night. The military parked around 20 Jeeps at a nearby settlement and then walked through the steep West Bank hills to the Palestinian village. In this overnight incursion the soldiers closed off the charred home of Ali Dawabshe.
http://mondoweiss.net/2015/08/following-israeli-dawabshe
Translating a Palestinian family’s grief for Netanyahu
+972 mag 6 Aug by Samah Salaime — The least I could do was go to the hospital to support the Dawabshe family after their 18-month-old baby was burned alive by Israeli settlers. But before I knew it I became Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Arabic translator — . . . I took the elevator to the third floor, where there were fewer uniforms and more suits. A woman with a few phones in her hand stood at the entrance to the intensive care unit and stopped me. “Who are you?” I am Samah, a social worker, volunteer, human, it doesn’t matter. I am here, sent to bring the uncle who is accompanying the wounded mother. “He is here, come in.” She pointed to the small room where a young, teary-eyed man sat with his head down and his face in his hands. Hello, I am Samah, are you the doctor who came in the helicopter? “Yes, yes, you’re an Arab?” he lifted his head. I sat in that tense room with Muhammad. He was in shock, telling me how he had made it onto the helicopter with his cousin, Reham, her husband Muhammad, and their four-year-old son, Ahmad . . . After a short while, a senior doctor in the hospital arrived with a spokesperson. He asked how Muhammad was doing and inquired about me, and what I was doing there. I told him I came to help the family members who needed entry permits, a place to sleep, food and an Arabic-speaking liaison from the hospital. The deputy-director of the hospital said that everything would be okay. “The most important thing is that you explain to him that we will do everything for him; we will not give up, and we will bring in the best doctors in the country for the child.” I translated the words for Muhammad, before the spokesperson told me to explain to him that the prime minister was coming, and that it is important that they meet. They left, leaving me and Muhammad to speak alone. Do you want to meet Netanyahu? “What will I do? Say no? I have no idea what to do. They burned the child and his family, what am I going to tell this Netanyahu?” Tell him how you feel, tell him the truth, I responded. “They let the settlers do what they want and now they feel regret? Just don’t tell me that the people behind this are ‘crazy!’” he said . . . I got up immediately and asked the spokesperson about the photographer and what he was doing there, saying that Muhammad did not want to participate in any propaganda, or have the child photographed with anyone.
http://972mag.com/translating-a-palestinian-familys-grief-for-netanyahu/109806/
American parents of Jewish terror suspect decry arrest as ‘undemocratic’
JPost 5 Aug by Ben Hartman, Lahav Harkov, Yaakov Lappin — A day after their son was arrested and placed in administrative detention as a suspected Jewish extremist, Mordechai Mayer’s parents held a press conference in Ramat Gan on Wednesday, where they decried the arrest as “undemocratic.” “We are citizens of the United States. We were born there and our children were born there and raised in a democracy,” Mordechai’s mother, Sarah, said. His father, Gedalya, said the family thought they had left one democracy for another. “They knocked on our door last night with a form saying that they are taking our son to jail for six months, without any suspicion or indictment or anything, they just took him suddenly. And now we find ourselves with our son in jail for a half a year, maybe more, we don’t know,” Gedalya said. “We thought this was a state with laws and democracy,” Gedalya added, describing his son as an 18-year-old who studies Torah and lives a healthy lifestyle “in the nature in Samaria and wants a quiet life.”
http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/American-Parents-of-Jewish-terror-suspect-decry-arrest-as-undemocratic-411248
Has Israel returned to the days of Jewish Underground?
Al-Monitor 5 Aug by Mazal Mualem — . . . Al-Monitor: On Aug. 3, Meir Ettinger, grandson of Kach [a terror organization active in the 1980s] founder Rabbi Meir Kahane, was arrested on suspicion of involvement in a terrorist group. At the same time, we saw the release of writings by Ettinger in which he talks about a divine commandment to rebel against the government and create anarchy, even if it leaves the Middle East in flames, in order to re-establish the Kingdom of Israel. In view of this and following the attack in Douma, what do you conclude? Dichter: These ideas about the Battle of Armageddon are hardly new. They’ve existed in many different places and shapes. The Islamic caliphate isn’t any different. These are all fantasies. I want to remind everyone that there were much more disturbing times in which people who shared those fantasies also had impressive military records. That was the case with the Jewish Underground [a group that engaged in terrorist attacks against Palestinians, including the attempted assassination of three Palestinian mayors]. I remember that period [during the 1980s] and understand the significance of people committing strategic terrorist attacks, such as attacks against mayors, in order to ignite the whole region. And we haven’t even mentioned their plans to blow up the Temple Mount or their plans to blow up several buses simultaneously in Jerusalem. The consequence of that would have been awful. What we are seeing now is a disorganized group of young people. The adults are taking advantage of the fact that the minors have no inhibitions. They also lack a coherent guideline, apart from following some madman. In this case, it is Kahane’s grandson. He brings his legacy to the table, while others bring charisma.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/08/avi-dichter-shin-bet-jewish-underground-settlers-bat-ayin.html
Jerusalem Pride Parade stabber to undergo psychiatric evaluation
Haaretz 6 Aug by Nir Hasson — The Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday ordered a psychiatric evaluation for Yishai Schlissel, who stabbed six people at last Thursday’s Jerusalem Gay Pride Parade, to determine his fitness to stand trial. One of the victims, Shira Banki, 16, died on Sunday from her injuries. Schlissel does not accept the legitimacy of the courts and has refused counsel.
