Israel describes UN Human Rights Council’s inquiry into settlements as ‘preposterous’

and other news from Today in Palestine:

Land, property, resources theft & destruction / Apartheid / Exile

Israeli court exiles Jerusalem child
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (PIC) 22 Mar — The Israeli magistrates court in occupied Jerusalem ruled on Wednesday that Jerusalemite child Elias Al-Awar should be banished from his home in Silwan. The court said that the 16-year-old child should be under house arrest in Jabal Al-Mukabar until his next court hearing and should pay a fine of 5000 shekels while four of his relatives would sign an affidavit pledging to pay 5000 shekels each in case he did not abide by the house arrest.
The same court extended the detention of three Jerusalemite youths until next Sunday, two of whom were arrested at dawn Wednesday. Families of the three young men said that the court guards refused to allow them to attend the hearing, saying that it was in-camera.
The court also extended the house arrest of 34-year-old Ibrahim Sabri after exiling him from his hometown of Silwan.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk/

Israel Supreme Court justice criticizes state over West Bank outpost evacuation deal
Haaretz 22 Mar — Salim Joubran says deal to to allow settlers three and a half years to rebuild homes on Hayekev Hill will ‘inevitably turn into eight.’
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/israel-supreme-court-justice-criticizes-state-over-west-bank-outpost-evacuation-deal-1.420166

Shuafat refugee camp: Walled Jerusalem ghetto gets more walls
972mag 22 Mar — For the people using the brand new light rail in Jerusalem, Shu‘afat is just another station servicing an Arab neighborhood in the city. But Shu‘afat refugee camp, stuck between the French Hill and Pisgat Ze’ev settlements (and distinct from the nearby neighborhood of the same name), is a third world community that lies just two kilometers away from the country’s most important tourist sites … Although many Palestinians obtained Israeli nationality after the 1948 war, a majority of Shuafat’s inhabitants (70 percent) are currently living under a hybrid status. They have neither Israeli citizenship nor Palestinian identity documents. They are permanent residents of Jerusalem, which means they can leave and enter the municipal boundaries of the city as they wish, but are not full citizens of Israel. The remaining 30 percent have no Israeli residency at all, and cannot cross the checkpoint
http://972mag.com/shuafat-refugee-camp-walled-ghetto-in-jerusalem-gets-more-walls/38970/

UN human rights body to probe Israel’s settlement activities in West Bank
Haaretz 22 Mar — Human Rights Council votes to dispatch a fact-finding mission to investigate the effects of Israel’s settlements on Palestinians; Netanyahu calls council ‘hypocritical’ and out of touch with reality.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/un-human-rights-body-to-probe-israel-s-settlement-activities-in-west-bank-1.420242

Israel refuses to cooperate with UN probe into Jewish settlements
NAZARETH (PIC) 23 Mar – Israel announced that it refuses to cooperate with an independent international fact-finding mission which is due to “investigate the implications of the Israeli settlements on the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the Palestinian people.”  Israeli sources quoted an Israeli official as saying: ““Israel will not cooperate with the fact finding mission,” describing the performance of the UN Human Rights Council as “preposterous”.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk/

Israel’s national water carrier violates Palestinians’ right to water
LifeSource 22 Mar — Occupied Palestine – For years, the United Nations Human Rights Committee and other UN bodies have found Israel to be in violation of Palestinians human right to water and sanitation as part of normal reviews of Israel’s compliance with human rights treaties ratified by Israel. In 2010 the UN General Assembly and the UN Human Rights Council passed resolutions … Yet Israel’s violations of Palestinians human right to water and sanitation are only increasing. Between 2009 and 2011, Israel demolished 57 rainwater harvesting cisterns and 40 wells Palestinians depend on for their livelihoods. Military destruction of Palestinian water infrastructure is both a direct violation of the human right to water and a war crime under the Fourth Geneva Convention.
https://mondoweiss.net/2012/03/alternative-water-forum-2012-israels-national-water-carrier-violates-palestinians-right-to-water.html

