Violence / Detentions — West Bank / Jerusalem
Netanyahu halts return of Palestinian terrorists’ bodies to their families
JPost 28 Mar by Tovah Lazaroff — The bodies of Palestinian terrorists will no longer be returned to their families. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday ordered Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon to stop such transfers. Israel believes these funerals fuel additional violence. Palestinians hold that these assailants are martyrs and have in the past held mass funerals for them in which their bodies are paraded on gurneys through their home villages or cities. Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan has already held onto the bodies of Israelis Arabs residents of Jerusalem who have carried out such attacks. Netanyahu’s order extends that policy to the West Bank.
http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Netanyahu-halts-return-of-Palestinian-terrorist-bodies-to-their-families-449485
Pictures: Signs of assault and beating clear on detained Palestinian children
SILWAN (Silwanic) 26 Mar — The Magistrate judge extended on Saturday the arrest of five Jerusalemite children until Monday. Lawyer Mohammad Mahmoud explained that the Magistrate judge extended the arrest of five children from the village of Al-Tur to interrogate them on charges of “throwing Molotov cocktails towards Beit Orot settlement”; they were arrested on Friday night. The children are: 17-year old Abdullah Samer Abu Sbitan, 17-year old Basem Maher Sbitani, 16-year old Siraj Mahmoud Abu Sbitan, 17-year old Mahmoud Ahmad Abulhawa and 16-year old Omar Abulhawa. Signs of assault were clear on Basem and Siraj who was bruised in his eye, face, hands and back while Basem suffered bruises in the head and face. Witnesses explained to Wadi Hilweh Information Center that Must‘aribeen individuals (undercover police) attacked a group of children near Al-Tur intersection leading to the neighborhood of Al-Sowaneh and arrested four of the them after assaulting and severely beating them; they were taken to Beit Orot settlement.
http://www.silwanic.net/index.php/article/news/76231
Israeli forces ‘assault’ Palestinians detained for Facebook posts
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 30 Mar — Four Palestinians arrested this week for Facebook posts have spoken of physical assault during their detention and interrogation, in the latest evidence to emerge of abuse that rights groups say is systemic in Israel’s prisons. The testimonies were collected by the Palestinian Committee for Prisoners’ Affairs and relate to four Palestinian youths, including at least two teenagers detained overnight Tuesday. Hussein al-Sheikh, a lawyer with the committee, said 19-year-old Sameh Abu Sel was “seriously assaulted” when Israeli forces stormed his home in al-‘Arrub refugee camp north of Hebron on Tuesday. The youth was tied up and left outdoors in cold weather for more than 10 hours, al-Sheikh said, noting that the mistreatment left him sick. Meanwhile, al-Sheikh said that 18-year-old Ahmad Raed Jadallah, from Beit Ur at-Tahta in the Ramallah district, was physically assaulted by Israeli forces during the four-hour drive to the Etzion detention center after he too was detained on Tuesday. The lawyer also cited two other recently detained Palestinians — Muhammad Mahmoud Othman and Muhammad Samer Othman — who also spoke of being physically assaulted in the Etzion detention center, although no further details were provided. All four detainees were charged with “inciting violence” against Israel in posts made Facebook, al-Sheikh said.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770912
Palestinian boy hit by settler’s vehicle near Hebron
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 28 Mar — A Palestinian boy sustained moderate wounds on Monday when he was hit by a vehicle allegedly driven by an Israeli settler near the village of Zif in the southern occupied West Bank district of Hebron. Palestinian medical sources told Ma‘an that a Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance evacuated Ibrahim Hasan Mahmoud al-Hireini, 6, to a hospital in Hebron for treatment. Locals said the boy was trying to cross the Israeli bypass road to his home when he was hit. The driver reportedly did not flee the scene, although Israeli police were not immediately available for comment.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770881
Hebron: Military jeep runs over Palestinian boy on motorbike
IMEMC/Agencies 31 Mar — A Palestinian minor, on Wednesday, sustained fractures and injuries after an Israeli military jeep ran him over near an area of Yatta town, in the southern West Bank district of Hebron, according to a local activist. Coordinator of the popular committees against the wall and settlements in southern Hebron, Rateb al-Jabour, informed WAFA that 14-year-old No’man Basal, who was riding a motorbike at the time of the incident, was run over by a military jeep as he attempted to cross a public road in the area. The minor sustained injuries and a fracture in his leg, which necessitated his transfer to hospital for medical treatment.
