Land, property, resources theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Settlements
Palestinian families forced to raze their home amid spike in Israeli-enforced demolitions
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 28 Sept — Two Palestinian families in the occupied East Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina were forced to demolish their own homes for being built without licenses on Wednesday, in order to avoid the expensive demolition fines imposed by the Jerusalem municipality when its employees carry out the demolition themselves. Between the two families, 15 Palestinians were displaced as a result of the demolitions. Owner of one of the homes Imad Jaber told Ma‘an he was forced to rent a bulldozer to demolish his house, after receiving an order from the municipality. “I built this house 10 years ago with my own hands, brick by brick,” Jaber told Ma‘an. “I had no other choice but to demolish it myself, to avoid paying a fee of over 70,000 shekels ($18,000).” He said there was no way he could afford the fee, especially after he has paid 67,000 shekels ($17,885) in fines to the municipality over the last few years. He said he lived with his wife and four children in the house, for which he has continuously tried to obtain a building license, but the municipality has continued to reject his application. Meanwhile, owner of another Beit Hanina home Rami Allon was also forced to demolish his house in recent days following an Israeli court order. He told Ma‘an that he was injured during the demolition, when one of the house’s support columns collapsed on him, causing three different fractures in one of his legs. Allon said that he has been living in the two-storey, 340-square-meter house with his wife and seven children since 2013. He added that the municipality ordered him to pay a 117,000 shekel ($31,098) fine when he first built the house in 2013. He told Ma‘an that he paid the fees in hopes that the municipality would not demolish the house, and also filed multiple appeals to the Israeli central and supreme courts against the demolition, but they rejected each appeal and ordered the demolition to be carried out anyway.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=773339
Israeli authorities carry out spate of demolitions across occupied territory
[with photos and video] BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 27 Sept — Israeli authorities carried out a large number of demolitions in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank on Tuesday, destroying two family apartment buildings, a classroom, a restaurant, four water cisterns, and parts of a home in the latest instances of a policy which rights groups have said has increased drastically in past months.
Three buildings demolished in East Jerusalem — Sixteen Palestinians, including a number of children, were left homeless on Tuesday after bulldozers escorted by Israeli police and Jerusalem municipality inspectors demolished two houses in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of al-Tur in the middle of the night. The two residential buildings, which each housed two 180-square-meter apartments, belonged to brothers Taysir, Jasir, and Ahmad Abu al-Hawa. Taysir Abu al-Hawa told Ma‘an that Israeli forces arrived at 3 a.m. and forcibly evacuated the families from their apartments without letting them retrieve their belongings. The Abu al-Hawas had tried and failed to obtain construction permits from the Jerusalem municipality since 2010, Taysir said, forcing them to build the two residences without licenses. He added that the family was already paying off a 280,000 shekel ($74,645.80) fine imposed by the Jerusalem municipality for the lack of permits before the homes were destroyed. Abu al-Hawa added that the operation came unexpectedly as the family’s lawyer had obtained a six-month deferment of the demolition two months earlier. A court hearing had been scheduled to take place on Tuesday morning regarding the case. Meanwhile, in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Safafa, Israeli municipalities demolished a restaurant without prior notice, the owner said. Imad Burqan told Ma‘an that he had tried and failed to obtain a construction license from the municipality, and had built the “Mediterranean Restaurant” without a permit more than 20 years ago.
Demolished classroom in E1 Bedouin community — Meanwhile, Israeli authorities reportedly demolished a classroom Tuesday morning in a school in the Bedouin community of Abu Nuwwar — part of the contentious “E1 corridor” located just east of Jerusalem municipal boundaries. Abu Nuwwar community spokesperson Dawoud al-Jahalin told Ma‘an that “Israeli occupation bulldozers” demolished a classroom that was used to serve 15 third-graders in the Abu Nuwwar coeducational school, and also leveled the school’s yard. The school was a movable structure made of wood and tin sheets donated by the European Commission….
Home partially demolished near Bethlehem — Israeli forces on Tuesday also demolished three rooms, including the kitchen, of a home in the village of Beit Jala in the southern occupied West Bank district of Bethlehem, claiming they were built without an Israeli-issued building license. Local sources told Ma‘an that Israeli bulldozers demolished part of the home, which is located near the Tunnels checkpoint southeast of Jerusalem….
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=773314
Israel demolishes 28 structures in northern Jordan Valley
JORDAN VALLEY (WAFA) 27 Sept – Israeli forces Tuesday knocked down 28 structures, including residential sheds, animal barns, and several barracks in Khirbet al-Humma, a locale in the northern Jordan Valley, according to a local official. Motaz Bisharat, in charge of the Jordan Valley settlements file in the Palestinian Authority, told WAFA bulldozers accompanied by military jeeps and staff from the so-called Israeli civil administration demolished 28 structures belonging to five families.
