Israeli settlers threaten Palestinian who filmed Hebron ‘execution’

Ma’an – March 25, 2016
HEBRON – 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. Imad 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.
Palestinian residents of Hebron Abed al-Fattah Yusri al-Sharif and Ramzi Aziz al-Qasrawi, both 21 years old, were shot down Thursday after allegedly stabbing and moderately wounding an Israeli soldier near a military checkpoint in Hebron’s Old City.
Shamsiya recorded rare video footage of an Israeli soldier shooting al-Sharif in the head at point-blank range in plain view of the medical team after he had already been shot at least once and left motionless on the ground.
The incident has brought a barrage of condemnations from the Israeli leadership and led Israel’s army to detain the soldier responsible and launch an investigation.
The release of the graphic video has called attention to what rights groups, international leaders, and Palestinian officials call a policy of “extrajudicial executions” by Israel against Palestinians, since a wave of unrest swept the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel last October.
UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov said Friday he strongly condemned the apparent “extrajudicial execution” of al-Sharif.
“This was a gruesome, immoral, and unjust act that can only fuel more violence and escalate an already volatile situation,” Mladenov said.
Tel Rumeida — where Shamsiya’s house is located and the site of the Thursday’s incident — has been a flashpoint for tensions between Palestinians and Israeli settlers and military, and is near the illegal settlement of Beit Yishai.
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.
The majority of the city was placed under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority, while the Old City and surrounding areas were placed under Israeli military control in a sector known as H2.
The area is home to 30,000 Palestinians and around 800 Israeli settlers who live under the protection of Israeli forces. Hebron residents frequently report attacks and harassment by the settlers carried out in the presence of the forces.
UN set to establish database of businesses involved in Israeli settlements
MEMO | March 23, 2016
The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is set to vote on Thursday on whether to establish a database of businesses involved in Israeli settlements.
The UNHRC, meeting in its 31st session, will be considering four resolutions under Item 7, which focuses on the impact of the Israeli occupation on human rights in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories. Such resolutions are routinely adopted.
A resolution on Israel’s illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan, however, has reportedly upset European Union member states, in particular by calling for “a database of all business enterprises involved” in illegal settlement activities, which will be updated annually.
The database is presented as a follow up to an earlier fact-finding mission, which investigated “the implications of the Israeli settlements on the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the Palestinian people throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.”
Middle East Monitor understands from sources familiar with the discussions taking place that European Union member states will either vote against, or abstain from, the resolution. The UK is reportedly expected to vote against, with significant pressure being applied on Palestinian officials to remove the paragraph establishing the database of businesses involved in settlement activities.
The resolution notes that “the settlement enterprise and the impunity associated with its persistence, expansion and related violence continue to be a root cause of many violations of the Palestinians’ human rights, and constitute the main factors perpetuating Israel’s belligerent occupation of the Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, since 1967.”
The resolution goes on to express concern that “some business enterprises have, directly and indirectly, enabled, facilitated and profited from the construction and growth of the Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
The UNHRC resolution also notes that “products wholly or partially produced in settlements have been labelled as originating from Israel”, and that “private individuals, associations and charities in third States” are “involved in providing funding to Israeli settlements and settlement-based entities, contributing to the maintenance and expansion of settlements.”
As well as the database, the draft text urges all states to “provide guidance to individuals and businesses on the financial, reputational and legal risks, including the possibility of liability for corporate involvement in gross human rights abuses as well as the abuses of the rights of individuals, of becoming involved in settlement-related activities.”
On Monday, the UNHRC head from outgoing Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, Makarim Wibisono, who presented his final report to the Council.
Among other recommendations, “he urged Israeli authorities to…halt the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements, to refrain from acts causing the forced displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and to urgently implement recommendations by the United Nations Children’s Fund with respect to the detention of children.”