http://www.imemc.org/article/75422
How DNA tests proved Palestinian’s innocence of false knife claim
HEBRON, Occupied Territories (MEE) 29 Mar by Claire Thomas — On 27 November 2015, Ahmad Azza, a 16-year-old Palestinian human rights activist, was arrested by Israeli police on charges of possessing a knife in public and fleeing from soldiers when asked to stop. But according to Azza, he was not in the area where soldiers claimed they had seen him when the knife was allegedly found. After seven days in prison, he was released on 3 December 2015, after a DNA test exonerated Azza and proved that the charges were false. He had to remain in prison until the official results were made available, but the only DNA found on the knife belonged to an Israeli soldier. Azza is a young activist from the Tel Rumeida neighbourhood, currently a closed military zone in Hebron. He is a member of the local organisation Youth Against Settlements (YAS). The organisation’s website states they are a non-violent direct action group seeking to end the building and expanding of illegal Israeli settlements through non-violent popular struggle and civil resistance. Ahmad’s recent arrest highlights the way many young Palestinian human rights activists have been targeted and arrested on false charges since the recent wave of violence that began in October 2015. Ahmad spoke to Middle East Eye about his arrest, his treatment in jail and the work of his lawyer Gaby Lasky, together with YAS coordinator Issa Amro, in securing his release: (Continued – long and very informative article)
http://www.middleeasteye.net/in-depth/features/palestinian-teen-speaks-about-how-dna-tests-proved-his-innocence-1132067181
Israeli police detain minor for raising Palestinian flag at Aqsa
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 30 Mar — Israeli police detained a Palestinian minor for raising the Palestinian flag over the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Wednesday, while right-wing Israelis under police escort toured the holy site. Witnesses told Ma‘an that Israeli police responded after the youth raised the flag over the mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem’s Old City, in what may have been intended as an act to mark the 40th Land Day. Witnesses said the boy was assaulted before he was taken away.Israeli police spokesperson Micky Rosenfeld confirmed the arrest had taken place, saying the minor had been “removed from the scene and was being questioned.” Meanwhile, witnesses told Ma‘an that police escorted around 30 right-wing Israelis through the mosque compound, entering via the Moroccan Gate.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770909
Israeli forces detain 19 Palestinians in overnight raids
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 30 Mar — Israeli forces detained at least 19 Palestinians in predawn raids across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem on Wednesday, Palestinian and Israeli sources said. In the Nablus district, Palestinian security sources said Israeli troops raided the town of Huwwara and detained five teenagers, identified as Yazan Tariq, Mahmoud Faris, Yahya Ismail, Yousif Saod, and Mahmoud Saod. In the Jenin district, Israeli forces stormed Jenin refugee camp and ransacked several homes before detaining three young men, identified by locals as Mustafa al-Tubasi, Issam Abu Jabal, and Tawfiq al-Shalabi. Meanwhile, in the Bethlehem district in the southern West Bank, Israeli forces detained Muhannad Hajahja and Ahmad Khalid al-Umour, 17, in the village of Tuqu‘, and Hussein Abu Aker in ‘Aida refugee camp. Israeli army raids were also reported in the Hebron district, with Abd al-Rahman Hmeidat detained from his home in Bani Naim and Ayman Yousif al-Tal from al-Dhahiriyya. Locals also reported night raids in al-Bireh and Silwad in Ramallah district, although no detentions were initially reported there. An Israeli army spokesperson confirmed at least 11 arrests in the occupied West Bank, of whom she said six were alleged “Hamas operatives,” detained in Nablus, ‘Aida refugee camp, Beit Jala, Bethlehem, Bani Naim, and al-Dhaihiriyya. She said the another Palestinian was detained in the village of Husan, two in Tuqu, one in Bani Naim, and one in Fuwwar refugee camp Separately, two Palestinians were detained by Israeli police from al-Tur neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem, identified by locals as Yousif Abu al-Hawa and Amir Abu Jumaa.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Israeli forces carried out an average of 88 search and arrest raids every week last year. srael is now holding 7,000 Palestinians in its jails, including around 450 children, according to prisoners’ rights organization Addameer.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770902
Israeli forces detain 22 Palestinians across the West Bank
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 31 Mar — Israeli forces detained at least 22 Palestinians in overnight raids Wednesday in the occupied West Bank, Israeli and Palestinian sources said. The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society said in a statement that Israeli troops detained three brothers, identified as Iyad, Jihad, and Muhammad Fakhri Barhoum from the city of Ramallah, as well as brothers Hisham and Sami Khamis Abu Lafah from the al-Amaari refugee camp near Ramallah. The statement added that six Palestinians were detained in the Jenin district, identified as Taher Jawad Badarneh, 22, Muhammad Jamal Umour, 22, Hussein Ali Rabayaah, 25, Noor Muhammad Hamarsheh, and brothers Firas, 20, and Hussein Hamzeh Hirzallah, 23. Local sources told Ma‘an that all six were detained in the village of Ya‘bad. The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society also identified two Palestinians detained in the Nablus district as Saleem Muhammad Hirzallah, from the al-Ain refugee camp, and Abdullah Muhammad Hajj Muhammad from the town of Talfit. (Continued)
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770923
The killing of Abed al Fatah a-Sharif
Israeli court: Killing of Palestinian ‘inconclusive’
Al Jazeera 30 Mar — An Israeli military court says evidence is “inconclusive” against one of its soldiers who was caught on camera shooting dead a wounded Palestinian. Lieutenant Colonel Ronen Shor, the judge, said on Tuesday there was “reasonable doubt” about the circumstances of the shooting “given the complexity of the events” surrounding a stabbing incident and the killing that followed. Shor also ruled that the soldier would be held in custody for two more days. Prosecutors earlier said the shooting was “intentional” and asked the court to extend the soldier’s detention until April 7 while the investigation was ongoing. But the judge said he can be held only until Thursday.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/03/israeli-court-killing-palestinian-inconclusive-160329181254940.html
UN outrage over Israeli army execution of Palestinian
