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March 27th, 2016 
Awake Goy Violence / Detentions — West Bank / Jerusalem
UN envoy condemns Palestinian attacker’s ‘gruesome’ killing by Israeli soldier
JERUSALEM (The Guardian) 25 Mar by Peter Beaumont — The United Nations special envoy for the Middle East peace process joined the growing row over what he called the “apparent extra-judicial execution of a Palestinian assailant” by an Israeli soldier in Hebron, condemning it as a “gruesome” killing. Nickolay Mladenov’s intervention in the dispute over the killing of the severely wounded Abed al Fatah a-Sharif – who had already been shot and incapacitated during a stabbing attack on an Israeli soldier – followed the release on Thursday of a video of the shooting. In a statement, Mladenov, who reports to the UN security council, said: “I strongly condemn yesterday’s apparent extrajudicial execution of a Palestinian assailant in Hebron in the occupied West Bank. This was a gruesome, immoral and unjust act that can only fuel more violence and escalate an already volatile situation.” Mladenov’s statement came as the family and lawyer of the unnamed soldier arrested for the shooting attempted to explain his actions, and as the investigation by the Israeli military was widened to take into account the actions of officers also at the scene. The soldier, a combat medic, is facing an initial court hearing in Jaffa on Friday. The killing, filmed by a volunteer with the Israeli human rights NGO B’Tselem, and widely reported and circulated on social media, has drawn widespread condemnation including from senior Israeli and Palestinian political figures. The video shows what appears to be one of the most flagrant cases so far of Israeli forces’ alleged use of excessive force in the wave of Israeli-Palestinian violence that erupted in October. The incident was immediately condemned as an “execution” by B’Tselem and as a war crime by Palestinians. The soldier’s lawyer, Benjamin Malka, explained that the Palestinian assailant, who had just stabbed another Israeli soldier, was still “moving underneath his jacket, where he could have been hiding explosives or weapons”. In an interview with army radio, Malka called his client an “outstanding soldier, salt of the earth”, adding that “he has yet to be allowed to defend his innocence”. The reported defence does not explain why the soldier did not alert other soldiers, medical personnel or civilians standing nearby or why the two Palestinians involved in the attack would have used a knife in their assault when a bomb or other weapons were available. (Continued)
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/25/un-envoy-condemns-palestinian-killing-by-israeli-soldier-hebron
Video: Israeli soldier executes wounded Palestinian in Hebron
+972mag 24 Mar by Mairav Zonszein — Maybe even worse than the murder itself is the fact that no one in the vicinity seems at all moved by it — An IDF soldier was filmed shooting a Palestinian in the head at close range in the Tel Rumeida neighborhood of occupied Hebron Thursday, after he and another Palestinian reportedly stabbed a different soldier, lightly wounding him. Most Israeli media outlets initially went with the usual headline, “Soldier stabbed, assailants killed.” A few hours later, however, video of the incident was released showing that the Palestinian man was already shot and lying on the ground wounded, presenting absolutely no threat to anyone at the time he was shot in the head, murdered. The video was captured by local Palestinian resident Emad abu-Shamsiyah and distributed by B’Tselem. Minutes earlier, before the start of the video, the two young Palestinian men, Abed al Fatah a-Sharif and Ramzi al-Qasrawi, reportedly stabbed a soldier in the Hebron neighborhood. They were shot in the aftermath of the stabbing. In the video, which begins only after the stabbing already took place, an Israeli soldier can be seen shooting the injured Sharif in the head as he lies on the ground. The soldier is facing the camera with Sharif in between. In a separate video we have deemed too graphic to upload, a prominent settler from Hebron can be heard telling soldiers, “this dog is still alive.” No one in the vicinity seems bothered or surprised at all by the shooting — neither the soldiers nor a couple of police officers present nor the medical teams seen treating the wounded soldier. They completely ignore the two wounded Palestinians (al-Qasrawi is lying several feet behind a-Sharif, and can be seen at the end of the video). This total apathy reflects not only the regularity of such incidents of stabbings and responsive shootings, but also the culture of impunity in which IDF soldiers feel free to shoot and kill Palestinians against the IDF’s own rules of engagement.
http://972mag.com/video-israeli-soldier-executes-wounded-palestinian-in-hebron/118093/
Top Israeli officials who issued directive to execute Palestinians hang Hebron killer out to dry
Mondoweiss 25 Mar by Dan Cohen — Elor Azraya, the soldier who summarily executed Abed al-Fattah Yusri al-Sharif as he lay on the street immobile and unarmed yesterday, is suspected of murder. In his defense, his lawyer Eyal Beserglick said Azraya “acted in accordance with the rules of engagement as suggested by his superiors.” He’s right. It’s unclear which superiors the lawyer is referring to, but it could be any number of figures in the political and military echelon who have commanded Israeli soldiers to shoot Palestinians deemed attackers dead on-the-spot. That’s precisely what he did. And now Israel’s top brass is hanging the killer out to dry. Since the graphic video released by the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem went viral, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon distanced themselves from the killing, however stopping short of condemning the killer. But just a few months ago, they were inciting soldiers to kill and guaranteed them full legal backing. Here are the statements from October translated from official videos posted to Netanyahu’s Youtube account, and statements following the execution. Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon: October 9, 2015: “Right now is it required to respond quickly to any local attack to eliminate the terrorist stabber or the perpetrator stone thrower and the like, immediately, on the spot.” March 24, 2016: “Even as we are forced to fight our enemies and overcome them in battle, we are equally obligated to uphold our mores. To be human.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: October 14th, 2015, speaking to paramilitary border police units: “I know that it requires your discretion, but have no doubt: You have complete backing – complete! – from me, from the Israeli government, and in my opinion from the nation in Israel.” March 24, 2016: “What happened in Hebron doesn’t represent the values of the IDF. The IDF expects its soldiers to behave level-headedly and in accordance with the rules of engagement.” . . . Azraya is a medic in the Kfir brigade. While the fact that someone tasked with treating the wounded carried out an execution is abhorrent, it’s not surprising. The head of Magen David Adom in Hebron, which is officially recognized by the International Committee of the Red Cross, said that “terrorists should not be permitted to leave the scene alive.” I wrote here about the trend among Israeli medical professionals to abandon triage protocol, effectively ensuring the death of wounded Palestinians. (Continued)
http://mondoweiss.net/2016/03/top-israeli-officials-who-issued-directive-to-execute-palestinians-hang-hebron-killer-out-to-dry/
Father of soldier who shot downed terrorist: All of this because he wanted to save Israel
JPost 25 Mar — The family of an IDF soldier being suspected of murder after shooting dead a subdued Palestinian terrorist following a stabbing attack in Hebron stood behind their son, saying he had acted for the sake of Israel. “We know our son acted as he had been taught, and now we have to face the courts,” the soldier’s father told Channel 2 on Friday. “We’re talking about a good soldier, who was honored as outstanding in 2015, and then one the sky fell on his head.” In the interview with Channel 2, the father said he fully agreed that an investigation into the incident was necessary. “The only thing that angers me is that they did not wait until the end of the investigation to make a statement. An indictment has already been filed against my son in the media,” he said. “My son loves the army, and worked hard to be a combat soldier.” The father expressed his shock over the accusations of murder his son now faces, saying: “All of this because he wanted to save the State of Israel and the people who were with him.”