http://english.wafa.ps/page.aspx?id=GW9VkCa47746592751aGW9VkC
Israeli forces demolish water cisterns in Hebron-area village
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 27 Sept — Israeli forces demolished water wells in the southern occupied West Bank district of Hebron on Tuesday morning, municipal sources said. An official from the municipality of Sair told Ma‘an that Israeli troops demolished four wells in agricultural lands in the Jurat al-Kheil area east of Sair used for sheep to drink and to irrigate crops. The wells reportedly belonged to Ziyad Mahmoud Shalalda, Ahmad Muhammad Shalalda, Ibrahim Muhammad Shalalda, and Nabil Shihada Shalalda. The municipality official added that Israeli forces leveled lands in the area as well. A spokesperson for COGAT, the Israeli agency responsible for implementing Israeli policies in Palestinian territory, told Ma‘an that “enforcement measures were carried out against four cisterns and an illegal structure in the Sair region, which were built without the required permits,” adding that Israeli authorities had previously demolished similar structures in the area. In May, Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah condemned Israel’s illegal practice of destroying Palestinian water infrastructure as “atrocious.” “Israel uses every means possible to chase Palestinians away from their ancestral land,” Hamdallah said at the time. “Water is life, and if you don’t have water you cannot exist.” While Palestinians are routinely subject to demolitions and land seizures in the West Bank, they are also subject to disproportionately low access to vital resources. Israeli settlers in the occupied Palestinian territory consume approximately six times the amount of water used by Palestinians; this discrepancy is even greater when considering water used for agricultural purposes.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=773311
Israeli settlers level Palestinian-owned lands west of Salfit
SALFIT (PIC) 26 Sept — Israeli bulldozers moved from Leshem illegal settlement and leveled Palestinian-owned agricultural lands in Deir Ballut town west of Salfit. Local sources affirmed that the bulldozers leveled large areas of olive groves. Local farmers immediately rushed to the area in an attempt to prevent the destruction of their olive trees. Leshem settlement was illegally built at the expense of Deir Ballut, Kafer Deek, and Rafat town lands and continues to expand at the expense of the neighboring agricultural lands.
http://english.palinfo.com/site/pages/details.aspx?itemid=80904
Israeli forces demolish agricultural structure in Nablus district
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 26 Sept — Israeli forces and bulldozers demolished an agricultural structure east of the village of Beit Dajan in the northern occupied West Bank district of Nablus. Village council leader Nasser Abu Jeish told Ma‘an that Israeli forces, escorted by a number of Israeli bulldozers, demolished a 200-square-meter agricultural structure owned by Beit Dajan resident Said Ahmad Abu Jeish, claiming that it was built without a permit. Abu Jeish said that Israeli forces prevented the owner from removing equipment and agricultural material from the structure before the demolition, adding that the land where the structure had stood was then leveled. The village leader added that the damages caused by the demolition amounted to thousands of shekels.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=773298
Israeli military razes land, uproots olive trees near Bethlehem
BETHLEHEM (WAFA) 28 Sept – Israeli forces on Wednesday razed a Palestinian-owned land and uprooted olive trees in the village of Wadi Fukin, west of Bethlehem in the West Bank, according to local sources. Ahmad Sukkar, mayor of the village, told WAFA that an Israeli army force accompanied by bulldozers raided the village before proceeding to raze a locally owned plot of land and uproot olive trees. The Israeli military did not present an order as to why the land was razed, he said.
http://english.wafa.ps/page.aspx?id=GW9VkCa47753255022aGW9VkC
Settlers steal stones near Salfit for paving settlement streets
SALFIT (PIC) 26 Sept — Israeli settlers from Ariel settlement, illegally built north of Salfit, stole stones from the city to pave new streets for newly built settlement units. Eyewitnesses told the PIC reporter that Israeli bulldozers were leveling the area and left with several massive stones.
http://english.palinfo.com/site/pages/details.aspx?itemid=80912
Israeli army displaces Bedouin families to conduct military training
IMEMC 29 Sept — Dozens of Israeli soldiers invaded, Thursday, the Hamsa al-Fouqa area, near Tubas in central West Bank, and removed 19 Bedouin families from their dwellings, so that the army can conduct live fire training in their community. The soldiers surrounded Abu Hamsa al-Fouqa area before invading it, and handed the military orders for the families before removing them. The planned military drills, which will use live fire and artillery shells, will be held today and again on Friday morning for five hours, starting at six in the morning. The army frequently conducts live fire drills after displacing many Palestinian communities in the Jordan Valley and central West Bank. Many Palestinians, including children have been injured, some killed, by unexploded objects dropped by the military during training.
http://imemc.org/article/israeli-army-displaces-bedouin-families-to-conduct-military-training/
Punitive demolitions / Closures
Israel to demolish Nablus home belonging to suspected attacker’s family
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 27 Sept — The Israeli Supreme Court on Tuesday approved an Israeli military decision to demolish the family home of an incarcerated Palestinian suspected of being involved in a drive-by shooting last year that left two Israeli settlers dead. The family of Palestinian prisoner Amjad Aliwi has previously filed three appeals against the decision, as they stand to be left homeless by the demolition while Aliwi serves a life sentence in Israeli prison. Salah Aliwi, Amjad’s brother, told Ma‘an that the family’s lawyer informed them Tuesday evening that the demolition could happen at any minute, after the court refused to allow the family to present any further appeals. Aliwi is currently serving a life sentence for his involvement in a Hamas military unit allegedly responsible for the incident when a married couple was shot and killed on Oct. 1, 2015 near the illegal Israeli settlement of Itamar in the northern occupied West Bank district of Nablus. Their four children, aged between four months and nine years, were found unharmed in the back of the car … Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fast-tracked punitive home demolitions in an effort to “deter” attacks carried out by Palestinian individuals in the wake of a wave of violence that has swept across the West Bank since October. The move came despite past recommendations by an Israeli military committee that the practice did not deter attacks. Israeli rights group B’Tselem has condemned the practice as “court-sanctioned revenge” carried out on family members who have not committed crimes, amounting to collective punishment.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=773326