Al Jazeera 30 Mar — The United Nations expressed outrage on Wednesday over the killing of a Palestinian by an Israeli soldier who was caught on camera, saying the evidence signaled a clear case of an extrajudicial execution. Anger grew in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday after Israel’s military court called the video evidence against the soldier “inconclusive”, with activists demanding that Israel holds its army accountable for the killing of Abed al-Fattah Yusri al-Sharif, 21, earlier this month. A video of the incident showed the soldier step forward and shoot the Palestinian in the head at close range as he lay motionless on the ground. Fattah and another man, who was earlier shot and killed, were accused of stabbing an Israeli soldier in Hebron. “There does not appear to be any provocation on the side of the gravely wounded man,” said Christof Heyns, the UN’s special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. “The images shown carry all the signs of a clear case of an extrajudicial execution,” Heyns said in a statement. “Whatever legal regime one applies to the case, shooting someone who is no longer a threat is murder. It is furthermore troublesome that this was done to no apparent alarm to the other soldiers who were nearby.” Also on Wednesday, Rupert Colville, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, expressed his concerns “about the apparent extrajudicial execution” of Fattah. Colville added there were worries the “killing may not be a lone incident”. “We urge the Israeli authorities to ensure all members of their security forces fully comply with their obligation to use force with restraint, only when strictly necessary, and in accordance with the principle of proportionality, and are constantly reminded that killing people who are no longer presenting an immediate threat is a crime, and will be treated as such,” Colville said.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/03/outrage-israeli-army-execution-palestinian-160330142638573.html
IDF reviews protocol with combat soldiers
Ynet 29 Mar by Yoav Zitun, Amir Alon — West Bank commanders have emphasized IDF protocol obligating soldiers to maintain a 25 meter radius from “potential threats”, such as a terrorist lying on the ground and is suspected of carrying an explosive device. This comes in the wake of the shooting incident in which a Kfir Brigade soldier opened fire on a neutralized terrorist in Hebron. During the past week, West Bank commanders have had conversations with soldiers following the disputed incident at a checkpoint in the Tel Rumeida neighborhood of Hebron. The commanders explained to soldiers that what the arrested solider did constitutes a legal and moral failure and a violation of protocol, which could have put his fellow soldiers at risk. According to military protocol, when there is a fear of a terrorist wearing an explosive belt, forces nearby are obligated to maintain a 25 meter distance and warn others nearby because firing at the terrorist could detonate the explosive and severely injure nearby soldiers. In combat medic courses, which the arrested soldier took, instructors teach that a bullet entering one’s body can exit elsewhere, potentially detonating an explosive. Moreover, such a concern is still relevant even the soldier shoots the terrorist in the head.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4784720,00.html
Chief of Staff: We will prosecute those who defy IDF’s values
Ynet 30 Mar by Yoav Zeitun — In the wake of last Thursday’s shooting incident in the Tel Rumeida neighborhood of Hebron, IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot sent a letter to soldiers Wednesday morning stating, “We will not waver in prosecuting soldiers and commanders, who defy the IDF’s operational and moral standards.” At the beginning of the letter, Eisenkot said, “In recent months, we have dealt with terror attacks against Israeli citizens, which seek to undermine the strength of the state. The IDF aims to maintain the safety of Israeli citizens and residents on the battlefield and the home front. The IDF indeed works with vigor and dedication and operates in all arenas freely, employing all means necessary. In my field tours, I am proud to see you making progress and preparing to sacrifice yourselves to protect the homeland.” T he Chief of Staff cited the words of David Ben Gurion, according to which ” The fate of Israel depends on two factors: her strength and her rectitude.” He wrote that the IDF has always sanctified the values of human dignity and the purity of arms, values based on Jewish heritage. Every action must be performed professionally, using measured force so that the mission is accomplished in accordance with the IDF’s values. Eisenkot stressed that he and the officers will continue to back every soldier who errs in the heat of battle. However, they will must not deviate from the IDF’s ethical code.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4785247,00.html
Opinion: Terror, lies and videotape in Hebron / Alison Kaplan Sommer
Haaretz 28 Mar — Netanyahu and military leaders quickly condemned the shooting of a subdued Palestinian terrorist by an Israeli soldier. They shouldn’t have been surprised that the frightened public came to his defense — At first, the video of an IDF soldier in Hebron shooting an already-subdued Palestinian terrorist seemed to tell a simple story of a soldier gone rogue. Whether he did so out of ideology, confusion or exhaustion, we don’t know . . .If a picture is worth a thousand words, presumably a video should be worth millions more. But in the case of this video, released by the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem last week, pictures didn’t replace words as much as generate them in endless debates and discussions over the weekend . . . Instead of stoking outrage, the more the video is shown, the stronger the defense of the soldier seems to grow, with thousands signing online petitions and forming Facebook groups in support. On Monday, demonstrations demanding his release and calling him a “hero” were organized. While the authorities and the media are withholding his identity, his supporters are trumpeting his name across social media and on signs at their rallies. In their eyes, he has nothing to be ashamed of. Those appalled by this response should remember that this boomerang effect isn’t unprecedented, even in the most politically correct of democracies. In 1969, during the Vietnam War, the American public was rocked when shown bloody photographs of the My Lai massacre, displaying hundreds of slaughtered civilians – men, women and children – strewn across a Vietnamese village, killed under orders of the U.S. military. Yet, when all was said and done, after 14 officers were charged in relation to the slaughter, just one was convicted – William Calley. Calley became a cause célèbre in middle America, garnering political and public support. Five state legislatures passed bills demanding clemency, and thousands of telegrams were sent to the White House asking that he be pardoned. Even those who didn’t approve of the actions in My Lai saw him as a scapegoat for the incompetence of the military – a parallel to what is happening in reaction to the Hebron video . . . Now, recent events in Israel prove again that even clear photographic evidence won’t sway a significant portion of a frightened public who insist on believing that their soldiers can be nothing other than heroes standing between them and the dangerous forces that threaten them. They will deeply identify with – and fiercely defend – the man in the uniform, no matter what his behavior may be, and no matter how ugly it looks on film.