http://www.haaretz.com/beta/.premium-1.669760
The mutant-alien Jewish terrorists who have nothing to do with the Israeli right
Haaretz 4 Aug by Chemi Shalev — Citing overwhelming empirical evidence is an old leftist ploy aimed at harming political rivals and weakening Israel itself — Whoever carried out the horrible arson attack that killed 18-month-old Ali Dawabsheh and nearly burned his entire family alive is a wild thorn, as Israelis like to call them. The perpetrators are in no way connected to, or inspired by, the settler movement, religious Zionism or the Israeli right wing in general. Whoever says so is slandering, defaming and inciting, as the left is wont to do. Yigal Amir, who assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995, was also a lone wolf. The fact that right-wing politicians had whipped up a public frenzy in the weeks before his killing, accusing Rabin of selling out Israel to terrorists, or that rabbis were discussing and some even sanctioning a religious sentence of death against Rabin, doesn’t mean they were prodding Amir in any way . . . The same is true of Baruch Goldstein, the Brooklyn-born Kiryat Arba doctor who massacred 29 Muslim worshippers at Hebron’s Cave of the Patriarchs in 1994 . . . Goldstein, in any case, was a native-born American, which renders him completely atypical. Baltimore-born Alan Goodman, who stormed the Temple Mount in 1982 in order to liberate the Temple Mount, killing two Palestinians in the process, is just as much your problem as he is ours. Nahshon Walls, who shot a pregnant 25-year-old Palestinian woman to death near Kiryat Arba in what he said was an act of revenge, was Ohio-born and bred. Sentenced to life imprisonment, he was released in less than 10 years and spent his last years surrounded by friends in Tapuach who praise his good deeds to this very day . . . And then there’s Yaakov Teitel, originally of Florida and Virginia then of Shvut Rachel, an all-purpose man-in-one terror machine who killed Palestinians, tried to poison a village, bombed Christian churches, maimed Messianic Jews and planted the pipe bomb that injured Professor Ze’ev Sternhell in 2008 . . . .
http://www.haaretz.com/beta/.premium-1.669463
Violence / Attacks / Raids / Suppression of protests
Israeli forces shoot, injure Palestinian after suspected car attack
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an/AFP) 6 Aug — Israeli forces shot and injured a Palestinian man on Thursday after a suspected car attack which injured three Israeli soldiers, a Ma‘an reporter said. Mohammed Badwan, a Palestinian from Biddu village east of Ramallah, allegedly ran over three Israeli soldiers on Route 60 near the illegal settlement of Shilo, north of Ramallah. An army statement said two of the three wounded soldiers “sustained severe injuries.” Israeli soldiers opened fire at the car, with Badwan said to be seriously injured after the vehicle overturned. Israeli forces “fired toward the vehicle in order to prevent the suspect’s escape, confirming a hit,” Colonel Peter Lerner told AFP. Head of the Palestinian liaison office in the Ramallah and al-Bireh district, Nader Hajjeh, told Ma‘an that Badwan’s injuries are very critical and that he is currently in an Israeli hospital under Israeli forces’ security. Palestinian security officials said Israeli forces later searched Badwan’s home. Badwan’s family members told Ma‘an that Israeli forces destroyed furniture and interrogated relatives during the raid. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described Badwan as a “terrorist” and praised the army for its quick reaction.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=766898
Soldiers invade Biddu, search home of ‘ramming incident suspect’
IMEMC/Agencies 7 Aug — A large military force invaded Biddu village (northwest of Jerusalem) on Thursday evening to attack the home of a Palestinian who allegedly rammed Israeli soldiers deliberately with his car, and was then shot by an Israeli soldier. Palestinian witnesses confirm the incident was just an accident. Israeli media sources said three soldiers were wounded in the incident that took place near Sinjel village, on the Ramallah-Nablus road. One of the wounded soldiers suffered a life-threatening injury, while the second suffered a moderate-to-severe injury and the third was mildly wounded. Clashes took place between the invading soldiers and dozens of Palestinians near the home of the driver, Raed Mohammad Badwan, 46 years of age. After the accident, the soldiers shot the driver with several live rounds, causing serious injuries, before he was moved to an Israeli hospital. At least 25 military vehicles invaded Biddo, violently searched the home of the wounded driver, causing excessive damage, and interrogated his family . . . Initial Israeli investigations into the ramming incident reported that the Palestinian driver was driving a Honda Civic that carries an Israeli license plate, while the police say they believe the vehicle is a stolen car that had Israeli license plates forged on it.
