Violence / Detention — West Bank / Jerusalem
‘Young lives taken too soon’: Activists dedicate memorial to Tamir Rice in ‘Aida refugee camp
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 3 Dec by Yumna Patel — In the span of one year, a 12- and a 13-year-old boy were shot and killed by armed authorities — one in the occupied West Bank, and one in the city of Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States. Their names were Abd al-Rahman Obeidallah, 13, and Tamir Rice, 12, and on Friday, a memorial was enshrined in their honor in the ‘Aida refugee camp — where Obeidallah was born, raised, and killed — in the southern occupied West bank city of Bethlehem. Tamir Rice, an African American child, was shot by local Ohio police on November 22, 2014 while playing alone with his toy gun in a park in Cleveland. Within seconds of arriving on the scene to reports of a juvenile playing with what the caller reported was “probably a fake gun,” police officers shot Rice in the chest. He was pronounced dead a day later. Almost one year later, on October 5 2015, Abd al-Rahman Obeidallah was shot in the chest by Israeli forces as he walked home from school during clashes in the Aida refugee camp. He was taken to the hospital, but was pronounced dead shortly thereafter. Israeli authorities later said his death was “a mistake.” Neither the American police officers nor the Israeli soldiers who killed Rice and Obeidallah were indicted for killing the boys. “We are dedicating this memorial in honor of two young lives that have been snuffed out unjustly,” said Reverend Graylan Hagler, who came with members of his congregation from Washington D.C. to dedicate the memorial inside the Aida playground, built by the NGO Playgrounds for Palestine….
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=774241
Israeli border police shoot, injure Palestinian worker near Bethlehem
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 1 Dec — A Palestinian worker was shot and injured by Israeli border police in the occupied West Bank district of Bethlehem as he was reportedly trying to cross into Israel early on Thursday. A spokesman for the Israeli border police told Ma‘an that Israeli forces stationed at the Mazmoriya checkpoint noticed a “suspicious” man trying to cross the separation barrier between the West Bank and Israel. A border police officer then shot a “non-lethal bullet” into the Palestinian man’s left leg, the spokesperson added, stating that Israeli forces provided the man first aid before he was taken to a hospital. The Palestinian Red Crescent told Ma‘an that the Palestinian man [IMEMC: Mousa Dababseh], a 28-year-old resident of the Hebron-area village of Yatta, was injured by live ammunition in the left knee, and taken to a governmental hospital in Beit Jala for treatment. The man was reportedly in a stable condition, the Red Crescent said.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=774222
Israeli army injures 50 Palestinians in Abu Dis
IMEMC 30 Nov — Israeli soldiers invaded, on Wednesday evening, Abu Dis town, southeast of occupied East Jerusalem, and clashed with many Palestinians near Abu Dis University, leading to the injury of 50 Palestinians, including ten who were shot with rubber-coated steel bullets. The Palestinian Red Crescent said its medics provided the needed treatment to 39 Palestinians, who suffered the severe effects of teargas inhalation, 10 who were shot with rubber-coated steel bullets, and one who suffered burns in his arm. Lawyer Bassam Bahar, the head of Abu Dis Land Defense Committee, said dozens of soldiers invaded the town, and surrounded Al-Quds Abu Dis University, before stopping many Palestinians and investigating their ID cards. Bahar added that the invasion led to clashes between the soldiers, who fired dozens of rubber-coated steel bullets, gas bombs and concussion grenades, and local youngsters, who hurled stones and empty bottles at them.
http://imemc.org/article/israeli-army-injures-50-palestinians-in-abu-dis/
Israeli settlers assault 55-year-old Palestinian near Nablus
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 2 Dec — A Palestinian man was assaulted by Israeli settlers on Friday near the al-Sawiya village south of Nablus in the northern occupied West Bank. Palestinian security sources told Ma‘an that Issa Saleh Muhammad Saleh, 55, from al-Sawiya was taken to the Rafidiya Hospital in Nablus City after being beaten by four Israeli settlers at an intersection near al-Sawiya. It remained unclear the degree to which Saleh was injured. A spokesperson from the Coordination of Government Affairs in the Territories (COGAT), the group responsible for implementing the Israeli government’s policies in the occupied West Bank, was not immediately available for comment. The Palestinian government has no jurisdiction over Israelis in the West Bank, and violent acts carried out by Israeli settlers often occur in the presence of Israeli military forces, who rarely act to protect Palestinian residents.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=774240
Israeli soldiers abduct eleven Palestinians in the West Bank
IMEMC 29 Nov — Israeli soldiers abducted, on Tuesday at dawn, at least eleven Palestinians in various district in the occupied West Bank, during extensive military invasions and searches of homes, the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) said. The PPS office in Salfit district, in central West Bank, said the soldiers abducted Mustafa Abdul-‘Aziz Mer’ey, Mo’men Jamal Mer’ey, Ahmad Harb Rayyan, Othman ‘Aassi, and Bilal ‘Aassi. It is worth mentioning that Othman is the son of Mahmoud ‘Aassi, while Bilal is the son of Ali ‘Aassi, who were both killed by the Israeli army 2008. In Ramallah, the soldiers abducted Mohammad Rezeq Hamed, from Silwad town, east of the city. In Nablus, in the northern part of the West Bank, the soldiers abducted Abada Mohammad Shehada, from ‘Orif town. In the southern West Bank district, the soldiers abducted Monatser Wajeeh Abu Ayyash, from Beit Ummar town, north of Hebron city, in addition to Mahmoud ‘Atef Masalma, Malek Mohammad Masalma and Baha’ Mohammad al-Ka’bi, from Beit ‘Awwa town, southeast of Hebron
http://imemc.org/article/israeli-soldiers-abduct-eleven-palestinians-in-the-west-bank/
Israeli forces detain 16 Palestinians, including 7 minors, in overnight raids
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 30 Nov — Israeli forces detained at least 16 Palestinians, including seven minors, during overnight raids between Tuesday and Wednesday across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, according to Israeli and Palestinian sources. According to a statement released by the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS), a 14-year-old Palestinian child was detained by Israeli forces from the city of Jerusalem on Tuesday. However, no further details were provided on the circumstances of the detention. Israeli forces also detained seven Palestinians from the Ramallah al-Bireh district on Tuesday, identified by PPS as Muhammad Nassal al-Amir, 12, Rami Thib Saleh, 12, and his brother Luay, 12, in addition to Khader Abd al-Hafith al-Tamimi, 19, Muhammad Jamal al-Tamimi, 21, all from the town of Deir Nitham, and Luay Abd al-Rahman Solh, 24, and Imad Wajih Saleh, 27, at the Attara checkpoint. In the northern West Bank, Israeli forces detained a Palestinian from the Tulkarem district, identified by PPS as Bahaa al-Din Nathmi Jayyusi, 53, while Muhammad Moussa Yassin was detained in Jenin. Meanwhile, in the southern West Bank district of Hebron, at least six Palestinians were detained, including three minors. An Israeli army spokesperson told Ma‘an that four Palestinians were detained from the al-‘Arrub refugee camp, while two more were detained in Hebron city….