http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.711408
Opinion: Never have so many cheered such a vile murderer / Gideon Levy
Haaretz 31 Mar — It’s doubtful there’s another Western society whose racism is accompanied by such bloodlust — The rabble demonstrating and writing in support of the soldier-executioner in Hebron sees him as a hero. Not just a victim, like the convicted murderer Roman Zadorov, for example, but a hero. E.A. — his full name remains under a gag order — is a folk hero because he murdered a dying Palestinian. Because, not despite. This must be stated clearly. Perhaps for the first time in the history of the state, an abhorrent murder whose only obvious justification seems to be a hatred of Arabs and contempt for their lives, has become a heroic act. A murder that required no courage, a cowardly act of the highest order, has become heroic in the eyes of the masses, simply because it ended with a dead Palestinian bleeding on the road to the sound of their rejoicing. Never have so many cheered such a vile murderer. In the history of the Israel Defense Forces there have been quite a few obscene acts disguised as heroism . . . but never was an obscure murderer lauded as a hero. Israeli racism has reached a new peak. The murder in Tel Rumeida and the ensuing response are no less than seminal events. Israeli racism had previously been based on the arrogance of the Chosen People, to which everything is permitted, which is the very best and knows better than anyone else; on manipulating the perception of endless victimhood and persecution; on demonizing the Arabs, who only want to destroy us; on dehumanizing them, as if their lives are worth nothing; on incitement, denial, repression and lies and on Israel’s formidable military might. On these foundations we built a racist society, probably the most racist in the world today. Now all this has been taken up a notch, or perhaps down. To all the above we can now openly add bloodlust — unadulterated, uninhibited and undisguised. (Continued)
http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/1.711888
Opinion: Policy of contempt for Palestinian lives / Amira Hass
Haaretz 31 Mar — The cumulative results of the establishment’s actions against the Palestinians are more destructive and lethal than all the acts of the individuals — As opposed to the IDF, the Beit Shemesh municipality refuses to cast E., the soldier from Hebron, out from society. It published his full name and picture under the title of “Hero of Israel” in a statement of support. Whenever the IDF is caught with its pants down, it turns its soldier into a loner, whether he will be put on trial or forgiven. This is a process of separating the individual from the collective and disconnecting from the facts, in which the soldier is the reflection of his army, and the army is the reflection of its government. E. and the rest of the soldiers, police officers and security guards who executed young women and men when it was possible to take them alive, were sent to carry out missions and they only followed orders: To guarantee the heart of Hebron remains empty of Palestinians. Let the settlements expand. Make the Palestinians behave well. And if something goes wrong (and is filmed), the brain forgets about the finger on the trigger. Low-ranking E. was exposed to a field court-martial, while the high-ranking Binyamin Brigade commander Yisrael Shomer, who shot a young Palestinian suspected of throwing rocks in the back, and in doing so executed him without trial, is exempt .A soldier who shot and killed a woman and her daughter in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead was put on trial, but the brigade commander who ordered to bombard a house, and in doing so, killed and injured dozens of members of the Samuni family, is absolved of any blame . . . In comparison, the Palestinian is automatically considered to be dangerous as an individual, because he is part of a threatening collective. That is why it is justified to kill, murder, eliminate and neutralize him. (Continued)
http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.711866
Palestinians ask UN to investigate Israel killings
JERUSALEM (AP) 28 Mar — The Palestinian government asked the United Nations on Monday to launch an investigation into alleged extrajudicial killings by Israel following the deadly shooting last week by an Israeli soldier of a wounded Palestinian assailant as he lay on the ground. The Israeli military has detained the soldier while it investigates the shooting, captured on video by a Palestinian activist. Palestinian official Saeb Erekat said that past Israeli investigations have failed to “serve justice,” claiming instead that Israel has been “rewarded with impunity.” The shooting came amid a six-month wave of Palestinian attacks that have killed 28 Israelis and two Americans. Over the same time, at least 188 Palestinians have died by Israeli fire. Israel says most of those were attackers while the rest died in clashes with Israeli forces. The Palestinians say the killings amount to extrajudicial slayings.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap/article-3512338/Palestinians-ask-UN-investigate-Israel-killings.html
Hebron settlers file complaint against Palestinian who filmed execution
Mondoweiss 27 Mar by Dan Cohen — Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bentzi Gopstein, far-right settlers and followers of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane, have filed a complaint with Israeli police against Emad Abu Shamsiya, the Palestinian videographer who captured the execution of an incapacitated Palestinian suspect in Hebron. Ben-Gvir is a lawyer who defends Jews suspected of vigilante attacks including the killers of the Dawabshe family. Gopstein is founder of the state-funded anti-miscegenation movement Lehava, and has called for churches to be burned. In their letter to the police, they claim that Abu Shamsiya’s presence during the killing is no coincidence, but was coordinated with the alleged attack in order to capture damning video. They write: “In our opinion the accumulation of cases and their number raises questions and it would be quite naive to think that we might be talking about a coincidence. It deserves to be checked and examined, is there coordination, between certain elements of those who carry out offenses and those who are present on the spot exactly at the same time? Under these circumstances, we ask you to order an opening of an investigation against Abu Shamsiya, and make a clarification also about the actions of B’Tselem.” Ben Gvir and Gopstein allege the attackers and Abu Shamsiya somehow foresaw the execution and plotted accordingly. This would be laughable if it didn’t have serious implications. Abu Shamsiya has already received death threats from settlers. (Continued)
http://mondoweiss.net/2016/03/hebron-settlers-file-complaint-against-palestinian-who-filmed-execution/
Army raids home of man who filmed Hebron execution
IMEMC/Agencies 31 Mar — Israeli forces, on Tuesday night, broke into the home of the videographer who filmed an Israeli soldier executing a wounded Palestinian in cold blood, in Tel Rumeida, central Hebron, last week. The videographer, activist Imad Abu Shamsiyya, said that soldiers broke into his home in Tel Rumeida, and inspected the cards of the local and international activists who were staying in the house, as well. The activists gathered there after Israeli settlers directed death threats against Imad, as they published his photos with “Most Wanted” written on them, in addition to killing threats.
