Israeli intelligence refusing to release prisoners upon completion of sentences
Palestine Information Center – 14/05/2011
SALFIT — The Israeli intelligence apparatus said it would not release Palestinian prisoner Rami Suleiman, 31, after he completed serving his five-year prison term and instead would place him under administrative detention without any charge.
Ahrar center for prisoner’s studies and human rights stated in this regard that the Israeli occupation state refused lately to release a number of Palestinian prisoners after they served their terms and decided to extend their detention administratively.
It added, “Israel wants to tell the Palestinian prisoners that they are not in prison according to law and their freedom after they complete their imprisonment terms is decided by the intelligence apparatus.”
In another incident, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) kidnapped at dawn Thursday Palestinian writer and political analyst Amer Sa’ad, 27, from his home west of Nablus city.
Local sources said the IOF ransacked Sa’ad’s house and took him to an unknown destination.
Sa’ad is a writer and a specialist in the Arab movements and their ideologies, and issued many studies in this regard.
Villagers of Jaloud protest their electricity being cut
13 May 2011 | International Solidarity Movement
Today the village of Jaloud held a non-violent demonstration against the decision of Israel to cut off the electricity of seven families living on the outskirts of the village. The villagers and several international organisations marched from the village to the aforementioned houses carrying banners protesting the theft of their land and electricity. Jaloud, which is home to nearly 1,000 villagers is, according to the plan of the District Coordinating Office located in area B. However a small number of properties fall into area C outside of this plan, despite being inhabited for over 80 years and have recently been served with notices that they will have their electricity cut off. They have been given a court date of 19th May, where they will be able to object to this decision. Village Mayor Abdullah Haj Mohamd says that he doesn’t know what the families will do if their power is cut as they are reliant on electricity for their everyday life and farm work.
Jaloud, which has been inhabited for over 6,000 years is now surrounded by seven illegal Israeli settlements and a military base. Since the beginning of the occupation the village has lost 80% of it’s land to settlements and it suffers from frequent attacks by the settlers, often at night. The village has also been targeted by the Israeli military who three months ago uprooted and removed 200 olive trees the villagers had planted on their land. This most recent move from the state of Israel can be seen as an attempt to prevent the expansion of the village and force families back into the centre, all the while facilitating the expansion of the surrounding settlements.
22 Wounded One Critically in The Weekly Nonviolent Protest in Nabi Saleh
By George Rishmawi – IMEMC & Agencies – May 13, 2011
A large march started after the Friday prayers midday towards the construction site of the new settlement Israel is building on the land of the villagers of Nabi Saleh near the central West Bank city of Ramallah.
Israeli soldiers fired a number of tear gas bombs and rubber-coated steel bullets at the nonviolent protesters wounding at least 22 civilians.
One American protester was wounded in the head when he was hit with a tear gas canister. He was moved to the hospital for treatment and his wounds were described as critical.
Israeli troops also kidnapped two women identified as Nida and Iqbal Tamimi. Eyewitnesses said they were handcuffed and blind-folded and were taken to unknown destination. Troops also arrested two Israelis from the site. Dozens other were treated for gas inhalation and for being beaten by the Israeli soldiers.
Israeli soldiers also assaulted photojournalist Hilmi Tamimi, and broke his camera during the protest.
Israeli revenue freeze is “a warning” to the Palestinians
MEMO |12 May 2011
Israel’s finance minister has said that the Israeli decision to freeze the tax revenue transfer to the Palestinian Authority is a “punishment”. Yuval Steinitz said that the “warning” move by Israel was a response to Fatah signed a reconciliation agreement with Hamas.
Speaking to Radio Israel, Steinitz said, “The delay in transferring funds is a yellow card for the Palestinian Authority after the signing of the agreement with Hamas.” At the moment, it is a delay of a week to ten days, but it could become a “red card”, depending on “clarifications” from the Palestinians.
Annually, Israel collects taxes totaling between $55 – 62 million at border crossings and ports on behalf of the PA and transfers it to the Palestinians under an economic deal agreed alongside the Oslo autonomy accords.
Israeli forces, tanks cross into Gaza
Press TV – May 11, 2011
Israeli forces backed by tanks and bulldozers have crossed into the Gaza Strip, destroying Palestinian farmlands in north of the enclave.
Israeli soldiers apparently entered the Palestinian territory from Karni crossing on Wednesday and advanced hundreds of meters toward the east of Gaza City.
According to Press TV’s correspondent in Gaza, Israeli soldiers dug a series of holes in the area and filled them with explosives.
