Israel to demolish electric infrastructure near Hebron
Ma’an – 09/12/2010
HEBRON — Israeli authorities delivered demolition orders Thursday for electric transformers and powerlines in a Palestinian community south of Hebron, a local official said.
Local Popular Committee chairman Azmi Ash-Sheiyukhi said Israeli officials handed the orders to Muhammad Al-Adrah, the head of the village council of Rifaya and Ad-Deirat.
The orders call for the demolition and removal of a transformer and power lines that provide electricity to 800 people in the two remote villages near Yatta.
He said Israeli officials had previously authorized the construction of electric infrastructure to provide power to 400 Rifaya residents, while residents of Ad-Deirat had paid out of pocket for the construction of the transformer.
He also said residents planned to mount a legal challenge to the demolition orders, which he called “illegitimate and illegal.”
Gaza bakeries to close down next week
Palestine Information Center – 06/12/2010
GAZA — Palestinian officials warned on Monday of complete stoppage of bakeries in the Gaza Strip by next week after wheat supplied through Israeli-controlled commercial crossings ran out of stock.
Importers of wheat said that the wheat crisis was the result of the new Israeli procedure of cutting down the days during which wheat is allowed into the Strip.
The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) had earlier decided to allow import of wheat and fodder for only two days out of three in which the Mintar crossing operate weekly with one day allocated for both commodities and the other for construction material for international agencies operating in Gaza.
Abdul Nasser Al-Ajrami, the head of the society of bakers in Gaza, said that the new measure led to acute shortage in wheat and fodder that would exacerbate in the few coming days.
Ajrami told the German news agency (DPA) that the bakeries in the Strip have been facing shortage in wheat supplies.
He underlined that Gaza needs 500 tons of wheat daily while the IOA allows entry of less than that quantity per week, which led to the gradual shortage.
The IOA used to supply the Strip with 3200 tons of wheat weekly over two months ago but now it only allows 25% of the aforementioned amount.
As Palestinians ‘Commute’ to Work
By Jerrold Kessel and Pierre Klochendler | IPS | December 4, 2010
BETHLEHEM CHECKPOINT, Occupied West Bank – It’s 5am. The late autumn dawn is about to break. But for 3,500 Palestinian workers, a hard day’s work began hours ago.
Young and old men push and shove their way out through the narrow lane, barely a metre wide, bars of iron rising above them on either side. Over their heads sits a corrugated steel roof.
Some try to sneak into the lane through a gap in the roof.
“Being in jail is easier!” cries out one man angrily. He’s a builder from Hebron. “Donkeys are made to stand like this! Even cattle are not hemmed in like this.”
“They have no respect for us. We’re human beings, not animals!” adds another, an electrician whose home is in Bethlehem. “No human being should be put behind bars like this. It’s not right!” They choose not to give their names.
The Palestinians grasp the bars, not just for fear of being trampled, but to keep their place in line. “I’ve got to be at work at seven, not at eight or ten! When I’m late, my Israeli boss tells me, ‘You can go home, I don’t need you’.”
This is the Israeli occupation writ small, the nitty-gritty battles to survive the Occupation in a single lane.
All for the prospect of earning from 200 plus shekels (roughly 50 dollars) a day. Some have been stuck here from as early as 3am. And, they must pay for their own food and transportation to and from their jobs inside Israel (60-80 shekels).
One after the other, minibuses arrive at the checkpoint adjacent to Israel’s eight-metre high concrete security wall. The workers scramble out, and scramble for position in the lane; the minibuses head off to pick up more workers in towns and villages across the southern West Bank.
The checkpoint – “crossing-point” as the Israeli euphemism has it – is on the seam that separates Bethlehem from Jerusalem.
The two holy cities are within walking distance from one another. It’s been five years that Palestinians in the two cities have been cut off from each other, divided by a maze of security walls and watch towers…and by the unholy lane.
The checkpoint at the end of the lane is like a border terminal. But there is no agreed border between Israel and the Palestinian state-to-be.
To enter Jerusalem, every Palestinian from the West Bank, not just labourers, must pass through the lane, then present a permit they have been issued by the Israeli military authorities.
It’s called ‘commuting’ for these workers. But it’s far worse than a nerve- wracking traffic jam. “We’re moving along at just ten metres an hour,” says one man gloomily.