http://www.imemc.org/article/75418
And they need it
An oasis of peace for Palestinian children in Hebron
[with photos] Al Jazeera 25 Mar by Claire Thomas — In the heart of the old city of Hebron – amid checkpoints, razor-wire fences, military watchtowers and Israeli soldiers – al-Ibrahimiya kindergarten, run by 53-year-old Zleikha Muhtaseb, provides a safe haven for Palestinian children. “I decided to create this space for them just to be kids, because outside the kindergarten, they are not treated very well,” Muhtaseb, who grew up in Hebron, told Al Jazeera. Hebron is the largest city in the occupied West Bank and is divided into two sectors, H1 and H2, controlled respectively by the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli military. The kindergarten is located in H2, an area with a heavy military presence. The private kindergarten, created and maintained by Muhtaseb in a building adjoining her home, is supervised by local education officials, and Muhtaseb ultimately hopes to expand it to serve more Palestinian children. “When they see the soldiers patrolling the streets, this affects them … When they see the checkpoints, the fence, everything, of course this makes them think that we are surrounded from everywhere,” Muhtaseb said, noting the kindergarten offers the children a safe space to talk about their frustrations and their experiences with soldiers. She says her goal is to encourage children to resist the occupation in a peaceful way. “My main goal is to use education to change the society,” she said. “I always believe that education is the main tool to secure lasting change. If you educate the children and educate the mothers, then you educate the whole society.”
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/inpictures/2016/03/oasis-peace-palestinian-children-hebron-160317065426162.html
Punitive demolitions
Israeli forces demolish walls in home of Palestinian killed after stab attack
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 31 Mar — Israeli forces demolished late on Wednesday night part of the home of a Palestinian who was killed after stabbing an Israeli settler in December. Locals said that Israeli forces closed all the entrances of the Jabal al-Sharif area in the southern occupied West Bank city of Hebron, and deployed heavily around the home of Ihab Fathi Maswada, as well as the house of Abd al-Rahman Yusri Maswada. Ihab Maswada was killed on Dec. 7 after carrying out a stabbing attack against a settler near the Abu al-Rish checkpoint in southern Hebron. The Israeli settler succumbed to his wounds weeks later. Maswada’s cousin, Abd al-Rahman, was killed on site on Dec. 9 after stabbing two Israelis on al-Shuhada Street. Ihab Maswada’s brother said Israeli soldiers only gave the family ten minutes to evacuate the house, forcing them to go on the house’s second floor while they demolished the internal walls of the home. Maswada’s mother said that Israeli soldiers then “fired a stun grenade inside the house and left the house laughing.” Israeli authorities first issued a demolition order for Maswada’s home in early February, but had already threatened to destroy the house days after his death. His father said the demolition order was issued three days ago and that soldiers told them the demolition would be carried out in a week. “We were surprised when they showed up after midnight,” he said.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770924
Investigations
Israeli military shuts investigation into fatal 2014 shooting of Palestinian teen
Haaretz 30 Mar by Gili Cohen — A border policeman has been indicted for shooting live ammunition that killed another protester at the same site, but the IDF has found no evidence of any of its troops firing live bullets — Israeli military prosecutors have shut an investigation into the death of a Palestinian teenager killed during Nakba Day protests at the West Bank town of Beituniya two years ago. Mohammed Abu Taher, 16, was one of two teenagers killed at the May 2014 protest. The Israel Defense Forces has notified human rights groups that a few days ago that Chief Army Prosecutor Brig. Gen. Sharon Afek has decided to shut the investigation into Abu Taher’s death. The prosecutors said no evidence has been found that the 16-year-old died as a result of IDF gunfire.
Months after the protest, a border policeman was charged for the fatal shooting of the other teen, Nadim Nawara, 17. The indictment says the policeman had an M-16 with a special attachment to fire rubber bullets, but that he swapped those bullets for regular ammunition. After Nawara thew a stone at the forces he shot him in the chest, causing his death, the charge sheet says. Dozens of Palestinian protesters threw stones at police and IDF forces on the scene. The IDF said afterwards that soldiers did not fire any live ammunition, but Palestinian witnesses said the troops did use regular bullets. Investigations were launched after security camera footage showed that both Abu Taher and Nawara were at a great distance from the forces so it made no sense for a rubber bullet to have had such lethal results. An autopsy showed that Nawara was shot by live ammunition. Abu Taher’s family refused an autopsy.
http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.711848
Father denies ‘rumors’ that Israel closed investigation into son’s death
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 30 Mar — The father of a 17-year-old Palestinian believed to have been shot dead by an Israeli soldier during a demonstration in 2014 denied on Saturday Israeli media reports that a military investigation into his son’s death had been shut. Siyam Nuwwara told Ma‘an that he met with an Israeli public prosecutor last week who said a court session was scheduled to take place on April 11. Nuwara said the media reports were “false rumors.”
Multiple Israeli media outlets reported Saturday evening that the case regarding Nadim Nuwara’s death had been closed due to a decision by the prosecution that there was not enough evidence from the incident to open an investigation. Israeli daily Haaretz reported that the Israeli army notified human rights groups that Chief Army Prosecutor Brig. Gen. Sharon Afek “decided to shut the investigation” a few days prior on the basis that “no evidence” was found that the teen was killed by gunfire. [But Haaretz was speaking of the investigation into the death of Mohammed Abu Taher, not Nadim Numara; there seems to be confusion here]
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770921
Case closed against policeman suspected of killing Bedouin youth in 2015
Haaretz 31 Mar by Almog Ben Zikri — The Justice Ministry has shut an investigation into a police officer who shot and killed Sami al-Ja‘ar, a 20-year-old from the Bedouin city of Rahat, during a raid against drug dealers in January 2015. The decision was taken despite the victim’s father having been told in December that a decision would wait until the family submitted an explanation as to why the case ought not to be closed. Al-Ja‘ar’s father, Khaled, said he had found out late about the probe being shut before they could respond, and is concerned it may now be difficult to persuade the authorities to prosecute the officer who shot his son. Al-Ja‘ar’s killing led to violent protests. A mourner was shot to death at the young man’s funeral. Arab towns held a daylong solidarity strike. Al-Ja‘ar had been fatally shot during a roundup of suspected drug dealers in Rahat. Police have named Ja‘ar as one of the suspects they were after for alleged trafficking in weapons and narcotics. Rahat residents threw stones at the police in demand that they release the suspects they had arrested, and officers opened fire in response to dispel the crowd. Three police officers were also injured in that incident. A month later, five officers were questioned and following a covert investigation an officer was arrested on suspicion of opening fire against the rules of engagement. The officer was said to have admitted to shooting at Al-Ja‘ar. A statement released by an investigations unit said the officer changed his account of the incident several times and gave false testimony. The officer was taken off active duty and given an administrative job pending a conclusion of the case.