Israeli soldiers then blew up the explosives, causing loud explosions in the area, our correspondent added.
Israeli officials claim that the troops were searching and destroying “possible tunnels” in the area that could be used by Palestinian resistance fighters to enter Israeli posts and capture Israeli soldiers.
But analysts believe the Israeli attack aimed at provoking Palestinian fighters into firing on Israeli troops, which could have escalated the situation.
It was the first Israeli attack on Gaza after the two main Palestinian factions, Hamas and Fatah, signed a unity deal.
Israel has repeatedly voiced anger at the reconciliation accord signed between the two Palestinian groups which aimed at forming a Palestinian unity government.
Occupied Palestine: Aid work delayed by barriers
IRIN | May10, 2011
Truckloads of humanitarian aid and commercial goods bottle-necked at Kerem Shalom crossing along the Gaza-Israel border
Photo: Erica Silverman/IRIN
RAMALLAH – The delivery of humanitarian aid to the occupied Palestinian territories (OPT) has been hampered by severe restrictions on staff movements, hurting the quality, scope and sustainability of operations, say the UN and international NGOs.
“Delays in the movement of staff that are guiding, monitoring and executing programmes mean delays in implementation and rising costs,” UN Humanitarian Coordinator for OPT, Max Gaylard, said. “Services to beneficiaries may be delayed and their quality reduced.”
OPT has some of the largest humanitarian operations in the world. Every day, thousands of aid workers battle with the physical barriers of occupation just like the 4.5 million Palestinians residents. The barriers include nearly 1,000 internal West Bank checkpoints, roadblocks, earth mounds and trenches that are part of Israel’s complex security regime.
Israel says the checkpoints are necessary to ensure the security of Israeli citizens against terror attacks.
About 17,000 UN staff, including about 450 internationals, work for nine UN humanitarian entities in the OPT. About 16,000 work for the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and another 1,000 for other UN agencies. More than 100 INGOs, employing a few thousand staff, along with thousands of national NGOs, work in the OPT, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
INGOs estimate the restrictions on OPT staff cost about US$4.5 million annually, excluding additional costs incurred by implementing partners.
Checkpoints
In 2010, there was a monthly average of 92 permanently and partially staffed checkpoints, 519 staffed obstacles, and an additional 414 “flying” or random checkpoints in the West Bank, reports OCHA.
The total area of the West Bank, 5,860 sqkm, ranks 171st globally in terms of size, while Gaza is just 365 sqkm.
Over the past six months, the number of fixed internal West Bank checkpoints has decreased, according to OCHA, although the number of “flying” West Bank checkpoints has increased, making planning increasingly difficult.
Aid workers faced an average of 44 incidents of delayed or denied access at West Bank checkpoints per month in 2010, 32 of which occurred at Jerusalem periphery checkpoints.
Checkpoints on the “separation barrier”, particularly those along the Jerusalem periphery, are more problematic for humanitarian staff and for Palestinians to cross, because Israelis view this as the point of entry into the state of Israel.
On average, about 385 UN and 123 INGO vehicles, which also carry staff, cross eight of the 21 fixed checkpoints located along the Jerusalem periphery daily to enter and exit the West Bank. An average 29 staff days were lost per month in 2010 to “checkpoint incidents”, says OCHA.
In 2010, 98 roadblocks were removed throughout the West Bank, leaving 16 operational, most of them normally open, according to the Israeli coordinator of government activities in the (Palestinian) territories (COGAT).
Delivery delayed
INGOs say the restrictions on their movement reduce the effective delivery of aid to some of the most vulnerable Palestinian communities, mainly those in Gaza and in Area ‘C’ of the West Bank.
“The biggest problem for us is getting permits for national staff to leave Gaza and travel to the West Bank and East Jerusalem,” says Oxfam international policy officer Lara El-Jazairi. “It’s impossible to get permits for West Bank nationals to enter Gaza.”
Oxfam has been forced to hire more international staff and to duplicate positions, increasing costs and spending funds that could otherwise be spent on project implementation, says El-Jazairi.
The UN has been told by Israeli authorities that the Israeli Crossing Points Administration (CPA), a civilian department linked to the Defence Ministry, will eventually operate all checkpoints from 2012.
The CPA requires regular searches of UN vehicles, unless the driver is an international staff member, and national UN staff are subject to body searches and required to walk through the crossings the CPA operates.