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=774197
Israeli forces detain 12 Palestinians in Qalqiliya, Jerusalem district raids
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 1 Dec — Israeli forces detained at least 12 Palestinians during overnight raids between Wednesday and Thursday in the occupied West Bank districts of Jerusalem and Qalqiliya, Palestinian and Israeli sources said. According to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS), a total of seven Palestinians were detained in the Jerusalem district. Two of the Palestinians were identified as Muhammad Ahmad Attun, the 16-year-old son of Palestinian Legislative Council member Ahmad Attun, and Muhammad Mahmoud Attun, 19. Locals said that the two were detained during a raid in the neighborhood of Sur Bahir. The Attun family said that Israeli forces escorted by police dogs broke into MP Attun’s home, breaking the front door and assaulting Attun’s teenage son Muhammad before detaining him … Meanwhile, five Palestinians were detained in the village of Azzun in the Qalqiliya district, identified by PPS as Fahd al-Sheikh, Alaa al-Sheikh, Mahdi al-Sheikh, Anas Issa, and Abed Issa … In the southern West Bank village of Beit Ummar, local activist Muhammad Ayyad Awwad said that Israeli forces raided the home of Bassam Badawi Ikhleil, locking ten family members in one room for more than an hour while they searched the house. Awwad said that the soldiers ultimately left without finding anything.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=774226
Army abducts four Palestinians near Ramallah
IMEMC 3 Dec –Israeli soldiers invaded, earlier Friday, the town of Silwad, east of the central West Bank city of Ramallah, searched homes and abducted one Palestinian. The army also invaded Rommana village, west of Jenin, in the northern part of the West Bank. Media sources in Ramallah said the soldiers invaded, and violently searched many homes in Silwad town, and abducted Malek Maher Hamed, Taher Najjar, Najdat Zibin and Mohannad Shebrawi. The soldiers also surrounded several buildings, and shops, before breaking into them and searching them. In addition, several army jeeps invaded Rommana village, close to the Annexation Wall, west of Jenin, and provocatively drove in its alleys, and streets. The invasion did not lead to clashes or abductions, and the soldiers withdrew shortly after invading the village.
http://imemc.org/article/army-abducts-four-palestinians-near-ramallah/
Prisoners / Court actions
Palestinian hunger strikers reject deal offered by Israeli prosecution
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 3 Dec — Hunger strikers Anas Shadid and Ahmad Abu Farah rejected a deal offered by the Israeli prosecution that guaranteed the imprisoned Palestinians would be released after a renewed four months on their administrative detention — an Israeli policy of internment without charge or trial based on undisclosed evidence, according to a statement released Friday by the Palestinian Committee of Prisoners’ Affairs. The committee said that Shadid, 20 and Abu Farah, 29, who have been on hunger strike for 70 and 71 days, respectively, rejected the deal that would see their administrative detention renewed for another four months, but with a guarantee of release at its conclusion. The hunger strikers reiterated their commitment to continue their hungers strikes until they are completely released from administrative detention, according to the committee … The Palestinian Committee of Prisoners’ Affairs stated last month that both had slipped into a coma and have partially or completely lost their ability to breath, speak, drink, and hear. The committee also warned that Israeli authorities had threatened to force feed both hunger strikers. Meanwhile, the head of the Israeli medical center where they have been treated warned of the increasing risk of “sudden death.”
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=774244
Palestinian prisoner declares 4th hunger strike in Israeli prison
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 30 Nov — Palestinian prisoner Kifah Hattab, 53, entered the eighth day of a hunger strike on Wednesday in the latest of a series of hunger strikes launched by the prisoner who has demanded to be considered a prisoner of war in accordance with the Fourth Geneva Convention, according to a statement released by the Palestinian Committee of Prisoners’ Affairs. On Nov. 23, Hattab launched a hunger strike after being transferred to Israel’s Nafha prison a week earlier, as he refused to wear his prisoner uniform or stand in line for the daily prisoners’ count, according to the committee. He has continued to demand that Israeli authorities acknowledge him as a prisoner of war. Hattab, from the city of Tulkarem in the occupied West Bank, is a captain pilot in the Palestinian Authority and has been held in Israeli prison since 2003, when he was sentenced to two life sentences for alleged involvement in an armed organization during the Second Intifada. The committee added that this was not Hattab’s first hunger strike and that the prisoner had launched three strikes in the past in order to be acknowledged as a prisoner of war. Earlier this year, Hattab launched a 50-day hunger strike, eventually ending his strike after meeting with a lawyer who had arranged for several of Hattab’s demands to be met by the Israel Prison Service….
