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Land, property theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Restrictions on movement
Israeli forces demolish mosque in Bedouin Negev village
BEERSHEBA (Ma‘an) 12 May -- Israeli forces on Tuesday demolished a mosque under construction in the Bedouin village of Wadi al-Niam near Beersheba, locals said. Heavily guarded bulldozers entered the village accompanied by dozens of Israeli police officers from the southern command and demolished the foundation of the mosque. Labbad Abu Affash, a local committee chief, told Ma‘an that Israeli forces demolish part of a home or other structure in the village every week. In some cases, families demolish their own houses to avoid paying the heavy fines imposed by Israel. "There has been a vicious crackdown against our village in an attempt to force us to move to the town of Shaqib al-Salam instead of recognizing our village which is home to 14,000," Abu Affash said. Wadi al-Niam is not recognized by the Israeli state and so lacks all basic services such as water. A toxic dump and military firing zone have also been built in the area where the community lives. It is among some 40 Negev villages that Israeli authorities have deemed unrecognized, arguing that the 53,000 Palestinian Bedouins living in them cannot prove land ownership. Some 100 homes in unrecognized villages have been demolished since the beginning of 2015, while Israeli authorities have issued demolition notices to hundreds of others..
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=765365
Israel to demolish electricity grid in Nablus-area village
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 13 May -- The Israeli civil administration issued an order Wednesday to completely demolish an electricity grid near the Qasra village in southern Nablus, 48 hours after the village council was delivered demolition orders, a monitor says. In addition to the ordered demolition of the electricity grid, demolition notices were given for a home and water well in the village belonging to Said Mimr Said and Abd al-Hamid Youssef Khrewish, Ghassan Daghlas, an official who monitors settlement activity in the northern West Bank, told Ma‘an. All demolition orders were given until May 15. Israeli authorities regularly demolish Palestinian structures under the pretext that owners have failed to acquire the proper building permits.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=765390
Israeli forces issue demolition order in Bethlehem-area village
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 13 May -- Israeli forces on Wednesday delivered a demolition order for a Palestinian agricultural structure located inside of the Gush Etzionsettlement bloc, local officials said. Head of the Khallet Sakariya village council, Muhammad Ibrahim Atallah, told Ma‘an that Israeli forces issued the order to demolish a 60-meter-square metal structure used as a sheep barn. The barn belongs to Muhammad Ahmad Ismail.
A month ago, Israeli forces delivered two demolition orders to Tayseer Muhammad Ahmad Saad and Khalil Muhammad Mahmoud Saad for their homes. Over 30 residents in the small village have received demolition warrants, Atallah said, adding that villagers are gradually leaving because Israel's military forces do not allow any new construction. Around 150 villagers have left since 2007, with the population now standing at 500.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=765383
Village council appeals land confiscation from 40 years ago
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 11 May -- The ‘Anata village council in eastern Jerusalem district on Monday presented an appeal to the Israeli High Court via the Yesh Din-Volunteers for Human Rights organization to cancel confiscation orders issued by Israel 40 years ago that seized the lands on which Maale Adumim settlement is built. The appeal alleged that while Israel used part of the confiscated lands to build the settlement, the vast majority -- close to 30,000 dunams -- had not been used and remain empty within the Maale Adumim borders. The illegal Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim lies within the so-called E1 corridor, a large swath of land cutting through the occupied West Bank which Israeli authorities have stated their intention to annex.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=765351
The reality exposed by Bedouin women armed with cameras
Haaretz 13 May by Vered Lee -- Mahadia Abu-Joda, 53, a mother of 13 and resident of the unrecognized Bedouin village of Za’arura, cradles a red digital camera in her hand. “The first time in my life that I held a camera and prepared to take a picture, about a year and a half ago, I held it upside down and in the wrong direction,” she says through the hijab that conceals her hair and frames her face. Abu-Joda’s photographs appear in one of the four recently published photography books that document life in four unrecognized Bedouin villages in the Negev from a feminine point of view: ... Abu-Joda was born in Gaza. At the age of 16 she married and moved to Za’arura, which is east of the town of Kseifa and today numbers about 2,600 residents. “About two years ago they demolished our home,” she says when asked why she started to photograph. “We didn’t have a place to sleep. I was among the ruins of the house with all my children. It was cold and rainy. I didn’t know what to explain to the children. I myself didn’t understand why the government did that to me. I didn’t know how to protect them. I was in despair. At the time a young girl passed and told me about the human rights project, explaining that we could learn our basic rights and preserve them by means of the camera and photography. Many of the women didn’t understand what she wanted and asked how it would help to photograph ruins. I was immediately attracted. I wanted to document the injustice done to me, I wanted to show everyone the situation in which we live.” Today Abu-Joda lives with her family in a hut made of patched sheets of iron and tin. “We haven’t been able to build a new house yet,” she says.