http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Father-of-soldier-who-shot-downed-terrorist-All-of-this-because-he-wanted-to-save-Israel-449215
Israeli settlers threaten Palestinian who filmed Hebron ‘execution’
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 25 Mar — Israeli settlers on Friday gathered outside the home of a human rights worker in Hebron to hurl abuse at him, a day after he captured on camera an Israeli soldier’s killing of a wounded Palestinian that has sparked international outcry. Emad Abu Shamsiya, a staff member with Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, told Ma‘an after settlers threatened him: “I now fear for my life and the life of my family. I’m afraid they might attack my house and do me harm.” He added that he fears the possibility of suffering the same fate as the Dawabsha family, who were killed in an arson attack committed by settlers last year in the village of Duma in the occupied West Bank . . . Tel Rumeida — [the part of Hebron] where Shamsiya’s house is located and the site of Thursday’s incident — has long been a flashpoint for tensions between Palestinians and Israeli settlers and military, and its location [next] to an illegal Israeli settlement [Ramat Yeshai]. Mistreatment of Palestinians in the Hebron area has been common since the city was divided in the 1990s after a US-born settler, Baruch Goldstein, massacred 29 Palestinians inside the Ibrahimi Mosque . . . Hebron residents frequently report attacks and harassment by the settlers carried out in the presence of the forces.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770850
Illegal settlers celebrate Purim after cold-blooded murder of Palestinian youths
[with video, photos] HEBRON, Occupied Palestine 24 Mar by ISM, al-Khalil Team — On the 24th March, Israeli settlers from the illegal settlements in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron) celebrated the holiday of ‘Purim’. The settlers marched through the Old City of al-Khalil, starting off from the spot where just a few hours before, Israeli forces gunned down two Palestinian youth and then executed one of them in cold blood. In the morning, Israeli forces shot and severely injured two Palestinian youth in the Tel Rumeida neighbourhood and then left them lying on the ground seriously injured while Israeli medics were attending to a slightly injured Israeli soldier. Palestinian ambulances, which are not allowed to drive on this road that is only for settlers’ use, were prevented by Israeli forces from reaching the injured Palestinian youth. In a video published by B’Tselem, a soldier can clearly be seen shooting one of the youth in the head at point-blank range even though he is lying on the ground and is not posing a threat to anyone. Only a few hours after this extrajudicial execution, settlers started their joyous march, dressed up in costumes, with music blasting from a bus, dancing in the same spot where the two Palestinians were murdered in cold blood. The procession of settlers then proceeded down Shuhada Street, where the main illegal Israeli settlements in the heart of the city are located, before turning towards the Ibrahimi mosque . . . One of the settlers, of which many were dressed up in costumes, was seen in a shirt flashing a raised fist on a yellow background, which is the symbol of the ‘Kach’, a party of extremist Israeli fundamentalist settlers, deemed a terrorist group even by the Israeli government. The party was founded by Meir Kahane, who publicly called for the expulsion of Palestinians and to end culture relations between Jewish and Palestinian students. On Tuesday, two days before, during celebrations for the same holiday, the loudspeakers of the Ibrahimi mosque were mis-used to broadcast hate-speech calling for the expulsion of Palestinians from al-Khalil.
http://palsolidarity.org/2016/03/illegal-settlers-celebrate-purim-after-cold-blooded-murder-of-palestinian-youths/
Despite promises, Israel yet to investigate suspected execution of wounded Jaffa terrorist
Haaretz 26 Mar by Yaniv Kubovich — Two weeks after the Justice Ministry announced that it was going to investigate the police shooting of a subdued terrorist following an attack in Jaffa, no one has been summoned for questioning. The police have also failed to issue any statement condemning the shooting. The incident took place on March 8, when a Palestinian man, Bashar Masalha, went on a stabbing spree in Jaffa. He killed a U.S. tourist, Taylor Force, and wounded 10 people before police finally subdued him. Then, after Masalha was already lying on the ground, wounded but still alive, a police volunteer allegedly shot and killed him. Video footage [below] of the incident shows that civilians at the scene were urging the policeman to shoot, despite the fact that the terrorist no longer posed any danger. Immediately after obtaining the footage, the Justice Ministry department that investigates police misconduct said it would open an investigation into the volunteer’s behavior. But it has yet to take any action on the case. Policemen did collect testimony from bystanders at the scene and sent it to the department. But this testimony was taken by policemen from the same district in which the volunteer and policeman who accompanied him serve, as part of the standard procedure implemented anytime a policeman shoots someone. The Justice Ministry department hasn’t summoned anyone to testify, nor has it even held a discussion on whether the incident merits a criminal investigation or only a disciplinary one. In the video footage, bystanders can be heard telling the volunteer things like “Give it to him in the head, don’t be afraid, give it to him in the head. Good, you’re a king.” A policeman is then heard telling his superiors over the radio, “I’ve neutralized him.” But the bystanders continue egging the volunteer on: “Son of a bitch! … Give it to him in the head.” At that point, at least one shot is heard, apparently fired by the volunteer. That shot is suspected of causing Masalha’s death. (Continued)
http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.710893
Why did Israeli police ambush and shoot at Palestinian kids?
Haaretz 24 Mar by Gideon Levy & Alex Levac — The Border Police shot a Palestinian boy in the leg during a protest. The army says he was using a slingshot; his father thinks he was deliberately targeted — This photograph has become almost iconic online. A wounded boy is lying on the sooty road of Kafr Kadum. He is trying to protect his head with his hand and is crying out for help. The image recalls that of Mohammed al-Dura, the boy who was shot and killed by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip in September 2000, while his father tried to protect him – but this time the ending is better. Video footage shot by Abdullah Shtaiwi, a volunteer for the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem, shows a boy pounding the asphalt repeatedly, screaming in pain or terror, trying to get up, crawling forward and collapsing again. It’s not easy to watch. Then a man is seen running toward him, picking him up and trying to extricate him from this hellish situation. But then he too collapses, shot by Israeli troops while trying to evacuate the boy. The live rounds were fired by Border Police officers who lay in ambush for the Friday demonstrators in Kafr Kadum, adjacent to the settlement of Kedumim in the West Bank. The event took place three weeks ago. (Continued)
http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.710748
Elderly man wounded as Israeli forces suppress weekly protests
[with photos] QALQILIYA (Ma‘an) 25 Mar — A 68-year-old Palestinian man was hit in the head with a rubber-coated steel bullet and dozens more suffered excessive tear gas inhalation when Israeli forces suppressed weekly marches in the West Bank villages of Bil‘in and Kafr Qaddum, local activists said. Activist Murad Shtewei told Ma‘an that Israeli forces fired rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas canisters, stun grenades, and skunk water at protesters as they marched in the village of Kafr Qaddum near Qalqiliya. He said an elderly man, identified as Taysir Shtewei, 68, was hit in his head by a stray rubber-coated steel bullet while he was in his yard outside his home. The man’s condition was not clear. He said dozens of other activists suffered excessive tear gas inhalation during the protest, which he said was attended by “hundreds” of local, Israeli, and foreign activists .Meanwhile, dozens more Palestinian activists suffered excessive tear gas inhalation in the village of Bil‘in, locals told Ma‘an.
http://maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770847
2 injured in Nablus clashes
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 25 Mar — Two Palestinians were injured on Friday evening during clashes with Israeli forces in the Beit Furik village in the northern West Bank district of Nablus. Munadhil Hanani, a member of The Palestinian Popular Struggle Front told Ma‘an that Mustafa Tahsin Abu Hayt,16, was moderately to seriously injured after being deliberately run over by an Israeli military vehicle. He was taken to Rafidia hospital in Nablus for treatment. Yusif Thaer Hanani,17, was also injured, with a rubber-coated steel bullet, and was treated in a clinic in the village. Clashes had broke out between dozens of Palestinians and Israeli forces in the eastern side of the village, as Israeli forces closed the Beit Furik checkpoint on both sides.