Israeli forces demolish room in house of alleged accomplice in Tel Aviv shooting
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 26 Sept — Israeli forces demolished on Monday morning one room in the home of a Palestinian accused of complicity in a deadly attack earlier this year, local sources in the southern occupied West Bank village of Yatta told Ma‘an, with an Israeli army spokesperson later on Monday denying that the demolition had taken place. Yatta municipal council spokesman Abd al-Aziz Abu Fanar said that Israeli forces stormed the al-Hila neighborhood in the morning and demolished one room in the house of Yunis Zain. Zain, who is currently in Israeli custody, stands accused by Israeli authorities of being involved in a shooting attack carried out by two of his friends, Muhammad Ahmad Moussa Makhamreh and Khalid Muhammad Moussa Makhamreh, in Tel Aviv in June which left four Israelis dead. The homes of the two Makhamrehs, who were detained following the attack, were demolished in early August.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=773296
West Bank village resists collective punishment
Palestine Monitor 27 Sept by Cynthia Wang — Kids have to pass three checkpoints and roadblocks guarded by soldiers to reach schools. Sometimes they lose one or two classes just because it took too long to pass through,” the leader of the local council, Muwaffiq, told the Palestine Monitor. For months, the Israeli army enclosed the West Bank village of Hizma in response to what they accused the residents of inciting violence and stone-throwing against soldiers in the area. The main road was blocked entirely from July 28 for almost one month. Residents had to carry IDs inside the village preparing to be checked by soldiers anytime. Non-residents and commodity-supplied vehicles were denied access to pass. Soldiers even stopped them from entering the mosque during Ramadan. “They came so early in the morning and didn’t let us go to the mosque for our Fajr prayer,” said Aia, a 17-year-old girl from the village. “They throw tear gas to us when we stay at home.” Even if you want to go to a supermarket to buy groceries or to a falafel shop, they stopped you.” Aja added. On some days, residents can wait in line for hours just to pass the checkpoints. “The economic situation here is deteriorating. People can’t go to their work easily if they do outside the village. They (soldiers) stop us and our cars at checkpoints or anywhere. We never know when the road will be closed again. You just have to wait and wait,” Muwaffiq said. This way of disturbing residents’ daily lives and economic activities has become a routine and systematic tactic from the Israeli army as a collective punishment to all residents when any incidents happened in the neighborhood … Furthermore, as 90% of Hizma’s land was classified as Area C by the Oslo Accords, residents are facing difficulties to access their agricultural land….
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/details.php?id=3ckqe5a13956ykdwi8o3lr
Violence / Detentions — West Bank / Jerusalem
Israel – Palestine timeline
Below is a list, in reverse chronological order, of Israelis and Palestinians killed since the Second Intifada began in 2000. Click on the names for more details, photos and sources. This website records each person killed, and aims to remind us all that every single death is the end of a life, devastating and terrifying to parents, children, siblings, friends, neighbors, witnesses and even entire communities. A neighbor or friend murdered is a loss that doesn’t go away … The majority of the names listed on this site come from the records of B’Tselem, an Israeli nonprofit organization that documents human rights abuses in the occupied Palestinian territories, and from the International Media Information Center (IMEMC), an independent news organization based in the Bethlehem region that reports on events in both Israel and the Palestinian territories. Additional reports of deaths have come from other news agencies such as Ma’an News and Ha’aretz. The timeline does not include the names of Palestinians who have died from lack of medical treatment caused by the Israeli blockade of Gaza, as B’Tselem does not include them in their records. However, information about these deaths will eventually be posted in a separate section.
http://israelpalestinetimeline.org/
Israeli forces raid Shu‘fat refugee camp for 7th consecutive day
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 28 Sept — Israeli forces raided the Jerusalem-area Shu‘fat refugee camp for the seventh consecutive day before dawn on Wednesday, searching and ransacking scores of homes and detaining at least 13 Palestinians. Thaer Fasfous, spokesperson for the Fatah movement in Jerusalem, said that Israeli forces were heavily deployed in the narrow streets of several areas throughout the camp and raided more than 20 houses. Israeli soldiers indiscriminately fired rubber-coated steel bullets and tear-gas canisters to suppress clashes. Locals told Ma‘an that the raids were unjustified and were merely an attempt by Israeli forces to frighten and provoke residents, noting that Israeli forces were smashing through doors and destroying furniture in homes during the hours-long raids. Witnesses said that soldiers deliberately provoked Palestinian youths who were trying to go home or leave for work, stopping and searching them, forcing them to lift up their shirts at gunpoint. Locals in the camp identified three Palestinians who were detained in the raids as Adham al-Sharqawi, Saddam Joudeh, and Hammudeh al-Kirri. According to lawyer Muhammad Mahmoud, 10 other Palestinians were detained overnight in both Shu‘fat refugee camp and the nearby village of Beit Hanina … Meanwhile, the Jerusalem-based Wadi Hilweh Information Center said that Israeli forces have detained more than 40 Palestinians from the Shu‘fat refugee camp since the beginning of September….
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=773332
Israeli soldiers investigated for attacks on Palestinian paramedics
MEMO 27 Sept — Israeli soldiers are being investigated by military police following complaints of two attacks against Palestinian paramedics. According to the report in Haaretz, “In both cases the Palestinians claim that soldiers fired on ambulances that were evacuating wounded people.” In a letter to Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, who submitted the complaints, an Israeli official confirmed that an investigation was initiated into incidents that took place on 2 October and 5 November 2015. In the first incident, Red Crescent paramedics claim that Israeli occupation forces “attacked them and removed a wounded person from the ambulance while he was receiving medical treatment.” Having responded to reports of injuries among Palestinian demonstrators in El Bireh, the ambulance crew arrived and put a wounded man in the ambulance. As they drove off, “soldiers fired two bullets into the side of the vehicle” then “removed the patient.” In the second incident, “soldiers allegedly fired at a Red Crescent ambulance and attacked a paramedic, again in El-Bireh.” Physicians for Human Rights first submitted the complaints last December, but only received a response now. In a response, the IDF Spokesman’s Office said the delay was caused by “technical problems” and that the investigations are continuing….