Humanitarian workers, three Australian women from the World Council of Churches, are helpless. From the other side of the bars shadowing the lane, Aimee Kent says, “On a good day, the rush will finish by 6:30; on a slow day or a difficult day, the crush will go on until eight.”
Alongside the ‘security’ lane, there’s a ‘humanitarian lane’, reserved for Palestinian women, children, the ill and the handicapped. It’s open 24 hours a day, seven days a week – at least in principle. Now it’s empty.
“The humanitarian lane has been closed since four this morning and it’s now past six. It’s not normal, not safe for the women to be in the security lane, but what option do they have,” says Kent.
The Israel police who run the checkpoint insist that the humanitarian lane is in fact open, but they say they’re compelled to keep it closed once the security lane is full to the brim. They can’t handle the extra congestion, they say.
Often, the workers have to wait two to three hours just to get through the electronic gate that leads into the checkpoint terminal. There they have to undergo a thorough security check. That entails another 30 to 40 minutes while their ID cards are checked and they go through scanning procedures.
“If they give us permits, why do they need to create all these extra complications,” complains a young Palestinian woman, anxious to get through in time to prepare breakfast at the Swedish Theological Institute in Jerusalem where she’s employed as a cook.
The head of the Israeli checkpoint, chief superintendent Shmuel Barak, states the Israeli position blandly: “The work permit allows the holder to enter Jerusalem from 5am. If they decide to come earlier, it’s their decision. We’re not responsible for that. Our job is to maintain security for Jerusalem and for the State of Israel.”
Moshe Pinchi, spokesman for the border police, is keen to put a human face on the whole procedure: “We’re trying our best to maintain the delicate balance between our security needs and enabling Palestinians with permits to work inside Israel and to live a normal life. The wave of terror which swept Israel from the West Bank during the Intifada uprising imposed this situation upon us. Now, we stop terror at these gates.”
The police insist that knives, explosives, and weapons are often uncovered during the draconian security checks.
Yet, what Israeli officials acknowledge is that the relative calm of recent years is also due to the success of the Palestinian Authority in bringing a measure of security and good governance to the West Bank.
In the absence, however, of tangible moves towards peace between Israel and the PA, nowhere does the economic development that has improved conditions in the West Bank seem further away than here, in face of the thousands of Palestinians desperate to work in Israel, willing to endure the daily hardship of getting through to their job inside Israel or inside Israeli- occupied East Jerusalem.
A middle-aged man from Bethlehem who teaches in a Palestinian school in East Jerusalem describes the harrowing scene: “Welcome world to see our situation! This is not a checkpoint; it’s a humiliation of the Palestinian people! I am a human being. All the people here are human beings. But the Israelis trap us like animals! For them Palestinians are simply animals or terrorists! But no,” he adds sarcastically, “No, the Israelis, they want peace! What a joke!”
The moment anyone gets through the elaborate checking procedure, another rush is on – for another minibus that will dispatch them to their workplace.
Running for freedom remains a forlorn dream for Palestinians. For now, they’re just running for their livelihood.
Iraqi Interior Minister demands execution of al-Qai’da suspects
AI – 3 December 2010
Amnesty International today strongly condemned a call by the Iraqi Interior Minister for the swift execution of 39 alleged al-Qai’da members as they were paraded before journalists, handcuffed and clad in orange jumpsuits.
“For Jawad al-Bolani to abuse his position as Interior minister by parading these men publicly and calling for their execution before they have even gone to trial, flagrantly flaunting the requirement for defendants to be presumed innocent until proven guilty by a court, is absolutely outrageous,” said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International’s director for the Middle East and North Africa.
“It makes a complete mockery of any suggestion that these suspects will receive a fair trial, and sets a most ominous precedent for others.”
Jawad al-Bolani said at a press conference in Baghdad on Thursday:
“Today, we will send those criminals and the investigation results to the courts that will sentence them to death. Our demand is not to delay the carrying out of the executions against these criminals so that to deter terrorist and criminal elements.”
According to media reports he also said that most of the 39 suspects had rejoined al-Qai’da linked groups after being released from Iraqi prisons administered by the USA. One of them was identified as Hazim al-Zawi, al-Qai’da in Iraq’s third-highest leader.
Amnesty International highlighted serious concerns about human rights abuses suffered by the many thousands of detainees in Iraq, many of whom were transferred from US to Iraqi custody in the months up to mid-July 2010, in its report New Order, Same Abuses: Unlawful detentions and torture in Iraq, published in September.