Taking it for all it has / Shuki Sadeh
Haaretz 23 Mar — Israel’s control of the West Bank has both political and economic implications. Whether natural resources or renewable energy, it seems like whatever the Palestinians seek, Israel denies. Israeli officials: The requests are not serious … Two years ago, Yesh Din, an Israeli NGO that works to safeguard human rights in the territories, filed a court petition demanding suspension of operation by Israeli quarries in the territories. The organization argued that they operate in violation of international law – specifically a clause in the Fourth Geneva Convention that was intended to prevent an economic incentive for going to war, and which stipulates that an occupying power is not permitted to exploit natural resources for its own benefit … Several weeks ago, however, the High Court of Justice denied the petition.
http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/week-s-end/taking-it-for-all-it-has-1.420361

Israeli violence against Palestinians

PCHR Weekly Report: ‘Army conducts 56 invasions into W. Bank, 1 in Gaza’
IMEMC 23 Mar — …During these invasions, Israeli soldiers kidnapped eight Palestinians in the occupied territories, including three children and one woman. Five Palestinians, including one child, were kidnapped by Israeli soldiers stationed at various roadblocks in the West Bank. The Gaza Strip remains under deadly siege, and remains to be isolated from the rest of the world despite Israeli claims of easing the siege. The PCHR further stated that one child was shot and injured while sitting at his home when the army opened fire at a civilian area in Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. The child, 6 years old, was shot by a bullet to his right thigh as he was sitting at home; the bullet was fired by soldiers stationed at the border between Gaza and Israel, to the east of Rafah. Soldiers also opened fire at agricultural areas in Khuza‘a village, east of Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. The army carried out a limited invasion into the northern part of the Gaza Strip, during which they leveled areas of Palestinian land which they had already razed. Full report
http://www.imemc.org/article/63190

VIDEO: Illegal settlers in Al Khalil attack Palestinian student
ISM — On Sunday 18th of March, an 18-year old Palestinian student, Mustafa Abu Salime, got attacked by settlers between Checkpoints 56 and Gilbert. Mustafa passed the Gilbert checkpoint on his way to visit his friends. He saw three settlers talking to a soldier. Few meters down from the checkpoint the same settlers came behind him and sprayed him with pepper spray and started beating him. The settlers hit him on his head, back and knee then pushed him on the ground and kicked him. In the attack Mustafa lost his eye glasses and phone. The soldiers did not interfere. After the beating the soldiers came and made him stand next to the wall while they did a body search of him before taking him to Checkpoint 56.   From the checkpoint Mustafa was taken to an army ambulance, in which he was driven around and questioned before they handed him to the Palestinian ambulance that took him to the hospital where he spent two hours. Issa Amro, a local human rights activist, filmed the ordeal and can be viewed here.
http://palsolidarity.org/2012/03/video-illegal-settlers-in-al-khalil-attack-palestinian-student/

EAPPI fact sheet: Violence without sanctions
WAFA 23 Mar — n recent years, violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians has risen sharply. The Israeli authorities do little to prevent or punish it. This EAPPI fact sheet shows how settler violence affects Palestinian communities, and calls for violent settlers to be held to account for their actions. (The Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) brings internationals to the West Bank to experience life under occupation. Ecumenical Accompaniers (EAs) provide protective presence to vulnerable communities, monitor and report human rights abuses and support Palestinians and Israelis working together for peace. When they return home, EAs campaign for a just and peaceful resolution to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict through an end to the occupation, respect for international law and implementation of UN resolutions.)
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=19360