http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.711624
Gaza
Gaza infant dies, reportedly as result of cold weather
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 29 Mar — An infant died in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Yunis, reportedly as a result of cold weather that swept the area over the past few days, Gaza’s Ministry of Health said. Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra identified the infant as two-and-a-half-year-old Hamada Khalid Dardisi from al-Zanna neighborhood. Al-Qidra confirmed that the infant died as a result of extreme cold, adding that his twin sister was in critical condition due to the lack of “adequate heating” in the mobile home their family was forced to live in after their house was destroyed in the last Israeli military offensive
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770892
Islamic Jihad fighter dies of wounds sustained in 2006
GAZA (Ma‘an) 28 Mar jss– A field commander in the al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, died on Monday of wounds he sustained in an Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip in 2006. In a statement, Islamic Jihad identified the man as Muhammad Abed, 47, from Jabaliya refugee camp.No further details were provided on the nature of his injury or how they were sustained. The beleaguered Gaza Strip saw heavy fighting with Israel in 2006, particularly after Hamas won national Palestinian elections. Hamas later fought its way to power in the coastal enclave, resulting in an Israeli military blockade that has been in place since.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770875
B’Tselem: Israel killed 2 children in bed due to refusal to change policy
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 30 Mar — Israeli rights group B’Tselem on Wednesday placed blame for the deaths of two Palestinian children killed in the Gaza Strip earlier this month wholly on the shoulders of Israeli decision makers who failed to make policy changes after countless similar cases. “Despite repeated civilian fatalities and casualties, Israel refuses to change its policy and continues to adopt a distorted and far-reaching interpretation of the provisions of international humanitarian law in order to justify its position,” B’Tselem said in a statement .“This policy is unlawful and immoral,” the group added. B’Tselem released the report after meeting with Salman Abu Khussa, the father of six-year-old Israa and her 9-year-old brother Yasin, who were both killed in an Israeli airstrike on March 12. Salman told B’Tselem: “At about 2:30 a.m.. I woke up and felt as if an earthquake was shaking the house. As soon as I opened my eyes I felt the dust, and then came debris and sand and I couldn’t see anything.“ I heard the children shouting in the next room. I ran over immediately and saw them lying in their beds, covered in blood,” Salman said. His six children sleeping in the room at the time were rushed to the hospital. “Yasin was in very bad shape, “ Salman continued. “After a few minutes he was pronounced dead of a serious head injury.” Israa died hours later from excessive bleeding in her brain. Israeli forces had launched retaliatory air strikes targeting a training camp belonging to Hamas’ military wing after a rocket was fired from the besieged enclave. No members of the military wing were injured in the attack. B’Tselem said the Israeli army spokesperson failed to mention that the attack also hit the Abu Khussa home — located around 50 meters from the military base — which was struck by a block of stone or concrete that went through their roof after flying from the force of the blast.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770920
Gaza hit by blackouts in latest energy crisis
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 29 Mar — The Gaza Strip was left almost entirely without power Tuesday due to maintenance work on power lines from both Israel and Egypt and ongoing tax disputes on fuel for the enclave’s near-defunct power station. Muhammad Thabit, a spokesman for Gaza’s electricity company, said that starting at 6 a.m., all lines supplying power from Egypt as well as two lines from Israel were disconnected, cutting off residents of southern Gaza and Gaza City from electricity. Thabit said he was unaware how long the cuts were expected to last. Gaza’s sole power station meanwhile was operating at just half its capacity for the third consecutive day due to the shutdown of one of two turbines in the station, Thabit added. Thabit told Ma‘an the shutdown came after a dispute between Gaza’s electricity company and the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority Ministry of Finance over taxes on fuel used by the station. Thabit said that starting this year, the PA ministry had cut its subsidies for Gaza’s fuel costs by nearly 50 percent. While Gaza’s governing body Hamas is obligated to collect electricity bills from residents of the besieged enclave and send the funds to the PA, financial disputes have been ongoing since Hamas took over the Gaza Strip in 2007. While the PA criticizes Hamas for failing to foot the bill, Hamas says Gaza’s residents are unable to pay bills due to high rates of unemployment and the crippling siege imposed by Israel and upheld by Egypt, Thabit said.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770887
Israeli forces detain Gaza patient at Erez crossing
GAZA (Ma‘an) 29 Mar — Israeli forces on Tuesday detained a Palestinian man at the Erez crossing as he was attempting to leave the blockaded Gaza Strip to receive medical treatment in the occupied West Bank, his family said. Relatives of Muhammad Kamel Rajab Abu Odeh, 34, said he had permission to travel to Ramallah to undergo surgery for his spinal stenosis. However, they said the Israeli authorities did not allow him through and took him into custody instead . . . Palestinians detained at Erez are often interrogated for several hours, sometimes for days, before they are either allowed into Israel en route to the West Bank or sent back to Gaza.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770900
Union: Israel to expand fishing zone off parts of Gaza coast
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 30 Mar — Israeli authorities have reportedly decided to extend the allowed fishing zone by three additional nautical miles off some parts of the Gaza Strip coast starting in April. The head of the fishermen’s union in Gaza, Nizar Ayyash, told Ma‘an that Israel decided to expand the fishing zone to nine nautical miles off the coast, from Wadi Gaza in the central Gaza Strip to the Egyptian border in the south. The fishing zone would remain at six nautical miles off the coast north of Wadi Gaza, Ayyash said. An Israeli army spokesperson said they didn’t have any immediate information on the reported expansion.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770913