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=774201
Palestinian prisoner announces boycott of Israeli military courts
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 3 Dec — A Palestinian held in Israeli prison announced that he would boycott the Israeli military courts after being sentenced to six months of administrative detention — an Israeli policy of internment without charge or trial based on undisclosed evidence, according to a statement released Friday by the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS). PPS said that Muhammad Ahmad al-Najjar, 32, a husband and father of two from the al-Fawwar refugee camp in the southern occupied West Bank district of Hebron, declared the boycott after being sentenced to a six month stay in Israeli prison without charge or trial. Israeli forces detained al-Najjar on Nov. 17 after assaulting and beating him on his face and stomach, according to PPS. Al-Najjar is a former prisoner and has been detained eight times, spending at least six years in Israeli prisons, PPS said, while also heading a local youth group aimed at supporting Palestinian prisoners. A long line of Palestinian prisoners before al-Najjar have also boycotted the Israeli military courts in order to challenge the legitimacy of a court system that many consider to be a violent apparatus of the nearly half century occupation of the Palestinian territory, routinely shaped by mass detention campaigns and the holding of Palestinian prisoners without charge. Back in 2012, Osama Saadat, the imprisoned General-Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), was one notable Palestinian who refused to acknowledge any legitimacy in the Israeli military court system, as he stated throughout his trial that he did not recognize the court as a legitimate authority in Palestine, and refused to answer the judge’s questions….
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=774238
Israel sentences Palestinian woman to 7 months in prison after year of house arrest
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 1 Dec, updated 3 Dec — An Israeli magistrate court Thursday sentenced a Palestinian woman to seven months of prison and banned her from entering the city of Jerusalem for three years, following an 11 months stay under Israeli-imposed house arrest. The Wadi Hilweh Information center, based in the Silwan neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem, told Ma‘an that the Israeli judge sentenced Shifa al-Shaludi to seven months of prison and a five-month suspended sentence for attempting to assault an Israeli police officer and illegally residing in the city of Jerusalem. Al-Shaludi holds a West Bank ID and has been residing in East Jerusalem with her husband and four children for 18 years under the “family reunification” status in Israel. However, Israeli forces cancelled her permit as a result of a security ban that would restrict her from entering Jerusalem for three years. The center added that al-Shaludi was initially detained in October last year when Israeli soldiers raided her home in Silwan. Al-Shaludi spent 40 days in Israeli prison, but was released on bail and sentenced to house arrest during her legal proceedings. She was presented to the court several times over the past months, while her sentence was officially issued against her on Thursday. Al-Shaludi, who had already spent 11 months under house arrest, would turn herself in to prison, the center said Meanwhile, al-Shaludi’s son, Fadi was also detained and had spent seven months under house arrest before being transferred to a prison for 100 days, while her other son Samer also spent seven months in prison. However, the reasons for their detentions remained unknown.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=774230
Israel sentences 3 Palestinians with Israeli citizenship to prison for supporting ISIS
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 1 Dec — Israeli authorities Thursday sentenced three Palestinians with Israeli citizenship to prison for supporting the Islamic State group (ISIS) and planning an Islamic State cell in Israel. According to the Israeli news outlet Ynet, Ahmed Khalil, 27, from Nazareth; Mohammad Sharif, 23, from Nazareth; and Hamed Ghazaleh, 24, from Yafa an-Naseriyye were indicted by an Israeli court on charges of “forming an unlawful association, having contact with a foreign agent, conspiring to commit a crime and planning to form an ISIS cell in Israel.” Sharif and Ghazaleh were both sentenced to five years in prison by a Nazareth District Court, while Khalil, who has already been serving a life sentence since 2010 for murder, was given an additional two-and-a-half years behind bars, Ynet reported. On Wednesday, Israeli authorities announced that a Palestinian minor with Israeli citizenship was also detained by Israeli forces over suspicions of supporting ISIS and planning to cross into Syria to join the group. Last month, a Palestinian from the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip died while fighting with ISIS in Sirte, Libya, according to local Palestinian sources who identified the man as Muhammad Adel al-Zamli Abu Moyad….
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=774229
Gaza
Palestinian injured by Israeli army fire in Gaza
IMEMC 3 Dec — On Friday, Israeli soldiers stationed behind the border fence east of Gaza fired many live rounds, rubber-coated steel bullets and gas bombs at Palestinians protesting close to the fence east of Gaza city, moderately wounding one Palestinian with a live round in his head. The soldiers, stationed at the Nahal Oz military base across the border fence, fired many live rounds at the Palestinian protesters, wounding a young man in the head, before local medics moved him to the Shifa Hospital, in Gaza. Medical sources said the young man is currently in a moderate condition, at the Intensive Care Unit. They added that many Palestinians suffered the effects of teargas inhalation, and received the needed treatment by field medics. In addition, several Palestinians were injured after the soldiers, stationed on military towers, east of the al-Boreij refugee camp, in central Gaza, fired many live rounds and gas bombs at them.
http://imemc.org/article/palestinian-injured-by-israeli-army-fire-in-gaza/
Israeli army carries out a limited invasion into southern Gaza
IMEMC 29 Nov — Several armored Israeli military vehicles, and bulldozers, invaded on Tuesday morning Palestinian agricultural lands, close to the border fence, in Rafah, in the southern part of the coastal region. Eyewitnesses said at least five armored bulldozers, and several vehicles, invaded the lands, east of Rafah city, while military drones hovered overhead. They added that the invading vehicles came from Sofa Israeli military base, close to the border fence.