Two civilians injured, one critically, as troops attack West Bank anti-Wall protests
IMEMC 23 Mar — At the village of al Nabi Saleh, central West Bank, two teenagers were injured, one critically, when soldiers attacked the weekly anti wall protest on Friday. This week protest was organized under the title of “continued resistance” in response to the Israeli military campaign targeting the villagers to stop the weekly activity in al Nabi Saleh.  Soldiers stopped the villagers along with their international and Israeli supporters at the village entrance and attacked them using rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas. The military also used chemical water as well to force people back into the village. Two 16-year-old boys from the village were hit with rubber-coated steel bullets, one in the face….
http://www.imemc.org/article/63192

Jewish settlers storm Nablus under PA/Israeli military protection
NABLUS (PIC) 22 Mar — Hundreds of Jewish settlers along with one Israeli minister stormed Thursday evening under military protection Nablus city to perform alleged religious rituals inside Joseph’s Tomb. Local sources said that in coordination with the Palestinian authority security forces, hundreds of settlers escorted by troops were allowed to enter Nablus, which is under full Palestinian control.
In a separate incident, a gang of armed Jewish settlers attacked Palestinian citizens in Hammamat area of Wadi Al-Maleh in the Jordan Valley and chased their cattle. Local sources said that armed settlers from Maskiot settlement stormed the area many times on Thursday evening and night
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk/

Mayor: Israeli forces raid Jenin village
JENIN (Ma‘an) 22 Mar — Israeli forces raided Zubuiba village west of Jenin and fired tear gas, the head of the local village council told Ma‘an Thursday. Imad Jaradat said five military jeeps entered the village and stayed at the center. The official said the soldiers sparked clashes by firing tear gas canisters toward homes. Three Palestinians were taken to hospital for inhaling gas, locals said. They were identified as Zahreya Jaradat, 55, Muhannad Jaradat, 10, and Marouf Jaradat, 24.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=470400

Israel raids Jenin organizations
JENIN (Ma‘an) 22 Mar — Israeli forces raided two charitable organizations in Jenin overnight Wednesday, witnesses told Ma‘an.
Locals said that 20 military vehicles raided the Al-Baraa institution and an orphanage center, destroying the front gates and confiscating contents from the building.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=470205

PA official: Child injured in Nablus explosion
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 23 Mar — A child was injured on Friday after a suspicious object exploded near the Nablus village of Qaryut, a PA official said. Noman Azzam, 8, was moderately injured in the incident, Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors settler activity in the northern West Bank, told Ma‘an. It is too early to determine the circumstances of the explosion, he added. The village of Qaryut is flanked on its western side by the illegal settlement of Eli, with Shilo settlement to its south.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=470554

Gaza

Fuel shipments arrive in Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 23 Mar  — Israel has opened a key crossing point to allow a large shipment of industrial fuel into the Gaza Strip, Palestinian and Israeli officials said Friday … Nathmi Mhanna, a Palestinian Authority border official in Gaza, told Ma‘an that Israel agreed to let the fuel tankers cross Kerem Shalom following intervention by officials in Ramallah and Cairo. The fuel will restart Gaza’s sole power plant, said Ahmad Abu al-Amarin, a spokesman for the energy authority. “We were informed that 450,000 liters of fuel will be sent to the electricity station,” he said. But al-Amarin warned the shipment will only power the plant for one day. Another Palestinian official said contacts were under way to arrange an additional delivery on Friday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=470481

Official: Gaza hospitals at 20-percent capacity
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 22 Mar — The health ministry in Gaza says it is running on less than 20 percent of electricity, and the remaining amounts are enough for only another four days of power. Ashraf al-Qidra, spokesman of the ministry, said around 70 ambulances will stop working if there is no fuel in the next few days, adding that 15 health service cars and 18 ambulances were already offline.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=470369

Gaza running low on fuel, patience / Yousef al-Helou
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) — With shortages of electricity, water, fuel, cooking gas and medicine, a lack of economy and no infrastructure, patience with the Hamas-led government in Gaza is running low. The chronic fuel shortages have added to the despair of Gaza’s 1.6 million people, many of whom blame the government for its failure to resolve the endless crises.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=469996