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20160927-israeli-soldiers-investigated-for-attacks-on-palestinian-paramedics/
Israeli settler opens fire at Palestinian youths east of Qalqiliya
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 26 Sept — An Israeli settler reportedly opened fire at a group of Palestinian youths east of the city of Qalqiliya on Monday, with no injuries reported. According to Israeli media, the Israeli settler responsible for the shooting had claimed that Palestinian youth were throwing rocks at him near the illegal Israeli settlement of Karnei Shomron located just south of the Palestinian village of Kafr Laqif, which he responded to by firing shots into the air. Israeli military forces reportedly responded to the incident by launching a search for the Palestinians responsible for the rock throwing.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=773304
Israeli settler injured after Molotov cocktails thrown at vehicle near Ramallah
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 29 Sept — An Israeli settler was injured late Tuesday night after Palestinian youths threw Molotov cocktails at their vehicle near the village of al-Lubban al-Sharqiya in the central occupied West Bank district of Ramallah. An Israeli army spokesperson told Ma‘an that three Israeli settlers were attacked while riding in a vehicle when a Molotov cocktail was hurled at them, causing damage to the car and injuring one of them. The injured person was evacuated to the Rabin Medical center for treatment. The spokesperson added that Israeli forces searched the area for youths responsible for the attack and set up a military checkpoint in the area.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=773331
Heightened security measures imposed in Jerusalem ahead of Jewish holiday
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 27 Sept — Israeli police were heavily deployed across occupied East Jerusalem on Tuesday as reports of an alleged “security threat” were received, according to Israeli police spokesperson. Luba al-Samri said in a statement that the security alert was declared Tuesday afternoon, issuing no specific directions for the public. The security alert was canceled Tuesday evening, and roadblocks installed by Israeli police were removed. Meanwhile, Israeli police made preparations throughout East Jerusalem’s Old City on Tuesday ahead of the Jewish new year, Rosh Hashanah, to take place October 2 to 4. Al-Samri said that Israeli police and border guards would be heavily deployed across Jerusalem for the holiday, particularly on roads used by Jewish worshipers and near the Western Wall of the Old City, next to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. Israeli police will also close the road leading to the Old City from Jaffa Gate for private vehicles except for those of Old City residents on Oct. 2.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=773324
PPS: ‘Israeli soldiers kidnap 43 Palestinians, including children and a legislator, Wednesday’
The Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) has reported that Israeli soldiers have kidnapped, late at night and on Wednesday, at least 43 Palestinians, including children and a legislator, in different parts of the occupied West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem. The Jerusalem office of the PPS said the soldiers kidnapped 20 Palestinians from Jerusalem, most of them from Shu’fat refugee camp, in addition to Beit Hanina, Abu Dis, Wadi al-Jouz and Qalandia refugee camp … In the southern West Bank district of Hebron, the soldiers kidnapped eight Palestinians, including a legislator. In Ramallah, in central West Bank, the soldiers kidnapped five Palestinians from Budros town … In Tulkarem, in the northern part of the West Bank, the soldiers kidnapped three Palestinians … In Jericho, the soldiers kidnapped three Palestinians from Fasayel town … In Qabatia town, in the northern West Bank district of Jenin, the soldiers kidnapped two Palestinians … In Qalqilia, in the northern West Bank, the soldiers kidnapped one Palestinian … In Bethlehem district, the army kidnapped one Palestinian from al-Khader town. [The article identified all those detained]
http://imemc.org/article/pps-israeli-soldiers-kidnap-43-palestinians-including-children-and-a-legislator-wednesday/
PPS: ‘Israeli soldiers kidnap 13 Palestinians in the West Bank’
IMEMC 29 Sept — The Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) has reported that Israeli soldiers have kidnapped overnight and on Thursday morning, thirteen Palestinians in different parts of the occupied West Bank. The Hebron office of the PPS, in the southern part of the West Bank, said the soldiers invaded various communities in the district, searched many homes and kidnapped four Palestinians, two of them identified as Mohammad Qassem Shallash and Abdul-Nasser Abu Mariyya. In addition, the soldiers and uncover officers invaded the town of Silwad, east of the central West Bank city of Ramallah, searched many homes and cars, and kidnapped a father and his son, who are also former political prisoners. They have been identified as Amin Saleh Hamed, 60, and his son Abdul-Hadi, 30. Also in Ramallah, the soldiers invaded the Nobani Farms town, and kidnapped Ahmad Mohammad Zibin and Majed Hammad. In Tulkarem, in the northern part of the occupied West Bank, the soldiers invaded homes in Nour Shams refugee camp, east of the city, and kidnapped Ali Yousef Fouda, 34, and Riyad Mohammad Jawabra, 20. In Nablus, also in the northern part of the West Bank, the soldiers kidnapped one Palestinian, identified as Osama Taiseer Sallam, 43. In Jerusalem, the soldiers kidnapped Yousef Waleed Abu Roomy from his home in the al-‘Ezariyya town, and Mohammad Fawzi Mteir from his home in Qalandia refugee camp. Also at dawn, dozens of Israeli military vehicles and jeeps invaded Hebron city and several nearby areas and towns, searched many homes and installed roadblocks. On Thursday morning, the soldiers installed several surveillance cameras on the western entrance of Teqoua‘ town, east of the West Bank city of Bethlehem.
http://imemc.org/article/pps-israeli-soldiers-kidnap-13-palestinians-in-the-west-bank/
Amnesty: Israeli forces guilty of ‘pattern of unlawful killings’
MEMO 28 Sept — Amnesty International has accused Israeli forces of displaying “an appalling disregard for human life by using reckless and unlawful lethal force against Palestinians”, in a new statement timed to coincide with the anniversary of an uptick in violence dated 1 October 2015. The international human rights group says it sent a memorandum to the Israeli authorities on 14 September detailing 20 cases of “apparently unlawful killings of Palestinians by Israeli forces seeking clarification about the status of investigations.” In at least 15 of the cases, Amnesty says: “Palestinians were deliberately shot dead, despite posing no imminent threat to life, in what appear to be extrajudicial executions.” The Israeli authorities have not responded to Amnesty International’s concerns. The full memo sent by Amnesty can be viewed online here. According to Philip Luther, research and advocacy director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International, the “worrying rise in unlawful killings by Israeli forces” over the last year has been “fostered by a culture of impunity.” Of the 20 incidents highlighted by Amnesty, “an indictment has been filed against a soldier in only one case. In many cases where there appears to be evidence of an extrajudicial execution, there is not even an open criminal investigation.”