http://imemc.org/article/israeli-army-carries-out-a-limited-invasion-into-southern-gaza-2/
Israeli navy opens fire on Palestinian fishing boats in northern Gaza
IMEMC 30 Nov –Israeli navy ships opened fire, on Wednesday at dawn, on several Palestinian fishing boats, in the Sudaniyya Sea area, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. Eyewitnesses said the navy fired many live rounds, and used loud speakers ordering the fishing back to the shore. The attack caused no damage or injuries, but forced the fishers to leave without being able to fish.
http://imemc.org/article/israeli-navy-opens-fire-on-palestinian-fishing-boats-in-northern-gaza/
Israel allows entry of several trucks carrying car parts, oil into Gaza
GAZA (Ma‘an) 2 Dec — Several trucks carrying used and new cars parts, wheels, and mineral oil passed into the besieged Gaza Strip on Thursday through the Karem Abu Salem crossing, according to Gaza’s transportation ministry. Head of the ministry’s technical affairs sector Muhammad al-Kahlout said in a statement that for three months until Thursday, the Israeli government had been banning the import of used car parts from Israel into Gaza, which is much cheaper than importing from abroad. “The Israeli occupation deliberately tightens the siege on Gaza Strip by denying the entry of necessary materials into the Gaza Strip,” al-Kahlout said.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=774235
72 hours in the Gaza Strip
Physicians for Human Rights 29 Nov — Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (PHRI) struggles to maintain channels of communication with the Gaza Strip in the hope of making a crack in the wall of indifference to its residents’ fate. This effort has two main features: one is receiving requests from patients who need exit permits from the Gaza Strip to receive advanced care that is not available in hospitals in the Gaza Strip. The other is the entrance into Gaza of physicians from PHRI’s mobile clinic to perform surgery on patients, while simultaneously providing current and advanced training to Gaza physicians, who are prevented from leaving it for training abroad, as well as bringing in equipment and medications that are lacking in the Gaza Strip. PHRI’s mobile clinic entered the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, November 23, for a three-day visit. During that time PHRI physicians worked in five hospitals functioning in conditions of chronic crisis, which plagues the entire Palestinian healthcare system in the Gaza Strip. Examination and treatment of 600 patients: Our physicians operated in five hospitals: the European Hospital in Khan Yunis, Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, Rantisi Hospital, Shifa Hospital, and the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahia, as well as the Basmat Amal Association for Cancer Care. In the course of the visit we examined more than 600 patients, children and adults, in the areas of cancer, nephrology, internal medicine, neurology, orthopedics, gastroenterology and diabetes. The encounter with the patients highlighted the critical shortage of diagnostic medical equipment, which prevents speedy and effective diagnosis. Furthermore, many patients are denied consistent pharmaceutical treatment due to the constant shortage of medications. This shortage is particularly noteworthy in the case of cancer patients but also affects diabetics. Surgery: Seven complex surgeries were performed on patients who were awaiting the PHRI physicians, some after being denied exit permits from the Gaza Strip. To that end we brought in vital medical equipment, without which we could not have performed the surgeries….
http://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/72-hours-gaza-strip
Turkish call to drop Gaza ship case against Israelis
ISTANBUL (AFP) 3 Dec — A Turkish prosecutor on Friday called for charges related to a deadly Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound ship to be dropped following diplomatic reconciliation between Turkey and Israel, state media reported. Nine Turkish activists died when Israeli marines stormed the Mavi Marmara as it headed to the Gaza Strip in 2010, and a 10th died in hospital in 2014. The raid triggered a crisis in relations, with both countries withdrawing their respective ambassadors from the country capitals, though diplomatic ties were never fully severed. The bitter rift came to an end in June this year after they held long-running secret talks in third countries with Israel offering an apology over the raid and $20 million in compensation. On Friday the prosecutor told an Istanbul court that the case against the Israeli individuals should be dropped because of the agreement, state-run news agency Anadolu said. Prosecutors had been seeking life sentences for the alleged involvement of former military chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi, former navy chief Eliezer Marom, former military intelligence head Amos Yadlin and former air force intelligence chief Avishai Levy, who went on trial in absentia in 2012. The demand is likely to anger families and lawyers, who told AFP in October they had no intention of dropping the lawsuits despite the deal. One of the final key elements of returning to normal relations was the exchange of ambassadors, which will formally take place this month.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1018771/middle-east
Gazans hope Coca-Cola plant refreshes economy
AFP 1 Dec — The head of the Gaza Strip’s first Coca-Cola plant said Thursday he hoped the venture would send a “message to investors” that the beleaguered Palestinian enclave was open for business. “It’s a message to a lot of investors and global companies that investments in Gaza can succeed,” said Yasser Arafat, Gaza manager of Palestinian Coke franchisee National Beverage Company (NBC). “If we can move away from fear we can reduce unemployment,” he told AFP. A few hundred metres (yards) from the border with Israel the new $20 million (19-million euro) bottling facility formally opened Wednesday. It will provide around 120 jobs immediately, Coca-Cola said, with an eventual expansion to 270. In Gaza, blockaded by Israel for nearly a decade, the launch is the result of years of work and was hailed as a rare positive moment for the ailing economy. “It is wonderful that an international company opened a branch in Gaza,” said Samir Skaik, who works in tourism, hoping it will encourage more investment. The 15,000 square-metre site was a hive of activity Thursday, with forklift trucks shuffling crates of bottles to and fro. Marcel Abu Shadaq, in his 20s, said the plant’s opening “helps a lot of young people in the current circumstances to gain a source of income and end the frustration.” Opening a new business in Gaza brings with it a “unique” set of challenges, Arafat admitted….