http://www.imemc.org/article/72544
Clashes as Israeli forces raid hometown of car attack suspect
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an/AFP) 7 Aug — Three Palestinians were injured late Thursday, including a pregnant woman, during clashes with Israeli forces northwest of Jerusalem, locals said.Clashes broke out in the Jerusalem-area town of Biddu after Israeli soldiers raided the home of Raed Muhammad Badwan, 46, who is accused of injuring three Israeli soldiers in a car attack.Three people were hit with rubber-coated steel bullets while five others suffered excessive tear-gas inhalation, including a pregnant woman.Youths threw rocks and empty bottles at Israeli forces.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=766912
Israeli forces suppress weekly marches across West Bank
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 7 Aug — Several Palestinians, Israelis and foreign activists suffered tear-gas inhalation and bruises as Israeli forces suppressed marches across the West Bank on Friday, witnesses told Ma‘an. Dozens of protesters suffered tear-gas inhalation as Israeli forces suppressed the weekly marches in the West Bank villages of Bil‘in, Nabi Saleh, and al-Ma‘sara.
In Bil‘in, Israeli forces fired tear-gas and rubber-coated steel bullets at protesters. Protesters held Palestinian flags and signs that condemned Israeli violations, including the recent killing of 18-month-old Ali Dawabsha, in addition to signs that demanded child protection and supported Palestinian prisoners and called for their release. Dozens of local, foreign, and Israeli activists took part in the march that set off from the village’s center.
The Nabi Saleh weekly march set off in honor of 18-month-old Dawabsha who was burned to death by suspected Israeli extremists in an arson attack in Duma village near Nablus on July 31. Protesters repeated slogans condemning Israeli policies and the killing of the 18-month-old. Dozens suffered tear-gas inhalation as Israeli forces fired tear-gas bombs to prevent the march from reaching the closed iron gate that blocked the entrance of the village. A group of protesters who were able to reach the gate physically clashed with Israeli soldiers. Soldiers assaulted the protesters and pepper-sprayed them. Two of protesters who were injured by pepper-spray have been identified as Munther Amireh and Naji al-Tamimi. Additionally, an Israeli activist was detained and taken to an unidentified location. The popular resistance movement in the village said that “the crime of burning Dawabsha and the ongoing violence will increase our persistence on popular resistance.”The movement also called upon Palestinians to protest and “respond to settlers, close roads, and burn [settler’s] properties.”
Israeli forces also suppressed the al-Ma‘sara weekly march, prevented protesters from reaching confiscated lands, closed the village entrance, and declared the village a closed military zone . . . As the march reached the village entrance, dozens of Israeli soldiers closed the entrance in an attempt to prevent protesters from reaching confiscated lands, but the protesters were able to reach them from another road, local witnesses said. Protesters raised Palestinian flags on confiscated lands and opened the closed military gate in the area; a short time later Israeli forces and police surrounded the area, delivered a notice to the protesters to evacuate, as the area was deemed a closed military zone, and Israeli forces threatened to detain protesters. Protesters attempted to continue, but Israeli forces suppressed and returned them to the village entrance. Local popular resistance committees in al-Ma‘sara said that popular resistance will continue until the Israel occupation ends. Israeli forces routinely suppress weekly marches by violent means.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=766917
Israeli forces close 3 roads in Qalqiliya village
QALQILYIA (Ma‘an) 6 Aug — Israeli military forces on Thursday closed three agricultural roads in the Qalqiliya village of Kafr Qaddum and uprooted several olive trees, locals said. A local coordinator for popular resistance, Murad Shtewe, said Israeli forces have recently escalated violations against village residents in a bid to stop weekly Friday rallies. Soldiers also uprooted three olive trees belonging to Ali Abdul-Rahim. Residents of Kafr Qaddum stage regular protests, including a weekly Friday march, to protest land confiscations as well as the closure of the village’s southern road by Israeli forces.The road, which has been closed 13 years, is the main route to the nearby city of Nablus, the nearest economic center.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=766897
Israeli policewoman protected by Palestinians as settlers throw rocks at authorities
The Independent 6 Aug by Michaek Segalov — A striking photo has surfaced online of two Palestinian men reportedly shielding an Israeli policewoman while being pelted with rocks being thrown by Israeli settlers. The picture was seemingly taken by Shaul Golan, a photographer for Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper . . . The clashes, which saw Palestinians and anti-occupation activists come to blows with right-wing settlers, took place near the settlement outpost of Aish Kodesh, and the Palestinian village of Kusra, earlier this week. Palestinians and supporters argue the settlers are living illegally on the land. As clashes broke out, two Palestinians stepped in to protect the police woman, who was reportedly having rocks thrown at by the settlers. One of the men sheltering the Israeli officer was Zakaria Sadah, a Palestinian field worker for Rabbis for Human Rights (RHR), an Israeli human rights organisation that works in the area. “While it is natural that the security forces may identify more with their own people,” RHR said in a statement, “procedures regarding law enforcement in situations involving violent Israelis must be clearly laid out and consistently implemented.” Israeli forces were called, as the the two groups threw stones at each other and when the IDF soldiers arrived, rioters pelted them with stones as well, the IDF said.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israeli-policewoman-protected-by-palestinians-as-settlers-throw-rocks-at-authorities-10440761.html