http://maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770851
IOF plunders stationery store in Nablus
NABLUS (PIC) 24 Mar — The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) at dawn Thursday confiscated some contents of a stationery store providing university services for students in Nablus city. Eyewitnesses told the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) that Israeli soldiers stormed and ransacked “Midad” stationery store for university services near the new campus of an-Najah National University. They added that the soldiers broke open the door of the store, and caused havoc on and confiscated some of its contents.
http://english.palinfo.com/site/pages/details.aspx?itemid=77610
Knesset bill to deport families of Palestinian martyrs approved
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (PIC) 24 Mar — Israeli Knesset passed on Wednesday a bill to deport families of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces and accused of carrying out attacks against Israelis. The bill was initiated by Israeli Minister of Transport and Exploration Israel Katz and submitted to the Knesset by Deputy David Bitanem. It was supported by representatives from Likud, the Jewish Home and other parties, including Yish Atid. Israel’s legal adviser has previously rejected the bill, saying: “The deportation of families of attackers to Gaza or Syria might touch Israel’s position and lead to its global isolation.” Katz also proposed another bill calling for the relocation of the families in the West Bank and putting more restrictions on their movement. Speaking to the Israeli TV Channel 7, Katz said: “The bill got large support from the [ruling] coalition and from the opposition. We will put the bill for final approval next week. Terrorism will decrease as fast as we can approve this bill.” He added: “This bill is not an alternative to the army, Shabak, police and security activities. It is a complementary measure to control the minors.”
http://english.palinfo.com/site/pages/details.aspx?itemid=77617
For once, all the reported detentions in recent days will be included here, to illustrate the extent of these actions
Army kidnaps eight Palestinians in the West Bank
IMEMC 23 Mar — Israeli soldiers kidnapped, on Wednesday at dawn, at least nine Palestinians, in different parts of the occupied West Bank, during extensive military invasions and searches of homes, and property . . . Several military vehicles invaded Beit Fajjar town, south of Bethlehem, and kidnapped three young men, identified as Amer Mohammad Taqatqa, 24, Mohammad Jalal Taqatqa, 20, and Mohammad Salem Thawabta, 28. The soldiers also invaded Barta‘a town, isolated behind the Annexation Wall southwest of Jerusalem, searched many homes and kidnapped three Palestinians, identified as ‘Ameed Tareq Qabaha, 18, Rida Ahmad Tawfiq Qabaha, 19, and Mansour Abdullah Mas’oud, 23. In addition, several military vehicles invaded Atteel town, north of the northern West Bank city of Tulkarem, searched homes and kidnapped a young man, identified as Mohammad Shaher Rezqallah, 36. In the central West Bank district of Ramallah, the soldiers invaded and searched homes in Beit Rima town, north of Ramallah city, and kidnapped a Palestinian teen, identified as Bassel Hazem Rimawi, 18, a former political prisoner who was released less than four months ago, after being held for six months under arbitrary Administrative Detention, without charges. On Tuesday at night, the soldiers invaded Ya‘bad town, west of the northern West Bank city of Jenin, after firing many flares and live rounds, and stormed his home. He added that the soldiers detained his sons Laith, 15, and Ya’ish, 17, outside of the family home for several hours, and interrogated them. The family has been subject to frequent invasions and violations by the army; the soldiers also repeatedly occupied their rooftop and used it as a military post and monitoring tower.
http://www.imemc.org/article/75341
Israeli soldiers kidnap a Palestinian man and child in the West Bank
IMEMC 24 Mar — Israeli soldiers kidnapped, on Wednesday evening, a Palestinian man near the northern West Bank city of Qalqilia, ahttp://www.imemc.org/article/75353nd a child near Bethlehem. The soldiers kidnapped Emad Suleiman al-Khouly, 28, from Azzoun town, east of the northern West Bank city of Qalqilia, and took him to an unknown destination. The Israeli army said the Palestinian was walking “close to the Maale Shomron colony,” built on Palestinian lands, east of Qalqilia. In addition, the soldiers kidnapped a Palestinian child, as she was walking near the Gush Etzion Junction, south of the West bank city of Bethlehem. The child, 14, who remained unidentified until the time of this report, is from Beit Fajjar town, south of Bethlehem.
http://www.imemc.org/article/75352
Israeli soldiers kidnap five Palestinians in Ramallah and Jenin
IMEMC 24 Mar — Israeli soldiers invaded, on Thursday at dawn, the West Bank districts of Ramallah and Jenin, searched several homes and kidnapped five Palestinians. The army invaded Silwad town, east of the central West Bank district of Ramallah, surrounded many neighborhoods and invaded them, before violently searching homes. The soldiers also used military dogs in the search. Local sources said the soldiers kidnapped Mos’ab Ahmad Hamed, 26, and Waleed Daoud Hammad, 22, and took them to an unknown destination. In addition, dozens of soldiers invaded Ya‘bad town, southwest of the northern West Bank city of Jenin, searched and ransacked homes, and kidnapped Yasser Mohammad Ali Amarna, his brother Hazem, and Forsan Khaled Amarna. The soldiers also invaded the home of Khaled Zobeidi, before forcing him and his family out in the cold, and searched the property.
http://www.imemc.org/article/75353
Soldiers kidnap a young woman in Hebron, invade homes of slain Palestinians
IMEMC 25 Mar — Israeli soldiers kidnapped, on Friday, a young Palestinian woman in Hebron city, in the southern part of the West Bank . . . The soldiers stopped the young woman in Tel Romeida neighborhood, in Hebron city, and kidnapped her, allegedly for “carrying a knife in her purse.” They cuffed and blindfolded her, and moved her to an interrogation facility. In addition, the soldiers invaded the home of Ramzi al-Qasrawi, in Wad al-Harya, and Abdul-Fattah Sharif, in Abu Romman Mountain, in Hebron city, and searched them. The two were killed by the army on Thursday. In Qalandia refugee camp, north of occupied Jerusalem, the soldiers invaded the home of Nahed Fawzi Emteir, 24, who died of serious wounds on March 15; two weeks after the soldiers shot him. The army interrogated his family after violently searching their property. In addition, the soldiers invaded Beit Fajjar town, south of Bethlehem, broke into and searched a number of homes, and summoned Ali Mustafa Taqatqa, 30, for interrogation in the Etzion military base and security center. In related news, several military vehicles invaded Qabatia town, south of Jenin, and handed the family of Bilal Ahmad Abu Zeid, 20, an order for the demolition of their home. The soldiers searched and ransacked the property, after breaking into it, and interrogated the family. The family was only given four days to file an appeal. Abu Zeid was kidnapped two months ago; the army accuses him of involvement in a shooting targeting Israeli soldiers in Bab al-Amoud, in occupied Jerusalem, leading to the death of one soldier and the injury of another.
http://www.imemc.org/article/75363
Undercover Israeli soldiers kidnap five Palestinian children
IMEMC 26 Mar — Undercover Israeli forces infiltrated, on Friday evening, into the Suwwana neighborhood, in occupied Jerusalem, and assaulted a group of children, after surrounding them, and kidnapped four. The soldiers also kidnapped a child in al-‘Eesawiyya. The Wadi Hilweh Information Center in Silwan (Silwanic), in occupied Jerusalem, said the undercover forces attacked the children close to Beit Orit illegal colony, built on Palestinian lands in Suwwana neighborhood, and kidnapped four of them. The Israeli police said the children were taken prisoner reportedly for “hurling Molotov cocktails on the settlement.” Many residents, including children, were injured in the Israeli military attack, and infiltration by the undercover soldiers. A Silwanic lawyer said the kidnapped children have been identified as Abdullah Samer Abu Esbeitan, 17, Bassem Maher Sbeitani, 17, Siraj Mahmoud Abu Esbeitan, 16, and Mahmoud Ahmad Abu al-Hawa, 17. He added that they were taken prisoner at the at-Tour village junction; one of them was heading to a local pharmacy, and the others were walking back home. Signs of physical violence and beatings were clearly apparent on the bodies of Bassem and Siraj when the lawyer was eventually allowed to meet them.