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/afp/2016/12/palestinians-gaza-israel-trade-conflict.html
Gaza farmers set to export strawberries to Europe
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 30 Nov — Following a decision by Israeli authorities to allow Gaza farmers to export their strawberries to European countries, Palestinian farmers across the besieged enclave have begun to harvest their strawberries for export, Gaza’s Ministry of Agriculture told Ma‘an on Wednesday. The ministry’s director of marketing, Tahsin al-Saqqa, said that the strawberries would necessitate a certificate from the ministry before they could be transported to Europe. The certificate is given after the ministry’s specialists confirm that the strawberries are free of any harmful chemical residue from pesticide use. The strawberries are expected to first be exported on Thursday. According to al-Saqqa, Gazan farmers are expected to produce some 1,500 tons of strawberries this season, while there are currently 600 dunams (150 acres) of land dedicated to strawberries in the small Palestinian enclave. Al-Saqqa highlighted that strawberry farmers used to produce an average of 7,000 tons of strawberries a year on 3,000 dunams of land (750 acres) in previous years, adding that planting 1,000 square meters of strawberries costs some $3,000. “If we can access the European market early in the season, farmers will reap benefits,” he added, noting that strawberries were also exported from Egypt and Morocco to the European markets. Earlier this month, an Israeli official said that the Israeli civil administration had initiated a project to facilitate the planting of strawberries by Palestinian farmers in collaboration with Agriculture Affairs Coordinator Samir Madi, Head of the Liaisons and Coordination Department Raim Falah, and USAID.The project had produced some 425 tons of strawberries, and generated an income of some 5 million shekels ($1,302,999) for Palestinian farmers participating in the project, according to the official.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=774212
Gaza media official: Israeli violations against journalists should be exposed
MEMO 2 Dec — The head of the media office in the Gaza Strip, Salameh Maarouf, has called for Israel’s crimes and aggressions against journalists in the occupied Palestinian territories to be internationalised. In remarks to Quds Press yesterday, Marouf said the Israeli occupation’s crimes against Palestinian journalists are continuing and escalating, calling for Israeli leaders to be tried before international courts. According to Maarouf, Israeli forces imprisoned 25 journalists; seven of them received sentences while another seven are being held in administrative detention. He stressed the need to ensure journalists’ right to work freely and provide protection to them. “The Israeli occupation’s targeting of the Palestinian media comes in the context of a systematic and deliberate policy to blur the truth about Israel’s brutal crimes in the Palestinian territories,” he said. According to the official, the Israeli forces committed 48 violations against press and media freedoms in the Palestinian territories in November, including the arrest of three journalists in the occupied West Bank. “The Israeli forces have also committed seven violations against detained journalists while forcing three of them to pay fines to release them. They also threatened to shut down the personal Facebook page of one journalist and prevented four journalists from travel,” he added.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20161202-gaza-media-official-israeli-violations-against-journalists-should-be-exposed/
Meet Gaza’s female geeks
GAZA CITY (Al Jazeera) 30 Nov by Hunter Stuart — Joumana Sroor learned how to code at the age of 12. By 15, she and a team of three other girls in Gaza had built a prototype for a web application called Early Alert, which notifies users of traffic, crowds, accidents or crimes happening near them. Although Sroor says she does not always find encouragement for her technological pursuits in Gaza, there is one place where she feels at home: A seed accelerator and workspace in Gaza City’s bustling al-Rimal neighbourhood called Gaza Sky Geeks. “The people here are like my second family,” Sroor told Al Jazeera inside the loft-like space, amid the buzz of dozens of Palestinian designers, developers and freelancers who work here daily. The organisation, founded in 2011 with a $900,000 grant from Google, provides mentorship and support to startups in Gaza to help to grow the territory’s nascent tech industry. Since 2013, four companies that went through the Gaza Sky Geeks “incubation” process secured investments ranging from $30,000 to $65,000, the accelerator’s social media coordinator, Dalia Shurrab, told Al Jazeera. Gaza Sky Geeks is now focusing on bringing more girls and women into the fold. Currently, about half of the founders of the startup companies that Gaza Sky Geeks mentors are women, said Rana Alqrenawi, who is in charge of the organisation’s female-centred programmes. The goal is to get to 80 percent, she said, in an effort to overcompensate for the current gender gap in the tech world. Recently, the organisation has been supporting the participation of girls from Gaza in a global contest called the “Technovation Challenge”, designed to introduce young women to coding – and it is here where Sroor and her team created the prototype for Early Alert….
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/10/meet-gaza-female-geeks-161008133544403.html
Muscle men ring up dollars with Gaza private security firms
GAZA (Reuters) 1 Dec — Trained in martial arts and firearms, their muscled physiques bursting out of tight t-shirts, young men in Gaza are increasingly finding work with private security firms retained by banks, local celebrities and international visitors. Three private security companies are now competing in Gaza, offering protection for high-profile Arab and Western delegations or cautious businessmen shifting goods and cash around the fenced-in territory. While Hamas, the Islamist group that has run Gaza since 2007, has its own armed units to protect international visitors, it does not object to competition from private companies, as long as they coordinate with the authorities. Akram Al-Balawi, who runs the Castle Security Company, said he had 6,000 applicants when he announced he was hiring. He snapped up 65 men. “Our staff are carefully selected, they are body-built, highly educated and with good manners,” said Balawi, sitting in his office in the heart of Gaza City. “They are not affiliated with political factions.” While Hamas maintains tight security in Gaza, where around two million Palestinians live, there are occasional skirmishes among militant factions and some criminal activity….