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20160928-amnesty-israeli-forces-guilty-of-pattern-of-unlawful-killings/
Prisoners / Court actions
Autopsy reveals Palestinian prisoner died of heart condition after years of medical neglect
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 26 Sept — An autopsy has confirmed the cause of death of 41-year-old Palestinian prisoner Yasser Thiyab Hamduna, who died in Israeli custody Sunday morning, was cardiomegaly, a condition in which the heart is enlarged and can lead to sudden cardiac death. A statement from the Palestinian Committee of Prisoners’ Affairs released on Monday announced the cause of death following the autopsy. Initial reports indicated the prisoner had died of either a stroke or a heart attack. The Committee said that the autopsy of Hamduna’s body was carried out in the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute in Tel Aviv with the participation of two Palestinian doctors — Ashraf al-Qadi and Rayan Ali — as was ordered by the Israeli central court the day prior. Two lawyers from the Committee, Iyad Misk and Karim Ajwa, also attended autopsy. Hamduna’s body is reportedly to be returned to his family on Monday. He is from the village of Ya‘abad, in the northern occupied West Bank district of Jenin. The Committee’s statement reiterated the accusation that Hamduna faced deliberate medical negligence by Israeli prison authorities and doctors, who were aware of the fact that he had been suffering from a number of health issues, including shortness of breath, heart problems, and ear pains. He was severely beaten by prison guards in 2003 after his imprisonment in June that year, and had since been taken to the al-Ramla prison clinic a number of times after his health deteriorated, where lawyers and prisoners’ rights groups familiar with the case said he was routinely denied adequate treatment. He finally underwent a cardiac catheterization surgery in Israel’s Afula hospital in January 2015, and continued to remain in a serious health condition after being denied the necessary medical checkups and was only provided anticoagulant medication as treatment.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=773303
Funeral held in Jenin for Palestinian prisoner who died in Israeli custody
JENIN (Ma‘an) 27 Sept — Palestinians mourners and representatives of national Palestinian institutions attended a funeral in Jenin on Tuesday for Yasser Thiab Hamduna, who died of a heart condition in Israeli prison on Sunday after years of medical neglect. The funeral procession set off from the Jenin Governmental Hospital towards the village of Ya‘bad, Hamduna’s hometown. Among the participants in the march were Governor of Jenin, Ibrahim Ramadan, head of the Palestinian Committee of Prisoners’ Affairs Issa Qaraqe, member of Fatah’s central committee Azzam al-Ahmad, head of the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society Qaddura Fares, and several other leaders of Palestinian institutions. Hamduna’s mother, along with Palestinian security officers, carried Hamduna’s body on their shoulders as security forces fired 21 shots into the air as a salute to him. Mourners repeated slogans demanding the release of all Palestinian prisoners, calling for national unity, and condemning the international community’s silence towards Israeli crimes against Palestinians. Pictures of Hamduna were waved along with Palestinian flags. He was buried in Ya‘bad’s cemetery.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=773327
Israeli court sentences al-Aqsa sheikh to 8 months in prison for ‘incitement’
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 26 Sept — The Israeli magistrate’s court in Jerusalem sentenced 51-year-old Sheikh Omar Abu Sara to eight months in prison on Monday for delivering a sermon at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in November 2014, claiming he “incited violence against Jews.” A statement from the Palestinian Committee of Prisoners’ Affairs said that lawyer Muhammad Mahmoud demanded that the court postpone executing the order until December to allow him to present an appeal. Abu Sara told Ma‘an that he was initially detained Jan. 1, 2015 and spent five days in jail. During his detention, he said that Israeli officers interrogated him about a religious lecture he gave at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem’s Old City on Nov. 28, 2014, entitled: “Jewish characteristics in the Holy Quran.” After five days of interrogation, Israeli authorities released Abu Sara and sentenced him to house arrest for six days until legal procedures were completed. He was also banned from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound for 60 days. Abu Sara denied Israeli accusations and said that his sermon was not racist or incitement, but rather religious teachings and verses from the Quran. However, Israeli media translated the sermon after a video of it was released, which included statements such as: “I say to the Jews loud and clear: The time for your slaughter has come. The time to fight you has come. The time to kill you has come.” Abu Sara said after being sentenced: “If my sermon was incitement, then what do you call Israelis calling for the slaughter of Palestinian children, women, and men, who claim that the children will grow up to be terrorists?” His remarks seemed to refer comments made by Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked — similar to comments often made by Israel’s right-wing media and leadership — who advocated for the killing of the mothers of slain Palestinians, referring to them ‘snakes.’ “They should follow their sons. Nothing would be more just. They should go as should the physical houses in which they raised the snakes. Otherwise more little snakes are raised,” she wrote in the summer of 2014, just one day before a group of Israeli settlers attacked, beat, and burned alive Muhammad Abu Khdeir, a Palestinian teenager from occupied East Jerusalem.…
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=773307
Al-Aqsa guard jailed for 11 months
MEMO 27 Sept — An Israeli magistrate’s court has jailed a guard from al-Aqsa Mosque for 11 months. Fadi Ali Mohammed Aliyan, 30, was also ordered to pay a fine of 1,500 shekels ($400) after he was found guilty of standing in the way of Jewish settlers who had stormed the mosque. Aliyan was arrested on 28 June from within the mosque’s courtyards; he was moved between a number of prisons and is now being held in Gilboa. Jewish settlers regularly storm Al-Aqsa mosque and its courtyards to complete religious rituals. There have been increased calls from members of the Knesset and rabbis for such visits to increase and for the area to be annexed, all of which Muslims condemn and denounce.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20160927-al-aqsa-guard-jailed-for-11-months/
Palestinians, including minors, sentenced to prison for throwing rocks, Molotov cocktails
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 28 Sept — Israeli courts sentenced four Palestinian residents of occupied East Jerusalem — including two minors — to prison on Wednesday for throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails. Head of the Jerusalem Committee for Families of Prisoners Amjad Abu Asab said that the Israeli Central Court sentenced 19-year-old Basil Ahmad Tawfiq Qutub to 80 months in prison — more than six and a half years — and ordered him to pay a fine of 80,000 shekels ($21,304); and 20-year-old Muhammad Hussam Qirsh to four years in prison with a fine of 40,000 shekels ($10,652). The two were detained together last year, and stand accused of throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails at Israeli settlers near the occupied East Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina.