Palestinians face severe restrictions during Jewish holiday
Ma’an – March 23, 2016
BETHLEHEM – Palestinians faced severe movement restrictions on Wednesday, as Israeli authorities shut down all movement through checkpoints in and out of the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip ahead of the Jewish holiday of Purim.
An Israeli army spokesperson said that beginning at 1 a.m. on Wednesday and lasting until midnight Saturday, the checkpoints would be closed to all Palestinians with the exception of humanitarian cases.
Palestinian citizens of Israel, as well as holders of foreign passports, would still be allowed to pass through the checkpoints, she said, noting: “They’re only closed for Palestinians.”
She said Palestinians could seek to arrange “special circumstances” with Israel’s Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT).
Sources inside the Palestinian liaison department confirmed the measures would be extended to the Kerem Shalom and Erez crossings into the Gaza Strip, with only humanitarian cases and a limited number of Palestinian Christians allowed to leave the blockaded coastal enclave.
Israeli police spokesperson Luba al-Samri said there would be heightened security measures, including a number of police patrols, across occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank throughout the holiday.
Palestinian access has also been restricted to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, with all Palestinian men younger than 50 denied entry to the site, which is the third holiest in Islam.
Access restrictions to the mosque compound during a succession of Jewish holidays last September played a major role in triggering a wave of unrest that has since left more than 200 Palestinians and nearly 30 Israelis dead.
Tensions were running high in the West Bank on Wednesday morning after Israeli forces escorted hundreds of Israelis, including settlers, to holy sites there, with clashes breaking out nearby Joseph’s Tomb near Nablus.
The Jewish holiday of Purim, which commemorates the Biblical account of the saving of the Jewish people from Haman, an ancient Persian vizier, begins Wednesday evening and ends late Thursday this year.
Israeli forces raid, confiscate items from Jenin-area university
Ma’an – March 22, 2016
JENIN – Israeli forces overnight Monday raided the campus of the Arab American University in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin and confiscated items — including computers and flags — from student union offices.
The university’s public relations department told Ma’an that 11 Israeli military vehicles stormed the campus grounds at 1 a.m. and broke into the office of the Dean of Students, as well as a number of offices belonging to the student union.
The Israeli soldiers broke down doors and destroyed property in the offices before seizing flags of student union blocs as well as two computers and paper documents, the department said.
The university’s administration released a statement denouncing “Israel’s aggressive policy which violates the sanctity of university campus.”
Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah immediately condemned the raid.
“This is not the first time that the Arab American University and other Palestinian educational institutions have been subjected to arbitrary Israeli raids,” the PM said, citing raids on Birzeit University and the Kadoorie Institute in recent months.
“I reiterate our call for international protection,” Hamdallah said. “Israel should not be allowed to continue to act above the law. The international community witnessed yet another violation of the sanctity of Palestinian educational institutions, and it should not remain silent.”
The Israeli army said in a statement that Israeli forces had “uncovered and confiscated inciting propaganda materials linked to multiple terror organizations including Hamas” inside the university, adding that the operation was “based on intelligence information.”
“In the recent wave of terror we’ve witnessed how incitement fuels acts of violence and terrorism,” the statement said. “Efforts as this prevent future attacks.”
In addition to the statement, the army released what it said were “visuals from the overnight activity” — photographs of an Islamic Jihad flag and a Hamas one, as well as a poster depicting three recently slain Palestinian attackers, referred to as “martyrs.”
Political flags and posters are commonly found items across the occupied West Bank, with posters of martyrs appearing throughout every West Bank town and village.
Palestinian universities and their students in the occupied West Bank are frequently targeted by Israeli military forces, and campuses have come under increased military presence since an increase in violence in October.
Earlier this month Israeli forces raided the Khadoorie Institute — also known as Palestine Technical University — twice in an 18-hour period.
The Tulkarem-area campus has seen heavy military presence in the past. Student-organized marches in October to protest Israeli violations and raids onto the campus eventually resulted in Israeli forces positioning themselves at a temporary base on university property.
Dozens of university students have been injured by Israeli military forces since.