“We are working for the OPT, but Israel has full control in the West Bank and Gaza,” says Gaylard, and “Nothing and no-one goes in or out of the West Bank or Gaza for UN purposes without approval from the Israeli government.”
UN humanitarian supplies are basically food and medication. INGOs also face greater difficulties in obtaining necessary visas and work permits from the Israeli Interior Ministry than UN internationals under the jurisdiction of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, says Gaylard.
Wael Qadan, director of planning and development with the Palestinian Red Crescent Society in Ramallah, says the restrictions have hit East Jerusalem’s medical sector hardest. PRCS operates emergency ambulance services in East Jerusalem.
“Two-thirds of PRCS staff in East Jerusalem are from the West Bank, and every three months their permits must be renewed,” says Qadan. “There are frequent delays and some are denied, which means ambulance services in East Jerusalem are understaffed.”
“Only doctors can cross checkpoint in a vehicle; all medical staff must cross on foot, exposed to the elements,” says Jihad Alouni, a physical therapist from Augusta Vitoria Hospital. “The process is gruelling, and there are often delays,” he says.
~
See also:
Israel hampers aid agencies at Gaza crossings
IRIN | 29 March 2011
Bethlehem-Area Village of al Walaje Soon to be Completely Enclosed by Separation Wall
By Marta Fortunato for the Alternative Information Center | 10 May 2011
Ongoing construction of the Separation Wall around the Bethlehem-area village of al Walaje (photo by Marta Fortunato)
“Movement will be controlled, not restricted”, declared the Israeli High Court to the residents of al Walaje, a West Bank village four kilometres from Bethlehem which will be soon be completely enclosed by the Separation Wall.
Access to and from the village will be controlled by a gate, manned 24 hours a day by the Israeli army. Over 15000 dunams of al-Walaje’s lands have been confiscated by Israel since 1948, and now just 2800 dunams remain for the village.
The tormented story of al Walaje began in 1948 when the Israeli army occupied the village, confiscated its lands and forced the residents to leave their houses and move into caves. “Since that time our life has changed, family and social connections have started to weaken” Shirin al-‘Araj, one of the leaders of the Popular Committee of al Walaje, tells the Alternative Information Center (AIC). “In one day the residents of the village were scattered throughout different parts of the valley, living in caves. Communication was difficult. My parents, like thousands of other Palestinian refugees, thought they would return to their homes very soon”. On the contrary, time passed and they were prevented from going back. At the same time they didn’t want to leave the caves because “moving in other places was like a defeat for them, because it meant they never would return to their homes” Shirin continues.
However, during the 1960s, al Walaje residents started moving into new buildings located on the land left to the village after 1948. And this is the place where the village is perched today.
The tragedy of al Walaje continued in 1967 when part of the village was annexed by the Jerusalem Municipality, even though West Bank identity cards were given to the residents. In the beginning nobody understood the difference between the identity cards because at that time people were free to move between the West Bank and Israel. “Only from 1994, after the first check points and the first restrictions on our right of movement, we understood the meaning of our identity card: going to Jerusalem would soon be impossible,” Shirin concludes.
Israel’s land confiscation has never stopped: in 1971 more than 4000 dunams of lands were confiscated to build the East Jerusalem colony of Gilo and later, in 1979, the hill where today the colony of Har Gilo is being built, was taken from the village. Over 15000 dunams of al-Walaje’s lands have been taken away since 1948 and now just 2800 dunams remain for the residents of this village, who struggle daily against construction of the Separation Wall. Once the Separation Wall is completed, al Walaje will be totally enclosed by it and a tunnel and gate will provide the only access out, to nearby Beit Jala. This means that al Walaje will be completely closed and all access to and from the village will be monitored and controlled by the Israeli army. “We fear that al Walaje will become a new Qalandya, where the only checkpoint to enter the city closes at 5pm and access is permitted only to residents” Shirin says. “Every day we lose some of our rights and our freedom, including the right to demonstrate in a non-violent way”.
Al Walaje residents are afraid of organizing non violent demonstrations against the Separation Wall because in the past some residents, including several children, were severely injured by the Israeli army and work permits were torn up by Israeli soldiers in front of the residents, who stood in disbelief. Why take this risk? Why render al Walaje’s children innocent victims of Israel’s injustice?
“We don’t want other children injured, we don’t want other innocent people punished just because they take part in non-violent demonstrations. We can’t bear this burden anymore, it’s too much” Shirin continues.