On Friday evening, the police ordered Sondos Samir Mohammad Obeid, 15, under further interrogation; she was taken prisoner during the day after the police claimed that “she carried a knife with the intention to stab soldiers.” The child was kidnapped near the main road leading to the al-‘Eesawiyya town, in occupied Jerusalem.
http://www.imemc.org/article/75370
Army kidnaps eight Palestinians in the West Bank
IMEMC 26 Mar — Israeli soldiers invaded, on Saturday at dawn, several Palestinian communities in different parts of the occupied West Bank, searched homes and kidnapped eight Palestinians. The soldiers also summoned five Palestinians, from Bethlehem, for interrogation. The soldiers invaded the at-Tour neighborhood, in occupied Jerusalem, searched and ransacked many homes, and kidnapped four teenagers, identified as Abdullah Samer Abu Sbeitan, 17, Bassem Maher Sbeitani, 17, Siraj Odah Abu Sbeitan, 16, and Mahmoud Ahmad Abu al-Hawa, 17. The army also invaded an area, west of Betunia town, in the central West Bank district of Ramallah, and kidnapped two young men, identified as Omar Abu ar-Rob and Morad al-‘Ajjouri, after the soldiers stopped their car, and forced them out. In Tubas, the soldiers searched several homes and kidnapped two Palestinians, identified as Ahmad Abu al-‘Abda, and Mustafa Maslamani, 56. It is worth mentioning that the soldiers also invaded the towns of Beit Fajjar, Doha, al-‘Obeydiyya, and ‘Aida refugee camp, in Bethlehem, in addition to Halhoul town, in the southern West Bank district of Hebron. In Bethlehem, the soldiers summoned four Palestinians for interrogation in the Etzion military and security base. Palestinian security sources said the summoned Mohammad Afeef Thawabta, 63, from Beit Fajjar, Mohammad Yousef Abu Srour, 29, and Daoud Jamal Radi, 25, from ‘Aida refugee camp, Raed Mousa Da’amsa, 39, from Doha, and Mohammad Hasan al-Makhtoub, 21, from Za‘tara. On Friday evening, the soldiers broke into the home of Khaled Yahya Abu Shamla, in Ya‘bad town, southwest of Jenin, occupied his rooftop before using it as a military tower and prevented the family from leaving their property.
http://www.imemc.org/article/75376
Israel detains hundreds amid fierce crackdown on illegal Palestinian workers
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 23 Mar by Killian Redden — The Israeli authorities in recent days have launched a massive crackdown on Palestinians working without permits in Israel, in a campaign critics have denounced as a political game that will only deepen Palestinian poverty. Israeli police said Tuesday that in just two weeks they had rounded up more than 1,200 illegal Palestinian workers, while last week, Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, passed into law a set of new penalties aimed at deterring their employment. The crackdown follows a deadly attack in the Israeli port of Jaffa earlier this month carried out by a Palestinian who had illegally crossed the border out of the occupied West Bank. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quickly called for the introduction of legislation against those who “employ, assist and house people who are present in Israel illegally,” telling ministers at his weekly Cabinet meeting: “It must be understood that a large proportion of (Palestinian) attackers were present in Israel illegally or infiltrated into Israel illegally.” However, few Palestinians attackers were in fact workers in Israel, and the recent crackdown has been condemned by rights groups as a political game, unlikely to affect the violence, yet economically harmful to both Palestinians and Israelis. Raja Zaatry, project manager for Palestinian workers at Kav LaOved, a workers’ rights group in Israel, told Ma‘an that Israeli policy had left most Palestinian laborers “politically passive” — those with permits did not want to have them revoked, while those without did not want to draw attention to themselves. “The Israeli government is using the issue of illegal workers to terrorize Israeli society, to tell them there is a security threat,” he said. “It’s a game of trying to make the racists happy.” . . . B’Tselem said in a 2014 report: “For Palestinian workers who regularly enter Israel illegally to earn a living, life is a constant struggle for survival and returning home safe and sound from work cannot be taken for granted. “They live in constant anxiety, fearing arrest or injury. In such a reality, labor rights such as a minimum wage, reasonable work hours, and a pension scheme seem like a distant dream.” B’Tselem spokesperson Sarit Michaeli told Ma‘an these Palestinians entered Israel unlawfully not so they could carry out knife attacks, but because they had been driven by “immense poverty and a lack of employment” inside the occupied West Bank.
http://maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770823
Gaza
Israeli forces shoot, injure 4 Palestinians in Gaza protests
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) 26 Mar — Israeli forces shot and injured four Palestinians with live fire when clashes erupted near the border in the Gaza Strip on Friday, the Ministry of Health said. Spokesman for Gaza’s Ministry of Health Ashraf al-Qidra told Ma‘an two young men were shot east of Beit Hanoun near the border with Israel in the north of the coastal enclave. Two others were shot near the borderline east of Gaza City, al-Qidra said, adding that two men suffered from severe tear gas inhalation east of al-Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip . . . Palestinians in the Gaza Strip crowd near the borders with Israel every Friday to show solidarity with what Palestinians in besieged coastal enclave have termed the “Jerusalem Intifada” taking place in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. Nearly 30 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip since the unrest spread in October, the majority shot dead during clashes on the Gaza-Israel border.