Birzeit University near Ramallah meanwhile has reported dozens of student detentions, while Abu Dis’ al-Quds Open University has often found itself a focal point of violent clashes between Palestinian students and Israeli soldiers.
Israeli troops raid West Bank village day after funeral of slain Palestinians
Ma’an – March 21, 2016
BETHLEHEM – Israeli troops raided the village of Beit Fajjar east of Bethlehem early on Monday, storming several houses and detaining two Palestinians.
The raid took place a day after the funerals of Ali Abd al-Rahman al-Kar Thawabta, 20, and Ali Jamal Muhammad Taqatqa, 19, who were killed by Israeli forces on Thursday after carrying out a stab attack that injured an Israeli soldier near the illegal Israeli settlement of Ariel in the northern occupied West Bank. Local sources said that Israeli troops raided Thawabta’s house and detained his brother Muhammad, 24.
They also detained Muhammad Akram Taqatqa, 22. Witnesses said Israeli excavators escorted by Israeli troops raided the al-Mahajer neighborhood of Beit Fajjar, seizing equipment and detaining workers in the area.
Israeli forces have shut down most roads leading to Beit Fajjar since Thursday, except for one between the villages of Sair and al-Manshiya.
An Israeli army spokesperson told Ma’an all roads to Beit Fajjar were open, but that residents between the ages of 15 and 25 were barred from entering or leaving, “except in case of medical emergencies.” She also confirmed that Israeli forces detained two Palestinians in Beit Fajjar overnight.
Bethlehem district governor Jibril al-Bakri condemned on Friday Israeli sanctions against Beit Fajjar, noting that such actions qualify as “collective punishment” of the village’s over 10,000 residents in violation of international law.
Over 200 Palestinians and just under 30 Israelis have been killed since October, and attempts to quell the violence by the international community have subsequently failed.
Earlier this year, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon condemned the wave of attacks, but said that Israeli security measures were failing to “address the profound sense of alienation and despair driving some Palestinians — especially young people.”
He added: “As oppressed peoples have demonstrated throughout the ages, it is human nature to react to occupation, which often serves as a potent incubator of hate and extremism.”
Targeting of children and residents in Ni’lin
International Solidarity Movement | March 19, 2016
Ni’lin, Occupied Palestine – On 18th March 2016, Palestinian villagers of Ni’lin protested against the Israeli land-theft and illegal settlements and the continuous violence Israeli forces use to stifle the weekly non-violent protests. Villagers commemorated Rachel Corrie, an American activist killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, and Tristan Anderson, an American activist left with severe permanent physical and cognitive impairments after being shot in the head with a high-velocity tear gas canister in Ni’lin.
Israeli forces again used excessive force, inundating not only the protestors, but the whole village in tear gas. Whereas the last two weeks Israeli forces showered a public park with a playground in tear gas, causing several cases of excessive tear gas inhalation of small children playing there; this Friday they deliberately targeted civilian homes inside the village with tear gas, as well covering the public park in tear gas. The heavy iron tear gas canisters broke windows of 7 houses and the shops in the center of the village, causing civilians to suffer from the effects of tear gas inhalation. As family homes were targeted with tear gas, dozens of children and elderly had to be treated for tear gas inhalation. 8 people, including an 87-year old man had to be treated for excessive tear-gas inhalation. Throughout the West Bank, Israeli forces have increased the use of long-range tear gas canisters, that can reach up to 1000m and are silent when shot. These kind of tear gas canisters increase the risk of serious and / or deadly injuries as they can’t be heard and are iron-clad and thus extremely hard. Furthermore 2 people were treated after being hit and injured with rubber-coated steel bullets during the protest.

Medics treating an elderly man suffering from excessive tear gas inhalation
Luckily, no one was directly hit with one of the tear-gas canisters shot into Palestinian family homes. On the 12th of March, a 17-year old boy was shot in the neck with one of these heavy tear-gas canisters, causing a skull fracture. He had to undergo surgery and only after a week in intensive care his condition is now stable.