The report detailed how many detainees were arbitrarily held, sometimes for several years without charge or trial, and often tortured to obtain forced confessions.
“We have been saying for a long time that ‘confessions’ in Iraq are regularly extracted under torture, so any ‘confessions’ these 39 suspects have made, which may be used in their trial, must be thoroughly investigated to ensure that they have not been made under duress, torture or other ill-treatment,” said Malcolm Smart.
“What chance can there be for any defendant to receive a fair trial if so senior a government minister shows such contempt for the rule of law?”
Amnesty International has called on the Iraqi government to ensure that these and other detainees awaiting trial must receive fair trials that conform to recognized international standards.
The organization said it recognizes that the security situation in Iraq remains precarious and that it is the government’s duty to protect its population, including members of religious and ethnic minorities. However this must be done with full respect of human rights and the rule of law.
Amnesty International has on numerous occasions strongly condemned human rights abuses committed by armed groups in Iraq.
Amnesty International said it opposes the death penalty unconditionally as a violation of the right to life and the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.
The organization has called on Iraq to end executions as a step toward complete abolition of the death penalty.
Read More
Thousands of Iraqi detainees at risk of torture after US handover (Report, 12 September 2010)
Sixteen Year-Old Palestinian Boy Reports Abuse During Interrogation in Military Jail
Chronicle of Fear
Popular Struggle Coordination Committee – December 1, 2010
Soldiers escorting the bound and blinfolded Mohammed into a military jeep on the day of his arrest. Photo credit: Hamde Abu Rahmah
Mohammed Abu Rahmah was arrested from his house during a military nighttime raid on his village of Bil’in on November 23rd. Abu Rahmah, the son of imprisoned Bil’in organizer, Adeeb Abu Rahmah, was released without charge on Monday, and reports being harassed and beaten during his questioning.
On November 23rd, 2010, Israeli forces entered the village of Bil’in and stormed the home of imprisoned Bil’in organizer, Adeeb Abu Rahmah. After conducting a short search of the premises, the soldiers arrested Adeeb’s only son, sixteen year old Mohammed, who was taken away bound and blindfolded.
Mohammed reports being taken to the Maccabim military base, where he arrived at about 3 AM. He was then, still handcuffed and blindfolded, transported to the Ofer Military Prison, where the authorities refused to process him. Mohammed was then taken back to the Maccabim military base, where he was held until 11 AM, still with cuffed and blindfolded, and without being allowed to go to toilet.
Finally arriving at Ofer Prison at around noon, where the shackles and blindfold were eventually removed, Mohammed was taken into interrogation without allowing him to catch some sleep. On entering the interrogation room, he was cuffed again in both hands and legs, and sited on a chair in front of a man who introduced himself as “Captain Fares”. The interrogator then told Mohammed that the case against him is rock solid and can lead to a sentence of up to a year in jail. “Captain Fares” then said that the only way for Mohammed to avoid imprisonment is to “cooperate” – by which he meant confessing to the unfounded suspicions against him, and incriminating others.
When Mohammed refused to confess or incriminate others who the interrogator mentioned by name, “Captain Fares” responded by shouting at him, cursing him, and a few times even assaulting him physically with slaps to the face. At some point, as Mohammed kept insisting on his right to remain silent, the cuffs around his wrists and ankles were tightened even more then they were before, and the interrogator grabbed his neck as if he was about to choke him. When Mohammed refused to identify his imprisoned father in a picture shown to him, he was punched in the chest.
After about two hours of violent questioning, Mohammed was asked to sign a paper with a transcript of his interrogation, which he refused to do, and was then physically forced to give his fingerprints.
It is common practice in Israeli interrogation rooms to try and extract confessions and incriminations from detained Palestinian minors using threats and abuse. Many cases and convictions at the military court, including that of Adeeb Abu Rahmah, Mohammed’s father, are based on such incriminations by detained youth.
Mohammed, who since his father’s arrest, 17 months ago, Mohammed serves as the family’s sole provider, was eventually released from custody Monday night (November 29th), on 8,000 NIS bail since the military prosecution could not present evidence justifying his remand.
Israeli Troops Kidnap Elected Legislator In Hebron
By Saed Bannoura – IMEMC & Agencies – December 01, 2010
Israeli soldiers kidnapped legislator Sheikh Khalil Nayef Rajoub after breaking into his home and searching it on Wednesday at dawn.