Walking in the village it’s impossible not to notice construction of the Separation Wall: noisy trucks carry sand and stones from one part of the village to the other and there is a gray wall that defines the perimeter of al Walaje and suddenly stops. The Separation Wall won’t be built on the Green Line, here as in many other villages in the West Bank. It is just one of the several ways that Israel uses to occupy Palestinian land and annex it to Israel. To be on the Green Line, the Separation Wall in al Walaje should be built far to the West, on the slope of Gilo settlement, but it will be built on the other side of the valley, close to the village of al Walaje. This means that thousands of dunams will be confiscated.
This plan was further sustained by the Salesian community, whose monastery is located between the settlement of Gilo and al-Walaje, between the Green Line and the rapidly rising Separation Wall. The Salesian community didn’t stand against the Israeli plan and did not support the struggle of al-Walaje community.
It was particularly shocking to hear the story of a family in al Walaje, whose house will be separated from the village and will be on the “Israeli” side once construction of the Separation Wall is completed. However, the Israeli government doesn’t want this family to have free access to Israel, so it is planning to build a four meter high electronic fence all around the house and to establish a personal check point for access to al Walaje. Moreover, the family’s land will be confiscated because it will then be located on the other side of the Separation Wall.
One of the reasons given by the Israeli government for the planned route of the Separation Wall and to justify the annexation of thousands of dunams of land is that the Wall would pass “too close” to the zoo in West Jerusalem if it was built on the Green Line. “Do you understand how serious this situation is?” Shirin asks with indignation. “This means that for the Israeli government, the life of Israeli animals is more important than life of a Palestinian family”.
Settlers storm school, post racist slogans
Palestine Information Center – 09/05/2011
NABLUS — Jewish settlers stormed a Palestinian secondary school for girls in Sawiya village, south of Nablus, and placed racist, anti-Arab posters on its entrance in Hebrew.
The education office in southern Nablus said in a statement that the settlers, who were protected by Israeli army troops, also glued other posters on the school’s walls inciting against the Palestinians.
The office condemned the act, which negatively affects the educational process, and called for an immediate halt to such practices.
The Israeli occupation forces provide protection for such violations of this school in the village and other schools in the region, which are routine practice on the part of the settlers.
Meanwhile, groups of settlers barged into the Palestinian Wadi Al-Hilwa grazing area in the northern Jordan Valley and threatened the shepherds there and told them to leave the area.
Local sources said that the settlers came from the nearby Maskiot settlement and were planning to annex the Palestinian land to their settlement, which was already established on usurped Palestinian land.
Bahraini Activist Abdul Hadi Al Khawaja Severely Wounded under Torture
Al-Manar | May 9, 2011
Bahraini human rights activist and former president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights Abdul Hadi Al Khawaja was drastically beaten by the Bahraini authorities after being arrested in April.
“Al Khawaja’s jawbones were completely smashed and he is suffering from four fractures in his face; he is to undergo a very critical operation”, another Bahraini activist Nabil Rajab stated.
In an interview with Al Manar website, Rajab called upon “the Bahrainis all over the world, specifically those living in European countries, to proceed with the lawsuits and use all possible judicial methods against the Bahraini regime”.
Furthermore, the human rights activist clarified that “we are victims of our region, as sympathizing with any cause is influenced by the sectarian aspect… we are also victims of inconsistencies and interests of world powers that ally with Al khalifa (Bahrain) regime”.
This comes as the Bahraini regime has been executing brutal repressive policies against civilians since the protests began. The Bahraini security forces are breaking into houses, kidnapping young men and women, arresting humanitarian and political activists, as well as opposition figures, and are imprisoning and torturing most of them.
Four political prisoners have been tortured to death; the last was funder of Al Wasat Bahraini newspaper and prominent business man Karim Al Fakhrawi.
In addition, the Bahraini authorities have issued death sentences against four protestors who were accused of killing two policemen; an accusation that was denied by the young men’s lawyers.
On this topic, Rajab, who is currently prohibited from traveling abroad, expected that more death sentences will be issued against political detainees, and considered that “referring civilians to military tribunals and issuing death sentences against them are acts that contradict the bill of rights and are denied by Western countries, specifically the European Union that has ties with this regime”.
Israeli soldiers attack unity celebration, twist and break man’s arm; also attack 85-year-old and 75-year-old farmers
Ma’an – May 8, 2011
HEBRON — Israeli forces violently shut down a rally celebrating Palestinian national unity in Beit Ummar near Hebron on Saturday, injuring several protesters, locals said.