http://www.voanews.com/a/muscle-men-rin-gup-dollars-gaza-private-security-firms/3619391.html
Analysis // Gaza war report set to worsen Netanyahu’s dark autumn
Haaretz 2 Dec by Amos Harel — Israel’s submarine affair and the forest fires over the past two weeks have pushed to the sidelines a key event. The almost-final draft of the state comptroller’s report on the 2014 Gaza war was sent to the officials who led Israel in that conflict. The draft contains several significant changes in the way the war is described and in the conclusions drawn. When the final version is published, probably later this month, it will contain plenty of explosive material. It was no coincidence that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu devoted much of his long round of press briefings last summer to attempts to undermine State Comptroller Joseph Shapira. The final version – the subjects were requested to respond by Monday – reveals that Netanyahu failed in his efforts. The comptroller once again adopts the stance of Education Minister Naftali Bennett in his clash with Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon. Shapira and his defense affairs chief, Brig. Gen. (res.) Yossi Beinhorn, say the cabinet learned belatedly and partially about Hamas’ tunnel threat from Gaza. And while in the previous version Netanyahu’s responsibility was never directly mentioned, this time Netanyahu and Ya’alon receive sharper criticism. In fact the comptroller, in an unusual step, makes three personal remarks about Netanyahu’s performance….
http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.756402
PFLP dedicates a ‘house of mourning’ in Gaza to the late Fidel Castro
GAZA (Ma‘an) 2 Dec — The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a secular left-wing political group, opened a “house of mourning” on Thursday in Gaza for the late Cuban President Fidel Castro who passed away last week at the age of 90. Kayed al-Ghoul, a member of the PFLP’s central committee, told Ma‘an that Castro’s death was a “huge loss for the Palestinian people and for humanity,” adding that Castro was the most important revolutionary leader who consistently supported the Palestinian struggle. He said that “the people who failed to assassin Castro when he was alive, are now trying to kill him after his death,” referencing the media’s negative treatment of Castro’s legacy since his death, particularly in the United States media. Al-Ghoul highlighted that the mourning house was created to “honor the soul” of Castro, saying that it was “the least they could do” after Castro’s sustained support of the Palestinian people throughout the previous decades. The Palestinian cause was a central issue during the whole of Castro’s political life. Diplomatic ties between Cuba and Palestine began in the same year that Castro became prime minister in 1959 following the Cuban revolution, when Raul Castro and Che Guevara visited the Gaza Strip….
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=774234
Wildfires
One week later: Where is the evidence of an ‘arson intifada’?
+972 mag 2 Dec by Haggai Matar — Now that the rain has started pouring, bringing an end to the wildfire season, it is imperative that we stop and look back at just what happened last week — before everything is forgotten. Or worse: before everything that happened is remembered as a story of terrorist attacks by Arab citizens against Jews. Only a week ago did Israel’s biggest media outlets publish headlines such as “The arson intifada” (Ynet), “A wave of arsons” (Yedioth Ahronoth), and “Dozens of fire attacks” (Makor Rishon). Ministers competed over who could most harshly condemn the supposed arsonists and with proposed laws, including the usual calls for demolishing homes and revoking citizenship. Social media was full of calls for revenge, which were then given full backing by MK Oren Hazan (Likud), when he stood before the Knesset Wednesday, lit a lighter and said [Hebrew]: “It is time that we give them what they deserve… an eye for an eye is not something far from reality.” Last Friday the police made a relatively unusual political announcement, calling on the Arab leadership to work and put an end to the arsons. This, after Joint List MKs and mayors of Arab towns and cities made clear that there is no place for sweeping accusations against Arabs until the fires were proven to be the result of arson. Arab leaders, suffice it to say, issued condemnations ahead of time. Even the Palestinian Authority sent eight fire trucks to help put out the flames. But what do we actually know about this wave of wildfires? We know that there were 1773 different fires according to the Israel Fire and Rescue Services. The police were called to 90 of these “events,” 40 of which were investigated for a number of crimes (including negligence, as well as arson and attempted arson). The Israel Tax Authority announced that nine of the fires will be counted as nationalistically motived arsons, yet the police and the Fire and Rescue Services were quick to respond that Authority’s list was not based on facts, and that there is no way to prove that any of those nine fires were the result of arson….
http://972mag.com/one-week-later-where-is-the-evidence-for-an-arson-intifada/123449/
Blaming Palestinians for fires part of Netanyahu’s ‘strategy of incitement’
EI 29 Nov by Ali Abunimah — Palestinians, including Palestinian citizens of Israel, are being blamed for recent wildfires as part of the Israeli government’s deliberate strategy of incitement, a leading rights group has said. “Senior Israeli government officials – including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – continue to make inflammatory statements that lay much of the blame for the recent tragic fires in the Haifa and Jerusalem areas on Palestinian citizens of Israel,” Adalah, a legal advocacy group that defends the rights of Palestinians in the country, told The Electronic Intifada. “This rhetoric is a continuation of the Netanyahu government’s ongoing strategy of incitement against Arab citizens of Israel, and its portrayal of them as a fifth column,” Adalah added. “The government’s legislative agenda also mirrors its incendiary speech with the passage of new racist laws, most recently the Expulsion Law which seeks to illegally kick Arab members of the Knesset out of the parliament.” Over the last week, Israel struggled to gain control of wildfires amid tinder dry weather conditions that forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate their homes. Top politicians immediately cast blame on Palestinians. Education minister Naftali Bennett declared that “only someone who this land does not belong to would be capable of setting fire to it,” a comment that The Times of Israel estimated was “aimed at Palestinians and/or members of Israel’s Arab community.” Netanyahu and public security minister Gilad Erdan suggested the fires were a form of “terrorism.” … But as an analysis in the Tel Aviv newspaper Haaretz noted, Netanyahu’s declarations appeared to be a tactic to shift blame for his government’s incompetence in bringing the fires under control….