Abu Asab also said that Israeli Magistrate’s Court sentenced 15-year-old Zakariya Bakri and 14-year-old Nabil Seder, both from Jerusalem’s Old City, each to five months in prison and a fine of 3,000 shekels ($798) each. The sentences came amid an ongoing crackdown on Palestinian youth and children by Israeli police in East Jerusalem, as Palestinian communities in the occupied city have begun to feel the impact of Israeli legislation passed between 2014 and 2015 increasing penalties for rock throwing, which allows for stone-throwers to receive a 20-year prison sentence where intent to harm could be proven, and 10 years where it could not.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=773340
Israel orders release of Palestinian journalist from administrative detention
JENIN (Ma‘an) 27 Sept — An Israeli court decided to release Palestinian journalist Musab Zayoud from administrative detention on Tuesday, according to Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) lawyer Saleh Ayoub. Ayoub said in a statement that Zayoud, from the northern occupied West Bank city of Jenin, was released on Tuesday, following deliberations between the Israeli prosecution and and Zayoud’s defense team. Zayoud was detained in on Sep. 20, during massive raids across the occupied Palestinian territory when 40 other Palestinians were detained and two Palestinians were shot and injured by Israeli fire. The detainees included one other resident of Jenin. An Israeli army spokesperson told Ma‘an at the time one of them was an alleged Hamas operative, without specifying which. Upon Zayoud’s detention, an Israeli court ordered him to 11 days in jail to complete an investigation into undisclosed offenses, and denied him lawyer visitation. However, he was released after spending seven days in Israeli custody.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=773323
Gaza
Israel prevents Palestinian woman from leaving Gaza for cancer treatment
GAZA (Ma‘an) 26 Sept — Israeli forces have prevented a Palestinian woman from leaving the blockaded Gaza Strip through the Erez crossing for a medical exam at Israel’s Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer, Tel Aviv. According to statement from the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PHCR) released Monday, 52-year old Nadia al-Bakri, a women’s rights activist in Gaza, has been suffering from breast cancer and underwent chemotherapy, an operation, and radiation treatment at Sheba Medical Center in 2009. Doctors recommended to al-Bakri that she travel to the hospital for periodic checkups, due to the fact that the medical equipment necessary for the exams are not found in hospitals in the besieged coastal enclave. Despite Sheba Medical Center’s doctors having scheduled several critical medical appointments due to a deterioration in al-Bakri’s health, Israeli forces have continued to prevent her from leaving the Gaza Strip. The last time al-Bakri was allowed to reach the hospital for a medical checkup was Dec. 27, 2015, according to PCHR. Her most recent appointment was scheduled for Sep. 20. Israel officials did not reply to a request for comment on the issue, however, a report by Israeli newspaper Haaretz in July said that an official from Israel’s internal security agency, the Shin Bet, told al-Bakri that she did not meet the criteria for “urgent humanitarian and lifesaving cases,” and evaded her questions when she asked if she was a “security threat” to Israel. Al-Bakri is a local activist, the Director of the Women’s Affairs Center in Gaza, and a board member of PCHR….
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=773308
Israel cancels Gaza worshipers’ Friday visit to al-Aqsa for Peres funeral
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 29 Sept — Israeli authorities have canceled this week’s visit of Gazan worshipers to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem due to the funeral of former Israeli President Shimon Peres. Sources at the Palestinian liaison told Ma‘an on Thursday that Israeli informed them that Friday’s visit would not take place, as the funeral of Peres, who died on Wednesday at age 93, is planned to occur that day in Jerusalem. Israel allows 250 elderly Palestinian worshipers from Gaza to travel through the Erez crossing to pray at the Al-Aqsa mosque every Friday, on the condition that they return to Gaza on the same day. Visitations of elderly Palestinians from Gaza were implemented as part of a ceasefire agreement that ended Israel’s 2014 offensive on the besieged enclave. However, due to Israeli security concerns and Jewish holidays, visits have been frequently interrupted since their introduction.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=773346
Israeli soldiers open fire on Palestinian farmers in central Gaza
IMEMC 29 Sept — Israeli soldiers opened fire, on Thursday morning, on several Palestinian farmers working on their own lands east of Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza. The farmers said the soldiers, stationed across the border fence, fired many live rounds, forcing them to leave their lands in fear of additional escalation and army fire. The soldiers attacked the farmers while stationed on their military towers, across the border fence surrounding the Kissufim army base, southeast of Deir al-Balah. The attack is part of frequent violations targeting Gaza farmers, working and fishers, in different parts of the besieged and impoverished coastal region.