http://maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770855
Military march in Gaza held to commemorate assassination of Hamas founder
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 24 Mar — The al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing, organized a military march in the southern Gaza Strip Wednesday evening to commemorate the 12th anniversary of the assassination of the movement’s founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. Hamas official Ismail Radwan said in a speech at the march: “Al-Qassam now leads the army of the coming liberation battle with the Israeli occupation.” Radwan added, “Hamas and al-Qassam have become a challenging force that Israel cannot bypass.” He called on the al-Qassam Brigades to be “fully prepared to respond to any Israeli offensives against Palestinians.” Radwan stressed that Hamas would not negotiate with Israel over the occupied Palestinian territory, adding that the movement is committed to the complete liberation of Palestine and its prisoners, and the return of refugees. Ahmed Yassin, who was founder and spiritual leader of Hamas, was assassinated in an Israeli airstrike in 2004.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770825
Opinion: The helicopter vs the wheelchair — Dr. Samah Jabr
Palestine Chronicle 24 Mar — Neither the fact nor the brutal manner of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin’s cruel assassination on 22 March 2004 was surprising, nor was Israel’s indifference to the severe human cost paid by other Palestinians who happened to be around the sheikh at the time; nine other people were killed in the attack. Sheikh Yassin was not the first and will not be the last Palestinian leader to be killed in the struggle for Palestinian rights. Israel has assassinated many Palestinians and non-Palestinians — intellectuals, writers and artists from across the political and ideological spectrum — who led the fight against its military occupation of Palestine. Every democratically elected Israeli prime minister has assassinated Palestinian leaders in the occupied territories, refugee camps and throughout the Diaspora. What I find astonishing, though, is the stunningly accurate way in which Sheikh Yassin’s assassination in particular serves as a metaphor to reveal the nature of the Palestine-Israel conflict. The image of a US-made Apache attack helicopter launching three sophisticated missiles to kill a quadriplegic, near-deaf, 69 year-old man as he left his local mosque in his wheelchair after the dawn prayer, exemplifies what is taking place in occupied Palestine. The sheikh was also made almost blind by the “moderate physical pressure” applied by Israeli prison interrogators. Israel’s predisposition is to resort to the logic of power to smother the Palestinians’ power of logic as they struggle for a free and decent life in the land of their birth. As a boy in 1948, Sheikh Yassin was driven by Zionist militias from his village, Al-Jura, near Askalan. For the rest of his life, he lived as a refugee in a small, modest home in a poor neighbourhood in the Gaza Strip. Even though for all of his adult life he was a captive of his wheelchair, Sheikh Yassin had a creative mind and a big heart. A brave, influential and daring speaker, he was known for his wisdom, balanced assessment and steadfast faith. Contrary to what the manipulative Western media likes to claim, he did not struggle to exterminate the Jews and create an Islamic empire. In fact, he made a clear distinction between the Jews per se and the Zionists occupying his land. He did, however, advocate armed resistance to liberate occupied Palestine and end Israel’s daily killing and oppression of the Palestinians. (Continued)
http://www.palestinechronicle.com/the-helicopter-v-the-wheelchair/
Gaza: Israeli navy opens fire on Palestinian fishing boats; army fired on shepherds
IMEMC/Agencies 25 Mar — Israeli navy ships opened fire, earlier on Friday morning, targeting a number of Palestinian fishing boats, while soldiers stationed across the border fence opened fire on shepherds in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. Several navy ships fired rounds of live ammunition at a number of Palestinian fishing boats, in the Sudaniyya Sea in northern Gaza, causing damage but no injuries. Fearing further Israeli assaults and violations, the fishers had to sail back to shore, without being able to fish to provide for their families. In related news, Israeli soldiers stationed on military towers across the border fence opened fire on Palestinian shepherds herding their sheep behind the Eastern Graveyard, east of Jabalia in the northern part of the Gaza Strip; no injuries were reported.
http://www.imemc.org/article/75361
Gaza resident appears in court for hacking Israeli drone, family denies charges
MEE/Agencies 24 Mar — A Palestinian computer engineer from the Gaza Strip, who played a critical role in acquiring talent for the TV show Palestinians Got Talent, appeared in an Israeli court on Wednesday accused of hacking into Israeli military drones on behalf of the Islamic Jihad political party, government officials said. Majid Oweida, 23, was accused of developing software that the faction used for years to “intercept video footage transmitted by Israeli military drones,” the court in the southern city of Beersheba was told. “This Palestinian also developed other software allowing one to know all flights at (Tel Aviv’s) Ben Gurion airport, as well as the identity of travelers, the type of aircraft taking off and landing, as well as their weight,” the prosecution said. However, Majid’s brother, Amjad, emphatically denied the accusations brought forth by the Israeli government. In an interview with the New York Times, he said “[Majid] is just a talented young man who can use and work on computers in a brilliant way. He cannot hack or do cyberattacks. Majd did not work for Islamic Jihad or any other political party. He used to work for Palestine’s Talent Club to help talented people leave Gaza for TV programs outside.” A spokesperson for Islamic Jihad, Dawood Shehab, said the organisation didn’t know Oweida . . . Oweida was indicted for espionage, belonging to a “terrorist” organisation and conspiracy to transmit to the enemy information that could affect Israeli security. The Palestinian was arrested one month ago when he was traveling from Gaza to the occupied West Bank to take part in the Palestinians Got Talent singing contest, according to judiciary sources. The foreign ministry refused to comment on those reports but the former intelligence minister Yuval Steinitz, who currently holds the energy portfolio, had said he was “not surprised” by the information.
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/gaza-resident-appears-court-hacking-israeli-drone-family-denies-charges-741276369
PA seeking to facilitate ICC visit to Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 25 Mar — The Palestinian Authority is locked in ongoing efforts to secure a visit by a delegation from the International Criminal Court to the besieged Gaza Strip, a Palestinian official told Ma‘an on Friday. Jamil Shihadeh, a member of the Palestinian committee in charge of following up with the ICC, said the committee’s head, Saeb Erekat, was trying to arrange the visit after meeting with ICC delegates in Jordan. He said Erekat was attempting to facilitate their entrance to Gaza through Egypt’s Rafah crossing, after Israel banned the delegation from entering the territory through its own border crossings. The Palestinian leadership met with representatives from the ICC prosecutor’s office in Jordan earlier this week to discuss the possibility of opening an investigation into potential war crimes committed by Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory . . . The ICC is already conducting a preliminary probe on possible Israeli war crimes in the occupied Palestinian territory.
http://maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770837
Two Palestinians sentenced in Hamas court for spying in Gaza
JPost 24 Mar by Khaled Abu Toameh — A Hamas court in the Gaza Strip on Thursday sentenced two Palestinians to 12 and 15 years in prison for spying for the Palestinian Authority. The two, Sami Nisman and Naim Abu Ful, previously served as officers in the PA security forces in the Gaza Strip. Nisman, who received 15 years in prison, carried the rank of general in the PA’s General Intelligence Force. Abu Ful (who was sentenced to 12 years) was a major in the PA’s National Security Force. The two were sentenced by a Hamas “military court,” which found them guilty of “breach of public order.” The two officers were part of what Hamas described as a PA-engineered conspiracy to instigate unrest and instability in the Gaza Strip. Hamas claims that the alleged plot was sponsored by PA security officers who fled the Gaza Strip to the West Bank. The two officers are entitled to appeal against the verdict, the court ruled. The court also sentenced another three PA security officers to prison terms ranging from one to three years for their role in the alleged scheme. All the officers were convicted of serving as informants for PA security forces in the West Bank.
http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Two-Palestinians-sentenced-in-Hamas-court-for-spying-in-Gaza-449108
Israel redeploys Iron Dome system near Gaza
IMEMC 26 Mar — Israel has redeployed the Iron Dome missile interception system in settlements close to the border with the Gaza Strip. Israeli sources said the measure comes in the aftermath of the death of two Palestinians, in Hebron, especially the one who was executed after he was already shot and severely injured. Israeli TV Channel 2 said that following videotaped execution of the wounded Palestinian, the army deployed Iron Dome systems in Ashdod and Nativot. The “Jewish Press” agency said the Iron Dome system has been redeployed in many areas, south of the country, especially near Sderot and Nativot, close to the border with the Gaza Strip. It claimed that the motive for the redeployment “remains unclear,” especially since Tel Aviv did not reveal whether it was related to a “credible threat,” or merely a “routine move.”