http://www.haaretz.com/life/arts-leisure/.premium-1.656191
Israeli colonialism, plain and simple / Amira Hass
Haaretz 11 May -- In two court decisions involving shoving Palestinians off their land, Supreme Court justices have confirmed what Israel’s critics are saying: that Israel has been a colonialist entity since 1948 -- There is a straight line connecting the Palestinian village of Sussia in the southern West Bank andAtir/Umm al-Hiran, a Bedouin community in the Negev. This was highlighted last week by the justices of the Supreme Court. These are two communities of Palestinians that the Jewish state expelled from their homes and land decades ago, and whose families have lived ever since in “unrecognized” villages in shameful humanitarian conditions, forced on them by the Israeli government. One community settled on its agricultural land and the other in an area that the government moved them to during the early years of the state, when the Arabs citizens were under military rule. These are two Palestinian communities that Israel is depriving of their planning rights. Instead, it demands of them to crowd in the pales of settlement it has allotted to them, so Jews can fulfill and rejoice and thrive in their new and expanding suburban fantasies ... Next to the tin shacks of today’s Palestinian Sussia (after the army expelled the residents of their ancient village in 1986 and turned it into an archaeological site where Jews could celebrate), Jewish Susya now wallows in its greenery and abundance. After all, it has to grow and doesn’t want to see Arabs living in shacks and buying water at exorbitant prices from tanker trucks.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.655812
A tragically unexceptional story of life and death under occupation
+972 blog 12 May by Sam Bahour -- Three decades ago the Israeli military government canceled my sister-in-law’s Palestinian residency because she studied abroad for ‘too long.’ Now, Israel is denying her one last visit with her dying father. But my family will not allow her case, like thousands before it, to be buried in silence -- My father-in-law, Mughira Barghouty, is dying. At age 91, his health has severely deteriorated over the last six months. He has three daughters: Sawsan, Serene and my wife, Abeer. Serene and Abeer live in Ramallah and have become full-time caregivers to their now bedridden father. Sawsan lives in Amman, Jordan. Of late, Mughira has repeated a single request: to touch his daughter Sawsan’s hand one last time. It was about to happen on the last day of April. Sawsan got all the way to the Israel border crossing, Israeli tourist visa in hand, but she was denied entry and told to go back to Amman. The family is crushed, but not surprised ... Several months back, understanding that his health was failing, Mughira made a simple request: he wants to touch the hand of his third daughter, who lives in Amman, to bid her farewell. We immediately passed on the message to Sawsan. Sawsan acted without delay. As a Jordanian citizen, she applied for an Israeli tourist visa -- the only way a Palestinian citizen of Jordan can reach Palestine ... Sawsan’s first application was submitted on September 23, 2014. She was notified it was denied in December 2014. So she started all over again, submitting a second application on March 2, 2015, paying the 50 JD (US $70) application fee again. She was notified on April 29, 2015 that her Israeli tourist visa was issued. She packed her bags in a hurry and headed out the following morning to the Jordan Border Crossing (near the city of Bisan, which Israel calls Beit She’an) to Israel (90 km from Amman) with a group in the travel agent’s bus ... Eventually an Israeli official came and advised Sawsan that she was being denied entry into Israel. Her bus was told to continue on to Israel without her. The Israeli official brought her two copies of a form written in Hebrew and English; she is fluent in neither. The states two reasons for the denial of entry: 1) “Prevention of illegal immigration considerations”; and, 2) “Public security or public safety or public order considerations.” ....