Palestinian farmers, fishermen come under fire from Israeli forces
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 29 Mar — Israeli forces on Tuesday opened fire on Palestinian farmers and fishermen working in the beleaguered Gaza Strip, locals said. Witnesses told Ma‘an that Israeli soldiers stationed in watchtowers along the borderline in the southern Gaza Strip fired heavily towards Palestinian agricultural land, forcing farmers to leave the area. Israeli naval forces meanwhile opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats off the coast of the northern Gaza Strip. No casualties were reported in either incident. Locals added that a number of Israeli military vehicles crossed the border fence between Israel and the central Gaza Strip near al-Bureij refugee camp. Witnesses said Israeli helicopters hovered over the area during the incursion, adding that a large drilling excavator was seen in the area.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770893
Israeli navy fires ‘shells’ at Gaza fishermen
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 30 Mar — Israeli naval forces fired shells at Palestinian fishermen off the coast of the northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday morning, locals said, with no injuries reported.Witnesses told Ma’an the shells landed near the shore, without providing any further details.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770903
Israeli forces target Gaza farmers
IMEMC/Agencies 28 Mar — The Israeli army targeted with live fire, on Monday morning, Palestinian farmers east of Khan Younis city, in the southern Gaza Strip. Al Ray reports that, according to witnesses, Israeli occupation soldiers opened fire from the military towers east of Khan Younis, near the military site of Kissufim, and targeted Palestinian farmers and their lands. No injuries were reported.
http://www.imemc.org/article/75390
Israeli white phosphorus bomb found in Gaza
[with photo] GAZA (PIC) 28 Mar — Palestinian police in Gaza were able on Sunday to deal safely with a white phosphorus bomb of the remnants of Israeli aggression on Gaza in 2008 – 2009. The general administration of explosives engineering of the police department in Gaza revealed that a Palestinian man found the bomb in his land in al-Nusairat refugee camp. Israeli forces used white phosphorus, which is internationally prohibited, in its aggression on Gaza in years 2008 and 2009. Over 1,440 Palestinians were killed and many thousands of others were injured as a result.
http://english.palinfo.com/site/pages/details.aspx?itemid=77670
Child labour rises in Gaza amid soaring unemployment
GAZA (Reuters) 30 Mar by Nidal Al-Mughrabi — Child labour has risen sharply in Gaza, where youngsters toiling in garages and on construction sites have become breadwinners for families feeling the brunt of the Palestinian enclave’s 43 percent unemployment rate. In the past five years, the number of working children between the ages of 10 and 17 has doubled to 9,700 in the territory, according to the Palestinian Bureau of Statistics. The bureau said 2,900 of those children are below the legal employment age of 15. Economists in the narrow coastal strip, home to 1.9 million Palestinians, estimate the real number of underage workers could be twice as high. The increase in Gaza goes against trends. The International Labour Organization says the worldwide number of children in labour has fallen by a third since 2000, from 246 million to 168 million, with more than a fifth in sub-Saharan Africa. At one garage in downtown Gaza, 16-year-old Mahmoud Yazji and another boy, aged 12, work nine hours a day. Mahmoud said he earns the equivalent of $13 a week; the younger boy takes home half of that. (Continued)
http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-palestinians-gaza-child-labour-idUKKCN0WW0ZD
International mediators said working on Hamas, Israel prisoner swap
Times of Israel 28 Mar by Dov Lieber — International mediators are interested in brokering a prisoner swap between Israel and Hamas, a source in the Gaza-based Islamist group reportedly said on Monday. A source in Hamas told the London-based daily Asharq al-Awsat that though there are currently no direct negotiations between Hamas and Israel, foreign parties are examining the possibility of completing a prisoner exchange. Hamas is thought to be holding two Israeli citizens, as well as the bodies of two Israeli soldiers killed in 2014. Israel and Hamas do not officially maintain direct contacts, and any deal would have to be mediated by international parties. In 2011, kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was released in exchange for 1,027 Palestinian detainees, in a deal brokered with the help of a German diplomat. Hamas has reportedly refused to even entertain the possibility of negotiating a swap until Israel releases all Palestinians rearrested after being freed in the 2011 deal for Shalit. The Islamist group is also demanding the talks be held separately from all other issues, according to the report. Hamas is believed to be holding 29-year-old Avraham Mengistu, as well as a Bedouin-Israeli citizen whose name was not released for publication. The two Israelis reportedly crossed into the Gaza Strip on their own accord. The remains of two soldiers killed in the 2014 Gaza war, Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin, are also believed to be held by Hamas, which has not clarified their fate. (Continued)
http://www.timesofisrael.com/international-mediators-said-working-on-hamas-israel-prisoner-swap/
Another home destroyed in Gaza
[with photos] GAZA STRIP 29 Mar by ISM, al-Khalil Team — During the latest wave of aggression by Israeli forces against the Gaza Strip, Gaza resident Mohamed Shorrab, 70 years old, lost his family home. It was shot at and destroyed by Israeli tank fire and artillery shells from the gun turrets located on the annexation wall that separate Gaza from the lands occupied by Israel in 1948. During this wave of aggression, Israeli bulldozers also destroyed his five hundred beehives along with most of his fruit plantations and olive trees. Previously Mohamed’s twenty-one sheep were killed, alongside all of Gaza’s livestock, during the 2014 massacre of Gaza by Israeli forces. In 2012, two of Mohamed’s sons were killed by the occupying army. They were killed whilst heading home during a cease-fire, when a soldier told them they couldn’t continue and had to go back to where they were coming from. Immediately upon turning back a tank fired at them. Ambulance services were not allowed to reach the two men until six hours later.