Gaza official reports airstrike, Israel denies
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 22 Mar 22:08 — Gaza health official Adham Abu Salmiya reported an airstrike Thursday in an open area east of Gaza City, which he said caused no injuries or damage. An Israeli army spokesman denied the account and said there was no activity on Thursday. He said a rocket landed in the Negev on Tuesday, causing no injuries or damage.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=470412

Germany funds 2 news schools in Gaza
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 23 Mar — Germany on Thursday pledged to fund two new schools in the Gaza Strip, the UN agency for refugees said. Germany will contribute €3 million ($3.96 million) to UNRWA to enhance the agency’s free schooling program, UNRWA said in a statement. At a signing ceremony in Jerusalem, UNRWA official Marina Skuric-Prodanovic said the donation “will further strengthen UNRWA’s efforts to provide education to young Palestine refugees.” The new schools will serve 4,400 children, she added.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=470457

Hunger strikers

Amnesty: Palestinian hunger-striker ‘at risk of death’ highlights injustice of administrative detention
23 Mar — The Israeli authorities should immediately release a Palestinian detainee or charge her with a recognisable criminal offence and promptly try her, Amnesty International said amid fears that the woman could die in detention after 37 days on hunger strike. Hana Shalabi, 30, from the village of Burqin in the northern West Bank, is allegedly affiliated with the Islamic Jihad movement but has never been charged with a criminal offence.
http://www.amnesty.org.uk/news_details.asp?NewsID=20019

Health of Palestinian captive Bilal Diab deteriorates
JENIN (PIC) 23 Mar – Palestinian captive, Bilal Diab, from the city of Jenin, continues with his hunger strike for the 23rd consecutive day in Negev jail in southern Palestine. He is protesting the occupation’s policy of administrative detention years on end without charge or trial … The lawyer of the PPS quoted Palestinian captives in Negev prison as saying that Diab is not allowed to see his lawyer, that his situation is worsening and that the prison’s administration mistreats him deliberately because of his hunger strike.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk/

Other political detention

Palestinian child provokes Zionist judge into leaving court
AL-KHALIL (PIC) 23 Mar — Palestinian child Ahmad al-Salibi provoked the judge of Ofer military court which was convened to look into his case and those of seven other children, all under 16 and all hail[ing] from Beit Ummar to the north of al-Khalil, when he said that he does not recognise the court or the Zionist entity and described them as a gang … When the judge heard these words, he got very angry and left the court room warning the boy that his punishment was going to be severe, according to those who attended the hearing. Salibi was arrested on 12 March in the town of Beit Ummar and was subjected to beating and “various forms of barbaric torture,” according to defence lawyers who said that signs of torture are still visible on his face and body.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk/

Army detains a child at roadblock near Jenin
IMEMC 23 Mar — Israeli soldiers detained, on Thursday evening, a 12-year-old Palestinian child at a roadblock close to an illegal Israeli settlement, south of the northern West Bank city of Jenin. The Palestinian News & Info Agency, WAFA, reported that the child was identified as Mohammad Mo’ayyad Metani, 12, from Ya‘bod village, near Jenin. WAFA added that the child was held and interrogated by the soldiers for more than two hours before he was handed to the Palestinian District Coordination Office.
http://www.imemc.org/article/63191

9 Palestinians seized in West Bank raids
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 23 Mar — Israel’s military arrested nine Palestinians overnight, an army spokeswoman said. Three people were seized in Hebron, two in Arrub, one in Beit Ummar, one in al-Mazraa al-Qibliya near Ramallah, another in Shuyukh al-Arrub south of Bethlehem and one in Abu Dis in the Jerusalem area, she said. The nine detainees were not immediately identified.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=470524

IOF soldiers arrest three Palestinian farmers at work
QALQILIA (PIC) 22 Mar — Israeli occupation forces (IOF) arrested a family of three farmers while working in their land in Git village to the east of Qalqilia city on Thursday morning. Jewish settlers had earlier assaulted the farmers while at work in their field, which is near to Gilad settlement. Local sources told the PIC reporter that the 56-year-old father Ibrahim Khader and his two sons Samed and Asef were taken to an unknown detention center.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk/