https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/blaming-palestinians-fires-part-netanyahus-strategy-incitement
Tax Authority, police clash over cause of fires
JPost 30 Nov by Michael Zeff & Eliyahu Kamisher — While the Tax Authority concluded Tuesday that the majority of fires that blazed over the course of a week were the result of arson, police disputed this ruling. The Tax Authority published its list of places whose residents are eligible for compensation by the state. These are Haifa, Zichron Yaakov, Moshav Tal-El, Nataf, Dolev, Talmon, Nirit, Gilon and Halamish. According to the authority, the appropriate agencies concluded that the fires in these areas are all a result of acts of hostility. “According to the accumulated information we got from the Fire and Rescue Authority and Israel Police, the conclusion is that the aforementioned places fell victim to deliberate arson suspected of being an act of hostility,” stated the Tax Authority. Israel Police, however, criticized the authority’s report. According to a source who spoke with Channel 2, the authority’s decision to include Haifa on the list did not rely on police opinion. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld declined to comment on the Tax Authority report, however, he said police are still conducting numerous arson investigations … The Fire and Rescue Authority stated Monday that only about 25 out of the week’s 1,773 fires are due to suspected arson at this point. The authority added that 13 fires in the West Bank were a result of deliberate arson, including in Halamish, Dolev and Talmon.
http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Tax-Authority-police-clash-over-cause-of-fires-474027
Israel fires: Arabs donate wood to rebuild Haifa synagogue
MEE 2 Dec — Arab Israelis are donating timber to help rebuild a synagogue after it suffered extensive damage when wildfires ripped through much of Israel last week. Walid Abu Ahmed and Ziad Yunis, who work in the timber supply trade, are donating wood and labour free of charge to help rebuild the Conservative Moriah synagogue, in the south of the mixed port city of Haifa. Moriah, the only Conservative synagogue in Israel, was nearly destroyed when forest fires engulfed much of Israel’s third biggest city last week. The synagogue’s rabbi, Dov Hayun, said that there would have been “nothing left” of the building had firefighters arrived just two minutes later. Some of the building’s structure survived, but about 4,000 books were turned to ash by the blaze. Hayon, who is in charge of the reconstruction efforts, had asked Abu Ahmed for a quote for what will likely be a costly project – but was shocked when the merchants offered their services free of charge. “I had tears in my eyes when I heard what was happening,” Hayon told Israeli news site Ynet News.“It was so emotional to hear that Muslims were asking to donate to a Jewish synagogue. I’ve invited them to evening prayers to personally thank them,” he said. Commenting on his decision, Abu Ahmed said: “Jews and Arabs live together in Haifa. We must continue with this coexistence and promote peace. “We all want to live happy lives.” He added that Islam is a religion of forgiveness, after a tense week for Israel-Palestinian relations that has seen many of the fires blamed on Palestinian citizens of Israel.
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/arab-israelis-donate-wood-rebuild-haifa-synagogue-damaged-fire-737900437
Palestinian arrested for arson just burning agricultural trimmings
Ynet 2 Dec by Elior Levy — Jawad Qatush is released after five days in jail when authorities agree that the footage showing him lighting a fire was merely his regular burning of pruned branches outside his home — The Palestinian from Batir who was arrested after security cameras recorded him lighting a fire outside his village during the wave of fires across Israel last week was released on Friday. This came after all the involved parties reached an agreement that the man, Jawad Qatush, had no intention of committing deliberate arson and was not acting out of nationalistic motivations. Qatush belongs to a family of agriculturalists on the Refa’im River. On the day of his arrest, he had left his home and began weeding and pruning vegetation in a plot belonging to his family, a few dozen meters from his house. Once he had finished, he set fire to the pile of cuttings, as is his regular custom, but when he was documented by security cameras during the midst of a wave of fires, he was arrested on suspicion of attempting to carry out nationalistic arson. After five days of investigation, his lack of criminal motive was made clear, and the decision was taken to release him from jail. His lawyers commented, “Anyone who’s claiming that there’s an intifada of arsonists shouldn’t try to prove it by arresting innocent people.”