The story behind the photo
Rabbis for Human Rights 3 Aug — The following photo of RHR Palestinian field worker Zakaria Sadah (blue checkered shirt) went “viral” and was shared widely online (mostly Hebrew) without proper context or understanding. This situation has resulted in the vilification of our worker by settlers and some Palestinians. Please see below for the story and video behind the photo. This photo was taken when settlers had been attempting to prevent Palestinians of the village Kusra from working their agricultural lands. A settler accused a Palestinian of throwing stones, and the police attempted to make arrests of Palestinians and began using a taser gun. The Palestinians began throwing stones and the female officer froze and remained crying between the two sides after the Israeli security forces had moved. Believing she was in danger, another Israeli officer prepared to shoot at Palestinians. Zakaria shouted “don’t shoot” and he and the mayor of Kusra escorted the policewoman back to the other Israeli security forces. The incident has resulted in trouble for Zakaria who is being vilified by settlers who know his name, and by other Palestinians who only saw him returning the officer without knowing the full context. Zakaria was also injured when trying to flee from the settlers. The bottom line is that, while settlers are calling this an intentional publicity stunt, and some Palestinians are angry with Zakaria and the Kusra mayor for having helped an Israeli policewoman (the residents of Kusra and the hundreds of additional Palestinians he has helped are not angry with him), the fact is that Zakaria may very well have saved Palestinian lives, as another police officer was preparing to shoot. Zakaria is a one-person command center, who is often the first person to get a call when something happen. He is hated by settlers in the area for having foiled many attempts to attack, threaten, invade and trespass. . . .
http://rhr.org.il/eng/2015/08/the-context-behind-the-photo/
Detentions
UPDATE: 10 Palestinians kidnapped from West Bank districts
IMEMC/Agencies 5 Aug — Israeli forces, early Wednesday, abducted ten Palestinians, including at least a minor, from West Bank districts, said local security sources and Palestinian Prisoner Society (PPS). WAFA correspondence reported on the Fateh District Committee, in the East Jerusalem town of al-‘Issawiya, as saying that Israeli police raided the town, where they proceeded to detain three Palestinians after breaking into and ransacking their houses, sparking violent clashes with locals. The detainees were identified as Ayoub, ‘Anan and ‘Allan ‘Ubaid. Police also raided Hizma, a village to the north of the city, where they kidnapped one Palestinian male after breaking into his house. The detainee was identified as Muhammad Kan‘an. Meanwhile in Tulkarem district, forces took three Palestinians into custody. PPS identified the detainees as Karam Jarab, 20, Wa‘d Rizqallak, 23, and Dhaher Abu Dayyeh. In the meantime in Hebron, forces also abducted two Palestinians, a father and his son, after breaking into and ransacking their house in the Old City. The detainees were identified as Hasan An-Natsha, 51, and his son, Ma’moun, 14. Forces set up checkpoints in the Qarantina locality of the Old City, where they stopped and examined Palestinian registered vehicles and inspected passengers’ identification cards. Meanwhile, in the Jenin district, forces detained a Palestinian after storming his family’s house in Marka village to the south of the city. The detainee was identified as ‘Abdul-Ghani Mousa, 21.
http://www.imemc.org/article/72532
Israeli forces detain 3 teenagers in Jerusalem
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 6 Aug — Israeli forces detained three Palestinian teenagers on Thursday after raiding their homes in East Jerusalem, a local prisoners’ spokesperson said. Amjad Abu Asa, a representative for the families of imprisoned East Jerusalemites, told Ma‘an that Nur Castero, 17, and Muhammad Baibars, 18, were detained in Beit Hanina while Ahmad Shawish was arrested in the Bab Hutta neighborhood of the Old City.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=766895
Arresting the child Haitham Khweis from Al-Tur
Silwan, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) 7 Aug — The occupation forces arrested on Thursday the 13-year old Haitham Nasim Khweis from Al-Tur. Nasim Khweis, the child’s father, explained to Wadi Hilweh Information Center that the occupation forces arrested his child immediately after leaving “Mount of Olives Club” as one policeman left the police car and arrested the child when there were no clashes in the area. According to the child, the forces assaulted him while he was detained in the police vehicle and being transferred to Salah Eddin Street police station. The child’s father added that his son was accused of throwing stones at Israeli forces, and explained that his son was inside the Club’s facilities and was having lunch at his relatives’ house before that. He also pointed out that his son was detained and interrogated for seven hours. Haitham’s father explained that his son was previously arrested twice, once when he was 10 and another time last year. Wadi Hilweh Information Center’s lawyer explained that the police released the child Khweis with a 500-NIS bail and on condition of house-arrest for 5 days.