During the celebration, demonstrators held signs stating “Unity is our strength” and “Unity = Liberty” in an event marking the signing of an agreement in Cairo reconciling Hamas and Fatah and reuniting the West Bank and Gaza under a single government once the agreement is put in place.
Local committee spokesman Mohammad Ayyad Awad said Israeli soldiers fired tear gas and attacked demonstrators with stun grenades, rifle butts and batons.
Soldiers tried to arrest head of the anti-wall committee Yousef Abed Al-Hamid Abu Maria, 36, who owns land confiscated by the illegal Karmi Tzur settlement. Organizers said soldiers twisted Abu Maria’s arm and wrist until it broke in two places.
Forces released Abu Maria when they realized he was seriously injured, a statement from the popular committee said, adding that he was taken to hospital in Hebron and treated for a broken wrist and sprained leg.
Awad said committee secretary Ahmad Khalil Abu Hashem, 42, his 12-year-old son Hamza and coordinator Abed Abu Maria, 33, were beaten by soldiers and sustained bruises.
Several journalists were also attacked, Awad said, adding that Israeli forces declared the area a closed military zone.
The area is also a site of weekly protests, which see locals and international activists march, demanding the end to Israel’s confiscation of land from Beit Ummar and Halhul to build illegal Jewish-only settlements.
Israel’s supreme court ruled in 2006 that farmers whose land was confiscated by Karmi Tzur settlement, including those attacked on Saturday, should be allowed to access their land with permits from Israeli authorities.
Since 2006, Israeli authorities have not issued any permits, Awad noted.
Also on Saturday, Israeli soldiers and settlers attacked two elderly farmers working on their land near the illegal Beit Ayin settlement, Awad said.
He identified the farmers as 85-year-old Abdallah Suleibi and his brother Hammad, 75.
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Israel Is A Genocidal Society
The Israeli Political Spectrum From The “Liberal Left” To The Far Right, Is United In Genocide
The Dissident | May 5, 2026
… The fundamental issue of Israel is not Benjamin Netanyahu, but the fact that Israel is overwhelmingly a bloodthirsty, war-ready, genocidal society.
Historian Zachary Foster has documented that the overwhelming majority of Jewish Israelis have supported every Israeli war since the 2006 invasion of Lebanon, writing:
2006
86% of the Israeli adult population justified “the IDF operation in Lebanon against Hizbollah,” or 2006 Lebanon War, in which Israel killed 1,191 people, the vast majority civilians according to HRW (Note that the % of Jewish Israelis who supported the war was even higher)2008-2009
82% of the Israeli public thought that the 2008-9 war on Gaza was justified (in which Israel killed 1,417 Palestinians, the vast majority civilians.) Note that the % of Jewish Israelis who supported the war was even higher2012
90% of Israeli Jews supported war on Gaza ( in which Israel killed 160 Palestinians, 66% civilians)2014
95% of Jewish Israelis believed the war on Gaza was justified (in which Israel killed 2,310 Palestinians, 70% civilians)2021
72% of Israelis believed the war on Gaza should continue (as of May 21) after Israel had already killed 250 Palestinians in Gaza, vast majority civilians. The % of Jewish Israelis who supported killing more Palestinians was much higher.2024
A January poll found 95% of Jewish Israelis thought the Israeli military was using either the “appropriate” amount of force or “too little” force in Gaza at a time when Israel had already killed >25,700 Palestinians in Gaza.2024
In September, 90% of Jewish Israelis supported the war on Lebanon (in which Israel killed 800+, including hundreds of civilians)2025
In March, 82% of Israeli Jews supported the forced expulsion of residents of Gaza, Israel’s main goal in it’s genocide & war on Gaza.2025
In June, 82% of Jewish Israelis supported the war on Iran known as the “twelve day war”2026
On March 4, 93% of Israeli Jews expressed support for the war on Iran. 97% of “right-wing” Jewish Israelis support it, compared with 93% in the center and 76% on the left.
The overwhelming majority of Jewish Israelis also have openly genocidal views towards Palestinians.
Polls in Israel have shown that:
- 84% of the (Israeli )public gives the IDF an excellent or very good grade regarding the moral conduct of the army
- 75% of Jewish Israelis agree with the idea that ‘there are no innocents in Gaza.’
- A vast majority of Israeli Jews – 79 percent – say they are ‘not so troubled’ or ‘not troubled at all’ by the reports of famine and suffering among the Palestinian population in Gaza.
The fundamental problem in Israel is Zionism, not Benjamin Netanyahu. – Full article
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