http://972mag.com/a-tragically-unexceptional-story-of-life-and-death-under-occupation/106675/
Gaza
Palestinian driver injured by Egyptian gunfire at Gaza crossing
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an/AFP) 11 May -- A Palestinian driver was shot by gunfire from Egypt as he was driving a truck into Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing on Monday, Gaza officials said. "A 27-year-old driver who was working at the Kerem Shalom crossing was seriously wounded on Monday morning by shots which were fired from the Egyptian side of the border," health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said. The incident took place as the driver was on his way to the nearby border city of Rafah after leaving the terminal, which is used for transporting commercial goods between Gaza and Israel and is very close to the Egyptian border. The Hamas-run interior ministry condemned the shooting, demanding that the authorities in Egypt hold "an urgent inquiry". The source of the fire was not immediately clear, but Egypt has been fighting a dogged insurgency in Sinai that took hold after the army overthrew president Mohamed Morsi in 2013, with militants killing scores of police and soldiers. There have been past incidents of Egyptian border soldiers opening fire on Palestinians. In January, Egyptian soldiers shot and killed a 17-year-old Palestinian from the border. The Egyptian army accuses Hamas of supporting the anti-regime militants in the northern Sinai, although Hamas strenuously denies the allegations.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=765346
Israeli army carries out operations around Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 11 May -- The Israeli military carried out several activities across the Gaze Strip Monday, with fighter jets conducting practice runs in the coastal enclave's north, military bulldozers crossing into al-Shuja‘iyeh, and border soldiers firing on farmers east of Khan Younis. A Ma‘an reporter said that Israeli F16 fighter jets carried out practice runs over the northern Gaza Strip Monday morning, adding that the sound of the warplanes could be heard across the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, Israeli military bulldozers crossed into al-Shuja’iyeh neighborhood east of Gaza City under armed escort. Locals said that the bulldozers passed through the east of the war-devastated neighborhood with sporadic fire from Israeli forces, although no injuries were reported. Much of al-Shuja‘iyeh remains in ruin after Israeli forces heavily shelled the densely populated neighborhood during last summer's Israeli offensive. In Khan Younis Israeli forces deployed on the borders east of al-Qarrara town opened fire on Palestinian farmers. No injuries were reported. Separately, Israeli naval forces released two Gazan fishermen who were detained on Saturday while out at sea.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=765341
PCHR-Gaza: Israeli buffer zone policies typically enforced with live fire
[with map] PCHR/PNN 11 May -- Following disengagement from the Gaza Strip in September 2005, Israel unilaterally and illegally established a so-called "buffer zone", an area prohibited to Palestinians along the land and sea borders of the Gaza Strip. The precise area designated by Israel as a "buffer zone" is not clear and this Israeli policy is typically enforced with live fire ... Dimensions On land, inside Palestinian territory: Distance from the border fence, up to which access is permitted: · Second Intifada (2000): 150 metres · According to Israel (2010): 300 metres 22 November 2012: unclear parameters 21 March 2013: 300 metres In reality, attacks against civilians take place anywhere up to approximately 1.5 kilometres inside the border fence. This constitutes approximately 17% of the total territory of the Gaza Strip ... Impact On land Approximately 27,000 dunums, 35% of the Gaza Strip's agricultural land, can only be accessed under high personal risk, as Israeli attacks may result in injury or death of civilians. · 95% of the restricted area is arable land. · After the evacuation of settlements (2005) and 'Operation Cast Lead' (2008-2009), the majority of Palestinian families living in the border areas abandoned their land and homes. At sea · Palestinians are completely prevented from accessing 85% of the Palestinian maritime areas recognised in the 1994 Gaza Jericho Agreement....
http://www.imemc.org/article/71548
Israeli forces burn wheat crops in Gaza
IMEMC/Agencies 12 May -- Israeli occupation forces have reportedly opened fire at Palestinian farms in the eastern part of the Gaza Strip, burning a large amount of wheat crops. No casualties were reported, as the farmers fled the region two days ago, after a limited Israeli incursion. Along the previous two weeks, Palestinian farmers, whose farms lie near the eastern borders of the Gaza Strip, have been reporting Israeli occupation opening fire at them. Medical sources also reported that several farmers were wounded during the same time. Farmers in the central area of the Strip told Days of Palestine that Israeli military activities in the area caused the burning of their wheat crops along the eastern borders. “From Monday morning until Tuesday morning, we have been hearing Israeli occupation forces firing bullets and watching them firing light bombs above our farms near the borders,” Hani Ali said. “At the same time, we heard sounds of sonic booms and saw fighter jets flying in the skies,” he further stated, adding, “I expect these activities were military drills.”