http://silwanic.net/?p=60701
Gaza
4 killed, dozens injured as Israeli ordnance explodes in Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 6 Aug — At least four Palestinians were killed on Thursday and over 30 injured when unexploded ordnance from last summer’s Israeli military offensive went off while clearing rubble from a destroyed house in the southern Gaza Strip, medics said. Palestinian medical sources at the Abu Yousif al-Najjar hospital in Rafah said four bodies and multiple wounded Palestinians arrived at the emergency room. The victims, who were all from the same family, were identified as Bakr Hasan Abu Naqira, Abdul-Rahman Abu Naqira, Ahmad Hasan Abu Naqira, and Hassan Ahmad Abu Naqira. Medics said it is likely that the death toll will increase. Over 7,000 [pieces of] unexploded ordnance were left throughout the Gaza Strip following last summer’s war between Israel and Palestinian militant groups, according to officials of the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Palestinian territories (OCHA). Even before the most frequent Israeli assault, unexploded ordnance from the 2008-9 and 2012 offensives was a major threat to Gazans.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=766893
Israeli forces shoot, injure Palestinian teen near Gaza border
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 8 Aug — Israeli troops shot and injured a Palestinian teenager east of Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip on Friday night, local sources told Ma‘an. The boy, identified as 14-year-old Mahir Shatat, was hit by live fire in his cheek and was taken to a local hospital. An Israeli army spokesperson told Ma‘an that Shatat was shot because he approached the border fence separating Gaza from Israeli-controlled territories.
Separately, Israeli forces opened fire Saturday morning on Palestinian farmers tending to their lands near the eastern border of the coastal enclave. No casualties have been reported.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=766920
Four Gazans wounded in Israeli air strike after rocket fire
GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories (AFP) 7 Aug — A retaliatory Israeli air strike on Hamas’s military wing in the Gaza Strip wounded four policemen Friday, a Palestinian official said, following a rocket attack on the Jewish state. The hospital official told AFP one was critically injured and the rest moderately hurt in the strike on a training facility of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, near El Bureij refugee camp in the centre of the strip. In an attack claimed by jihadists, Gaza militants earlier fired a rocket into southern Israel, without causing casualties, the Israeli army said. “A rocket fired from the Gaza Strip hit southern Israel,” it said in a statement. “No injuries reported.” Israeli media said at least one other rocket was fired but fell short and landed in the Palestinian territory . . . Hamas is the de factor power in Gaza and Israel formally holds it responsible for any attack launched from the coastal territory . . . Earlier, a previously unheard-of group calling itself “The Grandsons of the Companions of the Prophet” claimed responsibility for the rocket fire. The rocket fire was “the first response by Salafist jihadists to Jewish attacks against Al-Aqsa”, it said . . . In Gaza, Salafists have made no secret of their disdain for Hamas over its observance of a tacit ceasefire with Israel and failure to implement Islamic law.