http://www.imemc.org/article/75375
Prisoners / Court actions
Red nose protests for jailed Palestinian clown
AFP 26 Mar by Sarah Benhaida — Circus performers around the world are mobilising in support of a Palestinian clown held by Israel without trial for more than three months on unspecified grounds. They are showing solidarity with red noses and fluorescent wigs in Europe and with a colourful caravan outside an Israeli prison. In Brazil, Afro-style Capoeira moves are being performed in Mohammed Abu Sakha’s name and songs are sung about him. A dozen Israeli circus artists recently travelled to the prison in northern Israel where he was held before being transferred to a facility in the Negev desert in the south of the country. Israeli performer and activist Hanita-Caroline Hendelman was outside the Israeli military court at Ofer, west of Jerusalem, on Monday, singing and beating her tambourine while an army judge heard his appeal against detention. The court did not issue an immediate ruling. The Israeli army does not say why Abu Sakha is held in “administrative detention”, the controversial measure under which a person can be jailed without trial for periods of six months, renewable indefinitely. Amnesty International has said Israel believes him to be a member of the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which is considered a militant movement by Israel due to its armed wing. The Palestinian Performing Arts Network (PPAN) said it was “deeply concerned” about the detention of Abu Sakha, who since 2008 has been part of the Palestinian Circus School in the West Bank village of Bir Zeit, first as a student and later as a clown and teacher. (Continued)
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/red-nose-protests-jailed-palestinian-clown-490329752
Israeli forces assault prisoners in Etzion detention center
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 24 Mar — Palestinian prisoners in Israel’s Etzion detention center were “aggressively” assaulted while under Israeli custody, the Palestinian Committee for Prisoners’ Affairs said on Thursday. The committee said Israeli soldiers raided the prisoners’ cells and forced them to leave before their rooms were subjected to a “humiliating” inspection. The groups were later forced to crowd together into two rooms. The committee said that Israeli soldiers inspected the rooms in the presence of the prisoners’ representative, leaving the premises in disarray. The committee added in the statement that Palestinian prisoners Nidal Muhammad Arafat Basal, 29, and Sameh Musallam Abu Sel,18, were assaulted violently by Israeli soldiers during their detention . Basal said he was assaulted when he was taken to the detention center clinic and Sel reported being beaten across his body with guns and left in cold conditions for more than 10 hours. Earlier this month, 46 prisoners at Etzion detention center ended hunger strike after Israeli authorities agreed to let the prisoners receive clothes and other supplies from the prisoners’ committee. The director of the committee’s Bethlehem office, Munqith Abu Atwan, told Ma’an at the time that Etzion detention center and its interrogation rooms were “hell” and “unfit for human life.”
http://maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770829
Former hunger strike Al-Qiq ‘suddenly’ moved to al-Ramla prison clinic
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 24 Mar — Imprisoned Palestinian journalist Muhammad al-Qiq was suddenly transferred from HaEmek Hospital in Afula to a medical clinic in al-Ramla prison on Thursday, the Palestinian Committee for Prisoners’ Affairs said. The committee said the reasons for al-Qiq’s transfer were not explained, pointing out that he is still undergoing medical treatment for recovery from a grueling 94-day hunger strike launched by the prisoner that ended Feb. 26 and brought him close to death. Al-Qiq’s transfer to al-Ramla in central Israel came without any prior notice and he was not allowed to take his personal belongings, the committee added, without giving further information. In February, al-Qiq demanded to be moved to a Palestinian hospital in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, and the appeal was ultimately rejected by Israel’s Supreme Court. Amnesty International responded to the decision in a statement that al-Qiq, on the verge of death, had the right to treatment by doctors of his choice as “an unconvicted detainee.”
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770830
7 Palestinians in Jerusalem indicted for forming ‘PFLP cell’
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 25 Mar — An Israeli court on Friday indicted seven young Palestinians from occupied East Jerusalem for allegedly forming a Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) cell with the intention of carrying out attacks, Israeli media reported. Hebrew-language news site 0404 reported that the seven, aged 17 to 21, were handed indictment lists from an Israeli court that included accusations of planning a shooting on Israeli forces in Jerusalem. Three of the Palestinians were accused of forming the left-wing PFLP cell before contacting and recruiting four others to carry out the attacks, 0404 reported. Other allegations against the seven included plans to use locally made explosive devices and rocks, creating and testing an explosive device before making copies to use against Israeli forces in al-Issawiya, and a decision by the group to buy a “Gustav Carlo” gun to use in attacks. Two Palestinians from the cell allegedly made five Molotov cocktails on Feb. 22 before throwing them at Israeli vehicles passing by al-Issawiya, 0404 added.
http://maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770840
Four East Jerusalem residents charged with attempting to join ISIS
Haaretz 26 Mar by Nir Hasson — Four East Jerusalem youths aged between 20 and 25 have been charged with attempting to join the Islamic State in Syria. According to the indictment, which was brought before the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court on Friday, they were unable to reach Syria for various reasons, but established study groups in which they studied the ISIS ideology and watched videos of the group’s leaders . . . One of the defendants, Lukman Atun, 24, from Tsur Baher, flew to Turkey and met up with a people smuggler but didn’t have enough money to be taken to the border, according to the indictment. After returning to Jerusalem, he and the other defendants established a study group which met several times a week. Another defendant, Abed al-Rahman from Abu Tir, also tried to fly to Turkey about a month ago but was arrested at the airport. Yet another planned to leave, but his father found out about it and stopped him . . . The four are charged with attempted membership and activity in an illegal organization, attempting to join a terrorist organization, supporting a terrorist organization and attempting to leave the country unlawfully.
http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.710955
Land, property theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing
Photo essay: The Bedouin village about to be destroyed to make way for Jewish community
MEE 21 Mar by Jenny Nyman — Residents of the Bedouin village of Umm al-Hiran in the Negev desert in southern Israel face an imminent threat of displacement as their village is due to be demolished by Israeli authorities. Despite being moved to the area by military order in 1956, the community was considered illegal or “unrecognised” by the state of Israel. After a 13-year legal struggle, the Israeli Supreme Court recently delivered its final judgement against the village: Umm al-Hiran will be demolished. 1. The Bedouin village of Umm al-Hiran is located in the Negev desert in southern Israel and is home to about 500 people from the Bedouin tribe of Abu al-Qi’an. It is one of 35 villages in the area that remain unrecognised by the state of Israel, which means the residents, all Israeli citizens, have never been granted building permits, basic services or infrastructure. (Continued)
http://www.middleeasteye.net/in-depth/features/pictures-demolishing-village-unexceptional-or-unacceptable-2024509123
Third of Palestinian village left homeless by demolitions this year
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 25 Mar — Mass Israeli demolitions in the Jordan Valley village of Khirbet Tana have left more than a third of its Palestinian residents homeless since the beginning of the year, the UN said Friday. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said 87 of the village’s 250 residents, including 35 children, had lost their homes in three separate demolitions since January. The demolitions are part of one of the most extensive demolition campaigns in the occupied West Bank in the last seven years, which has left a total of more than 650 Palestinians homeless in less than three months, more than half of whom were children, OCHA said. “These demolitions generate a coercive environment, exacerbating residents’ risk of forcible transfer, prohibited by international humanitarian law,” the body said. In Khribet Tana, 53 structures have been destroyed, including 22 homes, 19 animal shelters, six latrine units, five traditional ovens, and a water reservoir. The UN body said 18 of these structures had been donated as humanitarian aid by the international community, the majority after demolitions were carried out earlier this year. Half of all Israeli demolitions across the occupied West Bank this year have taken place in areas declared by Israel as “firing zones,” or restricted military areas, which OCHA said constitute nearly 20 percent of the occupied West Bank. Khirbet Tana is located in “Firing Zone 904A,” in a part of the Jordan Valley that rights groups say Israel intends to fully annex . . . Israel’s Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories previously told Ma‘an the demolitions were carried out in the village because they were built illegally and were endangered due to their situation inside the firing zone. However, OCHA noted two illegal Israeli settlement outposts — recently established and built in the same firing zone — where the Israeli authorities have not carried out any demolitions, despite issuing demolition orders.
http://maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770844
BDS
Palestinians welcome UN call for settlement database
MEE/Agencies 25 Mar — The Palestinian government has hailed the decision by the United Nations to establish a database of companies working in Israeli settlements, a ruling that Israel called an “absurdity”. The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Thursday adopted four motions on the Palestinian territories, including one calling for the establishment of a list of companies operating from settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Israel has long accused the body of unfairly singling it out. Ibrahim Khreisheh, Palestinian envoy to the UNHRC, called the vote a “message of hope for our people”. “Israel continues to systematically violate the inalienable rights of the Palestinians while enjoying impunity from the international community,” he added. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu labelled UNHRC an “anti-Israel circus” which “attacks the only democracy in the Middle East and ignores the gross violations of Iran, Syria and North Korea.”