http://palsolidarity.org/2016/03/another-home-destroyed-in-gaza/
PA: Israel prohibits Gaza Strip gold imports, exports
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 29 Mar — The Israeli authorities on Tuesday decided to prohibit imports and exports of gold to and from the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian official said. Nathmi Muhanna, director of the Palestinian Authority’s borders and crossings department, told Ma‘an that Israeli authorities notified his department that the importation and exportation of gold was suspended in the besieged Gaza Strip. A spokesperson for the union of gold merchants in Gaza, Abu Bilal Atwah, told Ma‘an the ban would have a very negative impact on merchants and jewelry manufacturers in the beleaguered Palestinian coastal enclave. Both Atwah and Muhanna said that up until last month, the gold trade had been prohibited in Gaza by Hamas ever since the movement came to power in 2006, but about a month ago, that decision was reversed. Gold merchants and jewelry manufacturers had “pinned their hopes on the decision to allow gold imports and exports,” Atwah said, as they expected Hamas’ decision would open up job opportunities in the Gaza Strip after nearly nine years of a crippling Israeli siege. Atwah said Israel agreed a month ago to allow exports of gold bars from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank, and imports of manufactured gold jewelry from the West Bank. Neither Atwah nor Muhanna mentioned how the gold bars entered Gaza in the first place, but Palestinians in Gaza have relied on underground smuggling tunnels across the Egyptian border since 2007, when Israel imposed its military blockade, to bring in goods into the enclave.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770895
Secondhand boom for Gaza traders with no alternative
AL-MAGHAZI REFUGEE CAMP (EI) 28 Mar by Isra Saleh el-Namey –Samer Abu Ziada’s secondhand clothes shop in al-Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip attracts a lot of customers. And the shop’s stock of reasonable quality used clothes at affordable prices is proving ever more popular. People in the impoverished strip are increasingly turning to shops like Abu Ziada’s. It is a response, said the merchant, whose store has been open six years, to need. Most Palestinians in Gaza, he told The Electronic Intifada, can no longer afford luxuries — and new clothes are now a luxury. “A jacket might cost 25 Israeli shekels [$6.5] here, where it is 60 shekels in other shops,” said Abu Ziada, who receives fresh merchandise — everything from clothes to toys and electronics — weekly from his supplier, Raed al-Jid, who in turn imports from Israel via the commercial crossing at Kerem Shalom. “A secondhand shirt will not cost more than 5 shekels,” he said. Mother-of-nine Um Sameh (who did not give her full name) is a frequent visitor to Abu Ziada’s shop. The 42-year-old cannot afford new clothes for her children. (Continued)
https://electronicintifada.net/content/secondhand-boom-gaza-traders-no-alternative/16171
Protesters gather at UNRWA offices in southern Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 28 Mar — Dozens of Palestinians gathered in front of the UNRWA offices in the southern Gazan city of Rafah on Monday to protest a perceived lack of support for refugees affected by Israel’s devastating 2014 offensive. The protesters demanded that the UN agency for Palestinian refugees speed up its support for the victims, many of whom were left homeless by the 50-day war. “We are here today to protest against UNRWA’s policy of delaying the promised compensation for the victims of Israel’s aggression in 2014,” said Muhammad al-Hasanat, a senior official in the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP). He condemned the UN agency’s “ongoing evasion of their responsibilities towards Palestinian refugees, who face dire conditions under the crippling Israeli siege, which has caused poverty and unemployment.” The official urged UNRWA to exert pressure on donor countries to deliver more financial support to the UN body.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770877
Palestinians restore Maqam Al-Kader in Gaza Strip (19 images)
UPI 27 Mar — With financial backing from UNESCO and the Nawa Foundation, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in the Gaza Strip has begun restoring the historic Maqam Al-Kader (“mosque” of al-Khidr) in the city of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. The restoration project has been divided into two phases: maintenance of the walls, domes and ceilings of the mosque; and converting it to a cultural library for local children. Such domed structures were built for early Palestinians to pay tribute to patron saints (such as St. George, known by the Arabic name el Khader, who was a Roman soldier who became a Christian martyr) before more orthodox Islam took hold in the region.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World/Photos/Palestinians-restore-Maqam-Al-Kader-in-Gaza-Strip/10034/
New band brings live music to the Gaza Strip with updated traditional music
FSRN 28 Mar by RP — … The isolation has infused every aspect of life in the Gaza Strip, including its music scene. But a new band has started performing across the region, aiming to keep traditional Palestinian music alive. FSRN’s Rami Almeghari reports from Gaza. Inside Gaza City’s landmark Al-Mes-hal theater, 24-year-old Rewan Okasha rehearses a traditional rural Palestinian love song titled “I Wish You Were My Soulmate.” The folk song is one of many the band called Dawaween has updated with modern elements since it began performing about four months ago. Okasha says she’s been singing since she was three, but never in public until her performances with Dawaween. Preserving Palestinian musical traditions runs in her family. Her father is a famous Gaza musician and two of her brothers are well-known local singers. “Palestine can be happy and Palestine’s cultural heritage is filled with joy that could be shared with the outside world,” Okasha says. Ten musicians and two other singers, both male, make up the 13-member band, including 23-year-old Abdelraouf Albelbeisy. (Continued)
http://fsrn.org/2016/03/new-band-brings-live-music-to-the-gaza-strip-with-updated-traditional-music/
Land Day
Palestinians commemorate