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4887473,00.html
Two youths suspected of lighting brush fire
Ynet 2 Dec by Hassan Shaalan & Ahiyeh Raved — An indictment has been filed against two 17-year-olds from the Arab village of Judeide Maker for allegedly lighting a brush fire at the height of the fires which were burning throughout Israel in November — The Haifa District Prosecutor’s Office has issued an indictment to the Juvenile magistrates court against two youths from the Arab village of Judeide Maker over a fire the two allegedly set in the Ahihud Wilderness last week. They will be in custody until the termination of the investigation. They are being accused of arson with no nationalistic motive … The indictment states that the two youths went to the wilderness area on November 27 and began to light matches. They then allegedly threw the still burning matches on a pile of dried leaves and branches, thus starting the wildfire. The fire caused damage to 15 trees and 80 square meters of land, amounting to approximately NIS 12,000 in damages. Police stated at a preliminary trial that a surveillance team was driving along route 70 when they saw a brush fire next to Yasif Interchange. They also saw a car pulling off the route which leads from the wilderness area where the fire was raging. The team stopped the vehicle, which carried six 17-year-olds from Judeide Maker. Firefighting aircraft were dispatched to the location and were able to put out the fire before it was able to spread. The six were transferred to the police station in Akko, and it was there that the decision was made to arrest them on suspicion of arson. Meanwhile on Thursday, an indictment was filed against Ali Mahajneh from Um al Fahm after he intentionally lit fires in forested areas and close to houses on the outskirts of the city. The prosecutor’s office claim that he has apologized for his actions and has expressed his regret for taking them.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4887538,00.html
Palestinian arrested on suspicion of starting Nataf fire
Ynet 30 Nov by Roi Yanovsky — Arrested suspect taken in for questioning by the Shin Bet on suspicion of hurling Molotov cocktails into Nataf in Jerusalem, precipitating a devastating fire which incinerated building structures and more than 25,000 dunams of forests; in separate incident, two teens from east Jerusalem arrested while setting fire to tires — …The suspect, from the Qatanna village in the West Bank, has been taken in for questioning by the Shin Bet. The arrest comes shortly after authorities announced that an investigation conducted by the Jerusalem Fire and Rescue Services revealed that the Nataf fire was indeed caused by the throwing of a Molotov cocktail from Qatanna, vindicating previously-stated suspicions of firefighters. During the investigation, remains of Molotov Cocktails were found in the area, while another one was found next to the security fence from where the fire services submitted that the conflagration had originated. In a separate incident on Tuesday, two 16-year-old teens from east Jerusalem were arrested after Border Police noticed them trying to set fire to a pile of tires near the Atarot industrial area. Noticing that the Israeli forces had caught them in the act, the teens attempted to flee, but were caught by the troops. During a search of the two individuals, the security personnel discovered a lighter and papers. Heightening their suspicion, their clothes also bore marks of a fire. Forces also found a pile of tree cuttings nearby. Later on in the day authorities announced that two Palestinians who were arrested on Friday on suspicion of setting fire to the Moshav of Beit Meir will be indicted for illegally residing in after a police investigation determined that they were not, in fact, responsible for the fire.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4886468,00.html
Land, property theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Judaization / Settlements
Israel plots largest settlement expansion in occupied Syrian Golan since 1980
Alternative Information Center 29 Nov — Al-Marsad:Arab Human Rights Center in the Golan announced, in a press release, that it has written to the European Union, European governments and the Permanent Members of the UN Security Council regarding Israel’s plans to expand Katrzin settlement and establish ‘Hermon National Park’ in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights. The Israeli Finance Ministry approved plans to build 1,600 additional settlement units in Katzrin in October. About 8,000 settlers live in Katzrin atop the destroyed Syrian villages of Qasrin, Shqef and Sanawber. It is the largest settlement in the occupied Syrian Golan. “This will be the largest expansion of an illegal Israeli settlement in the Occupied Syrian Golan since the 1980s,” a letter from Al-Marsad to the Delegation of the European Union to Israel reads. (map) Al-Marsad also calls attention to a second Israeli plan for the occupied Syrian Golan, called ‘Hermon National Park.’ The park depends on appropriating 25,000 acres (more than 82,000 dunams) of agricultural land used by residents of Majd al-Shams and Ein Qynia. Majd al-Shams stands to be particularly devastated by the plan: the park would surround the village from the north and west, thus prohibiting any future expansion of it and essentially besieging it. According to Al-Marsad, about 800 families living in Majd al-Shams are in urgent need of housing, but cannot secure an Israeli construction permit to build….
http://imemc.org/article/israel-plots-largest-settlement-expansion-in-occupied-syrian-golan-since-1980/
Analysis // Israel’s far-right minister’s brave pro-Bedouin revolution
Haaretz 1 Dec by Meirav Arlosoroff — 10 billion shekel plan by Uri Ariel, in conjunction with Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, calls for 25,000 housing units on state land to be given away – and that’s just for starters — …If Ariel’s plans flesh out, we will probably be indebted to him for changing the face of Israel for generations to come. In conjunction with Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, the agriculture minister is making bold decisions that are liable to draw much criticism. This time, though, the criticism will not be of the mocking variety, but rather based on extreme ideology coming from the heart of the population with which Ariel most identifies – the extreme right. Ariel, with Kahlon’s surprising support, is championing a five-year plan to develop the Bedouin community in Israel. The ambitious program would cost 3 billion shekels ($778 million) a year from the state budget and another 10 billion shekels from the Israel Land Authority, in an attempt to once and for all settle the Bedouin land dispute … Bedouin Development Authority officials believe that massive building would provide a housing solution for about half the residents of outlying Bedouin areas: 30,000 to 40,000 out of 80,000 living in unrecognized villages. They are also promising retroactive building permits for between 10,000 to 30,000 illegal units out of the 70,000-odd homes the Bedouin built in the region. The state hopes the Bedouin will demolish their ramshackle tin shacks following the plan, and instead build a legal structure with proper links to infrastructure and government services. The government hopes that through these moves it will regain the faith of Bedouin society, which has been alienated after decades of bitter land disputes and criminal neglect by the state.…
http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/business/.premium-1.755815
NGO: ‘Formalization bill’ would legalize 55 outposts, seize 8,000 dunums of Palestinian land
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 29 Nov — The eventual passage of the so-called “formalization bill” in Israel’s Knesset would lead to the retroactive legalization of 55 illegal settlement outposts in the occupied Palestinian territory and the confiscation of more than 8,000 dunams of land, rights group Peace Now said in a report released on Tuesday. The bill would see the legalization of Israeli outposts which are deemed illegal by both Israeli and international law, and would cause what the Israeli NGO called “grand land robbery.” All Israeli settlements and outposts in the occupied Palestinian territory are deemed illegal under international law. According to Peace Now, should the bill pass into law, 55 outposts composed built on 3,067 dunams (758 acres) of Palestinian land would become legal under international law. The bill would also legalize 3,125 housing units inside settlements already recognized by Israel and expropriate 5,014 dunams (1,239 acres) of private Palestinian land, the group added, highlighting that these were conservative estimates and that the amount of land confiscated would likely be greater as the bill would pave the way for furt