http://www.imemc.org/article/71553
Israeli attacks on fishermen in the Gaza Sea
Report from Palestinian Centre for Human Rights 11 May -- Israeli Naval forces continued to carry out attacks on Palestinian fishermen in the Gaza Strip during the reporting period[1] (01-30 April 2015), including 15 shooting incidents and a shelling incident that resulted in wounding a Palestinian fisherman while sailing off Beit Lahia shore in addition to the damaging of a fishing boat and fishing nets. The Israeli naval forces have not complied with the ceasefire agreement concluded between Israel and Palestinian armed groups under Egyptian auspices on 26 August 2014. This agreement includes allowing Palestinian fishermen to sail within 6 nautical miles in the Gaza Sea. According to PCHR's investigations, all attacks took place within the distance of six nautical miles, which proves that Israeli forces' policies aim to tighten restrictions on the Gaza Strip's fishermen and their livelihoods. In a serious development, on 07 March 2015, the Israeli naval forces declared via loudspeakers that the allowed fishing area was reduced to four nautical miles and warned Palestinian fishermen from approaching this area along the Gaza Sea. The Fishermen Syndicate in the Gaza Strip declared suspension of fishing in Gaza waters for three days in protest against the Israeli Naval forces' decision.
http://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/israeli-attacks-fishermen-gaza-sea-0
Hamas civil servants go on strike in Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 12 May -- Civil servants hired by the Gaza Strip's de facto Hamas leaders went on strike across all Gazan ministries and public institutions except schools on Tuesday. The employees have not been regularly paid since the unity government came together in June last year, although even before that Hamas struggled to pay their salaries regularly. A committee representing the unpaid civil servants issued a statement on Tuesday claiming that the strike came in response to the unity government's "recklessness" towards the employees' rights. It accused the unity government of acting fraudulently and said ministers were "completely void of any practical steps towards the inclusion of former employees." The statement added that schools had been exempted from the strike due to students' final exams. The employees' status has been one of the major points of dispute between Hamas and the unity government since the government of politically-independent technocrats was formed last year....
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=765360
ICC urges Israel to give material for preliminary Gaza probe
UNITED NATIONS (AP) 12 May -- The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court warned Israel Tuesday that if it doesn't provide reliable information for her preliminary probe into possible war crimes in Palestinian territories she may be forced to decide whether to launch a full-scale investigation based on Palestinian allegations. Fatou Bensouda said in an interview with The Associated Press that she hasn't received any information yet from either side regarding last summer's Gaza war and urged Israel and the Palestinians to provide information to her. The Palestinians accepted the court's jurisdiction in mid-January and officially joined the ICC on April 1 in hopes of prosecuting Israel for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Gaza conflict so they are certain to provide Bensouda with information. Israel, however, has denounced the Palestinian action as "scandalous," with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warning that it turns the ICC "into part of the problem and not part of the solution." Bensouda said her office is "making attempts" to contact the Israelis and to reach out to the Palestinians. "If I don't have the information that I'm requesting," she said, "I will be forced to find it from elsewhere, or I may perhaps be forced to just go with just one side of the story. That is why I think it's in the best interest of both sides to provide my office with information."
http://news.yahoo.com/icc-urges-israel-material-preliminary-gaza-probe-052212816.html
Red Cross: Gazans still missing since 'Protective Edge' assault
IMEMC/Agencies 13 May -- 15 Palestinian families in the Gaza Strip reported the disappearance of their sons in the summer-long Israeli offensive on the region which took place in 2014, the International Red Cross spokeswoman said on Wednesday. According to Al Ray Palestinian Media Agency, Sohair Zaqout said, in a press statement, that the Red Cross has received complaints from 29 families who lost their sons; 15 of them were found, while the other 14 are still missing. She explained that the search process was done with the competent authorities in Gaza, and the Israeli occupation. Statistics collected by the Euro-Mediterranean Observer of Human Rights reveal that more than two thousand were killed in the 2014 Israeli offensive, 530 of whom were children, while 302 were women.