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/palestinians-welcome-un-call-settlement-database-246644165
Circumventing BDS and making friends for Israel
JPost 25 Mar by Greer Fay Cashman — Notwithstanding BDS and the labeling of goods from Judea, Samaria and the Golan Heights, Israel has friends in Europe and the United States who buy made in Israel products from beyond the Green Line by subscribing to Lev Haolam’s monthly €90 package. Founded by Nati and Yona Rom, the couple sends Lev Haolam subscribers 12 surprise packages annually that may include cosmetics, chocolates, olive oil, wine, fresh fruit and anything else produced or grown in Judea, Samaria or the Golan Heights. Angered by the effect of boycotts on small businesses there, the Roms began their direct marketing campaign. Each package they ship includes an explanatory note about the history of the area from which the products came, from biblical times to the present day. Over time, Lev Haolam – which is Hebrew for “heart of the world” – has built up a global following of subscribers who wish to fight the BDS boycott and stand in solidarity with Israel, and thus help small businesses in Judea, Samaria and the Golan Heights survive . . . Dagan said that made in Samaria products find their way not only to Europe, Africa and the US, but also to some Arab States.
http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/Circumventing-BDS-and-making-friends-for-Israel-449159
Other news
UN passes 4 Palestinian-backed resolutions in landmark victory
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 24 Mar — In a landmark victory for the Palestinian leadership, the UN Human Rights Council on Thursday passed four resolutions relating to the occupied Palestinian territory, one of which will draw up a “blacklist” of companies who do business in illegal Israeli settlements. The PLO Negotiations Affairs Department said that in addition to the resolution regarding settlements — which passed 32 to 0 — a resolution was adopted recognizing the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination. A resolution focused on Palestinian human rights that was passed by the council addressed Israeli army closures in areas under occupation, as well as home demolitions, violations of religious sites, and “extrajudicial” killings carried out by Israeli forces. Another resolution to enact proper investigative systems to ensure accountability for violations carried out by Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory was also passed by the council. The resolution proposed by the Palestinian leadership obliging the UN Human Rights Council to form a database of all actors conducting business in areas under Israeli military occupation reportedly received major opposition from the US and EU prior to Thursday’s vote. The Western leaders reportedly warned that the resolution would come at the detriment to aid given to the Palestinian Authority.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770836
Fatah delegation arrives in Doha for unity talks with Hamas
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 25 Mar — A Fatah delegation arrived in Doha on Friday as part of efforts to form a new reconciliation agreement with rival faction Hamas, official sources said. The delegation was said to include Fatah Central Committee members Azzam al-Ahmad and Sakhir Bseiso, both of whom are expected to meet with Hamas officials in the coming days. Since the most recent reconciliation talks in the Qatari capital last month, the sources said, there had been ongoing communication between the two factions. There is a “practical envisioning” of a resolution, the sources told Ma‘an, adding that Fatah is coordinating with local and regional bodies to overcome the obstacles facing a reconciliation. The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov said in a statement last month that he hoped the talks would result in the formation of a national unity government that would conduct “long-overdue” elections.
http://maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770848
Palestinian farmers caught in political tug of war
Al-Monitor 21 Mar by Daoud Kuttab — After some West Bank farmers were barred from bringing their goods into Jerusalem, it seems the Palestinian conflict is moving more to the economic sphere than to the political one — Hundreds of Palestinian dairy and meat farmers find themselves caught in a political struggle between Israel and the Palestinian authorities. The problem of Palestinian farmers began on March 10 when Israeli troops barred trucks belonging to the five leading Palestinian dairy and meat companies from entering into Jerusalem. Trucks from Hamoda dairy company were coming from Hebron, and the order was applied to four other companies. Kamel Mujahed, head of the Palestinian Milk Council, which represents dairy farmers, told Al-Monitor that Palestinian farmers are the first to suffer from this Israeli decision. “Fifty percent of our sales are to consumers in Jerusalem, and by barring our dairy trucks, our farmers are stuck with very perishable products.” . . . The Palestinian struggle for independence is largely a political one, but with the upsurge in calls for limiting Israel from benefiting from the occupation through boycotts and international demands to label settlement products, it appears that the struggle is being fought economically. Israel, however, might lose much more than it gains if it insists on preventing a small number of Palestinian farmers and companies from trying to export their products across Israeli checkpoints. With the issue of East Jerusalem being so contentious in the Palestinian struggle, acts against Palestinians in Jerusalem are more likely to backfire than to be a deterrent.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/03/israel-bars-entry-palestinian-farmer-trucks.html
Head of Israel’s governing body in West Bank dies in plane crash
i24news 25 Mar — Brigadier General Munir Amar killed a month after assuming role — Brigadier General Munir Amar, chief of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Unit (COGAT), died on Friday when the light plane he was traveling in crashed on a cliff about fifteen minutes after takeoff, Israeli news site Ynet reported. He was the only person on the plane. COGAT’s website describes the unit as “responsible for implementing the government’s policy in Judea and Samaria and vis-à-vis the Gaza Strip” and “constitutes the civilian authority for residential zoning and infrastructure and is responsible for addressing the needs of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.” Amar, 47, was a married father of three and a resident of the Druze town of Julis in the western Galilee, Israeli news site Walla reported. Before assuming his COGAT position, Amar served as commander of the IDF’s Arab-speaking Sword Battalion, commander of the Hermon Brigade, and commander of the Home Front Command’s Northern District.
http://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/diplomacy-defense/107403-160325-head-of-israel-s-governing-body-in-west-bank-dies-in-plane-crash
MK Tibi uses Palestinian embassy to set up Bucharest trip, angering Israel
JPost 24 Mar by Lahav Harkov — Joint List MK Ahmad Tibi angered the Foreign Ministry on Thursday by planning a visit to Romania through the Palestinian, rather than Israeli, embassy there. Diplomatic officials said they were “shocked” and “saddened” that there are Arab MKs who act in a defiant way against the state. Tibi, who heads the Ra’am-Tal faction on the predominantly Arab Joint List, met in Bucharest Thursday with Romanian parliamentarians. Tibi defended his decision not to arrange his trip with the Foreign Ministry on Twitter, writing in Arabic that he was invited by Arab students in Bucharest to mark “Land Day” with them, and wrote in English that he was invited by the “Palestinian community.” According to Tibi, there are 2,300 Palestinians in Romania, over half of whom are students. Land Day is when Israeli Arabs and Palestinians commemorate the deaths of six Arabs in the Galilee in 1976 during riots over a government decision to expropriate land. MK Anat Berko (Likud) responded to Tibi on Twitter: “Thanks for the update. For a moment I thought you were going as a member of the Israeli parliament.” Tibi told Israel Radio that this wasn’t the first time that he had arranged an official visit abroad in this manner and claimed that he had received authorization from the Knesset ethics panel.