His family stated that soldiers surrounded their home located west of Hebron, approximately at 1 a.m., and kidnapped the legislator taking him to an unknown destination.
Fu’ad al-Khuffash, head of the Ahrar Center for Detainees Studies and Human Rights, reported that the soldiers violently broke into the home of Rajoub and informed him that they have an arrest warrant against him.
Al-Khuffash added that the kidnapping of Rajoub is regarded as a “declaration of a new war against elected legislators and officials, and another attempt to kidnap the legislators” similar to the massive arrests targeting dozens of elected legislators and officials on June 29, 2006.
He stated that the army kidnapped three legislators in the last 45 days; the three are Hatem Qfeisha, Mahmoud al-Ramahi, and today’s kidnapping of Rajoub.
Legislator Rajoub spent four years in Israeli prisons as he was kidnapped on June 29 2006, and was only released five months ago. He was also one of several Hamas officials deported by Israel to Marj al-Zohour in southern Lebanon.
Al-Khuffash demanded international human rights groups to intervene and stop the Israeli violations against the Palestinian people and their elected officials.
On December 17, 1992, Israel arrested and deported 416 members of the Hamas movement and the Islamic Jihad. The deported leaders camped near the borders and held a strike until Israel was forced to allow them back due to international pressure.
Three Different Takes on Aid Priorities in Gaza
Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN) – August 5, 2010
GAZA CITY – The quality of life, the economy and food security for Palestinians living in Gaza have been severely impaired by Israel’s strict four-year blockade, according to the UN.
Israel says its closure regime is designed to protect Israeli citizens from attacks by militants in Gaza. Hamas, the ruling group in Gaza, says Israel’s blockade is aimed at undermining its rule.
IRIN asked three senior officials in the region – from the UN, the Israeli government and Hamas – what they considered to be the top five humanitarian needs of the 1.5 million Palestinians living in the Strip.
UN view
Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian affairs (OCHA) for the occupied Palestinian territory, defines the situation in Gaza as “a protracted human dignity crisis with important humanitarian elements”.
Lazzarini says Gaza is a man-made crisis. He uses the term “human dignity crisis” because he says the entire Gaza population is subject to collective punishment under the blockade, is unlawfully contained in Gaza, and denied the right to movement and access. The containment of the population was highlighted when people could not move during Israel’s 23-day offensive that ended in January 2009, he says.
“A humanitarian crisis is a situation where humanitarian intervention is seen as a life-saving operation,” says Lazzarini. “The massive intervention in Gaza – by UN agencies and other international partners – is justified by the humanitarian crisis and to address the needs of the population.”
The facts and figures indicate that if UN operations stopped, food insecurity and malnutrition rates in Gaza would double, he said. His top five Gaza humanitarian needs are:
One: food security
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization says 70 percent of Gaza’s population is food insecure and 30 percent of Gaza’s agricultural land is inaccessible due to the Israeli-controlled buffer-zone, which is inside Gaza along its shared border with Israel, and comprises 15 percent of Gaza’s total area.
Two: unemployment and poverty
About 80 percent of the Gaza population depends on assistance from UN agencies, while unemployment has soared to 40 percent, says Lazzarini.
“In the last two years the number of those living in abject poverty in Gaza has risen from 100,000 to 300,000,” he says.
Three: shelter
Some 86,000 new housing units are needed in Gaza as a result of population growth. A small proportion of these are needed to replace those damaged during military operations, according to UN estimates.
If the current Israeli approval procedures to bring construction material into Gaza remain in place, it will take years for the UN to implement its US$165 million-worth of stalled projects, says Lazzarini.
Four: water, sanitation and health care
The blockade has seriously affected these sectors in Gaza, says Lazzarini.
Five: education
“The United Nations Relief and Works Agency and the education ministry cannot cover the needs of the number of children entering the education system in Gaza,” says Lazzarini, due to a lack of schools and investment.
Hamas view
Bassem Na’im, health minister under the Hamas-led government in Gaza, says the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is growing. His top five humanitarian needs are:
One: freedom of movement
Nai’im would like to see the complete freedom of movement of goods and people in and out of Gaza.
“The entry of goods and building materials for all sectors – health, shelter, water and sanitation – is the solution to the whole crisis,” says Na’im.
Two: health services
This would require medicine, medical supplies and equipment to enter Gaza freely, as well as spare parts and building materials for the repair of hospitals and healthcare facilities, according to Na’im.