http://news.yahoo.com/palestinians-fire-rocket-southern-israel-army-180514328.html
Gaza’s homes get off the ground
MEMO 6 Aug — EXCLUSIVE IMAGES The reconstruction process has finally begun for those whose homes were completely destroyed during the war on Gaza in 2014. This is in accordance with the agreement with Qatar which has donated 1,000 residential units. Qatar’s conditions for reconstruction include that the ground floor must need rebuilding, that families with children are given priority to the homes, and that the home owners’ home was completely destroyed. The Ministry of public Works is supervising the reconstruction process, along with the UNDP for homes for residents and UNRWA for homes for refugees. Both of these agencies grant money to the residents through the banks in Gaza under the supervision of the ministry. In the past two days, 580 residents whose blueprints and paperwork have been completed received 30 per cent of the total amount granted to them for the reconstruction of their homes. This amount allows them to start building the foundation for their home, reaching above ground level. After this is completed, they will receive the second installment, which amounts to 40 per cent of the total house price. This leaves the final 30 per cent which is reserved for the finishing touches. The lists and names were sent to the Israeli authorities to be approved in order to send the amount of cement needed for residents to begin construction.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/20254-gazas-homes-get-off-the-ground
Several Gaza hospitals may shut soon
MEMO 6 Aug — A number of hospitals in the Gaza Strip may be forced to close due to a lack of funding and because of the ongoing humanitarian situation in the coastal enclave, Deputy Palestinian Minister of Health Dr Yousef Abu Al-Rish warned. Quds Press reported Abu Al-Rish saying that the situation in the medical centres and hospitals has become “catastrophic”. He said the basic services are in danger of being stopped. He blamed the national unity government saying it had “giving up its responsibilities towards the Gaza Strip, mainly the healthcare sector.” “The ministry in Gaza is deprived of the running and administrative expenses needed to cover all its daily needs. The problems are aggravating day after day..” He said that the biggest problem is that the employees have not received salaries for the second consecutive year. Abu Al-Rish condemned the “persistence of the government, based in Ramallah, to continue restricting the entrance of medicines and medical staff to the Strip,” warning that many basic medicines have already run out.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/20255-several-gaza-hospitals-may-shut-soon
Hamas denies Israeli claims of official’s expulsion from Turkey
MEMO 7 Aug — Hamas has denied Israel’s claims that the government in Turkey has asked a prominent official of the Palestinian faction to leave the country. The resistance movement pointed out that Shaikh Saleh Al-Arouri still travels between Turkey and Qatar and is performing his political work as usual, reported London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper. According to Israel’s Channel 1, “Turkey seems to have asked Hamas leader Saleh Al-Arouri to leave the country after his involvement in terrorist acts.” The television station claimed that Al-Arouri is now staying in Doha with the head of Hamas, Khaled Meshaal. Shaikh Saleh Al-Arouri was released from Israeli custody into exile in Turkey as part of the prisoner exchange which saw Hamas hand over Sergeant Gilad Shalit. The Israelis claim that he has “resumed” his “terrorist activities”, such as the kidnapping and murder of three Jewish settlers in occupied Hebron last year. The government in Tel Aviv has long attacked Turkey for being so welcoming to the Hamas official. “Shaikh Saleh is carrying out his activities as usual and is travelling between a number of countries, including Turkey, Qatar and Lebanon,” a source close to Al-Arouri told Al-Quds Al-Arabi. “He does not have a permanent place of residence. He moves when needed. There is no truth to Israel’s claims of there being a Turkish order for his expulsion.” The source added that Israel makes such claims no matter how many times they are denied, so there is no point in denying or confirming what it alleges.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/20289-hamas-denies-israeli-claims-of-officials-expulsion-from-turkey
Hamas court issues death sentence for alleged collaborator
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 6 Aug — A military court in the Gaza Strip on Thursday sentenced a man to death by hanging for allegedly cooperating with “enemy entities.” The court said the suspect, 30, was sentenced according to Article 131 of the Palestinian Revolutionary Penal Code of 1979, a statement said. An undisclosed number of fighters were killed because of information the suspect passed on to Israeli intelligence services during last summer’s war. Under Palestinian law, collaboration with Israel may be punishable by death. All execution orders are supposed to be approved by the president before they can be carried out, but Hamas no longer recognizes the legitimacy of incumbent Mahmoud Abbas, whose four-year term ended in 2009. In August last year, 18 suspected collaborators were killed by Hamas when the group announced a crackdown on Palestinians alleged to be working with Israel.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=766894
IN PHOTOS: Palestinian exercise buffs use Gaza’s rubble as their gym
Haaretz 6 Aug — Bar Palestine, a Gaza City sports group, brings the growing global phenomenon of ‘street workout’ to the war-ravaged Strip.
http://www.haaretz.com/beta/1.669967
Young Palestinians struggle to surf in Gaza
[with photos] NEW DELHI (The Citizen) 5 Aug — Surfing, in any part of the world, can be a dangerous activity. The sea off the coast of Gaza, however, is inhospitable in a unique way. Long stretches of the beach smell like sewage after Israeli bombs damaged the wastewater system in 2014. Enter the water and the situation gets more perilous — Gazan fishermen are only allowed to go up to three nautical miles offshore, and are routinely shot at or detained by the Israeli navy. Despite the above, the sea off Gaza remains the one of the only ‘open’ spaces that the people of Gaza can enjoy. A small group of Gazans, known as the ‘Gaza surf club’ are changing how the people in the besieged city enjoy the sea. “I play this sport since I was 12,” says Taha Baker, 26 years old, known among his friends as “the dolphin”. “This is the only way I can express myself freely” Taha told 7iber.com. Five years ago Taha’s cousin was killed next to him while the two were out fishing; he was shot at from an Israeli boat. “The navy boat came and without saying, for example, ‘go south’ or ‘this area if forbidden,’ they didn’t say anything. They just shot immediately,” Taha told the Global Post. Hailing from a family of fishermen, the incident motivated Taha to turn to journalism focusing on documenting the perils of life on the sea in Gaza. In his spare time, Taha follows his passion: surfing.