http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/MK-Tibi-uses-Palestinian-embassy-to-set-up-Bucharest-trip-angering-Israel-449073
Christians mark Good Friday in Jerusalem
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 25 Mar — Christian Palestinians and pilgrims from around the world marked Good Friday by holding a procession on Via Dolorosa in the historic Old City in occupied East Jerusalem. Security was tight as thousands of worshipers, some bearing wooden crosses, walked through the Old City to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the site where many believe Jesus was crucified and buried before rising from the dead three days later. Jerusalem traditionally hosts large celebrations during the week leading up to the Easter holiday, most notably on Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday.
http://maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770852
Jerusalem expects quiet Easter as fear of violence deter pilgrims
JERUSALEM (The Guardian) 25 Mar by Harriet Sherwood — Churches and traders in Jerusalem are braced for a quiet Easter after a fall in pilgrim numbers over the past two years blamed on fears of continuing violence. The number of tourists visiting Israel in January this year was down 24% on the same month in 2014, according to the ministry of tourism. Easter usually sees a peak in the number of pilgrims visiting Jerusalem’s Old City to mark the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Jesus. This year, Roman Catholics and Protestant denominations celebrate Easter on 27 March, and the eastern Orthodox churches mark it on Sunday 1 May – an unusually long gap. The number of people taking part in last weekend’s traditional Palm Sunday procession – from the Mount of Olives to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, via the Garden of Gethsemane and the Via Dolorosa – was estimated by church sources to be 15,000, compared with more than 25,000 last year . . . Abu Ahmed, a shopkeeper in the Old City, said there were far fewer tourists and pilgrims this year. “It is very quiet, very bad. I am hardly selling anything,” he said while arranging his display of wooden crosses, incense and other religious souvenirs near the Holy Sepulchre. Bethlehem, the city of Jesus’s birth, which is in the West Bank and cut off from Jerusalem by the Israeli-built separation barrier, had been even harder hit over the past two years, Khader said. “Tourism is a really important part of Bethlehem’s economy. People have made big investments, but many hotels are closed, empty or operating with very low numbers.” (Continued)
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/25/jerusalem-expects-quiet-easter-fears-violence-deter-pilgrims
Parents protest as dream of bilingual education in Israel turns sour
JAFFA, Israel (MEE) 25 Mar by Jonathan Cook — It is a rare scene: in a classroom on the southern outskirts of Tel Aviv, young Israeli children – Jewish and Palestinian – play and study together, casually chatting and joking in a mix of Hebrew and Arabic. The opening of the first bilingual classrooms in Israel’s largest city was celebrated with great excitement by parents and teachers last September. It broke with a decades-old model of strict segregation between the country’s Jewish and Palestinian pupils. Israel includes a large and often-overlooked minority of 1.7 million Palestinian citizens, a fifth of the population. Only months into the educational experiment, however, the mood has soured. Hundreds of parents staged a protest in central Tel Aviv this month, chanting “All children are equal” and “We demand bilingual education.” Both Israeli Jews and Palestinian citizens of Israel who had sent their kids there turned out. They accuse the municipality and education ministry – both of which officially support the project – of betraying the ideals of bilingualism, and have threatened to pull their children out of the school. “We held a vote and 80 percent of parents agreed that they would not let their children continue at the school if things stay as they are,” Assaf Ronel, a spokesman for the parents, told Middle East Eye. “We have demanded that the municipality commit to our vision in writing, and provide a proper space for a Palestinian identity in the school.” (Continued)
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-s-segregated-schools-2116891892
Opinion: An Israeli Arab woman in the playground
Haaretz 25 Mar by Maha Mansour — She approached the bench I was sitting on at the mall playground. She was a Jewish woman in her early 40s, wearing a lilac-toned head covering, with a crown of a delicate lavender flower. She was with two dark-skinned, beautiful girls. When she reached the bench she asked me with a smile if she could sit next to me. I smiled back and answered that of course she could, while making room for her. She asked me if I could keep an eye on her baby while she washed the milk bottle at the fountain a few meters away. I answered in the affirmative. She disappeared for two minutes. Meanwhile, the baby started crying, and I gave him the pacifier attached to his overalls. When she returned, she didn’t stop thanking me for watching over her baby. While thanking me, my twins came up to me to ask permission to play with the other children in the playground. The moment she heard me speaking Arabic her she looked stunned. She froze in place for a few moments. When she regained her composure, she slid to the edge of the bench, so that half her body was in the air. The moment I lifted my bag to take out a water bottle and give my son a drink, she leapt up as fast as a cheetah, pushed the baby carriage, bent over and whispered to the Jewish woman sitting on the adjacent bench, “Watch the purses, there is an Arab woman next to you.” The woman gazed at me with a look of astonishment. She was probably surprised to see an Arab woman with loose hair and leggings rather than a head covering and a jalabiya. Meanwhile, I heard the laughter of my two children, who were enjoying playing with the children of the two women. None of them understood the other’s language, and still you could see how much fun they were having together. In my mind, the images of the religious woman with the beautiful head covering fleeing and the astounded look on the face of the other woman juxtaposed with the cries of joy emanating from the playground, and it was hard to tell if they came from my children or theirs. The scene made me wonder: If these little children, devoid of bitterness and fear, can play together, what would happen if they were to grow up unencumbered, without anyone polluting their thoughts with racist incitement? Would they not continue to feel the same mutual trust in each other and enjoy each other’s company as adults? Who is responsible for planting the seeds of enmity and racism and baseless hatred? Whose interests are served? (Continued)
http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.710639
Film review: Women of the West Bank burn up the road
EI 23 Mar by Sarah Irving — Speed Sisters directed by Amber Fares (2015) — Google “sport” and “Palestine” and what does the search engine return? Football, football and more football. Soccer seems to be the only kind of sport associated with Palestine — and the fever which grips the West Bank and Gaza during national games or matches between popular international clubs like Barcelona and Real Madrid bears this out. But Amber Fares’ Speed Sisters — premiered in Australia and the US in 2015 and on release in the UK this spring — follows a very different set of enthusiasms. This gutsy, moving, exciting and deeply personal film follows the Palestinian women’s rally-car racing team through two seasons of hopes and heartbreak, love and rivalry, punctuated by scenes of cars screeching and skidding to pounding rock, metal and hip-hop soundtracks . . . as well as being feisty, tough and sexy, these women are also intelligent and thoughtful, engaging with the challenges that the Israeli occupation and their own society throw at them. We see the emotional impact of these challenges when Marah finally obtains a permit to pass through Israeli checkpoints to go to Jaffa, a city inside present-day Israel, with Noor and Maysoon (who have Jerusalem IDs, allowing them to access Jaffa) to celebrate Maysoon’s engagement. Marah, coming from a less privileged family and confined by Israeli walls and rules, has never seen much of Palestine beyond the West Bank, and is shocked by her first encounters with Jerusalem and the Mediterranean coast.“I was surprised by Jaffa and Jerusalem,” she says in tones of wonder. “They took the most beautiful places we had.”
https://electronicintifada.net/content/women-west-bank-burn-road/16126
groups.yahoo.com/group/f_shadi (listserv)
www.theheadlines.org (archive)
Source Article from http://mondoweiss.net/2016/03/un-envoy-condemns-execution-in-hebron-as-gruesome-immoral-and-unjust/
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