The continuous targeting of civilians, families and children by the Israeli forces is not only common in the village of Ni’lin, but also throughout the occupied West Bank.
Moscow Calls New Expropriation of Land by Israel in Palestine ‘Illegal’
Sputnik – 18.03.2016
MOSCOW — The Russian Foreign Ministry called illegal the new expropriation of land by Israel in the Palestinian territories, according to a statement issued on Friday.
Moscow expressed “concern about the settlement projects of Israel in the occupied Palestinian territories.”
“A few days ago, the Israeli authorities announced the expropriation of 154.5 hectares of land near the town of Jericho in the West Bank of the Jordan River. This area has been declared ‘the land of the Israeli state,'” the statement reads.
“These actions are illegal under international law and the decisions on them should be reviewed,” the ministry stressed.
Moscow urged “all the sides to refrain from unilateral steps that undermine the prospects of the Palestinian issue settlement on the internationally recognized basis.”
Israeli forces close East Jerusalem streets for marathon, detain 4
Ma’an – March 18, 2016
JERUSALEM – The Israeli authorities early Friday shut down streets across Palestinian neighborhoods in occupied East Jerusalem and detained four in preparation for the annual Jerusalem marathon, locals said.
Locals told Ma’an that a number of roads were blocked by iron barricades and buses, as thousands of Israeli runners joined in the marathon for the sixth year in a row.
Four residents of al-Issawiya neighborhood were detained prior to the marathon. Two of them, identified by locals as Fadi Matwar and Jad al-Ghoul, were reportedly warned against being in Jerusalem during the marathon.
Al-Issawiya popular committee spokesman Muhammad Abu al-Hummus, who was detained prior to the marathon last year, was also detained Friday morning.
Locals told Ma’an that Israeli intelligence also summoned Jihad Oweida, the secretary-general of the National Committee against Normalization. The committee has in the past been a vocal opponent of the Jerusalem marathon for going through occupied territory.
Participants in the marathon run through West Jerusalem as well as segments of Jerusalem’s occupied eastern half, including along the walls of the Old City and near other historical sites.
The marathon last year drew large numbers of Palestinian protesters to places where the run passes through neighborhoods under Israeli military occupation, with residents waving Palestinian flags and proclaiming slogans supporting Palestinian claims to Jerusalem.
East Jerusalem is internationally recognized as Palestinian territory, but Israel occupied it in 1967 and later annexed it in a move never considered legitimate abroad.
Friday’s marathon comes weeks before an annual marathon is expected to be held in Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank.
This year will mark the fourth consecutive “Right to Movement” marathon, which is comprised of two 11 kilometer loops, as race organizers were unable to find a contiguous stretch of 42 kilometers due to Israeli military restrictions on Palestinian movement.
Israeli forces raid Tulkarem-area university twice in 18 hours
Ma’an – March 15, 2016
TULKAREM – Israeli forces on Tuesday raided al-Khadouri University in the northern occupied West Bank district of Tulkarem for the second consecutive day, the university’s administration said in a statement.
The administration said Israeli forces raided the university on Monday, forcing staff to open the main doors of the university’s engineering department. During the raid forces reportedly ransacked the building and seized posters and brochures from the campus.
Eighteen hours later, on Tuesday, the administration said Israeli forces returned, and ransacked more of the campus.
The university administration condemned the “Israeli violations against the university.”
The administration urged that international organizations take action against Israel’s disregard for education facilities.
Israeli forces have regularly stormed university campuses across the occupied Palestinian territory in recent months.
Since a wave of unrest swept the occupied Palestinian territory in October, Abu Dis’ Al-Quds University in particular has found itself a focal point of violent clashes between Palestinian students and Israeli soldiers.
On January 29, Hundreds of Israeli soldiers stormed Abu Dis’ al-Quds Open University and confiscated equipment and documents belonging to its student union.