“A hundred medications and over 150 disposable supplies, like needles and syringes, are at zero stock in the ministry’s central store,” he says.
More than 10,000 types of medical equipment, like CT scanners, are in need of spare parts in the 12 hospitals and 56 primary healthcare centres run by the ministry, says Na’im.
Three: water and sanitation
“Thousands of Gazans lack household water supplies,” says Na’im.
Four: fuel and electricity supplies
Most households have power cuts 8-12 hours per day due to the blockade, according to Na’im.
Five: education
According to Na’im, the education sector has been hit hard by the blockade due to a lack of supplies, but the full impact will take years to materialize.
Rising malnutrition indicators – such as increased cases of stunting, wasting and underweight children – are also effecting child development, said Na’im.
Israeli view
Guy Inbar, spokesperson for the Israeli Coordinator of Government Activities in the (Palestinian) Territories (COGAT) says “there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza and there never has been, even during Operation Cast Lead [2009 Israeli military operation in Gaza].”
“The only crisis in Gaza is the crisis of [captured Israeli soldier] Gilad Shalit,” said Inbar, adding that Hamas has not enabled the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit Shalit.
Israel recently increased the amount of goods allowed to enter Gaza, said Inbar.
“Today [29 July] about 150 trucks enter Gaza daily and next week we expect that number to reach 250,” said Inbar, adding that no food or hygiene items were prohibited.
According to Inbar, almost all medical supplies are allowed to enter.
“Parts for equipment – like X-ray machines, which are included on the two lists [of prohibited items] – are allowed to enter but under control,” he said.
When IRIN asked Inbar if the civilian population of Gaza would survive if UN operations ceased there, he declined to comment.
Inbar said Gaza’s problems were due to Hamas.
Letter from prison: I have a lot of energy to struggle
Ameer Makhoul writing from Gilboa prison, Live from Palestine, 29 November 2010
 |
Ameer Makhoul (Adri Nieuwhof) |
The following is an excerpt from a letter by Palestinian political prisoner and civil society leader Ameer Makhoul, written in response to a postcard featuring an image of a lighthouse sent by The Electronic Intifada contributor Adri Nieuwhof. A citizen of Israel, Makhoul was arrested in his home on 6 May 2010 and held in isolation and refused a meeting with his lawyers or family for 12 days following the arrest. The Israeli government indicted Makhoul with trumped-up charges of espionage and assistance to the enemy in a time of war, which carries a life sentence. According to Makhoul, during that time the Israeli authorities used severe interrogation methods that caused him both psychological and physical harm. Last month Makhoul agreed to a plea deal to avoid lengthy imprisonment and now faces a maximum sentence of seven to ten years.
The lighthouse, al-fanar in Arabic, is an inspiration. I have built a lighthouse here in jail. It has been built in my mind because I am not allowed to use the space, but my mind is totally mine. Al-fanar became part of my vision and dream for freedom and human dignity. The lighthouse is out of prison, while the role of the anchor is to be rooted and safe. In fact, I need both — al-fanar to give direction to my vision, while the role of the anchor is to understand where I currently am. I need to be balanced and realistic to act within a totally unbalanced reality. I need to challenge and to change. I need, and we need to change. The anchor is needed in order to act. The lighthouse shows how and where and for what.
It is not easy to have both elements, especially to “new” prisoners of freedom. It is defined as new but it is almost half a year that I have been in prison. Several prisoners have already been here 23 to 28 years. So I am relatively new here, but for me every day is a lot of time, with a lot of suffering and reflecting on the reality of being Palestinian in my homeland.
To be proven innocent is totally not accepted by the court. Thousands of cases show that both the rate and the number of Palestinians who have been released as innocents is zero. Palestinians are guilty, it is the only option. The Shabak [Israel’s internal intelligence agency, also known as the Shin Bet] monitored and recorded 30,000 of my telephone calls and those in relevant circles; in addition they surveilled all email, Skype, Internet and electronic media. Yet they declared in the court that they have no material evidence.
Based on my experience and on the findings regarding 7,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, the Shabak having no evidence does not mean the end of the game. They have their secret weapon, which is the so-called “secret evidence.” They present it to the judges, but neither me nor my lawyers are allowed to know what it is about. The Israeli system will never blame the state or the Shabak, but will blame their Palestinian victims.