http://imemc.org/article/israeli-soldiers-open-fire-on-palestinian-farmers-in-central-gaza/
Senior Israeli military officials divided over new Gaza ‘anti-tunnel’ wall
MEMO 27 Sept — As the Ministry of Defence’s bid for the project of constructing reinforced concrete walls along the Gaza Strip approaches its deadline, Walla! News has learned that senior officers argue that the project’s cost – around one billion shekels ($0.37 billion) – will not allow for sufficient protection. As the tender published by the Ministry of Defence for the mega-project intended to cope with the threat of tunnels from the Gaza Strip approaches a decision, Walla! News has been informed of a professional dispute as to the decision on the project, among top military figures, with senior officers recommending the Israeli government consider targeted operations inside the Gaza Strip for the location and destruction of tunnels … Military officials have argued that given the project’s cost, which estimates say would start at hundreds of millions of shekels and may rapidly exceed one billion, and considering the fact that the project does not provide hermetic sealing of the border, targeted operations would be preferable. In addition, security officials have explained that the tunnels located since the operation, around two years ago, are not new ones, but extensions of tunnels located by Israeli forces during the operation, some of which had not been destroyed. However, the Israeli government has decided on this matter, opting to promote the engineering project. The tender, which is confidential for the most part, allows for the admission of international companies with expertise in very deep underground engineering and digging, and the construction of thick concrete walls – works which have never been carried out on such a scale in Israel. So far, at least 20 companies have joined the contest, and the tender is supposed to end this week….
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20160927-senior-israeli-military-officials-divided-over-new-gaza-anti-tunnel-wall/
Gaza fishermen feel caught by Israel’s tight security net
GAZA (Reuters) 27 Sept by Nidal al-Mughrabi — When Palestinian fisherman Abu Mohammed came under pressure to become an informer for Israeli intelligence, the 45-year-old father of five took a radical decision – he quit fishing and became a builder. Working off the coast of Gaza, where Israel imposes restrictions preventing fishing boats going out more than six nautical miles, was already hard enough without Israel’s security services trying to co-opt him, he said. According to the Al-Mezan Association, a Palestinian human rights group, 113 Gaza fishermen have been detained by Israel this year, compared with 41 in the same period of 2015. Those detained say there is also increased pressure – including the threat of losing their boats – to divulge information that might help Israel’s security services … For Abu Mohammed and others, most of whose lifetime has been spent at sea, the experience has left a lasting scar. “I was on the boat with relatives and friends when an Israeli naval vessel came close,” he said, describing events earlier this year and declining to give his full name for fear of reprisals. “They fired at the boat and hit it, we stopped and they arrested us. They blindfolded us on the boat, tied our hands and took us for interrogation at a base in Ashkelon,” he said, referring to a nearby Israeli city. There an Israeli security officer asked him for information about militants in his neighbourhood and said he would give him a chance to think. “In three days I will call you and I hope you cooperate,” he says the officer told him. Scared and confused, Abu Mohammed says that when he was returned to Gaza he broke his phone’s SIM card, handed himself over to a local security service and was unemployed for several months before joining friends in construction. “I preferred to starve rather than become a spy,” he said….
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/reuters/article-3809890/Gaza-fishermen-feel-caught-Israels-tight-security-net.html
Gaza’s legion of war-wounded battle to forge new lives
[with photos] AFP 27 Sept — Every time he hears a loud noise, Imed al-Firi hides his healthy leg under a cushion — a reflex he developed after the summer of 2014, when Israeli tank fire struck his Gaza home and robbed him of his right leg. He is among thousands of Gazans learning to live with disabilities or missing limbs after three wars between Palestinian militants in the territory and Israel since 2008. Beyond limited medical care in Gaza, they also face a lack of facilities for the disabled in the Palestinian enclave run by Islamist movement Hamas which has been under an Israeli blockade for nearly a decade. More than 75,000 Gazans suffer from some form of disability, a third of them linked to conflict in the territory of 1.9 million people, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross. The 2014 war alone, the deadliest of the three conflicts, wounded 11,000 people. Firi, 50, often sees Mohannad Aid, 20, at Gaza’s clinic for polio and prosthetic limbs. Aid and Firi have at least two things in common — both are missing a leg and are unemployed, like nearly half of Gaza’s population. Aid lost his leg from rocket fire while returning home from a mosque in 2014. He has since become better at managing his prosthetic leg — two metal rods connected by a joint at knee level, with a red-and-black tennis shoe at the bottom. His physiotherapist Ahmed Abu Shaaban says he has made impressive progress, but everyday life remains a challenge for him in Gaza. “Some streets are not paved and are only dirt, others are potholed and rutted,” said Abu Shaaban. “Construction is chaotic.” Firi says little is done to ease conditions for the disabled despite Gaza’s legion of war wounded. He has started an organisation for people in his situation and has organised protests to demand improvements….