http://www.imemc.org/article/71571
Palestinian Red Crescent Society health care worker lost seven family members during Gaza's summer violence
IFRC 13 May by Hanne Sorine Sorensen -- Anwar Mohamed Abu Suliman was working with the Palestine Red Crescent Society’s Emergency Medical Service (EMS) in the northern part of Gaza during the violence of summer 2014 when he was told his neighbourhood in his home town of Rafah had been attacked. “I received the news when the National Society’s branch in the North was under attack, so the situation was chaotic. I tried to make phone calls and get news about my family, but I couldn’t get any detailed information. Eventually, I was told that five houses in my neighbourhood had been attacked almost simultaneously at 3:15 am,” says Anwar, 40, who has been working with the Palestine Red Crescent Society for 15 years ... Anwar lost a total of seven family members during that night; two sisters in law and five nephews and nieces were killed. Six other nieces and nephews of Anwar were also wounded and so was one of his brothers. “We didn’t expect an attack and no warning was given before two rockets destroyed the house. We have no weapons and we were not involved in the fighting,” says Anwar as he walks into the totally destroyed house and picks up children’s pink shoes from the rubble.
http://www.ifrc.org/en/news-and-media/news-stories/middle-east-and-north-africa/palestine/palestine-red-crescent-society-health-care-worker-lost-seven-family-members-during-the-gaza-summer-violence--68640/
Gazan jailed for 15 years for 'collaborating with Israel'
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 11 May -- A military court in the Gaza Strip on Monday sentenced a Palestinian man to 15 years in prison for alleged collaboration with Israel. The man, identified only as 'J. Gh,' was detained several years ago for allegedly providing Israel with information on locations of Palestinians working with Hamas. In August last year, 18 suspected collaborators were killed by Hamas when the group announced a crackdown on Palestinians alleged to be working with Israel. Seven of the men were shot dead outside of a mosque while wearing black bags on their heads. Information passed to Israel's security services by Palestinian collaborators is often used to make arrests and assassinate high-profile political and militant figures. Under Palestinian law, collaboration with Israel is punishable by death. However all execution orders must be approved by the president before they can be carried out. Hamas no longer recognizes the legitimacy of incumbent Mahmoud Abbas, whose four-year term ended in 2009.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=765345
Gaza's honey production slows to a trickle
GAZA CITY (Al-Monitor) 11 May -- Beekeepers in Gaza are currently experiencing a low in honey production due to the latest Israeli war on Gaza, during which the Israeli army destroyed vast agricultural lands -- Muhannad Hamid waits an entire year for the honey harvest season, which falls annually between April 20 and May 10. During this period, Hamid makes the most profit from honey collection. However, this year, it seems he won’t make any profits, as production has decreased compared with previous years. Hamid, 42, owns several beehives in the town of Beit Hanoun on the northern border of the Gaza Strip. These beehives are his family’sonly source of livelihood.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/05/gaza-honey-production-beekeepers-shortfall-agriculture.html
Halt in passport process restricts Palestinian movement
GAZA CITY 12 May by Mohammed Othman -- Some students and people seeking treatment in Gaza are unable to travel as they wait for their passports to be issued or renewed, while the Ministry of Interior slowly works on sorting out the procedure -- In February, Suleiman al-Dali, a student, lost a scholarship to study for a bachelor’s degree in engineering in Turkey after the Interior Ministry in the West Bank stopped issuing passports to residents of the Gaza Strip that month. Dali, who has a diploma in interior design from the University College of Applied Sciences in Gaza, had waited a long time and endured various hardships before being accepted into the Turkish program after fulfilling all the requirements.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/05/palestine-gaza-passports-halt-issue-renew-interior-ministry.html
Gaza engineer seeks solution to water woes in territory
GAZA CITY, Palestine (AFP) 13 May by Adel Zaanoun -- With Gaza’s supply of drinking water expected to dry up by 2020, a Palestinian engineer is pioneering a machine to make seawater potable for residents of the coastal territory. Diaa Abu Assi, a 29-year-old father-of-two, has spent much of his spare time in the past 18 months developing the system, which he hopes will be instrumental in saving lives in the besieged enclave. “In five years, there will be no drinkable water in Gaza. Water shortages are a real threat to life in Gaza. The only solution is to filter water from the Mediterranean,” Abu Assi says. Funded by Gaza’s Islamic University – which is linked with the enclave’s rulers Hamas – in cooperation with an Omani research organization, the project uses nanotechnology to reduce the salinity in seawater to a drinkable level.