Statistics and experience show that without a deal with the attorney general the sentence would be double the length! So the lack of evidence is not the road to freedom. Israel will never allow its court to declare me as innocent. On the other hand, every Palestinian refugee of Arab friend or partner in the Arab world is potentially considered a so-called “foreign agent.” The state’s role is to blame and the victim’s role is to explain, even to prove that he or she is innocent. I have so many friends and partners all around the Arab world and among people in the homeland and diaspora. I have no illusions, but I have a lot of energy to struggle for freedom and dignity.
‘Firm sold Israel torture instruments’
Press TV – November 28, 2010
A Danish-British security company has sold torture instruments to the Israeli prisons, holding Palestinians inmates, a Danish newspaper has written.
The firm, named G4s, sells the devices to the detention facilities in the occupied West Bank, which provide the necessary means for torture of the Palestinian prisoners, Berlingske Tidende reported on Nov. 23.
Merav Amir, from Who Profits?, an Israeli organization which is dedicated to expose those who stand to benefit from the occupation, said it knew that the firm did not directly engage itself in torture, has created the circumstances required for the abuse.
There are around 9,000 Palestinians in Israeli detention. The families have for long been calling on human rights organizations and groups to intervene in order to secure the release of their loved ones, many of whom have been incarcerated without charge, trial and sentence.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Detainees, nearly 200 Palestinian inmates have so far died in Israeli confinement, either due to medical negligence or under torture.
The daily also exposed that the company also cooperates with armed Jewish settlers in Israel and sells tools and devices to the Israeli checkpoints.
The revelation came despite the human rights organizations’ insistence that the checkpoints — which dot the occupied lands — breach the Palestinians freedom of movement. It also defied the firm’s 2002 announcement that it would leave the West Bank in order not to cooperate with armed Israeli guards.
Israeli forces shoot Gaza fisherman at shore
27 November 2010 | International Solidarity Movement
Gaza – At 12:30 pm, Ahmed Mahmoud Jarboh, aged 26, was shot in the back of the left knee by the Israeli Offensive Forces (IOF) while fishing at the shore of Beit Lahya, in the north of the Gaza Strip. He is currently hospitalized in Kamal Udwan, in the neighboring town Jabalya, where his condition is being monitored.
Beit Lahya borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west and the 1949 Armistice Line with Israel to the north. The village’s economical resources are crippled by Israeli policies that restrict the fishing zone to three nautical miles and impose a 300 meter buffer zone on Palestinian land.
For over a year Ahmed has daily frequented the same area to fish with a small cast net. Today he and two of his colleagues were fishing from the shore at approximately 350 meters from the border fence. This incident again exemplifies a recent UN report conclusion that the danger zone does not halt at 300 meters: it can reach up to 1.5 kilometers.
“For over a year I have come here daily to fish. The soldiers in the watchtower see me every day: they know I am only a fisher! There was no reason for them to be suspicious as this is a normal, daily scene. Nothing special was going on.”
Even though the IOF soldiers should be familiar with Ahmed’s face, he was shot without warning:
“The only shot that was fired was the one that hit my leg”, he states.
When they heard the bullet being fired, the two other fishermen ran away to find shelter. As soon as they considered the situation “safe” again, they realized what had happened. They went to pick up Ahmed from the water and brought him to the hospital. The wound is stitched now, but probably surgery will not be necessary. It is still uncertain how long Ahmed will have to remain in the hospital and how long it will take for him to fully recover from this injury.
“I’m a father of two and I am the sole provider for my family. We have nothing else than what I gain from fishing.”
The 3 nautical mile restriction has resulted in a depletion of revenues which pushes people into the dangerous buffer zone. According to the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, there have been nine people injured this month while working in the buffer zone. Ahmed Mahmoud Jarboh marks the tenth victim of IOF buffer zone aggression in four weeks.
Army Officer Who Shot American Activist In Her Eye Exonerated
By Saed Bannoura – IMEMC & Agencies – November 28, 2010
The Israeli District Police in the Occupied West Bank exonerated an Israeli Army officer who shot an American peace activist in her eye during a protest at the Qalandia terminal, north of Jerusalem, six months ago.
On May 31, the 21-year old American Art student, Emily Henochowicz, was hit in her eye with a tear gas canister fired by an Israeli soldier during a nonviolent protest.
Henochowicz, a student at the Cooper Union College based in New York was participating in a protest against the Israeli May 31 attack on the Turkish ship, Marmara, that was heading to Gaza to deliver humanitarian supplies. Nine Turkish
peace activists were killed in the attack.