Earlier in January, Birzeit University in Ramallah condemned an Israeli army raid into its campus, during which Israeli forces confiscated and damaged university equipment.
“Birzeit University condemns this attack and the direct violation of the sanctity of the university campus,” the university said. “This is a belligerent military attack on the university and our right to education and all the principles involved in the freedom of education.”
Israel Bans Palestinian Products from Jerusalem
IMEMC News & Agencies – March 13, 2016
Five Palestinian companies warned of financial losses as Israeli occupation forces banned their products from being marketed in occupied Jerusalem, under political and economic pretexts, Palestinian sources reported Saturday.
A report identified the five companies as Hamouda, al-Jideedi, Arryan, distributers of dairy products, as well as Asslwa and Saniora, associated with meat products.
Hamouda company sources said that Israeli occupation forces have been banning the entry of their company’s products to occupied Jerusalem for a fifth day in a row, according to Al Ray. Hamouda explained that the unexpected move, by Israel, would cost the company heavy losses estimated in millions. Hamouda company constitutes 50% of the [affected] marketed products in Jerusalem.
The source explained that the Israeli decision came after a decrease in Israeli sales of the same products, in Jerusalem markets, due to dominance of Palestinian products. Israeli occupation authorities put this decision into action even though the Palestinian companies were licensed within the Israeli record.
The affected companies addressed the Civil Affairs administration and the Agriculture Ministry, to become acquainted with the reasons behind such decision, and the latter responded that the decision was unilateral and unexpected. The source said that Palestinian authorities are contemplating a suitable reaction to such a move.
Tareq Abu Laban, the General Manager of Marketing at the Ministry of Agriculture, noted that there are political reasons behind the Israeli decision, explaining that the Israeli side aims to force the PA to deal with Jerusalem as a part of Israeli state.
He added that the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture asked the Palestinian side to submit private export models in which they are identified as international exporter. He explained that this step implies political impacts under which the Palestinians are forced to recognize Jerusalem as an Israeli city.
In 2010, Israeli occupation authorities tried to pass a similar decision. But, international figures, as well as the Quarter Committee, thwarted the plan.
Israeli Army Shuts Down “Palestine Today TV” In Ramallah, Kidnaps Three Journalists
IMEMC – March 11, 2016
Dozens of Israeli soldiers invaded the main headquarters of Palestine Today TV, in the al-Biereh city, in the Ramallah and al-Biereh District in the occupied West Bank, and shut it down on Friday at dawn. The army also kidnapped its director, a cameraman and a Technician.
Palestine Today said in a statement that the soldiers stormed and searched the home of its director, Farouq ‘Oleyyat, in Birzeit City, and kidnapped him.
The agency stated that the soldiers also confiscated equipment from ‘Oleyyat’s home, after violently searching it.
It added that dozens of soldiers also invaded Palestine Today’s headquarters, in the Tahouna area, in al-Biereh, after completely surrounding the area, and confiscated broadcast equipment.
The soldiers also invaded Transmedia Productions and News Services Company, in al-Biereh, and kidnapped a cameraman man, identified as Mohammad ‘Amro, and Broadcast Technician Shabeeb Shbeib.
Transmedia is a Media Company that provides satellite TV service to various stations, including Palestine Today.
Two nights ago, the Israeli Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, held a meeting and came up with a list of punitive measures against the Palestinian people and various media agencies.
The cabinet decided to shut down many TV stations and media agencies, for what it called “broadcasting incitement materials,” referring to their covering of the Israeli assaults and violations against the Palestinian people, in occupied Palestine.
In related news, Israeli soldiers detained eight Palestinians near the Halamish illegal colony, built on Palestinian lands belonging to Nabi Saleh villagers, northwest of Ramallah on Thursday at night.
Media sources said the soldiers interrogated the eight Palestinians, from Beit Rima and Deir Ghassana towns, and detained them for several hours. The soldiers said “they were searching for knives,” no arrests were made.