IOF arrest 19 Quds University students in two months
AL-KHALIL (PIC) 23 Mar – IOF troops on Friday at dawn raided the home of Palestinian captive Muhammad Halaika who is serving a 22-year prison sentence in Ramon prison and arrested his 22-year-old son Munjed.  The IOF transferred Munjed, who is a student at the college of Islamic Studies of the Quds University, to the Etsion detention centre to the north of al-Khalil … Sources at the college confirmed that the IOF arrested 19 of its students over the past two months, this is in addition to a number of students from the College of Engineering at the same university.  The sources said that the campaign of arrests by the IOF seems to have been prompted by news that the Islamic bloc was planning to participate in Student Union elections at West Bank universities.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk/

Center: Israel sentences detainee to 14 years
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 23 Mar — An Israeli court on Thursday sentenced Adham Talal Salameh to 14 years in jail, a detainees’ center reported. Salameh, 28, was detained in 2008 during a raid on his home in Jabaliya in northern Gaza. He is accused of affiliation with the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and activities against the Israeli occupation, the Hussam center for detainees said. The center condemned the sentence and said the allegations were false.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=470488

Group says 15 prisoners hurt in scuffle with guards
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 22 Mar — Fifteen Palestinian detainees say they were injured in Jalbu prison after Israeli guards raided their cells and forcefully made them submit to DNA testing. Families of the detainees told the Palestinian prisoners society that the prisoners were handcuffed and forced to undergo the testing to which Israel is subjecting all its prisoners.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=470311

My friend’s daughters still wait! / Sam Bahour
ePalestine 23 Mar –Many of you have been following my reporting of the arrest of my friend Walid Abu Rass ( http://bit.ly/walidaburass ) who was taken from his home by Israeli occupation forces in the middle of the night on November 22, 2011 … His release date was set for yesterday, March 22, 2012. Like what usually happens to Administrative Detention prisoners, on the day of their release, an extension was made. Walid’s was for another four months! Again, with no reason why, no charges, no trial, no anything! Walid’s  two beautiful daughters, Mays, 13 years old, and Malak, 4 years old, are crushed!!!
One person could end this nightmare today: Deputy PM & Minister of Defense Ehud Barak … Email: minister@mod.gov.il   Write/call him directly or send a message via your local Israeli embassy.
http://epalestine.blogspot.com/2012/03/epalestine-my-friends-daughters-still.html

Activism / Solidarity / BDS

The rise of the Sheikh Jarrah protest movement, as told by a veteran activist
972mag 23 Mar — Israeli Solidarity activist Daniel Dukarevitch-Argo, who first got to know Sheikh Jarrah almost a decade ago, tells the story of the protest movement  from the ground up — A new film by Just Vision about the struggle in Sheikh Jarrah will soon be released around the world. Simultaneously, opinion articles and summation pieces have begun to appear, adding to a months’ long debate about the Solidarity movement’s decision to stop the weekly demonstrations in the East Jerusalem neighborhood last September.
http://972mag.com/the-rise-of-the-sheikh-jarrah-protest-movement-as-told-by-a-veteran-activist/39056/

Mustafa Bargouti: Jerusalem is at the heart of the Palestinian cause
Mondo 23 Mar — …Elsa Rassbach: You have joined with Palestinians from many different political perspectives and many places in the world to call for a Global March to Jerusalem. What is this initiative about? Mustafa Bargouti: It’s an act of solidarity with the Palestinian people. It will take place on Land Day, March 30th, a day that symbolizes the unity of Palestinians in the struggle for freedom and dignity and against theft of their land. We hope to bring to the world’s attention the very grave violations that Israel is committing against Jerusalem. Both the UN and The International Court of Justice hold that annexation of East Jerusalem, which is part of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, is a violation of international law.
https://mondoweiss.net/2012/03/mustafa-bargouti-jerusalem-is-at-the-heart-of-the-palestinian-cause.html