She was carrying a Turkish flag during the protest when a soldier fired a gas canister at her hitting her in the eye. She lost her eye and suffered several other fractures.
Her family filed a complaint to the Israeli Police arguing that the police officer deliberately fired the canister at her. But the officer, the Border Police battalion commander and the company commander claimed that the canister hit her in the eye after it ricocheted off a barricade, Israeli daily, Haaretz, reported. They said that their claim is “backed by a video footage”.
Representing Henochowicz and her family, Israeli Attorney, Michael Sfrad, slammed the police investigation and stated that the investigation was negligent and described it as a “sewage treatment plant for the Border Police”, Haaretz reported.
Sfrad said that the police did not speak to the Haaretz reporter, Avi Issacharoff, and photographer Daniel Bar-On, who were both at the scene and managed to capture the attack in print and photos, Haaretz added.
Sfrad stated that failing to question objective witnesses, who stated that the officer took direct aim at Henochowicz, is considered an obstruction to the investigation and a “confession that there is no interest in finding the truth”.
The case is currently in the hands of the district attorney’s office, the police told Haaretz without giving any further information.
Emily was studying at an Art School in Jerusalem; she holds Israeli citizenship, her father was born in Israel and her grandparents are holocaust survivors.
After arriving in Israel, she started spending time in East Jerusalem and the rest of the occupied territories, and her drawing started reflecting the suffering of Palestinian life in the occupied territories.
Israel refused to pay a US$37,000 bill for her treatment in Jerusalem and claimed that she was not intentionally shot and that she “endangered herself by participating in the demonstration”.
‘Doodle’ by Emily Henochowicz:
Featured Video
Pravin Sawhney: Massive Escalation Pushes Every Side Toward the Brink
or go to
Aletho News Archives – Video-Images
From the Archives
A sample of vaccine and injectable medication tragedies during my lifetime
This is what happens when you demand speedy production in an era of politicized regulation
By Meryl Nass, MD | February 12, 2022
All these tragedies have been due to failures of testing or failures in manufacturing processes. Most occurred before vaccine manufacturers were given virtually complete protection from liability in 1987.
With the duration of patent exclusivity determining how much new products earn, products are rushed to market as quickly as possible, most using a shortened path for FDA review. Recalls and market removals of approved products are much more common than they used to be. We can only expect more of these disasters in the future, especially if the products are mandated for everyone. … continue
Blog Roll
Aletho News- Trump claims funding to Israel ending in 2026 as merger of Israeli–US armies looms
- Iran Weathering The Storm, But Saudi Arabia Is Sinking
- Sunk Ships Don’t Sail Home: Why Peace Won’t Save the Oil Market and War Will Wreck It
- No Cossacks at the gates, fix Italy instead – opposition leader to Meloni
- The Pits: Zelensky’s torture chamber network in the public eye
- Moscow mocks Kiev’s language hypocrisy exposed by ‘torture chamber’ scandal
- Military ‘torture chamber’ triggers new scandal in Kiev
- Algerian army launches second operation to clear French nuclear test sites
- Pravin Sawhney: Massive Escalation Pushes Every Side Toward the Brink
- UK High Court Upholds Speech Regulator Notices To Meta, WhatsApp, X, And TikTok
- If Americans Knew
- An error has occurred; the feed is probably down. Try again later.
- No Tricks Zone
- Germany’s Green Energy Transition Becoming Increasingly Expensive…Another 6 Trillion Euros!
- Sudden Stratospheric Warming, Powerful El Niño Combination May Lead To Extreme Europe Cold, Energy Crisis!
- Two New Studies Find Thwaites Glacier Melt Cannot Be Driven By Human Activity Or A Warming Ocean
- E-Cars Reduce CO2 Emissions By Only 41% Compared To Internal Combustion Engine Vehicles
- Predictions Made By Renowned Climate Professor Over Past Decades Have Been Proven To Be Poor
- New Study Suggests Large Regions Of The Pacific Ocean Have Been Cooling For The Last 80 Years
- Germany’s Green Energy Debacle: High Energy Costs Force Kahla Porzellan to Close After 182 Years!
- New Study: 50 Years Of The Most Aggressive ‘Net Zero’ Policies Can Only Affect The Global Climate By 0.03°C
- US September “Heat” Was No Record…Many Records Set Decades Ago
- Latest European Green Energy Debacle; Portugal’s Largest Flagship Solar Park Insolvent!