http://www.thecitizen.in/NewsDetail.aspx?Id=4641&Young/Palestinians/Struggle/to/Surf/in/Gaza
Restriction on movement / Bannings
Israel issues 3-month travel ban for Palestinian journalist
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 5 Aug — Israeli authorities on Wednesday banned a Palestinian journalist from Jerusalem from travellling for three months. Amjad Arafeh, a freelance cameraman, told Ma‘an that he was summoned for interrogation at the Russian Compound police station in West Jerusalem where he was told that his travel documents would be confiscated as part of a three month travel ban. The ban was reportedly imposed for “security purposes,” with no further details provided by Israeli authorities.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=766881
Israeli court releases 5 Al-Aqsa employees from jail
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 5 Aug — An Israeli court on Wednesday ordered the release of five Al-Aqsa Mosque employees a day after they were detained at the holy site. Lawyer Ramzi Kteilat from the Qudsuna Human Rights Center said that Radwan Amr, Raed Zughayyar, Hussam Sider, Fadi Bakir and Majdi al-Abbasi were released on condition of a 90 day ban from the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, five days detention, and a total bail of 6,500 shekels ($1,700) each.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=766882
Israeli court issues 10-day entry ban on Aqsa Mosque employees
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (PIC) 7 Aug — The district court in occupied Jerusalem on Thursday issued a verdict banning Palestinians from entering the Aqsa Mosque, where they work as guards and administrators, until August 16. The court judge refused to describe her decision as a ban on the entry of Aqsa Mosque employees and claimed that the defendants would be given leave of absence for 10 days, during which they would not be allowed to enter or approach the Mosque. The court hearing was held to look into the appeal filed by the Israeli police against an earlier decision by the magistrate’s court in Jerusalem refusing its request to prevent a number of guards and administrators working at the Aqsa Mosque as well as one Jerusalemite young man from entering the Islamic holy place for several days. The district court also gave the Israeli police 10 days to study the possibility of filing indictments against the defendants.
http://english.palinfo.com/site/pages/details.aspx?itemid=72918
The Americans who aren’t allowed to visit Israel
Haaretz 6 Aug by Gideon Levy — U.S. citizens of Palestinian origin are routinely humiliated upon entry to Israel, yet representatives of their country refuse to come to their aid. — Susan Abulhawa is a successful American writer. Her first novel, “Mornings in Jenin,” was translated into 30 languages and was an international best seller. Her new book, “The Blue Between Sky and Water,” has already been sold for translation into 19 languages, even before publication in the United States next month. Life is smiling on the 45-year-old. There’s only one problem: Her home is in Pennsylvania, but her heart is in Palestine. Her parents are Jerusalemites from the A-Tur neighborhood of East Jerusalem. They became refugees against their will in 1967, after being barred from returning to their home city. After they separated, their daughter went from place to place – from an orphanage in East Jerusalem to a foster family in South Carolina. A traumatic visit to Jenin after Operation Defensive Shield in 2002 provided the inspiration for her first novel and her political involvement. Abulhawa established a nonprofit, to build playgrounds for children in the occupied territories and Lebanon, and has become an open supporter of the BDS movement. That is her crime. Last week, she arrived at the Allenby Bridge crossing between Jordan and Israel, en route to see her family in Jerusalem, visit the playgrounds she has built and conduct interviews in honor of the publication of her latest novel. Her U.S. passport was in her pocket. After seven hours of waiting, and an exhausting and humiliating interrogation by six security officials, Abulhawa was expelled in disgrace – allegedly because she hadn’t cooperated with her interrogators . . . A week earlier, Jerusalem native Dr. George Khoury landed at Ben-Gurion International Airport. Khoury is a professor of languages with a doctorate in theology from Berkeley, a U.S. citizen who decided to travel with a priest, Father Bernard Poggi, on a pilgrimage and family visit. Khoury is 70 and hadn’t visited his homeland in 21 years. He also thought his U.S. passport would grant him entry into Israel, and he too was mistaken. The security official at Ben-Gurion told him, “This is our Israel, this is for the Jews. No Palestinian should come to Israel.” Khoury tried to explain that he’s American, but there was nobody to talk to. The security official informed him he would be deported to Jordan via the Allenby Bridge.