Four young Israelis refuse army draft in new refusenik wave / Haggai Matar
972mag 22 Mar — In the coming weeks, three young Israelis are expected to go to prison for their refusal to enlist in the Israeli army, and a forth conscientious objector received an exemption from service yesterday. Together they form the first group of refuseniks in Israel in the past three years. These are their stories.
http://972mag.com/four-young-israelis-refuse-army-draft-in-new-refusenik-wave/39029/

Britain bans ad promoting tourism to Israel for blurring 1967 borders
Haaretz 23 Mar — Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority blocked an advertisement promoting tourism in Israel earlier this week, following complaints that it was “misleading” in implying the occupied territories were part of Israel.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/britain-bans-ad-promoting-tourism-to-israel-for-blurring-1967-borders-1.420268

Racism / Discrimination

Hundreds of Beitar Jerusalem fans beat up Arab workers in mall; no arrests
Haaretz 23 Mar — Hundreds of Beitar Jerusalem [soccer] supporters assaulted Arab cleaning personnel at the capital’s Malha shopping center on Monday, in what was said to be one of Jerusalem’s biggest-ever ethnic clashes. “It was a mass lynching attempt,” said Mohammed Yusuf, a team leader for Or-Orly cleaning services. Despite CCTV footage of the events, no one was arrested. Jerusalem police said that is because no complaint was filed.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/hundreds-of-beitar-jerusalem-fans-beat-up-arab-workers-in-mall-no-arrests-1.420270

Ultra-Orthodox Jews increasingly refuse to sit near women on El Al flights
Haaretz 23 Mar — El Al passengers are noting a recent phenomenon involving clusters of ultra-Orthodox men approaching female passengers prior to take-off and requesting to switch seats, according to El Al customers and tour operators. While the phenomenon of lone Haredi men approaching female passengers is not new, and has in fact gone on for years, large groups of Haredim – upwards of 15-20 people in some instances – are reportedly attempting to secure blocs of seats for themselves. Their persistence is causing consternation and friction, while setting off a host of logistical problems during the course of some flights, according to a number of sources interviewed by Haaretz.
http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/anglo-file/ultra-orthodox-jews-increasingly-refuse-to-sit-near-women-on-el-al-flights-1.420298

Other news

PMA: Turkish banks to open branches in West Bank
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 21 Mar — Two Turkish banks will open branches in the West Bank, the chief of the Palestinian Monetary Authority said Wednesday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=470060

Independents hold rally for unity in Nablus
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 23 Mar — Nasser al-Shaer, deputy prime minister of the 10th government, said Thursday that activities were being planned to demand an end to the division of the occupied territories … “We are not speaking from Tahrir square but from Shuhada square in Nablus, and we tell Mahmoud Abbas, Khalid Mashaal, Ismail Haniyeh, and Salam Fayyad that we are behind you to end the division and we want to be your partners in ending the division,” he added.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=470328

Analysis / Opinion

Holocaust consciousness-raising = harming Palestinians / Michael Desch
Mondo 23 Mar — Akiva Eldar has written a very important piece–on Netanyahu’s use of the Auschwitz letters at the AIPAC conference earlier this month–not so much because it highlights Netanyahu’s manipulation of the Holocaust (which is old news) but rather for its succinct summary of scholarly studies that show Holocaust consciousness-raising continues to affect younger people exposed to it. The studies show that even though they were born long after the Holocaust, the young are susceptible to the sort of manipulation Netanyahu and other hard liners count on to perpetuate a state of “existential panic” among Jews in Israel and the Diaspora that justifies so many problematic things from the continuing occupation to preventive war against Iran.
https://mondoweiss.net/2012/03/holocaust-consciousness-raising-harming-palestinians.html

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