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-3809216/Gazas-legion-war-wounded-battle-forge-new-lives.html
Zaytouna-Oliva departs for Gaza
…Amal-Hope II to follow soon. Messina, Italy, September 27, 2016 This morning at 9:50 am, women representing 13 countries spanning five continents began their journey on Zaytouna-Oliva to the shores of Gaza, which has been under blockade since 2007. On board are a Nobel Peace Laureate, three parliamentarians, a decorated US diplomat, journalists, an Olympic athlete, and a physician. A list of the women with their background can be found here. When asked why they are going, the women gave a variety of responses. Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate from Ireland, notes that “they say that ‘silence is golden’, but regarding the plight of Palestinians in Gaza the silence of the world, especially concerning their little children, shows a lack of moral and ethical leadership from the international community. Why has it lasted so long?” For two of the women, their countries’ own historical struggles for human rights played an important role in their decision to join the Women’s Boat to Gaza. Leigh-Ann Naidoo, an Olympic volleyball player from South Africa, feels that “South Africans understand the importance of international solidarity in fighting regimes that practice segregation.” Marama Davidson, a Maori Member of Parliament from New Zealand, carries with her a strong personal connection to Palestinian women in Gaza. “As an indigenous woman myself, I want to stand alongside the women of Gaza and to draw attention to the ongoing humanitarian crisis there.” The Amal-Hope II has been making final preparations to sail and is scheduled to depart from Messina soon. Both boats are expected to arrive in Gaza in early October. Yudit Ilany, an Israeli participant who has sailed with the Zaytouna-Oliva since Barcelona, said “The blockade of Gaza is a crime against humanity being committed in my name, and it is my duty to protest it in any way possible.”
https://wbg.freedomflotilla.org/news/zaytouna-oliva-departs-for-gaza
Follow the mission
wbg – see the current position of the two boats plotted on this map
https://wbg.freedomflotilla.org/follow-the-mission
Women’s Boat to Gaza ready to break blockade
EI 27 Sept by Eoin Wilson — …The flotilla is, at its core, a symbolic attempt to bring international attention to a blockade that has further impoverished and isolated Gaza, while sending a message of solidarity to Palestinians there. The all-women boat is also meant to acknowledge the role of Palestinian women in the struggle, as they face the effects of occupation and settler-colonialism in specifically gendered ways. Women also carry the bulk of responsibility for the care of traumatized children. According to the United Nations, more than 160,000 children in Gaza are in need of continuous psychological support. The all-women flotilla also has very practical reasons. It encourages the participation of women who otherwise could feel uncomfortable in a cramped, confined space with men for days at a time. There is, as well, an element of deterrence. Claude Léostic, the president of the Platform of French NGOs for Palestine, and French spokesperson for the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, referred to the violence inflicted on previous flotillas, which are foremost in the minds of the Zaytouna’s passengers. “We believe it is very possible that the Israelis will try to attack the boat again, because they did every single time we sent a boat to break the siege. They attacked it. Hijacked it. Stole everything on board. Kidnapped people on board. And behaved just like pirates on the high seas,” Léostic told The Electronic Intifada. “We hope that with women on board they [the Israeli navy] will be deterred from being so violent,” she added. “Maybe it’s just wishful thinking, but their image is so important for them. So if they’re seen attacking a women’s boat, ill-treating them, maybe beating them as they did for all the others, their image will be catastrophic. So that could be a deterrent.” Léostic said there was no evidence of sabotage on the Amal, now back in Barcelona [and replaced by the Amal II]. However, Ann Wright, a veteran of previous flotillas and a boat leader on the Zaytouna, said that threat is being taken seriously. “We’ve had guards on the boats all the time, since … Barcelona. There’s been someone on the boats 24 hours a day.”….
https://electronicintifada.net/content/womens-boat-gaza-ready-break-blockade/18081
Women’s Boat to Gaza diary / Leigh-Ann Naidoo, South Africa
MEMO 26 Sept — …The contradictions and inequalities in South Africa remain extreme, but I know that when I get on a plane tonight, I start my journey to one of the most violent and oppressed places on the planet. My phone keeps ringing for media comments on the question of whether free higher education is possible. I agree to squeeze in a trip to the SABC offices to record an interview to be aired on the evening news when I will be in the air. I don’t have a TV at home but catch a glimpse of the news at the studio. It is being reported that a few hundred people have died in the Mediterranean Sea trying to flee to a better life in Europe. In a few days I will be on that beautiful and ghastly, ghostly sea where so many thousands have died, have been left to die, have been killed. I rush home to pack. I must pack only things that I am okay not to return with. I must pack things that won’t come back. I have packed many times. Traveled many times. But never have I packed not to bring back. Never have I packed with the possibility of not coming back. Apparently freedom flotillas heading for the Gaza Strip get attacked. Well, to put it bluntly, humanitarian and solidarity flotillas are mostly attacked….
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20160926-womens-boat-to-gaza-diary/
Monkey dies on way from Gaza to West Bank
RAMALLAH (GulfNews) 29 Sept — It was attacked by other monkeys crammed into small cages as per Israeli instructions — A monkey from an animal shipment transported on Monday from the Gaza Strip to Tulkarem in the West Bank was bitten to death by other monkeys in small cages provided by the Israeli occupation authorities. According to Ayman Kharbat, the owner of Al Nakheel Zoo which received a dozen monkeys and two turtles from Rafah Zoo, the Israelis allowed the animals to remain in their original cages from Gaza until the shipment reached the Beit Hanon crossing (Erez Crossing) where the Israelis instructed officials to cram the animals into tiny cages. “The Israelis shockingly crammed the shipment in tiny cages where the monkeys which belong to two different families were left covered in faeces of other creatures,” he told Gulf News. “When the shipment arrived in Tulkarem, the vets found that the animals were suffering severe exhaustion and distress from the transport conditions imposed by the Israelis.” “Just a few hours later, one monkey who suffered multiple and serious bites from other monkeys was found dead inside the cage. Israeli conditions have led to the unnecessary death of the animal,” he said. “The Palestinian officials were suddenly instructed by the Israeli authorities on the Erez Crossing to find an alternative way as the Gazan cages were not allowed to enter the West Bank via Israel.”