http://www.haaretz.com/beta/.premium-1.669734
Israeli forces deny Palestinian professor, his family, entry into West Bank
RAMALLAH (WAFA) 5 Aug — Israeli forces Wednesday afternoon denied a Palestinian professor and his family entry into occupied Palestinian Territories to work for Birzeit University in Ramallah. According to a press release issued by Birzeit University, professor Omar al-Surani and his family were denied entry into the West Bank through the Allenby Bridge border crossing. Al-Surani was planning to work as a lecturer at the Birzeit University Faculty of Architecture. The university’s administration decried the Israeli “arbitrary actions” against Palestinian academics wishing to join Palestinian universities and called upon relevant international and local human rights organizations to pressure the Israeli authorities into halting “racist measures” that violate Palestinians’ right to education . . . Al-Surani, who holds Palestinian and British passports, is originally from Gaza and is currently based in the United Kingdom.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=29034
American Palestinians speak out about being denied entry to Israel
Al-Monitor 5 Aug by Daoud Kuttab — American Palestinians traveling to Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport are increasingly detained and sent back, and told they should contact the Palestinian Authority to have their Palestinian IDs revoked, which would allow them entry to Israel — Over the course of a few days in July, three US citizens of Palestinian descent were denied entry into Israel. All three have published detailed testimonials of their experiences — . . . Brooklyn-based businessman and pharmacist Habeeb Joudeh, 62, traveled to Israel to attend a wedding of a friend there. Joudeh, who is the vice president of the Arab American Association of New York, arrived in Israel with his two adult sons on July 23. In a telephone conversation with Al-Monitor, Joudeh said, “After hours of questioning, my entry visa to Israel was revoked based on their claim that I had been issued an identification card by the Palestinian Authority in 1995, although I left in 1994 for the last time on a travel permit issued by the Israeli military.” What angered Joudeh was the way that he and his sons were treated. “My son Ronnie, 28 years old, was interrogated in a very rude manner. During his interrogation, he was threatened by the Israeli airport official. Ronnie was called many disrespectful names, and he was threatened to be sent back to the United States. All of us were interrogated separately. Each officer humiliated us and threatened that our lives would be made miserable by the Israeli authorities. They called us liars and they left us without food or water. We were even denied privacy as each of us was privately escorted to the restroom. Let me emphasize that we each attempted to behave in a civilized manner. We continuously tried to explain ourselves and the reasons for our travel, but unfortunately each time we tried we were yelled at and kept in isolation in a small room.” Joudeh said that after six hours of interrogation he and his sons were given an ultimatum. “Either be deported to Jordan, or sign a document of deportation — stating as the reason for denial: prevention of illegal immigration considerations — and travel back to the United States on Delta flight 469, the same aircraft we arrived on.” Joudeh, Ramsey and Ronnie had spent $12,000 on three first-class tickets and were sent back in economy class. “We were stuck in seats next to the restroom,” Joudeh said.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/08/palestine-israel-west-bank-americans-detained-ben-gurion.html
Land, property, resources theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Settlements
Israel demolishes 19 structures in Jordan Valley, Hebron, notifies 20 families of demolition
WEST BANK (WAFA) 5 Aug – Israeli authorities Wednesday demolished 18 Palestinian-owned agricultural structures in the northern Jordan Valley, as well as handed Palestinians near Hebron demolition notices for 20 houses, and demolished a home in Beit Ummar, according to local sources. Motaz Bisharat, in charge of the Jordan Valley settlements file in the Palestinian Authority, said Israeli army forces broke into al-‘Aqaba, Mayta, and Yazra, small villages in the northern Jordan Valley, and demolished agricultural structures used as storage sheds and as animal shelters, in addition to two residential structures. Forces further uprooted an electricity pole in the village of al-‘Aqaba. In Hebron, forces demolished a 60-square-meter house in the town of Beit Ummar without any prior notice, displacing 8 family members. The house belongs to local Azmi al-Ajloni. Meanwhile in al-‘Arroub refugee camp, north of Hebron, Israeli army and bulldozers demolished a house under construction, citing unpermitted construction as a pretext. The army also notified Palestinians in the camp of their intentions to demolish 20 homes under the same pretext.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=29030
Bethlehem: Soldiers demolish tire repair shop, structure
IMEMC/Agencies 6 Aug — Israeli forces, on Thursday, demolished a tire repair shop and another structure in Bethlehem district, said two local activists. Taha Hamamra, a local activist, told WAFA correspondence that Israeli forces demolished a tire repair shop at the western entrance of Husan village to the west of the city purportedly for being built without an Israeli building permit. The Palestinian owner of the shop was identified as Bajes Shusha. This was the second time Israeli forces demolished a property for Shusha. Almost a year ago, a flower shop belonging to Shusha was demolished. Moreover, forces demolished a structure belonging to a Palestinian in the area opposite to the tunnel checkpoint between Beit Jala and Jerusalem. The Palestinian owner was identified as Tareq al-Walaji.
http://www.imemc.org/article/72539
The silent transfer of Palestinians from Jerusalem
+972 blog 4 Aug by Betty Herschman — It is no accident that eight Palestinian neighborhoods of Jerusalem wound up beyond the separation barrier. Since annexing Jerusalem in 1967, Israel has manipulated migratory trends toward an unstated goal: absorbing the land without the people — There are many ways to test the notion of Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel. One could do a comparative analysis of how much the municipality invests in East and West Jerusalem — roughly 1:9. One could drive up the road that neatly divides the bougainvillea draped neighborhood/settlement of East Talpiot and Palestinian Jabal Mukaber, a model of a neighborhood excluded from