https://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2015/May-13/297756-gaza-engineer-seeks-solution-to-water-woes-in-territory.ashx
Germany announces $41 million to Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 13 May -- Germany announced Tuesday a $41 million contribution to the UNRWA shelter assistance program in Gaza. With a total contribution of $93 million to UNRWA programs in Gaza to date, Germany is currently the second largest supporter of the UNRWA response to the humanitarian crisis resulting from the 2014 conflict. The funding comes as UNRWA has reportedly received enough in donor pledges to rebuild 200 of the 9,161 Palestine refugee homes that have been assessed as totally destroyed. Director of UNRWA in Gaza Robert Turner praised the move by Germany saying, "More than eight months after the summer 2014 conflict ended, the situation in Gaza remains desperate and the people of Gaza urgently need other donors to follow the excellent example set by Germany."
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=765389
Egyptian army kills 4 militants in Rafah
CAIRO (Ma‘an) 12 May -- Egyptian military sources said four militants were killed by the Egyptian army in [Egyptian] Rafah Tuesday. Sources told Ma‘an that four militants allegedly belonging to the Sinai Province group were trying to smuggle guns on five donkeys when they were spotted by Egyptian army. The militants then ran into a farm where they were surrounded for around an hour. An exchange of fire between the militants and the army ensued and the four militants were killed. Sinai Province, previously known as Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, has staged some of the deadliest attacks against Egypt's security forces since the army ousted president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=765377
Violence / Raids / Clashes / Arrests
Israeli police break arm of elderly Palestinian woman
QALQILIYA, (PIC) 14 May -- Israeli occupation cops on Wednesday broke the arm of a Palestinian elderly woman after having detained her for 24 hours on her way back home to Qalqiliya from Jordan. A PIC correspondent quoted the woman’s son as stating: “Israeli policemen broke my mother’s arm after they aggressively shoved her into a patrol of their own.” The casualty, identified as 60-year-old Yusra Mohamed Qatesh, headed to Jordan to renew her passport as part of routine procedures to arrange a Umrah (pilgrimage) trip, the son added. He said the family was shocked as they caught sight of the Israeli intelligence officers cracking down on his mother at the Karama overpass and seizing her for over 12 hours. The Israeli cops dragged the lady to an investigation center in Jerusalem’s Ma’aleh Adumimsettlement, where she has been kept in remand until six a.m. on Wednesday. The elderly civilian was verbally and physically assaulted by an Israeli female soldier and two cops who forced her into an Israeli army jeep in an attempt to transfer her to al-Mascoubiya investigation center. “You are a dirty Palestinian” and “We will throw you next to dirty Palestinian women!” were kinds of insults which the casualty firmly rebuffed, moments before the soldiers beat her up, paying no heed to her age or gender. The mother was rushed to a local hospital in Occupied Jerusalem to be treated for the inflicted fractures. She was released shortly afterwards.
http://english.palinfo.com/site/pages/details.aspx?itemid=71645
Clashes at dawn during IOF campaign in Balata refugee camp
NABLUS (PIC) 13 May -- Violent clashes broke out at dawn Wednesday between Palestinian young men and Israeli soldiers in Balata refugee camp, east of Nablus. Local sources told the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) that a large number of Israeli troops aboard patrol vehicles stormed after midnight the eastern area of Nablus and deployed themselves in the vicinity of Balata refugee camp, Amman street and Joseph's Tomb. During the events, the invading troops intensively fired tear gas grenades at Palestinian homes near Balata refugee camp, causing many residents to suffer suffocation.
In another incident, the Israeli occupation forces (PIC) threatened to kill the students of Madama high school if they dared to leave during the school hours. Local sources affirmed that the IOF made their threat to kill the students during a raid at dawn on homes in the town. They said that invading troops asked one of the residents to tell the principal of the high school in the town that any student leaving during the